CHAPTER XXVI
BY A HAIR'S BREADTH
Again and again Colonel Andrews demanded order in the court-room, butthe spectators were utterly demoralized and refused to be quiet. It wasonly after Mrs. Bennett had been carried unconscious into another roomthat the confusion somewhat abated. Nancy, trembling in every limb, inthe reaction which followed her terror and shock, collapsed in herchair, incapable of speech. Mrs. Arnold, whose complexion had turnedpasty from her emotions, clung frantically to Mrs. Warren and beggedtearfully to be taken home.
Colonel Andrews, purple in the face with his exertions, bellowed in avoice at last heard above the racket: "This unseemly behavior mustcease! Major Lane, call the guard and clear the room!"
Silence quickly followed the order, and Warren turned and addressed theexcited court:
"I ask your indulgence for precipitating such a scene. I returned tothis room intending to ask a stay of proceedings so that I could havetime to gather evidence against Mrs. Bennett; but, on hearing the judgeadvocate's argument against postponement, I saw my opportunity to forcea confession from the guilty woman by giving details of Captain Lloyd'smurder which would induce her to think there had been an eye-witness toher crime.
"Sitting there, confident that another was practically convicted forCaptain Lloyd's murder, the shock of my unexpected words affected heras I hoped they would, and she betrayed herself."
"Is that the only evidence you can offer to prove Mrs. Bennett'sguilt?" demanded the judge advocate, harshly.
"My next witness is Miss Mary Phelps, a nurse of the United StatesSanitary Commission," was Warren's noncommittal reply.
After the usual preliminaries Miss Phelps told how she found thehypodermic syringe and why she gave it to Doctor Ward. She was thenexcused, and her place taken by Doctor Ward, who in a few concise wordsdescribed how he discovered that the syringe was not his, and that itcontained a solution which, on examination, proved to be a form ofcurari. He produced the syringe and gave it to the judge advocate.
As he left the court-room Doctor John Boyd's name was called, and thefamous surgeon limped into the room and to the witness chair, followedby a low ripple of excited comment from the spectators which wasquickly quelled by Colonel Andrews' peremptory demand for silence. WhenDoctor Boyd had satisfactorily answered the judge advocate's firstquestion after being sworn, Warren began his direct examination.
"Doctor, are you acquainted with the poison known as curari orcurarine?"
"I am. Some of the drug was given to me when I was last in SouthAmerica. It is almost impossible to procure it in this country now."
"How many people knew that you owned this drug?"
Doctor Boyd reflected a moment before answering. "I am sure only twopeople beside myself--my former assistant and Mrs. Bennett."
Colonel Andrews had no need to call for silence; one could hear a pinfall in that quiet room as court and spectators bent forward, thebetter to hear Doctor Boyd's low voice.
"How did Mrs. Bennett learn that you had some curari?"
"She came in to my consulting room one day last November. I had justbeen making some physiological tests, and the bottle containing thecurari was on my table. After I had given her the prescription she hadcome for she asked me what the bottle contained.
"Curari is a curious poison, and one that is not much known, at leastat this date. I explained that the South American Indians used it ontheir arrow points in the chase, animals killed by it being quitewholesome. I also told her that curari may, except in very large doses,be swallowed with impunity, but if introduced into a puncture of theskin, so as to mix with the blood, the effect is instantly fatal, andleaves no trace of poison behind it. She asked me how to obtain asolution of the drug, and I explained in detail; then, seeing she wasready to go, I rose and put the bottle of curari back on its shelf inthe small medicine cabinet that hangs near my table."
"Is the cabinet kept locked?"
"No. My old housekeeper, Martha Crane, has charge of my private officeand would not think of disturbing any of my belongings."
"Did you know Captain Lloyd?" read the judge advocate, pasting Warren'slast question in his book.
"I first met Captain Lloyd on New York Avenue one morning in January,but I saw him again that same night." The surgeon paused.
"Give a full account of that last occasion," directed Warren.
"I was attending a supper party at Senator Warren's," began Boyd. "Wewere having a pleasant evening when the bell rang and the servant toldthe senator that a gentleman wished to speak to Major Goddard. SenatorWarren immediately asked Captain Lloyd to step into the parlor, but hedeclined, saying he preferred to wait in the hall for his friend.
