The priest has
risen. Hardin looks once more upon that pale countenance of the
padre which has haunted his dreams so long. "Is it one from the
dead?" he murmurs. But, with quick wit, his lawyer demands to place
on the witness stand, the lady charged with the nurture of "Isabel
Valois." Philip Hardin gazes wolfishly at the royal beauty who is
sworn. A breathless silence wraps the room.
The preliminary questions over, while Hardin's eyes rove wildly over
the face of the woman he has cast off, the direct interrogatory is
asked:
"Do you know who this young lady is?" says the attorney, with
a furtive prompting from Hardin. "I do!" answers the lady, with
broken voice.
Before another question can be asked, the colleagues of Hardin's
leading lawyer hold a whispered colloquy with their chief.
There is a breathless silence in the court. The principal attorney
for the guardian asks the Court for a postponement of two weeks.
"We were prepared to meet an inquiry into the legitimacy of the
ward of our client. This production of another claimant to the
same name, is a surprise to us. On account of the gravity of this
matter, we ask for a stay."
No objection is heard. His Honor, anxious himself to have time
to confer with the would-be senator, adjourns the hearing for two
weeks.
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