color in the dim spot where she sat. Erect as a lily stem, she looked
oddly out of place in that large, somber room; there, where the harsh
requiem of bruised and broken lives unceasingly sounded, she seemed like
some presence typical of spring, wafted thither by mistake. The man
continued to regard her. Suddenly he started, and his eyes almost
eagerly searched the lovely, proud face.

His back was turned to the judge, who stirred nervously, but waited a
fraction of a second before he spoke.

"If the cross-examination is finished--" he began.

John Steele wheeled; his face changed; a smile of singular charm
accompanied his answer.

"Your lordship will pardon me; the human mind has its aberrations. At
the moment, by a curious psychological turn, a feature of another
problem seized me; it was like playing two games of chess at once.
Perhaps your honor has experienced the sensation?"

His lordship beamed. "Quite so," he observed unctuously. "I have to
confess that once in a great while, although following a case very
closely, I have found it possible to consider at the same time whether I
would later have port or sherry with my canvasback."

Of course every one smiled; the business of the morning ran on, and John
Steele, at length, concluded his cross-examination. "I think, your
Lordship, the question of the reliability of this man, as a witness, in
this, or--any other case--fully established."