Rachel looked up as Cody rode into the
yard. She stopped hanging up the laundry and walked up to meet him,
drying her hands on her skirt. "Cody? What are you doing back? Has
something happened?" Cody quickly dismounted and hitched his
horse to the fence by the house. "Well, yes," he replied and then he looked at Rachel slightly embarrassed. "Rachel, I think I need some help."
Ten minutes later Rachel emerged from
the bunkhouse with a bundle, carefully wrapped in paper in her arms.
She handed the parcel over to Cody. "Lou's sure about this?" "You know Lou - she refused to stay
away. Dressing as a girl is the only way she can be here, I suppose." "But the risk of her being recognised
¾" "Guess she's ready to take that chance
¾ after all it was her idea." "I suppose so." "You promise to tell the others when
they're back from their chores?" "I will. Will you head straight into
town?" "Yes. Colter should be there by now.
We hoped that he took Buck straight to Teaspoon." "I hope so too," Rachel agreed as she raised her hand to waive goodbye as Cody took off again.
Jimmy and Lou waited impatiently a few
miles outside Sweetwater for Cody's return with Lou's dress. Jimmy
was sitting down, wearily watching Lou pacing before him. "He'll be here, Lou, stop fretting." "I'm not fretting," she retorted,
but then she realised that he was right and with a sigh she sat down
next to him. "I don't like this, that's all,"
she mumbled as she placed her head in her hands and stared out over
the plains. "Well, if Colter took him to Sweetwater,
then at least Teaspoon will be there," Jimmy said. "And?" "Damn it Lou, you know Teaspoon won't
let anything happen to him." "If he has anything to say about,
yes. What if the town decides differently?" "What can they do?" "Replace him? Like they did to Sam,
remember?" Jimmy looked at her, suddenly feeling
uneasy. He had forgotten about that. The knowledge that Teaspoon could
be replaced sent a shiver down his spine and he turned to Lou. "You don't really think they'd do
that, do you? I mean, who would be the sheriff then? None of them
in the town's council are exactly marshalling material." "I don't know," Lou shrugged.
"That man that replaced Sam weren't exactly what you call a marshal
either, now was he?" "Why do you have to be so pessimistic,
Lou," Jimmy complained. "Now you've got me worried as well." "Sorry, Jimmy," Lou sighed.
"It's just that ¾ well, after managing to keep hidden
for so long time, it feels so wrong to know that it was all in wane." "Don't say that Lou, there's still
a chance that Teaspoon and the others had found anything that will
free Buck." "You really believe that?" Lou
looked disbelievingly at him and Jimmy sighed. "No." They sat in silence until the sounds of
hooves brought them to their feet. Cody halted his horse close to
them and handed Lou the parcel ha had received from Rachel. "What took you so long?" Lou
muttered as she took the parcel. "Had to explain everything to Rachel,"
Cody explained as Lou disappeared behind a small shrubbery to change. "Did she know anything about Colter
returning?" Jimmy asked. Cody shook his head. "She hadn't
heard anything, but she hadn't been into town. Ike and Noah are still
following Ambrose in hope of finding something and Kid took the last
run. Rachel promised to tell them should they get back to the station." "Let's go." Lou emerged from
the shrubbery dressed in her old blue dress and her boy's outfit wrapped
in her bedroll. She was sitting in her saddle even before Jimmy and
Cody who just looked at each other before they joined her. "Let's find out what has happened," Jimmy stated and together they continued towards Sweetwater in high speed.
"What do you mean, asking for a judge?" Teaspoon's voice could be heard even to the two weary riders that were occupying the bench outside the Marshal's office. It was obvious that it was the visit from the town's council that had created the aggravation. Noah shrugged at the questioning look from Ike. There was no point in them getting involved. He was quite sure that their presence would only cause more tension than anything else. Ike looked doubtingly at him, but made no move to get up. Instead he resumed his original position and stared out over the street. He and Noah had done their best to intimidate
Emery to make a fault or to disclose something that might free Buck,
but so far they had been unsuccessful. Ike was tired of it, but he
didn't like giving up either. The only reason they were sitting down
was the simple fact that Emery had gone into the saloon early that
day and hadn't returned yet. Having nothing else to do, Ike and Noah
took up positions outside Teaspoon's office to keep an eye open for
when Emery emerged again. They had been sitting there when some of
the members of the town's council with Thompkins at their head had
marched into Teaspoon's office. It wasn't long until Teaspoon's voice
reached them. "I don't think you understand, marshal,"
Carter, the lawyer, said. "You don't think I understand? Don't
you think I see where you heading with this? You're trying to judge
a man without giving him a right to defend him." "We just want the judge to look at
the facts of the case, that's all." "Facts, bah. You're only interested
in making your damn poster legal. You're scared that somebody will
criticize the fact that you sent out a wanted poster without any authority.
