DERAILED: CHAPTER 4
"Waaal, this here's a buggy road an' by golly it's gettin' used fer that. Must a' bin a hunnert of 'em down this here road since th' last rain, Matthew." Festus's observation didn't require the skills of a tracker.
"Here's where I crossed the road on the mare, Festus." Matt was pointing at the clear hoofprints not going with the road, but crossing it.
"An' you was a-hustlin' cuz them hoofs is a-diggin'."
"Let's spread out and zig-zag the hillside. No point in going any farther up than rifle range to the grove where we were."
"Right you are, Matthew." Festus put spur to Ruth and started his methodical scan, while Matt worked the north quadrant. There wasn't a lot of ground to cover: rifle range was rifle range. Matt found the spot where he'd stepped off the mare to let her get her wind.
"Matthew!" Festus was trotting hard toward him. "They's some tracks down yonder by them rocks!"
Matt followed Festus to the find, and stepped off carefully to join the hill man, who was already on his knees squinting at the grass.
"You see this here dry short grass bent over in th' dirt 'jes a bit?"
"You've got quite an imagination, Festus."
"No sirree. Look again!" Festus picked up a small stick and pointed to the faintest impression in the grass. "This here's a keen-toed boot what bent th' grass."
"How'd you see that from up on Ruth?"
"Matthew," Festus was grinning broadly. "Us Haggens is . . ."
"Got it, Festus." Matt smiled back. "No hoofprints, though. You think the guy walked in here?"
"Jes from th' road, Matthew. You lead Ruth an' I'll walk on down real careful. I'm bettin' we kin find them same keen-toed prints real clear down in th' dust on that road."
And sure enough, they did. Mixed in with the never-ending buggy tracks were two distinct boot prints: toes pointed. Festus Haggen: master tracker.
"Some yayhoo stepped out of a buggy real careful like, Matthew, an' right here. Then he walked on up th' hill an' done took a pot-shot at 'ya."
"Could have had a driver."
"I'd be a-thinkin' that, Matthew. Never dropped no weight or nuthin' ta' hold th' horse. Never even walked to th' horse's head. Jes' two prints an' on up th' hill he went. I wultn't want ta' trust no buggy horse ta' jes stand thar whilst I fired a rifle shot over 'im."
"All right. If we ride on up the road, maybe we'll find where a buggy turned around."
"We shore will, Matthew. Less'n a-course he was headin' on somewhere's 'sides Dodge. Like maybe Jetmore I'm sayin. Got ta' go right on by here if yer headin' ta' Jetmore or even WaKeeney. Me an' Frankie's kinda curious about yer' time in WaKeeney."
"It's a long story. I'll fill you both in over a beer tonight, Festus."
Matt had his reward quickly. In less than a mile, the buggy tracks took a detour over to the creek. It was clear that the man wearing keen-toed boots had stepped down again to water the horse. When the buggy tracks came out of the meadow, they turned back to Dodge. So now whoever ambushed them was somewhere back in Dodge. He had no description, no motive, no witnesses, just some boot tracks. But it was a start.
"Let's water them and head back, Festus. You and Frankie and I need to put our heads together. Thanks for the help on the tracks."
"Oh, Fiddle, you'd a figgered it out in a bit. It's jes' how's come you dint stay out here yesterday an' study on it?"
Matt had a quick flashback of the afternoon's events. If the ambush hadn't been so frightening, the question would have been laughable. No one would ever know what he and Kitty had been doing just before the shot!
"I had a nearly useless buggy horse, no rifle, and my unarmed wife hiding on a rock down in Spring Creek."
"Right as rain you are, Matthew."
"I asked Hank last night. He hadn't rented a horse or a buggy to anyone besides Pete and Mary Nelson yesterday. They head down to their son's place every Sunday for dinner, so that's a dead end. And once we get back to Dodge there'll be boot tracks like those all over town. How many guys you think wear 'em?"
"I'm with 'ya on that, Matthew. Kinda' like lookin' fer California rowels or guys wearin' bandanas when th' herds is in town."
Two hours later, they tied Matt's tired horse and Ruth at the hitch rail outside the jail, next to a huge black gelding neither of them had ever seen before. No saddle, no bridle, no gear, just a big horse tied with a halter and lead.
"What's up with the black gelding, Frank?" Matt asked first thing when he and Festus walked through the door.
