The night of Betrayal and Conspiracy

by EliseNeilsen

Jim is on the run for his life for a murder he did not committ

The Night of the Betrayal and Conspiracy

A Wild Wild West Murder Mystery

San Francisco

Plotting a conspiracy

Prologue

Three men sat around a small table each one had a drink set before them on the table. They remained silent while the people around them rose from their chairs and left the small saloon on the San Francisco wharf. "We are here to discuss the plans of our upcoming project. We are going to take down the secret service and most importantly of all the team of James West and Artemus Gordon, then we will eliminate President Ulysses S. Grant."

Jacob Colby, Thomas Blankenship and Alton Fredericks sat around the table briefly looked at each other. "You both agree that James West and his partner are responsible for the deaths of fathers, brothers and sons, am I right?"

"Yes," the two other men looked at Colby.

"We have agreed on the plan and how it is to be carried out?"

"Yes."

"The let us get started. Thomas and Alton, you two will go directly to West's train and attempt to ambush him there if you can't do whatever you have to do to kill him. Is that clear?"

"Yes."

"Then get started." Jacob Colby finished his drink as did the two other men. Once they were finished, they rose and left the non-descript saloon.

Betrayal and flight

Chapter 1

James West wearily sighed as he approached the Wanderer, he had spent the last twenty days in Sacramento testifying in a murder trial. West had been the prosecutions primary witness in the murder of two children. The man who had killed them had been threatening the family for months, wanting not only the land, but the very rich seam of precious metals in the ground beneath the farm. His greed had led him to commit the unthinkable, he had murdered two children. The first one was a twelve-year-old boy and the other was a ten-year-old girl, brother and sister. There had been vigilantes troubling the town and the sheriff had sent a cable to San Francisco asking for help in dealing with them and a thorough investigation of the murder by federal agents. James West and Artemus Gordon were assigned to the case by Colonel Richmond, the Director of the Secret Service on orders from the President. They had arrived and began their investigation talking to people who lived in the town and in the surrounding farms. They even went out into the surrounding hills and spoke to the people in the small mining camps and the stage drivers who regularly drove between San Francisco and Sacramento and back. All the people who they had spoken to agreed that the two children were well behaved, polite and enjoyed the company of other children. Their parents regularly took them to church and were a hard-working couple who seemed to deeply love each other. They paid their bills on time and had no outstanding debt to anyone in the surrounding area. The two agents continued their investigation for several more days obtaining a geologist's survey regarding the mineral content in the soil. They even had that same geologist look at the amount of water that supplied the farm and found that it was more than adequate, and the small farm even had an underground aquafer so even in times of drought there was water available. The man of the family had drilled a well directly over the aquafer and provided the family and their stock with water. They had also found a very rich seam of gold and silver ore that ran very close to the surface just below the farm. The major land holder in the area a man named George Sterling had tried to buy out the family, increasing his offer until he would have paid more for the land than it was worth. Finally, out of desperation he had kidnapped the couple's two children and when the couple did not agree to sell the land, he had executed them.

James dismounted his black stallion, reached up and pulled down the ramp, then walked up it and slid open the door to the stable end of the car. He paused and looked back at his horse, who just stood at the end of the ramp. "Well, are you coming or not?"

The horse snorted, shook his head and put one foot on the ramp when he gave a whinny of alarm as two men appeared behind the federal agent. "James West, don't move, you are under arrest for the murder secret service regional director Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick."

James spun around to face the two men, holding out his hand to his side seemingly to give up. "Who is Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick?"

One of the men dressed in a good quality suit approached and before he could reach for West's gun the secret service agent twisted and rammed a punch into the man's abdomen. The man grunted in surprise as his breath was suddenly expelled violently. He doubled over and dropped his weapon, it was kicked away out the car door and James hit the man again just at the second man slugged him, knocking him away from the man on the floor. James returned the punch and stepped back towards the open door. He felt a hand wrap around his ankle, and he kicked out connecting with the man he had previously knocked to the floor.

He was released, but just as he took a step, he lost his balance and fell off the car rolling down the ramp. Swiftly getting to his feet, he grabbed the stallion's reins and flung himself up on the back of the animal. Blackjack needed no urging to get out of there as quickly as his hooves could carry them. The animal whirled and shot off away from the car and out into the open grass. A gun shot rang out and James felt the bullet graze his back and travel along his left side. He grunted in pain but stayed with the horse and the animal increased his speed across the grass and down a slope disappearing from sight.

Journey to meet a train

Chapter 2

Artemus Gordon entered his hotel room in Los Angles and dropped down onto the bed. He was exhausted from spending the day testifying in another trial that he had worked on with his partner James West. In this particular case smuggling involved, not drugs coming into the country, or arms going out of the country, but people, desperately poor Chinese people willing to make the five-month journey across the Pacific Ocean. Their quarters were squalid, overcrowded and low on supplies. He lay back on the bed closed his eyes and fell asleep. Two hours later the federal agent rose washed his face and hands, then went down the stairs to the restaurant and took a seat an at a small table. He was handed a menu by a passing waiter and he perused the offerings. The young man waiting on tables stopped beside him and without looking up he ordered a whiskey and his dinner at the same time. Thirty minutes later the food arrived and Artemus quickly ate, he finished his whiskey, paid his bill and left the restaurant. He returned to his room, picked up his suitcases, checking over the room to make sure he left nothing behind, and left closing the door behind him. At the registration desk he paid his bill, and left heading towards the train station. A short wait and he was aboard the train and heading to San Francisco to meet his partner and head back to Washington D. C. two hours later he walked across a platform and headed toward a livery stable. After retrieving his horse, Gordon tied his suitcase on the back of his saddle, mounted and headed out of San Francisco. It took nearly an hour to reach the Wanderer since he wasn't in any hurry, Artemus had let the horse stroll along the road to where the train was parked. The ramp was already down and the door open. Artie smiled and he dismounted and led the gelding up the ramp and into the stable car. He untied the suitcase, then untacked the horse, brushed him down, and backed him into his stall. He cross tied the animals head allowing enough movement so that the horse could eat his hay, grain and drink his water without losing his footing and possibly falling and hurting himself. The secret service agent carried his suitcase to his quarters, dropped it inside, closed the door and headed toward the parlor.

Entering through the swinging door he stopped in mid-stride as he saw two strangers in the parlor. One man, nearly his height with blonde hair, cold blue eyes and dressed in a single-colored suit whirled around to face him. The stranger held a revolver in his hand pointed directly at the federal agent's heart.

"Mr. Artemus Gordon, I presume?"

Artemus raised his hands and stared at the strange men. "Yes, who are you?"

"That's not important." The other man snapped. He was dressed in a dark grey suit, and he had black hair, dark brown eyes and a nasty expression on his face.

"It's important to me, so who are you two?"

Both men reached into their jackets and removed small leather wallets. They each showed the agent their identification. Thomas Blankenship was the blonde man and Alton Fredricks was the dark-haired man.

"All right your secret service, what do you want with me?"

"Where's your partner James West?"

"If he's not here then I have no idea where he is. As far as I know James is still in Sacramento testifying at a murder trial. Why do you want to know?"

"Mr. West has been implicated in the murder of Secret Service Regional Director Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick."

"That's not possible, James would never kill anyone, especially a fellow agent." Artemus snapped at the two men.

"Is it possible he's gone rouge?"

"No, never. James is committed to this country and his career."

"Then could you explain to us why a witness came forward and stated that he had seen West speaking to Colonel Fitzpatrick, he then pulled his weapon and shot the Colonel."

"When did all of this happen?"

"Late last evening. Why?"

Artemus shook his head in disbelief. "As for your witness, I have no idea. James was still in Sacramento last night, according to the telegraph I received from him. He still had at least a half a day of testimony in the morning before he would be released to return to San Francisco, which is why the train is here instead of Sacramento. I was in Los Angles testifying at another trial regarding human trafficking from China."

"We do know that he arrived two hours ago, and we tried to arrest him, but he fought us off and took off on horseback. My partner fired at him and may have hit him, be we don't know that for sure." Blankenship walked back and forth between Gordon and the exterior door. Fredricks remained where he was closely watching the senior field agent with narrowed eyes.

"Do either of you idiots know which way my partner was headed before he disappeared from sight? We telegraphed headquarters and we were instructed to remain in place and wait for you. Others would take up your partner's trail."

"Well, I wish them all the luck in the world, because they are not going to find him."

"So, what are you saying, exactly Mr. Gordon?"

"I'm saying that if Jim doesn't want to be found he won't be."

"Then you are going to help us?"

"No." Artemus pulled out a chair from behind the table, sat down, crossed his arms over his chest and crossed his ankles. He looked stubbornly at the two other agents and waited for the explosion.

"Mr. Gordon you are hereby ordered to assist us in the capture of James West for the crime of murder." Blankenship stopped his pacing directly in front of the older man.

"No. The only orders I obey are those of President Ulysses S. Grant and only President Grant. Do I make myself clear?"

"We'll see about that." Fredricks rose and went looking for the telegraph that he knew was somewhere on the train. After looking around he faced Gordon and glared murderously at his fellow agent. "Where's the telegraph?"

"Find it yourself, I'm not about to help either of you."

Searching for a missing partner

Chapter 3

Before either Blankenship or Fitzpatrick could do anything, the door opened and a man in a blue/grey suit entered the parlor and looked at the three men, one seated looking stubborn and intractable. He closed the door behind him and stepped further into the room. "Blankenship, Fredricks you are dismissed, get your horses and return to headquarters in San Francisco." Colonel Richmond narrowed his eyes at the two men and glared. "Did you hear me, gentlemen?"

"Yes, sir." Blankenship returned his weapon to its holster and stalked past their new commander.

Richmond waited until he was sure that his orders were being obeyed. Finally hearing hoof beats heading toward the Bay City, the Colonel sighed with relief. "Artemus, I need you to find James, as quickly as you can and get him to Washington as soon as possible. Right now, your partner is the main suspect in the murder of the former regional director. I don't believe for a second that James would do any such thing. But you need to find him, and I suspect that you are the only one who can find him. I'll try to give you as much time as I can, but there's only so much time I can give you."

Artemus uncrossed his arms and ankles, rose and looked at Richmond. "I'll get started as soon as I change clothes, Colonel and I will keep in touch via telegraph." He pushed through the swinging door and entered the bathroom and quickly filling the tub, the federal agent took a quick bath, shaved and dried off. He entered the dressing room, put on clean underwear and socks dark chocolate brown pants, white shirt, chocolate brown and gold vest all topped off with a chocolate brown tie and tan Stetson hat. He put on his brown corduroy and leather jacket with the fringe on the shoulders. Finally fastening his gun belt around his hips, he added several devices, bombs, and a few other items to his jacket pockets, buttoned the right-hand corner of his jacket back so it was out of the way of his holster so he would be able to draw his primary weapon with ease. He left the dressing room, packed his saddle bags, went back to the stable car, and saddled his horse threw his saddle bags behind the cantle tied it in place and led the animal down the ramp. After tying the horse to the varnish car, returned to the stable car closed the door and raised the ramp. After making sure that the varnish car was properly locked, Artemus Gordon went in search of his partner.

