The Stillwater Tragedy

by Thomas Bailey Aldrich

  XXV

  The next morning Mr. Slocum did not make his appearance in themarble yard. His half-simulated indisposition of the previous nighthad turned into a genuine headache, of which he perhaps willinglyavailed himself to remain in his room, for he had no desire to seeRichard Shackford that day.

  It was an hour before noon. Up to that moment Richard had beenengaged in reading and replying to the letters received by themorning's mail, a duty which usually fell to Mr. Slocum. As Richardstepped from the office into the yard a small boy thrust a note intohis hand, and then stood off a short distance tranquilly boring withone toe in the loose gravel, and apparently waiting for an answer.Shackford hastily ran his eye over the paper, and turning towards theboy said, a little impatiently:

  "Tell him I will come at once."

  There was another person in Stillwater that forenoon whoseagitation was scarcely less than Mr. Slocum's, though it greatlydiffered from it in quality. Mr. Slocum was alive to his finger-tipswith dismay; Lawyer Perkins was boiling over with indignation. It wasa complex indignation, in which astonishment and incredulity werenicely blended with a cordial detestation of Mr. Taggett and vaguepromptings to inflict some physical injury on Justice Beemis. Thathe, Melanchthon Perkins, the confidential legal adviser and personalfriend of the late Lemuel Shackford, should have been kept for twoweeks in profound ignorance of proceedings so nearly touching hislamented client! The explosion of the old lawyer's wrath was sounexpected that Justice Beemis, who had dropped in to make thedisclosures and talk the matter over informally, clutched at hisbroad-brimmed Panama hat and precipitately retreated from the office.Mr. Perkins walked up and down the worn green drugget of his privateroom for half an hour afterwards, collecting himself, and thendispatched a hurried note to Richard Shackford, requesting an instantinterview with him at his, Lawyer Perkins's, chambers.

  When, some ten minutes subsequently, Richard entered thelow-studded square room, darkened with faded moreen curtains andfilled with a stale odor of law-calf, Mr. Perkins was seated at hisdesk and engaged in transferring certain imposing red-sealeddocuments to a green baize satchel which he held between his knees.He had regained his equanimity; his features wore their usualexpression of judicial severity; nothing denoted his recentdiscomposure, except perhaps an additional wantonness in the stringyblack hair falling over the high forehead,--that pallid high foreheadwhich always wore the look of being covered with cold perspiration.

  "Mr. Shackford," said Lawyer Perkins, suspending his operations asecond, as he saluted the young man, "I suppose I have done anirregular thing in sending for you, but I did not see any othercourse open to me. I have been your cousin's attorney for overtwenty-five years, and I've a great regard for you personally. Thatmust justify the step I am taking."

  "The regard is mutual, I am sure," returned Richard, rathersurprised by this friendly overture, for his acquaintance with thelawyer had been of the slightest, though it had extended over manyyears. "My cousin had very few friends, and I earnestly desire tohave them mine. If I were in any trouble, there is no one to whom Iwould come as unhesitatingly as to you."

  "But you are in trouble."

  "Yes, my cousin's death was very distressing."

  "I do not mean that." Mr. Perkins paused a full moment. "Thedistrict attorney has suddenly taken a deep interest in the case, andthere is to be a rigorous overhauling of the facts. I am afraid it isgoing to be very unpleasant for you, Mr. Shackford."

  "How could it be otherwise?" asked Richard, tranquilly.

  Lawyer Perkins fixed his black eyes on him. "Then you fullyunderstand the situation, and can explain everything?"

  "I wish I could. Unfortunately, I can explain nothing. I don'tclearly see why I have been summoned to attend as a witness at theinvestigation to be held to-day in Justice Beemis's office."

  "You are unacquainted with any special reason why your testimonyis wanted?"

  "I cannot conceive why it should be required. I gave my evidenceat the time of the inquest, and have nothing to add to it. Strictlyspeaking, I have had of late years no relations with my cousin.During the last eighteen months we have spoken together but once."

