"You, of course, saw the man's face?"
"No."
"Then you heard him speak?" Same tone as if trying his best to encourage the witness in his statements.
"No." This was said with some positiveness. The mail-carrier evidently intended to tell the truth.
Cartwright turned quickly with a snarl like that of a dog suddenly goaded into a fight.
"How can you swear, then, that the prisoner made the assault?"
The little man changed color and stammered out in excuse:
"He was as big as him, anyway, and there ain't no other like him nowhere in them parts."
"Oh, he was as big as him, was he?" This retort came with undisguised contempt. "And there are no others like him, eh? Do you know everybody in Bell County, Mr. Bowditch?"
The mail-carrier did not answer.