CHAPTER XXVII. THE TRIAL.

"Well,now,"saidFrankRussel,tooneortwolawyerswithwhomhewassitting,inaside-roomofthecourt-houseatE.,"lookoutforbreakers!Claytonhasmountedhiswar-horse,andiscominguponus,now,likeleviathanfromtherushes." "Claytonisagoodfellow,"saidoneofthem."Ilikehim,thoughhedoesn'ttalkmuch." "Good?"saidRussel,takinghiscigarfromhismouth"why,asthebackwoodsmensay,hean'tnothingelse!Heisagreatseventy-fourpounder,chargedtothemuzzlewithgoodness!But,ifheshouldbeoncefiredoff,I'mafraidhe'llcarryeverythingoutoftheworldwithhim.Because,yousee,abstractgoodnessdoesn'tsuitourpresentmortalcondition.Butitisaperfectgodsendthathehassuchacaseasthistomanageforhismaidenplea,becauseitjustfallsinwithhisheroicturn.Why,whenIheardofit,IassureyouIbestirredmyself.Iwentabout,andgotSmithers,andJones,andPeters,toputoffsuits,soastogivehimfairfieldandfullplay.For,ifhesucceedsinthis,itmaygivehimsogoodaconceitofthelaw,thathewillkeeponwithit." "Why,"saidtheother,"don'thelikethelaw?What'sthematterwiththelaw?" "Oh,nothing,onlyClaytonhasgotoneofthoseetherealstomachsthatriseagainstalmosteverythinginthisworld.Now,thereisn'tmorethanonecaseinadozenthathe'llundertake.Hesticksandcatchesjustlikeanoldbureaudrawer.Someconscientiouscrickinhisbackisalwaystakinghimatacriticalmoment,andsoheisknockedupforactualwork.Butthisdefendingaslave-womanwillsuithimtoaT." "Sheisanicecreature,isn'tshe?"saidoneofthem. "Andbelongstoagoodoldfamily,"saidanother. "Yes,"saidthethird,"andIunderstandhislady-lovehassomethingtodowiththecase." "Yes,"saidRussel,"tobesureshehas.Thewomanbelongstoafamilyconnectionofhers,I'mtold.MissGordonisaspicylittlepuss—onethatwouldbeapttoresentanythingofthatsortandtheGordonsareaveryinfluentialfamily.Heissuretogetthecase,thoughI'mnotclearthatthelawisonhisside,byanymeans." "Not?"saidtheotherbarrister,whowentbythenameofWillJones. "No,"saidRussel."Infact,I'mprettyclearitisn't.Butthatwillmakenoodds.WhenClaytonisthoroughlywakedup,heisawholeteam,Icantellyou.He'lltakejuryandjudgealongwithhim,fastenough." "Iwonder,"saidone,"thatBarkerdidn'tcompoundthematter." "Oh,Barkerisoneofthestubbedsort.Youknowthesemiddlingkindofpeoplealwayshaveaspiteagainstoldfamilies.HemakesfightbecauseitistheGordons,that'sall.Andtherecomesinhisrepublicanism.Heisn'tgoingtobewhippedinbytheGordons.BarkerhasgotScotchbloodinhim,andhe'llhangontothecaselikedeath." "Claytonwillmakeagoodspeech,"saidJones. "Speech?thathewill!"saidRussel."Blessme,Icouldlayoffagoodspeechonit,myself.Because,yousee,itreallywasquiteanoutrageandthewomanisapresentablecreature.And,then,there'sthehumanedodgethatcanbetaken,besi