"You find anything out there?"
"Yeah, I'll fill you in. That's a sharp lookin' horse, who's he belong to?"
"I guess he's yours for now. Emmett Bowers brought him down a couple hours ago. Said he couldn't stop thinking about you needing a big horse. Said you were to borrow this one until he finds your new buckskin."
"He didn't need to do that. I can ride Ben. He carried me five hours today."
"Yeah, and look at him out there, Matt. He's finished. You've got no concept of your size. That big black out there'll carry you all day. You need to swallow your pride and be grateful. You got no idea how many friends you have. Now take him and Ben home and put 'em in the barn."
But Matt knew. Friend after friend turned up time after time. The feeling was indescribable. Frank, Festus, Doc, Dooley, Dave and Susan Henry, Emmett, all had touched his life so recently. And he knew dozens more friends he could call on at any time, for any reason. It was the part of this job that made it the best one in Kansas.
"Well?" Frank was growing impatient with Matt's absent stare.
"Sorry, I was thinkin' about something else. Yeah, Frank, you're right. I'll make good use of that gelding. How about the Long Branch at six and I'll tell you guys all about WaKeeney and we can talk about this guy that took a shot at me."
XOXOXO
With the cooler late season weather, the remaining trailhands were more boisterous than ever, and the Long Branch was buzzing with laughter and conversation. But there they were, all his friends, packed together around the table in the back. Apparently Kitty had started them all off with a round of drinks. Everyone was happily watching Festus shout above the noise as he held court at the table.
"Now, how them engineers figgered it out was on account a' th' coal wagons from th' mines back east what was a'sinkin' in th' wet roads. So them engineers commenced ta' scratchin' their heads an' one of 'em come up with this here idea ta' put down wood planks in th' ruts and POOF!" his hands and his eyes shot up simultaneously. "The wagons dint sink no deeper an' they got through! But 'cha see they was so slow a-puttin' down and a-pickin' up them planks, why it'd a never worked ta' get where you was a'goin, so they come up with makin' a whole road full a' th' planks!"
Doc was scrubbing his mustache in disbelief, and both of Kitty's eyes were wide, with raised eyebrows. Matt took his place behind her, his hands on her shoulders, not wanting to miss any more of the barroom education.
"Cept'n a' course the planks dint last cuz a' th' friction from the wheels."
"The friction, Festus?" Kitty was ready to choke laughing, but instead decided to egg him on.
"Oh yeah, Miss Kitty! Us Haggens has knowed about planks ta' git wagons outa th' mud all along. But we never knowed nothin' about friction. It's how they come up with tracks, dontcha' see. It's on account a' th' smoothlyness of th' wheels on th' smoothly iron track what gets rid a' th' friction, dontcha' see?" He was waving his hands again, exaggerating his enthusiasm at being the center of attention.
"Me n' Matthew was a-talkin' all about it ridin' home. An' them guys was engineers, so once they got th' track figgered out, they got ta' drive th' train n' go fast n' all! And that's why we got trains n' engineers n' so forth n' so on!"
Lily Merrill was the one to bring the conversation back to reality.
"Festus, that's amazing! I learned so much! Who's ready for a refill?
Four hands shot up in the air.
"Matt, take my seat, I'll bring the drinks and be right back."
But Matt stayed right where he was. He'd been in the saddle all day, and he had one more important announcement when Lily got back.
"Lily, sit." Matt pointed at her chair. Even though she did, it seemed that he didn't take his eyes off of her. Everyone else at the table already knew, but he knew they'd all play along.
"Lily, I guess I've told everyone else in our circle of friends. So here I go: I'm real proud to announce that Kitty and I are expecting a baby in February!"
And they sure did play along! Doc, Festus and Frank pounded on the table, followed by a "Hear Hear" salute with glasses raised. When the din died down, a red-faced marshal spoke up for his first try.
"All of you listen up. It's not for strangers. It's for us to know. Anybody in town asks, any friend asks, of course, share the news. But don't broadcast it to strangers. I've got lots of enemies. Don't want to encourage any of 'em."
There was a moment of silence while all their friends nodded and processed Matt's request. They all understood his concern.
"Kitty," Lily smiled broadly, breaking the spell. "Congratulations! When you told me you needed more time off, I only guessed why. Now I know! I'll take good care of the Long Branch, I promise."
