The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater Read Free Book Online

Whitloe.
    â€˜Guilty,’ said Mrs. Steeple.
    â€˜Not Guilty,’ said Mr. Casimir Corvo.
    â€˜And I,’ said Dr. Fosfar, ‘also say Not Guilty. Now if we add up the Guiltys and the Not Guiltys, we shall quickly discover which side has won.’
    But a moment later he exclaimed, ‘How very awkward! Six of us think she is Guilty, and six of us believe she is Not Guilty! Therefore neither side has won, and so we cannot deliver a verdict. I’m afraid the Judge is going to be rather angry about that.’
    The Judge was.
    â€˜I insist on having a verdict!’ he shouted. ‘And you, sir!’—he meant Dr. Fosfar—‘take that piece of india-rubber out of your eye!’
    â€˜Why?’ asked Dr. Fosfar. ‘It’s much more comfortable than my glass eye.’
    â€˜Never mind why, do what I tell you. And I’ll give your wretched Jury one more minute!’
    But the Jury, of course, had all made up their minds a long time ago, and nothing could now change them. All the men were quite sure that Mrs. Taper was Not Guilty, because they were all sorry for her. And all the women were equally sure that she was Guilty, and ought to go to prison, because it was disgraceful, they thought, that a draper’s wife, who could get stockings out of the shop without paying anything, should go about the country trying to steal them. So Dr. Fosfar had to give it up, and tell the Judge they would not agree, and therefore could not deliver a verdict.
    â€˜Then,’ shouted the Judge in a mighty temper, ‘I shall send you all to prison! What for? For Contempt of Court, sir! Six months in prison for the lot of you! That’ll teach you to be sensible, and give me a verdict when I ask for one. Put the handcuffs on them, Constable Drum, and march ’em off. And as for Mrs. Taper, I remand her in custody, so she’ll have to go to prison too. Off with the lot of them!’
    The Members of the Jury were completely dismayed by this dreadful sentence, but before they could think of anything to say, Constable Drum had handcuffed them together, two by two, and was marching them away.
    A large crowd of people were waiting outside. There were those who had been expelled from the court, and a lot of others who hadn’t been able to get in. They were very much surprised, and many were indignant, when they saw the Jury all handcuffed together, and heard what was about to happen to them. There was a great deal of shouting and excitement, and Constable Drum looked rather worried. Everybody was trying to get closer and closer to the poor Jurymen and Jurywomen, to shake hands and offer them sympathy, and the Constable feared that half his prisoners would get lost in the crowd.
    Then the Rev. Mr. Steeple, the Vicar, did a noble thing. Though his own wife was in handcuffs and on her way to prison, he climbed on to a cart, and from this commanding position he declared in a loud voice: ‘My dear people! It is very sad for us to see so many of our friends being taken from us, but we must be patient! We must not be cast down. We must remind ourselves of the many blessings that still remain to us. Let us be cheerful, let us face the future with brave hearts. And I think it would be a good idea to sing a song that we all know, which happens to suit the occasion very well indeed.’
    So then, in a fine loud voice, the Vicar began to sing:
    â€˜Farewell and adieu to you, fair Spanish ladies,
    Farewell and adieu to you, ladies of Spain!
    For we’ve received orders to sail for old England,
    But we hope in a short time to see you again!’
    Before long the whole crowd was singing, and when that song was finished, they sang, with much feeling, My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean .
    Then Constable Drum said that his prisoners would have to hurry, because in prison they always had dinner at twelve o’clock, and if they were late they wouldn’t get any. So the Jurymen and Jurywomen, and