With eyes wide open with horror and lips trembling, she asked, "Did they kill them, uncle ?" "No, child, they only gave them a good trouncing in their own pond." He choked here, out of pity for her, keeping back the torrent of his anger.
Even at this early date it was bruited that Joseph Smith exercised some unseemly force of will by which he distorted the reason of his converts.
This report explained the fact that for the first day after the shock of Susannah's baptism her aunt and uncle did not lay the blame of it at her door, did not argue or persuade, only watched her as one recovering from a strange disease.

But in the afternoon of that first day the pent-up fever of the aunt's wrath against those whom she thought to blame broke forth, and almost in delirium.
The last hot weather of the autumn still held; in the same still hour of the afternoon, the hour in which Susannah's baptism had taken place the day before, Angel Halsey, pallid with his yesterday's beating and ill-usage, but steadfast and even joyful of face, walked up to the front door of the magistrate's house.
This door opened upon an unfrequented entrance-hall.

Susannah heard the knock, heard her aunt move with the dignity befitting an expected visitor.

Then she heard Ephraim's step on the stair for the first time that day, and reflected dully that he must have seen the advent of some important person from his window to be thus answering the call of the door.
After that she heard words that had the sound of suppressed screams in them.

She realised that the house mistress was ordering some enemy from her door.