as it had already been told to the squire, he had concluded
that there would be more danger in contradicting his first version than
in sticking to it. Accordingly, he repeated his story almost word for
word as he had told it to Mr. Robertson.

"What have you to say to this, James Walsham?" the squire asked. "This
is a serious charge, that you without any provocation assaulted and
maltreated my nephew."

"I say it is all a lie, sir," James said fearlessly.

The squire uttered a short exclamation of surprise and anger. He had
been, at first, favourably impressed with the appearance of the young
prisoner, though he had been surprised at seeing that he was younger
than his nephew, for he had expected to see a much older boy.

"That is not the way to speak, sir," he said sternly, while the
constable pressed a warning hand on James's shoulder.

"Well, sir, it's not true then," the boy said. "It's all false from
beginning to end, except that I did strike him first; but I struck him,
not because he had thrown a great stone and broken my boat, but because
he pushed a little girl who was with me down into the water."

"She slipped down. I never pushed her," Richard broke in.

"Hold your tongue, sir," the squire said sternly. "You have given your
evidence. I have now to hear what the accused has to say.

"Now, tell your story."

James now gave his version of the affair.

When he had ended, Mr. Linthorne said gravely, "Have you any witnesses
to call?"

"Yes, sir, there are two fishermen outside who saw it."

"Bring them in," the magistrate said to the constable.

Not a word was spoken in the justice room until the constable returned.
As James had told his story, the magistrate had listened with
disbelief. It had not occurred to him that his nephew could have told a
lie, and he wondered at the calmness with which this boy told his
story. Why, were it true, Richard was a coward as well as a liar, for
with his superior age and height, he should have been able to thrash
this boy in a fair fight; yet James's face had not a mark, while his
nephew's showed how severely he had been punished.

But his eye fell upon Richard when James said that he had witnesses. He
saw an unmistakable look of terror come over his face, and the bitter
conviction flashed across him that James's story was the true one.

"There is no occasion to give him the book, Hobson," he said, as the
constable was about to hand the Testament to one of the