EUREKA

Real Trouble

The judge was rapping his anvil on the table, his loud voice calling for silence. When the room gradually quieted all eyes turned on me, angry and disbelieving. The judge spoke, pointing a stiff finger at me.

"Are you telling me that man is not the accused, Hiram Rivers?"

"He was seen!" Graham broke in, his face twisted in anger as he pointed at the man. "He was seen ridin' out on the bay horse Cagney got killed over! A dozen people in El Paso saw it! That is Hiram Rivers!"

"It ain't him, sir." I insisted. "I'm surprised he didn't say so."

Another loud round of shouting broke out, and the judge pounded the anvil like he was killing ants. All of a sudden I understood, and it made me mad. I stood up, fingers curled into fists.

"He did say so didn't he! You all are so fired up for a hangin' that you'd string up an innocent man! A blood-hungry, vicious pack of coyotes I never did see! Why don't you make certain you got the right man before you noose the rope?"

"Quiet!" the judge bellowed the word as the twelve men of the jury rose to their feet, voices loud and angry. He turned on me. "If that isn't Hiram Rivers, who is it?"

"I have no idea sir. I never seen him a'fore."

"What!" exploded Graham. "How can you name him your relative if you've never met him before?"

"If you seen one Rivers man, you'll know another next you see one. They all favor one another, an' he's got Pa's blue eyes. He's my kin alright, but he ain't Hiram."

"That does it!" Rapping the table heavily with his gavel the judge stood. "I've wasted enough of my time on this trial. Graham, you don't even have the right man in custody, case dismissed! You've wasted a whole afternoon of my time and the missus had a pot roast on! Now everybody clear out!"

I've never seen a room full of angrier men, but when the judge said it was over they grumbled out the door, heading for the saloon most likely. In a few minutes, the only two left in the courtroom carried the same last name. That cousin of mine just sat there, looking over at me with a smile on his face.

"I reckon I owe you," he rumbled at me, his voice deep and smooth. "They was fixed to give me the short end of a rope."

"Well, don't be too hard on 'em. They didn't know they fetched home a grizzly by his nose." I grinned back at him as he stood up. "I reckon you got a name?"

"I'm your cousin Tobias, Lane's oldest."

"A Boston Rivers." I snorted a little. "Figures it would be one of you to drag me miles from home for nothin'. Can't you folks ever play nice with others?"

"Well, Pa was never real clear on how we boys should go about that." He flashed a grin at me, unbothered by my indignation. "I figure not shootin' up each town I ride through passes for sociable. 'Sides, ain't Hiram Boston born?"

"You know much about this mess with Hi?" I crossed my arms, my chin lifted. "I don't care if you're kin or not, you murder a man you pay the price for it."

"I met up with Hiram in south Texas," he admitted. "The horse was mine, a spare, an' he was in need of one, as his own was killed by Injuns. Blood don't need no bill of sale, so I gave it to him, flat out. Next I heard, he was in trouble in El Paso over some gunplay involvin' the bay an' I headed this way to clear things up. By the time I got here Hi was gone, Cagney was dead an' they was lookin' for a hangin', sayin' it was murder. My horse is a bay similar to the one I gave him, and a body has to look mighty close to see the differences.

"I rattled my hocks outta here but the posse caught up with me some south of Tuscan. I told 'em I wasn't Hi, but they was fixed on 'justice' an' paid me no mind. Figured I was tryin' to shake loose any way I could, I reckon. That lawyer fella, Johnson, he's a fair man, an' he it was that sent out those letters. He wanted to make sure he wasn't hangin' the wrong man, though I don't think he believed me until just now either."