“What was the name of the unfortunate deceased?”

“Tomasso Crocedoro—­a barber.”

“That is almost a defense in itself,” mused Mr. Tutt.  “Anyhow, if I’ve got to defend Angelo for shooting Tomasso you might as well give me a short scenario of the melodrama.  By the way, are we retained or assigned by the court?”

“Assigned,” chirped Tutt.

“So that all we’ll get out of it is about enough to keep me in stogies for a couple of months!”

“And—­if he’s convicted, as of course he will be—­a good chance of losing our reputation as successful trial counsel.  Why not beg off?”

“Let me hear the story first,” answered Mr. Tutt.  “Angelo sounds like a good sport.  I have a mild affection for him already.”

He reached into the lower compartment of his desk and lifted out a tumbler and a bottle of malt extract, which he placed carefully at his elbow.  Then he leaned back again expectantly.

“It is a simple and naive story,” began Tutt, seating himself in the chair reserved for paying clients—­that is to say, one which did not have the two front legs sawed off an inch or so in order to make lingering uncomfortable.  “A plain, unvarnished tale.  Our client is one who makes an honest living by blacking shoes near the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge.  He is one of several hundred original Tonys who conduct shoe-shining emporiums.”

“Emporia,” corrected his partner, pouring out a tumbler of malt extract.

“He formed an attachment for a certain young lady,” went on Tutt, undisturbed, “who had previously had some sort of love affair with Crocedoro, as a result of which her social standing had become slightly impaired.  In a word Tomasso jilted her.  Angelo saw, pitied and loved her, took her for better or for worse, and married her.”

“For which,” interjected Mr. Tutt, “he is entitled to everyone’s respect.”

“Quite so!” agreed Tutt.  “Now Tomasso, though not willing to marry the girl himself, seems to have resented the idea of having anyone else do so, and accordingly seized every opportunity which presented itself to twit Angelo about the matter.”

“Dog in the manger, so to speak,” nodded Mr. Tutt.

“He not only jeered at Angelo for marrying Rosalina but he began to hang about his discarded mistress again and scoff at her choice of a husband.  But Rosalina gave him the cold shoulder, with the result that he became more and more insulting to Angelo.  Finally one day our client made up his mind not to stand it any longer, secured a revolver, sought out Tomasso in his barber shop and put a bullet through his head.  Now however much you may sympathize with Angelo as a man and a husband there isn’t the slightest doubt that he killed Tomasso with every kind of deliberation and premeditation.”

“If the case is as you say,” replied Mr. Tutt, replacing the bottle and tumbler within the lower drawer and flicking a stogy ash from his waistcoat, “the honorable justice who handed it to us is no friend of ours.”