comer to their ranks.

As the Judge had said, his client was conceded to be slated for
conviction. If he had made the argument himself he would have made it
in his usual cool, well-poised manner. But David, although he knew
Miggs to be a veteran of the toughs, felt sure of his innocence in
this case, and he was determined to battle for him, not for the sake
of justice alone, but for the sake of the tired-looking washerwoman he
had seen bending over the tubs. This was an occupation she had to
resort to only in her husband's times of indulgence, for he was a wage
earner in his days of soberness.

When David arose to speak it seemed to the people assembled that the
coil of evidence, as reviewed by the prosecutor in his argument, was
drawn too closely for any power to extricate the victim.

At the first words of the young lawyer, uttered in a voice of winning
mellowness, the public forgot the facts in the case. Swayed by the
charm of David's personality, a current of new-born sympathy for the
prisoner ran through the court room.

David came up close to the jury and, as he addressed them, he seemed
to be oblivious of the presence of any one else in the room. It was as
though he were telling them, his friends, something he alone knew, and
that he was sure of their belief in his statements.

"For all the world," thought M'ri, listening, "as he used to tell
stories when he was a boy. He'd fairly make you believe they were
true."

To be sure the jury were all his friends; they had known him when
he was little "barefoot Dave Dunne." Still, they were captivated by
this new oratory, warm, vivid, and inspiring, delivered to the
accompaniment of dulcet and seductive tones that transported them
into an enchanted world. Their senses were stirred in the same way
they would be if a flag were unfurled.

"Sounds kind o' like orgin music," whispered Miss Rhody.

Yet underneath the eloquence was a logical simplicity, a keen sifting
of facts, the exposure of flaws in the circumstantial evidence. There
was a force back of what he said like the force back of the
projectile. About the form of the hardened sinner, Miggs, David
drew a circle of innocence that no one ventured to cross. Simply,
convincingly, and concisely he summed up, with a forceful appeal to
their intelligence, their honor, and their justice.

The reply by the assistant to the prosecutor was perfunctory and
ineffective. The charge of the judge was neutral. The jury lef