At Wit's End

[Elegant Ella]

Hank had given Powell a newspaper when he reached the Ace, so Powell read the published account of the bank robbery while getting cleaned up before dinner. During dinner at a corner table downstairs, he read Jimmy's narrative. Fritz had put a note on it, "Deputy Washington is on midnight duty while prisoners are in the jail, and not be available for questioning until evening." From those two accounts, he drew up his list of witnesses to question.

After dinner was cleared away, he spread out the contents of the folder, wanted posters on all but one of the prisoners, as well as posters on those killed while resisting arrest. Owen Brown was wanted for murder, with a dead-or-alive reward offered. There were dead-or-alive rewards offered for David Jackson, and multiple charges of murder. There were fewer charges on Ezra Barnes, but still dead-or-alive rewards offered. The rest of the prisoners and dead were bank robbers who had been careful to avoid bloodshed in any robberies and to always wear masks.

Morgan came over to his table, drink in hand, and asked, "May I join you?"

"Yes, of course. The Kings told me you will be defending. It looks like a straightforward case."

"It looks that way, but Ben Pole wants to bargain."

"What does he have to bargain with? He's solidly identified by his unusual height and thinness for a dozen bank robberies across five states and territories over the years."

"He says he has information about a major criminal conspiracy."

"I've lost count of the number of times a criminal has made that claim!"

"He said the new Marshal here might be part of it, and might be ordered to silence him."

"I've heard that one at least a dozen times as well. Is there any reason to believe him?"

"His exact words were, 'If the new Marshal here was in Pleasanton two months ago, he could be part of it.' So I checked into the background of Marshal Phillips. He was a deputy in Pleasanton from the beginning of August until the townspeople threw him out in early February. Some of the rumors that led to his expulsion said that he had deliberately delayed, distracted and misdirected their posse so that the bank robbers got clean away."

Powell pushed one of the wanted posters over to Morgan, "Looks like Pole was part of that bank robbery."

"He's not admitting anything. I talked to the Kings, and they moved Pole to the Starr to protect him from Phillips. Pole has got to be seriously worried if he prefers Jimmy Bradbury as a jailer! Have you met Marshal Phillips?"

"No, the Kings met the stage."

"Brace yourself for someone who makes other Yankees look like Virginian gentility."

"The newspaper story about the robbery and capture of the robbers makes the man look like an idiot. If Pole's information is worthwhile, what does Pole hope to get?" Powell pointed at the stack of wanted posters, "Given the number of robberies his gang is accused of, it should be easy to get sentences of ten years for the members of his gang and twenty-five years for Ben Pole himself."

"He's realistic enough to know that nothing is going to keep him and his men out of jail, but he's hoping for five years for himself and his men."

"Owen Brown is wanted for murder in two states. No plea bargain is going to get him down to five years."

"Pole does not include Brown as one of his men for the purposes of bargaining."

"Who is going to decide if his information has any value?"

"Mrs. King said that someone arriving tomorrow evening would be the best one to judge."

"So we will talk to Pole on Friday." Powell showed his list of witnesses to Morgan. "I'll see you tomorrow for the witness interviews."

Morgan read the list and nodded.

[Scarlet Angel]

When Rose heard Judge Carter was coming, she insisted on going to town for supplies. It was also a good reason to look at some of the new fabrics that had come in at the mercantile.

Johnny never knew how much stuff she would buy so he had the team hooked to the wagon when Rose and Ella came out of the house.

"I thought we were taking the carriage?" Rose said.

Johnny laughed "Not when there are new fabrics at the mercantile and you need flour, sugar and coffee and and.." He laughed helping the ladies into the wagon.

Once they were in, he mounted his mule and rode next to the wagon while Rose drove.

As they went past the corral where the horses were Rose asked Ella "Have you figured out who the father of your foal is yet?"

"She only could have gotten that bright body color from a bay or chestnut sire, and those black points from a bay. I've only seen one bay stallion around. I was going to name a filly Sheba, but she needed to be darker for the name to fit well. Jezebel is the name that keeps coming into my head when I look at her, so I think that's her name."

Rose smiled "Are you sure the stallion was bay? I've had foals born bay from two white parents, who later turn white themselves. "

Ella answered, "I don't have enough experience with horse breeding to know, but that's my best guess.  Ruth's dam was dark chestnut, her sire was black, and she's dark brown."

"So the foal could get the browns from Ruth's lines. We'll have to take a look at some foals and horses around here. Look for characteristics that are not Ruth's although if the stallion is of the same breeding that could be difficult, but would rule out some of the others around here."

"The black points are certainly not from Ruth, and the coat color is lighter than Ruth's dam had."

