Worthy Brown's Daughter Read Online Free PDF Page A

I swear to God, it was mine.”
    “Your witness, Mr. Barbour.”
    Barbour looked at Lukens with contempt. “I will not waste the time of the court or this jury by questioning this . . . man.”
    Several jurors shook their heads to show their agreement with the prosecutor, and Lukens slunk back to his seat.
    “Any more witnesses, Mr. Penny?” the judge asked.
    “No, sir.”
    “Then you may make your closing argument, Mr. Barbour.”

CHAPTER 5

    T he arguments were short and the jury deliberations shorter. Clyde Lukens had barely reached the inn when he was summoned back to hear his guilt pronounced.
    “You are one of the lowest specimens I have ever encountered,” Justice Tyler told the quivering defendant. “You crept into the bedroom of a defenseless woman and stole from her. Then you compounded your crime by trying to sully her reputation before this assemblage.
    “Hanging would be a fit punishment for you. Unfortunately, it’s not prescribed for the crime of theft. There is no jail in Phoenix where you can be incarcerated, and I will burden Mr. Chambers with your unsavory company no longer. Therefore, I sentence you to receive fifty lashes in public on your bare back.”
    Lukens blanched. “But that will kill me.”
    “You should have thought of that possibility before you broke the Eighth Commandment.”
    “It’s my money. Send word to my company. Please. I can prove it.”
    “You’ve had your day in court, sir. Now you shall have judgment.”
    Tyler turned toward Abner Hardesty, who was standing on the edge of the crowd.
    “You may have the honor, Mr. Hardesty. You will tie the prisoner to the oak and commence punishment. If he passes out, revive him. I want Mr. Lukens to savor the fruits of his wrongdoing. Court is adjourned until this afternoon, when we will select a jury for Farber v. Gillette .”
    Lukens begged for mercy as he was dragged to the tree, but Tyler turned away. As he walked toward the inn, hands slapped the judge on the back. Matthew followed Tyler until he was clear of the crowd.
    “Your Honor, if I may have a minute.”
    “Yes, Mr. Penny.”
    “Mr. Lukens has a frail constitution. Fifty lashes may kill him.”
    Tyler thought for a moment. Abner Hardesty was headed to the livery stable to secure a whip. Tyler called to him, and he turned back. The judge took him aside.
    “I’m charging you with Lukens’s punishment, but I’m also charging you with his safety. Theft, no matter how vile, doesn’t carry a death sentence. If it appears that fifty lashes are too much for him, stop and come to me at the inn.”
    Hardesty nodded and went on his way.
    “Does that satisfy you, Mr. Penny?” the judge asked.
    “Yes, sir. Thank you.”
    Tyler felt a presence at his side and turned to find Benjamin Gillette and Sharon Hill.
    “Will you join us for lunch?” Benjamin Gillette asked the judge.
    “I’m afraid I must beg off. I have some work I must do before the afternoon session.”
    “Are you returning to Portland soon?” Sharon Hill asked.
    “Not for a while. There are sessions of court in three more towns after I’m through here.”
    “Oh. Well, perhaps I’ll see you when you’re finished riding the circuit.”
    “It would be my pleasure,” Tyler answered.
    AS SOON AS HE FINISHED talking to Justice Tyler, Matthew went in search of Glen Farber. He spotted the Farber family among those who gathered around the oak in eager anticipation of the judicially mandated flogging.
    “Do you think our jurors will hold it against us that you defended Lukens?” Farber asked anxiously when Matthew walked up.
    “No, Glen, don’t worry. I’ll make sure they’re not biased.”
    Farber could see that Matthew was upset. “He deserves what he gets,” the farmer assured his attorney.
    “He may have been innocent.”
    “If you believe what he admitted to, he’s a fornicator and a cheat.”
    “You have a point,” Matthew agreed. “And Mr. Lukens is going to pay, no matter what I