CHAPTER XXV
THE LIBEL INVESTIGATED
Chairo was sitting at the head of one of the tables in the hall of ourbuilding, and Ariston and I were on either side of him, when the morningpapers were brought in. Since the disappearance of "Liberty," only twomorning papers were daily published in New York: the state paper,entitled "The New York News," and "Sacrifice." Chairo rapidly perused"The News" and handed it to me. I was absorbed half in consuming theoatmeal, with which our breakfast usually closed, and half in reading"The News," when I was suddenly aware of an agitation in my neighborwhich caused me to look up at him.
I was surprised at the shape this agitation took; Chairo was a cholericman; as I first remember him, very slight causes of annoyance sent theblood to his face and found expression at once in a few violentsentences. This morning, the first impatient gesture over, he sat verystill, pale, and with beads of cold perspiration on his forehead.
"What is it?" asked Ariston.
Chairo pushed the paper to him.
Ariston, after reading the passage indicated, said:
"Of course I understand that publicity of any kind on such a subjectmust be odious to you; but after all, it is a lie, and can be easilyproved to be such."
"It is not altogether a lie," answered Chairo. "I was at Masters's roomsat the hour indicated, but Lydia was not there--at least," he added,correcting himself, "I did not see her there." For already he began tosuspect that Neaera had been at her tricks again.
"I shall go to the editor at once," continued Chairo, "and insist on thepublication of an apology."
The paper had by this time been handed to me and I had read the libel.
"Don't go to the editor now," urged Ariston. "You are justly indignant,and you have a man to deal with, in the editor, who will only add toyour exasperation. Write a simple denial of the fact that you have seenor spoken to Lydia at any time or place since your arrest."
"I won't drag her name into the paper again," exclaimed Chairo. "If Iwrite anything it must be so contrived as not to introduce her name. Ihave a right to insist that my private affairs be no more discussed inthe paper."
"You have the undoubted right under our law to demand this, but don't beimpatient if I answer you that this matter is not a purely private one;it is a matter of grave public interest."
Chairo flashed a look at Ariston that we both understood; it meant asudden revival of his aversion for the cult, which made of this privatematter one with which the public had a right to meddle; but the lookdied away, and Chairo's face resumed the settled expression ofdiscouragement which had marked it since the sessions of theinvestigating committee began.
"Let me see," said Ariston, "if I cannot draw up a letter which thepaper will have to publish," and he scribbled on the newspaper band thatChairo had torn off and thrown aside. Very soon he produced thefollowing:
THE EDITOR OF "SACRIFICE."
"SIR: I avail myself of my right under the law to insist on your publishing this letter in the same place and in the same type as the paragraph to which it refers.
"The statement that I have in spirit or in letter violated the compact under which I was released is not true. I was at Masters's rooms at the hour indicated, but I met no one there.
"Should you add anything to the libel already published, by way of comment, head line, or otherwise of a nature to cast a doubt upon the contradiction herein contained, I shall at once have you prosecuted with the utmost rigor of the law.
"I beg also to inform you that I shall regard any further reference to this incident as an improper meddling with my private affairs, and shall proceed accordingly."
Chairo glanced at the proposed letter, and said:
"It is quite satisfactory except as to one statement in it. I did notmeet Lydia at Masters', but I did meet another woman there."
Ariston and I looked at one another in surprise.
"An indiscretion?" asked Ariston.
"Not at all," said Chairo, "but a secret."
This was very awkward.
"I need not hesitate to tell you as my counsel, in confidence,"continued Chairo. "But I think it must go no further."
We looked our inquiry.
"It was Neaera," said Chairo very low.
Ariston and I opened our eyes.
"That woman again!" exclaimed Ariston.
But Chairo rose, suggesting that it would be more prudent to discuss thematter in our rooms, and we followed him there.
Chairo then told us of his interview with Neaera, leaving out of it allthat might have explained or reflected on her motives. Both Ariston andI felt certain he was leaving out something.
"Well, we must modify our letter," said Ariston, and after somediscussion it was decided to leave out the statement that Chairo hadbeen at Masters's rooms altogether, and to confine the letter thereforeto a bare denial.
Ariston advised Chairo to go at once to Arkles and explain the facts, soas to put the cult in a position to write a similar denial. Ariston andI proceeded to the office of "Sacrifice."
On our way there we discussed Chairo's interview with Neaera.
"You may depend upon it," said Ariston, "she has lost Masters, and ismaking a desperate effort to get back Chairo."
