by Duane Boehm
“That sounds as good as anything,” Finnie said and kneed his horse into a trot.
A half–mile down the trail, they could see the five riders a quarter of a mile ahead. They continued after them in an easy trot. When they had closed to within a couple hundred yards, the lawmen were spotted. The Paradise men brought their horses to a stop and made a half–circle as they looked to be discussing their next move. They abruptly took off in a dead run with their pursuers in chase.
The horses of the Paradise men were not fast or conditioned and began to slow. Gideon began to pull away from Zack and Finnie and close in on the riders. Pulling his rifle from the scabbard, he rested the weapon across the saddle and hoped the men would change course. They continued on a straight line towards the cabin and Gideon calmly brought his Winchester up and took aim, gently squeezing the trigger. The shot missed and the riders hunkered down in the saddle and slapped their horses with the reins to coax more speed.
Gideon’s cabin came into view and the realization sunk in that he couldn’t stop the men from reaching his home. Hoping to alert Abby to the danger, he started taking quick aim and firing rapidly. Finnie and Zack lagged fifty yards behind him and they began firing in a desperate attempt to prevent the men from reaching their destination. One of the riders slumped forward in his saddle before falling off the side of the horse with his feet caught in the stirrups. The scared horse continued running and the man bounced against the ground in a macabre dance with the land.
Abby heard the gunfire and looked out the window. She could see the riders headed towards the cabin and ran to both of the doors, placing the four by four pieces of lumber across the entrances and into their metal arms. Chance played on the floor. She grabbed him and his toys and carried him to the loft where she blocked his exit. Returning downstairs, she retrieved the shotgun hung above the door, checking to make sure that the gun was loaded. She pulled a hammer back and waited.
The four remaining men reached the cabin and ran for the door. Finding the entrance barred, they ran for the cover of the trees in the yard as Gideon quickly advanced upon them at a dead run. Holding his empty rifle in his left hand, he drew his revolver and fired at the closest man. Mr. Hobbs let out an ear–piercing scream before toppling over. The others reached the trees and a barrage of shots forced Gideon to retreat to the tree line beside the barn where Finnie and Zack joined him.
“Thank God Abby barred the door,” Gideon said.
“What now?” Zack asked.
“We’ll get them to empty their guns. None of them carries side arms and I imagine that any extra cartridges that they had were in their saddlebags. Those horses are God knows where. They weren’t exactly prepared for this,” Gideon said.
Pastor Gordon yelled, “Sheriff, we are angels of the Lord that have come down to smitten you. Prepare to meet your Maker and to be cast into the bowels of Hell.”
“I don’t see any wings on you. I think you’re just a murderer. Remember that sixth commandment about not killing. You’re nothing more than a crazy hypocrite,” Gideon hollered.
A single shot thudded into the tree that Gideon crouched behind, sending a chunk of bark flying. Zack quickly leaned around his tree and returned fire. A game of cat and mouse pot shots followed. Gideon checked his watch. Winnie would not be returning from school for over an hour. With Abby and Chance safe in the cabin, he remained content to let pastor and his men run out of bullets.
Moments later, the Paradise men began shooting rapidly and made returning fire nearly impossible. Gideon peeked around the tree just as Gordon disappeared behind the cabin.
“Gordon’s going to try to get into the cabin,” Gideon yelled as he stood. He took one step from behind the tree and felt the crushing weight of Zack tackling him to the ground.
“Gideon, that’s suicide,” Zack hollered as he dragged his father–in–law back behind the tree and held him in a bear hug.
“Damn it, Zack, let me go. That’s my wife and son,” Gideon screamed.
“You can’t help them if you’re dead,” Zack protested.
The shooting paused and the sound of breaking glass cut through the silence. Gideon struggled in the grips of the much larger Zack, delivering painful elbows. The unmistakable roar of a shotgun blast shattered the momentary quiet.
“They’re running,” Finnie called out.
