Robert sat at his table while the crowd talked around him. He then spoke to where his client, Harrison, and his family could hear him. “Do you think you are safe here? I have but two witnesses to bring in your case right now, the rest of what I need to do will likely have to come from cross-examination of the prosecution’s witnesses. It would have been better had I known of any witnesses to the altercation that could have demonstrated that you did not engage in any physical violence with your father, but we will do what we can.”

“I feel safe here as long as the officials of the court stay around,” Harrison said.

“That’s good,” Robert said. “Like the prosecutor, I will have to rustle up witnesses for this afternoon. I will be back as soon as I can.”

“Thanks for all of your help,” Harrison’s mother said in a comforting voice. Robert got up and walked out of the courtroom. Whatever harsher words that the woman had for her son to get himself in such a mess were saved for that son alone, and his sister, since no one else in the courtroom seemed disposed to pay the accused and his family any attention at all, or to interact with them.

Robert, upon leaving the courtroom, went straight to the clerk. “I imagine you have heard about the drama of the court hearing so far?”

“I have indeed,” the clerk modestly replied. “As it happens, I do have news for you.”

“That is capital,” Robert answered. “What news do you have?”

“As it happens, we have a record for manumission for both the brother and the sister, along with what might be termed a confession, and for the mother as well. I also have a will that should have been read aloud but which has not been read out yet because the executor of the will has not yet made is way here to town.”

“That sounds like a problem, but is it one we can deal with?” Robert said.

“Well, we can say that this will has been filed with the courthouse but it has not yet been executed,” the clerk said. “That is a distinction that will allow the probative value of the will to be demonstrated even if its terms are not yet operative.”

“I think that is something that we can all live with,” Robert agreed.

“Do you wish to call me to read out the documents in question and enter them into court as exhibits?” the clerk asked.

“That is exactly what I would wish,” Robert said. The clerk sighed and nodded his assent.

That errand done, Robert exited the courtroom and walked directly to the house of Doctor Petigru. Once again he knocked on the door and the elderly black porter greeted him. “It is a pleasure to see you again, sir.”

“Likewise,” Robert replied graciously. “Witnesses will be called this afternoon in the DuPont case, so I wanted to make sure that the good doctor would be available to come to the courthouse to present his testimony about what he saw concerning the health of Mister DuPont.”

“I will tell him and we will be sure to be there,” the porter said. “As I understand it, the doctor has cleared his business for this afternoon and will be available to give whatever testimony is necessary.”

“Thank you, see you later then,” Robert said politely, turning to leave the area and looking once more at the neighborhood. From what he could see, the houses of this part of the city were close to the street. It would be impossible for someone to have an argument in the street without it being heard for some distance around, especially given that the streets themselves were rather narrow. If no one walked by the people having an argument, those who passed along the street or who were standing in the upstairs porches of the houses around could not help but hear what was being said and would have a good chance of seeing it with a good view. And yet, strangely, no one had been willing to express what they had seen, or admit that they had seen anything at all. This suggested to Robert that no one wanted to comment on what was heard because they did not wish to speak in public about it, which meant it was likely to be something of at least somewhat of an exculpatory nature for his client. He pondered to himself what sort of use he could make of their reluctance to admit hearing or seeing anything if any of them bothered to show up for the prosecution, and kept the matter in mind.

Having done that, Robert stopped at the inn to have a nuncheon before returning to the courtroom. While at the inn he had to gently deflect the interest of the innkeeper in the case, telling that which was suitable for the public record but not anything of a private interest or from his own personal knowledge. Having thus eaten, he returned to the courthouse to find the crowd largely content to wait out the remaining time until court was back in session. A little bit after Robert had returned to sit at his table and do a bit of writing to organize his thoughts and how he would prepare to ask questions to his witnesses, as well as note what order to put the witnesses, he could see out of the corner of his eye that the prosecutor had also returned and sat down at his table. Before too long, after that, the judge entered the courtroom and the court was called into session once again.

“Are you ready to begin your case, Mister Barnes?” the judge asked.

“I am indeed,” the prosecutor replied.

“You may call your first witness,” the judge replied.

“I would like to call as my first witness Mister George DuPont,” which caused the courtroom to be filled with whispered conversations. A young man, around the same age as Harrison, maybe a bit older, came to the stand and sat down.

“Would you like to introduce yourself to the court?” the prosecutor began.

“I am George DuPont, son of the late Mister _________ DuPont, of Brunswick, Georgia,” the young man replied.

“What is your relationship with the defendant?” the prosecutor asked.

“He has claimed to be a half-brother of mine,” George said, with obvious discomfort.

“Do you believe this claim?” the prosecutor asked.

“I do not,” the young man answered.

“What relationship do you think existed between the accused and your late father?” the prosecutor answered.

