THE GRAVE 21

shug led blakes horse by the bridle reins down the main street right up to the jail. blake was tied to the saddle. his hands tied to the saddle horn , his feet tied together under the horses belly. blake was weaving back and forth in the saddle whimpering. bloof stained his side where shugs bullet had laid a groove through his fat. on the way back they had stopped at the middle march pass and reclaimed this horse and returning the stolen ones. shug still sat the grulla that they had mounted him on. he would take him back later. the good horse still had a strong step and a bright eye. as shug stepped to the ground a small crowd gathered around in disbelief. he started untieing blakes feet when he straightened up he was faceing carrie. she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed" i knew you wernt a killer, i knew it." shug pushed her to arms length and looked her in the eye" i could have been very easy, but i remembered you and what neil had told me. let me put this scum in the jail. from here on he gets nothing he cant eat with his fingers." shug pulled blake to the ground and pushed him towardm the jail door. "i need a doctor!" was all that blake whimpered. through the crowd came a man carrying a little satchel his sleeves rolled up" hold it, let me see that man" shug spun blake around and pushed him against the wall. the doctor pulled blakes shirt up to expose the wound. then turned to shug" he will live its a long way from anything vital" he then produced a brown bottle from the satchel and poured a liberal amount on the groove causeing blake to yell. " ime done with him that will hold him until he gets a rope burn." the doctor turned and walked back through the crowd. shug shoved blake through the door and into a cell. , locking him in.when he went back out into the office he saw slaughter standing at his desk. he nodded to him as he put the cell keys on the desk. " i say, i say deputy, you did just fine. i heard what you told the young lady out side. it was admirable. you went to a lot of trouble to return this man. i think you proved to everyone in the county your not a apache killer." slaughter was speaking just above a whisper. " i thought it best. to bring him back for trial. as a personel matter i want him dead soon. but not by my hand. i dont think i could sleep nights haveing people think that ime a cold blooded killer. i like the people here even tho they are predjudiced against the apache. i guess my white half kicked in when it needed to." shug looked slaughter in the eye. " you want me for something else sir? i need some sleep." " no ill keep watch here. the judge will here his case tomorrow morning. go get some sleep." slaughter watched shug as he went out the door.