Doubtless, the mention of the senator's name had produced a decided effect upon the mind of the magnate. Mr. Lawbrook was a man of influence, who believed that the laws should be impartially executed upon the rich as well as the poor. The prospect ahead was not pleasant.
There was no "pile of fun" to be had at the point that day, and Commodore Woodhorn backed away from the beach as soon as his crews were in a condition to do so. Without asking the major any questions, he conveyed his distinguished passenger over to the town, and landed him at the steps. The procession was formed to escort him to his elegant mansion when Mr. Bulfington appeared, and respectfully announced that he had a warrant for the arrest of the object of the parade. The major was impatient when the officer presented himself, and told him to call at his house if he had any business with him.
The constable politely intimated that it was a criminal proceeding, and that he was under the necessity of taking his prisoner wherever he could find him. He treated the culprit just as though he had been a poor man, which was a new experience to the magnate. He was taken to the lockup, and confined in a cell. With the major behind the bars, Mr. Bulfington was complaisant enough to do anything he required. A couple of wealthy friends were sent for, and the major and the six ruffians were bailed out in the course of an hour.
There had been some earnest talk between Captain Gildrock and Mr. Lawbrook, for the former wished to know whether justice represented a substantial idea in the State of New York. The senator was confident that all men were equal before the law; and as he had more influence with the constable than any other person had, Mr. Bulfington was unwilling to assume any special responsibility in regard to his powerful prisoner.
The Beech Hill fleet went home, and not only the students, but the families at the mansion and at Hornet Point had enough to talk about for the rest of the day. The next morning, when all the students except Paul were at their studies in the school-room, the Sylph, with Mrs. Bristol and Lily on board with Paul, sailed for Westport.
CHAPTER XXIV. THE STUDENTS DECIDE "WHAT'S IN A NAME."
Major Billcord had the services of a distinguished lawyer from Plattsburgh and of another from Elizabethtown to defend himself and the six ruffians. They almost made a "celebrated case" of it. They got the trial into the county court, and the six ruffians were sentenced to ten days confinement in the county prison, and the major himself to thirty days.
The assault and the conspiracy were too outrageous, in the opinion of the justice, to be punished with a simple fine. The workingmen and the farmers had got hold of the case and talked a great deal about it. Against the advice of the eminent legal gentlemen he employed, Paul Bristol was prosecuted for the first assault upon Walker Billcord, and this brought in the testimony of Lily and her mother, which the lawyers wanted to keep out. This evidence completed the history of the case by filling in the beginning of the trouble.