“He does not know that it was I. He is mistaken as are you all.” And Nathan Goodbody leaped to his feet.
“I object on behalf of my client to the assumption throughout this whole examination, that the man whom the witness claims to have seen was the prisoner. No proof to that effect has yet been brought forward.”
The witness was then required to give his reasons for his assertion that the prisoner was the man he saw three years before.
“By what marks do you know him? Why is he not the man he claims to be, the son of the plaintiff?”
“Oh, I know heem all right. Meester Craikmile’s son, he vos more white in de face. Hees hair vas more––more––I don’ know how you call dot––crooked on hees head yet.” Nels put his hand to his head and caught one of his straight, pale gold locks, and twisted it about. “It vas goin round so,––und it vas more lighter yet as dot man here, und hees face vas more lighter too, und he valked mit 458 stick all time und he don’ go long mit hees head up,––red in hees face like dis man here und dark in hees face too. Craikmile’s son go all time limpin’ so.” Nels took a step to illustrate the limp of Peter Junior when he had seen him last.
“Do you see any other points of difference? Were the young men the same height?”
“Yas, dey vas yust so high like each other, but not so vide out yet. Dis man he iss vider yet as Meester Craikmile’s son, he iss got more chest like von goot horse––Oh, I know by men yust de same like horses vat iss der difference yet.”
“Now you tell the court just what you saw the next day. At what time of the day was it?”
“It vas by der night I seen heem.”
“On Monday night?”