Note from Author: Sorry to have taken so long, but my computer has been very uncooperative of late. This is not completed, but I hope these three chapters are sufficient. Let me know. :) Kathleen Russell
My Twisted Heritage
Chapter 8Gunsmoke
Spoilers: Twisted Heritage/Not really any spoilers, I really don't follow the original idea
too much.
Buck was tired as he trotted into Albertville. He carried a big man on his back and he was ready for a rub down. Buck knew that after such a long ride, his owner would take might good care of him, that's for sure. Now, if he could just help the big man find that pretty little red filly of his, then he could go home and rest in his own stable.
As they rattled up to the stables, the big man climbed down from his mount. Buck breathed a sigh of relief. Matt Dillion, as he was called by the two legged kinds, took the reigns and strode them both into the stables.
"Howdy, Sir, how can I help you?" The young man asked Matt as he came into the stable.
"I'd like to leave my horse here for the night, I was hoping you'd give him water, oats and a good rub down." He said pulling five dollars from his pocket.
"Sure thing, mister, uh Marshal." The young man said as he tipped his hat at the big man and took the reigns to Buck, leading him to a freshly cleaned stall and filling the buckets with oats and water. 'Yep, this was all worth the long day.' Buck thought as the saddle and reigns quickly came off.
"Where might a man find a nice bath, and warm bed for the night?" Matt asked the young man as he took the saddle and plaid it over the fence.
"That would be Abbey's, it's a boarding house down the road a ways. For two bits, you get a hot bath. For another two bits you get a shave, and a hot meal. Abbey's a good cook, I should know, she's my Ma." He smiled at the young man.
"Well then I guess that's where I'll be." He said touching the rim of his hat as he headed out of the stable and down the street.
Hattie noticed the big man right off. Like her, he was a stranger in this town. But he was a different kind of man. He wasn't a gunslinger, he wasn't a sodbuster, nor a cattle baron, no he walked with great dignity, great pride and confidence. He was a big fella, and she could tell that he was looking for something, or someone. 'He must be a lawman, cause he don't got the slinky walk of a bounty hunter.' She thought to herself.
Well, no concern of hers, she returned to her present dilemma, finding a place where she could put her wagon and sleep for the night. "Yah, Danny, move it along, ole' boy!" She
yelled as she snapped the reigns on the horses back. They trotted on past Matt Dillon down on past the stable and to the end of the street, where she saw a nice empty lot. Pulling up in front of the old general store, Hattie put the brake on and wrapped the reigns around the brake then climbed down from the wagon and headed into the store.
Mr. Yangston was refolding the yards of material that the two elderly women had just been looking at when he saw the stranger walk in. "This can't be good." He mumbled to no one in particular. He laid the fabric down and studied the woman for a moment. Though her clothes were worn and old, she didn't look to be too old herself in her features. She seemed a might young to be wearing such clothing. But beggars came in all shapes and sizes. Taking a deep breath, because he was sure from the looks of her, she would be smelling pretty ripe by now, he laid the fabric down and walked over to her.
"How can I help ya' ma'am?"
"Would you happen to know who owns that thar lot next to this here store?" She asked him.
Toby Yangston took in a breath, and to his surprise, the woman smelled clean like soap. The fragrance was soft and clean and wafted up into his nostrils. He was pleasantly surprised.
"Well?" Hattie asked impatiently.
"Well, I do. Why?" He asked looking out the front window and seeing her gypsy wagon which was parked out there.
"I was wondering ifin' I'd be able to rent the spot for a day or so?" She said to him. He looked into her brown eyes and snorted.
"I doubt you'd be able to afford it, Ma'am." He smiled.
"I didn't ask ifin I could or couldn't afford it, I asked ifin' it would be available." She said indignantly.
"Fine, yes it is. But it will cost you fifty cents a day, and the horses have to be bedded at the stable." He said to her.
Hattie smiled graciously at the man and reached into her pocket pulling out a silver dollar. "Well, for starters, here's tonight's payment and tomorrow night's as well."
"You ain't planning on selling' no gypsy concoctions are you?" He asked her.
"Nope, don't sell nothing. I'm just a traveler. Don't got no real money, don't got no need for it. Just a dollar or two to keep me going. Ifin' I need more, then I put in an honest days work or two and get paid for it." She said as she looked around the store. "I can use me a pound of coffee, sugar, flour and maybe some potatoes." She said to him. Toby began to gather things up for her as she continued to look around at the store. She saw a mirror on the counter and saw that her hair was hanging down out of place and her clothing were torn and tattered. "Well, I think I'll go get myself cleaned up and purdied up a bit." She said winking at Toby. She began to leave the store before he had finished with her order.
"What about your stuff?" He asked her.
Hattie reached into her pocket and pulled out another silver dollar. "That aughta take care of the bill and delivery if you don't mind." She smiled smugly at the man who could only laugh as she left the store. She pulled the wagon into the empty lot and took the harness off of horses. As she headed for the front gate, Toby came in.
"Just set that on the bench. I'll be taking these two to the stable. Reckon they deserve a little tender love and care." She headed out the gate. "Don't be touching nothin' either, I know just where everything is." He shook his head at her as she headed out the gate.
"Crazy old woman. Like you'd have something worth stealing." He said setting the bags up on the bench. He looked around at the oddly shaped wagon. It had been a long time since he'd seen one of these wagons. Probably not since he was a child. Yep, it was an odd little wagon. That woman was sure to be full of surprises he thought as he smiled at the wagon. As he stood there looking at the old paint and trying to read the old writing on the side of the wagon, Hattie came walking back into the lot.
