CHAPTER XXVII.

Otago Witness, Issue 2375, 7 September 1899, Page 49

CHAPTER XXVII.

FOB HIS LIFE. HE judge had taken his seat, the jury had been sworn. There ensued an interval, during which the clerk rose and had a whispered discussion with the judge. He had a blue paper in his hand, which he opened so that tho judge could hold half of it. Its contents were evidently the theme of their remarks. Presently the clerk resumed his seat. The judge sat up, settling his robe on his right shoulder, and looking about him through his glasses, a* if he was not precisely pleased to see that there were so many people present. " Bring in Robert Foster ! " Robert; Foster was brought in, with a warder in front and another behind. All faces were turned to him. The people at the back craned over each other's shoulders to get a glimpse at his features. The judge gave a twitch to his spectacles, peering at him with an expression of severity. The prisoner did not seem conscious of the interest he roused, or else he was indifferent. He had neglected his appearance to the full extent permitted by trie

prison authorities. His hair was unkemptand ragged, his cheeks unshaven, his eyes were bloodshot, his expression lowering. He looked dirty, as if he had not washed for weeks. His clothes were soiled, creased, ill-fitting, as if they had been put on anyhow. He wore no collar or necktie; his greasy grey flannel shirt was open at the neck. He was unlike the brisk, spruce Bob who used to be. One briefless | barrister whispered to his fellow : " Looks as if he -were predestined to fill a niche in the Chamber of Horrors ! " His colleague nodded and made a sketch of the 'figure in dock for reproduction in an illustrated paper. The charge was recited, the prisoner paying not the slightest heed. He looked at the counsel's' tables and>then round the court as if in search of ■ some one ; then at the jury, as if he wondered who they were, and was not impressed by their appsprance. anyhow. Then- he looked at the judge; the sight of whom ' appeared, for some ot!cult reason, to amuse him ; a fact which it was plain that that high dignitary not only perceived but resented. "Do you plead guilty or not guilty?" The clerk had 'to repeat the inquiry before the prisoner* could be brought to unj derstand tKat it was. being addressed to j him. When he did, he' hesitated, as if I considering what answer, he should give. Counsel turned to look at him ; John ArI mitage, in particular, endeavoured to catch i his eye — in vain. " Oh, go on, make an end of it — hang me risfhi away! Guilty." John Armitage sprang to his feet. Leaning over the bar, he whispered to his client, who listened to what he had to say with sufficiently unwilling ears Yet lie yielded to what his counsel had to urge, although ungracefully enough. Mr Armij tage endeavoured to explain. "I am for the defence. My client wishes to alter his plea ! " ! "Do you plead guilty or not guilty?" I " Not guilty — it makes no odds to me !" The words were scarcely respectful, the manner was defiant. There was a slight 1 commotion in the court ; people murmured to each other, staring at the prisoner, who still seemed indifferent to their glances. His solicitor whispered to his counsel •. " That handicaps you pretty severely. If you get him out of it after that the days of miracles will have returned." John Armitage was still ; he kept his eyes fixed on his brief. The case for the . Crown was opened by that eminent silk. Sir Haselton Jardine. Sir Haselton did not play to the gallery ; he played to win. ~V\ vat he had to say was audible to those whose ears it was intended to reach ; he ■was indifferent as to whether he was heard by the occupants of the court in general, which did not tend to make his speech exciting. He told a plain tale plainly, leaning, it would seem, neither to the one side nor to the other; indeed he expressly told the jury that so far as he was concerned they were at full liberty to take any view of the facts they chose. "' Jardine's got a dead sure thing," murmured Gregory Maguire to John Armitage, "or he wouldn't talk like that. He's made up his mmd that our man's going to have no show, and I'm afraid that you won't be able to get him one." - John Armitage was silent. On a certain morning John Howard Shapcott was found dead- in his chambers. It would be shown that he had been killed by a shot wourrfl, which was unlikely to have been self-inflicted. A revolver, one of whose chambers had been discharged, was found near. the corpse. It would be provcu that this revolver was the property .of the prisoner, and had been seen in his possession on the day of the murder. There were signs which suggested that a struggle had taken place and certain propevtv had been stolen, which the jury would hear had been given by the prisoner to a girl named Hills, a very short time after tne crime had been committed. It would also be shown that, about that period, he was in possession of considerable sums of money. Medical and other testimony would be placetl before the jury, which would point to the hours between 9 o'clock and midnight as those during which the deed was done. Witnesses would be put into the box who would swear to having seen the prisoner in close proximity to the dead man's chambers during the hours named. It would be for the defence to explain these fact?. It was possible that they were capable of an interpretation other than that which they seemed to suggest, in which case it was for the defence to tell them what that interpretation was. If they could succeed in showing that they were consistent with the prisoner's innocence, counsel for the Crown would be glad. That, in effect, was what Sir Haselton had to observe, and said it as simply, nay, as boldly, as he well could have done. Yet in spite of his studied appearance of open-mindedness, the impression left upon his hearers was that, if he abstained from using strong language, or Ikying the colours on thickly, it was irierely because it was not necessary to do anything of the kind; since nothing could be more obvious than the prisoner's guilt, as would be clearly shown to the entire satisfaction of every reasonable creature ; and how strongly he felt that everyone who heard him was a reasonable being he need not say. Sir Haselton called his witnesses. George Armour was the first. . He was a hall porter at Embankment Chambers— a tall, grizzle headed man, with the sign manual of the old soldier written large all over him. Hi explained that, puzzled at not receiving the usual reply to his knocking at Mr Shapcott's door, he had gone on to the balcony, and, looking through the window, had seen that gentleman lying on the floor ; forcing his way in, he had found that the tenant of the rooms w^s dead. Then came police evidence, describing the position in which the body was lying, and the condition of the room. There were signs of a scuffle — a chair and a small table had been overturned, and broken ornaments and othei articles weje lying on the floor. A revolver was lyinij near the body— the

