The Secret Saddle_Anna Troy's Emancipation

by Dani Larsen

  "Come on. We'll figure something out. You might have to leave town and lay low for a while. I'm just afraid since you mentioned the old sheriff that you might be suspected of his murder."

  "Sorry, Jude, I guess I should have kept my mouth shut."

  "Yeah!" Jude murmured.

  Jude helped Sam get to his horse, all the while thinking about what they were going to do now that Sam had been seen. He got Sam on his horse, and they were headed back toward the main road when Jude figured out what he was going to do.

  "Hold up for a minute, Sam, I've got an idea."

  Sam turned around and in the dim light he could see that Jude was holding his rifle aimed directly at him. He started to reach for his pistol, and Jude shot him in the gut. Moonlight shone on the man's face and Jude saw his look of surprise as he fell off of his horse. Jude got off of his horse and walked over to him. When he saw that he was still breathing he shot him through the heart. Then he pulled him back into the deepest part of the woods, and covered him with some branches that he cut off of the tree under which he put him. Jude searched him, found a little money but nothing more. He laid Sam's gun down by his hand, and went through his saddle bags to make sure there was nothing that would connect the man to him. When he was finished, he took the man's horse down the road east toward Durkee and hit him on his flank sending him off in that direction. Jude rode his horse back to town, put him in the stable where everything was quiet, and went up the back stairs to his room.

  In the morning, he reported to work and when everything was quiet, he took the key to Sam's room out of the key slot, went to the dead man's room, and searched for the money he knew Sam had, and for anything that would lead back to him. He found two socks full of cash in the bottom drawer of the small dresser but nothing else. Leaving everything as he had found it, he went across the hall to his room, and put the two socks with his own money underneath the old bureau, locked his door, and went back to the front desk, just as a cowboy came to check in.

  Jude didn't think anyone would connect him with Sam, as the two had made it a point not to be friendly when they saw each other, and Jude had not hung out at Ruby's Saloon. They had only said "Hi" occasionally, when they saw each other in the hotel lobby or restaurant.

  He was nervous as he sat behind the front desk contemplating his next move. When he thought about what Mary Troy had said about the saddle, he didn't believe for a minute that she had given it to the Church Bazaar. Why would she keep it that long and suddenly give it away? It didn't make sense to him as the saddle itself was valuable. Where was it? Did they miss it while looking in the barn? He had to find that saddle. It was his legacy. He would figure it out. He had to. It was the only thing left from his father, and besides, it held all that gold that his father had died for.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  "Caution for All"

  John rode into Baker City the day after the break-in and told the police department what had happened the night before. George was on duty and upset at the news. The captain told him to go back out with his father-in-law and check out the surrounding area, even though the Troy Ranch was way out of their jurisdiction. He said he would copy the incident report that John had filled out, and give it to the sheriff of Baker County while they were gone.

  George and John rode out to the ranch, and George took statements from all of his in-laws. He found Mary's statement the most shocking.

  "It was one of Bane's men, I'd know that face anywhere. He has a beard now, and is a lot older, but those evil eyes are piercing just like his were, and unforgettable. How else would he know about Bane's saddle? That is what confirmed his identity to me. He went to prison for many years, but he must have gotten out. I thought someone would tell me when those men were let out of jail, but I've never heard anything."

  "Do you remember his name, Mary?"

  "I'm pretty sure his name was Sam. I don't remember his last name. I sure hope ye find him. I wonder if he had something to do with the old sheriff's death. John just told me that the sheriff had been found dead this spring. The man said the sheriff had told him that he gave me the saddle."

  "We thought the sheriff's death was an accident, because there was no evidence that anything else had happened. But it is certainly possible that there was more to what happened than we know. I'm going to go check out the stable and look in the woods. If one of them was shot, maybe there is some blood out there."

  John and Steve went out with George to check the stable. George was hoping that the two would-be-thieves had left some evidence somewhere. The family had left the barn as it had been the night before. The stack of hay bales had been knocked over and three of the bales were strewn across the ground. The pitchfork was still in the middle of the barn, and the horses still seemed skittish. The guns had been picked up the night before when they pursued the two men.

  There were footprints in the dirt leading into the woods, and the bushes were bent over where the two men had entered the forested area. George parted the bushes and could see where the men went by the broken bushes and the trampled ground. Then he bent over and looked at some spots on the ground that looked like blood. The spots were dark brown now, but George took his fingers and scooped up some of the dark brown dirt and sniffed it.

  "That's blood I think. It looks like you hurt one of them, Steve. Let's see if we can find more."

  They separated and checked all through the woods. George found a trail of blood and followed it. Steve and John found nothing else, so they followed George. Half an hour later, the blood drops in the dirt led them to some hoof prints. The prints only led them a few yards away to a huge pool of blood.

  "It looks like something happened here. Either he started bleeding more or he was shot again. George saw drag marks mixed with blood and followed them deep into the thick brush. They led to a small stream and George smelled the scent of rotting flesh. He saw what looked like a pile of leaves under a tree, and when he got closer he realized that branches from the tree were covering a body. John and Steve were following close behind him. George took the branches off of the pile and discovered the body. He recognized the man immediately.

