"Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani!"The preparations were soon made; and Vorski himself took an active part in them. Resting the ladder against the trunk of the tree, he passed one end of the rope round his victim and the other over one of the upper branches. Then, standing on the bottom rung, he instructed his accomplices:
"Here, all you've got to do now is to pull. Get her on her feet first and one of you keep her from falling."
He waited a moment. But Otto and Conrad were whispering to each other; and he exclaimed:
"Look here, hurry up, will you? . . . Remember I'm making a pretty easy target, if they took it into their heads to send a bullet or an arrow at me. Are you ready?"
The two assistants did not reply.
"Well, this is a bit thick! What's the matter with you? Otto! Conrad!"
He le
