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Show Page 69 for the mob reminded them of the ruffian organization of the Book of Mormon account. The prisoners had suffered starvation and scurvy in the cobwebs of a damp cell in Richmond for months, before being transferred to his sweltering oubliette. Parley's fasting and prayer had made his imprisonment a long vigil of humiliation - but he had nevertheless been graced with several manifestations of hope. A vision of his dead first wife had brought the message that he could expect deliverance - how soon or under what circumstances were not made known to him. Not long before Orson's arrival, Parley had been startled by a dream which revealed an escape plan; with all vividness it had been repeated the following night. He saw in this the pattern of Pharaoh's dreams, and 40 anxiously awaited the consummation of the divine vision. In all of this Orson found his own "firm impression" substantiated. With a prophetic glow he whispered his belief that deliverance was at hand and that Parley would soon see the shores of Illinois. Orson opened his copy of the Book of Mormon and his eye fell on the words of Ammon to King Lamoni: "Behold, my brother and my brethren are in prison, in 41 the land of Middoni, and I go to deliver them!" Parley later wrote: "This was indeed a similar instance to ours. Ammon, on that occasion had an own brother in prison, and also brethren in the ministry, and did deliver them. Our case was exactly similar, not in Middoni, but in Missouri. And, what was still more strange, in a book of six hundred pages, this was the only sentence which would have fitted our case." 42 The brothers laid their plan carefully. Orson would, as a subterfuge, petition the court for trial arrangements and retain "a lawyer or two." Thus were the officials "blindfolded" - the Pratts would need every instant that surprise could buy to make good their escape. Three horses were then procured, which Orson and a companion, Hiram Clark, would hide in the thickets on the outskirts of town. |