If I let the two children in the dining-room have
fifteen big moments, instead of five, who can blame
me?
The next day was the sensational one of the trial.
We went through every phase of conviction: Jennie
Brice was living. Jennie Brice was dead.
The body found at Sewickley could not be Jennie Brice’s.
The body found at Sewickley was Jennie Brice’s.
And so it went on.
The defense did an unexpected thing in putting Mr.
Ladley on the stand. That day, for the first
time, he showed the wear and tear of the ordeal.
He had no flower in his button-hole, and the rims of
his eyes were red. But he was quite cool.
His stage training had taught him not only to endure
the eyes of the crowd, but to find in its gaze a sort
of stimulant. He made a good witness, I must admit.
He replied to the usual questions easily. After
five minutes or so Mr. Llewellyn got down to work.
“Mr. Ladley, you have said that your wife was
ill the night of March fourth?”
“Yes.”
“What was the nature of her illness?”
“She had a functional heart trouble, not serious.”
“Will you tell us fully the events of that night?”
“I had been asleep when my wife wakened me.
She asked for a medicine she used in these attacks.
I got up and found the bottle, but it was empty.
As she was nervous and frightened, I agreed to try
to get some at a drug store. I went down-stairs,
took Mrs. Pitman’s boat, and went to several
stores before I could awaken a pharmacist.”
“You cut the boat loose?”
“Yes. It was tied in a woman’s knot,
or series of knots. I could not untie it, and
I was in a hurry.”
“How did you cut it?”
“With my pocket-knife.”
“You did not use Mrs. Pitman’s bread-knife?”
“I did not.”
“And in cutting it, you cut your wrist, did
you?”
“Yes. The knife slipped. I have the
scar still.”
“What did you do then?”
“I went back to the room, and stanched the blood
with a towel.”
“From whom did you get the medicine?”
“From Alexander’s Pharmacy.”
“At what time?”
“I am not certain. About three o’clock,
probably.”
“You went directly back home?”
Mr. Ladley hesitated. “No,” he said
finally. “My wife had had these attacks,
but they were not serious. I was curious to see
how the river-front looked and rowed out too far.
I was caught in the current and nearly carried away.”
“You came home after that?”
“Yes, at once. Mrs. Ladley was better and
had dropped asleep. She wakened as I came in.
She was disagreeable about the length of time I had
been gone, and would not let me explain. We—quarreled,
and she said she was going to leave me. I said
that as she had threatened this before and had never
done it, I would see that she really started.
At daylight I rowed her to Federal Street.”
