"You say," said the coroner to one of them, who was more gifted with speech than the other, "that you saw the deceased and Paul Stepaside quarrelling?" "Ay, I did. I were just going down t' lane wi' my mate here, and I heard a sound of voices. It wur gettin' dark, but I could see plainly who they were. We wur a bit curious, and so we both on us waited and listened. They did not see us." "Did you hear what was said?" "Weel, nowt what you would call anything connected like, but it were easy to see as 'ow Stepaside were threatenin' Wilson. They were both on 'em pale wi' passion." "Was Stepaside armed at the time?" "No--at least, as far as I could see, he'd nowt in 'is hands, but more'na once he lifted his fist as though he would strike Mr. Wilson." "You say you heard no connected speech between them?" said the coroner. "Not much," replied the man; "but we heerd summat." "Well, tell us what you heard." "I heerd Wilson say to Stepaside, 'You spy! You sneaking hound!' And then I heerd Stepaside tell Wilson he must do summat, but what it was I couldna rightly say. It seemed to be summat about a letter." "Well, and what then?" "Well, then Wilson was in a fair fury, and he spoke loud." "And you heard what he said?" "Ay, I heerd." "What did he say?" "Well, he insulted Stepaside's mother. I cannot remember the exact words, but he said she were no better'na she ought to be, in fact that she were--I'd rather write it down, maaster," he said. "And after that?" said the coroner presently. "And after that I saw Stepaside look murder. No one could help seeing it. His great black een just shot fire, and I thought he was going to knock Wilson down, but he didn't. He just stopped hissen, and he only said, 'Very well, then, I shall do what I say.' Upon that he turned on his heel to walk away, but he had not gone more than six steps when Wilson lifted that stick of his with an ivory handle to it, and struck Stepaside a smashing blow on th' head. I thought first of all he had killed him, for he fell on t' ground like a lump o' coll, and lay there for maybe a minute, while Wilson stood over him." "And then?" asked the coroner. "Presently he picked himself up. 'I might have expected this,' he said after a bit. 'It's a coward's blow, a kind of blow such as you always strike. But remember, I always pay my debts, always; even to the uttermost farthing!' And then he went away without another word, and I shall never forget the look on his face as he did go away." "And after that?" asked the coroner. "After that I know no more," replied the man. The question of the knife was then considered, and there were several who testified that this knife belonged to Paul. It had been sent to him from abroad by a man with whom he did business, and his partner, George Preston, admitted that he had often seen it lying on Paul's desk.