Laughter burst from the crowd.
Wilmont turned as Stanfield hammered for order. “That is exactly correct!” Wilmont said, raising his voice to be heard over the clamor. “He’s as crazy as an animal with a belly full of locoweed! You wouldn’t hold an animal responsible for its actions if that happened! Neither should you hold Joshua Shade responsible for his. He should be locked up someplace where he can’t hurt anyone else, not executed!”
Angry shouts of disagreement came from the crowd, and Stanfield had to bang the gavel for several minutes before order was restored. When it was, Wilmont said, “That’s all I have to say, Your Honor,” and sat down.
“Well, that’s an…unusual…defense, Counselor,” Stanfield said, “but if you feel it’s the best one you have —”
“It’s the only one we have, Your Honor.”
“Very well.” Stanfield turned to the members of the jury. “You can now begin your deliberations, and continue them until you have reached a true verdict.”
The men glanced at each other for a second. Then the one at the end of the row closest to the judge’s bench stood up. “I reckon we’re done, Your Honor.”
Stanfield sighed, clearly not surprised. “In that case, what say you?”
“We find the defendant guilty of murder, robbery, assorted banditry, and anything else you want to charge him with, Judge. Matter of fact, we find him guilty as hell!”
“A simple verdict of guilty will be entered into the record,” Stanfield said. He turned back to the defense table. “Does the defendant have anything to say before I pass sentence on him?”
Shade struggled against his ropes as if he were trying to stand up, and frenzied grunts came from behind the gag.
“I don’t suppose it matters now, does it?” Wilmont said with a sigh.
Flagg motioned for Matt and Sam to take the gag off of Shade. “Leave him tied in the chair, though,” the sheriff warned.
Sam untied the bandanna around Shade’s head. Matt pulled the gag out of the outlaw’s mouth. Shade’s chin lifted defiantly as he yelled, “The Lord will strike you down! He will visit plagues and abominations on this town and everyone in it! You’ll all die screaming for mercy! Rivers of blood will run in the streets, and your women will cry over the broken bodies of their children!”
From there, the tirade descended into profanity again, until Flagg motioned for Matt to stick the gag back in Shade’s mouth. Matt did so, shutting him up.
“That was an inspired defense, Counselor,” Stanfield told Colonel Wilmont. “Unfortunately, the jury has reached its verdict, and now I shall pass sentence on the defendant. Normally, I would have him rise to hear this, but under the circumstances…” Stanfield cleared his throat. “It is the judgment of this court, the defendant Joshua Shade having been found guilty, that he shall be hanged by the neck until dead, and that this sentence shall be carried out immediately in this jurisdiction.”
Mayor Wiley leaped to his feet. “But, Your Honor,” he protested, “we don’t
“Then you should have thought of that before you put on this trial,” Stanfield snapped. “You tried him here, you can hang him.” He lifted his gavel to signal that court was adjourned.
Before the gavel could fall, though, a new voice spoke up over the clamor, saying, “Just a moment, Judge. Could I have a word with you?”
The crowd parted, and a tall man in a dark suit strode forward. He was middle-aged, with a face tanned to the color of saddle leather and a nose like the beak of a hawk jutting out over a dark mustache that framed a wide mouth.
“Who in blazes are you?” Stanfield demanded.
The newcomer moved the lapel of his coat aside so that the badge pinned to his vest was visible. “Deputy United States Marshal Asa Thorpe,” he said, introducing himself. “I’ve come for Joshua Shade.”
Chapter 18
The courtroom exploded with noise in response to that dramatic announcement. Judge Stanfield had to hammer the gavel on the table for a full minute again before everybody settled down enough for him to make himself heard.
“What do you mean by that, Marshal?” he demanded.
Thorpe had stood there calmly during the excitement. Now he reached inside his coat and said, “I meant just what I said, Your Honor. I have here a court order signed by a federal judge placing Joshua Shade in my custody.”
“You can’t have him!” Stanfield snapped. “I’ve already pronounced sentence on him.”
“I didn’t make myself clear, Your Honor. I’m not here to interfere with these proceedings or to set aside the verdict reached by this court, with one exception.” Thorpe strode forward and placed the document he had taken from his coat on the table in front of the judge. “The federal government wants Shade to be hanged at Yuma Prison.”
Sam leaned over to Matt and muttered, “This is unusual.”
Matt grunted. “What do you expect from the government?”
Stanfield leaned forward in his chair to study the paper Thorpe had placed in front of him. “What’s the meaning of this? Why would the Justice Department do such a thing?”
