‘What can you afford?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. Say a thousand pounds.’
‘More than enough. I shall arrange it with him at once.’
The friends conversed for some minutes, and then a warder opened the door of the cell. Martin’s time was up. He left Felix cheered by the promise of a further visit, and with tears of thankfulness glistening in his eyes.
Determined to lose no time in completing his work, Martin returned direct to the offices of Messrs Clifford and Lewisham. But there the day’s work was over, and all but one or two junior clerks had already left. The doctor therefore made an appointment for the next day and, with a glow of righteous self-satisfaction, went home to tell his family what he had done.
On the following afternoon he again found himself in the solicitor’s office.
‘Now,’ said Mr. Clifford, when it had been definitely agreed that his firm was to take up the case, ‘I have to warn you that proceedings will be slow. First, the prosecution will make up their case—get depositions of the evidence, you know, and so on—and that will take time. We, of course, shall also immediately start work, but it is improbable we shall make much headway till we learn the full evidence against us. Additional time will therefore be required for the preparation of the defence. If Felix is returned for trial—and I fear from what I have heard, he will be—weeks and months will probably elapse before both sides are ready. You and I shall therefore require to exercise patience.’
‘I can believe it,’ muttered the doctor. ‘You lawyers take the devil of a time over everything.’
‘We can’t cover our mistakes like you, so we have to be careful,’ retorted the lawyer with his dry, wintry smile.
Martin smote his thigh.