And you know as well as I that if a judge considers it legal there
ain't nobody that will give Buck the benefit of the doubt. You might
as well collect the posse at once." "You have to admit that it is suspicious that the boy disappeared just after the murder," Thompkins added. "And everybody know that he threatened
to kill Craven." "That doesn't mean that I approve
of a court hearing without a suspect." "It's perfectly legal, marshal,"
Carter said haughty. "The judge will simply define the need for
a court procedure. And since he is heading to Blue Creek, he will
pass us anyway." Ike and Noah exchanged glances as the heated argument continued. They knew just how stubborn Teaspoon could be when he wanted too, and they grinned at each other at the thought that the council surely would have to budge to Teaspoon. Half an hour later, they weren't so sure as the town's only lawyer, a newcomer by the name of Theodore Carter, persisted in his case by using numerous legal terms and several other words that were new to both Ike and Noah. Ike grew more worried as the voices inside were lowered and only a few phrases reached them. Not even Teaspoon could fight what he didn't understand, and Ike feared that maybe it was Teaspoon that would hold the loosing hand in the end. He had no more than thought it, before the council marched outside, ignoring them. From the look on their faces, Ike suspected that they hadn't won the word battle, but then he wasn't sure they had lost it either. Ike was right in his assumptions, the council had left without having convinced the marshal and Teaspoon had returned to stare at the desk before him. There were a lot of papers, documents that once had been part of the life of Thomas Craven and which he had been searching to find any solution to the problem before him. But they had not held any answers. Nor had the constant watch over Ambrose Emery given any result and Teaspoon was at his wit's end. He knew that Buck probably was in need of medical care and he and Lou couldn't stay in hiding forever. And with the new threat from the town's council about asking a judge to rule on the suspicion was the last straw. Teaspoon was the first to admit that he
wasn't well versed in legal matters, but from what the lawyer had
said it could pretty well figure out what had happened. The town's
council had realised that their wanted poster lacked the legal confirmation
and should Buck or Lou be killed because of it, they could loose their
positions. And with the election for the council close, they were
now doing everything to make sure the town knew that they were doing
all they could to bring justice. He sighed. He had to find something
before the judge that the council had sent for arrived. There had
to be something. It just had to be. He contemplated going through
the documents again when the door opened and Noah and Ike stepped
inside. He just had to throw one look at their faces to know that
they had nothing new. Still he had to ask. "Find anything?" "Nothing, Teaspoon," Noah sighed
as he sat down. "If Ambrose Emery killed Craven, he's doing a
hell of a job keeping it hidden." "Damn," Teaspoon muttered and
leaned back. <The documents didn't help anything?>
Ike asked pointing to the heap of papers on the desk. Teaspoon shook his head. "Nothing,"
he said. Silence settled in the small office as
none of the once present knew what to say. Finally Ike looked up. <What are we going to do?> he asked,
looking at the others, hoping that one of them might come up with
an answer. "I don't know, Ike," Teaspoon
admitted. Ike and Noah looked at each other and
then Noah cleared his throat. "What did they say?" he asked. "Who?" "The council." "You saw them?" "We were outside. They didn't look
too happy when they left." "They wanted to have a judge rule
on the legality of their poster," Teaspoon sighed. Noah and Ike frowned. "What does that mean?" Noah
asked and placed himself on the edge of the desk. "The damn town's council decided
to have a court hearing to establish the guilt assessment. They claim
that it is not their intention to judge anybody or to hold a court,
but merely a hearing. And that means we got trouble," Teaspoon
replied grimly. Ike rose and agitated moved his hands. "I know, Ike," Teaspoon said
as he held up his hands to wave off the furious signs that Ike demonstrated.
