I am now finished with the writing phase of my third book in my western series: Legend of the Grayriders III: The Return of Caleb Roanhorse. Here is a chaper out of it.
Formation Forty-Four
Newcomen’s Children.
The hearing was gavelled back into session, and the first witness to be called was Lady Tiffany. When she had been duly sworn, Mr. Baxter rose at once and said, “Your Honour, I object to the calling of this witness. She can offer no fact touching the death itself. She was not present upo... moreI am now finished with the writing phase of my third book in my western series: Legend of the Grayriders III: The Return of Caleb Roanhorse. Here is a chaper out of it.
Formation Forty-Four
Newcomen’s Children.
The hearing was gavelled back into session, and the first witness to be called was Lady Tiffany. When she had been duly sworn, Mr. Baxter rose at once and said, “Your Honour, I object to the calling of this witness. She can offer no fact touching the death itself. She was not present upon the Santa Fe Expedition when the late Earl Newcomen was slain by mutinous officers of the army in the year 1842, and all such testimony as she may give must be collateral, prejudicial, and of no direct moment to the issue before the Court.” Judge Terrell inclined his head and replied, “Mr. Pinckney, for what purpose do you call her?” Mr. Pinckney bowed and answered, “If the Court please, I call Lady Tiffany, and after her His Grace the Duke Phillip Hamley and Lord Joseph, for two proper and lawful purposes: first, that they may speak to the character, habits, and domestic condition of the deceased; and, second, that they may lay before the jury the true nature of their late father’s business connexion with Mr. West, which connexion, we shall show, bears materially upon motive, confidence, and occasion. The Court has already heard at the preliminary hearing the names of those charged with conspiring to drive Mr. West from his business in Texas by setting abroad and exploiting a false inference that Great Britain intended to repossess or make Texas her colony, thereby to hasten American annexation and secure to themselves a monopoly of the frontier trade—namely, James Harper Starr, John Trancton, and David Trancton. These witnesses cannot speak to the mutiny in person, but they can show the confidence reposed in Mr. West by the deceased before that dark contrivance had ripened, and how Mr. West warned not of any British design of his own imagining, but of the conspirators’ design and of the mortal peril in which it placed the Earl.” Judge Terrell considered a moment and then said, “The objection is overruled. The witness may testify within the limits stated by counsel. Proceed, Mr. Pinckney.”
Lady Tiffany entered the witness-box with a composure that was visibly the offspring of breeding rather than of ease. Her mourning was severe, her countenance pale, and though she held herself erect, there was in the set of her mouth and in the stillness of her hands that species of restraint by which profound agitation is often more surely betrayed than by tears. Mr. Pinckney advanced a step. “Be so good as to state your name and condition to the court.” She answered in a low but perfectly distinct voice, “I am Lady Tiffany Hamley, daughter of the late Earl Newcomen.” “You are sister to Lord Joseph and daughter to the gentleman whose death has occasioned these proceedings?” “I am, sir.” “Had you, before you last saw your father in London, in the year preceding the Texas Revolution, opportunity of observing his disposition, his affairs, and the persons with whom he maintained habitual intercourse?” “I had, Mr. Pinckney. During my residence in my father’s house, and afterwards upon my visits to him in London, I saw much both of his domestic life and of those gentlemen with whom he transacted business.” “I pray you inform the court what manner of man your father was in his household.” Mr. Baxter sprang to his feet. “Objection, Your Honour. The question is too broad.” Judge Terrell said, “Sustained. Narrow your inquiry, Mr. Pinckney.” “Certainly, Your Honour. Lady Tiffany, was your father, in your own observation when you last saw him, a man of violent, rash, or quarrelsome temper?” “No, sir, never in my presence. He could be resolute—very resolute indeed—but he was habitually measured in his speech, just in his dealings, and slow to anger.” “Did you then know him to speak of Mr. West?” “Very often.” “In what terms, madam?” “Always with esteem. My father considered Mr. West a gentleman of probity, steadiness, and singular usefulness in matters where both discretion and courage were needed.” “Be pleased to state, as nearly as you can, the nature of those expressions.”
