“‘Against him?’ I could but respond, with increasing surprise.  Then a suspicion of the truth flashed into my mind.

“‘He had been drinking too much that morning,’ said my friend.  ’That was the meaning of his strange and defective management of the case, and of his confusion of ideas when he made his closing argument to the jury.’

“It was clear to me now, and I wondered that I had not thought of it before.  ‘But,’ I asked, ’what has this to do with foul play?  You don’t mean to intimate that his liquor was drugged?’

“‘No.  The liquor was all right, so far as that goes,’ he replied.  ’The story I heard was this.  It came to me in rather a curious way.  I was in the reading-room at the League this morning looking over a city paper, when I happened to hear your name spoken by one of two gentlemen who sat a little behind me talking in a confidential way, but in a louder key than they imagined.  I could not help hearing what they said.  After the mention of your name I listened with close attention, and found that they were talking about the law-suit, and about Mr. B——­in connection therewith.  “It was a sharp game,” one of them said.  “How was it done?” inquired the other.

“‘I partially held my breath,’ continued my friend, ’so as not to lose a word.  “Neatly enough,” was the reply.  “You see our friend the lawyer can’t refuse a drink.  He’s got a strong head, and can take twice as much as the next man without showing it.  A single glass makes no impression on him, unless it be to sharpen him up.  So a plan was laid to get half a dozen glasses aboard, more or less, before court opened on the morning the case of Walker vs.  Carlton was to be called.  But not willing to trust to this, we had a wine-supper for his special benefit on the night before, so as to break his nerves a little and make him thirsty next morning.  Well, you see, the thing worked, and B——­drank his bottle or two, and went to bed pretty mellow.  Of course he must tone up in the morning before leaving home, and so come out all right.  He would tone up a little more on his way to his office, and then be all ready for business and bright as a new dollar.  This would spoil all.  So five of us arranged to meet him at as many different points on his way down town and ask him to drink.  The thing worked like a charm.  We got six glasses into him before he reached his office.  I saw as soon as he came into court that it was a gone case for Carlton.  B——­had lost his head.  And so it proved.  We had an easy victory."’

“I took the case out of B——­’s hands,” said Mr. Carlton, “and gained it in a higher court, the costs of both trials falling upon the other side.  Since that time, Dr. Hillhouse, I have had some new views on the subject of moderate drinking, as it is called.”

“What are they” asked the doctor.

“An experience like this set me to thinking.  If, I said to myself, a man uses wine, beer or spirits habitually, is there no danger that at some time when great interests, or even life itself, may be at stake, a glass too much may obscure his clear intellect and make him the instrument of loss or disaster?  I pursued the subject, and as I did so was led to this conclusion—­that society really suffers more, from what is called moderate drinking than it does from out-and-out drunkenness.”