A part of the crowd followed the sad procession, while the greater portion, consisting of men, remained about the tavern.  All bodies, no matter for what purpose assembled, quickly find leading spirits who, feeling the great moving impulse, give it voice and direction.  It was so in this case.  Intense indignation against Green was firing every bosom; and when a man elevated himself a few feet above the agitated mass of humanity, and cried out: 

“The murderer must not escape!”

A wild responding shout, terrible in its fierceness, made the air quiver.

“Let ten men be chosen to search the house and premises,” said the leading spirit.

“Ay! ay!  Choose them!  Name them!” was quickly answered.

Ten men were called by name, who instantly stepped in front of the crowd.

“Search everywhere; from garret to cellar; from hayloft to dog-kennel.  Everywhere! everywhere!” cried the man.

And instantly the ten men entered the house.  For nearly a quarter of an hour, the crowd waited with increasing signs of impatience.  These delegates at length appeared, with the announcement that Green was nowhere about the premises.  It was received with a groan.

“Let no man in Cedarville do a stroke of work until the murderer is found,” now shouted the individual who still occupied his elevated position.

“Agreed! agreed!  No work in Cedarville until the murderer is found,” rang out fiercely.

“Let all who have horses saddle and bridle them as quickly as possible, and assemble, mounted, at the Court House.”

About fifty men left the crowd hastily.

“Let the crowd part in the centre, up and down the road, starting from a line in front of me.”

This order was obeyed.

“Separate again, taking the centre of the road for a line.”

Four distinct bodies of men stood now in front of the tavern.

“Now search for the murderer in every nook and corner, for a distance of three miles from this spot; each party keeping to its own section; the road being one dividing line, and a line through the centre of this tavern the other.  The horsemen will pursue the wretch to a greater distance.”

More than a hundred acquiescing voices responded to this, as the man sprung down from his elevation and mingled with the crowd, which began instantly to move away on its appointed mission.

As the hours went by, one, and another, and another, of the searching party returned to the village, wearied with their efforts, or confident that the murderer had made good his escape.  The horsemen, too, began to come in, during the afternoon, and by sundown, the last of them, worn out and disappointed, made their appearance.