Mr. Baxter again interposed. “Objection. Unless the witness confines herself to statements made in her own hearing and relevant to the relation between the parties, this will become mere narration.” Judge Terrell replied, “Overruled, provided the witness states only what she herself heard from the deceased. The court will judge its weight.” Lady Tiffany inclined her head. “My father said, more than once in London, that Mr. West had shown him a fidelity not common in the world; that he had placed before him warnings which a less conscientious man might have suppressed; and that danger threatened their concerns in Texas because interested men were contriving to inflame the country with a false apprehension of British dominion, in order to force annexation and engross the frontier trade to themselves. Mr. West did not father that alarm but exposed the use others meant to make of it, and warned my father that, if he opposed them, he might place both his fortune and his life in jeopardy. I have since heard, as all in this court have heard from the preliminary examination, the names of Mr. Starr and the Tranctons; but when my father spoke to me, he named no persons.” “Did your father appear alarmed by these warnings?” “He appeared deeply troubled when last I saw him in London, sir, though not by any distrust of Mr. West. Rather, he seemed persuaded that there were persons—unnamed to me at that time—who had set themselves against certain interests in Texas with which my father and Mr. West were alike connected, and that their design might reach further than trade alone.” “Did he ever communicate the reason of that uneasiness?” “He said that papers had assumed a grave importance, and that until they were secured and compared, he would proceed with great caution. He also said that Mr. West had advised vigilance, not for his own advantage, but because the conspiracy was dangerous in itself and because opposition to it might expose my father to deadly consequences.”
A perceptible movement passed through the court. Mr. Pinckney, after a pause, resumed in a gentler tone. “Lady Tiffany, I desire now to ask you of the deceased, not as a man of business, but as a father. Was he attached to his children?” At this Mr. Baxter rose more slowly than before. “Your Honour, I renew my objection. However, affecting, such matter can have no bearing upon the issue of guilt of my clients.” Judge Terrell folded his hands upon the bench. “I will allow some latitude where counsel has announced an inquiry into the condition and relations of the deceased, but he shall not abuse it. Objection overruled. Proceed briefly.” The witness drew breath before replying. “He was a devoted father, sir; not demonstrative after the modern fashion, yet deeply affectionate, punctilious in every duty, and singularly tender where he believed sorrow or weakness to exist. He was not a man who inspired fear in his family, but reverence and trust.” “Did he stand in want of assistance from Mr. West, or was their relation one of mutual confidence?” “Of mutual confidence, decidedly. My father valued Mr. West, not as a mere dependant, but as a trusted associate whose judgement he respected, especially in relation to their affairs beyond the Atlantic.” “So that whatever place Mr. West held in that connexion was not one of mere favour, but of earned regard?” “It was so understood in the family.” “One matter more, my lady. In the last interview you had with your father in London, did he speak of any intended meeting or consultation with Mr. West?” She lowered her eyes. “He said he must have a full conference with Mr. West, and that no time was to be lost.” “Did he say why?” “He said, ‘There are men at work behind the curtain, making a British terror serve their own ambition; and if Mr. West’s apprehensions be well founded, we must know at once by what hands we are struck, for this business threatens more than property.’ Those were, as nearly as memory serves me, his very words.” Mr. Baxter rose sharply. “I move that the last answer be stricken, as vague, conclusory, and manifestly coloured by interpretation.” Judge Terrell answered, “The motion is denied. The witness has given the language as she recalls it. Its certainty is for the court.” Mr. Pinckney bowed. “I have no further questions of this witness at present.” Lady Tiffany withdrew from the box with the same controlled dignity with which she had entered; yet several in the gallery, who had scarcely stirred during the foregoing examination, seemed moved less by what she had said than by the grave, uncomplaining manner in which she had said it.