Hiding in plain sight

Chapter 4

James West rode into a small town somewhere in central California and pulled his horse to a stop and dismounted. He tied the animal loosely to the hitching rail and entered the restaurant/bar found an open table and dropped into a hard wooden seat. A waiter came over and he ordered whiskey and whatever was being fixed for dinner. His shot glass of whiskey arrived, and James sipped the amber liquid, it wasn't the best he'd ever had, neither was it the worst he'd ever tasted. He leaned back in his chair and quietly looked around the large open room. There were about twenty tables, a long bar with shelves and shelves of liquor bottles which stood in front of a huge mirror that spanned the entire length of the bar. Several men leaned against the railing drinking and speaking to each other. The swinging doors at the front swung inwards and the sheriff entered followed by another man wearing a badge. The second man's badge read U.S. Marshall and the two men went straight to the bar and ordered drinks. James looked up as the waiter set his dinner in front of him and he ate quickly realizing just how hungry he was. Finally finishing, he stood dropped a coin on the tabletop, replaced his hat on his head and left the building. He remounted his horse and guided the animal out of town and down the road to the south. Darkness came and he finally had to stop and make camp. He dismounted, loosened Blackjack's saddle and pulled his jacket off the back of his saddle. He gathered small sticks and piled them together on top of a pile of dried leaves and pinecones. He suddenly heard the sound of hoof beats as Blackjack whinnied a warning. Without hesitation he vaulted up on to his horse's back and turned the animal's head southwards. He didn't even have to touch the horse's flanks to get him to take off. Suddenly from behind he hear a distant voice order for him to stop. He ignored the familiar sounding voice and continued to move erratically hoping the man behind him was not that great a shot. He was wrong, he felt the burning pain of the red-hot lead score across his ribs, and he grabbed the saddle horn just to stay in the saddle. It wasn't until very late in the next afternoon that his horse was even willing to stop to catch his breath and rest for a while. He removed his shirt, poured water on to his bandanna and cleaned the cut he had received from the gun shot. He pulled bandages out of his saddle bags and wrapped them around his waist to cover the wound. He once again gathered small sticks, leaves, and dried grasses and he piled them together. He pulled a match out his pocket and struck it setting the hot flame to the leaves and cones. The leaves caught and heat soon began to radiate from the small pile of leaves. James rose, went over to his horse, removed his bridle and allowed the animal to graze. Blackjack he knew, would not wander far from him, he had carefully trained the highly energetic stallion to remain close. He made himself as comfortable as he could on the hard stony ground and warmed his hands over the flame. It was getting cold and would only get colder unless he could make it to the south and into Mexico before winter set in. Finally exhausted he laid down on the ground wrapping his blankets around him. Within minutes he had fallen asleep, when the first rays of sunlight struck his face he sat up and groaned. He had forgotten the graze that his fellow agent had given him as he escaped the trap, they had set up for him when he escaped from the Wanderer.

Three days later he encountered another familiar face, one he had seen in both Denver and San Francisco. He heard the familiar voice and another command to stop and raise his hands. He did neither as in two quick strides he grabbed Blackjack's reins and turned the horse and galloped out of town. Once again, he was shot the bullet just grazing his side and he grabbed the saddle horn to remain up right. He was quickly getting tired of being shot by people he had once trusted.

James could only hope that Artemus had not walked into the same trap he had, and that his partner was still alive and among the living.

Refuge and a new life

Chapter 5

It would take him nearly a month and half of hard traveling to find a safe place to rest each night before he was able to reach Mexicali Mexico. He would rest there for a time and move on. He would have to keep moving, staying just one step ahead of the people who were now hunting him. For the first time in his life James West was being hunted just like the criminals he had hunted, in what seemed a lifetime ago. No longer was he the most trusted secret service agent in the country, he was now a wanted criminal with a ten-thousand-dollar price on his head. He had seen the wanted poster nailed to a tree on his way to Mexicali, and it had frightened him more than anything thing he had ever faced in his life. Nothing in his life experience had prepared him to deal with this and he was not sure how much longer he could stay ahead of his pursuers. He had taken to avoiding any of the larger towns, towns he knew that would have a telegraph. He now only stopped in small, isolated mining camps trading for supplies and news of the outside world. He finally crossed the border and entered Mexicali. Carefully looking around he stopped in front of the cantina, dismounted tied his horse to the hitching rail and entered the large open room. Stopping at the bar he ordered a cervesa or tequila. He had changed his look completely, no longer did he wear his fancy blue suit, vest and tie. Now he wore scuffed chaps, light brown jeans, a heavy dark brown hemp and cotton shirt open to the middle of his sternum, a brown well-worn hat and blue bandanna wrapped around his neck. He even carried a different gun, his normal weapon was carefully hidden in his saddle bags as he did not want to give up that weapon, and it had been given to him by his partner Artemus Gordon on their first Christmas together. He leaned against the bar as the woman who danced and served the men gathered in the bar room stepped up beside him.

"Welcome gringo, where you headed?"

"Nowhere in particular, just got into town. I need work, you know anyone here hiring?" He kept his attention on the barman, carefully not looking at her.

She looked around and asked in a loud voice speaking in Spanish if anyone knew someone who was hiring.

There was an affirmative as a man approached the pair and leaned on the side of James. "What's your name gringo?"

"Conrad Roberts." James sipped the tequila carefully making sure not to take in too much of the strong alcohol.

"You good with horses. Senior?"

"Yes."

"My empleador, he needs a man good with horses. He has many horses, but some of them they are better with the cattle than other horses he wants horses trained for cavalry. If you can to this then come with me and meet Senior Marquez."

"All right." James set his glass down dropped a coin on the bar top and followed a short lean, man of mixed ancestry. He had grey hair and matching beard and a rolling walk familiar to anyone who had worked their entire lives on horseback, he was very bowlegged. The man scrambled up on to a short paint horse, who looked worse for the wear he had obviously been well used and was quite aged.

James hopped up on Blackjack's back and followed the much shorter paint out of the small town and headed east towards the Colorado River delta.

The two men arrived at the ranch overlooking the banks of the river and dismounted. Down below them James could see hundreds of horses grazing on the lush grass watered by the river. There were several buildings that looked like horse barns, bunk houses, kitchens, there were also pastures filled with cattle and men on horseback surrounding them. The main house was perched high above the water to keep it out of flood range. Here too were pastures, barns, bunk houses, kitchens, storage sheds and other buildings. He waited for the shorter man to lead the way and he followed him around the side of the house to a terrace overlooking the river.

"Senior, Marquez. This is Conrad Roberts he claims that he can work with the horses teach them to be cavalry horses."

Marques was a man of colonial French and Spanish heritage with a little bit of local Indian somewhere in his background. He was just slightly taller than James, with nearly black eyes and dark brown skin and hair. He wore no beard or mustache and was dressed as an aristocrat would be if he were in the capital city. "My man Jose says you are good with horses, Senior, prove it."

"Give me a horse to work with and I will." James waited while the two men conversed, and they seemed to come to an agreement. Marquez nodded and led the way back around the hacienda to a large corral. James followed and watched as Jose opened a gate in the side of the corral and chased a wild looking buckskin stallion into the corral.

"Here is your horse, Senior Roberts. Show me what you can do."

James nodded, whistled and Blackjack came trotting up to him. He hopped once and mounted the black stallion and rode around to the gate, leaned over and let them into the corral. The buckskin smelling another stallion let them know he was not happy and was challenging Blackjack, who just ignored him. James tied a lose knot in his reins and dropped them on the horse's neck and shook out the loop in his rope. Before the buckskin stallion realized what was happening, the rope wrapped around his neck just behind his ears and was pulled tight. He screamed, reared and tried to pull away from the other stallion and the human on his back. Blackjack stood motionless and glared at the other horse's antics. He snorted, shook his head in distain and stepped sideways pulling the rope even tighter around the buckskin's neck.

Finally realizing that it was getting harder and harder to breathe the stallion stood motionless and the black stallion stopped moving slightly loosening the rope around his throat. James remained motionless atop the black and waited for Blackjack's signal that the other stallion was ready to listen. Dropping to the ground, West laid one hand on the rope and began talking slowly softly to the stallion, who backed away tightening the rope once again around his throat. He stopped moving and watched the human one hand on the rope the other held out towards him. Very slowly, James took one step at a time as he approached the untamed animal. He stopped just a few feet away from the horse and held out his hand looking directly down at the ground. This action confused the animal, and James patiently waited for him to make the decision to move. Snorting and ready to move as quickly as his feet could take him the stallion slowly approached and sniffed the hand of the human. "Good boy, that's a good boy." James spoke softly and gently began blowing into the horse's nose letting him get his scent as he carefully began moving alongside the animal. The horse stood motionless and watched out of one eye as the human ran a hand along his neck, down the length of his body and back again to just behind his ears. The horse remained motionless and waited for what was to come next. James whistled once and Blackjack moved to stand facing the other stallion as his human reached up and gently removed the rope from around the buckskin's neck. West coiled up the rope walked over to the gate of the large round corral and indicated for the black to leave. The black stallion walked out of the round corral and turned around nosed the gate closed and his human sild the locking mechanism closed. Then he moved to the center of the corral and with a flick of the rope at the buckskin's back feet he started the horse cantering around the perimeter. He would occasionally flick the rope again changing the direction the horse ran in. It took a while, but the stallion got the message and instead of turning away from the human he turned to face him, and the human turned his back on his and lowered his head. The stallion pricked his ears at this strange behavior and walked forward and stuck his nose into the human's back. He smelled the same as before, but something was different the horse just couldn't figure out quite what it was. Without raising his head James stepped backwards and reached out to touch the horse. The stallion remained motionless and allowed the human to touch him. There was no pain from being touched and the tired animal willingly stood while West moved along his side tapping and stroking him. He spoke softly, so softly that the horse had to follow him with his ears. The man moved behind him still touching and talking to him, the words making no sense to him, but the touch was gentle and so was the voice. The human came up toward his head still touching and stroking him. The buckskin remained motionless during this whole procedure and the human once more greeted him in the way of horses by blowing into his nose as he blew into the humans. He smelled a little funny, but there was a strong scent of horse about this human.

James finished that procedure and moved over to the railing, where a saddle, saddle pad and bridle were waiting. He picked up the saddle and pad and walked into the center of the corral. West set the saddle up on the pommel and horn and took the saddle pad and began rubbing in all over the horse. This took a bit more time than the human expected, but the horse quickly got the right idea that the pad was not going to hurt him and if he stood still, he would not have to run around in circles. James slung the pad across the stallions back, then picked up the saddle and set it on the animal's back, pulling the cinch under the horse right behind the front legs. He didn't tighten the saddle to tight as he went to the gate and allowed the black stallion back in. Blackjack stood next to the buckskin and waited for his human to tighten the saddle. The buckskin snorted in surprise, but didn't move too much, just shifted his weight around.

