by Duane Boehm
“Where is it? It still sounds funny,” Benjamin said.
“This is where that old cabin was, but it’s gone now. Sit still while I figure this out,” Gideon said as he dismounted and walked towards the barking sound. He rested his hand on the grip of his pistol, ready to shoot if a dog came charging towards him.
“Did you find it?” Benjamin called out when Gideon stopped and peered into a hole in the ground.
“The old well is still here. The dog has fallen into it. Come look,” Gideon said.
“Is it swimming,? Benjamin asked.
“No, they never dug it deep enough to hit water. It’s about fifteen feet down there,” Gideon said.
Benjamin stopped beside Gideon, cautiously leaning over and looking down into the hole. “The poor thing. What kind of dog is it?” he remarked.
“It looks like a young Redbone Coonhound. Nothing we can do but put it out of its misery,” Gideon said and started to draw his revolver.
Benjamin grabbed Gideon’s hand, forcing the gun back into its holster. “You can’t shoot it. We have to get it out of there,” he said.
“Benjamin, we can’t get him out of there. I would if I could,” Gideon said.
“You can tie your rope around me and I can go get him. He’s not that big,” Benjamin pleaded.
“That dog might have a disease or attack you or for that matter, there might be snakes and spiders in there. I can’t let you go down in that hole,” Gideon said.
“Mr. Gideon, I have to try and save that dog. He’s wagging his tail at us. He won’t bite me. I couldn’t stand it if you shot him. It just wouldn’t be right. I know that I can get him,” Benjamin said.
“Your mother would kill me if something happened to you and your father is going to kill me if we bring another dog home. If you remember, your momma had to fix things when I brought Chase home for you. Your pa was not a happy man,” Gideon said.
“Mr. Gideon, please. I have to save that dog,” Benjamin pleaded.
Gideon could feel his resolve dissolving. He knew he had a lot to learn when it came to parenting and he was sure that this was one of those times where he needed to be the bad guy and stick to his guns, but he couldn’t do it. “I’ll tie my rope around you and lower you in and then I’ll pull you out. Are you sure you can hold the dog?” he said.
“I think so. He’s not very big,” Benjamin answered.
Gideon walked back to his horse, pulling some jerky from his saddlebag and grabbing his lasso. “Get him to eat out of your hand and pet him. After he trusts you, you can pick him up and I can pull you out. If this works out and you don’t get killed, we are going to keep it our little secret on how we rescued this dog or they might kill me anyway,” he said.
“I can keep secrets good,” Benjamin said as Gideon tied the rope under his arms.
“You better. I’m still not sure that you can hold that dog,” Gideon said skeptically.
Still fearful of all that could go wrong, Gideon lowered Benjamin down into the well. He heard giggling before he had the chance to look down into the hole once the rope went slack. The dog was jumping on Benjamin in excitement at seeing somebody.
“He really likes me,” Benjamin called out.
“Calm him down so that you can pick him up,” Gideon called down into the well.
Gideon nervously waited as Benjamin worked to calm the excited dog. His mind raced on all the things that could still go wrong and envisioned telling Sarah that he had left her son in a well to go get help.
“I’m holding him,” Benjamin finally hollered.
“Okay, I’ve got you tied to Buck and we will pull you out. Just hold the dog and let the horse do the work,” Gideon said.
Gideon walked the horse away from the well. Once Benjamin and the dog were out of the hole, Gideon filled his cheeks with air and blew out slowly, relieved that they were out of the hole. The dog started jumping in excitement and letting out yelps as soon as Benjamin put it down on the ground.
“He’s a happy thing,” Gideon said as he removed the rope from around Benjamin.
“We did it. I told you that we could,” Benjamin said proudly.
“Yes, you did,” Gideon said as he began pouring water from his canteen for the dog to lap.
“Do you think he belongs to somebody?” Benjamin asked.
“He did at some point for sure. I imagine he wandered off while hunting. It’s hard to say where he came from or how long he has been gone. Dogs can cover a lot of ground when they get on the track of something. He doesn’t look or act like he has been down in the well that long,” Gideon answered.
“I won’t care if somebody does come for him. At least he won’t be down in that hole. There were a couple of skeletons of rabbits or coons or something down there,” Benjamin said.
“Do you still want to go fishing?” Gideon asked.
“Sure. We better bring back something that Pa likes,” Benjamin said with a laugh.
“That’s a good point,” Gideon said.
They rode to the pond with the dog bounding along beside them as if he had always been part of the party. Gideon used the hatchet to fashion a couple of poles from saplings and they were soon fishing. The bluegills were hitting the worms almost as fast as they could throw their lines into the water and in a couple of hours they had two strings of nice sized fish.
“I think we have enough fish. I hate the thought of taking them back and cleaning them. Never did like that job. Your pa will probably go ahead and shoot me when we show up with that dog and make your rescuing me this spring all for naught. I guess I will get out of cleaning fish that way,” Gideon said with a chuckle.
Ethan was sitting on the porch smoking his pipe when they rode back. Chase ran up to the new dog and they sniffed each other, tails held high in the air. After dancing around each other a time or two, the two young dogs began playing.
