CONTINUATION OF THE TRIAL.
"His outer garments were such as a Mongolian wears, and in his hand
was the mask of a Chinaman's face. He carried also in his hand a
hollow cane of the reign of Charles the Second, in which, as you will
presently hear, a singular discovery was made. It is not for me to say
why this disguise was assumed; it is sufficient to state the fact. In
response to Constable Applebee's calls for assistance Detective
Lambert came up, and afterwards Constable Pond and another. The
prisoner gave no explanation of his singular disguise, but made some
rambling statement to the effect that the murderers of Samuel Boyd
were in the house. In compliance with his urgent and reiterated
requests the officers Lambert and Applebee accompanied him into the
house, and made a thorough search, from top to bottom, without
discovering any person there. Remington was then taken to the police
station, and charged. When he was searched a document was found upon
him of a nature so incriminating, and so direct in its terms, as to
furnish the strongest proof of the guilt of the prisoner, Reginald
Boyd. The defence will probably call this evidence presumptive; I call
it conclusive. The document runs as follows:--
(Mr. Marlow here read the Memoranda made by Samuel Boyd on the night
of Friday, March 1st, with which our readers are already
acquainted.[1])
********************
[Footnote 1: See pages 97, 98.--Author.]
********************
"You will perceive that the document is dated the 1st of March, and
there can be no doubt that it was the last writing made by Samuel Boyd
before he was cruelly murdered. That he was in dread of violence at
the hands of his son is clear. No reference is made in the document to
the prisoner Remington, but there is a presumptive accusation against
the missing man, Abel Death, of being in a conspiracy to rob him.
Observe also the reference to the latchkey possessed by his son, and
the words, 'If he does not get in through the front door he will find
some other way; he is better acquainted with the ins and outs of this
house than I am myself.' In this voice from the grave--for so it may
be aptly termed--is revealed a deplorable state of feeling between
father and son which strengthens the case against the prisoner Boyd.
They were at enmity; each accused the other of robbery or attempted
robbery, and matters thus were ripe for violence. Is it too wild a
presumption that Remington removed the incriminating document for the
purpose of shielding his confederate, and, by implication, himself?
The document informed them, also, that Samuel Boyd had not yet made
his will, and that if he died that night his son would become heir at
law. A strange feature in the case is that the paper was not
immediately destroyed, but there are numbers of instances in which
criminals have been brought to justice by over-confidence and by their
neglect to attend to small matters over which they believed themselves
to have absolute control. In addition to this document another
remarkable discovery was made at the police station. On the night of
the murder Lady Wharton had deposited with Samuel Boyd certain
valuable jewels as security for an advance of money to be made to her,
and up to last Monday night no trace of these jewels had been
discovered. Now, the Charles the Second cane carried from the house by
the prisoner Remington was hollow, and in it were found the missing
jewels. Lady Wharton will be called to identify them. Against
Remington a search of his lodgings furnished further evidence. Under
his bed was found a rope and grapnel, which he purchased on Friday the
1st of March----"
Mr. Pallaret: "Will the date be proved?"
Mr. Marlow: "The shopkeeper from whom he purchased it will give
evidence of the date. It may be asked, what object could there have
been in Remington purchasing a rope and grapnel to get over the wall
at the back when Reginald Boyd, with whom we accuse him of being in
collusion, possessed a key to the front door? The answer to that is
that they deemed it necessary to be prepared, in case the street door
was chained and bolted. Or it may have been done, and the rope and
grapnel used, to divert suspicion from themselves, and to make it
appear that burglars unacquainted with the premises had effected an
entrance and committed the crime. It is most suspicious that in
Remington's evidence at the inquest he made no allusion to the rope
and grapnel, although the statement of Detective Lambert was before
him. For what other reason than to screen himself could he have been
guilty of the suppression? Another piece of evidence will be
forthcoming. Before either of the prisoners was arrested Detective
Lambert, during his examination of the house, took photographs of the
bloody footprints leading from Samuel Boyd's bedroom to the small
window at the back, through which the person or persons effecting an
unlawful entrance had passed. Since Remington's arrest photographs
have been taken of the soles of his boots, and they exactly correspond
with those of the bloody footprints. As to another startling incident
in this remarkable crime--the visit of the man disguised as Samuel
Boyd to Lady Wharton in Bournemouth--we have only conjecture, and I
make no comment upon it other than that it is a mystery which has yet
to be elucidated.
