as they heard the words which they knew would shortly be followed by
a verdict consigning them to the scaffold. Throughout the long trial
their courage had never flagged, their spirits had never failed them
for an instant. Maguire, who had no real connection with the other
four, and who knew that the charge against him was a baseless
concoction, did, indeed, betray traces of anxiety and bewilderment
as the trial progressed; but Allen, O'Brien, Larkin, and Condon went
through the frightful ordeal with a heroic display of courage to which
even the most malignant of their enemies have paid tribute.

The judge has done, and now the jury turned from the box "to consider
their verdict." An hour and twenty minutes they remained absent;
then their returning tread was heard. The prisoners turned their eyes
upwards; Maguire looked towards them, half hopefully half appealingly;
from Allen's glance nothing but defiance could be read; Larkin fixed
his gaze on the foreman, who held the fatal record in his hand, with
calm resolution; while a quiet smile played round O'Brien's lips, as
he turned to hear the expected words.

"Guilty!" The word is snatched up from the lips of the foreman of the
jury, and whispered through the court. They were all "guilty." So said
the jury; and a murmur of applause came rolling back in response to
the verdict. "Guilty!" A few there were in that court upon whom the
fatal words fell with the bitterness of death, but the Englishmen
who filled the crowded gallery and passages exulted at the sound: the
vengeance which they longed for was at hand.

The murmur died away; the sobs that rose from the dark recesses where
a few stricken-hearted women had been permitted to stand were stifled;
and then, amidst breathless silence, the voice of the Crown Clerk was