James patted him talking to him the entire time. He mounted Blackjack and they began moving the young stallion around the perimeter of the corral. They went from a walk to trot to a canter in both directions. Once West was sure the buckskin was comfortable with the saddle on his back, he dismounted his horse and moved around the young stallion. He began hopping up and down several times before he stuck his foot in the stirrup, then drooped back down to the ground again. This he did several more times until he finally laid his entire weight across the animals back just lying still and patting the animal still talking softly. The young stallion's ears never stopped moving as they listened to the human moving around and on him. James eventually hopped up stuck his foot in the stirrup and swung his right let across the stallion's back and sat motionless in the saddle. He continued to pat and stroke the horse, telling him what a good horse he was. Slowly Blackjack nudged the buckskin, and they began walking around the corral. Soon they were trotting and cantering with James confidently staying with the young horse's movements. Finally pulling to a stop in the center, James dismounted and took the bridle from the saddle horn and bridled the young animal with ease. By the time the dinner bell had rung, James had ridden the stallion, and was beginning to teach him to respond to the reins. He dismounted and lead both horses to the wooden barrier and waited for Marquez to say something.

"You, Senior Roberts are very good indeed it has only taken you four hours to saddle break that stallion. You are the first man this horse has not tried to kill since he was captured. How many horses can you train in this way?"

"As many as you have. I need the work and doing it the other way destroys the horse's spirit and I don't believe in doing that. Are you offering me a job, or do I leave here in the morning?"

"Yes, Senior Roberts. I am offering you a job. I have one hundred head of horses that need to be broken the way you just broke this fellow here. I will keep him for myself, the others are going to be sold eventually, but first you must break them. I will pay you one hundred dollars to break each horse brought to you. Is that a fair price Senior?"

"One hundred dollars per horse, yeah that's fair. I'll start tomorrow. No senior, you will assist me with earning these horses trust so that I may ride him myself. He is a magnificent animal is he not?"

"Yes, he is and he's a good horse. I'll help you two get used to each other and teach him to stand for the farrier and the vet."

"Very good senior, we have a deal. You may put your horse in the corral with" Marquez paused looking over the stallion. "I will call him Quixote, yes that is a good name for him."

James nodded and led the two stallions to the corral untacked them, putting both saddles and bridles in the small shed next to the corral. He fed both horses grain, hay and made sure the water clean and fresh. Once that was complete, he joined the ranch hands and got his food from the outdoor kitchens and found a seat at one of the tables. After eating, he went back to the horses and brushed both animals down. He found much to his surprise that Quixote liked being brushed and leaned heavily into the brush as James stroked him. "Like that do you?" The horse nickered and watched as James picked up Blackjack's feet one at a time and cleaned each one carefully. He finished and moved to Quixote and ran his hand down the horse's leg and gently lifted the animal's foot. He set the hoof back down and cleaned the other three without the horse even trying to fight him. He gave both horses a little extra grain as a reward and left them. He took his saddle bags and bedroll and found a bed in the bunk house, laid down and was asleep within minutes.

Arrest and transportation

Chapter 6

Artemus Gordon reluctantly rode back to the Wanderer patiently waiting on a siding outside of San Francisco. He dismounted and led his horse up the ramp and into the stable car. He fastened the animal's halter around his neck and gently removed the bridle. After removing the saddle and brushed him down removing the dust and grime from the road. He backed the horse into the stall and attached the other lead rope, effectively cross tying the horse in the stall He draped the rope across the entrance and got grain, hay and fresh water for the animal. Finally, the horse settled, and he wearily picked up his saddle bags and headed toward the varnish car. He would give the horse a couple of days rest then set out again in search of his missing partner.

After taking a long hot bath and putting on clean underwear, trousers and slippers, he entered the galley and began preparing a good hot meal. Once that was in the oven, he entered the parlor and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Good of you to join us, Artemus." Colonel Richmond drank the rest of his drink in a single gulp.

"Colonel Richmond." He began as he felt a gun barrel pressed into his back.

Artemus raised his hands and looked at the Colonel. "Just what is going on here?"

"You, Artemus are coming back to Washington with us and just to make sure that those orders are obeyed, I have been instructed to put you in hand cuffs and into one of your rolling cells. Now, if you will please hold still, the agent behind you will place the cuffs on your wrists and you will follow him forward to the cells."

"What about my dinner, it's in the oven?"

"It will be brought to you when it's done. How much longer will it take?"

The Colonel looked at one of his best agents. "Artemus, if you give me your word that you will not try to leave this train, I will forego the hand cuffs and the rolling cell. You have been gone for three months Mr. Gordon, where have you been?"

"I've been doing just what you ordered me to do, Colonel. I've been searching for my partner." Artemus lowered his hand since he wasn't armed and only had on a dressing gown over his trousers.

"Have you found any trace of James?"

"No sir. And about these orders are they from Washington?" Gordon sat down at the end of the table. He looked at the Colonel who sat down on the sofa facing him. "This comes directly from the President; he wants you in Washington as quickly as the Wanderer can get you there."

"Do I have a choice about where I sleep?"

"If you give me your word that you won't try to escape, you can stay in this car and you can have the freedom of both cars. Is that agreeable?"

"Very." Artemus reached into his pocket and pulled out his watched, pressed the stem and the lid popped open and a chime began to play. He looked at the face, rose and entered the galley. He opened the oven with mitts and took out the soufflé and set it on the top of the stove. He closed the oven and picked up a plate, carefully cut into the soufflé, set a serving on the plate, picked up utensils and entered the parlor. He returned to the galley, opened the small ice box removed a bottle of wine, grabbed a glass and carried both out into the parlor and poured himself a glass, sat down and looked up at the other two men. "Help yourself, you know where everything is." He returned his attention to his dinner and ignored the glares he got from the other two men.

After dinner, he returned to the galley and cleaned up making sure that everything was put in the correct place. He returned to the parlor, picked up his book and sat down in his wing chair and opened his book. Finally getting sleepy, he marked his place, rose and headed to his quarters, and went to bed.

Five days later, in handcuffs, Artemus Gordon was escorted by Colonel Richmond and another agent Gordon did not know to the White House and were taken straight to the office of the President. Once the door closed, Ulysses S. Grant looked up at Richmond, and narrowed his eyes. The Colonel looked sheepishly at his commanding officer and quickly released Artemus. "Have a seat Artemus. And as for you two get."

The President picked up a cigar and took several puffs and regarded one of his favorite agents. "Sorry about the cuffs, but I had to be sure that you would come back here instead of continuing your search for James. He picked up a piece of paper and handed it to Gordon. "Have you seen this?"

Artemus looked at a wanted dead or alive poster with James' picture on it and a sum of twenty-thousand-dollar reward. His usually pale complexion became white with shock as he read, Wanted Dead or Alive for the murder of the Secret Service Regional Director Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick. "That's ridiculous there is no way James would kill anyone, unless his life was in danger." Artemus dropped the poster down on the desk and regarded his superior.

"Artemus, you know that, and I don't believe any of this, someone's set up James to take the fall for this and I want to know who and more importantly why and I want you to lead the investigation into this. I'll assign whoever you want to assist you."

Artemus leaned back in his chair and regarded the President. "What I really need is James, he's the only one who can tell me what happened from the time he left Sacramento and arrived at the train. I don't blame him for going on the run as he really had no other choice, I believe whoever planned this intended to kill James and I still think they intend to kill him which is the reason for the wanted poster. Anyone who sees this is going to try to get the reward."

"I agree, so what are we, and yes I mean we, are going to do about this? Don't look at me that way, Mr. Gordon." The President laughed. "One thing I want you to do is to move in here, I want you where I can get my hands on you quickly. Right now, Gordon you're the only one I trust absolutely with my safety and security. You will personally take charge of my security detail, is that understood?"

"Yes Mr. President, is there anything else?"

"No, not at this time. Go get your things and get back here we have a great deal of work to do." Grant stuck his cigar in his mouth and turned his attention to the papers piled on his desk.

Artemus rose, exited the office and picked up his hat and left the White House. Taking a cab back to where the Wanderer was parked, he unlocked the back door of the varnish car and entered the parlor. Luckily, there was no one waiting for him. He entered the dressing room found his suitcase and opened the pocket door with his suits, hats and boots. He chose three different suits, packed them, along with underwear, socks, shirts, suspenders and belts. Then added smoke bombs, explosives, fuses, a few of his newer gadgets, two derringers, additional colt revolver and other items he just might have need of. He also took his makeup case and several costumes that he might need during his investigations into this possible conspiracy. He included his cavalry boots and formal shoes as well as regular cowboy boots.

For some unexplainable reason he packed a suitcase for James as well. He included shirts, underwear socks, three different suits each one a different color and additional weapons, including two revolvers, derringers, throwing knife, lock pick, explosives, fuses, and other items. He also included two different hats and formal shoes and boots for James.

Once he was finished, he exited the varnish car, locked it behind him. Walking down the platform he went to the engine and asked one of the crew men to see that his horse was taken to a local livery stable and housed there until he might be needed. He returned to the hack, placed his suitcases on the back and secured then in place. He returned to the White House and was interrupted by a valet, who took his suitcase and informed him that the President wanted him in his office as soon as possible. He handed over the cases and headed directly towards the President's office. Knocking on the door he heard the order to enter and walked in. The President was smoking a cigar as usual and was busy with a mountain of paperwork. "Good you're back, get everything you might need?"

"I certainly hope so, Mr. President." Grant picked up a pile of papers and held them out to the secret service agent. "Go through these and see if anything strikes you as pertinent to this thing. Also go through the personnel records and get to know all these new agents to see if they might possibly be involved in this conspiracy. You can use the table over by the fireplace. Get started there's a huge number of papers to go through." The President returned his attention to his own paperwork as Artemus took a seat at a near-by table and began going through his own pile of papers. It was going to be a very long day.

Delivery and a special request

Chapter 7

Conrad Roberts a.k.a. James West removed his hat and wiped his sweaty forehead with his right forearm and replaced the felt head cover. He was working with the last of the one hundred horses Marquez had hired him to break. The horses would need more work, but they would get that from the regular ranch hands as they moved the cattle and horses to different pastures along the Colorado River delta. He gently patted the pure white stallion and looked at Blackjack. His beloved stallion stood hip shod his head lowered and eyes closed in the warmth of the sun. He walked over to the fence of the corral and opened the gate. The white stallion followed closely behind; his nose stuck right between Conrad's shoulders. He began to laugh as the horse's whiskers and breath tickled the back of his neck. "Cut that out." He continued to laugh as he gently pushed the velvety soft nose away. The horse nuzzled his shoulder keeping pace with him. He stopped at the water trough and removed his hat and stuck his head into the cool water and straightened to see his employer staring at him. "It is a bit warm today for the middle of December, is it not Senior Roberts?"

"Yes sir." James wiped his face with his sleeve and waited for the older man to speak

"I have a job for you, since you are through with the one hundred horses, I hired you to break. I am going to give that Palomino mare to my granddaughter who is in Mexico City with my son and his wife. I would like you to take her there. I will pay all your expenses, to go and return from Mexico City, is that reasonable?"

"More than reasonable, sir. I would like to ask a question if I may?"

"Of course, what would you like to know, Senior?"

"Can I buy this fellow from you?" James patted the white stallion. "I've become attached to him and Jack is getting on and I will have to retire him at some point. I never thought I would find one I loved as much, but this fellow seemed to have wormed his way into my heart. Can we make a deal?"

