The meeting was quickly organized along formal lines and a committee of three was appointed to conduct the hearing.  The chairman of this committee-he constituted himself chairman by virtue of the fact that he was first nominated—­made a ringing speech in which he praised his honesty, his fairness, and his knowledge of the law.  He complimented the miners for their acumen in selecting for such a position of responsibility a man of his distinguished qualifications.  It was plain that he believed they had chosen wisely.  Then, having inquired the names of his two committeemen, he likewise commended them in glowing terms, although of course he could not praise them quite as unstintedly as he had praised himself.  Still, he spoke well of them and concluded by stating that so long as affairs were left in his hands justice would be safeguarded and the rights of this miserable, cringing trio of thieves would be protected, albeit killing, in his judgment, was too mild a punishment for people of their caliber.

“Hear!  Hear!” yelled the mob.

Pierce Phillips listened to this speech with a keenly personal and yet a peculiarly detached interest.  The situation struck him as unreal, grotesque, and the whole procedure as futile.  Under other circumstances it would have been grimly amusing; now he was uncomfortably aware that it was anything but that.  There was no law whatever in the land save the will of these men; in their hands lay life or death, exoneration or infamy.  He searched the faces round about him, but could find signs neither of friendship nor of sympathy.  This done, he looked everywhere for a glimpse of a woman’s straw-colored hair and was relieved to discover that the Countess Courteau was not in the audience.  Doubtless she had left for Dyea and was already some distance down the trail.  He breathed easier, for he did not wish her to witness his humiliation, and her presence would have merely added to his embarrassment.

The prosecution’s case was quickly made, and it was a strong one.  Even yet the damning trickle of rice grains could be traced through the moss and mire directly to the door of the prisoners’ tent, and the original package, identified positively by its owner, was put in evidence.  This in itself was enough; testimony from the other men who had likewise recovered merchandise they had missed and mourned merely strengthened the case and further inflamed the minds of the citizens.

From the first there had never been a doubt in Phillips’ mind that the McCaskeys were guilty.  The facts offered in evidence served only to explain certain things which had puzzled him at various times; nevertheless, his indignation and his contempt for them were tempered with regrets, for he could not but remember that they had befriended him.  It was of course imperative that he establish his own innocence, but he determined that in so doing he would prejudice their case as little as possible.  That was no more than the merest loyalty.