RETRIBUTION: - GlenMarcus (best summer reads TXT) 📗

“I guess I hit it a little too hard again.”
“The best thing for you to do is give up smoking, drinking and women.”
“Well Luke, I reckon I don’t deserve the best then.”
Chuckling at the comment, Luke felt he needed to share the latest information about Ricketts with him.
“I may have trouble coming.”
“How so?”
“Somebody from my past is on the run and maybe on his way to settle a score.”
“Whatever you need from me hoss, you got it.”
Outside, Luke heard the rattling of a team’s rig, signaling the stage was approaching.
“I have to go meet Judge Nain, but when we get finished with court, come over to the office and I’ll fill you and Doug in on what we’re up against.”
“Shore thing, Luke. I’ll see ya later.”
The Denver stage pulled to an abrupt stop in front of the Wells-Fargo office. The horses were frothed from the way Emmett pushed them hard. Walking up to the coach, Luke opened the door and offered his hand to the jaunty-looking magistrate.
“Good day Judge, how was the ride?”
“Rough as hell. The driver hit every chug hole between here and Leadville.”
With a concealed smile, the sheriff looked up towards the driver and said, “Emmett, you ole scallywag, you keeping your powder dry?”
“Just barely sheriff,” he replied as he tied off the reins and climbed down. “I been ‘a reading lots about you in the newspapers lately. You’re gettin’ some reputation in these parts.”
“Unfortunately not just in these parts pard. Any trouble on the way in?”
“Nope, none to speak of. It’s been prutty quiet lately between here and Denver.”
“Well good. I hear you’re retiring soon.”
“Yep, got me two more weeks ‘til I hang this job out to dry.”
“You plan on settling down around here?”
“Got me a daughter and son-in-law in Denver that’ll put me up. I’m just gonna take life easy for a while.”
As the judge cleared his throat, he was letting Luke know the sun was not doing anything for his complexion. “Well good luck to you. When you come back through, stop over for bit and we’ll have a beer.”
“Sounds good,” Emmett said as Luke and Judge Nain walked away towards the Monarch.
“I assume you have the courtroom set up and ready for noon proceedings?”
“Yes sir. Everything is in order.”
“Good, I will eat a bit of lunch in the Silver Saddle Restaurant and court will start at twelve o’clock.”
‘Of course it will

,’ thought Luke as he bid the judge farewell.
Luke had time, so he went to the telegraph office to send out some wires. He needed more information and his Ranger friend needed to fill in some blanks for him. He also sent messages to some law enforcement officials between Colorado and Texas that he’d had dealings with, to see if anything out of the ordinary had occurred lately. Looking at his watch, the sheriff knew it was time for him to get his tail over to the ‘proceedings’ before Judge Nain had an opportunity to get in his wallet again.


