Twenty-one
The trial took place two days later, when attorney Wallace Dodds arrived from the capital to defend Susan's employees - a fact which made Dillon question just what was Susan's motivation in seeing that her employees were set free. The trial dragged on longer than it should have, given the evidence Matt had accumulated. In the end the Moon Bar hands, Ricky Bates, Ralph Butler, along with Quinton Klauer, and Toby Trenton were all found guilty and sentenced to five years at State Prison.
With the trial going on Dillon didn't have much time to devote to Kitty's daughter. He wasn't aware how hard she worked at learning how to read and write. He wasn't aware of the time Miss Tuttwell spent in the evenings after supper with the child, patiently giving instruction and offering encouragement.
The effort paid off, for Matilda did well at school, stayed out of Mr. Groendyke's sparse hair and with the help of Miss Tuttwell her reading and writing skills were soon equal to the best student in the second grade. If only she hadn't decided to borrow Herbie Heitzer's deck of Happy Jack cards and bring them to school for some recess fun during that last week before summer break.
Herbie spent every other Tuesday and Wednesday with his Grandparents at the boarding house. It cut down on the five mile trip to his family's farm. On those days, he and Matilda played in Ma's back yard, climbing trees, skipping rocks in the creek that bordered the property, and playing Happy Jack with Grandma Heitzer. Reading and writing weren't the only areas Matilda was gaining proficiency in. She became so skilled at the card game that she almost always won. She had a knack for counting cards in her head and predicating the odds of a winning hand.
With three days left of the school term there wasn't much for the students to do. School books had been packed away, the desks had been scrubbed clean with soapy water and recess grew longer and longer.
So Matilda got a game of Happy Jack going at noon recess. It was Herbie's idea to play for money. He had five pennies in his pocket. Matilda had nine, and she happily donated two of her pennies to Annie Sager, the little girl in homespun who had one penny and Helmut Krump who had two. Now this would have been a friendly game with just the aforementioned participants and most likely no one would have gone home the poorer. The problem arose when Angel Louise Bodkin decided she wanted to play. Now Angel had pockets full of pennies and the thought never entered her mind to share with those less fortunate than herself. Matilda had been striving to be nice to Angel Louise and it was to this aim that she offered no objection to Angel joining their friendly little card game.
Had they been world wise or a year or two older, the young friends would have played their game at the far corner of the school yard, where adult supervision was minimal, even still had they stayed where they were first located, on the far side of the swings they may not have been detected. But Angel Louise insisted they move their game to the front schoolhouse steps, so she wouldn't have to sit on the ground.
Providence did not seem to be a fan of Matilda, for Mr. Groendyke happened upon the scene just as Matilda was scooping up the kitty which contained the full allotment of everyone's pennies. It had been her practice to redistribute the wealth after each of her victories, but that knowledge did not stop Angel Louise from bursting into tears and weeping loudly about the loss of her coins.
Seeing a game of fortune taking place on the hallowed steps of his school house, the principal's face turned red and a large purple vein bulged and throbbed across his forehead, his eyeballs swelled from their sockets. His voice thundered forth, "What have we here!" He demanded. "Cartomancy? Gambling? Practicing the devil's own Bible! Card playing - the diversion of whoremongers and idolaters, sorcerers, changelings, and murderers!" He reached down and grabbed Matilda's little ear, hard, startling her. "Owie!" she squealed. "You're hurting me."
"Silence!" The principal ordered and drew back his free arm as if to strike the child. Matilda cringed, and instinctively swung back her leg and kicked him in the shin, hard. Groendyke dropped his hold for a second and Matilda made a run for it, but she was caught by the large ribbon around her waist. His visage became possessed. Like a madman, he swung her under his arm and stormed into the building, declaring as he went, 'I knew you would bring nothing but evil for evil begets evil."
Angel gave a satisfied smile to the remaining card players. She bent down and helped herself to all the pennies. "I would have won you know, Matilda was cheating, how else could she have played so well!"
