Was He the Man?

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10225, 28 April 1911, Page 2

Was He the Man?

OUR SERIAL.

BY F. L, OACRE, o - Author of "A Phantom of the Past," "Tronholme's Trust," "The Doctor's Secret," "A Loveless Marriage," "Sir John's Heiress," etc.

CHAPTER XXll.—Continued

"One last question, Mr Grey," said Fen ton, "what would you think if I were to tell you that you have passed tho last three days in a semi-hypnotic state, and that you have given your evidence to-day in that condition, under tho direct influence of the accusal?" Before I could reply Mr Latchford- ( Drown had risen to his feet again, exclaiming : ... "This is monstrous, sir! In the name of justice and fairness, I protest against such words being used in a court, of law. My learned friend's insinuation is monstrous, outrageous, ridiculous!" • .' "I must say," said the magistrate, interposing, "that this is the most extraordinary question I have i-v->r heara a witness Are you quite serious in asking t, Mr Kenton 0 "

-- ."Most serious, i,ir," r-pliei Ft'nt'jl g;ivnely. "I could -.ut i:-.!!,•! in n.:fc a serious :miter at, this. I admit the qvt&tion is extrao •.rnrr, u ;t I subm;: the circumstance :iiv t'l.'irlly '■> is I shall have ample evidence Lor.icno.v to prove the true uientity of t-.. accused, I »vi;l, if :>y Ic-arawd rrio.id wishes it, witiii.uv- the «f•-- >ticu " "I must repeal hat tJ.t* quest in is quite outrageois, and shall a ■'• for it to he withdrawn," said counsel for the defence. "I will withdraw it, v said F?ntoji. "and have no more questions, io ask.

The counsel for the accused now examined me atliomei iwigth, and .!<;- voted his'efforts 10 showing that the insinuation as fo my bi'ing -under hypnotic influence wasl utterly i:\s-Q-Jsss. He succeeded in proving by niy answers that most of my symptoms were reasonably -attributable to the' mental strain which vie 'jaso= had imposed upon me, aa:d also urgV ed the fact of my clearly rernernbeiv ing all that had occurred, was in direct opposition to all i hat was known of hypnotism. /When :my examination was oor> eluded, the magistrate adjourned my examination until the next- day. Mr Latchiord-Browii at 'nc.* applied forbail/ but) Fejrfcon- iminedia,t. ; > ly protested against its' being \rnirited. He urged the serious nature of the crimes .with,,which .the accusal •was charged; ttiat he had broken from prison, and that it would, in consequence, be , unprecedented' to allow him* bail. Were j.t allowed, lie confidently predicted that h-e mrzld be looked for in vain on the fallowing day, : 'Denver's counsel made a. strong ap peal on his client's behalf. "I ishouldihatfe nothing to. say," he .said, "against my'ifriehd's argument, sir-, ■' \76ve'. the inan, in, , the dock -Fitzgerald.: I am not here to defend Fitzgerald, to dispute anything with, which he is charged, but I am concerned in Major Denver, who now stands before youi, . ''Twice before; in France, Tias : my .unfortunate .client.been arrested for crimes committed by i&tzgerald, to whom, it seems, he bears an exceptionally atrong resemblance; and on both occasions it wasi proved incontestabjy. that he was not Fitzgerald, but the man he, s*ud he was—Major Denver.

"Now, for the third time, he finds himself in. the same unenviable position—fortunately, for the last time, as the man intzgeyald is dead. Every ..act of jthe accused since he land--in' iHis oouri.ti.yMn convincing eyi;'deiiceVJihat he is.tfe mail whom he claims to* be—Major; Denver,, and no other. Immediately oil; his arrival he goes to his. lawyer,. to' t show that; he ,is alive, an^ to claim rights.'Mr Morion, Who lias some years, never doubted that he was his old client,' Major Denver. How could an impostor have known that Mr Morton was Major Denver's lawyer.

