13.2 A loud sob filled the room.

 "Mrs. Dibbens, would you tell the court what you remember from that evening? I think the jury would like to hear it in your own words."

Mum nodded. Her eyes slid sideways to meet Dad's. She straightened her back, smoothed her skirt with her hands, and then folded them on her lap. The room was silent. 

Mum lifted her eyes to the ceiling and then looked at Mr. Howitt. She swallowed and then began to speak.

"The boys and I were putting away tea. The sun had set, and the baby was already in bed. I had just put another log on the fire when I heard a noise in the yard. My first thought was that my husband was home, but as I listened, I realized I was hearing something else."

Mum's lips tightened into a thin line, and then she continued. 

"Something hit the cabin door hard, and an angry voice called into our cabin."

"Do you remember what was said?"

"They wanted my husband."

"They?"

"I could hear other voices. It sounded as if a group had surrounded the cabin. Shouts were coming through the walls all around us." She paused. "When I looked through a crack in the door, I saw faces in the light of torches and lanterns." 

"What did you do next?"

"I ensured the door was barred and tried to calm the children. The baby was screaming by that time. The men kept shouting and hitting the door." Mum cleared her throat, ridding herself of the tremor.

"One of them struck the door with something hard; maybe the butt of a gun."

ARJ nodded at Mum's words. 

'The dents are still there.' He thought.

Mum continued, pulling a handkerchief from a fold in her dress. "I heard someone yell, "We'll tear down the cabin if we have to." I was afraid they would try."

Mum paused; eyes lowered. She unfolded the handkerchief with slow, deliberate movements—the delicate, hand-made lace bordered the edges. ARJ opened Mum's pretty fan, a gift he'd watched Grandmother give her the day they left the island. He nervously fanned the air with it. Mum blinked at him, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She raised the handkerchief to her eye and dabbed.

Mr. Howitt took a breath, and the crowd waited. "You were afraid…? 

Mum dabbed once more and answered quietly. "I was frightened enough to pull the gun from above
the door." She looked at Mr. Howitt's eyes. "My children…"

A loud sob filled the room. Uncle Albert pulled ARJ in his arms. It was then ARJ realized it was his own cry he'd heard. Every eye turned to the boy sitting behind the defendant. "Would you like to go outside?" Uncle Albert whispered in his ear. 

"No," he whispered back. "I NEED to be here."

Mum raised her head as if encouraged by the presence of her son. "I yelled to the men that my husband wasn't there, that he would soon be returning from Wichita."

"What was their response?"

"I think a few of them headed toward town, saying they might intercept him on his way home."

"And what did you do in the meantime?"

"I sat near my children with the gun by my side, listening to the men's voices coming from outside the cabin."