How?”
Luke had his own round of tabletop staring for a moment. He’d brought Dewitt here in order to bring up this very subject, but now that he’d done so he wondered if he’d thought it through sufficiently. Didn’t matter. He’d opened the door and now he had to step through.
“Truth is, Dewitt, I need some help in the jail.”
“Don’t Hank McAdams help you already?”
“Hank only works a few hours a week, and lately his mother’s been so sickly he’s had to spend most his time taking care of her, and he misses a lot of time. Most times it don’t make much difference. This is a calm town, typically, and usually one man is enoughto handle what comes up. But sometimes I get into a bad situation when I’ve got somebody locked up at the jail. You can’t just leave prisoners by theirselves, not for long, anyway. But when I’m down in the jail office nursemaiding some old drunk, I can’t be out in town looking out for the town.”
“You need a jailer,” said Dewitt. “Somebody to watch the jail so you and Hank can be out taking care of the people.”
“Exactly,” Luke replied. “So what do you say, Dewitt? You want the job?”
Dewitt’s eyes widened. “Me?”
“You see anybody else at this table I could be asking?”
“But, Luke, I…I got a job.”
“Washing down horses at Baxter’s Livery ain’t the best of jobs, my friend.”
“No…but it’s one I’ve done for a long time now. And Mr. Baxter’s been good to me. Lets me live in that room in the livery loft.”
“That loft is a shabby place, Dewitt. And Mr. Baxter’s been good to you because he figures the town drunk is the only person who’d be willing to work that job for what little it pays. And it’s a job you could do about as well drunk as sober, so you were a good fit.”
“That’s all past now, Luke. I don’t get drunk no more.”
“No. But you’re still living in a shack like you did before, and I doubt Baxter’s paying you any more than he did before just because you’ve gone sober. I’m offering you something better. A little more pay, and you can live in that little house out behind thejail. That’s part of the jail property, you know. It’s not much, but it’s better than that drafty livery room, and you’ll be doing work that’s got some dignity to it. You’ll work for the city, just like I do. You’ll have a title: Deputy Jailer.”
All this seemed more than Dewitt could absorb. He looked at Luke as if the man had just sprouted wings and begun speaking the language of angels. “Luke, you really got the power to do that? I mean, right now you’re the acting marshal, but that ain’t the same as being the real marshal, like Ben Keely. What if the town won’t let you hire me? What if they say I’m just a sorry old drunk not fit for the job?”
“Then I’d say back to them that you’re not a drunk anymore, that even when you were a drunk you still did good work at the livery and proved yourself reliable, and that if they won’t give me the help I need to do my own job, they can find themselves somebody else to fill in for Ben Keely.”
“You’d do that?”
“I would.”
“Bless your heart, Luke Cable! You’re a blessing of God to this old sinner.”
“Dewitt, that might be the finest compliment I’ve ever been given. You want that coffee warmed up? Mine’s getting a little cold.”
He lifted a hand and signaled for the waiter. Dewitt just sat grinning at him, eyes moist with tears of gratitude.
It was then that Luke began to worry. What if Dewitt had a point about the town leaders? What if they declined his bid to hire a deputy jailer? Especiallyone with as unpolished a past as Dewitt Stamps’s?
If they balked, would Luke really walk away from his job?
He watched as the waiter refilled his cup, then turned his eyes to the window and stared across the street beyond.
Come back, Ben , he mentally pleaded. Come back and start doing your job again, so I can quit doing it for
Luke had his own round of tabletop staring for a moment. He’d brought Dewitt here in order to bring up this very subject, but now that he’d done so he wondered if he’d thought it through sufficiently. Didn’t matter. He’d opened the door and now he had to step through.
“Truth is, Dewitt, I need some help in the jail.”
“Don’t Hank McAdams help you already?”
“Hank only works a few hours a week, and lately his mother’s been so sickly he’s had to spend most his time taking care of her, and he misses a lot of time. Most times it don’t make much difference. This is a calm town, typically, and usually one man is enoughto handle what comes up. But sometimes I get into a bad situation when I’ve got somebody locked up at the jail. You can’t just leave prisoners by theirselves, not for long, anyway. But when I’m down in the jail office nursemaiding some old drunk, I can’t be out in town looking out for the town.”
“You need a jailer,” said Dewitt. “Somebody to watch the jail so you and Hank can be out taking care of the people.”
“Exactly,” Luke replied. “So what do you say, Dewitt? You want the job?”
Dewitt’s eyes widened. “Me?”
“You see anybody else at this table I could be asking?”
“But, Luke, I…I got a job.”
“Washing down horses at Baxter’s Livery ain’t the best of jobs, my friend.”
“No…but it’s one I’ve done for a long time now. And Mr. Baxter’s been good to me. Lets me live in that room in the livery loft.”
“That loft is a shabby place, Dewitt. And Mr. Baxter’s been good to you because he figures the town drunk is the only person who’d be willing to work that job for what little it pays. And it’s a job you could do about as well drunk as sober, so you were a good fit.”
“That’s all past now, Luke. I don’t get drunk no more.”
“No. But you’re still living in a shack like you did before, and I doubt Baxter’s paying you any more than he did before just because you’ve gone sober. I’m offering you something better. A little more pay, and you can live in that little house out behind thejail. That’s part of the jail property, you know. It’s not much, but it’s better than that drafty livery room, and you’ll be doing work that’s got some dignity to it. You’ll work for the city, just like I do. You’ll have a title: Deputy Jailer.”
All this seemed more than Dewitt could absorb. He looked at Luke as if the man had just sprouted wings and begun speaking the language of angels. “Luke, you really got the power to do that? I mean, right now you’re the acting marshal, but that ain’t the same as being the real marshal, like Ben Keely. What if the town won’t let you hire me? What if they say I’m just a sorry old drunk not fit for the job?”
“Then I’d say back to them that you’re not a drunk anymore, that even when you were a drunk you still did good work at the livery and proved yourself reliable, and that if they won’t give me the help I need to do my own job, they can find themselves somebody else to fill in for Ben Keely.”
“You’d do that?”
“I would.”
“Bless your heart, Luke Cable! You’re a blessing of God to this old sinner.”
“Dewitt, that might be the finest compliment I’ve ever been given. You want that coffee warmed up? Mine’s getting a little cold.”
He lifted a hand and signaled for the waiter. Dewitt just sat grinning at him, eyes moist with tears of gratitude.
It was then that Luke began to worry. What if Dewitt had a point about the town leaders? What if they declined his bid to hire a deputy jailer? Especiallyone with as unpolished a past as Dewitt Stamps’s?
If they balked, would Luke really walk away from his job?
He watched as the waiter refilled his cup, then turned his eyes to the window and stared across the street beyond.
Come back, Ben , he mentally pleaded. Come back and start doing your job again, so I can quit doing it for
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