The Argosy — page 124: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Sapphire Cross. III and of surprise, betrayed how profound and how various was the effect produced. The President rang his bell sharply to impose silence, and ad- dressed himself anew to the witness. But Cioronski by this time was in a state of perturbation extraordinary to see. “T have told you the truth!” he cried fiercely. ‘Why do you doubt me? Why do you look at me like that? Who is this man to be believed before me? I tell you he is a murderer... . He shot her. , . . He shall go to the galleys. . . . He ——” His voice at the last words rose toa shriek. Choked with emotion, impelled by some blind passion of baffled longing, he raised his shak- ing hands above his head as though to hurl an imprecation at the petrified Court ; then suddenly his strength failed him; a shiver of piteous weakness traversed his frame, and he burst into a storm of hysterical tears. After that, it was of course impossible to question him further, and he was released in sheer pity. The evidence of the medical experts which followed, seemed rather flat to the now highly-seasoned appetite of the audience. They differed a good deal among themselves after the manner of experts, medical or otherwise, but agreed on the whole in affirming that the pistol must have been shot from a distance greater than five paces, for the wound had been a small, round orifice, with little or no appearance of contusion—such a wound, in short, as is generally pro- duced at a certain distance and by a cool and deliberate aim. The last witness of any great importance was Beppina. She had been in the group of listeners round Carlotta, who had heard Pietro Siccoli’s revelations regarding the sapphire cross, and had been much surprised, she said, on repeating these to Angela to find that the blind woman was in total ignorance of any such present having been made by the Countess to her niece. Lucia had indeed corroborated Guido’s story as soon as she heard it. But the milliner was not slow to hint that in the opinion of the “neighbourhood ” Lucia would be very likely to stretch a point when the object in view was to shield her supposed lover. This closed the case for the prosecution. : aor treat NE. THE VERDICT. THE usual attempt to prove an alibi had not been practicable in Guido’s case, as by his own confession, after leaving the Countess’s dwelling he had seen and spoken with nobody that he knew. Tempted by the beauty of the night he had strolled through the streets and returned to his lodgings only between ten and eleven o’clock. It followed that the greater part of the testimony in his defence was CONnNIECLOOKS.EO