“And they both kicked him—­I swear to it.”

“Mr. Wakeman, was Count Luigi, here, willing to join the Sons of Liberty last night?”

“Yes, sir, he was.  He did join, too, and drank a glass or two of whisky, like a man.”

“Was his brother willing to join?”

“No, sir, he wasn’t.  He is a teetotaler, and was elected through a mistake.”

“Was he given a glass of whisky?”

“Yes, sir, but of course that was another mistake, and not intentional.  He wouldn’t drink it.  He set it down.”  A slight pause, then he added, casually and quite simply:  “The plaintiff reached for it and hogged it.”

There was a fine outburst of laughter, but as the justice was caught out himself, his reprimand was not very vigorous.

Mr. Allen jumped up and exclaimed:  “I protest against these foolish irrelevancies.  What have they to do with the case?”

Wilson said:  “Calm yourself, brother, it was only an experiment.  Now, Mr. Wakeman, if one of these gentlemen chooses to join an association and the other doesn’t; and if one of them enjoys whisky and the other doesn’t, but sets it aside and leaves it unprotected” (titter from the audience), “it seems to show that they have independent minds, and tastes, and preferences, and that one of them is able to approve of a thing at the very moment that the other is heartily disapproving of it.  Doesn’t it seem so to you?”

“Certainly it does.  It’s perfectly plain.”

“Now, then, it might be—­I only say it might be—­that one of these brothers wanted to kick the plaintiff last night, and that the other didn’t want that humiliating punishment inflicted upon him in that public way and before all those people.  Isn’t that possible?”

“Of course it is.  It’s more than possible.  I don’t believe the blond one would kick anybody.  It was the other one that—­”

“Silence!” shouted the plaintiff’s counsel, and went on with an angry sentence which was lost in the wave of laughter that swept the house.

“That will do, Mr. Wakeman,” said Wilson, “you may stand down.”

The third witness was called.  He had seen the twins kick the plaintiff.  Mr. Wilson took the witness.

“Mr. Rogers, you say you saw these accused gentlemen kick the plaintiff?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Which of them kicked him first?”

“Why—­they—­they both kicked him at the same time.

“Are you perfectly sure of that?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What makes you sure of it?”

“Why, I stood right behind them, and saw them do it.”

“How many kicks were delivered?”

“Only one.”

“If two men kick, the result should be two kicks, shouldn’t it?”

“Why—­why yes, as a rule.”

“Then what do you think went with the other kick?”

“I—­well—­the fact is, I wasn’t thinking of two being necessary, this time.”