The Nine of Hearts. Farjeon Benjamin Leopold

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      Witness. "No, sir he startled me a bit."

      The Attorney-general. "How?"

      Witness. "I was looking out for him in the direction he had taken, when I suddenly heard him speak at my elbow."

      The Attorney-general. "How do you account for it?"

      Witness. "He must have taken a short cut back across some fields. If I had been on my box I might have seen him, but I was standing in the road, and there was a hedge, more than man high, on the side he came back to me."

      The Attorney-general. "What did you do when he reappeared?"

      Witness. "I prepared to start."

      The Attorney-general. "Did he tell you immediately where to drive to?"

      Witness. "No, sir. He stood considering, just as he did when we first set out."

      The Attorney-general. "And then?"

      Witness. "He told me to drive back the way we had come, but not to drive too quickly."

      The Attorney-general. "You did so?"

      Witness. "Yes, sir."

      The Attorney-general. "Where did you next stop?"

      Witness. "Midway between Finchley and Crouch End."

      The Attorney-general. "At a house?"

      Witness. "No, sir; at a part of the road where there were no houses."

      The Attorney-general. "He called to you, as before, to stop?"

      Witness. "Yes, sir. He got out, and said, 'Moorhouse, meet me here in about an hour or an hour and a quarter.' I said, 'Yes, sir,' and I asked him whether I should bait the horses at an inn we had passed half a mile down the road. He did not answer me, but walked quickly away."

      The Attorney-general. "Can you say why he did not answer you?"

      Witness. "No, sir, except that he did not hear me."

      The Attorney-general. "You spoke distinctly?"

      Witness. "Yes, sir."

      The Attorney-general. "Have you observed, at any time during your employment, that he was at all deaf?"

      Witness. "No, sir; but he seemed, the whole of that day, to have something on his mind which kept him from thinking of anything else, or attending to it."

      The Attorney-general. "After he walked quickly away, what did you do?"

      Witness. "As I had more than an hour to spare I drove back to the inn I spoke of, and baited my horses, and had a bite of bread-and-cheese myself."

      The Attorney-general. "Anything to drink?"

      Witness. "A bottle of ginger-beer."

      The Attorney-general. "Timing yourself as usual, were you back on the spot you left the prisoner at the end of the hour and a quarter?"

      Witness. "To the minute."

      The Attorney-general. "Was he waiting for you?"

      Witness. "No, sir. I saw nothing of him for another two hours."

      The Attorney-general. "Did he return by the road he quitted you?"

      Witness. "No, sir. He came back another way."

      The Attorney-general. "As before?"

      Witness. "Yes, sir, as before."

      The Attorney-general. "What time was it then?"

      Witness. "Seven o'clock."

      The Attorney-general. "Was it getting dark?"

      Witness. "It was already dark, sir, and beginning to drizzle."

      The Attorney-general. "What were the next instructions?"

      Witness. "To drive to the Metropolitan Music Hall, Edgeware Road."

      The Attorney-general. "You drove there?"

      Witness. "Yes, sir, and my master got out."

      The Attorney-general "Saying what?"

      Witness. "Moorhouse,' he said, 'I don't know how long I shall remain here. It may be an hour or only a few minutes. Keep near.'"

      The Attorney-general. "You obeyed his instructions?"

      Witness. "Yes, sir. I kept within hail, and my master came out at half-past nine."

      The Attorney-general. "Alone?"

      Witness. "No, sir. He was accompanied by a man."

      The Attorney-general. "A young or an old man?"

      Witness. "I can't say."

      The Attorney-general. "But you saw him?"

      Witness. "Only his back. They walked away from the carriage."

      The Attorney-general. "There is generally something in the gait of a man which, within limits, denotes his age-that is to say, as whether he is young or old? Cannot you be guided by that fact?"

      Witness. "No, sir. I paid no particular attention to him. It was my master I was chiefly observing."

      The Attorney-general. "You have not the slightest idea as to the age of the man who came out of the Metropolitan Music Hall with the prisoner?"

      Witness. "Not the slightest, sir."

      The Attorney-general. "Did you observe nothing particular as to his dress? Was there any peculiarity about it?"

      Witness. "I observed nothing particular about him. Whatever I might say of the man, paying such little attention to him, wouldn't be worth much."

      The Attorney-general. "I recognize that you are giving your evidence in a very fair manner, and if I press you upon any point it is for the purpose of assisting your memory. You recollect that the prisoner on that night wore a coat of a distinct pattern?"

      Witness. "Yes, sir. He had on an ulster with a Scotch check, which couldn't be mistaken."

      The Attorney-general. "What was it lined with?"

      Witness. "With blue cloth."

      The Attorney-general. "He wore this ulster when he entered the music hall?"

      Witness. "Yes, sir, and when he came out of the music hall."

      The Attorney-general. "It is this which makes me think it likely you might have observed some distinguishing mark in the dress of the man who came out with him?"

      Witness. "I have nothing in my mind, sir, respecting his dress."

      The Attorney-general. "Very well, I will no longer press it. As to his height?"

      Witness. "As well as I can remember, he was about the same height as my master."

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