A respectable man, dressed in black, and recognized at once as the leech or doctor of the royal household, obeyed the summons, and on being questioned, stated that he had examined the body the very moment it had been conveyed to the castle, in the hope of discovering some signs of animation, however faint.  But life was totally extinct, and, according to his judgment, had been so at the very least three hours.”

“And what hour was this?”

“Just half-an-hour after midnight.”

A brief silence followed the leech’s dismissal; Ferdinand still seemed perplexed and uneasy, and not one countenance, either of the nobles or Associated Brethren, evinced satisfaction.

“Our task, instead of decreasing in difficulty, becomes more and more complicated, my lords and brethren,” observed the Sub-Prior, after waiting for the chief of the Santa Hermandad to speak.  “Had we any positive proof, that Senor Stanley really slept from the hour of sunset till eleven the same evening, and never quitted his quarters until then, we might hope that the sentence of Curador Benedicto, as to the length of time life had been extinct in his supposed victim, might weigh strongly against the circumstantial chain of evidence brought against him.  Believing that the prisoner having slept from the hour of sunset to eleven was a proven and witnessed fact, I undertook the defensive and argued in his favor.  The sounds heard by the girl Beta may or may not have proceeded from the stealthy movements of the accused, and yet justice forbids our passing them by unnoticed.  The time of this movement being heard, and that of the murder, according to the leech’s evidence, tally so exactly that we cannot doubt but the one had to do with the other; but whether it were indeed the prisoner’s step, or that of the base purloiner of his sword, your united judgment must decide.  Individual supposition, in a matter of life or death, can be of no avail.  My belief, as you may have discovered, inclines to the prisoner’s innocence.  My brother, the chief Hermano, as strongly believes in his guilt.  And it would appear as if the evidence itself, supports the one judgment equally with the other; contradictory and complicated, it has yet been truthfully brought forward and strictly examined.  Your united judgment, Senors and Hermanos, must therefore decide the prisoner’s fate.”

“But under your favor, Reverend Father, all the evidence has not been brought forward,” rejoined the chief Hermano.  “And methinks that which is still to come is the most important of the whole.  That the business is complicated, and judgment most difficult, I acknowledge, and therefore gladly avail myself of any remaining point on which the scale may turn.  Sworn as I am to administer impartial justice, prejudice against the prisoner I can have none; but the point we have until now overlooked, appears sufficient to decide not only individual but general opinion.  I mean the premeditated vengeance