His lordship nodded approval.  “In my opinion, gentlemen, you could not have done otherwise.  Hem!” Then that common phrase, “You could have heard a pin drop,” might have been used with respect to that vast assemblage.  That “hem!” was a very fatal sign with Mr. Justice Bantam, as the bar well knew.

“I’ll take you six to five in sovs he gives him seven years,” whispered one learned gentleman to another, without moving his lips.

“It seems to me you are rather fond of a good thing,” returned the other, scornfully, but with a like precaution.

“Hem!” said the judge again.  “Is there any one in court able to give any information concerning the antecedents of the prisoner?”

“We have no witnesses to character, my lud,” said Mr. Balais, gravely; “we had hoped it would not have been necessary.”

“There is a witness in court, please your lud-ship, a detective of the A division of metropolitan police, I believe,” observed Mr. Smoothbore, “who knows something of the prisoner.”

“Let him stand up,” said the judge.

Here was an extra excitement—­an additional attraction, which had not been advertised in the bills—­and the public evinced their satisfaction accordingly by craning and crowding.  Richard turned his heated eyes in the direction of this new enemy.  He had no hope of seeing a friend.  The individual in question was unknown to him.  He was a tall, quiet-looking man, whose face might have been carved out of box-wood, it was so hard and serious, but for its keen eyes, which seemed to meet his own with a look of recognition.

“I know the prisoner at the bar; that is to say, I have seen him on a previous occasion, when he passed under the name of Chandos, and on other occasions, as I believe, under other names.  From information received I attended a competitive examination, under the authority of government.”

“Do you mean that you were employed by the government, or that the examination was a government one?” interrupted the judge.

“You’ll hear something now,” whispered Mr. Weasel to Mr. Balais, “by Jove!”

“Both, my lord,” explained the witness.  “It had come to the knowledge of the government that there had been several cases of personation in the competitive examinations recently instituted both for the military and civil services.  Not only were young gentlemen, who had apparently passed with credit, found grossly ignorant of the subjects which they had previously been examined upon, but their physical appearance was sometimes such as would have seemed to have disqualified them:  it appeared incredible that they should have passed the preliminary medical examination.  One was hump-backed; another almost blind.  It was understood that some systematized scheme of imposture, of mispersonation, was at work to produce these results, and I was instructed to inquire into it.  I did so.  I came to the conclusion that only one person was concerned in the