Chapter 16
With rifle in hand and badge pinned proudly to her shirt Ada set off on foot following the man she presumed was Amos Carter. He had the buckskin in tow behind him with one hand while guiding his own horse with the other. He led the small group of men along a winding path heading away from the compound towards the wooded area where she and Hicks had been hiding. Fortunately before they got close, Carter veered off onto a narrow animal trail that led them to a clearer area with fewer but bigger trees. Their passage through the woods had been so noisy that the young marshal had no trouble shadowing them unnoticed.
Carter was enjoying his sense of power by calling insults back to the Kansas marshal and gloating over what he was about to do to him. Fortunately Matt didn't seem to be too aware of what was going on or maybe he was just ignoring the bully's tirade. Whichever way it was, Ada hoped Matt was in better shape than he looked.
Carter stopped and ordered the two hired hands to come and get Dillon off of his horse.
"Tie him to the tree!" he screamed. Ada could see ropes already fastened around the trunk of a particularly strong looking oak, a chilling indication that Carter had used this place before. She wondered if this was where Tom was held prisoner and beaten so close to death. The men dragged Matt down from his horse and started pushing him towards the tree, giving her time to edge closer. As she watched, Matt suddenly found a burst of energy. He delivered a good belly punch to one of the guards and might have stood a chance to down the other if he'd had his usual strength. The man known as Carter laughed at the marshal's futile attempt then pulled his gun from its holster and twirled it in the air "Like some wanna be cowboy at a Wild West Show," Ada thought to herself. She wondered if Matt had noticed her. He hadn't looked her way but maybe the brief fight had been a signal that he wasn't as badly hurt as he made out.
Carter approached Matt once the two guards had finished securing him to the tree. She could tell from the cautious way he moved that he was half scared of Dillon even though the marshal was tightly restrained. The cowardly man pushed his gun up under Matt's chin. His face was so close that the lawman smelled the stale alcohol on his breath.
"I'm gonna shoot ya knees out from under ya Dillon. I'm told it's not a pleasant way to die. It hurts for a long time and you bleed to death real slow. I'm gonna enjoy watching every minute of it."
He turned as if he was going to leave but spun back at the last minute and delivered a vicious blow to Matt's stomach. Even from where Ada stood the grimace on Matt's face was clearly visible.
"I'll get you for that, Carter," Ada swore under her breath.
She remained hidden but watched as Carter sat on an old tree stump that was at just the right distance to give him a good view of his prisoner. "I'm gonna sit here and watch you die, Dillon!" He continued muttering to himself for a while then pulled his colt pistol from its holster. He pointed it at Matt and sighted along the barrel savoring the moment in his warped mind.
Ada took her time and while Carter reveled in his own cleverness she worked her way around so that she was concealed behind a patch of brush about six feet behind him. Even in his weakened state, Matt raised his head and she knew then that he'd seen her.
This all depended on timing now and Ada knew she'd have to be patient. She had to wait until she could see Carter and both his men in her field of vision all at one time.
She forced herself to breathe slowly and quiet her rapidly beating heart. It sounded so loud in her own ears that she worried Carter would hear it too. The guards were coming back to where their boss was sitting. They were laughing and nudging each other looking forward to the upcoming spectacle of a lawman bleeding to death. Ada was watching and carefully judging distances. She didn't want them too close to Carter but close enough that they could all be threatened by one sweep of her Winchester. She inhaled deeply while watching Carter's finger on the trigger of his gun. Two or three more steps and the set-up would be perfect. Quietly she came out of hiding and positioned herself just to the right of Carter and about three feet away. The man was so caught up in menacing Dillon that her movements went unnoticed. She raised her rifle and pointed directly at his ear.
"Tell your men to drop their guns!" Her voice was strong and commanding. Carter wheeled around in disbelief. Who was this calling him out? Then he saw it was a woman and laughed.
"It's just a young girl,'' he sneered. "Take her out!"
Ada held her ground, her rifle still pointing at his head.
One of the guards pulled his gun. In an instant Ada swung her rifle in a small arc and fired. The man screamed as blood spurted from his hand and his gun fell to the ground in two twisted pieces.
By the time he realized what had happened, the rifle was already pointing back at Carter's head. He'd felt the explosion of air when the trigger was pulled, but the barrel traveled with such speed that he barely saw it move.