His Grace the Duke Phillip Hamley was then called. He took the oath with a grave formality and, when he turned toward the court bore himself with that cold self-command which in some men passes for pride and in others for discipline. Mr. Pinckney began: “Be pleased to state your name and station.” “Sir Phillip, Hamley, Duke of Bodencourt,” he replied. “You are husband to Lady Tiffany and son by marriage to the late Earl Newcomen?” “I had that honour, sir.” “Were you acquainted with the nature of the business relation subsisting between the deceased and Mr. West?” “I was acquainted with it in a general and afterwards in a particular sense.” “Explain to the court, if you please, in what manner that acquaintance arose.” “Partly from family confidence, partly because the late Earl, when I was with him in London in the year before the Texas Revolution, sought my judgment upon certain questions touching property, credit, and the security of investments in Texas. I am not myself a man of trade, but I have managed large estates and have not lived without acquiring some knowledge of obligations and affairs.” “Did the late Earl ever speak to you expressly concerning Mr. West’s conduct?” “He did.” “State the substance of those communications.” Mr. Baxter was instantly upon his feet. “Objection, Your Honour, unless counsel proposes to lay a foundation showing that such declarations relate directly to a disputed matter in issue.” Judge Terrell said, “Overruled. The same limitation applies as before. The witness may give what was said to him touching the relation of the parties.”
The Duke answered without haste. “The late Earl informed me that Mr. West had placed before him intelligence of a disquieting nature; that there were signs of concerted interference with their concerns in Texas; and that designing men meant to turn an unfounded cry of British ambition to their own profit—seeking by that alarm to drive on annexation and to engross the whole frontier trade. Mr. West, far from inventing or promoting such a fear, warned that others were employing it as an engine, and pressed upon the Earl the necessity of examining certain papers, titles, and communications without delay, because resistance to such men might prove dangerous to person as well as property. The Court has since heard in this preliminary hearing the names of James Harper Starr, John Trancton, and David Trancton; but at the time the Earl spoke to me in London, he named no individual.” “Did the Earl characterize Mr. West’s conduct as self-serving, or as something of a different order?” “Of a very different order. He spoke of it as frank, honourable, and even disinterested, for the warning, if neglected, might have spared Mr. West much personal difficulty, whereas by speaking he exposed himself to scrutiny and possible resentment.” “Did he communicate whether he intended to confer further with Mr. West?” “He did, and with decision.” “Now, sir, from what the Earl said in your hearing at that time, did you understand that his course of conduct had changed after these concerns were disclosed?” “I did. He told me he had become more guarded with correspondence, less willing to leave memoranda unattended, and more exact than before respecting times, parcels, and signatures. But I did not understand this caution to be directed against Mr. West. Rather, it was adopted in consequence of the danger which Mr. West had pointed out.” “Did he ever request assistance of you in relation to those precautions?” “Yes. He requested me to examine certain abstracts and to advise whether copies should be taken of instruments affecting their Texas interests.” “And what advice did you give?” “That copies should be taken immediately, and that every paper bearing upon title, remittance, and agency in Texas be compared and secured.”
Mr. Baxter lifted a hand. “Objection. The witness is making himself counsel in the cause.” Judge Terrell answered, “Overruled. The question goes to acts and advice contemporaneous with the relation described.” Mr. Pinckney advanced. “Did you, from any conversation with the deceased, understand whether Mr. West stood under reproach in the late Earl’s mind?” “Quite the contrary. The Earl considered him among the few men about him who had dealt plainly and acted in time.” “In plain terms, His Grace, did the deceased believe Mr. West to be endeavouring to protect, rather than imperil, their joint concerns?” Mr. Baxter struck the table lightly. “Objection, assumes facts not established.” Judge Terrell reflected only a moment. “Sustained as to the form. Recast the question.” “I shall do so, Your Honour. Duke Phillip, from what the deceased said to you, what conclusion had he formed as to Mr. West’s object in seeking these interviews and urging these precautions?” “That Mr. West sought to warn him that interested men were making a false British terror serve designs upon Texas trade and politics, and that the Earl himself might be in peril if he crossed them.” “And did you believe him warranted in that conclusion?” “I did.” “One further matter. Had you occasion in London, within a short time before you last parted from the Earl, to observe the deceased and Mr. West together?” “Once, sir.” “Describe, if you please, what you observed.” “They were in conference at my father-in-law’s library. The Earl’s manner was composed, though grave. Mr. West’s manner was respectful, earnest, and, if I may so say, burdened by the difficulty of presenting unwelcome truths. He spoke as a man speaks who would rather spare anxiety yet dares not be silent where honour requires speech.” “Was the interview amicable?” “Entirely so, though solemn. There was no bitterness in it; only urgency.” “Did you hear any words pass?” “Only the close of the interview. The Earl said, ‘I shall have this matter reduced to certainty, sir, and very shortly.’ Mr. West replied, ‘That is all I could desire, my lord, if the truth may but be reached in time.’ To which the Earl answered, ‘You have done rightly to press it upon me.’” At this answer there arose a subdued murmur, promptly silenced by the crier. Mr. Baxter stood. “I ask that the witness’s recital be received with caution. It is fragmentary and may lack the context necessary to a fair understanding.” Judge Terrell said, “The court requires no instruction beyond the common one that they are to weigh all testimony according to its apparent fairness, certainty, and consistency. The objection, if objection it be, is overruled.” Mr. Pinckney bowed once more. “That is all for the present.” The Duke stepped down, having neither embellished his statements nor withdrawn from them; and it was plain that, if Lady Tiffany had touched the sympathies of the room, he had addressed itself rather to its judgment.
