She
declared that she had not gone to Riversbrook to see Hill after the final
quarrel with Sir Horace. Hill had come to her flat in Westminster of his
own accord and had asked for Birchill. She went out of the room while
they discussed their business, but after Hill had gone Birchill told her
that Hill had put up a job for him at Riversbrook. Birchill showed her
the plan of Riversbrook that Hill had made, and asked her if it was
correct as far as she knew. Yes, she was sure she would know the plan
again if she saw it.
The judge's Associate handed it to Mr. Holymead, who passed it to
the witness.
"Is this it?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied emphatically, almost without inspecting it.
"I want you to look at it closely," said Counsel. "When Birchill showed
you the plan immediately after Hill's departure, what impression did you
get regarding it?"
She looked at him blankly.
"I don't understand you," she said.
"You can tell the difference between ink that has been newly used and ink
that has been on the paper some days. Was the ink fresh?"
"No, it was old ink," she said.
"How do you know that?"
"Because ink doesn't go black till a long while after it is written.
Pages:
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282