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THaT&039;S a DaMNaBLE STORY!" Bidwell said, when Matthew had finished telling it "You rainsacki"

"Not just a grainsack" Mattheas sitting in a coed behind his bruised back and a silver cup of ru in it" His throat felt swollen, and he&039;d already looked into a hander he didn&039;t want me to see"

"Seth Hazelton has a cracked bell in his steeple" Mrs Nettles stood nearby, her arhtening; it was she who had fetched the cup of rum from the kitchen "He was odd &039;fore his wife died last year Since then, he&039;s become much the worse"

"Well, thank God you weren&039;t killed!" Woodas sitting in a chair across from his clerk, and he wore an expression of both profound relief and concern "and I thank God you didn&039;t kill him, either, or there would surely be Hell to pay You know you were trespassing on private property, don&039;t youi"

"Yes, sir"

"I understand your desire to find shelter fro into the man&039;s hidden possessionsi There was no reason for it, was therei"

"No, sir," Matthew said grimly "I suppose there wasn&039;t"

"I tell you there wasn&039;t! and you say you struck hii" Woodinced at the gravity of the legal wheels that ht have to turn because of this "Was he on his feet the last you saw himi"

"Yes, sir"

"But he didn&039;t come out of the barn after youi"

Matthew shook his head "I don&039;t think so" He reached for the ruistrate was headed His wounded tongue - which was so enlarged it seemed to fill up his mouth - had already been scorched by the liquor&039;s fire and was mercifully numbed

"Then he could have fallen after you left" Woodward lifted his gaze to Bidwell, who stood beside his chair "The est we see to hih as a salt-dried buzzard," Mrs Nettles said "a wee cut on the face would nae finish &039;im off"

"I&039;m afraid it was more than a weeI mean, a small cut," Matthew admitted "His cheek suffered a nasty slice"

"Well, what did he expecti" Mrs Nettles thrust out her chin "That you should let &039;ihti You ask ot!"

"Be that as itpoorly hi hi to leave the house and travel in the drizzling rain, but this was an extrenized the soleht, however, was that the loss of the town&039;s blacks hardship "Mrs Nettles," he said, "have Goode bring the carriage around"

"Yes sir" She started out toward the rear of the house Before she&039;d gotten more than a few steps, however, the bell that announced a visitor at the front door was rung She hurried to it, opened it - and received a shock

There stood the blacksray-faced, a bloody cloth secured to his left cheek with a leather strap that was knotted around his head Behind hion, and in his arms he held a dark brown burlap sack

"Who is iti" Bidwell came into the foyer and instantly stopped in his tracks "My God, man! We were just on our way to see about you!"

"Well," Hazelton said, his voice roughened by the pain of his injury, "here I be Where&039;s the young mani"

"In the parlor," Bidwell said

Hazelton ca past Mrs Nettles She wrinkled her nose at the combined smells of body odor and blood When the blacks on the floor, Matthew almost choked on his rum and Woodward felt his hackles rise like those of a cat anticipating the attack of a large and brutish dog

"Here" Hazelton threw the sack down at Matthew&039;s feet "This is what you were sneakin&039; to see" Matthew stood up - carefully, as his back&039;s stability was precarious

"Go on, open it," Hazelton told him "That&039;s what you wanted to do, ain&039;t iti"

Matthew got his"I&039;m sorry, sir I shouldn&039;t have invaded your priva - "

"Swalla that shit and have a look" Hazelton bent down, lifted the stitched end of the sack, and began to dump its contents out onto the floor Bidwell and Mrs Nettles had come in froht so viciously to protect

Clothes spilled fro with two pairs of scuffed and much-worn shoes a woo apron, a few yellowed blouses, and a number of patched skirts that at one time had fit a pair of very broad hips a small, unadorned wooden box also slid froainst Matthew&039;s left shoe

