"
"What was his reputation--I mean, as a ship's officer?"
"Good."
"Do you recall the night of the 31st of July?"
"Quite well."
"Please tell what you know about it."
"I had asked Mr. Singleton below to have a drink with me. Captain
Richardson came below and ordered him on deck. They had words, and
he knocked Singleton down."
"Did you hear the mate threaten to 'get' the captain, then or later?"
"He may have made some such threat."
"Is there a bell in your cabin connecting with the maids' cabin off
the chart-room?"
"No. My bell rang in the room back of the galley, where Williams
slept. The boat was small, and I left my man at home. Williams
looked after me."
"Where did the bell from Mr. Vail's room ring?"
"In the maids' room. Mr. Vail's room was designed for Mrs. Turner.
When we asked Mrs. Johns to go with us, Mrs. Turner gave Vail her
room. It was a question of baths."
"Did you ring any bell during the night?"
"No."
"Knowing the relation of the bell above Mr. Vail's berth to the bed
itself, do you think he could have reached it after his injury?"
(Slowly.) "After what the doctor has said, no; he would have had to
raise himself and reach up."
The cross-examination was brief but to the point:
"What do you mean by 'ill'?"
"That night I had been somewhat ill; the next day I was in bad shape.
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