the balcony.

"My fair correspondent, I believe! I am Judge Beeswinger. Your agent,
MacNiel, passed me through your guards at the gate, but I did not deem
it advisable to bring him into this assembly of gentlemen without your
further consideration. I trust I was right."

The quiet dignity and self-possession, the quaint, old-fashioned
colonial precision of speech, modified by a soft Virginian intonation,
and, above all, some singular individuality of the man himself, produced
a profound sensation, and seemed to suddenly give the gathering an
impressiveness it had lacked before. For an instant Clarence forgot
himself and his personal wrongs in the shock of indignation he felt at
this potent addition to the ranks of his enemies. He saw his wife's eyes
sparkle with pride over her acquisition, and noticed that Pinckney cast
a disturbed glance at the newcomer.

The stranger ascended the few steps to the balcony and took Mrs. Brant's
hand with profound courtesy. "Introduce me to my colleagues--distinctly
and separately. It behooves a man at such a moment to know to whom he
entrusts his life and honor, and the life and honor of his cause."

It was evidently no mere formal courtesy to the stranger. As he stepped
forward along the balcony, and under Mrs. Brant's graceful guidance was
introduced to each of the members, he not only listened with scrupulous
care and attention to the name and profession of each man, but bent
upon him a clear, searching glance that seemed to photograph him in his
memory. With two exceptions. He passed Colonel Starbottle's expanding
shirt frill with a bow of elaborate precision, and said, "Colonel
Starbottle's fame requires neither introduction nor explanation." He