The leather door at the back of the court-room had swung noiselessly but that moment, and little Lib had entered, straight and beaming, and behind her walked a lady, and Dan Peterson. Darcy gave one glance and then arose, and there was a new light in his face. It was almost as if he had come to a triumphant moment, instead of being about to plead for his life in the face of indubitable evidence against him. Those who were watching noticed with a shock that he actually had a kind of smile on his face, and a look of something--could it be peace? What utter nonsense! Perhaps he was going out of his mind. Any one might, having to listen to such a list of his own horrible crimes! But Darcy was speaking in his quiet tone: “It almost seems a pity to add anything after such well established evidence as you all have heard. If I didn’t know I wasn’t guilty I would almost think I was after listening to what has been said. So I won’t try to argue in my own favor. I see Miss Joyce Radway herself has just come in, and I’m going to ask if she may come up here and tell you whether I ever abducted her, or murdered her, or buried her.” Then indeed there was a great stir in the court-room. People stretched their necks to see, and rose up in their seats, but the Judge commanded silence. Under cover of the confusion Tyke attempted an escape, but was stopped by order of the watchful Judge. Joyce came to the front of the room, proudly escorted by Lib who held her hand to the very witness stand and then stood by with glad eyes to watch her. Joyce turned and faced the excited throng, then looking toward her old friend, Judge Peterson, she spoke in clear, ringing tones that everybody could hear: “Your Honor, I haven’t seen Mr. Sherwood but once since I left home a year ago to go to Silverton and teach. Mr. Sherwood does not know I saw him then. He was making a speech in a religious service in the city where I happened to be one evening, and it was a good speech too. I wish you could have heard it. I tried to get up to speak to him but the crowd was so great that he was gone before I got to the platform.” She turned her face toward the court-room a little more, looking down at the seats where the witnesses sat, and noticing with startled eyes the man of the loud voice who had addressed her as “girlie” on that memorable morning one year ago. “I don’t know what you have been trying to do to my old friend, Mr. Sherwood, or where you got such utter lies. I went away from Meadow Brook because I wanted to teach and I knew my relatives were opposed to my doing it. I did not realize that I could be misunderstood or make trouble for anybody by doing so, but my going certainly had nothing whatever to do with Darcy Sherwood. We have seldom seen each other since we were school children together, and he has always been most kind and gentlemanly to me whenever I have met him.