The third witness called was Earl Joseph. He was younger than the Duke, and in him grief sat less as a mastered burden than as a force held under visible effort. He entered the box quickly, took the oath with firmness, and fixed his eyes upon Mr. Pinckney as though eager to have done with preliminaries and come to the matter itself. “Your name, if you please,” said counsel. “Earl Joseph Newcomen.” “You were the son of the deceased?” “I was.” “And when did you last see him?” “In London, sir, in the year before the Texas Revolution.” “You therefore had opportunity at that time to observe his manner and hear him speak of his affairs?” “I did.” “Earl Joseph, I ask you first whether your father, when you last saw him in London, appeared burdened by any anxiety arising out of his affairs with Mr. West.” “He did, sir, though not by reason of any distrust of Mr. West.” “State to the court the grounds of that answer.” Mr. Baxter rose with evident impatience. “Objection. The witness is invited to speculate upon inward states.” Judge Terrell answered, “Overruled, provided he states the appearances and statements upon which he founds his answer.”
Earl Joseph replied at once. “My father paced at hours when he had formerly sat at ease; he broke off letters half-written and recommenced them; he kept keys upon his person which he had once left upon his desk; and he spoke repeatedly of dangers which Mr. West had urged him not to disregard.” “Did he ever charge Mr. West, in your hearing, with dishonourable conduct?” “Never. On the contrary, he said that Mr. West had behaved with manliness and good faith in bringing disagreeable matters before him.” “What were those matters?” “They concerned suspicious movements affecting their concerns in Texas, certain irregular communications, and an apprehension that parties not then discovered were striving to make a false fear of British dominion answer their own ambitions in Texas. The names brought out in this preliminary hearing—Mr. Starr and the two Tranctons—were not then spoken in my presence.” “Did your father intend an immediate settlement of those matters?” “Yes. He said he was weary of uncertainty and would bring the business to an issue.” “Did he use that expression— ‘bring the business to an issue’?” “He did, or words nearly identical.” Mr. Pinckney paused, as if selecting his ground with care. “Now, my lord, did there come a time in London when your father gave you any instruction touching papers or correspondence in the event that anything should happen?” The defence was on its feet before the last syllable had fallen. “Objection, Your Honour! That question is highly improper and can serve only to inflame. It suggests foreboding, danger, and all the machinery of melodrama.”