"Ain't anything we can do about, except finding proof that Buck
didn't do it." They were still contemplation the matter when they heard riders outside the office. Before Lou could jump down from her horse
in her normal manner, she found Jimmy more or less lifting her down
since she, a bit unused to the skirt, was on her way to reveal more
of her legs that what was considered proper and all. "You have to remember to act as a
girl," he hissed into her ear as he helped her to the ground. "I know," she murmured back, eager to get into the office to find out if Buck really was there. If he was not, then maybe he was left somewhere out in the wilderness and then he would be in very bad shape by now. She frowned t Jimmy and was the first
one to burst through the door interrupting Ike, Noah and Teaspoon. "Lou?" Teaspoon was the first
to recognise her and he stood up, looking baffled at the girl before
him. "Lou, what are you doing
here?" Before he could get an answer Ike stepped
up to the Lou, who was looking around with a bewildered look on her
face as her eyes didn't find what she was looking for. <Where's Buck?> he asked with confusion
written plainly in his face, a confusion that slowly turned into fear
as he saw the panic in Lou's face. He grabbed her by the shoulder
and shook her when she didn't reply, until Noah grabbed him and moved
him away from her. "Take it easy, Ike!" he said
before he turned to Lou as the others stared at Jimmy and Cody, who
had entered after seeing to their horses, including Lou's. "Where is he?" Noah asked as
he Ike impatiently shrugged off his hands. Teaspoon found his voice as well and stared
at Jimmy. "What are you doing here?" he ask the three newcomers
before turning to Jimmy. "Where have you been Jimmy?" Before they received any reply, however,
Lou stopped staring around her. "Isn't he here?" "Who?" Teaspoon asked, still
in a state of bafflement. "Buck," Lou said with exasperation. The chaos that erupted after this comment is easier imagined than described. Ike rushed forward as if he was about to attack Lou, eager to make sure his questioning hands would be visible for Lou. Teaspoon rose from the table, causing the papers on his desk to scatter on the floor and his chair fall backwards with a bang. Noah fought to stay on his feet after being pushed by Ike, and after a few seconds balancing he was stepped on one of the papers from the desk and fell backwards. Jimmy had rushed forward at Ike's sudden
rush, as if to save Lou from the frenetically signalling Ike, only
to end up with his nose violently colliding with Lou's back as she
moved away from Ike. Cody was the only one that remain calm, but he
was so busy watching what was happening that he failed to hear the
footsteps approaching on the outside. When the door was flanged open
he managed to avoid it only with a hair's-breadth. "What is this? Have I missed the party?" The teasing voice and grinning face of Colter caused everything to stop. Nothing moved except a few papers that slowly sailed through the air to finally settle on the floor. Noah slowly got to his feet and Jimmy
backed away from Lou, tenderly holding his nose. Lou just stared at
Colter as if she hadn't seen him before. It was Teaspoon that finally
found his voice. "What do you want, Colter?" Before Colter could reply, two more persons entered the room, which made it appear very crowded. Kid stopped in his tracks as he laid eyes on Lou, dressed up as a girl. While he stood there with his mouth wide-open, he suddenly became very aware that Jimmy was standing next to her, grimacing wildly at him. Not knowing what to think, but seeing the presence of Colter, made him realise that now was maybe not the best time to question Lou's appearance. Instead he nodded his greeting and then moved aside as Thompkins voice was heard before his familiar frame filled up the door. "Marshal, those damn hooligans have
been at it again! I was gone for two minutes and they've broken one
of the back window and stole," Thompkins silenced when he saw
the assembled crowd. "What is this?" Teaspoon roamed.
"This is a marshal office, not the stage coach waiting room!"
He wanted desperately to get a hold of the situation and at his words
the riders backed away, leaving room to the other two, Colter, who
still grinningly stood relaxed. When calm had settled in the room,
Teaspoon turned to Colter, as he still wondered what the man did there.
"What do you want?" he asked again, not seeing the terrified
face of Lou. Not aware of the reasons for Colter's presence and hearing
some rumour of him heading out of town with Jimmy, had convinced Teaspoon
that the man was there for some sort of private matter with Jimmy.
In fact, he had been rather upset with the boy, as he needed him to
help Buck. He was still upset, but had decided that he would have
to have his serious discussion with Jimmy later. When Colter pulled
the reward paper from his pocket, he was just as surprised as the
others, with exception of Lou, Jimmy and Cody. Cody moaned audibly
and sank down on the nearest chair as Jimmy's face took on a grim
look. Lou just stared angrily at Colter. "That's easy - I'm here for my money,"
Colter replied and handed over the document. Teaspoon took it and although he didn't have to, he still threw a quick glance at it. And true enough; there was Buck's name right in front of him, followed by Lou's name later. A quick glance over to where Lou and Cody stood confirmed that they had been aware of it and he also realised why Lou was dressed as a girl. Thompkins had seen the document as well,
and quickly walked out the door. Teaspoon had no illusion of where
he was heading. He suspected that he would have the members of the
town's council outside in a few minutes. But still there were a few
questions that needed an answer. "Where are the prisoner then?"
he asked, and placed the poster on his desk. He had no intention of
giving it back to the bounty hunter. In fact, if he could he would
like to collect all of hem, since he knew that if your name had been
seen on a wanted poster it could haunt a man for a very long time.
