Detour 10

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

True to his word, Matt was up and getting ready to leave long before the sun rose the next morning. He'd spent the night alone in the small room Cord Fleming called home, while at the fort. After a dinner of beans and coffee, Cord had shown him to the room and left.

He had no idea where Cord had spent the night and didn't much care. He had nothing against the tall, tanned mountain man and he had nothing for him either. He was concerned with only one person. And nothing else mattered until he had her back.

Stepping out into the lightless morning, Matt was surprised to find Cord leaning lazily against a post, his sweat stained hat low over his eyes and his head down, arms folded across his chest. "Thought I was going to have come in and roust you out of there." Cord remarked as he straightened himself and pushed his hat back. "That shoulder of yours must be worse than you let on. Either that or you just like to sleep late."

Matt answered with a grunt and a scowl as he headed off towards his horse. His shoulder did in fact still bother him and though he'd turned in early, he hadn't managed a great deal of sleep as his mind constantly conjured up all of the things that could be happening to Kitty. He chose not to mention either of those things.

"Got your horse already saddled." Cord told him, as he walked along beside him. "Thanks to a couple of friends, I've got extra provisions as well. We're going to need them where we're going."

Matt stopped and looked over at his soon to be traveling companion. "What makes me think, the army doesn't exactly know about the extra provisions."

Cord snorted. "What the army doesn't know won't hurt them. But I do think it'd be a good idea if we were to leave now, before certain lieutenants and colonels get up for the day. We can breakfast later."

Matt shook his head and stepped over to his horse, mounted up and followed Cord from the fort.

The two rode until the sun was high in the sky and the fort was a distant thought, before Cord finally reined in. "There's a small crick up that way. We can let the horses rest a bit and make some coffee. I've got some biscuits in a sack here we can eat for breakfast. Don't think we ought to waste much time for anything else."

"Sounds good." Matt responded.

Once they dismounted, the two men loosened the cinches on their horses but left them saddled. After taking care of their mounts, a small fire was built and a pot of coffee was soon in the making.

Matt sat back against the trunk of a tree and munched on the biscuit Cord had handed him. "They're not bad." He nodded his thanks.

"Yeah, old Ernie isn't good for too much, but he sure can make biscuits." Cord answered.

Something in the scout's speech interested Matt and he looked rather curiously over at his guide. "What school did you attend back east, Cord?" He asked nonchalantly.

Cord gave him a small smile. "I used to try and disguise my education." He answered frankly. "But it got to be too much of a bother, so I quit. I went to school in Philadelphia. My father was a banker. I was not. I hated being cooped up indoors all day with nothing but paper. Besides I wasn't any good at it. So, when I was eighteen, I took what money I could scrape together, without my father's knowledge, and hopped the first train going west. Been here for ten years."

"Ever had cause to regret it?" Matt asked.

Cord ate the last of his biscuit, checked the coffee, pouring them both a cup, and took another biscuit, before answering. "Yes, I have," he said at length. "Every time I see some of the atrocities man visits upon man out here." He paused. "And women." He added dismally.

"Doesn't matter if it's white's hurting Indians or the other way around, it's not easy to take. But every time I wake up free to do what I want, when I want, and I see the beautiful sights God put out here, I forget the bad and just keep going. Besides I figure maybe I can be a part of the solution if I work hard enough."

"The solution?"

Cord nodded. "The solution to all the killings by both sides. I keep hoping I'll be able to make a difference."

Matt nodded but didn't reply. That was something he had been trying to do himself but all too often, he didn't feel like he'd made much progress. Swallowing the last of his coffee, he got to his feet. "Guess we'd better get going."

Cord finished his own coffee and ate the last of his biscuit. "Yes, we need to cover as much ground as we can, while we have the light. I know a place we can camp tonight but we ought to try and get there before it gets too late. These mountains aren't too hospitable after dark."

"How far we going?" Matt asked as he tightened the cinch back up on his horse.

Cord nodded his head to the north. "Straight up that mountain." He looked over at the stricken expression on Matt's face. "I know you're worried about her." He told him. "And I can't promise what shape she'll be in when we find her. But I promise you, we will find her."

Matt nodded. "I know we'll find her." He said softly. "I just hope she's alive to appreciate it."

Cord concentrated on putting up the coffee makings and getting his horse ready to ride as he spoke, not willing to see the look in the big man's eyes. "Will it matter to you if they… I mean if she's been…"

"It won't matter." Matt stated flatly as he mounted up. "Nothing matters as long as she's alive."

Cord smiled at that as he too mounted up. He recognized the truth in the man's tone of voice and his esteem, for his new friend, just rose quite a bit. Turning his horse to the north, he looked back at Matt. "Let's go get your woman."

TBC