"Jezebel? Is that not what one calls an evil woman?"

"Jezebel was a Queen who tried to bring back worship of Baal, which made the Bible call her an evil woman. History is written by the victors, and the prophet Elijah called Jezebel a prostitute who seduced her husband into the worship of Baal. That's why the term 'Jezebel' is commonly used to mean a whore who seduces righteous men into sins of idolatry and sexual immorality. But Jezebel was a strong and independent woman who did not let men dominate her, and who continued to defy men to her last breath.  I imagine she's going to grow up to be like that."

"In that case I think Jezebel will be a good name for her." Rose said with a smile.

[Elegant Ella]

When Fritz and Scarlet arrived at the Marshals office, Lily was behind the desk reading telegrams.

"Good morning," she greeted them. "I checked with the court clerk to see what order the witnesses are wanted. Scarlet and I are on the list a lot later than Mr. Fritz and Marshal Phillips, so I thought Scarlet and I would cover the office until you get back from being interviewed.

Fritz nodded. Looking at the clock, he went to the closed door of the back office and knocked, "Marshal Phillips? It's time for the meeting with the prosecutor."

Fritz heard a drawer close before Phillips opened the door and came out. "All right, let's go."

At the courthouse, the interview room was set up with Powell and Morgan both seated at a table. A second table to the side was the desk for a court reporter. The bailiff stood by the door. There was one more chair in the room, facing the table with the lawyers. Marshal Phillips was sworn in, then invited to sit by the bailiff.

Powell asked the questions. "Please identify yourself for the record."

"Isaiah Phillips, appointed Marshal of El Paso on March 10, 1877."

"Marshal Phillips, please tell us about the bank robbery and capture."

"We followed tracks to where the robbers were camped in a box canyon. After the posse was in place, I called on them to surrender. Those who shot at me were shot by the posse. Once they surrendered, we secured the prisoners and found the money from the bank. After camping overnight, we returned to El Paso, locked up the prisoners and returned the money to the bank."

"Where did you find the money?"

"Divided up between four saddlebags."

"Why didn't you respond to the first report of the robbery in progress?"

"I didn't want to create a hostage situation by trapping the robbers in the bank."

"Why didn't you set up a trap for after they left the bank?"

"I didn't have enough deputies to do that. I haven't been in El Paso long enough to know which townspeople I might call on for that kind of help."

"Thank you. That will be all. You may return to your duties, and tell the clerk to send in the next person on the list. Let me remind you not to discuss your testimony with anyone."

"I thought I would stay and listen to the witnesses."

"No. Please tell the clerk to send in the next witness and return to your duties."

As Phillips stormed out of the building, the clerk called, "John Corning, please."

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After all the witnesses had been interviewed and the court reporter dismissed, Powell stretched and said, "If it weren't for Mrs. Coatsworth's testimony, I'd be very receptive to a plea bargain."

Morgan retorted, "If it weren't for her testimony, I wouldn't be! Without it, the case is full of holes. None of the witnesses in the bank could pick out a single one of the robbers from a dozen wanted posters. Young Bobby saw a group of seven men leave town, and almost an hour later James Bradbury picked up the trail where a group of seven horses left the stage road. But the robbers could have left town in twos and threes while a completely innocent group was tracked to that camp. That group had about the right amount of gold coin in saddlebags, but the people in the bank said the robbers took the gold in flour sacks."

"They did resist arrest."

"A group carrying that much gold should not be too trusting about surrendering to a group that claimed to be the law. That's one of the older bandit tricks going!"

"But we do have Mrs. Coatsworth's testimony, and she has protected her testimony well. She wired a list of six names before the posse brought back any prisoners, she hasn't seen the prisoners, she hasn't asked about the prisoners. She didn't even know how many prisoners and dead the posse brought back!"

"This Perry Smith she mentioned wasn't brought back by the posse."

"Mrs. King reported that the robbers said one of their group had left just before the posse showed up. We can see what Pole has to say tomorrow, and see what Marshal Hayes has to say about the quality of his information before we talk any more about a plea bargain."

"What about Owen Brown, who is not part of any plea bargain?"

"He wasn't in the bank. We don't need to try him here. We can let Deputy Jefferson tell Santa Fe to fetch him for his murder trial as soon as Dr. Coatsworth says he can travel."

"That's enough work for today! Let's go to the Ace for a drink, and then Julia expects you to join us for dinner."

[Elegant Ella]

Ambrose Hayes picked up an escort as soon as he reached Southern Starr land. The pair of hands following him traded off a few times, but Jimmy Bradbury stayed beside him all the way to the house. There, he saw Scarlet and Ella with men he thought could be their husbands. Only Ella looked glad to see him. He dismounted, and took his saddlebags before Jimmy led his horse away.

