Mr. Alder found the abundance of legal personnel vaguely upsetting. "Bring them into the parlor, Mrs. MacKay and tell them I'll meet them there." What could their business with him be ? Mr. Alder had ample grounds for concern. He was a paederast and had taken liberties with several of the boys in his Sunday School class. If one of them had spoken to his father about this........Mr. Alder steeled himself for what might be a most unpleasant meeting.

   When he entered the parlor, he immediately recognized the other four men. They were the fathers of four of the boys with whom he'd taken liberties. It was with a sinking feeling that he addressed the seven men. "Gentlemen, what can I do for you ?"

Judge Aubrey, now an even more imposing figure than he had been when he sat on the state Supreme Court replied, having been chosen as spokesman for the group."We are here on a matter of great gravity and great delicacy, Mr. Alder. It is my duty to bring to your attention certain accusations concerning your character and conduct. These accusations have been made by boys in your Sunday School class whose fathers are here today, though I have been assured that there are other boys who have not yet come forward." Horace Alder felt faint and decidedly ill and asked them "Gentlemen, do you mind if I sit ?"

No One objected.

   "Specifically, they have accused you of indecent exposure, fondling their genitalia, teaching and encouraging them to masturbate, encouraging them to engage in indecent acts with each other, and sodomy . All of these are very serious accusations and, taken together, constitute a strong presumption of child molestation. I should be remiss if I did not inform you that there is an eighth member of our party who waits outside, unaware of the exact nature of the accusations against you, namely, Sheriff  Hartley. I should like, now, to ask Dr. Campbell to discuss some of the medical evidence which he has found for two of the boys' having been subjected to sodomy."

   Dr. Campbell rose and folded his hands behind his back like a schoolboy called upon to recite his lesson. "Insertion of the virile member into the anus causes the latter to be forced inward and distended. This drags the skin surrounding the anus inward also, forming a conical depression known as the infundibulum, the Latin word for "funnel".This deformity of the anus and its surroundings is considered prima facie evidence of submission to sodomy. It appears to be present in all four boys but is so pronounced as to be unmistakeable in two: Mickey Kent and Jimmy Clark. Both of these boys have been sodomized repeatedly, most likely by an adult. I am prepared to testify to this effect under oath, if necessary."

   "That last comment brings us to the crux of the matter, Mr. Alder" said Judge Aubrey." There is enough testimony, supported by medical evidence to justify our calling in Mr. Hartley and having him arrest you. Instead, we are meeting with you and discussing this matter. If these accusations were to be brought before a court of law, the boys would have to testify under oath about conduct which could not fail to ruin their reputations. Doubtless, the District Attorney would diligently seek out and subpoena the other boys whom you have molested, forcing them to testify about matters of a most embarrassing nature.Having you arrested would precipitate a scandal which would ruin the lives of the boys involved and those of their families. These four fathers have indicated their willingness to endure this for the sake of bringing you to justice, if necessary.

   We offer you, therefore, an alternative which is acceptable to these men" said Judge Aubrey indicating the four fathers. They will be satisfied if you are castrated, and Dr. Campbell is ready to perform the operation in this house, immediately. 

   I have told you the consequences to others if you are arrested, but I have not mentioned what it will mean to you if convicted. It is this which you must weigh against castration. Depending on how many other examples of child molestation the District Attorney could uncover, and based on my experience with such cases, it is likely that you would be sentenced to 25 to 35 years in the State Penitentiary. A sentence of 50 or more years is not impossible. Because of the use of "trusties" in the prison offices, there is no confidentiality concerning the nature of a convict's offense. Your crime would quickly be known to the other prisoners. Men of your stamp are often beaten to death in prison, one might almost say usually.

   So, you ought to weigh imprisonment at hard labor for many years and possible murder by other prisoners against surgical removal of your testicles. Of course, resignation of your ministry both here and anywhere in the church is a pre-requisite to castration. Mr. Leonard has the necessary papers ready for you to sign if you elect to accept the operation."

   "Gentlemen, please allow me a few minutes of thought to consider these matters." Mr. Alder bowed his head, some might have thought in prayer, but, in fact, Horace Alder regarded the ministry as a sinecure, not a calling. It seemed to him that if God were the Jehovah of the Old Testament, as Pentacostals believe, then he ought long ago to have been struck down by a thunderbolt inasmuch as his insincere, hypocritical preaching was nothing short of blasphemy. Inasmuch as he was not so struck down, either God did not exist, or He was impotent to punish blasphemers. In either case, He need not be taken into account.

