‘You should have asked her whether she noticed anything about the latch,’ he said at length. ‘Did you?’ he added, turning to the witness.
‘It was down, sir,’ she returned, answering Pollard’s question rather than the judge’s.
The importance of the answer was chiefly in its disposing of Tressamer’s suggestion that the butler might have forced the latch up. He turned round to the jury, and assumed the air of one who is being unfairly treated. But of course he could not help their seeing that the prosecution had scored a point.
Rebecca’s evidence was continued till she came to where she heard footsteps ascending the stairs.
‘How long was this afterwards?’ asked Pollard.
‘About ten minutes,’
‘Did you recognise those footsteps?’
‘No, I didn’t notice them; but I think they must have been Miss Owen’s, or else I should have noticed the difference.’
Tressamer ground his teeth. He was afraid to interrupt again, for fear of the effect on the minds of the jury. They are apt to think a man is losing when he interrupts too often.