The Winston Affair Read Online Free PDF Page A

proclaimed the silly, immature, surface jubilance of a people who had never dared seriously to confront themselves aloud. Nor did he pretend that he had ever confronted himself; but he knew his own face; he relied upon it, as he knew, more than was good for himself or for any man; and he faced Colonel Thompson with it, only permitting himself to think: Now he will ask me to call him Herb. Call me Herb, Barney. We’re not at the Point, are we?
    Adams was wrong. Colonel Thompson spoke one word, forthrightly, “Right?”
    Adams nodded.
    â€œOf course—and I wanted you for the trial officer. I told General Kempton that it was our business”—punctuating his words by stabbing his forefinger at the shiny desk-top—“to make the prosecution airtight, solid, beyond question solid. Let the whole world look at it, and they would say: There, by God, is due process! Well, sir, he saw it differently. He runs the theater, not me, praise God. He wanted a solid defense, and he’s got it, if I know my man. Just as well. There’s too much talk that Winston will hang as high as Haman because our British cousins want it. Sure they want it, and they’ve got every right to want it. Sure it’s important, and the unity of this theater is important!”
    He rose, leaning across the desk toward Barney Adams. “But more important is the fact that this man is a murderer! And he will die because murder cannot be tolerated!”
    The judgment hung in the air. Adams drew a deep breath and remained silent.
    â€œWell, sir?” the little man demanded, sinking back in his chair and wiping the sweat from his shining pink face.
    â€œI am his defense counsel,” Adams said softly.
    â€œOf course—of course. The general spoke of you so much that I keep forgetting you only arrived last night. I accept you as one of the family. Tell me, Captain Adams, are you familiar with the case?”
    Adams nodded at the Manila envelope on his lap. “I read through the general’s file during lunch. To that extent I’m familiar with it.”
    â€œHow do you see it?”
    â€œWell, Colonel, as I said, I’ve read through the file.”
    â€œThe essence is there; I’ve sent the general duplicates of every pertinent document. It’s not a complicated case.”
    â€œMay I smoke, sir?”
    The colonel took an ashtray from a drawer in his desk and watched Adams light a cigarette.
    â€œI take it you are familiar with the procedure of a general court-martial?”
    â€œIn the academic sense, yes, sir, I am.”
    â€œBut you’ve never actually seen one function?” Thompson asked him.
    â€œNot a general court-martial, no, sir.”
    â€œThen it behooves us to put on a proper show, doesn’t it, Barney? And we will. For your part, sir, you can call all the witnesses you find necessary to establish due process. It should be a memorable occasion—something to add to your many and varied experiences.”
    â€œYes, sir, I am sure it will be.” Barney Adams nodded. “But if I might ask you a question or two, sir—concerning the case?”
    â€œTwo or twenty. Fire away, young man!” Thompson was the benign executive now. He had stamped Barney Adams with his approval and had embraced him into the “family.”
    â€œAs I understand it, Winston was brought down from Bachree and admitted to the psychiatric section of the General Hospital here.”
    â€œCorrect.”
    â€œThen there was some presumption of insanity?”
    â€œThere was presumption , sir. He never should have been admitted, Barney—between you and me. And I’m not alone in that opinion. Not by any means.”
    â€œI won’t argue that, sir. But once the medical officer signed him in, this medical officer or whoever was in charge of the psychiatric section would have to write a report on his case and present the report to the commanding officer of