The bill continues as
follows:
"Preston Huff, who was the desperado heretofore referred to, publicly
proclaimed that he had fought for the land, had run the McGinnises from
the county, and if anyone bid for the land against him he would kill him
on sight. Even his co-conspirators would not brook his displeasure. The
land was sold on his bid, no one dared oppose him. The history of his
career shows it was wisdom to shun him. Many have been killed by him in
the most cold and brutal manner."
There came to Pall Mall, when General Burnside was moving his Federal
forces southward, a young man by the name of William Brooks. He had
joined the Union Army at his home in Michigan. He was a daring horseman,
handsome, fair and his hair was red-a rich copperesque red. The army
moved on, but young Brooks remained in the valley. He claimed that as a
private soldier he had done more than his share in the conquest of the
South--and that the conquest that should ever go to his credit was the
conquest of Nancy Pile.
When they were married, his father-in-law, Elijah Pile, gave him a farm
and he tilled it, and he smiled his way into the favor of the community.
He lived in the valley about two years, and a baby had been born to
them. The feeling between the children of Elijah Pile and Pres Huff was
silent but tense; over it there fell constantly the shadow of the murder
of Jeff Pile.
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