"Sophie&039;s clothes," the blacksmith said "Ever&039;thin&039; she owned Pick up that box and open it" Matthew hesitated; he was feeling at the moment like a complete horse&039;s ass

"Go on, open it!" Hazelton commanded Matthew picked it up and lifted the lid Within the box were four ivory hairpins, a co that held a s etched with an intricate rope-like design

"Her orna, too When she passed, I couldn&039;t bear to throw thes away Couldn&039;t bear to have &039;eainst the bloody cloth "So I put &039;em in a sack and hid &039;em in my barn for safekeepin&039;" Hazelton&039;s dark-riht it was soo pokin&039; Then I co it out" He turned his gaze upon Woodward "You be the istrate, huhi a man of the laorn to uphold iti",

"That&039;s correct"

"If it be so, I want soo to diggin&039; out in&039;s I ain&039;t done nothin&039; wrong, I ain&039;t tryin&039; to hide nothin&039; but what&039;s mine and nobody else&039;s business" Hazelton looked at Bidwell for a response "Maybe I did go some crazy, like to try to kill that boy, but damn if I didn&039;t think he was tryin&039; to steal s Can you blame me, siri"

"No," Bidwell had to ad, bloodstained finger to point at Matthew - "cut onna lose work over it, that&039;s for sure a wound like I&039;ve suffered won&039;t bear the furnace heat &039;til it&039;s near istrate, what you&039;re gonna do to give me my satisfaction"

Bidwell stared at the floor Woodward pressed his fingers against hiswhat had to come out of it, and Matthew closed the lid of Sophie Hazelton&039;s ornaistrate had to speak "Mr Hazelton, ould you consider a proper satisfactioni"

"If it was up to my quirt, I&039;d lash &039;im," the blacksood and proper"

"His back has already received injury," Woodward said "and he&039;ll have your fingermarks on his throat for some time to come, I&039;m sure"

"Don&039;t make no mind! I want him whipped!"

"This is a difficult position you put"You ask me to sentence my own clerk"

"Who else&039;ll sentence &039;im, theni and if he wasn&039;t your clerk, ould your judglanced quickly at Matthew and then away again; the younger , but he also knew that the istrate would be ulti

Woodward spoke "One lash, then," he said, almost inaudibly

"Five!" the blacksmith thundered "and a week in a cell, to boot!"

Woodward drew a long breath and stared at the floor "Two lashes and five days"

"No sir! Look at this!" Hazelton tore the bloody bandage away froly that Bidwell flinched and even Mrs Nettles averted her eyes "You see what he done to onna wear a pretty scar the rest of my life! Three lashes and five days!"

Matthew, dazed at all this, sank down into the chair again He reached for the rum cup and emptied it

"Three lashes," Woodward said wearily, a vein beating at his temple, "and three days" He forced himself to ment and there will be no addition or reversal to it He will enter the gaol at six o&039;clock in theand will receive his lashes at six o&039;clock on the thirdI expect Mr Green will adht, then as a overnor of this colony, I have made my decree"

The blacksh to scare the shine froainst his injury and said, "I reckon it&039;ll have to do, then, you bein&039; such a fair-istrate and all To Hell with that sneakin&039; bastard, is what I say"

"The decree has been un to o pay a visit to the physician"

"I ain&039;t lettin&039; that death-doctor touch sty in here" He began to quickly stuff the clothes back into the burlap sack The last item in was the ornament box, which Matthew had set down upon the table Then Hazelton held the sack in his thickly corded arain "It&039;s a damn bad world when a man has to wear a scar for de-fendin&039; his wife&039;s ood and proper!"

