ash my hands of the whole affair. From this time forth I shall have
nothing to do with it."

Sharpman resumed his seat, while Craft stared at him in astonishment
and with growing anger.

He could hardly believe that the man who had led him into this scheme,
and whose unpardonable blunder had brought disaster on them both, was
now not only deserting him, but heaping ignominy on his head. Every
moment was adding to his bitterness and rage.

"Well, Mr. Craft," said the judge, "what have you to offer in this
matter? Your attorney seems to have left you to handle the case for
yourself; we will hear you."

"My attorney is a rascal," said Craft, white with passion, as he
arose. "His part and presence in that trial was a curse on it from the
beginning. He wasn't satisfied to ruin me, but he must now seek to
disgrace me as well. He is--"

The judge interrupted him:--

"We do not care to hear your opinion of Mr. Sharpman; we have neither
the time nor the disposition to listen to it. You caused this
defendant to produce before us the body of the boy Ralph. They are
both here; what further do you desire?"

"I desire to take the boy home with me. The judgment of this court
is that he is my grandson. In the absence of other persons legally
entitled to take charge of him, I claim that right. I ask the court to
order him into my custody."

The old man resumed his seat, and immediately fell into his customary
fit of coughing.

When he had recovered, the judge, who had in the meantime been writing
rapidly, said:--

"We cannot agree with you, Mr. Craft, as to the law. Although the
presumption may be that the jury based their verdict on the boy's
testimony that he is your grandson, yet their verdict does not state
that fact specifically, and we have nothing on the record to show it.
It would be necessary for you to prove that relation here and now, by
new and independent evidence, before we could place the boy in your
custody under any circumstances. But we shall save you the trouble of
doing so by deciding the matter on other grounds. The court has heard
from your own lips, within a few days, that you are, or have been,
engaged in a business such as to make thieving and lying a common
occurrence in your life. The court has also heard from your own lips
that during the time this child was in your custody, you not only
treated him inhumanly as regarded his body, but that you put forth
every effort to destroy what has since pro