n dropped after the crime. And he then held forth at some
length upon the hand of Providence, as manifested in the unconscious
self-betrayal which had frustrated and brought to naught the prisoner's
fiendish designs. On the whole, he spoke well of Providence.

Now Jeff had not once thought of the discarded noseguard since he first
found it in his way; he began to see how tightly the net was drawn round
him. "There was a serpent in the garden," he reflected. A word from Miss
Hoffman would set him free. If she gave that word at once, it would be
unpleasant for her: but if she gave it later, as a last resort, it would
be more than unpleasant. And in that same hurried moment, Jeff knew that
he would not call upon her for that word. All his crowded life, he had
kept the happy knack of falling on his feet: the stars, that fought in
their courses against Sisera, had ever fought for reckless Bransford.
He decided, with lovable folly, to trust to chance, to his wits and to
his friends.

"And now, Your Honor, we come to the unbreakable chain of evidence which
fatally links the prisoner at the bar to this crime. We will prove that
the prisoner was not invited to the masquerade ball given last night by
Mr. Lake. We will prove----"

There was a stir in the courtroom; the prosecutor paused, disconcerted.
Eyes were turned to the double door at the back of the courtroom. In the
entryway at the head of the stairs huddled a group of shrinking girls.
Before them, one foot upon the threshold, stood Ellinor Hoffman. She
shook off a detaining hand and stepped into the room, head erect, proud,
pale. Across the sea of curious faces her eyes met the prisoner's. Of
all the courtroom, Billy and Deputy Phillips alone turned then to watch
Jeff's face. They saw an almost imperceptible shake of his head, a
finger on lip, a reassuring gesture--saw, too, the quick pulsebeat at
his throat.

The color flooded back to Ellinor's face. Men nearest the door were
swift to bring chairs. The prosecutor resumed his interrupted
speech--his voice was deep, hard, vibrant.

"Your Honor, the counts against this man are fairly damning! We will
prove that he was shaved in a barber shop in Arcadia at ten o'clock
last night; that he then rode a roan horse; that the horse was then
sweating profusely; that this horse was afterward found at the house
of--but we will take that up later. We will prove by many witnesses that
among the masqueraders was a man wearing a foot