“No, sah. De Gennul went down de hill, an’ he took his inflooence with him.”
“I have no further questions,” said Jenks. “When we come to our alibis, gentlemen, I expect to satisfy you that this lady saw more correctly, and when she is unable to recognize my clients it is for a good reason.”
“We’ve not got quite so far yet,” Rocklin observed. “We’ve reached the hay-stack at present.”
“Aren’t you going to make her describe her own confusion more?” I began, but stopped, for I saw that the next witness was at hand, and that it was Mrs. Sproud.
“How’s this?” I whispered to Rocklin. “How did you get her?”
“She volunteered this morning, just before trial. We’re in big luck.”
The woman was simply dressed in something dark. Her handsome face was pale, but she held a steady eye upon the jury, speaking clearly and with deliberation. Old Meakum, always in court and watchful, was plainly unprepared for this, and among the prisoners, too, I could discern uneasiness. Whether or no any threat or constraint had kept her invisible during these days, her coming now was a thing for which none of us were ready.
“What do I know?” she repeated after the counsel. “I suppose you have been told what I said I knew.”
“We’d like to hear it directly from you, Mrs. Sproud,” Rocklin explained.