THE STEADFAST HEART
him at the crowd and at the jury; then his eyes returned to Craig Browning and never left his face.
“Angus, do you understand what an oath is?” Browning asked.
Angus nodded.
“Please speak so the gentlemen of the jury can hear you. Don’t nod.”
“Yes,” said Angus.
“If you are sworn to tell the truth and then tell a lie, what will happen?”
Angus paused an instant before replying, “God will be angry.”
Wilkins nudged Alvin Trueman. “Get that. Effective, eh? That’s Browning. He taught the boy to say that.”
Browning regarded judge and prosecutor. “I think the boy understands the nature of an oath,” he said, and Judge Winterhouse nodded. He was eying Browning now, giving young Browning the closest attention. The old judge and lawyer was beginning to see a light, as Browning’s methods became dimly visible to him. Crane, gratified by his own skillful work, undervalued his opponent, and felt no perturbation.
“Now, Angus,” said Browning, “I want you to start in the afternoon of the day you killed Sheriff Bates, and tell me everything that hap-
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