“She did speak on the subject,” she said, “and did state something of the kind.”
“Can you recollect her words—if so, give them to the jury—if not her very words, their substance.”
“Aunt Dolly had a way of her own in talking, which makes it very difficult to repeat her precise words; but she said, in substance, that Mary Monson had two of these pieces of money, one of which was given to her.”
“Mary Monson, then, kept the other?”
“So I understood it, sir.”
“Have you any knowledge yourself, on this subject?—If so, state it to the jury.”
Another pause, one even longer than before, and again the hand was raised to the brow. The witness now spoke with extreme caution, seeming to feel her way among the facts, as a cat steals on its prey.
“I believe I have—a little—some—I have seen Mary Monson’s purse, and I believe I saw a piece of money in it which resembled this.”
“Are you not certain of the fact?”
“Perhaps I am.”