Chapter 31

Joe’s chest filled with fire and pride. Dubois was smart and strong.

They climbed the rest of the stone steps in silence.

When they’d reached the infirmary, Cooke asked Crawford for his keys. “Let me unshackle you,” he said, slipping the chains off Joe’s wrists. “Get him some clothes, will you?”

Joe rubbed his sore wrists. “Williams?’’ he asked. “Lebeau? And Johnson, where are those bastards―”

“Suspended without pay.” Cooke opened the infirmary door. “Doctor Fisher,’’ he called out to the old man, “please check Joseph out.”

“Suspended?” Joe was gaining his strength and wits back. His mind was clearing up. “Do you know what those pigs were gonna do to him?”

“I can’t prove anything, Joe. Do you understand me? And the guards here, they’re like a band of brothers. I fire three of them, and the rest will leave. What then? Winter is here. No other man in his right mind is gonna volunteer to come up here and work―”