er's
face with a look of recognition. Then a shiver went through her frame,
she closed her eyes, and ceased to breathe.

The Judge and George wept, and were not ashamed to show their tears;
while Mose, who had always cared for the horse, sobbed aloud in his
grief, and on a sudden impulse of anger administered a kick to
prostrate Wiles, the "po' white trash," who had killed Mas'r's hoss.

Judge LeMonde gave directions for Mose to bury Dolly's body in a decent
manner, and then the rest prepared to return to their homes.

CHAPTER XVII.

Lynch Law or the Gospel.

Wiles, the captive horse thief, was given Mose's horse to ride and,
closely guarded by the six men, they all retraced their journey up the
river road. Wiles was sullen and morose, having little to say. His look
was that of a guilty and disappointed man, yet he carried a don't care,
half defiant air which was more assumed than real.

Bad news travels fast. The very atmosphere seems to tear it from house
to house. Farmers had begun to pass along the road in their wagons;
they heard and spread the account of the horse-stealing. It flashed
through the hamlet of Bridgewater with incredible rapidity. As men
heard the reports they became wildly excited and grimly determined to
punish the thieves if caught. Some, by nature more excitable than
others, left their work and rode down the road to aid as best they
could in the pursuit. These met the party as it was returning, and
swelled their number. They were not backward in expressing their
opinions of the culprit as they cast black and angry looks upon him.

These people of the "bottoms" were of a higher class than the "poor
whites" who abode in the hills. They lived in far better houses, they
had better school and church privileges, and their sense of moral
values was keener than the others. While as a rule they were not
experts in grammar and rhetoric, their language was much superior to
that heard in the back districts.

"Lynch him," "Fill his carcass with bullets," "String him up high as
Haman," "He's been in many scrapes like this; now we've caught him,
let's make short work of him," "Hanging is too good for him; he ought
to be skinned alive,"--such were some of the expressions which saluted
Wiles' ears, and they did not serve to make his nerves any more quiet.

When the men reached Bridgewater the morning was well advanced and they
were met by a considerable company from the village and surrounding
p