The attorneys for the state regarded the lady with a very direct interest, and smiled upon her, not condescendingly or derisively as is their wont, but with unmistakable pleasure. A close observer would have detected a somewhat significant attentiveness on the part of the justice, a middle-aged gentleman whose business it was to look severe and ungenial. He gave his iron-grey moustache a tender twist at each end and placed an elbow on the desk in front of him, revealing by that act that he was as human as any one else. I have neglected to state that Sampson was thirty, smooth-faced, good-looking, a consistent member of an athletic club and a Harvard man who had won two H's and a _cum laude_ with equal ease. You will discover later on that he was unmarried. He was the seventeenth talesman called. Two jurors had been secured. The other fourteen had been challenged for cause and, for the life of him, he couldn't see why. They all looked pretty satisfactory to him. He garnered a little hope for himself in the profligate waste of good material. If he could sustain his customary look of intelligence there was a splendid chance that he too would be rejected. It seemed to him that the attendant in announcing his name and place “of residence after the oath vociferated with unusual vehemence. Never before had he heard his name uttered with such amazing gusto. “You have heard the statement concerning the charge against the defendant, Mr. Sampson,” said the assistant district attorney, taking his stand directly in front of him. “Before going any farther, I will ask if you know of any reason why you cannot act as a juror in this case?” Sampson had always been honest in his responses. He never had lied in order to “get off.” Subterfuges and tricks, yes--but never deliberate falsehood. “No,” he answered. “Have you heard of this case before?” “No,” admitted Sampson, distinctly mortified. “Then you have formed no opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant?” “No.” “Are you acquainted with the defendant, James W. Hildebrand?” “No.” “Have you had any business dealings with either of his counsel, Mr. Abrams or Mr. O'Brien?” “No.” “Are you acquainted with either of his former partners, the gentlemen who are to appear as witnesses against him, Thomas Stevens and John L. Drew?” Sampson's face brightened. “I know a John Drew,” he said. The lawyer shook his head and smiled. “But he's not in the loan business,” he added. “Do you know Miss Alexandra Hildebrand, the granddaughter of this defendant? The lady sitting beside him?” [Illustration: 0029]