12, while that of the prisoner was 9, and that
within his whole experience he had never known
the feet of a healthy grown-up man to increase
in size. An uncle of Tilh by the maternal side,
at once recognised the accused as his nephew.
He burst into tears when he saw his nephew in
chains. The judges attached great weight to
this involuntary confession. Had there been no
counter-witnesses, these positive declarations
might have been conclusive against the accused.
But the witnesses in his favour remained
unshaken; they again and again declared that he
was Martin Guerre. What gave more
importance to their declarations was, that they had
known Martin Guerre since he was a child,
whilst the former witnesses had simply had dealings
with him. As to what had become of
Arnold Tilh, no trace could be found. The four
chief witnesses for the accused had at once
recognised him as their brother. No cross-
examination could shake their belief. Could it be
supposed that all four were deceived by a
resemblance? If it had even been so at first, the
present trial must have drawn all their attention
to the man, anew. Should even sisterly
affection have deceived them, was it likely that
the husbands of two of them should be equally
deceived? They also recognised the accused as
their brother-in-law.

Uncle Peter Guerre, the chief accuser, was
unwittingly an indirect witness in favour of the
prisoner. He himself had at once recognised
him as his nephew, had handed him over his
inheritance without hesitation, and it was
only when a dispute about the trusteeship
arose that he challenged his identity. It was
presumed that, from revenge, he had got up
several plots against Martin. Were not, then,
his motives to ruin him, self-evident?
Bertrande's whole conduct was surely in the
prisoner's favour. On his return he addressed
all his former friends by their Christian names.
Was it possible for the most skilful impostor
not to have betrayed himself? What study
such an impostor must have previously
undergone! And who could have helped him? If
not Bertrande—who was above all suspicion—
it could only have been Martin Guerre. The
number of years of absence explained a certain
change of aspect. The boy had filled out, had
become stouter, had served in the army, drill had
made him more erect, he had grown a beard, and
it made some alteration in his face. Martin
Guerre had, firstly, two double teeth in the
upper jaw; secondly, a scar on the forehead;
thirdly, a misshapen nail on the forefinger of his
right hand; fourthly, three warts on the same
hand, and one on the little finger; fifthly, a mole
over the left eye. All these marks were on the
accused. That the boy Sanxi should not
resemble him, was of no account; taking into
consideration the striking resemblance to the
four sisters. That he did not understand the
Basque dialect, proved nothing. He was only
two years old when he left that district, and
no one could prove that he spoke the dialect
in the days before his flight. Even Arnold
Tilh's disreputable character was in favour of
the accused. During the three years he had
lived with Bertrande, he had appreciated the
love of an amiable woman, and had given her
no cause for complaint. Was it possible that
the natural inclinations of a desperate man
could be so suddenly changed?

The judges were in the greatest perplexity.
A favourable verdict was expected. A
contrary verdict would involve the destruction of
a happy home, and the illegitimacy of a child.

But now, a new witness suddenly made his
appearance—a far more important witness than
any of the others—a witness against the accused,
and at the same time an accuser—a man with
a wooden leg, calling himself Martin Guerre
the real, the only Martin Guerre of Artigues,
the husband of Bertrande of Rols.

The first-suspected-to-be-false Martin Guerre
had already given the judges so much trouble
and anxiety, that they received the second
pretender with extreme disgust, and ordered
him to be arrested. The suspicion against
him was in some measure justified. The
declaration of the soldier, and the step taken by
Bertrande, had become public. According to the
soldier's statement, the real Martin Guerre had a
wooden leg. Not a bad inducement to an
adventurer with a wooden leg, to try for the
disputed place, in which another had already
succeeded so well. It was even assumed that
Uncle Peter might have set up this new Martin
Guerre. Moreover, the wooden-legged man,
instead of going first to the town, had presented
himself at once in court, with a document in
his hand, in which he set forth all his civil
claims, and demanded his restitution in his
former position and in all his rights. This
smacked of a conspiracy to entangle the case
still more. The replies of the wooden-legged
man did not weaken the suspicions against
him. They were, certainly, precise and minute;
but they agreed exactly with what the first
claimant had declared.

Before the witnesses were called, the two
Martins Guerre were confronted. The first
did not for a moment lose his presence of mind.
He maintained that the new claimant was an
impostor suborned by his supposed uncle, and
that he knew nothing at all about him. With the
confidence of a man conscious of being in the
right, he declared that he was ready to suffer the
most ignominious death, if he did not succeed
in convincing the judges of the conspiracy
against him. A violent altercation ensued
between the two. Though the wooden-legged man
was never in want of a reply, he at times lost
his presence of mind and firmness, whereas the
other remained perfectly calm and collected.
New witnesses were sought out. Arnold Tilh had
brothers. They were cited to appear; but
neither promises nor threats could induce them
to do so. The judges did not press them
further, as the life of a brother might be at stake.

The next step was to confront the new comer
with the Guerre family. The elder sister was
admitted first. She looked for some time steadily