And then Crossthwaite lost his temper and called the Queen's counsel a
hired bully, and so went down; having done, as I was told afterwards, no
good to me.
And then there followed a passage of tongue fence between Mackaye and some
barrister, and great laughter at the barrister's expense; and then. I heard
the old man's voice rise thin and clear:
"Let him that is without sin amang ye, cast the first stane!"
And as he went down he looked at me--a look full of despair. I never had
had a ray of hope from the beginning; but now I began to think whether men
suffered much when they were hung, and whether one woke at once into the
next life, or had to wait till the body had returned to the dust, and watch
the ugly process of one's own decay. I was not afraid of death--I never
experienced that sensation. I am not physically brave. I am as thoroughly
afraid of pain as any child can be; but that next world has never offered
any prospect to me, save boundless food for my insatiable curiosity.
* * * * *
But at that moment my attorney thrust into my hand a little dirty scrap of
paper.
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