Chapter 10 – Tables Turned

Coleson didn't bother to struggle in Matt's grasp. He felt there was no need. Instead he barked orders.

"Don't kill them if you can avoid it. Even the oldest looks like there's at least six months worth of work in him," Coleson declaimed as the remaining guards approached.

We'd failed. Even if we survived, my career was over and so was my marriage to Amanda. I had no idea about Pomeroy or any of the other marshals but as much as Miss Kitty loves Matt even she would find it hard to forgive him for taking such a big chance with the life of their oldest child. At least Jim and the other two boys were safe at Chief Irwin's home until they left for their destinations. Maybe they'd get where they were going if they stayed off the train until they were well out of this part of western Missouri, but Coleson had sent those two men after Nat all the way to his home in Dodge.

Those were the bleak thoughts running through my mind as we were surrounded, disarmed and held at gunpoint to be marched toward what Coleson gleefully called the punishment room and cells, which must be in addition to the whipping post in his inner office and buried deep within the mine. Yet another flaw in Matt's plan was revealed in that man's smirk. We hadn't planned on him waiting until he'd almost lost everything to call his obviously loyal men to his defense.

Maybe I hadn't thought of the possibility of failure, but Matt had already set a contingency plan in motion. Mr. Clayborne and Lionel, the current US Marshal for Kansas headquartered in Dodge City, and Derrick Walker, his Denver District Attorney father, would have to lead the fight to free those unlawfully taken and expose those responsible before any new captive died. Needless to say Matt had already told Gil Clayborne to inform Jim's parents for what was sure to hit all the major papers thanks to the arrests we'd managed if he couldn't get off an immediate telegram. Once he was eventually released Matt would take it upon himself to explain what he'd done and why to Jim Crawford's parents Doug and Harriet and sister Emma. He'd do it in person and hope they wouldn't reject Nat because of his father's mistakes. Then, as the cliché goes, the cavalry arrived in the nick of time.

"I do believe Pomeroy, Dillon that you two haven't quite finished the job," Sr. US Marshal Paxton remarked as he spotted our group and recognized the two men. "You arranged transport for some of the gang to Kansas City, but you left most of them and all the witnesses being held here behind."

"Sorry, Glen," Ed Pomeroy replied. "We ran into a little snag, but with your help it'll soon be put right."

"Ed's right. We couldn't leave you completely out of it," Matt added as he grabbed hold of Coleson again, Nat took charge of Slocum and Pomeroy and I tackled our remaining would be captors.

Now that we had the medic, two guards and their boss under control, it was a simple matter for Paxton's reinforcements to make sure they couldn't turn the tables again. His posse totaled 20, but the ten, including himself, who'd penetrated this far into the LCM Mine, were more than enough to complete our task. Although this was still Matt's plan, as the senior man in rank and with jurisdiction over not only Kansas but also Missouri, Paxton was technically in charge.

"The 21 stowed in the prison wagons at the beginning of this mission are already on their way to Kansas City's most secure jail cells along with the ones you left along the way Matt. The irons on their few captives were removed and those men are waiting to ride the train back. We've already freed the prisoners by the siding and taken their keepers into custody under the watchful eye of half my men. Matt, the final step's yours. Lead the way."

Judge and temporarily unretired US Marshal Matt Dillon began with securing Thomas Coleson while Nat dealt with the more belligerent of the two guards and Pomeroy took care of the other. That left me with Slocum until all of them were formally charged. Meanwhile Paxton yielded to seniority in years if not in rank. Matt spoke to Coleson so everyone could hear.

"When you went after my son, you picked on the wrong man. A Dillon knows there's no place within the law for greed and exploitation. Like me he'll fight it until his dying breath."

With that declaration father and son backhanded the two men before throwing the shackles at them to put on. Everyone involved in making the arrests and freeing their captives who knew Matt Dillon either personally or by reputation smiled as they continued securing their prisoners with the very restraints that had held their victims.

