The Four Pools Mystery - Jean Webster (uplifting book club books .TXT) 📗

autopsy. After his testimony had been dwelt upon with what seemed to me needless detail, the facts relating to the finding of the body were brought forward. From this, the investigation veered to the subject of Radnor's strange behavior on the afternoon of the murder. The landlord, stable boy and several hangers-on of the Luray Hotel were called to the stand; their testimony was practically identical, and I did not attempt to question its truth.

"What time did Radnor Gaylord come back to the hotel?" the coroner asked of "old man Tompkins," the landlord.

"I reckon it must 'a' been 'long about three in the afternoon."

"Please describe exactly what occurred."

"Well, we was sittin' on the veranda talkin' about one thing and another when we see young Gaylord comin' across the lot, his head down and his hands in his pockets walkin' fast. He yelled to Jake, who was washin' off a buggy at the pump, to saddle his horse and be quick about it. Then he come up the steps and into the bar-room and called for brandy. He drunk two glasses straight off without blinkin'."

"Had he ordered anything to drink in the morning when they left their horses?" the coroner interrupted at this point.

"No, he didn't go into the bar-room—and it wasn't usually his custom to slight us either."

A titter ran around the room and the coroner rapped for order. "This is not the place for any cheap witticisms; you will kindly confine yourself to answering my questions.—Did Mr. Gaylord appear to have been drinking when he returned from the cave?"

The landlord closed his right eye speculatively. "No, I can't say as he exactly appeared like he'd been drinking," he said with the air of a connoisseur, "but he did seem to be considerably upset about something. He looked mad enough to bite; his face was pale, and his hand trembled when he raised his glass. Three or four noticed it and wondered—"

"Very well," interrupted the coroner, "what did he do next?"

"He went out to the stable yard and swore at the boy for being slow. And he tightened the surcingle himself with such a jerk that the mare plunged and he struck her. He is usually pretty cranky about the way horses is treated, and we wondered—"

He was stopped again and invited to go on without wondering.

"Well, let me see," said the witness, imperturbably. "He jumped into the saddle and slashing the mare across the flanks, started off in a cloud o' dust, without so much as looking back. We was all surprised at this 'cause he's usually pretty friendly, and we talked about it after; but we didn't think nothing particular till the news o' the murder come that evening, when we naturally commenced to put two and two together."

At this point I protested and the landlord was excused. "Jake" Henley, the stable boy, was called. His testimony practically covered the same ground and corroborated what the landlord had said.

"You say he swore at you for being slow?" the coroner asked.

Jake nodded with a grin. "I don't remember just the words—I get swore at so much that it don't make the impression it might—but it was good straight cussin' all right."

"And he struck you as being agitated?"

Jake's grin broadened. "I think you might say agitated," he admitted guardedly. "He was mad enough to begin with, an' now the brandy was gettin' to work. Besides, he was in an all-fired hurry to leave before the rest o' the party come back, an' while I was bringin' out the horse, he heard 'em laughin'. They wasn't in sight yet, but they was makin' a lot o' noise. One o' the girls had stepped on a snake an' was squealin' loud enough to hear her two miles off."

"And Gaylord left before any of them saw him?"

The boy nodded. "He got off all right. 'You forgot to pay for your horse,' I yelled after him, and he threw me fifty cents and it landed in the watering-trough."

This ended his testimony.

Several members of the picnic party were next called upon, and nothing very damaging to Radnor was produced. He seemed to be in his usual spirits before entering the cave, and no one, it transpired, had seen him after he came out, though this was not noted at the time. Also, no one had noticed him in conversation with his father. The coroner dwelt upon this point, but elicited no information one way or the other.

Polly Mathers was not present. She had been subpœnaed, but had become too ill and nervous to stand the strain, and the doctor had forbidden her attendance. The coroner, however, had taken her testimony at the house, and his clerk read it aloud to the jury. It dealt merely with the matter of the coat and where she had last seen Radnor.

"Question. 'Did you notice anything peculiar in the behavior of Radnor Gaylord on the day of his father's death?'

"Answer. 'Nothing especially peculiar—no.'

"Q. 'Did you see any circumstance which led you to suspect that he and his father were not on good terms?'

"A. 'No, they both appeared as usual.'

"Q. 'Did you speak to Radnor in the cave?'

"A. 'Yes, we strolled about together for a time and he was carrying my coat. He laid it down on the broken column and forgot it. I forgot it too and didn't think of it again until we were out of the cave. Then I happened to mention it in Colonel Gaylord's presence, and I suppose he went back for it.'

"Q. 'You didn't see Radnor Gaylord after he left the cave?'

