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Sevenoaks by J. G. Holland

J >> J. G. Holland >> Sevenoaks




"If they were credible people, and not unfriendly to me, I should be
compelled to believe them."

"Why, sir! you are an admirable witness! I did not anticipate such
candor. We are getting at the matter bravely. We have your confession,
then, that you do not remember distinctly the events that occurred the
day before your attack, and your assertion that you are ready to believe
and accept the testimony of credible witnesses in regard to those
events."

"Yes, sir."

"Did you ever know Nicholas Johnson and James Ramsey?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where did you see them last?"

"In Mr. Belcher's library."

"On what occasion, or, rather, at what time?"

"I have sad reason to remember both the occasion and the date, sir. Mr.
Belcher had determined to get my signature to an assignment, and had
brought me to his house on another pretext entirely. I suppose he had
summoned these men as witnesses."

"Where are these men now?"

"Unhappily, they are both dead."

"Yes, unhappily indeed--unhappily for my client. Was there anybody else
in the room?"

"I believe that Phipps, Mr. Belcher's man, was coming and going."

"Why, your memory is excellent, is it not? And you remember the date of
this event too! Suppose you tell us what it was."

"It was the 4th of May, 1860."

"How confused you must have been!" said Mr. Cavendish.

"These are things that were burnt into my memory," responded the
witness. "There were other occurrences that day, of which I have been
informed, but of which I have no memory."

"Ah, there are! Well, I shall have occasion to refresh your mind upon
still another, before I get through with you. Now, if I should show you
an assignment, signed by yourself on the very day you have designated,
and also signed by Johnson, Ramsey and Phipps as witnesses, what should
you say to it?"

"I object to the question. The counsel should show the document to the
witness, and then ask his opinion of it," said Mr. Balfour.

The Court coincided with Mr. Balfour's view, and ruled accordingly.

"Very well," said Mr. Cavendish, "we shall get at that in good time.
Now, witness, will you be kind enough to tell me how you remember that
all this occurred on the 4th of May, 1860?"

"It happened to be the first anniversary of my wife's death. I went
from her grave to Mr. Belcher's house. The day war associated with the
saddest and most precious memories of my life."

"What an excellent memory!" said Mr. Cavendish; rubbing his white hands
together. "Are you familiar with the signatures of Nicholas Johnson and
James Ramsey?"

"I have seen them many times."

"Would you recognize them, if I were to show them to you?"

"I don't know sir."

"Oh! your memory begins to fail now, does it? How is it that you cannot
remember things with which you were familiar during a series of years,
when you were perfectly sane, and yet can remember things so well that
happened when your mind was confused?"

Mr. Benedict's mind was getting confused again, and he began to stammer.
Mr. Cavendish wondered that, in some way, Mr. Balfour did not come to
the relief of his witness, but he sat perfectly quiet, and apparently
unconcerned. Mr. Cavendish rummaged among his papers, and withdrew two
letters. These he handed to the witness. "Now," said he, "will the
witness examine these letters, and tell us whether he recognizes the
signatures as genuine?"

Mr. Benedict took the two letters, of which he had already heard through
Sam Yates, and very carefully read them. His quick, mechanical eye
measured the length and every peculiarity of the signatures. He spent so
much time upon them that even the court grew impatient.

"Take all the time you need, witness," said Mr. Balfour.

"All day, of course, if necessary," responded Mr. Cavendish raspingly.

"I think these are genuine autograph letters, both of them," said Mr.
Benedict.

"Thank you: now please hand them back to me."

"I have special reasons for requesting the Court to impound these
letters," said Mr. Balfour. "They will be needed again in the case."

"The witness will hand the letters to the clerk," said the judge.

Mr. Cavendish was annoyed, but acquiesced gracefully. Then he took up
the assignment, and said: "Witness, I hold in my hand a document signed,
sealed and witnessed on the 4th day of May, 1860, by which Paul Benedict
conveys to Robert Belcher his title to the patents, certified copies of
which have been placed in evidence. I want you to examine carefully your
own signature, and those of Johnson and Ramsey. Happily, one of the
witnesses is still living, and is ready, not only to swear to his own
signature, but to yours and to those of the other witnesses."

Mr. Cavendish advanced, and handed Benedict the instrument. The inventor
opened it, looked it hurriedly through, and then paused at the
signatures. After examining them long, with naked eyes, he drew a glass
from his pocket, and scrutinized them with a curious, absorbed look,
forgetful, apparently, where he was.

