The After House

"At this time, had you called the owner of the ship?"

"No. I called him then. But I could not rouse him."

"Explain what you mean by that."

"He had been drinking."

There followed a furious wrangle over this point; but the

prosecuting attorney succeeded in having question and answer stand.

"What did you do next?"

"The mate had called the crew. I wakened Mrs. Turner, Miss Lee,

and Mrs. Johns, and then went to the chart-room to call the women

there. The door was open an inch or so. I received no answer to

my knock, and pulled it open. Karen Hansen, the maid, was dead

on the floor, and the stewardess was in her bunk, in a state of

collapse."

"State where you found the axe with which the crimes were committed."

"It was found in the stewardess's bunk."

"Where is this axe now?"

"It was stolen from the captain's cabin, where it was locked for

safe keeping, and presumably thrown overboard. At least, we didn't

find it."

"I see you are consulting a book to refresh your memory. What is

this book?"

"The ship's log."

"How does it happen to be in your possession?"

"The crew appointed me captain. As such, I kept the log-book. It

contains a full account of the discovery of the bodies, witnessed

by all the men."

"Is it in your writing?"

"Yes; it is in my writing."

"You read it to the men, and they signed it?"

"No; they read it themselves before they signed it."

After a wrangle as to my having authority to make a record in the

log-book, the prosecuting attorney succeeded in having the book

admitted as evidence, and read to the jury the entry of August 13.

Having thus proved the crimes, I was excused, to be recalled later.

The defense reserving its cross-examination, the doctor from the

quarantine station was called next, and testified to the manner of

death. His testimony was revolting, and bears in no way on the

story, save in one particular--a curious uniformity in the

mutilation of the bodies of Vail and Captain Richardson--a sinister

similarity that was infinitely shocking. In each case the forehead,

the two arms, and the abdomen had received a frightful blow. In

the case of the Danish girl there was only one wound--the injury

on the head.