He turned his head to look back at the sheriff’s office just before it was obscured by the courthouse. The town was built around the square, with shops and stores and residences on every side. The sheriff’s office was on the north side, just to the right and across the street as you came out of the courthouse. Bodenheimer had been as angry as an ignorant, guilty man could be. He had insisted that Longarm release him and his deputies instantly, and do something to restore him in the esteem of the townspeople. Longarm had replied that he’d be glad to turn them loose the minute that Bodenheimer could explain, to Longarm’s satisfaction, how a gang of outlaws had managed to operate and hide out in his fairly small county. Longarm had said, “I don’t know of a magistrate or law officer of any consequence whatsoever, or of any sense or with the slightest bit of intelligence, who wouldn’t have to conclude that you have been in cahoots with the bandits, if not from the start, then very shortly thereafter. It’s either that, or you are the most ignorant man who ever wore a badge anywhere at any time.”
Bodenheimer had continued to bluster and glower, but it hadn’t done him any good. The only one of the deputies who’d had anything to say had been Melvin Purliss, and he had been worried if what he was doing was right and legal. He’d said, “Sheriff Bodenheimer says if I don’t let him out at once, he’s gonna lock me up the minute he gets out and hang me the next day. Marshal, you shore this is right? You ain’t got no idea the number of people been by here askin’ questions and not believin’ me when I tell them I ain’t got the say in this situation. They can’t see, federal marshal or not, how you come to have the right to lock up their sheriff.”
Longarm had assured the deputy that, as a federal marshal, he could indeed arrest a deputy or a sheriff or any other county or state or territorial official he chose. He’d said, “Now a judge can come along and say they had not ought to have been arrested, but until a judge comes along and says different, Bodenheimer and his kindred are arrested and are going to stay that way. And if you let anything happen to them, such as getting loose, you are going to be in pretty bad shape.”
That had scared Purliss more than Longarm had meant, so he’d been forced to spend a little time bolstering up the deputy. He’d ridden away certain in his mind that it was going to take more than one night in jail to get Bodenheimer to come around to Longarm’s way of thinking.
Until then he was going to have to enjoy the county’s cooking and shelter.
Longarm got out of the town and picked up the little road that led down to the river. He and Austin Davis had not had as much to talk about as he’d thought. Most of what he’d had to say had been to warn the gambler about being careful how he asked questions. Longarm had said, “Near as I can make out, the only person you can trust in this county is me, and I wouldn’t be all that sure about me. You go to pressing that Rebeccah in the wrong way, and she is liable to squawk to someone and you are going to find yourself on the wrong end of a bushwhacker’s bullet. Just concentrate on getting the clothes off her in the early going.”
Austin Davis had given him an innocent look, and said he was under the impression that it was for that task and that task alone that he had been hired. “If you are expecting me to be worrying myself with law work, you have got another think coming.”
But Davis had said something else that had set Longarm to thinking. “I’m kind of a student of towns and townspeople on account of that’s the way I make my living. I don’t earn every dollar across the card table. A part of the time I’m available for any scheme, legally, that might come my way. And that generally involves the folks that live in a place. Have you noticed the number of men in this town who don’t seem to do much except hang around the saloons or the barbershop or the blacksmith shop or just sit around the courthouse spitting and whittling?”
Longarm had thought about it. In truth the very same idea had occurred to him, but not being as familiar with small Texas towns as Davis was, he hadn’t studied on it much. But now that Davis had brought it to his attention, he had to admit that there did indeed seem to be a lot of young and middle-aged men with no visible means of support.
Davis had said, “If they are farmers, it ain’t laying-by time yet. In fact, it is harvest time. If they are raising cattle or sheep, this is a busy time for both, getting your animals set for winter. Yet here are all these men hanging around town and doing nothing but spending time and money.”
Longarm had pursed his lips. “Are you thinking what I think you are thinking?”
“That the best way to hide is in plain sight?”
“Yeah, something like that. But there’s only supposed to be a half a dozen or so in the gang. Maybe eight. Lot more men of the right age hanging around.”
Davis had looked at him. “What about if they took turns.”
Longarm had been about to take a bite of steak and eggs. He’d put his fork down. “That’s a hell of an idea. But the doing of it…” He’d let the thought trail off and shaken his head. “Too many people would have to be able to keep their mouths shut to make it work.”
“Keep their mouths shut to who? You are the first outside law to come in here since this business got cranked up. Who they going to keep their mouths shut to?”
It had made Longarm blink. The idea was overwhelming. Austin Davis was talking about a whole town, maybe even a whole county, cooperating on robbery and keeping it hidden. It was too fantastic to believe.
Longarm had said, “You forget they robbed the auction barn.”
“Yes, and how much talk did you hear about it afterward? Most of the hollering, according to you, took place at the auction barn itself, and most of those folks were from out of the county. I was in the saloon for several hours after it happened, and damn little got said. A whole hell of a lot of damn little. Amos Goustwhite and another man come in about three, three-thirty. Two hours after the robbery. I had opportunity to notice their horses were lathered up. I even teased them a little about holding a race and nobody won, both horses being too slow. I didn’t think about it at the time, because I was too interested in getting Goustwhite in a game. But he and the man with him could just as easily have been in on that robbery and then circled around to make it into town. They’d have hurried so as to get there sooner than a man would coming from that distance. You think about it.”
Longarm had frowned. “Truth be told, I don’t want to think about it.
Hell, if what you say is true, we’d have to arrest a thousand people.”
“I’m not saying they are all in on it, maybe fifteen or twenty taking an active hand. But ain’t you noticed what a prosperous little town this is? And there ain’t that much around here to make for that much money coming in. Ain’t a sawmill, ain’t a cotton gin, ain’t no real big ranches. Hell, the railroad don’t even go through here. And you tell me about the bride price Old Man Diver is getting for his daughters. That is a revelation right there.”
“But they robbed the auction barn.”
“Maybe that was for your benefit. You ever think of that? Besides, I asked some questions this morning. The Ownsbys don’t live in Mason County. They live across the line closer to Llano than here.”