"You may have him, Senior, instead of the final one hundred dollars if that is acceptable?"

"That's very acceptable, Senior Marquez, thank you." James shook the older man's hand. There are several large ranches along the way, and I would like you to stop at each one and leave holiday greetings at each. I have known the owners for a very long time, and I am inviting them here for a large celebration. My lovely wife and I will be celebrating our fortieth wedding anniversary in the New Year, so I am inviting all of our friends to the party.

"Congratulations Senior Marquez. When should I plan to leave?"

"Would tomorrow be too soon?"

"No, that's fine. Will you be taking your new horse?"

"No, since I am taking the Palomino mare, two stallions would be a problem." James laughed as Blackjack came over to him and not to gently shoved the white out of his way, letting the younger horse know who was boss in this outfit. Both men laughed at the animal's antics and shook their heads.

"I will give you a map with all the ranchos locations marked so that you may find them easily. Let me see, you have been here since mid-September and it is now mid-December. I will have to sit down at my desk and figure out how much money I owe you, besides what I have paid you for your work with the horses."

"Senior Marquez, the only money you owe me is for breaking the horses." James stated.

"No Senior, I also pay my men a monthly amount of money on top of what I pay them to do. It keeps them here working for me instead of looking for work somewhere else. I find if I pay my men what I believe they are worth, then the men's loyalty to me and my family is secure and that is a priceless commodity. Most of the men who work here have been with me for years. Jose, who introduced us has been with me for 20 years. His son, grandson and great grandson also work for me as several other families also have been with my family for a very long time. These people are also part of our family, to my wife and myself, and I think of them as family."

"I understand, Senior. You are a very lucky man, Senior Marquez"

"Good, then I will see you in the morning before you leave, I will provide you with pesos for the journey. And Senior Roberts, thank you, I have come to respect your judgement and value your advice. You are a good man with a good heart, and I am glad to have had this time to come to know you."

"Thank you, sir, I appreciated that. You too are a good man and sometimes that is rare and very valuable in this world. I too am glad to have met you." James nodded and took both horses into the barn to untack them, brush them down and feed them before he fed himself.

Winter solstice found James West riding Blackjack into Mexico City. He now looked nothing like the James West of the wanted posters. He had lost weight, allowed his beard to grow, and kept it neatly trimmed and let his hair grow down to the base of his collar. His body was iron hard, and he rode through the streets with ease. His green eyes took in everything, the buildings, the people, he looked around seeing street vendors, women and children and men all seemed to move about with a purpose. He finally reached his destination and dismounted his black stallion. A man approached the locked and asked. "Senior how may I help you?"

"I am from Senior Alejandro Marquez; I have brought Senorita Alexia's birthday present. He held up the lead rope to the Palomino mare. The servant quickly unlocked the gate and opened it. "Please Senior, come in. I will fetch Senior Marquez and the Senorita."

James led both horses into the courtyard and waited patiently for the family to appear. Suddenly there was a squeal of delight and a young girl came racing out of the house and straight towards the horse. The mare raised her head in alarm and backed up behind James. "Slowly Senorita, you have frightened her. She is still very young, younger than you are. How old are you Senorita?"

"I am 10 years old today." She was dark haired, dark eyed and a pretty little girl. "Pappa, look at the lovely horse, grandpappa has sent to me, is she not the most beautiful of horses?"

"Yes, she is quite lovely. May we know your name Senior?"

"I am Conrad Roberts an employee of your father's. I train horses for him. He believed that Enchantress," he held up the lead rope "will make an excellent horse for his granddaughter." He smiled at the family, "I have trained her to saddle and to remain calm and she is a very gentle lady at all times, but she is only three, so she is very young yet, and has not experienced everything she will encounter here in the city. I would suggest that when Senorita Alexia rides her someone else go with her on a much more experienced horse. This will assure Enchantress that what she is doing is correct and provide comfort in what is to her scary surroundings. She is a quick learner and enjoys treats like carrots and apples. You will need to find a saddle that will fit both Senorita Alexia and Enchantress. Is there anything else you would like to know about her?"

The servant took the lead rope and Senior Marquez thanked James profusely for bringing the mare safely to them. "Thank you so much for my birthday present Senior Roberts, I will take very good care of her." She suddenly gave James a tight hug around his hips and smiled up at him.

"You are very welcome, Senorita Alexia and happy birthday to you, and may you have many many more." James nodded, turned around in the courtyard and lead Blackjack out and into the street.

"Wait Senior Roberts, are you required to return to my father immediately?"

"No, your father did not give me any orders for my return. I will have to return to him at some point as my spare horse is there. Why?"

"I am the private secretary to El President Juarez, and I know that our courier to our Embassy in Washington has died through no one's fault. We need someone we can trust, and my father is a very good judge of character. From the looks of your horse and the mare you delivered to Alexia you take pride in doing a good job. Do you know anything about your capital city, Senior Roberts?"

"I've been there once or twice; do you need something delivered?"

"Yes, this is vital information with regards to a treaty with your country, Canada and England. President Juarez needs to have these documents delivered as quickly as possible. Would you be willing to do this for us?"

"Your father would have to approve this as I am his employee."

"Loyalty is a very good virtue, Senior Roberts. If you will be so kind, I will write to my father and send it along with you and the documents we need delivered to our Ambassador."

"I will wait." James looked at the secretary as he dropped Blackjack's reins and found a place to sit down.

"Please Senior come in we were about to eat I will have a place set for you and as for your horse he will be taken care of."

"Gracias Senior Marquez. Is there a place where I might wash up?"

"Follow Emanuel he will show you where you may wash up, then lead you to the dining room."

"Gracias, Senior." James followed the servant into the dim cool interior of the hacienda and down a long hall to a small room at the end. Emanuel opened the door and allowed West to proceed him. He showed the horse trainer where everything was and left him to clean himself as best he could. The former secret service agent removed his shirt and washed his upper body, face and hands. He redressed and exited the small room. He once again followed the servant to the dining room and assisted the birthday girl to her seat and gently pushed her chair up to the table. He ate mostly in silence, aware that the hired help did not eat with the family, but Senior Marquez junior seemed to be a different type of man than his father. Once they had finished, he rose and followed the secretary into his office and waited patiently for the man to put pen to paper and write the letter to his father. He also wrote an introduction to President Juarez and handed both to James.

"Gracias for doing this for the President and myself. Alexia will never forget this birthday." Marquez rose and walked around his desk and held out his hand toward James.

West took the man's hand and shook it. "Gracias Senior Marquez. I will retrieve the documents from the Palace and then head back to your father's ranch. He turned and left the hacienda and mounted his horse and headed into the center of the city. Once he had presented his letters to the guards, they directed him to the President's office He waited patiently for President Juarez to acknowledge his presence and hand over the documents he was to carry to Washington and the Mexican Embassy. The President finally acknowledged his presence, briefly read the letter of introduction and handed over the packet of documents. "Thank you for doing this Senior Roberts, this is important for my country's future. It is difficult to find someone willing to take the risks that are being asked of you, I appreciate this." The President rose held out his hand and shook hand with James. "You are most welcome, Mr. President, is there anything else that I may do for you?"

"No, thank you Senior Roberts. You are doing myself and my country a great favor. May your journey be a safe one, senior."

Once he left the palace, he hid the documents, then mounted Blackjack and headed out of the capital city toward the older Marquez's ranch.

Investigation into possible suspects

Chapter 8

Artemus Gordon sat at a table reading personnel files of all the secret service agents currently working either in the different offices across the country. He closely examined each of the field agents and their respective assignments. Several agents had been assigned to hunt down his partner and either bring him in to the nearest law enforcement office or kill him. If he were to be killed by an agent, that agent would not have been able to collect the twenty thousand dollars as he worked for the government. He found the files of the two men who had tried to force him to find his partner.

Blankenship was a former Confederate cavalry officer who had served under General Robert E. Lee, but he was not among the elite officers of that General's command. He continued reading and found that he had a history for betraying his fellow officers. He was not trusted by any officer in Lee's regiment nor was he trusted by the men under his command. According to interviews conducted by the secret service agents who cleared him for service with the agency he was not to be trusted with any top secret or high security clearance assignment.

"Now why would they clear a man who was not trusted by either his fellow officers or by the men under his command? What's going on here?" He looked up from his pile of papers and noticed Grant watching him.

"You found something, Artemus?"

"Yes sir. A Thomas Blankenship was cleared for service with the agency, but according to his military record he was not trusted by his fellow officers nor by the men under his command. Something is going on here, he never should have been cleared for duty with the agency. Either someone took a bribe or orders came down from above to clear Blankenship for duty, and I'm not sure which one it was or if it was both."

"Good, put that one aside is there anyone else?"

"I'm still reading files, this is going to take some time and maybe more time than James has, wherever he is, I just hope he's safe and staying that way."

"So, do I, I need him, actually I need both of you and in order for you to work at your best you need James. So, let's figure out who's behind this shall we? We've got one suspect, there has to be more than just a single individual. That wanted poster came out awfully fast, after James left the Wanderer. So, who else knew about this?"

"I don't know, but I am determined to find out, Mr. President." Gordon set the pertinent file on the President's desk and returned to his temporary desk. He began reading another file. He had already eliminated Colonel James Richmond, Frank Harper, Jeremy Pike, Bosley Cranston and Ned Brown, both he and James had worked closely with all of these men and trusted them.

He finally came across Alton Fredericks the other man who had accosted him on the train. He had been branded a traitor to the Union. He had somehow managed to send troop movements, artillery positions, manpower at strategic locations, and even some of Lieutenant General Grant's plans for the upcoming campaigns. He had managed to get hold of a list of known spies placed within the Confederate upper command. Thankfully, the war ended before any of these people could be arrested and executed for espionage. Artemus was horrified as two of those names on that very important list was James West and Artemus Gordon." Gordon rose and walked over to the President's desk and set the file down right under Grant's nose. The older man snorted as he read the name on the file and leaned back in his chair, took several puffs on his cigar and narrowed his eyes. "I remember Fredericks, he was insubordinate, stubborn, and extremely unlikeable. I busted him down to private, and finally had to have Meade get rid of him. The man should never have been allowed to join the Union, he was and probably still a southern sympathizer. He's also a bigot and misogamist, he hates women and children and anyone he considers to be beneath him, and that Gordon is everybody he encounters. All right that makes two anymore?"

"Still looking sir. There has to be someone in charge of all of this. I need to track down who would be in command of this operation."

"Good, leave Fredericks' file on top of Blankenship's and keep going. I'll have lunch brought in sandwiches and lemonade good enough for lunch?"

"Whatever you want to order, Mr. President. I'm too hungry to complain." Artemus returned to his table and picked up the next file in the pile of papers sitting on the tabletop.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Grant rose and went over to a wall and pulled a bell pull. He waited patiently for a few minutes, then a back door to the Green Room opened and a servant appeared. Grant ordered lunch for both of them, then returned to his desk and continued to go through all the papers stacked in various piles on his desk. About thirty minutes later another servant knocked on the door and entered with a tray of sandwiches, a pitcher of Lemonade, plates, utensils, napkins and glasses for the two men. He set the tray down on a side table and opened one wing enlarging the surface. There was a knock on another door to the room and Julia Grant entered and looked at the tray. "Good, I'm glad to see that you are going to feed Mr. Gordon, I was afraid that I was going to have to take charge just to make sure that both of you ate decent meals."

