The District Attorney was powerless before such a witness and he knew it. His only chance lay in the fearless candour of the man and, God forgive him, he took it. He asked only one question.
“Warren, do you feel any regret for the death of Dineen?”
I sprang to my feet with an objection, but Godfrey waved me back.
In breathless silence the Court awaited his answer. The District Attorney saw his advantage in the pause, and judging the man rightly, spoke with a show of fairness deliberately planned to his own purposes.
“You can decline to answer upon the ground that it will tend to incriminate you.”
As he expected, Warren flushed angrily, and flashed a scornful glance at his questioner.
What a noble sensation it must give one to convict a man of murder by a trick!
“You do not decline to answer? Then tell us, Warren, do you feel any regret for the death of this man?”
“None whatsoever.”