This is a story that has been I guess plauging my mind for a while now. So I decided to let it out and hopefully it will help AYMD get finished.
;) Someday anyway. Please remember that kids in this time period grew up a lot faster than they do today."
Lost & Found
Matt finds two young children alone on the prairie and they stir a lot of feelings in everyone in Dodge.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Gunsmoke charachters, but I do own Eli and Ethan Fischer.
Seven year old Eli Fischer knew he and his little three year old brother Ethan were all alone, papa and mama hadn't come to get them. Eli wasn't sure why they hadn't either, he had been a good boy and hid with Ethan in the cellar like mama had told him too and he had been quiet and kept Ethan quiet too, when he had wanted to cry. But Eli was sure that that had been two days ago when those men had come and neither mama nor papa had come. "Eli, take Ethan and go to the cellar." Rachel Fischer told her oldest son. "And don't come out until Papa or I comes and gets you ok?" Eli had nodded and taken Ethan by the hand and they had gone to the cellar. Then he heard it, there was someone out there. Putting a dirty finger to his lips he looked at his little brother and pushed open the cellar door to see who was there.
United States Marshal Matt Dillon smelled the smoke long before he saw the curls rising up from the charred remains of a cabin. Riding into the area, Matt pulled Buck to a stop and stepped down. Finding that there wasn't anything he could do for the owners rather than dig two graves and bury them. He untied his blankets from behind his saddle and wrapped the bodies of a man and a woman in them while shaking his head. The things that men, savage or not, did to each other boggled his mind and if he was totally honest, hurt his heart. After he wrapped the bodies up he began to dig.
Half way through the second grave he felt the presence of someone behind him and when he turned around he found two brown haired, blue eyed boys standing watching him with wide eyes. Matt didn't thing that it was the fear widening their eyes but rather their curiosity. Slowly, Matt stood to his full height and then looked down at the two boys.
Eli was curious, he figured this man was safe, he had a badge and Mama had always said that you could trust men with badges so he carefully approached Matt with Ethan clinging to his hand and said, "My name is Eli Fischer and this here is my brother Ethan, what's yours?"
Matt smiled at the boys and kind of knelt down to be more at their level. "Well my name's Matt Dillon. I'm a United States Marshal."
"I suppose your a buryin our folks?" Eli asked sadly looking at the already wrapped bodies.
Unsure of what to say, Matt nodded and said, "Yes, if thats who these folks were." He was glad that he had wrapped the bodies right away.
Eli nodded, "Lyle and Rachel Fischer. Those are our folks."
Matt nodded. "I'll get them buried." Again glad that he had wrapped the two beaten bodies that he had found. He was sure that the man had been shot in the back before being hit with what looked like a rifle butt in the back of the head. The woman, appeared to have been molested and then strangled from the appearance of her clothes. Then their home had been burned to the ground. Matt wondered how these two youngsters had survived. "Did, you boys see what happened here?"
Eli shook his head no. "Uh-uh. Mama sent me to the cellar with Ethan and told me to stay there until her or Papa came and got us."
"Well did she say why she was sending you to the cellar?" Matt asked. Maybe if he got enough information he could prevent another family from being torn apart and it would also help him in helping these two lost boys.
"No sir. She just told me to take Ethan and go to the cellar. Then I heard a bunch of shouting and Ethan he wanted to cry, so then we made a game of coverin' up our ears so's we couldn't hear what was goin' on up stairs."
Matt nodded and thought to himself again how amazing it was that these two children had survived, how Eli had kept his little brother quiet enough that the marraders hadn't found them and killed them too.
Once Matt had finshed burying the two poor souls that he had found, he shared his water and what little jerkey he had left with the boys. While they sat together, Eli asked, "What do you plan to do with us Mister Dillon?"
"I don't know Eli. I suppose I'll have to take you boys back to Dodge with me and you'll become wards of the State of Kansas." Matt said. He didn't have a lot of experience with orphan children but he knew that he couldn't just leave them where they were.
"We'll I can't be split up from my brother!" Eli cried, putting his arms around Ethan.
