The Queen Against Owen Part 10

'You had a good many opportunities of seeing your mistress and Miss Owen together. Did they always seem to you to be on friendly, affectionate terms?'

'Yes, sir, always.'

'Thank you.'

This finished the butler's evidence, as Mr. Pollard wisely abstained from any re-examination.

He next proceeded to call the parlourmaid, Rebecca Rees.

A pretty, vain, pert-looking girl stepped into the box, and took hold of the Testament.

'Take off your glove,' said the clerk.

She did so with some difficulty, as the thing had about half a dozen b.u.t.tons to unfasten. Then she was sworn and proceeded to tell her story.

In a shrill voice, which visibly irritated the judge, she went on, and described how she had gone to bed, how she awoke at midnight and heard a sound proceeding from below.

'What was the nature of the sound?' asked the counsel who was examining her.

'It was a groan,' was the reply, 'like as if somebody was being hurt.'

The prisoner's counsel here hurriedly turned over the pages of his brief till he came to a certain place, where he made a note in the margin.

'What did you hear next?'

'I heard the prisoner going downstairs.'

The Judge: 'What do you mean? Could you see her?'

Witness: 'No, sir. I heard her.'

Mr. Pollard: 'She means she recognised the footsteps, my lord.'

The Judge: 'Don't interrupt me, please.' (_To witness_) 'Young woman, be careful. That is not the way to give evidence, as you know perfectly well. You mustn't tell us that you heard the prisoner. You heard footsteps; that's all.' (_A pause._) 'Now, Mr. Pollard, you can go on.'

Mr. Pollard: 'Did you recognise the footsteps?'

His lords.h.i.+p frowned and shrugged his shoulders.

Witness: 'I thought it was Miss Owen.'

Mr. Pollard: 'Well, now tell us what you did.'

The girl proceeded to describe how she had got up and gone down to the front-door.

'How was it fastened?' was the next question.

'It was on the latch. The bolts were drawn back, and it wasn't locked nor yet chained.'

'Did you see whether the latch was up or down?'

'I object!'

Mr. Tressamer had risen in a fresh burst of indignation.

'My lord, my friend has distinctly suggested the answer to the witness. I object to her being allowed to say anything about the latch after such a question as that.'

'I didn't intend to lead her, my lord,' said Pollard.

The judge hesitated for awhile between his natural desire to hear the answer and his fear that the witness was not wholly impartial. Perhaps a slight prejudice against Tressamer's hectoring manner had something to do with his decision.

'You should have asked her whether she noticed anything about the latch,' he said at length. 'Did you?' he added, turning to the witness.

'It was _down_, sir,' she returned, answering Pollard's question rather than the judge's.

The importance of the answer was chiefly in its disposing of Tressamer's suggestion that the butler might have forced the latch up.

He turned round to the jury, and a.s.sumed the air of one who is being unfairly treated. But of course he could not help their seeing that the prosecution had scored a point.

Rebecca's evidence was continued till she came to where she heard footsteps ascending the stairs.

'How long was this afterwards?' asked Pollard.

'About ten minutes,'

'Did you recognise those footsteps?'

'No, I didn't notice them; but I think they must have been Miss Owen's, or else I should have noticed the difference.'

Tressamer ground his teeth. He was afraid to interrupt again, for fear of the effect on the minds of the jury. They are apt to think a man is losing when he interrupts too often.

'What happened next?'

'She went into the bedroom below.'

'What bedroom?'

'Her own, I suppose, or Miss Lewis's.'

'You couldn't tell which?'

'No.'

'Well, and how long was the person, whoever it was, inside?'

'About a quarter of an hour, I should think. I thought she had come in for good, and gone to bed.'

The Judge (_suddenly looking up from his notes_): 'Look here, don't let me have to stop you again, or I shall do something you won't like.

It's not for you to tell us what you thought. Confine yourself to answering the questions.'