As to the assault there could be no doubt. The Captain's face bore evidence of the severity of the attack. Rufus did not deny striking him and knocking him down, but persisted that Gervase was the aggressor.
"But why should he attack you?" the chairman asked.
"He accused me of something which I very much resented."
"What did he accuse you of?"
"I decline to say."
"Why do you decline?"
"Because it would introduce a name that I would not on any account have mixed up in this sordid affair."
"Oh! indeed." And the Bench smiled in an ultra superior way.
"Well, when he accused you of something you very much resented what did you do?"
"I called him a liar."