"Will you join us Mrs. Grant?" Artemus handed her a plate as he began choosing which sandwich he was going to eat. He poured glasses of Lemonade for the President and Mrs. Grant and himself. Taking his plate, glass and napkin back to his table and sat down.

"Yes, thank you Artemus, I would love to." She looked at her husband who looked sheepishly back at her and she smiled and began choosing sandwiches as well. Julia sat down with her plate, napkin and glass opposite her husband, smiled at him again and began to eat. Finally getting to his feet the President went over to the table, filled his plate, picked up a napkin, and his glass and returned to his desk.

The three ate in silence, it wasn't until he had started eating that Gordon realized just how hungry he was. He finished off the first sandwich, then he went back and picked up two different sandwiches and ate both of them. Finally satisfied, the secret service agent returned to his perusal of the personnel files. He made his way through most of the files when he came to the realization that there was no file for Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick. He looked at the remaining file folders and there was no file folder with Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick. "Excuse me, Mr. President, do you know, or have you heard of a Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick?"

The President paused sandwich halfway to his mouth and he returned it to his plate and considered the question. Finally, after several minutes of consideration, he looked at his wife who waited politely for his answer. "Not to my knowledge, but there could be one, I am not all that familiar with the men who served in the eastern theatre before I became Lieutenant General and came east with my entire staff. Why do you ask?"

"I asked sir, because I can't find a file on the man who James is supposed to have killed. I will have to go over to the Department of the Army and do a thorough search through their records, including the Confederate files they have in storage. If you excuse me sir, I will go there right now." Gordon rose and before he could move, Grant yelled. "Colonel Porter, come in here."

Colonel Porter one of the President's private secretaries who sat directly outside the President's office. He was the President's gate keeper and he quickly entered the office. "You called Mr. President?"

"Yes, you are to accompany Mr. Gordon and do exactly what he tells you to do. Do not ask questions, Porter, just go with Mr. Gordon wherever he goes. Mr. Gordon, Colonel Porter is now under your command see what you can find in the Army's files both Union and Confederate, is that understood. I want everything that might apply to the matter you are currently researching."

"Yes, Mr. President." Both men responded, as Artemus grabbed his hat and exited the President's office and the White House.

A Journey Home

Chapter 11

James West finally arrived back at Senior Marquez's ranch and reported to his employer. "Did my granddaughter like her birthday present, Senior Roberts?"

James smiled and responded. "She was ecstatic, and her father will make sure that Enchantress will be well cared for. You son said that he would eventually like to breed Enchantress with my Blackjack, he thought that they would produce a very fine colt or filly, and I agreed with him. I will have to retire Blackjack at some point, and I would like to bring him back here where he would have plenty of mares and a good retirement. Would that be acceptable to your Senior Marquez?"

"Yes, he is a splendid animal, and I would be very happy to breed him to several of my mares. I have several different breeds besides the Andalusian and Lusitano. I also have American Quarter Horses as well as Arabians. He will be a good addition to my heard." Marquez smiled at West and walked with him back to the barn and waited patiently for the younger man to speak. "Sir, there is something I must do. I was fortunate to be introduced to President Juarez, by your son, and the President asked me if I would be willing to do something for him. He asked me to carry some documents to Washington D. C. and deliver them to the Embassy and your Ambassador Fuentes. I agreed, so I will be leaving for the U.S. in the next couple of days. I would like to return at some point in time, I just do not know when that will be."

"I understand. I will provide you with letters of introduction to friends of mine on both sides of the border. When do you wish to leave, Senior Roberts?"

"Most likely the day after tomorrow as I would like to give Blackjack a couple of days rest and get some rest myself before I head out." James reached into his shirt and removed a wallet, opened it and held out the money he had not spent travelling to Mexico City and returning to the ranch.

"There is quite a bit of money left over, Senior Roberts, how did you manage to save so much?"

James smiled and continued to hold out the money. "Camping. I like camping, gives me time to think about things."

Marquez smiled and nodded. "No, you keep that money, you have earned it. Use it in good health, my amigo."

"You are very generous Senior Marquez. Thank you." James put the money back into his wallet and returned it to its place inside of his shirt.

Three days later James mounted on his new horse and patted the white stallion as he stood still for mounting. "That's a good boy Artie. What a smart fellow you are, just like your names sake." He grinned made sure Blackjack was securely tied to his saddle and he set off towards the border. It took him several days to reach the border with the United States. He changed horses each day riding each horse for the entire day. He camped and only stopped in small towns he was sure had no telegraph and very little outside communication, even though he looked nothing like what he had before, in his previous life. He finally crossed the border at a small place that was not close to any major Army forts or large towns. Several days later he rode into Tombstone Arizona and stopped at one of the smaller hotels in the town. After reregistering he took his saddle bags and went up to his room. He took a long hot bath, then once he was done, he carefully trimmed his beard and dressed. Heading out he stopped at the barber shop and had his hair trimmed to the base of his collar. After the barber was through, James looked around and spotted the men's furnishing store. He entered and waited for one of the salesmen to see him. It took over an hour for him to finally dress in his new suit. He wore black cavalry boots, or more correctly English riding boots, Black trousers, a black and silver patterned vest, white shirt with black string tie, and a coat that came down to just above his knees. A black hat with silver hat band finished off the look. He paid for the clothes, took all of his other clothes to the local laundry and paid to have them cleaned and pressed. He returned to the hotel, went into the bar and ordered a whiskey, then found an empty table and sat down. He removed his hat, looked over the menu, ordered and sipped his drink. The sheriff of Tombstone entered followed by a U.S. Marshall and the two men stopped at the bar and ordered drinks. They looked in the mirror and noticed James sitting by himself at a small table on the far side of the room. A waiter brought his dinner order and set it before him. He paid little attention to the law officers and concentrated on his food.

A nice, rare steak had never tasted so good. He had added a baked potato, and vegetables of the day. He sipped his whiskey in between bites and finally finished his meal. He leaned back and looked around the room as it was starting to fill up. Men were entering the room and ordering drinks, food and talking happily to the saloon girls. He had paid no attention to any of the ladies of questionable virtue and he really wasn't interested, none of them appealed to him. Finally rising, he exited the saloon, and began walking down the wooden walkway. He entered the mercantile and found the cigars he hadn't been able to purchase while working for Senior Mar quez. After purchasing half a dozen cigarillos, he exited, lit a match and set it to the end of his cigarillo. He paused as the sheriff and the Marshall walked towards him. "Good evening, new in town?" The sheriff questioned as he paused directly in front of James.

"Si Senior, I just arrive in town."

"Where are you from?"

"I live on a rancho in between Mexicali and Sonora on the Colorado Delta, Senior." James spoke fluently in Spanish and he sounded like a native, and with the exception of the green eyes he even looked like he had Spanish heritage.

"I noticed you have two horses, why is that?"

"I have a very long journey, Senior and it is easier on myself and the horses if I trade them every day, they do not become exhausted as quickly, Senior."

"Where are you headed, Senior?"

"I am headed to Washington D. C. to see my brother who is the secretary to the Ambassador of Mexico. We have not seen each other for ten years and that is too long not to see family, is it not senior?"

The marshal smiled and nodded his thanks to Roberts, tipped his hat to a lady passing by and commented over his shoulder. "Have you seen this man?" He asked pointing to James' wanted poster.

"No Senior I have not. He is wanted for murder, is he supposed to be in this area Senior?" Conrad looked worried at both men.

"Not that we know of, but then you never know who is hiding in the Superstitions. Just be careful, Senior."

"I will, please excuse me sheriff, is there a train that will take me and my horses to Washington D. C.?" He looked between the two men.

"Afraid not, you'll have to go to Benson which is twenty-five miles north of here. I suppose we'll eventually get a railroad coming through town, but that's in the far future."

"Thank your senior sheriff. I will have to leave earlier than what I planned. But that is the way of things, is it not?" James smiled and left the two men standing in front of the sheriff's office. He entered the laundry and paid for his clean clothes, then headed back to the small hotel he took a room at and returned to his room. After closing and locking the door he stripped down to his shorts and climbed under the covers and was soon sound asleep. Just as dawn was beginning to lighten the sky West packed his new suit into his saddle bags went downstairs, ate breakfast and paid his bill then left the building going to the stables out behind the hotel, James saddled and bridled Blackjack and tied Artie to his saddle, mounted and headed toward Benson and a possible ride to Washington D. C. saving both himself and the horses a two-thousand-mile journey. He just hope there was one going east soon, but he would have to play that by ear and see what happened when he got to Benson.

Discovery of possible suspects

Chapter 12

Artemus Gordon and Colonel Porter slogged their way through the Confederate personnel files looking for anyone who might possibly match to Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick. So far neither man had found anything. They had already spent three months going through the Union Army's personnel files and didn't find a single record even mentioning Fitzpatrick. They had found Blankenship's records and Fredricks' file and put them aside for later.

Gordon sighed and dropped another file folder into a box sitting on the floor next to his chair. He looked at Colonel Porter sitting across from his and shook his head. "I don't know if this is hopeless or just plain stupid. I don't believe there is any such person as Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick."

"I'm not so sure Mr. Gordon, the photo and description of man in this file is very close to the description of Colonel Fitzpatrick. According to this file he fits the physical description of the Colonel, but from the photo attached to the file he doesn't match. I have a suggestion, Mr. Gordon."

"Horace, will you please call me Artemus? What is your suggestion?"

"Send someone out to San Francisco and talk to anyone who might have seen or known Colonel Fitzpatrick."

"Who would you suggest?"

"Colonel Richmond, he's currently in Denver overseeing a problem in the Rocky Mountains along with Jeremy Pike and Frank Harper. The situation in the Rockies has to do with a major counterfeiting operation, but I bet Colonel Richmond could find out what we need fairly quickly."

"Let's go suggest that to the President, shall we?"

"That, Artemus sounds like a good plan." Porter dropped the file on top of the rest in the box and put the lid on it. They each carried their boxes back to the file clerk and left the storage center. They returned to the White House and knocked on the door to the President's office.

There was the enter command on the other side of the door. They entered and Grant leaned back in his chair and regarded the pair. "Well, what have the two of you found?"

"We've got Blankenship's and Fredricks' Army personnel files." Gordon added them to the other files on the President's desk.

"We, well Colonel Porter had a suggestion and I agree with him."

"And that suggestion is Mr. Gordon?" Grant took several puffs on his ever-present cigar.

"Have Colonel Richmond go to San Francisco and find out everything he can about this Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick. I could suggest Frank Harper or Jeremy Pike, but they are busy on a counterfeiting investigation." Gordon informed his commanding officer.

