Surely her imperious will, her lawless pride, her revengeful spirit, were as stern judges as those who haled her ancestress to her death.
She sighed aloud, and a wind sprang up and caught the breath and wandered with it up and down the dreary field, till all its barrenness seemed to be complaining to the pitiless heavens of the blight laid upon it.
Vashti rose to depart. As she turned away the wind wailed after her and Mullein meadow seemed to cry aloud for its child to be given back to its stony bosom.
Taking no thought that she might be seen, Vashti crossed to the road, and just as she mounted the fence she heard a cry of terror and saw two figures dash away. The shock to her tense nerves was terrible. She sank to the ground and it was some time ere she regained strength to go on, and when she did, skulking cautiously this time in the shadow of the rough stone fence, she encountered no one.
She reached home, stole into the house, and went to Sidney’s room, where he was reading calmly and cheerfully.
So the day ended in outward calm at the parsonage. Two days later Vashti smiled palely when Mabella, who was a timorous and superstitious little soul, told her how all Dole was terrified because old Mr. Simpson and young Ab Ranger, going past Mullein meadow, had seen the ghost of a witch descend from Witches’ Hill and come straight towards them. They stood their ground till it began to cross the fence, and then they owned frankly they fled, whereupon it vanished into the earth.
It was described as a very tall, black-robed spectre.
Mabella shuddered as she related this story, and her attitude was typical of the attitude of the whole village. This apparition, seen upon the same day that Sidney had preached his terrible sermon, reduced Dole to a state of consternation. What was coming upon them? Mrs. Ranger, whose belief in and reference to “judgments” was very strong, felt an awesome premonition that a general judgment was in close proximity, and prepared herself for it according to her lights by making up with Temperance and giving Ann Serrup a petticoat.
Having thus hedged as best she could, Mrs. Ranger gave herself up to lugubrious anticipation.