As usual, Festus cut in to make sure everyone had all the necessary information.
"Matthew done said th' young un' cud call me Uncle Festus!"
"The young un' sure can, Festus! Except it's going to be quite a while until he or she talks." Kitty was grinning at her friend, confirming what Matt had already told him.
"I'll be right here, Miss Kitty, jes' a-waitin ta' hear my name called."
"I'd better get back to work," Lily announced. She patted Kitty's hand and looked up at Matt. "Congratulations again! And if it's a girl, well, Lily is a real nice name."
Frank almost choked on his drink when he let out a booming laugh, smacking his hand down on the table.
"Oh, you think that's funny, do you Frank?" Lily had gone dead serious.
"No, no!" He managed between snorts. "Lily's a beautiful name! It's just that I already asked Matt to name his son Frank!"
"All right, enough of that." Matt claimed Lily's empty seat. "Let's go over today and I'll tell you about WaKeeney."
"All right, Matt," Doc stood up. "That's not my rodeo. I'll leave you law people to it. Got plenty to do at the office. Thanks for the whiskey, Momma." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and headed for the door.
Matt knew what was coming. He waited until Doc was out the door. "No, you can't guys. Don't even ask. You can't call her 'Momma.' Only Doc and I can." He was grinning from ear to ear.
"So here's the deal on today. Festus found a man's tracks up on the hill across from where Kitty and I had our picnic yesterday. The guy didn't ride a horse out there, he was in a buggy. Left the buggy down on the road, walked up the hill, shot at us and took off. Festus figured out it was a guy wearing those pointed toe boots." Matt was determined to give every bit of credit to Festus for his tracking perception.
"Waaal, yeah." Festus was looking down at the table, modesty replacing his arm-flailing. "Cept'n there's another part. It could'a been two guys, one doin' th' walkin' an' one doin' th' drivin' cuz th' guy never did anchor th' horse down."
"We don't know that for sure, Festus," Matt corrected him. "And even if the buggy was from here, Hank said he hadn't sent a buggy or a horse out with any strangers all day. But when we rode on up a couple miles, that buggy definitely turned around and came right back into Dodge. The guy probably hid out up there till he thought the coast was clear. And he was right, too. When I couldn't find him up on the hill, I brought Kitty right back to town."
"I still think it was a warning shot, Matt," Frank reminded him. "He could have kept coming and he'd have stood a good chance, what with you only having one pistol between you."
Kitty couldn't resist. "Frank, I'll NEVER buy that! If the guy got close enough, Matt would have had him."
Frank made a salute gesture toward Kitty and looked down. He knew she was right. He'd seen Matt Dillon draw guys into range more times than he could count. He was picturing his partner out there trying to protect his wife and being out of options.
"Kitty said she can't think of anybody who'd want to go after her for any reason. So let's hear about WaKeeney."
Matt took a deep breath. Where to start?
"WaKeeney's a mess. I didn't clean anything up, I just put a plug in it. For openers, you know they don't have a sheriff. Then there's the little matter of no telegraph. They're cut off from the world. Until a stage driver comes through here and lets me know there's trouble, there's not much the law can do about it. And the Overland Dispatch only runs one trip up and back each week, four days all told."
He took a long sip of his whiskey, composing his next thought.
"The Kansas Pacific is laying track from Hays to Denver, and the line goes right through WaKeeney. But WaKeeney isn't going to have a terminal, so anybody or anything that gets on in Hays is going nowhere but Denver. Last year the settlers got land grants in WaKeeney. They got off the train in Hays and migrated by wagon to their grants. Just like all the pilgrims in western Kansas, they're scraping out a bare-bones existence in sod huts with a horse, a milk cow, and a few chickens. They don't even have enough wood to build corrals. When the coyotes get the chickens, they're beggin' their neighbor for eggs. Some of 'em keep the chickens in their huts just so they have something to eat. Without a rail stop, they have to haul everything from Hays by wagon. It's two days round trip. Winter's gonna be grim."
Kitty asked the first question: "Matt, why would they want to live there?"
"Because they were lied to, Kitty. The government always advertises lush farmland out here, you've seen those ads in the paper. And the government told them there'd be a railroad so they could get all the supplies they needed. The Pacific had other ideas. Why waste time on a bunch of poor pilgrims in WaKeeney when the big money is in hauling freight between Kansas City and Denver?"
