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The Adventures of Bobby Orde, a novel by Stewart Edward White |
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Chapter 25. The Hole In The Cap |
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_ CHAPTER XXV. THE HOLE IN THE CAP For perhaps ten seconds Bobby sat absolutely motionless while a new thought was born. Then, oblivious of surroundings or of the exasperated objections of those near him, he clambered over the rail and wriggled his way to the open aisle. Several tried to seize him, but he managed in some manner to elude them all. Once in the open he darted forward toward the astonished officials. His freckled face was very red, his stubby hair towsled, his gray eyes earnest. The sheriff rose from his seat as though to stop him. "I want to see that cap!" cried Bobby to the blur in general. He caught sight of it, ran to seize it, looked at it closely, and threw it down with a little cry of triumph. The bullet holes were not both at the top: one perforation was high up; but the other, on the left hand side, was situated low, near the edge. Bobby knew that the man who had worn that cap must have been hit. The judge's gavel was in the air, the sheriff on his feet, a hundred mouths open to expostulate against this interruption of a grave occasion. "Mr. Kincaid did not do it!" cried Bobby aloud. The clamour broke out. The sheriff seized Bobby by the arm. "Here," he growled at him, "you little brat! What do you mean, raising a row like this?" Bobby struggled. He had a great deal to say. All was confusion. Half the room seemed to be on its feet. Bobby saw his father making way toward him through the crowd. Only the clock and the white-haired judge beneath it seemed to have retained their customary poise. The clock tick-tocked deliberately, and its second-hand went forward in swift jerks; the judge sat quiet, motionless, his chin on his fists, his eyes looking steadily from under their bushy white brows. "Just a moment," said the judge, finally, "Sheriff, bring that boy here." Bobby found himself facing the great walnut desk. Behind him the room had fallen silent save for an irregular breathing sound. "Who are you?" asked the judge. "Bobby Orde." "Why do you say the prisoner--Mr. Kincaid--did not commit the deed?" Bobby started in a confused way to tell about the cap. The judge raised his hand. "Were you present at this crime?" he asked shrewdly. "Yes, sir," replied Bobby. The judge lowered his voice so that only Bobby could hear. "Do you know who murdered Mr. Pritchard?" "Yes, sir," replied Bobby in the same tone, "I do." "Who was it?" "I don't know his name. He's sitting----" "I thought so," interrupted the judge. "Mr. Sheriff," he called sharply. That official approached. "Close all doors," said the judge to him quietly, "and see that no one leaves this room. Mr. Attorney, your witness here is ready to be sworn." Bobby went through the preliminaries without a clear understanding of them; or, indeed, a definite later recollection. He was deadly in earnest. The crowd did not exist for him. Not the faintest trace of embarrassment confused his utterance, but he got very little forward under the prosecuting attorney's questioning--the matter was too definite in his own mind to permit of his following another's method of getting at it. Finally the judge interposed. "It's not strictly in my province," said he, "but we are all anxious for the truth. I hope the prosecuting attorney may see the advisability of allowing the boy to tell his own story in his own way. Afterward he will, of course, have full opportunity for cross-questions." This being agreed to, Bobby went ahead. "Mr. Kincaid lost his cap, just as he said, and Curly carried it into the woods and dropped it. Another man came along and picked it up and put it on. Then he walked through the thicket and came up with Mr. Pritchard. He knew where Mr. Pritchard was because Mr. Pritchard had just shot his little rifle at a hawk or something. He stabbed Mr. Pritchard, and then walked down hill and climbed up on a stump to look around. He was facing down hill. He saw Mr. Kincaid and Curly way below. Just then his cap was knocked off by another bullet." "What other bullet?" interposed the prosecution sharply. "That was just an accident," said Bobby confusedly, "it happened to hit. It wasn't shot at him at all." "You mean a spent ball from somewhere else? Who shot it? Where did it come from?" "I'll 'splain that in a minute. Then he ran as fast as he could----" That was as far as Bobby got for the moment. A slight confusion at one of the doors interrupted him. Almost immediately it died, but before Bobby could resume, the sheriff elbowed his way forward. "Laughton--you know, that second witness, the fellow who worked for Pritchard--tried to get out. I have him in charge." "Hold him," said the judge. The sheriff elbowed his way back down the aisle. "How do you know all this?" began the prosecuting attorney. "If Mr. Kincaid wore the cap, why isn't his head hurt?" demanded Bobby. "If the shot was fired by Pritchard, when lying on the ground," explained the attorney, "it would not have scraped." "But it wasn't," persisted Bobby. "It was fired from down hill, and about thirty feet away. That would hit the man, wouldn't it?" he appealed. "Certainly." "Well, is Mr. Kincaid hurt?" "This, your honour," said the attorney with some impatience, "is beside the mark----" He was interrupted by a cry from Bobby. "He's gone!" he wailed, pointing his hand toward the seat where Laughton had been sitting. "Was that the man?" asked the judge. "Yes," said Bobby, "and he's gotten away." "Mr. Sheriff," said the judge, "examine the man for a scar or wound on the head." The sheriff disappeared. The clock tick-tocked away five minutes, then ten. Finally the door swung open. "Your Honour," said the sheriff clearly, across the court-room, "the man has confessed." _ |
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