Judge Terrell regarded counsel steadily. “If the question tends to show the deceased’s apprehension, preparation, or the importance of certain documents connected with the relation already testified to, it is not improper merely because it may bear strongly upon the case. Objection overruled. The witness may answer.” Earl Joseph’s face darkened. “He did. He told me that, should he be prevented from setting the matter right himself, I was to place certain sealed memoranda in the hands of his solicitor.” “Did he name the matter to which those memoranda related?” “He said only, ‘to the Texas business,’ and that they would show how the alarm first arose and by what channels it had reached him.” A stir ran again through those assembled. Mr. Pinckney, keeping his tone even, continued: “Did you ask him why he deemed such a precaution necessary?” “I did.” “What answer did he make?” Mr. Baxter exclaimed, “Objection—hearsay in its nakedest form.” Judge Terrell answered, “Overruled. The declaration is admitted for the limited purpose already indicated.” Lord Joseph spoke more slowly now. “He said, ‘Because there are men at work in this matter whom we do not yet know, and because West may be right in thinking them bolder and more desperate than honest men would suppose. He fears not some British invasion, but the uses to which such a cry may be put, and he believes I may stand in danger if I oppose them.’” “Did he name Mr. West in that connexion?” “He did, and always with confidence.” “Did you afterwards, before you last parted in London, see Mr. West at the house?” “Yes, sir.” “Relate what passed, so far as it came under your own observation.” “Mr. West was shown into the morning-room. My father received him there. The door was not wholly closed, and as I crossed the passage, I heard voices raised beyond their ordinary level. I did not then enter, for I would not intrude upon business; but after some minutes Mr. West came out. He was very pale. My father followed him to the threshold and said distinctly, ‘You have done right to insist upon it. By to-morrow this shall stand in another posture.’ Mr. West answered something lower, which I partly caught—words to the effect that he prayed they might not be too late—and then departed.” “What was your father’s appearance thereafter?” “He was stern but not discomposed. He said to me, ‘Joseph, there is an end of hesitation. West has forced me to see that the matter admits of no delay.’”
Mr. Baxter made a visible effort to contain himself and then said, “Your Honour, I object to this whole course. We are trying the conduct of my clients, James Harper Starr, John Trancton, and David Trancton, not composing a romance out of disconnected speeches and family alarms.” Judge Terrell drew himself up. “Mr. Baxter, your zeal to avert a trial upon the charge that your clients spread and profited by a false British menace against Texas in order to hasten annexation, ruin Mr. West in business, and command the frontier trade, may be proper within limits; your contempt for competent testimony is not. The objection is overruled.”
A faint rustle of approval rose and was instantly checked. Mr. Pinckney resumed. “One final question, Earl Joseph. From all you saw and heard, did your father appear to regard Mr. West as a man still deserving trust?” “Yes, sir—most emphatically. He regarded him as a man whose warning had come in season, and whose honour was the more to be valued because he had spoken where silence might have been easier.” “That is all.” Earl Joseph remained a moment as though more might yet be required of him, then stepped down. For several seconds after he had left the box, no one in the court spoke. The three examinations, taken together, had wrought upon the atmosphere with a cumulative force. Lady Tiffany had shown the wound within the family; the Duke had given shape and structure to the danger gathering about the Texas concerns; Lord Joseph had brought the matter nearest to the verge of action. Mr. Baxter sat with folded arms, his face composed but hard, as if already preparing the line by which he would endeavour to break the impression so created. Judge Terrell looked from one table to the other and said, in the level voice that had more than once restored order to the room, “Call the next witness.”
Mr. Baxter rose for the cross-examination with a manner less impetuous than before and more dangerous for its restraint. He came a pace nearer the box and clasped his hands behind him. “Lady Tiffany,” said he, with a slight bow, “you will not misunderstand me if I remind you that your natural affection for the deceased may unconsciously dispose you to accept, without scrutiny, all favourable interpretations touching those whom he esteemed?” She answered, “I shall endeavour, sir, to distinguish faithfully between what I felt and what I heard.” “I do not doubt your intention, madam. Now, when you told the court that your father spoke of Mr. West with esteem, you gave us the substance of conversations had in London before the Texas Revolution, did you not, rather than the exact words of any one particular occasion?” “In part, yes; save where I expressly repeated his language as I remembered it.” “Just so. And in none of those conversations did your father ever name to you James Harper Starr?” “No, sir; he named no person to me.” “Nor John Trancton?” “No.” “Nor David Trancton?” “No.” “Then, so far as your own knowledge goes, the danger of which you have spoken was, at the time you heard of it, wholly undefined?” Mr. Pinckney rose. “Objection, Your Honour. The witness has already stated that the danger was not fully identified. Counsel is arguing with her.” Judge Terrell said, “Overruled. The question may be answered.” Lady Tiffany replied, “It was undefined as to persons, but not unreal.” “That, madam, is your conclusion,” said Mr. Baxter suavely. “What I ask is simpler. You cannot tell this court who these men were from any knowledge of your own, can you?” “No, sir.” “Nor what precise act they had done?” “No.” “Nor whether the apprehension rested on letters, rumours, conjectures, or private information brought by Mr. West concerning what others meant to do with a cry of British dominion?” She hesitated, then answered, “Not with precision.” “Not with precision,” repeated Mr. Baxter. “And when you spoke of papers assuming importance, you did not yourself examine those papers?” “I did not.” “Nor know whether they concerned title, debt, partnership, speculation, or that false alarm of British dominion over Texas which has since been charged in this court?” “Not of my own knowledge.” “So that, when stripped of the colour naturally imparted by grief and filial confidence, your testimony amounts to this: your father was troubled; he valued Mr. West; and he believed some danger existed in connexion with Texas affairs, though you cannot identify its source, its instrument, or its object. Is not that the fair result?”
