Chapter 15
Matt talked to Harris as much as his deteriorating physical strength would allow.
"I need a gun." His voice was quiet. He didn't want the other guard to hear. Then he noticed for the first time he was alone with the young man. Usually a guard armed with a rifle followed them to the outhouse. Maybe they thought he was too weak to do anything now. He would prove them wrong if he could retrieve his gun.
"I don't think I can do that, Mr. Dillon. Mr. Carter would kill me for sure if he found out. It's a nice gun. I've seen it hanging on the wall in the bunkhouse. I think Mr. Carter keeps it there as some kind of a trophy."
"I tell you what, Harris. I'll give you that gun. You help me get out of here and it's all yours. I'll teach you to use it too. You deserve it." He had to stop to catch his breath. "I think your boss has something big planned for me tomorrow. I sure could do with your help," he managed to pant.
Harris didn't say much on the way back to the house. He seemed to be deep in thought. Matt was distressed to find he really needed the young man's help to return to the room that had become his prison cell. He almost collapsed onto the cot, but remained alert enough to feel that Harris barely tightened any of the ropes that were supposed to keep him restrained.
"I'll see what I can do," Harris said quietly before he left. Matt barely heard him.
()()()
Ada watched from her vantage point as Matt and the young man returned to the side door of the farmhouse. She'd watched them talking and noticed that the lad seemed empathetic towards the Kansas marshal. Maybe she had found another ally.
She continued watching the coming and going of guards in the compound until it got too dark to see much. Hicks brought her the canteen of water and she drank again. Just as she was handing the container back to him a rectangle of light appeared in the rear of the barn and the same young man she'd watched earlier stepped outside. Voices followed him. The older men were jeering. Their muffled words floated up to where she was crouched. They were calling him names and saying he was too young to drink and play cards with the real men. He needed to get on with his nightly chores and take good care of Mr. Yarborough's horses or he'd find his hide hanging on a post somewhere. The words were followed by peals of mocking laughter.
Gradually her eyes got used to the fading light. The moon got high enough in the sky that the lone figure she'd seen earlier with Matt was clearly visible. She watched as he led several horses from the barn out to the corral. He disappeared back inside and returned with a bale of hay, which he broke apart and threw to the horses. After that he carried buckets of fresh water drawn from the well to fill their drinking trough. The young man worked hard and when he'd finished he sat on the ground, leaning his back against the barn and watched the horses as they munched on the hay. She noticed that an old cat wandered up and sat beside him. The lad reached out an arm and laid it across the feline's back.
"Hicks," she whispered, to her companion, " I'm going to go talk to him." She nodded towards the young man she'd been watching.
Ada stayed low as she left the cover of the rock and made her way towards the compound. The fencing wasn't as solid as it looked from a distance and it was easy to find a place to squeeze through. She picked a route that would take her along the far side of the corral so her progress would be hidden by the movements of the animals. Once the corral fence ended there was no more cover. The young marshal waited patiently trying to locate the pair of Yarborough's men who were supposed to be patrolling the fence line. Fortunately they were on the far side of the compound, smoking cigarettes and deep in conversation. Few clouds floated across the sky that night but luck was on her side when one of them covered the moon. In the sudden relative darkness she crept to where the lad was sitting. The sound of men drinking, arguing and playing cards emanated from the barn and completely covered any sound she might have made. He didn't look up until she was almost upon him.
Harris stood up quickly thinking it was one of the other men approaching, wanting to know why he wasn't working. He looked at the small figure standing next to him with finger on lips indicating silence. He didn't know why he obeyed. The newcomer signaled for him to follow and for some reason he wasn't sure of, he did.
Ada led the boy to the corner of the corral where she hoped the sound of their whispered voices would be disguised by the various snorts of the horses.
"My name's Ada," she introduced herself. "I'm a friend of the tall man I saw you with earlier."
He looked at her - yes it was a woman! He'd thought it was a small man at first, but now by her voice and features he knew it was a woman. They didn't see many women around the compound.
"Who sent you?" He was suspicious that this was some kind of trap set by the older men who were always taunting him.
"No one sent me. That man is a friend of mine and I'm here to take him home."
"You'll have to be quick, Ma'am. Mr. Carter, he's the foreman here, plans to take him up to the woods in the morning." He pointed in the general direction of the trees where she and Hicks had been hiding, "Men who Mr. Carter takes to the woods never come back."
"Does Mr. Carter take any guards to help him?" she asked.
"Usually two or three of his special friends, you know, the older ones who've been here longer. I've never been up there in the woods. Don't think I want to go either. I've heard strange, awful screams coming from up there."
"What's your name?" Ada asked him
"Harris," he replied, looking at her with a serious expression on his face.
"Another man with only one name," she thought!
"What time do you think they'll take him to the woods?".
"I don't know about time Ma'am, but usually it's after breakfast. The men always eat in the bunkhouse before starting work.
Ada looked at the skinny lad in front of her and figured he didn't get to eat very often.
"Listen to me Harris. I have to leave soon before anyone sees me. I have another friend helping me. His name is Hicks." She wondered if she was doing the right thing by confiding in him, but inside help would be invaluable and was worth the risk. "I'm going to send him down here a few minutes just before daylight and I need you to help him. Where do you sleep?"
