Sevier's furious followers
were not disposed to let him be taken without a fight, but he
admonished them to respect the law, and requested that they would
inform Bonnie Kate of his predicament. Then, debonair as ever,
with perhaps a tinge of contempt at the corners of his mouth, he
held out his wrists for the manacles which Tipton insisted on
fastening upon them.
It was not likely that any jail in the western country could hold
Nolichucky Jack overnight. Tipton feared a riot; and it was
decided to send the prisoner for incarceration and trial to
Morgantown in North Carolina, just over the hills.
Tipton did not accompany the guards he sent with Sevier. It was
stated and commonly believed that he had given instructions of
which the honorable men among his friends were ignorant. When the
party entered the mountains, two of the guards were to lag behind
with the prisoner, till the others were out of sight on the
twisting trail. Then one of the two was to kill Sevier and assert
that he had done it because Sevier had attempted to escape. It
fell out almost as planned, except that the other guard warned
Sevier of the fate in store for him and gave him a chance to
flee. In plunging down the mountain, Sevier's horse was entangled
in a thicket. The would-be murderer overtook him and fired; but
here again fate had interposed for her favorite.
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