Salem Moon (5 page)

“
I…could not resist. If you had kissed those lips, touched those breasts, the ecstasy of the act itself was…indescribable
.
”

“
Listen to what I say now
,
Thomas, and listen well. Not a word of this is to be spoken to anyone, ever.
Do you have any idea
the grief you could bring to this family?

“
No one will ever hear it from my lips. I shall not disgrace our family. I have already dishonored Abigail. I cannot change what has already passed,
but
I will take this secret to my grave. You have my word.
”

****

Meanwhile, i
n the claustrophobic, sweltering hot jail cell, Gabriel leaned up against a corner of the wall, gazing through the rusty bars out of the only window in the room

Night had fallen hours ago, and he could see the ground fog rising eerily as the temperature fell, giving a faint whiff of a breeze to the stifling air. He heard the crickets sing, the frogs croaking in the nearby bog and smelled the special fragrance of the woods; that of pine and wood and wild flowers. But what really held his attention was the moon. It was even more magnificent by nightfall than it had been in the morning.  Hanging low and large in the night sky, the billions of stars paled in comparison.

He thought of Abigail. He
knew
something terrible was happening to her at this very moment. He thought of his father. Was he standing outside on the large farmer
’
s porch of their home, smoking a pipe and crazed with worry? He wasn
’
t allowed to visit them at the jail.

He and his sister would see him in the morning. The trial had been set for nine o
’
clock
in the morning
. The accusers would be there and certainly most, if not all of Salem Village as well.

His reverie was broken when Abigail came into the cell. All eyes were on her as she entered
. Her
hair
was a
tangled mess, the bodice of her dress askew. These things spoke volumes, but it was her eyes that caused Gabriel to become overwhelmed with anger. Vacant of emotion, they were
like
the eyes of the dead
. Even
the beautiful violet color which they both shared could not bring the sparkle of life to them. Her eyes told the story her lips could not.

He went and gathered her up in his arms. He brought her to the wooden bench and sat her down. Others moved aside, solemn faced to make room for her. He fixed her dress, smoothed her hair and wiped the tears gently away from her cheeks. She allowed him to do these things without speaking a word.

“
What happened? Where did they take you? What did they do to you?
’’
Gabriel asked.

“
Please Gabriel, do not ask me. I am ashamed to say the words. I believe…you know what they did,
”
she replied softly.

There were many others in the dreary cell. Still, it was so quiet
,
as if they too wanted to h
ear her story. The horrid words— spoken and not—
were meant to pass between brother and sister o
nly.

“
It doesn
’
t matter who—
”
she began
.

“
Yes, Abigail, it does
.
I swear on our mother
’
s soul, I shall be your vengeance!
”

“
It was…Thomas Snow.
”

Gabriel was so angry, his entire body trembled. He searched his mind for
some
sign of the entity that had come to him in the woods in the morning now past. There was nothing. Perhaps it had been a mere figment of his imagination. No, he did not believe that to be true. The entity, the trespasser
,
had been real
.

As the night wore on, Abigail fell into a fitful sl
eep. Gabriel sat awake, alert and
vigilant
ly
watch
ed
over her.

He looked out at that beautiful moon. How spectacular it was! That such beauty could exist outside of these walls filled him with longing and grief and a stunning realization that he was not able to protect his sister from all of the evils in the world, as much as he might want to. Some things were simply beyond his control.

A
t precisely nine o
’
clock
on the morning of July 19
th
,
1692
, the trial of Gabriel and Abigail Blackstone commenced.

As they walked into the open courtroom, Abigail felt faint. The room was packed to the rafters, providing standing room only. It seemed as if all of Salem Village was gathered around the crescent shaped, highly polished wooden table.

The superior court judge, William Moffat
, was seated in the center,
right where the cres
cent arched. He was a small man
with even smaller eyes. His facial expression was
a blank slate, without any hint of emotion. His white wig was tied behind his head
and
fastened by a neat black bow at the back of his neck. Even with the long black robe and the stiff, white collar at his throat, he was not sweating as were the mob of people surrounding this table.
Gabriel viewed them with disdain, a
nxious as they were for justice…
and
blood.

Abigail and Gabriel were not the only ones on trial
that
day
. T
here were five others, all women, all unknown to them.

Gabriel held tight to Abigail
’
s arm
and
whispered into her ear
,
“
Be strong, don
’
t give them the satisfaction of showing fear. We have done nothing wrong.
”

Ah, there they were, the accusers themselves
,
Thomas and Joshua Snow
,
their bear of a father
,
and meager looking mother. In a corner, standing alone was Dr. Samuel Blackstone. His face looked as it if it had been carved in stone.