The young man pointed to the far end of the barn.
"I sleep in one of the stalls after I turn all the horses out. I'll help you Ma'am. Your friend Mr. Dillon treats me right - he doesn't yell at me like the rest of the men do. He promised he'd find me a real job if I helped him - and that special gun of his - said he'd teach me how to use it too."
"He's a good man Harris. He'll keep his promise if we can get him out of here. Tell me what happens after the men finish breakfast and go to work. What will you do?"
"I go take Mr. Dillon out to the privy, then come back and throw some more hay to the horses. Mr. Yarborough insists on the horses being taken good care of and that's mostly my job. I have to bring some of them into the barn before the sun is too high in the sky. Tomorrow I have to saddle Mr. Carter's horse and two others for the men he'll be taking to the woods, and a horse for Mr. Dillon - though I doubt he's up to doin' much riding."
"That's his horse - the big buckskin. Be sure to saddle that one for him."
He looked at her curiously
"You sure you ain't no dream miss?"
"No, I'm real, Harris." Inwardly she smiled at his innocence. "I plan to get you and Mr. Dillon out of here tomorrow. You can tell him but no one else. Promise?"
He nodded "I don't talk much to anyone here, 'cept the animals." he said. "If I do, they just yell at me."
Ada left him standing there, his straw colored hair reflecting the misty moonlight. She hoped she'd done the right thing but she had no choice. It was all or nothing from here on out.
She went over what needed to be done in the morning. Everyone would be out of the barn. She'd send Hicks down to set a fire. Harris would help him. They needed to turn all the horses loose - scatter them in different directions. Most of the hired hands would be too busy putting out the fire so all she'd have to deal with would be the men who Carter took with him. She still planned to take Yarborough down. She wasn't about to leave him behind.
They had a lot of work to do before daylight came. Ada hoped Hicks was up to it.
()()()
Matt was surprised when Harris came back for a visit. There was no light coming in through the single small window so he guessed it must be night or possibly early morning.
"Mr. Dillon! You awake?"
"Yes Harris, I'm awake."
The young man approached the cot where Matt lay
"Do you know a lady called Miss Ada?"
Matt was instantly alert despite the pain around his chest and the sluggishness he felt in his mind.
"Yes I do, what's the problem?"
"She's here, I was just talking to her."
Matt distinctly remembered telling her to head back to Dodge so why was she still here?
"Is she alright?"
"She's fine Mr. Dillon. She plans to get you out of here. I said I'd help her."
"Wait!" Matt called as Harris started to leave.
"I gotta go, Sir - I just wanted to tell you so's you'd be ready."
The young man left as swiftly and silently as he'd come and Matt was alone with thoughts churning around in his mind. Now he was worried about Ada. He didn't want Yancy Boggs to find her. He had to get them both out of here.
Fortunately the bonds securing him to the cot were not tied as tightly as usual. Harris must have done that on purpose. He fought back the pain around his back while struggling to get free. It took a long time but at last he got his right hand loose. The effort had taken all his strength and he fell back exhausted. He had no idea how long he laid there but one thought repeatedly prodded his mind. Ada was out there planning to rescue him and she'd get hurt in the process. There was no way a young woman could handle the likes of Yancy Boggs and Amos Carter so he'd have to do something, but what? If only he could think clearly.
All too soon Haris returned.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Dillon. It's time to go. Mr. Carter is waiting." The young man had to help the marshal to his feet.
"I got your horse tacked up for ya, and I'm gonna get your gun too."
Matt leaned heavily on the stable boy as they left the farmhouse and walked slowly to the barn. Harris had to help him climb up onto the buckskin. Matt found he didn't have the strength to sit up straight. He was leaning forward over the saddle horn but it meant he was at least able to pat the familiar animal on the neck. Hopefully not for the last time
"Mr. Carter'll be here any moment," Harris told him. He stood there holding the reins and wishing he could do something to help this man and the young woman.
Ada watched everything from behind the same rock formation where she'd hidden the night before.
"Hey Hicks, come here," she called. The gambler quietly came up to crouch beside her. "Look! I think they're going to bring Matt up here."
"What do you want me to do?" Her gambler friend seemed willing to help now - she hoped he was up to the task.
"I'm going to get him away from those men and you're going down there to help Harris turn all those horses loose and start a big fire. You should find plenty of dry hay in the barn as well as an oil lamp or two. When you're done come back up here and bring the boy with you. The two of you will wait here with Marshal Dillon while I go and arrest Yarborough.
"You gonna go after him by yourself Ada?" Hicks suddenly realized how incongruous it seemed for this young woman to go after a man like Yarborough. She could never be strong enough to do something like that.
"Maybe me and the boy should do that," he suggested timidly. He'd accepted long ago that he wasn't a brave or courageous man but even he couldn't stand by and watch this beautiful young woman go after the likes of Yarborough.
The young marshal was touched by his sudden show of bravery. Hicks had found an inner strength she'd never dreamed he had. She reached over and touched his cheek with her fingers.
"Thank you Salvation. You're a brave man but I'm the only one wearing a badge and the authority to arrest him. Get moving now. You've got a lot to do."
She had to hurry him on his way before her emotions took over or her mind dwelled too long on the seemingly impossible task ahead.
TBC