ing threats of being gagged, in case he did not stop his
noise.

As the guard retired from the hall, all hope of relief for the doomed
one came fully to an end, he being now literally left to his fate. He
would still engage in prayer,--"Lord, have mercy on my soul; Lord, why
won't they come and do something for my relief?"

Had the cell door been left unlocked, the watch could have done much
more towards affording the needed warmth, and been more effective in
efforts for his relief. But that privilege would not be allowed. At
length the man became too weak and exhausted to take and use the
proffered bricks, which ended the offices of kindness the watch was
struggling to perform. Finally, the moaning grew more and more faint,
and was of such a tone as to give clear indication that death had
commenced its work. The sad hours wore slowly away. The morning finally
arrived, and the men were called to their tasks, the now feeble moans
dying upon their ears as they passed out. At length, when suiting his
convenience, the warden went to the dying man's cell. Seeing the result
of their work, he hastened for the doctor, whom he found just starting
on an imperative call. But he hurried to the prison to see the man a
moment and direct the means to be used till his return. He found him
thoroughly cold, as though dead, and ordered him to be taken at once to
the hospital, the most vigorous rubbing to be used by two men, and other
means for restoring warmth. For a time he revived somewhat, but these
efforts, however beneficial they might have been in season, were of no
avail now, for death soon closed the scene.

The brothers, summoned by a telegram, were present in a few hours. A
post-mortem examination was had, at which one asked, "What was the
matter with the man?" to which the doctor answered, "Probably some
difficulty about the heart." An invited physician responded,--"From what
I hear, I think it a clear case of congestion of the lungs;" one of the
worst cases of which, it was found to be. A consulting physician said
that the case must have been a number of days in progress.

The reader must make his own comment on this whole affair.[2] My
feelings were never more stirred. We were terribly shocked at Pike's
murder of the Browns, those feeble, old people. But he dispatched them
at once; neither, perhaps, experiencing a moment's sensibility of
suffering. True, the man lived a number of hours, but was probably not
sensible of pa