Colonel Porter cleared his throat and looked at the other two men in the room. "If I may? The counterfeiting operations has cost the Rocky Mountain area well over a million dollars and the lives of three treasury agents and several secret service agents. That investigation was supposed to be assigned to Mr. West and Mr. Gordon but as you know Mr. West was accused of the murder of Colonel Fitzpatrick. We that is Mr. Gordon, and I are beginning to believe that there is no such person. There are no records either in the Secret Service or in the Union or Confederate Armies. I suggested that we have Colonel Richmond investigate personally and find out if there really is a Colonel Fitzpatrick. We know that we can trust Colonel Richmond to do a thorough investigation and get to the bottom of this conspiracy."

"Very good Colonel Porter, send a telegram directly from me stating that Richmond go to San Francisco as soon as possible and find out the truth about this Colonel Fitzpatrick." Grant stuck is cigar back into his mouth took several puffs, then looked at the two men. "Well Colonel why are you just standing there, I gave you an order see to it. As for you Mr. Gordon why don't you go and invent something or other?"

Artemus grinned at the President, nodded and turned and headed toward the main doors to the office dragging Colonel Porter along with him. "Send the telegram. I'm going to secret service headquarters. I'll be in the lab if the President or you need me." The federal agent took his hat from one of the servants and quickly left the White House before someone came up with more paperwork for him to do.

A courier's mission

Chapter 13

Conrad Roberts a.k.a. James West lead his black stallion down the ramp off the rail car they had been riding in for the past week. He tied the lead rope to a hitching rail, and then returned to the car and led a white stallion down the ramp and tied him next to the black. After retrieving his saddle and bridle he saddled the white stallion he had named Artie and bridled him. Tightening the cinch to make sure the saddle didn't slip or slide on the animals back. He untied both horses and looped the white's lead rope into a coil and tied it to the saddle with the strings on the pommel and looped Blackjack's lead rope around the saddle horn and set off toward Embassy row. It did not take long for him to find the Mexican Embassy.

The guards questioned him thoroughly before allowing him inside the gate. He dismounted and a groom came forward and took the horses to the stable area to await his return.

James entered the front door, removed his hat and told the butler that he was there to deliver documents from President Juarez to the Ambassador. He was led to the Ambassador's office and instructed to wait while the Ambassador's secretary entered the inner sanctum and spoke to the Ambassador.

Finally, he was allowed to enter the Ambassador's office. He nodded his head toward the much older man. The Ambassador rose and towered over James and spoke in a soft, cultured voice. James stepped forward and handed him the waterproof leather case. "Gracias Senior Roberts. These treaty documents are very important to my government and my country. Would you be willing to wait for me to sign them, then they may be delivered to President Grant for his signature?"

"Of course, Senior Fuentes I will wait out in your secretary's office, if that is all right with you?"

"Thank you, Senior Roberts, I need to go over these treaties just to be sure that they are correct. Once I have done that and signed them, they will be ready to go, and thank you for your patience with regards to this very important matter."

"You are most welcome, Senior Fuentes." James opened the door and exited the room; he spoke to the sectary and found a seat in the outer room. After a three hour wait, the Ambassador came to the door and called to James. "Here Senior Roberts, please convey these to the White House and deliver them to President Grant."

"Of course, is there anything else you need me to do?"

"No, this is the most important. Is there something you need Senior Roberts?"

"May I leave my spare horse here?"

"Of course, Juan will take good care of him."

"Gracias Senior, I will leave for the White House immediately." James reclaimed his hat and went out the front door. His white stallion was brought to him and he explained to the groom to take good care of Blackjack. He mounted and left the Embassy for the White House.

Return and Reunion

Chapter 13

James rode up to the front door of the White House and dismounted his white stallion. A groom quickly came forward and took the horse's reins and led him around the building to the stables. James walked up the several steps to the front door and knocked. It was answered by a liveried servant. "How may I help your sir?"

"I have documents for President Grant from President Juarez. Is it possible to see President Grant?" James spoke all of this in Spanish.

The servant stepped aside and allowed James to enter the building. "Please wait here, sir." The servant quickly disappeared down a short hallway and entered the outer office where Colonel Porter sat behind his desk. "Excuse me, Colonel Porter, there is a gentleman here speaking a language I do not understand, could you possibly come and speak to him?"

"Very well." Porter rose and followed the servant out into the main atrium of the White House.

"Excuse me sir, who are you wanting to see?"

James looked at the Colonel and spoke once again in Spanish and looked between the servant and the Colonel.

Porter held up a hand to stop James from talking anymore and he spoke slowly, then turned and headed back the way he had come. He entered his office and walked across the empty space between the outer and inner door.

After knocking and hearing a command to enter, he opened the door and entered. Once again Artemus was working in the President's office under is direct supervision. "Please excuse me, Mr. Gordon, could you please help me, there is a man here who speaks what I believe is Spanish I do not speak or understand it, and I know you do."

Artemus rose from behind his desk and followed the Colonel out into the entryway. "Excuse me sir, how may I help you?"

James remained stoic and showed no emotion on his face. "I have come here to deliver documents from President Juarez to President Grant, they are the trade agreements between Mexico, the United States, Canada and England. I have been ordered to place these documents directly into the President's hand, is this possible?"

"Yes, please follow me," Gordon turned and headed back to the office he left only a few moments earlier. After knocking on the inner door and hearing Grant's order to enter he opened the door and allowed James to proceed him into the room.

James stopped nodded his head toward the President, removed the leather case containing the treaties from inside his jacket and handed it to the President. Grant took the leather case and opened it. He looked over the papers, there were only two signatures that were needed to complete the treaties. One was his own and the other was for Queen Victoria's signature. "This looks complete. Thank you, Mr.,"

"Roberts, President Grant."

Artemus stood off to one side silently watching the two men. There was something very very familiar about the man who stood before the President. Gordon just couldn't put his finger on it, then suddenly as if he had been shocked by cattle prod, he nearly yelped out loud. Artemus slowly and hesitantly approached the man standing near him. He reached out, realizing that his hand was shaking so hard that it was almost uncontrollable. He spoke, then realized that nothing came out, he cleared his throat and tried again. "James?"

West looked into chocolate brown eyes filled with concern, fear and uncertainty or was that hope? He wasn't sure that he could even trust his partner or the President, knowing that there was still a twenty-thousand-dollar price on his head. So far no one would even associate this bearded man with the former secret service agent names James West. "Are you going to betray me, too? I've already been shot three times by men I trusted, and I'm not sure who to trust anymore."

"James my boy, there is no way on God's earth that either one of us would betray you, you know that." Gordon laid his arm across his partner's shoulders and hugged him tightly against his side. "James where have you been and how have you learned Spanish so well?"

"I've been in Mexico working on a ranch outside of Mexicali on the Colorado delta. I was introduced to President Juarez four months ago and he asked me to do a favor for him. I agreed to carry those treaty documents here, hoping I would find you Artie, and perhaps even get to see you Mr. President and explain what happened. I'm sorry, but after getting shot three times I'm very leery about trusting anyone."

"I don't blame you James, you've been set up to take the fall for a murder you obviously could not nor have committed. I've contacted the judge and both attorneys for the case you were testifying in. According to Colonel Richmond, who I sent to San Francisco to investigate this whole business. There is no such person as Colonel Arnold Fitzpatrick. He was unable to locate anyone by that name in the San Francisco area, and he checked with the local police and they did not recognize the name. Just who he is or was still a mystery that the Colonel is still investigating. The two men who set you up Blankenship and Fredericks are a pair of rouge agents who are deeply involved in a counterfeiting scheme in the Colorado Rockies. I've put out a Presidential order to remove the wanted poster across the country. You are no longer wanted for murder James."

West sighed with relief and leaned heavily against his partner's side. "Good, I can get rid of this beard, it itches abominably.

Grant laughed as he took several puffs on his cigar. "It's not that bad James, I should know I've had one for quite a while. I don't think Julia would know me if I shaved mine off."

"I suggest you keep it for a while, until people get the message that James West is no longer wanted for murder." Artemus looked at his partner in relief. "It's good to have you back James, my boy."

"Thanks Artie. So, what about Blankenship and Fredericks?"

"You and I my friend are going hunting, shall we?" Gordon smiled ferally and looked into his partner's green eyes.

"Why not? I just have to stop at the Mexican Embassy for a moment."

"Oh why? Never mind, I know a very beautiful Seniorita, right?"

James burst out laughing. "Blackjack would not be happy if he found out you thought he might be a mare."

"So, who did you ride over here?"

"My new horse." James blushed furiously and looked down at his feet, then glanced at the President. "I wanted to have you around, and I didn't know when or if I would see you again Artemus, so I named my new horse Artie. Wait till you see him, he's a purebred Andalusian Stallion and he's pure white. He's only three years old and he'll eventually replace Blackjack who'll go to a large horse ranch in Mexico." James' eyes glowed with pride and pleasure as he talked about his new horse. "He's already learned most of the tricks I've trained Blackjack to do. He's incredibly smart and can easily keep up with Blackjack and he's got a real sweet temperament for a stallion."

Artemus groaned and looked at his partner. "What else would you call him?" He laughed at James' shame faced expression. "Well then let's go pick up Blackjack and get going. Is there anything else you need us to do Mr. President?"

"Yes, don't get yourselves killed and that is a direct order." Grant grinned and began to laugh. "Oh, and one other thing, please do try to stay out of trouble, I know that that request is almost impossible for the two of you but do try. And report directly to Colonel Richmond when you get to San Francisco, he should have a lead on where to find Blankenship and Fredricks. Good luck gentlemen, now let me get back to the job the people of this fine country elected me to do, and that is being President." Grant returned his attention to the treaties that James had delivered to him. He never noticed the two men leave the office closing the door behind them.

Back together again

Chapter 14

James entered the parlor of the varnish car and sat heavily down as he picked up the file folders on Blankenship and Fredericks. "How did these two ever get into the army, then the secret service? This has to up go up to the highest level, Artie someone has to be covering for them, but who?"

"No idea, but maybe Colonel Richmond will have an idea who to look into and just who might be covering for these two." Artie called from the galley as he busily prepared dinner for the two of them. He shoved the food into the oven. He entered the parlor and began setting the table, while James, still unrecognizable with his full beard and much longer hair continued to peruse the files.

Even Artemus who had known West for many years was startled to hear the familiar voice come out that now unfamiliar face. He watched his partner as he perused the two files wondering what James was thinking as he read through the files.

"Find anything we might have missed?" Gordon set a candelabra on the table at the far end, and set plates, wine glasses, water glasses and utensils and napkins down the table. He took a chair from the end of the table, turned it around and straddled it, so that he was facing his partner. "James?"

"Uhhh? What? Oh, sorry Artemus I was just thinking about all that's happened in what will be as of tomorrow, two years when all this started?"

"Something like that. I searched for you for three months and when I returned to the train, Colonel Richmond had me put in handcuffs and he threatened to lock me in the rolling cells up front unless I gave him my word that I would not leave the train until we got to Washington and that was on the orders of the President. He even escorted me personally in handcuffs into the President's office. He was pretty sheepish when the old man glared at him." Gordon informed his best friend. He heard his pocket watch chime and he pulled it out of his vest pocket and pressed the stem opening the case. "Ahh, dinner's ready." The older federal agent rose to his feet and disappeared into the galley. He put on oven mitts and opened the door and lifted out the roasting pan, set it on top of the stove and shut the oven door. Once he had everything dished up, he carried the patters out to the parlor and set them on the end of the table. He looked at James and hesitated as he picked up the carving knife and fork. "Something wrong James?"

