“Did you see any one in there?”
“I did.”
“And who were they?”
“These accused,” and the squire named in turn each of the six boys and pointed them out in court.
They, feeling the eyes of all turned toward them, the awful stillness of the court-room for the moment following the squire’s declaration, and oppressed more than ever by the hot, choking atmosphere of the stuffy little court, turned white and red by turns, wished that the floor would open beneath their feet and swallow them, and felt a burning sensation in their throats as though they were stifling.
“And how soon did you see flames coming up from the location of the hotel?”
“I could not say exactly; it might have been half an hour. I was out in the bay in my sloop.”
“Had you seen any suspicious characters in the village on that day?”
“I had not.”
Then the squire also recounted the events of the pursuit of the yacht Spray, the escape through Little Reach, and the subsequent surrender of the boys.