KIDD. “Did I not come to you when you went away and met you on the deck, and said, ‘Why do you take the chest away?’” BRADENHAM. “No, I did not do it.” KIDD. “You are a rogue.” Again: KIDD. “Mr. Bradenham, are you not promised your life to take away mine?” Mr. Justice TURTON. “He is not bound to answer that question. He is very fit to be made an evidence of the King. Perhaps there can be no other in this case than such who are in his circumstances.” In other words, those of the crew who had faithfully stood by their captain, and helped him to bring his prize home to America in the interests of their employers, one of whom was the King himself, could not be relied on as witnesses. The only witnesses who could be trusted to swear through thick and thin against Kidd, were two men who by their own admission had deserted their colours and joined Culliford in open piracy against the ships of all nations. To quote again from the verbatim report: KIDD. “I hope the King’s counsel will not put him in the way. It is hard that a couple of rascals should take away the King’s subjects’ lives. They are a couple of rogues and rascals.” Again, when one of them conveniently feigned ignorance, and an answer by the other had been suggested to him by one of the counsel for the prosecution: KIDD. “It is a fine trade that you must take away so many of the King’s subjects’ lives, and know nothing at all of the matter.” Again, speaking this time to the judge: “It is a fine trade indeed that he must be instructed what to say. He knows no more of these things than you do. The fellow used to sleep five or six months together in the hold.” Once more: “He tells a thousand lies. The man contradicts himself a hundred times.” KIDD (_speaking this time to Palmer_). “I would not go with such a roguish crew as you were. Was I not threatened to be shot in my cabin by such villains as you, if I would not go along with you? This was the reason I could not come home. Did you not with the others set fire to the boat to destroy my ship? My lord, they took what they pleased out of the ship, and I was forced to stay by myself, and pick up here a man and there a man to carry her home.”