e people had taken no thought as yet. Curiosity was
their dominant impulse. Every one wanted to see what had been done;
failing that, to hear of it, and failing that, to be near the scene of
the affair. The crowd of people packed the road in front of the house
for nearly a quarter of a mile in either direction. They balanced
themselves upon the lower strands of the barbed wire fence in their
effort to see over each others' shoulders; they stood on the seats of
their carts, buggies, and farm wagons, a few even upon the saddles of
their riding horses. They crowded, pushed, struggled, surged forward and
back without knowing why, converging incessantly upon Hooven's house.

When, at length, Presley got to the gate, he found a carry-all drawn up
before it. Between the gate and the door of the house a lane had been
formed, and as he paused there a moment, a group of Leaguers, among
whom were Garnett and Gethings, came slowly from the door carrying
old Broderson in their arms. The doctor, bareheaded and in his shirt
sleeves, squinting in the sunlight, attended them, repeating at every
step:

"Slow, slow, take it easy, gentlemen."

Old Broderson was unconscious. His face was not pale, no bandages could
be seen. With infinite precautions, the men bore him to the carry-all
and deposited him on the back seat; the rain flaps were let down on one
side to shut off the gaze of the multitude.

But at this point a moment of confusion ensued. Presley, because of half
a dozen people who stood in his way, could not see what was going on.
There were exclamations, hurried movements. The doctor uttered a sharp
command and a man ran back to the house returning on the instant with
the doctor's satchel. By this time, Presley was close to the wheels of
the carry-all and could see the doctor inside the vehicle bending over
old Broderson.

"Here it is, here it is," exclaimed the man who had been sent to the
house.

"I won't need it," answered the doctor, "he's dying now."

At the words a great hush widened throughout the throng near at hand.
Some men took off their hats.

"Stand back," protested the doctor quietly, "stand back, good people,
please."

The crowd bore back a little. In the silence, a woman began to sob. The
seconds passed, then a minute. The horses of the carry-all shifted their
feet and whisked their tails, driving off the flies. At length, the
doctor got down from the carry-all, letting down the rain-flaps on that
side a