One of the men, who was apparently a leader, mounted the shoulders of two others and seemed to be feeling for something in the wall above the window.  The dim rays of an old moon, which showed that the time must be near morning, did not afford as much light as he needed, and he fumbled for some time before he found the hook in the wall for which he was looking.  Over it he passed the end of a rope and then jumped to the ground.  They pulled together on the rope, and the long, dark burden, which had been left lying on the ground, was drawn upward until it hung in front of the window beside which Mrs. Coolidge was watching, and she saw that it was a human body.  Then they fastened the rope to one of the iron bars across the window and stood for a few moments looking at the swaying body and chuckling together.  The one who seemed to be the leader rolled a cigarette and lighted it, and by the glare of the match she recognized him.  He was a man of prominence in Santa Fe and the leader of the opposing party, not only locally but for the whole Territory as well.

Mrs. Coolidge’s first impulse was to awaken her husband, but a swift intuition warned her that that would not be wise.  So she controlled her horror and indignation, and, as she stared at the poor, lifeless thing swaying outside, she did some very rapid thinking.  She understood that there had been a lynching and that the corpse had been brought there and hung in front of her husband’s bedroom window, where his first waking glance would fall upon it, as a sign of how public opinion regarded his ideas and intentions on the subject of lynch law.  She saw that it was intended as a warning and a contemptuous defiance, and her spirit rose high in righteous wrath.  She knew well that this event presaged for the Governor trouble and humiliation, and probably, if a conflict were precipitated at once, an early defeat, and she quickly decided that he must not see the body or know what had happened.  But what could she do with it?

Then an idea occurred to her and she smiled and said to herself that it was impossible.  But it seemed such a good idea, and it pleased her so much, that she kept on thinking about it.  Presently she assured herself that her husband was still sleeping quietly; then she put on some clothes, and, laughing softly, went out on the portal.

The man who had been the leader in the affair that night, and whom Mrs. Coolidge had recognized, was awakened early the next morning by the sound of voices in front of his house.  It was barely dawn, but already a little group of Mexicans were staring at his door and talking with much excitement.  Wondering what it could mean he hastily dressed himself and went out.  As he opened the front door he ran into the body of the man, swinging above his own threshold, which he had left a few hours before hanging at the Governor’s window.