"And she had Lydia secreted in an adjoining room," guessed I.
"That's it," said Ariston; "she is a devil!"
"But can Chairo insist on the publication of his letter?" asked I.
"Certainly," said Ariston. "In this we have but copied an admirableprovision of the French law in your time. We have added to it a rightfor every man to prohibit any paper from publishing any matter regardinghis private movements or his private affairs. The effect of this rule isthat as every paper wants to be free to publish what is known as societynews, and it can only do so with the tacit consent of those who make upsociety, it has to take care to publish nothing that even borders onlibel. Libel and slander, I think I have told you, we regard as one ofthe greatest of social crimes."
We found the editor of "Sacrifice" in a condition of sanctimoniousself-satisfaction. His article had produced a sensation, and he wastriumphant in the thought that he was accomplishing for the cult whatthe cult itself was too feeble to accomplish for itself. He assumed anair of portentous gravity when he learned the object of our visit.
"I hold Chairo in the hollow of my hand," said he, "and I do not mean tolet him off."
"You will have to publish his letter," insisted Ariston.
"I shall publish his letter and I shall brand it as a lie," retorted theeditor.
"You will do so at your peril," answered Ariston.
"I fear no consequences," said the little man, straightening himself inhis editorial chair. "When Chairo denies that he was at Masters's roomsbetween ten and eleven yesterday morning, and Lydia denies that she wasthere at the same hour, it will be time to resume investigation. So barea denial as this"--and he threw Chairo's letter contemptuously down onhis desk--"is not worth the paper it is written on."
"What is your proof of the correctness of your statement?" askedAriston.
"I need not produce it," said the editor pompously, "but I have nothingto conceal," and after looking among the papers on his desk, he foundand handed us a typewritten statement of the fact constituting thealleged libel. I was pretty sure that I detected here the hand ofNeaera.
"Before publishing this anonymous statement," continued the editor, "Iwas careful to confirm it. The janitor of the building, upon beingquestioned by me in person as to who had passed his lodge during thehour in question, mentioned, of his own accord, both Chairo and Lydia.They arrived each alone and at an interval of a few minutes. It was anassignation. There is no doubt of it."
"You had best not tell Chairo so," said Ariston.
"Don't threaten me, sir," exclaimed the editor. "Your own role in thismatter will not bear investigation."
Ariston rose suddenly and advanced on the editor, but I interfered.
/> "You have come here," said I, "on an errand as counsel for Chairo,because you feared he would not control his temper. Are you going tolose yours?"
I had clutched Ariston by the arm, and at first he tried to extricatehimself from me, but he saw the force of my argument, and, looking alittle mortified, he said:
"Xenos is right. I have no right to prejudice Chairo's case by taking upa quarrel of my own. Xenos, however, is a witness to the words you haveused and the animus you have shown. Now publish a word of comment if youdare!"
Then, turning abruptly to the door, we both left the room.
As soon as we were out of the building Ariston, who was trembling withsuppressed passion, said:
"This man has to be scotched! He means mischief and is in a position todo mischief unless we can make Chairo's innocence in this matter clearas day. Let us summon the janitor at once before an examining magistrateand get _all_ the facts from him. You understand me--_all_!"
I understood him, and appreciated the value of a procedure that enabledany citizen to demand at any time the examination of any other citizenbefore a magistrate--subject, of course, to a heavy penalty in case theproceeding turned out to be unreasonable and vexatious. Had either of usgone to the janitor ourselves we would have been accused of havinginfluenced him, so we addressed ourselves directly to a magistrate whosent a messenger for the janitor and secured his attendance within halfan hour.
The janitor answered rapidly under interrogation as to the attendance ofboth Chairo and Lydia at the hour named.
"Now tell us," asked Ariston, "who was in Masters's apartment at thetime."
"Masters's aunt."
"Was no one else there?"
"Yes, a messenger of Masters went backward and forward several times."
Ariston demanded the name of the messenger, and the magistrate at oncesent for him.
Ariston continued the examination.
"Was no one else in Masters's apartment besides his aunt?"
"I do not _know_ of any one else being there."
He emphasized the word "know."
"When did Masters leave?"
"About two in the afternoon."
"Did no one else go to his rooms from two in the afternoon to thearrival of Lydia next morning?"
"Not to my knowledge."
Again he emphasized the word "knowledge."
"You do not know of your knowledge just where every one who passes yourlodge goes?"
"No."