“Kill the son of a bitches,” Gideon yelled as Zack released him.
Finnie squeezed off two rounds as Gideon and Zack scrambled to retrieve the rifles they’d lost in their scuffle.
“They’re down,” Finnie hollered.
Gideon took off in a dead run for the other side of the cabin with Finnie and Zack in close pursuit. Snow came down hard now and made it hard to see without getting pelted in the eyeballs. They reached the corner and slid to a stop. Pastor Gordon lay sprawled on the ground. His head had been obliterated by the shotgun blast. The snow peppered down on what had once been his face and dissolved into the red goo. Abby stood at the broken window looking out at the lifeless body.
“Abby, open the door,” Gideon told her.
She remained standing at the window as if she hadn’t heard and Gideon repeated himself. Slowly, she turned around and disappeared. He rushed around the cabin and stood waiting for her when the door opened, pulling her into his arms.
“Where’s Chance?” Gideon asked.
“He’s in the loft,” Abby said in a monotone voice.
“I’ll get him,” Zack said as he maneuvered past the couple and through the door.
Chance sat on the floor playing with his toys as if nothing out of the ordinary had taken place. He smiled at Zack and held out his arms to be picked up. Zack happily obliged and returned the boy to his parents.
The sight of Chance broke the damn of emotion stored up in Abby and she began crying uncontrollably. Chance began crying too and Gideon tried his best to comfort the both of them.
“I had to shoot him,” Abby said between sobs.
“Yes, you did. You saved Chance’s life and ours too. That man was pure evil,” Gideon said.
He continued to hold Abby until the crying was all out of her. By the time she stopped, Chance had cried himself to sleep in her arms.
“Why don’t you go lie down with Chance? I want to get this cleaned up before Winnie gets home and there’s not much time,” Gideon said.
“Okay,” Abby said. “Do you still think I’m a good person?”
“I think you’re my hero,” Gideon said and kissed her before leading her to the bedroom.
Gideon closed the door to the bedroom and marched briskly towards Zack. “If you ever pull something like that again, I’ll make –,” Gideon said before Finnie stepped between them and pointed his finger in Gideon’s face.
“Hush. Abby would be a widow right now if not for him. In all the years that I’ve known you, that was the most sap–headed thing I’ve ever seen you do. Running straight towards them was sure death. They couldn’t have missed if they tried. Not another word unless you want to thank Zack,” Finnie said.
Zack watched in astonishment. He had never seen anybody stand up to Gideon like that. People just didn’t do it. Nor had he ever seen Finnie take control of a situation with such a commanding presence. The two men continued to eye each other as if neither would back down.
“Let’s get the bodies out of here before Winnie gets home. She’ll be scared to death,” Gideon said and walked out the door.
Finnie winked at Zack before saying, “That was a brave thing that you did. He’ll thank you when he comes to his senses.”
The two men Finnie shot were dead. The snow had begun to cover their sprawled out bodies and made for peculiar mounds in the yard.
“I shot them in the back. It doesn’t look very good upon me,” Finnie said as they hoisted the bodies across the backs of the horses.
“They had already tried to kill us and they remained a danger to us and Last Stand. You were just doing your sworn duty,” Gideon said.
The horse dragging the body had joined the other horses and the men placed the last body across the saddle.
Finnie grabbed the reins of his horse. “I’ll take the bodies on into town. I imagine the people from Paradise will claim them tomorrow and bury them by their church. Zack can help you board up your window. You best stay with Abby.”
Gideon smiled at the Irishman. “You’d think that you were the sheriff around here. You’re getting bossier than my wife. I hope I don’t have to start kissing you too,” he said as Finnie led the horses away.
“Only if you close your eyes,” Finnie said over his shoulder.
Once the Irishman rode out of sight, Gideon turned to Zack. “He was right, you know. I owe you an apology and a big thank you. I let emotion cloud my better judgement and that’s a sure way to get killed.”
