第71章

"I shall prove to you beyond a doubt that, in the actual murder of John Darrow, only one person was concerned, - by which I mean, that only one person was outside the east window when he met his death.I shall also show that M.Latour was not, and could not by any possibility have been, that person.[At this juncture Browne arose and walked toward the door.He was very pale and looked anything but well.I thought he was going to leave, but he reseated himself at the back of the room near the door.] I shall convince you that M.Latour's description of the way the murder was committed is false."All eyes were turned toward Latour, but he made no sign either of affirmation or dissent.With his eyes closed and his hands falling listlessly in front of him, he sat in a half-collapsed condition, like one in a stupor.M.Godin shifted uneasily in his chair, as if he could not remain silent much longer.Maitland proceeded with calm deliberation:

"Mr.Clinton Browne - "

But he did not finish the sentence.At the name "Mr.Clinton Browne" he was interrupted by a sudden commotion at the rear of the room, followed by a heavy fall which shook the whole apartment.We all turned and looked toward the door.Several men had gathered about someone lying upon the floor, and one of them was throwing water in the face of the prostrate man.Presently he revived a little, and they bore him out into the cooler air of the corridor.It was Clinton Browne.The great tension of the trial, his own strong emotions, and the closeness of the room had doubtless been too much for him.I could not but marvel at it, however.Here were delicate women with apparently little or no staying power, and yet this athlete, with the form of a Mars and the fibre of a Hercules, must be the first to succumb.Verily, even physicians aresubject to surprises!

When quiet had been fully restored Maitland continued:

"I was about to say when the interruption occurred that Mr.Clinton Browne and Mr.Charles Herne would both testify to the fact that a very sensible time elapsed between the delivery of the blow and the death of the victim.You will see, therefore, that I shall prove to your satisfaction that Mr.Darrow's death did not result from prussic acid, as stated by the prisoner.I shall show you that a chemical analysis of the wound made in my laboratory shortly after the murder gave none of the well-known prussic-acid reactions.I shall prove to you that John Darrow sprang to his feet after receiving the blow which caused his death.That he clutched at his throat, and that, after an effort consuming several seconds, he spoke disjointedly.I shall convince you that if he had been poisoned in the manner described he would have been dead before he could have so much as raised his hand to his throat.We have been very particular to make sure the exact nature of the poison which it is claimed was used, so there can be no possible doubt upon this point.I shall show you further that the little Capucin monkey which M.Latour says he killed is still alive, and I will produce him, if necessary, and will challenge M.Latour, or anyone else for that matter, to put him through the drill which it is claimed he has been taught.I shall inform you that, since I claim the monkey had no part in Mr.Darrow's death, I could not, during my examination of the prisoner, have been stating anything from knowledge when I spoke of the manner in which he had trained the animal, and gave details which M.Latour accepted as those of the murder.My sole effort was to state a plausible way, in order to see if the prisoner would not adopt it as the actual course pursued.I also coupled with this the killing of the monkey (though I knew the animal was still alive), that I might see if M.Latour would follow my lead in this also.You have seen that he did so; that he indorsed my guesses where they were purely guesses, and that he also accepted the one statement I knew to be false.I shall therefore ask you to consider about what the chances are that a series of guesses like those which I made would represent the exact facts as M.Latour has claimed, while at the same time you do not lose sight of the undeniable fact thatupon the only detail regarding which I had positive information, M.Latour bore false testimony."Here Maitland whispered to Jenkins, who in turn spoke to the sheriff or some other officer of the court.I would have given a good deal just then to have been able to translate M.Godin's thoughts.His face was a study.Maitland immediately resumed:

"It has been positively stated by M.Latour that he gambled with Mr.Darrow on Decatur Street between the 1st and 15th day of March.This is false.In the first place it can be shown that while Mr.Darrow occasionally played cards at his own home, he never gambled, uniformly refusing to play for even the smallest stake.Furthermore, Mr.Darrow's physician will testify that Mr.Darrow was confined to his bed from the 25th day of February to the 18th day of March, and that he visited him during that time at least once, and oftener twice, every day.

"Again; M.Latour asserts that he never saw M.Godin till the day of his arrest, and M.Godin asserts that he never entered M.Latour's rooms until that day.I have a photograph and here a phonographic record.The picture shows M.Latour's rooms with that gentleman and M.Godin sitting at a table and evidently engaged in earnest conversation.This cylinder is a record of a very interesting portion of that conversation - M.Godin will please not leave the room!"This last was said as M.Godin started toward the door.The officer to whom Jenkins had recently spoken laid his hand upon the detective and detained him."We may need M.Godin," Maitland continued, "to explain things to us.