Witness: I was not there, my Lord, at the time. I merely repeat what Mr. Grewgious told me.
Judge: You attribute it to a violent metaphor on the part of Mr. Grewgious?
Witness: It is right that I should put the Jury in possession of all matters.
A Juryman (Mr. William Archer): May I ask where Mr. Grewgious is in the meantime? Met with a violent death?
Mr. Chesterton: If the Jury will look at the Official Record——
The Foreman: I am sorry to explain, my Lord, that all our documents have gone, covered with our autographs. (Further copies of the Official Documents were handed to the Jury by the Clerk of Arraigns.)
Mr. Chesterton: If the Jury have the Document, they will see the last paragraph but one explains the matter. (To Witness.) You then saw Mr. Grewgious. What did Mr. Grewgious say?
Witness: What he said was this: that he personally very strongly suspected Jasper, but that Drood’s recollections as to what happened on that evening were so confused and incoherent that any testimony he might have to give would not either clear Landless, or incriminate Jasper. He therefore said this: that if Landless were committed for trial it would be necessary to produce Drood, but failing that, he had better keep his continued existence a secret until matters had died down at Cloisterham, and until Jasper thought he was entirely secure.
Mr. Chesterton: And therefore, what was Mr. Grewgious’s plan?
Witness: His plan was this: that if I went down to Cloisterham prosecuting inquiries there, I should detect Jasper.