They Hanged My Saintly Billy (51 page)

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Authors: Robert Graves

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together.

Serjeant shee
.
Did
you
not
say
to
him
after
he
had
been
calling
two or
three
times:
'Why,
Mr
Stevens,
you
have
been
here
often enough;
I
have
told
you
all
I
know'?

mills.
N
o,
I
did
not.

Serjeant shee
.
Did
he
give
you
money
during
the
time
you
were
there?
mills
.
Never
a
farthing
.

Serjeant shee
.
Has
he
promised
to
get
you
a
place?

mills
.
Not
at
all.

Serjeant shee
.
When
did
you
talk
to
him
last?

mills
.
On
Tuesday
at
Dolly's
Hotel.

Serjeant shee
.
Was
Mr
Cook's
death
still
the
subject
of
his
talk?

mills
.
He
merely
said
'How
do
you
do?',
and
asked
me
how
I
was;

plenty
more
were
present.

Serjeant shee
.
Does
he
live
at
Dolly's
?

mills
.
He
may
do,
for
aught
I
know.

Serjeant shee
.
Where
was
it
at
Dolly's
you
saw
him
last
Tuesday
?

mills
.
In
a
sitting-room.

Serjeant shee
.
Were
you
alone
with
him?

mills
.
No.

Serjeant shee
.
Who
else
was
there?

mills
.
Lavinia
Barnes,
of
The
Talbot
Arms.

Serjeant shee
.
Did
she
have
a
place
at
Dolly's
too
?

mills
.
She
is
working
there
now
.

Serjeant shee
.
So
Mr
Stevens
had
an
interview
with
you
and
Lavitna Barnes
?

the attorney-general
.
I
beg
your
pardon,
the
witness
has
not
said so;
do
not
put
an
ambiguous
phrase
into
her
mouth
.

lord Campbell
.
If
you
repeat
what
she
says,
you
must
repeat
it correctly.

Serjeant shee
.
What
am
I
to
call
it,
my
Lord,
but
an
interview? Was
there
a
meeting
between
him
and
you
and
Lavinia
Barnes
in the
same
room?

mills
.
There
were
two
other
gentlemen
in
the
room
besides
us
three.

serjeant shee.
Who?

mills
.
Captain
Hatton
and
Mr
Gardiner.

Serjeant shee
.
On
this
occasion,
was
all
the
talk
about
Mr
Cook's death?

mills
.
I
cannot
remember;
it
might
be
mentioned.
I
don't
pretend

to
keep
in
my
head
what
the
conversation
was.

Serjeant shee
.
Will
you
undertake
to
say
there
was
no
single
subject

of
conversation
mooted
between
you
and
Lavinia
Barnes
and
those

gentlemen
except
the
subject
of
Cook's
death?

mills
.
There
were
many
more
things
talked
about
.

serjeant shee.
What?

mills
.
That
I
do
not
wish
to
mention.

serjeant shee
.
You
must
mention
what
was
the
subject
of
conversation.

mills
.
I
cannot
remember.
They
were
not
talking
with
me
alone,
but among
themselves;
I
paid
no
attention
to
what
they
were
talking about.
Perhaps
my
thoughts
were
occupied
about
something
else.

Serjeant shee
.
They
did
talk
about
Mr
Cook's
death
?

mills
.
They
might,
but
I
cannot
remember.

Serjeant shee
.
Did
they
talk
about
the
evidence
that
you
were
to

give
at
this
trial?

mills
.
No;
not
that
I
heard
.

Serjeant shee
.
Did
they
read
your
depositions
over
to
you,
those

taken
before
the
Coroner
?

mills
.
No,
they
did
not.

Serjeant shee
.
Was
anything
read
to
you
from
a
newspaper
?

mills
.
No.

Serjeant shee
.
Did
Mr
Stevens
then,
or
at
any
previous
time,
talk
to you
about
the
symptoms
which
Mr
Cook
exhibited
shordy
before his
death?

mills
.
He
did
not
.

Serjeant shee
.
Was
that
the
first
time
since
Mr
Cook's
death
that

you
had
seen
Captain
Hatton
?

mills
.
No,
I
had
seen
him
once
before.
He
was
dining
at
Dolly's.

Serjeant shee
.
Did
he
speak
at
all
about
Mr
Cook's
death
to
you
?

mills
.
He
might,
but
I
cannot
remember.

Serjeant shee
.
Do
not
tell
me
you
cannot
remember:
what
did
he speak
to
you
about?
Did
he,
upon
your
oath,
speak
to
you
about Mr
Cook's
death?

mills
.
I
cannot
remember.
He
might
do.

Serjeant shee
.
Do
you
recollect
anything
else
he
said?

mills
.
He
asked
me
how
I
was,
I
remember.

Serjeant shee
.
Had
you
seen
Mr
Gardiner
before,
since
Mr
Cook's death?

mills
.
Yes.
Three
or
four
time
s.

Serjeant shee
.
Where?

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