“Oh, dear me, no. That was not possible; the ducks were round the corner, loike. You couldn’t see ’em till you got close up to the gate.”
“Then if a dog was worrying the ducks, you would not see the dog till you got close up to the gate?”
“Certainly not.”
Chairman: “Did you hear any dog—and when you got to the gate, did you see one?”
“No, my lord, I did not see any dog at all.”
“But,” said the counsel, “as you were so far behind the prisoner, and you could not see the ducks, there might have been a dog there, although you did not see it.”
“I don’t think there was one—still there might have been one, but I am quite positive that I did not see one.”
“And he never heard one,” said the chairman.
“No, my lord,” returned the counsel. “You see the ducks were making a very great noise.”
“If the dog barked—which, in such a situation, he most likely would—his bark must have been heard,” said the chairman.