"And what pace do you take when you are tired?" "A horse's pace when I can get it," was the laughing reply. "A team was going by, sir, and I just jumped up with the driver." "Ah, you rode, then, part of the way? Was it a fast team, Mr. Hickory?" "Well, it wasn't one of Bonner's." "Did they go faster than a man could run?" "Yes, sir, I am obliged to say they did." "And how long did you ride behind them?" "Till I got in sight of the station." "Why did you not go farther?" "Because I had been told the prisoner was seen to walk up to the station, and I meant to be fair to him when I knew how." "Oh, you did; and do you think it was fair to him to steal a ride on the highway?" "Yes, sir." "And why?" "Because no one has ever told me he didn't ride down the highway, at least till he came within sight of the station." "Mr. Hickory," inquired the lawyer, severely, "are you in possession of any knowledge proving that he did?" "No, sir." Mr. Byrd, who had been watching the prisoner breathlessly through all this, saw or thought he saw the faintest shadow of an odd, disdainful smile cross his sternly composed features at this moment. But he could not be sure. There was enough in the possibility, however, to make the detective thoughtful; but Mr. Orcutt proceeding rapidly with his examination, left him no time to formulate his sensations into words. "So that by taking this wagon you are certain you lost no time?" "Yes, sir." "Rather gained some?" "Yes, sir." "Mr. Hickory, will you now state whether you put forth your full speed to-day in going from Mrs. Clemmens' house to the Quarry Station?" "I did not." "What?" "I did not put forth any thing like my full speed, sir," the witness repeated, with a twinkle in the direction of Byrd that fell just short of being a decided wink. "And why, may I ask? What restrained you from running as fast as you could? Sympathy for the defence?" The ironical suggestion conveyed in this last question gave Hickory an excuse for indulging in his peculiar humor. "No, sir; sympathy for the prosecution. I feared the loss of one of its most humble but valuable assistants. In other words, I was afraid I should break my neck." "And why should you have any special fears of breaking your neck?" "The path is so uneven, sir. No man could run for much of the way without endangering his life or at least his limbs." "Did you run when you could?" "Yes, sir." "And in those places where you could not run, did you proceed as fast as you knew how?" "Yes, sir." "Very well; now I think it is time you told the jury just how many minutes it took you to go from Mrs. Clemmens' door to the Monteith Quarry Station." "Well, sir, according to _my_ watch, it took one hundred and five minutes." Mr. Orcutt glanced impressively at the jury. "One hundred and five minutes," he repeated. He then turned to the witness with his concluding questions.