Brooks was fumbling in the side pocket of his alpaca coat, and now he drew out from it a good-sized photograph, which he placed face upward on the desk beside them. It was done in half-profile, as was the portrait upon the wall. "Look at this picture too, Judge, if you please," said he, "and then look back again at the lithograph. That was taken some years ago, when you were young, wasn't it?" Judge Henderson flushed lividly. "I leave all those things to the committee," croaked he. "--But this one here," said Horace Brooks slowly, "was taken when you were still younger, _say, when you were twenty-two_, wasn't it?" He moved back so that Judge Henderson might look at the photograph. He saw the face of the great man grow yellow pale. "Where did you get this?" he whispered. "How?" "I got it of Miss Julia Delafield, at the library, early this morning," said Horace Brooks. "I told Miss Julia, whatever she did, to stay in the library and not to go over to Aurora Lane's house. I--I didn't want her to see what had happened there. She was busy, but she found this picture for me. And we both know that really it is a photograph of the young man against whom the grand jury have just brought a true bill--within the last ten minutes." There was silence in the dusty little room. The large white hand on the desk top was visibly trembling. Hod Brooks' voice was low as he went on: "Now, as to trying this case, Judge, I brought you in here to ask you what you really want to do? I don't my own self very often try cases out of court--although I have sometimes--sometimes. Yes, sometimes that's the way to serve the ends of substantial justice." Henderson made no reply--he scarcely could have spoken. He could feel the net tightening; he knew what he was to expect now. "Now, here are these two pictures," resumed Brooks. "Suppose I _were_ trying this case _in_ court. I'm not sure, but I think I could get them both introduced in evidence, these two pictures. I think they are both germane to this case--don't you? You've been on the bench--we've both read law. Do you think as a judge you could keep a good lawyer from getting these two pictures introduced in evidence in that case?" "I don't see how you could," said the hoarse voice of Judge Henderson. "It would be altogether immaterial and incompetent." "Perhaps, perhaps," said Hod Brooks. "That's another good reason why I'd rather try the case here, if it suits you! But just suppose I enlarged this photograph to the exact size of the lithograph on the wall, and suppose I did get them both into evidence, and suppose I unveiled the two at just the psychological moment--I presume you would trust me to do that? "Now if I hadn't seen you last night just where you were, if I hadn't hoped, from what I saw of you, that you were part man at least--_that's how I would try this case_! What do you think about it?" "I think you are practising politics again, and not law," sneered Henderson. But his face was white.