Ay, sir, you shall find me reasonable; if it be so, I shall do that that is reason.--MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. "BYRD, you look dazed." "I am." Hickory paused till they were well clear of the crowd that was pouring from the court-room; then he said: "Well, what do you think of this as a defence?" "I am beginning to think it is good," was the slow, almost hesitating, reply. "Beginning to think?" "Yes. At first it seemed puerile. I had such a steadfast belief in Mansell's guilt, I could not give much credit to any argument tending to shake me loose from my convictions. But the longer I think of it the more vividly I remember the difficulties of the road he had to take in his flight. I have travelled it myself, you remember, and I don't see how he could have got over the ground in ninety minutes." Hickory's face assumed a somewhat quizzical expression. "Byrd," said he, "whom were you looking at during the time Mr. Orcutt was making his speech?" "At the speaker, of course." "Bah!" "Whom were _you_ looking at?" "At the person who would be likely to give me some return for my pains." "The prisoner?" "No." "Whom, then?" "Miss Dare." Byrd shifted uneasily to the other side of his companion. "And what did you discover from her, Hickory?" he asked. "Two things. First, that she knew no more than the rest of us what the defence was going to be. Secondly, that she regarded it as a piece of great cleverness on the part of Orcutt, but that she didn't believe in it anymore--well, any more than I do." "Hickory!" "Yes, _sir_! Miss Dare is a smart woman, and a resolute one, and could have baffled the penetration of all concerned if she had only remembered to try. But she forgot that others might be more interested in making out what was going on in her mind at this critical moment than in watching the speaker or noting the effect of his words upon the court. In fact, she was too eager herself to hear what he had to say to remember her _role_, I fancy." "But, I don't see----" began Byrd. "Wait," interrupted the other. "You believe Miss Dare loves Craik Mansell?" "Most certainly," was the gloomy response. "Very well, then. If she had known what the defence was going to be she would have been acutely alive to the effect it was going to have upon the jury. That would have been her first thought and her only thought all the time Mr. Orcutt was speaking, and she would have sat with her eyes fixed upon the men upon whose acceptance or non-acceptance of the truth of this argument her lover's life ultimately depended. But no; her gaze, like yours, remained fixed upon Mr. Orcutt, and she scarcely breathed or stirred till he had fully revealed what his argument was going to be. Then----" "Well, then?" "Instead of flashing with the joy of relief which any devoted woman would experience who sees in this argument a proof of her lover's innocence, she merely dropped her eyes and resumed her old mask of impassiveness."