"You see，"explained Miss Patsy，"he has nothing else todo but jump heart and soul into this case，so Ajo will be able to command his exclusive services，which with some big，bustlinga lawyer would be impossible."Luncheon was over before Arthur finally appeared，looking somewhat grave and perturbed.
"They won't accept bail，"he reported."Jones must stay in jail until his formal examination，and if they then decide that he is really Jack Andrews he will remain in jail until his extradition papers arrive.""When will he be examined？"asked Louise.
"Whenever the judge feels in the humor，it seems.Our lawyer demanded Jones'release at once，on the ground that a mistake of identity had been made；but the stupid judge is of the opinion that the charge against our friend is valid.At any rate he refused to let him go.He wouldn't even argue the case at present.He issues a warrant on a charge of larcenyb，claps a man in jail whether innocent or not，and refuses to let him explain anything or prove his innocence until a formal examination is held.""There is some justice in that，"remarked Uncle John.
"Suppose Jones is guilty；it would be a mistake to let him go free until a thorough examination had been made.""And if he is innocent，he will have spent several daysin jail，been worried and disgraced，and there is no redresscfor the false imprisonment.The judge won't even apologize to him！""It's all in the interests of law and order，I suppose，"said Patsy；"but the law seems dreadfully inadequate to protect the innocent.I suppose it's because the courts are run by cheap and incompetent people who couldn't earn a salary in any otherway.""Someone must run them，and it isn't an ambitious man's job，"replied Uncle John."What do you think of the lawyer I sent you，Arthur ？"The young ranchman smiled.
"He's a wonder，Uncle.He seemed to know more about the case than Jones or I did，and more about the law than the judge did.He's an irrepressible fellow，and told that rascal Le Drieux a lot about pearls that the expert never had heard before.Where did you ？nd him，sir？"Uncle John explained.
"Well，"said Arthur，"I think Jones is in good hands.Colby has secured him a private room at the jail，with a bath and all the comforts of home.Meals are to be sent in from a restaurant and when I left the place the jailer had gone out to buy Jones a stock of books to while away his leisure hours—which are bound to be numerous.I'd no idea a prisoner could live in such luxury.""Money did it，I suppose，"Patsy shrewdly suggested."Yes.Jones wrote a lot of checks.Colby got a couple ofhundred for a retaining fee and gleefullya informed us it was more money than he had ever owned at one time in all his previous career.I think he will earn it，however.""Where is he now？"asked Uncle John.
"Visiting all the newspaper of？ces，to 'buy white space，'as he put it.In other words，Colby will bribe the press to silence，at least until the case develops.""I'm glad of that，"exclaimed Beth."What do you think of this queer business，Arthur ？""Why，I've no doubt of the boy's innocence，if that is what you mean.I've watched him closely and am positive he is no more Jack Andrews than I am.But I fear he will have a hard task to satisfy the judge that he is falsely accused.It would be an admission of error，you see，and so the judge will prefer to ？nd him guilty.It is this same judge—Wilton，I think his name is—who will conduct the formal examination，and to—day he openly sneeredb at the mention of Sangoa.On the other hand，he evidently believed every statement made by Le Drieux about the identity of the pearls found in Jones'possession.Le Drieux has a printed list of the Ahmberg pearls，and was able to check the Jones'pearls off this list with a fair degree of accuracy.It astonished even me，and I could see that Jones was equally amazed.""Wouldn't it be queer if they convicted him！"exclaimedBeth.
"It would be dreadful，since he is innocent，"said Patsy."There is no need to worry about that just at present，"Arthur assured them."I am placing a great deal of con？dence in the ability of Lawyer Colby."