ith
rage.

"What fellow is this?" said the latter judge, with obvious uneasiness.
"A dalesman from the mountains, did you say?"

"Dalesman or not, my lord, a cunning and dangerous man," replied
counsel.

"I see already that he is one who is ready to say anything to save his
miserable life."

"Brother Millet," interrupted the other judge, "you have rightly
observed that this is a court of his Gracious Majesty. Let us conduct
it as such."

There was a rustle of gowns before the table and some whispering in
the court.

"Mr. Ray, you have heard the indictment. It charges you as a false
traitor against his Most Gracious Majesty, your supreme and natural
lord. The course is for you to plead Guilty or Not Guilty."

"Have I no right to the General Pardon?" asked Ralph.

Justice Millet, recovering from some temporary discomfiture,
interposed,--

"The proclamation of pardon was issued before his Majesty came into
possession."

"And my crime--was not that committed before the King came into
possession? Are the King's promises less sacred than the people's
laws?"

Again some murmuring in the court.

"Brother Hide, is the court to be troubled longer with these idle
disputations?"

"I ask for counsel," said Ralph.

"This," replied Justice Hide, "is not a matter in which counsel can be
assigned. If your crime be treason, it cannot be justified; if it be
justifiable, it is not treason. The law provides that _we_ shall be
your counsel, and, as such, I advise that you do not ask exemption
under the Act of Oblivion, for that is equal to a confession." "I do
not confess," said Ralph.

"You must plead Guilty or Not Guilty. There is no third course. Are
you Guilty or Not Guilty?"

There was a stillness like that of the chamber of death in the court
as this was spoken.

Ralph paused, lifted his head, and looked calmly about him. Every eye
was fixed on his face. That face was as firm as a rock. Two eyes near
the door were gleaming with the light of fiendish triumph. Ralph
returned his gaze to the judges. Still the silence was unbroken. It
seemed to hang in the air.

"Guilty or Not Guilty?"

There was no reply.

"Does the prisoner refuse to plead?" asked Justice Hide. Still there
was no reply. Not a whisper in the court; not the shuffle of a foot.
The judge's voice fell slowly on the ear,--

"Ralph Ray, we would not have you deceive yourself. If you do not
plead, it will be the same with you as if you had confes