The jury filed out of their apartment, and as they retired to consider
their verdict the judge retired to his own room. The prisoner was removed
from the dock and taken down the stairs out of sight. There was an
immediate hum of voices in the court. Inspector Chippenfield approached
the table and whispered to Mr. Walters. The latter nodded affirmatively
and left the court room in company with Mr. Holymead. The sibilant sound
of whispering voices died down after a few minutes and then began the
long tedious wait for the return of the jury.
The occupants of the gallery, who had no difficulty in coming to an
immediate decision on the guilt or innocence of the prisoner, could not
understand what was keeping the jury away so long. They failed to
understand the jury's point of view. These gentlemen had sat in court for
three days listening intently to proceedings concerning a matter in which
their degree of personal interest was only a form of curiosity. And now
the end of the case had been reached, except for the climax, which was in
their control. To arrive at an immediate decision in a case that had
occupied the court for three days would indicate they had no proper
realisation of the responsibilities of their position.
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