come home with Tessibel." And then, loosening herself from the trembling
fingers, Tess leaned toward the judge, a wealth of hair falling over
each shoulder.

"Did ye, kind, good man?"

His Honor, fascinated by the sight, bent toward her to make sure of her
words.

"I air Daddy's brat," she urged with a smile, "and Goddy in the sky
said as how Daddy Skinner would come home with Tessibel ... He air to go
with me, ain't he?"

Her voice, raised in sudden entreaty, the long eyes filled with an
anguished anxiety, sent a pang of pity unknown before through the heart
of the judge.

The audience rose as one man--only a swish and another dead silence.

"Ye air to come, Daddy Skinner," and without waiting for any further
consent she took her father's hand and drew him slowly through the aisle
up which she had so lately sung her way.

A man stepped into her path from among the spectators. Tess glanced up,
and saw before her the lowering face of Dominie Graves. From every other
soul in that room she had been given the bible-backed prisoner, for the
majesty of human law had been forgotten in the appeal to the higher one.

"Stop," shouted the pastor, determined to see the sentence of the court
carried out. He had placed himself directly in the squatter-girl's path,
and, turning toward the jury, flashed indignant eyes upon them.

"Have you all gone mad?" he demanded. "Are you going to allow a murderer
to escape from your hands?"

For one instant the condemned giant and the man of God scanned each
other's faces with intensity. There was dumb pleading in the one gaze,
and hard supremacy in the other. A spasmodic tremor ran over the
spectators--Tess had struck a note of tragedy in the affair which had
been overlooked by the thoughtless throng.

The judge, startled, spoke confusedly,

"Of course, of course," said he, "such a thing as this--"

"Would make our city the laughing-stock of the state," put in Graves,
his interruption of the judge passing unheeded. "Skinner, you know you
can't leave this court with that girl--"

Here a small boy broke in:

"She's the girl that twiggled her fingers at the minister."

Dominie Graves hushed the speaker with a wave of his hand, and went on:

"You have committed a murder, Skinner, and have been condemned to die by
hanging."

His voice was low and vibrant.

"And there's no escape for you, Skinner," he finished.

As his voice died away, Ithaca received another impetus to curio