Capturing the Flame

Chapter 12

Every Journey Has An End

Calleigh kept Belle a short distance behind, watching for Festus' signals in order to keep out of his way. They had left the Roster farm several miles back. Festus stopped short and slid down from Ruth's back. "Did Matthew say whether that Jake Worth fella sent alla his men to them woods by Potter's Farm?"

"Between Jake's men and the volunteers from town, they've searched everything within a twenty-mile radius." Calleigh took advantage of the stop to stretch her legs. "Any farther than that and the kidnappers couldn't have gotten to Parson's Creek for the money by high noon."

She began to look for the signs with a tracker's eye like Festus had taught her over the years, but her mind was back on the ransom drop. "Do you think they have the money yet?"

"I'm a guessin' they do. But we'll find that boy, don't you go a frettin'." Festus stood on the side of the road looking in all directions. "These here tracks ain't a leadin' to them woods. They's a going in a complete opp'sit di-rection."

Calleigh noticed something red, nestled within a pile of twigs. She leaned down to retrieve the sticky, round ball and then cast it aside. As she walked up the path a few feet, she noticed another little ball, this time yellow.

Festus pointed up toward the plains. "The Kiowas is the onlyest thing in that thar direction." When he didn't get a response, he turned back to his partner. "Did cha find sumthin, Calleigh girl?"

She pushed the yellow object with the toe of her boot. Her mind spun a notion too wild to even risk bringing to life with spoken words. Still, her eyes began to search, for just... one... more... She was about to give up when she spotted it—another red, sticky jellybean. "Hansel and Gretel," she murmured.

"Who?"

"Hansel and… never mind. It's a story I've been reading to Cooper and Hadley, about two lost kids leaving a trail of bread crumbs." Festus wore a mask of confusion. "Don't you see? Cooper is leaving us a trail of jellybeans!"

"Ya shore bout that?" Festus knew better than to doubt Calleigh, but a part of him was still a bit skeptical.

"Well, let's look around for another one…" The two leaned over, carefully poking and studying the twigs and rocks of the earth's floor. It was almost five feet from the last one, but there it was—a third, red jellybean. "Who else would be up here with jellybeans?" Her question was a good one and finally, Festus was convinced.

"Them there candies is takin us toward the Kiowas. I'd bet my bottom dollar they'd be a hidin in one of them broke down shacks in that abandoned gold mining camp!"

Festus looked at his Calleigh girl. Tiny wrinkles collected across her forehead as she strained to find the next clue. She chewed on the corner of her lip. This was a stressful habit that was common knowledge among those that loved her.

"We is gonna find him and he's gonna be all right."

"I know. It's just that…he's my boy, Festus."

"And he's a smart'en, too. You see how he's a helpin us. He'll outsmart them mens, you jest wait un see."

Calleigh managed a worried half-smile, "If anything happens to him…"

"But it ain't gonna." Festus took the lead again. He wasn't sure he could stop her if something went wrong. Though, he wasn't sure he would want to. Cooper Dillon was a pretty special little boy.

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Tommy and Cooper had heard the men talking about Parson's Creek. Tommy remembered going there with his Pa last year to go fishing. The last two summers had been exceptionally hot and the winters mild. Between the last two seasons, the creek had dried up. Still, he figured that would be the best place to try to find the Marshal and anyone that might be helping to search for them.

CooperCoopeCooperCooperCooper

Cooper peeked through a small hole in the rotted board that separated him from the other room. By the time the bald man had seen Tommy heading toward the hills, the boy was too far ahead to catch; but Toke gave it a valiant try. Cooper watched through the opening on the back wall and as soon as the man was out of sight, he opened the small door to the other room and slipped out. Before he had a chance to get far, he could hear the bald man huffing and puffing, as he was running back toward the shack.

The young boy stood motionless for a moment, knowing he probably couldn't outrun the fully grown man.

