Jeremy Poldark (15 page)

Even this was not all – by no means the worst of
it and Henry Bull wagged a long brown forefinger. When His Majesty's, excise
men, supported by a small contingent of dismounted dragoons, had come upon the
scene the prisoner had come before them and warned them not to interfere, at
peril of their lives - had threatened them in the most direct and offensive
manner. When they disregarded this and went down upon the beach they were set
on by the prisoner and others, and a serious fight had developed and one of the
excise men, John Coppard, had received very serious injuries. There were, in
fact, two deaths on the beach that night among' the rioters, and many injured.
Reliable witnesses put the numbers of the wreckers at two thousand.

The voice went on, welling sometimes in
Demelza's ears, at others growing faint and far away. Indiscriminately it piled
up the calumny, the truth, the lies and the half-truths, until she felt she
must scream. It was very hot in the, hall; the windows were steaming up and the
walls running with moisture. She wished now she had never come-anything better
than listening to this. She tried to stop her ears, but that was no use. If the
worst was to be heard; she had to listen.

At last Bull came to the close of his speech. It
was not within his present scope to call the jury's attention, he said, to the
previous acts of lawlessness which had disfigured the prisoner's character. But

Here Mr. Jeffery, Clymer, who had been drawing
circles and squares with his pen, leapt to his feet and vehemently protested a
protest which was upheld by the judge, and Mr. Bull was forced to withdraw.
This he did willingly, having planted what, he wanted in the jury's mind. It
was not permissible to say anything about the prisoner's previous character,
he went on; but-and here was the big but-it was admissible and very relevant to
draw deductions from certain statements prisoner had made to the examining
justices statements which attempted to justify his actions, statements which
branded him as an obvious Jacobin and an admirer of the, bloodshed and tyranny
across the water. Such men, Bull went on to imply, were doubly dangerous at
times like these. Each member of the jury must be possessed of some property.
If he wished to keep that property intact, men like the prisoner must be made
an example of. The flame of sedition and unrest must be stamped on at its very
outset. A sometime soldier and gentleman had a special responsibility. For him
to side with the rogues and riffraff of the towns, encouraging them and
instructing them in acts of violence they would not by themselves have the wit
or intelligence to conceive, was an outrage on society. Such a man deserved to
be put away. Hanging was barely good enough. Justice must be done, and, he
demanded no less than justice.

When he sat down there was a visible stirring in
the court; and then after a minute junior counsel for the Crown got up and
added a further speech of his own, it being the custom in serious cases to allow
two speeches for the prosecution and none for the defence. At last it was over
and the first witness was called. This was Nicholas Vigus.

He
came into the courtroom blinking, hesitating, a cherub surprised in some
nefarious practice. In an age when wigs were so much worn, the smooth fresh
tight skin of his head seemed in indecent contrast with the pockmarks in his
face. In his thin sly voice, growing more confident as he went on, he testified
that on the morning in question he had been wakened soon after dawn by the
prisoner thunderously knocking on the next-door cottage and calling
"Zackyl Zacky! Good pickings for all! There's a wreck coming ashore and
we'll strip her to the last plank!" Later he deposed to seeing the
prisoner on the shore leading operations and generally directing the crowds,
also that the accused had been the first to swim to the ship and board her.
Also he had directed operations against the second ship and been generally
active all through the day. Witness had seen accused go up to excise officers
when they arrived: and have high words with them but had not been near enough
to hear what passed. Later he had gone away and not been present at the fight.
That concluded his evidence. Everyone looked at Ross.

Ross cleared his throat - The beginning for him.
Till now he had been unable to disrelate himself from a spectator's part,
critical, unstirred, noting the colour of Mr. Henry Bull's fingernails more
than his invective,, judging the ages and occupations of the jury without much
thought to the fact that they were judging him. Now he must stir himself to
fight, must feel this thing personally and passionately if he were to survive.
The conflict between Clymer's advice and his own inclinations was still
unresolved. But sight of Demelza had made him feel that he must fight.

