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MaTTHEW WaS SHOCKED at his first sight of the istrate, just before two o&039;clock Woodward, who entered the gaol supported between Hannibal Green and Nicholas Paine, wore a long gray overcoat and a rust-colored scarf wrapped about his throat His face - which glistened with sweat and was a few shades lighter than his coat - was cast doard,He took feeble steps, as if he&039;d aged twenty years since Matthew had seen hiht the midday meal, he&039;d explained to Matthew that the course of the trial had been delayed because the ht, but what he heard from Paine was that Elias Garrick was scheduled to appear at two o&039;clock Therefore Matthew had expected to see the istrate under the weather, but not become a near invalid He realized at once that Woodward should be in bed - or possibly even at Dr Shields&039;s infir hi at the bars "The h to sit at court today!"

"I&039; Mr Bidwell&039;s orders," Paine replied, as he steadied Woodhile Green unlocked the cell "He said to bring the istrate shouldn&039;t be forced to hen he&039;s hardly strong enough to stand!"

"I see no one forcing hiot the door open and then helped Paine walk Woodward through a strong, bitter medicinal odor also entered

"I demand to see Bidwell!" Matthew had al as his teistrate whispered "That hurts ht herei You&039;re in no condition to - "

"The work must be done," Woodward interrupted "The sooner the trial is endedthe sooner we may leave this wretched town" He eased himself down into his chair "Hot tea," he said to Paine, his face pinched with the effort of speech

"Yes sir, I&039;ll get you sohan," Woodward said "I&039;ll drink any tea but hers"

"Yes sir"

"Mr Paine!" Matthew said as he and Green started to leave the cell "You know thehere!"

"Matthew, settle yourself," Woodward cautioned, in his rahisper "I may be somewhat illbut I have my responsibilities You have your own Be seated and prepare for our witness" He glanced through the bars into the next cage "Good afternoon, madam" Rachel nodded at hirim but well composed Paine and Green left the cell and aol

"Sit and prepare," Woodward repeated to his clerk "Mr Garrick will soon be here"

Matthe there was no point in further argument He put the Bible in front of Woodward, then opened the desk drawer into which he&039;d placed the box of writing supplies and placed it atop his own desk He sat down, lifted the boxlid, and ree his right hand to warm it for the exertion that was to follow The noise of Woodward&039;s husky, labored breathing was going to be a considerable distraction In fact, he didn&039;t kno he could concentrate at all today He said, "Sir, tellto ask questions of Mr Garrick when you can hardly speaki"

"Mr Garrick will doa breath His eyes closed for a few seconds; he felt so weak he feared he ent fumes of the liniment that even now heated his chest, back, and throat rose around his face and up his swollen nostrils He opened his eyes, his vision blurred "I will do my task," he vowed "Just do yours"

In a few aol with Elias Garrick, ore a dark brown suit that appeared two sizes too sray hair had been co pomade Garrick looked fearfully into the cell at Rachel Howarth, pro Winston to say, "She can&039;t har"

Garrick was motioned toward the stool that had been positioned before Woodward&039;s desk He sat down upon it, his gaunt-cheeked face cast toward the floor His sinewy hands clasped together, as if in silent supplication

"You&039;re going to be fine" Winston placed his hand on Gar-rick&039;s shoulder "Magistrate, you can understand that Elias is a bit nervous, with the witch in such close proxi," was Woodward&039;s rasped reply

"Uhwell sir, I ondering, then" Winston raised his eyebrows "What ti Violet adamsi"

"Pardoni"

"Violet adams," Winston said "The child Mr Bidwell told reeablei"

"One moistrate&039;s only seeing one witness today!"

