Wide-eyed and looking frailer than one might expect of a multi-millionaire tycoon who has wrangled with the Russians over oil and struck controversial trade deals with apartheid-era South Africa, John Deuss shuffled quietly into Magistrates? Court at 2.15 p.m. yesterday afternoon.

Moments before, photographers and reporters had rushed to get a glimpse of the reclusive 64-year-old as he was ushered in via the back entrance of the building from the Police station across the street.

He had spent three nights in custody ? being fed the usual jail diet of Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food and sitting ? and waiting ? in the dark three-cell jail area.

Painfully thin and dressed in a smart navy blue suit, white shirt and neat tie he looked hesitantly around the empty courtroom before sitting down on a wooden bench next to his lawyer Mark Pettingill.

As the chamber filled up with some of the Island?s top legal minds, including Attorney General Larry Mussenden and former acting Director of Public Prosecutions Kulandra Ratneser, Mr. Deuss spoke quietly to his attorney.

When Mr. Pettingill moved away to talk to Government lawyers, Mr. Deuss cut a strangely lonely and still figure.

He kept his head mostly bowed and his eyes down. His right hand held one leg of his spectacles, betraying the slightest tremble.

He did not appear to see his close friend and the country?s former Premier, Sir John Swan, enter and sit down two rows behind him, on a bench normally taken up with defendants appearing at crowded and colourful Plea Court sessions.

Mr. Deuss? legal team may have hoped to have their client in and out of the courtroom yesterday in a matter of minutes.

But Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner ? a formidable prosecutor and defence lawyer in his own right ? had other ideas.

After hearing their submission that the hearing be adjourned until tomorrow to await the arrival of Dutch Police and that Mr. Deuss continue to be held in custody at Hamilton Police Station, Mr. Warner raised a quizzical eyebrow.

Perhaps he was wondering why attorneys acting for Mr. Deuss would seek his continued detention when he had the right to apply for bail.

?I wasn?t aware that the conditions were that good,? quipped Mr. Warner, referring to the station?s less-than-salubrious interior. ?Perhaps they have improved since I was last there.?

The remark raised a laugh around the court ? even from Mr. Pettingill and his colleague Jai Pachai ? but Mr. Deuss just looked bewildered. More used to boardrooms than courtrooms, his demeanour rarely strayed from startled.

As the hearing progressed, both his lawyers and Paula Tyndale, for the Government, seemed to accept the fact that Mr. Warner ? known affectionately as Archie by most ? was set for a lengthy session.

Two hours of legal discussion followed, in which Mr. Warner rapped knuckles on both sides for not immediately grasping the points he was at such pains to make.

Increasingly exasperated, the magistrate begged Mr. Pachai to tell him why his client was not a flight risk. The lawyer would later be glad that he did.

As he wrapped things up, Mr. Warner asked Ms Tyndale the date that Mr. Deuss had been arrested. ?Friday the 13th,? she smiled.

Moments later, the grins were on the other side of the chamber, as Mr. Deuss was granted bail.

The tension etched on his lawyers? faces visibly drained away. They looked delighted as they patted him firmly on the back.

Mr. Deuss allowed himself a brief, timid smile before stooping to sign his bail papers.

If the man expecting to be spending the night in a cell was relieved to have been released, he barely showed it.

He stood back up stiffly and glanced around the courtroom one final, puzzled time, before heading out of the front door to face the flashing camera bulbs.