s
session. The plaintiff and defendant were both in their places, with
their counsel, and the witnesses of the previous day were all in
attendance. Among the little group of witnesses there were two or three
new faces--a professional-looking gentleman with spectacles; a
thin-faced, carefully-dressed, slender man, with a lordly air, and the
bearing of one who carried the world upon his shoulders and did not
regard it as much of a burden; and, last, our old friend Sam Yates.

There was an appearance of perplexity and gloom on the countenances of
Mr. Cavendish and his client. They were in serious conversation, and it
was evident that they were in difficulty. Those who knew the occasion of
the abrupt adjournment of the Court on the previous day looked in vain
among the witnesses for the face of Phipps. He was not in the room, and,
while few suspected the real state of the case, all understood how
essential he was to the defendant, in his attempt to establish the
genuineness of the assignment.

At the opening of the Court, Mr. Cavendish rose to speak. His bold,
sharp manner had disappeared. The instrument which he had expected to
use had slipped hopelessly out of his hand. He was impotent. "May it
please the Court," he said, "the defendant in this case finds himself in
a very embarrassing position this morning. It was known yesterday that
Cornelius Phipps, the only surviving witness of the assignment,
mysteriously disappeared at the moment when his testimony was wanted.
Why and how he disappeared, I cannot tell. He has not yet been found.
All due diligence has been exercised to discover him, but without
success. I make no charges of foul play, but it is impossible for me,
knowing what I know about him--his irreproachable character, his
faithfulness to my client, and his perfect memory of every event
connected with the execution of the paper in question--to avoid the
suspicion that he is by some means, and against his will, detained from
appearing here this morning. I confess, sir, that I was not prepared for
this. It is hard to believe that the plaintiff could adopt a measure so
desperate as this for securing his ends, and I will not criminate him;
but I protest that the condition in which the defendant is left by this
defection, or this forcible detention--call it what you will--demands
the most generous consideration, and compels me to ask the Court for
suggestions as to the best course of proceeding. There are now but tw