“I shall not neglect it, you may be sure,” replied the lawyer.  “Tonight I’ll try to figure out, as nearly as possible, the total cash value of all the stolen pearls, and of course Jones will tell us what he paid for his stock, or how much it is worth.  But I am not sure this argument will have as much weight as Miss Stanton suggests it may.  A bold gambler, such as Andrews, might have obtained a huge sum at Baden Baden or Monte Carlo; and, were he indeed so clever a thief as his record indicates, he may have robbed a bank, or stolen in some way an immense sum of money.  Logically, the question has weight and I shall present it as effectively as I can; but, as I said, I rely more on my ability to disprove the identity of the pearls, on which the expert Le Drieux lays so much stress.  Jones will have a thorough and formal examination within a few days—­perhaps to-morrow—­and if the judge considers that Andrews the pearl thief has been captured, he will be held here pending the arrival from Washington of the extradition papers—­say two or three weeks longer.”

“Then we shall have all that time to prove his innocence?” inquired Maud.

“Unfortunately, no.  There will be no further trial of the prisoner until he gets to Vienna and is delivered to the authorities there.  All our work must be done previous to the formal examination.”

“You do not seem very hopeful,” observed Maud, a hint of reproach in her tone.

“Then appearances are against me, Miss Stanton,” replied the lawyer with a smile.  “This is my first important case, and if I win it my future is assured; so I mean to win.  But in order to do that I must consider the charge of the prosecution, the effect of its arguments upon the judge, and then find the right means to combat them.  When I am with you, the friends of the accused, I may consider the seamy side of the fabric; but the presiding judge will find me so sure of my position that he will instinctively agree with me.”

They brought him the pearls Jones had presented to them and then the lawyer bade them good night and went to his office to master the history of pearls in general and those famous ones stolen from Countess Ahmberg in particular.

When he had gone Uncle John remarked: 

“Well, what do you think of him?”

They seemed in doubt.

“I think he will do all he can,” said Patsy.

“And he appears quite a clever young man,” added Beth, as if to encourage them.

“Allowing all that,” said Maud, gravely, “he has warned us of the possibility of failure.  I cannot understand how the coils of evidence have wrapped themselves so tightly around poor Ajo.”

“That,” asserted Flo, “is because you cannot understand Ajo himself.  Nor can I; nor can any of us!”

CHAPTER XIX

MAUD MAKES A MEMORANDUM

My mother used to say to me:  “Never expect to find brains in a pretty girl.”  Perhaps she said it because I was not a pretty girl and she wished to encourage me.  In any event, that absurd notion of the ancients that when the fairies bestow the gift of beauty on a baby they withhold all other qualities has so often been disproved that we may well disregard it.