"I have now gone through the principal features of the murder and its
attendant circumstances, and I think your worship will agree with me
that there is no course open to you except to put the prisoners on
their trial at the Criminal Court."
At the conclusion of this address the general opinion of the
disinterested persons in court was that the accused were guilty, and
that there was no escape for them. There were, however, seated at the
solicitors' table a few more experienced who judged from Mr.
Pallaret's manner that he by no means despaired of an acquittal. A
twisted note had been handed to him, on which was written, "He is the
man. Call Joseph Pitou."
Witnesses for the prosecution were then examined, of whom the first
was Lambert, whose evidence was similar to that given at the inquest,
and who testified to the execution of the search warrant in Dick's
lodgings. Mr. Pallaret asked him but few questions.
"You have been engaged in getting up this case?"
"Yes, under instructions."
"From time to time you have come into communication with Mr. Richard
Remington?"
"Yes."
"Has he assisted or retarded you in your inquiries?"
"He has been of material assistance to me."
"At whose suggestion were photographs of his boots taken?"
"At his. Since his arrest I received a message from him saying that he
had a communication to make to me. He then related the circumstances
of his breaking into the house in Catchpole Square, and gave me his
boots. He also showed me traces of a scar on his hand, caused by a
wound he received when he broke the window at the back of the house,
from which the blood had dropped as he walked through the passages and
rooms."
"Did it appear to you as if he wished to conceal anything?"
"It did not. He was quite frank and open with me."
"In pursuance of your duties you served subp[oe]nas upon certain
witnesses?"
"Yes."
"Among others, upon Dr. Pye?"
"Yes."
"In an interview with him you asked him to show you the flashlight
device by means of which, according to his statement, he saw a man
come from the house in Catchpole Square in the middle of the night?"
"Yes."
"What was his reply?"
"That it was under repair, and he could not produce it."
Then followed the evidence of the reporter of "The Little Busy Bee,"
and that of Constable Applebee, neither of whom was cross-examined by
the defence.
At this point of the trial it was observed that a communication was
made to Detective Lambert, who hastily took his departure, but not
before he had passed a piece of paper to Mr. Pallaret, upon which was
scribbled, "If you do not see me in Court delay the proceedings as
long as possible. If Dr. Pye's examination is over before I return do
not allow him to leave the Court. Most important."
Lady Wharton was next called. She narrated the circumstances under
which she had entrusted her jewels to Samuel Boyd, and identified
them. Among the questions put to her under cross-examination, which
was purposely prolonged by Mr. Pallaret, were the following:
"Are any of the jewels you gave the deceased on Friday, March 1st,
missing?"
"No. They are all here."
"Have you a list of the jewels you gave the person who personated
Samuel Boyd in Bournemouth on the following Friday night?"
"Yes."
"You could identify them?"
"Certainly I could. I wish I had the opportunity."
Mr. Higgins then appeared in the witness box, shaking visibly, his
features twitching spasmodically. From him the prosecution elicited
that Dick had purchased a rope and grapnel at his shop on March 1st,
and had paid half the purchase money at the time, promising to pay the
balance in the course of the following week, which promise had not
been kept. Dick could not understand what his object was in giving
this false evidence as to the date of the purchase, unless it were
that he conceived himself injured by not obtaining the blackmail he
had hoped to gain. He was subjected to a long cross-examination, in
the course of which he became hopelessly involved, and contradicted
himself so repeatedly that he was warned by the magistrate. He finally
retired from the witness box utterly discredited and demoralised.
Dr. Pye's name being called, he took his place in the witness box. His
face was calm and composed, and he cast his eyes around with a sense
of power which produced a profound impression among the spectators. In
a passionless voice he repeated the statement he had made at the
Coroner's Court, not deviating by a word from his description of the
events of the fatal night. His statement finished, the examination
proceeded:
"When you gave your evidence at the inquest you expressed some doubt
as to the prisoner Reginald Boyd being the man you saw come from the
house?"
"There came to my mind instances of mistaken resemblance in past
trials of importance, and I conceived it my duty to warn the jury not
to be led into error."
"You suggested that you might be mistaken?"
"I made the suggestion. No man is infallible."
"Have you carefully considered the matter since you appeared in the
Coroner's Court?"
"I have."
