Through Russian Snows (5 page)

He nodded, and Frank understood that there was no more to say, and,
thanking the officer, turned and walked off home. The fisherman met him
on the way.

"You keep up your heart, Mr. Frank. Me and some of the others have been
having a talk with the coast-guards, and they will be all right. Of
course, there is not one of them that does not know Mr. Julian, so they
won't say more than they can help against him; and every one of them is
glad to hear that he gave it to that Faulkner hot. He ain't no more a
favourite with them than he is with other people, and it was not by
their own will that they ran in and pulled your brother off him. If they
hadn't, he would not have been sitting on the bench to-day, nor for many
a week, I reckon; for he would have been pretty badly burned if he had
fallen across that fire. So you may be sure that they will make it easy
for Mr. Julian, and I expect you will have him back home this evening.
They would never have took him at all if they had known who he was; but,
of course, being dark, and he in his fishing togs, they did not see it
was him."

Frank returned home in much better spirits than he had left. His aunt
was standing at the window, and hurried to the door to let him in.

"Well, Frank, have you got him out? I hoped you would have brought him
home with you."

"There was no chance of that, Aunt. Of course, when anyone is taken and
locked up, he cannot be discharged until the case has been gone into.
But I have seen Mr. Moorsby, the coast-guard officer on shore, and
Captain Downes, and they both say that the case will not be pressed
against him, and that, as he was not taking any part in the affair, and
merely looking on, they don't think anything will be done to him. The
coast-guardsmen who will have to give evidence all know him, and will
not say anything against him if they can help it. So I should not be at
all surprised, Aunt, if we have him back here this afternoon."

"Oh, I do wish," Mrs. Troutbeck said tearfully, "that it could have been
managed so that he would not have been obliged to be placed in the dock
with smugglers and all sorts of people."

"It would, no doubt, have been better if it could have been avoided,
Aunt, but there is no helping it; and if he is discharged it won't go
for much against him—certainly not here, where nobody regards smuggling
as a crime."

At half-past one Frank went down to the court-house. It was already
crowded, but Captain Downes, who came up at the same moment, took him
in, and obtained a place for him at the solicitors' table. The seizure
had created quite a sensation in Weymouth, not only because two or three
Weymouth men were among the prisoners, but because, owing to the fight
that had taken place, the matter was very much more serious than a mere
capture of contraband goods. There was a general buzz of conversation
until three magistrates came in and took their places, and there was a
little murmur of satisfaction as Colonel Chambers, the chairman, took
his seat; for, had he not been present, Mr. Faulkner, who was next in
seniority, would have taken the chair. A minute later, twelve prisoners
were brought in. Five Frenchmen and two Englishmen were a portion of the
crew of the smuggler; two were farmers' men, the drivers of the carts;
one was a local fisherman; the eleventh was one of the party that had
gone from Weymouth; Julian Wyatt made up the number.

Two or three of the party had their heads bandaged up; one had his arm
in a sling; several others had marks of hard knocks, and Julian a pair
of black eyes. When the little murmur that followed the entry of the
prisoners had subsided, and the crier had called out "Silence in court,"
the inquiry began.

Mr. Moorsby was the first witness. He deposed that having received
information that a landing of contraband goods was likely to take place,
he, accompanied by Mr. Faulkner, who represented the civil authorities,
went to the spot. They perceived that a landing of goods was taking
place; but, as it had been arranged that his party should not show
themselves until the revenue cutter came up and seized the lugger, they
remained in hiding until they heard from a man placed down by the shore
that the cutter was coming in. Then they rushed out and seized the
parties engaged in the proceedings. Some of them resisted violently, and
a serious fray took place. Three of his men were wounded with pistol
shots, one of them very seriously. One of the smugglers had been killed,
and three were so seriously injured that they could not at present be
placed in the dock.

"Are any of the prisoners represented in court?" the chairman asked.

