After a long battle, the prosecuting attorney was allowed to show that, following the breaking off of her relations with Singleton, she had been a witness against him in an assault-and-battery case, and had testified to his violence of temper. The dispute took so long that there was only time for her cross-examination. The effect of the evidence, so far, was distinctly bad for Singleton.
His attorney, a young and intelligent Jew, cross-examined Mrs. Sloane.
Attorney for the defense: "Did you ever write a letter to the defendant, Mrs. Sloane, threatening him if he did not marry you?"
"I do not recall such a letter."
"Is this letter in your writing?"
"I think so. Yes."
"Mrs. Sloane, you testify that you opened your door and saw Mr. Vail and the captain taking Mr. Turner to his room. Is this correct?"
"Yes."
"Why did they take him? I mean, was he not able, apparently, to walk alone?"
"He was able to walk. They walked beside him."
"In your testimony, taken at the time and entered in the ship's log, you say you 'judged by the sounds.' Here you say you 'opened the door and saw them.' Which is correct?"
"I saw them."
"You say that Mr. Singleton said he wished to 'get at' the captain. Are those his exact words?"
"I do not recall his exact words."
"Perhaps I can refresh your mind. With the permission of the court, I shall read from the ship's log this woman's statement, recorded by the man who was in charge of the vessel, and therefore competent to make such record, and signed by the witness as having been read and approved by her: -
"'Mr. Singleton said that he hoped the captain would come, as he and Mr. Turner only wanted a chance to get at him . . . . There was a sound outside, and Karen thought it was Mr. Turner falling over something, and said that she hoped she would not meet him. Once or twice, when he had been drinking, he had made overtures to her, and she detested him . . . . She opened the door and came back into the room, touching me on the arm. "That beast is out there," she said, "sitting on the companion steps. If he tries to stop me, I'll call you."'"
The reading made a profound impression. The prosecution, having succeeded in having the log admitted as evidence, had put a trump card in the hands of the defense.
"What were the relations between Mr. Turner and the captain?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Were they friendly?"
"No - not very."
"Did you overhear, on the night of August 9, a conversation between Mr. Turner and Mr. Vail?"
"Yes."
"What was its nature?"
"They were quarreling."
"What did Williams, the butler, give you to hide, that night?"
"Mr. Turner's revolver."
"What did he say when he gave it to you?"
"He - said to throw it overboard or there would be trouble."
"Mrs. Sloane, do you recognize these two garments?"
He held up a man's dinner shirt and a white waistcoat. The stewardess, who had been calm enough, started and paled.
"I cannot tell without examining them." (They were given to her, and she looked at them.) "Yes, I have seen them."
"What are they?"
"A shirt and waistcoat of Mr. Turner's."
"When did you see them last?"
"I packed them in my trunk when we left the boat. They had been forgotten when the other trunks were packed." "Had you washed them?"
"No."
"Were they washed on shipboard?"
"They look like it. They have not been ironed."
"Who gave them to you to pack in your trunk?"
"Mrs. Johns."
"What did you do with them on reaching New York?"
"I left them in my trunk."
"Why did you not return them to Mr. Turner?"
"I was ill, and forgot. I'd like to know what right you have going through a person's things - and taking what you want!"
The stewardess was excused, the defense having scored perceptibly. It was clear what line the young Jew intended to follow.
Oleson, the Swede, was called next, and after the usual formalities: -
"Where were you between midnight and 4 A.M. on the morning of August 12?"
"In the crow's-nest of the Ella."
"State what you saw between midnight and one o'clock."
"I saw Mate Singleton walking on the forecastle-head. Every now and then he went to the rail. He seemed to be vomiting. It was too dark to see much. Then he went aft along the port side of the house, and came forward again on the starboard side. He went to where the axe was kept."
"Where was that?"
"Near the starboard corner of the forward house. All the Turner boats have an emergency box, with an axe and other tools, in easy reach. The officer on watch carried the key."
"Could you see what he was doing?"
"No; but he was fumbling at the box. I heard him."
"Where did he go after that?"
"He went aft."
"You could not see him?"
"I didn't look. I thought I saw something white moving below me, and I was watching it."
"This white thing - what did it look like?" "Like a dog, I should say. It moved about, and then disappeared."
"How?"
"I don't understand."
"Over the rail?"
"Oh - no, sir. It faded away."
"Had you ever heard talk among the men of the Ella being a haunted ship?"
"Yes - but not until after I'd signed on her!"
"Was there some talk of this 'white thing'?"
"Yes."
"Before the murders?"
"No, sir; not till after. I guess I saw it first."
"What did the men say about it?"
"They thought it scared Mr. Schwartz overboard. The Ella's been unlucky as to crews. They call her a 'devil ship.'"
"Did you see Mr. Singleton on deck between two and three o'clock?"
"No, sir."
The cross-examination was very short: -
"What sort of night was it?"
"Very dark."
"Would the first mate, as officer on watch, be supposed to see that the emergency case you speak of was in order?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did the officer on watch remain on the forecastle-head?"