"No, son, I'll make sure you don't get split up from your brother." Matt said, though he wasn't sure he could keep that promise.
Later that afternoon after they all took a rest, Matt resaddled Buck and then he put little Ethan in the saddle in front of himself and then pulled Eli up behind him and they headed back to Dodge. Three hours they made it to their destination and several jaws in Dodge dropped as he rode back into town with a sleeping child in front of him and another clinging to his back.
Kitty Russell, half owner of the Long Branch Saloon, had been waiting for Matt all afternoon and when she saw him riding into town she rushed out the swinging doors and to his side. "Matt, you have two little boys with you!" She said in shock. She had been hoping for some quiet alone time with the tall lawman but upon seeing the boys sadly noted that that wish wouldn't be coming true.
"Yeah, I found them on a burned down farmstead." Then looking down at the sleeping Ethan, Matt said, "Kitty do you think you can take him down without waking him up."
"I think so Matt. Then what do you want me to do with him?"
"Put him on the cot in there." Matt said, motioning towards the jail house.
Kitty put her arms up and as gently as she could took down Ethan. He was a fairly big boy but still she held him close to her and took him into the jail house and laid him down. Lucky for her, the little boy didn't wake up, just snuggled in to the pillow closer and stuck his thumb into his mouth. Kitty sighed and ran a hand over his downy head. I wonder what happened to his parents. She thought.
Matt came in shortly after, Eli trailing close on his heals. "Kitty, can you do me a favor and watch these boys while I go and take care of Buck?"
"Sure Matt."
Matt smiled at her and said, "Thanks. I won't be long." Then to Eli he said, "You stay here with Miss Kitty."
"Yes sir." The little boy answered, though he didn't sound happy about it. He sat with his chin resting on his chest for a few moments, bracing himself on the chair before he straightened up slightly and looked at Kitty, who fortunately was dressed in a day dress. "Are you Mister Dillon's wife?"
Kitty shook her head no. "I'm Kitty Russell, I a half owner in the Long Branch Saloon."
The little boy gave her an odd look and then simply said, "Oh. I'm 7 and my Mama has me schooled to the second grade."
Kitty smiled, "You must be a very smart boy."
Eli smiled, "My Mama always told me so." He said then he asked, "Miss Kitty, could I go lay down with my brother over there?"
Kitty smiled at him again and felt the strongest urge to take the little boy into her arms and hug him. However she held herself back and instead said, "Of course you can." She could only imagine what he and his brother had endured and seen. She wondered what Matt had planned for them as well. She knew how he felt about children going into orphanages after having spent time in one himself as a child but she didn't know what else he would do unless he tried to find someone close to Dodge who wanted two little boys.
When Matt came back to the office he found Kitty sitting watching the boys, a look of longing on her face, while they both slept on the cot he kept in his office. Quietly he walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder before saying, "A penny for your thoughts, Kitty?"
"Oh Matt!" Kitty exclaimed, standing. "I didn't hear you come in."
Matt walked back towards his desk and pulled out the chair before he sat down heavily. It had been a long day for him. "That's all right Kitty. What were you thinking so hard about anyway?"
"Oh I was just wondering what was going to happen to them."
"The same thoughts have been on my mind too." Matt said. "I don't know Kitty. Maybe they have some family that they can be sent to."
"And if they don't?" Kitty asked.
"Then I don't know." Matt said, running a hand through his hair, causing it to stand on end wildly.
"I suppose I won't be seeing you tonight then?" Kitty asked.
Sadly, Matt shook his head. "No. I thought I would take the boys over to my room at the Dodge House, from the looks of it they haven't had a decent night's sleep in a few days and the way that Eli talks they've been alone in that cellar for the past three days."
Kitty had a sharp intake of breath. "Those poor children. Oh Matt, why don't I come over tonight and help you. Those children are going to need more than sleep. They're going to need something to eat and a bath and clean clothes." Standing she moved towards the door. "I'll meet you at the Dodge House in an hour with clean clothes alright." And then she disappeared.
Sighing Matt leaned back in his chair. Leave it to Kitty to take over, especially if there was a chance to go shopping.