In his search for a way to escape, it occurred to him to look up. There, growing next to the shack was the perfect hiding place. Calleigh had taught him how to climb and he knew he could make it high enough up to conceal himself. The limbs had grown almost like steps. He hugged the trunk scaling his way up to the first branch and then in pure monkey style, continued to pull himself upward. About half way up, he discovered a near perfect limb. At the point where it branched off the trunk, there was a flat spot, perfect for sitting and for watching the shanty below.

Cooper had settled himself into his secret place just as the bald man made it back to the front door. He watched him go inside. When he heard the man yelling and cursing, Cooper knew it was because he had escaped, just like Tommy. It was almost funny, watching the stocky, bald man running around the outside of the shack.

Titas returned to the shanty feeling almost giddy. He had never held that much money. Never seen that much money. He wasn't sure that until today, he even believed that much money existed. "Toke. Toke come on out, you gotta see this!"

The bald man stood in the doorway, hesitant to step outside. "Get the money?"

Titas stopped, his hands that just seconds ago were waving handfuls of money, now hung at his side. "What happened?"

"They're gone. Both boys are gone." Normally, Toke wasn't afraid of Titas, but the excitement of the money had made the loathsome man erratic at best. Just to be safe, the bald man kept his hand near his gun.

"Gone?" Titas looked around as if he would spot them that easily. "How did they get away?"

Toke was leery of his tall, lanky partner's casual tone. "They pulled a rotten board off the back wall and ran off."

" How long they been gone?" Again, Titas sounded more surprised than angry.

"I don't know. Probably thirty minutes. What do you want to do? Go after them?"

Titas' reaction came as a complete surprise when he gave birth to a nasty, leering smile. "What do we care? We got the money and they got their brat back." He started back into the shack "Let's get our stuff and get out of here."

Cooper watched them disappear and readjusted himself to get more comfortable. Just then, he heard the sound of an approaching rider and soon saw another man come up to the shanty. This must be the older man they'd heard talking. He'd sounded like the boss, the way he was giving orders to the other two men. Cooper wondered if this man would take the news of their escape as easily as the other two.

From this view, Cooper couldn't see the latest arrival's face. Even when he tried to lean forward a little, the man's wide-brimmed hat concealed his identity. The boy watched the two men walk outside to greet the third man.

"From the look on your face, I guess everything went as planned?" Weather remained standing beside his horse.

"That Dillon woman gave up the money all right." Titas took on a cocky stance "Course I had to slap her some, but she come around."

"Anybody follow you?" He watched Titas disappear into the shanty and return with a bag.

"Nope. They was too afraid we'd kill the boy."

Toke had remained silent throughout the exchange. Unlike Titas, he was feeling uneasy by the way Weather kept his distance. Granted he only had one hand, but it was his gun hand and losing the other one sure hadn't slowed him down any. Self-preservation prompted Toke to take a safety step back, but it was already too late.

Weather had the gun drawn before Toke could step back inside the shanty. Titas was still too cocky to realize he was in danger. "What the hell you doing? We're partners!"

"Yeah? Well I'm dissolving the partnership." Mayford fired the shot before Titas even had time to understand Weather's meaning. The tall, lanky man fell to the ground, face first in the dirt. Weather inched his way over to the bag of money still clutched in the dead man's hand. "He was such a fool."

Toke's eyes darted in all directions, searching for a way out, or a place to hide. "You can take all the money. You don't have to kill me."

Weather stared at the frightened man. "I know I don't…" He paused for a moment and then fired a kill shot, "but I really want to." He slid the gun back into his holster and grabbed the bag. Without even a glance back at the two dead men, Weather Mayford climbed onto his horse and rode off.

The young boy quickly slapped his hands over his mouth to keep his screams from escaping.

Titas had fallen face down, about five feet from the base of the tree. Toke, on the other hand, was lying directly below the boy. Cold, lifeless eyes stared up into the tree.

Cooper wrapped his arms around his body, hugging himself tight as he stared into those eyes. It didn't occur to him to climb down, or even cry. All he could do was stare into those soulless black pools.

KiowasKiowasKiowasKiowasKiowas

Festus and Calleigh arrived at the deserted mining camp. The jellybean trail had become scarce; the young woman figured her little brother was running out and using them sparingly. There were several abandoned shacks, but only one had a pair of horses tied up outside. Only one had two dead bodies sprawled in front of them.