"Is the witness going to sleep?" inquired Mr. Cavendish; but he did not
stir. Mr. Belcher drew a large handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped
his red, perspiring face. It was an awful moment to him. Phipps, in his
seat, was as pale as a ghost, and sat watching his master.

At last Mr. Benedict looked up. He seemed as if he had been deprived of
the power of speech. His face was full of pain and fright. "I do not
know what to say to this," he said.

"Oh, you don't! I thought you wouldn't! Still, we should like to know
your opinion of the instrument," said Mr. Cavendish.

"I don't think you would like to know it, sir," said Benedict, quietly.

"What does the witness insinuate?" exclaimed the lawyer, jumping to his
feet. "No insinuations, sir!"

"Insinuations are very apt to breed insinuations," said the Judge,
quietly. "The witness has manifested no disinclination to answer your
direct questions."

"Very well," said Mr. Cavendish. "Is your signature at the foot of that
assignment?"

"It is not, sir."

"Perhaps those are not the signatures of the witnesses," said Mr.
Cavendish, with an angry sneer.

"Two of them, I have no doubt, are forgeries," responded Mr. Balfour,
with an excited voice.

Mr. Cavendish knew that it would do no good to manifest anger; so he
laughed. Then he sat down by the side of Mr. Belcher, and said something
to him, and they both laughed together.

"That's all," he said, nodding to the witness.

"May it please the Court," said Mr. Balfour, "we got along so well with
the question of identity that, with the leave of the defendant's
counsel, I propose, in order to save the time of the Court, that we push
our inquiries directly into the validity of this assignment. This is the
essential question, and the defendant has only to establish the validity
of the instrument to bring the case to an end at once. This done, the
suit will be abandoned."

"Certainly," said Mr. Cavendish, rising. "I agree to the scheme with the
single provision on behalf of the defendant, that he shall not be
debarred from his pleading of a denial of profits, in any event."

"Agreed," said Mr. Balfour.

"Very well," said Mr. Cavendish. "I shall call Cornelius Phipps, the
only surviving witness of the assignment."

But Cornelius Phipps did not appear when he was called. A second call
produced the same result. He was not in the house. He was sought for in
every possible retreat about the house, but could not be found.
Cornelius Phipps had mysteriously disappeared.

After consulting Mr. Belcher, Mr. Cavendish announced that the witness
who had been called was essential at the present stage of the case. He
thought it possible that in the long confinement of the court-room,
Phipps had become suddenly ill, and gone home. He hoped, for the honor
of the plaintiff in the case, that nothing worse had happened, and
suggested that the Court adjourn until the following day.

And the Court adjourned, amid tumultuous whispering. Mr. Belcher was
apparently oblivious of the fact, and sat and stared, until touched upon
the shoulder by his counsel, when he rose and walked out upon a world
and into an atmosphere that had never before seemed so strange and
unreal.




CHAPTER XXVII.

IN WHICH PHIPPS IS NOT TO BE FOUND, AND THE GENERAL IS CALLED UPON TO DO
HIS OWN LYING.


At the appointed hour on the following morning, the Court resumed its
session. The plaintiff and defendant were both in their places, with
their counsel, and the witnesses of the previous day were all in
attendance. Among the little group of witnesses there were two or three
new faces--a professional-looking gentleman with spectacles; a
thin-faced, carefully-dressed, slender man, with a lordly air, and the
bearing of one who carried the world upon his shoulders and did not
regard it as much of a burden; and, last, our old friend Sam Yates.

There was an appearance of perplexity and gloom on the countenances of
Mr. Cavendish and his client. They were in serious conversation, and it
was evident that they were in difficulty. Those who knew the occasion of
the abrupt adjournment of the Court on the previous day looked in vain
among the witnesses for the face of Phipps. He was not in the room, and,
while few suspected the real state of the case, all understood how
essential he was to the defendant, in his attempt to establish the
genuineness of the assignment.

