CHAPTER XII
FOR AND AGAINST
There was a moment of intense silence throughout the courtroom. Every eye was turned on Mary Billings, who pursed up her lips more closely than ever.
"You'll not answer?" thundered Coroner Busby.
"Mr. Coroner," began Raymond, rising, "is it legally necessary that she answer? Remember, she is here without proper legal council."
"Silence! I—ahem—yes, she must answer, or I shall have to commit her, as a witness if for nothing else. Girl, are you going to answer or not?"
"Sure, an' Oi—"
"Chief, will you call a policeman?" went on the coroner, turning to the chief of police.
He was a fairly good judge of human character. At the sight of the bluecoat the domestic wilted and began to sob.
"Ohone! Ohone! don't take me to prison!" she wailed.
"You prefer to answer?"
"Yis, if Oi must. But Oi think Miss Margaret the swatest little lady—"
"Never mind that. When did the girl and her stepmother quarrel last? Come now, tell me the plain truth," and the coroner put as much of sternness as possible in his voice.
"Well, thin, if yez has got to know, it was on the marnin' av the murders, sur," sniffled the servant girl.
"When was this?"
"Right afther breakfast. They had some words at the table, too."
"What was said? Repeat the exact words if you can," and the coroner leaned forward expectantly, while many in the courtroom held their breath.
"Mrs. Langmore said she wished Miss Margaret was off the face of the earth, an' that she'd be afther seein' that the dear girrul wasn't in the house much longer. 'Twas a very bitter scene, an' me heart wint out to the dear girrul—"
"And what did Miss Margaret reply to that?"
"She said it was her father's house, an' she would stay as long as her father wished her to. An' it was her father's house, too."
"And after that?"
"A whole lot more followed, which Oi didn't catch, fer Oi am no avesdropper. But Oi did hear Mrs. Langmore, in a perfect rage, cry out that she'd kill Miss Margaret if the girrul didn't moind her."
"And then?"
"Miss Margaret said she would do as she pl'ased—that she was her own mistress—an' Oi was glad to hear her say it. Mrs. Langmore went on wid her quarrel—sure, an' she had the divil's own tongue, so she had. Thin she must have caught hould av Miss Margaret, fer Oi heard the girrul cry out to lit go or she'd stroike her down. Thin there was more wurruds, hotter an' hotter, an' Mrs. Langmore said she would make the girrul mind as sure as fate, an' thin Miss Margaret got roused up an' she said fer Mrs. Langmore to beware, that she had Southern blood in her veins, an' she wouldn't be accountable fer what she did, if her stepmother wint too far."
There was a pause, and a murmur ran the round of the little courtroom. The testimony seemed to be highly important and many shook their heads. The girl and her stepmother had certainly had a bitter quarrel, the girl had hot Southern blood in her veins, and the bitterness had ended in the tragedy. In the minds of many it was only a question of what the extenuating circumstances might be.
"Was Mr. Langmore present at this quarrel?" asked the coroner, after another pause.
"He was at the breakfast table, but afther that he wint to the bank."
"Did you hear anything more?"
"Not right away, sur. Oi wint to me work. Whin Mr. Langmore came from the bank Oi heard him talkin' to Miss Margaret."
"What was said then?"
"Oi dunno exactly, exceptin' that he said he was sorry she an' her stepmother had quarreled, an' he wanted her to make it up wid his woife."
"And what did Miss Margaret say to that?"
"She said that all she wanted was to be left alone."
"What else?"
"Oi didn't hear anything more, as Oi wint to the ciller fer coal. By an' by Oi see Miss Margaret in the garden cryin'. Oi wanted to go to her, but Mrs. Langmore kim to the kitchen an' Oi had to attind to me wurruk."
"How did Mrs. Langmore seem to appear when she came to the kitchen?"
"Sure an' she was very excited an' findin' more fault than iver. She stayed only a few minutes, an' thin wint to the library, an' that was the very last Oi saw av her. Oi'm sorry she's dead, but she had that divil's own temper!" And the domestic heaved a long sigh.
"That will do. You may sit down." The coroner looked around the courtroom. "Is Doctor Bardon present?"
For reply the young physician came forward from one side of the room. He looked pale and slightly troubled. In a low voice he corroborated the testimony already given regarding the finding of the two bodies, and told what he had done in his effort to restore Mr. Langmore to life.
"I thought there might be a spark there still, but I was mistaken," he went on. "He looked so natural—and Mrs. Langmore looked natural, too, for the matter of that. But both were stone dead."
"What was the cause of death?"
"That is something of a mystery. I have tried my best to get at the bottom of it, but I cannot, nor can my colleague, Doctor Soper."
"Were the pair strangled, smothered, poisoned?" suggested the coroner.
"I have a theory that they were poisoned, but not in an ordinary way. Neither Doctor Soper nor myself could find any traces of ordinary poison."
"What is your theory?"
"Something was used to stupefy them, and so much was used that it killed them."
"In that case the murder might have been unintentional?"
"Yes. Somebody might have thought to stupefy Mr. Langmore and then rob him. But the drug, being too powerful, or used too long, might have done its deadly work. Then the crime may have been discovered by Mrs. Langmore and the murderer might have turned on her to conceal his first wrongdoing."
"Hum. Have you—ahem! any idea of the nature of the poison?"
"No, excepting that it had a very powerful odor. When I bent over Mr.
Langmore I got several whiffs of it and it made me sick at the stomach.
But the odor was soon gone."
"And you have no idea what the poison was?"
"No, nor has Doctor Soper. It may be something new, or something little known. Chemists are constantly discovering new things," went on the young physician, bound to clear himself of any suspicion of ignorance concerning medical matters.
"You found no marks of violence, as if there had been a struggle?"
"The only marks I found were two scratches on the right arm of Mrs. Langmore, right above the wrist, and a scratch on Mr. Langmore's left cheek."
"Finger nail scratches?"
"Possibly, or else they may have been made by a ring or bracelet—if there was a struggle."
"Hum! Have you anything else to tell, doctor?"
"I have not. I am willing to tell all I know."
There was another pause, as the young physician stepped back. The coroner was about to call one of the women set to guard Margaret and the Langmore mansion, when he suddenly turned.
"Miss Langmore, you will please take the stand again," he said, and the girl did so, throwing aside her veil. "Are you in the habit of wearing finger rings and bracelets?"
It was a leading question and several gasped as they heard it. Raymond started to rise up, but then sank back again.
"I do not wear bracelets," answered Margaret. "I have two rings."
"What kind of rings are they?"
"One is a plain gold band. It was my mother's wedding ring." The girl's voice sank low suddenly. "The other is a diamond ring, as you can see," and she held up her hand.
"Will you let me have the diamond ring?"
"Yes, sir." She took it off. "But please be careful of it, for it—it is very precious to me."
The coroner nodded. "That is all just now," and as Margaret let fall the veil again, he called Doctor Bardon to his side. A whispered conversation ensued, and the young physician left with the precious circlet—Margaret's engagement ring—in an envelope.
"Margaret, you should not have let him have that ring," whispered
Raymond.
"How could I help it?" was the low answer. "Oh, this is terrible! I feel as if everybody was trying to look me through and through!"
"I can't understand why Mr. Adams is not here," went on the young man. "Perhaps he has found some important clew and is following it up," he added hopefully.
"They are bound to convict me, Raymond! Isn't it horrible?"
"They shall never do it, never!" cried the young man. And then a sharp rapping on the desk terminated the brief conversation and restored quietness to the little courtroom.