She would not have been then present to state the vitally important circumstances to which she had just sworn, if the prisoner's twin-brother had not found her out on the previous day--had not questioned her if she knew anything about the clock--and had not (hearing what she had to tell) insisted on her taking the journey with him to the court the next morning.
This evidence virtually decided the trial.

There was a great burst of relief in the crowded assembly when the woman's statement had come to an end.
She was closely cross-examined as a matter of course.

Her character was inquired into; corroborative evidence (relating to the chisel and the scratches on the frame) was sought for and was obtained.

The end of it was that, at a late hour on the second evening, the jury acquitted the prisoner, without leaving their box.

It was not too much to say that his life had been saved by his brother.