Samuel Boyd of Catchpole Square: A Mystery

by B. L. Farjeon

[AT THE MAGISTRATE'S COURT.]

There was an unusual bustle in the Bishop Street Police Court on Friday morning, every person who could gain admittance and every person in the crowds outside being on the tiptoe of expectation. Mr. Mallandaine, the magistrate, was in attendance early, and half-a-dozen minor cases of drunkenness were disposed of by eleven o'clock, before which time every seat was occupied, and there was not a vacant inch of standing room. If there had been any intention on the part of Dr. Pye and Mr. Ezra Lynn not to present themselves it was frustrated by the vigilance of Detective Lambert, who had stepped outside the boundary of his duties to secure their attendance. There was not a trace of discomposure on the countenance of Dr. Pye. In marked contrast to his composed demeanour was that of Mr. Ezra Lynn, who, while assuming an air of amused benevolence, was not entirely successful in concealing his inward agitation. No information had reached him as to whether he had been subp[oe]naed as a witness for the prosecution or the defence; he knew that this was irregular, but he did not dare disobey the summons. No token of recognition passed between him and Dr. Pye, although Lambert had man[oe]uvred that they should be seated next to each other. Immediately behind Dr. Pye sat an individual who might have been French or Italian; his swarthy complexion and curled moustache proclaimed him to be certainly not an Englishman. He took his seat, the position of which had also been arranged by Lambert, after the entrance of Dr. Pye, so that the former, who did not once turn his head, was not aware of his presence. Mr. Rawdon, the recalcitrant juror, was within hail, and manifestly as little at ease as Mr. Ezra Lynn. Near them sat Mrs. Abel Death, worn and haggard with anxiety, all her efforts to find Gracie having failed. Uncle and Aunt Rob and Florence were on another bench, and the eyes that rested on their suffering faces were filled with pity and kindly sympathy; and near them were seated Lady Wharton and her brother, Lord Fairfax. Mr. Higgins, in skull cap and list slippers, was also present.

There was scarcely elbow-room at the long narrow table below the magistrate's chair. Mr. Finnis, Q.C., representing her ladyship, was there, and Mr. Marlow for the prosecution, and Mr. Pallaret for the defence, with the solicitors engaged in the case, and the newspaper reporters, who were so numerous that accommodation could not be found for more than half of them; those who could not obtain seats stood at the back, and plied their pencils industriously.

A buzz of excitement ran through the Court as Reginald and Dick appeared in the dock. They were ushered in separately, and this was the first time they had met since Reginald's arrest, but messages had passed between them through friends and solicitors, and their first action now, as they stood side by side, was to hold out their hands in token of hearty friendship and confidence. Upon some of the spectators this friendly greeting produced a favourable impression; upon others the reverse. Of the two young men, it was clear that Reginald felt his position the more acutely; Dick had recovered his bright and cheery manner, and it was hard to believe that he stood charged with a horrible crime.

Upon the case being called, Mr. Pallaret rose and said that he appeared for both the accused. "In expressing the hope," added the learned counsel, "that the case for the prosecution will be fully disclosed, and in such a comprehensive manner as to enable your worship to decide to-day whether you will discharge the accused or commit them for trial, I am carrying out their strong wish, with which my own view of what is just and right coincides."

Mr. Mallandaine: "It is certainly advisable that a charge of this nature should not be kept hanging over the heads of the accused for an unreasonable length of time, but we have to be guided, to some extent, by the counsel for the prosecution."

Mr. Marlow: "There is no desire on our part for delay. In a matter of this grave import every opportunity for defence should be given to an accused person, and in our proceedings to-day I say frankly that I do not intend to hold anything back. At the conclusion of the evidence it will be for your worship to decide whether the facts disclosed are sufficient to warrant the committal of the prisoners. I venture to say that there have been few cases of the kind in which the circumstantial evidence is so strong and direct. I would point out to your worship that the case assumes a different complexion from that which it presented this day week. Then there was only one person charged, now there are two, and I shall be able to prove collusion in the committal of a murder as brutal as any which can be found in the whole calendar of crime. The arrest of the second prisoner, Richard Remington, cousin of the first, Reginald Boyd, instead of complicating the issue, has cleared it, for much that was mysterious is now capable of explanation. The medical evidence will establish that the murder was committed on the night of Friday, the 1st of March----"

Mr. Pallaret: "Or on the night of Saturday, the 2nd. My learned brother will see the point."

Mr. Marlow: "Yes, I see it, but I shall contend that it was committed on Friday, on which night Reginald Boyd visited his father, for the purpose, as he has himself admitted, of obtaining money from him, he being then, upon his own confession, in an impecunious state. The notes of his evidence at the inquest will be read to you----"

Mr. Pallaret: "It will shorten the proceedings by my admitting the visit and its purpose. Mr. Reginald Boyd gave his evidence of his own free will."