The learned gentleman sat down after having produced a terrible effect upon the minds of the jury; but the judge, who was accustomed to such speeches, and moreover hungry, interrupted the further proceedings by inquiring, in the most commonplace tone in the world, if the evidence for the prosecution could be got through that night. There seemed some doubt upon the subject; and as it was now late; for the counsel had spoken very slowly, his lordship suggested that it would be better to take the evidence of one witness, and then adjourn to the following day. The testimony given was of little importance, for it only went to prove the identity of Chandos Winslow with John Acton--a fact which there was no intention of denying; and after it had been heard the court rose.
CHAPTER XXX.
There had been long and anxious consultations during the evening upon the case of Chandos Winslow: first came the question whether the objection to the indictment should be pressed; and it was ultimately agreed that it should not be altogether abandoned, although the leader seemed much more confident of making a good defence than his junior. Then came the important question of cross-examination; and Sir ----, with tact and delicacy, but in a very decided manner, pointed out the course which he thought it would be necessary to pursue, and the objects that he wanted to establish.
"Our good friend, the serjeant," he said, speaking to the younger lawyer, "thought he had made a hit this morning in regard to the gipsey boy; but he was doing our work for us. We must endeavour, my dear Sir, to-morrow, instead of shaking the boy's testimony, to render it as precise as possible, so as to leave not the slightest doubt that the murder was committed between ten minutes or a quarter past five and half-past five; and we must endeavour to get from the old woman--Humphries, I think, is her name," and he looked at his notes--"an admission that Mr. Winslow might have left the cottage some minutes before five. For these two objects we must try, more than for anything else."
"I almost think that the game is rash," said the junior; "but you know best."
"We are positively precluded," replied the great barrister, "from the straightforward course of defence. I, individually, am placed in the most awkward position as the friend of the prisoner. I believe I ought not to have seen him at all; but my regard for him overcame my prudence; and when I did see him, he made communications to me which, while they left no doubt of his innocence greatly embarrassed me, under the circumstances, as to the defence. Those circumstances I cannot explain, even to you, my dear friend, all legal etiquettes, notwithstanding; but you will forgive me when you know that he bound me by a solemn promise not to reveal them to any one."
The conference did not terminate till late; and the little solicitor was in a mighty fuss from having found that the general opinion of the bar was decidedly against his client; a matter of no slight importance, be it remarked; for the bar is very seldom wrong.
On the following morning, at the usual hour, the judge took his seat, and the jury their places; the court was even more crowded than on the day before, and the prisoner was once more placed in the dock. No change had taken place in his appearance, except, perhaps, that he was even a shade graver. He asked, however, to be permitted the use of a chair, and to be furnished with pen, ink, and paper, which was granted to him. The name of James Wilson was then called, and one of Mr. Tracy's footmen got into the box. I shall give his testimony in his own words:--"I am a servant in the employment of Mr. Tracy, of Northferry House. I was so on the fifth of February last. I remember on that day, about five in the evening, a gentleman coming to the door and asking me if I could tell him where to find Acton, the head-gardener. I answered that I could not, for that he had been absent for some time, by Mr. Tracy's leave. The gentleman seemed very much vexed, and I think said, 'How unfortunate!' But Mr. Jones, my master's valet, who was crossing the hall at the time, came up, and said, 'No, no, Wilson; he came back this afternoon.' And then turning to the gentleman, he said, 'If you go through that glass-door, Sir, and across the lawn, you will most likely find him somewhere in the grounds. If not, he must be at his cottage in the lane just beyond; any of the gardener's men will show you the way.' The gentleman then crossed over, as he had been directed, and went out into the grounds. I had never seen him before, but I remarked his face well. I never saw him afterwards alive; but the same night, about ten o'clock, I was called upon, with several more, to go down to a tool-house not far from the fish-pond, and I then first heard that the body of a dead man had been found and conveyed thither. The moment I saw the corpse, I knew it was that of the gentleman who had been inquiring for Acton. The body did not seem to have been rifled; and some money, a pocket-book, a watch, and a pair of spectacles, were taken from it by Mr. Tracy, as well as several loose papers; all of which he gave to Taylor, the butler, to keep, telling him to mark them, and, as I understood him, to give them to the constable. After looking at the body, we all went down to the place where the under-gardener had found it; we looked, as well as we could by the light of a lantern, for steps, but we could not find much then. As we were looking for the marks of steps, I found what they call a Dutch hoe, the iron part of which was covered with blood, and there was some gray hair sticking about it. When we went back to the tool-house where the body lay, Mr. Tracy sent for Acton, the head-gardener, who came up directly; he walked straight up to the body, when he was told a man had been found murdered in the grounds; and, in answer to a question from Mr. Tracy, said, he knew the dead man quite well, that his name was Mr. Roberts, and that he was agent to the late Sir Harry Winslow. He seemed very sad, but quite calm and cool. I see the person I call Acton in the court. He is the prisoner in the dock. I cannot say whether he was surprised or not; he certainly looked horrified. Mr. Tracy showed him the hoe, and asked him whose it was. He replied immediately that it was his, and said, that he had left it leaning against one of the pillars by the fish-pond, while he spoke a few words to Miss Rose Tracy; he also said that he had quitted the garden immediately after speaking with Miss Rose."
"Did he make any remarks upon the hoe?" asked the examining counsel.
"He took it up," answered the witness, "looked at it for a minute, and then said the murder must have been committed with this."