“Are you certain of that?”
“Yes, perfectly certain.”
Here the super-intelligent juror looked as if he were about to spring across the table as he demanded eagerly:
“How does the witness know that that cupboard was locked?”
The coroner looked slightly annoyed. He had been playing his fish carefully and was in no wise helped by this rude jerk of the line. Nevertheless, he laid down his pen and looked expectantly at the witness. As for Wallingford, he was struck speechless. Apparently his rather muddled brain had suddenly taken in the import of the question, for he stood with dropped jaw and damp, pallid face, staring at the juryman in utter consternation.
“Well,” said the coroner, after an interval, “how did you know that it was locked?”
Wallingford pulled himself together by an effort and replied:
“Why, I knew—I knew, of course, that it must be locked.”
“Yes; but the question is, how did you know?”
“Why it stands to reason that it must have been locked.”