Chapter 14
Ada headed southwest after leaving the river. Her plan was to circle around and try to approach Yarborough's compound from the rear.
She was forced to set a frustratingly slow pace because of the condition of the horse Hicks was riding. The animal did seem to recover a little after the short rest by the river but they still had a long way to go and she didn't want to push him too hard.
They talked as they traveled. Ada was surprised to learn that Hicks had never actually met Yarborough. He'd only acted as a go between carrying messages and occasionally money. He was aware that some of the activities that Yarborough arranged were not on the right side of the law, but on the other hand he did pay well for certain kinds of information. Hicks wasn't always the successful gambler he fancied himself to be and money from "The Maestro" helped to cover his losses.
It was already dusk when Ada figured they were halfway back to Yarborough's compound and it should be safe to make camp for the night. Better still it would give them a chance to dry off and eat. There had been no sign of any of Yarborough's men behind them, which was something in their favor.
Ada left Hicks to build a small fire, while she set out to find supper. Her efforts paid off and Hicks was astonished when she returned so quickly with two small rabbits in hand.
Hicks stood there looking at her with his mouth slightly open.
"You killed them?" he asked.
She wasn't sure if he was surprised at her doing the killing or if it was the thought of the rabbits being dead that concerned him.
"You wanna eat don't you?" She looked at him wondering at a man who'd never hunted for food.
She set about preparing and cooking supper. The fire was going well and the roasting food smelled good. As it turned out they were both hungry and Hicks had no trouble eating the freshly killed meat.
"Have you never gone hunting?" she asked him between bites.
"I guess not," he admitted. I grew up back east and never really thought about where food came from. That's why I can't ride like you. We mostly rode in carriages. You could say I led a privileged life until my father died. Then my older brother inherited the estate and I headed west to find my own way."
"I've never been to the big cities back east," Ada admitted as she stirred the fire a little and adjusted her boots that were set close by to dry. "I have a brother - well several actually - and I left them and the rest of my family because I wanted to be something they thought I couldn't be. Maybe we have a lot in common."
She reached forward for the battered coffee pot that was balanced over the now fading embers and poured the rest of its contents into two tin mugs, one for each of them.
"Hicks?" she said it as a question, "don't you have a first name?"
"I do but I never use it. Don't think I've ever shared it with anyone outside of my family."
"Why ever not?" She sat looking into the face of this man in the fading light from the fire. He wasn't brave or strong and he sure didn't ride that well. Goodness knows he wasn't even good looking and she knew he wasn't very skillful with a deck of cards either. But there was something about him that fascinated her. He'd been kind to her when he thought she needed help and that had taken courage.
"It's somewhat embarrassing," he admitted. "My father was a preacher. My parents named their children for the seven virtues. It worked well for my sisters and older brother but when it came to me there were no suitable virtues left."
"So?" Ada looked at him half smiling but more curious than ever about this quiet man.
"Salvation," he whispered, "That's what they named me. That's why I only use Hicks."
"It's not so bad." Ada reached out her hand to touch his. "But I'lll call you Hicks if that's what you like."
Later they spread out their bedrolls. Ada leaned back against her saddle. She pulled a blade of grass and chewed on the end a few times while thinking of how to tell her companion what she had in mind. Eventually she spoke into the light from the last of the wood she'd thrown on the fire.
"I'm going to need your help tomorrow, Hicks. I need to arrest Yarborough and rescue a friend of mine. The man you thought was Clay Griffin is really Marshal Matt Dillon from Dodge City." She hated to tell the gambler how she'd used him to infiltrate "The Maestro's" headquarters.
"You lied to me Ada?" It was as if he was stunned by her admission.
"I'm sorry Hicks. It's part of my job."
He seemed to think about it for a while until she broke the silence.
"Yarborough's not a good man, certainly not one worthy of your loyalty. He's responsible for the deaths of many people including another friend of mine. He has to be stopped. He'll keep on killing unless someone stops him and that has to be us, Hicks. Do you understand?"
Salvation Hicks was silent. He got up and walked around the campsite a few times while Ada watched in silence. "Give him time to think it over," she said to herself.
The young marshal closed her eyes. She'd worked hard today. The rescue of Hicks and his horse had taken a lot out of her - although of course she would never admit it.
Next thing she knew it was almost daylight. Hicks was tending the fire and making coffee. At least he hadn't run off during the night.
()()()
Luckily for Matt, Yancy Boggs didn't mind killing so long as he wasn't directly involved. The thought of having a man killed under the roof of his headquarters was quite repulsive. Yes, he wanted this marshal out of the way - and the sooner the better, but he'd rather his men make the necessary arrangements and blood not be directly on his hands.
