Ghosts of Bluewater Creek by James Terry

Author:James, Terry [Terry James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780719813924
Publisher: Robert Hale
Published: 2013-09-08T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

It was almost over.

Josh poured himself another cup of coffee from the pot on the stove in the jailhouse and sat down with an involuntary sigh. The events of the past half hour were starting to take their toll on him and although he would have enjoyed antagonizing the sheriff, who paced impatiently while he waited for the doc’s diagnosis, he was satisfied just to remain upright, to watch and listen to the argument between medic and lawman.

‘Sheriff, I told you to let me look him over before you dragged him in here.’

‘And I told you that I wasn’t letting Abe Lawton get away twice. Now quit your whining, Doc, and tell me how bad he is? Will he survive until the hanging?’

From his kneeling position beside the low cot in the cell where Abe Lawton had been dropped like a side of beef, Doctor Morris looked up and scowled. ‘He’s running a fever and his arm’s infected. I’d say no, not—’

‘Damn it!’

‘Sheriff!’ The doctor’s indignation was apparent even from that one word. ‘You don’t have to sound so disappointed.’

‘Well, hanging a man like that in my town would be a lesson to the rest of them no-good dead-beats to stay away.’

The sheriff cast a glance back towards Josh and Zack. Josh stifled a chuckle.

‘You seem sure he’ll hang,’ the doc opined, nudging the sheriff’s arm so that the lantern swung back over his patient. ‘What if the judge and jury find him innocent?’

The sheriff laughed uproariously. ‘You’re crazy, Doc.’

Morris shrugged and nodded his agreement.

Against expectations, Abe Lawton moaned as he came back to consciousness, his eyes rolling as he struggled to focus on the faces crowded around him.

‘I ain’t planning on dying,’ he said through clenched teeth. ‘Patch me up, Doc. It’s your duty.’

The medic shook his head. ‘It’s not that simple. Your arm’s infected. It’s spreading and there’s … nothing I can do to stop it.’

Josh sensed he was holding something back and tilted his head with more interest.

‘I don’t believe you. Spit it out, Doc,’ Abe demanded, albeit feebly.

Morris sighed. ‘The only chance you’ve got is if I take the arm off, stop the spread of—’

‘No!’ Abe lashed out but the sheriff moved with surprising speed to grab his raised hand in mid-air.

‘Now, you just take it easy. The doc knows what he’s talking about.’ A barely concealed smile twitched the corner of the lawman’s mouth as he looked pointedly at the doctor. ‘Like he said, it’s your duty to try and save him. Ain’t that right, boys?’

Suddenly, Josh felt tired. Not just bone weary but mentally exhausted. He had been chasing Abe Lawton for fifteen long years and soon it would all be over. One way or another, the man who had started him on this lonesome trail that had become his life would be dead. Did it matter whether he died publicly at the end of a hangman’s rope or passed away quietly in a jail cell?

Josh looked to Zack, who sat quietly behind the sheriff’s desk.

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