"'Confess?' cried Gorgonzola. 'Confess what?'
"'That you are an author,' said Rheinfels, calmly.
"'But suppose they ask me of what?' pleaded Gorgonzola, wringing his hands.
"'That is your business, not ours,' retorted Bingenburg and Rheinfels in one breath, and with that they left him.
"And so it happened," continued Hans. "The Directory was published, and the Board of Trade appointed a Committee of Three on Errors, who should read the book and see if it should be paid for or confiscated. Ten possible errors were discovered. Nine of them were found not to be errors, but in the case of Gorgonzola they reported that since he was not an author there was clearly one error in the book, and that they therefore recommended the non-acceptance of the Directory. The Board so decided, and Bingenburg and Rheinfels carried their case to the courts. The Board of Trade stated that they had rejected the book upon the agreement in the contract that one error should be sufficient to relieve them of the payment required, and they had fifty witnesses to say that Gorgonzola was not an author, but a mild-mannered gentleman who had struck them as being a querist.
"'A querist?' asked the Judge.
"'Yes,' said the witnesses. 'A querist—one who is only queer and nothing else.'
"Then Bingenburg and Rheinfels called Gorgonzola as a witness. Poor old fellow! he felt awfully about it, but he had to testify.
"'Your name,' said the lawyer.
