At once the court was all ears. It was one of those strokes of brilliant advocacy which few men care to venture on. It was dangerous, but in the present case it was completely successful. The witness lost countenance, stammered, and with difficulty got out a lame denial.
‘I don’t dislike her particular.’
‘Do you like her?’
‘No.’
‘Did you ever have any complaint against her when you were her servant?’ (He intentionally chose a phrase calculated to irritate.)
‘I wasn’t her servant,’ was the angry reply. ‘I should be very sorry to be.’
‘I thought so. Tell me, you said to my learned friend that the first sound you heard on this night was like somebody being hurt, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘When did you discover that?’