The trial had closed so suddenly that we were taken quite unawares and left wholly undetermined what to do.

We had practically no evidence to offer on our behalf except our own denials of the testimony against us; and if once either of us took the stand we should open the door to a cross-examination at the hands of the district attorney of our entire lives.

For this cross-examination he had been preparing for months; and I well knew that there was not a single shady transaction in which we had participated, not one attempt at blackmail, not a crooked defence that we had interposed that he had not investigated and stood prepared to question us about in detail.
"What shall we do ?" whispered Gottlieb nervously.

"Do you want to take the stand ?" "How can we ?" I asked petulantly.

"If we did we should be convicted -- not for this but for every other thing we ever did in our lives.
Let's take a chance and go to the jury on the case as it stands." After consulting with our counsel, the latter agreed that this was the best course to pursue; and so, rising, he informed the court that in his opinion no case had been made out against us and that we should, therefore, interpose no defence.