The hush of the court, which had been broken when the foreman of thejury returned their verdict, was intensified as the Judge, with a quickglance over his pince-nez at the tall prisoner, marshalled his paperswith the precision and method which old men display in tense momentssuch as these. He gathered them together, white paper and blue and buffand stacked them in a neat heap on a tiny ledge to the left of his desk.Then he took his pen and wrote a few words on a printed paper beforehim.
Another breathless pause and he groped beneath the desk and brought outa small square of black silk and carefully laid it over his white wig.Then he spoke:
"James Meredith, you have been convicted after a long and patient trialof the awful crime of wilful murder. With the verdict of the jury I amin complete agreement. There is little doubt, after hearing the evidenceof the unfortunate lady to whom you were engaged, and whose evidence you[Pg 6]attempted in the most brutal manner to refute, that, instigated by yourjealousy, you shot Ferdinand Bulford. The evidence of Miss Briggerlandthat you had threatened this poor young man, and that you left herpresence in a temper, is unshaken. By a terrible coincidence, Mr.Bulford was in the street outside your fiancée's door when you left, andmaddened by your insane jealousy, you shot him dead.
"To suggest, as you have through your counsel, that you called at MissBriggerland's that night to break off your engagement and that theinterview was a mild one and unattended by recriminations is to suggestthat this lady has deliberately committed perjury in order to swear awayyour life, and when to that disgraceful charge you produce a motive,namely that by your death or imprisonment Miss Briggerland, who is yourcousin, would benefit to a considerable extent, you merely add to yourinfamy. Nobody who saw the young girl in the box, a pathetic, and if Imay say, a beautiful figure, could accept for one moment your fantasticexplanation.
"Who killed Ferdinand Bulford? A man without an enemy in the world. Thattragedy cannot be explained away. It now only remains for me to pass thesentence which the law imposes. The jury's recommendation to mercy willbe forwarded to the proper quarter...."
He then proceeded to pass sentence of death, and the tall man in thedock listened without a muscle of his face moving.
So ended the great Berkeley Street Murder Trial, and when a few dayslater it was announced that the sentence of death had been commuted toone of penal servitude for life, there were newspapers and people whohinted at mistaken leniency and suggested that James Meredith would havebeen hanged if he were a poor man instead of being, as he was, themaster of vast wealth.
"That's that," said Jack Glover between his teeth, as he came out ofcourt with the eminent King's Counsel who had defended his friend andclient, "the little lady wins."
His companion looked sideways at him and smiled.
"Honestly, Glover, do you believe that poor girl could do so dastardly athing as lie about the man she loves?"
"She l