Ella performed the introductions, "Marshal Ambrose Hayes, this is my husband, Dr. Alan, and Scarlet's husband, Fritz."

While shaking hands with Dr. Alan, Ambrose asked, "How's Archie?"

Alan replied, "He's doing well. I extracted the bullet yesterday."

Ambrose shook hands with Fritz, then spoke, mostly to Scarlet, "I recognize that you don't have much trust in anyone out of Houston these days. Can't say that I blame you. But right now, you and yours are the only ones I can trust to help with the White Investigation. Phillips is a leak, but there were other leaks before he ever showed up. You called Phillips a carpetbagger, which is a completely accurate label as far as I'm concerned. He's got his own goals, and doing a good job for the people of the county he is assigned to is not one of them. "I read your file and went out to talk to Wheeler about you last week, to see if he agreed with my first impression of you last year. I don't mean this to sound like a carrot..."

"Then stop there before you insult me in some way, because I've had a belly full of that," Scarlet said, interrupting him. "Just tell me you would like our help because we are good at the job we do, or maybe we're all you got. I don't care what it is as long as it's honest, Hayes. As for trust, there are two men in Houston I trust with my life, one who has lost my respect and the trust I did have for him, and then there's you. Trust is something that is earned around here, always has been. If that's what you want from me, be honest with me. I'll admit, trust may come a little harder nowadays, but know this, this is my home and if I didn't have some sort of respect for you, you wouldn't be here."

"I would like your help because you are good at the job. All of your people are good, but you particularly have a history of doing the job well. And, right now, you are all I'm sure I can trust enough to help with this."

Ella thought no one else was going to ask the question that was preying on her mind. "Deputy Hayes, why do you trust us?"

Ambrose looked a little startled at the question, and clearly had to change mental tracks. "First, because you all are a team of women and men who work well with women. Every identified member of their team has shown a disregard for the abilities of women. It's like they don't think women can do anything outside of the house. Second, because you did not probe," after a glance at Ella's blush he amended that, "you did not get caught probing into the matter."

"That had more to do with having enough other things to do than any lack of curiosity," admitted Ella. "But we couldn't see any harm in reviewing our own files."

"I would be very interested to see what you have in your files that didn't make it into the reports that were sent to Houston about your contacts with their group, the times you have seen their tattoos."

Scarlet watched his body language, listened to every word he spoke. His eyes crossed over everyone in the room, he was looking to be accepted among them and a bit nervous about it. She was sure the thought of being tossed out was crossing his mind. It would have been hers in that position. Unless he was good at hiding his emotions, he was being honest with them.

"Tell me something, Hayes," Scarlet said.

"What?" he said looking at her.

"Why should we trust you and why should we trust you enough to let you see files that I'm sure some men would like to see burned. How do I know you're just not waiting to put the finishing bullet in Witts and ride outta here?"

"I don't think I can earn your trust with words. You are welcome to listen to what Archie reports, so that the information he has been risking his life to collect is not at risk of being lost. You are welcome to see all the information I've got regarding the White investigation, which should let you figure out what information in your files I would be interested in." Ambrose pulled a fat folder out of his saddlebag and handed it to Scarlet. "Although I would like to swear Dr. Coatsworth in as a special deputy, and reactivate Mrs. Coatsworth as a deputy before they look at it. I can stay in town, so that Archie is not in danger from me, if you all will give me advice on how to stay out of Phillips's way."

Ella asked, "Why did you wire me to protect Archie from Phillips?"

"Isaiah Phillips went to school with Perry White, and they became great friends who still keep in touch, according to Mrs. Thompson, Phillips's oldest sister. Phillips is now another interesting person to the White investigation. I need your help to investigate him without alarming him. That's why Marshal Thompson sent these with me, with instructions for me to use them when appropriate." He pulled a couple folded papers out of his pocket and handed them to Scarlet.

She opened it and saw that one was a recall order for Marshal Phillips, and the other was an appointment of Ambrose Hayes as temporary Marshal with instructions to recommend a permanent Marshal.

"Why you, what do you get out of all of this when it's over if the White investigation is successful?"

Hayes hesitated before answering. No one's expression gave him any clue as to the answer they wanted to hear. Scarlet had asked for honesty, so he answered, "Thompson's job."

"Does Thompson know you're after his job?"

"I think so. Right now, he is embarrassed over the lack of caution that allowed his wife to leak information to Phillips. He has told me that he intends to resign when I return to Houston. I'm one of the three deputies at the right level to be considered as his successor."

