Chapter 4 – Measures and Countermeasures

I glared at MacDonald as he picked himself off the floor while I took Kitty's arm. He stared back. I'd planned on this being a long evening for us so I dressed for the occasion, including what she refers to as my courting coat and best string tie under the warm jacket I wore against the almost mid-March evening chill. The man I'd just knocked down sure came close to spoiling it.

I could feel General Beau Macdonald's eyes burning into my back as I put my arm around Kitty's waist and her arm curled around my waist once the batwing doors of the Long Branch swung closed behind us. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled a small warning, but not enough of one to make me turn around to face whatever sidearm he had hidden beneath his coat because I got no warning from Quint or Sam.

For once we actually managed a leisurely supper at Delmonico's. I was even able to walk her back to work with a promise to see her later before starting my early evening rounds. It wasn't until I was well into those rounds that I heard a shot. It sounded like it came from a couple of blocks toward the railroad depot and maybe a street over. I raced down Front Street and turned left at First Avenue toward the alley that provides rear access to the shops on the north side of our main business street. A crowd was already gathering in back of the Gosley harness shop that's next door to the Mercer's saddler shop. Their homes are directly opposite their businesses, but facing Chestnut Street, a couple of houses further east toward Bridge Street.

Young Jeff Mercer lay on the ground while his father Stuart argued with his counterpart, Martin Gosley, who still held the gun he'd obviously used in his hand. Mrs. Mercer knelt by her fallen son and glared across his body toward Mrs. Gosley who was trying to pull her daughter Nora away from Jeff's side. I pushed my way through the crowd and took the revolver from the unresisting Gosley. After ordering everyone to move back and for someone to get Doc, I knelt by the boy, who was trying to rise despite the bullet in his left shoulder.

"Take it easy Jeff. Lie back until Doc has a chance to look at you. If you're not family and have nothing useful to tell me move along. It's all over."

The crowd of onlookers didn't move more than a foot but made room for Doc to get to the small group at their center so he could see to Jeff. After a quick examination to determine how badly the boy was hurt he gave orders for the Mercers to help their son stand up and walk the short distance to Doc's office. The spell broke. Folks began moving away, including the Gosleys.

"Hold on Martin, Mrs. Gosley, Nora. I need to know what happened. Let's go inside to talk."

"I reckon it would be better in private. The Mercers already know my reasons but there's no need for the rest of the Yankees in this town to know. I don't rightly want you, a Yankee lawman, in my home or to even talk to you, but I'll do it if it gets you off my back and to spare my womenfolk further embarrassment. Besides, you've got my gun."

I sensed the hand of MacDonald in this. Maybe after I talked with both families I'd know just how much of a hand. I followed the three Gosleys through their yard and into the back door of their home. I waited for the three of them to take a seat on the sofa before I sat in a chair opposite, taking a quick glance at the distance to the shotgun above the fireplace and to the door as I did it. We sat in silence. The parents glared at me, while Nora's eyes flicked back and forth from her parents to me.

Nora's expression changed to one of determination. Then she began to relate her version of the events leading up to her father shooting her young man. MacDonald had stopped by the harness shop out front briefly to drop off a bridal he wanted repaired and told them he would have ordered a new saddle from the Mercers if he hadn't learned they were Yankees from his new friend Reginald Crestwood. He implied a Yankee would booby-trap whatever he provided for a known son of the Confederacy. However, it was a visit from former homesteader and now evicted tenant farmer Fred Wilson and homesteader Josiah Wilkins, who, like them, was originally from near Chattanooga, in Tennessee, that turned her parents against Jeff.

"Marshal, I don't see why us being from Tennessee and the Mercers from Missouri should suddenly make a difference. Jeff told me his folks favored the north, but both of us were kids during the war. I was 17 on my last birthday and he'll be 19 next month."

"I didn't realize it, but Wilkins served with me in the War of Northern Aggression. I'd forgotten he was our captain since I don't see much of him. He told me Stu Mercer nearly killed him at Shiloh. Unlike his younger brother Clayton, who was taken down by a Yankee bullet in the same battle, Mercer was a traitor to his heritage. Any man capable of that can't have raised his son properly. I told Mercer and that boy of his that the engagement was off and if I caught Jeff anywhere near my Nora I'd shoot him."

"Martin, I know feelings still run high even after all these years, but I have to agree with your daughter. The kids weren't at Shiloh like you and I were. They shouldn't have to choose sides. I can only hope Stan's more sensible about this and doesn't press charges. If he does I'll have to arrest you. Meanwhile, I'll keep your gun and take your shotgun. Whatever happens, you might think about what Nora said."

"Before I agree to hand over my shotgun, I want you to answer one question, Dillon. Which side were you on at Shiloh and where was your unit from?"

"That was two questions, but I have no problem answering. I served in a Union Calvary unit that was transferred to Tennessee from Texas."

"I thought you were a Kansas lawman, but it turns out that like Mercer you're a traitor to the South. That's far worse than being a Yankee because you were born to it. I won't let you have my shotgun!"

With those words, Gosley stood and tried to grab for the shotgun. I got to him just as he was reaching for it despite Myrtle Gosley's attempt to get between her husband and me. I now had no choice but to arrest him. Chester was in the office when I got there so I left him to lock up the previously law abiding business owner while I went to talk to Jeff Mercer, if he was up to it, and his parents to get their side of things. The story was similar, but it was Ben Fuller who convinced Stu Mercer to change his mind about his son marrying Nora Gosley. Jeff felt the same as his girl. His mother Edith sided with his father. Still, the older Mercer surprised me when he declined to press charges.

"Gosley did what was right for his girl. I told Jeff now that we know how she was raised he was better off staying away from Nora. Only if he did more than slightly wound my boy would I insist you arrest that snake. If Jeff had died I'd want to see Gosley hang. He had to have taught his daughter to uphold slavery and privilege. In my own family I sided with my pa against slavery while my ma wanted to preserve the southern way of life. Ma's folks lived just over the Tennessee line when pa was courting her."

I don't know what Fuller was doing stirring up Dodge citizens who grew to manhood in those states where a man could go either way and family loyalties were often split. Perhaps he felt someone had to do something to balance against MacDonald and his friends. I suspect it's merely a chance to make a pile of money and not any desire to restart the war on a smaller scale in Dodge. MacDonald wants just that. He's following the pattern he set in previous towns. As in the past, the man is careful. He doesn't act directly so I can't charge him with anything; at least not yet. Still, he's bound to make a mistake. Maybe having him followed will pay off before it's too late for my town.