The hours dragged wearily by. At
half-past five o'clock, to our great surprise, three of the obstinate
crowd came over to our way of thinking. Whether stern duty, our mutual
discomfort, or the prospect of another night away from their families
wrought this, I know not. So then, with the single exception of Colonel
Ross, we were all for stringing up the prisoner.
"Colonel Ross still stuck out doggedly for a milder punishment--anything
to save the poor devil's life, he said. For the first time in my career
I rebelled against the judgment of my old friend, and for the first time
found myself arrayed against him, and the novelty of the situation was
far from agreeable. The clock in the town hall struck six, and the
whistles down at Thayer's mill blew furiously. The Colonel was biting
the ends of his mustache and gazing moodily into the crowded street
below. I went up to him and put my hand on his shoulder.
"'Now, Colonel,' said I, in my most persuasive tones, 'can't you make up
your mind to join us in this thing? We are all agreed except yourself.
God knows we have no personal feeling against Hardy. We are simply doing
what we think is our duty, and a mighty nasty one it is, too! You know
that. But we owe something to society--society, whose structure was
shaken to its very foundation by the perpetration of this crime!
(Dillingham's own words.
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