Every eye turned towards the witness, who fidgeted before answering, as if he was in doubt what to say. At last, when attention was at its keenest, he found his tongue and said:
“Nope.”
“Yet you bought a thirty-two calibre one on May eighth.”
It had already been testified that the fatal shot was fired from a thirty-two calibre revolver. Every person present was alive with the thought that a critical moment in the inquest had come.
“Yep; but I gave it away.”
“When?”
“To whom?”
“To Jim Shepard. Jest as he was jumpin’ on the train, I took it out o’ my pocket an’ put it in his’n.”
“Do you call that giving it away?”