“Look here, Toby,” said Eric sharply, “you’re going to do just what the governor says, if we have to lug you home by force. Don’t be a fool; it’s a step in your redemption. Don’t you see how it will help, to have father stand up for you before all the world!”
Toby looked helplessly around the group and appealed to his lawyer.
“What do you advise, sir?” he asked.
“That you do as you suggest and, declining Mr. Spaythe’s kind invitation, go directly to your own home,” answered Mr. Holbrook.
“All right,” said Toby, a humorous twinkle in his bright eyes; “I’ll accept your hospitality, Mr. Spaythe, and hope I won’t be too much trouble to you.”
“Bravo!” cried Eric, and danced a little jig over Holbrook’s discomfiture.
CHAPTER VIII
HOW PHOEBE CONSPIRED
Whatever happens, the sun rises and sets and the old world continues to whirl on its axis. Toby Clark’s arrest was a huge sensation in Riverdale for a day, and then it lost its novelty. Now and then, during the days that followed the boy’s arraignment, the people gossiped concerning the outcome of the case, but since nothing new developed to bolster public interest Toby’s dilemma soon became an old story.
Young Mr. Holbrook had acquired a certain distinction through being employed by Mr. Spaythe for the defense. The banker’s judgment was so reliable that the former clients of Judge Ferguson began to consult Holbrook rather than Kellogg and while he was not as yet entrusted with much important business the new lawyer found his practice steadily growing.