A solicitor sitting next to Frank rose. "I represent Mr. Julian Wyatt,"
he said. Frank looked up at him in surprise. The idea of obtaining legal
assistance for Julian had not occurred to him, and he wondered how his
brother had been able to communicate with a solicitor. "I would suggest,
your honour," the latter went on, "that the evidence should be taken
separately in the different charges, as there is a considerable
difference in the position of prisoners."

Another solicitor rose. "I appear for John Turnbull and William Sims,"
he said, "and I would support the appeal of Mr. Probert. My clients, who
are farming men, took no part whatever in the fray, which is the serious
portion of the affair. While I am ready to admit that they were engaged
in the illegal operation of aiding in the landing of contraband goods,
I shall be able to prove that they are innocent of the more serious
charge of resisting by force their capture by the revenue officers, and
with using deadly weapons against the representatives of the law, and
that their case stands in an altogether different category to that of
the main body of the prisoners."

"You do not intend, I hope," Mr. Faulkner said, "to express a wish that
we should have what would practically be twelve investigations instead
of one, or that the witnesses should all be obliged to go that number of
times into the box."

"By no means, your honour; I am only intimating my intention of
cross-examining each witness as to the share my clients took in the
affair, and pointing out beforehand that their case stands on an
entirely different footing to that of the men who took part in the more
serious charge of resisting the officers."

One after another of the coast-guard men gave their evidence, each
identifying one or more of the prisoners in whose capture they had taken
a personal part. None of the first five had anything to say regarding
Julian. Then James Wingfield entered the box. After stating that he was
the coxswain of the Weymouth coast-guard boat he proceeded:

"When Mr. Moorsby gave the order I ran forward. I saw a biggish man
standing with his hands in the pockets of his pea-jacket. He seemed to
be looking on, and was not at work; but, thinking that he might be a
leader, me and Harry Wilkens ran at him and seized him. It was not until
afterwards we knew that he was Mr. Julian Wyatt. After we had caught him
I handed him over to Wilkens, and that is all I know about him."

He then proceeded to testify against several of the other prisoners in
whose capture he had taken part. When he had finished his evidence,
Julian's solicitor rose.

"You say that the prisoner you first took, Mr. Wyatt, was taking no
active part in the affair?"

"No, sir, he was just standing there looking on."

"And did he resist the capture?"

"Not to say resist, sir. When we first clapped hands on him he gave a
start, for we had come upon him sudden, without noise. He just tried to
shake us off, not knowing, I reckon, who we were; but as soon as I said,
'In the King's name, you are my prisoner,' he was just as quiet as a
lamb."

The solicitor sat down. Then the chairman asked the witness if any arms
were found on the prisoner.

"No, sir."

"Not even a stick?"

"I won't say as he may not have had a bit of a stick, your honour,
though I did not notice it, his hands being in his pockets; anyhow, he
did not try to use it."

Wilkens was the next witness, and his evidence, as far as Julian was
concerned, was precisely similar to that of the coxswain. Against the
seven men of the lugger the evidence was conclusive. All had resisted
desperately, and this had enabled several of their party to make their
escape in the darkness. The Weymouth fisherman had been caught coming up
from the beach with a keg on his shoulder, and had thrown it down and
attempted to run away, but had made no resistance when he had been
taken; the two farm men had been captured at their horses' heads, and
had at once surrendered. When the evidence had been gone through, Mr.
Probert addressed the court on behalf of Julian. He urged that there was
no evidence whatever to show that he was concerned either in the
smuggling operations or in the resistance to the revenue officers.

"I do not pretend," he said, "that he was there by accident; but I
maintain that he was there simply in the capacity of a looker-on. He
stands, in fact, precisely in the same position that any member of the
general public might do, who had been present as a spectator at any sort
of riot. It is unquestionably a very unwise action on the part of any
individual to attend a meeting of any sort at which it is possible that
riotous proceedings may take place, but I maintain that, however
imprudent and foolish, there is nothing criminal in his doing so, and I
am sure that there is no case on record in which a man has been punished
for his presence at a riot in which he did not participate. My client
acted foolishly, but I ask the court to say that his foolishness was not
criminal. He had accidentally learned that there was to be a landing of
contraband goods, and, with the thoughtlessness of youth, he went to see
what he considered the fun. Even if there had been a shadow of
criminality in his being present, I should ask you to say that the
unpleasant experience that he has undergone—his detention for twelve
hours in a police cell, and his appearance here—is ample punishment for
his boyish escapade, which might have been committed by any
high-spirited young fellow of nineteen."