"Who passed your lodge and went to Masters's staircase on the day beforeChairo and Lydia went there?"
The janitor mentioned here a large number of persons, and then added:
"There may have been others; I don't see every one who passes thelodge."
"Did any one that night gain admission after dark?"
"A great many."
"Did you get the names of all?"
"Yes--of all--at least, there was one I did not get."
At last the janitor hesitated, and it seemed clear that Ariston was onthe right scent.
"Who was it?"
"I don't know. I was sleepy, I did not insist."
"Did no one pass out next day whom you had not admitted on the previousnight?"
"I did not notice any one particularly; I could not distinguish; so manycome and go."
The janitor seemed to think a little and hesitate.
"Go on," said Ariston. "Of whom are you thinking?"
"A veiled woman passed out that day and put a piece of money in myhand."
"Over-astute Neaera!" thought I.
"Did you not recognize the woman?" asked Ariston.
"No, she was veiled."
"Would you be surprised if I could guess at what hour she passed out?"
The janitor looked at Ariston stupidly.
"She passed out within an hour after Lydia."
"Yes," nodded the janitor, "just about that."
"Have you seen or talked with Masters's aunt since that day?"
"No."
Ariston then asked the magistrate to send for the messenger andMasters's aunt.
The janitor was asked to wait in case he should be needed, and weadjourned for lunch. While lunching Ariston and I agreed that we weregoing to get at the facts, and that it would be better not to let theeditor know them till after to-morrow morning. "I mean to give himrope," said Ariston. "He'll hang himself, I think."
The messenger arrived shortly, and from him the identity of the veiledlady was very soon elicited. He had evidently received his piece ofmoney also, and endeavored to avoid a direct admission, but Ariston gotthe fact out of him with but little difficulty, and his hesitation toadmit it only brought out the more clearly the means Neaera had adoptedto cover her tracks.
Masters's aunt arrived a little later in a state of utmost trepidation.She came up to Ariston at once and implored him to tell her what thematter was; had she done anything wrong; she would tell anything thatwas wanted, but there were some things she could not tell; really, wasAriston going to ask her to tell things she really could not tell?
But Ariston calmed her, and told her the magistrate was there to protecther.
She bustled up to the magistrate, who stopped her by handing her theBible, upon which she was told to take her oath.
The judicial severity of the magistrate subdued her at once; she tookthe oath and sat down. Ariston whispered to the magistrate, begging himto conduct the examination, and pointing out that the object of it wasto elicit what occurred at Masters's rooms and whether or not Chairo andLydia had actually met there.
The magistrate asked her a few leading questions, and as soon as thewitness had recovered from the subduing effect of the magistrate'spresence the floodgates were opened, and she poured forth the wholestory, leaving a strong presumption that Lydia had not seen Chairo, andthat Chairo had ignored the presence of Lydia.
* * * * *
It was late in the afternoon before the examination was closed. We foundChairo resting after his bath. He told us that he had seen Arkles, shownhim a copy of the letter Ariston had drawn, and agreed with Arkles thata similar letter be written by Lydia.
Ariston told Chairo that we had not been idle, but that we judged itwiser for the present not to disclose to him what we had done. It wouldbe advantageous later to be able to say that we had acted upon our ownresponsibility. We took Chairo after dinner to hear some music, andtried to make him forget the dreadful incidents of the day, suspecting,as we did, that a still more bitter dose was awaiting him next morning.
And the editor did not disappoint us. We breakfasted earlier than usualin order to receive the papers in our rooms. "Sacrifice" containedChairo's letter just as Ariston had submitted it. Next came a shorterletter from Lydia to the following effect:
"SIR: It is not true that I have met Chairo since his release, clandestinely or otherwise, whether at Masters's rooms between ten and eleven day before yesterday, or at any other time or place.
"LYDIA SECOND."
But an editorial carried out the editor's threat of the day before. Itstated that in compliance with the law, letters signed by Chairo andLydia respectively had been that day published denying the truth of thecharge made against them on the previous day, but that a sense of theduty which the paper owed to the public made it impossible to complywith Chairo's order to refrain from further comment on the matter. Itwas not of a private nature. On the contrary, it was a matter of thegravest public concern. "No one," it went on to say, "is less interestedin Chairo's private affairs than ourselves, and we fully appreciate thereasons why he should prefer that his private affairs be not at thismoment, or any other, exposed to public scrutiny; but he is charged withhaving violated the sanctity of the cloister, with having outraged aDemetrian, and with having, in violation of his oath, sought toconsummate the crime, the perpetration of which had been prevented bythe vigilance of the Demetrian cult. Is this a matter of purely privateconcern?"
