Part 67 (1/2)

In both reports the summing up of the judge was moderate in expression, but leaned against the prisoner on every point, and corrected the sophistical reasoning of his counsel very sensibly. Both reports said an expert was called for the prisoner, whose ingenuity made the court smile, but did not counterbalance the evidence. Helen sat cold as ice with the extracts in her hand.

Not that her sublime faith was shaken, but that poor Robert appeared to have been so calmly and fairly dealt with by everybody. Even Mr.

Hennessy, the counsel for the Crown, had opened the case with humane regret, and confined himself to facts, and said n.o.body would be more pleased than he would, if this evidence could be contradicted, or explained in a manner consistent with the prisoner's innocence.

What a stone she had undertaken to roll--up what a hill!

What was to be her next step? Go to the Museum, which was now open to her, and read more reports? She shrank from that.

”The newspapers are all against him,” said she; ”and I don't want to be told he is guilty, when I know he is innocent.”

She now re-examined the extracts with a view to names, and found the only names mentioned were those of the counsel. The expert's name was not given in either. However, she knew that from Robert. She resolved to speak to Mr. Hennessy first, and try and get at the defendant's solicitor through him.

She found him out by the Law Directory, and called at a few minutes past four.

Hennessy was almost the opposite to Tollemache. He was about the size of a gentleman's wardrobe; and, like most enormous men, good-natured. He received her, saw with his practiced eye that she was no common person, and, after a slight hesitation on professional grounds, heard her request. He sent for his note-book, found the case in one moment, remastered it in another, and told her the solicitor for the Crown in that case was Freshfleld.

”Now,” said he, ”you want to know who was the defendant's solicitor?

Jenkins, a stamped envelope. Write your name and address on that.”

While she was doing it, he scratched a line to Mr. Freshfield, asking him to send the required information to the inclosed address.

She thanked Mr. Hennessy with the tears in her eyes.

”I dare not ask you whether you think him guilty,” she said.

Hennessy shook his head with an air of good-natured rebuke.

”You must not cross-examine counsel,” said he. ”But, if it will be any comfort to you, I'll say this much, there was just a shadow of doubt, and Tollemache certainly let a chance slip. If I had defended your friend, I would have insisted on a postponement of the trial until this Arthur Wardlaw” (looking at his note-book) ”could be examined, either in court or otherwise, if he was really dying. Is he dead, do you know?”

”No.”

”I thought not. Sick witnesses are often at death's door; but I never knew one pa.s.s the threshold. Ha! ha! The trial ought to have been postponed till he got well. If a judge refused me a postponement in such a case, I would make him so odious to the jury that the prisoner would get a verdict in spite of his teeth.”

”Then you think he was badly defended?”

”No; that is saying a great deal more than I could justify. But there are counsel who trust too much to their powers of reasoning, and underrate a c.h.i.n.k in the evidence pro or con. Practice, and a few back-falls, cure them of that.”

Mr. Hennessy uttered this general observation with a certain change of tone, which showed he thought he had said as much or more than his visitor had any right to expect from him; and she therefore left him, repeating her thanks. She went home, pondering on every word he had said, and entered it all in her journal, with the remark: ”How strange! the first doubt of Robert's guilt comes to me from the lawyer who caused him to be found guilty. He calls it the shadow of a doubt.”

That very evening, Mr. Freshfield had the courtesy to send her by messenger the name and address of the solicitor who had defended Robert Penfold, Lovejoy & James, Lincoln's Inn Fields. She called on them, and sent in her card. She was kept waiting a long time in the outer office, and felt ashamed, and sick at heart, seated among young clerks. At last she was admitted, and told Mr. Lovejoy she and her father, General Rolleston, were much interested in a late client of his, Mr. Robert Penfold; and would he be kind enough to let her see the brief for the defense?

”Are you a relation of the Penfolds, madam?”

”No, sir,” said Helen blus.h.i.+ng.

”Humph!” said Lovejoy. He touched a hand-bell. A clerk appeared.

”Ask Mr. Upton to come to me.” Mr. Upton, the managing clerk, came in due course, and Mr. Lovejoy asked him:

”Who instructed us in the Queen _v._ Penfold?”