"Suddenly I was startled by a half-stifled moan, and turned to seewhere the sound came from. Mrs. Bennett was crouching on the sofabehind me; her face livid, her eyes starting from her head. I followedher glance and saw Captain Lloyd standing directly under the halllight."
"Did Captain Lloyd see Mrs. Bennett?"
"No; we were sitting in the darkest part of the room, besides which hewas too occupied in staring at Major Goddard and Miss Newton to noticeanyone else."
"What happened next?"
"Major Goddard joined his friend almost at once and they went awaytogether. Then, before I could catch her, Mrs. Bennett fell fainting onthe floor. If ever I saw naked fear it was in her livid countenancewhen she gazed at Captain Lloyd.
"Naturally I was curious to know what connection there was between Mrs.Bennett, a society butterfly, and Captain Lloyd of the Secret Service,particularly as I was informed that she was a Union spy, but myprofessional duties claimed all my attention. And I forgot about thescene until it was recalled to my mind by Mrs. Bennett herself."
"In what way?"
"I was talking with her at the President's levee on March 2nd, andspoke of Major Goddard. She asked me if Captain Lloyd had returned totown with him, and I replied in the negative."
"Was that the last time you saw Mrs. Bennett?"
"No. I saw her on the afternoon of the 6th of March going in to Mrs.Lane's. My housekeeper, Martha," he added, before the judge advocatecould speak, "told me, when I entered my office a few seconds later,that Mrs. Bennett had just left, having waited for me in the frontoffice for some time."
"Is the communicating door between the office and your consulting roomkept locked when you are absent?"
"No, never."
"Then a patient could enter your consulting room without disturbingyour housekeeper?"
"Yes."
"Did you see Mrs. Bennett waiting on Mrs. Lane's doorstep?"
"No, she was just turning the front doorknob and entering when I passedthe house."
"Did she see you?"
"No, I think not. Her back was turned to me."
"Is your usual office hour at that time in the afternoon?"
"No."
"Then Mrs. Bennett knew that you were likely to be out at that hour?"
"Yes; she told my housekeeper that she had a bad attack of neuralgia,and had called on the chance of finding me in."
"Where have you been during the past month, Doctor?"
"I left Washington that very afternoon on my way to Richmond."
"Just a moment," interposed Warren, and handed another slip to thejudge advocate, who read the question aloud. "Did Mrs. Bennett know youexpected to leave town?"
"She did. I told Mrs. Arnold in her presence that I expected to go awayat any moment, and did not know exactly when I would return."
"Continue your statement," directed Warren.
"I went to Richmond to see my brother. On my arrival there I found himin one of the hospitals, dying." Boyd's keen eyes grew misty. "I stayedwith him to the end. I found my services needed in that unhappy city,so remained; but just before the evacuation I went over to Petersburgto assist in the field hospitals. I only returned to Washington thismorning."
"When did you first hear of the charges against Miss Newton?"
"When I re
ached my house this morning I found Doctor Ward there makinginquiries of Martha as to my whereabouts. We went into the office, andWard told me of Miss Newton's arrest and trial, finally mentioning hissuspicions that curari had been used. I sprang out of my chair, walkedover and pulled open the door of the cabinet. The bottle of curari wasempty. I also found on further search that one of my hypodermicsyringes and needles, which I keep in the top drawer of my table, weremissing."
"Did any one have access to your offices during your absence from thecity?"
"No. I locked both the doors and bolted the windows of those roomsbefore I left that afternoon, and took the keys with me, knowing that Imight be away from home for some time."
"What did you do on discovering the curari was gone?"
"Doctor Ward and I agreed that Senator Warren should be sent for. Onhis arrival we consulted together and decided that Mrs. Bennett musthave killed Captain Lloyd."
"That is all, Doctor," announced Warren. "Mr. Judge Advocate, take thewitness."
"Do you know any motive for Mrs. Bennett's crime?" inquired the judgeadvocate.
"Fear, deadly fear."
"Do you know what inspired that fear?"
"No, sir; I do not."
"You are excused." And the doctor, bowing to the court and to Nancy,withdrew.
"May it please the court to recall Major Goddard," said Warren.
"Major Goddard is under close arrest and cannot leave his quarters,"replied the President.
"But there are no longer grounds for such arrest," retorted Warren,warmly. "He cannot now be accused of being an accessory after the fact.By President Lincoln's permission I was allowed to see the major thismorning, and I say to you in all earnestness that his testimony isneeded to clear up this mystery. I have here an order from theSecretary of War," extending a long envelope which had been deliveredto him a moment before, "releasing Major Goddard from arrest."
