He sat back and regarded the girl curiously for a moment."I would like you to suggest some other line of defense，"he replied."I've tried to ？nd one—and failed.""Can't you prove he is not Jack Andrews ？""Not if the identity of the pearls is established，"said the lawyer."If the pearls were stolen，and if Jones cannot explain how he obtained possession of them，the evidence is prima facia that he is Jack Andrews，or at least his accomplice.Moreover，his likeness to the photograph is somewhat bewildering，you must admit."This gloomy view made them all silent for a time，each thoughtfully considering the matter.Then Maud asked：
"Do you know the cash value of Mr.Jones'stock in the Continental Film Company？"Colby shook his head，but Uncle John replied："Goldstein told me it is worth millions.""Ah ！"exclaimed the girl."There，then，is our proof."The lawyer re？ected，with knitted brows.
"I confess I don't quite see your point，"said he.
"How much were those stolen pearls worth？"asked thegirl.
"I don't know."
"You know they were not worth millions.Jack Andrewswas an adventurer，by Le Drieux's showing；he was a fellowwho lived by his wits and generally earned his livelihood by gambling with the scions of wealthy families.Even had he stolen the Countess'pearls and disposed of the collection at enormous prices—which a thief is usually unable to do—he would still have been utterly unable to purchase a controllinginterest in the Continental stock."She spoke with quiet assurance，but her statement roused the group to sudden excitement.
"Hooray！"cried Patsy."There's your proof，Mr.Colby.""The logic of genius，"commented Uncle John."Why，it's proof positive ！"said Beth.
"It is certainly a strong argument in favor of the boy's innocence，"asserted Arthur Weldon.
"Maud's a wonder when she wakes up.She ought to have been a 'lady detective，'"remarked Flo，regarding her sister admiringly.
Colby，at first startled，was now also regarding MaudStanton with open admiration；but there was an odd smile on his lips，a smile of indulgent toleration.
"Le Drieux's statement connects Andrews with two other pearl robberies，"he reminded her."The necklace of the Princess Lemoine is said to be priceless，and the Grandison collection stolen in London was scarcely less valuable than that of Countess Ahmberg.""Allowing all that，"said Mr.Merrick，"two or threehundred thousand dollars would doubtless cover the valueof the entire lot.I am quite certain，Mr.Colby，that Miss Stanton's suggestion will afford you an excellent line of defense.""I shall not neglect it，you may be sure，"replied thelawyer."Tonight I'll try to ？gure out，as nearly as possible，the total cash value of all the stolen pearls，and of course Jones will tell us what he paid for his stock，or how much it is worth.But I am not sure this argument will have as much weight as Miss Stanton suggests it may.A bold gambler，such as Andrews，might have obtained a huge sum at Baden Baden or Monte Carlo；and，were he indeed so clever a thief as his record indicates，he may have robbed a bank，or stolen in some way an immense sum of money.Logically，the question has weight and I shall present it as effectively as I can；but，as I said，I rely more on my ability to disprove the identity of the pearls，on which the expert Le Drieux lays so much stress.Jones will have a thorough and formal examination within a few days—perhaps to—morrow—and if the judge considers that Andrews the pearl thief has been captured，he will be held here pendinga the arrival from Washington of the extradition papers—say two or three weeks longer.""Then we shall have all that time to prove his innocence ？"inquired Maud.
"Unfortunately，no.There will be no further trial ofthe prisoner until he gets to Vienna and is delivered to theauthorities there.All our work must be done previous to the formal examination.""You do not seem very hopeful，"observed Maud，a hintof reproach in her tone.
"Then appearances are against me，Miss Stanton，"replied the lawyer with a smile."This is my ？rst important case，and if I win it my future is assured；so I mean to win.But in order to do that I must consider the charge of the prosecution，the effect of its arguments upon the judge，and then ？nd the right means to combat them.When I am with you，the friends of the accused，I may consider the seamy sidea of the fabric；but the presiding judge will ？nd me so sure of my position that he will instinctively agree with me."They brought him the pearls Jones had presented to them and then the lawyer bade them good night and went to his of？ce to master the history of pearls in general and those famous ones stolen from Countess Ahmberg in particular.
When he had gone Uncle John remarked：
"Well，what do you think of him？"They seemed in doubt.
"I think he will do all he can，"said Patsy.
"And he appears quite a clever young man，"added Beth，as if to encourage them.
"Allowing all that，"said Maud，gravely，"he has warned us of the possibility of failure.I cannot understand how thecoils of evidence have wrapped themselves so tightly around poor Ajo.""That，"asserted Flo，"is because you cannot understandAjo himself.Nor can I；nor can any of us ！"
