solent tongue, woman!" roared the Chief Justice. "There
remains before this Court only one issue--Did ye or did ye not strike a
man to his death in the full view of scores of gentilmen and
gentilwoomen of Coberly?"

Ann shook her long hair in defiance.

"It wasn't a man I struck with that casing, and all the FBIT's heraldic
mockery can't make him a man! I struck a bloodless slide-rule, a cold
filing cabinet full of equations, a set of dull geometric patterns, an
automaton that tried to treat a woman like a punched holrith card! He
was no more a man than this...." She brought her elbow up so sharply
that the paunchy Bailiff was toppled off balance and nearly fell. He
looked frightened.

"Ye admit to the killing, then?" demanded the Chief Justice.

"I'm proud of it!"

"And ye claim no special circumstances?"

"How would you understand them?"

The crowd exploded into a frantic, unintelligible babble, and the Chief
Justice slammed down his gavel. He turned to his fellow judges. Two were
staring at the prisoner with an indignation that exceeded his own. The
other two, both very old men, sat with heads bowed and hands fumbling
with their robes.

Jacques felt his pulse leap with a hope that had seemed impossible.
Could it be that after all...? Ann turned toward him, faltering for the
first time, and they stared into each other's eyes.

At a curt nod from the Chief Justice, the Bailiff, still trembling,
began to poll the Court.

The first two judges angrily raised their hands to signify that they
were voting to uphold the death sentence of the lower court. The third
judge hesitated, then held out both hands, palms down.

This brought an outburst of applause from the stands. The first
palms-down vote always evoked such a demonstration, for a one-sided
execution was a comparatively dull affair.

But the applause was choked off as the fourth judge slowly extended both
hands, palms down. A scattering of boos and catcalls started. An ugly
undercurrent rippled close to the surface. Was this woman going to win a
reversal, in spite of all her insolence? If she did, the whole holiday
would be spoiled, since there were no other executions on the docket.
Better to have stayed home and watched films of old executions on the
FBIT's nightly vidcast!

Jacques looked away from Ann to watch the Chief Justice. The lines in
Jacques' face were like gouges in a metal casting.

Acutely aware of his role, the Chief Justice stood up