Then Goodlaw took the witness in hand. He asked many questions about Craft's personal history, about the wreck, and about the rescue of the child. He demanded a full account of the way in which Robert Burnham had been discovered, by the witness and found to be Ralph's father. He called for the explicit reason for every opinion given, but Old Simon was on safe ground, and his testimony remained unshaken. Finally, Goodlaw asked:-- "What is your occupation, Mr. Craft?" and Craft answered: "I have no occupation at present, except to see that this boy gets his rights." "What was your occupation during the time that this boy lived with you?" "I was a travelling salesman." "What did you sell?" "Jewelry, mostly." "For whom did you sell the jewelry?" "For myself, and others who employed me." "Where did you obtain the goods you sold?" "Some of it I bought, some of it I sold on commission." "Of whom did you buy it?" "Sometimes I bought it at auction, or at sheriff's sales; sometimes of private parties; sometimes of manufacturers and wholesalers." Goodlaw rose to his feet. "Now, as a matter of fact, sir," he said, sternly, "did not you retail goods through the country that had been furnished to you by your confederates in crime? and was not your house in the city a place for the reception of stolen wares?" Craft's cane came to the floor with a sharp rap. "No, sir!" he replied, with much indignation; "I have never harbored thieves, nor sold stolen goods to my knowledge. You insult me, sir!" Goodlaw resumed his seat, looked at some notes in pencil on a slip of paper, and then resumed the examination. "Did you send this boy out on the streets to beg?" he asked. "Well, you see, we had pretty hard work sometimes to get along and get enough to eat, and--" "I say, did you send this boy out on the streets to beg?" "Well, I'm telling you that sometimes we had either to beg or to starve. Then the boy went out and asked aid from wealthy people." "Did you send him?" "Yes, I did; but not against his will." "Did you sometimes whip him for not bringing back money to you from his begging excursions?" "I punished him once or twice for telling falsehoods to me." "Did you beat him for not bringing money to you when you sent him out to beg?" "He came home once or twice when I had reason to believe that he had made no effort to procure assistance for us, and--" Goodlaw rose to his feet again. "Answer my question!" he exclaimed. "Did you beat this boy for not bringing back money to you when you had sent him out to beg?" "Yes, I did," replied Craft, now thoroughly aroused, "and I'd do it again, too, under the same circumstances." Then he was seized with a fit of coughing that racked his feeble body from head to foot. A tipstaff brought him a glass of water, and he finally recovered. Goodlaw continued, sarcastically,-- "When you found it necessary to correct this boy by the gentle persuasion of force, what kind of a weapon did you use?"