In fact, he knew it better than most. He didn't wish for Buck to be
forced to always look over his shoulder in fear of somebody looking
for quick money. The boy was already exposed as it was. "Well," Colter drawled as he
pulled another paper from his pocket, "considering that I was
followed," he flashed a flirting smile at Lou, which made Kid
frown, "I decided that it was safer to leave my prisoner in Blue
Creek. This here is a note from the sheriff over there to verify that
I handed him in. However, he was reluctant to hand over any money.
So here I am." "And you will not get a cent out
of me either," Teaspoon replied. "This poster wasn't issued
by the legal authorities, so you've done all this in vain." Colter faced clouded, but before he could
spoke, the door flew open and Carter stepped in. "But we will," he stated pompous,
and the smile returned to Colter's face. "Not in here" Teaspoon retorted.
"What you're doing ain't legal, Carter," he added frostily.
"You said it yourself earlier." "Well, things have changed, hasn't
they? Now there's no need for a pre-judgement. Not when the real trial
can take place - I assume that not even you can argue that, marshal." Teaspoon stared at the man. He had never
liked the pompous lawyer that had replaced old Willard, when the old
man succumbed to his own weaknesses and submitted himself to the bottle
and its destructive ways. The man had bettered himself slightly when
defending Sam a few months back, and as far as Teaspoon knew he know
taught law in one of the smaller universities further east. It was
the perfect solution for him - far away from the pressure of court
proceedings but still active in his field of profession. But it had
left Sweetwater with an ambitious young lawyer, that apparently had
other goals apart from providing defence in case of court proceedings.
The man held political ambitions and Teaspoon doubted very much that
he would remain in Sweetwater for long. And in the short time he had
been in Sweetwater he had managed to get on Teaspoon's nerves more
than once, causing Teaspoon to develop a deep resentment towards the
man. It didn't helped that one month earlier he had managed to set
a well-known gunrunner free by some legal nonsense. "What are you talking about?"
he snarled. "Well, the suspect has been apprehended
by the law, and, well, since the marshal of Blue Creek didn't have
any problem with this, it's legal. The marshal is obviously holding
him because he's suspected of the crime." "Damn it," he said between his
teeth. "That's not what you said earlier!" "Of course not, but that was under
different circumstances." For once Teaspoon found himself without
words and he vowed silently that one day he would be able to shove
the lawyer's words down his throat. Even since he was a patient man,
Teaspoon easily loosed his temper in discussions with the man. For
every time he encountered the man he had the urge to turn to violence
- the man was as slippery as an eel and nothing you said seemed to
get through to him. "The town's council expect that the
prisoner's is delivered to Sweetwater in due time before the court
hearing. I've already arranged for a message to the judge. If you
don't have any objections, I could take it upon myself to select jury
members. After all, with my legal expertise, I think I'm the most
suitable, since you will be needed to bring the prisoner here." "Now hold on a moment - there are
no proof that Buck is guilty of anything!" "Of course not, that's for the court
to decide, but he is a suspect." "Hey, I'm not interested in all this,"
Colter interrupted. "All I want is my money." "You don't deserve any money,"
Lou hissed and Colter laughed lightly. "I'm sorry for last night,"
he said with a teasing smile. "Maybe I can make it up to you
by dinner - if your boyfriend doesn't object that is?" Colter
grinned at Cody, while Cody managed to look s lightly embarrassed
under the hard stare he got from Kid as Colter continued. " And
may I say that you could choose your company with a little more care,
miss." He added before turning to Carter. "So what about
the money?" Before Carter could reply, Teaspoon decided
to take a hand. "You better take your dirty business
elsewhere, Carter, or I ain't responsible for what might happen." "We'll take care of that in my office,"
he said and with the rest of the council he walked out. Before he
reached the door he turned to Teaspoon. "I hope I can trust you to do your
duty, marshal," was his departing words. Colter touched the brim of his hat in one last flirtatious gesture towards Lou before he followed them out. "What are you going to do?"
