He kept Red Mick and Peggy up to the mark
with assurances that she was certain to win. Neither he nor they
knew that Considine had been found. Even the most respectable
solicitors sometimes display acuteness, and the old man's return
had been kept secret by Pinnock, so that public opinion anticipated
Peggy's victory.
At last came the day of trial. Every seat in the Court was filled,
and a mass of the unwashed hung over the gallery rail, gazing
at the show provided for their entertainment. Mary Grant and Mrs.
Gordon went into Court at the suggestion of their leading Counsel,
Bouncer, Q.C., who was nothing if not theatrical. He wanted them
there to see the overthrow of the enemy, and to lend point to his
invective against the intruders who were trying to take away their
birthright. A small army of Doyles and Donohoes, who had come down
for the case, were hanging about dressed in outlandish garments,
trying to look as if they would not tell a lie for untold gold.
The managing clerks were in and out like little dogs at a fair,
hunting up witnesses, scanning the jury list, arranging papers for
production, and keeping a wary eye on the enemy. Punctually as
the clock struck ten, the Judge strutted into Court with as much
pomp as a man-of-war sailing into a small port; depositing himself
on the Bench, he glared round for a few seconds, and said to the
associate, "Call the first case," in a matter-of-fact tone, just
as if he did not know what the first case was going to be.
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