   No, it was the purely mundane considerations of crime and punishment, by the law, not God, which concerned Horace Alder.He had no idea just what life would be like as a eunuch. He had always heard eunuchs referred to as "wretched", but this was from the viewpoint of intact males.Origen and Abelard, both eunuch churchmen, had continued their careers in the church and continued to write brilliantly on religion without testicles, and Jesus had spoken favorably about castration.

    Mr. Alder looked up and spoke. "Gentlemen, my body is at your disposal. In Matthew 19:12. our Saviour says ' There be those that are born eunuchs out of their mothers' wombs, and there be those who have been made eunuchs of men, and there be those that have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.' "

   Silently, Judge Aubrey handed Horace Alder the resignation papers to sign. He did so. Judge Aubrey said "These four men, the fathers of boys whom you have molested, will witness the operation. You and they will adjourn to your bedroom now with Dr. Campbell." 

   Dr. Campbell removed an oiled silk sheet from his bag and covered Mr. Alder's bed with it while Mr. Alder removed all his clothing. Mostly for his own convenience in not having to deal with a struggling patient, Dr. Campbell administered sulfuric aether to the minister. When he was unconscious, Dr. Campbell swiftly opened his scrotum with two incisions, exposing both testicles which he grasped and pulled out as far as possible. He then clamped the spermatic cords with haemostats and applied gut ligatures below them, about 1/2 inch apart. When he was sure that both ligatures on each cord were as tight as he could tie them, he snipped between them with his surgical scissors, severing Horace Alder's seminal glands from his body. Dr. Campbell held the severed testicles up by the cords so that the four onlookers could see them clearly and witness that they had been removed.Thus ended Horace Alder's manhood.

   Following Mr. Alder's abrupt resignation, a telegram to Boston brought a missionary newly returned from darkest Africa to act as his temporary replacement. 

   A fortnight after the operation, when the stitches had been removed from his empty scrotum, Horace Alder boarded a train for New York City and a new life. He had no profession, he had no job, he had almost no money, and he had no testicles. He still found young boys attractive, but now he was impotent and unable even to masturbate.

   After a brief search, he found an opening with the New York Sun, writing the church column, writing filler for columns which were too short, and proofreading. Working at the newspaper, he became acquainted with many of the newsboys. He found them to be decent, sturdy, self-reliant young fellows determined not to be defeated by poverty. Such would be the heroes of the stories which he was beginning to plan but had not yet written. When he diod write them, he first submitted them to cheap magazines and later publishers of paper-bound books , "penny dreadfuls", adventure stories, westerns, etc. mostly purchased by boys. 

   He formed close friendships with a number of boys, but, apparently, not sexual relations. As a eunuch, he had little to offer them though he would have masturbated them and perhaps sucked the cleaner ones off had he dared. His experience in Massachusetts, however, had shaken him deeply and his sexlessness was accompanied by a timidity which had not been typical of him before he was castrated.

   Soon his stories began to attract attention. "Bill, the Bootblack" was a great success, as was "Henry's Heritage".

Others followed , "Desmond, the Delivery Boy" "Ned the Newsboy" (perhaps the best-written of the lot) "Paul, the Parson's Son", and many more. As he prospered, he moved to better quarters, but he never forgot the street urchins and newsboys who had given him his inspiration. He took to bringing homeless lads home with him to live in comfortable surroundings.

Whether he had sex with any of these boys is unknown, but it has been suspected.

   Parodies of his stories began to appear in print. Obscene and pornographic, they were very popular, stories such as "Ralph, the Rapist", "Pedro, the Pederast", Sol, the Sodomite" and Carter, the Catamite", all ostensibly by "Hosmer Agee". Horace did not attempt to take any legal action against the publishers with the comment "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

   At the time of his death in 1899, he had three boys living with him whom his sister, the executrix of his estate, evicted. She also burned many of his personal papers, but no manuscripts, including one which she would surely have destroyed if she had looked at it carefully, for, when it was finally found in his papers after her death, there could hardly have been a more damning discovery. 

   Among his papers, in his own inimitable hand, was an uncompleted story titled "Prosper, the Pimp" by "Hosmer Agee". Horace Alder had gratified a taste for pornography by parodying his own stories !