Then he drew himself up until
he sat rigidly in his chair, his little hands were tightly clenched,
his lips were set in desperate firmness, every muscle of his face
grew tense and hard with sudden resolution. It was a magnificently
successful effort of the will to hold back almost overpowering
emotion, and to keep both mind and body strong and steady for any
ordeal through which he might have yet to pass.
It came upon those who saw it like an electric flash, and in another
moment the crowded room was ringing with applause.
CHAPTER XVII.
GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY.
Sharpman had not seen Ralph's expression and did not know what the
noise was all about. He looked around at the audience uneasily,
whispered to Craft for a moment, and then announced that he was done
with the witness. He was really afraid to carry the examination
further; there were too many pit-falls along the way.
Goodlaw, too, was wise enough to ask no additional questions. He
did not care to lay grounds for the possible reversal of a judgment
in favor of the defendant, by introducing questionable evidence.
But he felt that the case, in its present aspect, needed farther
investigation, and he moved for a continuance of the cause for two
days. He desired, he said, to find the person known as Rhyming Joe,
and to produce such other evidence as this new and startling turn of
affairs might make necessary.
Craft whispered to Sharpman that the request should be agreed to,
saying that he could bring plenty of witnesses to prove that Rhyming
Joe was a worthless adventurer, notorious for his habits of lying;
and stoutly asserting that the boy was positively Ralph Burnham.
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