Mrs. Balfame: A Novel

by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton

  CHAPTER XXXII

  On the morrow the first witness called by the prosecution in rebuttalwas old Kraus, and now it was Mr. Rush's turn to shout "Immaterial,Irrelevant and Incompetent," so that it was well-nigh impossible for thejury to do more than guess what the choleric person with a strong Germanaccent was talking about. The district attorney fought valiantly to drawforth the story of Frieda's nocturnal visit to the Kraus home in searchof advice after hearing Mrs. Balfame enter the kitchen from the yard,but his efforts ended in a shouting contest between the prosecution andthe defence, both deserting their positions before the jury-box andwrangling before the Judge like two angry school-boys. Alys Crumleylonged to laugh aloud, but not so the Judge. He asked them curtly how hewas to know what was their point of dispute if they both talked at once.He then commanded Mr. Rush to state in as few words as possible what hewas objecting to; and when the counsel for the defence had stated hispurely legal reasons for blocking this purely hearsay testimony, theJudge abruptly threw Mr. Kraus out of court. Rush, flushed andtriumphant, returned to his chair below the jury-box, and Mr. Goresulkily called the name of Miss Frieda Appel.

  There was no question of poor Frieda's making a good personal impressionupon spectators or jury, no matter how worthy her motives. She had savedalmost every penny of her wages since coming to America; it had beenher lover's intention to emigrate to Brabant County as soon as his termof service was over, and her housewifely intention to greet him with afurnished cottage. Since the war began, she had sent all her savings toEast Prussia lest her people starve.

  Dress in any circumstances would never tempt her. Economy was herreligion, and she cherished no illusions about her face and form. To-dayshe wore a skirt of an old voluminous cut and a jacket with highpuckered sleeves. The colour had once been brown. Her coarse blonde hairmet her eyebrows in a thick bang, and its high knob was surmounted by asailor hat a size too small. Her thick-set body was uncorseted, and herindeterminate features were lost in the width and flatness of her face.Only the little eyes beneath the heavy thatch of hair alternately gloweddully and spat fire.

  The Judge sternly suppressed the titter that ran over the court-room asthis caricature mounted the witness-stand, and the district attorney, inspite of frequent interruptions, elicited a remarkably clear andcoherent statement. The Judge sustained him, for here was a realwitness, and Miss Appel not only had been as thoroughly rehearsed asMrs. Figg, but she had a neat precise little mind set with rows ofpigeonholes that ejected their contents in routine when her coachpressed the cognate button.

  She had come home abruptly from the dance-hall as she had aninsupportable toothache--had run all the way, as she had sometoothache-drops in her room. She was in such agony she hardly hadnoticed that her friend Conrad Kraus was behind her. When she reachedher room she had applied the drops, and to her horror they made the painworse. After walking the floor for perhaps ten minutes--she didn't knowor care whether it was ten or fifteen minutes--she was just starting togo down-stairs and heat some water for her bag when she heard thekitchen door open and shut. She held her breath and did not answer whenMrs. Balfame called, as she feared she was wanted and was determined todo nothing for anybody while her tooth ached like that.

  Mrs. Balfame's voice had sounded quite breathless, as if she had beenrunning. In a moment Frieda heard her go into the dining-room then backto the kitchen, and turn on the tap,--not the filter, which made nonoise,--and then she heard one glass clink against another on the pantryshelf. After that, Mrs. Balfame went upstairs from the front hall andthe witness returned to her room and threw herself on the bed, where sheremained until Mr. Cummack came and asked her to go downstairs and makecoffee. By this time her tooth ached so she didn't care what she did.

  Cross-questioned, she admitted that Mrs. Balfame was in the habit ofdrinking a glass of filtered water the last thing at night. No, she hadnot heard her go out, but only come in. But why, if Mrs. Balfame sawnothing outside to frighten her, or if she hadn't been out, was she soshort of breath? As may be imagined, mere speculation on Miss Appel'spart was cut short by Mr. Rush, who interrupted her constantly. Yes, shehad heard what she now knew had been a shot but she had paid noattention. Who would, with a red-hot iron forcing one's tooth downthrough one's jaw?

