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“Why would anyone report it as a mutiny?” Ravenswood asked, shaking his head in incredulity.
“Insurance, sir. That’s a crime, so the ship owners are not to blame for it. Captain’s miscalculations are their fault. They picked him for the captain.”
“You sure of that?”
“You asked me why anyone would do it. I told you the only reason I know of. Captain Ledburn wasn’t a bad man, sir, just didn’t believe in himself enough to be able to admit when he was wrong.”
There was a moment’s silence, then Ravenswood nodded slowly. “Yes, indeed, Mr. Fisk. That may be the core of more tragedies than this. Who else knows of these events, so far as you are aware?”
“Most of us that were on the ship, and Captain Ledburn’s family.”
“Are you sure they know?”
“Yes, sir. I told them, sir. I took along with me other witnesses, but I wanted them to know the truth.”
“When was that?”
“Just a few days ago, sir. I kept quiet before, as the captain wasn’t a bad man, just weak. It was hard enough for them that they lost him. Didn’t need to know the rest.”
“What changed a few days ago?”
“Mr. Exeter found out about the incident and used it to make Miss Darwin lie, in order not to have Mr. Hooper hanged, sir. I suppose he looked it up. Anyone could have, if they knew the right people and wanted it bad enough.”
“And would you lie in order to save Mr. Hooper from being hanged, Mr. Fisk?”
“I don’t know, sir. I think nobody knows what he’ll do if he’s not been tested. But I don’t have to. I was there and I told you the truth. Miss Darwin wasn’t. And I suppose she would rather see a guilty man go free, like Mr. Exeter, than an innocent one be hanged, like Mr. Hooper. Doesn’t the law say something like that?”
“Yes, Mr. Fisk, it does.” Ravenswood agreed quietly. “In fact, it goes further. It says a dozen guilty men should go free rather than one innocent man be hanged. But in this case, we have only one guilty man, even though three people are dead, and it would have been four, if Mr. Doyle had taken the blame for the crime being tried. I have nothing further to ask you. Please remain where you are, in case Sir Oliver has questions for you.”
Rathbone stood up slowly. He looked dazed. “My lord, I have nothing to ask of this witness. Nor do I have any wish to recall Miss Darwin. I understand why she misled us. She was on the horns of an impossible dilemma. I, too, might have preferred to see a guilty man go free rather than an innocent man hanged, whether I loved him or not. I hope I believe sufficiently in myself a
nd the ideals I hold to admit when I am wrong.”
“Indeed, Sir Oliver, you have made it manifest that you do,” the judge replied. “I also see no reason to recall Miss Darwin.”
Exeter turned in the dock, leaning forward, his face contorted with rage and disbelief. “Liar!” he screamed. “Liars! All of you…”
The warders beside him yanked him back so sharply he cried out in pain, but they silenced him.
In the gallery, Hooper tentatively put his arm around Celia, and then—when she did not move away—a little more firmly.
Hester slid her hand into Monk’s, and he held on to her as if she were a lifeline. He felt the light, smooth strength of it as she put her other hand over his as well.
