Thorpe shrugged. “I have no idea, Your Honor. All I know is that I happened to be in Tucson after wrapping up another case, and I received a telegram from the chief marshal ordering me to accompany you here to Arrowhead and take charge of the prisoner if he was convicted. But when I went looking for you, I found that you’d already left, so I had to follow you instead.”
“This is highly irregular…”
Thorpe stuck his thumbs in the pockets of his vest and said, “My guess is that Washington wants to have a hand in Shade’s execution because he’s stolen a couple of army payrolls. Those were federal crimes. They could have me take him in for a new trial in those cases, but I reckon they figure since he can only hang once, there’s no point in going to that much trouble and expense. They’ll let the Territory of Arizona take care of it…as long as they get some of the credit.”
Stanfield tugged at his beard. “This document appears to be in order,” he said with a frown. “And since it doesn’t void the verdict of this jury, or affect anything except the place of execution…”
“We didn’t want Shade hanged here anyway, Your Honor,” Mayor Wiley put in.
Stanfield nodded. “Irregular or not, I suppose I have no choice but to honor this court order and place Joshua Shade in your custody, Marshal, to be taken to Yuma Prison and hanged at the earliest possible opportunity.” The gavel came down with a sharp crack. “This court is adjourned!”
Sheriff Flagg turned to Matt and Sam and said, “Keep an eye on Shade. Me and the deputies’ll clear the place out before we take him back to jail.”
They didn’t have to try very hard to do that. Many of the spectators were already pouring out of the town hall, headed for the saloons and a chance to rehash the day’s events over a drink.
The news of Shade’s conviction and the U.S. marshal’s arrival spread rapidly. These were the biggest doings the town of Arrowhead had seen in a long time, maybe ever. By the time Matt and Sam left the town hall, once again dragging the shackled, gagged Joshua Shade between them, the street was crowded with excited citizens who wanted to see the notorious outlaw being taken back to jail.
Once again, Flagg and his deputies surrounded Matt, Sam, and Shade as the procession made its way along the street. But this time, they had the marshal with them, striding alongside with his right hand resting on the butt of the Colt holstered at his hip. Thorpe’s cold-eyed gaze was enough to make most folks step aside.
Shade had stopped trying to talk. He hung limply in the grasp of the blood brothers as they hauled him along. They took him into the jail, and didn’t remove the gag until they had him back in his cell with the shackles and leg irons off.
Even then, Shade didn’t say anything. His expression had turned dull and lifeless, as if all the fight had finally gone out of him.
Maybe he was thinking about the hangrope that was waiting for him, Matt mused as he slammed the cell door closed.
Once they were all in the sheriff’s office, Flagg offered Thorpe a cup of coffee. The federal lawman smiled for the first time since his arrival in Arrowhead and nodded.
“Much obliged, Sheriff. That sounds good. Why don’t you introduce your deputies to me?”
Flagg poured the coffee and carried out the introductions of Johnson and the other men, leaving out Matt and Sam. Thorpe nodded toward them and asked curiously, “What about these two hombres?”
“You said to introduce my deputies, and they ain’t sworn in or nothin’. Reckon you’d have to call ’em volunteers. But their names are Matt Bodine and Sam Two Wolves.”
Thorpe’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Bodine and Two Wolves, eh? I’ve heard of you. I’d bet there aren’t very many lawmen west of the Mississippi who
“You make us sound like some sort of desperadoes, Marshal,” Matt said.
Thorpe shook his head. “Not necessarily. But you have to admit, hell seems to have a way of breaking loose wherever you two happen to be.”
“If not for these boys, I expect Shade and his bunch would’ve laid waste to our town,” Flagg said.
“Really? I’d like to hear about that,” Thorpe said as he perched a hip on a corner of the desk.
Matt and Sam weren’t given to boasting about anything they had done, so Flagg explained how they had discovered Shade’s gang was about to raid Arrowhead and had warned the town. When the sheriff was done, Thorpe nodded.
“Sounds like these folks owe you a debt of gratitude, all right,” he said. “From everything I’ve heard about you, though, you boys like to drift. What are you doing still here?”
“After being partially responsible for Shade getting locked up, we wanted to see what was going to happen,” Sam explained.
“And we didn’t figure it’d hurt anything if we gave Sheriff Flagg a hand either,” Matt added.
“Darn right it didn’t hurt anything,” Flagg chimed in. “It’s been good havin’ these two hombres around. Might not have been able to stop those lynch mobs without ’em.”
Thorpe sipped his coffee. “Then I suppose the federal government owes you its gratitude, too,” he said to Matt and Sam. “And a reward for capturing Shade, if you care to claim it.”
Matt stiffened. “We’re not bounty hunters. You can keep your damn blood money.”
Anger sparked in Thorpe’s eyes. “I never said you were bounty hunters. But if you’ve got a reward coming to you—”
“We’re fine without it, Marshal,” Sam said as he moved between Matt and Thorpe in an effort to defuse the sudden tension in the room. “All we really want is for justice to be done.”
“It will be. You can count on that. Shade will hang just as soon as I can get him to Yuma.”
Flagg scratched his beard. “I was wonderin’ about that,” he said. “How do you intend to get him there?”
