Part 37 (1/2)
”Do you know why Mr. Solomon gave you that note?”
”No.”
”But he told you to swear that you found it in his office on the day in question?”
”Yes.”
”You knew that it was he who provided the vessel with guns and ammunition, and also caused the name _Hawk_ to be subst.i.tuted for that of _Arrow_?”
Sumbowa hesitated for the fraction of a minute.
”Well?” rapped out the lawyer.
”Er--yes.”
”Thank you; that will do.”
The witness tottered back to his seat and almost collapsed in it. Never had he pa.s.sed through such an ordeal before, and, for the time being, he was a nervous wreck.
Mr. Vayne turned to the tribunal.
”I shall not waste your time, gentlemen,” he said, ”by calling witnesses for the defence--as, for instance, my client's chief officer, who was with him when he visited the prosecutor on the night of sailing--or by arguing a matter which I regard as proven. All I shall do is to draw from the evidence conclusions which, beyond a doubt, prove my client's innocence of the charge brought against him. After having treated us to a series of palpable falsehoods at the instigation of his employer, the witness Sumbowa has admitted that Solomon did not give him the note saying that he would be out of town until a fortnight after the _Arrow's_ departure and the inference is that Solomon _did_ see my client on that particular night. Had he not done so, why should he have tried to establish an alibi; why should he have taken such pains to try and prove that he was not in Singapore that night?
”Further, I contend that these deductions are confirmed by the fact that Solomon, on his own admission, did not make known the alleged offence until three weeks after the steamer had left. I put it to you, gentlemen, as men of the world, that this was an extraordinary procedure, and can only be accounted for by the a.s.sumption that the prosecutor did not want his victim to be arrested before the latter had secured what, for want of a better term, I shall call a generous profit on the initial outlay.
”In short, I submit that Solomon entered into a conspiracy with divers persons to bring about the ruination of my client in order that he, the prosecutor, might reap the entire benefits of this privateering expedition.
”And now a word concerning the allegation that my client possessed forged Letters of Marque. I don't think it necessary to prove or disprove this charge, seeing that, under the circ.u.mstances, Letters of Marque were quite unnecessary. Any British s.h.i.+p, or any s.h.i.+p belonging to an allied Power, has the right to attack and destroy an enemy vessel, a statement which is borne out by the fact that the British Government offered rewards to any merchant captain who could prove that he had sunk, captured, or destroyed an enemy submarine. This, gentlemen, is all I have to say.”
After a few minutes' whispered consultation with his colleagues, the president turned towards Calamity.
”We are unanimously of opinion that the charge brought against you is without the smallest foundation, and that you have been the victim of a malicious conspiracy,” he said. ”You are, therefore, acquitted. As to the prosecutor and his witnesses, they will be dealt with in due course upon charges arising out of this case.”
As the president ceased speaking, Calamity rose and, drawing some papers from his pocket, handed them to him. They were the forged clearance papers and the secret instructions from a German source, addressed to Mr. Solomon, which he had taken from the _Ann_.
The president hastily glanced through them, asked Calamity a few questions in a low voice, and then touched a little bell at his side. A sergeant of marines entered in answer to the ring and stood at attention.
”Arrest that man and see that he is well guarded,” said the president, indicating the s.h.i.+p-chandler.
With the sergeant's vice-like grip upon his arm, Mr. Isaac Solomon was dragged protesting from the room and so vanished for ever from the ken of friends and enemies alike.
CHAPTER XXVII
THE LETTER
Although the trial had been held in camera, the news of Calamity's arrest and acquittal soon became known throughout Singapore, though there were at least half a dozen different versions of the affair. And, as might have been antic.i.p.ated, various inaccurate accounts of his adventures as a privateer were put into circulation by his crew, with the result that, before many hours had pa.s.sed, he was looked upon as a hero of the most romantic type. Crowds flocked to the harbour to gaze at the two vessels, and the native boatmen did a thriving business in taking the more enthusiastic spectators round them. Wild tales were spread concerning the amount of booty which had been taken and the fabulous sums of prize-money which had been distributed among the crew.
In addition to these confused exaggerations, another one soon gained currency to the effect that Calamity had been created a lord in recognition of his exploits.