He now, with the whole audience suddenly brought into sympathy with him, went on with his story. He told how he had lost his coat, and was obliged to go up to Mr. Carleton's with the old ragged one on that he was seen wearing the next morning. He spoke in detail of his coming down to his boat about midnight, and of his falling asleep in his cuddy. "How I slept through the night without hearing anything of the burglars, I can only explain," he said, "by stating that I was very tired, and by the fact that they probably made as little noise as possible. It was after six o'clock when I awoke, and I did look around the pile of lumber, as Captain Gardiner has testified, but I was looking for my lost coat. I also went up to the store when I heard the commotion, and was there when the piece of cloth so like the material of my coat was found. I admit I was frightened, for I thought the robbers had perhaps found my coat and used it as a blind. This was what troubled me; but I did not dread the arrest so much for myself, for I knew I was innocent." Then, with some hesitation, "I did dread it, however, because I knew a great many in Afton did not believe I was a Christian, and would at once say I was a hypocrite, and thus I should be made to dishonor Christ, or, at least, would become a stumbling block in the way of some who might otherwise accept him, and I couldn't bear that." And the boy burst into tears. Nor were his the only wet eyes in that audience just then. Amid an impressive silence, and without a question from the prosecution, he was allowed to leave the stand, and Mr. Carleton took his place. His testimony was brief, and simply corroborated Ray's, so far as it related to his coming to the parsonage on Friday night with the old ragged coat on, and his leaving the parsonage just before midnight. Then a young lad named Will Adams, and as mischievous a scamp as there was in town, was sworn, and with a rather sheepish look on his face, he gave in his testimony: "You see, last Friday night about half-past eight, I was down on the wharf behind a pile of lumber smoking. I was ashamed to be seen with my cigar, and that's the reason I went off down there. While I was smoking away, Ray Branford there came down to the dock, and taking off his coat, laid it on a pile of lumber while he stowed some bags of grain into his boat. I don't know what possessed me,--just the fun of the thing, I guess,--but when he got down into his boat to cover the grain with a piece of canvas, I just reached up and took his coat, and then ran noiselessly up into the lane way back of Shephard's store. I just enjoyed Ray's poking round in the darkness after that coat, for whenever it lightened I could catch a glimpse of him, and when he went off in that old ragged one up to Mr. Carleton's, I laughed right out aloud.