James stopped and looked at his best friend. "I didn't realize until just now how much I've missed you, Artie." He watched his partner's eyes closely and Gordon set down the carving set on the tabletop and stepped in front of the younger man and stood looking deeply into his eyes.

Neither man could say anything, then Artie smiled and grabbed his partner by the shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. "I've missed you too buddy." He felt his best friend's arms wrap around his waist and lean against him. "Shall we try to do as the President ordered and not get ourselves killed and try to stay out of trouble?"

James began laughing and choked gasped for air and continued to laugh. "Have you known either of us to stay out of trouble? And the part of not getting we killed might be questionable at best." He continued to smile as they parted and he picked up his napkin and sat down on the sofa, handed Artemus his plate, which was filled with sliced meat, vegetables and bread. West took the plate back and handed his partner the other plate, which was quickly filled, and Gordon sat down, and James poured the wine, and the two men began eating. It would take the Wanderer a full two and a half weeks to reach San Francisco due to two tornados one in Kansas and the other in the Colorado territory. Three washed out bridges due to flooding, a rockslide and several other issues. They finally reached a siding just to the east of the Bay City and pulled to a stop.

Hunting and Capture

Chapter 14

There was a knock at the back door of the varnish car and James rose from the table and walked to the door and opened it. "Colonel Richmond, please come in." West moved out of their handler's way and allowed him into the parlor. "Have the two of you come up with a way to find Blankenship and Fredericks?"

"We think we might have a way to get them to come out of the woodwork." Artemus poured a cup of coffee and handed both the cup and the saucer to Richmond. James picked up his own cup and sipped carefully trying not to burn his tongue or throat. "Well, what have you considered?" Richmond set his cup down on the table and looked at the two best agents in the service.

"I'm going into San Francisco and let myself be seen by as many people as possible. Artie is going to follow me in disguise of course. I'll take a room at the Palace Hotel. Once word gets out that I'm alive and back in San Francisco we're pretty sure that Blankenship and Fredericks will find some way to confront me and kill me or kidnap me and I can try to convince them to take me to whoever is behind all of this."

"I promise not to let James out of my sight." Artemus stated as he set his own cup and saucer down on the table. "Any suggestions or additions to this plan?"

"If you are going to go parading around town, I would suggest that you shave off that beard and go back to those colorful suits of yours. Did you bring your black stallion with you or are you riding that new one?"

James grinned and looked at his partner. "Artie is riding Artie and I'll ride Blackjack.

"James, you didn't name your new horse after your partner, did you?" Colonel Richmond laughed, shook his head in disbelief. "Artemus tell me you are actually okay with this?"

Artemus laughed and looked at his best friend. "It's not as if I had a choice in this matter and no I don't have a problem with a horse named after me. It was Jim's way of our partnership alive. He didn't know if or when we would ever see each other again. James is more to me than just a partner, he's my best friend. So why would I object? I'm pretty sure if I had been in his situation, I would have named my horse James."

Colonel Richmond shook his head and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "All right go ahead with your plan. If you need help you know where headquarters is and I've seen to it that the two of you get whatever you need to bring Blankenship, Fredricks and the man they are taking orders from to justice as quickly as possible. I've been recalled to Washington by the President. I trust that you two can take care of each other and try to obey the President's orders. He told me to remind you two to not get yourselves killed and try and I know that the word try means little to either one of you, but please try to stay out of trouble. You don't purposely try to get into trouble it seems to actually come looking for both of you. The President also said that you are to be back in Washington no later than the fifteenth of December. He expects you to provide security for the Christmas Ball." Turning and heading toward the door he stopped with his hand on the handle, and he looked at the pair. "Just be careful, both of you I do not want to report your deaths to the President, understand gentlemen?"

"Understood." They chorused as Richmond left the varnish car.

James scratched his cheek. "I'm going to pack my suitcase and head into the Palace. I'll have a shave and a haircut there and a long hot bath. I presume you'll come into town at some point in disguise, is that correct?"

"I'll be right behind you as always. So, get going."

James laughed as he disappeared through the swinging door and entered their dressing room. Two hours later James sat in one of the barber chairs having his hair cut to the way he worn it before this nightmare had begun. The barber had already given him an excellent close shave, removing his beard and giving him back his familiar face. Finally, the barber removed the sheet he had laid over West's chest and took his brush and made sure there were no stray hairs on his client's chest, shoulders and back. James paid him and left the barber crossed the hotel and took the elevator up to his room. He let himself in and closed the door, locking it he quickly stripped, piling the dirty clothes into his suitcase. He entered the bathroom and began filling the tub with hot water. Once that was done, he slid gratefully into the hot water with a sigh, closed his eyes and rested his head back against the rolled-up towel he had place on the cast iron edge. The hot water felt so good, he just closed his eyes and allowed his body to relax. Eventually the water got too cold to soak in, so he rose pulled the plug and stepped out of the tub. He dressed in his dark green pants, white shirt, gold and green brocade vest and set his tie aside with his hat. He drew his colt and made sure that it was loaded, then he put it back in the holster, set it down on the nightstand near his head and laid down on the bed and fell asleep.

Setting a trap

Chapter 15

Artemus Gordon rode his partner's white stallion into the Bay City. He wore a full beard, dark hair down to his shoulders, he wore a fringed leather jacket, dark brown jeans, and a red bandanna around his throat, a dirty off-white Stetson, and stained dirty brown shirt finished the outfit with cowboy boots and his gun belt. He paused in front of a saloon dismounted, tied the white horse to the hitching rail and entered the building. He looked around and spotted Blankenship and Fredericks sitting at a corner table with a man he did not recognize. He casually strolled over to the bar, leaned on it and requested a whiskey. After taking a couple of sips he looked up in the mirror and watched the three men drink, eat and talk. He carefully made his way toward another table secreted in the same corner. He set his drink down on the table, leaned back in his chair and looked around the room. He adjusted his chair so that he could clearly hear what the three men were saying.

Blankenship set his drink down and looked at his two companions. "James West is alive and well and back in town. I want him dead, he's responsible for the death of my son and I want revenge."

"Your family isn't the only one that has a reason to want James West dead. He's responsible for the death of my brother and he needs to pay for that." Fredericks looked at his two companions. "Alright Clayton why are you here? You've got no reason to hate West, or do you?"

"I got my own reasons for hating West and that's all I gotta say in this matter. Now we gotta figure out a way to get him to come to us, sos that we can corner him, cause that's the only way we're gonna be able to take him out. He's too dangerous otherwise." Colby was a man of medium height with carrot colored hair and matching full beard. He had icy blue eyes and spoke with a strong Irish accent. He was slightly overweight and wore a tight-fitting suit with his gun belt riding low on his hips.

Rising slowly and holding on to the back of the chair Artemus slowly moved one foot in front of another. He began singing "A Froggy went a courting, and he did ride uh, huh. Oh, a Froggy went a courting, and he did ride, uh, huh." By the time he reached the third stanza he had reached the swinging doors and he staggered out of the building on to the wooden walkway.

Straightening, he made his way to the Palace Hotel and went to the registration desk asked for a notepaper and wrote a brief message to James letting him know about Blankenship, Fredericks and now a man named Jacob Colby. He told James that he would go to HQ and get as much information as he could about the man and meet him at the train. He put the note into an envelope and sealed it, then handed it to the desk clerk to be taken to James' room as quickly as possible. Once back outside, he hailed a hack, got in and informed the driver to take him to the Department of the Treasury building. After showing his ID Gordon went to the research department and had the clerks there look up everything, they could find out about a man names Colby and what his possible connection to Blankenship and Fredericks were. As soon as he was handed pieces of paper, he began reading through them looking for any connection to his partner or the other two men who claimed to be field agents for the service. Over two hours later he finally had what he needed, he took the paper and all the others that pertained to their investigation and headed out to grab a cab and head back to the train.

Closing the trap

Chapter 16

Inside his hotel room, James West now dressed in one of his familiar colorful suits, black gun belt and black felt hat opened the door. A bell boy was standing there attempting to knock on the door and he handed the federal agent the envelope and James casually flipped the boy a coin. He tore open the envelope removed the sheet of paper and began reading. He turned to the bell boy and instructed the boy to have his horse brought to the front doors and he would be down shortly. James grabbed his cloak, threw it around his shoulders and tied it in place. He closed the door to his room, locked it and took the elevator to the lobby. He nodded to the registration clerk and left. After mounting his horse, he pulled his cloak tightly around him to shut out the wind and the now heavy rain pouring from the sky. An hour later he led his horse into the stable car, threw a blanket over him and gave him some grain, water and hay. He loosened the cinch removed the bridle and gave the animal a gentle pat. After entering the varnish car, James removed his cloak, shook it out and carried it into the parlor. "Artie?"

"In a minute James, I'm just finishing putting the final touches on dinner. Pour me a drink will you, we've got a lot of things to talk about.

"Fine," James draped his soaked cloak over the back of a near-by chair and moved to the sideboard. He unstoppered the decanter of whiskey, he poured two glasses of whiskey and settled himself on the sofa facing the swinging door. He had set Artie's glass on the table closest to the door and waited for his partner to finish what he was doing.

Artemus entered the parlor picked up his drink and looked at his partner. James was leaning back against the sofa, head resting on the back, his arms crossed over his chest and he was sound asleep. Gordon didn't blame him; it was difficult for West to relax anywhere but on the train as long as he knew his partner was there to provide protection from the people who wanted him dead. And that would never happen if Artemus had any say in the matter and he had a great deal to say about the life and health of his partner, best friend and brother, James West. He grabbed a chair turned it around and straddled it, so the back of the chair faced his partner. He reached out and gently patted James' knee. "James?"

"Huh? Uh what is it Artie?" West lifted his head and looked sleepily at his best friend.

"Do you know a Jacob Colby?" He watched James' face as he contemplated the question.

"I think I remember…" West paused and thought some more. "I remember a Jacob Colby, we served together under the old man, but I think…. I think he was assigned to General Parker. I know I didn't have much contact with him, especially once we were paired by the general. He grumbled about the assignment, but I don't remember giving him any cause to hate me enough to want me dead. Why are you asking?"

"I'm asking because I saw him with Blankenship and Fredericks in Amy's saloon and I went to HQ and got as much information as we had on him, then I wired the Army and asked for his service record and they will be sending them with a courier and he should be here soon, although what soon means I have no idea."

"Artie, what's burning?" James sniffed the air delicately.

"My dinner!" Gordon shrieked as he bolted into the galley and pulled the pan out of the oven. The topping was dark brown, not black as he had feared. "Oh, thank heavens." He murmured as he set the pan on top of the stove and took a large serving spoon and began putting the contents on to a serving platter. He filled a breadbasket and covered that with a napkin to keep the bread warm. He carried both out to the parlor and noted that James was seated on the sofa a napkin covering his lap. Artie set the food down and looked at James. "Would you mind pouring the wine?"

"Not at all, red or white?"

