"Even a successful war is a loss to most families."

Edward Counsel, Maxims

Chapter 14: Trouble Comes to Dodge

Deciding he'd waited long enough, Doc rose to his feet and slowly climbed the stairs to Kitty's room. He knocked softly, "Kitty, it's Doc."

She opened the door. Her eyes, despite being blood shot and red-rimmed were now dry, although her face paint was streaked from the tears. "I'm sorry about running up here like that, Doc. I've just been so worried, and I was hoping for good news. Matt and I have gotten to be real good friends, and that telegram just hit me all wrong."

Doc managed a weak smile. "That's ok, Kitty. We're all on edge and worried, but we have to try to hang on to our confidence in Matt."

"Oh Doc, I know that. I'm sorry I let my emotions get away that way. You know, I can take care of myself. And, if I'm going to be good friends with Matt, I'm going to have to learn to handle things like this. I can't be one of those girls that just cries at the drop of a hat."

Doc chuckled without humor and thought to himself, yup, Kitty and Matt could both take care of themselves, but Dodge was a mighty rough town, and both of them had mighty tough jobs. He settled for agreeing, "Yeah Kitty, and being friends with Matt isn't the easiest thing in the world. He's gone an awful lot of the time, and danger walks with him." He watched her carefully as he added, "He's already lived longer than most anyone expected." He wasn't surprised to see her flinch and wondered again exactly what she meant by being "real good friends" with Matt. "We just have to figure he's gonna keep on beating the odds. I brought you up some powders to help you sleep."

"No thanks, Doc. I am going to freshen up and go back downstairs. I've got a business to run, you know."

He smiled a genuine smile this time. Maybe she wasn't going to take his powders, but he could see that she had pulled herself together. He thought to himself, yet again, that she was still practically a girl, but despite that she was one tough woman. He guessed she had to be to make it in the kind of business she was in. "Yeah, I know that, Kitty. Maybe I'll see you downstairs tonight?"

She smiled. "Sure thing, Doc. I'll be there." She watched him leave and then sat down at her vanity to repair her face paint and soothe her eyes with a moist cloth. She had told Matt she was a strong, independent woman who made her own decisions, and the first time he comes up late, she falls apart. She made a vow to herself right then that, from now on, if she had to cry, she would shed her tears in the privacy of her rooms. Matt needed her to be strong, and she would be. Kitty Russell wouldn't let herself fall apart like that again. She reminded herself, us Russells are proud… and strong.

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Doc was on his way down the stairs when he saw Chester at the bar drinking a beer. He walked over to join him and asked when he planned to leave.

"Well, Doc, we're already to go soon as those Pinkertons leave. The horses are waiting over at the jail. I sent a telegram to the Sheriff in Hays letting him know when Mr. Dillon had left and that I was taking some men out to search for him. A few of Jake Worth's hands are gonna ride out with me, at least for the first day or so. The Pinkertons plan to have those prisoners outta the jail by 10:30, so we'll be leaving in just a few minutes. I'm heading over to the jail now and make sure they don't need anything afore they leave."

"Do you have any plan for finding Matt?"

Chester was obviously a little peeved at what he perceived as Doc's lack of confidence in him. "Well, uh course I do, Doc. I'm just gonna follow the trail that me and Mr. Dillon always take when we're escorting a prisoner to Hays. I figure time's important, so we're gonna be moving fast as we can and then stop and look real close at the spots where Mr. Dillon usually stops to rest the horses and things like that. We should be able to find some sign of him and Dunbart at those places cause most of em are protected like, so's the wind wouldn't get to em so good. We'll just keep a sharp lookout for anything out of the ordinary is all. Not much sense in looking for tracks in the in between times. That wind that was a blowin up until last night will have wiped them out. I promise you this Doc, if Mr. Dillon is out there, I'll find em, no matter what.

For once, Doc hadn't meant for his comment to be disparaging. He just wanted to have some idea what Chester would be doing. It didn't seem like a particularly great plan, but he had to admit he didn't have a better one. "That sounds like a real good plan, Chester. And I know you'll find him..." He gave a sharp nod of his head. "I'm counting on you. You be careful though, because that Floyd Dunbart could be dangerous if he's on the loose out there. "

Chester pulled himself up straight. "I sure will, Doc. I'll see ya as soon as I get back." And with those words he left on his mission.

