“I am sailor aboard the Sea Eagle, sir.”
“And where were you on the night of August 18th?”
“I was asleep in the fo’scle of the Sea Eagle, sir.”
“Tell what occurred, if anything.”
This Peter McCloskey did with much enthusiasm and picturesque detail, and then John Berwick, the attorney for the prisoners, started in to cross-examine the witness, who kept himself firmly anchored by means of two large feet outspread at separate angles.
“Now, Peter,” he commenced suavely, “tell the court how much you drank on the eventful night of the 18th of August, when you saw these remarkable apparitions.”
“Well, your Honors,” said Pete, hesitatingly, “you know how it is yourselves. I took a nip before I turned in. Old bones have to be warmed somehow.”
“Exactly,” said the prisoners’ attorney. “Now, McCloskey, tell the court if you were not in a condition to see things on the night in question.”
“No, sir, Mr. Berwick, I was as sober as a judge when I woke up and saw those green things staring at me.”
“Are you sure, Peter, that you didn’t dream all this?” inquired Berwick.