ts of law raised, and every informality or technicality,
which afforded a loop-hole for objection, was taken advantage of. The day
dragged heavily on, and Rust grew weary. The constant stir about him; the
hum of voices, occasionally hushed into silence at the cry of the officer,
or the tap of the judge on his desk; the hot, stifling air of the room;
the wranglings of the lawyers, all tended to bewilder him. All excitement
had long since left him. A leaden heaviness had settled upon all his
faculties, and leaning his head upon the table, even while life and death
were in the scale, he slept soundly.

He was aroused by his lawyer, touching his arm. He sat up, and gazed
vacantly about him.

'Who's that?' said he, pointing to the witness's stand.

Rust half started to his feet; then clasping his hands hard together, sat
down, and leaned his head on the table, but said not a word.

The clerk called out her name.

'Ellen Colton.'

'Who is she?' demanded the lawyer.

Rust drew himself up; and many who had been watching him, observed that
his face had become perfectly corpse-like; his breathing oppressed, and
that his eyes seemed starting from their sockets, as he fixed them on the
witness.

'My own flesh and blood,' muttered he; 'my own child!'

The girl was sworn; but it was evident that a terrible struggle was going
on, and she had to be supported to a chair. The lawyer for the prosecution
took down her name, and then asked her a question. He received no answer.
He repeated it; but the girl was silent. She held down her head, and
seemed half fainting.

'You _must_ reply,' said the judge.

The girl raised her eyes, and said, in a low supplicating tone, 'He's my
father.'

The judge shook his head. 'It's a very painful task,' said he, 'but
there's no alternative.'

The girl uttered not a word, and the court-room became so hushed that even
the hard breathing of the witness was audible.

'I must have a decided answer,' said the judge, gravely, yet mildly, for
he respected the feelings which dictated her course. 'Will you answer the
question put by the district attorney?'

'I will not,' was the firm reply.

The face of the judge grew a little flushed, and he compressed his lips,
as if the duty which now rested with him were an unpleasant one. But
before he had time to speak, the district attorney rose, and muttering in
a tone loud enough to be heard, 'I will not slay the parent through the
child,' said: 'If th