The Attorney-General sat down. It was quite clear now to the most superficial observer, that the case against Todd had been just picked out for convenience sake, and was one among many. From the moment that the Attorney-General had mentioned what facts he could prove, the fate of the murderer was certain to the minds of all. They looked upon him in every respect as a doomed man.
Of course the remarks of the Attorney-General occupied a much greater space than we have felt that, in justice to the other portion of our story, we could give to them; but what we have presented to the reader was the essential portion of what he said.
All eyes were turned upon Todd, to note how he took the statement for the prosecution; but there was little to be gleaned from his face. His eyes seemed to be wandering over the sea of faces in the court, as if he were in search of some one whom he was disappointed in not seeing. There was a pause of some few moments duration, and then the Attorney-General called his first witness, who was examined by the Junior Counsel for the prosecution.
This witness's deposition was very simple and concise.
"I was master of the ship, Star," he said, "and arrived in the Port of London on the day named in the indictment against the prisoner at the bar. Mr. Francis Thornhill had mentioned to me and to Colonel Jeffery that he had a valuable String of Pearls to take to a young lady, named Johanna Oakley, and he left the ship with his dog, Hector, to deliver them. I never saw him again from that hour to this. I was anxious about him, and called at the barber's shop in Fleet Street, kept by the prisoner at the bar. The prisoner readily admitted that such a person had been shaved at his shop, and then had left it, but why the dog remained he could not tell. The dog named Hector was at the door of the prisoner's house. He had a hat with him. My name is Arthur Rose Fletcher, and I am forty two years of age."
"Is this the hat that you saw with the dog in Fleet Street?"
The hat was produced.
"Yes, that is the hat. I will swear to it."
"Whose hat is it, or was it?"
"It belonged to Mr. Thornhill, who wore it on the day he left the ship to go into the city with the String of Pearls."
"That is all then, Mr. Fletcher, that we need trouble you with at present."
The judge now interposed; and in a mild voice addressing Todd, he said—
"It is not too late for you to consent to the appointment of counsel to watch your case. I dare say some gentleman of the bar will volunteer to do so."
"With the prisoner's consent," said a counsel, who was sitting at the table below the judge, "I will attend to the case."
"Be it so," said Todd, gloomily.
Upon this the counsel rose, and addressing the captain of the ship, who had not yet left the witness-box, he said to him—
"Mr. Fletcher, how is it that you can so positively identify this hat of the alleged murdered Mr. Thornhill, after such a space of time?"
"By a remarkable flaw in the rim of it, sir. An accident occurred on board the ship, by which Mr. Thornhill's hat was burnt, and this is the same hat. When he left the ship we joked him about it, and he said that perhaps he would buy a new one in the City."
"Indeed. Then he might have sold this one."
"He might, certainly."
"And so the dog seeing it left at some place where it was sold or given away, and not comprehending such transaction, might have taken possession of it."
"Of that I can say nothing."
"Very well, Mr. Fletcher. I don't think I need trouble you any further. This affair of the hat seems to fall to the ground most completely."
The Attorney-General did not say a word aloud, but he whispered something to the junior, who nodded in reply. The next witness called, was John Figgs, the groom at the coach office, who had rescued Hector from Todd's malevolence. His testimony was as follows:—
"I saw a crowd of people round the door of Todd's shop, and I went over to see what it was all about. The dog as I calls Pison, but as everybody else calls Hector, was trying to get into the shop. Some one opened the door, and then he came out with a hat in his mouth, after rummaging all over the shop and upsetting no end of things. I tried to coax him away, but he would not come by no means. At last, the next day I found him very bad, and that he had been pisoned, and so I calls him Pison, and took him to the stables and got him over it."
"What is it he says he calls the dog?" asked the judge, with a very perplexed look.
"Pison, my lord."
"But what is Pison?"
"He means Poison."
"Oh, is that it; then why don't he say Poison? It's very absurd for anybody to say Pison, when they mean Poison all the while."
"It's all the same," said the groom. "Pison is my way, and the t'other is yourn, that's all!"
"What became of the hat?" asked the junior counsel for the prosecution.
"I don't know. When I found the dog, in a wery bad state indeed, it was gone."
"Now, John Figgs," said Todd's counsel, "could you identify that hat again among five hundred hats like it?"
"Five hundred?"
"Yes, or a thousand."
"Well, I should say not. It wouldn't be an easy matter to do that, I take it. I could tell you a particular horse among any lot, but I ain't so well known in the way of hats."
"Is this the hat? Can you deliberately swear that this is the hat in question?"
"I shouldn't like to swear it."
"Very well, that will do."
John Figgs was permitted to go down upon this, and it was quite evident that some faint hope was beginning to quicken in t............