“It’s all forgotten as of this moment. We are family. We better get busy with that window before Chance can play in the snow from inside the cabin,” Zack said.
Chapter 25
Abby and Chance arose from bed after Winnie woke them by bursting into the cabin excited that school would be closed until better weather. She stood covered in snow and shivering. The girl looked up perplexingly towards the boards covering the broken window and then at her frazzled looking mother as she entered the room carrying Chance.
“What’s going on?” Winnie asked suspiciously.
Gideon took Chance from Abby’s arms and set the boy in front of his sister.
“A bird flew through the window and your momma doesn’t feel well. Be a good girl and go play with Chance. I’m going to cook supper tonight,” he said.
“Can you really cook?” Winnie asked as Gideon moved to the stove.
“Of course, I can cook. How do you think I survived all those years on the trail,” Gideon said.
Sitting down at the table, Abby watched as Winnie took Chance’s hand and moved off to play.
“Do you ever get used to it?” Abby asked.
“What’s that?” he asked in confusion.
“The killing,” she said.
Looking contemplatively at his wife, Gideon tried to form a thoughtful answer. “No, you don’t get used to killing, but you come to realize that sometimes it’s necessary to survive and prevent more bad things from happening.”
“Do you think what I did was necessary?” she asked doubtfully.
“Abby, you saved your families’ lives today. If you would’ve let Gordon get into the cabin, I think it’s safe to say that we would have all died. There’s nothing more dangerous than a deranged mind that thinks God is on his side,” Gideon said and walked over to his wife, helping her from the chair and hugging her.
“I pray that I’m never put in this position again,” Abby said as her face puckered up and the tears came.
“I know. I know. We’re not going to tell anyone what really happened either. Of course you can tell Sarah and Mary, but the town doesn’t need to know what happened. I think it will be easier for you that way,” Gideon said.
The family suffered through a chewy beef dinner, and after the meal, Gideon held Abby as they sat on the sofa and watched the children play. He sensed that she was becoming more at peace with herself, but she still seemed vulnerable. Chance began rubbing his eyes and crawled up next to his mother, falling asleep against her. The strain of the day began to wear down Abby and she soon dozed off too. Gideon put them to bed before Winnie roped him into playing checkers until bedtime. She won two of their three games before they called it a night.
The following morning, Abby began crying while frying eggs. The outburst upset Winnie and Chance badly and Gideon was soon trying to deal with three bawling individuals. Abby snapped out of her grieving at seeing the children crying and turned her attention to them while Gideon gladly finished cooking breakfast.
“Are you going to be okay alone? I have to get to town,” Gideon said after finishing the meal.
“I’ll be fine. The children will keep my mind off things. I’m sorry about this morning,” Abby said.
“You’re the one that had to suffer through tough eggs because of it,” Gideon teased.
“I love you,” Abby said.
“Yeah, I’m a keeper. I love you too,” Gideon said and kissed his wife.
More than a foot of powdery snow covered the ground. The wind, having abated before the accumulation began in earnest, caused only small drifts in which to navigate Buck around. Cold proved the real hindrance in riding to town and Gideon reached the jail feeling as if he were frozen to the saddle. He found Finnie waiting inside.
“I’m glad you’re here. When I rode through town yesterday, there was a couple from Paradise buying supplies and they saw the bodies. The man approached me and wanted to know what happened. I told him that they tried to kill us and they got killed. He didn’t seem too pleased with my answer. We should have wrapped up Gordon. I think the man was offended and I fear there’ll be trouble today,” Finnie said.
“Maybe not. It’s damn cold out there. They might stay home and lose their nerve. We’re leaving Abby out of this. I killed Gordon if you’re asked,” Gideon said.
“I figured as much. I got the two short–barreled shotguns ready if needed,” Finnie said.
“That’s good. How’s Mary?” Gideon asked.
“She was still sleeping this morning, but she was good last night. She had me invite Doc over for dinner with us. I think she was worried about him being alone on his first night with John gone and she knew I could use some company after the day we had,” Finnie said.