At the opening of the Court, Mr. Cavendish rose to speak. His bold,
sharp manner had disappeared. The instrument which he had expected to
use had slipped hopelessly out of his hand. He was impotent. "May it
please the Court," he said, "the defendant in this case finds himself in
a very embarrassing position this morning. It was known yesterday that
Cornelius Phipps, the only surviving witness of the assignment,
mysteriously disappeared at the moment when his testimony was wanted.
Why and how he disappeared, I cannot tell. He has not yet been found.
All due diligence has been exercised to discover him, but without
success. I make no charges of foul play, but it is impossible for me,
knowing what I know about him--his irreproachable character, his
faithfulness to my client, and his perfect memory of every event
connected with the execution of the paper in question--to avoid the
suspicion that he is by some means, and against his will, detained from
appearing here this morning. I confess, sir, that I was not prepared for
this. It is hard to believe that the plaintiff could adopt a measure so
desperate as this for securing his ends, and I will not criminate him;
but I protest that the condition in which the defendant is left by this
defection, or this forcible detention--call it what you will--demands
the most generous consideration, and compels me to ask the Court for
suggestions as to the best course of proceeding. There are now but two
men in Court who saw the paper executed, namely, the assignor and the
assignee. The former has declared, with an effrontery which I have never
seen equalled, that he never signed the document which so unmistakably
bears his signature, and that the names of two of the witnesses are
forgeries. I do not expect that, in a struggle like this, the testimony
of the latter will be accepted, and I shall not stoop to ask it."

Mr. Cavendish hesitated, looked appealingly at the Judge, and then
slowly took his seat, when Mr. Balfour, without waiting for any
suggestions from the Court, rose and said:

"I appreciate the embarrassment of the defense, and am quite willing to
do all I can to relieve it. His insinuations of foul dealing toward his
witness are absurd, of course, and, to save any further trouble, I am
willing to receive as a witness, in place of Mr. Phipps, Mr. Belcher
himself, and to pledge myself to abide by what he establishes. I can do
no more than this, I am sure, and now I challenge him to take the
stand."

The Judge watched the defendant and his counsel in their whispered
consultation for a few minutes, and then said: "It seems to the Court
that the defense can reasonably ask for nothing more than this."

Mr. Belcher hesitated. He had not anticipated this turn of the case.
There appeared to be no alternative, however, and, at last, he rose with
a very red face, and walked to the witness-stand, placing himself just
where Mr. Balfour wanted him--in a position to be cross-examined.

It is useless to rehearse here the story which had been prepared for
Phipps, and for which Phipps had been prepared. Mr. Belcher swore to all
the signatures to the assignment, as having been executed in his
presence, on the day corresponding with the date of the paper. He was
permitted to enlarge upon all the circumstances of the occasion, and to
surround the execution of the assignment with the most ingenious
plausibilities. He told his story with a fine show of candor, and with
great directness and clearness, and undoubtedly made a profound
impression upon the Court and the jury. Then Mr. Cavendish passed him
into the hands of Mr. Balfour.

"Well, Mr. Belcher, you have told us a very straight story, but there
are a few little matters which I would like to have explained," said Mr.
Balfour. "Why, for instance, was your assignment placed on record only a
few months ago?"

"Because I was not a lawyer, sir," replied Mr. Belcher, delighted that
the first answer was so easy and so plausible. "I was not aware that it
was necessary, until so informed by Mr. Cavendish."

"Was Mr. Benedict's insanity considered hopeless from the first?"

"No," replied Mr. Belcher, cheerfully; "we were quite hopeful that we
should bring him out of it."

"He had lucid intervals, then."

"Yes, sir."

"Was that the reason why, the next day after the alleged assignment, you
wrote him a letter, urging him to make the assignment, and offering him
a royalty for the use of his patents?"

"I never wrote any such letter, sir. I never sent him any such letter,
sir."

"You sent him to the asylum, did you?"

"I co-operated with others, sir, and paid the bills," said Mr. Belcher,
with emphasis.

"Did you ever visit the asylum when he was there?"

"I did, sir."

"Did you apply to the superintendent for liberty to secure his signature
to a paper?"

"I do not remember that I did. It would have been an unnatural thing for
me to do. If I did, it was a paper on some subordinate affair. It was
some years ago, and the details of the visit did not impress themselves
upon my memory."

"How did you obtain the letters of Nicholas Johnson and James Ramsey? I
ask this, because they are not addressed to you."

"I procured them of Sam Yates, in anticipation of the trial now in
progress here. The witnesses were dead, and I thought they would help me
in establishing the genuineness of their signatures."

"What reason had you to anticipate this trial?"

"Well, sir, I am accustomed to providing for all contingencies. That is
the way I was made, sir. It seemed to me quite probable that Benedict,
if living, would forget what he had done before his insanity, and that,
if he were dead, some friend of his boy would engage in the suit on his
behalf. I procured the autographs after I saw his boy in your hands,
sir."

