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THE WaRM BaTH - taken in a tub room beside the kitchen - had turned out to be chilly and his shaving razor had nicked his chin, but otherwise Matthew found hiorated as he dressed in clean clothes He had consue, and salted haer to get out and about as the istrate&039;s door was not answered, but the door was unlatched When he looked in, he saw Woodward asleep with the box of court papers beside hi through theht hand, but his illness had stolen him away Matthew quietly entered the roo at Woodward&039;s pallid yellow-tinged face

The istrate&039;swas a harsh, painful wheeze Matthe the brown stains on the pillowcase under his left ear The room had a thick, sickly smell, an odor of dried blood and wet pus anddeathi Matthew thought

Instantly his ht should not be allowed No, no, neither allowed nor dwelt upon! He looked down at the scuffed floorboards for a le with the very air

at the orphanage, Matthew had seen boys grow sick and wither away in such a fashion He suspected Woodward&039;s illness un with the cold rain that had pelted theht of which ain damn that murderous villain to the innermost fires of Hell and now Mattheas toristrate&039;s condition was only likely to worsen if he was not soon gotten back to Charles Town; he presu - he presumed - but by the doctor&039;s own ad one and the saistrate had said concerning Dr Shields: What prompted him to leave as probably a well-established urban practise for a task of extreei

What, indeedi

Woodward roan &039;ann," he said

Matthew lifted his gaze to the ile as bone china in the light of the rooain His head pressed back against the pillow "Ohhhhhh" It was an exclahe&039;s hurting, annhurting" The istrate&039;s voice dwindled away, and his body relaxed once again as he fell into a deeper and more merciful realm of sleep

Carefully Matthew cahtened the papers into a neat stack, which he left within reach of Woodward&039;s right hand

"Siri are ye in need of anythin&039;i" Matthew looked toward the door Mrs Nettles stood on the threshold, and had spoken quietly so as not to disturb the sleeper He shook his head

"Very well, sir" She started to withdraw, but Matthew said, "a moment, please," and followed her out into the hallway after closing the door behind hiout that a woht have done the job as equally as a man"

"You mean, a woman a&039; my size, do ye noti" Mrs Nettles&039;s ebony eyes bored holes through hiht"

"Well, I did nae steal it, so think what ye please Now, if you&039;ll pardon me, I ha&039; work to do" She turned away and walked toward the stairs

"as do I," Matthew said "The work of proving Rachel Howarth innocent"

Mrs Nettles halted in her advance She looked back at hi a confusion of aht," Matthew assured her "I believe Mada it so"

"Proviri iti Howi"

"It would be iht like to know ht I now ask you a questioni" She made no response, but neither did she walk away "I doubt oes on here that escapes your attention," he said "I&039; of Fount Royal as well as this house You certainly heard the tales concerning Madam Howarth&039;s supposed witchcraft Why is it, then, that you so adamantly refused to believe her to be a witch, when the majority of the citizens are convinced she isi"

Mrs Nettles glanced toward the stairs, h to overhear, before she offered a guarded reply "I ha&039; seen the evil done byere Mistress Howarth was accused Oh yes sir, it was a thing waitin&039; to happen after the rev&039;rend was laid low, it was bound an&039; sealed"

"You oat was found for the murderi"

"aye Had to be Mistress Howarth, y&039;see Had to be someone different - someone as nae welcomed here The fact that she&039;s dark-skinned and near a Spaniardit jus&039; had to be her accused of such crimes and whoever murdered the rev&039;rend killed Mr Howarth, too, and hid those poppets in the house to make sure Mistress Howarth fell to blame I nae care what Cara Grunewald said about visions from God and th&039; like She was ha&039; crazy and the other ha&039; dumb How the tricks were done, I canna&039; say, but there&039;s a true fox in our coop Do y&039;see, siri"

"I do," Matthew said, "but I&039;d still like to knohy you believe Rachel to be innocent"

The woain, she checked the staircase before she spoke "I had an elder sister by the name a&039; Jane She married a man named Merritt and come over here, settled in the town a&039; Hampton, in the Massachusetts colony Jane was a wonderful spinner She could sit at the wheel and spin most anythin&039; She could read the weather by the clouds, and foretold storms by the birds She took to bein&039; a midwife, as well, after Mr Merritt died of fever Well, they hanged her in 1680 up there in Hampton, for bein&039; a witch an&039; spellin&039; a woive birth to a Devil&039;s baby So they said Jane&039;s own son - my nepheas accused of evils and sent to prison in Boston, and he passed away there a year later I&039;ve tried to find their graves, but no one knohere they&039;re lyin&039; No one cares where they&039;re lyin&039; You knohat , but simply waited

