The strain was telling on them all; and Alcamayn, more dead than alive, answered mechanically:
“I have none.”
“Alcamayn, face thy accusers.”
The condemned man dragged himself to his feet, and stared doggedly ahead of him.
“Alcamayn, never more canst thou be heard in thine own behalf. I charge thee, as death must soon be thy portion, speak the truth. Art thou guilty?”
The stillness was intense.
Every man waited to see if the convicted man would imperil his immortal soul by withholding the truth.
The prisoner felt this. He knew what a shock he could give them, and the leading passion being strong upon him, he answered defiantly:
“I am innocent!”
Trouble had not softened him. On the contrary, he had grown bitter and vindictive as he realized his desperate straits.