It was maddening to sit there beside her and to know that, by clever tactics, by invoking the ghost of their faraway little love affair, or indeed by downright bullying, he might wrest from her so much valuable information. And yet he could not. Her dignity, her air of remoteness, and, paradoxically, her vulnerability constituted a shield. He knew that she was scarcely conscious of him, now. Her eyes were continually raised toward the Capitol Building, her fingers plucked at a small lace handkerchief on her lap: scarcely conscious of him as a person, sitting on the bench with her, and not conscious of him at all as a man. This piqued him slightly, for women did not usually treat him so. And yet was it not that same impervious quality in her which had intrigued him years ago? He had been unable to pierce it then, and now he no longer had the urge to try.

The town clock struck, and Theodosia sprang to her feet. 'I must get back.'

Irving offered her his arm and escorted her to the courtroom. When they entered, the prisoner was already in the box. Irving, watching with alert interest, saw the quick look that flickered between Burr and Theodosia.

Why, she worships him, he thought, startled. And he, in his cool, self-centered way, worships her. That was more like the signal of parted lovers than a look of filial affection.

The idea interested him. He reached for the quill pen provided for members of the press, pulled the bottle of ink toward him and made some quick notes before settling back to listen to the proceedings. The trial had been exciting enough before by reason of the magnitude of the charge, the number of persons involved, and the former high standing of the accused. Now, after his re-encounter with Theodosia, it had developed overtones which intrigued him mightily. This is far better than the theater, he told himself with delight. His bright hazel eyes darted from one face to the other, speculating and weighing.

Next day he had abundant new cause for interest. Matters went badly for Burr. The prosecution produced witnesses from Blennerhassett's Island: a groom and a gardener who made damaging admissions. There had been great preparations on the island—the storing of food, the outfitting of boats.

' Warships, might they be called?' the prosecutor suggested. Well, no, not unless you called flatboats warships.

' But there were guns?' Oh, yes, for sure. There were plenty of muskets and ammunition.

'And Colonel Burr had raised a sizable army to use these muskets and ammunition?' Yes, a good number of men had enlisted with Colonel Burr.

A murmur ran around the courtroom. The jury was fixed by the prosecutor's triumphant eye: here was the beginning of the necessary proof; it remained but to show that those muskets had been fired, then Burr's goose would be cooked for sure.