such bleak news to this careworn man.
“I fear for their safety, sir,” he said.
I was about to protest that Dr. Tate was an excellent physician who lived in the very shadow of the courthouse. He attended prisoners at the county’s expense if needed. Before I could blurt out this information, I suddenly took his meaning. He was concerned not that his family might succumb to disease during their confinement, but that their lives might be threatened by vigilantes in the town. I had heard wild talk in the taverns about doing away with the murdering savages in Butler’s jail; perhaps Isaiah Stewart knew of such sentiments from his neighbors up-county, or else he had met with such a harsh welcome upon his arrival in Morganton.
“They are drunken louts who make such threats,” I told him. “No one here would harm helpless women and a young boy in custody, no matter what they are thought to have done.”
He looked unconvinced by my speech, and indeed I had spoken more out of hope than conviction. “I must look after my family,” he said at last.
“Did they tell you what happened to Charlie Silver?”
“I heard from them that found him.”
I had the feeling that Isaiah Stewart had more to say on the subject of his son-in-law, but nothing more was forthcoming. He seemed impassive for one whose kinsman had met such a brutal end. “It was a shocking crime,” I told him, for I was not sure that a backwoodsman would understand the degree of horror that had been generated here in Morganton by the news of the murder.
He nodded. “It sounds so.”
“The poor young man was hacked to pieces, Mr. Stewart! They have not yet recovered all of him for a Christian burial. People are enraged.”
“They are quick to judge without knowing the facts of the case,” said Stewart.
“The fact of the butchered corpse speaks for itself,” I said. “I must tell you that there is very little sympathy for those who have committed this crime. The killing was brutal, and the attempt at concealment was pitiless, some say cowardly.”
He winced at that, but he gave me no argument. “Is there not some way to free them?” he asked me.
I considered the matter. “Would it be wise, Mr. Stewart? Think about what you are suggesting, regardless of the guilt or innocence of the prisoners. Feelings are running high concerning this case. Even if you succeeded in securing their release on bail, it is possible that a mob would overtake you as you attempted to leave town, or perhaps those nearer to home—the family of the victim—would seek a private vengeance for their wrongs.”
“We can take care of ourselves,” said Stewart. “My son Jack is twenty-four, and married to a Howell girl. I reckon the Howells will stand with us.”
“You could cause the deaths of the very persons you are attempting to save.”
Stewart grew impatient. “My wife and my children have been locked away on the word of the Silvers. I want somebody here—somebody who isn’t beholden to the damned Silvers—to see if there’s any cause to accuse my family of this crime. I’m not saying it wasn’t a terrible thing. I liked young Charlie well enough. But besides the Silvers’ say-so, I want to know on what proof the Stewarts stand accused.”
Fair enough, I thought. Perhaps the family of the murdered man had fixed upon a handy scapegoat to assuage their grief and to settle old scores in the bargain. From what Constable Baker had told us, I did not think it likely, but Isaiah Stewart was correct: his family was entitled to face their accusers.
“If you are set on securing their release,” I told him, “and if you are correct about their being unjustly arrested, there is one possible way to free them. You could seek out the magistrates and request a hearing of habeas corpus.”
Isaiah Stewart blinked uncomprehendingly. “Can it be done quickly?” Another anxious thought darkened his face. “Will it cost much?” he asked. “I reckon I can raise some cash, but—”
I shook my head. “You must look ahead to the trial in March, for then you will have greater lawyers’ fees to pay, but this hearing is a simple matter before the magistrates. Its purpose is to see if there is
enough evidence to charge the prisoners with murder. You must request this hearing, though.”
“How can I do that?”
“You must find the magistrates—Mr. Hughes or Mr. Burgner, our justices of the peace—and you must formally request the hearing for