" THE CAUSE OF JUSTICE."

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 88, 15 April 1911, Page 10

" THE CAUSE OF JUSTICE."

There were furrows on the brow of Mr. Dancy as he ate his bacon at breakfast. There was a suggestive droop of Mrs. Dancy's mouth as she poured out the coffee. The affair of the butcher's horse was weighing on both their minds. Had 1 it been their own butcher, the matter would have presented a much less serious aspect, since the Dancys were large consumers of meat, and their ' butcher would probably have stayed his hand before venturing on litigation that would certainly lose him most important customers. But, alas ! it was not their own'bufceher. It was a strange butcher, a rival butcher — one who had pleaded for their custom and been curtly refused — a thoroughly fiery temper. Certainly a man to be feared, although his name was merely Brown. "In three days, Howard," said Mrs. Dancy gloomily, "we shall know the worst." Although they had not been speaking of the matter, Howard Dancy recognised at once to what "the worst" referred. "Perhaps we- shall, Marion. Perhaps we shan't. The .case may not be decided in one day ; it may drag on for several. Already heavy expenses have been incurred; heaven only knows .what in the end my lawyer's bill will amount to. And if the case goes against us, and I am mulcted in both damages and costs — oh, it's awful ;" and he pushed away from him his half-eat&n breakfast. . The case was this : One morning the butcher's boy — an amorous youth — was on his usual round, and, as usual, flirting with sundry area belles. Whilst he- was hidden from t'he street on one of 'these interesting missions, a dog — the Dancys' dog, Brown, the butcher, alleged — sprang at the horsa and fastened itself on it* leg. Result : Impetuous flight of the aggravated steed, and ' its subsequent death by impalement on spiked railings. Further result : A claim for fifty pounds (alleged value of horso) preferred by William Brown, and utterly repudiated by Howard Dancy. Now there were witnesses to shew that the dog was Dancy's, and there were, of course, witnesses to swear that the dog had no resemblance at all to Dancy's. So far so good ; but the Dancys' case had, admittedly, one weak point. Their dog could not definitely prove an alibi. He had been loose and loaming around the neighbourhood at tho particular moment that the horse had met his end ; moreover, a servant (dismissed a month ago from the Dancys' employment for insubordination) swore that he had returned home that morning with a distinctly guilty look on his face. Furthermore, the fact that the dog was not altogether one of quiet instincts was another point that did not tell in his favour. Mrs. Dancy left her place at the breakfast-table, and, crossing round to her husband, laid her hand affectionately on his shoulder. "I wish I could do something to help you, Howard." , "I'm sure you do, Marion.' "We'll, I've been thinking. Who is the case to come before?" "Justice ThornhihV "Ah, he has th& reputation of being rather a good sorb, hasn't he?" "I shall know better after Tuesday." "You understand me. I meant — cr — a bon viveur. Well, this is my idiea. You may reject ib, but; at least hear me out. I've- been able of late to save a HUle of my housekeeping money. What do you say to my spending, say, a guinea on a case of whisky, and fending it — with my card enclosed — as a sma.ll present to the judge who i& going to try the case?" In. utter amazement Mr. Dancy grasped itae edge of the table and stared blankly at his wife. Was she speaking seriously ? Her face implied that she was. » 'iMy dear girl, it is utterly impossible." "But why?" "It would be bribery and corruption." "I don't exactly see why. The gift would be from me, not* from you." "My dear Marion, in the eyes of the law husband and wife are as one. I cannot listen for a moment) to your suggestion. Justice Thornhill would put the worst possible construction on sucn. a present v at such a time. He would decide the case againsb me before it ever came into court. You must utterly dismiss from your mind the notion of doing such a thing." ' Mr 3. Dancy's lip& pouted. "Howard, I only wanted to help you." They had not been married very long, and Mr. Dancy dissolved the pout in the usual way. That same afternoon Mrs. Dancy had a visitor. It was not) her regular athome day, co slis naturally resented the intrusion of any caller upon her privacy, but she resented it still more when she heard from the maid who the visitor was. It was the wife of Brown, •th 9 butcher, with whom, of course, their social circles net meriting, Mrs. Dancy had not the slightest acquaintance. Still, impelled chiefly by curiosity, she condescended to see her — after first going jupstairs and putting on^her very best frock. "Good afternoon;" said Mrs. Dancy loftily, sailing into the d»oAving-vocan: Had Mrs. Dancy but known it, this high and mighty attitude was totally unnecessary with Sirs. Brown. The latter was"n,ot in tho kasb like her husband. She was small, insignificant, timid, retiring, and her bearing was apologetic ficm the first. Moreover, she was far too nervous to notice Mr;;. Dnacy's dless. '"Good afternoon; Ei — I came about thia unfortunate affair of your dog." "Pardon me — not cur dog! An entirely ftiango dog ! Yes, what about it?"" Mro. Bron-n showed signs of collapse at this early frustration of her conversational plans — in fact, her plan of campaign tottered. "Oh, I am so sorry, Mrs. Dancy, at i the whole thing." "Yes. and you ought to be. But you didn't ec-in-e here tc' tell mo that, did you?" "Er — no! I came with a proposal." "Has jour husband decided to withdraw his case? Tha-t is- the only proposal I can listen to." "No, he hasn't. But he has authorised me to say this. If Mr. Dancy aarees to pay sixty pounds to-day — fifty pounds fnrr the value of the horse, and ten pounds towards 1 our legal expen^s, Mr. Brcwn will at cnc> refrain from any further action." No description could do justice to Mrs. Daney's look. "My good woman, are you crazy? 1 answer for my husband — no, certainly not ! Your coming here at all is a mask unwarrantable proceeding. I'm no« sure but that it's a clear case of contempt of court. If you've really nothing rnoie sensible to suggest, pl-ease go ! It ib quite impossible for our 1 relations to b-9 friendly after the vi'-k^d and atrocious action that you and ycur hushand have taken against us, .uid this visit m-erf'v psgravates your conduct. Gowl day !" Mrs. Biow. 1 : backed out of the room.

