A Visit with The Judge

Ninety Days Inside The Empire: A Novel by William Appleman Williams

Page 38

"It'll be easy now, Marsh."

True. And when the time came for bed it was tender and wild, and soon in and out and back in bed as often as possible. They decided to get married at her place after the harvest and invite everybody. Even Marlene finally agreed that it was beautiful.

And then one afternoon it disintegrated in pain and terror. Marsh and Dr. Paul and the barber were standing just outside the bank cheerfully arguing whether or not it was too early for a drink. Then Henry and Fredrick came along and the vote was unanimous in favor of setting the clock ahead an hour.

Suddenly Frankel pointed his arm and cried: "The damn fool!" A wagon loaded with three cows was coming much too fast down the street. He did a mime of pulling on the reins.

Just then, right in front of Marsh and the barber, a slightly plumpish thirtyish woman waving good bye to a friend stepped one leg sideways off the curb into the street. A young Negro walking by reached out and yanked her back out of death. They tumbled to the sidewalk and the woman began to scream "Rape! Rape! Rape!" Three of four brave white men instantly pinned the Negro and began to beat and kick him. The wagon trundled on.

"You crazy bastards, he saved her life!"

All in one movement Marsh pushed the barber back, shoved Henry and Frankel off to the side. "I'll do this."

Dr. Paul was still there. "Not without me."

Marsh kneed and swung his way into the melee yelling, "I'll take custody of this man," while the Doctor went to the woman. Her dress wasn't even above her knee.

Henry said with anger: "Nobody could rape that woman. She beats 'em all to the floor." That was perhaps an exaggeration, maybe only 105 percent of the truth. She was notorious for having married an old farmer and then living naughty after he died three years later. Leaving her lots of money, of course.

Marsh got the Negro down an alley into the back stairwell to his office. The boy was so terrified, plus being kicked in the kidneys, that he had pissed his pants and, now shaking, was trying to cover the wet with his hands.

"Forget that, son. Where do you live?"

He was almost incoherent but Marsh finally got it out of him, threw him on a horse and got him home. The father, a good farmer Marsh had once helped and been paid in full had heard the hoofs and was at the door.

"Listen, Mr. Johnson. Your son just did a good and brave thing but some people think it was a bad thing so you got to get him out of town right now. Can you do that?"

Johnson nodded once and pulled the boy in the door. Marsh heard the back screen slam before he was on his horse. Marsh rode slowly and very carefully back into town and slipped into his office.

-- Thank God it is Marlene's afternoon off.

Doctor Paul and Henry were waiting for him with three glasses poured full. He could tell they were about ready to gulp.

"Where is he?"

"Safe."

"At your place?"

"Christ, I ain't that dumb."

"His place?"

"Ain't stupid either."

"Some people's goin' to say you let him get away and they goin' to get hot about it."

Marsh shrugged and took a deep draw on his drink. And another.

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A Visit with The Judge

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