After the other solicitor had addressed the court on behalf of the two
farmers' men, the magistrates consulted together. The spectators,
watching them attentively, saw that for a time they seemed unanimous,
then it was equally evident that there was a difference of opinion on
some point or other, and they presently rose and left the court.

"It is Faulkner against the other two," Mr. Probert whispered to Frank.
"Of course they were unanimous about the smugglers, but I expect they
differed as to the others. It is lucky that the Colonel is in the chair.
Harrington is a mild little fellow, and Faulkner would be able to twist
him round his finger if there were only the two of them, but there is no
fear of that with the Colonel there to keep him straight."

In ten minutes they returned, and by the flushed, angry face of Mr.
Faulkner, Frank judged at once that he had been overruled. The chairman
briefly announced the decision of the court, and committed the seven
smugglers for trial on the whole of the charges. The Weymouth fisherman
was also committed, but only on the charge of being engaged in the
unlawful act of defrauding His Majesty's revenue, and was allowed out on
bail. The two farm labourers were fined fifty pounds apiece, which their
solicitor at once paid.

"The majority of the bench are in favour of your immediate discharge,
Mr. Wyatt, being of opinion that the evidence has failed altogether to
prove any of the charges against you, and, being of opinion that you
have already paid dearly enough for your reckless folly in attending an
unlawful operation of this kind, they trust that it will be a lesson to
you for life. The other and more serious charge against you will now be
taken."

Frank, who was in the act of rising from his seat in delight at Julian's
acquittal, sank down again in dismay at the concluding words. He had no
idea of any further charge.

"What is it?" he whispered to Mr. Probert.

"Faulkner has charged him with an attempt to murder him. Have you not
heard of it? Don't be frightened. I have seen the witnesses, and have no
doubt that this case will break down like the other."

After all the prisoners but Julian had been removed from the dock, Mr.
Faulkner left the bench and took his seat in the body of the court. The
charge was then read over by the clerk, and Mr. Faulkner's name was
called; as he stepped into the witness-box, a low hiss ran through the
fishermen who formed a large proportion of the spectators.

"Silence!" the chairman said angrily. "If I hear any repetition of this
indecent demonstration, I will have the court cleared at once."

Mr. Faulkner then proceeded to give his evidence. "He had," he said,
"spoken severely to the prisoner in his quality as a magistrate, upon
his taking part in smuggling transactions. At this the prisoner became
violently abusive and uttered such murderous threats that he thought he
would have struck him, and in self-defence he (the witness) gave him a
blow, whereupon the prisoner had sprung upon him like a tiger, had
lifted him in his arms, and had carried him bodily towards the fire, and
would assuredly have thrown him into it had he not been prevented from
doing so by some of the coast-guardsmen."

Mr. Probert rose quietly. "You are a magistrate, Mr. Faulkner, I
believe?" Mr. Faulkner gave no reply to the question, and after a little
pause the solicitor went on: "Do you consider that, as a magistrate, Mr.
Faulkner, it comes within your province to abuse a prisoner unconvicted
of any crime?"

"I deny that I abused him," Mr. Faulkner said hotly.

"There is no occasion for heat, sir," Mr. Probert said quietly. "You are
in the position of a witness at present and not of a magistrate, and
must reply like any other witness. Well, you deny having abused him. Do
you consider that calling a gentleman of good standing in this town, the
son of a distinguished officer, a loafing young scoundrel, not abuse; or
by telling him that six months in one of His Majesty's jails would do
him a world of good?"