Page 12 (1/2)

BUCKNER&039;S EYES WERE SHINY now, as if these sights had burned the vision fro had gone," he related "I took it to be a naked woh, and terrible thin She - it - had long dark hair Brown or black, I couldn&039;t say The thing had tits, I seen &039;eered and fell" Buckner leaned his head forward, the veins standing out in his neck "Stones and a yard Right there where a wohta be That yard was ready for work, too, and when the witch seen it she smiled so wicked it near froze my heart The creature laid down a&039;side her, and then she started tostarted to lickin&039; the creature&039;s spike"

"By &039;she,&039; you are referring to whoe there The witch, Rachel Howarth"

"all right" Woodward again aol seerace was the open hatch, through which he could see a square of gray clouds "Continue"

"There was justmore sin and vileness after that The witch turned over, on her hands and knees, so her rear quarters was showin&039; Then that half-man, half-woman took its spike in hand and squatted down atop her I sawthings no Christian should e&039;er have to witness, sir I tell you, before I seen theht in the head Now I ain&039;t You ask ood for nothin&039; no more"

"This creature that was half-man and half-woman penetrated Madam Howarth with its penisi"

"Yes sir The creature pushed its yard in from behind"

"Let us move past those particulars," Woodward said, his face blanched "What was the aftermath of this incidenti"

"The what, siri"

"The aftermath What happened after the creature had " He paused, seeking the proper word, " finishedi"

"It got up off her and walked away Then the witch stood up and took to dressin&039; herself all a&039; sudden I heard ht up next to my ear, and I whipped &039;round to see who it be"

"and did you seei"

"WellI was hty scairt There was a man standin&039; behind mebut I don&039;t think he had no face &039;Cept a mouth He did have a mouthI &039;member that He said, &039;Jeremiah Buckner, run home&039; That&039;s all II kneas a&039;layin&039; in bed, sweatin&039; and shakin&039; Patience was hard asleep, conjured most likely I heard a cock crow, and I knew then that the de, then, tell your hat had happenedi"

"No sir, I didn&039;t I was shas and I was scairt, too, that the witch ht kill her for hearin&039; I didn&039;t tell nobody, not even after I heard what Elias Garrick seen Then Lester Crane told - - them three creatures with the witch, &039;cept they was doin&039; their wickedness inside the house where the Poole faht next to Dunton&039;s farue"

"What made you decide to tell what you&039;d seeni" Woodward asked "and who did you telli"

"I decidedafter they found theht to Mr Bidwell and told him all of it"

"I should like to speak to Mr Dunton," Woodward said to Matthew "Make a note of that, please"

"Cain&039;t," Buckner said "He took his fao Dunton&039;s house since burnt down Lester Crane and his brood lit out &039;bout the sahts "Did you know Daniel Howarthi"

"Yes sir"

"What kind of ster Maybe forty, forty-five year old Big rant you!"

"Did you have occasion to see Mr Howarth and his wife togetheri"

"No, not much Daniel kept to hisself Wasn&039;t a social kind of man"

"and what about his wifei Was she sociali"

"WellI don&039;t know about such Daniel and that woman been here ht it from a Dutchman named Niedecker That man&039;s wife had passed in childbirth, the child died too, so he decided to give it up Daniel was always a quiet man Never needed ed "The womanwell, mayhap she did try to be social But it just caused a stir"

"a stiri What kind of stiri"

"Look at her, sir If you can bear it, after what I&039;ve told you She&039;s betwixt a nigger and a Spaniard Would you care to share a peith heri"

"The witch attended churchi" Woodward raised his eyebrows

"That was &039;fore she took to witchcraft," Buckner explained "She only come to church two or three Sabbaths Wouldn&039;t nobody sit near her Theot a whiff about &039;em"

"So she was not welcoo as she pleased Wasn&039;t nobody gonna stop her from enterin&039; Our Lord&039;s house But I recall the last time she showed up, somebody - and I knoho it was, but I ain&039;t sayin&039; - pelted her with a rotten egg a&039;fore she could coht a&039;side the face You knohat she donei"

"Whati"

"She sat down in a peith that egg smellin&039; as it did, that mess all in her hair, and she nary made a move &039;til Reverend Grove said the last Praise and amen &039;bout four hours later &039;Course, he did rush it some, that smell in the church as it was"

Mattheare of a movement fro the last line - and there was Rachel Howarth, standing next to the bars, her teeth gritted and an expression of sheer ferocity on her face Her right aresture of violence that istrate!"

