A pistol discharged right outside the meetinghouse. “Make way,” a man bellowed. The crowd pushed to the sides, allowing just enough room for Constable George McKee to come in. Ben and William followed, each fully armed with a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other.
“Nathan Crowley!” George called over the cowering crowd. “You’ve done your work tonight. Now move aside and let me do mine.”
Chapter Fifteen
A Testament of Truth
The crowd pushed back together, closing the pathway behind William and Ben. Seeing the men, Henry stopped our progress toward the back door, but kept the dagger and pistol at the ready.
“This meeting is over,” George McKee yelled, coming into the middle of the room. “Return to your homes.”
Unsure whether to obey the constable or demand immediate retribution for my alleged crimes, the people stayed where they were.
“What of Selah?” Mark Reed asked. “Will you allow her to go free?”
“That’s not your concern,” George said. “If any laws have been broken, I assure you, justice will be served.”
“But she’s the witch,” Mark said. “She even admitted so herself.”
“I did no such thing, Mark Reed!” I cried.
“Here’s the situation,” George said, taking out a pocket watch with his free hand. “This room is to be cleared in five minutes. Anyone still here other than Selah Kilbrid and Nathan Crowley will be arrested. Take heed, you’ll find more comfort at your own hearths than in jail tonight.”
Nathan stepped forward to face the constable. “This is an outrage! By what authority are you breaking up our meeting?”
“By the governor of Pennsylvania and the King of England,” George retorted. “As their agent I’m obliged to uphold the law, and hanging without a trial is strictly forbidden.”
“The witch can be judged here tonight!”
“Nathan, considering all the trouble you’ve already stirred up, you have ten seconds to take a seat, or be the first to receive a warrant. Think carefully, man,” George said, narrowing his eyes. “My patience has already been sufficiently tried by this public spectacle. One more word and I’ll drag you to jail myself.”
The two men stared at each other, the tension pounding between them. George began to slowly tap out the seconds with his foot to let Nathan know he was serious. At ten, Nathan glared violently, and without saying anything more, turned abruptly to take a seat on one of the raised benches.
“Now the rest of you go home,” George said impatiently. “I’ve an inquiry to conduct.”
Having no wish to be arrested, the crowd began to disperse. When the five minutes had passed, only a handful of people remained.
“With all due respect, I must insist that everyone leave,” George said, looking at my small group of supporters. “You’re welcome to wait on the front porch until I’m done questioning Selah and Nathan.”
“I’ll not leave without my wife,” Henry said. His voice was calm although he still held onto the dagger and pistol, not yet ready to put them away.
George looked at him warily. “You can stay, but put those weapons away. This is a house of God.” With the threat of the crowd gone, George tucked his own pistol into his breeches. William and Ben quickly followed suit, tucking their pistols away and stashing the swords beneath the nearest bench.
“Gideon, I’ll be needing a scribe, if you’re willing,” George said once the party was sufficiently disarmed. “Everyone else can wait on the porch.”
No one moved. For a minute it appeared that Anne, Nora, William, Ben and Edgar would have to be arrested before leaving me.
“Oh, very well,” George said. “The rest of you can serve as witnesses. But be warned, I’m in no mood for trouble.” He glanced around the room, his eyes stopping at a small table and chair used for recording minutes during the weekly meetings of business. “Make yourself of use, William, and bring that table and chair over here. Gideon, we’ll need parchment and ink if you have some handy. I want both Selah’s and Nathan’s testimony recorded verbatim.”
Once everything was assembled, George directed me to take a seat on one side of the room with the witnesses on the other. Gideon sat at the table, the quill in his hand, ready to write. Nathan returned to the same place where he’d been during the start of meeting, his eyes closed and his head slightly bowed.
Folding his hands behind his back, George began to slowly pace. After a minute, he stopped directly in front of me. “Selah Kilbrid, you’ve been charged with witchcraft. How do you plead?”
I looked him straight in the eye, unflinching. “Innocent of all charges.”
George took off his hat and scratched his head thoughtfully. His wavy copper hair was beginning to thin, but he looked about the same as he had since my childhood. Standing a hand shorter than Henry, he was still taller than most other men, and despite a thickening midsection, he looked plenty capable of holding his own in a fight. “Nathan, I’ve already heard the particulars of your vision,” he said. “Do you have any evidence or witnesses to back up these charges against Selah?”