The trial of Bart Tilson was a short one. The jury found the man guilty of the crime Tal Kincaid had been accused of. He was tried and convicted in a matter of hours. The testimony of the old lawman, G. W. Titus proved he had trailed Tilson to the murder scene from down on the border. When GW also stated Tilson was wanted for another killing it proved to be a key factor in the case. The old Ranger came across as a very credible witness. This was not the first trial the old lawman had testified in. GW and Tal had both testified that the horse that Tilson was riding was part of the stock that the murdered rancher had in his corral when he was killed. The brand was clear.

Tal Kincaid’s testimony was also credible and showed that Bart Tilson was the man who had replaced him on the Circle C ranch when he left to find a different type of work in Mystery, Texas. He had stated that Bart Tilson had arrived looking for work, shortly before he left for Mystery to seek work on the Overland Stage Line. He testified that the murdered man would never have sold, or given away his stock. He was trying to build up the stock, not deplete it. The noose was tightening.

The testimony for the prosecution was very strong and the defense of Bart Tilson fell apart on the testimony of the credible witnesses brought forth by the prosecuting attorney. The jury was retired to the stockroom of the saloon for their deliberations. When it was all over, the jury was out of the room only a short time. When they returned, they announced the verdict, guilty as charged. Bart Tilson was guilty of first degree murder. Guilty of a hanging crime in Texas.

The judge lost no time in sentencing Bart Tilson.

“Barton Tilson, you are sentenced by this court to hang by the neck until dead and may the good Lord have mercy on your soul,” said the judge as he frowned at the outlaw. “The sentence to be carried out tomorrow morning at first light. Bars open.”

Judge Hiram B. Wilson was one of the first up at the long bar and ordered a shot of Kentucky bourbon. The judge tipped the glass back and drank the strong brew in a single swallow. He turned and went back to his hotel room. The judge would leave tomorrow morning, right after the hanging.

The townsfolk that didn’t saunter up to the bar for their first drink of the day, filed out of the saloon/courtroom happy in the fact that justice would again been served. The local carpenters were finishing the construction of the gallows. Perhaps they knew something that the rest of the town didn’t, or perhaps they just wanted to be ready. The sentence was to be carried out at sunup the next day and the judge would be on the noon stage out of town to the next trial.

People already started to gather in town for the hanging. It would take place in the morning at first light. A hanging was an event that few wanted to miss. Sometimes it was the highlight event of the year. Few townsfolk missed the spectacle. They would gather early with the whole family. They didn’t want to miss anything. Justice was a public affair in Texas. People who lived on ranches that surrounded Abilene were arriving in droves. The hotel was soon filled and the younger men, who arrived alone, were negotiating a room at the large house at the end of the street.

An hour before sunup, Bart Tilson was given his last meal and asked if he wanted to have the services of the town preacher. He spat at the Marshal and told him that he had no use for the psalm singers and bible thumpers. He had gotten by without them before and could do without their meaningless babble now.

As the sun broke over the horizon, a large crowd had formed around the front of the gallows. No one wanted to miss this show. Enterprising young men were selling boxed candy and food stuff all kinds. Lemonade and other soft drinks were peddled amongst the crowd. It wasn’t often that the town had a real hanging, but when it did, it brought out all the townsfolk to watch the spectacle. Men, women, children and whole families were in attendance. Hangings in Texas were meant to be public. It rated right up there with the barn dances and church socials. Bart Tilson was walked by the Marshal from the jail in handcuffs. He was lead to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the platform of the gallows. He hesitated at the stairs leading up to the platform of the gallows. The Marshal tugged at his arm and Tilson began the long climb to his destiny. With the marshal holding his arm, the outlaw marched up the stairs of the gallows. The hangman asked if there were anything Bart wanted to say before he went to his maker. Bart shook his head in the negative and didn’t answer. The marshal nodded to the hangman and a black hood was settled over the outlaws head and the noose placed around his neck.

The crowd thought they heard a murmur, or a whimper, as the black hood settled over the outlaws face.

The people gathered around the base of the gallows drew still; even the children stopped their chatter and laughter. A solemn presence fell over the watching crowd. As the Marshall nodded his head for the second time, the hangman pulled the lever that sent Bart Tilson to join his pards in another place and time.

The judge watched the proceedings from the window of his room at the boarding house as the trapdoor of the gallows opened and Bart Tilson was hanged. There wasn’t a sound in the village square, except for the squeaking sound of the taught rope, swinging back and forth. Judge Hiram B. Wilson had seen many a hanging and was not particularly interested about what happened after his job was complete. While he packed for his trip to the next trial, he thought, another varmint less for the good people of Texas to be concerned about. There will be a time when Texas will be a law abiding place, a place to raise a family and work in peace.

Now that the law had found the real culprit and justice had been served. Tal was free to go back to Mystery and rekindle a flame that was growing in his heart for Mrs. Evans. Isaac Trumble, their new friend from Boston, Ken, and Billy, Tal’s brothers, were free to travel to New England as Isaac’s guests and all the adventures that the trip would hold in store for them. Places his brothers had never seen. A train trip to Florida and a boat ride from the port, up the coast of Florida. It was time for the old Ranger and Bear, his deputy, to think of retirement and quieter times, but who could tell where these two relics of a past era would end up, perhaps on the trail of one last desperado.

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