"Red, please,"

James rose entered the galley pulled out a bottle of burgundy from the wine rack and a corkscrew. He reentered the parlor and set the bottle down on the table, inserted the corkscrew and worked the cork out of the wine. He poured each of them a glass then wrapped the bottle and set it in the bucket and set that aside as Artie reentered the room carrying a vegetable dish and another serving platter. He set them down and picked up James' plate and began putting food on the plate taking a serving of each then putting the food on his own plate, then sat down across from his partner and began eating.

"Hey, this is great."

"It's alright I suppose, but it's not one of my best efforts." Gordon said in between bites. There was a knock on the door and James rose, dropped his napkin on the sofa and walked over to the door and opened it. On the back platform stood Jeremy Pike with a huge smile on his face and right behind him was Frank Harper and Colonel Richmond.

"Have we got news for you." Jeremy stated as he entered followed by the other two men and Colonel Richmond closed the door behind them.

James returned to the table as Artie rose and set three more places on the table and the men sat down around the table and passed the newly filled plates around to each man. Everyone now had a full plate, and they began eating. "So, what's so important that you have to invite yourselves to dinner?" West looked at the other three men.

"From the information I brought with me Jacob Colby is behind everything that's happened in the past year and a half." Pike grinned as he took a fork full of vegetables.

"All right out with it, all three of you." Artemus snapped losing his patience with them. "Spill it Pike." He growled as he set his utensils down on the table.

"You're grouchy, Artemus. I've had just about enough of this. The only reason that that wanted poster isn't still out there is President Grant's direct order and you know that. So, what the hell is going on?" Gordon rose and began pacing the length of the parlor, that he was angry there was no doubt and he had resented the implications that James was even capable of committing first degree murder.

James rose and took his partner by the upper arm and escorted him through the swinging door and to the front end of the varnish car. "Artie, calm down right now the only thing that matters is that we're back together again and there is nothing in this world or any other that is going to separate us, and you know that, right?"

The older federal agent looked into his partner's green eyes and smiled. "Yeah, I know. It's just that I hate people keeping secrets from us or baiting us like Pike was doing. It just makes me mad. They know something more than what they are going to tell us. Somehow we're going to have to get them to tell us everything."

James suddenly smiled and patted his partner on the shoulder. "And I know just how to get everything. I'm going to use the telegraph in your lab, go ahead on out to the parlor and keep them busy. Answer the telegraph as soon as it starts clicking, this won't take long." James patted Artie's shoulder a second time and disappeared through the front door of the varnish car and entered the stable car, then entered Gordon's lab and sat down at the telegraph. He quickly tapped out a very secret code that only three people knew, Artemus Gordon and President Ulysses S. Grant and himself. He finished the request, then left the stable car and reentered the varnish car and went straight to the parlor. Just as he entered the parlor the chime for an incoming telegraph rang and Gordon pressed the on the faux book box, sat down and began writing the Presidential order. He tapped out order received and closed the book box. He rose grinned at James and carried the piece of paper over to Colonel Richmond and handed it to him. "This is for you."

West leaned against the mantel with his right elbow resting on the mantel with his fingers laced and regarded the other three men and waited. He watched his partner step slightly behind him right at his left shoulder and waited for the explosion.

Colonel Richmond paled as he handed the paper to Pike, who then handed it to Harper. "This is a direct order from President Grant ordering us to divulge everything and leave nothing out."

"Just exactly how did you know we were holding something out on you?"

"Easily, you're not Frank Harper, nor are you Jeremy Pike nor are you Colonel Richmond." Artemus pointed his .45 colt revolver at the three men. James stood beside him also point a gun at them.

"Just put your guns gently down on the table and raise your hands and keep them where we can see them."

The three men complied, and James moved over to the table picked up each gun and emptied the chambers dropping eighteen bullets on to the table. He causally dropped the guns back onto the table and pointed to the three seats. "Sit down, gentlemen we're going to have a very long talk."

The three men reluctantly sat back down at the table and regarded West and Gordon. "Exactly how did you know that we, were not who we were pretending to be?" Colby looked coldly at the pair of federal agents.

"That was easy, Colby you're much taller than Colonel Richmond and he has blonde hair, and he dresses immaculately, and you don't have blonde hair and your suit is wrinkled and doesn't fit properly.

As for Blankenship impersonating Frank Harper, Frank is an unrepentant gambler and has a very distinctive southern accent and wears a mustache and he has flawless manners. He is also able to impersonate anyone, from anywhere with faultless precision. You have neither a southern accent or manners or precision.

And finally, as for Fredericks, trying to impersonate Jeremy Pike, you're not even close. Jeremy Pike has dark hair, and brown eyes with green flecks. Your eyes are blue. And your ears are neither the same shape nor size." James crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the three men. "I just completed a case with both Frank Harper and Jeremy Pike. Artemus was testifying in federal court on a case we had completed sometime ago the Department of Justice attorney who was prosecuting the case agreed that Artemus' testimony was all he needed as we had shared everything with each other regarding that case."

"What I want are answers. Why did you set me up to take a fall?"

"Because you were responsible for the death of my son." Blankenship leaned his forearms on the table and looked directly into West's green eyes. "You don't even remember him do you West?"

"What was his first name?"

"Tobias Michael Blankenship. He was only seventeen and a private. He was taller than you, dark brown hair and deep almost sapphire blue eyes, he had only just started shaving and he idolized you. You were all he talked about in his letters to his mother, she sent them to me once she had read them."

"I'm sorry, but I do not remember him. I was primarily working with Artemus behind enemy lines gathering intelligence and other necessary information for Lieutenant General Grant. I wasn't in command of any unit. So, I don't have any idea how I could have been responsible for his death. I am sorry you lost your son, but a great many men lost sons, brothers, and fathers in that war."

"According to eyewitness reports, you said something to him, and when he refused to follow your orders, you shot him, plain and simple."

"First of all, I would never do that. I was aide-de-camp to Lieutenant General Grant and did not have any men under my command. From eighteen sixty-four I was working with Artemus deep undercover spying and intelligence gathering. I'd get the information the General needed then pass it on to Artemus who then got it to the General. I didn't command any troops after the General took over the entire command of the Union army,when he went to Washington and accepted the Lieutenant General's position. Again, I am sorry for that you lost your son, but that was and, in many ways, still a very costly war."

"And I can verify every movement, location, and strategy that Lee made was reported to me by James once every three days. I still have all information recorded in my journals."

"And what about you Fredericks?"

"You were responsible for my father's death."

"When did he die?"

"At Vicksburg. He was killed by a battery you directed."

James heaved a sight and shook his head. "I don't know where you got your intelligence, but I was not in charge of any battery. By the time of the Battle of Vicksburg I was aide-de–camp to General Grant. I was too busy carrying orders, communications, gathering intelligence and spying in Vicksburg itself to command anything."

"And you Colby?"

"What have I even done to you?"

"Nothing, I just hate you for just being alive. I was the one who was supposed to have the shinning career, the decorations, everything. Do you even remember me, we were in the same class at the Point?"

"No, but very few of my classmates survived the war. I don't remember you being there." West stepped back and leaned against the mantel piece over the fireplace and regarded the man who looked much older than James did.

"I know you graduated first in our class of ninety-five. I was much closer to the bottom, but not at the very bottom. I graduated and was assigned to an Ohio unit; I was and still am a southerner to my very bones. I knew that if I left, I would be branded a traitor."

"What do you mean by being branded, you were a traitor you gave the confederates classified information that you should never have been allowed access to in the first place. I've seen your military and your secret service files and neither file has so much as a single positive thing to say about you. You played both sides against the middle, only there was no middle in this war. You profited from betraying not only the Union army, but the Confederate Army as well and a great number of civilians paid the price for your treachery."

"Have you got what you need Colonel?" James asked just loud enough to be heard in the galley.

Colonel James Richmond followed by Frank Harper and Jeremy Pike and half a dozen cavalry men all with their guns drawn and pointing directly at the three men. "Thomas Blankenship, Alton Fredericks and Jacob Colby you are under arrest on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to frame a federal employee for murder. Gentlemen, stand up and keep your hands out where we can see them." The Colonel nodded to the cavalry men and they proceeded to take the three men into custody. Each on was hand cuffed with their hands behind them and they were pushed none too gently out the back door of the varnish car. Once the cavalry men and their charges had left Richmond smiled. "Good job, you two, not only did you not get yourselves killed you even managed to stay out of trouble. Now, I suggest that as soon as Mr. Harper, Mr. Pike and I get off this train you head directly to Washington and do not stop anywhere except to get water and fuel. Is that understood?"

James and Artemus smiled at each other and chorused. "Yes sir."

Once everyone had left, James pulled the whistle cord just outside the back door and the train began slowly to move away from the Bay City heading east.

Epilogue

James West stood slightly behind and to one side of President Grant and Mrs. Grant. The President's Christmas Ball was well attended by all of the social elite still left in the city. He silently observed his partner wondering around the large open atrium of the White House greeting and speaking to several people of his acquaintance. West shifted slightly firstly on to his toes, then rocking back on to his heels to ease the ache that was beginning in his feet. Looking over his charges shoulder he could finally see the end of the receiving line. The last guest turned over his cloak and top hat along with the lady's cloak to a waiting butler. The pair shook the President's and Mrs. Grant's hands and moved off into the crowd. President Grant turned slightly and said, "Glad to have you back where you belong, James."

"Thank you, Mr. President, it's good to be back and not under a cloud of suspicion." West grinned and nodded toward Artemus who busy flirting with a beautiful young woman was, who was smiling and laughing.

Grant laughed softly as he followed West's gaze and saw the younger man's partner. "Good to see Mr. Gordon so relaxed and enjoying himself. Now, why don't you go find a young lady for yourself and enjoy the party?" The President took his lady's hand and wrapped it around the crook of his elbow and led her off to the dance floor where he intended to do some flirting of his own.

James laughed and looked around spotting a very pretty young lady standing with an older couple. He made his way over to them and nodded his head. "Senator Speer, Mrs. Speer and Alicia Merry Christmas."

"The same to you Mr. West. I understand that you've had some trouble recently, is that correct?"

"Yes sir, nothing my partner and I couldn't handle. Miss Speer if your dance card is not full, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

"My dance card is not full Mr. West, and I would be honored."

The young couple easily merged with the rest of the dancing couples and James noticed his partner dancing as well. The music was splendid and both men relaxed and intended to enjoy their reunion and their Christmas Holiday, and this was only the beginning. Next year they would be very busy guarding the Emperor of Brazil Don Pedro II and the President when they met at the Philadelphia Exposition. Both men knew it was going to be a logistical nightmare, but they both looked forward to it. But for now, that was in the future and Sunday was Christmas day and they were looking forward to a nice quite celebration just the two of them. Finally, the party was starting to wind down and the President and Mrs. Grant wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year.

As they left the White House cloaks wrapped thrown over their shoulders and top hat on, Artemus threw his arm across James' shoulders. "James, my boy this is going to be the best Christmas we've had in two years."

James smiled and looked at the happy smiling and glowing eyes of his partner. "Yeah, it is. Merry Christmas Artemus, and a Happy New Year."

"Same to you, James, my boy. Same to you."