"Was
there a very strong gale blowing that morning, Nick?”

Vigus
blinked slyly at Ross, the confidence ebbing again. "'S, I reckon."

"It's
true, isn't it, that the Martin cottage is not next door to yours but next but
one."

"'Is, I reckon. Daniel's is between."

"
You must have had good hearing to have been sure of what I said so far
away:"

"
Oh, tisn't so far away. I 'eard what you said sure 'nough."

"Have
you always resented it that I didn't wake; you?" There was a little cackle
of laughter at the back of the court.

"Made
no diff'rence to me," said Vigus sullenly. "I wasn't consarned with a
wreck."

“But
you were on the beach all through the day?" Off and on, like. I went down
to see what was to do."

"Did you not play any part in salvaging
things that were being washed ashore?"

"No. I aren't one of those sort."

"Not ever?"

" No.

" D'you mean you
live near the beach and yet never pick up things that are washed ashore from
wrecks?"

"
Oh ... sometimes. But not this time. Not when tis a proper wreck with men
drowning, and the like." “Did you help the men who were drowning?"

" No-o.",

" Why not?"

" I didn't happen to see any.”

"Did you see me swim out to the first
wreck?"

" ... Yes."

" Didn't I carry a line with me?"

"Mebbe. I don't recall."

" What does that suggest?"

" Don't know: It don't suggest nothing to
me."

Ross glanced at Mr. Clymer, who instantly shook
his wigged head. Nick Vigus was allowed to go. Three more witnesses were
brought in to testify to certain aspects of the story and to confirm what Nick
Vigus said. Then the usher spoke again.

" Call Jud Paynter."

Demelza stared at their onetime servant as he
sidled slowly to the witness box, walking rather as if he hoped he wouldn't be
noticed getting there. It was quite unbelievable to her that he should be in
this company-prepared to testify against Ross, barefaced in a court of law.
Verity put a restraining hand on her arm again as she seemed about to stand up.
Jud mumbled through the oath, then looked round for somewhere to spit, but
thought better of it and glanced at Mr. Henry Bull who was waiting for him.

Your name is Jud Paynter and you live with your
wife in Grambler village?

" Ais."

"Tell us what happened on the morning of
the seventh January last.

"Well ..." Jud cleared his throat.
"Me and the old woman was asleep that's Prudie, see”

" You mean your wife?"

" Well yes, sur, in a manner o' speaking .
. " Jud smiled apologetically. " Prudie and me was asleep when along
come Cap'n Ross makin' a rare to-do, and afore I can spring up and unclitch the
door 'e bursts it off its hapses and rushes in and says there's a ship ashore
down to Hendrawna Beach.' 'Do ee bestir yourself good an' fine,' he says. We
was always the, best of friends, Cap'n Ross and me. Many's the time when 'e was
a little tacker no biggerer'n pot high

"Yes, yes. Keep to, the point. What then?"

Jud's bloodshot eyes roamed, round the court,
carefully avoiding contact with all comers.

" Yes, what then?"

Then he says to me he says, 'Do ee go run and
roust all the men 'ye can - for like as not thur's women and childer on the
ship," he says, `and they must be saved from a watery grave. .'

There was a moment's irritable consultation
between the law officers.

" Come, my man, recollect yourself,"
said Henry Bull. " Think again."

Jud stared up at the Gothic roof for
inspiration. ' Then he licked his gums.

"Well?Well, that's what 'e
said, sur. Sure 'nough."

"And I tell, you to think again. What you
say is not in accordance with your sworn statement " What?"

You did not say this when giving testimony
before the Crown's attorney and his clerk."

" Eh?".

" Tell us what you originally said."

"That's what I said: no more'n no
less."

