THE TRIAL AND THE VERDICT
Blake did not attend these tiresome preliminaries, although he followed them with intense interest, the while a sardonic irritation arose in him. Chancing to meet Mayor Wright one day, he said:
"I'm beginning to think my original plan was the best after all."
"You mean we should have lynched those fellows as they were taken?" queried the Mayor, with a smile.
"Something like that."
"It won't take long to fix their guilt or innocence, once we get a jury."
"Perhaps--if we ever get one. But the men of New Orleans seem filled with a quality of mercy which isn't tempered with justice. Those who haven't already formed an opinion of the case are incompetent to act as intelligent jurors. Those who could render a fair judgment are afraid."
"You don't think there's an
