“What can we do! What must we do to save their lives?” For two hours they talked and thought of various plans, but came to no decision. When they were about to separate, Varney exclaimed:
“Something must be done to save their lives. I cannot betray their confidence in me—consult your friends—but do something!”
On their long ride home Mr. Smith and my brother tried to think of some plan by which the tragedy could be averted without harm to the stern old emancipator, who was willing to risk liberty and life even for the slaves. In the evening they related to me the fearful secret which had been confided to them by our Springdale friend, and Varney’s earnest appeal to us to devise some plan to save the little band from almost certain death. We consulted together long and earnestly late into the night, and determined that these young men and their fearless and immovable leader must not be left to march to inevitable defeat and destruction if it were in our power to prevent it.
Moses Varney had informed Smith that he and several other trusted friends of Brown had used all their powers of persuasion and entreaty to induce him to abandon a scheme so hopeless and so sure to end in the violent death of scores of persons. But no impression could be made upon him. Brown had a prophetic faith that he was ordained to overthrow American slavery and that the time he had so long waited for had come at last. The preparations of a lifetime seemed to him to have culminated in this plan. He was sure that in some way, not yet clearly developed, he was now leading his heroic band to an assault which would result in the liberation of the slaves. Against such a faith and such devotion, no argument or entreaty could prevail. His youthful followers had implicit confidence in their leader and were imbued with the same spirit of martyrdom. The certainty of extreme personal danger made no impression upon these devoted men. We realized that whatever was to be done to prevent the impending