The editorial then proceeded to
explain the carefulness with which ithad verified the truth of the statement published, compared thecircumstantial evidence produced by themselves with the bareness of thedenial published by the parties incriminated, and closed with thefollowing words:
"We have always stood, and we stand to-day, for peace, purity, andcleanliness of life. Chairo stands for violence, lust, and turpitude. Weshall not allow ourselves to be intimidated by him or diverted from ourplain duty to brand his contradiction as a lie."
It was a paper containing this outrageous attack on Chairo that Aristonbrought into our room, flourishing it over his head with an air oftriumph, and crying:
"We have him--we have him. Good-bye, 'Sacrifice'"; and making asemblance of blowing it into the air, he handed it to Chairo, but beforeChairo could read it he held it away from him and said:
"This is going to exasperate you--but believe me it is the best thingthat could happen. We have already secured sworn evidence taken before amagistrate that vindicates both you and Lydia--don't ask us what itis--I shall be responsible for all I do. The intemperance of thelanguage you are going to read is going to do you more good than all theeloquence you can command in yourself or in others."
When Chairo read the article he insisted on Ariston's telling him whatevidence we had, and Ariston explained the proceedings of the previousday at length; he added that he knew Chairo would object to bring homethe responsibility to Neaera, but that what Chairo might have reasonsfor not doing he, Ariston, had no reason for not doing, and that heproposed to make it clear that he, Ariston, was responsible for thewhole proceeding and not Chairo.
"Well," said Chairo, "you have gone beyond the point where I can eitherstop or help you."
"Exactly," argued Ariston, "and this is exactly where I wanted to putyou. This last attack upon both you and Lydia--for, of course, she is asmuch included as yourself--leaves you no alternative but to prosecutethe editor. I propose to present to-day's article to the magistrate whotook the testimony yesterday. He will grant me an order of arrestagainst the editor for libel, and both you and Lydia will be vindicatedas you deserve."
As Ariston spoke, a note was handed to me from Anna of Ann begging meurgently to go and see her that afternoon at tea time. I showed it toAriston, and we wondered what new development things were taking thatcould include Anna of Ann.
"Harmes!" exclaimed Ariston.
I was puzzled.
"What do you mean?" asked I.
"Neaera is playing her last card."
Then it flashed upon me.
* * * * *
That afternoon I went to see Anna of Ann and found her in profounddejection. Ariston had guessed right. A few days before Harmes hadreceived a letter from Neaera and absented himself the whole afternoon.He had returned much absorbed, and the next afternoon he had absentedhimself again. Anna had asked him if he had not heard from Neaera, andhe had answered indignantly that all were conspiring to make a scapegoatof her. Anna had protested, but every word she said had only contributedto increase his indignation. He was evidently caught in the siren'smeshes and hopelessly under her influence. What, asked Anna, should bedone?
I pointed out to Anna that Ariston was much better able to help her insuch a matter, and asked to be allowed to send Ariston to her thefollowing day, but she demurred. I guessed at the reason of herobjection and suggested her father calling on Ariston. But her fatherknew nothing of the matter and Anna thought it unwise to let him know.
"Then let your mother call on Ariston at his office," suggested I.
"That would be better," answered Anna.
And I arranged to let her know next day when Ariston would be at hisoffice.
Ariston was much interested to learn that he had guessed right, and verywillingly gave an appointment for the next day.
Meanwhile, the district attorney had obtained an order of arrest againstthe editor, and next day's issue was edited by a new man. It contained astatement of the arrest of the editor, professed to suspend judgmentuntil after the trial, and submitted under the circumstances the wisdomof silence on the subject.
But the affair had made a profound impression upon the public and thelegislature, and although Chairo's guilt as to conspiracy was clear, itwas felt to be equally clear that he had sincerely done what he could toprevent the attack upon the House of Detention. Moreover, he was nowbeing unfairly treated and this created a revulsion of feeling in hisfavor. Ariston was much encouraged, for he did not conceal from me hisconviction that, as matters stood before this incident, the feeling of alarge majority of the legislature was that an example ought to be madeof Chairo. So long as this feeling prevailed, no amnesty bill could havebeen passed that included him, and there was no reason to believe thathe could expect anything less than the full penalty of the law at thehands of the courts.