"I'll do my best."
Everybody knew that her best would be good.
The People were to close their case that morning. A witness as to Lydia's speed just before the accident was on the stand. He testified that, following her as fast as his car would go—he had no speedometer—he had not been able to keep her in sight. His name was Yakob Ussolof, and he had great difficulty with the English language. His statements were, however, clear and damaging.
The jury was almost purely Anglo-Saxon, and as Wiley rose to cross-examine the very effort he made to get the name right—"Mr.—er—Mr.—U—Ussolof"—was an appeal to their Americanism.
"Mr. Ussolof, you have driven an automobile for some years?"
"Yare, yare," said Mr. Ussolof eagerly, "for ten years now."
"How long had you owned the car you were driving on March eleventh?"
"Since fall now."
"Ah, a new car. And what was its make?"
"Flivver."