The Vale of Cedars; Or, The Martyr

by Grace Aguilar

  CHAPTER XIX.

  "His unaltering-cheek Still vividly doth hold its natural hue, And his eye quails not. Is this innocence?"

  MRS. HEMANS.

  During the examination of Don Alonzo of Aguilar, and of old Pedro andJuana, the prisoner remained with his arms calmly folded and headerect, without the smallest variation of feature or position denotingeither anxiety or agitation. Don Alonzo's statement was very simple.He described the exact spot where he had found the body, and theposition in which it lay; the intense agitation of Stanley, the bloodyappearance of his clothes, hands, and face, urging them to secure hisperson even before they discovered the broken fragment of his swordlying beside the corse. His account was corroborated, in the veryminutest points, by the men who had accompanied him, even thoughcross-questioned with unusual particularity by Father Francis. OldPedro's statement, though less circumstantial, was, to the soldiersand citizens especially, quite as convincing. He gave a wordynarrative of Senor Stanley's unnatural state of excitement from thevery evening he had become his lodger--that he had frequently heardhim muttering to himself such words as "blood" and "vengeance." Heconstantly appeared longing for something; never eat half the mealsprovided for him--a sure proof, in old Pedro's imagination, of adisordered mind, and that the night of the murder he had heard himleave the house, with every symptom of agitation. Old Juana, with veryevident reluctance, confirmed this account; but Father Francis wasevidently not satisfied. "Amongst these incoherent ravings of theprisoner, did you ever distinguish the word 'murder?'" he demanded--aquestion which would be strange, indeed, in the court of justice ofthe present day, but of importance in an age when such words as bloodand vengeance, amongst warriors, simply signified a determination tofight out their quarrel in (so-called) honorable combat. The answer,after some hesitation, was in the negative. "Did you ever distinguishany name, as the object of Senor Stanley's desired vengeance?"

  Pedro immediately answered "No;" but there was a simper of hesitationin old Juana, that caused the Sub-Prior to appeal to her. "Please yourReverence, I only chanced to hear the poor young man say, 'Oh, Marie!Marie!' one day when I brought him his dinner, which he put awayuntouched, though I put my best cooking in it."

  A slight, scarcely perceptible flush passed over the prisoner's cheekand brow. The King muttered an exclamation; Father Francis's browcontracted, and several of the nobles looked uneasily from one to theother.

  "At what time did the prisoner leave his apartments the night of themurder?" continued the Sub-Prior.

  "Exactly as the great bell of the cathedral chimed eleven," was theready reply from Pedro and Juana at the same moment.

  "Did you hear nothing but his hasty movements, as you describe? Did henot call for attendance, or a light? Remember, you are on oath," hecontinued sternly, as he observed the hesitation with which old Pedromuttered "No;" and that Juana was silent. "The church punishes falseswearers. Did he speak or not?"

  "He called for a light, please your Reverence, but--"

  "But you did not choose to obey at an hour so late!" sternly respondedFather Francis; "and by such neglect may be guilty of accelerating thedeath of the innocent, and concealing the real murderer! You allegethat Senor Stanley returned from some military duty at sunset, andslept from then till just before eleven, so soundly that you could notrouse him even for his evening meal. This was strange for a man withmurder in his thoughts! Again, that he called for a light, which,you neglected to bring; and Senor Stanley asserts that he missed hissword, but rushed from the house without it. Your culpable neglect,then, prevents our discovering the truth of this assertion; yet youacknowledge he called loudly for light; this appears too unlikelyto have been the case, had the prisoner quitted the house with theintention to do murder."

  "Intention at that moment he might not have had, Reverend Father,"interposed the head of the Associated Brethren, who had taken anactive part in the examination. "Were there no evidence as topremeditated desire of vengeance, premeditated insult, andlong-entertained enmity, these conclusions might have foundation. Asthe case stands, they weigh but little. Where evil passions havebeen excited, opportunity for their indulgence is not likely to passunused."