Little Helmut Krump stared at the school house door even after it had closed, he may have been only eight and slightly on the plump side, but within the lad lurked the stalwart heart of a hero. "Ve gotta help Matilda." He said.
Herbie nodded, and Annie, who despite her humble appearance, possessed as valiant a spirit as any, ordered, "Come on." She started running from the school yard, stringy pigtails flying behind her, calico flour sack skirt flapping about her thin legs. She ran into the street that merged with Front. The boys watched her with mouths open and looked at each other and then followed her, and when they had caught up, Helmut wanted to know. "vhere ve going?"
Breathlessly Annie replied, still on the run, "To get her Papa of coarse, we're going to get her Pa."
The jail house was quiet, the prison wagon had just picked up the Moon Bar hands to escort them off to Topeka. Deputy Hagen was making rounds and Matt Dillon had himself settled at his desk, fresh coffee in hand, to view the latest batch of Wanted Posters. It was at this precise moment in time that the door flew open with such force that it rebounded against the wall several times, rattling windows and even the jail keys which hung from a hook on the far wall. The startled lawman, juggled his coffee mug, nearly dropping the cup, while the hot liquid contents sloshed over the sides and onto the Wanted Posters.
He recognized Helmut and Herbie of course, and had a vague recall of little Annie, "What's going on here? Shouldn't you children be in school?" he demanded in a watered down version of his official Marshal voice.
"He's … gonna … kill her!" Annie said between deep gulps of air. "Mr. … Groendyke's … gonna kill her."
"Kill who?" Matt asked standing up and reaching for the dirty rag, that served as both potholder and hand towel, to sop up the sloshed coffee.
"Matilda." Herbie said taking a step forward.
"Ja … he gonna kill Matilda for sure. Ve got to hurry. Come."
Dillon tried to disguise the sense of exasperation he was feeling. "What did she do this time?" He asked as he grabbed his hat and held open the door for the trio of seven year olds.
"Ve vere playing Happy Jack. Matilda shared her pennies."
The children had to run to keep pace with Matt's long stride, "You were playing with money? You were gambling?"
"It was more funner that way Mr. Dillon, and Matilda made sure everyone had pennies."
"Yup, until Angel Louise wanted to play."
The story unraveled and by the time they'd reached the schoolhouse, Dillon had pieced together the evidence to have a clearer perspective of the crime.
He entered the school house, and proceeded to Mr. Groendyke's office. He could hear the school master's voice and that of Miss Tuttwell who was apparently arguing with him in the most passionate of voices.
He opened the door without a knock to hear Groendyke declare, "Miss Tuttwell, your services are no longer required in this school. You are dismissed from employment."
It was then he noticed his daughter hiding behind Miss Tuttwell's skirt. "What's going on here." Matt demanded. He noticed a switch in Groendyke's right hand.
"Your child was gambling. I am preparing to execute punishment. Miss Tuttwell is interfering."
"You going to use that stick on Matilda?"
"I assure you Marshal, spar the rod and spoil the child, is an adage, all too true. A child with Matilda's bad blood, must be kept in check by the strongest means possible."
"She's just a little girl, she didn't know what she was doing."
His voice sang out with a protracted vibrato tenor, "Oh she knew … "
"You were going to beat her … "
"I would inflict upon her no worse punishment than she has to me." He bent, and pulled up his pant leg to reveal a bruised and bleeding shin. "She assaulted me with her foot!"
Dillon glanced at Miss Tuttwell. "You stepped in to stop him … ?"
"I do not feel children should be subjected to corporal punishment in school. That particular form of discipline should be left to the parents to administer."
"He fired you?"
"Yes he did, so if you will excuse me. I will pack up my belongings and return to the boarding house. Matilda, I will see you later."
"See here, Madam, you can not leave now, what about your classroom … who will watch the children?"
"Sir, perhaps you should have considered that before you fired me." she squared her frame and left the room.
Matt turned to his daughter, "You, come with me." and the Marshal proceeded to march Matilda from the building and through the crowd of children waiting at the schoolhouse doors.