CHAPTER XXVI
A SENSATION
"I can assure you that the situation was quite dramatic," continued theman in the corner, whilst his funny, claw-like hands took up a bit ofstring with renewed feverishness.
"In answer to further questions from the magistrate, she declared thatshe had never seen the accused; he might have been the go-between,however, that she could not say. The letters she received were alltypewritten, but signed 'Armand de la Tremouille,' and certainly thesignature was identical with that on the letters she used to receivefrom him years ago, all of which she had kept.
"'And did it _never_ strike you,' asked the magistrate with a smile,'that the letters you received might be forgeries?'
"'How could they be?' she replied decisively; no one knew of my marriageto the Comte de la Tremouille, no one in England certainly. And,besides, if some one did know the Comte intimately enough to forge hishandwriting and to blackmail me, why should that some one have waitedall these years? I have been married seven years, your Honour.'
"That was true enough, and there the matter rested as far as she wasconcerned. But the identity of Mr. Francis Morton's assailant had to befinally established, of course, before the prisoner was committed fortrial. Dr. Mellish promised that Mr. Morton would be allowed to come tocourt for half an hour and identify the accused on the following day,and the case was adjourned until then. The accused was led away betweentwo constables, bail being refused, and Brighton had perforce tomoderate its impatience until the Wednesday.
"On that day the court was crowded to overflowing; actors, playwrights,literary men of all sorts had fought for admission to study forthemselves the various phases and faces in connection with the case.Mrs. Morton was not present when the prisoner, quiet and self-possessed,was brought in and placed in the dock. His solicitor was with him, and asensational defence was expected.
"Presently there was a stir in the court, and that certain sound, halfrustle, half sigh, which preludes an expected palpitating event. Mr.Morton, pale, thin, wearing yet in his hollow eyes the stamp of thosefive days of suffering, walked into court leaning on the arm of hisdoctor--Mrs. Morton was not with him.
"He was at once accommodated with a chair in the witness-box, and themagistrate, after a few words of kindly sympathy, asked him if he hadanything to add to his written statement. On Mr. Morton replying in thenegative, the magistrate added:
"'And now, Mr. Morton, will you kindly look at the accused in the dockand tell me whether you recognize the person who took you to the room inRussell House and then assaulted you?'
"Slowly the sick man turned towards the prisoner and looked at him; thenhe shook his head and replied quietly:
"'No, sir, that certainly was not the man.'
"'You are quite sure?' asked the magistrate in amazement, while thecrowd literally gasped with wonder.
"'I swear it,' asserted Mr. Morton.
"'Can you describe the man who assaulted you?'
"'Certainly. He was dark, of swarthy complexion, tall, thin, with bushyeyebrows and thick black hair and short beard. He spoke English withjust the faintest suspicion of a foreign accent.'
"The prisoner, as I told you before, was English in every feature.English in his ruddy complexion, and absolutely English in his speech.
"After that the case for the prosecution began to collapse. Every onehad expected a sensational defence, and Mr. Matthew Quiller, counselfor Skinner, fully justified all these expectations. He had no fewerthan four witnesses present who swore positively that at 9.45 a.m. onthe morning of Wednesday, March 17th, the prisoner was in the expresstrain leaving Brighton for Victoria.
"Not being endowed with the gift of being in two places at once, and Mr.Morton having added the whole weight of his own evidence in Mr. EdwardSkinner's favour, that gentleman was once more remanded by themagistrate, pending further investigation by the police, bail beingallowed this time in two sureties of L50 each."