Yancy sent for his foreman Amos Carter and told him to get rid of the marshal any way he wanted, but not to do it within the compound. Amos found an unusual pleasure in killing and eagerly agreed. Disposing of any lawman would be a pleasure. Killing a United States Marshal was even more rewarding and this was the second time he'd had such an opportunity in the last few weeks. As it turned out it was fortunate for Matt that Carter wanted to savor his upcoming pleasure and decided to take care of his assignment the following morning rather than rush through it today.
Time passed slowly for Matt. Harris and one of the other guards came to take him outside morning and evening. He felt himself getting weaker and thought he might be running a fever. At times he felt Kitty was there and he tried to talk to her but she never answered.
It was early morning and the sun hadn't been up for long. He'd tried to keep count of the days but time came and went and now he had no idea how long he'd been here.
Harris came to take him outside. When he stood up he felt the wet stickiness on his shirt, which meant whatever wound he had was bleeding or infected, possibly both. He leaned heavily on young Harris but still managed to look around for a way of escape. He spotted his buckskin in the corral along with half a dozen other horses and noted that the land in the back of the compound had been cleared. Beyond the compound trees and bushes took over the top of the hilly ground behind the house. It would be a good place to hide if he could get that far. He also noticed that there was no longer a second guard with Harris - the youngster was alone. That could be an advantage.
He collapsed onto the cot and Harris fastened the restraints but wasn't tightening them as much as he did to start with. Matt was grateful for that.
"Bring me some water," he requested as the young man got ready to leave..
"I'll do my best," Harris promised.
It wasn't Harris who returned. It was Amos Carter. The man took great delight in describing how he planned to take Matt out into the woods and kill him the following day.
"It won't be pleasant or quick Dillon. I don't like lawmen." The foreman laughed and Matt could hear him still being pleased with himself as he left the room, slamming the door closed behind him.
Sometime after Carter left, Harris appeared again. He crept into the room carrying a cup.
"I brought you some water Mr. Dillon." He was almost whispering. "Carter would fire me if he knew I was here."
He helped lift the marshal's head so he could sip from the cup.
After a few mouthfuls Matt decided it was time to talk seriously to the lad.
"Harris, I need you to help me get out of here."
"I can't do that, Sir. I'd like to help you but I need this job."
"You help me and I'll find you a job. There's a lot of opportunity for a young man like you," promised Matt. He was still weak but wanted to impress upon young Harris that there was the chance of an honest life for him, away from crooks like Yancy Boggs and Amos Carter. He managed to gather enough strength for one more try. "When we get back to Dodge I'll help you find a good paying job that you can be proud of."
"I don't know. I gotta go now, before they miss me."
Once more Matt was alone with his thoughts. He remembered things that Ada had said. She'd talked about missing out on some things in life because of this job but was sure she'd have time to do them later.
Would he have time? He was still breathing. There was still hope.
()()()
"So are you going to help me Hicks?" Ada asked her somewhat reluctant companion.
She'd cleaned up their overnight campsite so as not to leave any obvious trail for Yarborough's men to follow. Now they were saddling up their horses ready to depart.
"I shouldn't after you used me like you did," Hicks began. "I believed you when you told me about Griffin being out to kill you and I tried to help. Now you've landed me in all kinds of trouble."
"I'm sorry but we couldn't think of another way." She decided to remind Hicks of his involvement. "Don't forget it was you who took Matt to Yarborough. You thought you could make money out of the deal."
They rode side by side for a long time before Hicks spoke again.
"I guess I'll help - it's the only way I have of not being hunted by "The Maestro's" men."
Ada was pleased to hear him say that. A cowardly man would have cut and run, but Hicks was prepared to stay and help.
They reached the hilly area behind Yarborough's compound around noon. The area was even better than Ada had hoped. There was plenty of cover and numerous rocky outcrops all of which would provide places from where they could see what was going on.
"I've got an idea," she told Hicks. "It looks like all the men who were trailing us have come back home to roost. We need some way to get them to leave the house and be distracted for a while."
Hicks was standing next to her behind a large rock that provided them excellent cover so they wouldn't be easily seen from the house.
"See that buckskin in the corral." She pointed to the animal that was easily recognizable. "That's Matt's horse. We need it. You need a fresh horse too. Then we have to find a way to get Matt out of there." She was using him as a sounding board, not expecting him to come up with any ideas. Saying things out loud often made them clearer in her head. Unfortunately nothing was clear right now.
Ada's frustration grew as the afternoon dragged on. With no idea about Matt's condition or where he was in the compound she couldn't form any kind of plan for his rescue. Finally, her big breakthrough came when she returned after drinking water from a canteen they'd left back in the shade with their saddles. A side door to the house opened. She froze in her tracks and watched a figure she knew to be Matt Dillon being helped out by a younger much shorter man. She was horrified to see the big marshal hunched over and leaning heavily on the younger man while struggling to stay upright. Maybe he was exaggerating his condition a little to fool the guards but she didn't think so. Her task had suddenly become more urgent. The first thing she had to do was figure out how to get those guards away from the house, and quickly.
TBC