“I believe him to be part of the property of the estate, and hence my own property,” the young man replied.

“Are you aware of any documents that would say anything different?” the prosecutor asked.

“I am not,” the young man replied.

“That is all,” the prosecutor said, sitting down.

“You may now cross examine the witness, Mister Woods,” the judge said as Robert stood up.

“How close were you to your father?” Robert began.

“I was as close as many sons are to their fathers, I suppose,” the young man said.

“But you said you were of Brunswick, Georgia. We are in Charleston, South Carolina. Brunswick is south of Savannah, a good part of the way towards, Florida, is it not?” Robert continued.

“It is not exactly very close to Charleston, that is true,” the young man answered.

“What business is it that led you to reside in Brunswick?” Robert asked.

“I lived on the plantation there that I inherited through my mother,” the young man answered.

“You chose to reside on this plantation and make it your home instead of living in this city with your father?” Robert asked.

“That is correct,” the young man said.

“Is there any reason in particular for that choice of residence?” Robert asked.

“I have my reasons, and they are personal and private ones,” the young man said, somewhat offended.

“Be that as it may,” Robert continued,” You did not make it a point to visit your father here in Charleston very often, did you?”

“I did not,” Geroge replied. “We conducted business through letters or through our family attorney.”

“Did that family attorney make you familiar of all of the business that your father conducted?” Robert asked.

“I have no reason to think so,” the young man replied. “I did not want to know very much about his business, to be honest, and made it clear that so long as my own interests were preserved that my father was free to do whatever he wanted, without my wishing to hear about it.”

“What did you perceive as your interests,” Robert asked.

“I wanted to make sure that no property that I was to inherit would be alienated from me,” the young man said. “Most particularly, that meant that I did not wish my father to mortgage or sell anything related to the plantation in Brunswick, which I wished to keep in my own personal control. Whatever my father did in town was his own business alone.”

“I see,” Robert said. “And did anything having to do with the woman and her children near me strike you as being part of your interest?”

“Not in the least,” the young man said. “That was the sort of thing that I had the least interest in hearing about whatsoever.”

“Very well then,” Robert said. “I have no further questions.” With that, to a shocked courtroom, the witness was dismissed.

“Who is your next witness?” the judge asked.

“I call as my next witness Darnley Battles,” the prosecutor replied. At this a man came up to sit in the witness stand. Robert could recognize him as one of the neighbors he had talked to unsuccessfully the day before.

“Could you introduce yourself to the court?” the prosecutor asked.

“I am Darnley Battles, one of the neighbors of the late Mister DuPont,” the man began.

“Were you an eyewitness to the altercation between Mr. DuPont and the accused?”

“I did not see the altercation, but it was impossible not to hear it,” the man answered.

“And what did you hear?” the prosecutor asked.

“I heard raised voices,” the man replied.

“Did you hear what was being said?” the prosecutor asked.

“I could not make it out exactly, but I had a fair idea what it was about,” the man answered.

“And why was that?” the prosecutor continued.

“Such rows were common,” the man replied. “Mister DuPont was upset that his son was giving aid and succor to the British by navigating so much for them.”

“Was Mister DuPont in any way a patriot?” the prosecutor asked.

“I would not say so,” the man answered. “It was more that he knew that the British would not be staying long in the city, and did not think that giving active aid to the British was wise policy in light of the fact that they would be soon departing when these colonies won their independence. Mister DuPont thought that it was unwise to back an obviously losing cause.” To this testimony Robert pursed his lips closely.

“Did you hear or see these sorts of altercations often?” the prosecutor asked.

“It was impossible not to hear them. Mr. DuPont was not a very quiet man. His voice could carry pretty far,” the neighbor replied. “Yes, they happened pretty often, whenever the young man returned from having served as a pilot for any soldiers, which happened fairly often.”

“Did any of the altercations get physical?” the prosecutor asked.

“Sometimes Mr. DuPont would shove Harrison, but Harrison, though he was willing to raise his voice in response to what Mr. DuPont said, was careful not to raise his hand against the man,” the neighbor replied.

“That is all,” the prosecutor responded, obviously disappoinetd.

“Do you have any questions for the witness?” the judge asked Robert.

“None, your honor,” Robert replied.

“You are dismissed then,” the judge said. At that the neighbor left the stand.

“Do you have any further witnesses?” the judge asked the prosecutor.

“I do not, your honor,” the prosecutor said.

“Do you have any witnesses to call?” the judge asked Robert.

“I have two witnesses to call myself,” Robert replied.

“Very well then,” the judge said. “Who do you wish to call first?”

“I wish to call ________, clerk of the court of the city of Charleston,” Robert answered. To this, there was a great deal of chatter in the courtroom, and the judge looked at him, somewhat surprised. The clerk then walked up to the stand.