  "But evidence of that long-entertained enmity and premeditatedvengeance we have not yet examined," replied the Sub-Prior. "If itonly rest on the suppositions of this old couple, in one of whom itis pretty evident, prejudice is stronger than clearly defined truth,methinks that, despite this circumstantial evidence, there is stillhope of the prisoner's innocence, more especially as we have one otherimportant fact to bring forward. You are certain," he continued,addressing old Pedro, "that the bell chimed eleven when Senor Stanleyquitted your dwelling?" The man answered firmly in the affirmative."And you will swear that the Senor slept from sunset till that hour?"

  "I dare not swear to it, your Reverence, for Juana and I were at aneighbor's for part of that time; but on our return, Juana took up hissupper again, and found him so exactly in the same position as we hadleft him, that we could not believe he had even moved."

  "Was he alone in the house during this interval?"

  "No; the maid Beta was at her work in the room below Senor Stanley's."

  "Let her be brought here."

  The order was so rapidly obeyed, that it was very evident she wasclose at hand; but so terribly alarmed at the presence in which shestood, as to compel the Sub-Prior to adopt the gentlest possible tone,to get any answer at all. He merely inquired if, during the absence ofher master and mistress, she had heard any movement in the prisoner'sroom. She said that she thought she had--a quiet, stealthy step, andalso a sound as if a door in the back of the house closed; but thesounds were so very indistinct, she had felt them at the time morelike a dream than reality; and the commencement of the storm had soterrified her, that she did not dare move from her seat.

  "And what hour was this?"

  It might have been about nine; but she could not say exactly. And fromthe assertion that she did hear a slight sound, though puzzlinglycross-questioned, she never wavered. The King and the Sub-Prior bothlooked disappointed. The chief of the Santa Hermandad expressedhimself confirmed in his previous supposition.

  The prisoner retained his calmness; but a gleam of intelligence seemedto flit across his features.

  "You would speak, Senor Stanley," interposed the King, as the girl wasdismissed. "We would gladly hear you."

  "I would simply say, your Highness," replied Stanley, gratefully,"that it is not unlikely Beta may have heard such sounds. I amconvinced my evening draught was drugged; and the same secret enemywho did this, to give him opportunity undiscovered to purloin mysword--may, nay, _must_ have entered my chamber during that deathlikesleep, and committed the theft which was to burden an innocent manwith his deed of guilt. The deep stillness in the house might havepermitted her ear to catch the step, though my sleep was too profound.I could hardly have had time to waken, rise, commit the deed of death,and return to such a completely deceiving semblance of sleep, in theshort hour of Pedro and Juana's absence; and if I had, what madnesswould have led me there again, and so appalled me, as to prevent alleffort of escape?"

  "Conscience," replied the chief of the Santa Hermandad, sternly. "Theimpelling of the Divine Spirit, whom you had profaned, and whoin justice so distracted you, as to lead you blindly to your owndestruction--no marvel the darkness oppressed, and the storm appalledyou; or that heaven in its wrath should ordain the events you yourselfhave described--the fall over your own victim, and the horror thenceproceeding. We have heard that your early years have been honorable,Senor Stanley, and to such, guilt is appalling even in itsaccomplishment. Methinks, Father Francis, we need now but the evidenceof the premeditation."

  "Your pardon, brother; but such, conclusions are somewhat over-hasty.It is scarcely probable, had Senor Stanley returned after thecommittal of such a deed, that his reentrance should not have beenheard as well as his departure; whereas the witness expresslydeclares, that though her attention was awak
ened by the previous faintsound, and she listened frequently, she never heard another movement,till her master and mistress's return; and as they went into theSenor's room directly, and found him without the very least appearanceof having moved, justice compels us to incline to the belief in SenorStanley's suggestion--that he could scarcely have had sufficient timeto rouse, depart, do murder, and feign sleep during Pedro Benito'sbrief interval of absence."

