“Well, if not twice, I am sure I can say once.”
Dunscomb was satisfied with this answer, which went to show that the witness could reply a little at random, and was not always certain of his facts, when pressed.
“Are you certain that Dorothy Goodwin is dead?”
“I suppose I am as certain as any of the neighbours.”
“That is not an answer to my question. Will you, and do you swear on your oath, that Peter Goodwin, the person named in the indictment, is actually dead?”
“I’ll swear that I think so.”
“That is not what I want. You see those skeletons—will you say, on your oath, that you know them to be the skeletons of Peter and Dorothy Goodwin?”
“I’ll swear that I believe it.”
“That does not meet the question. Do you know it?”
“How can I know it? I’m not a doctor, or a surgeon. No, I do not absolutely know it. Still, I believe that one is the skeleton of Peter Goodwin, and the other the skeleton of his wife.”