The Judge was surprised; his vacuous eyes opened. 'But if I remember rightly, Sudden was supposed to have been in the employ of the Governor,' he remarked.
'There yu are,' Bartholomew said triumphantly. 'That was the excuse for lettin' him off; yu see, he has got a pull.'
'If he's still got it--' Lufton began dubiously.
'He ain't,' the rancher cut in. 'An' the cases against him are plain open an' shut this time. Besides, all yu gotta do is try the fella; the jury finds the verdict. Once that's given, what happens ain't no business o' yourn.'
There was a sinister suggestion in the last words which made the other man look up apprehensively.
'You mustn't forget that I represent the law, Mr. Bartholomew,' he pointed out, with a rather ludicrous attempt at dignity.
'Ain't that the very reason I'm askin' yu to take charge?' the big man retorted. 'Now, see here, Judge; the folks in thisyer town are gettin' all het up over this case--mostof'em lost money m the robbery, an' the fella as was rubbed out was plenty popular. I've got 'em millin' as yet, but if they stampede there'll be a neck-tie party shore as yo're born, an' that won't look too good with a reg'ler judge in the town who might 'a' given the accused a fair trial an' done things legal.'
Lufton emptied his glass, replenishing it with a shaky hand. He had experienceofthe West, had seen mob law at work, and knew that in the stateoftension the town was now in, a spark would cause an explosion. Surely, in the interestoflaw and order, it was his duty to step in and see justice meted out to the malefactor. Bartholomew's next remark decided him.
'There'll be a fee o' two hundred dollars,' he said. 'Course, if yu'd rather we waited for Embley ...'
Lufton winced like a spurred horse; he hated the Desert Edge jurist, a factofwhich Bartholomew was well aware.
'No need for that,' he said. 'I'll take the case.'
'Good for yu,' Bartholomew smiled. 'I don't mind admittin' that I'm glad. Embley ain't popular round here, he's a pal o' the prisoner, an' there's more than a suspicion that he's in cahoots with him to grab the murdered man's property.'
Lufton's eyes gleamed evilly. 'Shouldn't be surprised,' he sneered. 'There's usually mud at the bottom o' still water. When yu startin' the trial?'
'Half an hour's time,' replied the rancher. 'No sense in waitin', an' it wouldn't be safe anyways. I'll tell Muger to get this place cleared for it.'
The news that the accused was to be tried at once by Judge Lufton spread like wildfire through the town, and the general feeling was oneofsatisfaction. Never before had Hope Again enjoyed such a sensation. Killings, followed by summary justice were not unknown, but a regular trial by an official judge was a novelty, and the 'Come Again' soon bore witness to the fact. Indeference to Lufton's position, some endeavour was made to give the room a court-like appearance. The judge's bench was represented by a table, with seats on either side for the more important citizens. Twelve chairs were arranged for the jury, another for the sheriff. Immediately in frontofthe Judge were three more chairs, the middle one for the prisoner, and the others for the deputies guarding him; this was the dock. The onlookers perched themselves on such support as they could find, or lolled against the walls.
Severn's first intimation that he was to be put on his trial immediately came from the deputy, Jake, whom he had treated so unceremoniously the night before. The man appeared to bear no malice, for he grinned cheerfully through the spyhole as he said :
'Better be gittin' ready to speak yore piece, Severn; the Judge'll be wantin' yu at the court mighty soon.'
'Has Embley turned up, then?' asked the prisoner.
'Now, Lufton's goin' to try yu, an' I'm bound to say it's mean luck he should happen along. If yu got any argyments yu better think 'em up, for yu'll need some.'
The voice of the other deputy broke in. 'Fetch him along--just got word he's needed.'
'There, I've done wasted yore time,' Jake said regretfully. 'Yu'll have to think up suthin' on the way.'