“Could you introduce yourself to the court?” Robert asked.

“I am _________, a records clerk of the court,” the man replied.

“And what is your job here at the courthouse?”

“It is my job to maintain and search through documents that would be of interest to the court, ranging from deeds of property to documents relating to marriages and wills and also documents relating to the manumission of slaves, among other records,” the clerk answered.

“And you have some documentation that relates to the case at hand, right?” Robert asked.

“That is correct,” the clerk said.

“What documents do you have pertaining to the status of Harrison Barnes and his relatives as well as the will of Mister DuPont?” Robert asked.

“I have two documents relating to the manumission of slaves,” the clerk replied. “I also have the unexecuted will of Mr. ________ DuPont.”

“I wish to submit these documents as exhibits one, two, and three to the court,” Robert said.

“I will accept these documents,” the judge said. “Could the clerk read them out so that they may be included in the court record in the hearing of the jury and all witnesses to the case?”

The clerk spoke in a somewhat nervous tone. “I, the aforesaid _______ DuPont, this 18th of December, 1776, acknowledge the mulatto children Harrison and Sadie DuPont to be my own flesh and blood, and also pronounce them free from any status of slavery due to the status of their mother, also Sadie DuPont, whom I acknowledge as the mother of these children, being my own property. I furthermore promise that neither the children Harrison nor Sadie shall be a burden to the state of South Carolina at any time nor to the city of Charleston, where I reside.” At this a pin drop could have been heard in court. After a brief pause, the clerk continued. “I, the aforesaid __________ DuPont, this 17th of August, 1781, do grant my slave Sadie DuPont her freedom from any bondage or slavery to me, with the promise that she will not be a burden to the state of South Carolina nor will be responsible for her maintenance by the city of Charleston, where I reside.” After a short pause, he continued. “I, __________ DuPont, do declare this as my last will and testament, this 20th of November, 1781, being of sound mind and not under any coercion. All of the property that I inherited through my late wife, Sally DuPont nee Howard of Brunswick, Georgia, except that specified below, I grant to our son George, free and unimpaired. As for my property in Charleston, should I die while Sadie DuPont still lives, should the state grant her and my children by her the right to continue residing in this state, she will inherit my house with a life interest, with the house to inherit to my son, Harrison DuPont, after her death, and to the heirs of his body. To my daughter, Sadie DuPont, I grant one hundred pounds to be hers upon the age of twenty-one as a dowry to be brought into marriage, or to keep it for herself and to be supported by her mother and brother, if she does not marry. If the state does now allow Sadie DuPont and my children by her, Harriosn and Sadie, to remain, my entire estate in Charleston is to be sold, with the mother to have half of the proceeds, and each of the children to inherit jointly and equally her half upon her demise as well as receive an equal share of the other half of the estate, to support themselves wherever they may move. I name as the executor of this will my son, George DuPont.”

“Thank you,” Robert replied. “That is all.”

“Do you have any questions for the clerk?” the judge asked the prosecutor.

“I have no questions, your honor,” the prosecutor replied, looking like he had just swallowed a lemon.

“You are dismissed then,” the judge told the clerk, who nodded his head and then departed the courtroom, presumably to return to his usual desk.

“I would now like to call as my second and final witness Doctor __________ Petigru,” Robert said, at which point the doctor walked up to the stand and sat down.

“Could you introduce yourself to the court?” Robert asked.

“I am Doctor _______ Petigru, a neighbor of the deceased,” the doctor replied.

“Could you tell the court how it is that you found out about the altercation in question between Harrison DuPont and his father?” Robert asked.

“Certainly,” the doctor answered. “I was sitting in my library when my porter Charles, came to me and told me that Harrison was at the door and in a rather frantic disposition. I walked to the front door and was informed that his father had fallen on the road and needed immediate medical assistance. I rushed from my house along with Harrison and my porter and we saw Mr. _______ DuPont fallen on the ground, clutching at his chest. I did what I could to press against his heart but he was too far gone already and soon died of apoplexy there on the street. I pronounced him dead at the scene and we immediately made preparations for his burial according to his expressed wishes.

“You were not a witness to the alteration itself, were you?” Robert asked.

“Not at all, I was not close enough to hear it nor did I see anything,” the doctor replied.

“And it was Harrison who informed you of his father’s condition,” Robert said.

“That is correct,” the doctor said.

“I have no further questions,” Robert said.

“Do you have any questions?” the judge asked the prosecutor.

“I do not,” the prosecutor said, nonchalantly.

“You are dismissed,” the judge said, after which the doctor exited the courtroom. “We will now adjourn until tomorrow morning, for closing statements and jury deliberation.” And with that, the courtroom emptied as quickly and as noisily as could have been expected given the fireworks of the day and the bombshells that had been dropped concerning Mr. DuPont and his unorthodox family relations.