"Then how . . . ?" Browning swallowed. "You brought Charlie back in front of them. Now the doctor is out telling them they can have their children back for three hundred dollars. If they arrive and we say it"s not true . . ."
"It d.a.m.ned well better be true," Dobbs said, pushing to his feet. He turned on Browning. "You tricked me."
"What-"
"Your son was the demonstration. He"s alive, and you didn"t have to pay anything for it. No money. No life. Now my boy lies in his coffin, and you"re telling me he"s not going to come back unless I kill someone?"
"I never said- I didn"t volunteer Charlie. Mr. Eleazar asked for him. You were sitting there when he did. You heard everything."
Browning turned to Eleazar and the man nodded, but his agreement seemed a moment too slow.
"You two made a deal," Dobbs said to Browning. "On the side, before Doc and I arrived."
As Browning sputtered, Eleazar rose, shaking his head. "That"s ridiculous. His Worship heard the plan when you did."
The words were the right ones, but something in Eleazar"s tone didn"t properly support them. Browning could see it as Dobbs"s meaty face mottled with fury.
They won"t believe me, no matter what Eleazar says.They"ll think I used my position to get a bargain.
"I"ll pay," Browning said quickly. "I will offer my three hundred to help anyone who falls short, at no rate of interest."
"And the rest?"
"I had nothing to do with the rest. Mr. Eleazar offered his a.s.sistant. Everyone else will have to find a suitable volunteer."
"How?" Dobbs"s voice rose. "My wife? Myself? Bring back one child and leave the rest with no one to raise them? No one to support them? Another of my children? Pick the one I like least? How is a father supposed to do such a thing? There is no one else. We have no other family in Chestnut Hill."
Perhaps you ought to have thought of that before you agreed. That"s what Browning wanted to say as his guilt turned to outrage at the injustice of it all. He hadn"t offered Charlie. He hadn"t brokered a special deal.
Browning squared his shoulders. "If you cannot pay, then perhaps-"
The mayor never saw the blow coming. He felt Dobbs"s fist hit his jaw, sending him reeling back. He recovered and swung at Dobbs but missed, the younger man grabbing his arm and wrenching, sending him flying into the wall.
"Gentlemen," Eleazar said. "Really. Must it come to this?"
He sounded almost bored, and Browning turned on him, the outrage filling him as pain coursed through his jaw. They were turning on each other now, and Eleazar was to blame. Eleazar had brought this to Chestnut Hill. He"d-
Resurrected Charlie.This was the man who"d granted his fondest wish.
Browning"s fists dropped to his sides.
"There are other ways," Eleazar said. "They may be distasteful, but given the alternative of not returning the children . . ."
"What do you propose?" Browning asked.
Eleazar took a seat again. "In every village, there are . . . those who are not fully contributing to community life."
The blacksmith"s face screwed up in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I mean those who live on the outskirts, both physically and metaphorically.Those living outside the village.Those who drink more than they ought. Perhaps aren"t quite as intelligent as others. Perhaps not as mentally sound. Perhaps don"t fit in-the native population and such.Are there any of those around Chestnut Hill?"
"Some," Dobbs said. "There were little Adeline"s parents, but they"re dead now.There"s others too. Old man Cranston and his wife.They"re crazy, both of them.Trapper Mike. He"s half-Injun, with a squaw wife. Timothy James, another trapper, when he"s not too drunk to remember to empty his traps."
"See, there"s five, with only a few moments of thought. I"m sure there are more."
Dobbs nodded, thinking it through. Dear G.o.d, was he really thinking it through? No, he couldn"t be. Not that way. He was seeing a solution and seizing it, with no thoughts except how this brought his boy back.
"You"re . . . you"re suggesting we commit murder," Browning said slowly.
"Hardly. I"m suggesting you remove an unproductive segment of the local population. A potentially dangerous segment. Have any of these people ever caused problems for you?"
Dobbs nodded again. "Timothy James went after one of Millie Prior"s granddaughters a few years ago. Grabbed her in the forest and touched her before she got away. Old man Cranston shoots at anyone who steps on his property. He doesn"t even have property. No one knows what he considers his, on account of him being crazy. And Trapper Mike? Folks around here swear he steals from their traps. Never caught him, but he"s sneaky. I don"t doubt he does it. Then there"s Paul over by the lake. Won"t tell n.o.body his last name. I hear he"s a fugitive. I"ve been trying to get an accounting from the Mounties, but they haven"t come by Chestnut Hill in near on a year."
"Because you aren"t on the railroad route," Eleazar said. "The authorities are ignoring you. Leaving you to defend this town all by yourself . . . Sheriff. I"d say it"d be your G.o.d-given right to go talk to those folks, and if they give you any trouble, well, I think you"ve had enough trouble from them. Who knows what they"ll do next? You need to look after your town."