by Nancy Howard
As Henry makes his way into town followed by Hogg and his gang, people do notice right a way. They run to tell Sheriff Case, that Bailey Hogg and his gang are in town.
“Hogg,” the sheriff says, in astonishment. “Billy are you sure?”
“Yep he's right sheriff,” the store owner, who followed Billy Halladay into the sheriff's office says.
Sheriff Case is now all ears and so are his two deputies. John and Gavin are also in the office. They have brought Jones in and had him deposited in jail.
“Where did you see them,” the sheriff asks?
“They're at the bank. They rode in behind Henry Baker's buggy,” the store keeper said.
Then sheriff looks at John, and tells him he wants him and Gavin along to help.
But before John could answer the sheriff, telling him they were in. Gavin bolts out the door, and heads up the street toward the bank, alone. John is aware of how much he hates Hogg and his gang, because Logan has told him. John rushes out the door going as fast as he can, in an effort to catch up to Gavin.
The sheriff has instructed Billy and the store keeper to get everyone off of the street, as he and his deputies file out of the jailhouse, running to catch up to John and Gavin.
“What are you doin,” John assk? Catching up to him.
Gavin doesn't immediately answer him then does, “I'm going to kill that sonofabitch Hogg, that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna torture the bastard till he begs for his life.”
“Well ya ain't gonna do it all by yourself,” John says.” Gavin looks at him, just as the sheriff and his deputies join them.
Hogg looks out the bank window and sees Gavin, John, the sheriff, and his deputies approaching quickly toward them. As the men exited the jail they heard gunshots coming form the bank, causing them to quicken their pace. Hogg and his gang killed Henry and the teller Josh.
Doak and the others have seen them coming too.
“Looks like we gonna have some company, and some fun boys,” Hogg says.
Just as they get into his sights he takes the butt of his rifle and breaks the bank windows takes aim, and starts shooting. He is quickly joined by the others, as they all opened fire at the same time
A barrage of gunfire erupts from the bank, with bullets raining everywhere on Front Street in Rio Doso. People are running for their lives in panic. Gavin, John, the sheriff and his deputies try to return fire, but Hogg and his gang are shooting at them relentlessly, causing Gavin, John and the others to try to find cover as quick as possible. It is too late. Gavin goes down as does the sheriff and one deputy. John gets wounded in the shoulder, as he and the remaining deputy take cover behind a horse trough.
Then Hogg and his gang exit the bank guns blazing away as they take the money they stole and head for the saloon. John is pinned down as is the other deputy, who has a hand wound. They get off a few shots at Hogg, killing Eli, and the half-breed. But the gunfire from Hogg and his gang is still fierce, John cannot get to Gavin, who is lying lifeless in the street, along with the sheriff and the deputy.
Hogg and his gang get to the saloon and enter, people hear more gunshots from inside, Then it is quiet. After a few seconds the towns people cautiously come out of hiding, to assist their lawmen, who are down. Doc Burroughs is among those that comes out to aid them. He walks over to Gavin, “he's alive. Get him to my office fast.” He tells them, then he walks over to the sheriff and the deputy, and pronounces them dead. John is also headed for the doc's. The other deputy gets on his horse and rides out of town as fast as he can.
Then doc sees Billy Halladay and calls him over, “Billy come here quick!”
Billy runs over to Doc Burroughs, “What ya need doc,” he asks, frantically?
“Listen to me Billy. I need you to ride out to Sanderson's Hill, as fast as you can get there, and get Logan. You need to stay out of Hoggs sight as best as you can. Now go!”
Billy runs off and mounts his horse and rides west and out of town, fast.
Hogg and his gang in the meantime are hold up in the saloon, where they killed the five people inside. Hogg sees Billy ride out of town. He wants to kill him before he gets away, but can't get a clear shot at him, because he his hidden from his view by buildings.
Hogg looks out the saloon doors and laughs, watching the commotion that is going on down in front of the bank. As people scramble to help the wounded men to safety. He knows that there is no way that he, Doak, and Charlie can be stopped by anyone in the town, now that the sheriff and his men are dead, or shot up. The town is at his mercy whenever he wants to start shooting again, and he knows it.