"Now drop your gun before you get hurt." Ada's voice was firm and authoritative. Carter was stunned. He took delight in hurting other people but was a coward when someone threatened him directly. He looked over at the man whose hand was dripping blood and decided to do as this little upstart of a woman said, for now at least. He'd take her down and make her beg him to stop when he got ahold of her, but for now he'd have to follow her orders. The one remaining guard stood there with his mouth hanging open, too stunned by what had just happened to move.
"You!" Ada called to him. "What's your name?"
He hesitated a moment then looked from his boss to the rifle in the steady hands of the young woman. Carter was too busy worrying about his own skin to have any words of encouragement for him.
He had trouble finding his voice at first. "Eddie… err …Ma'am," he added as a precaution.
"Well, Eddie, come and tie your boss here." She pointed to a nearby tree that had fallen in a storm.
She directed Carter to get on his knees and instructed Eddie to tie his arms around the log behind him. She made sure he tied the ropes tight so it would take the foreman a long time to work himself free. Carter complained and called her names that she wouldn't repeat, but it didn't distract her from what she was about to do.
"Eddie, go untie Marshal Dillon and help him get on his horse." Her voice remained steady and cold. She only had a short time to find Yarborough but she wouldn't let her anxiety show. Eddie did as she instructed. He seemed happy to be free from Carter.
While Matt was being taken care of Ada took the opportunity to retrieve the two useable guns dropped by Carter and Eddie.
The guard whose hand she'd ruined was standing stunned and shaking. "You better go sit by your boss before you fall down," she warned him. He did as she said, apparently incapable of thinking for himself right now. He wouldn't be much use to Carter for a long time, so she didn't bother to tie him up.
With Eddie's help Matt was back on his horse. Ada used the barrel of the Winchester to indicate the direction of her lookout rock. "Ride'" she called to Eddie knowing he wasn't about to do anything that would risk his life. As a last thought she grabbed the reins of the horses belonging to Carter and his wounded guard before swinging up onto the third horse and following behind the others. Hopefully Hicks would be there waiting when they arrived.
Thankfully Matt seemed to be in a better condition than she thought and was sitting almost upright on the buckskin as they moved forward.
Eddie didn't give her any trouble and they made good time getting back to the campsite. As they approached, she heard people yelling above the crackling sounds of fire coming up from the compound. That same noise had probably drowned out her single rifle shot.
They reached the rock that Ada had used as a lookout the day before. She gazed down on the compound and saw huge, roaring flames engulfing the barn below. Hicks and the stable boy had done a good job. The gambler was already running back up the hill and she could see Harris below waving his arms behind the remaining horses in the corral to get them to run away from the fire. Several had run through the compound fence and now the others were following. Hopefully they would run far enough that it would take Yarborough's men a long time to round them up.
The young marshal slid down from the horse she'd been riding. It was time to find out how Matt was doing. Eddie, the guard she'd commandeered appeared to be quite subdued. He eyed the rifle still resting on her arm and then turned his gaze to look at her face.
"I didn't want to do anything Miss. I was only doing what Amos Carter told me, that's all."
She looked at him with disgust. Hicks had reached her side now. He was a little out of breath after running up the hill.
"Do you know how to use one of these?" She pulled out one of the two guns she'd picked up from Carter's men and stuck in her belt. She spun it in her fingers so that the handle finished up facing towards Hicks.
"I think so," he replied. The gambler was amazed at the transformation that had taken place. When he first met Ada she was a shy little saloon girl. He looked at her now. A marshal's badge on her chest, carrying a Winchester Rifle and in total command of a potentially deadly situation.
She grasped Eddie the guard by the upper arm and pushed him to a small rock next to the one she'd used as cover yesterday,
"Sit there and don't move! - don't even breathe heavy."
She turned to Hicks. "If he blinks wrong, shoot him"
Leaving Hicks to watch her prisoner she turned and ran her eye over Matt. "You wanna get down from that horse?'' she asked.
He nodded. "Ada, what are you doing here?…I told you to go back to Dodge."
"Oh, really! I guess I never heard you. Lucky I didn't or the marshal's service would have lost another good lawman."
As he slid down from his saddle the blood stain on his shirt was impossible to miss.
"You better let me look at that when I get back. Right now I've gotta go and find Yarborough."
"His real name's Yancy Boggs." Matt was standing on the ground leaning heavily on his horse and breathing hard. "You're gonna need some help. I'll come with you."
Ada was torn. She wanted to stay and help him, but she had to find the man who'd started all this. The same man who was responsible for the death of her friend Tom Durbin. That was the reason she was here.
"You stay here and help Hicks. I'll be back soon." She handed him the other gun she'd taken from Carter's men.
