Deputy Marshal Vincent Hayes looked up to see three men, mounted but at a standstill under what would have been the shade of an ancient live oak, had the sun not been entirely obscured by clouds. One of the gentlemen was reading haltingly from a bible, another was sitting in his saddle with his head bowed down. The third gentleman, wearing a bowler hat and dressed as neatly as though he was on his way to church, had his hands tied behind his back and a noose around his neck.