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THERE WERE SHOUTS to hurry the buckets another wagon pulled up, carrying two barrels full of water, and instantly a an to fill the buckets that were offered to hi rapidly, he returned each bucket to the line ofuntil the water was thrown upon the flames It was clear to Matthew and the other onlookers, however, that the buckets were no ainst a wind-tossed fire; the structure was already almost eaten by the flaht that nearly all of Fount Royal&039;s citizens had been roused by the watchman&039;s cries, and had come to Truth Street to either help the line of firemen or watch the flames do their work Most of them had come to the scene as had Matthew and Bidwell: still clad in their nightshirts, with hurriedly donned trousers and shoes, or in the case of the woht apparel Matthew had run upstairs, put on his breeches, and then gone to awaken thebefore he&039;d reached the door Not even the cries of the crowd nor the alarh as the shutters were surely closed in his room the sounds would not have overcome his own nasal rhapsody Therefore Matthew had decided not to take the time to hammer at his door, but had instead run down the stairs to folloell

The heat was ferocious, the hipping the fire into a frenzy It was now the zenith of irony, Matthew realized Though thunder still ru flashed over the sea, this time the clouds hadn&039;t opened above Fount Royal He knew that Bid-ould wish for a downpour to sration, but it was not to be The farmhouse - the very sa the previousas Matthew and Woodward had paused to talk - was doo Certainly the firele line instead of a double or triple Yesterday&039;s torrential rain had soaked the occupied house that stood opposite a split-rail fence froaol, as well - were distant enough fro e down its victim quickly, but it would not leap to any other roof

Which had started Matthew thinking Everything had been so thoroughly wet; how had this fire startedi a lightning strike, perhapsi He wasn&039;t sure if even lightning had the power to burn drenched wood No, the fire had to have begun inside the house Even so, howi

"That one&039;s gone," a lanced at the speaker He was a tall, sli a brown cloak and a woolen cap It took Matthew a few seconds to register the , aristocratic nose and lofty forehead, narrowed and reserved dark blue eyes Without his white wig, his face powder, and rouge the schoollance - a different person altogether But Johnstone leaned on his twisted cane with its ivory handle, the flae "It was William Bryerson&039;s house," he said "His two sons used to come to school"

"When did the family leavei"

"Oh, William didn&039;t leave He lies in the cemetery yonder

But histook the boys and they leftI suppose it was early last year" Johnstone turned his gaze upon Matthew "I understand yourhis interviews tomorrowi"

"Yes, sir"

"I heard so froot into soreat currency in this town," Johnstone said "Everyone knows everyone else&039;s business But you happened to have stumbled onto a secret, is that correcti"

"Who told you thisi"

"Winston, again Mr Bidwell confides everything in him He visits ame or two of chess, after which I am completely educated as to current events" He stared at the burning house again Bidas shouting orders, trying to get y of the fire to spend three days in the gaol and receive three lashes, I understand"

"Correct"

"and the interviews are to be held in the gaoli That will be a novel setting"

"It was on Mr Bidwell&039;s request"

"Mr Bidwell," Johnstone said, his face showing not a shade of e entle to this colony, when indeed his one single goal is the further stuffing of his pockets and for that purpose he will have Rachel Howarth executed"

"He believes she&039;s a witch" Matthew paused a few seconds "Don&039;t youi"

Johnstone gave a faint half-smile "Do youi"

"It remains to be seen"

"ah, diploe, but I&039;d request awhat istrate," Johnstone said, looking around "Where is hei"

"I left him asleep at the house He&039;s not easily awakened"

"Evidently not Well, since he&039;s not within earshot, I&039;d like to knohat you honestly think about Rachel Howarth"

"It would be betraying ht about that for a moment, and then nodded He tilted his head to one side, intently watching the fire "Thank you; you&039;ve toldYou have your doubts about witchcraft, as I do Rachel Howarth is in a cage because of several reasons, not the least of which being she is a beautiful woman and threatens the sensibilities of the uese blood is also aa Spaniard add to that the fact that Daniel Howarth was a man of Bidwell&039;s stripe, without his charm He had enemies here, without a doubt"

"What, theni" Matthew had to take a glance around to h to overhear "You believe someone else murdered himi"

"Yes, I do Not Satan a th, of which there are some hereabouts"

"But Mr Garrick saw Madabehind the barn"

"Mr Garrick," Johnstone said calmly, "has a ht, then his soundness of sanity"

"Why did you not speak out at our dinner, theni"

"Yes, and then I ht find myself a cellmate with Rachel Howarth That&039;s an honor I would not wish to have"

"This is a merry da beside the schoolhtshirt, his long hair wild and hipped, his pale blue eyes large behind the oval spectacles "It&039;s no use the waste of good water!"