With a gesture of .contemptuous impatience, Morel sat down again. • Tk?n the magistrate, after remarking that the evidence as to the identity cf the. ■ accused \ with the man whose extradition was demanded : was but slight, .went on to say that he had decided to grant the prisoner his application for bail, but ic imust he substantial—one thousand: pounds, with two sureties in the sum of of fivehundred pounds each. The tension of the features of the accused relaxed, his counsel exhibited a bland content, while Mr Morton smiled all over his face. Morel gave vent to a dissatisfied snort. Fenton, .whiiegathering up hispapers, remarked in an audible a-side to his junior: "If lie forfeits his /bail, I'll eat him." , Then he abruptly left the court. The fact that he took no notice o'.' me showed how deeply chagrined he was. I , immediately offered myself as one of the sureties,'and was accepted. "I .will toe the other, if I'm allowed," said a tall, soldierly looking man with bronzed face and gray hair, stepping forward from the rear of the court. In" answer to the usual questions thei stranger said : ■ < .

"On leaving Mr' Morton the accused goes aVonce-to his oldest friend, Mr Gf ny, whom he has known from childhood. Fitzgerald could not have known of his existence. On the next day he calla am Mrs- Mayhew, who knew him well. §he is the aunt of the young lady to whom he was engaged, and who had mourned him as dead,, and he goes' there to obtain tidings; of her./, - . ■ \-, '

"Would a. fugitive from justice,' a man- charged, with a capital crime, have acted as Major Denver did? .Yon have heard Mr Grey's evidence, and he doesn't entertain a doubt that the prisoner in the dock is his lifelong friend, and this despite the fact that he thereby loses a fortune of one hundred thousand pounds, which he takes under the will of the man who,had posed as Major Denver. Mi- Morton, who is instructing me, is absolutely certain that he is

"I Colonel Hawirey, of the Ninety-seventh Regiment, now in Egypt. arrived in England, fr-om ..-Maltay*"bnly yesterday.-' If you; will with me to the Horse . Guards 1 will prove .my identity.' 7 • An ncfhr later Denver was a free ;<;.masi.. until the next morning. I i:iTited himvand the Colonel, who had /greeted rriih. almost , • .-affectionate tline at my rooms. The invitation was accepted, and I added: ' "I shall expect you to sleep at my, place as well, Denver, so that I can keep my eye on you, you know." "All right," he replied, with a laugh, "ajid many thanks. You needn't be afraid that I will forfeit my /bail. We'll' hare Colonel Hawtrey in the box to-morrow, and I think he will be able to settle the question of my jdentitv beyond a doubt." "With pleasure," agreed the sol-. : 'dier. "That fellow, Feiiton is pretty; smart, but She shan't get over me, I promise you." '';"', , On the way to my rooms Denver complained of a Tieadache, and expressed jhis intention of calling at a drug store for a remedy. We remained in th-a cab while he did ,so, and when he .rejoined us he said the druggist had given him a draft, and he hoped to be quickly rid of his ailment. , (To be CcntinuedY

Major Denver, and will go on the witness stand and say so on oath. Be is there to contradict me, if I express myself too strongly." He pointed to Mr Morton, who was seated at .the lawyers' table, and ho at 6naa rose to his feet. "I have not the slightest hesitation in asserting that the mail before you is Major Denver, and that he has been arrested by mistake," he affirmed. He was continuing, but the magistrate interrupted. "You will have the opportunity of swearing it later, Mr Morton. * I cannot accept informal statements."

Mr Morton sat down, and Latch-ford-Brown resumed his appeal for bail. It was a clear case of mistak- ! en identity, he said, and the fact would be established; hut the. accused desired to be in a position to look up friends, and secure their attendance at the next hearing. He therefore pressed for bail. I 'During this speech 1 had been engaged iii watching the faces of those chiefly, interested "in the case. Denver had kept his eyes fixed upon the counsel;' his face was pale, but disclosed little trace of emotion-. Fenton plainly had great difficulty in controlling his annoyance. Morel j alcne sat motionless and impassive, ?.*r;;ept that once or twice he shrugg<:d his shoulders slightly in dissent at certain of Mr Latchford-Brown's statements. I noted with satisfaction that the magistrate seemed impressed with the statements of the counsel, and augured from this that bail would be allowed. It was clear, too, that the sympathy of the court'was with the accused.' That Morel was well aware of this was evident, for the moment that Mr Latchford-Brown resumed his seat he. sprang to his feet ,and began to protest vehemently against the pris-. oner's release on bail, "when . th& magistrate out him short: • "I (have already,heard your counsel on that point," he said. "I cannot listen to you."