"Has that consideration strengthened or removed any doubts you may
have had?"
"It has removed any possible doubt that may have been in my mind."
"Look at the prisoner, Reginald Boyd. Can you say now with certainty
that he is the man you saw?"
"I can say he is, with certainty."
"You are positive?"
"Quite positive. The resemblance is so startling that there is only
the barest possibility of my being mistaken."
"Now, as to the hour. You looked at your watch?"
"The incident was so unusual that I instinctively took my watch from
my pocket. It was within a minute of three o'clock."
"You are aware that another witness, who will probably be called for
the defence, states that she was in Catchpole Square at that hour,
that she heard the clock of Saint Michael's Church strike three, and
that the door of the house of the deceased was not opened?"
"I am aware of it. She is mistaken."
"Did you hear the clock of St. Michael's Church strike?"
"I did not."
"That is all, Dr. Pye."
Mr. Pallaret then rose and commenced his cross-examination, which had
been looked forward to with some eagerness.
"Your name is Pye?"
"That is my name."
"Christian name?"
"Charles Stuart."
"Charles Stuart Pye. Have you ever passed under any other name?"
"The question is an insult."
"I do not intend it as such. I am defending two men who are accused of
an atrocious crime, one of them the son of the man who was murdered.
Have you ever passed under any other name?"
"Never."
"Are you English born?"
"My parents were English. I was born in Switzerland. If I speak with a
slight foreign accent it is to be ascribed to the fact that my
childhood was passed away from England, and that in my youth I
travelled much in foreign countries."
"Your English is very good. You speak more than one language?"
"I speak French, German, and Italian."
"How old are you?"
"Forty-eight, I think. I cannot say with certainty, as my parents did
not keep up my birthday."
"In what part of Switzerland were you born?"
"In Geneva, I believe. My parents never informed me, and I did not
inquire."
"It was a matter of no interest to you?"
"None whatever."
If you were born in Geneva the record of your birth will be found
there?"
"Probably."
"You call yourself Dr. Do you hold a diploma?"
"I do not. I am called Dr. by courtesy."
"Whose courtesy?"
"General courtesy. It has grown into a fashion. I regard it as a
compliment."
The Magistrate: "Are these questions relevant, Mr. Pallaret?"
Mr. Pallaret: "Quite relevant, as your worship will see farther on. I
shall not ask a question which does not affect the issue." (To the
witness.) "I understand that you volunteered to give evidence at the
inquest in the interests of justice?"
"Simply that."
"And had no personal interest to serve?"
"None."
"Are you acquainted with a person of the name of Ezra Lynn?
"I am."
"He is a money-lender?"
"Yes. My acquaintance with him results from that."
"I am sorry to hear it. Are you acquainted with a person of the name
of Vinsen--calling himself Dr. Vinsen?"
"Yes."
"Have you seen him lately?"
"Not within the last few days."
"We were anxious to have him here to-day, but I do not see him. We
issued a subp[oe]na demanding his attendance. Not being able to
ascertain his address we left it at your house. You are aware of
that?"
"Yes."
"Has he received the summons?
"I am not aware that he has."
"Can you inform us where he lives?"
"I cannot."
"Nor where he is at the present moment?"
"I cannot inform you."
Upon Dr. Pye's countenance there was not a trace of discomposure, and
there was not a tremor in his voice; but the experienced lawyer, as
skilful a judge of character as the man he was examining, knew that if
a look could kill his minutes were numbered. There was one person in
court, Mrs. Abel Death, who listened in bewilderment to the answers
given by the witness with reference to Dr. Vinsen. This man, who had
presented himself to her as Dr. Pye's viceroy, who had given her
money, who had poisoned her ears against Reginald Boyd and Dick
Remington, was sitting within a few yards of her, and yet Dr. Pye
denied all knowledge of his whereabouts. What was the meaning of this
falsehood? Looking at Dr. Vinsen she saw that his eyes were wandering
around, as though seeking a means of escape. His face was pallid, his
lips were quivering, his hands trembled as they wiped the moisture
from his forehead. Gracie had hated him from the first, and it was
this, perhaps, that had caused her to absent herself from home. The
mother's heart was wrung with anguish, with doubt, with despair.
Mr. Pallaret continued his cross-examination.
"Now, about this flashlight of yours, which revealed the face of the
man you say you saw. A contrivance or device of your own, I
understand?"
