y to come to some arrangement with her."

Again Mrs. Jeffries held out her hand.

"Good-by, judge; you're so kind! It needs a lot of patience to be a
lawyer, doesn't it?"

Judge Brewster laughed, and added in an undertone:

"Come back by and by."

The door closed, and the lawyer went back to his desk. For a few moments
he sat still plunged in deep thought. Suddenly, he touched a bell. The
head clerk entered.

"Show Mrs. Howard Jeffries, Jr., in."

The clerk looked surprised. Strict orders hitherto had been to show the
unwelcome visitor out. He believed that he had not heard aright.

"Did you say Mrs. Jeffries, Jr., judge?"

"I said Mrs. Jeffries, Jr.," replied the lawyer grimly.

"Very well, judge," said the clerk, as he left the room.

Presently there was a timid knock at the door.

"Come in!" called out the lawyer.

CHAPTER XV.

Annie entered the presence of the famous lawyer pale and ill at ease.
This sudden summons to Judge Brewster's private office was so unexpected
that it came like a shock. For days she had haunted the premises,
sitting in the outer office for hours at a time exposed to the stare and
covert smiles of thoughtless clerks and office boys. Her requests for an
interview had been met with curt refusals. They either said the judge
was out of town or else that he was too busy to be seen. At last,
evidently acting upon orders, they flatly refused to even send in her
name, and she had about abandoned hope when, all at once, a clerk
approached her, and addressing her more politely than usual, said that
the judge would see her in a few minutes.

Her heart gave a great throb. Almost speechless from surprise, she
stammered a faint thanks and braced herself for the interview on which
so much depended. For the first time since the terrible affair had
happened, there was a faint glimmer of hope ahead. If only she could
rush over to the Tombs and tell Howard the joyful news so he might keep
up his courage! It was eight days now since Howard's arrest, and the
trial would take place in six weeks. There was still time to prepare a
strong defense if the judge would only consent to take the case. She was
more sure than ever that a clever lawyer would have no difficulty in
convincing a jury that Howard's alleged "confession" was untrue and
improperly obtained.

In the intervals of waiting to see the lawyer, she had consulted every
one she knew, and among others she had talked with Dr. Bernste