"The Telegram" What if Kitty found out about the telegram from Mavis McCloud? "Mavis McCloud" (Season 3)
(Part 1)
Kitty watched Matt pack his saddle bags. She watched him as he packed some jerky and some coffee among other things. Matt placed his saddle bags on the table, next to his canteen. He then walked over to the wall where the rifles were kept. Matt unlocked the chain and took a rifle down. He placed the rifle on the table and went to his desk to get some bullets. Matt took the rifle and loaded it with the bullets. Gun loaded, Matt placed it on the table next to the saddle bag and canteen.
"How long do you expect to be gone?" Kitty asked.
"I expect to be gone for a few days," Matt replied. "But that's not always a guarantee."
"Trust me. I'm well aware of that," said Kitty. She had learned to hope that Matt would be back when he said, but not to always expect it.
"Well, I have everything I need. I might as well pack up my horse and get going," said Matt, as he grabbed all of his gear.
Seeing that Matt had his hands full, Kitty opened the door for him. Matt looked at her and gave her a smile of thanks. Kitty smiled back at him. If they kept smiling at each other, Matt may have to postpone his trip for a couple of hours. However, that wasn't an option. Matt had to get to Spearville by tomorrow morning. There were papers there he had to get from the sheriff. Matt had everything packed and then mounted his horse.
"I'll see ya in a few days, Kitty," said Matt.
Matt so badly wanted to give her a kiss goodbye and call her a term of endearment, such as honey or sweetheart. But being outside, he couldn't risk anyone seeing or hearing them. Had he been thinking, he would've given her a kiss while they were still in the office. Oh well, he had something to look forward to when he got back.
"I'm already looking forward to your return," said Kitty.
Matt took off and headed east towards Spearville and Kitty walked back to the Long Branch. She walked inside and noticed a few patrons at the bar and a few sitting at the tables. It wasn't too busy. Bill and the other girls easily handled it while she was gone. Now that she was back, she walked behind the bar to help Bill. It may not have been busy now, in the middle of the afternoon, but it would be later tonight. It most always was. Kitty didn't mind. She welcomed the busyness when Matt was gone. It helped her to keep her mind off on how much she missed him.
The next day a telegram arrived at the telegraph office for the Marshal. Barney knew Marshal Dillon was out of town, but he didn't want to set it aside and forget about it. He decided he would take the telegram to the jail and give it to Chester. Barney knew Chester would make sure the Marshal received it. Barney was somewhat confused about the telegram. Some woman, Mavis McCloud, was coming to get married, and she wanted the Marshal to meet her at noon on the day she was arriving. Barney was positively sure he understood the wire correctly. However, he thought that the Marshal and Miss Kitty had something going. That's what made this telegram so confusing.
The telegraph office had been slow. Barney decided now would be as good a time as any to walk over to the jail with the telegram. As Barney was leaving the telegraph office, he spotted Chester across the street. That would save him a trip to the jail.
"Chester!" Barney called, waving the telegram.
Hearing his name, Chester stopped. He saw Barney coming towards him with a telegram in his hand. "Hey, Barney," he said. "Something wrong?"
"No, I have a telegram for the Marshal. I know he's gone, but I didn't want to lose the telegram. So, I decided to give the telegram to you. I know I can trust you to give it to him," Barney answered.
"You shore can trust me," said Chester. "I'll be certain that Mr. Dillon gets this."
Chester was about to ask Barney what the telegram said, but stopped himself. He knew that as the telegraph officer Barney wasn't allowed to tell people what information came over the wires. What came over the wires was people's own personal business. If Chester needed to know what the telegram said, Barney would've shared the information. Chester thanked Barney and headed towards the jail.
Barney may be able to mind his own business, but Chester was a different story. Chester was a busybody. He was probably one of the nosiest people in Dodge City. He waited until he was out of view from the telegraph office before he pulled the telegram out of its envelope. After pulling the telegram out, Chester started reading. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped as he read. Was he reading this correctly? Was some woman named Mavis McCloud coming to Dodge City to marry Mr. Dillon? Barney must've taken the wire wrong. Then again Barney was very good at his job. He rarely made mistakes. Chester read the telegram again. This couldn't be right. Chester thought Mr. Dillon had feelings for Miss Kitty. Why would he be marrying another woman?
Doc had been walking down the street, when he saw Chester. He could see that Chester was reading something. By the size of the paper, Doc could tell it was a telegram. Doc wouldn't have thought anything of Chester reading a telegram, but the look of distress on Chester's face caught Doc's attention. Curiosity getting the best of him, Doc walked over to Chester to do some investigating.
