CHAPTER V.
THE PEOPLE _V._ JOHN DOE _alias_ GABRIEL CONROY, AND JANE ROE_alias_ JULIE CONROY. BEFORE BOOMPOINTER, J.
The day of the trial was one of exacting and absorbing interest to OneHorse Gulch. Long before ten o'clock the Court-room, and even the hallsand corridors of the lately rehabilitated Court House, were throngedwith spectators. It is only fair to say that by this time the mainpoints at issue were forgotten. It was only remembered that some of thefirst notabilities of the State had come up from Sacramento to attendthe trial; that one of the most eminent lawyers in San Francisco hadbeen engaged for the prisoner at a fee variously estimated from fifty toone hundred thousand dollars, and that the celebrated Colonel Starbottleof Siskiyou was to assist in the prosecution; that a brisk duel ofwords, and it was confidently hoped, a later one of pistols, would growout of this forensic encounter; that certain disclosures affecting menand women of high social standing were to be expected; and, finally,that in some mysterious way a great political and sectional principle(Colonel Starbottle was from the South and Mr. Poinsett from the North)was to be evolved and upheld during the trial--these were the absorbingfascinations to One Horse Gulch.
At ten o'clock Gabriel, accompanied by his counsel, entered theCourt-room, followed by Colonel Starbottle. Judge Boompointer, enteringat the same moment, bowed distantly to Arthur, and familiarly to ColonelStarbottle. In his _otium_ off the bench, he had been chaffed by theDistrict Attorney, and had lost large sums at play with ColonelStarbottle. Nevertheless he was a trifle uneasy under the calmlycritical eyes of the famous young advocate from San Francisco. Arthurwas too wise to exhibit his fastidiousness before the Court;nevertheless, Judge Boompointer was dimly conscious that he would onthat occasion have preferred that the Clerk who sat below him had put ona cleaner shirt, and himself refrained from taking off his cravat andcollar, as was his judicial habit on the Wingdam circuit. There was someslight prejudice on the part of the panel to this well-dressed younglawyer, which they were pleased to specify and define more particularlyas his general "airiness." Seeing which, Justice, on the bench, becamemore dignified, and gazed severely at the panel and at Arthur.
In the selection of the jury there was some difficulty; it wasconfidently supposed that the prisoner's counsel would challenge thearray on the ground of the recent Vigilance excitement, but publicopinion was disappointed when the examination of the defence wasconfined to trivial and apparently purposeless inquiry into the nativityof the several jurors. A majority of those accepted by the defence weremen of Southern birth and education. Colonel Starbottle, who, as arepresentative of the peculiar chivalry of the South, had always adoptedthis plan himself, in cases where his client was accused of assault andbattery, or even homicide, could not in respect to his favouritetraditions object to it. But when it was found that there were only twomen of Northern extraction on the jury, and that not a few of them hadbeen his own clients, Colonel Starbottle thought he had penetrated thetheory of the defence.
I regret that Colonel Starbottle's effort, admirably characterised bythe _Banner_ as "one of the most scathing and Junius-like gems of legalrhetoric ever known to the Californian Bar," has not been handed down tome _in extenso_. Substantially, however, it appeared that ColonelStarbottle had never before found himself in "so peculiar, so momentous,so--er--delicate a position. A position, sir--er--er--gentlemen, fraughtwith the deepest social, professional--er--er--he should not hesitate tosay, upon his own personal responsibility, a position of the deepestpolitical significance! Colonel Starbottle was aware that this statementmight be deprecated--nay, even _assailed_ by some. But he did notretract that statement. Certainly not in the presence of that jury, inwhose intelligent faces he saw--er--er--er--justice--inflexiblejustice!--er--er--mingled and--er--mixed with--with chivalrous instinct,and suffused with the characteristic--er--er--glow of--er--er--!" (Iregret to add that at this supreme moment, as the Colonel was lightlywaving away with his fat right hand the difficulties of rhetoric, asepulchral voice audible behind the jury suggested "Robinson Countywhisky" as the origin of the phenomena the Colonel hesitated todescribe. The judge smiled blandly and directed the deputy sheriff topreserve order. The deputy obeyed the mandate by looking over into thecrowd behind the jury, and saying, in an audible tone, "You'd better dryup thar, Joe White, or git out o' that!" and the Colonel, undismayed,proceeded.) "He well understood the confidence placed by the defence inthese gentlemen. He had reason to believe that an attempt would be madeto show that this homicide was committed in accordance withcertain--er--er--principles held by honourable men--that the act wasretributive, and in defence of an invasion of domestic rights and thesanctity of wedlock. But he should show them its fallacy. He should showthem that only a base pecuniary motive influenced the prisoner. Heshould show them--er--er--that the accused had placed himself, firstly,by his antecedent acts, and, secondly, by the manner of the later act,beyond the sympathies of honourable men. He should show them a