hard ez they be naow. Taxes wuz high 'nuff, an money wuz dretful
skurce, an thar wuz lots o' lawin an suein o' poor folks. But gosh, ef
we'd a known haow much wuss all them things wuz a going tew git, we
sh'd a said we wuz well orf. But ye see we warn't so uster bein
starved an cheated an jailed an knocked roun' then's we be sence, an
so we wuz kinder desprit, an a slew on us come daown from Hatfield tew
Northampton an stopped the court, wen t'wuz gonter set in the spring
o' '82. I callate we went tew work baout the same ez Dan Shays an them
fellers did las' week. Wal, arter we'd did the job an gone hum agin,
Sheriff Porter up an nabbed the parson, an chucked him inter jail. He
was long with us ye see, though he warn't no more tew blame nor any of
us. Wal, ye see, we callated t'wouldn't be ezzackly fa'r tew let
parson git intew trouble fer befriendin on us, an so baout 300 on us
went daown tew Northampton agin, and broke open the jail an tuk parson
aout. The sheriff didn' hev nothin tew say wen we wuz thar, but ez
soon ez we'd gone hum, he up an took three o' the parson's frens as
lived to Northampton an chucked em inter jail fer tew hold ez sorter
hostiges. He callated he'd hev a ring in the parson's nose that ere
way, so's he wouldn' dass dew nothin. Thar warn't no law nor no reason
in sech doins, but 'twuz plantin time, leastways gittin on tew it, and
he callated the farmers wouldn' leave ther farms, not fer nothin. But
he mistook. Ye see we wuz fightin mad. Baout 500 on us tuk our guns an
made tracks fer Northampton. Sheriff he'd got more'n a thousan milishy
tew defend the jail, but the milishy didn' wanter fight, an we did, an
that made a sight o' odds, fer wen we stopped night tew the taown an
sent word that ef he didn' let them fellers aout o' jail we'd come an
take em aout, he let em aout dum quick."

"Wat did they do nex?" inquired Obadiah Weeks, as Ezra paused with the
appearance of having made an end of his narration.