“I have a daughter,” replied Trevethick; and as he spoke his face, though somewhat pale, became as blank and hard and meaningless as a wall of stone.

“This man is about to perjure himself,” thought the experienced Mr. Balais; and he looked around him with the air of one who was convinced of the fact.

“The prisoner at the bar was, I believe, your daughter’s lover, was he not?”

“Not that I knew of.”

“Not that you know of?” repeated Mr. Balais.  “Will you venture to repeat that?”

“The witness said knew,” interposed the judge, demurely, and ordered a sky-light to be closed, the draught from which inconvenienced him.  Every body looked at the officer of the court who pulled the string and shut the sky-light, as though it had been the most ingenious contrivance known to man.  Not that it was a relief to them to do so, but from that inexplicable motive which prompts us all to observe trivial circumstances with which we have nothing whatever to do, on any occasion of engrossing interest.  Even Richard regarded this little process of ventilation with considerable concern, and wondered whether the judge would feel himself better after it.

“Oh, you didn’t know of this attachment between the prisoner and your daughter at the time it was going on under your roof, but you knew of it afterward, did you?  You read of it in the papers, I suppose, eh?”

“I heard of it, after the robbery was discovered, from my daughter herself.”

“And, upon your oath, you did not know of it before then?”

“I did not.”

“Nor suspect it even, perhaps?”

“Nor even suspect it.”

Mr. Balais smiled, shrugged his shoulders.  His principles of oratory were Demosthenean; his motto was “Action, action, action.”  His. friends on circuit called him the Balais of action.  He had had some experience of the depravity of human nature, said the shrug, but this beat every thing, and would be really amusing but for its atrocious infamy.  Good Heavens!

“Then you never had any conversation with the prisoner with reference to your daughter at all?”

“Never.”

Mr. Balais bent down and interchanged a word or two with Mr. Weasel behind him.

“Now be so good as to give me your best attention, Mr. Trevethick, for upon my next question more may depend than you may be aware of.  If you have any regard for your own interests you will answer it truly; for as sure as—­”

“Is this necessary, Brother Balais?” interrupted the judge, scratching his forehead with his forefinger, and looking up at the sky-light, as though that matter was not satisfactorily settled even yet.

“My lud, I am instructed that nothing less than a conspiracy has been entered into against my unfortunate client.”

The judge nodded slightly, shivered considerably, and made a mental note to complain of that infernal draught before he should dismiss the grand jury.