The jurymen at once gathered about the foreman; but the consultation was brief. In less than ten minutes the foreman signified that the verdict was ready.
"Sheriff," the alcalde's lips were tight-drawn and his face whitened as he spoke, "bring the prisoners forward to hear the verdict of the jury."
The jury now stood together in line, on the right of the alcalde. The foreman stood a pace in front of this line.
The sheriff led Thure and Bud directly up in front of the line and within a couple of paces of the foreman; and there he halted the prisoners to await the giving of the verdict.
For a minute there was absolute silence, as the prisoners stood thus before the jury. The surrounding crowd forgot to breathe. It seemed, for a moment, as if the alcalde could not ask the fateful questions; but, at last, his tight-drawn lips parted.
"Gentlemen of the jury, are you ready to render your verdict?" he asked.
"We are ready," answered the foreman.
"Gentlemen of the jury, you may state your verdict."
The foreman's eyes faltered and turned from the faces of the prisoners.
"Guilty of the crime as charged," he said, and closed his lips tightly, and turned his head away.