The court convened promptly at nine o'clock the next morning. The first witness summoned by the judge advocate was Doctor Ward. After the usual preliminaries had been gone through with, he testified that he had reached Mrs. Lane's boarding house five minutes after Symonds' message had been delivered to him. He was shown at once to Captain Lloyd's room.
"I hastily examined Captain Lloyd, and found there was no hope of resuscitating him. He had apparently been dead for some hours," continued the doctor, in answer to a question put by the judge advocate. "I then turned my attention to Major Goddard, who was still lying on the floor. There were two single beds in the room, and Symonds and I lifted the major on to his, after I had dressed his wound."
"Kindly describe Major Goddard's condition when you first examined him."
"Major Goddard lay with his head on the hearth. Apparently in falling he had struck the side of his head against the sharp edge of the iron fender. It had made a jagged cut, which bled profusely. The blow undoubtedly stunned him; but I think his long unconsciousness was due to the loss of blood caused by a hemorrhage from the nose."
"What do you think caused his fall?"
"Possibly vertigo. The hemorrhage points to that. Major Goddard was in a weakened condition before his fall from wounds received about the head from an explosion of an old-fashioned pistol some time in February, which had blinded him."
"Is Major Goddard totally blind?"
"At present he is, sir."
"Is there then a prospect of his regaining his sight?"
"It is just possible." Ward's eyes traveled in Nancy's direction. "I do not consider his case entirely hopeless." He smiled in sympathy, as her eyes lighted with pleasure.