"So you had not seen these particular signatures at the time when the
alleged assignment was made."

"No, sir, I had not seen them."

"And you simply procured them to use as a defense in a suit which seemed
probable, or possible, and which now, indeed, is in progress of trial?"

"That is about as clear a statement of the fact as I can make, sir;"
and Mr. Belcher bowed and smiled.

"I suppose, Mr. Belcher," said Mr. Balfour, "that it seems very strange
to you that the plaintiff should have forgotten his signature."

"Not at all, sir. On the contrary, I regard it as the most natural thing
in the world. I should suppose that a man who had lost his mind once
would naturally lose his memory of many things."

"That certainly seems reasonable, but how is it that he does not
recognize it, even if he does not remember the writing of it?"

"I don't know; a man's signature changes with changing habits, I
suppose," responded the witness.

"You don't suppose that any genuine signature of yours could pass under
your eye undetected, do you?" inquired Mr. Balfour.

"No, sir, I don't. I'll be frank with you, sir."

"Well, now, I'm going to test you. Perhaps other men, who have always
been sane, do sometimes forget their own signatures."

Mr. Balfour withdrew from his papers a note. Mr. Belcher saw it in the
distance, and made up his mind that it was the note he had written to
the lawyer before the beginning of the suit. The latter folded over the
signature so that it might be shown to the witness, independent of the
body of the letter, and then he stepped to him holding it in his hand,
and asked him to declare it either a genuine signature or a forgery.

"That's my sign manual, sir."

"You are sure?"

"I know it, sir."

"Very well," said Mr. Balfour, handing the letter to the clerk to be
marked. "You are right, I have no doubt, and I believe this is all I
want of you, for the present."

"And now, may it please the Court," said Mr. Balfour, "I have some
testimony to present in rebuttal of that of the defendant. I propose,
practically, to finish up this case with it, and to show that the story
to which you have listened is false in every particular.

"First, I wish to present the testimony of Dr. Charles Barhydt." At the
pronunciation of his name, the man in spectacles arose, and advanced to
the witness-stand.

"What is your name?" inquired Mr. Balfour.

"Charles Barhydt."

"What is your profession?"

"I am a physician."

"You have an official position, I believe."

"Yes, sir; I have for fifteen years been the superintendent of the State
Asylum for the insane."

"Do you recognize the plaintiff in this case, as a former patient in the
asylum?"

"I do, sir."

"Was he ever visited by the defendant while in your care?"

"He was, sir."

"Did the defendant endeavor to procure his signature to any document
while he was in the asylum?"

"He did, sir."

"Did he apply to you for permission to get this signature, and did he
importunately urge you to give him this permission?"

"He did, sir."

"Did you read this document?"

"I did, sir."

"Do you remember what it was?"

"Perfectly, in a general way. It was an assignment of a number of patent
rights and sundry machines, implements and processes."

Mr. Balfour handed to the witness the assignment, and then said: "Be
kind enough to look that through, and tell us whether you ever saw it
before."

After reading the document through, the Doctor said:

"This is the identical paper which Mr. Belcher showed me or a very
close copy of it. Several of the patents named here I remember
distinctly, for I read the paper carefully, with a professional purpose.
I was curious to know what had been the mental habits of my patient."

"But you did not give the defendant liberty to procure the signature of
the patentee?"

"I did not. I refused to do so on the ground that he was not of sound
mind--that he was not a responsible person."

"When was this?"

"I have no record of the date, but it was after the 12th of May,
1860--the date of Mr. Benedict's admission to the asylum."

"That is all," said Mr. Balfour. Mr. Cavendish tried to cross-examine,
but without any result, except to emphasize the direct testimony, though
he tried persistently to make the witness remember that, while Mr.
Belcher might have shown him the assignment, and that he read it for the
purpose which he had stated, it was another paper to which he had wished
to secure the patient's signature.

Samuel Yates was next called.

"You are a member of our profession, I believe," said Mr. Balfour.

"I am, sir."

"Have you ever been in the service of the defendant in this case?"

"Yes, sir."

"What have you done for him?"

"I worked many months in the endeavor to ascertain whether Paul Benedict
was living or dead."

"It isn't essential that we should go into that; and as the defendant
has testified that he procured the autograph letters which are in the
possession of the Court from you, I presume you will corroborate his
testimony."