  Even the scornful questions of counsel which forced her to admit thatshe had lied to the coroner neither perturbed her nor made anyimpression on jury, press, or spectators. Every one present had sufferedfrom toothache, and two farmers in the box showed their tusks in anappreciative grin when she replied tartly that she didn't know or careanything that day but tooth, tooth, tooth. It was manifest that she wasfar too conservative to have had it out at once, to say nothing of thecost.

  The only question she was not prepared for was the abrupt challenge ofMr. Rush as to how she could prove that young Kraus had followed her ifshe had neither seen nor spoken to him during that short run from MainStreet. But although she was visibly perturbed at being confronted witha set of words to which no neat little pigeon-hole responded, it was soevident she was firmly convinced her friend had accompanied her, thatfor Rush to make too much of his solitary point would prejudice hiscase, and he let her go.

  Conrad Jr. followed, and his story was equally straightforward. He alsomade a good impression. True, he had a very small closely cropped head,with eyes too small and ears too large, but he held himself witharrogance, and he was well dressed in a new grey suit and pink shirt.Born in the United States, it was manifest that he was proud not only ofbeing an American citizen but of the country's choicest vintage. He hadbeen sent to the public school until he was sixteen, had studiedconscientiously, and his grammar was quite as good as that of theDistrict Attorney, who in emotional moments confused his negatives. But,even Rush, whose advantages had been as superior as his naturalequipment, became a good nasal American when excited, opened intovowels, and freely translated _you_ into _yer_. It is these persistentcharacteristics, so racy of the soil, which cheer us when apprehendingthat our original Americanism may in time be obliterated by the foreigninflux.

  No, said young Kraus, he had no sentimental interest in Frieda. (Hesmiled.) And he was engaged to a young lady to whom he had beenattentive for three years. But he felt like a brother to Frieda; she hadcome to his father's house direct from Germany, their families havingbeen friends for generations. It was not only his duty but his pleasureto dance with her, she being "the best of the bunch down at the hall."

  As he was dancing with her when her toothache became unendurable, it wasnatural that he should see her home; in fact, he always saw her homewhen it was convenient. Of course if he had to catch the last trolleyfor Dobton in a hurry, that was another matter.

  When she had entered the house, he had waited, thinking she might wantsome other drops or possibly a dentist. Once when he had had atoothache, he had been obliged to go to a dentist's house at night. Hispapa had sent him, and naturally he thought of it as a possibility inFrieda's case.

  Then the kitchen door opened and a woman came out.

  At this point the interest in the court-room became intense. Even theblase young reporters sat forward, their pencils poised. The Judgewheeled his chair to the right and stared down fixedly at the back ofyoung Kraus' head. The district attorney balanced himself on his heels,his thumbs hooked in the sleeves of his vest, and Rush stood with hisback curved as if to spring down the witness' throat with a wild yellof "Immaterial, irrelevant and incompetent." Only Mrs. Balfame sat likea statue that had neither eyes to see nor ears to hear.

  Yes, Mr. Kraus recognised Mrs. Balfame's figure and walk. She was one ina thousand for looks, and taller than many men. She had on a long darkulster and a black scarf round her head. The kitchen light was behindher--

  Here there was another furious contest between the chief counsel and thedistrict attorney, but the Judge ordered the young man (who had consumeda toothpick imperturbably) to proceed with his story. Mrs. Balfame hadslipped round the corner of the house, listened intently, walked for aminute
toward the back of the grounds,--he could just see the movingshadow in the darkness,--turned abruptly and entered the grove.Naturally interested, he waited to see what she was up to; andthen--possibly three or four minutes later--he heard Balfame singing"Tipperary," and a moment or two after that the shot,--one shot, nottwo; he took no stock in the theory that there had been twoshots,--followed by loud voices from the other side of the avenue.

  Then he "beat it," that being his natural instinct at the moment. Hispapa had taught him to be cautious and to keep clear of other people'sfights. He had never been close up against a crime, and he hoped henever should be. He walked through the adjoining grounds at the back andthen into Balfame Street and took the next trolley home. He didn't feellike dancing after what he guessed had happened.

