“I think so, too. Mr. Banneker, are you honest?”
“Where I came from, that would be regarded as a trouble-hunter’s question.”
“I ask you to regard it as important and take it without offense.”
“I don’t know about that,” returned Banneker gravely. “We’ll see. Honest, you say. Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you begin by doubting the honesty of a stranger against whom you know nothing?”
“Legal habit, I dare say. Fortified, in this case, by your association with The Ledger.”
“You haven’t a high opinion of my paper?”
“The very highest, of its adroitness and expertness. It can make the better cause appear the worse with more skill than any other journal in America.”
“I thought that was the specialty of lawyers.”