He had tried to live down the past, and but for Birchill he would
have succeeded in doing so. But now no one would employ him as a house
servant after the revelations that had been made in this court. They had
seen Hill in the witness-box, and he would ask the jury whether he looked
like the masterful cunning scoundrel which the defence had described, or
a weak creature who would be easily led by a man of strong will, such as
the prisoner was.
As to what took place at the flat, they had a choice between the
evidence of Hill and the evidence of the girl Fanning. Hill had told
them that he had tried to dissuade the prisoner from going to
Riversbrook to burgle the premises, because his master had returned
unexpectedly; Fanning had told them that the prisoner was in favour of
postponing the crime, but that Hill had urged him to carry it out. Which
story was the more probable? What reliance could they place on the
evidence of Fanning? He did not wish to say that the witness was utterly
vicious and incapable of telling the truth--a description that the
defence had applied to Hill--but they must take into consideration the
fact that Fanning was the prisoner's mistress.
Pages:
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299