“What is that?” Ethan said as he arose from the swing and pointed his pipe at the dog.
“I believe it is a dog or more accurately a canine,” Gideon said with a grin.
“I know what it is. I meant where did it come from?” Ethan said.
“It was in a bit of a predicament and we had to rescue it. It has stuck with us ever since,” Gideon said.
“Well, it can stick with you right back to your cabin. One dog is more than I need and I sure will not take on another to feed,” Ethan said, taking a big draw on his pipe.
“I don’t need a dog. Maybe we should get Sarah out here and see what she thinks,” Gideon teased.
“You still think it’s funny that she took your side on Chase. Not this time,” Ethan stated defiantly.
“I got fish to clean. You think that maybe we could talk your lovely wife into cooking them for us?” Gideon said.
“Now that’s something that we can agree upon,” Ethan said.
Chapter 22
The Last Chance was packed with patrons. The auction of Frank DeVille’s land and property was to be later that day on the courthouse lawn and everybody from the area seemed to have come by for a drink before meandering over to the proceedings. Mary was behind the bar helping bartend the overflow crowd. She noticed several unfamiliar faces in the saloon and wondered if big money men had come in to buy the land on the cheap. The local ranchers had been fretting over the possibility ever since the auction was made public.
A tall thin man, probably in his mid–forties, came through the door as she was scanning the crowd. He was well dressed and did not look like a rancher or a cowboy to her eyes. There was a possibility that he was a gambler, but his skin was weather–beaten enough to suggest having spent considerable time out in the elements and not at the card table. He had an air about him that made the men in the crowd unconsciously part for him as he walked towards the bar.
“I’ll have a glass of whiskey,” he said to Mary as a space at the bar cleared for him.
“In for the auction?” Mary asked.
“I heard about it. Quite a big deal that
that rancher Deville would get himself killed over some crazy idea to kidnap a boy,” he said without answering the question.
“You could say that things will never be the same because of it,” she said.
“Looks like you’ve had some trouble yourself,” the man said, motioning towards the last vestiges of bruises on Mary’s face.
“Oh, that’s old news,” Mary said, waving her hand for effect.
“Didn’t your sheriff help you?” the man said and took a sip of whiskey.
Mary smiled and looked him in the eyes. Most people would have taken the twinkle in them for merriment, but Mary had already concluded that it was a look of sardonic evil. She had figured him out as he moved through the crowd. He did not wear his malevolence on his sleeve as men of Hiatt’s ilk did, but it was there hidden under a façade of lightheartedness. “Believe me, it got taken care of,” she said.
“I read all about the kidnapping. What’s that sheriff’s name – Gideon something or other? People around here must think quite highly of him for his part in saving that boy,” he said, smiling.
“Gideon Johann and yes they do. In fact, I would say that if somebody harmed him that they would be stamping their own death record,” Mary said, still looking him in the eyes and smiling.
The man smiled back wryly. “My name is John Roe, by the way, and what is yours?” he said.
“I’m Mary. I own this here establishment,” she said.
“Glad to meet you. I’m sure that we’ll be getting to know each other. I plan to spend some time here,” John said.
“Well, I’ll be here,” Mary said before moving to another customer.
The crowd eventually thinned out of the Last Chance as people headed to the courthouse for the auction. Gideon, Abby, Ethan, and Sarah were already there waiting for it to start. Ethan was bustling with so much nervous energy that he could not be still and talked rapidly, giving the impression that he had consumed gallons of coffee. Gideon was anxious too, but refused to show it. The two women looked at each other knowingly, trying not to smile at the behavior of their men.
Frank DeVille’s house and the surrounding land were to be auctioned off in one big tract and the remaining land was to be sold in the original one hundred and sixty–five acre homestead tracts. Rampant rumors had been flying for a month on who would be able to afford the big tract and there were several men standing around wearing suits that nobody recognized.
The auction started with the big tract first. A lively bidding war began amongst the men in suits before one of them standing near Gideon and Ethan won the bidding. He was identified as an agent for the Denver Cattle Company, a well–known land conglomerate that owned several huge ranches across the west. All of the men in suits scattered before the auctioning resumed on the next tract, leaving only local ranchers to bid on the remaining land.
The rest of the tracts sold from a price of one hundred to three hundred dollars, providing a bargain for any man willing to take the gamble. The prices were cheaper than Gideon or Ethan had expected, both being convinced that outsiders would come in and drive prices beyond reasonable values. Both men bought more tracts than they had planned on with Ethan purchasing ten and Gideon buying seven including his family homestead.
The cattle sold in lots of fifty and like the land, sold at below market value. Ethan bought four lots and Gideon purchased two. Neither bought as many cattle as they would need for the amount of land they had purchased, but both were content not to over extend themselves and wait to build their herd size.
“I wish that you could go in the saloon and drink a beer with me to celebrate,” Gideon said to Ethan when the auction had ended.
“Me too. I don’t care that people know that I would drink one, but going into the saloon would not be good. Enough people were upset that I attended Mr. Vander’s funeral in there,” Ethan said.
