isa-normaladvance-1913-00203

Description:	THE NORMAL ADVANCE203heard that same signal before! She rushed tothe front of her cabin. Down in the villagebelow, lighted torches were burning, and shecould see dark figures rushing excitedly to andfro. She watched with the same dull, achingheart and the same dumb look in her eyes, aswhen she had watched a similar scene a fewyears before then, it was one of her boys, andthey had brought him to his grave behind hercabin now, it was another mothers son. Bellsrang, horns were blown, some one was gaylyplaying an accordion, and the yells and laughter of the voices came to her indistinctly. Thetorch lights formed a line, the people were in aprocession, and she watched breathlessly as theymarched toward the Stringing Tree. A halfgleam of triumph came into her eyes, the spiritof her husbands family and her family, allgone now, struggled with the sympathy ofmother love.Suddenly the lights broke line and scattered,and one by one they went out, only the lightsfrom the homes remaining. Hagar strainedeagerly forward and caught the sound of asharp, metallic command. She knew. It wasthe rejiresentatives of the law. The hard lookcame into her eyes again. The soldiers hadcome!She waited. Soon the indistinct voicesceased. One after another the lights in thehouses disappeared and only one light whichwas in front of the little old building nowused for a jail, remained. All was quiet in thevalley and the mountain, with the exceptionof the occasional hooting of an owl in the. distance.Wearily, she turned to enter the house. Shestopped, startled. She still held the sprig ofdogwood crushed in her hand she had forgotten to lay it on the grave.Her face went white, she fingered it nervously, and then a wonderfully soft light came intoher eyes. She pressed the blossoms to herbosom and looked up into the starry heavens,half ashamed. She turned uncertainly, andthen with quick determination sped down thedark path. Holding the flowers tightly, shefairly flew, until she was at the foot of themountain, the village before. Carefully looking about her she crept on stealthily until shewas directly behind the impromptu jail. Thesoldiers were all in front, some sleeping, theothers talking and laughing. She reached thewindow and turned the secret lock which hadbeen put there by her husband, when he hadused it for other purposes. She quietly raisedthe window and as a wild-eyed, frightened boy,about twenty years old, came to the window, sheput her finger to her lips warmingly. Hardlyrealizing what he wTas doing, at her command,he climbed out of the window. In front, thesoldiers were joking and watching one of themwho was playing solitaire.Quickly and quietly the woman led the boyaway into the thicket at the foot of the mountain and stopped. He turned to her, halfafraid.Go ! she whispered huskily, Go ! To stringyou was right, but, she added defiantly, theyshall never get you like they did my boy. Itsnone of their business.The boy tried to speak, but she motionedhim on and turned into her own path. As hedisappeared into safety, she pressed the sprigof dogwood to her, and looking up into thestarry sky, pleaded humbly, Lord forgive me,if I have gone against the vengeance of myfamily.
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/34648
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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