previousknowledge of certain--er--er--indiscretions on the part of theprisoner's wife, and a condonation by the prisoner of thoseindiscretions, that effectually debarred the prisoner from theprovisions of the code; he should show an inartistic, he must say, evenon his own personal responsibility, a certain ungentlemanliness, in themanner of the crime that refused to clothe it with the--er--er--generousmantle of chivalry. The crime of which the prisoner was accusedmight have--er--er--been committed by a Chinaman or a nigger.Colonel Starbottle did not wish to be misunderstood. It was not inthe presence of--er--Beauty--" (the Colonel paused, drew out hishandkerchief, and gracefully waved it in the direction of the duskyManuela and the truculent Sal--both ladies acknowledging thecourtesy as an especial and isolated tribute, and exchanging glancesof the bitterest hatred)--"it is not, gentlemen, in the presence ofan all-sufficient and enthralling sex that I would seek todisparage their influence with man. But I shall prove that thisabsorbing--er--er--passion, this--er--er--delicious--er--er--fatalweakness, that rules the warlike camp, the--er--er--stately palace,as well as the--er--er--cabin of the base-born churl, never touchedthe calculating soul of Gabriel Conroy! Look at him, gentlemen! Lookat him, and say upon your oaths, upon your experience as men ofgallantry, if he is a man to sacrifice himself for a woman. Look athim, and say truly, as men personally responsible for theiropinions, if he is a man to place himself in a position of perilthrough the blandishments of--er--er--Beauty, or sacrifice himself uponthe--er--er--altar of Venus!"
Every eye was turned upon Gabriel. And certainly at that moment he didnot bear any striking resemblance to a sighing Amintor or a passionateOthello. His puzzled, serious face, which had worn a look of apologeticsadness, was suffused at this direct reference of the prosecution; andthe long, heavy lower limbs, which he had diffidently tucked away underhis chair to reduce the elevation of his massive knees above theordinary level of one of the court-room chairs, retired still further.Finding himself, during the Colonel's rhetorical pause, still the centreof local observation, he slowly drew from his pocket a small comb, andbegan awkwardly to comb his hair, with an ineffective simulation ofpre-occupation and indifference.
"Yes, sir," continued the Colonel, with that lofty forensic severity socaptivating to the spectator, "you may comb yer hair" (hyar was theColonel's pronunciation), "but yer can't comb it so as to make thisintelligent jury believe that it is fresh from the handsof--er--er--Delilah."
The Colonel then proceeded to draw an exceedingly poetical picture ofthe murdered Ramirez--"a native, appealing to the sympathies of everySouthern man, a native of the tropics, impulsive, warm, and peculiarlysusceptible, as we all are, gentlemen, to the weaknesses of the heart."The Colonel "would not dwell further upon this characteristic of thedeceased. There were within the sound of his voice, visible to thesympathising eyes of the jury, two beings who had divided his heart'sholiest affections--their presence was more eloquent than words. Thisman," continued the Colonel, "a representative of one of our oldestSpanish families--a family that recalled the days of--er--er--the Cidand Don John-
-this man had been the victim at once of the arts of Mrs.Conroy and the dastardly fears of Gabriel Conroy; of the wiles of thewoman and the stealthy steel of the man."
"Colonel Starbottle would show that personating the character and takingthe name of Grace Conroy, an absent sister of the accused, Mrs. Conroy,then really Madame Devarges, sought the professional aid of theimpulsive and generous Ramirez to establish her right to a claim thenheld by the accused--in fact, wrongfully withheld from his own sister,Grace Conroy. That Ramirez, believing implicitly in the story of MadameDevarges with the sympathy of an overflowing nature, gave her that aiduntil her marriage with Gabriel exposed the deceit. Colonel Starbottlewould not characterise the motives of such a marriage. It was apparentto the jury. They were intelligent men, and would detect the unhallowedcombination of two confederates, under the sacrament of a holyinstitution, to deceive the trustful Ramirez. It was a nuptial feast atwhich--er--er--Mercury presided, and not--er--er--Hymen. Its only issuewas fraud and murder. Having obtained possession of the property in acommon interest, it was necessary to remove the only witness of thefraud, Ramirez. The wife found a willing instrument in the husband. Andhow was the deed committed? Openly and in the presence of witnesses? DidGabriel even assume a virtue, and under the pretext of an injuredhusband challenge the victim to the field of honour? No! No, gentlemen.Look at the murderer, and contrast his enormous bulk withthe--er--slight, graceful, youthful figure of the victim, and you willhave an idea of the--er--er--enormity of the crime."
After this exordium came the _testimony--i.e._, facts coloured more orless unconsciously, according to the honest prejudices of the observer,his capacity to comprehend the fact he had observed, and his dispositionto give his theory regarding that fact rather than the fact itself. Andwhen the blind had testified to what they saw, and the halt had statedwhere they walked and ran, the prosecution rested with a flush oftriumph.
