Men took Victor Frankenstein to see the magistrate (a judge in a small town). The magistrate was an old man. He had a kind face. But he looked at Victor Frankenstein in a serious way. The magistrate asked to see the witnesses.
Six men came into the room. One fisherman spoke first. He said he was on his boat the night before with his son and his brother-in-law. Their names were Daniel Nugent and his son. The wind was very strong that night. It was very dark because there was no moon.
The men returned to the shore. They did not land at the main harbor. They landed at a small creek (a narrow area of water that goes into the land). The fisherman walked on the sand. He hit his foot against something and fell. He used a lamp to see.
The fisherman found the body of a young man. The body was not wet. It was still warm. The men took the body to a small house. They tried to help the man. But they could not save him.
The dead man was about twenty-five years old. He was a handsome man. There were black marks on his neck. Someone used their fingers to strangle (to kill someone by pressing their neck) him. There were no other marks on the body.
Victor Frankenstein heard about the marks on the neck. He remembered his brother, William. The monster killed William in the same way. Victor Frankenstein felt very sick and weak. He sat down on a chair. Mr. Kirwin, the magistrate, watched Victor Frankenstein carefully.
The fisherman’s son said the same thing as his father. Then Daniel Nugent spoke. He said he saw a boat near the shore before they found the body. One man was in the boat. Daniel Nugent said it was the same boat that Victor Frankenstein used today.
A woman also spoke. she lived near the beach. She was at the door of her house. She saw a boat with one man. The man left the place where the fishermen found the body. Another woman said the fishermen brought the body to her house.
Other men spoke about Victor Frankenstein. The wind was very strong that night. They thought Victor Frankenstein stayed on the sea for many hours. They thought he brought the dead body from another place. They believed Victor Frankenstein was the murderer.
Mr. Kirwin wanted to see Victor Frankenstein’s reaction. He took Victor Frankenstein to a room in an inn (a small hotel). The dead body was in that room. Victor Frankenstein felt calm at first. He knew he was with other people on his island when the man died.
Victor Frankenstein walked to the coffin (a wooden box for a dead person). He looked inside at the body. He felt a terrible horror. It was Henry Clerval. His best friend was dead.
Victor Frankenstein cried out in pain. He asked if his actions killed Henry Clerval too. He said he already destroyed two people. Then Victor Frankenstein fell to the floor. He was very ill.
Victor Frankenstein had a high fever (a very high body temperature when you are sick) for two months. He was near death. He spoke many terrible things. He said he killed William, Justine, and Henry Clerval. He screamed about the monster.
Only Mr. Kirwin understood Victor Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein spoke his own language. The other witnesses did not understand the words. But they saw that Victor Frankenstein was very afraid. He looked like he was in great pain.
Victor Frankenstein woke up after two months. He was in a room in the prison. The windows had metal bars. The room was dirty and sad. An old woman sat near Victor Frankenstein.
The old woman was a nurse. She was not a kind person. She did not feel sorry for Victor Frankenstein. She told Victor Frankenstein that he was a murderer. She said it was better for him to be dead.
Victor Frankenstein felt very lonely. No one loved him there. A doctor came to see him. The doctor did not care about Victor Frankenstein. He only gave him medicine. Victor Frankenstein thought he was a lost man.
But Mr. Kirwin was actually a kind man. He gave Victor Frankenstein the best room in the prison. He paid for the doctor and the nurse. He did not visit often. He did not like to hear Victor Frankenstein scream. But he made sure Victor Frankenstein was safe.
One day, Mr. Kirwin came to the room. He spoke to Victor Frankenstein in French. He was very polite. He said he wanted to help. He said that Victor Frankenstein’s family was safe.
Mr. Kirwin told Victor Frankenstein that a friend was there. Victor Frankenstein was afraid. He thought the monster was at the door. He cried and told Mr. Kirwin to take the person away. Victor Frankenstein did not want to see the monster.
Mr. Kirwin was angry. He thought Victor Frankenstein was guilty. He said it was strange to hate a father. Victor Frankenstein was surprised. He asked if his father was really there. Mr. Kirwin smiled and left the room.
Victor Frankenstein’s father entered the room. Victor Frankenstein was very happy. He asked about Elizabeth and Ernest. His father said they were well. But his father was sad to see Victor Frankenstein in prison.
Victor Frankenstein and his father could not speak for a long time. Victor Frankenstein was still very weak. Mr. Kirwin told them to rest. Victor Frankenstein felt better because his father was with him. But he still felt very sad about Henry Clerval.
Victor Frankenstein stayed in prison for three months. Then it was time for the trial (a meeting where a judge decides if a person is guilty). Mr. Kirwin helped Victor Frankenstein. He found witnesses and a lawyer.
The judge looked at the evidence. Victor Frankenstein was on the Orkney Islands when Henry Clerval died. This proved that Victor Frankenstein was not the murderer. The judge said Victor Frankenstein was free. Victor Frankenstein left the prison.
Victor Frankenstein’s father was very happy. He wanted to return to Geneva. But Victor Frankenstein was not happy. He felt like his life was over. He saw the monster’s eyes in his dreams.
Victor Frankenstein’s father talked about their home. He talked about Elizabeth. Victor Frankenstein wanted to see his home again. But he also felt a great darkness in his heart. He wanted to die.
Victor Frankenstein had one duty. He must protect his family in Geneva. He must wait for the monster. He wanted to kill the monster. Victor Frankenstein was very thin and weak. He looked like a skeleton.
Victor Frankenstein and his father went on a ship to France. It was midnight. Victor Frankenstein sat on the deck. He looked at the stars. He was happy to leave Ireland. But he was very sad about Henry Clerval.
Victor Frankenstein took a drug called laudanum (a strong medicine to help a person sleep). He took it every night to sleep. But he had terrible dreams. He felt the monster’s fingers on his neck.
Victor Frankenstein screamed in his sleep. His father woke him up. Victor Frankenstein saw the waves and the sky. He was safe for now. But he knew the monster was still waiting for him.