" Nonsense, man. Have I your lordship's
permission? What you said was let me read it to you. When Captain Poldark came
to my hut he told me to hurry down and rouse my friends because there was a
wreck, and the sooner it was stripped the better, before the preventive men
turned up. That was what you said.''

Jud, squeezed up his face for a second, and then
let it set into a look of hurt reproach.

"Nay, nay, sur, I never heard; such words
out of me mouth Yer worship, I never thought upon no such thing. Tedn fair,
tedn just, tedn right.”

"This statement, I would remind you,
Paynter, was made before witnesses and signed with your mark. It was read over
to you before you signed."

Well, I'm 'ard of hearing," said Jud,
staring barefaced at the counsel. "Tes more'n likely they mistook what I did
say an' I mistook what they did say. Tes more'n likely, that's for
certain."

Mr. Bull angrily; swung his gown behind him and
bent over his brief. He proceeded to lead Jud through the story of the day, but
very soon there was another disagreement and another angry argument. Upon it
came Mr. Justice Lister's cold quiet voice.

"Do you know, witness, what the punishment
is for perjury?"

" Perjury?" said Jud. I ain't never
done nothing like 'it, yer worship. - I can't even write me own name, leave
alone other folk's. And I was never near the wrecks but once and then twas to
lend a 'elping 'and wi' the folk struggling in the waves. Nobody'd do less'n
lend a 'elping -'and.”

The judge gazed at Paynter for a long steady
moment, then said: "I don't think this witness is going to assist your
case, Mr. Bull."

Mr. Clymer got up in a very fatigued manner.
" May I draw your lordship's attention to the fact that in the first
instance, when called before an examining justice, Paynter gave no such
evidence as he is alleged to have done at a later date. He seems to have denied
knowledge of the events we are dealing with."

There was some angry argument and rustling' of
papers. But Henry Bull was not giving up. "There is some very important
evidence at a later stage, your lordship. If I might put that to the witness'

"Very well."

"Now, Paynter," said Bull, fixing-him
with an eye, "turn your mind to the events on the night of the seventh.
You were present when the excise men and the soldiers came upon the beach. In
your statement you say that the prisoner, Captain Poldark, was the leader of
the men who attacked the excise officers and that you saw him strike John
Coppard, who fell to the ground seriously, injured. That is a true statement,
is it not? Remember his lordship's warning: you are on oath.You can be sent to
prison yourself!" Jud sucked his two teeth and hesitated. "Nay "
he said suddenly, almost under his breath.: " I don't know nothin'
'bout'n."

"What? What's that?" said the judge.

" Tes all a new story to me, your worship.
I never heard such words out o' me mouth. Tedn true. Tedn nothin'!

Henry Bull took a deep breath. He turned sharply
to the judge "My lord, I ask your permission to call Mr. Tankard and Mr.
Blencowe."

Mr. Justice Lister moved the aromatic herbs
before his nose.

I would remind you, Mr. Bull, of the case of
Nairn and Ogilvie - which cannot be unfamiliar, to you when the court remained
in session without a break for forty-three hours. I do not intend that to
happen here and you have a lot of witnesses yet to call."

Bull flapped his gown irritably. " M'lord,
this is a matter of the gravest importance. This man has just made a very
serious charge against two junior officers of the Crown. It seems to me vital”

"I should have thought, Mr. Bull,"
said his lordship wearily, "that the situation was plain to the meanest
intelligence. This witness has clearly committed perjury at some period of the
proceedings. Whether he committed it at an earlier, stage or is committing it
now is not surely of great importance to your case, since the evidence of a
perjured witness can hardly bear much weight. Whether the Crown wishes to
charge him on that account is a matter, for the appropriate officers to decide.
I should certainly not oppose it. But it must also be perfectly clear that this
man is of such low intelligence and limited mental capacity that it would in
any case be difficult to draw a distinction between wilful and natural
stupidity. If you will accept my advice you will turn him out of the box and
get on with your case."