Chris ran into his one room shack ready to face off with a hardened criminal, and what he found instead was a young boy!
"Please don't shoot, Mr. Larabee," the boy said, while sitting down the piece of bread he had been eating.
Chris realized that he was still pointing the gun, and he blinked to make sure he was seeing things correctly before he put his Colt back in the holster.
"What are you doing here?" Chris asked.
"Eating," the boy answered honestly.
"I can see that, but why are you in my house?" Chris continued, "where's your ma?" This boy couldn't be more than 10 years old.
"I'm sorry for stealin' your food, but I was hungry," the boy said, and then he finished quietly with, "my ma died about 6 months ago."
"How long have you been…livin' here?" Larabee couldn't believe the boy had been here for 6 months.
"Month or two; was sent to live in an orphanage right after Ma passed, but I ran away. That place was awful, mister…..real awful."
"How'd you know my name?" Chris was curious, "and what's your name?"
"My name's Buck Wilmington. I was a friend of Adam's when you lived near Eagle Bend," the dark-haired, blue-eyed little boy explained. "I heard you were livin' around here, and you and your wife were always nice to me and Ma."
Chris remembered now. It had been 4 years, so of course the boy had grown….but he could clearly see the resemblance. Buck's mother was a working girl in the local saloon, so she had trouble making friends and finding playmates for Buck. Sarah met her at a town picnic, and they had become friends. They also had their baby boys only a few months apart. Chris had not known that Mrs. Wilmington had passed away, but he hadn't really talked to anyone in the area since his family had been killed.
Things were running through Chris' head at a million miles a minute. What would he do with the boy? Did he tell the town that he found the thief? They're so riled up about it that they would probably expect him to hang this 9-year-old boy. Buck's dark blue eyes continued to stare at him, expecting some sort of response, so Chris just said, "yeah….I remember you now. I'll warm up some beans, and you can go ahead with your dinner. We'll sleep here tonight and figure out what to do in the mornin'."
For such a young boy, the kid sure wasn't shy. He talked all through dinner, telling Chris how sorry he was for taking things from the homesteaders. He said he kept moving from house to house, so he didn't take too much from any one family. Chris said they would return the coats and clothing he had taken, and Larabee would buy Buck some new clothes in town.
Chris suggested that they should let the orphanage folks know that Buck was safe, and the up-to-now calm boy starting screaming and crying.
"No, please, ya can't tell 'em where I am. They'll make me go back, and I just can't go back. Please, I'll do anything. I was doin' fine on my own…..ya don't have to look after me."
"OK, OK," Chris walked over and put his hand on the trembling boy's shoulders. "Like I said before, we'll figure all of this out tomorrow. Why don't we get some sleep?"
Chris was going to give the bed to the boy and sleep on his bedroll on the floor, but Buck was insistent that there was plenty of room for both of them. So, Chris laid down on the mattress. It was less than 10 minutes before Buck was sound asleep. Chris could feel the warm body cuddled up next to him, and he listened to the boy's steady breathing. "So this is what it would be like if Adam were still alive," Chris thought as he stared at the celing, and the emotions descended hard and fast on the widowed man. He got up and walked outside into the cool air. Chris made his way up the hill, brought Pony down to the house, and brushed and stroked his horse - the only thing left from his old life.
What would Adam think? Would he be jealous that his friend was here with his father when he couldn't be? Would he be happy for the two of them? "Yeah," Chris looked up at the stars. "Adam would be happy." That was just the kind of kid he was. After about an hour, Larabee heard the door open.
"Mr. Larabee?" Buck called.
"Yeah Buck, I'm comin'," Chris strode back up to the porch.
"Everything ok?" the boy asked, as the tall man walked past him and sat on the bed to remove his boots. "I woke up and you were gone."
"Everything's fine," Chris smiled and laid back down. He and Buck both slept soundly for the next 6 hours.
Josiah was surprised to hear someone in the church just before dawn the next morning.
The big man appeared, shirtless and with gun in hand, to find Chris Larabee standing there with a dark-haired boy.
