"Wilkie Collins - The Evil Genius" - читать интересную книгу автора (Collins Wilkie)

men to the wreck, on the chance of saving the cargo; and, days afterward, there
the ship was found, just as the captain and the crew had left her."--"Don't
forget, sir, that the diamonds were missing when the salvors examined the
wreck."--"All right, but that's no proof that the captain stole the diamonds;
and, before they had saved half the cargo, a storm did come on and break the
vessel up; so the poor man was only wrong in the matter of time, after
all."--"Allow me to remind you, gentlemen that the prisoner was deeply in debt,
and therefore had an interest in stealing the diamonds."--Wait a little, sir.
Fair play's a jewel. Who was in charge of the deck when the ship struck? The
second mate. And what did the second mate do, when he heard that his owners had
decided to prosecute? He committed suicide! Is there no proof of guilt in that
act?"--"You are going a little too fast, sir. The coroner's jury declared that
the second mate killed himself in a state of temporary insanity."--"Gently!
gently! we have nothing to do with what the coroner's jury said. What did the
judge say when he summed up?"--"Bother the judge! He said what they all say:
'Find the prisoner guilty, if you think he did it; and find him not guilty, if
you think he didn't.' And then he went away to his comfortable cup of tea in his
private room. And here are We perishing of hunger, and our families dining
without us."--"Speak for yourself, sir, I haven't got a family."--"Consider
yourself lucky, sir; I have got twelve, and my life is a burden to me, owing to
the difficulty of making both ends meet."--"Gentlemen! gentlemen! we are
wandering again. Is the captain guilty or not? Mr. Foreman, we none of us
intended to offend you. Will you tell us what you think?"
No; the foreman kept his word. "Decide for yourselves first," was his only
reply.
In this emergency, the member afflicted with fidgets suddenly assumed a position
of importance. He started a new idea.
"Suppose we try a show of hands," he suggested. "Gentlemen who find the prisoner
guilty will please hold up their hands."
Three votes were at once registered in this way, including the vote of the
foreman. After a moment of doubt, the chorus of five decided on following the
opinion which happened to be the first opinion expressed in point of time.
Thereupon, the show of hands for the condemnation of the prisoner rose to eight.
Would this result have an effect on the undecided minority of four? In any case,
they were invited to declare themselves next. Only three hands were held up. One
incomprehensible man abstained from expressing his sentiments even by a sign. Is
it necessary to say who that man was? A mysterious change had now presented
itself in his appearance, which made him an object of greater interest than
ever. His inexplicable smile had vanished. He sat immovable, with closed eyes.
Was he meditating profoundly? or was he only asleep? The quick-witted foreman
had long since suspected him of being simply the stupidest person present--with
just cunning enough to conceal his own dullness by holding his tongue. The jury
arrived at no such sensible conclusion. Impressed by the intense solemnity of
his countenance, they believed him to be absorbed in reflections of the utmost
importance to the verdict. After a heated conference among themselves, they
decided on inviting the one independent member present--the member who had taken
no part in their proceedings--to declare his opinion in the plainest possible
form. "Which way does your view of the verdict incline, sir? Guilty or not
guilty?"
The eyes of the silent juryman opened with the slow and solemn dilation of the