Dear Daisy,
So much has happened since I last wrote you. There was an attempted bank robbery -Josh happened to be in the bank at the time! He was just about to deposit his pay when a young hooligan entered, gun drawn and ready to fire. According to Josh, the would-be robber was drunk, never fired a shot and was locked up within minutes. I was out of town and missed all the excitement!
Andy and Mike left for Montana as you know. They stopped by the jail a few days before and asked that we both look after Slim. They had told him about the letters they had written all those months ago and the letter from Andy's friend who believes that his neighbor Jack Watson is Jess. They confided that Slim was too stunned to speak and had gone to the barn to think. Upon his return to the house he had expressed how very proud he was of the efforts they had gone through but insisted that they not push Jess into a decision, just pull him towards home.
Josh stopped by the ranch a few days later and talked to Slim. He needed to understand the whole story. It was a long conversation, as you can imagine. Josh told me that Slim had tried to explain that he and Jess were not just best friends, they had shared too many things and had rescued each other too many times to be just friends. They were more like brothers, he told Josh. He also said that he felt guilty about not forgiving Jess for not coming home. In a rare moment, he also said that he had trouble deciding what to say to Jess when he comes back. Does this sound like your "worry the size of Texas" older 'son'?
Anyway, Josh gave him some advice and said he would be around if Slim needed his help. I do believe I picked a good man to serve Laramie, didn't I?
I knew that it would be a long time for Andy and Mike to get to Jess' ranch so I just went along doing my job and trying not to worry about my friends. And then Tom Campbell walked into the office one morning waving a telegram from Andrew Sherman, M.D. to Slim Sherman, Sherman-Harper Ranch. I rode out immediately. Tears of joy slid down our faces as we shared a bottle at the ranch. I'll write again soon.
Mort
Mort POV:
While the news is good, we still don't know what will happen. Every time I see Slim now, I notice he has that fake smile plastered on his face. He's trying so hard to act normally. Last night, when Josh told me that Slim was in the saloon, I couldn't believe it.
"Is he drunk?" I asked Josh.
"Nope, he's sitting at a back table. The bottle isn't even open!" he replied.
I approached cautiously. He was deep in thought, his hands twisting the bottle back and forth. I put my hand on his shoulder and told him that the answer he sought wasn't in a bottle. I led him outside to Front Street. He was silent. I reminded him that the town had grown up from nothing. He had known many of the people who had a dream to settle there and how they all had faith in their fellow man. I wasn't sure if he understood my message, but when I said that neither of us had any idea what happened to Jess but that Andy and Mike were coming home with answers and he had to have faith in their bond -tears formed in his eyes. I sent him to the hotel for the night as I didn't think he would be able to ride home and later that week he was actually smiling again!