to draw him away from them and keep them as far out of sight
as possible.

"In this he was successful. Mr. B---- seemed in his hands more like a
bewildered child than a strong, clear-seeing man. When, after all the
evidence was in, the arguments on both sides were submitted to the
jury, I saw with alarm that Mr. B---- had failed signally. His summing
up was weak and disjointed, and he did not urge with force and
clearness the vital points in the case on which all our hopes depended.
The contrast of his closing argument with that of the other side was
very great, and I knew when the jury retired from the court-room that
all was lost, and so it proved.

"It was clear to me that I had mistaken my man--that Mr. B----'s
reputation was higher than his ability. He was greatly chagrined at the
result, and urged me to take an appeal, saying he was confident we
could get a reversal of the decision.

"While yet undecided as to whether I would appeal or not, a friend who
had been almost as much surprised and disappointed at the result of the
trial as I was came to me in considerable excitement of manner, and
said:

"'I heard something this morning that will surprise you, I think, as
much as it has surprised me. Has it never occurred to you that there
was something strange about Mr. B---- on the day your case was tried?'

"'Yes,' I replied, 'it has often occurred to me; and the more I think
about it, the more dissatisfied am with his management of my case. He
is urging me to appeal; but should I do so, I have pretty well made up
my mind to have other counsel.'

"'That I should advise by all means,' returned my friend.

"'The thought has come once or twice,' said I, 'that there might have
been false play in the case.'

"'There has been,' returned my friend.

"What!' I exclaimed. 'False play? No, no, I will not believe so base a
thing of Mr. B----.'

"'I do not mean false play on his part,' replied my friend. 'Far be it
from me to suggest a thought against his integrity of character. No,
no! I believe him to be a man of honor. The false play, if there has
been any, has been against him.'

"'Against him?' I could but respond, with increasing surprise. Then a
suspicion of the truth flashed into my mind.

"'He had been drinking too much that morning,' said my friend. 'That
was the meaning of his strange and defective management of the case,
and of his confusion of ideas when he made his closing argument to the
jury.'