s, and the stewardess were released, after
examination. The rest of us were taken to jail. Singleton as a
suspect, the others to make sure of their presence at the trial.

The murders took place on the morning of August 12. The Grand jury met
late in September, and found an indictment against Singleton. The trial
began on the 16th of November.

The confinement was terrible. Accustomed to regular exercise as I was,
I suffered mentally and physically. I heard nothing from Elsa Lee, and
I missed McWhirter, who had got his hospital appointment, and who wrote
me cheering letters on pages torn from order-books or on
prescription-blanks. He was in Boston.

He got leave of absence for the trial, and, as I explained, the
following notes are his, not mine. The case was tried in the United
States Court, before Circuit Judge Willard and District Judge McDowell.
The United States was represented by a district attorney and two
assistant attorneys. Singleton had retained a lawyer named Goldstein,
a clever young Jew.

I was called first, as having found the bodies.

"Your name?"

"Ralph Leslie."

"Your age?"

"Twenty-four."

"When and where were you born?"

"November 18, 1887, in Columbus, Ohio."

"When did you ship on the yacht Ella?"

"On July 27."

"When did she sail?"

"July 28."

"Are you a sailor by occupation?"

"No; I am a graduate of a medical college."

"What were your duties on the ship?"

"They were not well defined. I had been ill and was not strong. I was
a sort of deck steward, I suppose. I also served a few meals in the
cabin of the after house, when the butler was incapacitated."

"Where were you quartered?"

"In the forecastle, with the crew, until a day or so before the
murders. Then I moved into the after house, and slept in a storeroom
there."

"Why did you make the change?"

"Mrs. Johns, a guest, asked me to do so. She said she was nervous."

"Who slept in the after house?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Turner, Miss Lee, Mrs. Johns, and Mr. Vail. The
stewardess, Mrs. Sloane, and Karen Hansen, a maid, also slept there;
but their room opened from the chartroom."

A diagram of the after house was here submitted to the jury. For the
benefit of the reader, I reproduce it roughly. I have made no attempt
to do more than to indicate the relative positions of rooms and
companionways.

_____
Forward |_____|Compartment
_________