ed me in a
whisper to pass down through the cornfield while I could do so
without being detected, take the horse, and thus get out of the
county before a warrant had been issued for my arrest.

Deliverance was very tempting, yet I did not like the name of
running away from trouble. It would convey the impression of
fear, if not of guilt. So I chose to face the music and abide the
consequences. A little after sunrise I saw Justice Walls coming,
and some men with him. At this my heart leaped for joy. Among so
many I was satisfied all were not against me, as some of them had
attended lectures and were favorably impressed.

After a short interview with Col. Tucker, Justice Walls informed
me that Col. Tucker demanded from him a warrant for my arrest for
having baptized his wife without his consent. I asked Col. Tucker
if he ever forbid me to baptize his wife; whether he had not
invited me to his house and asked me to stop there when I
returned. I told him I had not seen him, after this conversation,
until his wife was baptized; that I had not urged her to be
baptized - she had come to me and demanded to be baptized. I told
the Justice that I had violated no law of Tennessee. The law
allows a wife much greater privileges than being baptized without
the consent of her husband; she could sell one-third of his real
estate, and her deed would be good. The Justice said I was right,
and told the Colonel it would be useless to issue a warrant
without lawful cause.

The Colonel then demanded a warrant for my arrest on the charge
of assault and battery. He said I had abused his person, and that
he was sore and scarcely able to walk. The Justice told the
Colonel that it seemed to him that he was the one who made the
assault; for he snapped a loaded gun at me and attempted to take
my life, while what I had done was in self-defense. He told Col.
Tucker he would talk with him again. He then beckoned me to
follow him, and I did so. We went into a room by ourselves, when
he said to me,

"Parson Lee, you have warm friends here. I have been much
interested in your lectures. I believe you to be honest and firm
in your faith, and will do all I can for your benefit. Col.
Tucker is a desperate man when aroused. As a matter of policy, to
humor him, I will give him a writ; but I will manage to delay the
time, so as to enable you to get out of the county. I will send
for my law books, with instructions to delay in getting them
here, and will