CHAPTER TWENTY- SEVEN
Logan is in her office working, when she hears someone frantically yelling Miss Logan! Miss Logan! She looks up and out the window, and sees a rider coming hard and fast toward the house. She wonders what is going, on and quickly gets up from her work and goes outside, followed by Catherine, who has also heard the man. Logan and Catherine quickly recognize Billy Halladay.
“Miss Logan! Miss Logan you got to come quick,” he exclaims again! Out of breath and dismounting his horse before it comes to a stop, then running up onto the porch.
“What is it Billy? What's going on?”
“You got to come quick Miss Logan, they's been a terrible shootin' in town,” he says.
“What? Who shot who? Slow down Billy and tell me.”
“It's Hogg and his gang they came into town with Henry, and they robbed the bank and shot up the place. They shot Mr. Sanderson, the sheriff, his deputies, and Mr. Gavin in a horrible gunfight.”
She begins to shake and shudder at hearing this news from Billy, that Gavin and John had been shot.
Catherine is screaming, “no, no!” Logan grabs her and hugs her tightly, and she hugs Logan back, as the two women try to comfort each other upon hearing this news. Coping with the possibility, that Gavin and John both could be dead.
Logan releases Catherine and turns to go into the house. Then she stops suddenly and turns to Billy and asks, “Are they alive? Gavin and John I mean.”
“I don't know, as soon as the shootin' stopped Doc Burroughs told me to come out here and get you. I came here as fast as I could.”
“Thanks Billy, she says. Then she turns to George who heard Billy coming, and is standing next to her. She tells him to saddle Warrior and bring him up to the house, as quick as he can.
Numb from what she's just heard, she goes into the house and into her office followed by Catherine. She reaches up on the coat tree and pulls down her gun and puts it on, tying the holster to her leg. Then she pulls the gun out, and rolls the chamber to see if it is loaded. She reaches over on the gun rack and picks up her other pistol, loads it, and tucks it in the back of her britches.
“Catherine sets down in one of the big chairs and looks at Logan, she's completely dazed from what she just heard, “what are you gonna be able to do Logan? I don't want you getting killed too.”
“I ain't gonna get killed. Not if I can help it. And we're not sure they're dead. Billy said he didn't know.” she says, quietly.
“I'm coming with you?”
Logan starts to say no to her, but she can see it would be useless to argue with her, then says, “okay I'll go down and have them hitch up the buggy. Wait here.”
“Before you go will you do one more thing for me?”
“What's that,” Logan asks?
“Get me that scatter gun and plenty of shells. I ain't shot a gun in years, but I sure as hell will today if I have too.”
Logan gets Catherine the gun and shells and then goes to get the buggy and Warrior. Ten minutes later the two women hop into the buggy with Logan driving, and head for Rio Doso, as fast as they can get there.
LOGAN LEAVES THE MAIN road into town and circles around behind Front Street, and parallels it on the south. She knows that the Bank and the saloon are on the east end of town, and experience has taught her, that Hogg is probably in one of those two places. She continues diving the buggy down towar
d the end to Depot Street, the short street on the west end of town that leads to the train station. There she decides to turn onto Front Street, where she's at the opposite end of town where the bank and saloon are. It is also where Doc Burroughs office is located, right next to the undertaker.
Logan stops the buggy and gets out quickly, then runs around and helps Catherine down. Catherine grabs the shotgun and shells, as the two women go up onto the boarded walk, and rush into the doc's office. They enter with the hope that Gavin and John are still alive.
Doc Burroughs hears the door open and comes out of his back room, and he sees Logan first and Catherine as she closes the door behind her. Both women have fear written all over their faces, standing in front of him.
“Doc,” Logan exclaims! Putting her hand over her mouth, starting to cry, fearing he was about to tell her the worst, that Gavin was dead.