"Mr. Schwartz did not; Mr. Singleton did, mostly except when he went back to strike the bells."
"Could Mr. Singleton have been on deck without you seeing him?"
"Yes, if he did not move around or smoke. I could see his pipe lighted."
"Did you see his pipe that night?"
"No, sir."
"If you were sick, would you be likely to smoke?"
This question, I believe, was ruled out.
"In case the wheel of the vessel were lashed for a short time, what would happen?"
"Depends on the weather. She'd be likely to come to or fall off considerable."
"Would the lookout know it?"
"Yes, sir."
"How?"
"The sails would show it, sir."
That closed the proceedings for the day. The crowd seemed reluctant to disperse. Turner's lawyers were in troubled consultation with him. Singleton was markedly more cheerful, and I thought the prosecution looked perturbed and uneasy. I went back to jail that night, and dreamed of Elsa - not as I had seen her that day, bending forward, watching every point of the evidence, but as I had seen her so often on the yacht, facing into the salt breeze as if she loved it, her hands in the pockets of her short white jacket, her hair blowing back from her forehead in damp, close-curling rings.
CHAPTER XXI
"A BAD WOMAN"
Charlie Jones was called first, on the second day of the trial. He gave his place of birth as Pennsylvania, and his present shore address as a Sailors' Christian Home in New York. He offered, without solicitation, the information that he had been twenty-eight years in the Turner service, and coul
d have been "up at the top," but preferred the forecastle, so that he could be an influence to the men.
His rolling gait, twinkling blue eyes, and huge mustache, as well as the plug of tobacco which he sliced with a huge knife, put the crowd in good humor, and relieved somewhat the somberness of the proceedings.
"Where were you between midnight and 4 A.M. on the morning of August i2?"
"At the wheel."
"You did not leave the wheel during that time?"
"Yes, sir."
"When was that?"
"After they found the captain's body. I went to the forward companion and looked down."
"Is a helmsman permitted to leave his post?"
"With the captain lying dead down in a pool of blood, I should think-"
"Never mind thinking. Is he?"
"No."
"What did you do with the wheel when you left it?"
"Lashed it. There are two rope-ends, with loops, to lash it with. When I was on the Sarah Winters -"
"Stick to the question. Did you see the mate, Mr. Singleton, during your watch?"
"Every half-hour from 12.30 to 1.30. He struck the bells. After that he said he was sick. He thought he'd been poisoned. He said he was going forward to lie down, and for me to strike them."
"Who struck the bell at three o'clock?"
"I did, sir."
"When did you hear a woman scream?"
"Just before that."
"What did you do?"
"Nothing. It was the Hansen woman. I did n't like her. She was a bad woman. When I told her what she was, she laughed."
"Were you ever below in the after house?"
"No, sir; not since the boat was fixed up."
"What could you see through the window beside the wheel?"
"It looked into the chart-room. If the light was on, I could see all but the floor."
"Between the hours of I A.m. and 3 A.m., did any one leave or enter the after house by the after companion?"
"Yes, sir. Mr. Singleton went down into the chart-room, and came back again in five or ten minutes."
"At what time?"
"At four bells - two o'clock."
"No one else?"
"No, sir; but I saw Mr. Turner -"
"Confine yourself to the question. What was Mr. Singleton's manner at the time you mention?"
"He was excited. He brought up a bottle of whiskey from the chart-room table, and drank what was left in it. Then he muttered something, and threw the empty bottle over the rail. He said he was still sick."
The cross-examination confined itself to one detail of Charlie Jones's testimony.
"Did you, between midnight and 3 A.M., see any one in the chart-room besides the mate?"
"Yes - Mr. Turner."
"You say you cannot see into the chart-room from the wheel at night. How did you see him?"
"He turned on the light. He seemed to be looking for something."
"Was he dressed?"
"Yes, sir."
"Can you describe what he wore?"
"Yes, sir. His coat was off. He had a white shirt and a white vest."
"Were the shirt and vest similar to these I show you?"
"Most of them things look alike to me. Yes, sir."
The defense had scored again. But it suffered at the hands of Burns, the next witness. I believe the prosecution had intended to call Turner at this time; but, after a whispered conference with Turner's attorneys, they made a change. Turner, indeed, was in no condition to go on the stand. He was pallid and twitching, and his face was covered with sweat.
Burns corroborated the testimony against Singleton - his surly temper, his outbursts of rage, his threats against the captain. And he brought out a new point: that Jones, the helmsman, had been afraid of Singleton that night, and had asked not to be left alone at the wheel.
During this examination the prosecution for the first time made clear their position: that the captain was murdered first; that Vail interfered, and, pursued by Singleton, took refuge in his bunk, where he was slaughtered; that the murderer, bending to inspect his horrid work, had unwittingly touched the bell that roused Karen Hansen, and, crouching in the chartroom with the axe, had struck her as she opened the door.
The prosecution questioned Burns about the axe and its disappearance.
"Who suggested that the axe be kept in the captain's cabin?"
"Leslie, acting as captain."
"Who had the key?"
"I carried it on a strong line around my neck."
