His First Client. you can appreciate the truth of this state ment." I suppose I must have had a some what blank expression upon my face as he told me all this, for suddenly he burst into a laugh. " It does sound a good deal like a yarn, doesn't it? " he said. " I am afraid you do not believe it." " O, I believe it," I blurted; " I believe it—but, confound it; think how I defended that wretch! It makes me mad." And then he laughed again. Gentlemen, the following morning I re ceived a letter—a letter written in a hand closely resembling copperplate—just such a one as I would have expected to emanate from such a source. " My dear Judge," it said, " You are such a simple, guileless, con fiding old chap! Did you see no resem blance between your chance acquaintance of last evening and the man whom you labored so gloriously to clear of the charge of steal ing Major Close's money? He knew you the moment he set his eyes upon you, and
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he could not resist the temptation of telling you how the little game was worked. He is sorry that he will not be permitted by cir cumstances of seeing you again while you are in New York. He trusts that you have no ill-feeling for him. He gave you twothirds of all the money he earned honestly while in the Major's service. He knew that you needed it. And he prays that you will not forget it." And then he concluded with a bit of advice. " Don't, my dear Judge, ever try to take up this sort of thievery. Stick to the law,—that sort is safer and more in keeping with the qualities nature has given you. You are not overly bright, to be candid; but Horace Steele will ever think of you kindly." Gentlemen, I believe that he himself had committed the robbery of which I had been reading in that morn ing's paper, and to this day I never read or hear of an especially well-planned robbery but I imagine I see it in the hand of my first client. Confound his impudence!
