"
"You are a hardened scamp, Rolfe, with a very perverse sense of humour,"
said Crewe.
"It was a cunning move of them to get Holymead," said Rolfe. "They think
it will weigh with the jury because he was such a close friend of Sir
Horace--that he wouldn't have taken up the case unless he felt that
Birchill was innocent. But you and I know better than that, Mr. Crewe. A
lawyer will prove that black is white if he is paid for it. In fact, I
understand that, according to the etiquette of the bar, they have got to
do it. A barrister has to abide by his brief and leave his personal
feelings out of account."
"That's so. Theoretically he is an officer of the Court, and his services
are supposed to be at the call of any man who is in want of him and can
afford to pay for them. Of course, a leading barrister, such as Holymead,
often declines a brief because he has so much to do, but he is not
supposed to decline it for personal reasons."
"His heart will not be in the case," said Rolfe philosophically.
"On the contrary, I think it will," said Crewe. "My own opinion is that,
if necessary, he will exert his powers to the utmost in order to get
Birchill off, and that he will succeed.
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