y to see if she was laughing at him.
Almost peevishly, he said:

"For the last time, I repeat I can do nothing for you."

[Illustration: "I CAN DO NOTHING FOR YOU," SAID THE JUDGE.]

"Not the last time, judge," she replied, shaking her head. "I shall come
again to-morrow."

The lawyer swung around in his chair with indignation.

"You will----?"

Annie nodded.

"Yes, sir," she said quietly.

"You're determined to force your way in here?" exclaimed the lawyer.

"Yes, sir."

The judge banged the desk with his fist.

"But I won't allow it! I have something to say, you know! I can't permit
this to go on. I represent my client, Mr. Howard Jeffries, Sr., and he
won't consent to my taking up your husband's case."

There was a shade of sarcasm in Annie's voice as she asked calmly:

"Can't you do it without his consent?"

The lawyer looked at her grimly.

"I can," he blurted out, "but--I won't."

Her eyes flashed as she replied quickly.

"Well, you ought to----"

The lawyer looked up in amazement.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

"It's your duty to do it," she said quietly. "Your duty to his son, to
me, and to Mr. Jeffries himself. Why, he's so eaten up with his family
pride and false principles that he can't see the difference between
right and wrong. You're his lawyer. It's your duty to put him right.
It's downright wicked of you to refuse--you're hurting him. Why, when I
was hunting around for a lawyer one of them actually refused to take up
the case because he said old Brewster must think Howard was guilty or
he'd have taken it up himself. You and his father are putting the whole
world against him, and you know it."

The judge was staggered. No one in his recollection had ever dared to
speak to him like that. He was so astonished that he forgot to resent
it, and he hid his confusion by taking out his handkerchief and mopping
his forehead.

"I do know it," he admitted.

"Then why do you do it?" she snapped.

The lawyer hesitated, and then he said:

"I--that's not the question."

Annie leaped quickly forward, and she replied:

"It's my question--and as you say, I've asked it fifty times."

The lawyer sat back in his chair and looked at her for a moment without
speaking. He surveyed her critically from head to foot, and then, as if
satisfied with his examination, said:

"You're going on the stage?"

She nodded.

"I've had a very big offer."

The judge leaned forward, and in a low voi