People looked at her curiously, questioning if there really had
been any definite understanding between the two. Did she really care for
the man, or was it mere curiosity that drew her? No one knew with any
certainty. She wrapped herself in her reserve like an all-enveloping
garment, and even those who regarded themselves as her nearest friends
knew naught of what she carried in her soul.
All through the trial she sat in utter immobility, sphinx-like,
unapproachable, yet listening with tense attention to all that passed.
Field's handling of the case was a marvel of legal ingenuity. There were
many who were attracted to the trial by that alone. He had made his mark,
and whatever he said carried weight. When he came at last to make his
speech for the defence, men and women listened with bated breath. It was
one of the greatest speeches that the Criminal Court had ever heard.
He flung into it the whole weight of his personality. He grappled like a
giant with the rooted obstacles that strewed his path, flinging them
hither and thither by sheer force of will. His scorching eloquence
blasted every opposing power, consumed every tangle of adverse evidence.
It was as if he fought a pitched battle for himself alone. He wrestled
for the mastery rather than appealed for sympathy.
And he won his cause. His scathing attacks, his magnetism, his ruthless
insistence left an indelible mark upon the minds of the jury--such a mark
as no subsequent comments from the judge could efface or even moderate.
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