"Did you find out where he came from?"
"Wull, he said little aboot 'imsel' at the first, he was a bit afraid to talk wi' strangers, but he tellit, later on, that he cam' fra Philadelphy. He tellit me, in fact," said Billy, in a burst of confidence, "that 'e rin awa' fra th'auld mon, Simon Craft, him that's a-settin' yonner. But it's small blame to the lad; ye s'ould na lay that up again' 'im. He had to do it, look ye! had ye not, eh, Ralph?"
Before Ralph could reply, Sharpman interrupted: "And has the boy been with you ever since?"
"He has that, an' I could na think o' his goin' awa' noo, an it would na be for his gret good."
"In your intercourse with the boy through three years, have you noticed in him any indications of higher birth than is usually found among the boys who work about the mines? I mean, do his manners, modes of thought, impulses, expressions, indicate, to your mind, better blood than ordinary?"
"Why, yes," replied the witness, slowly grasping the idea, "yes. He has a way wi' 'im, the lad has, that ye'd think he did na belong amang such as we. He's as gentle as a lass, an' that lovin', why, he's that lovin' that ye could na speak sharp till 'im an ye had need to. But ye'll no' need to, Mistress Burnham, ye'll no' need to."
The lady was sitting with her veil across her face, smiling now and then, wiping away a tear or two, listening carefully to catch every word.
Then the witness was turned over to the counsel for the defence, for cross-examination.
"What else has the boy done or said to make you think he is of gentler birth than his companions in the breaker?" asked Goodlaw, somewhat sarcastically.
"Why, the lad does na swear nor say bad words."