But, to resume my examination.  The first questions were not of particular interest.  Then: 

“Did the prisoner know you had moved to the after house?”

“I do not know.  The forecastle hands knew.”

“Tell what you know of the quarrel on July 31 between Captain Richardson and the prisoner.”

“I saw it from a deck window.”  I described it in detail.

“Why did you move to the after house?”

“At the request of Mrs. Johns.  She said she was nervous.”

“What reason did she give?”

“That Mr. Turner was in a dangerous mood; he had quarreled with the captain and was quarreling with Mr. Vail.”

“Did you know the arrangement of rooms in the after house?  How the people slept?”

“In a general way.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I knew Mr. Vail’s room and Miss Lee’s.”

“Did you know where the maids slept?”

“Yes.”

“You have testified that you were locked in.  Was the key kept in the lock?”

“Yes.”

“Would whoever locked you in have had only to move the key from one side of the door to the other?”

“Yes.”

“Was the key left in the lock when you were fastened in?”

“No.”

“Now, Dr. Leslie, we want you to tell us what the prisoner did that night when you told him what had happened.”

“I called to him to come below, for God’s sake.  He seemed dazed and at a loss to know what to do.  I told him to get his revolver and call the captain.  He went into the forward house and got his revolver, but he did not call the captain.  We went below and stumbled over the captain’s body.”

“What was the mate’s condition?”

“When we found the body?”

“His general condition.”

“He was intoxicated.  He collapsed on the steps when we found the captain.  We both almost collapsed.”

“What was his mental condition?”

“If you mean, was he frightened, we both were.”

“Was he pale?”

“I did not notice then.  He was pale and looked ill later, when the crew had gathered.”

“About this key:  was it ever found?  The key to the storeroom?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“That same morning.”

“Where?  And by whom?”

“Miss Lee found it on the floor in Mr. Turner’s room.”

The prosecution was totally unprepared for this reply, and proceedings were delayed for a moment while the attorneys consulted.  On the resumption of my examination, they made a desperate attempt to impeach my character as a witness, trying to show that I had sailed under false pretenses; that I was so feared in the after house that the women refused to allow me below, or to administer to Mr. Turner the remedies I prepared; and, finally, that I had surrendered myself to the crew as a suspect, of my own accord.

Against this the cross-examination threw all its weight.  The prosecuting attorneys having dropped the question of the key, the shrewd young lawyer for the defense followed it up:—­