"Who's your friend, brother Chris?" Josiah yawned.
"This is Buck Wilmington. Buck, this is my friend, Josiah," Chris introduced. "You're gonna stay here for a little while, until I check out some things…as long as that's ok with you, Josiah?"
"Fine with me," Josiah smiled and put out his hand to the boy. "It's very nice to meet you Buck."
The boy shook Josiah's large hand, but then called out as Chris turned to leave, "Don't go."
"I'm just gonna get us some breakfast. I'll be back in 10 or 15 minutes." Josiah walked to the church door, and Chris said quietly, "let's keep the boy out of sight for a while."
Josiah dipped his head in understanding, "come on son, I got some books and games back here that a boy your age should like."
Chris placed an order with Inez for three breakfast plates. He then went and sat down at a table with Vin. The saloon was deserted that time of the morning; there was one other old man in the far opposite corner drinking coffee.
"Cowboy, I think I got a problem," Chris said as he sat down and put his head in his hands.
"What kind of problem would that be?" Vin asked.
Chris took a deep breath and locked his green eyes with Vin's blue ones. "I caught the thief last night."
"What? That's great news," Vin said. "Who was it? Is he in the jail?"
"No, he's at the church," Chris responded.
"Why would the burglar be at the church?"
"Vin, it was a 9-yr-old boy," Larabee continued, "it was just a hungry, little orphan boy...trying to survive."
"What're you gonna tell the town folks?" Vin knew people were looking for someone to blame and punish.
"I have no idea," Chris said, "maybe nothing. If the robberies stop then maybe folks will move on and forget about it?"
"It's possible, but what are ya plannin' to do with the boy?" Vin had been orphaned himself at an early age, so he knew the kind of life that could mean for a kid.
"Your breakfast is ready, Senor Chris," Inez yelled out.
"Come on Vin," Chris motioned to the tracker, paid for the meals, and headed back to the church. He explained to Vin what Buck had said about the orphanage and asked the tracker to try and engage the boy in further conversation about it, if he could. He knew Vin had spent time in an orphanage as a boy himself.
"Josiah," Chris called as he entered the church. "It's me and Vin, and we brought some breakfast."
Buck's eyes lit up when he saw the meal of ham and eggs. He had been living on biscuits and beans for so long, he couldn't even remember when he'd eaten something so good. When Buck finished his plate, Chris handed over his.
"Here, you look like you could use this more than me," he smiled. Buck was tall for his age, and it had always been tough for him to eat enough to make his frame look anything but skinny. Chris thought the boy was sure making a good effort though, as Buck managed to finish all but a few bites of the second plate.
"This is another friend of mine, Vin," Chris introduced. "You can trust him and Josiah just like you do me; you can ask or tell them anything. Got it?"
"I got it," Buck answered, as he looked at the buckskin-clad man. He could see himself being comfortable around the long-haired man; the preacher he wasn't so sure about. Josiah was a very large fellow and had a loud, booming voice. Buck was going to make sure he didn't do anything to make Josiah angry at him.
"Nice to meet ya, Buck," Vin smiled at the handsome boy.
"You too, Mr…..uh, Vin."
"It's ok Buck, you can call us all by our first names," Chris instructed, "and we don't need the mister either."
"OK, nice to meet you Vin," the boy smiled.
"Chris said you spent some time in an orphanage?" Vin tried to gauge how much the boy was willing to talk. "I'm real sorry to hear about your ma. I know that's mighty hard on a young feller like yourself. My ma died when I was a youngen too."
"Really?" Buck questioned. "Did you have to go to an orphanage?"
"I did, for a while," Vin replied.
"I didn't like it there," Buck began. "Mr. Oates was not a nice man. I never saw a single kid go to a real family. He just rented or sold us out for work."
Chris heard this and said, "He did what? They were selling orphans out for slave labor?"
The boy shook his head, "yeah, I was working during the day for a rancher west of Eagle Bend when I decided to run away."