“I have an idea,” Abby said. “Gideon can go buy a jug of beer and take it to my place and the rest of us can go on over and wait for him.”
Ethan looked over at Sarah, not sure how she would feel about it. “Let’s do it. We all have something to celebrate,” she said.
Gideon headed to the Last Chance. The place was booming again, filled with the local ranchers. “I need a jug of beer, Mary. I got my old homestead back and it calls for a little celebration,” he said joyfully.
“I’m happy for you, Gideon. You and Abby deserve it. Congratulations,” Mary said before going to get the beer.
“Looks like a pretty good day for you too,” he said when she returned.
“It’s been busy for sure,” she said before scanning the room. “Gideon, he is here.”
“Who’s here?” Gideon asked, clueless as to whom she was referring.
“The man that wrote you the letters,” Mary said.
Gideon inflated his cheeks, blowing the air out slowly and looking up towards the ceiling. “I knew today was going too well to last. Is he still in here?” he said.
“No, he left when everybody else did. He said his name is John Roe. Does that sound familiar?” she asked.
“Sure does. It sounds almost like John Doe. He made it up, I’m guessing,” he said.
“He sure did. I thought it sounded like a name that I had heard. Just your little dumb old whore here,” Mary said.
“Mary, don’t call yourself that ever again and I mean it. Those days and that person are gone,” Gideon lectured.
Mary smiled at him. “Yes, sir,” she said.
“What did he look like and how do you know for sure?” he said.
“He’s almost as tall as Ethan and slim built. Nothing remarkable about his looks. And you know how I can read men. He does not come off evil like Hiatt did, but under the skin it’s there,” Mary said.
“Okay, thank you. At least I know he is here,” Gideon said and paid for the beer.
Gideon walked towards Abby’s house, putting the stalker out of his mind by the time that he reached there. The other three were waiting for him at the table. Abby had given Joann some money to take Winnie out for a treat. Four glasses were on the table waiting and Gideon filled them.
“A toast to the two new land barons,” Abby said with a giggle.
The four clinked their glasses together and took a drink. Abby and Sarah had never tasted beer before and both made awful faces.
“You two actually like this stuff?” Sarah asked, her face still grimacing.
“It grows on you,” Ethan said, smiling.
They continued drinking the beer and talking about their plans for the future. By the time that their first glasses were empty, the two women were giggling like a couple of schoolgirls and finding everything that was said to be hilarious. Abby was laughing so hard that snorting noises escaped her and Sarah had to make a dash to the outhouse to keep from peeing on herself.
Chapter 23
The morning after the auction, Gideon headed to Abby’s house before even bothering to take time to eat breakfast. He had slept poorly the night before at the jail. After the excitement of the auction had worn off, he had fretted about the danger the girls would be in if he did not get them moved. Dreading the conversation about to take place with Abby, he walked slowly, trying to think of all the points that he needed to make to assure her that the move was necessary.
Abby was surprised when she greeted him at the door. “What brings you out so bright and early?” she asked.
“We need to talk,” Gideon said.
“Come on in then,” Abby said, noticing the furrow in Gideon’s brow. She led him to the table, pouring two cups of coffee before sitting.
“Abby, the man that wrote the letters is here in town,” he said.
“You saw him?” she asked.
“No, Mary did. She told me about it when I bought the beer yesterday afternoon,” Gideon said.
“He just up and told her that he was coming for you?” Abby said.
“No, she just knew that it was him. She has a way of reading men,” he said.
>
With a slight annoyance in her voice, she said, “You know, I should be jealous of her. You put an awful lot of faith in her opinion.”
“No, you shouldn’t. She is not the one that I asked to marry me. Let’s not get sidetracked here. We have something real to be concerned about,” Gideon said.
“How is she doing after all that business with that gambler?” Abby asked, ignoring his intentions.
“I think okay. She is recovering and handling killing Hiatt better than I thought that she would. Some people never get over that, but I think that she is telling herself that it was a matter of survival,” he said.
“Your survival,” Abby reminded him.
“Yes, my survival,” he said.
“You’re going to ask me to move to the cabin based on a hunch that Mary has about some stranger that showed up in town, aren’t you?” Abby said.
“Yes, I am. It’s the prudent thing to do. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to any of you because of my past life,” he said.
“I told you that I would send the girls to live with Marcus and I can stay right here,” she said, jumping up from her seat to pace.
“Abby, please don’t fight me on this and just move to the cabin. Winnie needs you right now and I need you to be safe. It won’t be forever,” Gideon said as he watched her move around the kitchen.
“We have no idea how long this could be even if Mary is right. It could be a week or it could be months,” Abby said.
“I doubt this will last long. He probably will check things out and then decide what his move is,” he said.
“Gideon, I’m scared for you. I couldn’t bear to lose you now,” she said and began crying.
Gideon walked over and hugged her. “I will be just fine. There’s just not much that I can do until he shows his hand. It’s certainly not a crime to come to town. The main thing is that we have to get you safe,” he said.
