III
He had, doubtless from some story-book, pictured Paul's
trial as a long struggle, with bitter arguments, a taut crowd,
and sudden and overwhelming new testimony. Actually, the
trial occupied less than fifteen minutes, largely filled with the
evidence of doctors that Zilla would recover and that Paul
must have been temporarily insane. Next day Paul was sentenced
to three years in the State Penitentiary and taken off—
quite undramatically, not handcuffed, merely plodding in a
tired way beside a cheerful deputy sheriff—and after saying
good-by to him at the station Babbitt returned to his office
to realize that he faced a world which, without Paul, was
meaningless.
