LITMIR.BIZ

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If I have had to be absent from the office for a considerable time, it has been my custom to hand the keys to one of my nephews, whichever has happened to be in charge at the time."

      "And never to any other person?"

      "Never to any other person."

      "What did you observe when you opened the safe?"

      "I observed that the parcel of diamonds had disappeared."

      "Did you notice anything else?"

      "Yes. I found the leaf from my memorandum block lying at the bottom of the safe. I picked it up and turned it over, and then saw that there were smears of blood on it and what looked like the print of a thumb in blood. The thumb-mark was on the under-surface, as the paper lay at the bottom of the safe."

      "What did you do next?"

      "I closed and locked the safe, and sent a note to the police station saying that a robbery had been committed on my premises."

      "You have known the prisoner several years, I believe?"

      "Yes; I have known him all his life. He is my eldest brother's son."

      "Then you can tell us, no doubt, whether he is left-handed or right-handed?"

      "I should say he was ambidextrous, but he uses his left hand by preference."

      "A fine distinction, Mr. Hornby; a very fine distinction. Now tell me, did you ascertain beyond all doubt that the diamonds were really gone?"

      "Yes; I examined the safe thoroughly, first by myself and afterwards with the police. There was no doubt that the diamonds had really gone."

      "When the detective suggested that you should have the thumb-prints of your two nephews taken, did you refuse?"

      "I refused."

      "Why did you refuse?"

      "Because I did not choose to subject my nephews to the indignity. Besides, I had no power to make them submit to the proceeding."

      "Had you any suspicions of either of them?"

      "I had no suspicions of anyone."

      "Kindly examine this piece of paper, Mr. Hornby," said Sir Hector, passing across a small oblong slip, "and tell us if you recognise it."

      Mr. Hornby glanced at the paper for a moment, and then said—

      "This is the memorandum slip that I found lying at the bottom of the safe."

      "How do you identify it?"

      "By the writing on it, which is in my own hand, and bears my initials."

      "Is it the memorandum that you placed on the parcel of diamonds?"

      "Yes."

      "Was there any thumb-mark or blood-smear on it when you placed it in the safe?"

      "No."

      "Was it possible that there could have been any such marks?"

      "Quite impossible. I tore it from my memorandum block at the time I wrote upon it."

      "Very well." Sir Hector Trumpler sat down, and Mr. Anstey stood up to cross-examine the witness.

      "You have told us, Mr. Hornby," said he, "that you have known the prisoner all his life. Now what estimate have you formed of his character?"

      "I have always regarded him as a young man of the highest character—honourable, truthful, and in every way trustworthy. I have never, in all my experience of him, known him to deviate a hair's-breadth from the strictest honour and honesty of conduct."

      "You regarded him as a man of irreproachable character. Is that so?"

      "That is so; and my opinion of him is unchanged."

      "Has he, to your knowledge, any expensive or extravagant habits?"

      "No. His habits are simple and rather thrifty."

      "Have you ever known him to bet, gamble, or speculate?"

      "Never."

      "Has he ever seemed to be in want of money?"

      "No. He has a small private income, apart from his salary, which I know he does not spend, since I have occasionally employed my broker to invest his savings."

      "Apart from the thumb-print which was found in the safe, are you aware of any circumstances that would lead you to suspect the prisoner of having stolen the diamonds?"

      "None whatever."

      Mr. Anstey sat down, and as Mr. Hornby left the witness-box, mopping the perspiration from his forehead, the next witness was called.

      "Inspector Sanderson!"

      The dapper police officer stepped briskly into the box, and having been duly sworn, faced the prosecuting counsel with the air of a man who was prepared for any contingency.

      "Do you remember," said Sir Hector, after the usual preliminaries had been gone through, "what occurred on the morning of the tenth of March?"

      "Yes. A note was handed to me at the station at 10.23 a.m. It was from Mr. John Hornby, and stated that a robbery had occurred at his premises in St. Mary Axe. I went to the premises and arrived there at 10.31 a.m. There I saw the prosecutor, Mr. John Hornby, who told me that a parcel of diamonds had been stolen from the safe. At his request I examined the safe. There were no signs of its having been forced open; the locks seemed to be quite uninjured and in good order. Inside the safe, on the bottom, I found two good-sized drops of blood, and a slip of paper with pencil-writing on it. The paper bore two blood-smears and a print of a human thumb in blood."

      "Is this the paper?" asked the counsel, passing a small slip across to the witness.

      "Yes," replied the inspector, after a brief glance at the document.

      "What did you do next?"

      "I sent a message to Scotland Yard acquainting the Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department with the facts, and then went back to the station. I had no further connection with the case."

      Sir Hector sat down, and the judge glanced at Anstey.

      "You tell us," said the latter, rising, "that you observed two good-sized drops of blood on the bottom of the safe. Did you notice the condition of the blood, whether moist or dry?"

      "The blood looked moist, but I did not touch it. I left it undisturbed for the detective officers to examine."

      The next witness called was Sergeant Bates, of the Criminal Investigation Department. He stepped into the box with the same ready, business-like air as the other officer, and, having been sworn, proceeded to give his evidence with a fluency that suggested careful preparation, holding an open notebook in his hand but making no references to it.

      "On the tenth of March, at 12.8 p.m., I received instructions to proceed to St. Mary Axe to inquire into a robbery that had taken place there. Inspector Sanderson's report was handed to me, and I read it in the cab on my way to the premises. On arriving at the premises at 12.30 p.m., I examined the safe carefully. It was quite uninjured, and there were no marks of any kind upon it. I tested the locks and found them perfect; there were no marks or indications of any picklock having been used. On the bottom of the inside I observed two rather large drops of a dark fluid. I took up some of the fluid on a piece of paper and found it to be blood. I also found, in the bottom of the safe, the burnt head of a wax match, and, on searching the floor of the office, I found, close by the safe, a used wax match from which the head had fallen. I also found a slip of paper which appeared to have been torn from a perforated block. On it was written in pencil, 'Handed in by Reuben at 7.3 p.m. 9.3.01. J.H.' There were two smears of blood on the paper and the impression of a human thumb in blood. I took possession of the paper in order that it might be examined by the experts. I inspected the office doors and the outer door of the premises, but found no signs of forcible entrance on any of them.

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