“Then you refuse any sort of a compromise.”

“My dear sir,” said Mr. Balfour, warmly, “do you suppose I can give a man a right to talk of terms who is in my hands?  Do you suppose I can compromise with crime?  You know I can’t.”

“Very well—­let it go.  I suppose I must go through with it.  You understand that this conversation is confidential.”

“I do:  and you?”

“Oh, certainly!”

CHAPTER XXVIII.

IN WHICH A HEAVENLY WITNESS APPEARS WHO CANNOT BE CROSS-EXAMINED, AND BEFORE WHICH THE DEFENSE UTTERLY BREAKS DOWN.

At the re-assembling of the Court, a large crowd had come in.  Those who had heard the request of Mr. Balfour had reported what was going on, and, as the promised testimony seemed to involve some curious features, the court-room presented the most crowded appearance that it had worn since the beginning of the trial.

Mr. Belcher had grown old during the hour.  His consciousness of guilt, his fear of exposure, the threatened loss of his fortune, and the apprehension of a retribution of disgrace were sapping his vital forces, minute by minute.  All the instruments that he had tried to use for his own base purposes were turned against himself.  The great world that had glittered around the successful man was growing dark, and, what was worse, there were none to pity him.  He had lived for himself; and now, in his hour of trouble, no one was true to him, no one loved him—­not even his wife and children!

He gave a helpless, hopeless sigh, as Mr. Balfour called to the witness stand Prof.  Albert Timms.

Prof.  Timms was the man already described among the three new witnesses, as the one who seemed to be conscious of bearing the world upon his shoulders, and to find it so inconsiderable a burden.  He advanced to the stand with the air of one who had no stake in the contest.  His impartiality came from indifference.  He had an opportunity to show his knowledge and his skill, and he delighted in it.

“What is your name, witness?” inquired Mr. Balfour.

“Albert Timms, at your service.”

“What is your calling, sir?”

“I have at present the charge of a department in the School of Mines.  My specialties are chemistry and microscopy.”

“You are specially acquainted with these branches of natural science, then.”

“I am, sir.”

“Have you been regarded as an expert in the detection of forgery?”

“I have been called as such in many cases of the kind, sir.”

“Then you have had a good deal of experience in such things, and in the various tests by which such matters are determined?”

“I have, sir.”

“Have you examined the assignment and the autograph letters which have been in your hands during the recess of the Court?”

“I have, sir.”

“Do you know either the plaintiff or the defendant in this case?”