Convinced by Warren's earnest appeal, the presiding officer despatchedan orderly for Goddard.
Nancy's color had returned, and her eyes sparkled with relief andrenewed courage as she talked in a low tone with Warren and Dwightduring the short wait that followed. Goddard soon made his appearance,for his conversation with Warren had prepared him for such a summons.His whole bearing had changed. He entered the room erect and smiling,and despite his blindness moved with quick, decisive step as theorderly guided him to the witness chair.
"State to the court Captain Lloyd's _full_ name," ordered Warren.
"George Lloyd Irving." His announcement caused low voiced comment, andColonel Andrews pounded for order.
"Why did Captain Lloyd drop his family name?"
"Because he desired to lose his identity after a certain tragedy in hisfamily."
"Give a full account of that tragedy."
"After graduating from West Point I was ordered West, and I did not seeCaptain Lloyd until seven years later. I found him greatly changed fromthe kindly, happy boy I had known in former days. After we had beentogether for a month we drifted into our old friendly ways, and onenight Lloyd confided his troubles to me and why he had dropped hissurname.
"Three years before that date, when on a visit in the West, he had meta very pretty, charming girl, became infatuated with her, and after abrief courtship they were married. Shortly after the honeymoon theyboth realized they had made a fearful mistake. She had married Lloydfor the social position his name could give her. She found that Lloydhated society and would go nowhere. He was also comparatively poor andcould not supply her with the luxuries her shallow nature craved. Sothey endured a parrot and monkey life of it. After the birth of theirbaby there was continuous friction, for Lloyd declared that to cut downexpenses to meet additional bills they would have to live in a farmhouse which he owned near a village in New Jersey.
"They moved there and things went from bad to worse. Mrs. Irving hatedthe village people. Their church socials and the sewing circles seemedto mock her; for she craved balls and brilliant receptions. She nevertroubled to return the calls of the friendly farmers' wives, andfinally she was shunned. Lloyd, who went to and from his work everyday, was wrapped up in the baby, a sickly little girl, and paid butlittle attention to his wife's tempers.
"One day, driven to desperation by the monotony of her existence, forwhich she chiefly had herself to blame, Mrs. Irving decided to leaveLloyd. He had been sent to Philadelphia to investigate a criminal case,and was expected back the next afternoon. Mrs. Irving dismissed herservant, and at noon the next day, after writing a note to Lloyd, sheshut up the house and trudged into town, reaching the station in timeto catch the train to the city."
Goddard stopped his long narrative, and cleared his throat nervously.Nancy had never taken her eyes from him, and, as if he felt theirappeal, he turned and spoke as if addressing her alone.
"Unfortunately, Lloyd was detained in Philadelphia by illness. When hereached his home he found his house closed, his wife gone, and hisdelicate baby _dead_ from starvation and exposure in the bitterweather. His farm was on a little-frequented road; his nearest neighborsix miles away. No one had noticed the closed house; no one hadapproached near enough to hear the baby's cries.
"From that moment Lloyd was a changed man. He waited until after hischild was buried; then started in pursuit of her unnatural mother. I donot suppose," added Goddard hastily, "that it ever occurred to Mrs.Bennett that Lloyd might be prevented from returning home thatafternoon. She had no particular affection for the child, and decidedthat having a baby with her would be a drag. She also undoubtedlyreasoned that Lloyd would not trouble to find _her_, but if she tookthe _child_ away he would instantly institute a search for her.
"Lloyd spent months trying to trace his wife. Finally word reached himthat she had sailed on an ill-fated ship which was wrecked, and hiswife was reported among those drowned. Convinced that she was dead, helet the matter drop. But, knowing Lloyd as I did, I am convinced that,had he suspected his wife really was _alive_, he would have killed her,for he worshipped that baby. Many a night I have been wakened by hiscalling: 'Baby-tot! baby-tot!' in heart-rending tones in his sleep, asI told Senator Warren this morning."
"Why did you not relate this narrative when you testified yesterday?"asked the judge advocate, after Warren signified that he couldcross-examine Goddard.
"Because I never connected Lloyd's unhappy married life with the causeof his murder. I thought his wife was dead."
"Did you ever see Captain Lloyd--Captain Irving's wife?"