They had established severally: that the deceased had died from theeffects of a knife wound; that Gabriel had previously quarrelled withhim and was seen on the hill within a few hours of the murder; that hehad absconded immediately after, and that his wife was still a fugitive,and that there was ample motive for the deed in the circumstancessurrounding the prisoner.
Much of this was shaken on cross-examination. The surgeon who made theautopsy was unable to say whether the deceased, being consumptive, mightnot have died from consumption that very night. The witness who sawGabriel pushing the deceased along the road, could not swear positivelywhether the deceased were not pulling Gabriel instead, and the evidenceof Mrs. Conroy's imposture was hearsay only. Nevertheless bets wereoffered in favour of Starbottle against Poinsett--that being the form inwhich the interest of One Horse Gulch crystallised itself.
When the prosecution rested, Mr. Poinsett, as counsel for defence, movedfor the discharge of the prisoner, no evidence having been shown of hishaving had any relations with or knowledge of the deceased until the dayof the murder, and none whatever of his complicity with the murderess,against whom the evidence of the prosecution and the arguments of thelearned prosecuting attorney were chiefly directed.
Motion overruled. A sigh of relief went up from the spectators and thejury. That any absurd technical objection should estop them from thatfun which as law-abiding citizens they had a right to expect, seemedoppressive and scandalous; and when Arthur rose to open for the defence,it was with an instinctive consciousness that his audience were eyeinghim as a man who had endeavoured to withdraw from a race.
Ridiculous as it seemed in reason, it was enough to excite Arthur'sflagging interest and stimulate his combativeness. With ready tact hefathomed the expectation of the audience, and at once squarely joinedissue with the Colonel.
Mr. Poinsett differed from his learned friend in believing this case wasat all momentous or peculiar. It was a quite common one--he was sorry tosay a _very_ common one--in the somewhat hasty administration of the lawin California. He was willing to admit a peculiarity in his eloquentbrother's occupying the line of attack, when his place was as clearly athis, Mr. Poinsett's side. He should overlook some irregularities in theprosecution from this fact, and from the natural confusion of a manpossessing Colonel Starbottle's quick sympathies, who found himselfarrayed against his principles. He should, however, relieve them fromthat confusion, by stating that there really was no principle involvedbeyond the common one of self-preservation. He was willing to admit thecounsel's ingenious theory that Mrs. Conroy--who was not mentioned inthe indictment, or indeed any other person not specified--had committedthe deed for which his client was charged. But as they were here to tryGabriel Conroy only, he could not see the relevancy of the testimony tothat fact. He should content himself with the weakness of theaccusation. He should not occupy their time, but should call at once tothe stand the prisoner; the man who, the jury would remember, was now,against all legal precedent, actually, if not legally, placed again inperil of his life, in the very building which but a few days before hadseen his danger and his escape.
He should call Gabriel Conroy!
There was a momentary sensation in the court. Gabriel uplifted his hugeframe slowly, and walked quietly toward the witness-box. His faceslightly flushed under the half-critical, half-amused gaze of thespectators, and those by whom he brushed as he made his way through thecrowd noticed that his breathing was hurried. But when he reached thebox, his face grew more composed, and his troubled eyes presentlyconcentrated their light fixedly upon Colonel Starbottle. Then the clerkmumbled the oath, and he took his seat.
"What is your name?" asked Arthur.
"I reckon ye mean my real name?" queried Gabriel, with a touch of hisusual apology.
"Yes, certainly, your real name, sir," replied Arthur, a littleimpatiently.
Colonel Starbottle pricked up his ears, and lifting his eyes, metGabriel's dull, concentrated fires full in his own.
Gabriel then raised his eyes indifferently to the ceiling. "My realname--my genooine name--is Johnny Dumbledee, J-o-n-n-y, Johnny,D-u-m-b-i-l-d-e, Johnny Dumbledee!"
There was a sudden thrill, and then a stony silence. Arthur and Maxwellrose to their feet at the same moment. "What?" said both thosegentlemen, sharply, in one breath.
"Johnny Dumbledee," repeated Gabriel, slowly and with infinitedeliberation; "Johnny Dumbledee ez my real name. I hev frequent," headded, turning around in easy confidence to the astonished JudgeBoompointer, "I hev frequent allowed I was Gabriel Conroy--the same notbeing the truth. And the woman ez I married--_her_ name was GraceConroy, and the heap o' lies ez thet old liar over thar" (he indicatedthe gallant Colonel Starbottle with his finger) "hez told passes mypile! Thet woman, my wife ez was and ez--waz Grace Conroy." (To theColonel, gravely:) "You hear me! And the only imposture, please yourHonour and this yer Court, and you gentl'men, was ME!"