He looks at her and says, “he's alive Logan, but barely. I've done all I can for him. He took two shots, one to the chest and the other to his abdomen. I got em both out, and patched him up as best as I could. But he's lost a hell of a lot of blood, it's gonna be touch and go for a long while, for him.”
“Will he pull through? Is he gonna live?”
“I can't answer that right now Logan, I wish I could. He's hurt real bad. Real bad. He's a fighter, and all we can do is pray and hope for the best at this point.”
“Can I see him,” she questions him? Tears and running down her cheeks.
“Yes but just for a few seconds. Christine my nurse is in there with him.”
Logan goes into see Gavin, and Catherine asks, “John?”
“Oh he's in here, and is in much better shape. He took a shot to his shoulder, and all he needs to do right now is rest. He's fully awake, and you can go on in. He's across the hall from Gavin.
Logan walks into the room where Gavin is, crying as she walks over to his bedside. Christine looks at her and tells Logan, “just a few minutes.” Then she leaves the room.
Logan just stands there with her hand over her mouth. She's numb, she can't think. All she can do is feel. She wipes the tears away only to have more form. She reaches for and holds Gavin's hand. It's lifeless. He's in a deep coma. Then she bends over and kisses him gently on the cheek, and says to him, “don't you die on me. We got to many plans to full fill, you and me do. You hear me Gavin Sloan.” Her voice is quivering with fear, knowing that he could die. She can think of nothing but him right now, even though she knows Rio Doso needs her.
“If you do die, what am I gonna do? I don't want to think about that. You can't die Gavin. You can't. I love you to much, you remember that wherever you are right now.” She whispers this softly into his ear. Then she just puts her head down by his side and cries, still holding onto his hand.
Then after a couple off minutes, nurse Christine comes back in and tells Logan that she needs to go. Logan understands, but she doesn't. Why can't she be there for Gavin? She thinks. But she does the nurse's bidding and leaves anyway, and goes out into the hall way, and sees Catherine talking to John in the room across the hall.
She walks in and goes over to John. Catherine has pulled up the chair in the room, as John reaches for Logan's hand. She's still crying.
“Come here girl,” he says, clasping his hand to hers, and pulling her toward him, as she lays her head on his big deep chest. He puts his huge left arm over her and hugs her tightly.
“Doc says he might die.” she says in a small voice, that is shrouded from crying.
“I know Logan, I heard.”
Catherine puts her one hand on Logan's back and holds onto her fee hand. Hugging Logan. They all say nothing, they are just quiet for several minutes. They are a family. Logan raises up slowly regaining her some of her composure, and wipes the remaining tears from her eyes.
“Did you see him go down,” she asks?
“Yeah I did. Hogg and his monsters had us pinned down so badly we couldn't get to him, and get him to safety. So he laid there and lost a lot of blood.”
“The sheriff?
“Dead. He got hit at the same time Gavin went down. They also killed Henry Baker and that poor bank teller Josh, and one of the deputies. I know Bill Chatfield wasn't there. I don't know where he is. Before I got hit, me and the other deputy killed two of them, the half-breed and that Eli Demp.”
“So there's three of them still here, alive?”
“Yeah when the shootin' stopped, I was scrambling along with some of the towns folk to get here to the doc's office. A couple of the men grabbed Gavin at about the same time and brought him in here.”
“Where's that other deputy? You know where he is?”
“No Logan I don't. Word had it he got on his horse and left town in a hurry.”
“Did you happen to see who actually shot Gavin.”
“It was Hogg for sure. He's a one man killin' machine Logan, he makes Duke Wymer look like a saint.”
Logan hears that, and she knows Wymer was not saint.
“What are you gonna do Logan,” Catherine asks her, fearfully?
“Do what I can to stop em, I guess. I have too.”
Then John grabs her by her arm, and pulls her up to him, “don't you go off and get yourself killed girl.” Catherine and I love you.... You have a family now you know.”
“I know that. I love you guys too,” she says to him squeezing his hand tightly. “And that's why I have to do this. It's this family I have to defend today.” Then she turns to Catherine who is crying, and the two women hug each other tightly.
