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aS THE SUN SETTLED and the blue shadows of evening advanced, Fount Royal sluht have been

It was a sluured death Stood the empty houses, stood the empty barns a scarecrow drooped on its frame in a fallow field, two blackbirds perched upon its shoulders a straw hat lay discarded on Harmony Street, and had been further destroyed by the crush of wagon wheels The front gate was ajar, its locking timber thrown aside and left in the dirt by the last family who&039;d departed Of the thirty or so persons who re dreay of spirit to put the gate in order It seeate unlocked, for who knehat savages ei

But in truth, the evil within Fount Royal see oneself in a dark room with a beast whose breath stroked the back of the neck

It was all clear now all of it, very clear to the citizens

The witch had escaped with the help of her demon-possessed lover That boy! You know the one! That clerk had fallen in with her - had fallen into the pit of Hell, I say - and he overcaot her out Then they fled Out into the wilderness, out where Satan has his own village Yes, he does, and I&039;ve heard tell Soloht ask hih, and guard your souls at the listening: Satan&039;s built a village in the wilderness and all the houses are made of thornwood They have fields that seethe of hellfire, and they grow crops of the istrate&039;s fallen sick again, don&039;t youi Yes, he has Sick unto death He&039;s near given out Now this is what I hear: someone in that mansion house is a witch or warlock theistrate Satan&039;s poisoned tea! So guard what you drink! Ohwhat a horror to think on may haps it wasn&039;t the tea that was poisonous, but the very water Oh my if Satan had it in mind to curse and poison the fount itself ould all die writhing in our beds, wouldn&039;t wei Oh my oh my:

a breezeeve It rippled the waters of the fount, and kissed the roofs of lightless houses ItIndustry Street, where it had been sworn that the phantas with its rat sticker and its torn throat, warning in a ghastly cry that the witches of Fount Royal were hungry for more souls more souls

The breeze stirred dust from Harmony Street, and whirled that dust into the ce a nu Truth Street, past the accursed gaol and that house - that witch&039;s house - fro of demons&039; claws could be heard, if one dared approach too closely

Yes, it all was very clear now to the citizens, who had responded to this clarity of vision by fleeing for their lives Seth Hazelton&039;s house lay ee cold The hearth at the abandoned Vaughan house still held the perfume of baked bread, but the only itation of the wasps at the infirs and boxes had been packed in preparation for departure, the glass vials and bottles nestled in cotton and waiting for

Just waiting

They were alone a few stalwarts remained, either out of loyalty to Robert Bidwell, or because their wagons had to be repaired before a trip could be undertaken, or because - the rarest cases - they had nowhere else to go and continued to delude themselves that all would be well Exodus Jerusaleh the audience at his nightly preachings had dwindled he continued to assail Satan for the appreciation of his flock also, he had made the acquaintance of a certain oman who had not the benefit of male protection, and so after his feverish serhty sword

But lanterns still glowed in the lasses

"To Fount Royal, " Bidwell said "What it was, I ht have been" The toast was drunk without comment by Winston, Johnstone, and Shields They stood in the parlor, in preparation to go into the dining rooht dinner to which Bidwell had invited theret it&039;s turned out this way, Robert, " Shields said "I know you - "

"Hush" Bidwell lifted the pal I have travelled o on to the next destination"

"What, theni" Johnstone asked "You&039;re going back to Englandi"

"Yes, I am In a matter of weeks, after some business is finished That&039;s why Edward and I went to Charles Town on Tuesday, to prepare for our passage" He drank another sip of his wine and looked about the rooe such a folly as thisi I must have been mad, to have dumped so much money into this swamp!"

"I myself must throw in my cards, " Johnstone said, his face downcast "There&039;s no point in er I should say in the next week"

"You did a fine job, alan, " Shields offered "Fount Royal was graced by your ideas and education"

"I did what I could, and thank you for your appreciation as for you, Ben what are your plansi"

Shields drank down his wine and walked to the decanter to refill his glass "I will leave when my patient departs Until then, I will do my damnedest to make him comfortable, for that&039;s the very least I can do"

"I fear at this point, doctor, it&039;s the ht" Shields took down half the fresh glass at a s "The ernails I should say he hangs on from hour to hour" Shields lifted his spectacles and scratched his nose "I&039;ve done everything I could I thought the potion was going to work and it did work, for a while But his body wouldn&039;t accept it, and it virtually collapsed Therefore: the question is not if he will pass, but when" He sighed, his face strained and his eyes bloodshot "But he is co well"

"and still he&039;s not awarei" Winston asked

"No He still believes Witch Howarth burned on Monday , and he believes his clerk looks in on him from time to time, simply because that&039;s what I tell him as his e of days, nor of the fact that his clerk is not in the house"

"You don&039;t intend on telling him the truth, theni" Johnstone leaned on his cane "Isn&039;t that rather crueli"

"We decided I decided that it would be supremely cruel to tell him what has actually happened, " Bidwell explained "There&039;s no need in rubbing his face in the fact that his clerk was bewitched and threw in his lot with the Devil To tell Isaac that the witch did not burn well, there&039;s just no point to it"

"I agree, " Winston said "The man should be allowed to die with peace ofman could have bested Green!" Johnstone swirled the wine around his glass and then finished it "He must have been either very lucky or very desperate"

"Or possessed supernatural strength, or had the witch curse Green to sap the man&039;s power, " Bidwell said "That&039;s what I think"

"Pardon entlemen" Mrs Nettles had come "Dinner&039;s a&039;table"

