Page:Caroline Lockhart--The full of the Moon.djvu/251

 fresh dude come into this country and insult ol' fr'en' of mine—ol', ol' fr'en'." The judge was almost tearful.

"That will do for the present, Mr. Spiser." Bob received a look which left him in no doubt as to Spiser's feeling toward him as that person left the stand. "The prosecution has other witnesses, I presume?"

"Wher'sh that saddle-colored gent what seen this?" The judge's eyes roved over the court-room, and Juan Ospino stood up with a noticeable absence of alacrity.

Bob was an unexpected factor in the case, and sending Ben Evans to the penitentiary did not seem so simple as it had when his story was outlined for him by Spiser.

He knew the jury, which was of Spiser's choosing, and the judge were palpable tools, but there were the spectators to reckon with, and there was something very disconcerting in the directness of this suave young man. Ospino was visibly agitated as he swore to tell the truth and gave the court his name.

"It ees not much that I haf to say," he began in a high and tremulous voice. "Señor Spiser lose his cows, and he hire me to watch