Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-09-07
The Hearts
Highway
Copyright, lsoo;bv Doubleday. Page & Co.
~ MARY E. WILKINS

ency know not Verify / know not
that such be to blame if they turn to
Satan himself for protector rs they
suspected Margery Key of doing.
| rode away from Margery Keys,
having been delayed but moment
and the quaver of her blessings was
yet in my ears when verify | did see
that which have never understood.
As live, there passed from the house
of that meier do well next dcor. which
was closed tightly as if to assure folk
that all therein were sound asleep. a
bright light like a torch, but no man
carried it. and it crossed the road and
was away over the meadows, and no
man whom saw carried it, and it
waved in the wind like torch stream
ing back, and knew it for a corpse
candle And that same night the man
who dwelt in that house was slain
while pulling up the tobacco plants.
/ rode fast, marveling little upon
this strange sight, vet, though marvel
ing, not afraid, for things that under
stand not, and that seem to SAVIOR of
something outside the flesh, have al
ways rather aroused me to rage as of
one who was approached by other than
the given rules of warfare rather than
fear. l have always argued that an
apparition should attack only his own
kind and hath no right to leave his
own battlefield for ours when we be
at disadvantage by our lack of I'M
Outstanding as to weapons So if
had time / would have ridden after
that corpse candle and got, if l
could, sight of the bearer, had he
been fiend or spook, but knew that
had none to lose. So l rode on hard
TO Barry Upper Branch.
There was an air of mystery about
the whole place that night though it
were hard to see the use of it. Where
as. generally speaking, there was a
broad blazon of light from all the win
dows, often to the revealing of strange
sights within, the shutters were clos
ed, and only by the lines of gold
at top and bottom would one have
known the house was lit at all And
whereas there were always to be seen
horses standing openly before the
porch. this night one knew there were
any about only by the sound of their
distant stamping And yet this was
the night when all mystery of plotting
was TO be resolved into the wind of
action.
I entered and found great company
assembled in the hall. and all equipped
with knives for the cutting OF the to-
sbacco plants and arms, for the militia,
as was afterward proved, was an I'M
certain quantity. One minute the sol
.diers Were for the government. when
the promises as to their pay were spe-
lcious. and Ne next, when the pay was
not forthcoming, for the rioters. and
there was no stability either for the
one cause or the other in them.
There was hushed greeting from
one or two who stood nearest Sir
Humphrey Hyde among them as en-
tered then the work went on. Major
Robert Beverly it was who was TAX
liz luS tFdu Vi lttlttIS, lnOuSD II was
not fully known then or afterward,
but sure it can do no harm at this late
date to divulge the truth, for it was
a glorious cause and to the credit of a
mans honor If not to his purse and his
standing with the government.
Major Beverly stood at the head of
the hall with roll of parchment in
his hand. wberefrom he read the
names of those present, whom he was
dividing into parties for the purpose
of the plant cutting. esteeming that the
best plan 10 pursue rather than to
march out openly in great mob. Thus
the whole company there assembled
was divided into small parties and each
put under leader. who was to give
directions as to the commencement of
the work Of destruction
Ny party was headed by Captain
Noel Jaynes, something to my discon-
tent, for the hardest luck of choosing
In the world to my mind is that Of
choosing a leader, for the leader is In
himself a very gladstone Never had
1t pleased me to follow any mans bid
ding, and in one way only could l
comfort myself and retain my respect
Major Beverly reading
the names of those present