  No, he had heard no sound of running footsteps, but he stood for amoment near the back fence of the Lequer place; there were people in thelibrary until some man ran in calling for the doctor to come atonce--and he did see a car leave the lane behind the Balfame place. Hehad thought nothing of it, however, as automobiles were everywhere allthe time. No, he hadn't tried to see whether the car was driven by a manor woman or how many occupants it had. Not only was the night very dark(as far as he remembered, the car had no lamps), but his one idea was toget out of the neighbourhood.

  Rush put him through a grilling cross-examination, and although he couldnot shake his testimony, he made use of all his practised arts toexhibit the youth as a sorry coward who ran away when he heard arevolver-shot instead of rushing with the common instinct of Americanmanhood to ascertain if it were the woman herself who had been thevictim. How much had he been paid to give this testimony withheld at thecoroner's inquest? Young Kraus' ruddy hues had deepened to purple sometime since, and he shouted back that he had come forward only when thatwoman's lying friends were trying to fasten the crime upon his innocentpapa. Here he was sternly admonished by the Judge to confine his answersto "Yes" and "No" unless he could control his temper. Rush forced him toreiterate that he had not had a glimpse of Mrs. Balfame's face thatnight, that he never had spoken to her at any time; and the lawyerremarked crushingly that the young man's brain must have been in ahopelessly confused state if he saw a car leave the lane so soon afterthe shooting--a car, moreover, without lights--and failed to connectthis phenomenon with the immediately previous sound of a pistol-shot.It was evident that his brain moved so slowly that it had taken himalmost a week to put a good story together.

  Young Kraus left the stand with his inborn sense of superiority overmere Americans severely shaken, but although his small angry eyesencountered more than one sneer, and many of those hostile spectatorslooked as if they would laugh outright were it not for their awe of theJudge, he had injured Mrs. Balfame far more than himself. Few believedhim to be lying or that he had seen a vision, not a real woman, leavethe Balfame house by the kitchen door. He was known to have been assober as usual on the night of the dance, and as the evidence againsthis father had been regarded as fantastic from the first, there was noconceivable cause for him to lie.

  Mr. Gifning, Mr. Battle and Mr. Carden, who were the first to reachBalfame, after he fell, were forced by the district attorney to givedamning evidence against Mrs. Balfame. Her room was in the front of thehouse; if in it, she could have heard the shot as plainly as they on Mr.Gifning's veranda. But she did not come downstairs or manifest herselfin any way until they had had time to summon the coroner (who to be surelived round the corner) and Dr. Lequeur. It must have been quite sixminutes before she opened her window and demanded the reason for thedisturbance at her gate. At least, it had seemed that long. No, theynever confused a revolver-shot with a bursting tire. They had when carsfirst came into use, but they had learned to differentiate long since.

  When Mr. Rush asked them sarcastically why one at least of the party hadnot searched the grove and attempted to capture the murderer, theyreplied they had by no means been sure that the shot had come from thegrove. It might have come from anywhere. It was only after the doctor'sexamination that the direction of the bullet had been agreed upon. Laterthey did search the grove with a dark-lantern brought from Mrs.Gifning's house; in fact, they searched every inch of the grounds, andtheir only reward was abuse from the police.

  These three witnesses, examined after the noon recess, occupied verylittle time. It was at ten minutes to four that the district attorneyelectrified every one in the courtroom by calling to the stand a manwhose name up to that moment had not been mentioned in the case. Thereporters looked deeply annoyed; even Mrs. Balfame raised her head atrifle higher as if listening; Rush's pale face was paler, the lines init seemed deeper, as he sprang to his feet, alert at once, his nostrilsexpanding. The district attorney balanced himself on his heels, histhumbs in his waistcoat armholes, a grin of triumph on his sharp littleface.

  The name called was James Mott, and it was borne by a highly reputabledrummer who had made sales for many years to houses carrying generalmerchandise, including that of Balfame & Cummack. Mr. Mott was as wellknown in Brabant County as any of its inhabitants; in fact, he wasengaged to an estimable young lady of Elsinore, and hence, so it soontranspired, had happened to be in town on the fatal night. For once theacumen of the district attorney had proved more penetrating than that ofthe brilliant counsel for the defence.

