Even at that critical moment there came over me a feeling of admiration
for a language like this; a truly universal language, not limited by
rules of speech or hampered by grammatical structure. At length it became
evident that Juba had finished, but he continued standing at Edmund's
side.
Ala and her white-headed companion looked at one another, and I tried to
read their thoughts. In her face, I believed that I could detect every
sign of hope for us. Occasionally she glanced with a smile at Edmund. But
the old judge was more implacable, or more incredulous. There was no
kindness in his looks, and slowly it became clear that Ala and he were
opposed in their opinion.
Suddenly she placed her hand upon her breast, where the bullet must have
grazed her, and made an energetic gesture, including us in its sweep,
which I interpreted to mean that she had no umbrage against those who had
unintentionally injured her. It was plain that she insisted upon this
point, making it a matter personal to herself, and my hopes rose when I
thought that I detected signs of yielding on the part of the other. At
this moment, when the decision seemed to hang in the balance, a new
element was introduced into the case with dramatic suddenness and
overwhelming force.
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