In another moment he was overpowered by the six men who guarded him.

True to his principles, he did his utmost to escape.

Strong in the faith that while there is life there is hope, he did not cease to struggle, like a chained giant, until he was placed under the limb of the fatal tree which had been selected, and round which an immense crowd of natives and white settlers had gathered.
During the previous night the Widow Stuart had striven to save the man whom she knew to be honest; for Gascoyne had explained to her all about his being engaged in his service.

But those to whom she appealed, even on her knees, were immovable.

They considered the proof of the man's guilt quite conclusive, and regarded the widow's intercession as the mere weakness of a tender-hearted woman.
On the following morning, and again beside the fatal tree itself, the widow plead for the man's life with all her powers of eloquence; but in vain.