Mr. Pollard was by this time little less nervous than the witness. He was really utterly at a loss how to frame his next question without incurring Tressamer’s wrath or the rebuke of the Bench. At last he blurted out:
‘Was there anything different about the footsteps this time?’
Tressamer opened his mouth, but the judge was before him this time:
‘Don’t answer. Really, Mr. Pollard, you are as bad as the witness. You know you ought not to put a question like that.’ Then, seeing that the poor young man was quite unequal to extracting the desired evidence, his lordship quietly took over the examination himself:
‘Did you notice the footsteps this time when they were going downstairs?’
‘Yes, sir—my lord.’
‘Did anything strike you about them?’
‘Yes, my lord.’
‘What?’
‘They were heavier, sir, and thumpy.’