“I decline to answer.”
“In any event, you never entered his house again, and you never spoke to him or his wife after that. Isn't that true?'
“I was justified in ignoring both of them. They insulted me most—”
“I understand, Mr. Stevens. We will drop the matter. I have no desire to cause you unnecessary pain. Now will you be good enough to state when you first noticed that there was something wrong with the books and accounts of the defendant? What first caused you to suspect that the funds were being juggled, as you put it in the direct examination?”
Mr. Stevens had an easier time of it after that. He resumed his placid, kindly air, and maintained it to the end, although a keen observer might have observed an uneasy respect for Mr. O'Brien. He appeared to be relieved when the examination was concluded.
Sampson went out to luncheon in a more cheerful frame of mind. It was quite clear to every one that Mr. Stevens was guilty, at least circumstantially, of conduct unbecoming a gentleman.
CHAPTER III
Two days went by. Mr. Drew, Mr. Schoolcraft and Mr. Kauffman were examined and cross-examined, and after them came the first of the expert accountants employed to go over the books. The situation continued to look black for Mr. Hildebrand—if anything a little blacker, for neither of the foregoing witnesses appeared to have been guilty of offending a lady to such an extent that her husband had to order him out of the house.