Evening star., 1912-02-25
CHAPTER XIV.
The Fog Was Dense, Couldn't
Rightly See.

| the play. 1t was not, perhaps, SO inter-
eSting from the outset as the audience
| would have wished, and the fashionable
| portion thereof showed its impatience by
| sundry coughings and whisperings, which
! had to be peremptorily checked now and
again by loud:
"Silence, there!' and a threat to clear
the court
The medical officer was giving his testi-
mony at great length to the cause of
death. Technical terms were used in
plenty, and puzzled the elegant ladies
who had come here to be amused. The
jury listened attentivey. and the coroner
himself medical man-asked several
very pertinent questions:
"The thrust" he asked of DIR. Blair,
who was medical officer of the district,
Through the neck was effected by means
of long, narrow instrument. with two
sharp edges-a dagger, in fact?'
"A dagger, or stiletto, or a skewer,
| replied the doctor ANY sharp two-edged
instrument would cause wound like the
one in the neck Of the deceased"
Was death instantaneous
almost So
He explained at some length the in
tricacies of the human throat at the
points where the murderer's weapon had
entered the neck of his victim. Louisa
| listened attentiyely Every moment she
expected to see the coroner's hand wan
dering to the piece of green baize in front
| of him, and then drawing it away dis
| closing a snake-wood stick with silver
| ferrue stained and showing the rise OF
| the dagger, sheathed within the body of
the stick. Every moment she expected
| to hear the query:
] blow?"
| But this apparently was not to be just
vet. The opaque veil Of green baize was
not to be lifted: that certain long some
thing was not to be revealed the some
| thing that would condemn Luke irrevQca-
| bly,. absolutely to disgrace and to death,
| Only one of the members of the jury
/ Louisa understood that he was the fore
/ man-asked a simple question:
! Would he said. 1.-The witness explain
/ whether in his opinion the-the unknown
murderer-the-I mean-''
He foundered a little in the phrase,
| having realized that in his official ca
! pacity he must keep an open mind-and
in that open mind of an English juryman
| there could for the present dwell no GER
| tainty that q n,urderer-an unknown muir
| derer-did exist.
! They were all here-he and the others
| and the cOroner-in order to find out ii
there had been murder committed or
not.
| The coroner, one elbow on the table, one
| large hand holding firmly the somewhat
/ f1eshy chin, looked at the juryman some
| what contemptuously.
| You mean?'' he queried with an obvi-
| Gus effort at patience
| Il mean.'' resumed the man, more firm
ly, lin this present instance, would
| certain medical or anatomical knowledge
| be necessary in order to strike-er-or to
thrust-so precisely-just on the right spot
| to cause immediate death?'
| With amiable condescension the coroner
put the query to the witness in more con-
| else words.
mo. no. replied the doctor, quickly,
| now that he had understood the question,
| the thrust argues no special anatomical
| knowledge. Most laymen would know
/ that if you pierce the throat from ear to
ear suffocatiOn is bound to ensue. 1t was
easily enough DONE
| when the deceaseds head was turned
| away?" asked the coroner.
! why, yes-to look out on the fog, per-
J haps: or at passerby. 1t would be fair
| ly easy If the would-be murderer was
I, quick and determined and the victim un-
| Suspecting.
| And DIR. Blair. with long. tapering fin
gers. pointed toward his own throat, Civ
t ing illustration of how easily the deed
might be done.
| ''Given the requisite weapon. of course
| After few more courteous questions
| of a technical kind the first witness was
! dismissed : only momentariy, for he
would be required again-when the green
baize would be lifted from the hidden
something which lay there ready to hand.
| and the medical man be asked to pro-
nounce finally whether, indeed. the dag
| ger-stick was the requisite weapon for
the deed which had been so easy of ac-
complishment.
! The chauffeur who had driven the taxi
cab was the next witness called. A thick
set man, in dark-blue melton coat and
| peaked cap he came forward with that
swinging gait which betrayed the ex-
| coachman.
| He gave his evidence we'll and to the
| point. He had been hailed on the night
/ in question by two gentlemen in evening
| dress. 1t was in Shaftesbury avenue,
| just opposite theiLyric Theater and lit
tie while after he had heard st. Martins
/ Church clock strike 8 o'clock. THE fog
was SO dense he added you could not
see your hand before your eyes
He had just put down at the Apollo and
had crossed over to the left, going down
! toward Piccadilly. when the two swells
hailed him from the curb. He couldn't
/, rightly see TEN. because of the fos, but
he noticed that both wore high hats and
| the collars Of their overcoats were turned
up to their ears. He hardly saw their
| faces, but he noticed that one of them
carried walking stick.
'Or it might ave been a umbrella he
| added, after a moments hesitation, Il
| couldn't rightly say
| You must have seen the faces of your
fares" argued the coroner, If you saw
that one of them carried a walking stick
| or an umbrella. You must have seen
| something of their faces he reiterated,
more emphatically.
II didn't" retorted the man. gruffiy.
Was you out in that there fog sir? If
|. you was. you'd know 'ow you couldn't
see your and before your eyes. l saw
the point of the stick-Or the umbrella l
IGouldn't rightly say which-only because
ne of them gents waved it at me when e
as 'ailing me-thats 'ow 1 seed the
bint.''
The coroner allowed the question of
identification to drop: clearly nothing
would be got out of the man. The gen.
| tlemen, he declared. entered the cab, and
then one of them gave directions to him,
putting his head out of the right-hand
| window.
| Il didn't turn to look at 'im,'' he said,
| bluntly. Il could ear is voice plain
| enough-so why should l take look at
| i'm? 'Ow did / know there was goin' to
be murder done In my cab. and me want
ed to say what the murderer looked like?'
/ He looked round the room detiantly, as
if expecting applause for this display of
sound common sense opposed to the coro-
| ners tiresome officialism.
.'And what directions asked the latter.
| did the gentleman give you?'
| ITO go along Piccadiily," replied the
i witness, It'll e told me to stop
And when did he tell you to stop?"
1 "By the railings of Green Park, just by
/ 'Yde Park corner. One of 'em puts is
| cad out of the window and calls to me
| to pull up
Which you did,
(Which l did. and one of 'em gets out,
and standn' on the curb. e leans back
to the interior of the cab and says: 'S'iong
see you tomorrow and then e says to
me: NO. Cromwell road and disap-
pears in the fog
y: IL.