Ada turned away to head down the hill to the compound. The fire was still burning and men were running back and forth with water buckets trying to stop the flames from reaching the farmhouse. Harris was running towards her, his clothes covered in soot and the cat she'd seen him with last night tucked in his arm
"Miss Ada," he panted. "I drove all the horses off except for two. I hid them back there in the woods in case we need them."
"You did a good job." She didn't comment on the cat or Matt's gun belt fastened around his waist.
While she was speaking Ada dug around in her pocket. She produced a small whiskey flask and handed it to him.
"Here, Harris. You take care of Marshal Dillon. Get him to take a sip or two of this and I'll be back as fast as I can. Where can I find Yarborough?"
Harris thought for a minute. "I don't think he was at the barn Miss, so he must be in his office." He pointed to the far window on the back of the house.
"I'll be back soon," Ada called over her shoulder as she took off running, hoping to find Yarborough before he escaped. She still held the Winchester in her right hand. The young marshal discovered some time ago that men took more notice of her when she carried the rifle in her hand.
The smell of smoke hung thick in the air and she was aware of intense heat from the fire. Men were running back and forth with full water buckets trying to quench the raging flames.
She entered the house through the side door and found herself in a small room with a single window. The air was not as thick in here but smoke was already working its way in around the door she'd just closed. Along one wall there was a single cot. From the bloodstains she concluded that this was where Matt had been held.
She left through the only other door and found it opened into the front room of the house where she'd waited on her previous visit. She put her ear to the door of the room where she'd met Yarborough and heard nothing. With rifle at the ready she turned the handle and pushed her way in.
At first it was too dark to see anything much, then in the far corner of the room there was a movement. A man - not much taller than herself, was trying desperately to stuff money from a safe into a dark colored carpet bag.
"Yancy Boggs! Hold it right there and put your hands up!"
The man literally jumped as if he'd been a kid caught stealing candy. His back was towards her. He turned slowly. His face was tight at first but relaxed into a smile when he saw it was a young woman standing there. He ignored her orders and went back to clearing the safe.
"I'm United States Marshal Ada Boothe and I'm arresting you for multiple crimes including ordering the killing of Marshal Tom Durbin."
He still didn't take her seriously. "You better leave before I call my men in here."
"I'm not leaving, Yancy." Ada raised her rifle. "You're going back to face trial but if you try to get away I'll kill you. The warrant says dead or alive and I don't mind which you choose."
She watched his face as he began to realize that she was serious.
"Put your hands up and turn around."
Boggs hesitated. Ada lifted the rifle and took aim.
"I'm a good shot with this Mr. Boggs. I won't miss."
He wanted to call for his men but knew they were all outside fighting the fire and wouldn't hear him. Slowly he turned his back towards her. She reached with her left hand and pulled handcuffs from a pants pocket. She was close enough to grab his left arm, snap the cuff on his wrist and pull it back behind him. She felt him stiffen and pushed the barrel of the Winchester into his neck with her right hand
"Is it worth the risk? I'll shoot if I have to and at this distance it'll blow your head off." She nudged him again with the rifle barrel and apparently he now decided she meant what she said.
"Give me your other hand!" she ordered. There was no hesitation in her voice.
Slowly he complied and with a move she'd practiced many times she snapped the second cuff closed. Ada grabbed his right arm and spun him around to face her.
Yancy Boggs had forgotten what it was like to be ordered around. For the last three years he'd been telling other people what to do and they'd listened to him. Now twice in just a few days law officers had invaded his private headquarters. This woman who thought she was a marshal should be easy to handle after all he'd already taken care of Dillon.
"We're heading out the front door. Get going!" Her voice was determined. She didn't have time to waste by arguing with him.
Before leaving the room, the young marshal looked over at the carpetbag sitting on the floor where Yancy Boggs had dropped it. It was stuffed with dollar bills. It couldn't be helped, she'd have to leave it behind. The way the fire was burning, the house would burn up soon and all that paper money he'd stolen would be consumed by flames.
She moved quickly, poking Yancy in the back with the rifle barrel to force him ahead of her. As she figured all the other men were too busy trying to control the fire to see what was going on at the far end of the house.
"Keep moving, Yancy." She prodded him again with the barrel of the rifle as they made their way to the hill to join the others. No-one challenged them. Yancy stumbled a time or two because his hands were cuffed behind his back but Ada showed no pity. She dragged him back to his feet and ordered him to keep going.
TBC