“You have not a word of hope, of course, gentlemen?” asked Mr. Dunstan in a weak voice.
“There is no news whatever,” replied Musgrave.
“Our only hope,” added Crane, “lies in the barest possibility that the court may find some legal excuse for adjourning the matter for a few days and giving us a chance for a longer hunt.”
“May I put in a word?” asked Tom, who had been standing close by.
“Yes,” assented Horace Dunstan.
“Now I know, and we all know,” Halstead went on, “that Ted Dunstan has been illegally spirited away and that it is simply impossible for his father to produce him in court. It is no guess-work, for I have seen Ted Dunstan, alive, and with Mr. Dunstan’s enemies. If you were to make the claim, Mr. Crane, and use me as a witness, would that help matters any in inducing the court to adjourn the matter? Could the court then legally postpone the bringing of the Dunstan heir into view?”
“I’m afraid not,” replied the great lawyer thoughtfully. “In the first place, the court would have only Mr. Dunstan’s word for it that he is really anxious to produce his son in court. There would be no evidence that could corroborate Mr. Dunstan’s statement. As to your testimony, Captain Halstead, if it were admitted at all, it would work us the greatest harm, for you would be obliged to say, under oath, that Ted told you he was with those other people by his own choice as well as at his father’s command.”
Mr. Musgrave nodded. Horace Dunstan bowed his stricken head lower.
“I understand the force of what you say, Mr. Crane,” Tom nodded.
“Hush! Here comes Judge Swan now,” whispered the lawyer. “What can he be doing here?”