  "It's Sam Miller, the bartender at Ruby's Saloon. He was the last man to see the sheriff the night he died. I'll be darned. He must have killed him."

  George looked the body over carefully and realized that he had been shot in the leg, and also shot twice more, once in the abdomen and once in the chest.

  "It looks like you shot him in the leg, Steve, but I think his partner shot him twice more. He must have realized that with Sam wounded it would be easy to find him, besides Mary acted like she knew who he was. The other guy didn't want Sam ratting on him, so he got rid of him. You are really lucky that they didn't hurt any of you. Those two are the type of men who don't care who gets hurt. I wonder if his partner is another member of Bane's gang that got out of jail."

  "Could be, George, why don't ye bring Anna and the kids out for dinner this weekend, and we can tell her what happened. I don't want those nightmares of hers starting up again."

  "She has been having a few of those darned dreams again lately anyway. I don't know why, but they started after we moved into town. I wonder what happened to his horse. I need to take him back into town somehow. I guess I could send the mortician out to pick him up, but would rather take him in with me."

  "I'm going to follow the horse's prints for a ways, George, maybe he stayed close. I'll be back."

  "Okay, Steve. I'll go with you." His father said.

  While George took notes on what he had found, John and Steve searched the surrounding area.

  "We found him. He looks like he is starving and has been running all night. Steve will take him back to the ranch, feed him, cool him down, and then we can bring him back here so ye can take the body into town on his back. Why don't ye come in and have lunch before ye head back?"

  "Okay."

  They went back to the ranch, and asked one of the ranch hands to take care of the horse
, while they went inside to have lunch. Mary was shocked to learn the man had been living in town.

  "George, ye had better look up the records on Bane and his friends, and see if ye can find out if the other gang members were let out too. I would hate to think there are more of these criminals hanging around Baker City."

  "Yes, I will, Mary. I'm going to bring Anna and the kids out this weekend. I'll let you tell her what happened. Maybe it will be easier for her to hear it from you."

  "I think that is a good idea, George. Why don't ye all plan on spending Saturday night, and we can go to mass together Sunday morning. I think we all need to pray that these monsters don't come back to bother any of us."

  After lunch, the three men took George's horse and the horse they found in the forest back in the woods to pick up the body. It took them half an hour to wrap the body in a blanket, put him across the saddle, and tie him to it. Then George got in his saddle, took the reins to the other horse, and led him out of the forest and down the road toward Baker City.

  Everyone on Main Street stopped to stare when they saw George leading the horse, with the body strapped across it, down the street. He went to the sheriff's office first and told him what he had found, before he stopped by the police department. Then he took the body to the mortician. When he came back he wrote a full report on what he had found. He dropped a copy on the captain's desk, and then took one to the sheriff before he went to the hotel to check out Sam Miller's room.

  Jude was behind the desk when he walked into the hotel.

  "Hi, George, what's up? Somebody just told me you came into town with a body in tow."

  "Yes, I did, Jude. Does Sam Miller have a room here?"

  "Yes, he does, but I haven't seen him today. Maybe he's sleeping in."

  "No, he's not, Jude. He's the body I brought into town. I need to check out his room."

  Jude looked shocked. He was good at putting on an act.

  "I can't believe it. Who would want to shoot him? He seemed like such a nice guy."

  "He wasn't that nice, as he broke into my in-laws stable with some other guy last night."

  "Really? That is a surprise. So your father-in-law shot him?"

  "Only in the leg. It looks like his partner finished the job. Can I have that key, Jude?"

  "Sure, George." Jude took the key to Sam's room out of the slot and handed it to George. He tried to keep his hand from shaking as he was suddenly nervous.

  George went into Sam's room and looked through everything. He thought it was funny that he found no money hidden anywhere in the room. Most men hid their extra money somewhere. Maybe he had some at the saloon. Before he left, he asked Jude if anyone had been asking for Sam in the last couple of days, or if his key had been missing for any time.

  "Not that I know of, George, but I haven't been on the desk all the time. I will ask around and let you know if I hear anything."

  "The sheriff's office will send someone over to pick up Sam's things in a couple of days. Thanks, Jude."

  George went to Ruby's Saloon next and questioned the owner, and the other bartenders, and then he asked some of the customers a few questions. Everyone was shocked, and no one suspected anything about Sam. They all thought he was a great guy, and never saw him with anybody that they thought might be a partner of his.

  George went back to his office and wrote another report on the searches and interviews he had conducted and gave the original to the sheriff and a copy to his captain. Then he turned over the investigation to the sheriff as he was in charge of Baker County. The sheriff thanked him, and George went home for the day. All he told Anna was that they were going to the Troy Ranch on Saturday and that they would probably spend the night. He told her that one of the ranch hands had been in town and gave George the invitation. Anna was excited and looking forward to spending a couple of days with her family.