  "Have you had any conversation on this subject with Mr. Slocumsince your return from New York?"

  "No, I have had no opportunity. I was busy all day yesterday; hewas ill in the evening, and is still confined to his room."

  Mr. Perkins was manifestly embarrassed.

  "That is unfortunate," he said, laying the bag on the desk. "Iwish you had talked with Mr. Slocum. Of course you were taken intothe secret of Taggett's presence in the marble yard?"

  "Oh, yes; that was all arranged before I left home."

  "You don't know the results of that manoeuvre?"

  "There were no results."

  "On the contrary, Taggett claims to have made very importantdiscoveries."

  "Indeed! Why was I not told!"

  "I can't quite comprehend Mr. Slocum's silence."

  "What has Taggett discovered?"

  "Several things, upon which he builds the gravest suspicions."

  "Against whom?"

  "Against you."

  "Against me!" cried Richard, recoiling. The action was onealtogether of natural amazement, and convinced Mr. Perkins, who hadkeenly watched the effect of his announcement, that young Shackfordwas being very hardly used.

  Justice Beemis had given Mr. Perkins only a brief outline of thefacts, and had barely touched on details when the old lawyer's angerhad put an end to the conversation. His disgust at having been leftout in the cold, though he was in no professional way concerned inthe task of discovering the murderer of Lemuel Shackford, had causedLawyer Perkins instantly to repudiate Mr. Taggett's action. "Taggettis a low, intriguing fellow," he had said to Justice Beemis; "Taggettis a fraud." Young Shackford's ingenuous manner now confirmed Mr.Perkins in that belief.

  Richard recovered himself in a second or two. "Why did not Mr.Slocum mention these suspicions to me?" he demanded.

  "Perhaps he found it difficult to do so."

  "Why should he find it difficult?"

  "Suppose he believed them."

  "But he could not believe them, whatever they are."

  "Well, then, suppose he was not at liberty to speak."

  "It seems that you are, Mr. Perkins, and you owe it to me to beexplicit. What does Taggett suspect?"

  Lawyer Perkins brooded a while before replying. His practice wasof a miscellaneous sort, confined in the main to what is technicallytermed office practice. Though he was frequently engaged in smallcases of assault and battery,--he could scarcely escape that inStillwater,--he had never conducted an important criminal case; butwhen Lawyer Perkins looked up from his brief reverie, he had fullyresolved to undertake the defense of Richard Shackford.

  "I will tell you what Taggett suspects," he said slowly, "if youwill allow me to tell you in my own way. I must ask a number ofquestions."

  Richard gave a half-impatient nod of assent.

  "Where were you on the night of the murder?" inquired LawyerPerkins, after a slight pause.

  "I spent the evening at the Slocums', until ten o'clock; then Iwent home,--but not directly. It was moonlight, and I walked about,perhaps for an hour."

  "Did you meet any one?"

  "Not that I recollect. I walked out of town, on the turnpike."

  "When you returned to your boarding-house, did you meet any one?"

  "No, I let myself in with a pass-key. The family had retired, withthe exception of Mr. Pinkham."

  "Then you saw him?"

  "No, but I heard him; he was playing on the flute at his chamberwindow, or near it. He always plays on the flute when he can'tsleep."

  "What o'clock was that?"

  "It must have been after eleven."

  "Your stroll was confined to the end of the town most remote fromWelch's Court?"

  "Yes, I just cruised around on the outskirts."

  "I wish you had spoken with somebody that night."

  "Th
e streets were deserted. I wasn't likely to meet persons on theturnpike."

  "However, some one may have seen you without your knowing it?"

  "Yes," said Richard curtly. He was growing restive under theseinterrogations, the drift of which was plain enough to bedisagreeable. Moreover, Mr. Perkins had insensibly assumed the toneand air of a counsel cross-examining a witness on the other side.This nocturnal cruise, whose direction and duration were known onlyto young Shackford, struck Lawyer Perkins unpleasantly. He meditateda moment before putting the next question.

  "Were you on good terms--I mean fairly good terms--with yourcousin?"

