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Page 21
"I hope it is quite convenient for you to see us," said young
Fraser-Freer.
I assured him that it was. The boy's face was drawn and haggard;
there was terrible suffering in his eyes, yet about him hung, like
a halo, the glory of a great resolution.
"May I present my father?" he said. "General Fraser-Freer, retired.
We have come on a matter of supreme importance--"
The old man muttered something I could not catch. I could see that
he had been hard hit by the loss of his elder son. I asked them
to be seated; the general complied, but the boy walked the floor in
a manner most distressing.
"I shall not be long," he remarked. "Nor at a time like this is
one in the mood to be diplomatic. I will only say, sir, that we
have come to ask of you a great--a very great favor indeed. You
may not see fit to grant it. If that is the case we can not well
reproach you. But if you can--"
"It is a great favor, sir!" broke in the general. "And I am in the
odd position where I do not know whether you will serve me best by
granting it or by refusing to do so."
"Father--please--if you don't mind--" The boy's voice was
kindly but determined. He turned to me.
"Sir--you have testified to the police that it was a bit past
seven when you heard in the room above the sounds of the struggle
which--which--You understand."
In view of the mission of the caller who had departed a scant hour
previously, the boy's question startled me.
"Such was my testimony," I answered. "It was the truth."
"Naturally," said Lieutenant Fraser-Freer. "But--er--as a matter
of fact, we are here to ask that you alter your testimony. Could
you, as a favor to us who have suffered so cruel a loss--a favor
we should never forget--could you not make the hour of that
struggle half after six?"
I was quite overwhelmed.
"Your--reasons?" I managed at last to ask.
"I am not able to give them to you in full," the boy answered. "I
can only say this: It happens that at seven o'clock last Thursday
night I was dining with friends at the Savoy--friends who would
not be likely to forget the occasion."
The old general leaped to his feet.
"Norman," he cried, "I can not let you do this thing! I simply
will not--"
"Hush, father," said the boy wearily. "We have threshed it all
out. You have promised--"
The old man sank back into the chair and buried his face in his
hands.
"If you are willing to change your testimony," young Fraser-Freer
went on to me, "I shall at once confess to the police that it was I
who--who murdered my brother. They suspect me. They know that
late last Thursday afternoon I purchased a revolver, for which, they
believe, at the last moment I substituted the knife. They know that
I was in debt to him; that we had quarreled about money matters; that
by his death I, and I alone, could profit."
He broke off suddenly and came toward me, holding out his arms with
a pleading gesture I can never forget.
"Do this for me!" he cried. "Let me confess! Let me end this whole
horrible business here and now."
Surely no man had ever to answer such an appeal before.
"Why?" I found myself saying, and over and over I repeated it--"Why?
Why?"
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