“We order you to be judge!”
“We are King, Lords, and Commons!”
“Do what we bid you, or,” added a stranger, “we will hang you and the prisoner with one rope!”
Grim assent of the surrounding faces; Robinson sat down on the judgment-seat not a little discomposed.
“Now then,” remonstrated one; “what are you waiting for? Name the jury.”
“Me!” “Me!” “Me!” “I!” “I!” “I!” and there was a rush for the office.
“Keep cool,” replied another. “Lynch law goes quick, but it goes by rule. Judge, name the jury.”
Robinson, a man whose wits seldom deserted him, at once determined to lead, since he could not resist. He said with dignity: “I shall choose one juryman from each of the different countries that are working in this mine, that no nation may seem to be slighted, for this gold belongs to all the world.”
“Hurrah! Well done, judge. Three cheers for Judge Lynch!”
“When I call a country, give me a name, which I will inscribe on my report of the proceedings. I want a currency lad first.”