by Duane Boehm
“Won’t your mom be mad?” Rose asked.
“Probably,” Winnie said as she took off her shoes. “The worst she will do is yell and maybe spank me. It won’t be the first time and it probably won’t be the last.”
Winnie did a cannonball into the water. Rose watched reluctantly from the bank until the pull of fitting in got the best of her and she removed her shoes. She walked into the water gingerly, gasping at the chill of the water. The two girls began splashing each other and Tad laughed as he watched the water fight. He started to relax his grip on Benjamin until the older boy was able to hold him out and let the child splash at the girls.
After Joann, Chance, and Tess had all fallen asleep, the others walked outdoors with the intent to sit on the porch. They heard all the giggles down by the stream and decided they best go investigate. There they found the four children still playing in the water.
“Gwendolyn Hanson, what in tarnation is going on here?” Abby hollered out before anyone else had the chance.
“Tad fell in the water and Benjamin rescued him. He’s a hero. Rose and I had to get into the water and show Tad that it was fun so he wouldn’t be scared anymore. He was really scared,” Winnie answered.
Abby folded her arms and pretended to glare at Winnie. She knew her daughter had bested her. Her inclination was to grin at Winnie’s fierce independence, but she didn’t dare. Winnie did not need any encouragement.
“I bet you did. I just bet you did,” Abby said.
Chapter 12
Riding into the night to catch the outlaws had proved fruitless. Gideon and Finnie had ridden to nearly midnight before stopping when they feared they had wandered off course and lost the track. That night they went to sleep too tired to eat and feeling dejected. The next morning they were relieved to find that they were still on the correct course.
Three days later, they still had not caught up with the fugitives and no matter how hard they pushed, they would always find that the outlaws had camped two to three hours ahead of them. The horses looked worn down and thin from all the travel. The land was barren of vegetation except when they came upon water, forcing them to spend extra time there to allow the animals to graze.
The two lawmen were tired and dirty. Their body odor became seared into their nostrils. They would ride for hours without saying a word. Every subject that they usually debated, they had talked to death. Wondering aloud about the conditions of Joann and Mary were about the only things they bothered discussing.
“Gideon, we’re going to ride the horses into the ground if we go much farther,” Finnie said.
“I know. I hope we come upon some water. We’ll rest and then try riding into the night one more time. If we fail again, we’ll go home. I should have planned this better and brought extra mounts. This failure is all on me,” Gideon said.
“We underestimated them for sure. I still can’t believe they haven’t slowed down their pace. They must feel certain we’re still on their trail,” Finnie said.
“I wish I knew this area. If we could find a town, I’d buy some fresh horses, but I don’t know where the hell we are,” Gideon said.
“I think we’ve died and gone to hell,” Finnie lamented.
In mid–afternoon, they came upon a canyon. Looking down into valley, they could see a little lake and the greenest landscape that they’d seen in days.
“Do you think it’s a mirage?” Finnie joked.
“No, I think it’s Eden. Maybe Charlie and Sal will be down there with their hands in the air waiting for us to arrest them,” Gideon said.
They rode down the steep trail to the bottom where they unsaddled the horse and turned them loose. They found the remains of a campfire that the outlaws had kicked into oblivion before moving on, leaving no way to determine if they had left the spot an hour or many hours ago. Gideon retrieved a bar of soap from his saddlebag and began shedding clothes. He marched into the water while Finnie still studied their surroundings.
“Good God, your ass is white. It shines like the sun. I think you’ve blinded me,” Finnie said.
“I wouldn’t admit that I looked at it if I were you. Maybe I don’t know you as well as I thought,” Gideon said.
“Aren’t you worried about Indians? I’d think this would be a prime spot to cross paths with some,” Finnie said.
“I probably should be. If you see any, I’ll shine my ass and blind them while you shoot them,” Gideon said.