  "We will grant that so it may be, Reverend Father, but what proof havewe that the murder had not been just committed when the body and theassassin were discovered?"

  Father Francis replied, by commanding the appearance of DonFerdinand's steward, and after the customary formula, inquired whathour his late lamented master had quitted his mansion the night of themurder. The man replied, without hesitation, "Exactly as the chimesplayed the quarter before nine."

  "But was not that unusually early? The hour of meeting at the castlewas ten, and the distance from Don Ferdinand's mansion not twentyminutes' ride, and scarce forty minutes' walk. Are you perfectlycertain as to the hour?"

  "I can take my oath upon it, your Reverence, and Lopez will say thesame. Our sainted master (Jesu rest his soul!) called to him a fewminutes before he entered my lady's room, and told him not to get hishorse ready, as he should walk to the castle. Lopez asked as to whoshould attend him, and his reply was he would go alone. He had done sobefore, and so we were not surprised; but we were grieved at his look,for it seemed of suffering, unlike himself, and were noticing it toeach other as he passed us, after quitting my lady, and so quickly andso absorbed, that he did not return our salutation, which he never inall his life neglected to do before. My poor, poor master! little didwe think we should never see him again!" And the man's unconstrainedburst of grief excited anew the indignation of the spectators againstthe crime, till then almost forgotten, in the intense interest asto the fate of the accused. Lopez was called, and corroborated thesteward's account exactly.

  "If he left his house at a quarter before nine, at what hour, thinkyou, he would reach the Calle Soledad?"

  From ten to fifteen minutes past the hour, your Reverence, unlessdetained by calling elsewhere on his way."

  "Did he mention any intention of so doing?" The answer was in thenegative. "According to this account, then, the murder must have takenplace between nine and ten; and Senor Stanley was not heard to quithis apartment till eleven. This would corroborate his own assertion,that the deed was committed ere he reached the spot."

  "But what proof have we that Don Ferdinand was not detained on hisway?" replied the chief of the Santa Hermandad. "His domestics assertno more than the hour of his quitting the house."

  "The hour of the royal meeting was ten," rejoined the Sub-Prior; "hewas noted for regularity, and was not likely to have voluntarilylingered so long, as not even to reach the Calle till one hourafterwards."

  "Not voluntarily; but we have heard that he appeared more sufferingthan he was ever seen to do. His illness might have increased, and socause detention; and yet, on even partial recovery, we know himwell enough to believe he would still have endeavored to join hisHighness."

  "He would; but there is evidence that when brought to the castle, hehad been dead at the very least three hours. Let Curador Benedictocome forward."

  A respectable man, dressed in black, and recognized at once as theleech or doctor of the royal household, obeyed the summons, and onbeing questioned, stated that he had examined the body the very momentit had been conveyed to the castle, in the hope of discovering somesigns of animation, however faint. But life was totally extinct, and,according to his judgment, had been so at the very least three hours."

  "And what hour was this?"

  "Just half-an-hour after midnight."

  A brief silence followed the leech's dismissal; Ferdinand still seemedperplexed and uneasy, and not one countenance, either of the nobles orAssociated Brethren, evinced satisfaction.

  "Our task, instead of decreasing in difficulty, becomes more and morecomplicated, my lords and brethren," observed the Sub-Prior, afterwaiting for the chief of the Santa Hermandad to speak. "Had we anypositive proof, that Senor Stanley really slept from the hour of sunsettill eleven the same evening, and never quitted his quarters until then,we might hope that the sentence of Curador Benedicto, as to the lengthof time life had been extinct in his supposed victim, might weighstrongly against the circumstantial chain of evidence brought againsthim. Believing that the prisoner having slept from the hour of sunset toeleven was a proven and witnessed fact, I undertook the defensive andargued in his favor. The sounds heard by the girl Beta may or may nothave proceeded from the stealthy movements of the accused, and yetjustice forbids our passing them by unnoticed. The time of this movementbeing heard, and that of the murder, according to the leech's evidence,tally so exactly that we cannot doubt but the one had to do with theother; but whether it were indeed the prisoner's step, or that of thebase purloiner of his sword, your united judgment must decide.Individual supposition, in a matter of life or death, can be of noavail. My belief, as you may have discovered, inclines to the prisoner'sinnocence. My brother, the chief Hermano, as strongly believes in hisguilt. And it would appear as if the evidence itself, supports the onejudgment equally with the other; contradictory and complicated, it hasyet been truthfully brought forward and strictly examined. Your unitedjudgment, Senors and Hermanos, must therefore decide the prisoner'sfate."

