Chapter 23 Part One - Twenty

However, as if deliberately embarrassing him, the interrogation dragged on for a long time.First, the court questioned the witnesses and experts one by one, then the deputy public prosecutor and the defender asked all kinds of unnecessary questions as usual, and then the judge asked the jurors to examine the physical evidence, including a large ring, which was obviously originally worn on a thick finger. It has diamond-studded plum blossoms on it.Another filter was found to be poisonous. These exhibits were stamped with wax seals and had labels attached to them. The jurors were about to examine the evidence when the deputy prosecutor stood up again and demanded that the medical examiner's autopsy report be read before examining the evidence.

The president wanted to finish the case quickly so that he could meet his Swiss woman.The judge clearly knows that reading this kind of report will not produce any other results except for annoying people and delaying the meal time. Such a request was made simply because he had the right to do so.After all, the president could not refuse, so he had to agree.The clerk took out the document and began to read listlessly in his indistinguishable apical and retroflexic tones: "External inspection results: "(1) Ferapont Smerikov is twenty feet twelve inches long." -------- ① 1 Russian foot is equal to 0.71 meters. 2 Russian feet and 12 Russian inches are about 1.95 meters.

"That's a tall fellow," the merchant whispered concernfully into Nekhludoff's ear. "(2) Judging from his appearance, he is about forty years old. "(3) The body is swollen. "(4) The skin of the whole body is light green with dark spots. "(5) There were large and small blisters on the epidermis of the corpse, and several places peeled off, resembling rags. "(6) The hair is dark brown, very thick, and falls off when touched. "(7) Exophthalmos protruding out of the orbit, cornea cloudy. "(8) Foamy pus flowed out of the nostrils, ears and mouth, and the mouth was slightly opened.

"(nine) due to swelling of the face and chest, the neck is barely visible anymore." Etc., etc. Twenty-seven items were thus written on four pages of reports, detailing the results of the external examination of the hideous body of the tall, fat, bloated, putrid city pleasure-seeker.When Nekhludoff heard the autopsy report, his indescribable revulsion intensified.Katyusha's life, the pus oozing from the nostrils of the corpse, the eyeballs protruding from their sockets, what Nekhludoff had done to her, all seemed to him the same thing.These things surrounded him on all sides and engulfed him.After the external inspection report was finally read out, the chief judge let out a long sigh of relief, raised his head, and hoped that the reading work would be over.Unexpectedly, the clerk immediately read out the internal inspection report.

The President bowed his head again, put his head on one hand, and closed his eyes.The merchant sitting next to Nekhludoff struggled to suppress his drowsiness and swayed from time to time.The defendants, like the gendarmes behind them, sat motionless. "Internal inspection results: "(1) The epidermis of the skull is easily separated from the skull, and no blood stasis can be seen. "(2) The skull is of medium thickness and intact. "(3) The meninges are hard, and two small pieces have discolored, about four inches long, and the meninges are cloudy white," and so on, and there are thirteen more.

Then the names and signatures of the witnesses present, and then the doctor's conclusion.The conclusions showed that, according to the autopsy and the records, there were abnormalities in the stomach and part of the intestines and kidneys of the deceased, giving the right to affirm with a high degree of probability that Smerikov's death was caused by poison mixed with wine and poured into the stomach due to.From the abnormality of the stomach and part of the intestines, it is difficult to determine what poison was used; but it is certain that the poison entered the stomach with the wine, because there is a large amount of wine in the stomach.

"Looks like he's been drinking a lot," said the merchant, just waking up from a doze. The report was read for nearly an hour, but still did not satisfy the deputy prosecutor.When the report had been read, the President said to him: "I don't need to read it anymore after reading the internal organ inspection report." "I would like to ask that the report be read," said the deputy public prosecutor sternly, bending slightly, without looking at the president.He spoke in a tone that gave the impression that he had a right to demand a reading, that he would not back down, and that anyone who refused his request would have grounds for appeal.

The bearded judge with his kindly drooping eyes, feeling weak from gastritis, said to the President: "Why bother reading this? It's a waste of time. This new broom gets dirtier and dirtier. It's a waste of time." The judge in the gold-rimmed spectacles said nothing, but stared sadly and obstinately ahead.He had no hope for his wife or for his life. The reading of the document began. "On February 15, 188X, I was entrusted by the Medical Bureau to comply with Order No. 638," the clerk raised his voice, as if trying to drive away the drowsiness of everyone present, and recited decisively. "Under the supervision of the Deputy Medical Prosecutor, make the following internal examinations:

"(1) Right lung and heart (in a six-pound glass bottle). "(2) Stomach contents (in six pound glass bottles). "(3) Stomach (in a six-pound glass bottle). "(iv) Liver, spleen, and kidneys (in three-pound glass jars). "(5) Intestines (in six-pound clay pots)." As soon as the reading began, the President leaned over and whispered something to one judge, then turned to the other judge.After obtaining their affirmative answer, he interrupted the clerk to say: "The court did not consider it necessary to read this document," he said. The clerk stopped talking and packed up the files.The deputy prosecutor remembered something angrily.

"Gentlemen of the jury may examine the evidence," the President announced. The chief juror and several other jurors stood up and walked over to the table bewildered.They examined the ring, the carafe, and the colander in turn.The businessman even tried the ring on his own finger. "Oh, the fingers are so thick," he said, returning to his seat. "Like a rough cucumber," he added, contemplating with relish that the poisoned merchant must have looked like a strong man.