The pretty little thing pouted and rubbed his belly.
“Evangelina, he’s gonna stay in his pants,” Rosie said.
“I’ll take a rain check, honey,” he said.
I followed him out the door and into a fine June day. Doubtful was stirring a little. Them merchants was finally opening up. People had figured out there wasn’t going to be no hanging this day, at least not of the Bragg boy.
Ruble tried to walk beside me, but I motioned him to stay in front of me.
“It’s a pity, losing that judge,” he said. “Now that kid’s loose and who knows who he’ll kill next.”
“We’re gonna have some real serious talk about that,” I said. Truth was, I didn’t have much to go on. All three witnesses dead. And I had no real good proof he killed the other two. No real proof of anything. But we were gonna have us a long talk anyway, him on one side of the bars, me on the other.
A few merchants were at their doors, shouting questions.
“Is the judge dead?” George Waller asked.
“Yes,” I said, but didn’t want to spill any more beans. “You’ll get the story soon as I’m ready.”
We reached the courthouse square and something was sure different. Then I knew. There was a new noose on that gallows. I’d cut off the rope to get Judge Nippers down, and now there was a big noose dangling there.
And a mess of Anchor Ranch men swarming toward me from all sides, including behind. I spotted Big Nose George, and Alvin Ream, and Spitting Sam. Sure enough, there was Admiral Bragg hovering back a way, but I didn’t see King or Queen around. And behind me was Smiley Thistlethwaite. I didn’t see any of my deputies, and doubted I would. They was all too far gone to do much.
“Crayfish, you keep on walkin’ straight to my office. Don’t slow down, not even if they say stop. I’ll be right behind you. We’re walking to the jail, and that’s the safest thing I can do.”
“I should have shot you,” he said.
But he walked steadily now, even as all them Anchor Ranch men tightened their noose around us. I could shoot a few in front of me, but them behind would make quick work of me and my prisoner. My ma used to say I could talk my way out of a whippin’, and that’s what I’d have to do.
Big Nose George was bossing this parade.
“Stop right there, Sheriff.”
“You’re not going to interfere with the law.”
Then Admiral Bragg was moving in from the side. “Matter of fact, we are. You turn him loose and we’ll turn you loose.”
That’s when Crayfish took matters into his own hands. “Admiral! Good to see you, my friend. Our slightly retarded sheriff seems to think he can hold me on general principles.” He laughed, and veered straight toward Bragg. I could hardly swing the shotgun around before there was a mess of barrels pointing my way.
Bragg, he smiled and shook hands with Crayfish Ruble, like they was a couple of old buddies. I’d lost my prisoner.
“Sheriff, you’ll want to set down that shotgun real slow,” Big Nose said.
I sure hated to do it, and thought maybe to check out by spraying the neighborhood with buckshot, but I saw how it was. So I settled that shotgun on the clay and stood up.
“You’ll be a witness, Sheriff,” Bragg said. “A little justice, long overdue.”
I was sort of getting the drift of this, and so was Crayfish, who smiled cheerfully.
A few citizens were collecting, braving the chance of some stray lead flying their way. I was sure feelin’ like a fool, disarmed and standing there. But I’d be even dumber trying to shoot my way out of that one.
Bragg, he had an arm around the neck of his new friend Ruble, smiling away like it was some party. And Ruble, he was chuckling and snorting and enjoying the get-together. Bragg, he was steering Ruble into the courthouse square, and all the rest of them Anchor riders were making sort of an escort for them, like a pathway straight toward that gallows. I followed along, though there were men with drawn revolvers right behind me, keeping me goin’ toward that gallows. That noose looked real big there, a good clean knot with the coils just right. I wondered who had tied it. Maybe the same Anchor Ranch feller who’d tied the noose for me when they were tryin’ to scare me into springing the kid.
I wondered where the boy and girl were. They sure weren’t a part of this bunch. I wondered whether their old man had gotten real tough on them.
We kept right on walkin’ straight to the gallows, and then Bragg was manhandling Ruble around toward them steps up to the platform, and Ruble, he wasn’t smiling anymore. But Ruble was no match for Bragg. Ruble had spent years tomcatting, while Bragg was running his ranch, and now it showed. It was like Ruble was being dragged by some giant force to them steps and up them steps, walkin’ where he didn’t want to go, not at all.
And then Big Nose George was up there with a cord, binding Crayfish Ruble’s hands behind him real tight, wrapping that cord around his wrists so tight it made Ruble wince, and then they sort of pushed him onto the trap, and Crayfish wasn’t smiling at all. He was just staring at the sky. Bragg, he lowered that noose over Ruble’s head and tightened it a little and turned the knot to the left, and made sure everyone saw he was doin’ it and no one else. This was Admiral Bragg’s show, from start to finish.
It got real quiet, and some puffball clouds skidded across the sky, shadowing the gallows and Crayfish and Bragg, even though the rest of Doubtful was blotting up sunlight. It sure was quiet. I’d never heard it so quiet. There was a mess of people watching now. Every shopkeeper in town was out, and so were all the women and children.
Admiral Bragg pulled the lever. The trap dropped, and so did Crayfish. There was a loud crack, like maybe a neck bone was busted, and then Crayfish swung and twitched and turned real slow. And he was smiling to beat the band.
