CHAPTER X
THE ALIBI
"And all love's clanging trumpets shocked and blew."
"The executioner's argument was, that you couldn't cut off a head unless there was a body to cut it off from; that he had never had to do such a thing before, and he wasn't going to begin at _his_ time of life."--_Alice in Wonderland._
The justice of the peace, when the county court was not in session, heldhearings in the courtroom proper, which occupied the entire second storyof the county courthouse. The room was crowded. It was a new courthouse;there are people impatient to try even a new hearse; and this bade fairto be Arcadia's first _cause celebre_.
Jeff sat in the prisoner's stall, a target for boring eyes. He wasconscious of an undesirable situation; exactly how tight a place it washe had no means of knowing until he should have heard the evidence. Theroom was plainly hostile; black looks were cast upon him. DeputyPhillips, as he entered arm in arm with the sometime devil, gave theprisoner an intent but non-committal look, which Jeff rightlyinterpreted as assurance of a friend in ambush; he felt unaccountablysure of the devil's fraternal aid; Monte, lolling within the rail ofthe witness-box, smiled across at him. Still, he would have felt betterfor another friendly face or two, he thought--say, John WesleyPringle's.
Jeff looked from the open window. Cottonwoods, well watered, giveswiftest growth of any trees and are therefore the dominant feature ofnew communities in dry lands. The courthouse yard was crowded with them:Jeff, from the window, could see nothing but their green plumes; and histhoughts ran naturally upon gardens--or, to be more accurate, upon agarden.
Would she lose faith in him? Had she heard yet? Would he be able toclear himself? No mere acquittal would do. Because of Ellinor, theremust be no question, no verdict of Not Proven. She would go Eastto-morrow. Perhaps she would not hear of his arrest at all. He hopednot. The bank robbery, the murder--yes, she would hear of them, perhaps;but why need she hear his name? Hers was a world so different! He fellinto a muse at this.
Deputy Phillips passed and stood close to him, looking down from thewindow. His back was to Jeff; but, under cover of the confused hum ofmany voices, he spake low from the corner of his mouth:
"Play your hand close to your bosom, old-timer! Wait for the draw andwatch the dealer!" He strolled over to the other side of the judicialbench whence he came.
This vulgar speech betrayed Jimmy as one given to evil courses; but toJeff that muttered warning was welcome as thunder of Bluecher's squadronsto British squares at Waterloo.
Down the aisle came a procession consciously important--the prosecutingattorney; the bank's lawyer, who was to assist, "for the people"; andLake himself. As they passed the gate Jeff smiled his sweetest.
"Hello, Wally!" Lake's name was Stephen Walter.
Wally made no verbal response; but his undershot jaw did the steel-trapact and there was a triumphant glitter in his eye. He turned his broadback pointedly--and Jeff smiled again.
The justice took his seat on the raised dais intervening betweenJeff and the sheriff's desk. Court was opened. The usual tediouspreliminaries followed. Jeff waived a jury trial, refused a lawyerand announced that he would call no witnesses at present.
In an impressive stillness the prosecutor rose for his openingstatement. Condensed, it recounted the history of the crime, so far asknown; fixed the time by the watchman's statement--to be confirmed, hesaid, by another witness, the telephone girl on duty at that hour, whohad heard the explosion and the ensuing gunshot; touched upon thatwatchman's faithful service and his present desperate condition. He toldof the late finding of the injured man, the meeting in the bank, the sumtaken by the robber, and the discovery in the bank of the rubbernosepiece, which he submitted as Exhibit A. He cited the witnesses bywhom he would prove each statement, and laid special stress upon thefact that the witness Clarke would testify that the nosepiece had beenfound upon the shattered fragments of the safe door--conclusive proofthat it had been dropped after the crime. And he then held forth at somelength upon the hand of Providence, as manifested in the unconsciousself-betrayal which had frustrated and brought to naught the prisoner'sfiendish designs. On the whole, he spoke well of Providence.
