Mr. White Lush: Thank you. Did the scream proceed from a man or a woman?
Witness (with energy): I couldn’t tell you, sir, if you went down on your bended knees.
Mr. White Lush: Reflect a little; take time. You have heard hundreds of men’s and women’s voices——
Witness: Thousands, sir.
Mr. White Lush: And a woman of your discernment must have perceived a difference between them. Women’s tones are soft and dulcet; men’s, gruffer and more resonant. It is important we should know whether it was a man’s or a woman’s voice you heard?
Witness: It ain’t possible for me to say, sir.
Mr. White Lush: Is that really the only answer you can give?
Witness: I’d give you another if I could, sir. It’s true I’ve ’eerd thousands of men’s and women’s voices, but I’ve not been in the ’abit of ’aving thousands of men and women screaming at me.
Mr. White Lush: Was it a loud scream?
Witness: There was a brick wall between us, and it must ’ave been a loud scream, or I couldn’t have ’eerd it.