Witness.—"Yes, your Honor, I—I think it was."
The Court.—"Well, then, go on."
Witness.—"It was up in the Square. Jones meets Smith, and they both go at it—that is, blackguarding each other. One called the other a thief, and the other said he was a liar, and then they got to swearing backwards and forwards pretty generally, as you might say, and finally one struck the other over the head with a cane, and then they closed and fell, and after that they made such a dust and the gravel flew so thick that I couldn't rightly tell which was getting the best of it. When it cleared away, one of them was after the other with a pine bench, and the other was prospecting for rocks, and—"
Lawyer.—"There, there, there—that will do—that—will—do! How in the world is any one to make head or tail out of such a string of nonsense as that? Who struck the first blow?"
Witness.—"I can not rightly say, sir, but I think—"
Lawyer.—"You think!—don't you know?"
Witness.—"No, sir, it was all so sudden, and—"
Lawyer.—"Well, then, state, if you can, who struck the last."
Witness.—"I can't, sir, because—"
Lawyer.—"Because what?"