"Who are the other two?" Scarlet asked out of curiosity.

"Arnold Kelly, Patrick Henry Robinson."

"You're welcome to stay here. Phillips will not find out you are here from anybody on the Starr," she said, loud enough the hands would hear, then looked at him. "It would be nice to have somebody to work with our team not judging us twice as hard because some of us are women."

"Let's go in to talk to Archie," said Ella, leading the group towards the infirmary.

The small ward at the infirmary was crowded. Scarlet, Fritz and Alan sat on the other bed, while Ella cleared away Archie's dinner tray. Ambrose Hayes stood at the foot of the bed where Archie lay propped up on pillows.

"About a year ago, Perry met a friend he called 'Eyes' at a bar in St. Louis. Most of the conversation was normal for old friends catching up. Eyes had been traveling around, staying with each of his sisters after getting out of the Navy, and was considering what to do next. After I appeared to pass out, the conversation got more interesting. Eyes told Perry that the Marshals had an eye on him, and suggested he drop out of sight for a few months. It was lucky for me that Eyes didn't know how close the Marshals' eye was."

Archie chuckled, then took a sip of water before continuing. "Perry encouraged him to have the brother-in-law who was a Marshal in Houston get him a job so he would be in better position to hear useful information. Then there was a conversation that didn't make sense. Perry said, 'I'm the Duke of New York. Pick your title.' I heard pages turning, then Eyes said, 'The King of the Detectives.' Perry replied, 'That's Ray's. Pick another.' More pages turned before Eyes said, 'Badger and Company' and Perry said, 'Fine.'"

Ella slapped her hands together. When everyone looked at her, she exclaimed, "Archie, you just gave us the keys to their codes!"

Hayes looked puzzled and asked, "Codes?"

Ella answered him, "Phillips has been exchanging messages with a place in New Mexico called Castle. They are using a book code, with stories from the Fireside Companion as the keys. Phillips's messages are coded with a story titled, "Old Sleuth, Badger & Company". Eddie hasn't figured out yet what story is a key for the messages Phillips receives."

Archie took another sip of water. "Earlier in the day, Dick Kane had been recruiting scouts in that bar, so Perry decided that's where we were going. After we left Fort Fetterman, Perry went back to planning bank robberies. Perry sent and received messages at local telegraph offices, but they were coded in some way I couldn't break. I was being a lot more careful, and couldn't get warnings out ahead of time. Several times, I dropped messages for Houston wrapped around a silver dollar, hoping that some of them would be picked up by people willing to carry the message to the telegraph office. Perry took me with him to visit what he referred to as 'The Castle', in Eddy County, New Mexico. From the outside, it looks like a normal ranch house, but the cellar connects with an extensive series of natural limestone caves. Some of the caves have been mined for guano by the local ranchers for years." Archie took another sip of water.

"When Perry decided on robbing the bank in El Paso, and talked Ben Pole into taking the job, I didn't know if Perry remembered El Paso as the home of the 'bounty hunter' and the 'doctor lady', but I decided to risk slipping out of the camp early in the morning in order to give warning. I wasn't quiet enough, or someone was watching me. I got onto my horse, but was shot. I don't remember much after that. I think I fell off the horse, and crawled into cover. I crawled some more after the sun was up, and passed out again."

[Elegant Ella]

Tink waved to get Eddie's attention and handed him a telegram when he was leaving the jail after dinner with Bella. At home, with his chores done, he opened it to read:
KING OF THE DETECTIVES STOP
DUKE OF NEW YORK

Eddie had tried "The Duke of New York" as a key already, but it hadn't worked on the early messages. He took "The King of the Detectives" and set to work. It worked on all of the short messages, but not the long one. "The Duke of New York" did work on the long one. He took a clean piece of paper and wrote a report of the decoded messages and when they were sent or received:

Phillips to Castle, Mar. 13 AM : Two deputies

Castle to Phillips, Mar. 14, AM: Monday siesta

Phillips to Castle, Mar. 14, PM: No harm to people

Castle to Phillips, Mar. 15, AM: No resistance no harm

Phillips to Castle, Mar. 20, PM: Pole Collins Rodriguez Sanchez Cox Evans Perez Brown in custody. Others dead.

PW@Castle to Phillips, Mar. 21, PM: Your posse picked up Archie. Ray does not want him talking to law. He is spy and knows location of Castle. You do not want him talking to bounty hunter or doctor lady. They know too much about me. You do not want to be known as friend of outlaw. the others do not matter.

Phillips to Castle, Mar. 21: Doctor buried him already. Doctor lady is not a deputy now. Does Ray want a doctor at the castle.

Castle to Phillips, Mar. 22: We need a man doctor.