Certainly the prisoner had plenty to occupy his mind as, with an armed deputy on either side, he paced up the street. Calculating his chances the night before, he had come to the conclusion that apart from a possibilityofbeing lynched, he was in no immediate danger; einher he would be tried in Hope by Judge Embley, or sent to the capital. The advent of a strange and possibly hostile judge was, as he had to admit, 'a hossofa different brand,' and this indecent haste to bring him to account looked ominous. He wished now that he had not ordered his outfit to keep away from Hope; if it came to the worst ...
The entry of the accused increased the buzzofconversation in the crowded court-room. With calm confidence he walked to the dock, took off his hat, and sat down. His bonds had been removed, but the deputies drew their guns as they sat beside him. There was a suspicion of a smile on Severn's face as he noted the precaution. He looked at the Judge, then the jury--which had already been empanelled--and realised that he stood no chance; the twelve 'good men and true' were all supportersofBartholomew, and had been chosen for that reason. His steady eyes swept the audience. He saw Bent, Callahan and Larry, and was searching for Lunt when the little gunman entered, followed by four of the Bar B outfit. His face told Severn a story.
'Snap's killin' mad,' he concluded. 'Reckon when he heard o' this he started to fetch the boys, an' them four jaspers held him up an' are ridin' herd on him. Bart don't want no interference.'
Lounging in a chair by the side of the Judge, with Martin, and several of his men, Bartholomew could not keep the gloating satisfaction out of his eyes. Nevertheless, from time to time he glanced expectantly at the door, and the prisoner smiled grimly --Bartholomew was wondering what had become of his foreman. A rap on the judge's table stopped the humofconversation.
'Well, sheriff, what is the charge against the prisoner?' Lufton asked.
Tyler rose, puffing out his chest in a hopeless attempt to appear dignified. The sheriff was very satisfied with himself. 'There's a right smart o' charges, Judge,' he stated. 'Attemptin' to kill Mister Martin here, robbin' the bank an' shootin' the manager, murderin' Philip Masters, breakin' gaol--'
'Well, well, I reckon that'll do to go on with,' Lufton interrupted. 'We'll take the bank robbery and the murder. If he's guiltyofthem we can let him off the rest.'
The bitter witticism sent a rippleofmerriment round the room, and the makerofit permitted himself a thin- lipped smile. 'The court will deal with the robbery first,' he decided. 'Call your evidence, sheriff.'
Rapson, the banker, stepped forward and gave his accountofthe raid. Questioned by the Judge, he admitted that the robbers' faces were so hidden that he could not see them, but in clothes, height and build the man who shot at him might have been the accused. Further, Severn had drawn out his money just before the robbery took place, and the notes handed to him did not include those he was trying to cash when arrested, which were partofthe plunder. Lufton looked severely at the prisoner.
'You want to put any questions?' he asked.
Severn stood up. 'Shore,' he said, and turned to the witness. 'Yu certain the man who downed yu was not smaller than me?'
'Quite,' returned the banker. 'Looking at you now I have an impression he was even bigger.'
Severn nodded. 'So that, as yu couldn't see his face, it might 'a' been any fella as big as me, or a bit bigger.' His eyes roamed round the room. 'Mister Bartholomew, for example?'
The witness protested volubly. The suggestion was absurd. Mr. Bartholomew had been most kind, and he had five thousand dollars deposited in the bank.
'Which he wouldn't lose if he robbed yu,' Severn pointedout. 'An' if I was goin' to, why should I trouble to draw my money?'
'Why did you?' asked the Judge.
The foreman explained, handing up the warning he had received. Lufton glanced at it superciliously and passed it to the jury. They scanned it in turn, and then one of them remarked sourly :
'Yu kept this mighty dark, didn't yu?'
Bent jumped up. 'Severn showed it to me an' Ridge of the XT,' he volunteered. 'We didn't know what was back of it any more than he did, but we both drawed our balances out. Anybody think we done the robbery?'
'Nobody's suggesting that anyone but the accused did the stealing, sir,' remarked the Judge.
Though this pompous remark may have impressed someofthe audience, it only drew an impudent grin from