“That’s Mary – always thinking of others,” Gideon said as he sat.
“What about Abby?” Finnie inquired.
“She’s struggling with things. I hope the kids keep her occupied today. I know she’ll be okay, but it’ll take some time. You know how strong Abby is,” Gideon answered.
Finnie poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Gideon.
“Is there anything that you want me to do?” Finnie asked.
“We’re going to stay in here and keep as warm as possible. If there’s trouble, it can come to us,” Gideon said and took a sip.
Mid–morning, the telegraph messenger delivered a telegram to Gideon. Waiting until the man departed, Gideon read the note.
“Our day just got more interesting. James Cooper escaped from the Denver jail and they tracked him south until they lost his trail in heavy snow,” Gideon said to Finnie.
“He’s coming for us,” Finnie said.
“Could be. He said he would and I’d think he’d be headed back east to Missouri otherwise. Maybe we should open the Lucky Horse Saloon back up and retire from this business. You and Mary would have a monopoly going,” Gideon said.
“There’s days that it seems like we should. I can’t imagine you working in a saloon all day long though,” Finnie said.
“My pretty face and sunny disposition would probably steal all Mary’s business,” Gideon joked.
Gideon and Finnie were pulling on their coats to go have lunch at the saloon with Mary when they heard a voice calling from outside. “Sheriff, we want to have a talk with you.”
Glancing over at Finnie, Gideon said, “You stand on my right side. If this gets ugly, I’ll take out the ringleader and those to my left. You take out the right side. Four rounds of the shotguns should thin the crowd down considerably. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” He then reached into his drawer and pulled out the cross that they found at the first hanging.
Finnie handed Gideon the gun and the two men stepped out of the jail into the cold. About twenty men on horses with rifles resting across their saddles were in front of them. The men were heavily bundled against the weather and looked as if they would have a hard time maneuvering their weapons if called upon. Another man sat on a buckboard with the bodies already loaded in it.
“What can I do for you?” Gideon asked politely.
“We want to know what happened to Pastor Gordon and the other men,” the
ringleader said.
In a voice free of rancor, Gideon said, “I had suspected that your pastor and the other men were responsible for the hangings of two couples. My deputies and I watched Gordon yesterday and he and the other men rode to my place. A gunfight ensued at the cabin and all of your Paradise men died in that gun battle.”
“We know you had it in for Pastor Gordon over the marriage of Charlotte to Cecil Hobbs. We think you murdered him,” the man said.
“I didn’t like your pastor, but I’m not in the habit of killing people just because I don’t like them. I’d probably run out of bullets if I did,” Gideon answered.
“We’re here to get justice for Pastor Gordon and the other men. We answer to the calling of a higher authority than man’s laws. An eye for an eye,” the ringleader said.
“You might be able to kill Finnie and me, but I promise you that we will take a hell of a lot of you with us and then your higher authority can figure out who was right and who was wrong. Are you ready to die because you will be the first one?’ Gideon said as he pointed the scattergun in the man’s direction.
Gideon could see that he had gotten their attention now. The ringleader and the rest of them started looking at one another. The thought of dying caused pause in all but the bravest of men. He didn’t figure the Paradise bunch to be of that ilk.
“We’re going to contact the U.S. Marshal and demand an investigation,” the ringleader said.
“I don’t have a problem with that at all. I do want to bring a couple of things to your attention,” Gideon said as he pulled the cross from his pocket and held it up for the men to see. “Did any of you notice that Gordon was wearing a new cross? He’s probably wearing it now if it wasn’t blown to bits. We found this one at the sight of the first hangings. I believe this cross was ripped from his neck there. And another thing, I would think that somebody would have noticed the pastor and the other men riding out on about August twenty–ninth and October third just before a rain and snowstorm and thought it peculiar that the men were leaving with storms setting in. That’s when the hangings took place. They did the same thing yesterday.”