  "No," said Richard; "but the fault was not mine. He never likedme. As a child I annoyed him, I suppose, and when I grew up Ioffended him by running away to sea. My mortal offense, however, wasaccepting a situation in Slocum's Yard. I have been in my cousin'shouse only twice in three years."

  "When was the last time?"

  "A day or two previous to the strike."

  "As you were not in the habit of visiting the house, you must havehad some purpose in going there. What was the occasion?"

  Richard hung his head thoughtfully. "I went there to talk overfamily matters,--to inform him of my intended marriage to MargaretSlocum. I wanted his good-will and support. Mr. Slocum had offered totake me into the business. I thought perhaps my cousin Lemuel, seeinghow prosperous I was, would be more friendly to me."

  "Did you wish him to lend you capital?"

  "I didn't expect or wish him to; but there was some question ofthat."

  "And he refused?"

  "Rather brutally, if I may say so now."

  "Was there a quarrel?"

  Richard hesitated.

  "Of course I don't press you," said Mr. Perkins, with somestiffness. "You are not on the witness stand."

  "I began to think I was--in the prisoner's dock," answeredRichard, smiling ruefully. "However, I have nothing to conceal. Ihesitated to reply to you because it was painful for me to reflectthat the last time I saw my cousin we parted in anger. He charge mewith attempting to overreach him, and I left the house inindignation."

  "That was the last time you saw him?"

  "The last time I saw him alive."

  "Was there any communication between you two after that?"

  "No."

  "None whatever?"

  "None."

  "Are you quite positive?"

  "As positive as I can be that I live and have my senses."

  Lawyer Perkins pulled a black strand of hair over his forehead,and remained silent for nearly a minute.

  "Mr. Shackford, are you sure that your cousin did not write a noteto you on the Monday preceding the night of his death?"

  "He may have written a dozen, for all I know. I only know that Inever received a note or a letter from him in the whole course of mylife."

  "Then how do you account for the letter which has been found inyour rooms in Lime Street,--a letter addressed to you by LemuelShackford, and requesting you to call at his house on that fatalTuesday night?"

  "I--I know nothing about it," stammered Richard. "There is no suchpaper!"

  "It was in this office less than one hour ago," said LawyerPerkins sternly. "It was brought here for me to identify LemuelShackford's handwriting. Justice Beemis has that paper!"

  "Justice Beemis has it!" exclaimed Richard.

  "I have nothing more to say," observed Lawyer Perkins, reachingout his hand towards the green bag, as a sign that the interview wasended. "There were other points I wished to have some light thrownon; but I have gone far enough to see that it is useless."

  "What more is there?" demanded Richard in a voice that seemed tocome through a fog. "I insist on knowing! You suspect me of mycousin's murder?"

  "Mr. Taggett does."

  "And you?"

  "I am speaking of Mr. Taggett."

  "Well, go on, speak of him," said Richard desperately. "What elsehas he discovered?"

  Mr. Perkins wheeled his chair round until he faced the young man.

  "He has discovered in your workshop a chisel with a peculiar breakin the edge,--a deep notch in the middle of the bevel. With thatchisel Lemuel Shackford was killed."

  Richard gave a perceptible start, and put his hand to his head, asif a sudden confused memory had set the temples throbbing.

  "A full box of safety matches," continued Mr. Perkins, in a cold,measured voice, as though he were demonstrating a mathematicalproblem, "contains one hundred matches. Mr. Taggett has discovered abox that contains only ninety-nine. The missing match was used thatnight in Welch's Court."

  Richard stared at him blankly. "What can I say?" he gasped.

  "Say nothing to me," returned Lawyer Perkins, hastily thrusting ahandful of loose papers into the open throat of the green bag, whichhe garroted an instant afterwards with a thick black cord. Then herose flurriedly from the chair. "I shall have to leave you," he said;"I've an appointment at the surrogate's."

  And Lawyer Perkins passed stiffly from the apartment.

  Richard lingered a moment alone in the room with his chin restingon his breast.