CHAPTER XVI.
"Now, my dear young woman," said Judge Brewster, when the astonished head clerk had withdrawn, "if we are going to set your husband free we must get to work, and you must help me."
His visitor looked up eagerly.
"I'll do anything in my power," she said quickly. "What can I do?"
"Well—first of all," said the lawyer with some hesitation, "I want you to see a certain lady and to be exceedingly nice to her."
"Lady?" echoed Annie surprised. "What lady?"
"Mrs. Howard Jeffries, Senior," he replied slowly.
"Howard's stepmother!" she ejaculated.
A clerk entered and handed his employer a card. The lawyer nodded and said in an undertone: