Litchfield enquirer., 1876-11-02

A her. z Ha turned his face away instantly, q doubIy angered by that look, which judg- N cd him in nd vance. as it were, and found ! n him q possibility of betrayal, When.
 Heaven knows, he said to himself, "I a
 let them hang me ten times over first ?
 He would-have liked to go across and
 take that woman by the throat for daring
 to suspect him--that woman, that Miriam, l with her steel-colored, unwavering eyes,
 All this passed in a breath. The elder, stern old Puritan. with his belief founded
 on tbe Book of Genesis and it's laws rath-
 CT than on the Gospel, never once dreamed
 that his daughter might have a heart in spite even of her training and of herself He could never have comprehended that 1 she loved this stranger, and that this was
 the cause of the mans long stay among 1 them, and of this preparatory VOW. He
 had thought at times vaguely that per I haps she would marry one of the brethren I by-and-by; at present she was still child | sNo Influence was used, Richard Hern-
 don; you chose to enter our society of your own accord: you are one of us.
 Bound by your VOW, have authority over you as over all the brethren. I hold also such legal powers as I could obtain from the government on coming here. I pos sess the delegated authority of the Word of God. You have slain fellow-creature; it is the greatest crime the human hand can commit. We can not let you go For our own sake, and for the sake of these listening red men, we must, as an exam pie, execute the sentence of death upon you. Prepare, therefore, to die!''
 "But l will not die, " said Herndon, hot Ply. sLet me see the man who will dare come near me- 2
 "We outnumber you, young man.
 Towards, all of you, cried the prison 1 CT, looking around the circle with fierce, ! scornful gaze. :.Not man dare meet me on a fair field. Come, unbind me; can easily fight you all, for you are all cow l ards y
 l Which was not true. Those quiet New Englanders had deep staying power of 1 their own, which could go beyond mere l fiery blood and muscle. There was not l one of them who could not have died at the stake calmly, with smile on his lips, l counting the breath of the flame as the first airs from paradise.
 The elder now tnrued to the Indians, and explained to them 1n their own tongue this mans crime and it's impending pun ishment. Human blood can not be light ly shed, my brethren. The Great Spirit commands that the murderer shall be put to death. Hear the words of the Holy Bible" And then he read agaln that an- clent verse, which has come down on the stream of Time from unwritten ages, the guard around our mysterious gift of hu- man life. The Indians listened, their deepest immobility assumed for the dig nity of the white mans evening council. They assented to the elders speech, and one of them arose and offered to sing the doath-SOOO for the criminal
 ''The white brethren will sing it, said the elder
 Herndon chafed against his bonds. '"To die like dog!" he said to himself
 The elder took his seat, and laid the Bible open before him. ''Do you see any reason, brethren, why sentence should not be pronounced upon this person ?'' he asked.
 The oldest brntber- as seel,ner- 1eason. -- ''He is guilty of murder?' ?''
 "He is."
 ''ae is worthy of death ?"
 ''Yes.''
 Richard Herndon, now give you last opportunity to speak. If you have any words to say, say them now; hereafter hold your peace. B
 He leaned back in his chair. folded h1s arms, and waited. The accused stood alone in the centre of the circle. There was silence. Some one heaped light branches upon the fire: brighter glare lit up the circle of gazing faces round about the criminal. He had regained his composure; he spoke calmly. "I protest against all these proceedings" he said; they are irregular and illegal. You have no authority to put me to death, even if l was guilty of murder, instead of being by | f You are surprised to hear me speak thus ? a rough Western hunter? You are mis- taken. Good blood flows in my veins-of better quality than yours. Inquiry will certainly be made for me, and, as sure as the sun rises, your turn will come; my blood will be required at your hands. So much for you. Now for myself. I did not commit wilful murder Every border man goes through hundreds of Just such quarrels as ours of yesterday. He expects them, and bears no malice if he is the one to fall. Ned was a chance companion, not friend; but he was good fellow in his way. He would be the first to cut these cords if he could come to life again. Dead, call upon him to speak against me if he will" And, with a sudden move ment, Herndon, his hands being tied be- hind him, stopped and drew away the blanket from the shrouded form with his strong teeth.
 It was dramatic action. The New En- gland men leaned forward, almost expect ing to see fresh blood flow from the wound, according to the old superstition. But the dead man did not accuse his friend; no blood appeared; neither was l there look of anguish on the face. He | %, l1o fn11 l one there knew, or could know, that the poor fellow was almost glad to die, and be out of it all-out of this weary, bewildered l life, where series of fatalities had seem l ed to trip him up ever since he was Torn; l for, deny it as we may, some men are the 1 footballs of Fate from the cradle to the grave.) a ze
 Theliving man stood there by the dead, his head erect, his eyes defiant He was a splendid specimen of manhood. It al- most seemed as though no law could be right which should slay him. A murmur of voices had arisen; the brethren spoke to each other in low voices.
 l But the old man remained unmoved. l He said of a man, ''He is large," or "He I is small;" beauty and strength. for them selves alone, touched him not. "Your threats do not trouble us, Richard Hern- don" he said, hushing the murmured voices with grave gesture. ''Your friends may come here after you if they will; they will find no wrong-doing. I hold, as I told you, legal powers. But it is not by those powers that now pronounce sen tence upon you. No; it is by the law of I Jehovah. the Almighty God. can not show you mercy, Richard Herndon, on account of these Indians, who are still very near to savagery, and who need this
 lesson of the white mans justice. But I Il would, not if could. Vert thou my own
 son. I should not hesitate; nay. l wish
 painful duty might be also sacrifice on
 my part, and that fathers prayers might
 avail, perhaps, too soften thee ere death.
 Richard Herndon, tonight thou must Il die.''' .,~ -- .-.-s.r.. .. -..-.t...t q4