“You exceed your authority, Your Honor!”
“Bailiff, bring manacles and leg irons. If Mr. Quill speaks again, they are to be placed upon him to remind him that he has no authority in this courtroom during this hearing.”
White-faced and trembling, Quill sat down.
The hearing went quite smoothly for quite a while. John questioned Purity first. She described the nature of the charges she originally made, and then told how Quill had deformed them, turning harmless frolicking in the river into an incestuous orgy, and a peaceful conversation on the riverbank into a witches' sabbath. He asked her about the professors from the college, and she affirmed that she had never mentioned them and only found out they were being questioned when Quill demanded that she denounce them, Emerson in particular.
Then the professors were brought forward, one at a time, to recount the experience of being questioned by Quill. Each one stated that he had been led to believe that others had confessed and implicated them, and that their only hope was to confess and repent. All denied being the one who confessed.
Then John turned to Quill.
“Aren't you going to question him first?” Quill said, pointing to Alvin.
“Have you forgotten whose hearing this is?” asked John.
“I just want to hear whether he denies the witchcraft charges!”
“You'll find that out in the trial,” said John, “since the accused can be called to give testimony against themselves in witch trials.”
“You're favoring him,” said Quill.
“You're testing my patience,” said John. “Put your hand on the Bible and take your oath.”
Quill complied, and the questioning began. Quill answered scornfully, denying that he had deceived anyone. “She's the one who talked of Satan. I had to stop my ears, she spoke of him so lovingly. She wanted carnal knowledge of him. She even told me that Satan had instructed her to lie and say I made up the story, but I was not afraid because I knew that in lawful courts, my testimony would have greater trust than hers.”
John listened to Quill calmly enough, as his testimony grew nastier and nastier. “These professors behave exactly as one would expect a conclave of wizards to behave,” said Quill. “I wouldn't have questioned them if the girl hadn't denounced them. She thought better of it at once, of course, and tried to deny it, but I knew what she had told me, and it was enough. They deny that they confessed, but several of them did, as my depositions to the court affirm.”
John picked up a pile of affidavits from the bench. “I do have those depositions and I've read them all.”
“So you know the truth, and this whole hearing is a travesty.”
“If it is,” said John, “it follows the script you wrote.”
“I wrote no script for this,” said Quill. “I expected this court to function like a proper witch trial.”
“But Mr. Quill, this is not a witch trial. This is a hearing on a motion. You seem unable to grasp that. This proceeding has been entirely proper. And I am ready now with my ruling on the motion.”
“But you haven't questioned Alvin Smith!”
“All right,” said John. “Mr. Smith, how are you today?”
“Tired of being in chains, Your Honor,” said Alvin, “but otherwise in good condition.”
“You ever have any dealings with Satan?”
“I'm not sure who you're referring to,” said Alvin.
John was surprised. He was expecting a simple 'no.' “Satan,” he said. “The enemy of God.”
“Why, if Satan means an enemy of God, I've had dealings with a fair number in my time, including Mr. Quill here.”
“Your Honor!” cried Quill.
“Sit down, Mr. Quill,” said John. “Mr. Smith, you seem to be deliberately misunderstanding my question. Don't try my patience, please. Satan, as generally conceived, is a supernatural being. You've been accused of getting powers from him and obeying his commands. Did you get any hidden powers from Satan, or obey him?”
“No sir,” said Alvin.
“More to the point,” said John, “did you ever tell Purity Orphan that you had dealings with Satan, or could she ever have seen you in the presence of Satan?”
“If you mean the bright red fellow with the claws of a bear and cloven hooves and horns on his head,” said Alvin, “I've never seen him or heard from him. He's never even sent me a note. I have smelled him, but only when I was alone with Quill.”
John shook his head. “I don't think you're taking this proceeding seriously.”
“No sir,” said Alvin, “I admit that I am not.”
“And why is that? Don't you understand that your life may hinge upon the outcome of this hearing?”
“It doesn't,” said Alvin.
Cooper tried to shush him.
“And why do you believe that you're safe, regardless of the outcome of this hearing?”
Alvin rose to his feet and pulled the manacles off his wrists as easily as he might have pulled off mittens. He shook his feet and the ankle braces clanked on the floor. “Because I got the knack I was born with. As far as I know, it's God, not Satan, who creates us, and so whatever knack I have came from God. I try to use it kindly and decently. One thing I never do is try to use my knack to force someone else to do something against their will. But you and my lawyer here, you seem determined to force the people of New England to get rid of their witchery laws whether they want to or not. Mr. Quill is a lying snake, but you don't strike down all the laws just to catch a few liars.”
Verily Cooper rested his head on the desk. John, who was trembling at the sight of such obvious supernatural powers, could see that to Verily Cooper this was old news.
Alvin was still talking. “I was willing to stick it out and see how you two twisted up the laws without actually breaking too many of them, but my wife needs me right now, and I'm not wasting another minute here. When I got time I'll come back and you and I can talk this out, Your Honor, because I think you're an honorable man. But for the present, I've got somewhere else to be.”
Alvin started toward the door at the back of the court.
Quill jumped to his feet and tried to stop him. His hands slid off Alvin as if he'd been greased. “Stop him!” Quill cried. “Don't let him go!”
“Bailiff,” said John. “Mr. Smith seems to be escaping.”
Alvin turned around and faced the judge. “Your Honor, I thought this wasn't my trial. I thought this was a hearing on a motion. You don't need me here.”
Verily stood up. “Alvin, what about Purity?”
“She ain't going to hang,” said Alvin. “By the time you're through, she'll probably be Queen of England.”
“Wait just a minute, Alvin,” Verily said. He turned to face John Adams. “Your Honor, I ask the court to release my client on his own recognizance, with his promise to appear in court in the morning.”
John understood what he was asking, and decided to grant it. The escape would be turned into a legal release. “The defendant's presence not being necessary at this hearing, and with proof positive that the defendant's compliance with his imprisonment up to this point has been entirely voluntary, the court deems him worthy of our trust. Released on his own recognizance, to appear in court at ten in the morning tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” said Alvin.
“An outrage!” cried Quill.
“Sit down, Mr. Quill,” said John Adams. “I'm ready to rule on the motion.”
Quill slowly sat down as the door closed behind Alvin Smith.
“Your Honor,” said Verily Cooper. “I must apologize for my client's behavior.”
“Sit down, Mr. Cooper,” said John. “I have my rulings. Mr. Smith's point was well taken. It is not the place of the court to destroy the law in order to achieve justice. Therefore both motions are denied.”
Quill flung his arms out wide. “Praise God!”
“Not so fast, Mr. Quill,” said John. “This hearing is not over.”