in
a lower room of the Yanceyville court house.

A vivid account of the assassination is given in "A Fool's
Errand," where John Walter Stephens is called "John Walters."
Whether it is all true as therein narrated, I cannot say for
certain; but the story, confessedly fiction, is no more monstrous
than the reality. It was a ghastly murder. As those who know best
about it (if still alive) have told nothing, and will not, any
narrative of the circumstances must be imperfect.

On the day of the homicide Stephens had attended a Democratic
meeting, upstairs in the court house, in the audience-room.
According to his custom he had been taking note of the speeches.

Sometimes he used the room where his body afterward was found,
for the trial of his magistrate's cases. This room was at the
time occupied for no other purpose, and was devoid of furniture,
except an old table and a chair or two. A pile of fire-place wood
extended across it, on the north side, next to the wall, one end
of the pile being near a window. There were three windows, two of
them overlooking the court house yard, opposite a street. On the
other side of the street were several negro houses. Stephens's
dwelling could be seen plainly from the windows, being southeast
from the court house. The only door entering the room was from
the hallway, which passed entirely through the building from
north to south. The door of the room was within a few feet of the
rear hall entrance.

Stephens, after being in the meeting upstairs, until about 5
o'clock in the afternoon, was called out by a man named Wiley;
with whom Stephens had been in frequent conversation during the
day, trying to induce Wiley to become an independent candidate
for sheriff. Wiley was a Democrat and Stephens had pledged him
the Republican vote of Caswell county. After the two went out
together Stephens was not seen alive by any one innocent of the
murder.

No doubt Wiley enticed Stephens from the meeting and admitted it.
But according to a letter from Hon. R. Z. Linney (recently
deceased) published in the _News-Observer_, Dec. 29, 1891,
credited to the _Statesville Landmark_, "a gentleman of
intelligence who was at Yanceyville at the time of the tragedy,"
declared that he had information regarded by him as altog