Calleigh pulled on her partner's sleeve as they approached the dead bodies. Festus followed her gaze to the ground. What looked to be a small handful of jellybeans had been ground into the twigs and dried leaves. He could feel his girl becoming tense. "Now, jest stay calm. We don't know whut happened here. I'll go inside, jest stay put!"

"No! I...I have to go in." Calleigh stepped up beside him. They both drew their guns and carefully worked their way toward the shack. While Festus went in from the south side of the door, Calleigh took the opposite position and they rushed in. Both were relieved not to find the boy's body, but equally concerned as to where he was.

The two stepped back outside."Wael, there weren't no blood, so that ther's a good sign."

Calleigh agreed with a nod as she contemplated the dead bodies. "There must be a third man."

"How'd ya know they didn't shoot they own selves? Mebbe they got to fightin' over the money."

"Then where is the money?" Calleigh wandered over toward the tree and leaned against the rough layer of bark adhered to the trunk. "And where is my Cooper?"

Festus walked over and stood beside her. "We'll find the little fella."

"I'm scared Festus. I can't imagine life without that boy." The young woman shook her head to fight off the impending tears. Anger suddenly overtook her and she kicked at the soft dirt at the base of the tree. "I WANT MY BOY!" Calleigh screamed up to the heavens. Her cries suddenly fell silent and her heart began to pound as she spied the boy of her heart, crouched above her.

"Festus, he's here!" She began to frantically point up toward the center of the tree. "Cooper! Coop, answer me, sweetheart." Calleigh followed his glassy stare to the dead men. "He's in shock; we've got to get him down from there! I can get up there, but I'm not strong enough to lift him down. Can you climb-"

Her words stopped abruptly when the hill man gently pushed her aside, "Are ya forgettin' who taught yer ownself to climb!" Festus quickly made his way up the tree and managed to grab the boy and scoot down to a lower limb. "Can you reach him from here?"

"Yeah, lower him down…" Calleigh reached up and took the boy. Normally, he was too big for her to handle but adrenaline was a wonderful thing. She managed to get him to the ground. Festus quickly dropped down beside them and carried the boy back into the shack.

Despite his size, Calleigh demanded to hold him. She sat Cooper on her lap and rocked him back and forth, whispering soothing words. Festus immediately returned with the canteen the young doctor had requested and they forced a few sips of water into Cooper's mouth. After a while, she could feel his body begin to relax.

"Calleigh?"

Calleigh wasn't sure she had ever heard a sweeter sound than when he called her name. She covered his face with kisses, "What baby boy?"

"Did you find my jellybeans?"

"Did we ever! Why that there was the biggest bestest clue we ever did get!" Festus had knelt down in front of the boy. "How'd you ever git so smart?"

"It was in the book." Cooper looked up at Calleigh as she brushed her fingers through his curls, "I'm sorry I made fun of it and called it a baby book."

She smiled and hugged him again. "I am so proud of you."

"Is Tommy all right?"

His question caught the rescuers by surprise. Calleigh and Festus looked at each other and then to the boy. "Tommy?" Calleigh repeated, "Why wouldn't he be all right?"

"Those two men took both of us. They only wanted me, but they didn't know which one of us was me. I mean-"

"It's okay, Coop. I know what you meant. How did you get loose?"

"They were going to shoot us as soon as they got the money. We broke a board on the back wall and Tommy went out. I was too big. He ran for help and when the bald man went after him, I ran out the front and hid in the tree. They were scary, Calleigh."

"I know sweetheart, but you don't have to be afraid of them ever again."

"But there was another man. He's the one that told them to shoot us both." In typical Cooper fashion, he had other concerns. "Is Momma okay? That one man said he hit her."

"Your Momma is fine; or at least she will be, as soon as she sees you." Calleigh waited for Cooper to stand and then walked him outside. She was careful to guide him away from the bodies.

"I recken she's a waitin for you at home this here very second."

