“Was your husband named John Rushton?” asked Ralph.
“Yes,” she replied meekly, and all but inaudibly.
“John Rushton of Aberleigh!”
“The same.”
“Did you ever hear him speak of an old comrade—Ralph Ray?”
“Yes, yes,” answered the witness, lifting her hands to her face and sobbing aloud.
“The prisoner wastes the time of the court. Let us proceed.”
Ralph saw the situation at a glance. The woman's evidence—whatever it might be—was to be forced from her. “Have you seen these prisoners before?”
“Yes, one of them.”
“Perhaps both?”