"No, sir. You can prove my statements by going to the village where thechild is buried. I don't doubt you can find some farmers who canidentify Mrs. Irving."
"Then you have no direct proof to adduce that Mrs. Irving and Mrs.Bennett are one and the same person?"
"I have no such proof," admitted Goddard, "but any one of averageintelligence----" His hot-tempered speech was interrupted by a requestthat the judge advocate see Mrs. Bennett, who had regainedconsciousness.
Interest was keyed to the highest pitch, and the judge advocate'sreturn to the room was hailed by a low murmur of suppressed excitement.He laid down a paper and announced gravely: "Mrs. Bennett hasconfessed."
For the moment there was absolute stillness; then spontaneous applausebroke out from Nancy's friends, which was instantly checked by ColonelAndrews.
"In her signed confession Mrs. Bennett states that she _is_ Mrs.Irving," continued the judge advocate. "She bribed a poor woman who wassailing on that ill-fated ship to assume her name, thinking it wouldmislead her husband should he try to find her. When she heard the womanwas drowned Mrs. Irving considered that she was safe. She altered herappearance by dyeing her hair and by other artificial means. Herpleasing address and good education assisted her, together with aforged reference, in securing a position as companion to a richinvalid. Some months after that she heard of the death of her child,and she considered one of the links binding her to the past had beenbroken. Two years went by; then she met Colonel Bennett at Saratoga,and three months later t
hey were married.
"Mrs. Irving states that she spent December and the first part ofJanuary in the North, and only returned to Washington the day beforeSenator Warren's supper party. On her arrival she had an interview withSecretary Stanton and agreed to find out and report which women insociety were sending aid and comfort to the enemy. When she saw andrecognized Lloyd she was panic-stricken; not only had she knowinglycommitted bigamy, a criminal offence, but exposure meant social ruin.And while only indirectly responsible for her child's death, she _knew_Lloyd, and realized that he would stop at nothing to revenge what _he_considered the child's _murder_.
"From that night she planned to get rid of Lloyd. It was easy for herto keep out of his way, for he was in Winchester most of the time. Thenshe remembered the curari--the poison that left no trace!
"Accompanied by Mrs. Arnold, she visited Major Goddard, and then foundout where their rooms were located and how to reach them. Fate playedinto her hands, for on that sixth of March she met Aunt Dinah, whom sheknew, having lived at Mrs. Lane's with her husband when he was firstordered to duty in Washington. Aunt Dinah, who was returning fromexecuting an errand at Brown's drug store, told her that Captain Lloydhad returned and was lying down in his room. Mrs. Lane had said he wasnot to be disturbed, as he was asleep. Aunt Dinah announced she wasdead tired herself from answering the front door in addition to herother work. Mrs. Irving promptly suggested that she leave the frontdoor on the latch, and she watched the old colored woman follow out hersuggestion. At last the way was clear. Mrs. Irving knew the house; knewthe hours kept by the boarders; if she was seen in the house she had aplausible excuse to explain her presence there. So she secured thepoison and committed the murder as already described.
"Mrs. Irving declares that she stole the pocketbook thinking it mightcontain some papers which referred to her. She burned the case and itscontents without examining them, such was her haste to get rid of whatmight prove incriminating evidence against her. She only took thepocketbook, because she dared not linger long enough to search Lloyd'sother belongings, as she could not lock the hall door, and she was indeadly terror for fear some one would walk in on her.
"That is all in the confession which refers to this trial," ended thejudge advocate, as he laid down the paper.
"I respectfully submit to the court," began Warren, rising, "that myclient has been absolutely vindicated, and demand that she be releasedfrom imprisonment."
"The accused has been proven not guilty of the charge of wilfulmurder," said Andrews, slowly. "But, Mr. Senator, she has _not_ beencleared of the first charge. We must first hear Private Belden'stestimony."
The judge advocate rose. "I have here," he announced, taking up anenvelope, "a telegram which was handed to me as I entered the room justnow. I have not had a moment in which to read it." As he spoke he toreopen the envelope. Quickly he scanned the lines, then read them aloud:
"Cavalry Headquarters, April 12, 1865. Captain George Foster, --th Infantry, War Department, Washington.
"I have to report that Private Belden was killed during the battle of Sailors' Creek, April 6th, 1865.
"H. K. YOUNG, _Chief of Scouts_".
The Lost Despatch Page 26
