A/N: This story is my take on what happened to Jess Harper in S1 Ep. 15, "The Night of the Quiet Men" Aired Dec. 22, 1959. Original Story by John C. Champion, Teleplay by Lee Erwin and Donn Mulally. All text in italics comes directly from the episode. All characters are owned by Revue Studios,maybe. I'm just borrowing them for a time, although I'd really like to take Jess Harper home.
It was late afternoon and Slim Sherman was unsaddling his horse by the fence, preoccupied with thoughts of what he'd overheard in town, when the sound of an approaching stage caught his attention. Looking up from his task he watched the stagecoach as drew up in front of the house and disgorged two grim faced, armed passengers. The dusty, trail weary outrider rider waved in recognition as he drew up along side the lanky rancher.
"Hiya Jess." Slim greeted the dark haired cowboy warmly. "I see you brought your artillery with you."
Jess glanced over at the armed guards getting off the coach, stretching cramped muscles, all the while alertly scanning the area. He turned back, grinning at Slim. "Yeah. Hey what happened to the place? Looks kinda rundown. What'd ya ever do before I got here?" Jess was looking around the ranch buildings. To him nothing had ever looked better, not in a long time.
Slim chuckled. "We got by. How was the drive?"
Jess grinned widely. "Aw first rate. Got top dollar for every steer. On the way to the bank with the money now." He gestured over to the coach with its armed guards, who were even now clambering back into the vehicle.
"You need a fresh team into Laramie?" Slim asked looking over at the horses tossing their heads and fidgeting to get going. The animals looked fairly fresh to his knowing eye but he had to ask.
"Naw the one we got in Cedar Creek's still going strong. What's for supper?" Jess wanted nothing more than to get back to a hot meal and a soft bed. Most especially the soft bed. Dang but he must be getting old if a few weeks on the trail left him exhausted from using the cold hard ground as a mattress.
"What do you want?" Slim asked with a smile, drawing Jess' attention back to matters at hand.
"Anything but steak. I had enough beef on that drive to start growing horns." Jess was actually ready to eat anything that wasn't coated with trail dust and might actually be served up hot. All joking aside, trail rations left something to be desired.
"How about pork and beans?" Slim suggested, grinning. He'd been on enough trail drives to know that home cooking beat out trail grub by a longshot.
Jess smiled back as he gathered his reins, preparing to head out. "Mmmm That sounds almost good enough to eat. See ya around sundown." It was only twelve miles into Laramie and according to his calculations he should make it there and back before full darkness set in.
"Alright."
Jess turned his horse to follow the stage as it lumbered out of the yard on the final leg of the trip into Laramie. It would be a lot weight off his shoulders once they safely reach town with the strong box and got it to the bank.
"Hey Jess?" Slim called out to the dark haired cowboy.
"Yeah?" He replied, spinning his horse around to face where he'd left Slim standing.
"Keep your eyes open." The young rancher warned. With what had been happening around Laramie lately, he wanted his friend to be extra careful. He knew Jess was more than able to take care of himself but forewarned is forearmed, in his opinion.
"Yeah I'll do that. Both of 'em." Jess whirledhis mount and legged his horse into a lopeto catch the rapidly disappearing stage, puzzled by his partners parting words. Despite the easy banter between them, Jess could sense that something was off kilter. Maybe something had happened while he was on the trail with the cattle. No matter, he'd find out about it after he got back from town.
Time was getting on and Jess Harper had no desire to be in the saddle any longer than necessary. He'd had his butt plastered to the leather for the better part of three weeks, he was tired of eating dust and staring out between the ears of a horse. He wanted to discharge his duty of escorting the stage carrying the cattle money from the combined drive as soon as possible and get back to home, back to Sherman Ranch and Relay Station.
He snorted to himself as his mount clipped along at a ground eating lope. If'n anyone had ever told him that he'd find hisself a home one day, he'dve laughed in their faces. Jess hadn't known a regular home since he was a teenager. Sure there'd been towns and ranches where he'd hung his hat now and again but those were just places where he'd passed through on his way to somewhere else.
Sherman Ranch had been different. He'd taken a shine to Andy Sherman, younger brother to Slim, and Jonesy who'd been with the Shermans longer than anyone cared to recall. Slim had been the harder sell, not wanting to trust the young drifter with a fast gun and a hair trigger temper around his kid brother. In the end, Slim had offered Jess a job and a place to hang his hat and Jess had stayed, going off now again when the Big Open called to him, but always coming back. That was almost six months and several adventures ago. Jess was just beginning to get comfortable in calling Sherman Ranch home.
His thoughts returned again to Slim's parting words and the worried look in his friend's blue eyes as he caught up with the stage. A lot of the ranchers in the area would lose their livelihood if the money wasn't safely delivered to Laramie, Slim included. Maybe that's what his partner was worried about, the money getting into town.
Jess passed the stagecoach to take his place on point, his sapphire blue eyes sharp for anything that appeared out of the ordinary. He was now very familiar with this part of the country and if there was something wrong he'd know it. He was keenly aware that there were some in Laramie that hadn't trusted him with the job of getting the herd to the cattle buyers and the money back to Laramie. It was sometimes difficult to live down a past that was as, well, colorful as his.
Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his senses sharpened. His gut was telling him that something wasn't right and he'd not gotten this far in life by ignoring the feeling. They were passing through an area of the Laramie road where the forest drew close, the trees casting long shadows on the road ahead. Jess realized that this section of the road would make them an easy target for an ambush, if'n anybody was planning something. He slowed his mount to draw even with the stage driver and shotgun up on the box.
"Hey Ray!" Jess shouted over the din of galloping horses and rumble of wheels. "Look sharp! If'n there's any trouble I want you to set that team to runnin' and don't stop!"
"Sure Jess!" Ray shouted back in acknowledgment, slapping the lines against the four horses pull the stage. Jess looked over at the man riding shotgun, who nodded wordlessly as he turned his attention back to the road. He dropped back to issue a warning to the men riding inside the coach and then sped up to resume his position on point.
He'd no sooner resumed leading the stage when a sudden crack pierced the air and Jess felt a jerk and then intense pain in his right shoulder. The force of the bullets' impact toppled the dark haired cowboy from the saddle, his head connecting with the ground with a sickening thud. He fought to stay conscious, only barely aware of shouts from the stagecoach as the driver did as ordered and whipped up the horses into a gallop. The combination of the gun shots, the loss of his rider and the smell of blood thoroughly unnerved Jess' horse and the animal quickly turned tail for the safety of home. Instinct driving him to back to where it was familiar and where there was food and the safety of a warm barn.
There were more shots as Jess lay stunned for a moment at the side of the road, blood oozing from the wound in his shoulder. He tried to get up, to get to his horse and go after the coach, but the pain in his head matched the burning in his shoulder and the slightest movement only made it worse. He managed to get up on one knee, cradling his wounded arm but the world started to spin crazily and his vision started to blur at the edges. He could hear the sound of gunfire off in the distance and was stubbornly determined to join the fray. His injured body betrayed him however; his eyes rolled up in head as he collapsed face down on the ground, darkness claiming him.