"She was different, do y&039;seei" Mrs Nettles said "Her readin&039; of the clouds, her spinnin&039;, and her midwifery made her different In Hampton they put her neck in a noose for it, and when our father read the letters and found out how she&039;d died, he fell sick too Our ot better, and he lived another four year, but I canna&039; say I ever saw hiin&039; was always there in that house It was always there that she had been killed as a witch, e all knew she had a sweet, Christian soul But as there to defend her, siri Who was there to be her cha her le man nor woman stood up for her, for theyas we fear in this town: anyone who speaks up in defense in&039; tree Yes sir, he knows that, too" Mrs Nettles again stared through Mattheith fierce intensity "The fox, I mean He knohat happened in Saleonna speak out for Mistress Howarth, for fear of their own necks They&039;d rather quit this town and drag a guilty shadow I&039;d quit it e to turn my back on Mr Bidwell&039;s coinbut 1 do not, and so there you have it"

"The witnesses insist that what they&039;ve seen is neither dream nor phantasm," Matthew said "Hoould you account for thati"

"If I could account for it - and could prove it - I would ht to Mr Bidwell&039;s attention"

"Exactly what I&039; to do I understand that Rachel was not well liked here, and was forced away froht have held such a grudge against her that they would wish to paint her as a witchi"

"No sir, I canna&039; as I say, there were plenty who disliked her for bein&039; dark and near Spaniard Disliked her for bein&039; a handsome woman, too But no one I can think of who had that much hate in &039;em"

"What about Mr Howarthi" Matthew asked "Did he have enemiesi"

"a few, but as far as I know they&039;ve all either died or left town"

"and Reverend Grovei Did anyone display ill feelings toward himi"

"No one," Mrs Nettles said flatly "The rev&039;rend and his ere fine people He was a smart man, too If he was still alive, he&039;d be the first to defend Mistress Howarth and that&039;s the truth"

"I wish he were alive I&039;d much rather Reverend Grove calm the crowd than Exodus Jerusaleht loose cannon," Mrs Nettles agreed "May I ask if I should set a plate for you at the midday o But would you please look in on the lanced quickly toward the closed door "I&039;m feared he&039;s doin&039; poorly"

"I know all I can hope is that Dr Shields tends him adequately until we can return to Charles Town, and that he doesn&039;t grow any worse"

"I ha&039; seen this sickness before, sir," she said, after which she was silent but Matthew grasped as left unspoken

"I&039;ll return in the afternoon," he told her, and then he walked by Mrs Nettles and descended the stairs

The day continued glooed past the spring on his way to the conjunction of streets, where he turned west onto Industry a sharp eye had to be kept ready for the blacksmith, but Matthew put Hazelton&039;s property behind hienerous spattering of hted with the belongings of a family - father, mother, three small children - who evidently had chosen this as the day to abandon Fount Royal

Indeed, the town under this ray sky appeared all but deserted, with only a few citizens in evidence Matthe on both sides of Industry Street the fallow fields and forlorn dwellings that were the results of wretched weather, ill fate, and the fear of witchcraft It see Industry, in the direction of the orchards and farmland that should have been the pride of Fount Royal, the worse became the sense of desolation and futility Piles of anigets of huon and campsite of Exodus Jerusalem but the preacher was not in view When Matthew canawed open and the innards being ravaged by a couple of desperate-looking ht that the days of Fount Royal were numbered - no matter what Bidwell did to save the place - siy of the doomed had settled here like a funeral shroud

He did spy an elderlya saddle, and from him he inquired as to the home of Martin adaent answered Then, "Seen you take the lash this ood not to holler When&039;s that witch gonna burni"

"The

"Hope it&039;s in a day or two I&039;ll be there, you canThe very next house - ashed but losing its paint in large, ugly splotches - looked to be long vacant and its front door was partway open but all the shutters sealed Matthew suspected this was the Hamilton place, where Violet had experienced her encounter Three more houses, and there stood the one with blue shutters He walked to the door and knocked

When the door was opened, Violet herself stood before him Her eyes widened and she started to retreat but Matthew said, "Hello, Violet May I speak with youi"

"No sir," she said, obviously overcoo, sir" She made a motion to close the door in his face

"Please" Matthew put his hand against the door "Just one moment"

"Who is thati" came a woman&039;s rather shrill voice from within "Violet, who&039;s therei"

"The man who asked me questions, Maently and a woman as as thin and rawboned as her husband stepped upon the threshold Constance adams wore a drab brown dress and white bonnet, a stained and frayed apron, and held a broom She was older than her husband, possibly in her late thirties, and th of her pointed chin and the unrestrained anger in her pale blue eyes

"What do you wanti" she snapped, as if biting off a piece of beef jerky

"Pardon hter another question pertaining to - "

"No," she interrupted "Violet&039;s answered enough questions

That woo away!"

Matthew kept his hand on the door "One question," he said fir behind her mother, about to bolt like a scared deer "Violet told me that in the Ha I asked her to think about it further, and try to remember what she heard"

"You&039;re painin&039; her, don&039;t you see thati all these questions are like to make her head split open, she&039;s hurtin&039; so bad!"

"Mamai" Violet said, close to tears "Don&039;t yell, Maainst Matthew&039;s chest "Violet can&039;t sleep at night, her head aches so! Dr Shields can&039;t even help her! all this thinkin&039; and res is drivin&039; us all to madness!"

