"Hearts in the Right Place"
Chapter One
"Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God; trust also in me."
~John 14:1
Across the Canadian prairie, a lone horseman rode, driving his horse forward at full speed towards the mountains in the distance. He was dressed in the uniform of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. He wore the signature red serge jacket, midnight blue riding breeches with the yellow stripe, and high brown boots. Yet he was not wearing the traditional flat brimmed hat with the Montana crease. Instead, he had a well-worn, dark brown Roughrider-style cowboy hat on his head. His face showed several days growth of beard and his clothes were all covered with trail dust. The horse, too, was showing signs of fatigue as he was sweating with the pace the man was setting for them. It was clear that they had been traveling hard for days.
As the sun began to dip low below the mountains in the west, the man spotted some buildings on the horizon. He slowed the horse a bit as he turned towards what he could now discern was a town. When he was about a mile or so outside of the town, he pulled the horse to a stop. He sat in the saddle and narrowed his eyes as he studied the town.
After a minute, his decision made, he dismounted. He removed a small shovel from his saddlebag and dug a hole under a small bush. He removed his Sam Brown belt and took the gun from the holster in the belt, placing it in his saddlebag. Then, he took off his red serge jacket, boots, pants, and shirt. This left him standing in his long johns. He carefully folded the clothes before shoving them and his boots into the hole he'd just dug. Turning back to his horse, he pulled some civilian clothes from his pack and dressed in dark pants, blue plaid shirt, brown vest, and plain brown boots. Once he was dressed, he turned to refill the hole with the dirt. He packed it down with the back of the shovel and examined the ground. He set down the shovel and ripped a couple branches from the bush, carefully placing them over the hole to add a little more cover to hide it.
After repacking the shovel in his saddlebag, he looked back to the town on the horizon and took a deep breath. He then mounted his horse and, with a click of his tongue against his cheek, he prodded the horse toward the town. When he was just outside of town, he spotted a couple of teenage boys running towards him. '
"Whoah," he called to his horse, slowing it. He pulled the horse to a halt right near the boys, who had stopped when they'd spotted him. "Boys," he greeted them. "What town is this?"
"Coal Valley," Gabe Montgomery answered.
The man nodded his head and look toward Main Street.
"Where you coming from, mister?" James Fremont boldly asked.
The man frowned and looked sharply at James. He hesitated a few moments before answering, "Back East."
The boys nodded and a few moments of awkward silence followed. Gabe motioned with his head to James for them to head on. Just as they turned to leave, the man asked, "Is there a saloon in town?"
Gabe and James looked at each other and then Gabe answered, "Yeah."
The man nodded. "Thanks," he called over his shoulder as he headed into town.
Gabe and James watched him ride away. "He seems kinda strange, don't ya think?" Gabe asked.
James shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he wants to work at the saloon. Maybe he's a bartender or something."
Gabe shook his head. "No, I mean his clothes looked like they were a couple of sizes too big for him. That's strange!"
By this time, the stranger on the horse had disappeared around the corner as he headed into Coal Valley. Both boys shrugged and headed on their way.