For nearly fifteen minutes Mrs. Dancy sat, writhing. Why had she listened to the woman at all ? The dignity with which she (Mrs. Dancy) had behaved throughout the interview did not, unfortunately, help to palliate the bitter taste which it had left in her month. Mrs. Dancy wenb into the hall. On the hall-table the odious creature had had the insolence to lea-ve three visiting cards — two of her husband's and one of her own, according to the recognised etiquette. To think that a butcher's wife boasted visiting cards, or knew anything at all of etiquette ! Mrs. Dancy was holding the pieces of pasteboard in hex hand, ready to tear them into fragments, when an idea came. It was a splendid idea, if a revengeful one. The breakfast conversation with her husband that morning had borne astonishing fruit 1 . To go into the dining-room, insert one of Mr. Brown's visting-cards in a clean envelope and put it safely away, was tho work of a minute. To don out-door clothes and sally forth in the direction of the shops was the work of a few more minutes. . Mrs. Dancy arrived at her grocer's, who was^, of course, a wine and spirit merchant as well. The grocer greeted her with a smile. The Dancys paid ready money everywhere, so she was always welcome. "I want you to send mo six bottles of whisky in a case, please." "Yes, madam, what brand?" "Well, it's to be a present — for a friend. What kind would you recommend ?' The grocer suggested a brand at four-and-sixpence the bottle. . Mrs. Dancy did a rapid mental calculation of the cost of six bottles at that figure, and thought not. The friend was not a very intimate one, and Howard would never be called upon to have a drink at his house. Three-and-sixpenoe, she stated, was her price. The grocer mentioned what was, in his opinion, the best value in the market at three-and-six the bottle, and th& transaction was completed. "There's a guinea for the case. You'll send it round to our house tonight?" "Certainly, madam, without fail." When t'he whisky arrived, Mrs. Dancy opened the case. But it was only to insert that same blank envelope, containing Mr. Willia-m Brown's visiting card. Then she resealed the case, first making sure that the grocer's name did not appear anywhere on it, and, in a disguised hand, affixed a label addressed to Justice Thornhill. The. address she obtained from "Who's Who?" Carter Paterson did the rest next morning. The day of the action, Brown v. Dancy, arrived. Mr&.' Dancy arose in high leather. \Vas> she not sure oi the issue oi the trial? Was not their case already won? Of course, alter l»ie bribery and corruption that he supposed William Brown guilty of, Justice 'xnornhill would inevitably give a verdict :ii the Dancys' favour, even though tie might already 'be sampling one of the bottles of whisky. Howard noticed his wife's mood at breakfast. '"Yiou teem- in very good spirits this morning, Marion." "I've an inkling, a premonition, that we are going to win to-day." "I wish 1 had. I hear Brown has spent money left and right in getting witnesses as- to our dog's character. Are you coming to the court?" "No; I don't think it's — cr — quite a woman's place. I shall stop at home. Please to telephone the result of thecase directly it is known. Keep up your pecker, Howard ! Our cause is so right that/ I feel sure we must win." Mrs. Daney waited for the promised telephone message. It did not come. She sent out and bought an evening paper, but it evidently did not consider the case- of iufficient importance to chronicle. The trial was certainly unduly protracted. Whe-n Mrs. Dancy was really getting anxious, Howard staggered into the house, calling loudly for a brandy-and-soda. She had sufficient feminine .judgment to supply the desired refreshment before she pub the question that was trembling on her lips. "Howard, we've not 1 ?" "Yes, we've lost." "Lost?" repeated Mrs. Dancy in hor-ror-stricken tones. "Yes, and I've to pay all the fellow's costs as well as_my own. It will run altogether into nearly a hundred and fifty pounds." "But — cr — it's incredible !" | "So one would have supposed. Bub the judge was hostile to me from the first. I could read it in his eye. The' evidence was clearly in my favour, and yet ho summed up dead against me, and, of course, Brown got his verdict. If you'd heard all the evidence, you would have said that I ought to have won^iands down. Oh, it's perfectly monstrous !" Mrs. Dancy tried to administer consolation. Truth to tell, she- was as much upset as her husband, and none of her remarks brought much comfort to either of them. What had happened? Why had the judge be-en so prejudiced against her husband: How had this miscarriage of justice occurred? Next morning she went round to her grocer's. "About that case of whisky you sent j round to me, Mr. Sands. Are you quite sure that th«re was no paper inside with our name upon it?" "I don't think so, madam. But I'll call my assistant ; he packed up the case." . The assistant, who chanced to be a new man, appeared, and was questioned. ''Ho, sir. nothing — at least, nothing but a leoeiptcl bill for the gumea, itiad-e out in Mrs. Dancy's name. I slipped that down betwe-an tho bottles. I thought it was your custom, sir. to en-clc"-o reroipis with paid-for-goods. " Mr?. Dancy has decided never again to intcrfeie with the due administration of the- law. — Herbert Jamie-scn, in M.AP.