Finnie waited until Gideon dressed before he bathed. He remained nervous about Indians and kept his eyes on the rim of the canyon as he scrubbed. Gideon stretched out on the ground and snored loudly by the time the Irishman waded out of the water. Looking around one more time, Finnie resigned himself to the fact that he needed a nap more than he feared Indians and fell to sleep.
The sound of Buck nickering woke up both men. They jumped up and realized that the sun had sunk below the rim of the canyon.
“We’re lucky we didn’t wake up with our scalps on some buck’s spear,” Finnie said.
“When did you get so scared of Indians? Let’s eat and get going. We’re going to find Charlie tonight. I can feel it,” Gideon said.
Starvation almost seemed preferable to another meal of jerky and hardtack. Gideon wished he could retrieve his bottle of whiskey to wash down the food, but he didn’t like drinking in front of Finnie since the Irishman swore off the stuff. He contented himself with fresh water.
“I almost feel alive again,” Gideon said as he threw the saddle onto Buck.
“I’ll feel alive when we get back home. At the rate we’re going, my baby will be born and in school by the time we get there,” Finnie said as he mounted his horse.
They rode out of the canyon and back into the same bleak landscape that they had traveled for days. The horses seemed reenergized and picked up their feet instead of tripping on rocks as they had been wont to do earlier in the day. As dusk settled over the land, they were still following the outlaws towards the southwest.
“Are we still planning on riding into the night?” Finnie asked skeptically.
“We are. I promise that if we don’t find them, we’ll turn back. I’ve been riding Buck too many years to kill him now. We’ve pushed them as far as we can,” Gideon answered.
Night fell and Gideon and Finnie pushed on. The silence of the land became more pronounced in the dark. The land was too inhospitable for even bugs and the clatter of the horse’s hoofs provided the only sound to interrupt the eerie quiet.
As midnight approached, Gideon pulled his horse to a stop at the top of a rise. “Looks like I was wrong again. I’ve let poor Betsy down in every way imaginable. Sometimes I hate this job. Let’s make camp and we’ll head home in the morning,” he said.
Finnie stared out into the abyss. “Gideon, is that my imagination or is that a speck of light?” he asked.
Gideon squinted his eyes and concentrated on gazing into the darkness. He could feel goosebumps pop up on his arms and the hair on his neck stand on end as he saw the fire. “I could kiss you, you little Irish leprechaun,” he said.
“How far away do you think that campfire is?” Finnie asked.
“I don’t have a clue, but we’re about to find out,” Gideon said as he nudged his horse into moving.
They rode for what seemed like miles before the fire in the distance began to appear noticeably larger. Another half–hour past and they were finally getting close.
“How are we going to do this?” Finnie whispered.
“Let’s just keep riding nice and easy. If they stir, we’ll charge them. We’re in the dark and they’re in the light,” Gideon said.
As they neared within thirty yards, Gideon could see that the outlaws were camped by a little pool of water with some surrounding scrub trees that must have provided the firewood. He could see the two men stretched out on the ground under their bedrolls. One of the fugitive’s horses nickered and the men stirred.
“Charlie, something’s out there,” Sal hollered.
Gideon and Finnie let out screams that sounded like a combination of a Rebel yell and an Indian war whoop and kicked their horses into a gallop. The two outlaws fumbled for their guns and labored out from under their bedrolls. They seemed confused from which direction the riders were advancing and spun one direction and then the other.
Sal fired the first shot as Finnie closed in on him. The shot missed and before the outlaw could shoot again, Finnie aimed his Colt and fired. Sal took a step backwards and collapsed. Gideon ran Charlie over with his horse before the murderer could aim his gun. The force of the collision sent the outlaw airborne and he landed hard on his back. Jerking Buck to a stop, Gideon jumped off his horse and moved towards the outlaw. Charlie had managed to hold onto his gun and he struggled to his feet.
“Drop your gun. It’s over,” Gideon hollered.
Charlie looked over at Finnie and then at Gideon. He stood unsteadily on his feet and swayed like a drunkard.
“And let you take me back to hang? Go to hell,” Charlie said and raised his gun.
