als in the dramatic picture held their poses, as if standing
for the camera. And then the lowering tempest in Judge Maxwell's face
broke.

"Mr. Sheriff, find out who that was and bring him or her forward!" he
commanded.

There was no need for the sheriff to search on Joe's behalf. Quick as a
bolt his eyes had found her, and doubt was consumed in the glance which
passed between them. Now he knew all that he had struggled to know of
everything. First of all, there stood the justification of his long
endurance. He had been right. She had understood, and her opinion was
valid against the world.

Even as the judge was speaking, Alice Price rose.

"It was I, sir," she confessed, no shame in her manner, no contrition in
her voice.

But the ladies in the court-room were shocked for her, as ladies the
world over are shocked when one of their sisters does an unaccountably
human thing. They made their feelings public by scandalized aspirations,
suppressed _oh-h-hs_, and deprecative shakings of the heads.

The male portion of the audience was moved in another direction. Their
faces were blank with stunned surprise, with little gleams of admiration
moving a forest of whiskers here and there whose owners did not know who
the speaker was.

But to everybody who knew Alice Price the thing was unaccountable. It
was worse than interrupting the preacher in the middle of a prayer, and
the last thing that Alice Price, with all her breeding, blood and
education would have been expected to do. That was what came of leveling
oneself to the plane of common people and "pore" folks, and visiting
them in jail, they said to one another through their wide-stretched
eyes.

Alice went forward and stood before the railing. The prosecuting
attorney drew out a chair and offered it to Mrs. Newbolt, who sat,
staring at Alice with no man knew what in her heart. Her face was a
strange index of disappointment, surprise, and vexation. She said
nothing, and Hammer, glowing with the dawning of hope of something that
he could not well define, squared around and gave Alice a large, fat
smile.

Judge Maxwell regarded her with more surprise than severity, it
appeared. He adjusted his glasses, bowed his neck to look over them,
frowned, and cleared his throat. And poor old Colonel Price, overwhelmed
entirely by this untoward breach of his daughter's, stood beside Captain
Taylor shaking his old white head as if he was undone forever.

"I am surprised at th