THE WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE
The next witness called was Mrs. Morse, who told briefly how she had
been placed in charge of the upper part of the Langmore mansion shortly
after the tragedy, and how she had been watching Margaret. She said
the girl had had only a few visitors, mentioning Raymond Case and a
stranger from New York.
"Who was the stranger?" asked Coroner Busby.
"A Mr. Adams. He's either a lawyer or a detective."
"Oh!"
"I brought Mr. Adams to see Miss Langmore," put in Raymond. "Wasn't
that all right?"
"Certainly--certainly," answered the coroner hastily.
"I have kept the best watch on Miss Langmore that I could," went on the
woman. "You told me to do it."
"Has Miss Langmore had anything to say about her father?"
"She seems to be very sorry that he is dead."
"What did she say about Mrs. Langmore?"
"She does not seem to care much about her stepmother."
"Have you discovered anything unusual, Mrs. Morse, that had to do with
this tragedy?"
"Well, I don't know. I have looked around a bit, and among other
things I found this. It was in Miss Langmore's dressing case."
As she spoke the woman held up a small bottle. It was marked
chloroform and was empty.
"Anything else?"
"With the empty bottle I found the half of a big silk handkerchief. It
was wrapped around the bottle and had Miss Langmore's monogram in the
corner. I went on hunting around the house and I found the other half
of the handkerchief in a dark corner of the upper hallway, not far from
where Mrs. Langmore's body was found."
At this announcement there was a buzz of excitement. All present
looked at the witness and then at Margaret. The girl had thrown aside
her veil once more, and was standing up, with a face as pale as death
itself.
"I--I--may I speak?" she faltered.
"Yes."
"I bought that chloroform a month ago and used it to put a sick canary
and a sick parrot out of their misery. Mary Billings saw me chloroform
the parrot."
"When did you do the chloroforming?"
"About a week ago, on the parrot. The canary I chloroformed when I
obtained the drug."
"Sure, and that's roight, sur," broke in the servant girl.
"Then you know all about using chloroform?" remarked the coroner dryly.
"The druggist told me."
"Did it take all you had for the birds?"
"No."
"What did you do with what remained?"
"I threw it away, for I had no further use for it."
"Hum." The coroner turned to Mary Billings. "Did you see her throw
the chloroform away?"
"N--no," stammered the servant girl. "But if she says she did, she
did," she added stoutly.
"Now, Mrs. Morse, did you find anything else of value?"
"I did not, but Mrs. Gaspard, who was in charge downstairs, did."
"Very well, you may step down. Mrs. Gaspard!" And the other woman
came forward to face the coroner and his jury, and was sworn.
"Mrs. Morse says you found something of importance. What was it?"
"It was this, Mr. Busby," and the woman held out a sheet of note paper.
"I came across it on the stairs leading to Miss Langmore's room. Shall
I read it?" And as the coroner nodded, the woman read as follows:
"Since you refuse to open your room door to me, let me give you fair
warning. You must either obey your mother that now is, and me, or
leave this house. I have had enough of your willfulness and I shall
not put up with it any longer."
As the woman finished reading she handed the paper to the coroner.
"Ahem! Mrs. Gaspard, do you know who wrote this note?" asked the
latter.
"The handwriting is exactly like Mr. Langmore's. I have compared the
two, and so have Mrs. Morse and Mr. Pickerell, the schoolmaster."
Again all eyes were bent upon Margaret. She had again arisen and was
swaying from side to side.
"My father--never--never sent me--never wrote such a note--" she
gasped, and then sank back and would have fallen had not Raymond
supported her.
"A glass of water, quick!" cried the young man, and it was handed to
him, and also a bottle of smelling salts. In a moment more Margaret
revived.
"Take me away," she moaned.
"I am sorry, but that cannot be allowed," replied the coroner. "You
will have to remain until this session is over."
"It's an outrage!" exclaimed Raymond, his eyes flashing. "You are all
against her, and you are going to prove her guilty if you possibly can.
The whole proceedings is a farce."
"Silence, young man, or I'll have you removed by an officer. You have
interrupted the proceedings several times. I do not know what interest
you have--"
"I am not ashamed to tell you of my interest, sir. I am engaged to
this young lady. I know she is innocent. It is preposterous to
imagine that she would kill her own father. They loved each other too
much."
"Yes, but this note--" piped in Mrs. Gaspard. She was a strong
believer in Margaret's guilt.
"I know nothing about that. It may be a forgery. I know Miss Langmore
is innocent."