weapon which was produced. On the stock were the initials "R.F." One of the barrels had been discharged. An empty envelope was also- found, which, according to an endorsement which was on it, had contained a bracelet. The envelope' in question was handed to the judge, and from him to Ihe jury. Thiee drawers in a writing-table were open, whose contents had been apparently hastily overhauled. Cross-examined by John Armitage, Inspector Gardner admitted that no attempt seemed to have been made to rob the corpse, except that a ring was missing which he was known to be in the habit of wearing, which ring, interpolated Sir Haselton, was in the hands of the prosecution,' and would be produced in due course. His gold watch and .chain had not been touched; a letter case, containing bank notes, was intact in ais coat pocket; he had also upon him gold and silver coins. And there were jewelled links in his shirt cuffs, besides . many objects of value about the roomjewelled trinkets, gold and silver plate, numerous trifles of much intrinsic worth, which were extremely portable, and might easily have been converted into cash. If the motive of the crime was robbery, what suggestion had Inspector Gardner to offer why these valuables should have been left behind'/ Inspector Gardner had none. "They could hardly have escaped the muraei-er's notice?" " I should say not— unless he was in too much haste." "You. mean haste to get away, after the murder had been committed?"' • "Yes." "But what reason was there why he should not have noticed them before?" "I cannot tell you. I should say that he must have noticed them. I cannot. say why he left them behind, unless it was because he was suddenly disturbed, 01 ■uurmed." "Were there any signs of such disturbance or alarm?" " I saw none." " With the exception of the overturned table and chair, the apartment was in its normal condition?" " I should say so." " Now 1 want to put it to you, Inspector Gardner, whether this table and chair were not quite close to where the body was lying; and whether it was not possible that that they had been overturned by Mr Shapoott?" "Quite possible." The judge wanted to know how far from the body they were. The Inspector explained that the table was about three feet. It was small, round, of ebony, very light, and might have rolled after it had fallen. Portions of one of the broken ornaments were found beneath the body itself. The chair wag about a foot away, at the back. ' '"Hmv do you say," continued Mr Armitage, " that the murderer made his entrance and his exit? We have heard nothing of that." We have been unable to discover. Tha door was locked on the inside, so that he could scarcely have got out that way. There were two French windows, both of which were found closed." ' ' "So it amounts to this : that the man wjis found dead in the room, with the door locked inside and the windows fastened, also inside, so as to have rendered it impossible for anyone to* have got either in or out?" "Certainly not impossible." "What is the possibility you suggest?" '" He might have gone through one of tlia windows. Th«y shut with a clasp—he might have pulled it to after him." '" And then, what could he have done! The window is at a considerable height * from the ground." " That is not for me to say. I can~only have jumped. Nor, so far as it has been ascertained, could he have made his escape through either of the- other rooms, which opened on to the balcony. Some of them were occupied at the time. The windows of those which were not were fastened, the doors locked, and the keys in possession oi their tenants. None of them had been huCi. glariously entered. In short, it is a puzzle to explain how the murderer could have effected his escape." • - " Don"t you think tha.t, under these circumstances the facts point to suicide, rather than to murder?" "' Tha tifs not for me to say. I can only tell you what the. facts are." " Precisely. And the fact is that it is impossible to even frame a plausible theory to explain how anyone could have got into, and still less out of, Mr Shapcott's room?" The Inspector grudgingly admitted that he supposed that that was what the thing amounted to. He was subjected to a little more badgering — by John Armitage, by the judge, and then, again, by Sir Haselton Jardine. The next witness was Samuel Miles. He was a pawnbroker's assistant. He remembered selling the revolver which. was handed to him ; he remembered it very well. He sold it to .the prisoner. On that point he had. no "doubt whatever. He picked him out'at'offce frozn among, a number of other men. ■-Mr' Armitage failed to shake this witnesses testimony. William - Barlow came next. He was a general dealer. He recollected the date which counsel mentioned — the daj r of the murder. That morning he was at Covent Garden, trying < to" pick up a bit of likely stock. Prisoner was there on the same errand. They talked together while they waited. Prisoner showed him a revolver which he had purchased ; it was the one which counsel handed to witness. He was sure it was the same weapon. He examined it closely at the time, and prisoner particularly pointed out his initials, which he had scratched on it. John Armitage found this witness another hard nut. Ho stuck to his date, declaring that he remembered it because Lhat morning he purchased a barrel of apples, more than half of which turned out to be rotten. Thomas Bradnock followed. He, also, was a general dealer. He, too, carried in his memory the day in question. About noon he was with a barrow of fish in Rose Gardens, Hampstead, when he met the prisoner, who was hawking vegetables. Thes

