"Father dear," she quavered, "since we can get no one else, will you take me?" "Take you?" he exclaimed. "Because," she quavered on, "whether you will or not, I'm going to stay in Westville and be your lawyer." CHAPTER V KATHERINE PREPARES FOR BATTLE For a long space after Bruce had gone Katherine sat quiveringly upon the old haircloth sofa beside her father, holding his hands tightly, caressingly. Her words tumbled hotly from her lips--words of love of him--of resentment of the injustice which he suffered--and, fiercest of all, of wrath against Editor Bruce, who had so ruthlessly, and for such selfish ends, incited the popular feeling against him. She would make such a fight as Westville had never seen! She would show those lawyers who had been reduced to cowards by Bruce's demagogy! She would bring the town humiliated to her father's feet! But emotion has not only peaks, but plains, and dark valleys. As she cooled and her passion descended to a less exalted level, she began to see the difficulties of, and her unfitness for, the role she had so impulsively accepted. An uneasiness for the future crept upon her. As she had told Mr. Blake, she had never handled a case in court. True, she had been a member of the bar for two years, but her duties with the Municipal League had consisted almost entirely in working up evidence in cases of municipal corruption for the use of her legal superiors. An untried lawyer, and a woman lawyer at that--surely a weak reed for her father to lean upon! But she had thrown down the gage of battle; she had to fight, since there was no other champion; and even in this hour of emotion, when tears were so plenteous and every word was accompanied by a caress, she began to plan the preliminaries of her struggle. "I shall write to-night to the league for a leave of absence," she said. "One of the things I must see to at once is to get admitted to the state bar. Do you know when your case is to come up?" "It has been put over to the September term of court." "That gives me four months." She was silently thoughtful for a space. "I've got to work hard, hard! upon your case. As I see it now, I am inclined to agree with you that the situation has arisen from a misunderstanding--that the agent thought you expected a bribe, and that you thought the bribe a small donation to the hospital." "I'm certain that's how it is," said her father. "Then the thing to do is to see Doctor Sherman, and if possible the agent, have them repeat their testimony and try to search out in it the clue to the mistake. And that I shall see to at once." Five minutes later Katherine left the house. After walking ten minutes through the quiet, maple-shaded back streets she reached the Wabash Avenue Church, whose rather ponderous pile of Bedford stone was the most ambitious and most frequented place of worship in Westville, and whose bulk was being added to by a lecture room now rising against its side.