she loved him.

"'Father,' she said all at once, 'have you killed the man that killed
Fenn?'

"The old man shook his head. There was a sick colour in his face.

"'Then I will kill him,' she said.

"She laid her brother's head down, and stood up. Someone put in her hand
the pistol, and told her it was the same that had killed Fenn. She took
it, and came with us. The old man stood still where he was; he was like
stone. I looked at him for a minute and thought; then I turned round and
went to the bar-room; and he followed. Just as I got inside the door, I
saw the girl start back, and her hand drop, for she saw that it was
Fingall; he was looking at her very strange. It was the rule to empty the
gun into a man who had been sentenced; and already Fingall had heard his,
'God-have-mercy!' The girl was to do it.

"Fingall said to her in a muffled voice, 'Fire--Cynthie!'

"I guessed what she would do. In a kind of a dream she raised the pistol
up--up--up, till I could see it was just out of range of his head, and
she fired. One! two! three! four! five! Fingall never moved a muscle; but
the bullets spotted the wall at the side of his head. She stopped after
the five; but the arm was still held out, and her finger was on the
trigger; she seemed to be all dazed. Only six chambers were in the gun,
and of course one chamber was empty. Fenn had its bullet in his lungs, as
we thought. So someone beside Cynthie touched her arm, pushing it down.
But there was another shot, and this time, because of the push, the