"To merely say a thing does not prove it," came from the coroner. "We
want facts, nothing else--and we are bound to have 'em." He began to
warm up also. "I'm here to do my duty, regardless of you or anybody
else. I ain't going to shield anybody, rich or poor, high or low,
known or unknown! Now, you sit down, and let the inquest proceed."
And Raymond sat down, but with a great and growing bitterness filling
his heart. He looked at Margaret and saw that she was trembling from
head to foot.
There was an awkward pause.
"Mrs. Gaspard, did Mr. Pickerell say he thought Mr. Langmore had
written this note?" questioned the coroner.
"He said the two handwritings were exactly alike. Here is a letter
written and signed by Mr. Langmore. You can compare the two, if you
wish."
The letter was passed over and not only the coroner, but also his jury,
looked at both documents carefully.
"Pretty much the same thing," whispered one man.
"Exactly the same," added another, and the rest nodded.
The coroner looked around the courtroom and then at the jury.
"Have any of you any questions to ask?" he queried of the men. "If not
we'll take a brief recess until Doctor Bardon returns."
One after another the jurors shook their heads. Whatever the coroner
did was sufficient for them. Coroner Busby had picked men he knew
would agree with him.
The recess had lasted but a few minutes, when Doctor Bardon reappeared.
His face wore a knowing look that was almost triumphant.
"You will please take the stand again, doctor," was the request. "I
wish to ask you if a person could be smothered by chloroform."
"Certainly, under certain conditions."
"Do you think it possible that Mr. and Mrs. Langmore could have been
smothered in that way?"
"Possibly, yes, although I did not see any traces."
"Would there have been traces?"
"Yes and no--it would depend on circumstances."
"Hum. Now about the diamond ring belonging to Miss Langmore, which I
gave you a short while ago to examine? Have you--ahem--examined it?"
"I have, and so has Doctor Soper. We used a magnifying glass and made
several tests."
"Did you find anything unusual?"
"We did. In the first place two of the prongs which hold the diamond
in place are bent out and up in such a fashion that each forms a sharp
point. We next looked under the stone and found there a substance
which both of us are convinced is a bit of dried-up blood."
"You are sure it is blood?"
"Yes. I can illustrate it scientifically, if you desire."
"It will not be necessary just now. When you say blood do you mean
human blood?"
At this the young physician shrugged his shoulders.
"I am not prepared to go as far as that. We should have to make
another test. The amount was so very small."
"Might be blood from a mosquito," muttered Raymond. "There are enough
around here."
"You may think as you please," said the young doctor. "I am only
stating the facts."
"Have you anything else to say, doctor?" came from the coroner.
"Nothing more. Here is the ring. We have kept what we found under the
stone."
"Very well. Miss Langmore, you may have the ring back." It was passed
out and Raymond took it and slipped it back on Margaret's hand, which
was cold and nerveless. The girl was sitting as motionless as a marble
statue.
There was another pause and then, one after another, several minor
witnesses were brought up and examined. At four o'clock the coroner
began to sum up the evidence, to which the jury listened with close
attention. Then the jurors filed out into a side room, the door to
which was tightly closed.
"Is--is it over?" faltered Margaret. "Wha--what will they do next?"
"We must wait for the finding of the jury, Margaret."
"How long will that take?"
"I don't know."
"Mr. Adams did not show himself. I thought he would help us in some
way."
"He must have a good reason for staying away."
"What do you think the jury will do?"
At this direct question, the young man gave an inward groan. "I don't
know," he answered in an unnatural voice. "We must hope for the best."
In less than an hour it was announced that the jury had arrived at a
verdict. Those who had left the courtroom returned and the jurymen
filed in. The excitement was subdued, but plainly at a white heat.
The coroner took his place at the desk.
"Gentlemen of the jury, have you agreed upon a verdict?" was the
question put.
"We have," was the unanimous answer.
"Who will speak for you?"
"Mr. Blackwell, our foreman."
"Very well. Ahem! Mr. Blackwell, what is the verdict?"
Mr. Blackwell, a well-known citizen of the town, stood up. The
courtroom became intensely silent.
"We find that Mr. and Mrs. Barry Langmore came to their deaths either
by being smothered, chloroformed, poisoned, or in some similar fashion,
the direct means not yet being brought to light, and we find that the
evidence points to Margaret Langmore as the one who committed the
murders."
Hardly was the verdict rendered than a wild cry rang out through the
courtroom. Margaret staggered to her feet, put out her hands in an
uncertain fashion, and then dropped senseless into Raymond's arms.