The catechism which Genevieve was required to undergo follows:
"What is your name?"
"Clara Genevieve Cooper."
"How old are you?"
"I was twenty-one in December."
"We would like to know, Miss Cooper, what relation, if any, you bear to the witness Maillot?"
"Merely that of a friend."
"How about him and the other young lady?"—an interrogation which instantly made Miss Belle flush and bridle. But the witness was fully equal to the occasion.
"I would n't undertake to speak for them," she replied composedly.
The succeeding questions brought out the relationship between the two girls, and also established Miss Fluette's identity. Something akin to a sensation prevailed in the jury-box for a few seconds after the six good men and true realized that the handsome gentleman with the white hair and dark beard was no other than the celebrated "wheat king." Their manner toward his niece underwent a sudden transformation; their attitude became more respectful.