A barrage of bullets from Gideon and Finnie slammed into Charlie Reilly. Each shot drove him a step backwards and he toppled over never having fired his gun.
Finnie dismounted and moved cautiously to check Sal. “Sal’s dead,” he called out.
“Charlie’s real dead,” Gideon announced.
Finnie holstered his revolver and dragged Sal into the darkness. He then helped Gideon drag the much larger Charlie off beside his fallen companion. They then rifled through the saddlebags of the five horses that the robbers had ridden and found bags of gold coins. Gideon and Finnie looked up at each other and smiled with satisfaction before walking back to the fire and plopping down onto the ground.
“We might have some reward money coming,” Gideon said.
“Well, we deserve it if we do. I haven’t ridden this hard since the war and I was a lot younger back then,” Finnie said.
“Thank you for spotting that fire. You know I would’ve never been at peace going home. Letting them get away would have haunted me forever,” Gideon said.
“I know,” Finnie replied.
“I hope we get home before those babies are born,” Gideon said.
“Gideon, what would you have done to these two if we hadn’t killed them?” Finnie asked.
Gideon smiled sadly and let out a sigh. “I was going to keep my word to Doc, but I sure planned to make them think I was about to castrate their good–for–nothing balls,” he said.
“Good,” Finnie said.
“Yeah, keeping promises can be a challenge,” Gideon said wryly.
“Go ahead and have a drink of whiskey. I don’t mind. I’d give that stuff up a hundred times over for Mary,” Finnie said.
Grinning, Gideon walked over to Buck and grabbed the bottle from his saddlebag. He took a long pull on the bottle before corking it and putting it back.
“Did I ever tell you that you’re a pretty good friend when you’re not being a blabbering fool?” Gideon asked.
“I guess I’ll take that as a compliment. As good as I’ll likely ever get from you. What now?” Finnie said.
“I’m ready to sleep,” Gideon answered.
“You mean we’re going to go to bed with those bodies right over there in the shadows?” Finnie questioned.
“Unless you plan on covering them with rock in the dark by yourself,” Gideon said.
“Their ghosts will probably slash our throats in the middle of the night. Our souls will roam in this godforsaken land forever,” Finnie lamented.
“And there goes the blabbering fool,” Gideon said as he stretched out and closed his eyes.
Chapter 13
Pausing at the turnoff to the side road, Gideon had to decide whether to turn north to go home or continue east with Finnie back to town. He so wanted to go see Abby and get away from Finnie for a while. Finnie had begun worrying about Mary the moment they had headed back home after killing the outlaws. Gideon had listened to the loquacious Irishman repeat the same things over so many times that he thought his brain had gone numb. Deciding that he best ride to town to make sure that it hadn’t burned down in their absence, he nudged Buck on.
“I’m about afraid to see what awaits me,” Finnie said.
“Finnie, everything is going to be fine when we get there. I just know it. Relax,” Gideon said.
The admonishment hurt Finnie’s feelings and he hushed, but didn’t stop worrying. Nearly losing Mary during her miscarriage had scared him so badly that he never really got over it. Gideon could act all calm now, but Finnie knew that the ordeal shook his friend to the core. In his own way, Gideon needed Mary in his life just as much as Finnie did and the Irishman accepted the unusual relationship. He seldom ever thought about the fact that Gideon and Mary had a brief relationship before Abby came back into Gideon’s life. More important things now occupied his mind than what had happened in the past.
Arriving in town just after dark, Gideon and Finnie rode straight to the jail and locked the recovered loot in a cell. Gideon took the key and shoved it into his saddlebag. They then walked all the horses down to the livery stable and beckoned the blacksmith.
Blackie walked out and greeted the sheriff and deputy. The blacksmith had lost some weight since the shooting and he still moved his arm somewhat stiffly. He nonetheless proudly showed off his healing limb. He had been able to resume using the arm for light work and appeared well on his way to making a full recovery.
“These are the outlaws’ horses. I need you to put them up until we do something with them,” Gideon said.
