‘The whole truth is that this boy was starving, because his father had been taken by the press gang and his mother had been denied poor relief.’
There was a murmur of indignation.
Spade saw Hornbeam’s face set in a mask of suppressed anger. ‘We’re not here to discuss poor relief.’
Elsie turned to the accused child. ‘Why did you take the ribbon, Tommy?’
There was dead silence as the court waited for the answer.
Tommy said: ‘So my mother could sell it and buy bread, for we had nothing to eat.’
Somewhere in the room a woman sobbed.
At last Elsie turned to the jury. ‘If you send this boy to the assizes, you will be killing him,’ she said. ‘Take a good long look at him now. See the frightened eyes, and the cheeks that have never yet needed shaving. I promise you, you’re going to remember that face for the rest of your lives.’
Hornbeam said: ‘Mrs Mackintosh, you have testified that the father of the accused was taken up by the press gang.’
‘Yes.’
‘How do you know?’
‘His wife told me.’
Hornbeam pointed at Jenn. ‘Mrs Pidgeon, did you see your husband being taken up?’
‘No, but we all know what happened.’
‘But you were not there.’
‘No, I was here, in Kingsbridge, looking after the little boy you want to hang.’
The crowd rumbled angrily.
Hornbeam insisted: ‘So no one knows for sure that Jim Pidgeon was press-ganged.’
Jenn remained silent.
Then Hamish Law stepped forward. ‘I was there,’ he said. ‘I went into a pub in Combe and there was Jim, so drunk he was nearly asleep.’
Some in the audience laughed.
Jenn protested: ‘He was never a drunkard.’
‘There was a young woman there who was probably putting gin in his beer.’
‘That I can believe,’ said Jenn.
Hamish went on: ‘I was with Mr Barrowfield, my employer, who explained to me that it was a crimping house, where girls get men drunk then hand them over to the press gang for a shilling. We decided to take Jim away from there. But all of a sudden in came a naval officerwith three ruffians who laid into us. Seems they had set a trap for Jim and we’d spoiled their game.’
Hornbeam said: ‘Did you try to prevent Pidgeon being impressed?’
Spade hoped Hamish would not admit to that, because it was a crime.
‘I did not. I saw that Mr Barrowfield was down on the ground so I picked him up and carried him out of harm’s way.’
Amos stepped forward and said: ‘Everything Hamish Law has said is true.’
‘Very well,’ said Hornbeam with irritation. ‘Let us assume that Jim Pidgeon was press-ganged. It makes little difference. No one believes that the families of impressed men have a licence to steal from the rest of us.’ He paused, and Spade saw that he was struggling to keep his face impassive. ‘Many people are hanged for stealing every year – men and women, young and old.’ Hornbeam’s shaking voice betrayed some repressed emotion. ‘Most of them are poor. Many of them are fathers and mothers.’
