Mr. Tutt rose with solemnity.
"The court will, I suppose, grant me a moment or two to confer with my client?" he inquired. Babson bowed and the jury saw the lawyer lean across the defendant and engage his partner in what seemed to be a weighty deliberation.
"I killa him! I say so!" muttered Angelo feebly to Mr. Tutt.
"Shut up, you fool!" hissed Tutt, grabbing him by the leg. "Keep still or I'll wring your neck."
"If I could reach that old crook up on the bench I would twist his nose," remarked Mr. Tutt to Tutt with an air of consulting him about the Year Books. "And as for that criminal O'Brien, I'll get him yet!"
With great dignity Mr. Tutt then rose and again addressed the court:
"We have decided under all the circumstances of this most extraordinary case, Your Honor, not to put in any defense. I shall not call the defendant—"
"I killa him—" began Angelo, breaking loose from Tutt and struggling to his feet. It was a horrible movement. But Tutt clapped his hand over Angelo's mouth and forced him back into his seat.
"The defense rests," said Mr. Tutt, ignoring the interruption. "So far as we are concerned the case is closed."
"Both sides rest!" snapped Babson. "How long do you want to sum up?"