“I am innocent,” was the reply, in trembling accents.
“Of course. You all are. I never had a man brought before me who was not innocent,” said the magistrate, with a sneer. “Have you any accomplices?”
“Your honour, I am innocent, as I have already told you.”
“Answer my question!” said the magistrate sternly.
“No, your honour.”
“Ha! You alone are guilty then. Captain, are there any witnesses? though it is hardly necessary. The man’s face shows his guilt.”
It will easily be seen how much hope the prisoner had of getting off with such a judge presiding at the trial. Luckily for the cause of justice the man was undoubtedly guilty, and so the judicial proceedings, hurried and one-sided as they were, did not entail any injustice. In a short time the trial was ended, and the man convicted and sentenced to execution on the following morning. Meanwhile he was to be confined in a structure set apart as a prison.
“Well, are you satisfied?” asked the captain, as he passed the ringleader of the miners.
“I don’t see the use of waiting till morning,” grumbled the miner. “The job might as well have been finished up at once.”
“You can rest satisfied. The man hasn’t long to live.”