The usual formal questions as to his acquaintance with the dead man, his connection with the bank, etc., are asked and answered.
“I visited the bank in response to a note which I found when I returned home from my—from the postoffice,” Mr. Felton states.
“The note was from Mr. Hathaway?”
“It was.”
“And its contents?”
“The note merely said: ‘Come to the bank immediately.’”
“Have you the note with you?”
“No; I tore it up,” replies Mr. Felton, and the expression which accompanies his words is noted by Ashley, who is scanning narrowly the countenance of the banker.
“The note had been left at my house a short while before I returned home, my servant tells me,” proceeds Mr. Felton. “I went at once to the bank.” The witness has grown so agitated that he is obliged to seat himself, and his voice is hardly audible in the stilled room.
“The front door was slightly ajar and I walked through the bank to the directors’ room. The door to this apartment was locked; I unlocked it and entered. Mr. Hathaway lay face downward in the middle of the floor, I should think. I thought he might have fallen in a shock and went to lift him up, when I saw the blood. I felt for his pulse, but there was no motion.” The voice of the witness breaks as he utters these words and he covers his face with his handkerchief.