"Yes."
"Have you brought it into court?"
"I have not."
"Is it in your house?"
"It is not."
"No person connected with this inquiry has seen it. You refused to
show it to Detective Lambert, saying it was under repair. Is it still
under repair?"
"Yes."
"Give me the name of the tradesman who is repairing it?"
"I decline to give it. The device is a secret invention, and I will
not run the danger of losing the benefit of it."
"The question is one I cannot compel you to answer, so I will not
repeat it; but if the men whom I am defending are put on their trial
in a higher court we will see that this so-called flashlight is
produced. I gather from you that on the night of the 1st of March you
were induced to use it by seeing with your naked eye a man standing at
the door of Samuel Boyd's house. The night was very dark. How did you
know it was a man?"
"Dark as it was I distinguished the figure of a man."
"On that night there was no suspicion that a murder had been
committed. What made you regard as suspicious so simple a circumstance
as a man coming out of the house?"
"I had never before seen any one in Catchpole Square at that hour of
the night."
"Shall we call it a kind of instinct that whispered of a foul deed
done?"
"Call it what you please. You are drawing upon your fancy; I am
stating facts."
"Very well; we will stick to facts. You saw the figure of a man, and
your suspicions were aroused. How long a time elapsed before you had
recourse to your flashlight?"
"I used it almost immediately."
"Your process of reasoning was almost as swift as your flashlight. Do
you keep your device in the room in which you were standing?"
"Yes."
"How far from the window?"
"Within reach of my hand."
"Before it was ready for its work some little time must have elapsed.
How is the light produced?"
"By an arrangement of magnesium wire."
"Which requires to be ignited?"
"Yes."
"By means of a match?"
"Yes."
"It is, I suppose, necessary that the device be opened before you can
light the wire?"
"Yes."
"You saw the figure of a man, your suspicions were aroused, you
brought forward the flashlight, you opened it, you found the match
box, you took from it a match, you struck the match, you applied the
flame to the magnesium wire, you threw the light upon the door in
Catchpole Square. That is how it was done?"
"Yes."
"To strike a match requires two hands, one to hold the box, the other
to hold the match. You admit that?"
"Yes."
"So that, having brought forward your flashlight device, you had to
set it down before you could strike the match?"
"Yes."
"And then you had to lift the box again before you could apply the
flame of the match to the magnesium wire. Do you expect us to believe
that all these operations were executed simultaneously and
instantaneously?"
"No, I do not."
"Good. Timing these various processes of thought and action, we may
assume that they occupied a couple of minutes?"
"Not so long."
"A minute and a half? I don't think I can accept less than a minute
and a half for the accomplishment of the work I have described?"
"Say a minute and a half."
"I accept it. And all this time the man was standing at the door,
waiting for you?"
"Again, these are your words, not mine."
"Do you realise how long a minute and a half is to a murderer under
these circumstances? It is an eternity. Place yourself in the position
of the man, and time it by your watch. How slowly the seconds pass!
Between each there is a thrill of agony. I put it to you that it is
incredible that a murderer, in fear of momentary detection, eager to
make a swift escape from the scene of his horrible crime, standing in
a place so lonely and deserted as Catchpole Square, would remain for
so long a time at the door in suspense?"
"He must have done so, for I witnessed it."
"I pass to another subject. I am anxious, like yourself, to adhere to
fact. Cast your eyes around the court; let them rest upon the seat you
vacated to take your place in the witness box. Close to that seat do
you see Dr. Vinsen?"
"I do not." Not a muscle in Dr. Pye's face moved as he gave this
answer.
"You see the man I am pointing at, the man next to whom you have been
seated these last two hours. Is not that man Dr. Vinsen?"
"He is not."
"Who is he, then?"
"His name is Ezra Lynn."
Unable to control herself, Mrs. Death rose and exclaimed,
"It is not true! It is Dr. Vinsen!"
A wave of excitement passed over the court; the spectators craned
their necks, exclamations of astonishment escaped their lips, and for
a few moments all was confusion. When order was restored, Mr. Pallaret
said,--
"I have done with you for the present, Dr. Pye. I must ask your
worship not to allow the witness, or any of the witnesses, to leave
the court."
The Magistrate: "They will all remain. The officers will see to it."
Apparently unmoved and unruffled, Dr. Pye returned to his seat. Those
of the spectators who were in a position to see observed a smile on
his lips.
