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stretched across the tracks like gutted pigs. The bodies revealed the grisly scars of a year’s worth of torture. The final assault had been delivered to their grim bodies on the previous night. The men were staked to the track with their necks lying directly in the path of the wheels of the night train, coming down the mountain.
    The bodies of the two men were taken to Abingdon, and finally back to New York for burial. Their heads were never found. For many years after the bodies were found, people reported stories of headless bodies creeping along the tracks, obviously searching for their heads.
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    Chapter Five  
    The older boys congregated behind the school in the mornings before the school bell rang, and in the afternoons after classes had ended for the day. Most of the students fulfilled their obligations to the school after the short lunch break and immediately after school as well. With that kind of schedule there was about an hour to spare before most of the students went home. Alice and William were glad to stay after school. They used the extra time to read, and look at books, and draw. That gave the older brothers time to associate with some of the other boys behind the school. The large group of boys splintered into smaller groups of lifelong friends and classmates. The Hill boys felt like outsiders at first, but eventually they began to mingle into the group.
    On that particular Friday afternoon before Halloween, Alice and William stayed in the classroom to put finishing touches on their drawings. Joseph, Josh, and Alan joined their classmates outside. Four of the older boys were standing close together and they appeared to be whispering among themselves. Mrs. Boatwright looked out of her window and noticed the boys at once. She knew that two of them were troublemakers because she had to deal with them several times over the years for disciplinary problems. With Halloween coming she had an uneasy feeling, and she decided to do something about it. She opened the window and strongly suggested that it was time for everyone to go home. The group dispersed but not before their plans were set into motion.
    Before the students left school on that Friday afternoon before Halloween, the essays and drawings were given to Mrs. Boatwright for judging. A box was placed beside of her office door for each category of entries. Alice felt proud as she dropped her drawing into the box. She showed artistic ability at the tender age of seven. A promising career might very well be in her future. William was proud of his drawing as well, but his ability was limited in comparison to his sister. He watched her work and he was in awe of her talent.
    All the way home Alice and William laughed and talked and sang songs that they had learned at school. Alice was excited about coming back to school on Monday and finding out the results of the contest. She and William would play school all weekend to make the time go faster. In their little world everything was close to perfect. An invisible bubble surrounded and protected them. The older brothers followed behind them, but never as far as to be out of their sight. After all they had things to talk about too. The boys in their class were always talking about girls and how pretty Miss Coalson was. Even boys in the highest grade talked about her. When Alan heard one of them say that he would like to put his rod into her, he thought that the boy was talking about a fishing pole. Of course it becameapparent as the conversation progressed that the boy meant something else altogether.
    Saturday morning the sound of heavy rain beating on the old tin roof of the Hill’s tiny house, lulled the children to sleep hours longer than usual. By the time the younger kids awoke, it was almost the middle of the day. They played quietly by the light of the old wood burning stove while their brothers kept dreaming. Their daddy had been out getting supplies the night before, and he was asleep on the