Ananias paused. He knew not what else to say. He had no sort of claim on this man. He saw everybody around him laughing. The great lawyer himself smiled as he twirled his eye-glasses on his fingers. Ananias was embarrassed.
“You want me to speak the word?” said Mr. Terrell.
“Yes, suh, if you please, suh.”
“You need not trouble yourself, Mr. Terrell,” said the judge, affably. “I was about to appoint counsel.”
“May it please your honor,” said Mr. Terrell, rising. “I will defend this boy. I know nothing whatever of the case, but I happen to know something of the negro.”
There was quite a little stir in the court-room at this announcement. The loafers outside the railings of the bar, who had seen Ananias every day for a good many years, leaned forward to take another look at him. The lawyers inside the bar also seemed to be interested in the matter. Some thought that the great lawyer had taken the negro’s case by way of a joke, and they promised themselves a good deal of enjoyment, for it is not every day that a prominent man is seen at play. Others knew not what to think; so that between those who regarded it as a practical joke and those who thought that Mr. Terrell might be in a serious mood, the affair caused quite a sensation.
“May it please the court,” said Mr. Terrell, his firm voice penetrating to every part of the large room, “I know nothing of this case; therefore I will ask half an hour’s delay to look over the papers and to consult with my client.”
“Certainly,” said the judge, pleasantly. “Mr. Sheriff, take the prisoner to the Grand Jury room, so that he may consult with his counsel.”
The sheriff locked the prisoner and the lawyer in the Grand Jury room, and left his deputy there to open the door when Mr. Terrell announced that the conference was over. In the mean time the court proceeded with other business. Cases were settled, dismissed, or postponed. A couple of young lawyers fell into a tumultuous wrangle over an immaterial point, which the judge disposed of with a wave of his hand.
In the Grand Jury room Ananias was telling his volunteer counsel a strange tale.