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"Nathan wasn&039;t well," John Five went on "In the head He eak You should have known that, you bein&039; such the scholar"

"I can&039;t bring him back, and neither can you," Matthew said, with more spice than he&039;d meant; it sounded too o on, from where we-"

"Wei" John scowled, an expression of htly "What is this wei I haven&039;t said I wanted anythin&039; to do with this I&039;ve just listened to you talk, that&039;s all For the sake that you&039;re such a high-collar now, and I have to say you&039;re a fine so so far"

Matthew, as was his wont, took the initiative "I agree It is time for action"

"You mean time to put my neck in a noose too, don&039;t youi"

"No, I do not"

"Well, that&039;s ould happen I don&039;t in&039; myself No, I&039;d never do that But I mean ruinin&039;breath and shook his head When he spoke again, his voice was quieter and alht No one cares No one will believe anythin&039; that&039;s said again&039; him He has too many friends From what you&039;ve told ao behind bars, or be banished from the town His debtors wouldn&039;t stand for it So even if I spoke out-even if anyone spoke out-I&039;d be called a madman, or devil-possessed, orwho knoould happen to me"

"If you&039;re afraid for your life, I can tell you that Magistrate Poill-"

"You talk and talk," John Five said, and stepped forward upon Mattheith a grimness that made the elder man think their friendship-an orphans&039; comraderie, as it as about to end with a broken jaw "But you don&039;t listen," John went on, though he checked his progress He gazed toward the street, at the gents and ladies passing, at a horse-cart trundling by, at so as if all the world was a merriment "I&039;ve asked Constance to be my wife We&039;re to be joined in September"

Constance Wade, Matthe, had been John&039;s love for nearly a year He never thought John would get up the nerve to ask her, since she was the daughter of that stern-faced, black-garbed preacher Willia when he cast the unblinking eye of God at them Of course Mattheas happy for John Five, for Constance was certainly a fair maid and had a quick and lively mind, but he knew also what this meant

John didn&039;t speak for a ue in check Then John said, "Phillip Covey Have you asked himi"

"I have He steadfastly refuses"

"Nicholas Robertsoni John Galti"

"Both I&039;ve asked, several times Both have refused"

"Then why me, Matthewi Why keep coh Not only from ausley, but before The Indian raid The man who took you around andknocked down, all that darkness and trouble I thought you&039;d want to stand up and ht to be" There was no response froer ht you&039;d want to see justice done"

Now, to Matthew&039;s surprise, a hint of emotion did return to John&039;s face, but it was the faintest trace of a knowing se, to be exact "Justice donei Is that really iti Or do you just want to aini"

Matthew started to answer, to protest John&039;s point, but before he could the younger man said quietly, "Please hear me, Matthew, and make true of it ausley never touched you, did hei You were of an age he thoughtolder than he cared to bother, isn&039;t that righti So you heard things at night-cryin&039; maybe, a scream or two-and that was all Maybe you rolled over on your cot and you had a bad dream Maybe you wished you could do somethin&039;, but you couldn&039;t Maybe you just felt small and weak But if anyone was to want to do somethin&039; about ausley now, Matthew, it would be me, and Covey, and Robertson, and Galt We don&039;t We just want to go on with our lives" John paused to let that sink in "Now you talk about justice bein&039; done, and that&039;s a fine sentiment But justice can&039;t always see clear, isn&039;t that the sayin&039;i"

"Nearly"

"Near enough, I guess If I-or any of the others-got up on the stand and swore again&039; ausley, there&039;s no for certain he&039;d get ht now No, he wouldn&039;t even get that He&039;d talk his way out of it Or buy his way out, with that high constable in his pocket and look ould beco I&039;m to be married in Septeood enough for his daughter, if he was to knowi"

"I think he and Constance e"

"Ha!" John had alhed in Matthew&039;s face His eyes looked scorched "I don&039;t have thatit" Matthew felt sweat on his forehead and on the back of his neck John Five had been his last hope "Just dis it, for all time"

"Yes," caot a life to live, Matthew I&039;m sorry for all them others, but I can&039;t help &039;em all I can do is help myself Is that such a sini"

Mattheas struck dumb He&039;d feared that John Five would say no in this way-and indeed the tenor of their ht was a h his s If there was no way to entreat any of ausley&039;s earlier victiain the testimonies of new victims-then the Headmaster from Hell had indeed won the battle and the war Which meant Matthew, for all his belief in the power and fairness of justice, was si brass without structure or co Fount Royal was to plan this attack and see it to the finish, and now-

