ian, you would not dare taunt me thus. At all
events _you_ have come off but second best. I've crippled _you_ for
life; though it don't matter much, seeing what a clumsy use you make of
a rifle."

This speech produced a terrible effect upon the brute--the more so that
the boys now laughed at _him_. These boys were not all bad. They were
incensed against me as an Abolitionist--or "nigger-stealer," as they
phrased it--and, under the countenance and guidance of their elders,
their worst passions were now at play; but for all that, they were not
essentially wicked. They were rough backwoods' boys, and the spirit of
my retort pleased them. After that they held back from jeering me.

Not so with Ruffin, who now broke forth into a string of vindictive
oaths and menaces, and appeared as if about to grapple me with his one
remaining hand. At this moment he was called off by the men, who needed
him in the "caucus;" and, after shaking his fist in my face, and
uttering a parting imprecation, he left me.

I was for some minutes kept in suspense. I could not tell what this
dread council were debating, or what they meant to do with me--though I
now felt quite certain that they did not intend taking me before any
magistrate. From frequent phrases that reached my ears, such as, "flog
the scoundrel", "tar and feathers," I began to conjecture that some such
punishment awaited me. To my astonishment, however, I found, upon
listening a while, that a number of my judges were actually opposed to
these punishments as being too mild! Some declared openly, that
_nothing but my life could satisfy the outraged laws_!

The _majority_ took this view of the case; and it was to add to their
strength that Ruffin had been summoned!

A feeling of terrible fear crept over me--say rather a feeling of
horror--but it was only complete when the ring of men suddenly broke up,
and I saw two of their number lay hold of a rope, and commence reeving
it over the limb of a gum-tree that stood by the edge of the glade.

There had been a trial and a sentence too. Even Judge Lynch has his
formality.

When the rope was adjusted, one of the men--the negro-trader it was--
approached me; and in a sort of rude paraphrase of a judge, summed up
and pronounced the sentence!

I had outraged the laws; I had committed two capital crimes. I had
stolen slaves, and endeavoured to take away the life of a
fellow-creature. A jury of twelve men had tried--and foun