"You bet she is." Calleigh mounted Belle and Festus lifted Cooper up behind her. The boy wrapped his arms tightly around his sister's waist creating a mutual feeling of comfort.

MKMKMKMKMKMK

Matt watched until Kitty was out of sight, then he turned to his two companions and headed up to the peak of the hill. Buck followed his master's lead and stopped. The Marshal stretched up in the saddle, searching the area as far as he could see. "He could have gone either way from here."

"Roster's farm is over there, so that means Calleigh and Festus should be to the south." Newly pointed toward the farm. "Do you want to head that way and meet up with them?"

The Marshal looked back one more time, "Yeah, let's hope they had some luck."

TommyTommyTommyTommyTommy

Tommy Rachel had arrived at the creek bed, but no one was there. He knew if he went through the clearing at the bottom of the hill, it would eventually take him into town. He also knew it would give him cover if any of the three men came looking for him.

Tommy wondered if his grandfather knew that it was his own grandson in the back room. By the tone of the man's voice, Tommy figured it didn't much matter. The old man would kill him just as quickly as he would kill Cooper. It made Tommy angry and saddened him as well. Not that his parents weren't good to him, but they were always so busy working to build a home. He wanted someone to take him fishing, tell him wild, fantastic stories, just someone who really wanted to be with him.

Again, he compared his life to Cooper Dillon's. That boy was surrounded by people that doted on him. It wasn't jealousy that surfaced this time, but a twinge of guilt. He saw that little boy stand up for him against a killer and then even helped him to escape. Tommy thought about how sad all those people would be if something happened to Cooper and it made Tommy Rachel run even faster to find the Marshal.

CalleighCooperCalleighCooper

Calleigh hit the top of the ridge only seconds before Festus. Three sets of eyes, three wide grins, watched the approaching trio. "It's my Daddy!" Cooper shouted. "Look, Calleigh. Festus, it's my Daddy!"

Belle bolted forward upon command. Calleigh could see the look of relief pass over the three men. Matt heard the cries of his son and was pressing Buck to move faster. As soon as he was close enough, he dismounted and ran toward Belle.

Big strong hands reached up and pulled the boy into his arms. "Cooper..." Matt pressed his son to his body as if he were no more than an infant. "Cooper, we were so worried."Matt finally released the boy enough to search his face. "Are you all right, son?"

The curly-headed boy leaned back, grin in place, "Calleigh and Uncle Festus found me. I helped."

Matt had no idea what that meant. He was just so grateful to have the boy back safe and sound. He looked to Calleigh for more information. "Where are they?"

"Dead."

Matt's eyes narrowed as if to question her answer.

"Not by us!" She added quickly. "It was Titas Packert and Toke Kitchens. The money was gone. Looks like they had a silent partner."

"One that figgered he was due more'n just his share of that there money, I'd guess." Festus added.

The boy still rested on Matt's arm with his smaller arm wrapped around his Daddy's neck. "Did you see the other man, Cooper?"

The boy shook his head, "No, Daddy. I couldn't see his face. I'm sorry."

"He was too busy leaving clues for me and Festus, to get a good look at the other man." Calleigh was quick to squash any blame that the boy might be putting on himself. "When we get home, we'll have to tell everybody about the jellybeans."

Matt had to admit he was curious, but the story would have to wait. "We need to get you home. Your Momma is worried sick."

"Matt, they took the little Rachel boy, too."

The Marshal's gaze instantly returned to his son. "They took both of you?"

Cooper nodded. "I heard them talking. They didn't know which of us to take, so they took us both. We broke a rotted board in the wall and he was able to get free. He said he would find you."

"He must have gone to the creek bed after we left. Cooper, will you be all right with Calleigh? I need to go look for Tommy?"

"Sure Daddy." He slipped out of his Daddy's arms and ran to Calleigh. She helped him up onto Belle and then climbed up behind him.

"Newly you and Wylie go tell Jake the boy has been found. Then find the rest of the search party from town, too." He climbed back onto Buck. "Festus, we'll go out to the Rachel place, see if we can find the boy."

