Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West
But in order to do that I must consider the
charge of the prosecution, the effect of its arguments upon the judge,
and then find the right means to combat them. When I am with you, the
friends of the accused, I may consider the seamy side of the fabric; but
the presiding judge will find me so sure of my position that he will
instinctively agree with me."
They brought him the pearls Jones had presented to them and then the
lawyer bade them good night and went to his office to master the history
of pearls in general and those famous ones stolen from Countess Ahmberg
in particular.
When he had gone Uncle John remarked:
"Well, what do you think of him?"
They seemed in doubt.
"I think he will do all he can," said Patsy.
"And he appears quite a clever young man," added Beth, as if to
encourage them.
"Allowing all that," said Maud, gravely, "he has warned us of the
possibility of failure. I cannot understand how the coils of evidence
have wrapped themselves so tightly around poor Ajo."
"That," asserted Flo, "is because you cannot understand Ajo himself. Nor
can I; nor can any of us!"
CHAPTER XIX
MAUD MAKES A MEMORANDUM
My mother used to say to me: "Never expect to find brains in a pretty
girl." Perhaps she said it because I was not a pretty girl and she
wished to encourage me. In any event, that absurd notion of the ancients
that when the fairies bestow the gift of beauty on a baby they withhold
all other qualities has so often been disproved that we may well
disregard it.
Maud Stanton was a pretty girl--indeed, a beautiful girl--but she
possessed brains as well as beauty and used her intellect to advantage
more often than her quiet demeanor would indicate to others than her most
intimate associates. From the first she had been impressed by the notion
that there was something mysterious about A. Jones and that his romantic
explanation of his former life and present position was intended to hide
a truth that would embarrass him, were it fully known. Therefore she had
secretly observed the young man, at such times as they were together, and
had treasured every careless remark he had made--every admission or
assertion--and made a note of it.
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There was once an honest journeyman tailor, by name Labakan, who learned his trade with an excellent master in Alexandria. It could not be said that Labakan was unhandy with the needle; on the contrary, he could make excellent work: moreover, one would have done him injustice to have called him lazy. Nevertheless, his companions knew not what to make of him, for he would often sew for hours together so rapidly that the needle would glow in his hand, and the thread smoke, and that none could equal him.
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