THE RESULT OF THE EXAMINATION.
The dignity of the court had been effectually swamped by the
grandiloquence of Mr. C. Augustus Ebénier, though it was evident that
he was a very important witness. Of course no one was invited to dine
at the miser's, and the court and witnesses went home to dinner. As a
compromise, Constable Cooke was asked to dine with his prisoner at Mr.
Watson's. At the appointed hour in the afternoon the court again
assembled in the house of the miser.
"Mr. Ebénier," said Squire Saunders, "you had proceeded in your
narrative, when the court adjourned, to the point where four of the
crew of the fishing vessel, about to depart in search of ichthyological
specimens, came on board of the yacht, which has the honor to have your
valuable services as steward."
"I beg your honor's pardon; I had the honor, not the yacht," interposed
Mr. Ebénier, bowing.
"Well, I should say that the honors were divided," replied the justice;
and his remark was regarded as a judicial joke. "If you could commence
where you left off; and go on, I should be under very great obligations
to you."
"I will make a persistent effort to do so, your honor," added the
obliging Mr. C. Augustus Ebénier. "As I had the honor to hear your
honor remark, the three young men from the fishing vessel, about to
depart, as aforesaid, were on board of our yacht, as aforesaid, and as
I was standing near the cabin door, as aforesaid,--now my narrative
progresses, your honor,--one of the young men from the fishing schooner
aforesaid, as Captain Fairfield was about to go over the side into his
boat, rushed up to me with the bag in his hand."
"You mean the shot-bag containing the gold--do you?" asked the squire,
now deeply interested in the substance of the story.
"I do, your honor; perhaps I should have said the bag aforesaid, which
I thought I had described with sufficient minuteness. The bag had
originally contained shot, if the words printed on it can be relied
upon----"
"In the name of the Constitution of the United States, don't repeat the
description of the bag!" protested the squire. "One of the young men
rushed up to you with the bag in his hand."
"The bag aforesaid, then, your honor. I affirm that he _rushed_ up to
me, meaning that he walked briskly and rapidly towards me. He placed
the bag--the bag aforesaid, your honor--in my hand, extended for the
purpose of receiving it when I understood that he wished to commit it
to my keeping."
"Precisely so; what did he say?"
"He observed that the captain desired me to place the parcel--by which
I mean the bag aforesaid, with its contents, not then known to me--in
one of the lockers in his state-room. As nearly as I can remember,
though I should not be willing to swear to the precise phraseology of
the language he used, his words were, 'The captain wants you to put
this into the locker in his state-room.'"
"Didn't you ask him what it was?"
"No, your honor; I never ask any questions when the captain's orders
come to me. It is my duty to obey, without knowing the reasons for the
action I am directed to take. I went immediately to the captain's
state-room, and deposited the parcel--the bag aforesaid--in one of the
empty lockers. I supposed from its weight that it contained nails,
hinges, screws, or some other species of hardware."
"Did you see the captain hand it to the person who gave it to you?"
"No, your honor, I did not. Under the painfully disagreeable circumstances
which have followed the _dénouement_ of the depositing of the bag
aforesaid in the locker, I wish to add, if my humble opinion is of any
value to this honorable court, that I do not believe the captain gave
the bag aforesaid to the person of whom I received it."
"Do you know the name of the man who gave it to you?" asked Squire
Cleaves.
"I can only reply that I heard him called Ben,--which I presume is an
abbreviation of Benjamin,--when addressed by his companions."
"It was Ben Seaver," said Levi. "He was on board at the time
mentioned."
"I have no knowledge whatever in regard to his patronymic," added the
cabin steward.
"Why do you say you don't believe the captain handed it to Ben?"
continued the justice.
"Because, your honor, the circumstances do not justify such a
conclusion on my part. It is not reasonable to suppose----"
"Confine yourself to the facts, Mr. Ebénier. We do not care to listen
to an argument," interposed the justice.
"I beg your honor's pardon; to facts, then, will I confine myself. The
captain went directly from the cabin to his boat, and the person whom
his companions called Ben came to me directly from the forecastle. I
did not see him hold any communication with the captain, though he
paused for a moment at the gangway, and looked over the rail into the
boat."
"Might not the captain have handed him the package then?"
"I don't think it was possible, your honor."
"What were the men on the forecastle doing?"
"They were coiling away a spare cable--all but Bob Thomas, who was to
pull the captain ashore; and the visitors were assisting them."
"That will do, Mr. Ebénier; we are much obliged to you for the lucid
manner in which you have given your testimony, which is very
important," said Squire Saunders.
