"Now, Mr. Harkness," said Wilson, insinuatingly, "we shall have to insist upon an answer to that question."
"I--er--well, of course, I do not absolutely know, but in my opinion--"
"Never mind your opinion, sir--answer the question."
"I--why, I can"t answer it."
"That will do, Mr. Harkness. Stand down."
The audience t.i.ttered, and the discomfited witness retired in a state of great embarra.s.sment.
Mr. Wakeman took the stand and swore that he saw the twins kick the plaintiff off the platform.
The defense took the witness.
"Mr. Wakeman, you have sworn that you saw these gentlemen kick the plaintiff. Do I understand you to swear that you saw them both do it?"
"Yes, sir,"--with decision.
"How do you know that both did it?"
"Because I saw them do it."
The audience laughed, and got another warning from the court.
"But by what means do you know that both, and not one, did it?"
"Well, in the first place, the insult was given to both of them equally, for they were called a pair of scissors. Of course they would both want to resent it, and so--"
"Wait! You are theorizing now. Stick to facts--counsel will attend to the arguments. Go on."
"Well, they both went over there--that I saw."
"Very good. Go on."
"And they both kicked him--I swear to it."
"Mr. Wakeman, was Count Luigi, here, willing to join the Sons of Liberty last night?"
"Yes, sir, he was. He did join, too, and drank a gla.s.s or two of whisky, like a man."
"Was his brother willing to join?"
"No, sir, he wasn"t. He is a teetotaler, and was elected through a mistake."
"Was he given a gla.s.s of whisky?"
"Yes, sir, but of course that was another mistake, and not intentional.
He wouldn"t drink it. He set it down." A slight pause, then he added, casually and quite simply: "The plaintiff reached for it and hogged it."
There was a fine outburst of laughter, but as the justice was caught out himself, his reprimand was not very vigorous.
Mr. Allen jumped up and exclaimed: "I protest against these foolish irrelevancies. What have they to do with the case?"
Wilson said: "Calm yourself, brother, it was only an experiment. Now, Mr. Wakeman, if one of these gentlemen chooses to join an a.s.sociation and the other doesn"t; and if one of them enjoys whisky and the other doesn"t, but sets it aside and leaves it unprotected" (t.i.tter from the audience), "it seems to show that they have independent minds, and tastes, and preferences, and that one of them is able to approve of a thing at the very moment that the other is heartily disapproving of it.
Doesn"t it seem so to you?"
"Certainly it does. It"s perfectly plain."
"Now, then, it might be--I only say it might be--that one of these brothers wanted to kick the plaintiff last night, and that the other didn"t want that humiliating punishment inflicted upon him in that public way and before all those people. Isn"t that possible?"
"Of course it is. It"s more than possible. I don"t believe the blond one would kick anybody. It was the other one that--"
"Silence!" shouted the plaintiff"s counsel, and went on with an angry sentence which was lost in the wave of laughter that swept the house.
"That will do, Mr. Wakeman," said Wilson, "you may stand down."
The third witness was called. He had seen the twins kick the plaintiff.
Mr. Wilson took the witness.
"Mr. Rogers, you say you saw these accused gentlemen kick the plaintiff?"
"Yes, sir."
"Both of them?"
"Yes, sir."
"Which of them kicked him first?"
"Why--they--they both kicked him at the same time.
"Are you perfectly sure of that?"
"Yes, sir."
"What makes you sure of it?"
"Why, I stood right behind them, and saw them do it."
"How many kicks were delivered?"
"Only one."
"If two men kick, the result should be two kicks, shouldn"t it?"
"Why--why yes, as a rule."