The First R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK ®. R. Austin Freeman

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      “Now, on the evening of the ninth of March there was delivered to Mr. Hornby a parcel of rough diamonds of which one of his clients asked him to take charge pending their transfer to the brokers. I need not burden you with irrelevant details concerning this transaction. It will suffice to say that the diamonds, which were of the aggregate value of about thirty thousand pounds, were delivered to him, and the unopened package deposited by him in his safe, together with a slip of paper on which he had written in pencil a memorandum of the circumstances. This was on the evening of the ninth of March, as I have said. Having deposited the parcel, Mr. Hornby locked the safe, and shortly afterwards left the premises and went home, taking the keys with him.

      “On the following morning, when he unlocked the safe, he perceived with astonishment and dismay that the parcel of diamonds had vanished. The slip of paper, however, lay at the bottom of the safe, and on picking it up Mr. Hornby perceived that it bore a smear of blood, and in addition, the distinct impression of a human thumb. On this he closed and locked the safe and sent a note to the police station, in response to which a very intelligent officer—Inspector Sanderson—came and made a preliminary examination. I need not follow the case further, since the details will appear in the evidence, but I may tell you that, in effect, it has been made clear, beyond all doubt, that the thumb-print on that paper was the thumb-print of the prisoner, Reuben Hornby.”

      He paused to adjust his glasses, which were in the very act of falling from his nose, and hitch up his gown, while he took a leisurely survey of the jury, as though he were estimating their im­pressionability. At this moment I observed Walter Hornby enter the court and take up a position at the end of our bench nearest the door; and, immediately after, Superintendent Miller came in and seated himself on one of the benches opposite.

      “The first witness whom I shall call,” said Sir Hector Trump­ler, “is John Hornby.”

      Mr. Hornby, looking wild and agitated, stepped into the witness-box, and the usher, having handed him the Testament, sang out—

      “The evidence you shall give to the court and jury sworn, between our Sovereign Lord the King and the prisoner at the bar shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; so help you God!”

      Mr. Hornby kissed the Book, and, casting a glance of unutterable misery at his nephew, turned towards the counsel.

      “Your name is John Hornby, is it not?” asked Sir Hector.

      “It is.”

      “And you occupy premises in St. Mary Axe?”

      “Yes. I am a dealer in precious metals, but my business consists principally in the assaying of samples of ore and quartz and bars of silver and gold.”

      “Do you remember what happened on the ninth of March last?”

      “Perfectly. My nephew Reuben—the prisoner—delivered to me a parcel of diamonds which he had received from the purser of the Elmina Castle, to whom I had sent him as my confidential agent. I had intended to deposit the diamonds with my banker, but when the prisoner arrived at my office, the banks were already closed, so I had to put the parcel, for the night, in my own safe. I may say that the prisoner was not in any way responsible for the delay.”

      “You are not here to defend the prisoner,” said Sir Hector. “Answer my questions and make no comments, if you please. Was anyone present when you placed the diamonds in the safe?”

      “No one was present but myself.”

      “I did not ask if you were present when you put them in,” said Sir Hector (whereupon the spectators sniggered and the judge smiled indulgently). “What else did you do?”

      “I wrote in pencil on a leaf of my pocket memorandum block, ‘Handed in by Reuben at 7.3 p.m., 9.3.01,’ and initialled it. Then I tore the leaf from the block and laid it on the parcel, after which I closed the safe and locked it.”

      “How soon did you leave the premises after this?”

      “Almost immediately. The prisoner was waiting for me in the outer office—”

      “Never mind where the prisoner was; confine your answers to what is asked. Did you take the keys with you?”

      “Yes.”

      “When did you next open the safe?”

      “On the following morning at ten o’clock.”

      “Was the safe locked or unlocked when you arrived?”

      “It was locked. I unlocked it.”

      “Did you notice anything unusual about the safe?”

      “No.”

      “Had the keys left your custody in the interval?”

      “No. They were attached to a key-chain, which I always wear.”

      “Are there any duplicates of those keys?—the keys of the safe, I mean.”

      “No, there are no duplicates.”

      “Have the keys ever gone out of your possession?”

      “Yes. If I have had to be absent from the office for a considerable time, it has been my custom to hand the keys to one of my nephews, whichever has happened to be in charge at the time.”

      “And never to any other person?”

      “Never to any other person.”

      “What did you observe when you opened the safe?”

      “I observed that the parcel of diamonds had disappeared.”

      “Did you notice anything else?”

      “Yes. I found the leaf from my memorandum block lying at the bottom of the safe. I picked it up and turned it over, and then saw that there were smears of blood on it and what looked like the print of a thumb in blood. The thumb-mark was on the under-surface, as the paper lay at the bottom of the safe.”

      “What did you do next?”

      “I closed and locked the safe, and sent a note to the police station saying that a robbery had been committed on my premises.”

      “You have known the prisoner several years, I believe?”

      “Yes; I have known him all his life. He is my eldest brother’s son.”

      “Then you can tell us, no doubt, whether he is left-handed or right-handed?”

      “I should say he was ambidextrous, but he uses his left hand by preference.”

      “A fine distinction, Mr. Hornby; a very fine distinction. Now tell me, did you ascertain beyond all doubt that the diamonds were really gone?”

      “Yes; I examined the safe thoroughly, first by myself and afterwards with the police. There was no doubt that the diamonds had really gone.”

      “When the detective suggested that you should have the СКАЧАТЬ