That was
all very well, but it seemed to me that it would be better to guard
against the murder itself rather than think of what would be done to
the murderer. I knew that the corporal would never have come to the
house if he had not heard much that was alarming.
So Faye went over without a guard, but did condescend to wear his
revolvers. He says that the first thing he saw as he entered the court
room were six big, brawny cavalrymen, each one a picked man, selected
for bravery and determination. Of course each trooper was armed with
large government revolvers and a belt full of cartridges. He also saw
that they were sitting near, and where they could watch every move of
a man who answered precisely to the corporal's description, and as he
passed on up through the crowd he almost touched him. His hair was
long and hung down on his shoulders about a face that was villainous,
and he was "armed to the teeth." There were other tough-looking men
seated near this man, each one armed also.
Colonel Bissell had heard of the threat to kill Faye, and ordered a
corporal, the very man who searched so bravely through the dark house
for Oliver at Granada, and five privates to the court, with
instructions to shoot at once the first and every man who made the
slightest move to harm Faye! Those men knew very well what the
soldiers were there for, and I imagine that after one look at their
weather-beaten faces, which told of many an Indian campaign, the
villains decided that it would be better to keep quiet and let Oliver
manage his own affairs.
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