will, were you not?"

"I may have been," the witness replied, with a calmness born of
desperation.

"That is sufficient for the present."

A few moments followed in which the attorneys consulted together,
while comments in tones of subdued excitement and expectancy were
exchanged among the crowd. Ralph Mainwaring had sat with darkening
face throughout the testimony thus far; now he remarked to Mr.
Whitney, with a bitter sneer,--

"Fine witnesses! A beggarly shyster whose oath is worthless, and
an imbecile old servant, who could be bought for a half-crown!"

Young Mainwaring turned upon his father a look of indignant surprise.
"Governor," he said, "it would not be well for you if either old
James Wilson or his son heard that remark of yours!"

"It will be well for you to attend to your own business and keep
your mouth shut!" responded his father, angrily.

Beneath the calm exterior which the young man preserved, the old
Mainwaring blood was now fast rising, but he made no reply, for at
that instant Mr. Sutherland announced the name of the next witness:

"Harold Scott Mainwaring!"

There was a sudden hush throughout the court-room, broken an instant
later by a low murmur of mingled astonishment, incredulity, and
wonder as the private secretary rose and walked towards the witness
stand. A few comments reached his ears, but he seemed unconscious
of them, and, having taken his place, turned towards the audience a
face cold and impassive, inscrutable to his enemies, who could read
nothing of the conflicting emotions beneath that calm, immobile
surface.

He saw the crowd of upturned faces--incredulous, wondering, curious;
he caught the mocking smile of Mrs. LaGrange and Ralph Mainwaring's
dark, sinister sneer; but he took little note of these. Like an
arrow speeding to the mark, his glance sought the face of young Hugh
Mainwaring. Their eyes met, and in that brief moment there was
recalled to each a starlit night on one of the balconies at Fair
Oaks, and the parting words of young Mainwaring to the secretary,
"I'm your friend, Scott, and whatever happens, I'll stand by you."

With swift intuition each read the other's thought, and, although
there was no outward sign, Harold Mainwaring knew from that instant
that there would be no retraction of that pledge.

The slight ripple of excitement died away while the witness was
sworn, and the crowd listened with interest even to the preliminary
interrogatories.