"ah, yes Good We&039;ll be there directly, Mrs Nettles" Bid-aited for the woman to withdraw, and then he said quietly to the others, "I have a proble of the utmost importance that I need to discuss with all of you"

"What is iti" Shields asked, frowning "You sound not yourself"

"I am not myself, " Bidwell answered "as a matter of fact since we returned fro failure, I aht possible In fact, that is what I need to discuss with all of you Coo into the library where voices don&039;t carry as freely" He picked up a la in the library, shedding plenty of light, and four chairs had been arranged in a semicircle Winston followed Bidwell in, then the doctor entered, and lastly Johnstone lih the doorway

"What&039;s this, Roberti" Johnstone asked "You make it sound so secretive"

"Please, sit down all of you" When his guests were seated, Bidwell put his lantern on the sill of the openand settled hiravely "This problerapple with has to do with"

"Questions and answers, " came a voice from the library&039;s entrance Instantly Dr Shields and Johnstone turned their heads toward the door

"The asking of the for of the latter, " Matthew said, as he continued into the roo the cue"

"My God!" Shields shot to his feet, his eyes wide behind his spectacles "What are you doing herei"

"actually, I&039;ve been occupying my room for the afternoon" Matthealked to a position so that he ht face all the men, his back to the wall He wore a pair of dark blue breeches and a fresh white shirt Mrs Nettles had cut the left sleeve away fro He didn&039;t tell theard his bruise-blotched face and the clay plaster on his forehead, he&039;d been cured of unnecessary glances in a mirror for some tiripped the shaft of his cane with both hands "What trickery is thisi"

"It&039;s not a trick, alan Simply a preparation in which Edward and I assisted"

"a preparationi For what, pray telli"

"For thisno emotion "I arrived back here - with Rachel - around two o&039;clock We entered through the swa and did not wish to be seen by anyone, I asked John Goode to make my presence known to Mr Bidwell He did so, with adather you all together this evening"

"I&039;ain "You ht the witch back herei Where is shei"

"The woman is currently in Mrs Nettles&039;s quarters, " Bidwell offered "Probably eating her dinner"

"But but" Shields shook his head "She&039;s a witch, by God! It was proven so!"

"ah, proof" Now Matthew ss, is it noti"

"It certainly is! and what you&039;ve proven to me is that you&039;re not only bewitched, but a bewitched fool! and for the sake of God, what&039;s happened to youi Did you fight with a deain the witch&039;s favorsi"

"Yes, doctor, and I slayed it Now: if it is proof you require, I shall be glad to satisfy your thirst" Matthew, for the fourth or fifth ti at the clay plaster that covered his broken ribs beneath the shirt He had a s, but the Indian physician - through Napay - had thisannounced him fit to travel Demon Slayer hadn&039;t had to walk the distance, however; except for the last two miles, he&039;d been carried by his and Rachel&039;s Indian guides on a ladder-like conveyance with a dais at its center It had been quite the way to travel

"It see learned and God-fearing men - come to the conclusion that a witch cannot speak the Lord&039;s Prayer I would venture that a warlock could neither speak it Therefore: Mr Winston, would you please speak the Lord&039;s Prayeri"

Winston drew a long breath He said, "Of course Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy nado into Winston&039;s face, as the man perfectly recited the prayer at the "amen, " Matthew said, "Thank you, " and turned his attention to Bidwell

"Sir, would you also please speak the Lord&039;s Prayeri"

"Mei" Instantly sonation flared in Bidwell&039;s eyes "Why should I have to speak iti"

"Because, " Matthew said, "I&039; mei" Bidwell made a flatulent noise with his lips "I won&039;t speak such a personal thing just because someone orders me to!"

"Mr Bidwelli" Matthew had clenched his teeth This man, even as an ally, was insufferable! "It is necessary"

"I agreed to this ree to recite such a powerful prayer to my God on demand, as if it were lines from a maskers&039; play! No, I shall not speak it! and I&039;m not a warlock for it, either!"

"Well, it appears you and Rachel Howarth share stubborn natures, does it noti" Matthew raised his eyebrows, but Bidwell didn&039;t respond further "We shall return to you, then"

"You may return to me a hundred times, and it won&039;t matter!"

"Dr Shieldsi" Matthew said "Would you please cooperate with me in this matter, as one of us refuses to do, and speak the Lord&039;s Prayeri"

"Well yes I don&039;t understand the point, but all right" Shields ran the back of his hand across hisWinston&039;s recitation he&039;d finished the rest of his drink, and now he looked into the eet a fresh glassi"

"after the prayer is spoken Would you proceedi"

"Yes all right" The doctor blinked, his eyes appearing soht, " he said again Then: "Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy nadom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is is in heaven" He stopped, pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his sand-colored jacket and blotted moisture from his face "I&039; drink"

"Dr Shieldsi" Matthew said quietly "Please continue"

"I&039;ve spoken enough of it, haven&039;t Ii What madness is thisi"

"Why can you not finish the prayer, doctori"

"I can finish it! By Christ, I can!" Shields lifted his chin defiantly, but Matthe that his eyes were terrified "Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who who trespass trespass" He pressed his hand to his lips and now he appeared to be distraught, even near weeping He ht have been a moan

"What is it, Beni" Bidwell asked in alarm "For God&039;s sake, tell us!" Dr Shields lowered his head, relasses, and wiped his damp forehead with the handkerchief "Yes, " he answered in a frail voice "Yes I should tell it for the sake of God"

"Shall I fetch you so up "No" Shields waved hiain "I should tell it, while I alanced up at Mattheho had an idea as about to be revealed "Beni" Bidwell prompted "Tell whati"