Gabriel and Abigail were brought in front of the judge. The accuser
s
stood to the right, swearing upon the bible that they were telling the truth.

“
Why do you accuse your own neighbors of practicing witchcraft?
”
Judge Moffat asked in a
calm
manner. He was not about to lose control of his courtroom to this unruly mob.

“
Judge, we have personally witnessed the power Gabriel possesses. He struck down a deer without firing a single shot. How else could he do such a thing, unless he had entered a covenant with the Devil himself! That is unlawful, is it not?
”
Thomas Snow said passionately.
There i
s no
turning back now,
thought Thomas. He must seek to be rid of Gabriel and Abigail both, lest he endure the hatred in her eyes every time she saw him for the rest of his life.
And
what
about Gabriel? If he were allowed to go free, would he not seek vengeance for the wrong he
’
d perpetrated upon Abigail?

His brother Joshua nodded, but would not look up. He could not look at Abigail for obvious reasons and he knew that Gabriel must know the truth of what his brother had done to her.

The interrogation was grueling. The entire process was meant for one purpose only, to get the accused to confess.

“
Did you or did you not kill a creature by the Devil
’
s hand, Gabriel?
”
the judge asked.

“
I did not.
”

“
Then, please, tell this court how a deer
’
s heart could explode; how she fell down dead at your feet without a shot fired.
”

“
Sir, I cannot. I do not know how or why it happened. It just…did.
”

“
Aye, I say, it is by the Devil
’
s own spell that it happened!
”
shouted a woman from the back of the room. Others murmured the same sentiments amongst themselves.

“
You must confess your sins before God and this court if you are to be granted entrance to
the K
ingdom of Heaven. Will you do so willingly?
”
the judge posed his question to both Gabriel and Abigail.

“
I will not confess. God knows the truth.
”

“
If God
knows the truth, then why does H
e not come forward and exonerate you both?
”

“
God knows the truth,
but works in H
is own time, not yours or mine.
”

“
And the Devil? What of him? Do you think
he
will save you?
”

“
I know nothing of the Devil. I do not believe in his existence.
”

“
And yet you do his bidding, do you not?  Why should I believe you? Surely, the Devil is a clever liar, and so you must be as well. Others have come forward and complained of strange afflictions
they
suffered after casual contact with Abigail. That she talks to herself in gibberish as she tends the gardens. Mrs. Polley watched her one day from outside the gate of your home and later that very day, she noticed she had a rash that would not go away. How do you explain that?
”
Judge Moffat asked, turning his attention to Abigail.

“
I…I do not know,
”
Abigail answered in a puzzled timid voice.

“
Oh, I believe you
do
know, my dear. I think you know a lot that you are not saying.
”

“
Leave my sister alone, I warn you. She is but an innocent girl.
”

“
Are you
threatening
me?
”
Judge Moffat asked
; a look of utter shock on his face that
anyone would dare to threaten a judge
.

“
I mean you no harm, sir, but as your intentions toward us are malevolent, I will do whatever is necessary to protect her…and the good name of my family.
”

On and on it went, round and round without Gabriel or Abigail entering a guilty plea, without a confession.

The judge
’
s patience was growing thin. Finally, he
’
d had enough and he played his ace in the hole. He threatened them with a punishment far worse than hanging. A punishment that was in fact illegal, having been abolished twenty years earlier.

The
peine forte et dure
was an archaic and unusually cruel method of punishment in which stones were piled high on the victim
’
s chest until they could no longer breathe. The process was not swift, it was sheer torture. The victim slowly suffocated, often taking days before drawing their final breath.

A shared gasp of disbelief spread throughout the courthouse, but underlying that was a morbid excitement
. They
would bear witness to such a horrific death.

Dr. Samuel Blackstone did not gasp in disbelief, instead his eyes wandered coldly around the room
,
his thoughts beyond bitter.

These people who were his neighbors, whose animals he
’
d cared for and had stood beside him and his family in the small, rickety Puritan church which he himself had helped to build were not what they seemed. Instead, they were strangers, all of them and he did not fight against the hatred that consumed him; that ate away at the very core of his being. Knowing full well
,
what little of his heart that remained, was about to be broken.

A
fter eight futile hours without a confession, the crowd grew impatient and pleaded with the judge and the magistrate to allow them to attempt to coerce a confession.

“
Very well,
”
said Judge Moffat.
“
Recess is called.
”
He banged his gavel on the hard wooden table, and with a sigh, left the courtroom. The remaining members of the Special Court of Oyer and Terminer sat in stunned silence. This was new territory in the justice system.
Gabriel was well aware that the court was unsure of h
ow to proceed in matters of witchcraft
.