was going to argue it wasn't. Two more men sat down on the Douglas chair witness stand with like stories.
Judge Metairie looked at his watch and asked what time was the stage back to Las Cruces, and when somebody told him not till three o'clock, he said that they might as well adjourn for dinner then and let the jury reach their verdict over a nice meal though he didn't see where they'd have much thinking to do.
Court reconvened at one thirty. The jury foreman stood up, waited for the talking to die, then said how they allowed Bobby Valdez sure couldn't be anything else but guilty.
Judge Metairie nodded, gaveled the register desk to restore order, waited until the quiet could be felt, then in the voice of doom sentenced Roberto Eladio Viscarra y Valdez, on the morning one week from this day, to be hanged by the neck until dead.
Criminal Sessions Court was closed and most people felt Judge Metairie had turned in a betterthan usual performance.
Saturday evening Lyall Quinlan went on duty at the Tularosa Jail.
It came about because Bohannon was scheduled to play poker and Quinlan arrived just at the right time. He came looking for the job; still, he was taken by surprise when Bohannon offered it to him, 'temporarily, you understand,' because he'd been turned down so many times before. Lyall Quinlan wanted to be a lawman, but Bohannon always put him off with the excuse that he already had an assistant, Barney Groom, and Barney served the purpose even if he was an old man.
But Bohannon was thinking maybe an extra night man ought to be on with Valdez upstairs, a man to sit up there and watch him. He was supposed to play cards tonight, which disallowed him.
Then, lo and behold, there was young Lyall Quinlan coming in the door!
'Lyall, you musta heard me wishin' for you.'
Then, seeing the astonishment come over the boy's face a thin face with big, self conscious eyes he thought: Hell, Lyall's all right. Even if he doesn't pack much weight, he's honest. And he rode in the posse that brought in Valdez. An eager boy like him'd make a good deputy! For what he considered would be a temporary period, Bohannon convinced himself that Quinlan would do just fine. Tomorrow he could always kick him the hell out. . . .
'Barney, give Lyall here a scattergun and tell him what to do,' and Bohannon was gone.
Lyall Quinlan sat up all night watching Bobby Valdez. That is, most of the time he sat in the canebottom chair it was in the hallway facing the one cell they had upstairs he was keeping his eyes on Valdez, who hardly paid him any attention. Whenever Lyall would start to get sleepy, he'd get up, crook the sawed off scattergun under his arm, and pace up and down in the short hallway.
The first time he did it, Bobby Valdez, who was lying on his back with his eyes closed, opened them, turned his head enough to see Lyall, and told him to shut up. It was his boots making the noise.
But Lyall went right on walking up and down.
Valdez called on one of the men saints then and asked him why did all keepers of jails wear squeaky boots? The lamp hanging out in the hall didn't seem to bother him, only Lyall's boots.
When Lyall kept on walking, the Mexican said something else, half smiling a low voiced string of soft spoken Spanish.
Lyall edged closer to the cell and said through the heavy iron bars, 'Hush up!'
Valdez went to sleep right after that and Lyall sat in the chair again, feeling pretty good, not so tense anymore.
Let him try something, Lyall thought, watching the sleeping Mexican, feeling the shotgun across his lap. I'd blast him before he got through the door. He practice swung the gun around. Cut him right in half. Boy, it was heavy. Only about fifteen inches of barrel left and really heavy. Imagine what that'd do to a man!
He kept watching the sleeping man, his eyes going from the high black boots to the lavender shirt and the dark face, the composed, soft featured dark face.
How can he sleep? Next Saturday he's going to swing from the end of a rope and he's laying there sleeping. Well, some people are built different. If he wasn't different he wouldn't be in that cell. But he ain't more'n a year older than I am.
How could he have already done so much in his life? And killed the men he has? Two at White Sands, one in Mesilla. Tanner. Lyall's thumb went over the tips of his fingers. That's four. Then two more way over to Pima County. At least six, though some claim nine and ten. And Elodie thrilled to death because she served him his dinner the night he shot Tanner. They say he was something with the girls which about proves that they don't use their heads for much more than a place to grow hair.
Well, he just better not try to come out of that cell. About a minute later Lyall went over and jiggled the door to make sure it was still locked.
Barney Groom came up when it was daylight, and seeing Lyall just sitting there he blinked like he couldn't believe what his eyes told him. 'You awake?'
Lyall rose. 'Of course.'
'Son, you mean you've been awake all night?'
'I thought I was hired to watch this prisoner.'
Old Barney Groom shook his head.
'What's the matter?'
'Nothin',' Barney said. Then, 'Bohannon's downstairs.'
Lyall said, 'He want to see me?'
'When you go out he won't be able to help it,' said Barney.
'Well, and when should I come back?'
'I ain't the timekeeper. Ask Bohannon about that.'
They heard footsteps on the stairs and then Bohannon was in the hallway, yawning, scratching his shirtfront.
Barney Groom said, 'Ed, this boy stayed awake all night!'
Bohannon stopped scratching, though he didn't drop his hand. He looked at Lyall Quinlan, who nodded and said, 'Mr. Bohannon.'
The marshal squinted in the dim light. It was plain he'd been drinking, the way his eyes looked filmy, though he stood there with his feet planted and didn't sway a bit. Finally he said, 'You don't say!'
'All night,' Barney Groom said.
Bohannon looked at him. 'How would you know?'
'He was awake when I come up.'
Bohannon said nothing.
'Mr. Bohannon,' Lyall said, 'I didn't go to sleep.'
'Maybe you did and maybe you did not.'
Bobby Valdez had been watching them. Now he swung his legs off the bunk. He stood up and moved toward the bars. 'He's telling the truth,' the Mexican said.
Bohannon put his cold eyes on Valdez for a moment, then looked back at Lyall Quinlan.
Valdez shrugged. 'It don't make any difference to me,' he said. 'But make him grease his boots if he's going to walk all night.'
Barney Groom moved a step toward the cell as if threatening Valdez. 'You got any more requests?'
'Yes,' the Mexican said right away. 'I want to go to church.'
'What?' Barney Groom said, then was embarrassed for having looked like he'd taken the Mexican seriously, and added, 'Sure. I'll send the carriage around.'
Valdez looked at him without expression. 'This is Sunday.'
Bohannon was squinting and half smiling. 'Any special denomination, Brother Valdez?'
'Listen, man,' Valdez said, 'this is Sunday, and I have to go to mass.'
Bohannon asked, 'You go to mass every Sunday?'
'I've missed some.'
Bohannon, with the half smile, went on studying him. Then he said, 'Tell you what. We'll douse you with a bucket of holy water instead.'
Bohannon and Groom left right after that. Lyall was to stay until one or the other came back from breakfast.