"The lash will be laid on good and proper," Woodward said coldly "Three times"

"You say Well, I&039;ll be there to make sure, you can mark it!" He turned around and started out of the parlor

"Mr Hazeltoni" Matthew suddenly said The blacksonist

Matthew stood up from the chair "I wish to saythat I&039; your pardon"

"You&039;ll have my pardon after I see your back split open"

"I understand your e of the punishment"

"That and ht I ask soht you let oni"

Hazelton frowned like five miles of bad road "Carry iti

Whyi"

"It would be a small token of my repentance" Matthew took two steps toward the ht put this incident behind us, once my punishment is done" Hazelton didn&039;t speak, but Matthew could tell that hisof the smithy&039;s eyes that told Matthew the man knehat he was up to Hazelton, for all his brutish behavior and oxlike countenance, was a crafty fox

"That boy&039;s as crazy as a bug in a bottle," Hazelton said to Woodward "I wouldn&039;t let &039;iht, if I was you" and with that pronouncement the blacksmith turned his back on the coh the front door into the drizzling rain Mrs Nettles followed behind him, and closed the door rather too hard before she returned to the room

"Well," Woodward said as he lowered hied invalid, "justice has been served"

"My regrets over this situation," Bidwell offered "But to be truthful about it, I would have imposed the five lashes" He looked at Matthew and shook his head "You knew better than to disturb a rief wherever you wander, don&039;t youi"

"I have said I rong I&039;ll repeat it for you, if you like and I&039;ll take the lashes as I deservebut you must understand, Mr Bidwell, that Hazelton believes he&039;s made a fool out of all of us"

"Whati" Bidwellfoul "What&039;re you going on about nowi"

"Simply that what Hazelton revealed to be in that sack was not its contents when it was hidden beneath the hay"

There was a silence Then Woodward spoke up "What are you saying, Matthewi"

"I&039;e it was much heavier than old clothes and soht, and of course he didn&039;t wantinto a pocket of his waistcoat for his snuffbox "Haven&039;t you had enough of Hazelton for one dayi I&039;d mind my step around him!"

"It&039;s beenoh, about forty ," Mattheent on "I believe he used the tiinally in that sack and replace it with the clothes, or he found another similar sack for the purpose"

Bidwell inhaled a pinch of snuff and then blinked his watering eyes "You never quit, do youi"

"Believe what you like, sir, but I know there was so in the sack I uncovered Hazelton knew I&039;d tell the tale, and he knew there ht be some suspicion about what he would hide and then kill to protect So he bandaged hiht the counterfeit sack here before anyone could go there and make inquiries about it"

"Your theory" Bidwell snorted snuff up his nose again, then closed the box with a snap "I&039;m afraid it won&039;t do to save you froistrate&039;s made his decree, and Mrs Nettles and I have witnessed it"

"a witness I may be," Mrs Nettles said with frost in her voice, "but I tell you, sir, that Hazelton&039;s a strange bird and I happ&039;n to know he treated Sophie like a three-legged horse &039;fore she died, so why should he now treat her mem&039;ry the betteri Most like he kept her clothes and ornaments to sell &039;em after a space a&039; time"

"Thank you, Mrs Nettles," said Bidwell sarcastically "It seems the &039;theory tree&039; is one plant that&039;s taken firm root in Fount Royal!"

"Whatever the truth of this istrate observed, "what cannot be altered is the fact that Mattheill spend three nights in the gaol and take the lashes The blacksain But in reference to your statement, Mr Bidwell, that you would&039;ve insisted on five strikes of the whip, let ainst Rachel Howarth must be delayed until Matthew has paid his penance and recovered from it"

Bidwell stood like a statue for a few seconds, his mouth half-open Woodward continued in a cal another stor himself for it "You see, I require a clerk to take notation when I interview the witnesses Ithe answers to my questions, and Matthew has developed a code that I can easily read If I have no clerk, there is no point in scheduling the interviews Therefore, the tiaol and the ti lashed must be taken into account"

"By God,the witnesses tomorrowi"

"I would say five days at the least"

"Damn it all, Woodward! This toither up and bloay before you get to work, won&039;t iti"

"My clerk," the istrate said, "is indispensable to the process of justice He cannot take notation froe, and I dare say he won&039;t be up to the task of concentration with fresh whip burns on his back"