“Don't do this Logan. For God sake's! Please!" Catherine, pleads with her.
“I'll be okay. I know how to do this. Remember?” She says, looking at the woman who is now a mother to her.
The store keeper and several other men are there in the doorway rifles in hand, one of the men says, “let us help you Logan.”
“Not right now, I know what I'm doing. Besides if I go down, it'll be up to you guys to do this. There's no sense in you all getting killed right now, especially with me here. That bastard Hogg has nearly killed my Gavin, and shot John, and now I'm gonna kill him. Do you know where they are?”
“The saloon,” one man says.
“I’ll take care of this,” She says. She kisses John and Catherine and leaves the room and the doc's office.
“John stop her. Please!” Catherine pleads, loudly. Then she just sets back down in the chair not knowing what to do, with her hands over her face, she cries a deep fearful cry. Fearing the worst, that Logan might be killed.
“Logan!” John yells after her. "Damn pigheaded girl." He comments, half audible, knowing that she's just like him.
It's to late Logan has already gone out the door.
After she's gone John motions the men standing in the hallway to come in.
“What do you want us to do John,” the storekeeper asks?
“Listen I want you boys to follow her, and back her up”
“But John she said...,” one man puts in.
“I know I heard her, and never mind what she said. Catherine and I have lost two girls in our lifetime. We don't want to loose her too. I don't want her to get killed if it can be avoided. So I want you boys to go out the back, go behind the buildings, and get in position in the stores behind her across from the saloon, and give her cover. Now go.”
The men quickly left, going out the back of Doc Burroughs office, and begin making their way behind the buildings to help Logan.
CHAPTER TWENTY- EIGHT
Logan exits the doctor's office and stops momentarily on the walkway. She looks up the street, before she begins her walk alone, down Front Street to face Hogg and the remanents of his gang. Everyone in town is watching her. Over the past several month's they have come to know her as Miss Logan, the young woman entrusted by John to run Sanderson’s Hill Ranch. She and Gavin Sloan, and their love affair, are an item, the talk of the town and area. The townsfolk though, seems to have all but forgotten that she's a bounty hunter, and thi
s is what she can still do. Go after those who do harm to others, even if it means doing it alone. Even if it means getting hurt or even killed herself. This has happened today. Hogg and his gang have harmed those who mean the most to Logan. And she is putting herself in harms way to avenge what Hogg has done to Gavin, to John, and to the town.
Everyone knows Gavin has been hurt, badly hurt, and is laying near death over at Docs Burroughs' office. He was nearly killed by Hogg and his gang, as was John. They killed the sheriff and one of his deputies, leaving the other to flea for his life.
On her way as she walks, Logan knows how difficult this will be. She knows Hogg and his gang are the worst killers she's ever faced. She just heard John say, Hogg makes Duke Wymer look like a saint. She knows that today she will be tested. She will have to call on all of her strength and knowledge she learned as a bounty hunter. She must survive and not get killed herself. She must survive for Gavin, John and Catherine. She must kill Bailey Hogg. As she walks, she pulls her gun out of its holster and spins the chamber one more time, checking to make sure it is fully loaded. Then she spins it back into the holster in one motion, without stopping. Logan is totally unaware that she is not alone in this fight, that she has help.
Approaching the area of the saloon slowly, Logan decides to look for cover from danger. Hogg has watched her walk toward him since she came into his view. He is peering over the swinging doors. Charlie Demp and Doak Walker, are watching her too, from the windows of the saloon. They killed the bartender upon entering, plus two saloon girls, and two patrons. Logan knows they are watching her, so she decides to take cover behind a column on the boarded walkway across the street and next to the jail.
“Who ya reckon she is Bailey,” Charlie asks?
“Don't know. They's one way to find out.”
Hogg yells out to Logan, “Who the hell are you woman?”
Logan is safely behind the wooden column now, and yells back, “Logan Kincaid. You Bailey Hogg?” She yells back, pulling her gun from its holster and cocking the hammer.