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Tommy was tired and scared. He couldn't find anybody, anywhere because everyone was out looking for Cooper Dillon. By the time he reached home, he was out of breath and almost out of energy.

He stopped by the two cottonwood trees down the road from his house. From there, he could see everything. The farm appeared to be deserted. Tommy had no way of knowing that his mother was still at the Roster farm and Gage was out with the search party.

The boy cleared the trees and was running across the front yard, when Weather Mayford came out of the barn, leading one of the horses. Both were surprised, but only one was frightened.

Mayford dropped the reins and ran up to the terrified little boy.

The black eye-patch that had seemed so fascinating in the beginning, now just enhanced his grandfather's malevolent appearance. Relying on his one good eye, Mayford scanned the area for other intruders. Two men were only a short distance away.

Mayford grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck. "Did you bring them!"

Tommy was shaking so hard, a single word was all he could manage. "No."

The old man whirled him around so they both faced the riders. Tommy looked at the stumped forearm pressed tight against his chest and could feel the gun at his back. "You just act normal boy, or I'll kill you right now."

Matt and Festus rode up to the old man and young boy. Both men took notice of the wide-eyed expression on the younger one. "Tommy, are you all right? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Mayford smiled as he gave the boy a nudge. "He's just shook up from everything that happened. How's that little boy of yours?"

"He's fine. Cooper said you were trying to get help for him. I want to thank you for that."

"Be polite, boy. What do you say?" Weather jabbed the barrel of the gun harder against the youngster's spine, convincing his grandson to answer.

"You're welcome, Marshal." Tommy's voice was perfectly in sync with his frightened appearance.

Festus sat quiet, while the Marshal continued to offer his thanks to Tommy. Ruth shuffled to one side, giving his rider another viewpoint. A speck of color caught the scruffy man's eye, causing his focus to become more defined. Stuck along the toe and one side of the old man's boot, were pieces of smushed-up candy. To be precise…jellybeans.

Festus inched his hand toward his gun. "Tommy, we cum to get ya for a selly-bration in town. Why don't cha cum on over here, an you can jest ride up here on old Ruth with me."

This empty invitation took the Marshal by surprise, although he tried to maintain a casual façade. He trusted Festus enough to know something was wrong in this scenario and Matt's suspicion fell on Weather Mayford.

Mayford may have been missing some body parts, but his mind remained sharp as ever. Not only had the ploy not worked, the half-blind kidnapper saw the scruffy man rest his hand close to his gun. Pressing the boy closer, Mayford drew the gun up to his grandson's head. "Why don't you just pull that gun out real easy-like and toss it on the ground!"

Matt heard Festus' weapon hit the dirt, as Mayford motioned for him to do the same. "It's a little awkward, with only one hand, I will admit." He stepped back, forcing the boy with him. "But not impossible. I can still drop this kid with one shot. I'm guessing neither of you want to see that happen?"

"Let the boy go, Mayford. Take me as your hostage."

"Take a US Marshal as a hostage! What kind of fool you take me for?" He continued to back toward his horse with the boy in tow. "This brat has been nothing but trouble to me since I came here. He ain't worth a squat anyways."

"He is to me Weather!" The voice was attached to Gage Rachel as he stepped out from behind the corner of the house. "He's worth the world to me, now let him go!"

Gage had come up on his father's blind side, giving himself an edge in the stand-off. If the old man was going to try and shoot him, he would have to turn away from the boy.

"You gonna shoot your own Pa?" Mayford tried to turn, with the boy in tow, but Gage was too quick for him. Tommy jerked away as the two men fired on each other.

Matt and Festus had dismounted and were scrambling for their guns. All the while, Mayford stared at his son, pointing his weapon for a second shot. The second shot rang out, but it was fired from Gage's gun. The old man staggered toward his horse and managed to get one foot into the stirrup before death knocked him into the dirt.

Tommy ran crying to his Pa. Gage had caught a bullet in one arm, but the other was free to grab up his son. "Are you okay, Tommy?"

Tears poured from young boy. "Am I really worth the world to you, Pa?"

Gage laughed as he hugged his son. "The world and more."

TBC