Pansarta inclined his head.
“There may be a good deal in what you say. But—— Well, it is of no consequence now, in any case. The charge against the man, the Wolf, must be dismissed. He must be released. The girl, too, must go her way. It is the only possible course for the Court to take.”
It was interesting. Croisette had foreseen the decision. While his knowledge of the law was not comparable with that of the other man at the table, his instinct was unerring. He watched the two counsels as the judge gave his decision. A half smile played about the grim lips of John Danson. But the other gave no sign. He sat with his eyes lowered to the sheet of paper on the table before him.
The Judge pursued his subject in the detached fashion of a mind absorbed in his problem.
“It is a case where we have to rule ourselves entirely by the laws of evidence. That which we believe ourselves, that of which any of us may be morally certain, must not be allowed to influence. Constable Sinclair has been undoubtedly murdered. He was murdered by a shot fired from a gun belonging to this Wolf. The bullet has been recovered and proves to be identical with the cartridges found in the sleeping room of the Wolf. We know that these people, both of them, are intimately interested in the death of the murdered man. And the logic of the case points to one of them as the murderer. That is all so. But in dealing with the case we are brought up against a position, which, under the laws of evidence, prevents us pursuing the trial to its logical end.”
Pansarta cleared his throat, and something of his absorption passed. He glanced at the faces about the table.
“What is it?” he went on quickly. “The man refuses to plead. He remains dumb, mute. He will utter no word to help in his defence. The only evidence which the prosecution can bring against him is the evidence of the girl, Annette. True, it is direct evidence, and very complete, but its only other support is circumstantial. When our friend Danson gets after this girl and drives her into a corner, and appeals to her womanhood, what is the result? She breaks down. She flings her whole story to the winds of heaven and confesses herself to having committed the crime. Nor is it a bald confession. She gives it in detail and reveals her reasons. When this happens the man breaks his silence. Instantly he denies her confession. And then proceeds to claim for himself the very crime the prosecution has striven to bring home to him. And his story of the murder is no less convincing than the woman’s.”
“Well, gentlemen, we cannot go into a long dissertation on the laws of evidence now. You know them as well as I do. We all know they will not admit of two people, separately and alone, killing the same man, at the same time, with the same gun, and the same shot. That is clear. Furthermore they will not permit of a man being hanged for a crime confessed to by another without that confession is clearly proved untrue, even though he can make his own confession appear true. In short, had these two wild people acted in collusion they could have designed no better way of confounding justice.”
The calmly smiling face was turned again to the brilliant sunbeam, and the thought behind the Judge’s pleasant eyes was very busy.
“Let us take the girl Annette,” he continued. “If her confession were true, which I am convinced it is not, then her evidence against the man falls to the ground as a mass of perjury. If her evidence is true, then her confession is not. Then consider the man. He is silent. He neither denies guilt nor admits it. Not a word passes his lips. He not only submits to the woman’s accusations, but actually seems to welcome them. He even goes to the length of warning her against his own counsel, the counsel for his defence. In fact, he tacitly welcomes the hanging confronting him. Why?”