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 petulantly. "Whoever heard such rubbish as he is talking? It is time he resigned. Nobody actually saw her put the poison in. Absence of motive. Prisoner entitled to every doubt that may arise. Every link must be forged in the chain of all evidence that is purely circumstantial. No credence can be given to the testimony of half the witnesses for the Crown. My dear Bow-wow, I really never heard such nonsense in my life."

"An hour ago you never heard such blasphemy."

"I would to God the attorney had held this brief!" said Mr. Weekes, desperately.

"You may count on one thing," said Mr. Topott; "he will never let you hear the last of this. Won't he chuckle? He will pull your leg about it for the next ten years."

"I hope you will tell him, Topott," said Mr. Weekes anxiously, "that he would have done no better."

"Oh, I don't say he would have done no better," said the impartial Mr. Topott. "He would have done better. He would never have let that chap get as far as he did, even if he had had to ascend the bench and take poor old Bow-wow by the tippet. But I do say he also would have had to take his gruel, and he would have lost his verdict."

"Oh, we have not lost it yet."

"We shall have lost it in another quarter of an hour."