widow and the orphan for love of the dollar, to understand that
there were in the world, breathing the same air as they, men who
put honour, truth and justice above mere money-getting. With a
slight tinge of sarcasm he asked:

"Is there any man in our public life who is unapproachable from
some direction or other?"

"Yes, Judge Rossmore is such a man. He is one of the few men in
American public life who takes his duties seriously. In the
strictest sense of the term, he serves his country instead of
serving himself. I am no friend of his, but I must do him that
justice."

He spoke sharply, in an irritated tone, as if resenting the
insinuation of this vulgarian that every man in public life had
his price. Roberts knew that the charge was true as far as he and
the men he consorted with were concerned, but sometimes the truth
hurts. That was why he had for a moment seemed to champion Judge
Rossmore, which, seeing that the judge himself was at that very
moment under a cloud, was an absurd thing for him to do.

He had known Rossmore years before when the latter was a city
magistrate in New York. That was before he, Roberts, had become a
political grafter and when the decent things in life still
appealed to him. The two men, although having few interests in
common, had seen a good deal of one another until Roberts went to
Washington when their relations were completely severed. But he
had always watched Rossmore's career, and when he was made a judge
of the Supreme Court at a comparatively early age he was sincerely