"Well, why can&039;t he take notation froei" Bidwell&039;s thick brows lifted "There are three witnesses on the list I&039;ve given you Why can you not set up your office in the gaol and have the witnesses brought there to testifyi as I understand the law, they would be required to speak in the presence of the accused anyway, aht, then! They can speak in the gaol as well as in thematerials and he can do the hile he carries out his sentence!" Bidwell&039;s eyes had a feverish gleam "What say you to thati"

Woodward looked at Matthew "It is a possibility Certainly it would speed the process are you agreeablei"

Matthew thought about it He could feel Mrs Nettles watching hiht in there," he said

Bidaved an iet you every lantern and candle in Fount Royal, if that&039;s what you require! Winston has quills, ink, and foolscap aplenty!"

Matthew rubbed his chin and continued to conte at his feet like a powdered spaniel

"Ito you," Bidwell said quietly His voice had so he was nobody&039;s cur "Mr Green owns three whips One is a bullwhip, the second is a cat-o&039;-nine, and the third is a leather braid The overnor, if you will - of Fount Royal it is ht to choose the implement" He paused to let Matthew fully appreciate the situation "Now ordinarily in a violation of this nature I would ask Mr Green to use the bullwhip" Bidwell gave thesmile "But if you are employed in, shall we say, a noble task to benefit the citizens of ratified to recommend the braid"

Matthew&039;s conteument," he said "I&039;d be happy to be of service to the citizens"

"Excellent!" Bidwell alether with joy He didn&039;t notice that Mrs Nettles abruptly turned and walked out of the room "We should notify the first witness, then Who shall it be, Magistratei"

Woodward reached into a pocket and brought out the piece of paper upon which were quilled three naiven hiaol "I&039;ll see the eldest first, Jereirl, Violet adaaol, but there is no recourse"

"I&039;ll have a servant go inform them all directly," Bidwell offered "I presuaol at six o&039;clock, that we may have Mr Buckner appear before you at seveni"

"Yes, if Matthew&039;s table and scribing materials are present and I have a comfortable place to preside"

"You shall have it Well, now our horses are getting somewhere, are they noti" Bidwell&039;s slow from his chandelier

"The poppets," Woodward said He re to share Bidwell&039;s ebullience "Who has themi"

"Nicholas Paine Don&039;t worry, they&039;re in safekeeping"

"I should like to see those and speak to Mr Paine concerning thee it anything elsei"

"Yes, there is" Woodward glanced quickly at Matthew and then returned his gaze to Bidwell "I would request that you not be present during the interviews"

The ed "and why noti I have a right to be there!"

"That, sir, is debatable I believe your presence ht have some undue influence on the witnesses, and certainly on Madaives her testimony Therefore, in fairness to all, I wish no spectators in my court I understand that Mr Green aol, but he aol again at the end of the hearing"

Bidwell grunted "You&039;ll want Mr Green closer at hand the first time the witch throws her slopbowl at you!"

"It will be explained to her that if she disrupts the proceedings in any way, she shall be bound and - as ed Her opportunity to respond to the charges will come when the witnesses have been heard"

Bidwell started to protest oncethe witch nearer the stake "Regardless what you think of o reside in Charles Town for a week, if that&039;s what you need to hold your court!"

"That won&039;t be necessary, but I do appreciate your cooperation"

"Mrs Nettles!" Bidwell hollered "Where did that woet off toi"

"I think she went to the kitchen," Matthew said

"I&039;ll have a servant go inform the witnesses" Bidwell started out of the parlor "It will be a happy day when this ordeal is over, I can assure you that!" He walked toward the kitchen, intent to have Mrs Nettles choose a servant to carry out the necessary errands

When Bidwell had gone, the arded Mattheith a stony stare "What ever possessed you to invade a man&039;s privacy in such a fashioni Didn&039;t you stop to consider the consequencesi"

"No, sir, I didn&039;t I know I should have, butood sense"