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Neither Doc nor Chester noticed the nondescript Texan bellied-up to the bar who took such careful note of their conversation, and neither had any idea that he had made it his business to pay particular attention to Chester and any friends Chester seemed to have. The man figured he'd already gotten some valuable information, and he only arrived in town about 15 minutes earlier. Floyd had specifically mentioned that Chester was the jailer and a friend of that turncoat lawman. Floyd had also told him Chester had a gimp leg and would be easy to find, and that had been true too. Cass figured that any friends of Chester might also be friends of the Marshal and it looked like he was right about that. The Doc here was a friend of Chester's and, it seemed, a friend of the Marshal's as well.

For a minute, Cass thought maybe he found his buyer, him being a doctor and all. But after a cursory examination of the Doc's scuffed shoes, his worn trousers, and the unmended hole in his coat sleeve, he concluded that it wasn't likely this particular doctor had much in the way of financial resources. He would wait and hope for a better target. With Chester leaving, he figured he'd shift his attention to the Doc here to help him identify potential ransom payers. Even if he didn't have any of his own money, the doctor would surely associate with some of the wealthier citizens of this town.

Chester leaving town in search of the Marshal wasn't overly worrisome. Cass didn't figure there was much chance of him finding anything out there. The wind had cleared away any tracks there were, and by now the Marshal and his other two boys should be well hidden in that cave Floyd knew about, and they were a long way from where they'd ambushed that Marshal. Cass didn't think that Chester seemed all that competent anyway. He seemed real sincere, but just not that bright. Cass shook his head. That Marshal seemed to have himself some odd friends, a lame assistant and a Doc with no money. He sure hoped these weren't the man's only friends, but it wouldn't surprise him too much.

There was a small chance that Chester might run up on Jeb with the Marshal's big buckskin, but he'd told Jeb that if something like that happened, he should just say he found the buckskin out on the prairie and was just bringing him in to Dodge. Jeb shouldn't be too much longer getting here. In the meantime, he figured he'd just enjoy a beer or two.

He was enjoying his third beer when one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen came down the stairs. She was wearing a dress that could knock a man's eyes out, and he watched as she gracefully crossed the room, nodding and speaking to the customers before stopping at the bar. Even though she was in a saloon, she seemed like a fine lady. She motioned to the bartender, "Sam, how about a whiskey."

The bartender smiled broadly, clearly glad to see the young woman. "Coming right up, Miss Kitty," he responded as he filled a glass and handed it to her. Cass thought Kitty seemed like an unusual name for a woman.

Cass couldn't help but notice that this woman's hair was the exact same shade of red as his beloved wife's. His countenance temporarily softened as he smiled in remembrance of her. He loved Agnes more than life, and she bore him four fine sons. She'd been born in Ireland and come to America and then west with her family. He loved her from the moment he saw her, couldn't believe it when she consented to be his wife. Then his expression hardened as he thought of his life without her.

Dillon had taken her from him, and he would pay. He had taken her and his son Harold. Not only that, but he destroyed Floyd. Before the war, Floyd had been a fine young man. What Dillon did to Floyd was maybe worse than what he did to Harold. After Dillon finished with him, Floyd came back to him and his mother mean and filled with hate. He tried to protect him and look out for him, but it was just no use. His son was ruined, and it was Dillon's fault. Now Dillon would finally pay.

Cass felt a twinge of guilt for this part of it though. Dillon deserved to die and he would feel no remorse for Floyd killing him. The man was cruel and had as good as murdered his boy, had murdered other good men that day, and he deserved to be punished. But Cass knew stealing was wrong. He soothed his conscience with the notion that whomever he took the money from was a friend of that traitor, and he deserved to pay for the succor he gave to a murderer.

He finished off the remainder of his third beer and ordered a fourth. He knew it wasn't like him to have more than one, but this business was hard. He needed the money to get Floyd somewhere safe. Kansas law said his boy should hang, and much as he hated the truth of it, he knew that Floyd deserved it. He'd been in court and heard the testimony. It pained him that his boy had killed like that, but he also knew Floyd was sick. All these years since the war, he managed to keep Floyd home on his ranch. Still, Floyd had been in constant trouble, fighting and being a bully, but nothing Cass couldn't smooth over. Then he'd run off and gotten in this big trouble.

Cass had gotten a telegraph from Floyd out of Jetmore saying he was in a lot of trouble, on the run, and he needed help. Like always, he'd come, but before, it had always just been in their own town and nothing like this. When he and his sons finally got to Jetmore, they'd heard all the details of the robbery and the killing, and that the marshal out of Dodge had been trailing Floyd for weeks and finally arrested him somewhere down in the Indian Territories and brought him back to Dodge. Floyd must have been trying to get home. He soon learned his son was scheduled for trial in Dodge in two days. The witnesses to the robbery were leaving in the morning to testify. Cass and his sons headed out for Dodge as well, figuring that somehow or other they'd get Floyd free of the law. But when he learned the marshal taking his boy to hang was Matthew Dillon, it changed everything. He wanted that man dead. And then, when Dillon survived the ambush, he thought of this ransom idea to get some money.

If he could get this ransom money, he'd take Floyd down to Mexico and they'd buy a small farm. He was sure they could make a go of it, and Floyd would be safe there. As his Father, he owed Floyd that, and he knew that, unless he got him to Mexico, the law would find him and hang him for sure.

The war had cost him too much. Cass knew it had cost some men more. Some lost their homes, whole families, limbs, and lives. He should be grateful for what he had left, but the war still cost him more than he had been willing to pay. He'd joined up at the beginning. He'd been a Texas Ranger and had experience leading men. They made him a Captain right off. Then Jeb had joined up, and, eventually, Harold and Floyd had enlisted. Harold and Floyd were both been assigned to the same unit. Harold was only 17, just a year older than Caleb was now, too young for the horrors of war, but he hadn't been able to stop him, and the south was desperate for soldiers. He'd made Floyd promise to look out for his little brother. He remembered how proud Floyd had been, how he'd promised his Ma that he'd look out for Harold. He never should have asked that promise of Floyd. He regretted that a lot.

He checked the clock on the Long Branch wall. It was nearly noon. Jeb would be here soon. He wished he hadn't brought Jeb and Caleb along. Jeb was his oldest and Caleb the youngest. Both were good boys, well Jeb was a man, but Cass still thought of them as his boys. Jeb had a wife and baby daughter back at their small ranch in Texas. He was going to send Jeb and Caleb home soon; he didn't want them having a part in the killing of that U.S. Marshal. He hadn't known about Dillon when they left Texas. Jeb and Caleb would be able to make a go of it. Jeb had a good head on his shoulders and was smart. Caleb was still young, but he was a clear thinker and had a good heart. Both of them were hard workers.

He and Floyd would do the killing. Floyd was already lost and he, himself, needed to be a part of it, figured he owed it to Agnes and Harold and even Floyd. It saddened him to think of not seeing his granddaughter again and not seeing Caleb come to full manhood. Maybe they could come visit him and Floyd in Mexico…if the law didn't catch them. He knew once they killed that Marshal, the law was going to want them real bad. He sighed, figured too much beer and seeing that woman who reminded him of his Agnes had made him maudlin. He was pulled from his reflections when Jeb came up next to him.

"Hey Pa, what you thinking about? Looked like you were miles away."

Cass smiled, glad to have his eldest son back at his side. "Good to see ya, Jeb. I wasn't thinking much except I was lucky to have you boys as my sons. Did you let the horse go?"

"Sure did, Pa and he seemed real anxious to get here. Fact is I pushed my horse pretty hard to be sure to get here ahead of him."

"Yeah, that horse knows where his stall is, and he'll be anxious to get to it. All we have to do now is wait and watch. We'll see if anybody's real upset with him coming home without his rider." Then he looked up and ordered a beer for his boy. The two of them wandered off to a corner table, beers in hand, to wait for that big horse to arrive. They'd barely gotten seated when they heard the commotion outside that announced the big buckskin's arrival.

To be continued…