stopped and chatted. During their chat .prisoner showed him a revolver which he pad purchased. It was the one produced. Thomas Bradnock also John Armitage failed to shake on the question of the date. He held to it that the conversation alluded to (took place on the day of the murder. . v After Thomas Bradnock came Peter jWood. Mr Wood swore that two ..lights giter the murder he was in the Bull and foam, a public-house just near Smithfield JMarket, kept by Mr Scroggins Prisoner was there—and some other blokes. They had a little discussion about guessing the {[weight of a bullock. Prisoner wanted to bet £5 that he could guess as near to it as witness. Witness said that prisoner ihadn't got no £5, whereupon prisoner pulled out a handful of gold; -witness should think that there was £40 oi £50. fie was astonished. He had known priso> Iker pretty near all his life, and had never Ibefore known him to have so much as i pound—not all at one time. He asked I 4im where he'd gofc it from. Prisoner said he'd had a bit of luck ; but he nrouldn t cay what it was, and when they pressed |him prisoner got his temper up and went jlway. 1 William House, market porter, *as present on the same occasion. He co^roboffated Peter Wood. Mr-Armitage was unjable to shake the evidence of these two Hvitnesses on any essential point. 1 "Call Pollie Hills," directed the junior counsel for the Crown, the solid-Mr Pickering. ' "Pollie Hills!" cried the usher. * She was not in court. The word was passed without to bring her in,