The Fugitives 25

I don't own these characters; I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had.

Author's note: Mathison County in MO is completely fictional, therefore anything that occurs and the terrain it occurs in, is purely imaginary.

I must also give high praise and thanks to LadyBrit for her advice on all things medical.

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Newly stood by with a bucket of water, waiting, while Lowther emptied his stomach of all the bad whiskey he had drank.

When Lowther finally sat back, drained, Newly picked up the bucket of water and tossed it on him. The drummer shook himself like a dog, then collapsed onto the ground in front of where Newly stood, in the alley behind the jail.

Newly picked up another bucket of water, but Lowther held up his hand in a pleading manner. "No please," he begged. "I've had enough. Please….. No more."

Newly sat the bucket aside, then reached down and pulled the man to his feet. "Alright then talk. What did you mean about 'hurting' Kitty Russell?" Newly's frustration was showing in his tone of voice.

"I didn't mean nothing." The drummer whined. "I was just drunk was all. I'm not used to drinking so much."

"You meant somethin', Mister." Vernell spoke up beside Newly. "Now I know'd ya weren't there when the lady was shot but…."

"Shot?" Lowther blanched. "Oh my God, I never thought… I mean…" he realized too late what he was saying and looking into the furious face of Newly O'Brian and the menacing face of Vernell Haggen, he decided it was time he came clean about his involvement, in the framing of Kitty Russell.

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(Same day – Eustice Haggen's Cabin)

"Now, Kitty, Doc wants you to rest. He'll have my hide nailed to the wall, if you tear open those stitches." Matt was doing everything he could, besides sit on her, to get Kitty to lay in bed and rest quietly.

"Oh Matt. I'm not going to tear open any stitches, but I'm tired of just laying around. It won't hurt anything for me to just get up and….."

"Yes it will and you know it. By golly, Kitty, you are as stubborn as I am." Matt was getting exasperated at her obstinate instance on getting out of bed.

"Flattery will get you no where, Mr. Dillon." She retorted, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Yeah well, maybe not, but you're not going anywhere either. I'm not taking any chances. I come too close to losing you, Kitty. If you had've of died….." He took a deep breath and took her hand in his. "I'm never gonna forgive myself, for not keeping you from being shot in the first place. I'm not gonna not stand by and let anything else happen to you."

Kitty saw the soft, regretful look in his eyes, at his confession. She reached out with her right hand and grasped his arm. "Matt, you have nothing to feel guilty about. You didn't do anything. Jarvis shot me, not you, and Jarvis is dead. Please don't feel guilty about something you had no control over."

Matt started to say something, when the door swung open and Doc came in, leaving it open. "Matt," he said "Festus wanted to see you about something."

He met Matt's questioning gaze with an urgent stare of his own.

Matt wasn't sure what was up, but he understood immediately that Doc didn't think Kitty should hear it. Patting the hand he still held, he gently dropped a kiss on her lips and rose. "I'll be back in few minutes." He told her. "Doc, you'd better watch your patient here. She's a wily one."

He gave Kitty another kiss and then turned and left the shack, Kitty's soft chuckle following him out. Festus and Sam were waiting on the porch for him, with Eustice and Doy in the yard just beyond. "What's wrong Festus?" he asked.

"Matthew, I think they may be a problem. Cousin Tilley here has somethin' to tell ya."

Matt walked out into the yard with the other men behind him. When he was certain he had gotten far enough away from the shanty, he turned back to Tilley. "What is it you wanted to tell me?" he asked.

Tilley took a sideward's glance at the shack, then turned back to Matt. "I've been a keepin' my eyeballs peeled here abouts for anythin' what don't belong. Cousin Festus tolt me to."

"And?" Matt prodded.

"Well I found me some tracks, up thare. Don't look like much, and they's a couple of days old but they's thare and somethin' ain't right about em."

Matt looked up towards where the man was pointing, a small ridge that ran along west of the cabin. "What do you mean, they're not right?" Matt asked, a sudden feeling of uneasiness settling in his gut.

Tilley shrugged. "Well they's tracks fer bout eight horses leadin' in up yonder on that thare ridge, and then they's a track of one horse, runnin' back the way they come. When we buried them fellers from the prison, we buried seven."

"I got me an ideer, Matthew, that we're a fixin' on getting' us some more company from that thare prison." Festus said grimly.

"Yeah I agree with you, Festus. And I have an idea it won't be long until they ride in here." Matt looked over at Eustice. "Eustice, I know I'll be asking an awful lot of you, especially after all you've already done…"

"Ain't no askin' to it, Cousin Matt." Eustice stopped him with a wave of his hand. "I already done sent someone to call the others in. They'll be here directly."

Matt was relieved and grateful to hear that, but he knew they still had their work cut out for them. A bunch of men under the direction of Mathison were not going to be easy to defeat.

"Well," he said, glancing back towards the cabin. "Let's see if we can devise some sort of plan for when they get here."

As the men started to walk off, Sam lagged behind for a moment and grabbed Matt by the arm. "Marshal, what ever we decide to do, I think you need to stay inside the cabin with Miss Kitty. She's got to be protected, and you're the best man to do that."

Matt gave him a sad and weary smile. "I don't know about the best, Sam. But I'm going to stay by her, no matter what. You can count on that."

TBC