Dateline: Tuesday, 24 April, 1900 – SCENE 01 – Grekov and Parker skip classes and go straight to the Orne Library on campus to continue their research into Hesper Payne.

The day gets away from them, however, without much success. Grekov and Parker skip rugby practice, as well, to see if they can manage some sort of breakthrough. Just before they need to leave for the mixer, Grekov uncovers some clues about Hesper:

• According to the Ronford Family History, William Ronford told his grandson that he personally spied upon Hestper Payne many times when he was a boy; he was too frightened to give evidence in court, however. He claimed to his grandson, who recorded it in the Family History, that he once saw Hesper Payne carrying a goat over her shoulders; this goat had a wicked human face, with long teeth. The hooves were deformed and the goat-thing whispered in Hesper’s ear.

• Personal records of various court officials agree that Hesper’s confession was ultimately achieved by the use of a peculiar branding iron. She was branded over her heart with a “Hebrew-looking” mark, at the instruction of Sammuel Decker. Immediately thereafter she made a full confession, though she showed no signs of contrition. Judge Cooper demanded her death by hanging, after which she was to be buried in an unmarked grave outside the cemetery’s bounds.

• The diary of Charity Smith, Randolph Smith’s oldest daughter, contains an eyewitness account of Hesper’s execution.

SCENE 02 – Barney William approaches Professor Morris after class and asks him some questions pertaining to the three desecrated graves. Professor Morris says that that William’s theory is pure hokum and attributes the encounter from the previous night as hallucinations brought on from breathing the fumes of the ergot mushroom; the very same mushrooms believed to have been one of the causes of the original witch trials.

Morris does tell William that Jonathan Cooper was the first lawyer to settle in Arkham.

SCENE 03 – Whitney goes to the Orne Library after class and though he doesn’t run into Grekov or Parker, uncovers another clue:

• All of the witch trial court records state that Judge Cooper presided during most of the witch trials in Arkham. He sentenced Hesper Payne to death by hanging, and verbally condemned her soul to Hell. For this he was later reprimanded by authorities.

SCENE 04 – Word of the mixer seems to have spread all across Massachusetts and Fenner’s Roadside is packed with college students from all of the neighboring universities by the time the friends arrive from Miskatonic. Whitney draws a lot of attention as when pulls up in his motor with both with both Evangeline Thompson and Susan Douglas.

During the mixer, Parker meets Hans Kursch, the Prussian Mangler, star of Yale’s rugby team. Kursch challenges Parker to a drinking match, which he handily wins.

With the caretaker, Herman, now in the same place as most of the female students of the various universities, the friends ask him if he sees the mysterious “S” girl he saw poking around the graves just before the theft took place. Herman says that none of the girls present look like the one he saw.

Speaking with Evangeline, Whitney learns that there’s another Susan — Susan Mason – who lives at Mrs McDonald’s boarding house, but she hasn’t seen her in a while and thinks she may have dropped out of school and moved back home.