Part 2 (1/2)

”She did n't never tell you,” he said, ”that she was going to give you the boy, did she?”

”No, sir;” said Captain Pelham.

”How often did your wife come over to see her?”

”I could n't tell you, sir,” said the Captain.

”Not very often, did she?”

”I think not,” the Captain admitted.

”The boy's mother did n't never talk much about Mis' Captain Pelham, did she?”

”I don't remember that she did.”

”She did n't never have her over to talk with her about what she was going to do with the boy, did she?”

”I don't know that she did,” said the Captain. ”She is here; you can ask her.”

”You didn't never hear of her leaving no word with Mis' Captain Pelham about taking care of the boy, did you?”

”I can't say that I did,” said Captain Pelham.

The old man nodded his head with a satisfied air. His cross-examination was done.

The Captain retired from the witness-stand; his lawyer whispered with him a moment and then went over and whispered for two or three minutes with Mrs. Pelham; then he said he had no more evidence to offer.

”Mr. Parsons,” said the judge, ”do you wish to testify?”

James went to the witness-stand and was sworn.

”Did n't your daughter ever talk about what she wanted done with the boy?”

”Talk about it?” said James. ”Why, she didn't talk about nothing else.

She used to have it all over every time we went in. It was all about how mother 'n me must do this with him and do that with him,--how he was to go to school, what room he was going to sleep in to our house, and all that.”

Mr. Baker desired to make no cross-examination, and James's wife was called, and testified in her quaint way to the same effect.

By a keen, homely instinct James had half consciously foreseen what would be the controlling element of the case; and while he had not formulated it to himself he had brought with him one of his neighbors, who had watched with his daughter through the last nights of her life. She was one of the poorest women of the village. Her husband was s.h.i.+ftless, and was somewhat given to drink. She had a large family, with little to bring them up on. Her life had been one long struggle. She was extremely poorly dressed, and although she was neat, there was an air of unthrift or discouragement about her dress. She wore an oversack which evidently had originally been made for some one else; it lacked one b.u.t.ton. She was faded and worn and homely; but the moment she spoke she impressed you as a woman of conscience. She had talked in the long watches of the night with the boy's mother, and she confirmed what James and his wife had said. There could be no question what the mother had desired.

Mr. Baker ventured out upon the thin ice of cross-examination.

”She must have talked about her father-in-law, Captain Pelham?” he said.

”Oh, yes,” said the woman, ”often.”

”She seemed to be attached to him?”

”Yes, indeed,” said the woman, quickly; ”she was always telling how good he was to her; I have heard her say there was n't no better man in the world.”

”She must have talked about what he could do for the boy?”