Mr. Pallaret, turning to the magistrate, then said that it was not
customary in such cases as the present for the defence to make a long
speech in a police court, but he was induced by special circumstances
to deviate from the usual custom, and he was influenced also by the
accused, whose earnest desire it was that all their proceedings should
be made public with as little delay as possible. The only important
witness brought forward by the prosecution against Mr. Reginald Boyd
was Dr. Pye, and he should be able to prove that this witness was
utterly unworthy of credit. Evidence of a startling nature would be
presented which would suggest the gravest doubts in connection with
him. (At this moment a slight bustle took place in court, caused by
the hurried entrance of a messenger bearing a note for Mr. Pallaret.
The learned counsel paused to receive and read the note, and then
wrote a line in reply, which was handed to the messenger, who
immediately departed.)
"I do not disguise from your worship," continued Mr. Pallaret, "that
my object is to obtain the immediate acquittal of the accused at your
hands, or, in the event of their being committed for trial, to show
that the case against them is so flimsy and unreliable, that to refuse
bail would be a distinct injustice. Stripped of the defence which I am
in a position to make, I admit that the circumstantial evidence would
be sufficiently strong to render their detention necessary, but even
without the defence it would not be strong enough to prove their
guilt. I take the opportunity of emphasising the extreme danger that
lies in evidence of this character. One of our greatest writers has
said, 'Circumstances may accumulate so strongly even against an
innocent man, that, directed, sharpened, and pointed, they may slay
him.' Such might have been the issue of the charge brought against the
men I am defending, but happily they are in a position to meet it in a
conclusive manner, and, I do not hesitate to say, to prove their
innocence. Although not quite relevant to the issue affecting
themselves, I cannot refrain from saying that in establishing their
innocence they will also establish the innocence of an absent man
against whom the finger of suspicion has been pointed. I refer to Mr.
Abel Death. With respect to one of the accused I shall unfold a story
which has in it many of the elements of romance."
Mr. Pallaret then described the part which Dick had played in the
Mystery. With breathless interest the spectators listened to the
recital, the effect of which was heightened by the eloquence of the
narrator.
"Mr. Richard Remington" (proceeded Mr. Pallaret), "convinced of the
innocence of his cousin's husband, recognising the dangerous position
in which he stood, and with a certain suspicion in his mind, conceived
and carried out a plan as novel, as ingenious, and as _bizarre_, as
has ever been disclosed in a court of justice. On two nights, when he
was in the house of the murdered man, he had observed that a
flashlight had been thrown upon the windows from the back room of the
house inhabited by Dr. Pye. He resolved to present a problem to that
person. As skilful in disguise--I may mention that he had been a short
time on the stage--as the villain who personated Samuel Boyd, and
robbed Lady Wharton of her jewels in Bournemouth, he dressed himself
in a suit of Samuel Boyd's clothes, and, in theatrical parlance, 'made
up' his face to resemble that of the murdered man. Thus disguised he
stationed himself at the front window of Samuel Boyd's house, and upon
more than one occasion experienced the satisfaction of having the
flashlight thrown upon him. He put into execution another and a bolder
idea, the successful result of which led to his arrest under
circumstances which you have heard described by Constable Applebee and
Detective Lambert. He was convinced that persons found access to the
house by some means and in some way unknown to him. If his suspicions
were verified the natural conclusion would be that those persons (I
use the plural advisedly) were the murderers. He determined to set
watch for them, and to remain hidden in the house for several days and
nights. In order to carry this out successfully, and to throw dust
into the eyes of the suspected persons, he affixed a notice to the
street door, to the effect that he would be absent from the house for
some time.
"In the room on the first floor which had been used as an office there
is, among other singular articles, the wax figure of a Chinaman,
suitably attired. This figure is sitting in a hooded chair, what is
called, I believe, a grandmother's chair. Mr. Remington had procured
from a theatrical costumier in Covent Garden the mask of a Chinaman's
face and a costume similar to that which clothed the wax figure. His
design was, when he heard sounds of any person or persons moving in
any part of the house, to place the wax figure in a cupboard in the
office, and take its place. It was a bold and hazardous design,
fraught with danger to himself, but, determined if possible to bring
the miscreants to justice, he allowed no considerations for his
personal safety to stand in his way. He entered the house on the
Thursday night of last week, and did not leave it until the Monday
night of this week. Animated by his high resolve, stern and fixed in
his purpose, behold him in that lonely house, on the watch! Thursday
and Friday nights passed, and nothing occurred. Neither was he
disturbed on the nights of Saturday and Sunday. He remained there in
absolute darkness, confident that the time would come.
