The proceedings were very much the same as they had been at the "Marsh
Inn" inquest. Trent made similar statements to those he had made
before, but supplemented them by adding that Sir Simon had in his
possession on the night he was murdered the sum of two thousand pounds
in gold and notes. He stated that the numbers of the notes were in his
possession, but that as yet none of them had been presented. He
detailed all that had taken place at the inn on the night the crime
had been committed,--the arrival of Sir Simon to meet his unknown
visitor, the subsequent arrival of Herries, who said,--and perhaps
wrongly, as Trent suggested,--that he did not know that his uncle was
in the house. Then came the relation of Narby's discovery of the dead
body, and the evidence found in Herries' room. In fact Inspector Trent
made out a very good case against the prisoner, and it really looked
as though nothing could prevent the accused man being committed for
trial at the Chelmsford sessions.
The same witnesses as had appeared at the inquest were called: Mrs.
Narby, her husband, her son, and Elspeth. No new facts were elicited,
and the witnesses, with the exception of Elspeth, stated that they
were certain the prisoner was guilty. Browne was examined and gave
evidence as to his examination of the dead body and mentioned the
probable hour of death. It was all rather dull, as everything had
appeared before in the papers. Herries, seated in the dock, gazed
straight before him with a calm face, and every now and then stole a
glance at Elspeth to gain confidence. She was seated with clasped
hands in agony, as the evidence was given. In the face of it all, how
could she hope that her husband would escape.
Trent, recalled by the magistrate, explained that he had not been able
to find the man who had passed through the tap-room arrayed in Sir
Simon's fur coat, but mentioned that the coat itself had been
discovered. The magistrate, who seemed to be an open-minded man,
thought that this was a favourable sign for the prisoner, as the
missing man might possible be, and very probably was, the assassin.
But the lawyer who appeared for the prosecution pointed out that the
razor and the empty pocket-book had been found in Herries' room. He
dared the defence to explain how these came to be in the room of the
prisoner.
It was at this point that Michael Gowrie was called, and then all
present listened attentively, as this was the most important witness
of the lot, and assuredly,--according to common report,--would be able
to save the prisoner. The young lawyer who was acting for Herries
asked Gowrie a few questions relative to his position, and the reason
he had been at the "Marsh Inn" on the night in question. Then he asked
him to tell his story. This Gowrie did in his best English and very
earnestly. He knew that too much was at stake to commit himself to the
Scotch dialect, which would not be half understood by those present.