Tales of Terror and Mystery
had occurred. I extract the incident, or part of it, from the journal
which I have already mentioned, omitting the preliminary observations
of the counsel.
Considerable sensation was caused in the crowded court when the first
witness called for the defence proved to be Miss Frances Morton, the
sister of the prisoner. Our readers will remember that the young lady
had been engaged to Dr. Lana, and that it was his anger over the sudden
termination of this engagement which was thought to have driven her
brother to the perpetration of this crime. Miss Morton had not,
however, been directly implicated in the case in any way, either at the
inquest or at the police-court proceedings, and her appearance as the
leading witness for the defence came as a surprise upon the public.
Miss Frances Morton, who was a tall and handsome brunette, gave her
evidence in a low but clear voice, though it was evident throughout
that she was suffering from extreme emotion. She alluded to her
engagement to the doctor, touched briefly upon its termination, which
was due, she said, to personal matters connected with his family, and
surprised the court by asserting that she had always considered her
brother's resentment to be unreasonable and intemperate. In answer to
a direct question from her counsel, she replied that she did not feel
that she had any grievance whatever against Dr. Lana, and that in her
opinion he had acted in a perfectly honourable manner. Her brother, on
an insufficient knowledge of the facts, had taken another view, and she
was compelled to acknowledge that, in spite of her entreaties, he had
uttered threats of personal violence against the doctor, and had, upon
the evening of the tragedy, announced his intention of "having it out
with him." She had done her best to bring him to a more reasonable
frame of mind, but he was very headstrong where his emotions or
prejudices were concerned.
Up to this point the young lady's evidence had appeared to make against
the prisoner rather than in his favour. The questions of her counsel,
however, soon put a very different light upon the matter, and disclosed
an unexpected line of defence.
Mr. Humphrey: Do you believe your brother to be guilty of this crime?
The Judge: I cannot permit that question, Mr. Humphrey. We are here
to decide upon questions of fact--not of belief.
Mr. Humphrey: Do you know that your brother is not guilty of the death
of Doctor Lana?
Miss Morton: Yes.
Mr. Humphrey: How do you know it?
Miss Morton: Because Dr. Lana is not dead.
There followed a prolonged sensation in court, which interrupted the
examination of the witness.
Mr. Humphrey: And how do you know, Miss Morton, that Dr. Lana is not
dead?
Miss Morton: Because I have received a letter from him since the date
of his supposed death.
Mr. Humphrey: Have you this letter?
Miss Morton: Yes, but I should prefer not to show it.
Mr. Humphrey: Have you the envelope?
Miss Morton: Yes, it is here.
Mr. Humphrey: What is the post-mark?
Miss Morton: Liverpool.
Mr. Humphrey: And the date?
Miss Morton: June the 22nd.
Mr. Humphrey: That being the day after his alleged death. Are you
prepared to swear to this handwriting, Miss Morton?
Miss Morton: Certainly.
Mr. Humphrey: I am prepared to call six other witnesses, my lord, to
testify that this letter is in the writing of Doctor Lana.
The Judge: Then you must call them tomorrow.
Mr. Porlock Carr (counsel for the prosecution): In the meantime, my
lord, we claim possession of this document, so that we may obtain
expert evidence as to how far it is an imitation of the handwriting of
the gentleman whom we still confidently assert to be deceased. I need
not point out that the theory so unexpectedly sprung upon us may prove
to be a very obvious device adopted by the friends of the prisoner in
order to divert this inquiry. I would draw attention to the fact that
the young lady must, according to her own account, have possessed this
letter during the proceedings at the inquest and at the police-court.
She desires us to believe that she permitted these to proceed, although
she held in her pocket evidence which would at any moment have brought
them to an end.
Mr. Humphrey. Can you explain this, Miss Morton?
Miss Morton: Dr. Lana desired his secret to be preserved.
Mr. Porlock Carr: Then why have you made this public?
Miss Morton: To save my brother.
A murmur of sympathy broke out in court, which was instantly suppressed
by the Judge.
The Judge: Admitting this line of defence, it lies with you, Mr.
Humphrey, to throw a light upon who this man is whose body has been
recognized by so many friends and patients of Dr. Lana as being that of
the doctor himself.
A Juryman: Has anyone up to now expressed any doubt about the matter?
Mr. Porlock Carr: Not to my knowledge.
Mr. Humphrey: We hope to make the matter clear.
The Judge: Then the court adjourns until tomorrow.
