"Yes, seh," said Pete. Paige stepped to a big blackboard, which he had had set up at the end of the room, and rapidly sketched a plan of the Edwards' lot, with the aid of a memorandum of measurements which he had secured. A line across the upper left-hand corner represented the path commonly used by the neighbors in going through the Edwards's orchard. "Now, Mr. Lamoury," resumed Paige, "I don't quite understand how, if you were on the path there, you could have seen young Edwards, or he you. The barn seems to be in the way until just at the right-hand end, and when you get to that, you'd have to look through about ten rows of apple-trees. Now weren't you a little off the line?" "Dame!" exclaimed Pete, ingenuously. "Ah'll was got for be, since Ah was shoot, ain't it? Ah'll can't remembler." "Mr. Edwards told us," continued Paige, while Solomon's heart warmed to him, "that he saw you fall out of some bushes. Now these are the only bushes there are," and he rapidly indicated on the board the rows of currant bushes, the asparagus, the sunflowers, and the lilacs which lined the garden on its right-hand corner. "That's a good way from the path." "Ah'll be there, me!" cried Pete, in indignant alarm. "No, seh! M'sieu' Edwards say dat? Respect_a_ble mans lak M'sieu' Edwards! It was shame for lie so. No, seh! Ah go home t'rough de horchard. Mebbe Ah'll go leetly ways off de path of it,--mebbe for peek up apple off'n de groun' what no one ain't want for rot of it,--Ah'll don't remembler. But I ain't go for hide in de bush! Ah'll be honest mans, me. Ah'll go for walk where all mans can see, ain't it? What Ah'll go hide for, me?" Paige drew a square on Mr. Peaslee's side of the fence, directly opposite the bushes. "That," said he, "is Mr. Peaslee's hen-house," and he brushed the chalk from his fingers with an air of indifference. "So-o?" cried Pete, with an air of pleased surprise. "M'sieu' Peaslee he'll got hen-rouse? First tam Ah'll was heard of it, me. Fine t'ing for have hen-rouse, fine t'ing for M'sieu' Peaslee. Ah'll t'ink heem for be lucky, M'sieu' Peaslee. But Ah'll ain't know it. Ah'll ain't see nossin' of it, no, seh!" and Pete smiled innocently round at the enigmatic faces of the jurymen. "Mr. Lamoury," said Paige, with a very casual air, "behind those bushes is a broken board." "So-o?" said Pete. "Any one who was there had an excellent chance to study the fastenings of Mr. Peaslee's hen-house door." "_Mais_, Ah'll was tol' you Ah'll not be dere, me!" cried Pete, alarmed and excited. "That," said Mr. Paige, calmly, "is the only place where you could be and get shot from the boy's window. Either you were there or you weren't shot. Besides, Mr. Edwards found your foot-prints." Pete shrunk his head into his shoulders and glared questioningly at the state's attorney. The examination was not going to his liking. "What Ah'll care for dat?" he said at last.