ly consider what I was doing."

"Well, where is Billy Thompson?"

"Here, my lord."

"You have heard what Henry Luckless says. Declare upon your honor
whether he has spoken the truth."

"My lord," said Billy, "I am sure neither he nor I had any concern in
breaking the window. We were standing together at the time, and I ran
on hearing the door open, for fear of being charged with it, and he
followed; but what became of him I did not stay to see."

"So you let your friend," the Judge remarked, "shift for himself, and
thought only of saving yourself. But did you see any other person
about the house or in the lane?"

"My lord, I thought I heard some one creeping along the other side of
the hedge a little before the window was broken, but I saw nobody."

"You hear, good woman, what is alleged in behalf of the person you
have accused. Have you any other evidence against him?"

"One might be sure," the widow replied, "they would deny it, and tell
lies for one another; but I hope I am not to be put off in that
manner."

"I must tell you, mistress, that you give too much liberty to your
tongue, and are as guilty of as much injustice as that of which you
complain. I should be sorry indeed if the young gentlemen of this
school deserved the general character of liars. You will find among
us, I hope, as just a sense of what is right and honorable as among
those who are older, and our worthy master would certainly not permit
us to try offences in this manner if he thought us capable of bearing
false witness in each other's favor."

"I ask your lordship's pardon; I did not mean to offend; but it is a
heavy loss for a poor woman, and though I did not catch the boy in the
act, he was the nearest when it was done."

"As that is no more than a suspicion, and he has the positive evidence
of his schoolfellow in his favor, it will be impossible to convict him
consistently with the rules of justice. Have you discovered any other
circumstance that may point out the offender?"

"My lord, next morning Jack found on the floor this top, which I
suppose the window was broke with."

"Hand it up. Here, gentlemen of the jury, please to examine it, and
see if you can discover anything of its owner."

"Here is 'P.R.' cut upon it."

"Yes," said another boy, "I am sure I remember Peter Riot having just
such a one."

"So do I," still another remarked.

"Master Riot, is this your top?"

"I don't know, my lord," said Riot; "perhaps it