Rumpole and the Angel of Death by John Mortimer Read Free Book Online Page A

prison officers clearly expecting a dreadful scene of violence? Why is he being treated as though he were some hated dictator guilty of waging aggressive war? My client, Mr Gribble, is a gentle academic and student of Shakespeare. And there is no reason for him to attend these proceedings in irons.’
    â€˜Your client, as I remember, was found guilty of the manslaughter of his wife.’ The handsome bishop was clearly the one to look out for.
    â€˜For that,’ I said, ‘he has almost paid his debt to society. Next week, subject to the dismissal of these unnecessary charges, that debt will be fully and finally settled and, as I’m sure the Governor will tell you, during his time in Worsfield he has been a model prisoner.’
    Quintus did his stuff and whispered to the Chairwoman. She found her glasses, yanked them on to her nose and said that, in all the circumstances, my client’s handcuffs might be removed.
    After that the proceedings settled down like an ordinary trial in a Magistrates Court, except for the fact that we were all in gaol already. Mr Fraplington nervously opened the simple facts. Then Steve Barrington, the screw who received the flying chisel, clumped his way to the witness stand and gave the evidence which might keep Matthew Gribble behind bars for a good deal longer. He hadn’t seen the chisel thrown. The first he knew about it was when he was struck on the cheek. Gribble had been the only prisoner working with a chisel and he had seen him using it immediately before he turned away to answer a request from prisoner D41 Molloy. Later he took statements from the prisoners, and in particular from B19 Weaver. What Weaver told him led to the present charges against A13 Gribble. What Weaver told him, I rose to point out, had better come from Weaver himself.
    â€˜Mr Barrington’ – I began my cross-examination – ‘you were a teacher once?’
    â€˜Yes, I was.’
    â€˜And you gave it up to become a prison officer?’
    â€˜I did.’
    â€˜Is that because you found teaching too difficult?’
    â€˜I wonder if this is a relevant question?’ Young Fraplington had obviously been told to make his presence felt and interrupt the Defence whenever possible.
    â€˜Mr Fraplington, perchance you wonder at this question? But wonder on, till truth make all things plain.’
    â€˜Mr Rumpole, I’m not exactly sure what you mean.’ The Chairwoman’s glasses were pulled off and swung gently.
    â€˜Then you didn’t see A Midsummer Night’s Dream ? You missed a treat, Madam. Produced brilliantly by my client and starring Prisoner Weaver as bully Bottom. You enjoyed it, didn’t you, Mr Barrington?’
    â€˜I thought they did rather well, yes.’
    â€˜And I don’t suppose, as a teacher who gave up the struggle, you could have taught a group of hard-boiled villains to play Shakespeare?’
    â€˜Mr Rumpole, I must agree with Mr Fraplington. How is this in the least relevant to the charge of assault?’ The Bishop came in on the act.
    â€˜Because I think we may find, Bishop, that this isn’t a case about assault, it’s a case about teaching. Mr Barrington, you would agree that my client took Weaver and taught him to read, taught him about poetry and finally taught him to act?’
    â€˜To my knowledge, yes, he did.’
    â€˜And since this pupillage and this friendship began, Weaver, too, has been a model prisoner?’
    â€˜We haven’t had any trouble from him lately. No.’
    â€˜Whereas before the pupillage, he was a general nuisance?’
    â€˜He was a handful. Yes. That’s fair enough. He’s a big man and . . .’
    â€˜Alarming when out of control?’
    â€˜I’d have to agree with you.’
    â€˜Good. I’m glad we see eye to eye, Mr Barrington. So before Matthew Gribble took him on, so to speak, there’d been several cases of assault, three of breaking