Eddie called Jimmy in to see what he had recorded.

"Good work, Eddie. Now make two more copies. Mrs. and Mr. King should each have one."

[Scarlet Angel]

"Pole is sitting in jail and wants to bargain, he's willing to talk about Perry White and the Castle. Mordecai Powell arrived yesterday and Raymond Morgan is local." Scarlet said.

"I'm not familiar with Morgan but Powell rarely loses a case." Hayes said.

"Pole won't live long enough to make any bargains." Archie said.

The group looked at him, surprised at the comment.

"If they find out he's in custody Pole will die before he talks."

"They have to find Pole in order to kill him." Scarlet replied.

"Where is he?" It was a natural question for Hayes to ask, but nobody answered his question.

"Powell and Morgan are looking forward to the two of you to be able to verify how valid his information is." Scarlet said.




.

[Elegant Ella]

Ella returned from the telegraph office in time to overhear Scarlet's last comment. "You're going to have to have the interview here if you want Archie to hear Pole's information."

"I can get out of bed long enough," protested Archie.

"Try, and you will find yourself on the floor. You are weaker than you realize. Tomorrow, you can try sitting in a chair for a couple hours," retorted Ella. "I think you could set up the anteroom of the infirmary as an interview room. It's narrow, but long. Have Powell and Morgan at a table in front of the open door to Archie's room. He'll be able to hear from his bed, but can't be seen. I can sit in doorway to the surgery to make a record, and Hayes can listen from the office. By the way, Hayes, you are welcome to use the office here, and sleep in the room behind it. Archie can pull to ring a bell in the office if he needs anything during the night. "

[Scarlet Angel]

"Do you think there will be any problems bringing Powell and Morgan here?" Hayes asked.

"No, Ella has a good idea. Both Powell and Morgan have been here before." Scarlet replied. She half smiled then continued "The cases Powell has lost have been to Morgan."

"Will getting Pole here be a problem?" Hayes asked.

"No." Scarlet said.

Hayes hoped she would elaborate but she didn't.

"I will send them an invitation to come out here." Scarlet said standing up and leaving.

Hayes watched her go "I don't think she likes me." He said.

Archie laid back and smiled. "I recon she likes you well enough or you wouldn't be here. It's more appropriate to say she doesn't really trust you, but then it takes Scarlet awhile to trust people."

"And does that make you smile?"

"No, I'm smiling at a past memory." Archie said remembering when it was Scarlet he was following, he was glad he could remember more than his recent life with Perry.

[Elegant Ella]

"Come on in to dinner, Marshal Hayes. Rose set a place for you. It's time to let Archie get some sleep," said Ella, starting to pull the extra pillows out from behind Archie's back.

[Scarlet Angel]

Morgan and Powell sat out to the porch after dinner. Morgan was not surprised to see a rider from the Southern Starr approach.

"Mrs. King sends an invitation for the two of you to come to the Starr tomorrow." He said riding up.

"Are there any additional details?" Morgan asked.

"She said you would know and early afternoon would be fine. Ms. Rose sends an invitation to Mrs. Morgan for a visit while you're there also."

Morgan looked at Powell then back to the rider. "We will be happy to accept the invitation as is Mrs. Morgan."

The rider touched the brim of his hat and rode back the way he came.


Ella, Scarlet, Fritz and Hayes spent the morning setting up the infirmary so it could be used for interviews.

[Elegant Ella]

Once the space was arranged, Ella sketched the cat eyes tattoo design on a sheet of paper, and the cat face tattoo design on a second. On a third paper, she wrote, "Ask Pole if he has seen anyone with a tattoo like one of these."

Scarlet looked at what Ella had written and said, "None of the prisoners had a tattoo like those. One of the bodies did, David Jackson."

Archie, overhearing from his bed, spoke up, "Perry told Jackson to take care of Pole before the Pleasanton job. I wondered if he had meant 'Don't let Pole be captured by the law'."

"Jackson could have been aiming towards Pole when I shot him, but I was just responding to anyone raising a gun," commented Scarlet, moving towards Archie's room.

Ella, Fritz and Hayes followed her.

"How long did Pole spend in Phillip's custody?" asked Hayes.

"Phillips was the only member of the posse who didn't take a turn on watch after the capture, and he was never the only person around during the few hours Pole spent at the jail in town," replied Fritz. "He sent a telegram just before we returned the money to the bank. Maybe he was asking for instructions."

The mention of "telegram" reminded Ella of the papers Eddie had sent with her. She pulled them out of her pockets and handed one to Scarlet and the other to Hayes.

[Scarlet Angel]

Scarlet read over the paper Ella had handed her.

