Page:Salem - a tale of the seventeenth century (IA taleseventeenth00derbrich).pdf/105

 "But did Goodman Preston believe it?"

"Weel! he did na' jist say; he thinks the sufferings of the gals is real; but he did na' let out his min' aboot the ithers."

"And what are they going to do about it, grandmother?"

"There's a deal to be done aboot it. He said the folks is goin' to get out warrants, an' hae the twa arrested for bein' witches; an' there's to be a court held at the village—a 'special court,' I think he ca'd it (whatsoever that may be, I dinna ken)—an' he says they wi' be tried for their lives for it."

"And what will be done to them if they are found guilty?"

"Gude sake! I dinna ken; an' I did na' ask him. He says the folks at the village are all up in arms like aboot it. They say the devil ha' broken out upon them, an' the people are half beside themselves wi' the terror—runnin' hither an' yon, an' crowds comin' to see the gals' terrible actions; an' ivery bodie talkin' an' spierin' aboot it, an' spreadin' it fra' house to house. But, he says, happen the court kin get to the bottom o' it; an' he hopes it will, an' he prays