"

"That," asserted Mr. Tutt, wiping his spectacles, "is a document worthy
of preservation in the Congressional Library. Who drew it?"

"Don't know," answered Tutt, "but whoever he was he was a humorist!"

"It's no good. There isn't any allegation of _scienter_ in it," affirmed
Mr. Tutt.

"What of it? It says he assaulted Tunnygate with a dangerous weapon. You
don't have to set forth that he knew it was a dangerous weapon if you
assert that he did it willfully. You don't have to allege in an
indictment charging an assault with a pistol that the defendant knew it
was loaded."

"But a dog is different!" reasoned Mr. Tutt. "A dog is not _per se_ a
dangerous weapon. Saying so doesn't make it so, and that part of the
indictment is bad on its face--unless, to be sure, it means that he hit
him with a dead dog, which it is clear from the context that he didn't.
The other part--that he set the dog on him--lacks the allegation that
the dog was vicious and that Appleboy knew it; in other words an
allegation of _scienter_. It ought to read that said Enoch Appleboy
'well knowing that said dog Andrew was a dangerous and ferocious animal
and would, if incited, provoked and encouraged, bite the legs and body
of him the said Herman--did then and there feloniously, willfully and
wrongfully incite, provoke and encourage the said Andrew, and so
forth.'"

"I get you!" exclaimed Tutt enthusiastically. "Of course an allegation
of _scienter_ is necessary! In other words you could demur to the
indictment for insufficiency?"

Mr. Tutt nodded.

"But in that case they'd merely go before the Grand Jury and find
another--a good one. It's much better to try and knock the case out on
the trial once and for all."

"Well, the Appleboys are waiting to see you," said Tutt. "They are in my
office. Bonnie Doon got the case for us off his local district leader,
who's a member of the same lodge of the Abyssinian Mysteries--Bonnie's
been Supreme Exalted Ruler of the Purple Mountain for over a year--and
he's pulled in quite a lot of good stuff, not all dog cases either!
Appleboy's an Abyssinian too."

"I'll see them," consented Mr. Tutt, "but I'm going to have you try the
case. I shall insist upon acting solely in an advisory capacity. Dog
trials aren't in my line. There are some things which are _infra
dig_--even for Ephraim Tutt."

* * * * *

Mr. Appleboy sat stolidly at the bar of justice, pale but resolute.
Be