bury. "Mr. Breton's chambers, too. And the door's open."

The outer oak door of Ronald Breton's chambers stood thrown wide; the
inner one was well ajar; through the opening thus made Spargo and the
detective obtained a full view of the interior of Mr. Ronald Breton's
rooms. There, against a background of law books, bundles of papers tied
up with pink tape, and black-framed pictures of famous legal
notabilities, they saw a pretty, vivacious-eyed girl, who, perched on a
chair, wigged and gowned, and flourishing a mass of crisp paper, was
haranguing an imaginary judge and jury, to the amusement of a young man
who had his back to the door, and of another girl who leant
confidentially against his shoulder.

"I put it to you, gentlemen of the jury--I put it to you with
confidence, feeling that you must be, must necessarily be, some,
perhaps brothers, perhaps husbands, and fathers, can you, on your
consciences do my client the great wrong, the irreparable injury,
the--the--"

"Think of some more adjectives!" exclaimed the young man. "Hot and
strong 'uns--pile 'em up. That's what they like--they--Hullo!"

This exclamation arose from the fact that at this point of the
proceedings the detective rapped at the inner door, and then put his
head round its edge. Whereupon the young lady who was orating from the
chair, jumped hastily down; the other young lady withdrew from the
young man's protecting arm; there was a feminine giggle and a feminine
swishing of skirts, and a hasty bolt into an inner room, and Mr. Ronald
Breton came forward, blushing a little, to greet the interrupter.

"Come in, come in!" he exclaimed hastily. "I--"

Then he paused, catching sight of Spargo, and held out his hand with a
look of surprise.

"Oh--Mr. Spargo?" he said. "How do you do?--we--I--we were just having
a lark--I'm off to court in a few minutes. What can I do for you, Mr.
Spargo?"

He had backed to the inner door as he spoke, and he now closed it and
turned again to the two men, looking from one to the other. The
detective, on his part, was looking at the young barrister. He saw a
tall, slimly-built youth, of handsome features and engaging presence,
perfectly groomed, and immaculately garbed, and having upon him a
general air of well-to-do-ness, and he formed the impression from these
matters that Mr. Breton was one of those fortunate young men who may
take up a profession but are certainly not dependent upon it. He turned
and glanced at t