Now Jeff had not once thought of the discarded noseguard since he firstfound it in his way; he began to see how tightly the net was drawn roundhim. "There was a serpent in the garden," he reflected. A word from MissHoffman would set him free. If she gave that word at once, it would beunpleasant for her: but if she gave it later, as a last resort, it wouldbe more than unpleasant. And in that same hurried moment, Jeff knew thathe would not call upon her for that word. All his crowded life, he hadkept the happy knack of falling on his feet: the stars, that fought intheir courses against Sisera, had ever fought for reckless Bransford.He decided, with lovable folly, to trust to chance, to his wits and tohis friends.
"And now, Your Honor, we come to the unbreakable chain of evidence whichfatally links the prisoner at the bar to this crime. We will prove thatthe prisoner was not invited to the masquerade ball given last night byMr. Lake. We will prove----"
There was a stir in the courtroom; the prosecutor paused, disconcerted.Eyes were turned to the double door at the back of the courtroom. In theentryway at the head of the stairs huddled a group of shrinking girls.Before them, one foot upon the threshold, stood Ellinor Hoffman. Sheshook off a detaining hand and stepped into the room, head erect, proud,pale. Across the sea of curious faces her eyes met the prisoner's. Ofall the courtroom, Billy and Deputy Phillips alone turned then to watchJeff's face. They saw an almost imperceptible shake of his head, afinger on lip, a reassuring gesture--saw, too, the quick pulsebeat athis throat.
The color flooded back to Ellinor's face. Men nearest the door wereswift to bring chairs. The prosecutor resumed his interruptedspeech--his voice was deep, hard, vibrant.
"Your Honor, the counts against this man are fairly damning! We willprove that he was shaved in a barber shop in Arcadia at ten o'clocklast night; that he then rode a roan horse; that the horse was thensweating profusely; that this horse was afterward found at the houseof--but we will take that up later. We will prove by many witnesses thatamong the masqueraders was a man wearing a football suit, wearing anosepiece similar--entirely similar--to the one found in the bank, whichnow lies before you. We will prove that this football player was notseen in the ballroom after the hour of eleven P.M. We will prove thatwhen he was next seen, without the ballroom, it was not until sufficienttime had elapsed for him to have committed this awful crime."
Ellinor half rose from her seat; again Jeff flashed a warning at her.
"We will prove this, Your Honor, by a most unwilling witness--RosalioMarquez"--Monte smiled across at Jeff--"a friend of the prisoner, who,in his behalf, has not scrupled to defy the majesty of the law! We canprove by this witness, this reluctant witness, that when he returned tohis home, shortly after midnight, he found there the prisoner's horse,which had not been there when Mr. Marquez left the house some four hourspreviously: and that, at some time subsequent to twelve o'clock, thewitness Marquez was wakened by the entrance of the prisoner at the bar,clad in a football suit, but wearing no nosepiece with it! And we havethe evidence of the sheriff's posse that they found in the home of thewitness, Rosalio Marquez, the football suit--which we offer as ExhibitB. Nay, more! The prisoner did not deny, and indeed admitted, that thisuniform was his; but--mark this!--the searching party found no nosepiecethere!
"It is true, Your Honor, that the stolen money was not found upon theprisoner; it is true that the prisoner made no use of the opportunity toescape offered him by his lawless and disreputable friend, RosalioMarquez--a common gambler! Doubtless, Your Honor, his cunning haddevised some diabolical plan upon which he relied to absolve himselffrom suspicion; and now, trembling, he has for the first time learned ofthe fatal flaw in his concocted defense, which he had so fondly deemedinvincible!"
All eyes, including the orator's, here turned upon the prisoner--to findhim, so f
ar from trembling, quite otherwise engaged. The prisoner'selbow was upon the rail, his chin in his hand; he regarded Mr. Lakeattentively, with cheerful amusement and a quizzical smile which in someway subtly carried an expression of mockery and malicious triumph. Tothis fixed and disconcerting regard Mr. Lake opposed an iron front, butthe effort required was apparent to all.
