Page:That Royle Girl (Balmer).pdf/264

 examination into the past activities of the accused and also into the histories of his principal witnesses. With especial thoroughness they had recited incidents, gossip and hearsay regarding the girl, sometimes Joan Daisy Ravenel, sometimes Joan Daisy Rowland, often of other names, and most recently known as Joan Daisy Royle.

Calvin had the book at hand in order that he might refer to it, if need be, but he knew the pages, having to do with her by heart. Names, places, times, presented themselves inexorably to him and in their proper order as he proceeded inflexibly with his cross-questioning to make her admit the fact that when her family left the hotel in which Ketlar had been employed, they had been disgracefully ejected for nonpayment of the hotel bill and that the purpose of the frequent change of the family name had been to escape pursuit and to facilitate the obtaining of accommodations by false pretense and fraud.

"No . . . no . . . no . . ." Calvin heard her deny, gazing straight at him and lying to him.

He was determined to exclude from his mind, as he confronted her in cross-examination, every personal contact with her; he meant to treat her as a witness, and a false witness, of low character and an accomplice in spirit, if not in fact, to the killing of Adele Ketlar; but sudden, startling recollections assailed him. He saw the girl, not as she sat perjuring herself to save Ketlar, but as she was when she had confessed to him, by the light of the street lamp, how her life had been "dead-beating" and dodging sheriffs and being thrown into the street, and how she couldn't figure a way out of it for her family.

He thrust this from him and concentrated upon his attack; and soon, with his questions and with the judge overruling Elmen's objections shouted to help her, Calvin had her contradicting herself. She lied bravely and cleverly; but, as she herself well knew, lies could pre-