"You live in this thing, Lady?" Toby asked her.
"My name is Hattie and yes I do." She said as she went to the back and pulled out a key for the pad lock.
"My name is Toby Yangston, Miss Hattie." He said as she opened it.
"I'm much obliged for your help Mr. Yangston, but I need to get cleaned up some, I'm treating myself to a home cooked meal tonight at the local restaurant." She said climbing into the back.
"Over at DiNicola's? Well, then I guess I shall see you there, Miss Hattie." He said nodding his head to her. Hattie was surprised by his gentlemanly conduct.
"Perhaps Mr. Yangston, perhaps." She pulled the door closed and Toby turned and walked away. He pulled the gate door closed behind him and continued back to the store where he waited on his last customer and closed up shop.
An hour later Toby Yangston entered DiNicola's, the only restaurant in town. At his side was his wife Abigale and his son Jeremiah. As they entered the small establishment, Toby noticed the big man sitting by himself at a table. He had heard from Jake Barrows, that there was a U.S. Marshal in town, and he was looking for a woman. The thought occurred to him that perhaps, Hattie was the mysterious woman he was looking for and she was in some kind of trouble. In that case, he'd hate to see her get caught, for she seemed harmless enough to him. He would like very much to find out just what she had done.
"Abby, you and Jeremiah take a seat. I'm gonna go over and set a spell with that there stranger." He said pointing to the Marshal.
"Why, Toby, who is he?" She asked alarmed.
"He's a U.S. Marshal, I hear and I just wanna find out what's the matter. I heard he's looking for someone and I just wanna see if I can help him out." He said as she nodded and took her son's hand and lead him over to their regular table in the corner. Toby walked over to the Marshal. "Howdy."
"Hello." Matt said as he looked up from his barely touched meal.
"You're the U.S. Marshal, everyone's been talking about, right?" Toby asked enthusiastically.
"I reckon I am, though I'm not sure why they'd be talking." Matt said looking at the smaller man.
"We don't get too many strangers in this little town, especially not notorious ones." Toby blurted out. "Mind if I set a spell, Marshal?"
"Wouldn't you prefer to be with your family?" Matt asked him.
"Well, I just wanted to find out a few thing's is all." Toby tried not to look so eager, but truth be told, he was very eager to find things out. Gossip in these parts were just about the most exciting thing in town, least it beat watching the corn grow anyway.
"You wanna know why I'm here." Matt stated as Toby sat down. "I'm looking for a woman. She's about 5'6", slender, redhair." He said as Toby try to concentrate. He had seen that Hattie was about 5'6" and she was slender, but her hair was so mussed up and dirty, he hadn't noticed the color. Matt noticed he was distracted and deep in thought. "Have you seen her?"
"I ain't too sure." Toby said to him. "What else can you tell me? I've seen one redhead, but she's now staying over at the Bores Nest. It's not a nice place, Marshal."
"It might help if I show you a picture." Matt reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a photograph of Kitty. Looking at the picture lovingly, he turned it around and handed it to Toby. Toby sighed audibly and Matt noticed. "Have you seen her?"
"No Marshal, I haven't. And I can honestly say, that I'd never forget a face like that. She looks like an angel." He said smiling at the picture.
"You seemed relieved? May I ask why?" He asked Toby.
"Well, you see, there's this woman came into town in an old beat up gypsy wagon, and she really is nice and seems harmless enough, I was just afraid that maybe she ran into some kind of trouble, you know." Toby said. "I'm sorry Marshal, I didn't mean to get your hopes up." He said handing Matt the photo back. Matt looked at the photo and ran his thumb over it, stopping at the beautiful cameo, Kitty wore on a silk ribbon around her neck. He had bought the cameo for her for her birthday. And the photo was her present to him, along with some very personal gifts.
"Well, I guess I'll be going." Matt said as he stood up, pulled a few dollars out of his pocket, placed it on the table and picked up his hat as he headed for the door. As he came in, a lovely woman came into the restaurant. She had wavy brown hair pulled back into a braid, that hung to the middle of her back. She wore a dress of soft yellow, which seemed to enhance her dark eyes. Around her neck on a silk ribbon was Kitty's cameo. But Matt was in too much of a hurry to head out and continue his search for Kitty to notice. Toby noticed the woman, she looked about mid to late thirties, and then he recognized the twinkle in her eyes. 'Yep, Hattie sure did clean up nicely.' he thought to himself.
Sitting back down with his wife and son, he smiled at the host escorted Hattie to a table in the back, the very same table where Matt had sat not two minutes ago.
"So, what did you find out from the Marshal?" Abigale asked him.
"He's looking for a woman is all he said." He starts to cut his steak. "I don't think she's done anything wrong, I think she just went missing or something."
"How can you tell?" She asked him as she continued to cut her son's food.
"I don't know, but a man can tell when another man's heart is breaking. She must be his woman, and he's looking for her. Pretty thing too." He said and noticed his wife sitting upright in her chair. "He showed me one of them fancy photographs, she's a young thing, and quite lovely." He smiles, "Course now, not quite as lovely as my own beloved wife." Abigale smile at her husband and they continued with their supper. Oblivious to the pain that one man suffered in the night.
Matt headed back to the hotel where he quietly climbed the steps and entered his room. Throwing his hat on the nightstand and hanging his guns before he took the photo out of the breast pocket and fell onto his stomach on the bed. That night he slept fitfully, tossing a turning and thinking of his Kitty. Where was she? Was she alive? Was she alright? He had to find her.
to be continued……