Phineas Redux

by Anthony Trollope

  CHAPTER XLVII.

  WHAT CAME OF THE QUARREL.

  On the next morning at seven o'clock a superintendent of policecalled at the house of Mr. Gresham and informed the Prime Ministerthat Mr. Bonteen, the President of the Board of Trade, had beenmurdered during the night. There was no doubt of the fact. Thebody had been recognised, and information had been taken to theunfortunate widow at the house Mr. Bonteen had occupied in St.James's Place. The superintendent had already found out that Mr.Bonteen had been attacked as he was returning from his club late atnight,--or rather, early in the morning, and expressed no doubt thathe had been murdered close to the spot on which his body was found.There is a dark, uncanny-looking passage running from the end ofBolton Row, in May Fair, between the gardens of two great noblemen,coming out among the mews in Berkeley Street, at the corner ofBerkeley Square, just opposite to the bottom of Hay Hill. It was onthe steps leading up from the passage to the level of the groundabove that the body was found. The passage was almost as near a wayas any from the club to Mr. Bonteen's house in St. James's Place;but the superintendent declared that gentlemen but seldom used thepassage after dark, and he was disposed to think that the unfortunateman must have been forced down the steps by the ruffian who hadattacked him from the level above. The murderer, so thought thesuperintendent, must have been cognizant of the way usually takenby Mr. Bonteen, and must have lain in wait for him in the darknessof the mouth of the passage. The superintendent had been at work onhis inquiries since four in the morning, and had heard from LadyEustace,--and from Mrs. Bonteen, as far as that poor distractedwoman had been able to tell her story,--some account of the causeof quarrel between the respective husbands of those two ladies. Theofficer, who had not as yet heard a word of the late disturbancebetween Mr. Bonteen and Phineas Finn, was strongly of opinion thatthe Reverend Mr. Emilius had been the murderer. Mr. Gresham, ofcourse, coincided in that opinion. What steps had been taken as tothe arrest of Mr. Emilius? The superintendent was of opinion that Mr.Emilius was already in custody. He was known to be lodging close tothe Marylebone Workhouse, in Northumberland Street, having removed tothat somewhat obscure neighbourhood as soon as his house in LowndesSquare had been broken up by the running away of his wife and hisconsequent want of means. Such was the story as told to the PrimeMinister at seven o'clock in the morning.

  At eleven o'clock, at his private room at the Treasury Chambers, Mr.Gresham heard much more. At that time there were present with him twoofficers of the police force, his colleagues in the Cabinet, LordCantrip and the Duke of Omnium, three of his junior colleagues in theGovernment, Lord Fawn, Barrington Erle, and Laurence Fitzgibbon,--andMajor Mackintosh, the chief of the London police. It was not exactlypart of the duty of Mr. Gresham to investigate the circumstances ofthis murder; but there was so much in it that brought it closely hometo him and his Government, that it became impossible for him not toconcern himself in the business. There had been so much talk aboutMr. Bonteen lately, his name had been so common in the newspapers,the ill-usage which he had been supposed by some to have sufferedhad been so freely discussed, and his quarrel, not only with PhineasFinn, but subsequently with the Duke of Omnium, had been so widelyknown,--that his sudden death created more momentary excitement thanmight probably have followed that of a greater man. And now, too, thefacts of the past night, as they became known, seemed to make thecrime more wonderful, more exciting, more momentous than it wouldhave been had it been brought clearly home to such a wretch as theBohemian Jew, Yosef Mealyus, who had contrived to cheat that wretchedLizzie Eustace into marrying him.

  As regarded Yosef Mealyus the story now told respecting him was this.He was already in custody. He had been found in bed at his lodgingsbetween seven and eight, and had, of course, given himself up withoutdifficulty. He had seemed to be horror-struck when he heard of theman's death,--but had openly expressed his joy. "He has endeavouredto ruin me, and has done me a world of harm. Why should I sorrow forhim?"--he said to the policeman when rebuked for his inhumanity. Butnothing had been found tending to implicate him in the crime. Theservant declared that he had gone to bed before eleven o'clock, toher knowledge,--for she had seen him there,--and that he had notleft the house afterwards. Was he in possession of a latch-key? Itappeared that he did usually carry a latch-key, but that it was oftenborrowed from him by members of the family when it was known thathe would not want it himself,--and that it had been so lent on thisnight. It was considered certain by those in the house that he hadnot gone out after he went to bed. Nobody in fact had left the houseafter ten; but in accordance with his usual custom Mr. Emilius hadsent down the key as soon as he had found that he would not wantit, and it had been all night in the custody of the mistress of theestablishment. Nevertheless his clothes were examined minutely, butwithout affording any evidence against him. That Mr. Bonteen had beenkilled with some blunt weapon, such as a life-preserver, was assumedby the police, but no such weapon was in the possession of Mr.Emilius, nor had any such weapon yet been found. He was, however, incustody, with no evidence against him except that which was affordedby his known and acknowledged enmity to Mr. Bonteen.

