“The jury retired to their room for half an hour, during which poor Joe waited in an agony of suspense as great as human nature can endure and live—in an agony that seemed to stretch that half hour into an eternity of suffering; and then the jury filed in and rendered their verdict:
“‘Guilty.’
“Joe sprang up and fell back on his seat as if he had been shot.
“‘It will be a murder, you know, Mr. Rocke. Poor Lil!’ he cried to his counsel, who came to his side.
“He was quickly called to order and directed to stand up.
“With as strong an effort at self-control as his boyish soul was capable of making, he obeyed and faced the court.
“He was then asked whether he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon him.
“He answered that he had a great deal to say. And then in eager, vehement, impassioned, yet most respectful language, he asseverated his innocence, and told again the often repeated true story of his connection with the young men who had stopped the stage coach.
“The court heard him patiently, and then, when he had ceased to speak, the judge put on the black cap and proceeded to sentence the boy.
“He told him the enormity of the crime of which he had been guilty, the fairness of the trial he had stood, the ability with which he had been defended, the justice of the verdict, the justice also of his sentence, the hopelessness of any thought of mercy in this world, the necessity of seeking mercy from a higher tribunal, and finally he pronounced the ghastly sentence of the law, and ended with the prayer that the Lord might have mercy on his soul!