“But you imagined you recognised the voices?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Whose did you take them to be?”
"One I believed to be Cumberland's, the other that of a Captain Spicer, whom I had seen when I was there before.”
“How often have you been there?”
“Twice, sir; once about a week ago, and again to-day.”
“And have you the slightest moral doubt as to the fact of the persons you heard speaking being Cumberland and this Captain Spicer?”
“Not the slightest; I feel quite certain of it.”
“That is all clear and straightforward enough,” observed Dr. Mildman, turning to the culprit. “I am afraid the case is only too fully proved against you; have you anything to say which can at all establish your innocence?”
“It would be of no use if I were to do so,” said Cumberland, in a sullen manner; “it is all a matter of assertion; you choose to believe what they say, and if I were to deny it, you would not believe me without proof, and how can I prove a negative?”