"Hello, Benjaht nod "I should think you&039;d stay in bed, these fires being such a commonplace nowadays"

"I could say the sa crops fail to grow" He steadied his gaze at Matthew "Hello there, young man In some trouble yesterday, I hear"

"a little," Matthew said

"Three days in the gaol and three lashes is aliniistratei"

"In bed," Johnstone said before Matthew could answer "He&039;s a sensible sleeper, it see of abandoned houses"

"Yes, but he&039;s a h all manner of holocausts" Shields faced the fire, which was now totally beyond control Bidas still hollering orders, trying to rouse the fireone fro with Bidwell, aved an ied into the onlookers again and was gone froht Matthew noted also the presence of Mrs Nettles, rapped up in a long black robe; there was the giant gaol-keeper, Mr Green, standing off to one side shtily worried; Edward Winston, wearing a gray shirt and wrinkled brown trousers that appeared hastily clilanced back over his shoulder and his eyes locked for a second or tith Matthew&039;s Then he toohoives ive you some more liniment, if you like," Shields offered

"You and that linisfat preparation for your stripes as it is for est you practise wearing a clothes pin on your nose" Johnstone started to limp away, but then paused "You think on what I&039;ve said, young man," he entreated "When your time is served, I should like to talk to you further on this subject"

"What, are these secrets I shouldn&039;t be hearingi" Shields asked

"No secrets, Benja , he turned and followed his cane through the crowd

"Well," Shields said with a sigh, "I should be returning to bedanother patient die" He gave a twisted smile "Life in the New World, indeed"

a few lowing roof collapsed Sparks shot to the heavens and spun &039;round and &039;round in the inds Bidwell had ceased giving orders; now he just stood back, his ar at his sides One of the firemen threw a final bucket of water, but then he retreated froration and suddenly the entire front wall buckled and caved in

"It&039;s the Devil, speakin&039; to us!" a man shouted Mattheell&039;s head snap around, the dark-circled eyes hunting the shouter like a hawk after a rodent "It&039;s Satan hisself, tellin&039; us to leave this damn town &039;fore we all burn up!"

So-chinned face - took up the cry "Neal Callaway&039;s right!" she hollered "Satan&039;s warnin&039; us to get out!"

"Stop that!" Bidwell&039;s voice made the thunder sound meek "I won&039;t hear such talk!"

"Hear it or don&039;t, as you please!" anothera few feet to Matthew&039;s left "I&039;ve had enough! I&039;m takin&039; my wife and children out of here before we all end up in caskets!"

"No, you&039;re not!" Bidwell fired back He was silhouetted by the flames and looked the part of a demon himself "Cutter, don&039;t be a fool!"

"It&039;s a fool who stays when the Devil wants hiht, my Nora and littering with fire "anybody with sense oughta do the same! This town ain&039;t worth livin&039; in no more, &039;cause that bitch and her master want it!"

That state their accord, a few - a very few - trying to holler hiesture "Listen toto start the hearings this very day! I promise to you, by my very soul, that the witch shall be dealt with and out of our lives before ht that Bidwell had just placed his soul in jeopardy

"One day&039;s too long forthe cro, like an actor upon a stage "No, sir! First light, we&039;re gettin&039; out &039;fore our skins are burnt off or the plague gets us!"

"Hush, hush!" Bidwell shouted anew, trying to quash that evil word "There&039;s no plague here!"

"You dig up theraveyard!" a woman near shrieked

"You ask &039;em what kilt &039;eood!"

WHILE THIS UGLY SCENE was unfolding and Bidwell fought for control of the crowd, Isaac Woodward had awakened in a cold sweat His throat, however, was aflah the insect net at the ceiling; the net had not prevented at least one new intruder frorizzled cheek The particulars of his nightmare - that common, cruel visitor - remained in his ers clenched around the bars of an iron bed, and he heard a soft and terrible gasping ann, his voice had spoken Dear God, he&039;s

a light! a strange light was in the roohte of sleep into full reality again But the strange light was indeed real; it was a leaping, writhing lue in hue He looked at theand realized the light was co sun - would that there would be asun! - never appeared so drunk before and now he could sht have awakened him: the bitter scent of sot up out of bed and opened the shutter and there was the view of a house afire, down along Truth Street Dangerously close to the gaol, he thought; but it looked to be on the opposite side of the street In the phantasht he could see a crowd of onlookers, and the swirling wind brought him the crackle of the flaer than alar on, but it see must have been a little death He lit his la across the hall to Matthew&039;s door

Just as he lifted his hand to knock, he heard a soft click from within

The latch, he realized Matthew must have either locked or unlocked the door

He knocked "Matthew! There&039;s a fire outside, did you knowi" There was no response

"Matthewi Open, please!" Still, nothing "are you feeling welli" a fine question for hiht; his voice sounded like sawblades and bloody bones

Matthew did not speak, nor did he open the door Woodward placed his hand on the knob and started to turn it, but he hesitated This was so unlike Matthew, but then againthe young e shortly, so who could predict what his eht bei But ould he not even speak through the doori

"Matthew, I&039; downstairs Do you know if Bidwell&039;s upi" Woodaited, and then said with some exasperation, "I do think you should at least answer

