Of course, I have no personal knowledge of the matter, as the case has been sent to us by one of our legal friends in Chicago; but I am quite sure that the court will grant me a counsel fee in order to enable the poor woman to prepare her case and bring it to trial." "But," I replied, "we have made just such applications a thousand times before, have we not ?" Gottlieb gave me one of his long, slow winks.
"Not just like this," said he, and went back into his room, while I pondered on what I had read.
A few days later Gottlieb served the complaint in an action for absolute divorce upon Mr.Chester Gates, to the young man's great indignation and annoyance; and shortly thereafter a very respectable and prosperous old family lawyer called upon us to explain that the whole matter was a mistake and that his client had never, never been married, and knew no Miss Lizzie Yarnowski, either as Sadie Bings or under any other name.
Gottlieb and I treated him with the greatest deference, explaining that we had no option but to go on with the matter, as we were only acting for our Chicago correspondent.

At this the old lawyer grew very indignant and muttered something under his breath about perjury and blackmail, to which, however, neither Gottlieb nor I paid any attention.

A week or so later we made our motion for alimony and counsel fee _pendente lite_, and in spite of the vehement affidavit of Chester Gates, Esquire, that he had never seen or heard of the plaintiff nor been married to anybody in his life, the court granted us two hundred and fifty dollars as counsel fee.
This was made payable at our office, as the attorneys for plaintiff; and a day or two later Mr.Gates himself called and asked to see us.

He was a rosy-cheeked, athletic young fellow, who could, I fancy, have knocked both our heads together had he chosen to do so.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," said he, closing the door and seating himself at Gottlieb's invitation.

This is a very interesting experience you are putting me through.