Decorah public opinion., 1911-03-01

| ly," Jeffries continues, but his mar
riage with such woman as you
| has made it impossible even to con-
slider the question of reconciliation"
| What have / done?' she begs.
Il workel in factory when ! was
nine years old, and I've earned my
living honestly ever since"
Il repeat-my sons marriage
with the daughter of a man who
died in prison"
Don't bold it up against Howard;
he didn't know it when he married
me-" she explains eagerly he
never would have known it but for
the detectives employed by you to
dig up my family history, and the
newspapers did the rest-God. that
made fine reading for the public, but
! it finished my career-killed my
| chances all right"
He offers her assistance, but
when she insists upon a public dec
laration of his belief in his son 8
innocence, and he refuses flatly to
cire his moral support, she scorns
his offer of money.
SO his family mus desert him, :"
! she asserts bitterly, ''and his wife
must leave him; the poor boy must
stand absolutely alone in the world
and face trial for his life--is that
yonr idea? Well, it isn't mine, Mr..
Jeffries. / won't consent to a di-
vorce:. wont leave America. AS
for his Defense. I'll find some one.
TN go to Richard Brewster myself,
and ii he refuses, I'll go to some
one else. There must be some good,
noble, hearted lawyer in this big
city who'll take up his case You
needn't trouble yourself any more,
Mr.. Jeffries: we shan't need your
help. Thank you very much for the
interview. 1t was very kind OF you
to listen to me patiently. Good
morning, SIR"
Annie plunges into the difficult
task of winning over Brewster, the
great constitutional lawyer. She
persistently dogs his footsteps, and
he as persistently refuses the case
on the ground that he is the legal
adviser of Jeffries, Sr. Somehow,
however, his sympathy goes out to
her. Her courage, her determina-
! ton, her loyalty and her devoted
love for the accused boy have won
Brewster's admiration for her char
acter. Jeffries, Sr., and Mrs. Je.-
fries are already complaining that
Annie is going on the stage to earn
money to fight the case, and thereby
bring added notoriety upon the FAM
lily name. They seem determined to
down the efforts of the girl, and
when Brewster finds himself instinc-
lively defending her, Jeffries refuses
to be guided by him. He will not
set the seal of approval on crime by
defending it. But Brewster knows
the girl will go to any extreme to
help Howard, that devotion such as
hers will move insurmountable bar
riers. All at once, Mrs. Jeffries
seems to realize that this very de-
termination is going to result in
exposure for her as the woman who
practically drove Underwood to his
death, and she tells Brewster that
she must see Annie.
For the twentieth time, the girl
comes to beg Brewster to take the
case. Its your duty to do it, An
ME tells him, as Brewster resists
her appeal, your duty to his son
and me, to Mr.. Jeffries himself
Why, he's so eaten up with family
pride that he can't see the differ
lence between right and wrong
No, I'm his lawyer" Brewster
interrupts, angrily.
Then it is your duty to put him
right" she retorts. Brewster laughs
impatiently. He knows he can not
resist this woman's appeal much
ot fon -,
right wicked of you to refuse" she
gees on hurridly. You're hurting
Howard. Why, when / was hunting
around for lawyer, one of them
actually refused to take up the case
because he said old Brewster must
think Howard is guilty, or he'd have
taken up the case himself. You and
his father are putting the whole
world against him, and you don't
know it,"
Brewster offers her money in old
Jeffries' name to remain off the
stage, but she will not concede any
!. thing unless he agrees to defend
Howard. He presents every argu-
ment why he should not take the
case, while she presents every argu-
ment why he should. 1t is evident
Brewster is yielding little by little,
as he filings out leading questions on
the case. When, at last, he learns
that Howard had made signed con-
fession against his will, that Doctor
Bernstein had asserted that Captain
Clinton had used hypnotic influence,
and that Howard is practically a
hypnotic subject, Brewster surrend-
erS
$50 you think I'm afraid of Mr..
Jeffries, do you?' he suddenly blurts
out. I'm going to take up your
case Annie fairly leaps to her
feet.
20, don't pretend to be surpris-
ed," Brewster growls. You knew
l would. You knew it when you
came in that door. My clerks knew
it, everybody knew, but mel" She
goes nearer, leaning toward him
eagerly. And please don't thank
me-" he goes on. II hate to be
thanked for doing what l want to
do, And if didn't want to do it,
wouldn't"
"Oh, I'd like to have a good cry"
Annie says, sinking into a chair.
"Well, nave it, and be done with