urance.

"'Be still,' said I, 'we must and will have prayer.' Again she declared
we should not.

"'Now,' I remarked to her, 'if you do not be still, and behave
yourself, I'll put you out of doors.' At this she clenched her fist,
swore at me, and told me I could not put her out. I caught her by the
arm, and swinging her round in a circle brought her up to the cabin
door, and shoved her out. She jumped up, tore her hair, foamed, all the
time swearing in a terrible way. The door was made very strong to keep
out hostile Indians. I shut it tightly, barred it, and went to prayer.
Under such conditions praying was difficult, I assure you, but I was
determined to conquer or die.

"While she was raging, foaming and roaring on the outside I was singing
with a loud voice spiritual hymns on the inside to drown her words as
much as possible. At last she became perfectly exhausted and panted for
breath. Then she became calm and still, and knocking at the door said:
'Mr. Very, please let me in.'

"'Will you behave yourself, if I let you in?' said I.

"'O yes,' replied she, 'I will.' With this I opened the door, took her
by the hand, led her in, and seated her by the fire-place. She was in a
high perspiration, and looked pale as death. After she was seated she
said: 'What a fool I am.' 'Yes,' said I, 'about one of the biggest
fools I ever saw in my life. Now, you have to repent of all this or
your soul will be lost.' She sat silent, and I said 'Brother C., let us
pray again.' We kneeled down and both prayed. His wife was as quiet as
a lamb. And what is better, in less than six months this woman was
soundly converted, and became as bold in the cause of God as she had
been in the cause of the wicked one.'"

CHAPTER IV.

The Trail of the Serpent.

While these ministers of grace were engaged in pleasant conversation a
different kind of a crowd had met not far away. They were moonshiners.
Their rendezvous was a cave near the top of a hill about one mile back
from the Cumberland River. A motley company of about a dozen men they
were, dressed in cheap trousers supported by "galluses," coarse shirts,
and wide-brim straw hats.

Sam Wiles was leader of this band. As these pages are often to be
burdened with his name, we shall now take his measure. He belonged to
that part of the population called "poor whites." His parents had come
to the settlement when Sam was a little boy. They were poor, shiftless,
improvident, ignorant,