"And what do you expect me to do, Robert Graham?"
"To consider his temptations, and to show mercy upon him."
"Perhaps also you expect me to release him, and bid him go his way to the maiden who is waiting for him."
"It would be a generous act."
"But I am not so generous," said the captain. "Your plea is ingenious, but I put no faith in it. It is utterly improbable. You and your brother have been with us for seven years. You have become accustomed to our ways. He was faithful and loyal till the love of gold made him a traitor. What he sought was blood money."
"No, a thousand times, no!" exclaimed the brother earnestly.
"I say it is so," said Captain Stockton harshly. "It is plain to every member of the band. Yet, because you have never transgressed, I have been willing to listen to you, remembering that he is your brother."
"Spare his life at least; even if you are convinced that he is guilty. He has not lived his life half out. Be merciful!"
"I cannot," answered the captain in an inflexible tone. "If I yielded to such a weakness all discipline would be at an end. If treachery is to be pardoned, who knows which one among you might be the next to imitate the example of this man. No! justice is stern, and punishment must be inflicted. The guilty must be punished though the heavens fall. Men, stand aside!"