Default.
Section 54
SEC. 54. Default. — If the defendant does not appear at the time and place designated in the summons, judgment may be rendered against him by default, and the court shall thereupon proceed to hear the testimony of the plaintiff and his witnesses as to the amount which the plaintiff is entitled to recover, and shall render judgment for the plaintiff to recover of the defendant such sum as he finds established by the evidence to be justly due with lawful costs.