A. He cursed the assassin capable of destroying so sweet a paragon of womanhood. (Laughter.)
Q. Very disinterested of him, I’m sure. Thank you, sir; that will suffice.
Counsel sitting down, Mr. Redstall, for Sir Calvin, rose to put a question or two to the witness:—
Q. You have never had reason, M. le Baron, to regard the prisoner as a vindictive man?
A. Never. Impulsive, yes.
Q. And truthful?
A. Transparently so—to a childish degree.
Q. He would have a difficulty in dissembling?
A. An insuperable difficulty, I should think.
Dr. Harding, of Longbridge, was the last witness called. He deposed to his having been summoned to the house on the afternoon of the murder, and to having examined the body within an hour and a half of its first discovery in the copse. The cause of death was a gunshot wound in the back, from a weapon fired at short range. Practically the whole of the charge had entered the body in one piece. Death must have been instantaneous, and must have occurred, from the indications, some two hours before his arrival; or, approximately, at about 3.30 o’clock. The wound could not possibly have been self-inflicted, and the position of the gun precluded any thought of accident. He had since, assisted by Dr. Liversidge of Winton, made a post-mortem examination of the body. Asked if there was anything significant in the deceased’s condition, his answer was yes.