The venerable judge now turned his face, impassive as that of the Sphinx, toward Abel Force, who throughout the trying ordeal of Anglesea’s false testimony and insulting demeanor had maintained his self-possession and commanded his temper.
He now arose and came forward, took the prescribed oath, and began his statement:
“My daughter, Odalite Force, was never married to Angus Anglesea. On the twentieth of December, 18—, at All Faith Church, in Maryland, she went through a portion of the marriage ritual with him; but that ceremony was never completed. Before the final declaration was delivered, before the benediction was pronounced, the further proceedings were interrupted by the entrance of a lady who claimed to be the wife of Angus Anglesea, the would-be bridegroom——”
“An impostor! An adventuress!” exclaimed Col. Anglesea.
“And who proved herself to be the wife of Angus Anglesea, to the satisfaction of all present, by producing her marriage certificate.”
“Forgery! forgery!” exclaimed the colonel.
“I took charge of the certificate at the time and have it with me. Will your honor examine it?”
And Abel Force drew from his breast pocket a folded paper which he handed to the judge.
“A clever forgery, your honor!” said Anglesea, while the judge unfolded and read the document.
“This,” said the judge, slowly reading the paper, “appears to be the certificate of the marriage of Angus Anglesea, of Anglewood, Lancashire, England, colonel in the Honorable East India Service, with Ann Maria Wright, widow, of Wild Cats’ Gulch, California. It is signed by Paul Minitree as officiating clergyman, and by several other persons as witnesses. What is the meaning of this, Col. Anglesea?”
“It is a forgery, your honor!” impudently replied the colonel.
The judge turned and looked at Abel Force.
“So he said when it was first produced by his wife in church,” replied the latter; “but we telegraphed to St. Sebastian and got the record of the marriage from the parish register of St. Sebastian telegraphed back to us, word for word. I have preserved that telegram. Will your honor examine it?”
And Mr. Force drew from his pocket a roll of what seemed measuring tape, which he handed to the judge, who patiently unwound and carefully read the long dispatch.
“This appears to be a full corroboration. What have you to say about it, Col. Anglesea?”
“I say that it is a forgery! I say that there is a conspiracy between the woman and the priest. I deny in toto the authenticity of the marriage certificate and of the telegram that seems to support it. They are both the work of the same hands. Any one who can write may fill in the printed form of a marriage certificate. Any one may send a telegram to any effect they please. I repeat that I deny in toto the truth of the certificate and of the telegram. They may be easily proven to be false. Let an accredited agent be sent to St. Sebastian to examine the register. It will take time, but I am willing to wait for justice,” said the colonel, with an appearance of candor and moderation calculated to deceive any one who did not know him.
The judge turned again and looked at Mr. Force.
“Certainly. I am perfectly willing, nay, extremely anxious, that this matter should be sifted to the very bottom. I have no doubt or fear of the result,” said Abel Force.
“In the meantime,” said Anglesea, “I shall pray your honor that my wife will be taken from the custody of her father and delivered into my keeping.”
“That cannot be done while this question is in doubt,” said the judge, with the same impassive face.
“Then I will pray that my wife be taken from the custody of her father, whom I cannot trust, and placed in that of the sheriff, or of some third party, with whom my rights will be safe,” persisted the man.
“We will consider.”
“If your honor will adjourn the case for twenty-four hours I will undertake to bring this man’s wife into court. She is at present living at my country seat, Mondreer, in the capacity of housekeeper.”
An insolent, insulting laugh from Anglesea interrupted the speaker for a moment.
“She is in the service of Mrs. Force, and in charge of our country home during our absence,” continued Abel Force, controlling his temper, and speaking quietly.
“You may adjourn the case, your honor, for the sake of producing this woman; but when she shall be produced she will be nothing more than an impostor—an adventuress. The only true test of this question will be to send an accredited agent to California to search the parish register of Sebastian. Two agents may be sent, for that matter; one on my part, one on the part of Mr. Force. That will secure fair play; but they will find no record of any marriage between me and any woman whatever. How should they? Why, your honor, I was, in that August, 18—, not in California, nor in any part of America; not on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, but on the other side, in England, at Anglewood Manor, attending on my invalid first wife, Lady Mary Anglesea, who died suddenly on the twenty-fifth of that same August. How, then, could I have been in California, and married to this adventuress who has been brought forward as my wife? Here is the notice of my first wife’s death. You will see that it occurred on the twenty-fifth of August, just twenty-four days after I am stated to have married this California widow. Will your honor be pleased to examine it?”
And Anglesea drew the little printed slip from his pocketbook, and passed it to the judge.
That venerable dignitary read it, and looked somewhat puzzled. In fact, the case was growing more involved at every turn.
“Your honor must perceive that if I were in attendance on my invalid first wife, who died on the twenty-fifth of August, at Anglewood Manor, England, I could not well have been in St Sebastian, California, courting and marrying that impostor who claimed me.”
The judge looked exceedingly perplexed.
“Or if I could by any possibility have married this Californian woman on the first of August, as the false certificate states, that marriage would not have been legal because my first wife was then living, and lived until the twenty-fifth, when she died. And, consequently, in either case, I am the husband of this young lady, Odalite Anglesea, here present.”