There was an uneasy rustling through the court. The prisoner's bearingwas convincing, natural; this was no mere brazen assuming. The banker'sforced composure was not natural! He should have been an angry banker.Of the two men, Lake was the less at ease. The prisoner's face turned atlast toward the door. Blank unrecognition was in his eyes as they sweptpast Ellinor, but he shook his head once more, very slightly.
There was a sense of mystery in the air--a buzz and burr of whispers; arustle of moving feet. The audience noticeably relaxed its implacableattitude toward the accused, eyed him with a different interest, seemedto feel for the first time that, after all, he was accused merely, andthat his defense had not yet been heard. The prosecutor felt this subtlechange; it lamed his periods.
"It is true, Your Honor, that no eye save God's saw this guilty man dothis deed; but the web of circumstantial evidence is so closely drawn,so far-reaching, so unanswerable, so damning, that no defense can availhim except the improbable, the impossible establishment of an alibi socomplete, so convincing, as to satisfy even his bitterest enemy! We willask you, Your Honor, when you have seen how fully the evidence bears outour every contention, to commit the prisoner, without bail, to answerthe charge of robbery and attempted murder!"
Then, by the door, Jeff saw the girl start up. She swept down theaisle, radiant, brave, unfearing, resolute, all half-gods gone; sheshone at him--proud, glowing, triumphant!
A hush fell upon the thrilled room. Jeff was on his feet, his hand heldout to stay her; his eyes spoke to hers. She stopped as at a command.Scarcely slower, Billy was at her side. "Wait! Wait!" he whispered. "Seewhat he has to say. There will be always time for that." Jeff's eyesheld hers; she sank into an offered chair.
Cheated, disappointed, the court took breath again. Their dramaticmoment had been nothing but their own nerves; their own excitedimaginings had attached a pulse-fluttering significance to the flushedcheeks of a prying girl, seeking a better place to see and hear, togratify her morbid curiosity.
Jeff turned to the bench.
"Your Honor, I have a perfectly good line of defense; and I trust nofriend of mine will undertake to change it. I will keep you but aminute," he said colloquially. "I will not waste your time combatingthe ingenious theory which the prosecution has built up, or incross-examination of their witnesses, who, I feel sure"--here he bowedto the cloud of witnesses--"will testify only to the truth. I quiteagree with my learned friend"--another graceful bow--"that the case hehas so ably presented is so strong that it can successfully be rebuttedonly by an alibi so clear and so incontestable, as my learned friend hasso aptly phrased it, as to convince if not satisfy ... my bitterestenemy!" The bow, the subtle, icy intonation, edged the words. Thecourtroom thrilled again at the unspoken thought: "_An enemy hath donethis thing!_" If, in the stillness, the prisoner had quoted the wordsaloud in fierce denunciation, the effect could not have been differentor more startling. "And that, Your Honor, is precisely what I propose todo!"
His Honor was puzzled. He was a good judge of men; and the prisoner'sface was not a bad face.
"But," he objected, "you have refused to call any witnesses for thedefense. Your unsupported word will count for nothing. You cannot provean alibi alone."
"Can't I?" said Jeff. "Watch me!"
With a single motion he was through the open window. Bending branches ofthe nearest cottonwood broke his fall--the other trees hid his flight.
Behind him rose uproar, tumult and hullabaloo, a mass of struggling menat cross purposes. Gun in hand, the sheriff, stumbling over some one'sfoot--Monte's--ran to the window; but the faithful deputy was beforehim, blocking the way, firing with loving care--at one particulartree-trunk. He was a good shot, Jimmy. He afterward showed with pridewhere each ball had struck in a scant six-inch space. Vainly the sherifftried to force his way through. There was but one stairway, and it wasjammed. Before the foremost pursuer had reached the open Jeff hadborrowed one of the saddled horses hitched at the rack and was away tothe hills.
As Billy struggled through the press, searching for Ellinor, he foundhimself at Jimmy's elbow.
"A dead game sport--any turn in the road!" agreed Billy.
The deputy nodded curtly; but his answer was inconsequent:
"Rather in the brunette line--that bit of tangible evidence!"