The shout itselffew hairs on his scalp He twisted his head around as well, and Buckner gave a garbled cry of terror and raised a hand to protect his face from what he was sure would be Satanic flame

There was a loud crack! at the end of the woments of dark reddish-brown clay fell into the straw Matthe that in her right hand was the cup&039;s grip, the rest of it smashed to smithereens

"I am done with est bit of the cup into their cell "That is how Lucretia Vaughan wanted it returned, is it noti"

"Yes, it is and thank you, Matthew, for your help in e my bladder Will you collect those pieces for istrate blotted his face with his sleeve and atte heart Matthew had to bend down on his knees and reach into the woather up all the shards She stood over hiin with but now - due to farh Matthew had the benefit of clear-headed reasoning

"Wait," she said as he started to rise Her hand came down and plucked up a small piece he&039;d missed "Take this one, too"

She placed it in his outstretched palm, which he ihan&039;s basket "Let us continue, please, though my mind is as shambled as that broken cup" He rubbed his temples with both hands "Matthew, do you have any questions for the witnessi"

"Yes, sir, I do," he answered readily, and then he prepared to scribe his own inquiry "Mr Buckner, how long have you depended on that canei"

"My canei Oheight, nine year My bones are poorly"

"I understand that you were terrified that night in the orchard Terror can strengthen a s, I know But when the person behind you said, &039;Jeremiah, run home,&039; did you actually runi"

"I don&039;t know But I ot back to i You recall no pain to your legsi"

"No," Buckner said "I don&039;t recall"

"By which door did you enter your housei"

"Which doori Well I reckon the back door"

"You don&039;t remember which doori"

"Jus&039; two doors," Buckner said with a snort "Back &039;n front I was behind the house, so I hti" Matthew asked, as he dipped the quill once more

"It was February, like I say"

"Yes, sir But hti"

"Sure it was Had to be cold, a February night!"

"You don&039;t know for certain whether it was cold or noti You don&039;t recall it being coldi"

"I&039;istrate for help "What&039;s he poundin&039; the nail fori"

"Is there some point to this, Matthewi"

"\es, sir, there is If you&039;ll bear with ht, then" Woodward nodded "But please remember that Mr Buckner is a witness, not a defendant"

"Mr Buckner, when you rose froht, did you pause to put on any outer garoin&039; on abouti"

"a coat," Matthew said "a cloak a hat Gloves Surely you paused to at least put on shoes"

Buckner scowled "Well of course I put on shoes!"

"and a coati"

"Yes, I reckon I put on a coat too! Do you think me a fooli"

"No, sir, I do not But you don&039;t sound very certain about those details Tellin bed with your shoes and coat still oni"

"Whati"

"You testified that you were lying in bed, sweating and shaking Did you pause at soot into bedi"

"Yes" It was said with faint conviction "I must&039;a"

"You don&039;t recalli"

"I was scairt Like I said, scairt half dead!"

"What about your canei" Matthew asked "You did take your cane outside with you, did you noti"

"I did I cain&039;t hardly get &039;round wirhout it"

"Where did you put your cane when you returned froers against his mouth "I put it in the corner next to the bed, I reckon Where it always is put"

"Then that&039;s where it hen ht there in that corner"

"Where did you put your coat and shoesi"

"Itook off my coat, and laid it and my shoesat the foot of the bed, I believe"

"That&039;s where they were the next time you had need of themi"

"Wait," Buckner said, his forehead deeply creased "No Iup my coat on the hook by the front door That&039;s where it was"

"By the front doori Yet you entered by the back doori Was there a lantern lit within the house, or was it darki"

"Dark I don&039;t recall no light"

"You were - as you put it - scared half dead, a witness to demonic wickedness, and yet you walked fro your coat on its proper hooki" Matthew held up a finger before Buckner could respond "ah! You did so because you didn&039;t wish your wife to know you&039;d been outside, could that be correcti"

"Yes, it could" He nodded vigorously "That must be the why of it"

"Sir, if you had decided to do so, why did you believe you took it off and laid it at the foot of the bedi Is it so unclear in your mind where you left your coati"

"I was conjured! Must&039;a been Like I say, after what I seen I ain&039;t right in the head no more"

"Mr Buckneri" Matthew stared forcefully into thedetails, seen without the benefit of illurasp of details is so hazy both before and after the incident in the orchardi"

Buckner&039;s face tightened "You think I&039;m lyin&039;, don&039;t youi"

"Mr Buckner," Woodward spoke up, "no one has said that"

"Don&039;t have to say it! I can read it in these damn questions you&039;re askin&039; me! all this &039;bout coats and shoes, and did I have my cane and whatnot! I&039;m a honest man, you can ask anybody!"

"Please, sir, there&039;s no need for an outburst"

"I ain&039;t no liar!" Buckner had fairly shouted it He hobbled to his feet and pointed at Rachel Howarth "There&039;s the witch I seen with them three demons from Hell! I seen it was her, no mis-takin&039; it! She&039;s evil to her black heart, and if you think I&039;m lyin&039; she&039;s conjured you, too!"

"Sir," Woodward said quietly, trying to calm the man "Please Won&039;t you sit down and - "

"No, I will not! I won&039;t be called a liar, not even by a istrate! God knows I&039;ea bit wounded by this last remark "In the courts of Earth, however, justice is the responsibility of mortals"