"Of course not," she said apologetically. "If you were you wouldn't even see me—let alone talk to me—and—and——" Pointing to the piece of paper he held in his hand, she added: "And——"
"And what?" demanded the judge, amused.
Half hysterical, now laughing, now crying, she went on:
"And—and take the names and addresses of witnesses for the defense—and—think out how you're going to defend Howard—and—and all that——"
The lawyer looked at her and laughed.
"So you think I'm going to help Howard?" he said. "You take too much for granted."
"You're not afraid to help him," she said. "I know that—you just said so."
Judge Brewster raised his fist and brought it down on the desk with a bang which raised in a cloud the accumulated dust of weeks. His face set and determined, he said:
"You're quite right! I'm going to take your case!"
Annie felt herself giving way. It was more than she could stand. For victory to be hers when only a moment before defeat seemed certain was too much for her nerves. All she could gasp was: