The Only Man I Can Trust

Chapter 14

Except for noises from the prisoners out back in the cells, all was quiet inside the sheriff's office in Great Bend. Chester looked around - this place was bigger than Mr. Dillon's office in Dodge City. The desk that his boss was now sitting behind was more like a large fancy table with carved legs and it was made of an expensive looking dark wood. The chair behind it had a padded leather seat and back, and swiveled around, more like the one Doc had in his office rather than just a plain ol' chair like Mr. Dillon had back in Dodge. The stove was bigger too, and didn't smoke as much as the one he had to mess with back in his boss's office. Somehow it irked him to think that a scum like Carp had been enjoying all this, while Mr. Dillon's office only had the bare basics.

He was brought back to the present by his boss asking questions of Tebbers.

"Does anyone else in town know how to use that telegraph?"

"I don't think so." Tebbers was looking at his feet, feeling that somehow he had failed these men who had come so far, and been through so much, in their attempt to rid the town of Carp and his followers.

Chester began to feel that they were all trapped in this building. Having only one door made it easy to defend - but it was also easy for a group of determined men to prevent them all from leaving. Eventually they would run out of food and water. To Chester, lack of food was an insurmountable problem. He was about to mention it to Mr. Dillon when there was a rifle blast from outside, followed closely by another. Chester got to his feet and carefully pulled aside the grubby piece of cloth that served as a curtain for the window. He wanted to see what was going on outside but kinda wished he hadn't. As before, there was a group of men standing there. Two man stood out in front of the rest. The first was dressed in the style of a gambler. He presumed it was Tad Holcombe. The other man had the thin pallid look that is typical of someone who has just got out of prison. It was this man who yelled out to him.

"Tell that marshal to come on out here, or we'll burn the place down." He followed his request with a laugh that seemed to echo through the small gathering out there.

Chester looked at his boss, then back through the window at the gathering crowd. Dillon was struggling to push himself to his feet.

"Let me go take care of them, Mr. Dillon." Chester couldn't see how his boss would be able to stand out there and control this crowd. There must be at least a dozen men.

If Matt could have handed this responsibility to his assistant, he would have done so, but all he could think of was the one time he had asked Chester to go and do what was rightfully his job. His assistant had nearly got himself killed. He couldn't risk that happening again. Even though it was painful to move around, he was determined to get out there and face Spike Holcombe.

Somehow, by holding his breath, he got to his feet and slowly pulled himself up to his full height. Gradually he took a breath and lifted his face towards Chester. He conjured up a smile and a look of bravado.

"Hand me one of those rifles, Chester." His voice came out a lot stronger than he felt, and Chester studied him for a moment. He knew that Mr. Dillon had the strength of about ten men, and if anyone could pull this off, he could.

"Yessir," he mumbled as he picked up one of the two rifles they had with them and checked that it was ready to fire. He knew there was no sense in arguing with the Mr. Dillon when his mind was made up.

"You want me to come out there with you, Mr. Dillon?" Chester was willing as ever to follow his boss to the ends of the earth if necessary. This time, it was not that far, but it was very dangerous.

"No, just open the door, then close it behind me and keep a watch through the window. Oh, you might need to keep a gun handy." He added that as an afterthought.

Dillon gave a brief nod to Chester who obligingly opened the heavy wooden door to the office, then watched as Dillon stepped outside to face the crowd. The lawman stood there, feet apart and the rifle cradled in his right arm.

"What is it you want, Holcombe?" he asked. To those who didn't know him well his voice had its natural strength, but Chester could note a little weakness in the tone.

"I've come to get even with you Dillon. You're the one who sent me away to that hell-hole. I spent two years of my life there, waiting for this moment."

"The law sent you to prison, not me, and if I remember, it was for fifteen years." Dillon was using all his will power to stand upright and stay focused.

"I'm not going back." Spike was looking carefully at the tall lawman. He had hated this man every minute of every day he had been in that prison.

"It's my job to see that you do. You're under arrest."

Spike Holcombe laughed. It was a bitter, harsh sound. Then he turned to indicate all the men standing behind him. Matt could make out several people from the town who he recognized, including Tad Holcombe.

"I don't see how that's going to work, Marshal." It seemed like he added a derisive sneer to his words. "Looks to me like you're just one man, and I have about a dozen behind me."

"Don't count on their support, Holcombe. You might get a bullet or two in me, but I will take at least three of you with me before I go down."

Tad Holcombe had been standing beside his brother, but Matt noticed, with some satisfaction, that he had shuffled around a few paces so that he was no longer in the front row of the mob.

Matt knew he needed to get this over quickly, either by goading Spike into a fight soon, or better yet, by getting the crowd to disperse.

"See there," he called to Spike, "Even your own brother doesn't want to stand too close to you." He stopped to take a careful breath then called to the crowd, "Which of you men want to stand up here beside the Holcombes?"

There was a murmuring going around the group, but they all stood their ground.

Chester stood behind the window watching, unsure what he should do. He wanted to go out there and stand beside the man he idolized, but Dillon had told him to wait.

Speaking with his usual strong commanding voice was not easy for Dillon. If he breathed too deeply, it was as if at least three hot knives were stuck into his chest - but it had to be done. There still seemed to be a little hesitation in the mob, and he wanted to use that to his advantage. Carefully, he took one more breath - determined not to let the pain show on his face.

"Listen, you men. I have Carp and Farrell and a few of your other friends locked up here in the jail. They'll all be going to trial for murder, amongst other things. You all back away now, just leave town while you have the chance. This is between me and the Holcombe brothers, you don't have to get yourselves killed."

He noticed that although some of the men hesitated and looked like they might back away, there were three or four who moved closer to the Holcombes. He could feel his strength ebbing away and knew he had to do something while he could still stand. Maybe he could taunt Spike into a man-to-man gunfight. At any other time he was pretty sure he could out draw the escaped prisoner, but as things stood now, it might not work out so well. The door from the jail opened, and Chester walked out onto the boardwalk to come and stand beside him.

"I thought maybe you could use a little help, Mr. Dillon." Chester's words touched him deeply. He realized that his assistant had seen that there wasn't much hope and had come to stand there for what would probably be a final showdown for both of them.

"I thought I told you to stay inside."

"Yeh, you did, Sir. But I can see what's happenin' better from out here."

It looked like Spike and and about four of his men were preparing to charge the jail. They had drawn their guns and were stepping up onto the sidewalk.

Dillon was about to try to make one final effort. He hated killing, even a man like Spike Holcombe, but he raised the rifle he was holding and prepared to fire. He knew the action would start a gun battle that neither he nor Chester would survive. Once Holcombe fired, the other men would quickly gain the courage to join him.

TBC