"When Phillips finds out Pole is missing from the jail we may see a change in him. We best not turn our backs to him and come up with something to tell him when he does find out."

"Do you have a good story to cover the fact the man is missing?" Hayes asked.

Scarlet thought a minute, a slow grin crossed her face. "He tried to escape, while he was being moved to another jail, rode into the desert. A couple of us followed and found a burnt body by the sacred Indian burial grounds."

"What if Phillips wants to see the burned body?" Hayes retorted.

"Then Marshal Phillips can find his own scout to take him to the sacred grounds, which I don't think he will. If he goes alone he probably won't come back alive and retrieving something like that is not worth my life." She replied.

"How do you know it was him and not an Indian or another white man?" Hayes said.

"Single horse tracks lead there but never rode out,  what looked like his hat was not far from the body and the Indians wouldn't have tied one of their own to a pole like that.

That is just the first idea that comes to mind, someone else may have something better." Scarlet said.

[Elegant Ella]

Ella said, "Lily has put some thought into keeping Phillips from finding out he is missing a prisoner. She noticed Phillips wrinkle his nose when he was near the bodies, and guessed that he wanted them wrapped and avoided handling them because the smell of fecal material bothers him.  She's having Bella feed the prisoners more beans than usual, and getting the slops buckets changed less often. Jimmy says that the smell in the cell area is almost as bad as in the stockade at Fort Fetterman."

[Scarlet Angel]

"That will work just fine unless somebody presses Phillips to do away with Pole. Pole certainly is in no hurry to leave the place he's at now." Scarlet remarked.

"Who would be if they have a place to themself and just have to stay quiet?" Said Hayes.

There was a grin playing about Scarlet's lips as she looked at him "He may have a place to himself, but he's earning it."

Rose walked in "Powell and the Morgan's are about twenty minutes out" she said.

[Scarlet Angel]

"I'll fetch Pole." Scarlet remarked following Rose out the door.

Powell and Morgan had been there long enough for a tour of the infirmary and to speak a bit with Hayes and Archie before Scarlet and Jimmy returned with Pole.

Jimmy sat Pole in the chair and tied his feet to it before removing the blind fold.

Morgan looked at Pole; there was something different about the man, besides the obvious black and blue line on his cheek. Morgan thought on it a moment before saying "They been working you?"

"Yes sir" he replied.

"How did you come by that mark on your face?" Morgan asked suspicious Jimmy may have lost his temper with the prisoner.

Pole ran his fingers across his cheek bone where he knew from the ache there must be a bruise. "I met with a lesson it respect."

Pole looked around his eyes stopping on Bo who was standing behind Morgan.

Morgan looked back at Bo then to Pole surprised to think it might be Bo who'd done something he asked "You get in a fight with him?"

"I peed on his leg." Pole replied.

"I beg your pardon?"

"He told me it was time to empty the slop bucket and I didn't want to so I peed on his leg. For that I got the bucket put over my head and I guess in doing so got hit by the rim of it." Pole said kind of half smiling thinking of the incident. "It was a stupid move but I guess I had to try somebody."

"What happened after that?" Powell asked out of curiosity.   

"He called a fella in to watch me while he went and cleaned up. Told me I was gonna wear it while I thought about what I had done, why he shouldn't return me to the El Paso jail or just cut it off so I couldn't aim at him no more. When he returned he took me to the river so I could wash up, then brought me back to clean the entire jail. Once I was done washing everything down I got to start building a new outhouse. I'm almost done with it too." He said proudly.

Powell turned and looked Bo up and down thinking Pole must be half witted to try something like that. 

"Let's get down to why we came." Morgan said excusing the people standing around so Pole would feel he could talk openly.

[Elegant Ella]

The first questions from Powell established Benjamin Pole's identity. Then Powell started on the questions that Ella and Hayes had written down for him.

"Have you seen men with either of these tattoos?"

"Yes, I've seen both.  Luther Russell, Gus Jenkins, Reuben Garcia, Louis Martin, John Paul Wright, Nimrod Thompson and Peter Barnes have the smaller tattoo. Lucius Simmons and Bernard Ross have the other one."

"Tell us what you know about the activities of the Castle."

"They hire bank robberies done, and spend the proceeds to buy guns and ammunition."

"More details, please."

"The gunrunners who supply the Castle include Mike Kelly in Albuquerque, Rufus Baker in Prescott, Ezra Long in St. Louis, Hiram Martinez in Mexico, Lucius Simmons in Santa Fe and Bernard Ross in Houston."

