He went back into the house, where M’ri was still tearfully arguing and protesting. He came up to Barnabas.
“I will clear Jud, if you will trust the case to me, Uncle Barnabas.”
Barnabas grasped his hand.
“Bless you, Dave, my boy,” he said. “I wanted you to, but Jud has been––wal, I didn’t like to ask you.”
“David,” said M’ri, when they were alone, “Martin said you wouldn’t take a case where 160 you were convinced of the guilt of the client.”
“I shall take this case,” was David’s quiet reply.
“Really, David, Martin thinks it will be best for Jud––”
“I don’t want to do what is best for Jud, Aunt M’ri, I want to do what is best for Uncle Barnabas. It’s the first chance I ever had to do anything for him.”
When Judge Thorne found that David was determined to defend Jud, he gave him some advice:
“You must get counter evidence, if you can, David. If you have any lingering idea that you can appeal to the jury on account of Barnabas being Jud’s father, root out that idea. There’s no chance of rural juries tempering justice with mercy. With them it’s an eye for an eye, every time.”