"as you please!" Woodward turned away and stalked along the corridor toward the staircase That was so strange and rude for Matthew, he thought The youngalways courteous But he was probably brooding in there, mad at the world Woodward stopped Well, he decided, I shall pound on that door until he opens it! I shall pound it down, because if his frame of mind is dark he&039;ll be no use to ain to retrace his steps

a hand reached out from behind hirasp The candle was extinguished a shoulder hit the istrate&039;s body and shoved him aside, and he shouted and stuure was past hi down the stairs in the dark Though stunned, Woodward knehat he was dealing with "Help!" he hollered "Thief! Thief!"

aT THE FIRE, Matthew decided it was time to return to Bidwell&039;sabout and Bidwell had been reduced to a croaking hoarseness atte to answer all the discord a further incentive to vacate the scene was the fact that Matthew had spied Seth Hazelton - bandage still strapped to his face - standing in the throng watching the coh Matthew&039;s mind - his wicked, wicked mind - to run over to the blacksmith&039;s barn and find the other sack that must be hidden somewhere in there But he dashed that idea for the sake of his skin and turned to leave the area

He collided with a ht behind hi of London&039;s backstreets "Watch yer clumsy self"

"I&039;m sorry" Matthew&039;s next i that reeked He wrinkled up his nose and drew back, getting a good look at the man

He was a short, fatbellied toad; at least, that was Matthew&039;s first thought The ray,

but Matthew realized it was the color of grime This dirty citizen was perhaps in his early forties, with tousled brown hair fro a bald dome at the crown His face was round, with a beard that had streaks of gray running through it He wore a loose-fitting garether by a drunken seamstress The man was repellent to Matthew&039;s sensibilities, but one feature snared his attention: the gri the white shade of ice on a January , and yet their centers seemed to be as fiery as any sed beneathSuddenly the nostrils of the man&039;s wide, rather coarsely shaped nose flared and he looked down at the ground

"Don&039;t move," he said; it carried the force of a shouted coht ared down, and then he grinned a mouthful of yellow teeth and raised the business end of the stick up to Matthew&039;s face

Iony "They like to be near people," theshapes running hither and yon between the shoes and boots - and bare feet, in soet &039;e deerskin gloves stained with the fluids of previous executions With his free hand he adroitly unfastened the leather strap of a long brown seedbag that hung from his belt, and he pushed the stick&039;s blade and the writhing rat into it Then he reached down into the bag and Matthe his hand give a sickening twist before the blade ithdrawn , Matthew couldn&039;t fail to notice, bulged with a nuiven up the ghost was still twitching

Matthew realized he&039;d just witnessed Gwinett Linch - the ratcatcher - at his noble profession

"So Matthew&039;s expression "a town istrate, but it ain&039;t no place to live without a ratcatcher Sir" He gave an exaggerated bow and walked past Matthew,man&039;s hip

and noas surely ti e about how Rachel Howarth should be hauled froaol and beheaded with an axeblade bathed in the blood of a la flames, his shoulders slumped, and truly the master of Fount Royal appeared to have lost his foundations

Mattheatched his footing as he walked back to thecare that Seth Hazelton wasn&039;t stalking hi the parlor, and Mrs Nettles in attendance to the istrate Woodas in the room&039;s most comfortable chair, his head back, eyes closed, and a coainst his forehead at once Matthew deduced that soi"

Woodward&039;s eyes iht "I was attacked, Matthew!" he said forcefully, though his voice was strained and weak "By someone I took to be you!"

"Took to be mei"

"Someone was in your room" Mrs Nettles took the coain in a bowl of water nearby "The istrate heard your door bein&039; latched"

"In my roomi" Mattheare he sounded all at sea, which he was "Who was iti"

Woodward shook his head Mrs Nettles replaced the wet compress "Didn&039;t see his face," Woodward said "It happened so swiftly He knocked the lantern from my hand and near broke one"

"This happened only a short tioi"

"Twenty minutes a&039; th&039; most," Mrs Nettles said "I&039;d just returned from the fire, and I heard him hollerin&039; &039;Thief&039;"

"You i"

"I don&039;t know" Woodward lifted a hand and held it against the compress "It was all I could think of at theto ransack your room"

"Well, I&039; I have is borrowed" and then it struck Matthew like a " He picked up a lantern and hurriedly ascended the stairs He found his room to be neat and orderly, not a trace of an intruder Except for one thing, and this hat he&039;d suspected

Before going to bed, he&039;d placed the gold coin upon the dresser top The coin was now gone, and Matthew doubted that it would be found in this rooht He spent a lint, but it was not to be "Damn!" he swore softly

"anythin&039; missin&039;i" Mrs Nettles asked when Matthew returned to the parlor "Yes My gold coin"

"Oh my Lord! Mr Bidwell keeps soo up and see if they&039;ve been plucked too!" She took a lamp and went up the stairs with a speed that Mattheould never have assigned to her

He stood next to the istrate&039;s chair Woodas a pasty color and his breathing was very harsh "You&039;re not well at all," Matthew said

"Who would be, after such an encounteri Goode&039;s gone to fetch me some rum I&039;ll be better presently"