"'Think it over, anyway. Now I tell you what I'll do. To-morrow you go up for pleading. You have to say whether you are guilty or not guilty. I'll act as your lawyer and see you through that part of it for nothing, and then if you still don't want to assign the claim, why, you can do as you choose.' "That seemed fair enough, so I agreed. I spent another night in the cells, and next day about thirty of us were taken across the bridge into the court-room. One by one we were led up to the bar, and the clerk asked us were we guilty or not guilty. The ones that said they were guilty went off to Sing Sing or Blackwell's Island. It scared the life out of me. I was afraid that I might not be able to say 'not,' and so get sent off too, but pretty soon I saw my lawyer. "'P. Llewellyn Riggs!' "Up jumped Mr. Lawyer and says, 'Not guilty.' "'What day?' asked the clerk. "'The 21st,' says Mr. Lawyer. "I was dumb for a minute. "'Look here,' I whispered. 'To-day's only the first--that's three weeks.' "'Keep quiet,' shouted an officer, and gave me a punch in the back. "'It's all right,' whispered Mr. Lawyer. 'It's only a form.' And they hustled me out back to the Tombs. "I didn't hear anything all that day or the next. It seemed as if I should go mad. But at last I was notified that my lawyer was there again, and down I went glad enough for the change. By that time I was feeling pretty seedy. "'Well, young man,' said he, 'can we do business?' "'That depends,' I answered. "'Come, no fooling, now; if you want to get out, give me an assignment of your claim.' "'Never,' I replied. "'Then to h---- with you!' he shouted; 'you can rot here alone and try your case by yourself, and I hope you'll get twenty years.' "I almost sank through the floor. Twenty years!" Riggs had become quite dramatic, and was again leaning forward looking me straight in the eyes. "Well, I stood fast, and he cursed me out and left me, and I began to feel that after all maybe I was a fool. I hadn't let my wife know where I was, but now I wrote to her, and she came right down and comforted me. A brave little woman she is, too. And what was more, she said that a nice young lawyer had just moved into our house and had the flat below, and she would go and get him. "So next morning--I had been in there a week--the young lawyer came. I liked him from the start. When I told him my first lawyer's name he just leaned back and laughed. "'Old Todd?' he says; 'why, he's the worst robber in the outfit. If he had gotten that assignment he'd have let you lie here forever and been in Paris by this time. You're a lucky man,' says he. "Well, I thought so too, and laughed with him. "'But,' he continued, 'you're in an embarrassing position. You can't get out without money, and you can't collect your claim. You'll have to assign it to someone. You can't assign it to your wife. That wouldn't be valid. Haven't you got some friend?' "'I'm afraid not,' said I.