约翰叔叔为琼斯找了一位名叫科尔比的律师，又来到大陆电影公司找到戈尔茨坦经理。令约翰叔叔愤怒的是，冷漠的戈尔茨坦决定不给予琼斯任何帮助，即使琼斯是公司的总裁和最大的股东。与此同时，亚瑟·威尔登也在尽全力帮助琼斯。琼斯会被关进监牢吗？
Uncle John was off on his errandsa even before Jones and Arthur Weldon had driven away from the hotel with the of？cer and Le Drieux.There had been no "scene"and none of the guests of the hotel had any inkling of the arrest.
Uncle John had always detested lawyers and so he realized that he was sure to be a poor judge of the merits of any legal gentleman he might secure to defend Jones.
"I may as well leave it to chance，"he grumbledb，as hedrove down the main boulevard."The rascals are all alike ！"Glancing to this side and that，he encountered a sign on a building："Fred A.Colby，Lawyer.""All right；I mustn't waste time，"he said，and stopping his driver he ascended a stairway to a gloomy upper hall.Here the doors，all in a row，were alike forbidding，but one of them bore the lawyer's name，so Mr.Merrick turned the handle and abruptly entered.
A sallow—faced young man，in his shirt—sleeves，wasseated at a table littered with newspapers and magazines，engaged in the task of putting new strings on a batteredc guitar.As his visitor entered he looked up in surprise and laid down the instrument.
"I want to see Colby，the lawyer，"began Uncle John，regarding the disordered room with strong disapproval.
"You are seeing him，"retorted the young man，with a？eetinga smile，"and I'll bet you two to one that if you came here on business you will presently go away and ？nd another lawyer.""Why ？"questioned Mr.Merrick，eyeing him moreclosely.
"I don't impress people，"explained Colby，picking up the guitar again."I don't inspire con？dence.As for the law，I know it as well as anyone—which is begging the question—but when I'm interviewed I have to admit I've had no experience.""No practice？""Just a few collections，that's all I sleep on that sofa yonder，eat at a cafeteria，and so manage to keep body and soul together.Once in a while a stranger sees my sign and needs a lawyer，so he climbs the stairs.But when he meets me face to face he beats a hasty retreat."As he spoke，Colby tightened a string and beganstrumming it to get it tuned.Uncle John sat down on the one other chair in the room and thought a moment.
"You've been admitted to the bar ？"he asked.
"Yes，sir.Graduate of the Penn Law School."
"Then you know enough to defend an innocent man from an unjust accusation ？"Colby laid down the guitar.
"Ah！"said he，"this grows interesting.I really believe you have half a mind to give me your case.Sir，I know enough，I hope，to defend an innocent man；but I can't promise，offhanda，to save him，even from an unjust accusation.""Why not？Doesn't law stand for justice？""Perhaps；in the abstract.Anyhow，there's a pretty fable to that effect.But law in the abstract，and law as it is interpreted and applied，are not even second cousins.To be quite frank，I'd rather defend a guilty person than an innocent one.The chances are I'd win more easily.Are you sure your man is innocent？"Uncle John scowledb.
"Perhaps I'd better find another lawyer who is more optimistic，"he said.
"Oh，I'm full of optimism，sir.My fault is that I'm not well known in the courts and have no arrangement to divide my fees with the powers that be.But I've been observing and I know the tricks of the trade as well as any lawyer in California.My chief recommendation，however，is that I'm eager to get a case，for my rent is sadly overdue.Why not try me，just to see what I'm able to do？I'd like to ？nd that out myself.""This is a very important matter，"asserted Mr.Merrick.
"Very.If I'm evictedc for lack of rent—money my career is crippled.""I mean the case is a serious one.""Are you willing to pay for success ？""Liberally.""Then I'll win it for you.Don't judge my ability by my present condition，sir.Tell me your story and I'll get to work at once."Uncle John rose with sudden decision.
"Put on your coat，"he said，and while Colby obeyed with alacritya he gave him a brief outline of the accusation brought against Jones."I want you to take my car，"he added，"and hasten to the police station，that you may be present at the preliminary examination.There will be plenty of time to talk afterward."Colby nodded.His coat and hat made the young lawyer quite presentableb and without another word he followed Mr.Merrick down the stairs and took his seat in the motorcar.Next moment he was whirlingc down the street and UncleJohn looked after him with a half puzzled expression，as if hewondered whether or not he had blundered in his choice of a lawyer.
A little later he secured a taxicab and drove to the of？ce of the Continental Film Manufacturing Company.Mr.Goldstein was in his office but sent word that he was too busy to see visitors.Nevertheless，when Mr.Merrick declared he had been sent by A.Jones，he was promptly admitted to the manager's sanctumd.
"Our friend，young Jones，"he began，"has just been arrested by a detective."Goldstein's nervous jump fairly raised him off his chair；but in an instant he settled back and shot an eager，interested look at his visitor.
"What for，Mr.Merrick？"he demanded.
"For stealing valuable pearls from some foreign woman.A trumped—up charge，of course."Goldstein rubbed the palms of his hands softly together.His face wore a look of supreme content.
"Arrested ！Ah，that is bad，Mr.Merrick.It is very badindeed.And it involves us—the Continental，you know—in an embarrassing manner.""Why so？"asked Uncle John.
"Can't you see，sir？"asked the manager，trying hard to restrain a smile."If the papers get hold of this affair，and state that our president—our biggest owner—the man who controls the Continental stock—is a common thief，the story will—eh—eh—put a bad crimp in our business，so to speak."Uncle John looked at the man thoughtfully.