"WellMr Bidwell seeet Elias, I stopped at the adams house and informed the family that Violet was expected to testify this afternoon It was Mr Bidwell&039;s wish that the trial be concluded today"

"I don&039;t care whose wish it was! Magistrate Woodward is too ill to - "

Woodward suddenly reached our and grasped Matthew&039;s ar it to co the childat four o&039;clock"

"I shall"

Matthew looked incredulously at the istrate, who paid him no attention

"Thank you, Mr Winston," Woodward said "Youpat on the shoulder and took his leave

Before Matthew could say anything more, Woodward picked up the Bible and offered it to Garrick "Hold this Mattheear him to truth"

Matthew obeyed When the ritual was done and Matthew reached out to take the Good Book, Garrick pressed it against his chest "Pleasei Might I keep a&039;hold of iti"

"You may," Woodward answered "Go ahead and tell your story"

"You mean what I already done told youi"

"This time for the record" Woodward motioned toward Mattheho sat with his quill freshly dipped and poised over the paper

"Where do you want ht, then" Garrick continued to stare at the floor, then licked his lips and said, "Welllike I done told you, ht I was feelin&039; poorly, and I waked up to go outside and speas makin&039; me ill It was silent Everythin&039; was silent, like the whole world was afeared to breathe"

"Siri" Matthew said to the farmer "What time would you make this to bei"

"What timei Ohtwo or three, maybe I don&039;t recall" He looked at Woodward "Want o oni" Woodward nodded "anyways, I went out That&039;s when I seen somebody crossin&039; the Howarth cornfield Wasn&039;t no stalks that time of year, y&039;see I seen this person walkin&039; in the field, without no lantern I thought it ful strange, so I went over the fence, and I followed &039;em behind the barn That&039;s when" He stared at the floor again, a pulse beating at his temple "That&039;s when I seen the witch naked and on her knees, tendin&039; to her master"

"By &039;the witch,&039; do you mean Rachel Howarthi" Woodward&039;s frail whisper had just about vanished

"Yes sir"

Woodward started to ask another question, but now his voice would not respond He had reached the end of his questioning He looked at Matthew, his face stricken "Matthewi" he was able to say "aski"

Matthew realized theover to him the reins of this interview He redipped his quill, a dark anger si in hiistrate to imperil his health in such a fashion But now that the interview had begun, it should be finished Matthew cleared his throat "Mr Garrick," he said, "what do you mean by &039;ure earing exactly whati"

"a black cloak and a cowl, like I done told you There was gold buttons on the front I seen &039;eure&039;s facei"

"No sir, but I seenthat thing the witch was suckin&039; on That black cock covered with thorns Couldn&039;t be nobody but Satan hisself, owned somethin&039; like that

"and you say Rachel Howarth was completely nakedi"

"Yes sir, she was"

"What were you wearingi"

"Siri" Garrick frowned

"Your clothes," Matthew said "What were you wearingi" Garrick paused, thinking about it "Well sir, I had onI ht odd," he said at last "I can&039;t recall"

"a coat, I presumei" Matthew prodded "Since it was cold outi"

Garrick slowly blinked "a coat," he said "Must&039;ve had on my coat, but I don&039;t remember puttin&039; it on"

"and shoesi Or bootsi"

"Shoes," he said "No, wait My boots Yes sir, I believe I had on ood look at Rachel Howarth&039;s face, there behind the barni"

"Wellnot her face, sir," Garrick admitted "Just her backside She was kneelin&039; away from me But I seen her hair and she was a dark-skinned woistrate and then back to Matthew "It had to be her It was Daniel&039;s land"

Matthew nodded, scribing dohat Garrick had just said "Did you spewi" he asked suddenly

"Siri"

Matthew lifted his face and stared directly into Garrick&039;s dull eyes "Did you spewi You left your bed to go outside for that purpose Did you do soi"

again, Garrick had to think about it "Idon&039;t recall if I did," he said "No, I think I seen that figure crossin&039; the Howarth cornfield, and Iot &039;bout feelin&039; poorly"

"Let&039;s go back a bit, please," Matthew instructed "What tihti"

"Usual tiht, I reckon"

"Both you and your ent to bed at the sa poorly when you went to bedi"

"No sir I don&039;t think I was" He licked his lips again, a nervous gesture "Pardon ot to do with the witchi"

Matthew looked at the istrate Woodward&039;s chin had drooped, but his eyes were open and he gave no sign of wishing to interfere - even if that were possible - with Matthew&039;s line of inquiry Matthew returned his attention to Garrick "I&039; to clear up a point of confusion I have," he explained "So you did not go to bed feeling ill, but you awakened perhaps six hours later sick to your stoot out of bed carefully, so as not to awaken your wifei"

