"Yes; he was acquitted."
"I am glad; somehow you made me feel he was innocent."
"I believed in him," said John Steele.
"And yet the evidence was very strong against him! If some one else had appeared for him--Do you think many innocent people have been--hanged, or sent out of the country, Mr. Steele?" Her eyes looked brighter, her face more earnest now.
"Evidence can play odd caprices."
"Still, your average English juryman is to be depended on!" put in Lord Ronsdale quickly.
"Do you think so?" An instant Steele's eyes rested on the speaker. "No doubt you are right." A sardonic flash seemed to play on the nobleman. "At all events you voice the accepted belief."
"I'm glad you defend, don't prosecute people, Mr. Steele," said the girl irrelevantly.
"A pleasanter task, perhaps!"
"Speaking of sending prisoners out of the country," broke in Sir Charles, "I am not in favor of the penal system myself."