Hayes shook his head as he wrote down the names. Kelly, Long, Martinez and Simmons had long been suspected of operating a firearms black market. But Baker's name was a surprise, and Ross's name was a shock. Hayes was well-acquainted with Bernard Ross, and thought he had known the Houston gunsmith well.

"Marked men work exclusively on orders from the Castle. Luther Russell hit a train carrying an Army payroll and munitions resupply to Cheyenne two years ago. What I heard was that he left no survivors, and scattered a bunch of broken arrows around to make it look like Indian work. Gus Jenkins has been working for the Castle for three years, but was only marked last year. Stories I heard say that El Blanco was working for the Castle, and preparing to use a shot-up patrol as a pass into Fort Bliss before he was killed a few years ago. There was a rumor that Wheeler, who almost got away with the Army payroll from the bank here, had been a marked man."

Ella nodded at Hayes. She had seen the tattoo on Wheeler's arm.

Pole continued, "After two more failed attempts, the Castle gave up on El Paso for a while. The 'reward' they were going to give me after I robbed the bank here was a trip to the Castle for my own initiation."

Powell asked, "You don't sound thrilled about that reward. Why not?"

"Plenty of people come to the Castle, but no one leaves except those marked. I had been invited to join the marked men almost a year ago. The invitation is billed as an honor and a reward and comes with a guarantee that Ray won't leave any marked man in the hands of the law, but I've heard enough stories and read enough newspapers to know that the guarantee means getting captured is a death sentence."

Hayes was nodding. He knew how many times he had had a tattoo wearer killed in custody.

Pole gave more details of what he had heard for the next hour. Then Powell, Morgan and Hayes went into Archie's room and closed the door on their conference.

Pole asked, "Could I have a drink of water, please?"

Ella filled a wooden cup from the cooling jar and handed it to him, making sure to stay out of reach of a possible grab, even though he seemed relaxed.

[Elegant Ella]

Pole had emptied his cup of water and handed the empty cup back to Ella before the lawyers came back out from Archie's room.

"It looks like we might have a deal, Pole, although we need to talk to the judge still to make sure he will agreed to the sentencing. If you plead guilty to the bank robberies on this list," said Morgan, handing Pole a sheet of paper, "the judge will sentence you to five years for each bank robbery, with the sentences to run concurrently, which means at the same time."

"All of those are Castle-ordered robberies, so I can't return any money. What about my men?"

"Those who plead guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery for the bank in El Paso will get a five year sentence. Those who plead non-guilty will be put on trial, almost certainly be found guilty and then sentenced."

"Eduardo Perez hasn't done anything except hold the horses in El Paso. He's a cousin of Juan Sanchez, and only 16 years old."

"I'm make sure the judge takes that into account."

"Can I talk to my men?"

"You'll be able to talk to them in the courthouse before you go up in front of the judge on Monday, but I can tell them the offer."

"Why are you so sure everyone would be found guilty?"

"An eyewitness saw some of you entering and leaving the bank, and the rest were with you when you were captured. That's why the charge is conspiracy, so that it covers everyone in your group, even if they didn't enter the bank or didn't even enter El Paso."

"Eyewitnesses aren't always reliable."

"This one is a former Deputy Marshal who recognized you from wanted posters, and told Deputy King who the posse was after."

Pole conceded the point. "What about Owen Brown?"

"He's going to Santa Fe for trial on murder charges as soon as he can travel."

"I'm not going to plead guilty until you've got the judge's agreement."

"We'll have the statements drawn up and ready for you to sign in front of the judge."

[Scarlet Angel]

It seemed to Pole that waiting for the judge to arrive took more than just a couple of days. He was thankful to see Jimmy come every day to take him out to work; it helped keep his mind occupied. 

He talked to Jimmy, he knew Jimmy indeed listened and he could tell he amused Jimmy once in a while when the corner of his mouth would turn up.

"You sure don't carry much of a conversation do you?" Pole said. It didn't surprise him when Jimmy didn't answer. "How'd you end up becoming a deputy?"

Jimmy tilted his head and looked at the outhouse Pole was now painting. "How'd a farmer end up a bank robber that doesn't have the stomach for killing?"

Pole turned and looked at him "Who told you I was a farmer?"

"You did." Jimmy replied.

Pole thought about it, he'd talked assuming Jimmy was listening but he couldn't recall saying that.

"You learned to work with your hands and build things somewhere, mend fences, I never showed you. I had a couple of things to choose from and picked one." Jimmy replied.

Pole smiled "I've always heard to watch the quiet ones. Do you worry about somebody younger and faster coming for you someday?"

"Everyday, be thankful that today is not the day, it's time to go back and tomorrow you meet the judge" Jimmy said.

