ad to give all his
time to it anyway, he could as easily attend to _all_ the criminal
business of the city as to the small part of it that came to him.

"Well," I said to him one day, "why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?" he retorted.

"Get all the criminal business there is," I answered.

"Quib," he exclaimed excitedly, "have you got another of your
ideas?"

"I think so," I returned. "How does this strike you? Why not
issue a policy, like life or accident insurance, in which for a
moderate sum you agree to defend _free of charge_ any man accused
of crime? You know that every criminal is always trying to save
up money against the time when he shall be caught and have to hire
a lawyer. Now, it is true that these fellows pay very well, but
there are not many that can pay a large fee. If you could get
enough crooks to take out a policy at ten dollars per year you
might make a good thing of it."

"But how would we get our scheme going?" inquired my partner, with
a gleam in his eye. "It certainly is a gold mine, if it will work."

"Leave the thing to me," I admonished him.

That evening I drew up with great care a policy of insurance against
the loss occasioned by having to employ counsel if arrested for
crime. On its back was indorsed the following insidious philosophy:

"Innocent men, as well as guilty, are frequently arrested for
violating the law. This costs money. Lawyers are notorious
extortioners. For ten dollars a year we guarantee to defend you
_for nothing_ if charged with crime. Twenty-five dollars insures
entire family. We make no distinction between ex-convicts and
others.

"ABRAHAM GOTTLIEB,
"Of Counsel."

My next task was to boom my scheme by successful advertising, and
with this in view I persuaded Gottlieb to issue free policies to
a dozen or so of the worst rascals that he knew. Naturally it was
not long before one of them was arrested for some offence, and
Gottlieb as naturally succeeded in getting him off, with the natural
result that the fellow went all over town telling how one could be
a burglar with impunity for ten dollars a year. At about the same
time I heard of a man who was in the Tombs charged with murder,
but who was almost certain to get off on account of the weakness
of the case against him. I, therefore, visited the defendant and
offered to give him a policy for ten dollars, in spite of the fact
that he was already in jail. He snatched readily enough at the
c