The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-11-19
Catherine urging Harry
not to become q rebel

| Iepute, MaISeIy Aeys dHO IL WIS
| naught but solidity of shadow beside
the road except for gIimmer of white
| from the breast of her cat in the door,
way. But. as l live, as I rode past a
! voice came from that house, though
| how she knew me in that gloom I
| know not.
| GOOD speed to thee, Master Wing
| field, and the fagots that thou didst
| gather for the despised and poor shall
| turn into blessings, like bars of silver.
That which thou hast given, hast thou
forever. Go on and fear not, and strike
for liberty and no harm shall come
nigh thee" AS she spoke l saw the
bent back Of the poor old crone in the
doorway beside her cat, and partly be-
cause Of her blessing and partly be-
cause, as I have said before, whether
witch or not she was aged and feeble
and ill fitted for such work, / leaped
from my saddle and gathered her an
other armful of fagots and laid them
on her hearth.
I left the old soul shedding such
tears Of gratitude over that slight serv-
ice and calling down such childish
blessings upon my head that l began to
have little doubt that she was no
witch. but only poor and solitary old
woman, which. to my mind, is the for
lornest state of humanity How a man
fares without those of his own flesh
and blood / can understand, .e
man must needs have some comfort in
his own endurance of hardships. but
what woman can do without chick
or child and no soIace in her depend
ency I know not. Verify I know not
that such be to blame if they turn to
Satan himself for a protector. as they
suspected Margery Key of doing
I rode away from Margery Keys,
having been delayed but a moment,
and the quaver of her blessings was
vet in my ears when verify I did see
that which I have never understood
As live, there passed from the house
OF that ne'er do well next door, which
was closed tightly as IL to assure folk
that all therein were sound asleep,
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 I saw carried it, and it
waved in the wind like torch stream
ing back, and I knew it for a corpse
candle. And that same night the man
who dweIt in that house was slain
while pulling up the tobacco plants.
l rode fast marveling a little upon
this strange sight, yet, 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 un-
Outstanding as to weapons. So If I |
had time I would have ridden after
that corpse candle and got, if II
could, sight of the bearer, had he
been fiend or spook, but 1 knew that
had none to lose. So 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
oASdb9 ASA1d. tAC oloLlCLs WCAt CiOS-f
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.
/ entered and found a great company
in the hall, and all equipped
with knives fer the cutting of the to-
bacco plants and arms. for the militia,
as was afterward proved, was an IN
certain quantity. One minute the sol
diers were for the government, when
the promises as to their pay were spe-
,ious, and the next, when the pay was
aot forthcoming, for the rioters. and
here was no stability either for the
'ne cause or the other in them.
There was a hushed greeting from
me or two who stood neareSt-Sir
acknowledgements then-as ! en-