Mr. Pinckney was on his feet at once. “Objection. Counsel is summing up and putting his own construction into the witness’s mouth.” Judge Terrell nodded. “Sustained. Put interrogatories, Mr. Baxter.” Mr. Baxter bowed as though the rebuke were of no moment. “Then let me ask it thus, Lady Tiffany: beyond the general impression left upon your mind by your father’s conversation in London, have you any personal knowledge whatever that Mr. Starr or either of the Tranctons conspired against Mr. West and the Earl by means of this false British alarm?” “No personal knowledge, sir.” “And beyond your father’s expressions of esteem, have you any personal knowledge that Mr. West discovered or disclosed such a design?” “No personal knowledge.” “I am obliged to you, madam.” He inclined his head, then turned. “Duke Phillip.”
The Duke resumed the box with the same composed gravity he had shown upon his examination in chief. Mr. Baxter fixed him with a cool regard. “Your Grace, you told us that the late Earl sought your judgment upon matters affecting property and credit in Texas. You are not; however, a merchant engaged in that country’s trade?” “I am not.” “Nor a lawyer versed in Texican titles?” “No, sir.” “Nor an agent resident here?” “Certainly not.” “Then your knowledge, as to what perils truly existed in those affairs, was second-hand?” “As to many particulars, yes.” “Derived principally from the Earl and from what he told you Mr. West had represented?” “In substance, that is so.” “Let us be exact, if you please. You said the Earl spoke of ‘concerted interference.’ Those were your words at least. Did the Earl himself use that expression, or is it your own summary?” “It was my summary of his meaning.” “A very material distinction,” said Mr. Baxter. “Now, His Grace, when you were with the Earl in London before the Texas Revolution, did you yourself see any fraudulent instrument?” “No.” “Any forged signature?” “No.” “Any false entry?” “No.” “Any intercepted remittance?” “No.” “Any paper in which James Harper Starr, John Trancton, or David Trancton proposed to spread a false report that Great Britain meant to make Texas her colony?” “No.” “Did you ever yourself detect any overt act of conspiracy?” “No overt act by my own observation.” “Very good. And when you described Mr. West as earnest, respectful, and burdened by the difficulty of presenting unwelcome truths, you were reading his manner, were you not?” “I was describing what I observed.” “Observed—and interpreted. Another gentleman might have seen anxiety of a very different kind: embarrassment, perhaps, or self-interest under a decorous exterior?” “He might, if he were disposed to think unjustly.”
