Chapter 12
Judge Lemke stayed in Roses Briar through the weekend, and by the time he left on Tuesday morning, Ben’s head was swimming with more questions than answers.
“The judgment I rendered in the kidnapping case against Mrs. Danbury won’t hold much water once word gets back to Philadelphia, Sheriff Chauncy,” Harlan reminded as he stepped into his buggy. “Whether or not you do something about that is up to you, but I suggest you decide soon. That telegram will be going out this morning, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you have someone challenging the results of my ruling within the week.”
“I appreciate your advice, your Honor. But I’m not sure I can see my way clear to taking on a wife and four small children. It ain’t that I want something bad to come to any of them, but marriage, sir? That’s not something I can take lightly.”
“And I wouldn’t expect you to, son. But my recommendation is to carry out the sentence for Orville and Gilbert, as ordered. Then, take care of the situation with Mrs. Danbury without delay. I’ll expect a telegram either way.”
Ben nodded his agreement and watched the judge go, his face set.
The trial of Baxter Orville and Ambrose Gilbert a few days earlier had been accomplished with surprising speed, as both men refused legal counsel and offered no defense for the stagecoach robbery or the murder of Sherriff Arnold Danbury. Yet, Ben couldn’t forget the surprise on their faces as the sentence was handed down.
“Hung by the neck until dead.” That’s what Harlan Lemke ordered, and even though the idea made him squeamish, Ben’s responsibility to carry out the judge’s sentence was clear.
“Don’t do it, or you’ll regret it!” Ambrose Gilbert shouted when Ben and several other men arrived to accompany the condemned to the scaffold.
“I’d like to speak with you, Sheriff,” Baxter Orville quietly insisted despite his partner’s protest.
“Speak your peace, Mr. Orville,” Ben agreed, gesturing to the other man for silence.
“That money we took from the stage? That was our payment for getting rid of Arnold Danbury,” the prisoner rushed to say. “We were told he wasn’t any kind of law, and that he was the one setting up the robberies that been happening along this rail line.”
“Who hired you?” Ben asked when Orville went quiet. The answer was obvious. However, Ben needed to hear it.
“He’ll fire Pernelia if I say, and her family can’t afford to lose her wages, Sheriff.”
The statement was an answer in itself, and Ben wasn’t surprised by the revelation. But the men with him started to clamor.
“You mean to say Simon Rassbach put you up to this?” Reverend Fredrickson stammered, his shock apparent.
“The money on the stage – the money we took – it was our payment for making Danbury’s death look like a robbery gone wrong.”
“Shut up!” Gilbert shouted, making such a ruckus, Ben finally threatened to gag him if he didn’t settle down. “It’s my family he’s condemning with his loose lips,” the angry man growled. “Rassbach won’t think twice about burning them out or worse if he finds out this idiot couldn’t keep his mouth shut!”
“It won’t make a difference one way or another, Gilbert, and you know it,” Baxter Orville contested. “We’ll be gone either way, and there won’t be anyone to protect our loved ones. Obviously, headquarters isn’t sending anyone, so . . .”
“Did you really expect the Pinkerton Agency to condone cold-blooded murder?” Ben asked in amazement. “You went rogue, and they washed their hands of you.”
“The lead agent in Chicago told us to gather evidence against Arnold Danbury,” Orville said. “When we got here, a whole file of affidavits and other supposed evidence was provided by that skunk Rassbach. But we couldn’t substantiate any of the charges until word filtered down about the Matthews kidnapping.
“The agent in charge of the abduction case sent word back to headquarters, and our lead agent tied the two cases together,” the condemned man explained.
“So, you figured Arnold was in on the kidnapping?” Ben asked, his mind working overtime to tie the pieces of information together.
“Something like that,” Gilbert grunted as he dropped to his cot and lowered his head into his hands.
“Why kill him?” Reverend Fredrickson questioned. “If you thought Sheriff Danbury was involved in a kidnapping scheme, why kill him? He’d be more use to you alive.”
“Hindsight,” the disgraced agent answered, sharing a resigned look with Baxter Orville. “We came into this case on the opposite side of the argument, and we accepted the railroad’s recitation of events. Rookie mistake,” Ambrose Gilbert dejectedly concluded.
Ben escorted his temporary deputies and the minister back downstairs and locked the door of his office. Then, he pivoted and gauged the mood in the room.
“Do you believe them?” Arlo Grosspointe asked.
“I was about to ask you the same thing,“ Ben answered. “You are privy to the messages that go in and out of the telegraph office. Can you recall anything that might give credence to the Pinkertons’ statements?”
“Not really, Sheriff. I guess it isn’t real well known, but Simon Rassbach has a telegraph in his office.”
“I know there are wires going to the building. Guess I just figured it was leftover from when the railroad first settled the area five years ago.”
“True, that’s when the lines were put in. But I don’t get many messages in my office for Rassbach. And he let it slip once when he referenced a message I hadn’t taken down,” Arlo explained.
Dr. Rooney put aside the rifle he’d been issued for his tenure as a temporary deputy. “Well, I’m not sure how hanging those men is going to serve justice. At least not until we get to the bottom of this debacle.”
Reverend Fredrickson nodded in absolute agreement. “There is no doubt those men are convicted and condemned for the murder of Sheriff Danbury. However, if they were compelled to keep silent to protect their loved ones, then justice hasn’t been truly served.”
The conversation was interrupted when a baby began to wail in the back room, and the men paused their speculation until relative calm was restored.
“Folks are gathering,” Arlo sighed as he kept watch through the front window.
“What are you going to do, Ben?” the minister questioned. “Arnold Danbury was well respected in the community. He’s got friends out there.”
“In here too,” Dr. Rooney reminded, gesturing to each man in turn.
“My point exactly,” the reverend said. “And those people expect to see justice done today.”
“Bjorn Jacquish just rolled up,” Arlo commented when he spied the carpenter’s wagon. “Got the pine boxes and Pernelia with him.”
A soft groan went through the group. Time was running out for the prisoners, but each moment that passed brought more questions than answers.