FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111  
112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   >>   >|  
technical argument took place between the lawyers over this. It occupied all the rest of the morning session. The statement was finally admitted, but the discussion had served to impress on the jury the fact that the testimony of a witness whose credibility cannot be judged of by personal inspection, and who is saved by death from the cross-examination of the lawyer of the other side, is evidence which the law admits only under protest. Wiley scored his first tangible success in his cross-examination of the two men who had come to Lydia's assistance. On direct examination they had testified to the high rate of speed at which Lydia had been going. Wiley, when they were turned over to him, contrived to put them in a position where they were forced either to confess that they had no knowledge of high rates of speed or else that they themselves frequently broke the law. Wiley was polite, almost kind; but he made them look foolish, and the jury enjoyed the spectacle. This success was overshadowed by a small reverse that followed it. The prosecution had a long line of witnesses who had passed or been passed by Lydia just before the accident. One of these was a young man who was a washer in a garage about a mile away from the fatal corner. He testified in direct examination that Lydia was going forty-five miles an hour when she passed the garage. Wiley stood up, severe and cold, his manner seeming to say, "of all things in this world, I hate a liar most!" "And where were you at the time?" "Standing outside the garage." "What were you doing there?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "Smoking a pipe." "At three o'clock in the afternoon--during working hours?" Wiley made it sound like a crime. "And during this little siesta, or holiday, you saw the defendant's car going at forty-five miles an hour--is that the idea?" "Yes, sir." "And will you tell the jury how it was you were able to judge so exactly of the speed of a car approaching you head-on?" The obvious answer was that he guessed at it, but the young man did not make it. "I do it by means of telegraph poles and counting seconds." It then appeared that the young man was accustomed to timing automobile and motorcycle races. Lydia saw Foster faintly smile as he glanced at his chief. Evidently the defense had fallen into a neatly laid little trap. She glanced at Wiley and saw that he was pretending to be delighted. "Exactly, exactly!" he was saying,
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111  
112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
examination
 

garage

 

passed

 

glanced

 

Nothing

 
testified
 
success
 

direct

 
delighted
 

afternoon


working

 

Standing

 
things
 

severe

 
manner
 

Smoking

 
Exactly
 
appeared
 

accustomed

 

timing


seconds

 

telegraph

 

counting

 

automobile

 

motorcycle

 

fallen

 

Evidently

 

Foster

 

neatly

 

faintly


pretending

 
defense
 

holiday

 

defendant

 

answer

 
guessed
 

obvious

 
approaching
 

siesta

 
reverse

evidence
 

admits

 
lawyer
 
judged
 

personal

 

inspection

 
assistance
 

tangible

 
protest
 

scored