Bob Thomas, who had pulled the captain ashore, and who had been in the
boat with him at the time when he was alleged to have sent the bag to
the steward, was next questioned. He had neither seen the bag, nor seen
Levi speak to Ben Seaver. The rest of the crew were examined, but
nothing was elicited from them. Each of them was asked what had passed
between Ben and himself, but the conversation related entirely to fish
and fishing. Mat Mogmore seemed to be slightly confused, which was
attributed to bashfulness, for his statements were as square as those
of his shipmates.
Ben Seaver, who appeared to be the only person that could solve the
mystery, had gone on a fishing voyage, and might not return for two
months or more. No one had seen him at the fire, when the money was
stolen; and it was not probable that he was the original thief,
whatever part he might have been employed to perform by the guilty
party.
Levi himself was then examined at great length. His statements,
covering the time from the fire down to the present moment, were clear
and positive. He knew nothing about the money; he had not given the bag
to Ben Seaver; had not spoken to him, except to pass the time of day
with him as an old acquaintance. When Dock and Mr. Fairfield declared
that Levi hated his uncle, Mrs. Fairfield disproved the statement by
adducing all the kind acts he had performed.
Squire Cleaves, for the defendant, then reviewed the testimony for and
against his client.
"It certainly has not been shown that Levi stole this money," said he.
"Nor has sufficient evidence been brought against him to render it
probable that he is guilty; not enough to justify your honor in
committing him for trial. This investigation has led us to follow the
bag from the captain's state-room to the hands of Ben Seaver. There we
are blocked, and can go no farther till this person's return from his
voyage. Mr. Watson proposes to charter a steamer, send her after the
fishing vessel, and bring back Ben Seaver. Then we can follow the bag
until it leads us to the feet of a conspiracy against my client."
"It is not necessary to send any steamer after the witness," said the
justice. "The only evidence, in this long examination, which has been
brought against the prisoner, is, that the bag was found in his
state-room. It has been shown, conclusively, that he did not place it
there, and probably did not cause it to be placed there. The defendant
is discharged." And Squire Saunders rose from his seat at the table.
The decision, though it had not been unexpected, caused a decided
sensation in the little audience assembled in the miser's chamber. Dock
Vincent was mad, Mr. Fairfield was in despair, and the constable was
disappointed. The victim had escaped, and the miser had obtained no
clew to the lost treasure. The justice took possession of the bag and
its contents, to be used when Ben Seaver returned. The audience
dispersed to talk over the event among themselves.
Levi's friends, including Mr. Gayles, who had listened with the deepest
interest to the proceedings, were satisfied that the whole affair was a
conspiracy. Mr. Watson's theory was, that Dock Vincent had robbed the
miser himself, and had employed the absentee to place the bag in Levi's
room, intending himself to be on the way to Australia before Seaver
returned. As the matter stood, nothing could be proved. But Mr. Gayles
declared that he should watch Dock Vincent and a "certain other
person," whose name he declined to mention, by night and by day, until
some evidence was obtained. It was not enough to vindicate the
innocent; the guilty must be exposed and punished.
"Then Levi didn't steal my money, arter all," said Mr. Fairfield to
Dock Vincent, after the other people had gone.
"Yes, he did. Levi's smart, and knows how to cover up his work."
"We don't know no more'n nothin' in the world what's come on't," sighed
Mr. Fairfield.
"Levi's got it; and it will come to light yet," repeated Dock.
"I donno whether he has or not."
"That nigger lied all the way through. Folks that tell the truth don't
spin no sich yarns as he did. If I catch that nigger in the right
place, I'll pound him till he tells the truth, for Levi certainly
bribed him to tell that story. He didn't say a word about Ben Seaver on
board the vessel. He only did it to get his master out of a
scrape--that's all, you may depend upon it."
"All I want's my money, and I don't keer much whether Levi took it or
not, if I only git it," groaned Mr. Fairfield.
"Don't be alarmed, Squire Fairfield. You'll get your money one of these
days--every dollar of it, for Levi's got money enough to make up for
what he spends. I've got some one in a situation to keep watch of him,
and something'll leak out before long. You keep a stiff upper lip,
Squire Fairfield, and it'll all come out right in the end," added Dock,
as he turned to leave.
"I don't feel quite so sartain as I did that Levi done it," replied Mr.
Fairfield.
"Yes, he did, and that nigger got him out of the scrape. Levi's smart,
and so's the nigger. Wasn't it cunning for him to say the bag was given
him by a man who has gone off on a fishing voyage? I can see through
that trick with my eyes shut. I shall keep an eye on Levi, and on that
nigger too," said the comforter, as he left the room.
Dock was sorely vexed at the result of the examination. He had been
confident that his victim would be committed for trial, but the
steward's testimony had saved him. He walked down towards his own
house; but he had not gone far before he discovered Mr. C. Augustus
Ebénier, going in the direction of the Point. With a little contrivance
on Dock's part, they came together out of sight and hearing of
everybody.