"A. 'No, I didn't see him after we left the gallery of the broken column. The guide struck off a calcium light to show us the formation of the ceiling. We spent about five minutes examining the room, and after that we all went on in a group. Radnor had not waited to see the room, but had gone on ahead in the direction of the entrance.'"

So much for Polly's testimony—which added nothing.

Solomon, frightened almost out of his wits, was called on next, and his testimony brought out the matter of the quarrel between Colonel Gaylord and Radnor. Solomon told of finding the French clock, and a great many things besides which I am sure he made up. I wished to have his testimony ruled out, but the coroner seemed to feel that it was suggestive—as it undoubtedly was—and he allowed it to remain.

Radnor himself was next called to the stand. As he took his place a murmur of excitement swept over the room and there was a general straining forward. He was composed and quiet, and very very sober—every bit of animation had left his face.

The coroner commenced immediately with the subject of the quarrel with his father on the night before the murder, and Radnor answered all the questions frankly and openly. He made no attempt to gloss over any of the details. What put the matter in a peculiarly bad light, was the fact that the cause of the quarrel had been over a question of money. Rad had requested his father to settle a definite amount on him so that he would be independent in the future, and his father had refused. They had lost their tempers and had gone further than usual; in telling the story Radnor openly took the blame upon himself where, in several instances, I strongly suspected that it should have been laid at the door of the Colonel. But in spite of the fact that the story revealed a pitiable state of affairs as between father and son, his frankness in assuming the responsibility won for him more sympathy than had been shown since the murder.

"How did the clock get broken?" the coroner asked.

"My father knocked it off the mantelpiece onto the floor."

"He did not throw it at you as Solomon surmised?"

Radnor raised his head with a glint of anger.

"It fell on the floor and broke."

"Have you often had quarrels with your father?"

"Occasionally. He had a quick temper and always wished his own way, and I was not so patient with him as I should have been."

"What did you quarrel about?"

"Different things."

"What, for instance?"

"Sometimes because he thought I spent too much money, sometimes over a question of managing the estate; occasionally because he had heard gossip about me."

"What do you mean by 'gossip'?"

"Stories that I'd been gambling or drinking too much."

"Were the stories true?"

"They were always exaggerated."

"And this quarrel the night before his death was more serious than usual?"

"Possibly—yes."

"You did not speak to each other at the breakfast table?"

"No."

Radnor's face was set in strained lines; it was evident that this was a very painful subject.

"Did you have any conversation later?"

"Only a few words."

"Please repeat what was said."

Radnor appeared to hesitate and then replied a trifle wearily that he did not remember the exact words; that it was merely a recapitulation of what had been said the night before. Upon being urged to give the gist of the conversation he replied that his father had wished to make up their quarrel, but on the old basis, and he had refused. The Colonel had repeated that he was still too young a man to give over his affairs into the hands of another,—that he had a good many years before him in which he intended to be his own master. Radnor had replied that he was too old a man to be treated any longer as a boy, and that he would go away and work where he would be paid for what he did.

"And may I ask," the coroner inquired placidly, "whether you had any particular work in mind when you made that statement, or was it merely a figure of rhetoric calculated to bring Colonel Gaylord to terms?"

Rad scowled and said nothing, and the rest of his answers were terseness itself.

"Did you and your father have any further conversation on the ride over, or in the course of the day?"

"No."

"You purposely avoided meeting each other?"

"I suppose so."

"Then those words after breakfast when you threatened to leave home were absolutely the last words you ever spoke to your father?"

It was a subject Radnor did not like to think about. His lips trembled slightly and he answered with a visible effort.

"Yes."

A slight murmur ran around the room, partly of sympathy, partly of doubt.

The coroner put the same question again and Radnor repeated his answer, this time with a flush of anger. The coroner paused a moment and then continued without comment:

"You entered the cave with the rest of the party?"

"Yes."

"But you left the others before they had made the complete round?"

"Yes."

"Why was that?"

"I was not particularly interested. I had seen the cave many times before."

"Where did you leave the party?"

"I believe in the gallery of the broken column."

"You left the cave immediately?"

"Yes."

"Did you enter it again?"

"No."

"You forgot Miss Mathers's coat and left it in the gallery of the broken column?"

"So it would seem."

"Did you not think of that later and go back for it?"

Radnor snapped out his answer. "No, I didn't think anything about the coat."

"Are you in the habit of leaving young ladies' coats about in that off-hand way?"

A titter ran about the room, and Rad did not deign to notice this question.

I was indignant that the boy should be made to face such an ordeal. This was not a regular trial and the coroner had no right to be more obnoxious than his calling required. There was a glint of anger in Radnor's eyes; and I was uneasily aware that he no longer cared what impression he made. His answers to the rest of the questions were as short as the English language permitted.

"What did you do after leaving the cave?"

"Went home."

"Please go into more detail.