few men have the fibre of the true criminal; and when a casual
lawbreaker sees this dreadful blow leveled at his soul, he is at first
bewildered and afraid; then, if he has any spleen, he arrays himself
against the force which struck the blow. And, so, society has gained
another enemy."

They were admitted by a uniformed guard, and in a few moments were in
the office. A white-haired man in a formal frock coat of a decade ago
greeted Ashton-Kirk warmly.

"I am delighted to see you," said he, as they shook hands. "I doubt if
you have been here since that forgery case of Hamilton & Durbon. Old
Clark had reason to be thankful for your visit that day, sir, for it
saved him a long term of undeserved imprisonment."

Ashton-Kirk smiled.

"It was rather a simple matter, and took only a few minutes to
demonstrate," said he. "The firm was struck by panic, and frightened
people usually want a victim. If this had not been so in their case--if
they had used the ordinary intelligence of the day's work--they would
have seen the truth themselves."

Here Ashton-Kirk presented Scanlon to the warden. The latter put on his
eye-glasses and bowed with old-fashioned courtesy.

"We should like to see Frank Burton, the young man accused of murdering
his father," said the investigator, after a little.

"Ah, yes!" The warden nodded, sadly. "That is a very dreadful case. I am
told there is little doubt he is guilty. And a very prepossessing boy.
It is a great pity."

He went to the other side of the office to ring a bell, and Bat took the
opportunity to say:

"What name did you give him?"

"Eastabrook! You may have heard of him. He has written books on
penology, and goes about lecturing on prison conditions."

Scanlon looked dubious.

"I hope it won't depend on his say-so," said he. "He don't sound like a
heavyweight to me."

"He's as easily deceived as a child--and I rather think that is why he
is here. His great obsession is loyalty; every guard in the place may be
a grafter and a rascal, but as long as there is an effusive display of
loyalty to him, his eyes are closed. One honest man of his type is more
of a clog to reform than all the scoundrels combined."

Here the old warden returned; at the same time a guard entered the
office.

"Healey will show you the way, Mr. Ashton-Kirk," as he shook hands with
the investigator. "And I trust your interest in this unfortunate young
man will have happy results."

He also shook Scan