Pole didn't sleep that night worrying if he would be killed on the way to the courthouse or if the judge wouldn't deal. Jimmy finally showed with the blindfold Pole had become accustomed to wearing when he got to go out. He always had to wear it when leaving the cell. His horse was lead or would follow the others and the blindfold was removed when they got to the destination. He couldn't have found his way out of wherever he was if his life depended on it. This time when the blindfold was removed he was at the back of the court house, the two lawyers waiting for him.

[Elegant Ella]

Lily has been fretting for days, trying to figure out how they were going to get the prisoners over to the courthouse at 10 Monday morning for their meeting with the judge without Phillips finding out one was missing. But on Saturday, she had received a telegram that Deputies Issac Bennett and Gilbert Turner from Santa Fe would arrive on the Sunday afternoon stage to collect Owen Brown. 

Lily booked a room at the Ace for Bennett and Turner, and met them at the stage. Bennett seemed surprised to have a woman identify herself as a deputy, but Gil had passed through El Paso a couple months earlier, and the Coatsworths had invited him to dinner. Gil had had a great collection of stories to tell. He had gone to Stillwater Prison just the month before to question the surviving Youngers about a train robbery.

Monday morning, Bennett and Turner came over to the Marshal's office soon after breakfast was cleared away. Lily introduced them to Phillips with a comment about Gil having met the Younger gang, brought in coffee for three, and left the rest of the pot.

At 9, with a wagon waiting out front, Fritz knocked on the door of Phillips's office. "It's time to take the prisoners over to the courthouse, sir."

Phillips waved him away, "Take care of it."

Jimmy and Fritz chained the prisoners and loaded them into the wagon where Lily stood guard.

At the courthouse, they unloaded the prisoners and chained them into the prisoner's dock in the courtroom. Then the lawyers came in with Pole. The deputies and Powell moved away, to let Pole and his men talk with their lawyer in apparent privacy. The conversation looked heated at one point, with Pole and Evans arguing, but they soon quieted and nodded to the lawyer.

Morgan came over to Powell and said, "They are all in agreement. Let's get the judge out here and take care of business."

[Scarlet Angel]

Judge Carter listened quietly to the two lawyers, he couldn't recall two lawyers being more agreeable on anything for most of his career, especially these two.

Judge Carter excused the prisoners and asked Powell and Morgan to stay. He looked past them at a sign on the street. Powell and Morgan turned to see what he was looking at.

"Judge?" Powell said not seeing anything.

"I was just making sure I got off the stage in El Paso." Carter said looking at them. "Powell, you should be having a high time with this, but instead you have bargained. Explain to me why the two of you seem to be in a conspiracy."

Powell started to say something and Carter raised a finger.

"Before you answer, I already know you have confirmed information on a case that the Marshal's office has been working to break for over two years and Witts is alive only by the grace of God. By confessing, Pole may or may not knowingly put himself in a hell of a situation. I highly doubt there are many places we'll be able to put him for five years that somebody won't seek him out to kill him. What do you propose to do with all of this now?" Carter leaned back and waited. 

Morgan answered, "Pole says he has been living on borrowed time ever since the first time he took a job from the Castle. He's angry at them for trying to take his gang away from him, and angry at himself for having made that possible. He thanks the posse for giving him these last several days, because Pole was sure Jackson was aiming at him after Phillips announced that the gang was surrounded. It might be safer for the rest of Pole's gang if he's put somewhere separate from them, but it would be a lot safer for Pole to treat them all alike and keep them together. Huntsville is as good a place as any."

Powell added, "Marshal Hayes says that almost everything from Pole is confirmation of what they already had. The only new information is the identities of two more gunrunners. Those men will be watched, but nothing more. The Marshals office wants to take out the center before going after the fringes of the organization."

"Does the Marshal's office have the information that's needed to do this?" Carter asked.

Powell answered, "Marshall Witts brought back that information. He and Marshal Hayes are working on how to tackle the problem."

"Just so I'm clear. You cut a deal to confirm information you already had plus the names of a couple of gun runners?" The judge asked raising an eyebrow.

Morgan answered firmly, "Yes", while Powell nodded before adding, "Those new gunrunners are capable of diverting Army shipments of weapons and ammo. Because they were totally unsuspected, they could have caused a great deal of harm. Marshal Hayes thinks that several robberies of arms shipments might have been facilitated by them."

"Very well. Some of them would be suitable for the lease program. If they have a problem with that, perhaps Yuma would be suitable." Judge Carter replied.

Morgan replied, "I'll talk to them, but based on previous conversations, I think they would all be cooperative with the lease program."

"I would hope so." Judge Carter said eyeing the two men. "Are we finished here then?"