"Go to hell!"

The forlorn figure wagged his head in despair, pulled himself to his feet, bowed low to the Judge and said:

"Jedge, I des flings myself on de ign'ance o' de cote!" His Honor tried in vain to suppress a smile and finally laughed. The crowd roared. The Sheriff cried for order as Julius left the room, bowing humbly to all.

The District Attorney rose.

"I ask for an adjournment for twenty-four hours—" "Motion denied," the Court promptly announced. "Proceed."

"But I can't, your Honor. The unexpected collapse of my principal witness makes it necessary to reconstruct the whole case."

"You have had ample time to prepare your case Go on."

Wilkes threw up his hands in an angry gesture.

"The state rests."

Craig smiled.

"The defense rests."

"Gentlemen of the jury," the Judge began in brisk tones, "my charge will be brief-"

Logan suddenly rose, scowled and leaned over Craig. "What'ell is he chargin' the jury fer-when they ain't

no case?"

"A court formality," the lawyer whispered. "Sit down."

The lank countryman remained standing, his keen eyes fixed two gleaming points of light on the Judge. The Sheriff as he passed heard the click of a revolver hammer in Logan's pocket and stopped in his tracks. The crowd bent eagerly forward to catch the Judge's words. Craig watched him intently. The charge was finished in a few brief sentences. The closing words again brought the crowd to its feet:

"I therefore charge you, gentlemen, to return a verdict of not guilty. The prisoner is discharged.”

With another roar of applause the crowd rushed for Craig. Logan's face relaxed and he smiled for the first time. With a sigh of relief the Sheriff moved on in a helpless effort to stem the rush.

Craig tore himself from his friends and made his way through the throng to Claudia's side.

"Surely, this is enough," he pleaded, "to show you that you have been misled by my enemies."

Without response, she turned to Wilkes.

"Take me out of here, please—"

He seized her arm, threw Craig an ugly look and pressed a way through the crowd. At the door he bent low and whispered:

"To my office-I've something big to tell you now—”

W

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE SNARE

ILKES pressed his way through a mob of excited men at the foot of the stone stairway and reached the corridor of the first story without insult. Claudia's flushed face held Craig's partisans in check.

From the window of the District Attorney's office on the ground floor she watched the triumph of the man whom she had put on trial for his life. The crowd seized Craig and carried him down the stairway and out into the Square. They placed a box beneath an oak close to Wilkes' window and forced him to make a speech. Claudia watched the swaying crowd of his followers as they surged about the improvised speaker's stand. She saw the expression of indifference on Craig's face first with anger, then wonder and at last half admiration. There must be something of unusual power in a man who could inspire such faith and enthusiasm in these rough men. And then the thought of a secret oathbound order of disguised assassins who would do his bidding without question brought the flame of anger again to her cheeks.

His voice

She listened intently. He was speaking. came through the closed window with peculiarly clear emphasis. He spoke with deliberation.

Wilkes called her twice. She paid no attention and he pretended to devote himself to his legal papers.

She heard the speaker's final sentence with a puzzled frown.

"And so you see, my friends, there can be no excuse for lawlessness either open or disguised, while our courts of justice are organized and performing their proper

work-"

He waved his hand in a friendly gesture. The crowd broke into a wild cheer. Logan, with another follower, seized him and the two carried their Chief in triumph through the shouting, cheering throng.

Claudia turned back into the room with a puzzled look in her brown eyes. Wilkes looked up from his writing. "Well, what do you make of it?"

"I can't understand it," she admitted.

He rose and placed a chair beside his desk.

"Sit down, please. I've something of the gravest importance to tell you now." She took the proffered chair and sat down listlessly. Her mind was not in the room. It was following the crowd of shouting, mud-spattered men. Far up the street they could be heard, still shouting, as they carried their leader to his dingy little law office.

"Now that the conquering hero has passed and the farce of a trial in court is over you should be in the mood to hear the truth. I'm going to give it to you straight from the shoulder, and then it's up to you. Are you ready to hear it?"

"Go on," she begged impatiently.

"I have told you from the beginning that the Klan is the only real government we have in this state-"

She moved uneasily and her lips trembled with protest. He lifted his hand firmly.

"Please listen. Let me tell you what I know. I'm not guessing. I know. From the moment the Klan is organized in any county, the government by legal forms ceases to exist. When it functions at all, it merely executes the

orders of the Klan. Get that fixed in your mind as the starting point in any discussion of this case. No matter if half the men, once members, have ceased to support it, the Klan, once in the saddle, rides. The men who back out are still afraid of it and dare not lift a hand to protest its decrees. The Judge who presided over this trial, for example—”

He saw a look of amazement on Claudia's face and paused.

"The Judge a member of the Klan?" she inquired incredulously.

"He was a member of the old Klan or he wouldn't be a Judge to-day. Your father was the only man on the bench not a member. This Judge may not be a member now. No matter. He knew that John Craig was once an important officer of the order. He favored him at every turn of the trial. He finally took it out of my hands, refused an adjournment and peremptorily ordered a verdict of acquittal. The hero rides out on the shoulders of his admirers and the scene ends in farce. Surely you could see this?”

"I only see," was the quick answer, "that my father's murder is unavenged-"

"And the man who ordered it," Wilkes whispered, "is acclaimed a hero-"

He paused and watched her face for a sign of approval. It remained a mask and he went on rapidly:

"The courts have failed. All right. The court incident is closed. It was a waste of time from the beginning. I foresaw this but consented to act through the courts to please you-now for business-the Klan, if appealed to, will not fail. John Craig is its Chief—"

Claudia threw him a startled look.

"You once told me you didn't know the Chief!"