"Whose arrangement was that?"
"Leslie's. He had the key to Mr. Singleton's cabin, and I carried this one. We divided the responsibility."
"Did you ever give the key to any one?"
"No, sir."
"Did it ever leave you?"
"Not until it was taken away."
"When was that?"
"On Saturday morning, August 22, shortly before dawn."
"Tell what happened."
"I was knocked down from behind, while I was standing at the port forward corner of the after house. The key was taken from me while I was unconscious."
"Did you ever see the white object that has been spoken of by the crew?"
"No, sir. I searched the deck one night when Adams, the lookout, raised an alarm. We found nothing except -"
"Go on."
"He threw down a marlinespike at something moving in the bow. The spike disappeared. We couldn't find it, although we could see where it had struck the deck. Afterwards we found a marlinespike hanging over the ship's side by a lanyard. It might have been the one we looked for."
"Explain 'lanyard."'
"A cord - a sort of rope."
"It could not have fallen over the side and hung there?"
"It was fastened with a Blackwell hitch."
"Show us what you mean."
On cross-examination by Singleton's attorney, Burns was forced to relate the incident of the night before his injury - that Mrs. Johns had asked to see the axe, and he had shown it to her. He maintained stoutly that she had not been near the bunk, and that the axe was there when he locked the door.
Adams, called, testified to seeing a curious, misty-white object on the forecastle-head. It had seemed to come over the bow. The marlinespike he threw had had no lanyard.
Mrs. Turner and Miss Lee escaped with a light examination. Their evidence amounted to little, and was practically the same. They had retired early, and did not rouse until I called them. They remained in their rooms most of the time after that, and were busy caring for Mr. Turner, who had been ill. Mrs. Turner was good enough to say that I had made them as safe and as comfortable as possible.
The number of witnesses to be examined, and the searching grilling to which most of them were subjected, would have dragged the case to interminable length, had it not been for the attitude of the judges, who discouraged quibbling and showed a desire to reach the truth with the least possible delay. One of the judges showed the wide and unbiased attitude of the court by a little speech after an especially venomous contest.
"Gentlemen," he said, "we are attempting to get to a solution of this thing. We are trying one man, it is true, but, in a certain sense, we are trying every member of the crew, every person who was on board the ship the night of the crime. We have a curious situation. The murderer is before us, either in the prisoner's dock or among the witnesses. Let us get at the truth without bickering."
Mrs. Johns was called, following Miss Lee. I watched her carefully on the stand. I had never fathomed Mrs. Johns, or her attitude toward the rest of the party. I had thought, at the beginning of the cruise, that Vail and she were incipient lovers. But she had taken his death with a calmness that was close to indifference. There was something strange and inexplicable in her tigerish championship of Turner - and it remains inexplicable even now. I have wondered since - was she in love with Turner, or was she only a fiery partisan? I wonder!
She testified with an insolent coolness that clearly irrita
ted the prosecution - thinking over her replies, refusing to recall certain things, and eyeing the jury with long, slanting glances that set them, according to their type, either wriggling or ogling.
The first questions were the usual ones. Then:
"Do you recall the night of the 3 1st of July
"Can you be more specific?"
"I refer to the night when Captain Richardson found the prisoner in the chart-room and ordered him on deck."
"I recall that, yes."
"Where were you during the quarrel?"
"I was behind Mr. Vail."
"Tell us about it, please."
"It was an ordinary brawl. The captain knocked the mate down."
"Did you hear the mate threaten the captain?"
" No. He went on deck, muttering; I did not hear what was said."
"After the crimes, what did you do?"
"We established a dead-line at the foot of the forward companion. The other was locked."
"Was there a guard at the top of the companion?"
"Yes; but we trusted no one."
"Where was Mr. Turner?"
"Ill, in his cabin."
"How ill?"
"Very. He was delirious."
"Did you allow any one down?"
"At first, Leslie, a sort of cabin-boy and deck steward, who seemed to know something of medicine. Afterward we would not allow him, either."
"Why?"
"We did not trust him."
"This Leslie -why had you asked him to sleep in the storeroom?"
"I - was afraid."
"Will you explain why you were afraid?"
"Fear is difficult to explain, isn't it? If one knows why one is afraid, one - er - generally isn't."
"That's a bit subtle, I'm afraid. You were afraid, then, without knowing why?"
"Yes."
"Had you a revolver on board?'"
"Yes."
"Whose revolver was kept on the cabin table?"
"Mine. I always carry one."
"Always?"
"Yes."
"Then - have you one with you now?"
"Yes."
"When you asked the sailor Burns to let you see the axe, what did you give as a reason?"
"The truth - curiosity."
"Then, having seen the axe, where did you go?"
"Below."
"Please explain the incident of the two articles Mr. Goldstein showed to the jury yesterday, the shirt and waistcoat."
"That was very simple. Mr. Turner had been very ill. We took turns in caring for him. I spilled a bowl of broth over the garments that were shown, and rubbed them out in the bathroom. They were hung in the cabin used by Mr. Vail to dry, and I forgot them when we were packing."
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