This new development of the case excited the utmost interest among the
general public. Press comment was prevented by the fact that the trial
was still undecided, but the question was everywhere argued as to how
far there could be truth in Miss Morton's declaration, and how far it
might be a daring ruse for the purpose of saving her brother. The
obvious dilemma in which the missing doctor stood was that if by any
extraordinary chance he was not dead, then he must be held responsible
for the death of this unknown man, who resembled him so exactly, and
who was found in his study. This letter which Miss Morton refused to
produce was possibly a confession of guilt, and she might find herself
in the terrible position of only being able to save her brother from
the gallows by the sacrifice of her former lover. The court next
morning was crammed to overflowing, and a murmur of excitement passed
over it when Mr. Humphrey was observed to enter in a state of emotion,
which even his trained nerves could not conceal, and to confer with the
opposing counsel. A few hurried words--words which left a look of
amazement upon Mr. Porlock Carr's face--passed between them, and then
the counsel for the defence, addressing the Judge, announced that, with
the consent of the prosecution, the young lady who had given evidence
upon the sitting before would not be recalled.
The Judge: But you appear, Mr. Humphrey, to have left matters in a very
unsatisfactory state.
Mr. Humphrey: Perhaps, my lord, my next witness may help to clear them
up.
The Judge: Then call your next witness.
Mr. Humphrey: I call Dr. Aloysius Lana.
The learned counsel has made many telling remarks in his day, but he
has certainly never produced such a sensation with so short a sentence.
The court was simply stunned with amazement as the very man whose fate
had been the subject of so much contention appeared bodily before them
in the witness-box. Those among the spectators who had known him at
Bishop's Crossing saw him now, gaunt and thin, with deep lines of care
upon his face. But in spite of his melancholy bearing and despondent
expression, there were few who could say that they had ever seen a man
of more distinguished presence. Bowing to the judge, he asked if he
might be allowed to make a statement, and having been duly informed
that whatever he said might be used against him, he bowed once more,
and proceeded:
"My wish," said he, "is to hold nothing back, but to tell with perfect
frankness all that occurred upon the night of the 21st of June. Had I
known that the innocent had suffered, and that so much trouble had been
brought upon those whom I love best in the world, I should have come
forward long ago; but there were reasons which prevented these things
from coming to my ears. It was my desire that an unhappy man should
vanish from the world which had known him, but I had not foreseen that
others would be affected by my actions. Let me to the best of my
ability repair the evil which I have done.
"To anyone who is acquainted with the history of the Argentine Republic
the name of Lana is well known. My father, who came of the best blood
of old Spain, filled all the highest offices of the State, and would
have been President but for his death in the riots of San Juan. A
brilliant career might have been open to my twin brother Ernest and
myself had it not been for financial losses which made it necessary
that we should earn our own living. I apologize, sir, if these details
appear to be irrelevant, but they are a necessary introduction to that
which is to follow.
"I had, as I have said, a twin brother named Ernest, whose resemblance
to me was so great that even when we were together people could see no
difference between us. Down to the smallest detail we were exactly the
same. As we grew older this likeness became less marked because our
expression was not the same, but with our features in repose the points
of difference were very slight.
"It does not become me to say too much of one who is dead, the more so
as he is my only brother, but I leave his character to those who knew
him best. I will only say--for I HAVE to say it--that in my early
manhood I conceived a horror of him, and that I had good reason for the
aversion which filled me. My own reputation suffered from his actions,
for our close resemblance caused me to be credited with many of them.
Eventually, in a peculiarly disgraceful business, he contrived to throw
the whole odium upon me in such a way that I was forced to leave the
Argentine for ever, and to seek a career in Europe. The freedom from
his hated presence more than compensated me for the loss of my native
land. I had enough money to defray my medical studies at Glasgow, and
I finally settled in practice at Bishop's Crossing, in the firm
conviction that in that remote Lancashire hamlet I should never hear of
him again.
"For years my hopes were fulfilled, and then at last he discovered me.
Some Liverpool man who visited Buenos Ayres put him upon my track. He
had lost all his money, and he thought that he would come over and
share mine. Knowing my horror of him, he rightly thought that I would
be willing to buy him off. I received a letter from him saying that he
was coming. It was at a crisis in my own affairs, and his arrival
might conceivably bring trouble, and even disgrace, upon some whom I
was especially bound to shield from anything of the kind. I took steps
to insure that any evil which might come should fall on me only, and
that"--here he turned and looked at the prisoner--"was the cause of
conduct upon my part which has been too harshly judged. My only motive
was to screen those who were dear to me from any possible connection
with scandal or disgrace. That scandal and disgrace would come with my
brother was only to say that what had been would be again.
"My brother arrived himself one night not very long after my receipt of
the letter. I was sitting in my study after the servants had gone to
bed, when I heard a footstep upon the gravel outside, and an instant
later I saw his face looking in at me through the window. He was a
clean-shaven man like myself, and the resemblance between us was still
so great that, for an instant, I thought it was my own reflection in
the glass. He had a dark patch over his eye, but our features were
absolutely the same. Then he smiled in a sardonic way which had been a
trick of his from his boyhood, and I knew that he was the same brother
who had driven me from my native land, and brought disgrace upon what
had been an honourable name. I went to the door and I admitted him.
That would be about ten o'clock that night.
"When he came into the glare of the lamp, I saw at once that he had