in, and which Dunn
was then carrying up to London to dispose of to the opponent in the
suit. I affected to be certain that it was there, and I quickly saw by
his confusion that I guessed aright. I proposed terms for it as liberal
as he could wish, equal to any he could obtain elsewhere. He refused my
offers. I asked then to see and read it, to assure myself that it was
the paper I suspected. This, too, he refused. The altercation grew warm;
time pressed, for we were not far from the station where I meant to
stop, and, driven to half desperation, I declared that I 'd smash the
box, if he would not consent to unlock it. I stooped as I said this, and
as my head was bent he drew a pistol and shot me. The ball glanced from
my skull and entered my neck. This is the wound," said he, baring his
throat, "and here is the bullet. I was scarcely stunned, and I sprang to
my legs and killed him!".

The sensation of horror the last words created was felt throughout
the Court, and manifested by a low murmur of terror and disgust. Davis
looked around him with a cold, resolute stare, as if he did not shrink
in the least from this show of disapprobation.

"I am well aware," said he, calmly, "there are many here at this moment
would have acted differently. That lady with the lace veil yonder, for
instance, would have fainted; the noble Lord next the Bench, there,
would have dropped on his knees and begged his life. I see one of the
jury, and if I can read a human countenance, his tells me he 'd have
screamed out for the guard. Well, I have nothing to say against any of
these ways of treating the matter. None of them occurred to _me_, and I
killed him! The Crown lawyer has told you the rest; that I surrendered
myself at once to the police, and never attempted an escape. A legal
friend has mentioned to me that witnesses to character are occasionally
called in cases like the present, and that I might derive benefit from
such testimony. Nothing would be easier for me than this. There is
a noble lord, a member of the Cabinet, knows me long and intimately;
there's a venerable bishop now in town could also speak for me. He
taught me chicken hazard thirty years ago, and I have never ceased to
think affectionately of him. There 's a Judge in the adjoining Court who
was my chum and companion for two years--Well, my Lord, I have done. I
shall call none of them; nor have I anything more to observe."

The Jury, after a short address from the Judge, r