  So far, Major Mackintosh and the two officers had told their story.Then came the united story of the other gentlemen assembled,--fromhearing which, however, the two police officers were debarred. TheDuke and Barrington Erle had both dined in company with PhineasFinn at Madame Goesler's, and the Duke was undoubtedly aware thatill blood had existed between Finn and Mr. Bonteen. Both Erle andFitzgibbon described the quarrel at the club, and described also theanger which Finn had expressed against the wretched man as he stoodtalking at the club door. His gesture of vengeance was remembered andrepeated, though both the men who heard it expressed their strongestconviction that the murder had not been committed by him. As Erleremarked, the very expression of such a threat was almost proof thathe had not at that moment any intention on his mind of doing such adeed as had been done. But they told also of the life-preserver whichFinn had shown them, as he took it from the pocket of his outsidecoat, and they marvelled at the coincidences of the night. Then LordFawn gave further evidence, which seemed to tell very hardly uponPhineas Finn. He also had been at the club, and had left it justbefore Finn and the two other men had clustered at the door. He hadwalked very slowly, having turned down to Curzon Street and BoltonRow, from whence he made his way into Piccadilly by Clarges Street.He had seen nothing of Mr. Bonteen; but as he crossed over to ClargesStreet he was passed at a very rapid pace by a man muffled in a topcoat, who made his way straight along Bolton Row towards the passagewhich has been described. At the moment he had not connected theperson of the man who passed him with any acquaintance of his own;but he now felt sure,--after what he had heard,--that the man was Mr.Finn. As he passed out of the club Finn was putting on his overcoat,and Lord Fawn had observed the peculiarity of the grey colour. It wasexactly a similar coat, only with its collar raised, that had passedhim in the street. The man, too, was of Mr. Finn's height and build.He had known Mr. Finn well, and the man stepped with Mr. Finn'sstep. Major Mackintosh thought that Lord Fawn's evidence was--"veryunfortunate as regarded Mr. Finn."

  "I'm d---- if that idiot won't hang poor Phinny," said Fitzgibbonafterwards to Erle. "And yet I don't believe a word of it."

  "Fawn wouldn't lie for the sake of hanging Phineas Finn," said Erle.

  "No;--I don't suppose he's given to lying at all. He believes itall. But he's such a muddle-headed fellow that he can get himselfto believe anything. He's one of those men who always unconsciouslyexaggerate what they have to say for the sake of the importance itgives them." It might be possible that a jury would look at LordFawn's evidence in this light; otherwise it would bear very heavily,indeed, against Phineas Finn.

  Then a question arose as to the road which Mr. Bonteen usually tookfrom the club. All the members who were there present had walkedhome with him at various times,--and by various routes, but never bythe way through the passage. It was supposed that on this occasionhe must have gone by Berkel
ey Square, because he had certainly notturned down by the first street to the right, which he would havetaken had he intended to avoid the square. He had been seen byBarrington Erle and Fitzgibbon to pass that turning. Otherwise theywould have made no remark as to the possibility of a renewed quarrelbetween him and Phineas, should Phineas chance to overtake him;--forPhineas would certainly go by the square unless taken out of his wayby some special purpose. The most direct way of all for Mr. Bonteenwould have been that followed by Lord Fawn; but as he had not turneddown this street, and had not been seen by Lord Fawn, who was knownto walk very slowly, and had often been seen to go by BerkeleySquare,--it was presumed that he had now taken that road. In thiscase he would certainly pass the end of the passage towards whichLord Fawn declared that he had seen the man hurrying whom he nowsupposed to have been Phineas Finn. Finn's direct road home would,as has been already said, have been through the square, cuttingoff the corner of the square, towards Bruton Street, and thenceacross Bond Street by Conduit Street to Regent Street, and so toGreat Marlborough Street, where he lived. But it had been, no doubt,possible for him to have been on the spot on which Lord Fawn had seenthe man; for, although in his natural course thither from the club hewould have at once gone down the street to the right,--a course whichboth Erle and Fitzgibbon were able to say that he did not take, asthey had seen him go beyond the turning,--nevertheless there had beenample time for him to have retraced his steps to it in time to havecaught Lord Fawn, and thus to have deceived Fitzgibbon and Erle as tothe route he had taken.

  When they had got thus far Lord Cantrip was standing close to thewindow of the room at Mr. Gresham's elbow. "Don't allow yourself tobe hurried into believing it," said Lord Cantrip.

  "I do not know that we need believe it, or the reverse. It is a casefor the police."

  "Of course it is;--but your belief and mine will have a weight.Nothing that I have heard makes me for a moment think it possible.I know the man."

  "He was very angry."

  "Had he struck him in the club I should not have been much surprised;but he never attacked his enemy with a bludgeon in a dark alley. Iknow him well."

