his pistol and pointed it at the child and fired and rode off laughing.

Susannah saw the young Danite bending over her. His words were hoarse
and so sorrowful that she gathered from their tone that she was in great
distress before she understood their purport or memory awoke. "Ma'am,"
he said, "I'll take you down to your own waggon by the creek."

She found herself sitting on the ground, her child in her arms. The
child was dead; she knew that as soon as she looked at him. There was a
little trickle of blood upon the light frock over his heart, but not
much.

As yet no women, only a few men, had ventured forth, and the sound of
the enemy's horses and shouting were still in the air. Susannah rose up,
folding in her arms the body of the child; the momentum of her first
intention was upon her will and muscles; she moved straight on toward
the place where she had last seen Halsey.

The young Danite took hold of her sleeve when he perceived whither she
went.

"'Tisn't no use, ma'am. Some of the brothers have attended to him."

Susannah looked straight in the young man's face with perfect courage.
"Is he dead?"

But the Danite had not courage for this; he turned away and put his arm
over his eyes; she heard him grind his teeth in dumb passion.

Some of the men and women lying on the grass were moaning or screaming
with the pain of their injuries. The thought that Halsey might be in
like pain made Susannah imperative. "Is he dead?" she asked again in
precise repetition of tone and accent. "Is he dead?"

The Danite lifted his head. "He is quite dead, and I marked the man that
did it, and I marked the man that did this too." He touched reverently,
not the child, but the wilting asters that were still grasped in the
baby hand. "If I'd only had a gun--but"--he ground his teeth again and
muttered, "God helping me, they shall both die."

Susannah understood nothing then but the first part of this speech.

By this time many of the women and children had again flocked out of the
houses. It was reported that the horsemen had been a detachment of State
militia, that one of them had taken the trouble to explain to a wounded
man that they had received orders from Governor Boggs to exterminate the
Mormons. Immediately by other frightened tongues it was stated that the
armed company were halting round the turn of the road, intending to
return and shoot again when the people had come out from shelter. At
this the greater number