"Whatever that telegram says seems to have you all upset," said Doc, startling Chester.
"Forever more, Doc," said Chester, practically dropping the telegram and the envelope. "You made my heart skip several beats. What's the idea of sneakin' up on a man like that?"
"I didn't mean to scare you," said Doc. "I'm just wondering what that telegram says that has you so upset."
"What makes ya think I'm upset?" asked Chester.
"The look on your face," Doc replied.
Chester knew there was no point in keeping the telegram from Doc. "Here," he said as he gave Doc the piece of paper. "Read it and tell me what you think."
Doc took the paper and began to read. Chester watched as Doc's eyes widened as he read. Chester knew Doc was probably asking himself the same questions he asked when he first read it. Doc read the telegram several times before looking at Chester.
"Now do you see why I looked so upset?" asked Chester.
"This has to be some sort of mistake," said Doc. "I can't see Matt marrying some other woman. I thought for these last couple of years his heart belonged to Kitty."
"I thought the same thing," said Chester. "But how many times does Barney make a mistake?"
"I know. That's what makes this telegram upsetting," said Doc. "I just can't believe Matt would do something like this to Kitty."
"Speaking of Miss Kitty," said Chester. "Here she comes."
Doc saw Kitty heading their way. "Quick, put the telegram in your pocket. She doesn't need to see it. It will just upset her and that's the last thing I want to do. This is something that's going to have to be between her and Matt." Chester quickly put the telegram and envelope in pocket, his hands fumbling as he did so.
Kitty saw Doc and Chester standing down the street. She could see that they had been reading something. Whatever it was must've been very interesting. As she came closer, she saw Chester quickly put the piece of paper and an envelope in his pocket.
"What are you boys up to?" Kitty asked.
"Nothing, nothing at all," said Chester.
"Yup, nothing at all," Doc confirmed. "I was about to ask Chester to join me for supper at Delmonico's. Would you like to come?"
Kitty noticed that Doc and Chester answered her question too quickly, but didn't say anything. They were definitely hiding something and she knew there was no point in asking them about it. She didn't want to put her friends on the spot. She would try to find out on her own. Kitty highly suspected it had something to do with the piece of paper in Chester's pocket.
"I would love to, but I'm afraid I can't," said Kitty. "I have to get ready for work."
"That's a darn shame," said Chester. "Doc, I want to drop this off for Mr. Dillon at the office, and then I'll meet ya at Delmonico's."
"That's a good idea, Chester," said Doc. "Kitty, we'll see ya later tonight at the Long Branch."
Kitty nodded her head. "Since I'm right here," said Kitty. "I think I'll go inside and see if Mr. Jonas has that material I ordered."
Kitty knew her material would not be in yet. She ordered it yesterday and Jonas told her it would be at least two weeks. The reason she wanted to go inside the store was to spy on Doc and Chester. She wanted to make sure they were both at Delmonico's before she went to the jail to look for that piece of paper that had those two men all flustered. The front window of the store gave a perfect view of Delmonico's.
"Hello, Miss Kitty," said Wilbur Jonas. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Oh no," Kitty replied. "I have to work tonight and I thought I would kill some time here browsing around before I had to get ready." She lied.
"Let me know if you need anything," said Jonas. He walked back behind the counter.
Kitty walked around the front of the store, always making sure she could see out the window. She had already seen Doc walk into Delmonico's. Now she was waiting for Chester to do the same thing. She didn't have to wait too long to see him hobbling down the boardwalk towards the restaurant. When she saw him go inside, she waited a few minutes before she left for the jail.
As Kitty walked to the jail, she formulated a plan in her mind of where she would look first for this mysterious piece of paper. She realized it had to be a telegram. Kitty knew the size and type of paper that Barney used. She would look for that kind of paper. There weren't too many places Chester could put the paper. Matt's desk only had one drawer. She would look there first. She would look for telegrams with today's date on it. She would also look under the cots and the pillows and bedding on the cots. Kitty hoped Chester didn't put the telegram in the safe. She didn't know the combination and wouldn't be able to get the telegram. Kitty walked inside the jail and saw the telegram sitting on the table.
'I wasn't expecting the telegram to be sitting out in the open,' thought Kitty. 'Maybe it's not as big of a deal as I suspected.'
Kitty still wanted to know what the telegram said. She knew it was for Matt and she had no business reading it, but that didn't stop her. For some reason she felt that she wouldn't rest easy until she knew what that telegram contained. She pulled the telegram out of its envelope and began to read.
TBC in part 2
