falsity of these statements, it did not take
long for the latter part of the article to become a prophecy
fulfilled, and soon, excited, inflamed and misguided parties of men
and boys were scouring the woods and roads in search of strange
"niggers." Nor was it long, before one of the parties raised the cry
that they had found the culprits. They had come upon two strange
negroes going through the woods, who seeing a band of mounted and
armed men, had instantly taken to their heels. This one act had
accused, tried and convicted them.

The different divisions of the searching party came together, and led
the negroes with ropes around their necks into the centre of the
village. Excited crowds on the one or two streets which the hamlet
boasted, cried "Lynch 'em, lynch 'em! Hang the niggers up to the first
tree!"

Jane Hunster was in one of the groups, as the shivering negroes
passed, and she turned very pale even under the sunburn that browned
her face.

The law-abiding citizens of Barlow County, who composed the capturing
party, were deaf to the admonitions of the crowd. They filed solemnly
up the street, and delivered their prisoners to the keeper of the
jail, sheriff, by courtesy, and scamp by the seal of Satan; and then
quietly dispersed. There was something ominous in their very
orderliness.

Late that afternoon, the man who did duty as prosecuting attorney for
that county, visited the prisoners at the jail, and drew from them the
story that they were farm-laborers from an adjoining county. They had
come over only the day before, and were passing through on the quest
for work; the bad weather and the lateness of the season having thrown
them out at home.

"Uh, huh," said the prosecuting attorney at the conclusion of the
tale, "your story's all right, but the only trouble is that it won't
do here. They won't believe you. Now, I'm a friend to niggers as much
as any white man can be, if they'll only be friends to themselves, an'
I want to help you two all I can. There's only one way out of this
trouble. You must confess that you did this."

"But Mistah," said the bolder of the two negroes, "how kin we 'fess,
when we wasn' nowhahs nigh de place?"

"Now there you go with regular nigger stubbornness; didn't I tell you
that that was the only way out of this? If you persist in saying you
didn't do it, they'll hang you; whereas, if you own, you'll only get a
couple of years in the 'pen.' Which 'ud you rather have, a cou