"Life&039;s not easy for anyone," John Five said "You and ht to know that better than s go, so you can ain, and keepin&039; it in your headit&039;s no good"

"Yes," Matthew agreed, though he didn&039;t knohy He&039;d heard hiht to find somethin&039; better than this to hold on to," John said, not unkindly "Somethin&039; with a future to it"

"a future," Matthew echoed "Yes Possibly you&039;re right" Inwardly, he was thinking he had failed hie and failed even the istrate, speaking from his deathbed: I have always been proud of you always I knew from the first When I saw you at the al different and indefinable But special You will make your mark Somewhere You willalive

"Matthewi"

I have always been proud of you

"Matthewi"

He realized John Five had said soht He cah dark and dirty water "Whati"

"I asked if you would be goin&039; to the social on Friday night"

"Sociali" He thought he&039;d seen an announcement about it, plastered up on a wall here and there "What sociali"

"at the church Friday night You know, Elizabeth Martin has got quite the eye for you"

Matthew nodded vacantly "The shoehter Didn&039;t she just turn fourteeni"

"Well, what of iti She&039;s a fine-lookin&039; girl, Mattheouldn&039;t turn up my nose at such a prize, if I were you"

"I&039; up my nose I justdon&039;t feel in the spirit of companionship these days"

"Who&039;s talkin&039; about coe!"

"If that&039;s so, your kettle&039;s got a crack in it"

"Suit yourself, then I&039;d best get back to work" John made a motion toward the doorway and then hesitated He stood in a shard of sunlight "You can beat your head &039;gainst a wall &039;til it kills you," he said "It won&039;t ever knock the wall down, and then where&039;ll you bei"

"I don&039;t know," came the answer, in a weary and soul-sick breath

"I hope you&039;ll figure it out Good day, Matthew"

"Good day, John"

John Five returned to the blacksmith shop, and Matthew-still hazy in the head, whether froht-walked away to New Street and thence northward to Wall Street and the City Hall office of Magistrate Powers Before he reached that destination, he passed again by the pillory where Ebenezer Grooder was so justly confined, since he hiistrate&039;s clerk

Grooder, he noted, had co next to the basket of ae-colored suit and a tricorn of the same color He had pale blond hair, almost white, that was tied back in a queue and fixed with a beige ribbon Grooder&039;s visitor wore tan boots of expensive ainst his left shoulder The tilt of his head said he was exa the pickpocket&039;s predicament with interest as Mattheatched, the man plucked an apple from the basket and without hesitation fired it into Grooder&039;s face at a distance of more than twenty feet The apple smacked into Grooder&039;s forehead and exploded upon contact

"ah, you h the pillory&039;s catch-holes "You damned wretch!"

The man silently and methodically chose another fouled apple and threw it smack into Grooder&039;s mouth

He&039;d chosen an apple with some firmness to it, for this time Grooder didn&039;t holler insults as he was too busy spitting blood frorenadier with aiht-now took a third apple, cocked his arain, and suddenly froze in mid- him, and Matthew looked into a face that was both handsoentility and fearsoh there was no overt ani at a coiled reptile that had beenon a nearby stone

The reen eyes continued to hold him for several seconds, and then suddenly-as if some decision had been made about Matthew&039;s threat orcricket-he turned away and delivered the third apple again with cold ferocity into the pickpocket&039;s bloody uished noise, perhaps a cry for help muted by broken teeth

It was not for Matthew to intercede It was, after all, Magistrate Powers&039; sentence on Grooder, that he stand at the pillory by daylight hours and that the pleasure of the citizens be to punish the man in such a fashion Matthew strode past, quickly now because he had much work to do Stillit was terribly cruel, wasn&039;t iti

He glanced back and saw that thein the opposite direction Grooder was quiet, his head bowed and blood dripping down into a little gory puddle below hi the air The flies would be all over hisHe&039;d never seen that man before Possibly, like many others, he&039;d recently come to New York by ship or coach So what of hireat pleasure in his target practice and never be it said that Grooder didn&039;t merit such attention, butit was unpalatable, to his taste

He continued on, to the yellow stone edifice of the triple-storied City Hall, in through the high wooden doors overnment and up the broad staircase to the second floor The place still smelled of raw tiht It was locked, as the istrate had not yet arrived, so Matthew used his key Now he had to harness his power of will, and force all thoughts of injustice, disappoint day had begun and the business of the laas indeed a de mistress