Mr. Byrd, who up to this moment had shared in the interest everywhere displayed in the defence, now felt his attention wandering. The fact is, he had heard the whistle of the train on which Hickory had promised to return to Sibley, and interesting as was the testimony given by the witness, he could not prevent his eyes from continually turning toward the door by which he expected Hickory to enter.
Strange to say, Mr. Orcutt seemed to take a like interest in that same door, and was more than once detected by Byrd flashing a hurried glance in its direction, as if he, too, were on the lookout for someone.
Meantime the expert in running was saying:
“It took me one hundred and twenty minutes to go over the ground the first time, and one hundred and fifteen minutes the next. I gained five minutes the second time, you see,” he explained, “by knowing my ground better and by saving my strength where it was of no avail to attempt great speed. The last time I made the effort, however, I lost three minutes on my former time. The wood road which I had to take for some distance was deep with mud, and my feet sank with every step. The shortest time, then, which I was able to make in three attempts, was one hundred and fifteen minutes.”
Now, as the time between the striking of the fatal blow and the hour at which the prisoner arrived at the Quarry Station was only ninety minutes, a general murmur of satisfaction followed this announcement. It was only momentary, however, for Mr. Ferris, rising to cross-examine the witness, curiosity prevailed over all lesser emotions, and an immediate silence followed without the intervention of the Court.
“Did you make these three runs from Mrs. Clemmens’ house to Monteith Quarry Station entirely on foot?”
“I did, sir.”
“Was that necessary?”
“Yes, sir; as far as the highway, at least. The path through the woods is not wide enough for a horse, unless it be for that short distance where the Foresters’ Road intervenes.”
“And you ran there?”
“Yes, sir, twice at full speed; the third time I had the experience I have told you of.”
“And how long do you think it took you to go over that especial portion of ground?”
“Five minutes, maybe.”
“And, supposing you had had a horse?”
“Well, sir, if I had had a horse, and if he had been waiting there, all ready for me to jump on his back, and if he had been a good runner and used to the road, I think I could have gone over it in two minutes, if I had not first broken my neck on some of the jagged stones that roughen the road.”
“In other words, you could have saved three minutes if you had been furnished with a horse at that particular spot?”
“Yes, if.”
Mr. Orcutt, whose eye had been fixed upon the door at this particular juncture, now looked back at the witness and hurriedly rose to his feet.
“Has my esteemed friend any testimony on hand to prove that the prisoner had a horse at this place? if he has not, I object to these questions.”
“What testimony I have to produce will come in at its proper time,” retorted Mr. Ferris. “Meanwhile, I think I have a right to put this or any other kind of similar question to the witness.”
The Judge acquiescing with a nod, Mr. Orcutt sat down.
Mr. Ferris went on.
“Did you meet anyone on the road during any of these three runs which you made?”
“No, sir. That is, I met no one in the woods. There were one or two persons on the highway the last time I ran over it.”
“Were they riding or walking?”
“Walking.”
Here Mr. Orcutt interposed.
“Did you say that in passing over the highway you ran?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why did you do this? Had you not been told that the prisoner was seen to be walking when he came down the road to the station?”
“Yes, sir. But I was in for time, you see.”
“And you did not make it even with that advantage?”
“No, sir.”
The second expert had the same story to tell, with a few variations. He had made one of his runs in five minutes less than the other had done, but it was by a great exertion that left him completely exhausted when he arrived at the station. It was during his cross-examination that Hickory at last came in.
Horace Byrd, who had been growing very impatient during the last few minutes, happened to be looking at the door when it opened to admit this late comer. So was Mr. Orcutt. But Byrd did not notice this, or Hickory either. If they had, perhaps Hickory would have been more careful to hide his feelings. As it was, he no sooner met his colleague’s eye than he gave a quick, despondent shake of the head in intimation that he had failed.
Mr. Byrd, who had anticipated a different result, was greatly disappointed. His countenance fell and he cast a glance of compassion at Miss Dare, now flushing with a secret but slowly growing hope. The defence, then, was good, and she ran the risk of being interrogated again. It was a prospect from which Mr. Byrd recoiled.
As soon as Hickory got the chance, he made his way to the side of Byrd.
“No go,” was his low but expressive salutation. “One hundred and five minutes is the shortest time in which I can get over the ground, and that by a deuced hard scramble of it too.”
“But that’s five minutes’ gain on the experts,” Byrd whispered.
“Is it? Hope I could gain something on them, but what’s five minutes’ gain in an affair