  It was late Saturday morning when the Hempe family piled into the buggy and headed to the Troy Ranch. Anna sat in front with little George on her lap, and Bert sitting between she and George. John, Helen, Joe, and Mary sat together in the back seat with a blanket over their lap. A burlap sack on the floor held extra clothes and diapers.

  Everyone was excited when they got to the ranch. The children loved to ride with their aunts and getting spoiled by their grandma and grandpa. After they had lunch, the older children went out to ride with Fan and Zee, and Mary cleared the table while she thought about what she was going to tell Anna about the break-in. Anna put both little boys down for a nap and came back to the table. The four adults sat down for another cup of tea.

  "Anna, there is something we must tell ye." Mary started the conversation. "We had an upsetting incident happen here this week. We asked George not to tell ye about it, because I wanted to be the one to tell ye, as I was afraid this would bring yer nightmares back."

  "What? Mama, what happened?" Anna was suddenly very afraid, and felt as if she couldn't breathe.

  "It is okay, Anna. We are all okay. None of us are hurt. I can't say the same for one of the men who broke into our stable."

  "Oh, no! I'm listening."

  Mary related the story of what happened and who the man was that she had recognized when she had taken the kerchief off of his face. Then she told how George had come out and found the man's body in the woods. When she got to the part about the man looking for the saddle, and the death of the old sheriff, Anna gasped.

  George was sitting next to Anna, and he put his arms around her. "It's okay, Anna, the man is dead."

  "What about the other man?"

  "We don't know who that was, Anna. But the sheriff has written to the prison to see if any other member of Bane's gang has been released. Sam wasn't seen hanging out with anyone, so maybe the guy is just someone he got to help him, and he's already left town."

  "What about the saddle? Is he still looking for it? And why does he want it?"

  "I told him we had given it to the church bazaar. Hopefully he will quit looking for it. Where do ye have it? Just keep it well hidden, and don't let any of the children know where it is. For some reason, they think the saddle is valuable. It was a nice saddle, and I think those initials are done in real silver, but I never found anything that was worth anything in it. I think that the man who was looking for it was Sam and he is gone."

  "I think this is the right time to tell you all what I am thinking we should do." George interrupted the conversation. "Anna has been having her nightmares again, ever since we moved into Baker City, so I have been checking around for some land that would be good for us to move to and start that dairy farm that we've been talking about. A fellow I know just got back from a trip to Portland and Mt. Hood. He says that there is some great land available just outside the small town of Sandy, Oregon, which is at the base of the mountain. He said there is really good land available for less than five dollars an acre, and he told me about a piece of land where there is a pretty nice abandoned house and a big barn that is for sale. We have enough money to buy that parcel, and some cows to get us started. By spring, I should have saved enough to get us one of those new cars, which would make it a lot easier to move the family over the mountains and through the passes. I'm thinking that in early spring maybe John and Steve could help me make a trip first to take all the furniture and things we would need to get started over there, and then I can come back and get the family. They could all stay here until I come back to get them. What do you think?"

  "I think it's a fine idea, George," John said.

  "I will miss ye all so much, but I think a new home away from here would be a good new beginning for ye, Anna. I hope it's not too far that ye couldn't all come and visit once in a while." Mary got tears in her eyes, thinking about them living far away.

  "It's not that far that we couldn't see you all a few times a year."

  Anna broke into tears. "I would miss you all so much, but I think I would feel much safer away from here, and maybe my nightmares will finally go away."

  Mary
came over and put her arms around her daughter.

  "We love ye so much, me girl, but this might be the best for ye and yer beautiful family. I guess it's too late to plan a move this year as fall is almost upon us, but that will give us time to prepare. Let us all just be careful and not tell anyone where ye are going, or what yer plans are. And we should all keep our eyes open and watch for anyone who might look or act suspicious in the meantime."

  They spent the next two days making plans for the future move to a small town on the other side of the mountains, where they all felt that Anna and her family would be out of danger.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  "Christmas, 1919"

  The inhabitants of Baker County loved the unusually warm weather in the fall of 1919, as it was one of the warmest in history. Anna and George invited her family to come into town to spend Christmas with them, hoping the snow would stay away until the first of the year. Anna wanted to spend the holiday with her family, because they were planning on moving in the spring, and she knew it might be the last Christmas with her parents and brother and sisters for a long time. Christmas Eve was Bert's third Birthday, and another reason for a celebration. She was looking forward to the day, and spending a lot of time sewing presents for her family. George spent his free time making toys for the children. Anna made blouses for her sisters and mother out of the beautiful fabric that Kate had ordered and sold to her at her store owner's lesser prices. Kate had also thrown in a spool of elegant lace for the collars and sleeves. Anna stitched her two sister's blouses out of brilliant teal colored cotton, and she designed a beige silk blouse with lace trim for her mother. She sewed new shirts out of flannel for the men; red plaid for George and Steve, and a blue one for her father. George carved little cars for his boys, painting each of them a different bright color. He created a chess board for Helen, who loved the game, and a new doll for Mary made out of wood. They were all looking forward to a fun holiday.