This was followed by numerous encouraging letters to Dick Cronk, in
each of which he openly pledged himself to do all in his power to help
him in his great trouble.
Dick's replies were characteristic. They were full of quaint,
sarcastic references to his plight, glib comments on the close
proximity of the scaffold, and bitter lamentations over the detention
of his brother Ernie, whose misery and unhappiness seemed to weigh
more heavily with him than his own dire predicament.
On his arrival in town David went at once to the office of the great
criminal lawyer who had been engaged to defend the Cronks. There he
was met by Joey Noakes, Casey (no longer a contortionist but the owner
of a well-established plumbing business descended from his father) and
young Ben Thompson, the newspaper man who was soon to become Ruby's
husband. The man of law was brutally frank in his discussion of the
case. He had gone into it very thoroughly with the two prisoners. In
his mind there was no doubt as to the outcome of the trial. The men
had elected to be tried jointly. Richard Cronk did not have the ghost
of a hope to escape the extreme penalty; Ernest would be discharged.
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