rse not. The gold is our point. And of course you had a private
mark on it. Tell the jury, please, what the private mark was."

He had none. He spoke about dates, and new coins, he backed and filled,
swelled importantly, and ended like a pricked bladder by recanting his
identification.

"That is all I have to say for the present," said Jenks.

"Don't complicate the issue by attempting to prove too much, Mr.
Rocklin," said the judge.

Rocklin flushed, and called the next witness, whispering sulkily to me,
"What can you expect if the court starts out against you?" But the court
was by no means against him. The judge was merely disgusted over
Rocklin's cardinal folly of identifying coin under such loose
conditions.

And now came the testimony of Sergeant Brown. He told so clear a story
as to chill the enthusiasm of the room. He pointed to the man with the
mustache, black curly, and yellow. "I saw them shooting from the right
of the road," he said. Jenks tried but little to shake him, and left him
unshaken. He was followed by the other wounded soldier, whose story was
nearly the same, except that he identified different prisoners.

"Who did you say shot you?" inquired Jenks. "Which of these two?"

"I didn't say. I don't know."

"Don't know a man when he shoots you in broad daylight?"

"Plenty was shooting at me," said the soldier. And his testimony also
remained unshaken.

Then came my own examination, and Jenks did not trouble me at all, but,
when I had likewise identified the men I knew, simply bowed smilingly,
and had no questions to ask his friend from the East.

Our third morning began with the negress, who said she was married, told
a scattered tale, and soon stated that she was single, explaining later
that she had two husbands, and one was dead, while the other had
disappeared from her ten years ago. Gradually her alarm subsided and
she achieved coherence.

"What did this gentleman do at the occurrence?" inquired Jenks,
indicating me.

"Dat gemman? He jes flew, sir, an' I don' blame him fo' bein' no wusser
skeer'd dan de hole party. Yesser, we all flew scusin' dey two pore
chillun; an' we stayed till de 'currence was ceased."

"But the gentleman says he sat on a stone, and saw those men firing."

"Land! I seed him goin' like he was gwineter Fo't Grant. He run up de
hill, an' de Gennul he run down like de day of judgment."

"The General ran?"

"Lawd grashus, honey, yo' could have played checkers