The interest which Tom White's case had evoked had grown into positive excitement since his arrest, and our heroes had reason to congratulate themselves on their punctuality as they saw the crowded forms behind them and the jostling group at the door.
"There's Webster at the back; shall you nod to him ?" asked Heathcote.
"Yes--better," said Dick, speaking for the "Firm." Whereupon all three turned their backs on the bench and nodded cheerily to Mr Webster, who never saw them, so busy was he in edging his way to a seat.
Having discharged this public duty our heroes resumed their seats just in time to witness the arrival of the usher of the court, followed by a man in a wig, and a couple of reporters.
"It's getting hot, I say," said Dick, speaking more of his emotions than of the state of the atmosphere.
It got hotter rapidly; for two of the Templeton police appeared on the scene and looked hard at the front public bench.

Then the solicitors' seats filled up, and the magistrates' clerk bustled in to his table.
And before these alarming arrivals had well brought the perspiration to our heroes' brows, the appearance of two magistrates on the bench sent up the temperature to tropical.
"Order in the court!" cried the usher.
Whereupon Duffield, in his excitement, dropped a chocolate on the floor and turned pale as if expecting immediate sentence of death.
However, the worst was now over.

And when it appeared that the two magistrates were bluff, good-humoured squires, who seemed to have no particular spite against anybody, and believed everything the clerk told them, the spirits of our heroes revived wonderfully, and Duffield's bag travelled briskly in consequence.
To the relief of the "Firm," the first case was not Tom White's.

It was that of a vagrant who was charged with the heinous crimes of begging and being unable to give an account of herself.

The active and intelligent police gave their evidence beautifully, and displayed an amount of shrewdness and heroism in the taking up of this wretched outcast which made every one wonder they were allowed to waste their talents in so humble a sphere as Templeton.
The magistrates put their heads together for a few seconds, and then summoned the clerk to put his head up, too, and the result of the consultation was that the poor creature was ordered to be taken in at the Union and cared for.
Duffield's bag was getting very light by the time this humane decision was come to.