He rose from his seat and stood beside his table, speaking with a low but almost fierce intensity: "They call me a war machine! I am! And you--and all the rest--are parts of it! A lever! A screw! A valve! A wheel! A machine half human--yes! A thing of muscle and bone and blood--but without a heart! A merciless _machine_, whose wheels must turn and turn till we grind out this rebellion to the dust of peace!" He paused impressively, and in the hard, cold words which followed, all hope for Morrison seemed to fade and die. "If a wheel once fails to do its work--discard it!--for another and a better one! _We want no wheels that slip their cogs!_" The General ceased and turned to his littered table; but Harris was not yet beaten. "No, General," he answered bravely, "but there happens to be a flaw ... in your machine's control." The General looked up, frowning sharply; but Harris still went on: "In a military court we have condemned a man to die--_and the facts have not been proved!_" Amazed more at the young officer's obstinate temerity than his words the General stared at him. "How so?" he asked, with irony. Harris opened out his hands with a simple gesture that seemed to leave his logic to the judgment of any impartial observer. "In times of peace, my profession is that of the Law. I know my ground--and," in rising tones of sincerity, "I challenge you to shake it in any civil court in Christendom." "Strong words, young man," came the stern reply. "For your sake, I hope they are warranted. What is your point? Get at it!" Harris drew a short breath of relief. He had cleverly switched the appeal from grounds on which he stood no chance whatever to those where he did not fear any intellect in a fair fight. "The evidence," he said calmly, "was purely circumstantial. In the first place, it is alleged that my client captured a Rebel spy, one Herbert Cary, who was hiding in the loft of a cabin." The General's caustic tones interrupted. "To which fact," he said, "there were only _ten_ witnesses." "Yes, General," was the faintly smiling agreement. "Ten! But not one of them actually _saw_ the man! They _believe_ he was there, but they cannot swear to it." Grant made a motion as of putting away something of no consequence. "Immaterial--in view of the other facts. Well--what else?" "Next, it is claimed that Morrison released this spy and allowed him to enter the Union lines--without regard to consequences." The General gave a short exclamation of impatience, and struck the papers on his desk with the flat of his hand. "And that is _proved_," he said, sharply. "Proved by several officers who stopped your spy at points along the road." He singled out a soiled piece of paper from the sheaf before him and held it up, a piece of paper which bore writing on both sides.