r all of us.

10 The Inquisitors at Their Wits' End

THE COURT rested a day, then took up work again on Saturday, the third
of March.

This was one of our stormiest sessions. The whole court was out
of patience; and with good reason. These threescore distinguished
churchmen, illustrious tacticians, veteran legal gladiators, had left
important posts where their supervision was needed, to journey
hither from various regions and accomplish a most simple and easy
matter--condemn and send to death a country-lass of nineteen who could
neither read nor write, knew nothing of the wiles and perplexities of
legal procedure, could not call a single witness in her defense, was
allowed no advocate or adviser, and must conduct her case by herself
against a hostile judge and a packed jury. In two hours she would be
hopelessly entangled, routed, defeated, convicted. Nothing could be more
certain that this--so they thought. But it was a mistake. The two hours
had strung out into days; what promised to be a skirmish had expanded
into a siege; the thing which had looked so easy had proven to be
surprisingly difficult; the light victim who was to have been puffed
away like a feather remained planted like a rock; and on top of all
this, if anybody had a right to laugh it was the country-lass and not
the court.

She was not doing that, for that was not her spirit; but others were
doing it. The whole town was laughing in its sleeve, and the court knew
it, and its dignity was deeply hurt. The members could not hide their
annoyance.

And so, as I have said, the session was stormy. It was easy to see that
these men had made up their minds to force words from Joan to-day which
should shorten up her case and bring it to a prompt conclusion. It shows
that after all their experience with her they did not know her yet.

They went into the battle with energy. They did not leave the
questioning to a particular member; no, everybody helped. They volleyed
questions at Joan from all over the house, and sometimes so many were
talking at once that she had to ask them to deliver their fire one at a
time and not by platoons. The beginning was as usual:

"You are once more required to take the oath pure and simple."

"I will answer to what is in the proces verbal. When I do more, I will
choose the occasion for myself."

That old ground was debated and fought over inch by inch with great
bitterness and many threats. But Joan remained steadfast,