A low murmur greeted this answer. Mr. Baxter neither smiled nor coloured. “I am obliged to Your Grace. You are prepared, then, to speak not merely to what was said, but to the secret motives from which it sprang?” “No, sir. To motives with certainty, no man can speak.” “Ah. Then when you told the court Mr. West acted disinterestedly, that was inference?” “Inference founded on circumstances and on the late Earl’s confidence.” “Just so. And when you heard the Earl say, ‘I shall have this matter reduced to certainty,’ that language is equally consistent, is it not, with an intention to test Mr. West’s representations as with an intention to adopt them?” Mr. Pinckney interposed. “Objection. The question is argumentative and calls for mere speculation upon alternatives.” Judge Terrell considered. “Overruled, if the witness can answer whether the language would bear either construction.” The Duke replied, “In the abstract it might; in the circumstances as I knew them, I did not so understand it.” “But that again is your understanding. You cannot say the Earl told you, in so many words, ‘I have verified Mr. West beyond doubt’?” “No, not in those words.” “Nor can you say that, before he later perished in the Santa Fe Expedition, he had ever in your hearing discovered the identity of a single conspirator?” “No.” “Then, stripped to the bare fact, your testimony is that the Earl was investigating a danger reported to him by Mr. West—namely, that others were trading upon a false British alarm for their own ends?” “If you choose to put it so narrowly, yes.” “I do choose exactness, Your Grace. I have no further questions.”
Earl Joseph returned to the stand with less of patience than either his sister or his brother-in-law had commanded. Mr. Baxter appeared to observe it and to profit by it. “My lord,” he began, “you have told the jury that your father spoke repeatedly in London of dangers which Mr. West had urged him not to disregard. You were warmly attached to your father?” “I was.” “And disposed, naturally enough, to adopt his impressions?” “Where I believed them just—yes.” “And more particularly disposed to think well of a man whom he trusted?” “If he trusted him upon grounds I respected.” “Very proper. Now attend to me. You have given us a number of striking phrases: ‘men at work,’ ‘no delay,’ ‘another posture,’ and the like. Are you prepared to swear that these are the exact words used before the Texas Revolution when last you seen your father before coming here, and not your recollection of their effect?” “Some are exact; some, as I said, are as nearly exact as memory serves.” “Memory under sorrow, excitement, and retrospect?” “Memory under all the burdens which truth must sometimes carry, sir.” Mr. Baxter’s eyelids lowered a fraction. “Let us come to what you yourself know. Did you ever see any document proving a plot?” “No.” “Did you ever hear Mr. West accuse James Harper Starr of conspiring?” “No.” “John Trancton?” “No.” “David Trancton?” “No.” “Did you ever hear your father accuse any of those persons by name when you last saw him in London?” “No.” “Did you, in short, ever possess one tangible fact from your own senses establishing this conspiracy, beyond grave talk and precautionary conduct?”
Mr. Pinckney rose. “Objection. Counsel presses the witness into a conclusion already answered.” Judge Terrell said, “Overruled. He may answer.” Earl Joseph said, with effort, “No tangible fact from my own senses, if you require the phrase.” “I do require it,” said Mr. Baxter. “Now, when you testified that Mr. West left the morning-room pale, you offered that as if it supported his sincerity. But a man may grow pale from many causes, may he not?” “He may.” “From fear of detection?” “If he be base enough.” “From fear that his representations may not bear examination?” “Possibly.” “From the anxiety of one who sees danger and cannot yet prove by whom it is directed?” “Possibly.” “Then pallor proves nothing of itself?” “Not of itself.” “Excellent. And when your father said, ‘West has forced me to see that the matter admits of no delay,’ it does not follow, does it, that he accepted every statement Mr. West had made as true? It may merely mean that he was compelled to inquire whether there was substance in this account that designing men were making use of a British terror for Texian ends?”
