"State under what circumstances you have known her?"
"Captain Lloyd, my superior officer, had reason to believe that Miss Newton was a rebel spy, and I was detailed to watch her movements."
"Do you know what first led Captain Lloyd to suspect the accused?"
"Yes, sir. On the twenty-seventh of December, 1864, I accompanied the captain to Poolesville. While on our way there we met a Federal cavalryman riding toward Washington, who said he carried despatches to Adjutant General Thomas. When Captain Lloyd demanded to see the despatch, the supposed trooper managed to make his escape, after first knocking the captain senseless from his horse. As he dashed up the road, his horse swerved toward the woods skirting the road, and a low-hanging branch knocked his hat off, and I discovered the rider was a woman."
A low murmur of surprise from the spectators interrupted Symonds, and the president rapped on the table with his sword hilt. "Those present must be silent," he announced, "or the room will be cleared."
"What led you to think the rider was a woman in disguise?" asked the judge advocate, after silence had been restored.
"By the long hair which fell down her back below her waist."
"You say she escaped. How did that happen?"
"Her horse was fresh, mine lame, and the captain's worn out. It was impossible for me to overtake her. I soon gave up the chase discouraged, and returned to Captain Lloyd, whom I found lying senseless where he had fallen. I rode to Poolesville, procured a horse and wagon, and brought Captain Lloyd back to this city. But before doing so I picked up the spy's hat, and on examining it found a number of hairs sticking to the inside. They were of a peculiar color." He glanced significantly at Nancy. "Captain Lloyd and I both agreed that they exactly matched Miss Newton's hair."
"Produce the hairs," ordered the judge advocate.