The hired man, still blushing, returned to the witness stand.
“Silas,” began the blacksmith in a kindly tone, “can you swear as to how much stuff was taken away from Dr. Maxwell’s house?”
“Pretty near, Mr. Harrison.”
“What was it?”
“Wa’al, there was a lot of spoons, forks, knives, a big silver water pitcher, a silver sugar bowl, a silver coffee pot, a silver coffee urn and—”
“In fact there was quite a bulky lot of stuff, was there not?”
“Yes, sir.”
“About how large a bundle would it make?”
Once more the crowd gave a sort of gasp. They began to see to what end Mr. Harrison was asking questions.
“Wa’al, I used t’ clean th’ pitchers, urns an’ sugar bowl once a week,” testified Silas, “an’ I used t’ put ’em all in a basket t’ carry ’em out t’ th’ harness room t’ polish ’em.”