"I can understand your difficulty, but I have to - "

"You don&039;t have to do nothin&039; but turn around and go!" she said, all but shouting "If the witch had been put to death three ht, but look at it now! She&039;s near killed it, just like she killed the reverend and her own husband! Just like she&039;s killed Sarah Davis and James Lathrop, Giles Geddy and Dorcas Chester and all the rest of &039;eraves! and now she&039;s tryin&039; to kill my Violet by a knife to the brains!" Spittle had spewed frolistened on her chin The expression in her eyes, wild to begin with, now had taken on a frightening fever "I told &039;e, but they didn&039;t care to hear me! No, they let her walk in that church, just walk in and her a black nigger fro, and had clasped her hands to her ears

"She will damn us all before she&039;s done!" Constance adams continued to rave, her voice now risen to a dreadful, piercing pitch "I&039;ve begged hied him, but he says we ain&039;t runnin&039;! She&039;s tainted his !"

Matthew presumed she er of losing her last tattered rag of sanity and obvious as well that no good was being done here He backed away fro, "She killed Phillip Beale! Choked him on blood in his sleep! I told &039;em to run her out of this town! I told &039;em she was evil, and abby Hamilton knew it too! Lord God protect and save us! Burn her, for the love of alhty God, burn her!" The door slammed shut, and fro like an injured, terrified anie

He turned around and walked away fro Industry Street His heart was pounding, his stoly twisted into a knot by his encounter with the h, the power of fear to distort and destroy Perhaps Constance adae, and this situation had pushed her over In any case, he could expect no further help from woman or child This he found extre voice in the dee that he felt iton the truth

In a few ain to the house itself There was nothing particularly forbidding about it, other than the fact that it had the air of abandonrily fist clenched around a secret It was made of the same pine timbers as the other houses and was the same small size - two or three rooms, at the most - yet this house was indeed different for it had been chosen, if one believed the child, as the site of Satan&039;s warning against the citizens of Fount Royal

He decided to see the interior for himself, and particularly find the back room from whence the man&039;s voice had coh to ad that the door was open when she entered as well He doubted that anyone had set foot here since the child&039;s experience, and so he thought there ht be some evidence of interest Possibly the imp&039;s candle, or the chair upon which Satan had been sittingi

Matthew approached the door, not without some trepidation Because all the shutters were closed, the interior was as dark as the gaol at reeted at the threshold by a daether unsavory odor He called on the sternest stuff he had and entered the house

His first task was to make his way to the nearestand open the shutters wide, which he did Noith the aid of feeble though welcorew He went to the otherand opened those shutters also, allowing God&039;s illue of Satan

When he turned to survey the roos he noted in rapid succession: the Haon, for there was not a stick of furniture re droppings, some of them relatively fresh; and a skeleton lay in the corner

The skeleton, of course, secured his attention Matthew approached it for a closer inspection

It had been at one tied because its teeth were so worn down The skeleton lay on its right side on a rayish-brown hair, its bones picked clean by the flies that even now buzzed around the fresher mounds of excrement The smell in this corner of the room was not pleasant, as the boards beneath the dead animal had been stained by the liquids of decay Mattheondered how long this carcass had been lying here, being whittled down to its foundations by scavenging insects

He remembered what Martin ada she is &039;bout to tell you happent near three week ago

Surely, to have been so co in this rooht The s It must have struck a person in the face as soon as that threshold was crossed, and indeed must have been quite apparent even before the entry was reached Yet it had not stopped Violet ada the house, and indeed she&039;d not noticed it even when she ithin

One ht say the Devil had masked the odor, or that Violet had been too entranced to let it wrinkle her nose, but stillOf course, the dog could have died here teeks ago rather than three But still

Matthew turned his s in the rooht have been sitting with the iht have conjured a chair from thin air, but still

He heard a noise froht sound, just a whisper of a noise, but it was enough to make the small hairs stir on the back of his neck He stood very still, his n back there, beyond the spill of ht

The sound - whatever it was - was not repeated Matthew thought it had been the creaking of a board, or the slow shifting of so that would not be seen He waited, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his eyes trying to pierce the gloom a fly landed on his forehead, and he quickly brushed it away

The room back there From where the child had said she&039;d heard a

Mattheas terrified by the thought of what e of vision Or, indeed, lying in wait for him But, God help him, he had come to this house to ascertain the truth and therefore he o if he would noti

Still, his feet had grown roots He looked around for a weapon of so No, that was not quite correct: amid the ashes of the hearth he sao items that had been left by the Ha pot He picked up the pot, which had been so used its bottoathered dark

Mattheould have traded two teeth for a sword and a lantern, but a cooking pot was at least substantial enough to strike a bloith, if need be He sincerely hoped there would be no need and now cao, that was the question If he slinked out, would it not be an adht be back in that roo himi and had he heard a noise, or had it been only his fevered iinationi

It could have been a rat, of course Yes, a rat That was all