"And here let me offer my tribute of praise and admiration for the
courage, the patience, I may say the heroism he displayed during this
long vigil, this arduous and almost sleepless watch, undertaken out of
affection for the family to which he is related, and to prove the
innocence of a man falsely accused of a horrible crime.
"On Monday night, or rather at about two o'clock on Tuesday morning,
his patience was rewarded. He heard sounds in the passage below which,
faint as they were, denoted that he was not now alone in the house. He
had already assumed his disguise and removed the wax figure of the
Chinaman from the chair. All he had to do was to take its place. The
back of the hooded chair being towards the door he could not see who
entered when it was softly opened. Nor could he distinguish the voices
of the men, for they spoke in whispers. They moved about the room in
their stocking feet, and from the few words that reached his ears he
gathered that they had come once more to search for the jewels which
Lady Wharton had given Mr. Samuel Boyd on the night of her visit to
him. Now, I call your attention to the last words of the document
written by the unfortunate man on that fatal night--'Notation 2647.'
Mr. Remington did not dare to turn his head to watch the movements of
the men as they moved about the room. Disappointed in their search one
of the men, in his passion, shook the hooded chair so violently that
the cane in the hand of the supposed wax figure--which Mr. Remington
also held, in order to completely carry out the deception--slipped
from his grasp to the ground. The man who picked it up pressed, by
accident, one of the raised letters in the knob of the cane. This
pressure caused the figure 2 to spring up. In a state of intense
excitement the man drew his companion's attention to the circumstance,
and made a reference to the notation, thus proving that he was
familiar with it. He had pressed the letter B, the second in the
alphabet, and it had released the figure 2. He pressed the sixth
letter, F, and the figure 6 was released, the fourth letter, D, and
the figure 4 was released, and the seventh letter, G, releasing the
figure 7, the notation was complete, 2647. Mr. Remington, his sense of
hearing preternaturally sharpened, heard the whispered comments of the
men as figure after figure was released, and heard the click of the
silver knob as it sprang up and revealed to the delighted eyes of the
conspirators the jewels which had been concealed in the hollow of
the cane. Thanks to Mr. Remington's prompt action their delight was
short-lived. You will recollect that at this hour on Monday night a
storm was raging, and that the lightning was very vivid. What followed
was the work of a moment. Mr. Remington started to his feet, and as he
did so a flash of lightning illumined the scene. One of the
conspirators held in his hand a lighted candle, the other the cane
containing the treasure. He seized the cane, and dashed the lighted
candle to the ground, thereby plunging the room in darkness, all the
blacker because of the lightning flash that had passed through it, and
flew into the passage and out of the house, to fall into the hands of
Constable Applebee. It is unfortunate that in that brief moment of
rapid and resolute action he did not see the faces of the
conspirators, but he has his suspicions who they were, and has
communicated them to me. Before these proceedings are ended we may see
those suspicions verified. I have now related the true story of Mr.
Remington's adventures, with all its strange and remarkable episodes,
and with the trite remark that truth is stranger than fiction I will
call the witnesses for the defence."
The first witness was the costumier in Covent Garden, who testified to
Dick's purchase of the Chinese mask and costume. He thought they were
for the stage. Such purchases were made of him every day.
The next witness was Mrs. Abel Death, who, despite her distress, gave
her evidence of the disappearance of her husband and her search for
him in a fairly clear manner. When she was questioned as to the
disappearance of her daughter Gracie, the counsel for the prosecution
intervened, and contended that these private domestic matters had
nothing to do with the case. Mr. Pallaret, answering that before he
was done he would show that they had a direct bearing upon it, was
allowed to proceed.
"Now, Mrs. Death, on the day on which you made your application in
this Court respecting your husband's disappearance you were visited by
a person who introduced himself as a doctor. What name did he give?"
"Dr. Vinsen, sir."
"He spoke of Dr. Pye as his intimate friend?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do you see Dr. Vinsen in Court at the present moment?"
"Yes, sir, I see him."
