only witness against him. He asked - you can guess what… JOHN : ( indignantly ) He wanted you lie to save his skin, eh? Wanted you to perjure yourself? BALDWIN : That wouldn’t be necessary, John.
He just wanted me to have an attack of poor memory. If I tell all I know, John Gresham will go to jail–no power on earth can save him from it. But he wants me to forget a little- just the essential things. When they question me I can answer, “I don’t remember”.
They can’t prove I do remember. And there you are. JOHN : It would be a lie, Dad! BALDWIN : ( smiling ) Of course.
But it’s done every day. And they couldn’t touch me – any more than they could convict him. MARTHA : ( quivering with indignation ) How dared he – how dared he ask such a thing? EVIE : What did you say, Father?
BALDWIN : ( smiling, and raising his eyes to John’s ) Well son, what would you have said? JOHN : I’d have told him to go to the devil. BALDWIN: I did… but I didn’t use your words, John, he’s too old a friend of mine for that. However, I didn’t mince matters any.
He understood what I meant. EVIE : And what did he say then? BALDIN : There wasn’t much to say. You 12th - - The Hour of Truth Page see, he wasn’t surprised.
He’s known me for thirty–five years. And, well ( with simple pride ) anybody who’s known me for thirty-five years doesn’t expect me to haggle with my conscience. If it had been anybody else than Gresham, I would have struck him across the face. But John Gresham and I were boys together.
We worked side by side. And I’ve been in his employ ever since he started in for himself. He is desperate–he doesn’t know what he is doing–or he wouldn’t have offered me money. JOHN : ( furious ) Offered you money, Dad?
BALDWIN : He’d put it aside, ready for