"Who will be appointed judge, I wonder?" said one.
"Oh, Branscombe, I expect."
"I wonder whether Stepaside had some inkling of the truth. Perhaps that was the reason he refused to engage counsel."
"Do you think Stepaside knew all the time?"
"There's no knowing; he's such a secretive fellow. Did you notice the expression on his face all day yesterday when he looked at the judge? And this morning I couldn't help noticing it. I tell you, Stepaside knew a great deal more than we imagined, and he's had something up his sleeve the whole time. There'll be an interesting dénouement to all this."
"Will he be hanged, think you?"
"Ask me another! As far as circumstantial evidence goes, the man's dead already, unless he has something to fire forth at the last."
"I see now," said another. "That was the reason Bolitho was so excited last night. Don't you remember how he trembled when that note was brought to him, and how he left the room like a man in a dream? That's it. There was some hint of this in the letter he received. Then he went out and made certain."
"But how could he do that?"
"Who knows? The fact remains that he didn't know till last night. He said as much just now. Anyone can see he didn't have a wink of sleep last night."