  "What do you think of Fawn's story?"

  "He was mistaken in his man. Remember;--it was a dark night."

  "I do not see that you and I can do anything," said Mr. Gresham. "Ishall have to say something in the House as to the poor fellow'sdeath, but I certainly shall not express a suspicion. Why should I?"

  Up to this moment nothing had been done as to Phineas Finn. It wasknown that he would in his natural course of business be in his placein Parliament at four, and Major Mackintosh was of opinion that hecertainly should be taken before a magistrate in time to prevent thenecessity of arresting him in the House. It was decided that LordFawn, with Fitzgibbon and Erle, should accompany the police officerto Bow Street, and that a magistrate should be applied to for awarrant if he thought the evidence was sufficient. Major Mackintoshwas of opinion that, although by no possibility could the twomen suspected have been jointly guilty of the murder, still thecircumstances were such as to justify the immediate arrest of both.Were Yosef Mealyus really guilty and to be allowed to slip fromtheir hands, no doubt it might be very difficult to catch him. Factsdid not at present seem to prevail against him; but, as the Majorobserved, facts are apt to alter considerably when they are minutelysifted. His character was half sufficient to condemn him;--and thenwith him there was an adequate motive, and what Lord Cantrip regardedas "a possibility." It was not to be conceived that from mere ragePhineas Finn would lay a plot for murdering a man in the street. "Itis on the cards, my lord," said the Major, "that he may have chosento attack Mr. Bonteen without intending to murder him. The murder mayafterwards have been an accident."

  It was impossible after this for even a Prime Minister and twoCabinet Ministers to go about their work calmly. The men concernedhad been too well known to them to allow their minds to become clearof the subject. When Major Mackintosh went off to Bow Street withErle and Laurence, it was certainly the opinion of the majority ofthose who had been present that the blow had been struck by the handof Phineas Finn. And perhaps the worst aspect of it all was thatthere had been not simply a blow,--but blows. The constables haddeclared that the murdered man had been struck thrice about the head,and that the fatal stroke had been given on the side of his headafter the man's hat had been knocked off. That Finn should havefollowed his enemy through the street, after such words as he hadspoken, with the view of having the quarrel out in some shape,did not seem to be very improbable to any of them except LordCantrip;--and then had there been a scuffle, out in the open path, atthe spot at which the angry man might have overtaken his adversary,it was not incredible to them that he should have drawn even such aweapon as a life-preserver from his pocket. But, in the case as ithad occurred, a spot peculiarly traitorous had been selected, and theattack had too probably been made from behind. As yet there was noevidence that the murderer had himself encountered any ill-usage. AndFinn, if he was the murderer, must, from the time he was standingat the club door, have contemplated a traitorous, dastardly attack.He must have counted his moments;--have returned slyly in the darkto the corner of the street which he had once passed;--have muffledhis face in his coat;--and have then laid wait in a spot to which anhonest man at night would hardly trust himself with honest purposes."I look upon it as quite out of the question," said Lord Cantrip,when the three Ministers were left alone. Now Lord Cantrip had servedfor many months in the same office as Phineas Finn.

  "You are simply putting your own opinion of the man against thefacts," said Mr. Gresham. "But facts always convince, and anotherman's opinion rarely convinces."

  "I'm not sure that we know the facts yet," said the Duke.

  "Of course we are speaking of them as far as they have been told tous. As far as they go,--unless they can be upset and shown not to befacts,--I fear they would be conclusive to me on a jury."

  "Do you mean that you have heard enough to condemn him?" asked LordCantrip.

  "Remember what we have heard. The murdered man had two enemies."

  "He may have had a third."

  "Or ten; but we have heard of but two."

  "He may have been attacked for his money," said the Duke.

  "But neither his money nor his watch were touched," continued Mr.Gresham. "Anger, or the desire of putting the man out of the way, hascaused the murder. Of the two enemies one,--according to the facts aswe now have them,--could not have been there. Nor is it probable thathe could have known that his enemy would be on that spot. The othernot only could have been there, but was certainly near the placeat the moment,--so near that did he not do the deed himself, itis almost wonderful that it should not have been interrupted inits doing by his nearness. He certainly knew that the victim wouldbe there. He was burning with anger against him at the moment. Hehad just threatened him. He had with him such an instrument as wasafterwards used. A man believed to be him is seen hurrying to thespot by a witness whose credibility is beyond doubt. These are thefacts such as we have them at present. Unless they can be upset, Ifear they would convince a jury,--as they have already convincedthose officers of the police."

  "Officers of the police always believe men to be guilty," said LordCantrip.

  "They don't believe the Jew clergyman to be guilty," said Mr.Gresham.

  "I fear that there will be enough to send Mr. Finn to a trial," saidthe Duke.

  "Not a doubt of it," said Mr. Gresham.

  "And yet I feel as convinced of his innocence as I do of my own,"said Lord Cantrip.