The judge. [Staring at her hard] Well, step down, please.

     Ruth looks at Falder, then passes quietly down and takes her
     seat among the witnesses.

Frome.  I call the prisoner, my lord.

     Falder leaves the dock; goes into the witness-box, and is duly
     sworn.

Frome.  What is your name?

Falder.  William Falder.

Frome.  And age?

Falder.  Twenty-three.

Frome.  You are not married?

     Falder shakes his head

Frome.  How long have you known the last witness?

Falder.  Six months.

Frome.  Is her account of the relationship between you a correct one?

Falder.  Yes.

Frome.  You became devotedly attached to her, however?

Falder.  Yes.

The judge.  Though you knew she was a married woman?

Falder.  I couldn’t help it, your lordship.

The judge.  Couldn’t help it?

Falder.  I didn’t seem able to.

     The judge slightly shrugs his shoulders.

Frome.  How did you come to know her?

Falder.  Through my married sister.

Frome.  Did you know whether she was happy with her husband?

Falder.  It was trouble all the time.

Frome.  You knew her husband?

Falder.  Only through her—­he’s a brute.

The judge.  I can’t allow indiscriminate abuse of a person not present.

Frome. [Bowing] If your lordship pleases. [To Falder] You admit altering this cheque?

Falder bows his head.

Frome.  Carry your mind, please, to the morning of Friday, July the 7th, and tell the jury what happened.

Falder. [Turning to the jury] I was having my breakfast when she came.  Her dress was all torn, and she was gasping and couldn’t seem to get her breath at all; there were the marks of his fingers round her throat; her arm was bruised, and the blood had got into her eyes dreadfully.  It frightened me, and then when she told me, I felt—­I felt—­well—­it was too much for me! [Hardening suddenly] If you’d seen it, having the feelings for her that I had, you’d have felt the same, I know.

Frome.  Yes?

Falder.  When she left me—­because I had to go to the office—­I was out of my senses for fear that he’d do it again, and thinking what I could do.  I couldn’t work—­all the morning I was like that—­simply couldn’t fix my mind on anything.  I couldn’t think at all.  I seemed to have to keep moving.  When Davis—­the other clerk—­gave me the cheque—­he said:  “It’ll do you good, Will, to have a run with this.  You