"How many kids were there?" Vin asked.
"I dunno; there were some that they sold for good, some that would come and go, and there were always new kids coming in…..I think they were bringin' 'em in from other areas too."
"Was this orphanage in Eagle Bend?" Chris questioned.
"No, it was a couple hour's ride away. It was called the 'Western home for boys.'"
"I'll be back," Chris started towards the door of the church, "gonna go talk to Mary for a bit."
As Chris walked towards the newspaper office, he heard folks arguing in Mrs. Potter's store and saw Ezra walking that way as well.
"Sir, I'm just in here shoppin' like anyone else," Emma Dunne was saying and held up a hand full of money. "JD, go pick something out for yourself. We're celebrating my new job." She had just heard this morning that she had gotten the maid job at the hotel.
"I am growing tired of having to ask you gentlemen what the problem is," Ezra entered the store and said.
When Larabee walked in behind Standish, the men simply said, "no problem. We were just leavin."
"Ezra," Chris greeted his fellow peacekeeper, and then tipped his hat to the lady, "Maam, everything ok?"
"It is now," she replied, "thanks to you and Mr. Standish."
"It is my pleasure, Mrs. Dunne," Ezra smiled, "and I would like to introduce you to my associate Mr. Chris Larabee."
"It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Larabee," she said and promptly paid for a few items, including a new hat that JD had picked out. She wanted to get a better look around town today and get all of her errands done since she was to start work at the hotel tomorrow morning.
Once they got outside, JD proudly placed his new bowler hat on his head and asked, "how do I look, Ma?"
Emma laughed, "you look very handsome, JD."
Emma had grown up in a Catholic family back in Boston. Now that she knew they would likely be staying for a while, she wanted to stop by the church and find out when services were scheduled.
"Hello, Mr. Sanchez," she called out as she opened the church doors. When she stepped inside, she saw the preacher, Mr. Tanner, and a young boy sitting on the front pews talking.
"I'm sorry. Is this a bad time?" she asked.
"Nah, maam, come on in," Vin answered. "You must be JD," he said looking at the black-haired little boy. "I'd like to introduce you to my friend Buck."
Buck stood and walked over to the younger boy, "what's with the hat?"
"What?" JD asked, "Everybody wears a hat out west. Besides, Ma said I looked handsome."
"Boy, there had to be a better hat to choose than that thing," Buck teased. He then quickly grabbed the hat and took off. JD chased the bigger boy around and around the church, both giggling and yelling as they ran.
"Well, I'd say they hit it off pretty well," Josiah smiled. "You might as well sit for a spell."
"Actually, gentlemen, would you mind if JD stayed here while I finish my errands," Emma smiled back and asked. "I hate to pull him away from his new friend so quickly."
"Sure thing, maam," Vin shook his head. "We'll be here when you're done."
The boys continued to run around and play. Vin was surprised at how quickly the boys had become friends. Buck didn't back off on the teasing, especially about the hat, but JD didn't seem to mind. It was like he enjoyed arguing with the older boy.
Chris returned about an hour later and was surprised to see Mrs. Dunne's boy at the church as well. Vin saw the questioning stare and said, "they kinda walked in on us, but I figured there weren't no harm in introducin' the two kids. Mrs. Dunne doesn't suspect anything; for all she knows, Buck always lived here."
"Alright," Chris replied and explained that, "I told Mary about the situation. She's gonna check into the home for boys, and I'm gonna hold a meeting later and explain that we have reason to believe that the thief has been caught. Hopefully that'll be good enough. I talked to Ezra on my way to the newspaper office too, so he knows about Buck."
Buck had been having so much fun playing with JD that he just now noticed that Chris was back. "Chris! I want you to meet my new friend, JD!"
"Good to meet you, JD," Chris smiled, and the two boys took off again around the church and jumping up and over the pews. It wasn't long though before JD landed wrong and howled in pain.
"JD," Buck ran over to the smaller boy, "you ok?"
"I hurt my ankle," the younger boy cried.
Chris, Vin, and Josiah had walked over by then.
