Naturally he was the
chief witness, and the entire case hinged upon the energy with which
he had displayed his warning signal.
A gruelling cross-examination left Rastus unshaken in this story:
The night was dark, and he had waved his lantern frantically, but the
driver of the carriage paid no attention to it.
Later, the division superintendent called the flagman to his office to
compliment him on the steadfastness with which he stuck to his story.
"You did wonderfully, Rastus," he said. "I was afraid at first you
might waver in your testimony."
"Nossir, nossir," Rastus exclaimed, "but I done feared ev'ry minute
that 'ere durn lawyer was gwine ter ask me if mah lantern was
lit."--_Puck_.
During a suit to recover damages following an automobile collision in
the Adirondacks, the complainant's attorney, a city lawyer, constantly
hectored the defendant's principal witness, a rough old guide, but was
unable to shake his testimony.
During cross-examination the guide mentioned "havin' come across the
trail of a Ford." The city lawyer jumped at this chance to discredit
the guide's evidence.
"Do you mean to tell this court," he demanded, "that you can determine
the make of a car by studying its track? How did you know it was a
Ford?"
"Well, sir," drawled the guide, "I followed its trail about a hundred
yards and found a Ford at the end of it.
Pages:
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255