"He did procure them of me, sir."

"Did he inform you of the purpose to which he wished to put them?"

"He did, sir. He said that he wished to verify some signatures."

"Were you ever employed in his library at Sevenoaks, by his agent?"

"Yes, sir, I wrote there for several weeks."

"May it please the Court, I have a letter in my hand, the genuineness of
whose signature has been recognized by the defendant, written by Robert
Belcher to Paul Benedict, which, as it has a direct bearing upon the
case, I beg the privilege of placing in evidence. It was written the
next day after the date of the alleged assignment, and came inclosed
from Benedict's hands to mine."

Mr. Belcher evidently recalled the letter, for he sat limp in his chair,
like a man stunned. A fierce quarrel then arose between the counsel
concerning the admission of the letter. The Judge examined it, and said
that he could see no reason why it should not be admitted. Then Mr.
Balfour read the following note:

"SEVENOAKS, May 5, 1860.

"_Dear Benedict:_--I am glad to know that you are better. Since you
distrust my pledge that I will give you a reasonable share of the
profits on the use of your patents, I will go to your house this
afternoon, with witnesses, and have an independent paper prepared, to be
signed by myself, after the assignment is executed, which will give you
a definite claim upon me for royalty. We will be there at four o'clock.

"Yours, ROBERT BELCHER."

"Mr. Yates," said Mr. Balfour, "have you ever seen this letter before?"

Yates took the letter, looked it over, and then said: "I have, sir. I
found the letter in a drawer of the library-table, in Mr. Belcher's
house at Sevenoaks. I delivered it unopened to the man to whom it was
addressed, leaving him to decide the question as to whether it belonged
to him or the writer. I had no idea of its contents at the time, but
became acquainted with them afterwards, for I was present at the opening
of the letter."

"That is all," said Mr. Balfour.

"So you stole this letter, did you?" inquired Mr. Cavendish.

"I found it while in Mr. Belcher's service, and took it personally to
the man to whom it was addressed, as he apparently had the best right to
it. I am quite willing to return it to the writer, if it is decided that
it belongs to him. I had no selfish end to serve in the affair."

Here the Judge interposed. "The Court," said he, "finds this letter in
the hands of the plaintiff, delivered by a man who at the time was in
the employ of the defendant, and had the contents of the room in his
keeping. The paper has a direct bearing on the case, and the Court will
not go back of the facts stated."

Mr. Cavendish sat down and consulted his client. Mr. Belcher was afraid
of Yates. The witness not only knew too much concerning his original
intentions, but he was a lawyer who, if questioned too closely and
saucily, would certainly manage to bring in facts to his disadvantage.
Yates had already damaged him sadly, and Mr. Belcher felt that it would
not do to provoke a re-direct examination. So, after a whispered
colloquy with his counsel, the latter told the witness that he was done
with him. Then Mr. Belcher and his counsel conversed again for some
time, when Mr. Balfour rose and said, addressing the Court:

"The defendant and his counsel evidently need time for consultation,
and, as there is a little preliminary work to be done before I present
another witness, I suggest that the Court take a recess of an hour. In
the meantime, I wish to secure photographic copies of the signatures of
the two autograph letters, and of the four signatures of the assignment.
I ask the Court to place these documents in the keeping of an officer,
to be used for this purpose, in an adjoining room, where I have caused a
photographic apparatus to be placed, and where a skillful operator is
now in waiting. I ask this privilege, as it is essential to a perfect
demonstration of the character of the document on which the decision of
this case must turn."

The Judge acceded to Mr. Balfour's request, both in regard to the recess
and the use of the paper, and the assembly broke up into little knots of
earnest talkers, most of whom manifested no desire to leave the
building.

Mr. Cavendish approached Mr. Balfour, and asked for a private interview.
When they had retired to a lobby, he said: "You are not to take any
advantage of this conversation. I wish to talk in confidence."

"Very well," said Mr. Balfour.

"My client," said Cavendish, "is in a devilish bad box. His principal
witness has run away, his old friends all turn against him, and
circumstantial evidence doesn't befriend him. I have advised him to stop
this suit right here, and make a compromise. No one wants to kill the
General. He's a sharp man, but he is good-natured, and a useful citizen.
He can handle these patents better than Benedict can, and make money
enough for both of them. What could Benedict do if he had the patents in
his hands? He's a simpleton. He's a nobody. Any man capable of carrying
on his business would cheat him out of his eye-teeth."

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