"I can't have her crying all over the office and begging for
mercy," he protested, truculently. But a note of fear lay under
the petulance.

Demarest's answer was given with assurance"

"You are mistaken about that. The girl doesn't beg for mercy.
In fact, that's the whole point of the matter. She demands
justice--strange as that may seem, in a court of law!--and
nothing else. The truth is, she's a very unusual girl, a long
way beyond the ordinary sales-girl, both in brains and in
education."

"The less reason, then, for her being a thief," Gilder grumbled
in his heaviest voice.

"And perhaps the less reason for believing her to be a thief,"
the lawyer retorted, suavely. He paused for a moment, then went
on. There was a tone of sincere determination in his voice.
"Just before the judge imposed sentence, he asked her if she had
anything to say. You know, it's just a usual form--a thing that
rarely means much of anything. But this case was different, let
me tell you. She surprised us all by answering at once that she
had. It's really a pity, Gilder, that you didn't wait. Why,
that poor girl made a--damn--fine speech!"

The lawyer's forensic aspirations showed in his honest
appreciation of the effectiveness of such oratory from the heart
as he had heard in the courtroom that day.