,
'I accept _you_, Mr. Flanders. Who will act for the prisoner?'

Each one of the volunteers fell back, and no response came from any part
of the ground. Mulock evidently was neither blessed nor cursed with many
friends.

'Does no one appear for the prisoner? Gentlemen of the legal profession,
I am sorry to see this reluctance to aid a defenceless man. Will not
some one oblige _me_, by volunteering? I shall consider it a personal
service,' said Gaston.

Still no response was heard. At least five minutes passed, and the
'judge's' face was assuming a look of painful concern, when Larkin
approached the bench.

'Gintlemen,' he said, 'th' man hain't no friends, an' it's a d--d shame
not ter come out fur a feller as stands alone. Ef I knowed lor, I'd go
in fur him, ef he wus th' devil himself.'

No one came forward in answer to even this appeal; and, turning on the
crowd, while warm, manly scorn glowed on his every feature, the
negro-trader cried out:

'Ye're a set uv d--d sneakin' hounds, every one on ye. Ye're wuss than
th' parsons, an' the' hain't fit ter tote vittles ter a bar.' Turning to
the 'judge,' he added, in a more respectful tone: 'I doan't know th'
fust thing 'bout lor, Major Gaston, an' this man's nigh as mean a cuss
as th' Lord ever made; but ef ye'll 'cept me, I'll go in fur him!'

'I will accept you with pleasure. You're doing a gentlemanly thing, Mr.
Larkin.'

A murmur of applause went round the assemblage, as Larkin and the other
counsel took seats near the jury.

The 'judge' then rose, and said:

'Gentlemen of the jury: You have engaged in a solemn office. You are
about to try a fellow being for his life. It is a painful duty, but it
is an obligation you owe to the community, and to yourselves, and you
will not shrink from it. Society is held together by laws made to
protect the innocent and punish the guilty. But, as _our_ society is
organized, there are some offences which our tribunals cannot reach. In
such cases the people, from whom all laws proceed, have a right to take
the law into their own hands.

'The prisoner is charged with crimes which, from the circumstances
surrounding their commission, cannot be reached by regular courts of
justice. They were witnessed by none but blacks, whose testimony, by our
statutes, is not admissible. We, the people, therefore, are to try him;
and, to get at the facts, we shall receive the evidence of negroes. You
will judge for yourselves as to its cre