y sought to disarm his smile of its
satirical barb, the other proceeded: "That strikes you as a thing
that's exaggerated--and a thing that a man ought to be ashamed to admit
even if it was true. All right. Do you know that when you took the
Henderson matter to the grand jury, nine men on the panel sought to be
excused from service in fear of their lives? Do you know that on every
day they did serve all twelve got anonymous letters threatenin' them
with death? They know it anyhow--and you see they haven't brought in
any true bills an' I predict that no matter what evidence you put
before them--they won't."

"Why were those letters not presented to the Court? You have power to
protect your panels with every company of militia in the state if need
be."

"So I told 'em." The reply was laconic, and it was supplemented in a
slow drawl. "But you see they've known militia protection before--and
that guarantee didn't satisfy them. They figure that the soldiers go
away after awhile--but there's other forces that stay on all the
time--and those other forces can wait months or years without
forgetting or forgiving."

"And this terrorization paralyzes your courts of justice?"

"Well, no. It lets 'em run along in a fashion--as you've seen."

Mr. Sidney strove to repress his choler, but his manner was icy as he
remarked: "That's a strange utterance for a judge on the bench."

"Is it?" Renshaw's quiet eyes showed just a glint of repressed anger.
"Doesn't it work the same way in your district--or materially the same?
Are your judges free from the coercion of strong interests? Are your
jurors all willing to die for their duty?" After a brief silence he
added: "Why, Mr. Sidney, you came here yourself ostensibly in the
interest of friends and relatives who were unwilling to let this murder
go 'unwhipped of justice'--them were your words. Yet we all know that
you're the chief lawyer for a railroad that hasn't ever been famed for
altruism."

The visitor flushed.

"While you were working up this evidence," inquired his honor, "did you
go out and try to talk to Bear Cat Stacy?"

"Certainly not. He's an outlaw--whom your deputies failed to bring in
when I had a subpoena issued. My life wouldn't be worth tuppence if I
tried to get to him."

Judge Renshaw smiled somewhat grimly.

"Yes, they call him an outlaw--but he swings a power right now that
this high court doesn't pretend to have. He's the one man that Kinnard
fears--and mayb