“Sure. It’s good to see you and Finnie made it back,” Blackie said.
“I’m just sorry you got shot helping us. I owe you,” Gideon said.
“I guess I got a good story out of the deal,” Blackie said.
“Make sure you give my horse some extra oats. That poor thing is skin and bones,” Finnie said.
“Don’t you worry. I’ll ease him back up on his rations,” Blackie said.
The two lawmen walked across the street to the restaurant that Finnie and Mary had opened. They both were starving and hoping to find Mary and food. She looked up from what had once been the bar and did a double take at the two scroungy looking men standing in the doorway. Letting out a squeal, she waddled to them. In the nearly two weeks that Gideon and Finnie had been gone, Mary’s belly had grown considerably.
“My God, I’ve been worried about you two,” Mary said as she hugged Finnie.
“I’ve nearly drove Gideon crazy fretting over you,” Finnie said.
Mary pulled back from Finnie and covered her mouth and nose with her hand. “I love you and I’ve missed you, but this baby and I can’t take those kinds of smells. You two are rank,” Mary said and tried to will herself not to gag.
“But Mary, we’re starving. We haven’t had a real meal since we left here,” Finnie protested.
“There’s cowboy dirty and then there’s you two. You’ll have to come in from the alley and sit in that back room. I can’t have you in here. You’ll run off all our customers. But I promise I’ll get you both a big steak,” she said.
Gideon grinned at her. “She names a restaurant Mary’s Place and starts getting all uppity about her clientele,” he said.
“They wouldn’t have let you in here back when this was that one–bit saloon and that’s saying something,” Mary replied.
“Come on, Finnie. The lady is holding all the cards. Let’s do what she asks so we can eat,” Gideon said.
Gideon and Finnie walked around to the back alley and entered the rear room of the restaurant. Mary joined them, but sat in the corner to avoid the smell.
“How are you feeling?” Finnie asked.
“Good. I’m starting to wear out easier now and the baby kicks the tar out of me, but I’m feeling good. Our baby can come anytime that it wants. That would suit me just fine,” Mary said.
“How is Joann feeling?” Gideon asked Mary.
“
As far as I know, she’s doing well,” Mary answered.
“So she hasn’t had the baby yet?” Gideon inquired.
Mary opened her mouth to speak and faltered. “You need to go home and let Abby catch you up on the news,” she said.
“Damn, I missed the birth of my first grandchild just like I missed out on Joann’s birth. History repeating itself. Is it a boy or girl?” Gideon said.
“Gideon, let Abby tell you. She’ll want to surprise you,” Mary said.
“Mary, I’m dying to know. I’ll act surprised when Abby tells me. I know it’s a boy anyways,” Gideon said.
“Oh, please, you’re the worst actor I’ve ever come across and I’ve known plenty. I’ll just say to not be so sure of yourself,” Mary said.
“It’s a girl? Hot damn, that’s what I hoped she’d have,” Gideon said, leaning back in his chair and smiling.
Charlotte entered the room with plates carrying large T–bone steaks, potatoes, and greens. Never known for sugarcoating things, she said, “I’ve slopped pigs that didn’t smell as bad as you two do.”
Annoyed, Finnie said, “We’ll remember that the next time we face down a bunch of men looking to take you back to Paradise.”
Charlotte had run away from a radical religious community to avoid an arranged marriage. Gideon and Finnie had protected and sheltered her during the ordeal.
The girl took particular delight in needling Finnie. “Don’t be so harsh. I pray for you and Mary every night that the baby doesn’t look like you,” Charlotte said before swiftly exiting the room.
While Gideon and Mary laughed, Finnie said, “She’s meaner than a bobcat. That fellow that wanted to marry her don’t know how lucky he is.”
Gideon cut a chunk of steak and forked it into his mouth. The taste of good food made him sigh with pleasure. He concluded that the steak might be the best he’d ever eaten. “Is there any other big news?” he asked.
“I’m not the town crier. Wait until tomorrow before you catch up on everything,” Mary said.
