g to escape, and Magnus, too, but he believed that the
child's soul could not be saved if it died unchristened, and she yielded
to his urgings in the matter. He held his head high as he stood by her,
as he always stood in every relation in life, witnessing before God and
man that he believed her a victim, and that whatever guilt she may have
incurred, she had paid for it in full. After the responses had been
made, Elder Thorndyke unfolded a paper which had been handed him with
the name of the child on it; then he went on with his part of the
ceremony: "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, I
baptize thee--" And then he carried on a whispered conversation with the
mother, gave the loudest honk I ever heard him utter, and went on: "I
baptize thee, Owen Lovejoy Gowdy."

They said that Gowdy swore when he heard of this, and exclaimed, "I
don't care about her picking me out; but I hate to be joined with that
damned Black Abolitionist."

The elder seemed dazed after he had done the deed, and looked around at
the new church building as if wondering whether he had not committed
some sort of crime in thus offending a man who had put so much money in
it. He had not, however; for in advertising in this way Gowdy's wrong to
one girl, he ended forever his sly approaches, under the excuses of
getting her some fictitious property, saving his soul, and the like,
to another.

I think it was the word of what Gowdy said about the christening that
finally wrought Magnus up to the act he had all along resolved upon, the
attempt on Gowdy's life. He armed himself and went over to the
Blue-grass Manor looking for Buck; but found that his man had gone to
Kentucky. Magnus left word for Gowdy to go armed and be prepared to
protect himself, and went home. He said nothing to me about this; but
the next spring when Gowdy came back, Magnus started after him again
with a gun loaded with buckshot, and Gowdy, who, I suppose, looked upon
Magnus as beneath him, had him arrested. I went to Monterey Centre and
put my name on Magnus's bond when he was bound over to keep the peace.

I hinted to Magnus that he needn't mind about the bond if he still
believed in his heart that Gowdy needed killing; but Rowena pleaded with
him not to ruin himself, me and her by pursuing his plan of executing
what both he and I believed to be justice on a man who had forfeited his
life by every rule of right. This lapse into lawlessness on his part and
mine