A Bond in the Hand

The county seat had one courthouse, two saloons, and a public trough that looked as if it had been fed by a sick mule.

The Man With No Phlegm kept Bob well away from it.

“Wise,” said Bob. “I’ve seen water with better prospects in a boot.”

They had ridden in the day before with Hobb and Pell, while Rusk bumped along bound in the back of a freight wagon. The Man’s right hand had throbbed through every mile. By morning, it had swollen against the fresh bandage, which made the courthouse’s narrow writing table look like an enemy built for the purpose.

The magistrate’s office stood behind the courthouse proper. It held a desk, three chairs, a stove, and a spittoon with a dark, glistening rim. The magistrate, Jory Senn, had a narrow mustache and the tired patience of a man who had heard every lie twice and most truths once.

He looked over the four men before him. “Who is making the complaint?”

Rusk answered first. “I am. Hobb stole the camp payroll and assaulted me.”

Hobb stood with his hat crushed between his hands. His face had gone pale on the ride, and the feverish shine had not left his eyes. “I took the payroll,” he said. “I gave it to the men it was owed to. I struck Rusk after he left me chained in a ditch while I was sick.”

The words landed plain and heavy. The Man had heard Hobb say them before, but the courthouse made them sound like property being set on a counter for a stranger to price.

Magistrate Senn dipped his pen. “You admit taking the money?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“Enough to pay the three men their wages.”

“Do you have any of it now?”

“No.”

Rusk gave a sharp, humorless laugh. “Convenient.”

Hobb looked at him. His fingers tightened around the hat brim, then eased. “They were owed it.”

The magistrate glanced at Pell. “You were one of those men?”

Pell nodded. He had brushed the dust from his coat for court, but the cuffs still showed the dirt of the station washhouse. “Six dollars. Hobb paid me. I saw Rusk leave him chained in the ditch.”

“Did you see Hobb take the payroll?”

“No.” Pell’s eyes moved to the magistrate’s pen. “I saw Rusk leave him there. I saw Hobb pay me later.”

Rusk leaned forward against his bonds. “He’ll say anything for his six dollars.”

“I said what I saw,” Pell replied. “You can keep the six if you want it back. It’s spent.”