moved
forward mechanically through the dense crowd, Bud following part of the
way to whisper, "Tell the truth or go to penitentiary." Walter shook and
shivered at this. The witness with difficulty held up his hand long
enough to be sworn.

"Please tell the court," said Bronson, "whether you know anything of the
whereabouts of Dr. Small on the night of the robbery at Peter
Schroeder's."

Small had detected Walter's agitation, and, taking alarm, had edged his
way around so as to stand full in Walter's sight, and there, with keen,
magnetic eye on the weak orbs of the young man, he was able to assume
his old position, and sway the fellow absolutely.

"On the night of the robbery"--Walter's voice was weak, but he seemed to
be reading his answer out of Small's eyes--"on the night of the robbery
Dr. Small came home before--" here the witness stopped and shook and
shivered again. For Bud, detecting the effect of Small's gaze, had
pushed his great hulk in front of Small, and had fastened his eyes on
Walter with a look that said, "Tell the truth or go to penitentiary."

"I can't, I can't. O God! What shall I do?" the witness exclaimed,
answering the look of Bud. For it seemed to him that Bud had spoken. To
the people and the court this agitation was inexplicable. Squire
Hawkins's wig got awry, his glass eye turned in toward his nose, and he
had great difficulty in keeping his teeth from falling out. The
excitement became painfully intense. Ralph was on his feet, looking at
the witness, and feeling that somehow Bud and Dr. Small--his good angel
and his demon--were playing an awful game, or which he was the stake.
The crowd swayed to and fro, but remained utterly silent, waiting to
hear the least whisper from the witness, who stood trembling a moment
with his hands over his face, and then fainted.

The fainting of a person in a crowd is a signal for everybody else to
make fools of themselves. There was a rush toward the fainting man,
there was a cry for water. Everybody asked everybody else to open the
window, and everybody wished everybody else to stand back and give him
air. But nobody opened the window, and nobody stood back. The only
perfectly cool man in the room was Small. With a quiet air of
professional authority he pushed forward and felt the patient's pulse,
remarking to the court that he thought it was a sudden attack of fever
with delirium. When Walter revived, Dr. Small would have removed him,
but Ralph insisted