Good Constable

Another weary fourteen hours
Spent scouring this ragged patch of so-called town
And no end in sight
I told the boys, "Call it a night,"
And hit the pub
Two dozen years upon the force
Have taught me how to read a man better than most
The man at the bar had a story of his own
And an itch to tell

"A round for the room," I said
"And put it on my tab"
We'd been a fortnight here in town
And the barman recognized my badge
I tipped my glass
All seemingly offhand
At the gentleman

He said, "I thank you for the drink
And beg your pardon for my meager company
I can't say as I have very much to say
At least not of late"
I smiled to put him at his ease
Explained my own presence in town indifferently
"I'm on the trail of a pair of vicious fiends
Who absconded east"

"I've heard the tale," he said
"The press does love it so
They say they vanished hide and hair
And left their families in the ground"
I swallowed back my bitter pride
And allowed that it was true

"But come now, that's not what's on your mind"
He said that I was more than right
"Good constable, you cannot know
How sorely I've been wronged
By my own flesh and blood
My vile and most ungrateful son
Ran away to join the carnival last month
His path went cold in the forest by my home
Now I am all alone"

And at that moment Providence displayed its hand
The answer so unknowingly
Delivered by this wretched man
I scarce remember my good-byes
I was in the street so fast
I threw wide the hostel doors and shouted up my men
"We'll need provisions for the road
And all the horses you can get
I know where our quarry may have gone
We've a carnival to catch"