  Mr. Mott took the stand. He was a clean-shaven upstanding American withthe keen eye and grim mouth of the travelling salesman who knows that hemust do or die. He looked as honest as urbane, and for the first timeMrs. Balfame's heart sank; and her hands, so the women reporters notedfor the benefit of the public, clenched for a full minute.

  Although Rush stood with his head stretched forward, he thought it wiseto let the man tell his story in his own way. Interruptions would havebeen of little avail; the Judge would sustain the district attorney ifit were patent the witness were telling the truth; and as he wascompletely in the dark himself it were better to wait until he got apromising lead. He knew that no man's brain could work more quickly thanhis.

  Mr. Mott being solemnly sworn, deposed that on the night of the shootinghe had been taking supper with his friend Miss Lacke, who lived atNumber 3 Dawbarn Street, just round the corner from Elsinore Avenue. Heleft her house at a little before eight, as he was obliged to catch theeight-ten for New York. As he closed the gate behind him, he saw DavidBalfame walk unsteadily past, shouting "Tipperary"; and being a friendof many years' standing, had concluded to follow and see Balfame safelyinside the house. He would lose but a minute or two, and it seemed tohim a decent act, for it was possible the man might fall and hurthimself before he reached his home. Mott was so close behind him that hemust have just escaped the shot or shots himself, and although he jumpedbackward he saw distinctly somebody run out of the grove and toward theback of the house. Whether it was a man or a woman he had no idea, butthe figure was tall--yes far taller than either young Kraus or Frieda.Then, he said, he doubled on his tracks and got back into Dawbarn Streetas quickly as he could. He blushed as he admitted this, but added thathe knew from the shouts on Gifning's veranda that men were hastening toBalfame's aid, and he had to catch the eight-ten or lose his night trainto the West and a big piece of business. Moreover, he didn't like theidea of giving testimony against anybody; he abhorred the institution ofcapital punishment. For the same reason he did not come forward untilthe District Attorney ferreted him out, as he was afraid the runningfigure might have been Mrs. Balfame and she was the last person hewished to harm, innocent or guilty.

  No one could doubt that he told the truth and hated to tell it. Norcould any one jump to the conclusion that he was the assassin; he had aslittle motive for killing Balfame as any of the other men of BrabantCounty with whom he had been for years on the same cordial terms.

  All that Rush could do was to make him admit that perhaps he wasnaturally confused by the flash, the report almost in his ear, the mansinking at his feet, and only fancied he saw a running form; thedelusion would be natural in the circumstances, particularly as
histhoughts seemed to have been concentrated upon getting out of the way.Mr. Mott admitted almost too eagerly that this might be true, but addedthat when the district attorney, who was a cousin of Miss Lacke, as wellas an old friend of his own, had squeezed the story out of him bit bybit (the form of extraction was supplied by Mr. Rush), that had been hisimpression; he seemed to have that tall running figure imprinted uponhis retina, as it were. Of course it might be just imagination. Hewished to God he could swear it was. When asked sharply if even one ofhis parents was German, he recovered his poise and replied haughtilythat he was straight American and as pro-Allies as the best man in thecountry. He had never entered Old Dutch's beer garden; his choice was ahotel bar, anyhow; he avoided saloons.

  Rush had a diabolical power of making a witness look ridiculous, but theAmerican mind is essentially a just mind, normally unemotional, and avery magnet for facts. As the Judge adjourned the court until Monday thesob-sisters trailed out dejectedly, after a vain endeavour to get closeto Mrs. Balfame; the young men sauntered forth with their heads in theair, and Rush's lips were so closely pressed together that his facelooked pure granite. As a matter of fact, his heart felt like water.

  Mrs. Balfame, who had not permitted herself to show a flicker ofinterest while Mott was on the stand, rose as the Judge left the room.She smiled upon each of her friends separately and kissed the prominentladies of Elsinore who had sat beside her throughout that trying day.

  "Please don't come over to the jail," she said. "I know you are wornout, and I have a bad headache. I must lie down. But do please cometo-morrow. You are all too good. Thank you so much."

  Then with a faint smile and a light step she followed the sheriffthrough the long tunnel, a horrible vision dancing before her eyes.