ecame him least.
Physically refreshed, he carried himself boldly, but it was a boldness
which convinced me that any talk he may have had with his lawyer, had
been no more productive of comfort than the one I had held with mine.

As he took the witness chair, and prepared to meet the cross-examination
of the district attorney, a solemn hush settled upon the room. Would the
coming ordeal rob his brow of its present effrontery, or would he
continue to bear himself with the same surly dignity, which,
misunderstood as it was, produced its own effect, and at certain moments
seemed to shake even the confidence of Mr. Fox, settled as he seemed to
be in his belief in the integrity of his cause and the rights of the
prosecution.

Shaken or not, his attack was stern, swift, and to the point.

"Was the visit you made to the wine-vault on the evening of the second of
December, the first one you had ever paid there?"

"No; I had been there once before. But I always paid for my
depredations," he added, proudly.

"The categorical answer, Mr. Cumberland. Anything else is superfluous."

Arthur's lip curled, but only for an instant; and nothing could have
exceeded the impassiveness of his manner as Mr. Fox went on.

"Then you knew the way?"

"Perfectly."

"And the lock?"

"Sufficiently well to open it without difficulty."

"How long do you think you were in entering the house and procuring
these bottles?"

"I cannot say. I have no means of knowing; I never thought of looking at
my watch."

"Not when you started? Not when you left Cuthbert Road?"

"No, sir."

"But you know when you left the club-house to go back?"

"Only by this--it had not yet begun to snow. I'm told that the first
flakes fell that night at ten minutes to eleven. I was on the golf-links
when this happened. You can fix the time yourself. Pardon me," he added,
with decided ill-grace as he met Mr. Fox's frown. "I forgot your
injunction."

Mr. Fox smiled an acrid smile, as he asked: "Whereabouts on the
golf-links? They extend for some distance, you remember."

"They are six hundred yards across from first tee to the third hole,
which is the nearest one to Cuthbert Road," Arthur particularised. "I
was--no, I can't tell you just where I was at that moment. It was a good
ways from the house. The snow came on very fiercely. For a little while I
could not see my way."

"How, not see your way?"

"The snow flew into my eyes."

"Crossing the links?"

"Y