"I guess it's time we introduce you boys to another friend of ours," Chris lifted JD and with Buck hot on his heels yelled back, "tell Mrs. Dunne that we're at Nathan's when she returns."
Chris carried the whimpering boy across town. "You're gonna be ok, JD," Buck tried to encourage his friend, but then looked at Chris and said, "he IS gonna be ok, right?"
"Yeah, our friend'll fix him right up," the blond said as he climbed the stairs to Nathan's clinic. "Boys, I'd like for you to meet the town healer, Nathan Jackson."
"Can you fix JD's leg Doctor Jackson?" Buck looked worriedly at the dark-skinned man.
"Ya don't need to call me doctor - Nathan's fine, and let's have a look," Jackson said as he removed JD's shoe and pulled up his pants leg. "How'd this happen?"
"We were chasin' each other around the church, and JD jumped over a pew and landed wrong," the older boy answered.
"Does it just hurt here?" Nathan pointed to a slightly swollen area on JD's ankle.
JD shook his head and said, "yeah."
"Well, I don't feel anything broken, so I think ya probably just sprained it." Nathan headed over to his cabinet and grabbed something to wrap up the ankle.
"Take it easy and stay off it for a couple of days, and I think it'll be just fine," Nathan instructed.
"Nate, can you take the boys back to the church when you're done?" Chris asked. "I'm gonna get Vin and Ezra and go talk to the town folks...tell 'em the robber shouldn't be a problem anymore," he said as he motioned with his head to Buck.
Nathan understood perfectly and said, "yeah, I'll take care of these two."
"Alright," Chris yelled over the loud and restless crowd, "everybody quiet down."
Just as the people started to settle down, Henry Morrison, screamed, "why ain't you boys caught this thief yet? The judge ain't payin' ya to sit in the saloon and drink and gamble all day!"
Chris turned to Ezra, rolled his eyes, and shook his head in disbelief at how quickly the town's folk forgot about all the things the peacekeepers had done for Four Corners. If all they did was sit around and gamble and get drunk, then those sure were dangerous hobbies. All five of the peacekeepers had been shot or stabbed or beaten on more than one occassion since accepting Judge Travis' offer.
Larabee collected himself and prepared to blatantly lie. "We have reason to believe that the thief was apprehended in a neighboring town. I don't have all the details, but my plan is to give it a few days and see what happens. If no more robberies occur, then I think we can consider the problem resolved. If there are additional break-ins, then we will continue the search for the perpetrator."
The town folks looked questionably amongst themselves. Most did not believe that the correct person had actually been caught, but the robberies had been happening every day or every other day, so it wouldn't take long to find out. "What makes you think they got the guy?" Mr. Morrison spoke out again loudly.
"Because they sent some of the stolen items back," Chris responded and held up a sack full of boys' clothing. "It may not be everything, but come and look through it and claim what's yours."
All of a sudden, the crowd settled and began to dissipate. That was convincing evidence to most folks, so it was time to find something else to get worked up about.
Vin headed over to the jail to ready for his patrol, and Ezra and Chris made their way back to the church.
Mrs. Dunne was there, talking to Josiah and Nathan, and Chris asked, "JD, how's your foot doin'?"
"It's doin' better," the little boy answered, "Nathan says I should be able to run around again in a couple of days."
"Well, I should probably be going," Emma said and went to lift JD and carry him to their buggy.
"Please, allow me," Ezra flashed a charming smile and easily scooped up the boy and carried him down the steps of the church.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Standish," Emma smiled back. The gambler had been very kind to her, and she had to admit that she was beginning to develop a fondness for the handsome, green-eyed man. "Would you care to escort us home and have dinner with us?"
"Why, I would be honored Mrs. Dunne," Ezra flashed his gold tooth.
"Then please call me Emma," she laughed nervously.
"Very well, Emma, please call me Ezra."
The three remaining men at the church looked at each other and laughed. The woman and her boy had just ridden off, towards their home, with Ezra Standish in tow.
