The cry was taken up by the usher and repeated thrice ere there hobbled into the well of the court an object that could scarce lay claim to being called a man. Yet there was no mistaking the fact that Hawkes was or had been a sailor, for a strong odour of tar, which was a pleasant relief to the fetid atmosphere of the crowded court, hovered around him like a cloud. He was about fifty years of age, wizened and bent. His face, burnt by exposure to all weathers, was of a deep mahogany hue. One eye was covered with a patch, the other appeared to be fixed in its socket, inasmuch as whenever he looked he had to turn his head straight in that direction. A mass of lank hair, terminating in a greasy pigtail, covered his head. His left arm was missing, the empty sleeve being fastened to his coat; and, as if these deficiencies were not enough, his left leg had been cut off at the knee joint, and was replaced by a wooden stump. The fingers of his right hand were dried like a mummy’s, the nails being blackened with hard work at sea and the continual use of tobacco, and I noticed that one of his fingers was also missing. Having been administered the oath, his examination commenced. "You are Joseph Hawkes?" "Yes, your Honour." "Do you know either of the prisoners?" "Yes, saving your presence, that red-haired villain yonder!" "Now, sirrah," exclaimed the prosecuting lawyer, addressing Caleb Keeping, "methinks you know this witness!" But the prisoner replied not, except to shake his head sheepishly. "Proceed with your evidence, Master Hawkes." The man hitched at his nether garments, pulled his forelock, and without further delay plunged into his story, which, stripped of its peculiarities of dialect, was as follows:-- "Two years ago last May I shipped as mate of the bark _Speedie_, of Poole, outward bound for the Tagus. The same night as we cleared Poole harbour we were overtaken by a gale from the south’ard, and soon got into difficulties close to the Purbeck coast. Seven times did we ’bout ship to try and claw off the shore, but at daybreak we struck close to Anvil Point." Here the younger prisoner began to show signs of terrified interest--a fact that most of those present were not slow to note. "The masts went by the board, our boats were carried away, and the old _Speedie_ began to break up. One by one the crew were swept overboard, and at last a heavy sea took me, and I remember fighting for life in the waves till I lost consciousness. "When I came to I was lying on a flat ledge or platform of rock with the hot sun streaming down on me. The gale had now abated, but there were plenty of signs of its results. Numbers of bales and barrels, that had formed our cargo, were being collected on the platform by a number of villainous-looking, half-naked men. A slight tingling pain in my hand made me look down, and I saw that one of my fingers had been cut off, so that one of the wretches could steal a paltry silver ring I was wearing.