There was an appearance of perplexity and gloom on the countenances of Mr. Cavendish and his client.  They were in serious conversation, and it was evident that they were in difficulty.  Those who knew the occasion of the abrupt adjournment of the Court on the previous day looked in vain among the witnesses for the face of Phipps.  He was not in the room, and, while few suspected the real state of the case, all understood how essential he was to the defendant, in his attempt to establish the genuineness of the assignment.

At the opening of the Court, Mr. Cavendish rose to speak.  His bold, sharp manner had disappeared.  The instrument which he had expected to use had slipped hopelessly out of his hand.  He was impotent.  “May it please the Court,” he said, “the defendant in this case finds himself in a very embarrassing position this morning.  It was known yesterday that Cornelius Phipps, the only surviving witness of the assignment, mysteriously disappeared at the moment when his testimony was wanted.  Why and how he disappeared, I cannot tell.  He has not yet been found.  All due diligence has been exercised to discover him, but without success.  I make no charges of foul play, but it is impossible for me, knowing what I know about him—­his irreproachable character, his faithfulness to my client, and his perfect memory of every event connected with the execution of the paper in question—­to avoid the suspicion that he is by some means, and against his will, detained from appearing here this morning.  I confess, sir, that I was not prepared for this.  It is hard to believe that the plaintiff could adopt a measure so desperate as this for securing his ends, and I will not criminate him; but I protest that the condition in which the defendant is left by this defection, or this forcible detention—­call it what you will—­demands the most generous consideration, and compels me to ask the Court for suggestions as to the best course of proceeding.  There are now but two men in Court who saw the paper executed, namely, the assignor and the assignee.  The former has declared, with an effrontery which I have never seen equalled, that he never signed the document which so unmistakably bears his signature, and that the names of two of the witnesses are forgeries.  I do not expect that, in a struggle like this, the testimony of the latter will be accepted, and I shall not stoop to ask it.”

Mr. Cavendish hesitated, looked appealingly at the Judge, and then slowly took his seat, when Mr. Balfour, without waiting for any suggestions from the Court, rose and said: 

“I appreciate the embarrassment of the defense, and am quite willing to do all I can to relieve it.  His insinuations of foul dealing toward his witness are absurd, of course, and, to save any further trouble, I am willing to receive as a witness, in place of Mr. Phipps, Mr. Belcher himself, and to pledge myself to abide by what he establishes.  I can do no more than this, I am sure, and now I challenge him to take the stand.”