It was Jimmy that first broke the silence that had ruled the room
since the men's departure. Teaspoon looked around at the riders,
each of them looking expectantly at him. He wished that he could tell
them that there was something he could do, that things weren't so
bad as they thought, but the truth was different. There were nothing
he could do, at least not for the moment and things were definitely
bad. He was well aware that the town's council had a good chance to
get him, if not fired, then at least suspended, especially if they
could convince a judge that he would not act unbiased. And right now,
he's best move was to follow the law and not give anybody any chance
to blame him for not being law-abiding. It wouldn't help Buck none
if he was thrown out of office. He just had to make the riders understand
that. "Before we do anything," he
stated, "I would like to know what happened here? Where have
you been, Jimmy? And why are Lou wearing a dress?" Knowing that Teaspoon wouldn't be content
until he had the complete story, Lou begun telling him of everything
that had happened since Cody found her and Buck. Then Jimmy continued
telling them why he had followed Colter. When he silenced, Kid couldn't
hold back. "Why did Colter call Cody Lou's boyfriend?
None of you said anything about that." "We had to have a reason for why
Cody was returning," Lou replied harshly. "Don't change
the subject, Kid, we've got worse things to worry about. What are
we going to do about Buck?" <Yes,> Ike agreed. <What about
Buck?> "We'll take one thing at a time,"
Teaspoon suggested. "Somebody has to get Buck back and to see
a doctor. From what you said Lou, he can be pretty bad?" Lou hesitated. "Maybe," she
said. "He was getting better, but without that tea and proper
care…" She shrugged. "Then getting back Buck will be our
first priority," Teaspoon decided. "Rachel and I will use
the wagon to get over to Blue Creek." <I'll come too.> Ike signed. "No. I want all of you to stay here.
There's no need for you to go." Ike stared angrily at him, but Teaspoon
just shook his head. Ike turned to the others, but none of them seemed
to have the heart to challenge Teaspoon's decision and Ike sank, defeated,
down on the closest chair. Teaspoon felt a tug in his heart at the
young man's open despair, but he didn't want any trouble in Blue Creek,
nor did he want to attract any attention. The fewer that went the
better. And Rachel was his first choice if Buck was badly hurt. Besides
he could count on her to keep calm, which was more than he could say
about his riders. "Then what?" Cody asked. "What
happens when you get back here?" Teaspoon had dreaded the question and
looked uncomfortably at his riders. "I'll have to lock him up,"
he admitted and held up his hand to stop the debate that he knew would
be coming. "Before you start yelling at me, let me just state
a few things." When the riders had calmed somewhat he continued.
"The fact is that there ain't much I can do - if I don't want
to loose my job. And before you say anything, no I don't value my
job more than Buck's safety, but I think he'll be much better off
with me as the marshal than anybody else. Secondly, the council still
have to get a judge over here, and by that time I hope we'll find
something to clear Buck's name." "And if we don't?" Noah asked
pessimistic. "Then we deal with it then,"
Teaspoon replied. "Right now I think Buck will be much safer
right here, behind bars, at least until this whole mess has been cleared
up." The others looked doubtfully at him, but
nobody objected. There just wasn't much to say. Buck had already been
arrested and any attempt to hide him again would only lead to that
more of them would get into trouble. Teaspoon's approach was the sensible
one - although none of them felt that it was right. Ike realised it
too and without a word, he rose from his place and walked out, slamming
the door behind him. Teaspoon bit his lip and turned to Noah. He didn't
have to ask as Noah already was on is way out. "I'll keep an eye on him," he
promised before he left. When he had left silence settled in the
office for a few seconds while each rider contemplated the situation. "What do you want us to do?"
Kid asked finally. "Kid, you and Noah are going to be
deputised. I trust you to keep an eye on that council, especially
Carter, and make sure that he'll lay low for a while, before he's
turn this town into a damn legal circus." Kid frowned. "We'll do our best,
Teaspoon, you know that, but…" "That's all I ask. I trust you and Noah to keep a cool head in all of this." He turned to the others. "Jimmy…" "I know," Jimmy replied. "You
want me to continue to talk to the boy." "Yes. And you better start building
up his trust again - you've been gone for some time." "It wasn't my fault, Teaspoon,"
Jimmy objected hotly. "When Colter showed up I had no other option
than to follow him!" "I ain't faulting you," Teaspoon stated, "but it is important that we get the boy to tell the truth - he couldn't have seen Buck and his father." The last sentence was said with more security then Teaspoon felt. The truth was that he still wasn't sure if Buck had been there or not. He was sure that Buck wouldn't have killed the man in cool blood, but if he was forced to defend himself? But still there was too many things that didn't matched. Buck wouldn't just have left in that case. He would have returned and told somebody, Teaspoon was sure of it. Buck would never have hid or run away from something he'd done. It just wasn't in him and Teaspoon knew that it had to do with how he was brought up. So there had to be another answer and all he had to do was find it. Before it was too late. |
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Part
25
