Leavenworth Case, The Read Free Page A

questioned in regard to the bodily health of Mr. Leavenworth, he replied that the deceased appeared to have been in good condition at the time of his death, but that, not being his attendant physician, he could not speak conclusively upon the subject without further examination; and, to the remark of a juryman, observed that he had not seen pistol or weapon lying upon the floor, or, indeed, anywhere else in either of the above-mentioned rooms.
    I might as well add here what he afterwards stated, that from the position of the table, the chair, and the door behind it, the murderer, in order to satisfy all the conditions imposed by the situation, must have stood upon, or just within, the threshold of the passageway leading into the room beyond. Also, that as the ball was small, and from a rifled barrel, and thus especially liable to deflections while passing through bones and integuments, it seemed to him evident that the victim had made no effort to raise or turn his head when advanced upon by his destroyer; the fearful conclusion being that the footstep was an accustomed one, and the presence of its possessor in the room either known or expected.
    The physician's testimony being ended, the coroner picked up the bullet which had been laid on the table before him, and for a moment rolled it contemplatively between his fingers; then, drawing a pencil from his pocket, hastily scrawled a line or two on a piece of paper and, calling an officer to his side, delivered some command in a low tone. The officer, taking up the slip, looked at it for an instant knowingly, then catching up his hat left the room. Another moment, and the front door closed on him, and a wild halloo from the crowd of urchins without told of his appearance in the street. Sitting where I did, I had a full view of the corner. Looking out, I saw the officer stop there, hail a cab, hastily enter it, and disappear in the direction of Broadway.

III. FACTS AND DEDUCTIONS

    "Confusion now hath made his masterpiece;
      Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope
      The Lord's anointed temple, and stolen thence
      The life of the building."
        —Macbeth.
    TURNING my attention back into the room where I was, I found the coroner consulting a memorandum through a very impressive pair of gold eye-glasses.
    "Is the butler here?" he asked.
    Immediately there was a stir among the group of servants in the corner, and an intelligent-looking, though somewhat pompous, Irishman stepped out from their midst and confronted the jury. "Ah," thought I to myself, as my glance encountered his precise whiskers, steady eye, and respectfully attentive, though by no means humble, expression, "here is a model servant, who is likely to prove a model witness." And I was not mistaken; Thomas, the butler, was in all respects one in a thousand—and he knew it.
    The coroner, upon whom, as upon all others in the room, he seemed to have made the like favorable impression, proceeded without hesitation to interrogate him.
    "Your name, I am told, is Thomas Dougherty?"
    "Yes, sir."
    "Well, Thomas, how long have you been employed in your present situation?"
    "It must be a matter of two years now, sir."
    "You are the person who first discovered the body of Mr. Leavenworth?"
    "Yes, sir; I and Mr. Harwell."
    "And who is Mr. Harwell?"
    "Mr. Harwell is Mr. Leavenworth's private secretary, sir; the one who did his writing."
    "Very good. Now at what time of the day or night did you make this discovery?"
    "It was early, sir; early this morning, about eight."
    "And where?"
    "In the library, sir, off Mr. Leavenworth's bedroom. We had forced our way in, feeling anxious about his not coming to breakfast."
    "You forced your way in; the door was locked, then?"
    "Yes, sir."
    "On the inside?"
    "That I cannot tell; there was no key in the door."
    "Where was Mr. Leavenworth lying when you first found him?"
    "He was not lying, sir. He was seated at the large table in the centre of his room, his back to the bedroom door,