Mr. Pallaret: "Let the man seated next to Dr. Pye stand up."
With evident reluctance, and vainly endeavouring to conceal his
agitation, Dr. Vinsen stood up.
"Is that Dr. Vinsen?"
"Yes, sir, that is the gentleman."
"But Dr. Pye, his intimate friend, declares he is not Dr. Vinsen?"
"I can't help that, sir. He _is_ Dr. Vinsen."
"You swear it?"
"I swear it, sir."
"Is there the slightest doubt in your mind?"
"Not the slightest, sir."
"Can you give me any reason why Dr. Pye, Dr. Vinsen's intimate friend,
should say he had not seen him for some days past?"
"No, sir, I can't make it out."
"In his visits to you did you have any conversation about the murder?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did he make any reference to Mr. Reginald Boyd and Mr. Richard
Remington in connection with it?"
"Yes, sir. It was his opinion, he said, that Mr. Reginald Boyd did it,
and that Mr. Remington was mixed up with it, and that, to keep off
suspicion from themselves, they were trying to throw it on my poor
husband."
"Did you believe it?"
"I didn't know what to believe, sir, I've been that distracted."
"I sincerely pity you; but do not lose heart. Did your daughter Gracie
believe it----but stop, I must put it another way. Did your daughter
Gracie say anything to you on the subject?"
"Yes, sir. She said she didn't believe it. The poor child didn't like
Dr. Vinsen."
"That is all, Mrs. Death."
No questions being asked by the counsel for the prosecution, Mrs.
Death's place was taken by Mr. Rawdon, whose face was very white when
he stepped into the box.
"You were one of the jury at the inquest held upon the body of Mr.
Samuel Boyd?"
"I was."
"You are acquainted with Mr. Ezra Lynn?"
"I have had business dealings with him."
"Borrowed money of him?"
"Yes."
"I will trouble Mr. Ezra Lynn, or Dr. Vinsen, to stand up again. Thank
you. Is that Mr. Ezra Lynn?"
"Yes."
"Not Dr. Vinsen?"
"I don't know Dr. Vinsen."
"The inquest extended over a period of eleven days. Now, I ask you
whether, during those eleven days, you had frequent communication with
Mr. Ezra Lynn?"
"I saw him once or twice."
"Be careful. Did you not see him six or seven times?"
"Probably."
"You owe him a large sum of money?"
"I owe him money."
"He holds an execution over all your goods and furniture which he can
put into execution at any moment? No evasions, sir!"
"Yes."
"On those six or seven occasions on which you saw Mr. Lynn while the
inquest was in progress what was the subject of conversation between
you?"
"The money I owe him."
"Nothing else? Not the murder?"
"It was mentioned. Everybody was talking of it."
"Now, there is no obligation upon you to answer the question I am
about to put, but if you reply I warn you to bear in mind that you are
upon your oath. In the course of your conversations with the man who
could sell you up at a moment's notice, did he express a wish that a
particular verdict should be returned, and did he supply you with any
information concerning Mr. Reginald Boyd to guide you in furthering
that wish? You are silent. Do you decline to answer?"
"Yes, I do. It has nothing to do with the case. Everybody has an
opinion about the murder."
"I am not asking you about his opinion, but about his wish, and about
certain information with which he supplied you. You are still silent.
We shall know what construction to place upon your refusal to give a
plain answer to a plain question. You can return to your seat, Mr.
Rawdon, unless counsel for the prosecution desires to cross-examine
you."
Mr. Marlow: "I have no questions to ask the witness; and I may add
that I fail to see the drift of several of the questions my learned
friend has put to the witnesses."
Mr. Pallaret: "When I have finished it will be seen that there is not
a question I have put which is not justified. In all my experience I
have never known so foul a conspiracy as that which I hope to lay
bare. Call Joseph Pitou."
The foreign gentleman with the curled moustache who had been stationed
behind Dr. Pye left his seat, and made his way to the witness box, and
for the first time Dr. Pye had a full view of his swarthy face. They
gazed steadily at each other, and for so long a time that it seemed to
be a challenge which should drop his eyes first. This strange and
steadfast gaze drew upon the two actors the attention of every person
in Court. At length, with a gesture expressive of satisfaction, Joseph
Pitou turned to Mr. Pallaret, who had watched the scene so earnestly
that it almost appeared as if he were also playing a part in it.