But the conduct of Mrs. Terry immediately after the homicide was proof enough that her husband’s knife had been in readiness.  The conductor of the train swore that he saw her lying over the body of her husband about a minute, and when she rose up she unbuttoned his vest and said:  “You may search him; he has got no weapon on him.”  Not a word had been said about his having had a weapon.  No one had made a movement towards searching him, as ought to have been done; but this woman, who had been to the car for her pistol and returned with it to join, if necessary, in the murderous work, had all the time and opportunity necessary for taking the knife from its resting-place under his vest, smearing one of her hands with his blood, which plainly showed where it had been and what she had been doing.  Neagle could not search the body, for his whole attention was directed to the protection of Justice Field.  Mrs. Terry repeated the challenge to search the body for the knife after it had been removed.  This showed clearly that the idea uppermost in her mind was to then and there manufacture testimony that he had not been armed at all.  Her eagerness on this subject betrayed her.  Had she herself then been searched, after rising from Terry’s body, the knife would doubtless have been found concealed upon her person.  A number of witnesses testified to her conduct as above described.  She said also:  “You will find that he has no arms, for I took them from him in the car, and I said to him that I did not want him to shoot Justice Field, but I did not object to a fist bout.”

This reference to a fist bout was, of course, an admission that they had premeditated the assault.  It was Judge Terry’s knife and not a pistol that Judge Field had to fear.  Terry’s threats had always pointed to some gross indignity that he would put upon Justice Field, and then kill him if he resented or resisted it.  One of his threats was that he would horsewhip Judge Field, and that if he resented it he would kill him.  In short, his intentions seem to have been to commit an assassination in alleged self-defense.

The train soon left the station for San Francisco.  A constable of Lathrop had taken the train, and addressing Neagle told him that he would have to arrest him.  This officer had no warrant and did not himself witness the homicide.  Justice Field told him that he ought to have a warrant before making the arrest, remarking, if a man should shoot another when he was about to commit a felony, such as setting fire to your house, you would not arrest him for a murder; or if a highwayman got on the train to plunder.  The officer replied very courteously by the suggestion that there would have to be an inquest.  Neagle at once said, “I am ready to go,” thinking it better to avoid all controversy, and being perfectly willing to answer anywhere for what he had done.  Arriving at the next station (Tracy), Neagle and the officer took a buggy and went to the county jail at Stockton.  Thus was a deputy marshal of the United States withdrawn from the service of his Government while engaged in a most important and as yet unfinished duty because he had with rigid faithfulness performed that duty.  He was arrested by an officer who had no warrant and had not witnessed the homicide, and lodged in jail.