Why Thomas Bram Was Found Guilty. often mistook for a man's head. Yet there was a light in the binnacle just in front of the wheel, and the helmsman stood, as the cus tom is, to the windward of the wheel, which then was on the starboard side. He swore that he heard the boards aft of the mizzen rigging move, but that he did not hear the shriek that woke Monks, although at least one window of Mrs. Nash's room was open an inch, and her door was open for the mur derer's entrance, and was only a few feet from the open forward companion way. He swore that when he went down with Monks he felt the captain's feet, but Monks swore that Kram did not touch the captain. He swore that while Monks was dressing he stood at Monks's door and looked out into the chartroom and around into the main cabin in order to see any person coming there, and that he could see easily there although the light was in Monks's room, and although it was a very dark night. He swore that he did not go about in the little chart-room or the little main cabin while Monks was dress ing for fear someone was hiding there. One of the striking things in the trial was his reply to the district attorney's question why he did not go out there. "What, alone?" This from the commanding officer of the vessel who at the time had a revolver in his hands! Bram did not look for Mrs. Nash. He did not look for the second mate. He did not have the room of either of them visited. He called back Monks, when Monks started, after going on deck, to go down "alone" to call the second mate, by saying that the second mate was forward. He ad mitted that he did not see him go for ward and that he did see him go down to his room at midnight. He admitted that he wiped up his vomit, but claimed that he did it by sliding through it in his slippers and not by sitting in it, as Monks and Spencer, the steward, testified. He swore that it was less than several others said it was. He swore that Monks invented the theory of the dead persons mutually killing each other, and that
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he adopted it from Monks. Monks's testi mony was directly opposite. He swore as to Charley, " My suspicions were aroused first myself, but I never said anything until all hands came to me." And when asked why he did not act he replied, " I did not think it was quite advisable just then." This from the commanding officer of the vessel who had said to the second mate, " That — sarcastic talk of yours is the only thing I would kill a man for." " Not advisable," more than twenty-four hours after the mur ders and after he had seen Charley, as he swore, away from the wheel, at the mizzenpeak jig, and afterwards putting his slippers on. The inference suggested being that Cliarley had committed the three murders in his stocking feet and crept about the deck in them afterwards. Bram took no measures to discover who the murderer was. Although there were finger-marks on the axe, he threw it over board. He promptly advised — not ordered — he did not really order anything after the murders had been discovered — throwing the bodies overboard and washing up the blood. He made no careful investigation into the possible or probable circumstances of any one of the murders. He swore that, when everyone else disclaimed any knowl edge of the murders, he said, " Then I cannot blame anyone for this occurrence," as if it were not an uncommon thing anywhere to have three murders before breakfast on a week day. When the boat with the bodies was to be towed, he had to be reminded by one of the sailors that the kinks should be taken out of the rope to prevent the chance of its parting. He bullied Charley after Charley was tied up with handcuffs on. He obeyed the young passenger of twenty, he obeyed the mulatto steward, he was at the service of the crew upon whom he said he had been hard and who he feared would kill him. He did not wish to signal the steamer, but yielded to the others. He became of less and less importance on the vessel, until the
