Bart went up immensely in popular estimation.  Any man who knew a word of Latin was a prodigy.  Bart not only knew Latin, but the difference between that and old law French.  Who ever heard of that before? and he had lived among them from babyhood, and they now looked upon him in astonishment.  “It does beat hell, amazingly!” said Uncle Josh, aside.

After brief consultation the court appointed the fathers of the defendants their guardians, when Bart remarked that his learned and very polite opponent having found nurses for his babies, he would proceed with the case, and called his witnesses.

Against two or three of the ringleaders, the evidence was doubtful.  When Bart moved to discharge three of the younger of the defendants, Brace opposed this.  Bart asked him if he was there to oppose a judgment in favor of his own clients?  The court granted his motion; when Bart put the young men on the stand as witnesses, and proved his case conclusively against all the rest.

What wonderful strategy this all seemed to be to the gaping crowd; and all in spite of Brace, whom they had supposed to be the most adroit and skilful man in the world; and who, although he objected, and blustered, and blowed, really appeared to be a man without resources of any sort.

Barton rested his case.

Brace called his witnesses, made ready to meet a case not made by the plaintiff, and Bart quietly dissmissed them one after the other without a word.  Then Ward, who had kept in the background, was called, in the hope to save one of the defendants.  Him Bart cross-examined, and it was observed that after a question or two he arose and turned upon him, and plied him with questions rapid and unexpected, until he was embarrassed and confused.  Brace, by objections and argument, intended as instructions to the witness, only increased his perplexity, and he finally sat down with the impression that he had made a bad exhibition of himself, and had damaged the case.

It was now midnight, when the evidence was closed, and Barton proposed to submit the case without argument.  Brace objected.  He wanted to explain the case, and clear up the mistakes, and expose the rascalities of the plaintiff’s witnesses; and the trial was adjourned until the next morning.

When the case was resumed the following day, Bart, in a clear, simple way, stated his case, and the evidence in support of it, making two or three playful allusions to his profound and accomplished opponent.

Brace followed on full preparation for the defence.  Of course it was obvious, even to him, that he was hopelessly beaten; and mortified and enraged, he emptied all the vials of his wrath and vituperation upon the head of Bart, his client and witnesses, and sat down, at the end of an hour, exhausted.