  "But under your favor, Reverend Father, all the evidence has not beenbrought forward," rejoined the chief Hermano. "And methinks that whichis still to come is the most important of the whole. That the businessis complicated, and judgment most difficult, I acknowledge, andtherefore gladly avail myself of any remaining point on which thescale may turn. Sworn as I am to administer impartial justice,prejudice against the prisoner I can have none; but the point we haveuntil now overlooked, appears sufficient to decide not only individualbut general opinion. I mean the _premeditated vengeance_ sworn by theprisoner against the deceased--long indulged and proclaimed enmity,and premeditated determination to take his life or lose his own.Don Ferdinand Morales--be his soul assoilized!--was so universallybeloved, so truly the friend of all ranks and conditions of men, thatto believe in the existence of any other enmity towards his person isalmost impossible. We have evidence that the prisoner was at feud withhim--was harboring some design against him for weeks. It may be he waseven refused by Don Ferdinand the meeting he desired, and so soughtvengeance by the midnight dagger. Let the evidence of this enmity beexamined, and according or not as premeditated malice is elicited, solet your judgment be pronounced."

  "Ay, so let it be," muttered the King as a loud murmur of assent ranthrough the hall. "We have two witnesses for this; and, by heaven, ifthe one differ from the other in the smallest point, the prisoner maystill be reprieved!"

  Whether the royal observation was heard or not, there was norejoinder, for at the summoning of the chief Hermano, Don Luis Garciastood before the assemblage. His appearance excited surprise in manypresent, and in none more than the prisoner himself. He raised hishead, which had been resting on his hand during the address of theSub-Prior, and the reply of the Hermano, and looked at the new witnesswith bewildered astonishment. As Don Luis continued his relation ofthe stormy interview between the deceased and the accused, and thewords of threatening used by the latter, astonishment itself, changedinto an indignation and loathing impossible to be restrained.

  "Thou base dishonored villain!" he exclaimed, so suddenly andwrathfully that it startled more by its strange contrast with hisformer calmness than by its irreverent interruption to the formula ofthe examination; "where wert thou during this interview? Hearing sowell, and so invisibly concealed, none but the voluntary spy couldhave heard all this; so skilfully detailed that thou wouldst seem invery truth _witness_ as well as hearer. What _accident_ could have ledthee to the most retired part of Don Ferdinand's garden, and,being there, detained thee? Thou treacherous villain! and on thyevidence--evidence so honorabl
y, so truthfully obtained, my life ordeath depends! Well, be it so."

  "But so it shall not be," interposed the King himself, ere eitherSub-Prior or the Hermano could reply; "even as the prisoner, weourselves hold evidence dishonestly obtained of little moment--nay,of no weight whatever. Be pleased, Don Luis Garcia, to explainthe casualty which led you, at such an important moment, to DonFerdinand's grounds; or name some other witness. The voluntarylistener is, in our mind, dishonorable as the liar, and demanding nomore account."

  With a mien and voice of the deepest humility, Don Luis replied;grieving that his earnest love of justice should expose him to theroyal displeasure; submitting meekly to unjust suspicion as concernedhimself, but still upholding the truth and correctness of hisstatement. The other witness to the same, he added mysteriously, hehad already named to his Royal Highness.

  "And she waits our pleasure," replied the King; "Don Felix d'Estaban,be pleased to conduct the last witness to our presence."