Earl Joseph’s hands tightened on the rail. “It may mean that to a mind bent on reducing all things to ambiguity.” A stir passed over the spectators. Mr. Pinckney half rose, but Mr. Baxter was beforehand. “I ask that the answer be stricken as not responsive and as an imputation upon counsel.” Judge Terrell said, “The last expression will be disregarded. The witness will confine himself to answers.” Then, after a brief pause: “The question may be answered.” Earl Joseph said, more coldly, “Yes, sir. It may mean that he intended to inquire.” “I am indebted to you. One matter further: you are eager, are you not, that no suspicion should fall upon Mr. West if suspicion may be cast upon my clients?” Before the words were fully out, Mr. Pinckney objected. “Your Honour, that is an unwarrantable question as to the witness’s desire and prejudice.” Judge Terrell answered, “Sustained.” Mr. Baxter bowed. “Then I will ask this instead. You admire Mr. West?” “I respect him.” “After but a limited personal acquaintance?” “I respect him because I saw no meanness in him, and because my father saw none.” “Again, we return to your father’s opinion. Very well. Then your faith in Mr. West rests not upon discovered conspirators, not upon produced documents, not upon acts witnessed by yourself, but chiefly upon confidence reposed in him by the deceased?” “Upon that confidence, upon Mr. West’s manner, and upon the consistency of all that followed.” “Consistency,” repeated Mr. Baxter. “A convenient word where proof is wanting. No further questions.” Lord Joseph stepped down more abruptly than the others, and for a moment it seemed as though the atmosphere of the room had changed its quality. The examinations in chief had carried the court toward a dark design half-hidden behind the Texas enterprise and later brought at this preliminary hearing; the cross-examination had not destroyed that impression, yet it had pared away much of its grandeur and left, in place of looming conspirators plainly seen, a leaner and more difficult question—how much was known in London, how much inferred, and how much merely feared before the mutinous murder upon the Santa Fe Expedition gave those fears a graver cast. Mr. Baxter resumed his seat with the air of a man who had not disproved a danger, but had made it less easy to name, and who hoped thereby to avert the trial of James Harper Starr, John Trancton, and David Trancton. Judge Terrell looked toward Mr. Pinckney and said, “You may re-direct, if you are so advised.”
Mr. Pinckney rose with no appearance of heat, though there was in his countenance a composure more formidable than indignation. “With the Court’s leave, a very few questions upon the re-direct.” Judge Terrell inclined his head. “Proceed.” Lady Tiffany was for a moment recalled. “My lady,” said Mr. Pinckney, “when you spoke of danger in Texas, did you pretend to identify, from your own sight or hearing in London, the names afterward disclosed at this preliminary hearing?” “No, sir.” “What, then, was the substance of your testimony?” “That my father trusted Mr. West; that he believed a dangerous design was at work; and that he feared opposition to it might cost him more than property.” “That is sufficient.”
The Duke was next recalled. “Your Grace, did you come here to tell this Court that you had, with your own eyes, detected James Harper Starr or either of the Tranctons in their contrivance?” “Certainly not.” “What fact, then, did you mean to establish?” “That the late Earl regarded Mr. West as an honourable man, and the scheme of which he warned him as one requiring immediate inquiry and precaution.” “And Lord Joseph,” said Mr. Pinckney, turning lastly to the younger witness, “when you repeated your father’s language, did you offer it as proof that the names now known had then been spoken in your hearing?” “No, sir.” “For what purpose did you offer it?” “To show that my father believed the peril real, that he accepted Mr. West’s warning as made in good faith, and that he thought the matter grave enough to touch his life.” Mr. Pinckney bowed. “I have nothing further.”
Mr. Baxter rose as if to renew the contest, but Judge Terrell, whose patience had by then become a species of authority felt in the marrow of the room, said quietly, “The witnesses may withdraw.” They did so. A stillness followed, not empty but charged, as though the whole court had been brought to the edge of a larger history than any one of its members had yet chosen to confess aloud. The children of Newcomen had not named the hand that struck; they had done something both less and more difficult: they had restored the moral shape of the case. They had shown that before Texas had become a watchword in every mouth, before annexation had been made a cry, before mutiny in the desert had given blood to intrigue, the dead Earl had trusted MacDonald West, had feared the use ambitious men might make of a false British alarm, and had understood that the contest gathering around the frontier trade might exact a life as readily as a fortune. Judge Terrell then announced that the hearing would stand adjourned until the following day. At those words a movement passed through the chamber like the first stir of wind before a storm. Men rose, whispered, gathered papers, and looked with sharpened attention toward one another, for it was already known that the morrow would not be given to family recollection nor to the reconstruction of old London interviews, but to higher and more perilous testimony. President Houston was to be heard. Former President Lamar was to follow. And as the court emptied under the fading light, it seemed to more than one observer that the cause, which had entered that day as a prosecution of private conspiracy, would return on the next as a struggle over the very soul and destiny of Texas.