“This court is now in session. The Honorable Judge Elbert Nain presiding,” Doug said as he’d been tagged as the bailiff today.
Luke looked at his watch and it was 12:05. Either old Elbert’s watch was slow or he wanted his ten dollars back. The docket consisted of mostly petty thefts and public drunkenness. Nain’s gavel banged like Jacob Spivey’s cash register over at the general store, generating revenue while doling out territorial justice. When in fact, if it had been up to Luke’s purview, most of these incidences would have been dealt with a night or two in the hoosegow and the ‘desperados’ would have been sent on their merry way. But the directive sent down from Denver was clear. Arrest, indict and in the good Judge’s view, convict. Besides, the fines levied were most of what paid Doug and his salary, so Luke had to tolerate it.
One case in particular had Luke’s curiosity up as to how the good judge would handle the affair. It involved Bobby Pritchett’s wife, Eloise and Flo, a “hostess” from down at the Red Rock Saloon. It seemed as if Eloise had enough of Bobby’s staggering in at dawn with more than just whiskey on his breath. In retrospect, visiting most all of the upstairs rooms at the Red Rock about a week ago to retrieve her husband was not the brightest idea she had ever come up with. Luke was summoned, only after the catfight between the two women started disturbing the other patrons. Battered and a tad-bit bloody, the women had brought the fight from upstairs right into the middle of the saloon’s few gaming tables on the ground floor.
“Case # 112 Baldwin vs. Pritchett.” Doug announced to the scant amount of onlookers. “Are the parties present? Come forward to the stand.”
Bobby, sitting in the farthest corner seat of the Monarch meeting room, slouched down slightly in his chair as the announcement was made. Eloise rose from her seat and almost as a comedy of errors, bumped into Flo, as the two tried to enter the aisle between chairs at the same time. From his vantage point, Luke was content to be on the other side of the make-shift courtroom for the moment.
“Read the charges, Bailiff Evans,” Nain said, tilting his head up just enough to peer over his rectangular reading glasses.
“One count disorderly conduct. One count of illegal trespass and one count of assault on a law officer.”
“Sheriff Wallace will you please come forward?” Nain said as he turned his attention from the two female desperados and looked Luke’s way. “Please tell me what happened on the night of the seventeenth.”
Trying to break not so much as a grin, Luke began his testimony. “I was called to the Red Rock Saloon just after ten p.m. last Saturday. When I arrived, I found the defendant, Mrs. Pritchett and the plaintiff, Flo Baldwin involved in a brawl on the saloon floor.”
“And just why were they fighting and were there others present?”
“At the time I didn’t know and there were probably fifteen or so men gathered around the pair.”
“Did none of these fifteen try and stop the two?”
"No sir, I say they were enjoying it too much,” replied Luke as muffled laughter sporadically broke out among the spectators.
Having none of that, the judge banged his gravel sharply and brought order back to the court.
“Carry on sheriff.”
“I commenced to separate the ladies and had a good hold on Miss Baldwin, when Eloise reared back and took a swing at Flo.”
“Did she land the blow?”
“I’d say she did. Flo saw it coming and ducked but I wasn’t so lucky. Caught me about right here on the mouth,” as Luke pointed to his upper lip.
Laughter again erupted and the banging of the gavel could be heard slapping the fine oak desk once more. “Any more outbursts and I will clear this courtroom!”
“Proceed.”
“I arrested the two women and let them stay in the jail overnight to cool off.”
“And did you find out who started the altercation?”
“Well, witnesses said that Mrs. Pritchett threw a lamp in the general direction of Miss Baldwin and Mr. Pritchett, so I’d have to say Eloise started the ball rolling.”
“And this was where exactly?”
“In one of the suites above the Red Rock.”
Now, Judge Nain had a pretty good idea of what had transpired. “That will be all sheriff.”
As Luke stepped down, he assumed that was that and the next sound would be the sentence being handed down. But what happened next caught Luke and most of the others by surprise.
Looking in Doug’s general direction, Nain made a request of him. “Bailiff, is Mr. Pritchett present in the courtroom?”
“Yes your honor.” And in a puzzled sounding tone Doug asked, “You want me to call him to testify?”
“Please do.”
Turning back in the general direction of the half-hidden man in the corner, Doug called his name. Slowly, Bobby rose from his slouch and reluctantly made his way to the bench in front of the judge. Having to walk between the two women in his life would have probably been enough punishment, but Judge Nain had other ideas in mind.
“Sir, are you aware of the reason I brought you in front of this court today?”
Shrugging his shoulders with no audible response brought only ire from the stately judge seated in front of him.
“When I address you Mr. Pritchett, you will have the decency to respond with an answer sir or I will hold you in contempt of court!”
“No sir.”
“No!” bellowed the judge.
“No sir I don’t know why you brung me up here.”
“I brought

you up here sir, to admonish you on your actions as it pertains to these charges”
“But I weren’t the one fighting,” Bobby said softly.
“No but you are the root cause of the altercation. How long have you been married?”
“I don’t know,” as Bobby turned his head slightly to the left towards his wife. The look on his Eloise’s face could only be described as tepid and as before, Luke was glad he had some distance between them. “About ten years, I guess.”
“So in all these ten years has your wife been good to you?” Judge Nain rebutted but started talking again before the bewildered man had a chance to answer. “Has she cooked and cleaned and took care of you properly.”
Waiting to see if it was his turn to answer, Bobby replied, “I reckon.”
“You reckon. Then why on God’s green earth are you cavorting around with a prostitute in a saloon when you should be home in bed?”
Wanting to respond to the previous remark but thinking it the wiser to be silent, Flo decided to just look away towards the open window.
“I dunno.”
“You don’t know. Well I’ll tell you what I know Mr. Pritchett. Its men like you with the flagrant disregard for the vows of holy matrimony that I will not tolerate. Bailiff, the plaintiff and the defendant are free to go.”
Luke could see what was coming but poor Bobby was still in the dark. Turning around to leave with his wife, Nain commenced to reel him in.
“Mr. Pritchett, no so fast.” Bobby stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. “Even though the charges brought by the Red Rock were against your wife, I am judging you totally responsible for the actions and damages therewith. In accordance with the laws of the territory of Colorado, I sentence you to ten days in jail and a fine of one hundred dollars.”
A hush fell over the courtroom as even Luke was flabbergasted by the sentence. Not only did the amount of jail time seem extreme but the fine was the largest he’d ever heard old Elbert dole out. Bobby Pritchett had just been made an example of and for what it was worth, Luke didn’t agree.
“This territory may well soon become a state and with this transition, the law must reign supreme,” belted the judge as he stood to speak. “No more will senseless violence be the norm. Justice will be swift, severe and the laws will be observed.”
Even as the judge was expelling his soliloquy, the sheriff knew the mandate was clear. It was time for Colorado to become a part of the Union. And with statehood came increased government; that was the part that Luke didn’t know if he could stomach.


Later in the afternoon with the monthly court concluded and the fines handed out, Luke and Doug went back to their office. John was already there and had made a fresh pot of coffee.
“Anybody want a cup?” John asked as they