"Yes sir, that&039;s right"

"and theni"

"Then I went outside to spew," Garrick said "But before that didn&039;t you pause to put on your coat and bootsi"

"Iwellyes sir, I htly recall it"

"How old buttons," Matthew said, "were on the front of Satan&039;s cloaki"

"Six," Garrick answered

"Sixi Of that nuorously "I seen &039;eht"

"It was a full moon, theni"

"Siri"

"a full moon," Matthew repeated "Was it a full mooni"

"Reckon it had to be But I don&039;t recall ever lookin&039; up at it"

"and even with this brighta distant field without a lantern - you were unable to see Satan&039;s facei"

"Well sirthe Devil earin&039; a cowl over his head"

"That may be so, but were not the buttons on the front of his cloaki If the bright old buttons so memorable, could you not see a portion of his facei"

"No sir" Garrick shifted uneasily on the stool "It weren&039;t his face that caughtthe witch was suckin&039; on"

"Covered with thorns, I think you&039;ve already told usi"

"Yes sir, it was"

"Satan spoke to you, did he noti In fact, he called you by namei" Garrick nodded "Did you not look at Satan&039;s face when he spoke to youi"

"I believe I did Butthere weren&039;t nothin&039; there but dark"

"Did Rachel Howarth ever turn her face toward youi"

"No sir, she didn&039;t"

Matthew paused to lay aside his quill and lanced once istrate was stillwas steady, if very labored

"Mr Garrick!" Rachel suddenly said, standing at the bars "What have I ever done to you, to cause you to ed the Bible for protection "You know I seen you, out there givin&039; service to yoursuch a sin! and I never consorted with such a creature! If you&039;re not lying, your mind has invented a fantasy!"

Woodward loudly slapped his hand upon the table for order, and immediately Matthew said, "Silence, please! Madaistrate when I say it&039;s in your best interest not to disrupt the testimony"

"Her best interesti" Garrick sounded amazed "Have you taken the witch&039;s sidei"

"No, Mr Garrick, I have not I&039;ht to speak without interruption" Matthew started to pick up the quill again when Nicholas Paine entered the gaol bearing a basket

"Pardon the intrusion, but I have your tea" Paine came into the cell, placed the basket before Woodward, and opened it Inside was a sile cup "Compliments of Mrs Zeborah Crawford"

"My thanks," Woodhispered

"Will you be needing anything elsei"

Woodward thought about it He patted the desk in front of him "Poppets," he said

"The poppetsi You wish to see themi" Woodward nodded "Now"

"They&039;re at o directly and fetch thelance in the direction of Rachel and then hurried out

Matthew had his quill in hand once more, and a fresh sheet of paper before hi hiht nod as a signal to proceed "Mr Garricki" Matthew said "Think hard on this next question, if you will Put the iold buttons in your mind, and tell ht line or three side by sidei"

There was a sharp clatter of crockery Matthew looked to his left to see that Woodward had spilled his tea Theat him as if the clerk had taken leave of his senses

"It is a pertinent question, sir," Matthew said "I do think it deserves an answer"

"It&039;s foolish," Woodhispered, his gray face stern as a rock

"Might you reserve your opinion until after the question is answeredi"

"What kind of question is iti" Garrick asked, visibly agitated "I thought I was brung here to tell you &039;bout the witch, not about buttons!"

"You were brought here to tell us whatever is necessary for the ment," Matthew countered "Remember, sir, that you hold a Holy Bible, and that you&039;ve vowed to speak only the truth Re to your answer" He paused a few seconds to let Garrick reflect on that pronouncele line, or were they three side by sidei"

"They were" Garrick suddenly stopped His tongue flicked out again, wetting his lips His fingers tightened on the Bible, his knuckles whitening "They were" again he faltered His face see currents thatbreath, in preparation to old buttons," he said "On the black cloak I seen &039;eht"

"Yes, sir," Matthew said "But what arrangement were they ini" Garrick frowned; his an to rub in s, his eyes glazed and the pulse beating harder at his tehtly forward and his expression had become keen

"It was a silent town," Garrick said, in as allistened on his forehead "Silent The whole world, afeared to breathe"