The old man hesitated--what could that mean?
The judge had to repeat his order before the old man would go.

When the judge was alone with the prisoner, he bent down and felt with his hands, for he was not yet accustomed to the darkness.

Then he said kindly: "Konrad Ferleitner, I have come to ask you if there's anything you wish for ?" The prisoner wrung his hands convulsively; wild pulsations, that beat in strong double strokes at irregular intervals, coursed through his body.

So violent was his agitation that the poor wretch stuttered forth words that the judge could not understand.
"Compose yourself!" When he caught the words "Father-confessor!" amid the sounds uttered by the prisoner, it occurred to the judge that the poor fellow imagined that the hour of execution had arrived.

"Ferleitner," he said, "come and sit by me on the bench.