It took some time to unshackle the 50 slaves held in the working part of the mine, but the 30 guards with them didn't put up much of a fight. They reluctantly handed us the keys then stood quietly with their previously arrested fellows. All of them, Slocum and Coleson included, submitted to the restraints we'd removed from the men they'd shanghaied. It was a sullen bunch that put on the shackles of those who'd so recently been their prisoners to board the train.

Removing the shackles from the former prisoners and walking to the waiting train gave me a chance to scrutinize the faces of the men and half grown boys who'd been forced to mine Coleson's coal. I compared each of them to the mental image I formed from the description Warren's parents, Collin and Emily Otterbein provided. If a lad seemed a possible match, I asked him a few questions. I finally got the right answers from an emaciated, pallid but otherwise seemingly healthy lad of at most 20.

"Yeah, I got taken six months ago on my way home to Chicago. I'm 19 and my name's Warren Otterbein," he replied to my inquiries.

"I'll wire your folks as soon as we reach Kansas City. However, until you testify against those who took and held you against your will, you'll have to remain in the housing the legitimate authorities provide for you. I'll do everything in my power and within the power of the Pinkerton Agency to make sure that time's kept to a minimum."

We cleared out the mine Tuesday night. By Thursday morning a federal attorney had interviewed more than half of the more than 100 prosecution witnesses. If he worked long hours he'd be ready for trial Monday. For their part the defense, led by Coleson's personal lawyer, figured a quickly scheduled trial worked to their advantage. Alas, not knowing how long the trial would last Matt and I sent vaguely worded wires in the wee hours of Wednesday morning to Dodge, Princeton, Philadelphia, Chicago and Denver while accommodations were secured for everyone involved in prosecuting the upcoming trial. Matt and Nat joined Jim at Chief Irwin's house. Hoffner welcomed my client's son Warren, Pomeroy, Paxton and I into his Independence home.

Thomas Coleson and those he hired weren't the only ones looking at a spell in Leavenworth. The entire precinct in the warehouse district with the exception of those called as prosecution witnesses, several high ranking city officials including the deputy mayor, all the Deputy US Marshals assigned to the Kansas City office and all but Hoffner and his five hand-picked men from the Independence office were tied to some extent to the scandal.

Now all we had to do was wait for our part in the trial. We were lucky. Our turns came starting Monday morning May 27th at the very beginning of the prosecution case. It was out of consideration for Matt needing to get home to his family, any pending cases awaiting him as a judge and Jim to his internship with Doc. In my case it was so I could escort the now free Warren Otterbein to Chicago before heading west to my home in Denver where I knew other cases and my wife awaited my attention. Hence, Pomeroy, who'd been in on most of it, was the main witness despite the plan being Matt's so there was no necessity to wait for the inevitable convictions and sentencing. Of course we bid farewell to Joe Phy, who was happy to provide what testimony he could.

A week later I stopped off in Dodge on my way home to Denver. The entire Dillon clan, including Albert and Sharon Goode, Festus and Doc, Doc's new intern Jim Crawford, and that transplanted Denver couple Lionel and Eileen Walker, greeted me as I stepped off the train. I certainly hadn't expected that. I reckon I've got a home in Dodge as well as my childhood home in Chicago. At the Dillon ranch we celebrated our successful destruction of a conspiracy that had directly and indirectly ruined so many lives.

LCM Mine was under new, honest ownership that had to compete fairly with nearby mines and the mines in Colorado, which incidentally supply all the coal in Dodge. As to those brought to justice the convictions ran the gamut of possible charges. They ranged along the entire scale from the most serious, kidnapping and armed robbery, to the least serious, impersonating an officer of the law and practicing medicine without a license, with numerous intermediate felony convictions. Alas, Thomas Coleson and his underlings weren't convicted of murder due to lack of direct evidence. It seems fitting they won't see the light of day outside the Leavenworth exercise yard for at least 20 years, most of it at hard labor.