The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1884-04-11

Hero was a murder to which the murderers de-
manded witnesses and compelled the presence
| of witnesses. But still, as said before, we
| could sec but dimly, The moon was sinking
fast now. How slow and deliberate they were
The barrow evidently had heavier load than
ever before. The heavy chain and the chained e
girl 7? 1t moved heavily, slowly, through the
great white glrde OF cleaning salt; slowly and
sadly, like funeral march.
| AT last II touched the edge of the dark waters
All was still, as silent as death. 1t seemed
| that some one of these men-two OF them,
three of them, all o. thcm-must disobey this
| giant and monster, kill him IL necessary, and
| save this beautiful girl. Even II they had no
| sense of chivalry or virtue or yalor In them to
help the helpless, it did seem as II some one,
any one, all might do almost anything to pro-
| rect her, save her.
Two men rode up, dlsmounted, held their
| horses by the long tethers as they stood there
| frctful and knee-deep in the cleaning girdle OF
salt, and SO hastily lifted the long black coffin
| into the boat.
The giant soIemny and silently took his
place at the oar and began to move slowly and
certainly toward the dark and desolate rock in
the deeps of the lake.
The horsemen rcmounted, drew back, hats in
hand, and so sat with the others looking out at
the colossal and silent boatman with his singu-
lar freight. Was he rowing to reach this rock
where the corpse had been seen loaded down
with chains Would he not go on, on, on, any
where, and escape these brutal and blind follow
ers, who believed him saint engaged in main
tanning the Church Of Jesus Christ
But these men did not doubt for a moment.
They sat their horses in crescent about the
head of the lake and looked on tranquil, silent,
reverential, waiting with certainty the signal OF
death.
Never fell there such silence. Never was
there such murder as this. Far away above
the cleaning towers of snow the stars stood
trembling. The moon began to hasten away
and slide swiftly down in the west behind the
hill on which we stood, as If terrified and refus-
ing to be witness.
The man saw that the moon was going away,
and he dipped his oars with rapid and heavy
stroke. The water shOne, sparkled, flashed in
the moon, The oars dug into the heavy water
as if dipping into a sea of molten silver.
The boat struck the rock !! You could hear 1t
CRATE and grind, all was so still.
The giant stood up in the boat a second, then
with his broad right hand slowly drew back
the covering and looked down as if into face
in the coffin. He was so tall, his form seemed
like q tree. He cast a black and frightful
shadow far out over the sea of silver in the
fading moonlight The mounted Danites loom
ed up in the mirage larger than heroic statues.
At last the colossal figure in the boat leaned
over, caught up something long and heavy from
the coffin, stood up tall and terrible with it pois-
ed in the air, high above his head in his two
mighty udUuS. l1c pOlStu III lueIc " luOIltHt,
dallied with it, heaved his great heavy should
ers arched his long strong back, surged to and
fro in the failing silvery moonlight, and then
with vehement force threw it forward into the
depths of the dark water with all the tremendous
power that was in him.
The waters dashed up, CLEANED like sun
rise, closed over. and all was still again in the
heart OF the great dark waters of death.
A hand was lifted to us from the nearest
horseman, and VIC passed on over the hill right
in the face of the great round moon now set
Ting down to rest in the far-off Sierras, and l
never saw the place again for twenty years or
more.
And when did return l came from London
to write up the trial of Brigham Young, who
was then being tried for his life for completely in
murders like this.
BY good fortune l found an old friend of
mine was then governor of the territory. We
searched this spot for the skeletons; but, as be-
fore, the lake had SO filled that, while we found
the buried rock and little island, we found moth.
ing more.
told q Mormon elder this story, and he
earnestly assured me that all we had seen of the
end was the mrage-a delusion; that the mis-
sionary did not drow the girl, but had taken
this course to save her from the Danites that
he had left the girl in the willows, to fall in with
the next train that came by, while he had
thrown only his bag of bread or something of
that sort with the chain about it into the black
waters of the great lake. Let us hope so at
least.
THE END.