"But Hays has already got 'em a depot, Matthew."
"They do, Festus. But it's been the western terminus for a long time. Now that the Pacific is pushing on west to Denver, Hays is still the last stop in Kansas."
"Thet thar's a long haul from Hays ta' Denver, Matthew."
"Not for a train, Festus. It's just like what you were explaining when I walked in here. The train is fast, it's strong, it can haul big loads, and it's safe. Three quick water stops and it's in Denver. You can't even compare it with the stage. Once they get that line built, the Overland stage won't even run from Hays to Denver anymore. Those settlers have gone from excited to mad real quick. Now all they picture is the train being a nuisance. They've figured out how dry it is out there. They know trains can start prairie fires, and one of those will finish 'em off."
"All right," Frank said softly. "Now we've got some angry settlers with homesteads near the tracks. That doesn't seem like a case for the law."
"Yeah. Well, you were a railroad guy, you knew there'd be more." Matt went on. "For starters, this group at WaKeeney is all German immigrants. When one fights, they all fight. They took it upon themselves to get even with the railroad. So they banded together and started stealing rails for firewood: One here, a few there, till the whole line was useless. One of the Pacific guards rode into a farm and killed two settlers. Shot 'em at point blank range."
"And you arrested him, and now it's the Pacific versus Matt Dillon, right?" Frank was quickly putting the pieces together.
"What choice did I have? You wouldn't have done anything different. You can't kill vandals. Those guards should have held the men somewhere until I got up there. But it was all too much trouble, so they just killed 'em. It was a real mess. No sheriff, no jail, just me. I'd have hauled him back here and locked him up except I was on foot. Had to use the last of my cash to buy a horse to get home on, or I'd still be up there."
"Matt, I thought Buck was . . ." but Matt cut her off.
"Buck caught a rabbit hole my first day out, Kitty. I'm sorry. Didn't seem right to ruin our picnic yesterday talkin' about it. Then I was gonna' tell you last night. Guess I ran out of energy and courage."
Kitty pushed her hand up against Matt's on the table and just looked away. It was a well-practiced silent signal between two people who loved each other and understood. There'd be no more talk about the big buckskin in front of others.
"I deputized an Overland Dispatch guard, gave him my cuffs, and had him haul the guy to Hays on my written order. Then I used the last of my cash to buy a horse to ride home. Found Festus camped along the creek at the end of my first day on the way home. So yeah, I probably don't have a lot of friends at the Pacific Railroad."
"Matthew, any one a' them railroad guys could'a lit out fer Dodge an' got here a'fore you ever left WaKeeney."
"That's all we've got to go on so far, Festus. Let's all just keep thinking about it. Something always turns up."
XOXOXO
The walk home was a short one, and neither said a word. Their house was a sanctuary, and both were eager to be inside. Kitty waited quietly while Matt checked the horses. Tip had filled the hay bunks and was gone. Matt rapped on the bunkhouse door to confirm that. No answer.
"He's gone to eat somewhere with Quint, Matt. He knows he's to be with me or Festus or Frank or Quint when you're gone. You don't have to worry about him."
"Yeah."
"He's almost done with the bedroom. He's a good kid, and he loves Dodge. He's going to ask you if he can bring his mom up here for the winter. Maybe you should think about that."
"Yeah."
But Matt didn't want to think about Dooley or his mom. He guided Kitty into the house, pegged his hat and gun belt, and took her in his arms.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"I am too, Matt. I loved that horse."
"Yeah."
"I fed him carrots."
"Yeah. He liked you a lot."
The tears were filling her eyes now, remembering the soft nicker Buck would always give her when he saw her coming with those carrots.
He took a deep breath and pushed away just enough to look into her eyes. "I was going to tell you on the way to Emmett's. Then I was going to tell you on the way to Spring Creek. Then I was going to tell you at the picnic. I'm so sorry, Kitty. I couldn't find the courage. And somehow when I get home here, all I want to do is hold you in my arms."
"He brought you back to me for ten years, Matt. Beat soft, dirty, wounded, he always brought you back to me."
"Yeah."
He pulled his wife back into his chest and nuzzled his face down in her hair, where she couldn't see his face. Maybe if he stayed there, she wouldn't even feel his tears.
tbc