PT.6
The words, " You are Jacque's granddaughter", rang loud in Kitty's mind. Over and over she could her Angelina Basco's words. The old woman repeated these words while circling around Kitty. But while she rattled on and on, Kitty noticed she was staggering. "Hey! Are you alright? You don't look so good." Kitty asked.
Back in town, Matt and Nickolas Basco made their way into town hoping to come across the old woman.
Burke spotted them. "Marshal? Marshal Dillon, am I glad to see you."
Shaking his head, "Yeah, Burke, what is it?"
"Well, it's... It's Miss Sarah's shop and Miss Kitty."
Rolling his eyes, as he dismounted, "Burke? What about them?"
"The fire and Miss Kitty… Well, she's missing."
"Burke, slow down here, will ya? First things first."
"Ok. Miss Kitty was at Miss Sarah's and there was this fire and Miss Kitty is gone. Festus is out lookin' for her. Me and some of the men put out the fire. She's ok."
"Who, Burke?"
"Miss Sarah. We put out the fire. She's ok."
"Yeah, good job, Burke. Now what about Kitty? And Festus?"
"Well, I don't know. He went looking for her. She was trying on a dress in the back and then she was just gone. That's what Miss Sarah said."
Doc and Sam came from across the street. "Matt? Glad you're back. Well, I see Burke probably filled you in."
Scratching his head, "Doc, what's been happening here?"
Scrubbing his mustache, "Well... Let's get out of the street and I'll explain it to you."
Nodding, "Yeah, Doc, I have something to tell you too."
"Is that so?" Doc mumbled.
"Yeah, it seems I found the answer to your query. The Basco's made camp out by a pond and the water…" He was now handing him a sample of the water in a pouch. "Here. I thought you might want to check this yourself. Well, it seems to be bad."
Furrowing his brow and tugging on his ear. "Ok, Matt, but that doesn't explain the young cowboys from the Long Branch?"
"How is that other one, Doc?"
"He's a lot better. He's begging to get out of here."
"You mean he's still here?"
"Yeah, in the back."
Matt walked in the back room. "Hey, Fella. I'm Marshal Dillon. I wanna ask you…"
"Look, Marshal, me and my friend, we didn't break no laws."
Raising his hand, "No, I know that. I just wanna know which way you traveled."
Just then Basco spoke up. "It's you!"
Matt turned looking at him. "What? You know him?"
"Yes, he and his friend, they came in our camp. They asked for water. Clarissa gave them water then they left. Marshal, you think the water made them sick?"
"Hey, you mean this Gyspy made us sick? Killed my partner?"
"Wait! You were all drinking water from a pond that was bad. Mr. Basco's son also died. No one is at fault. Doc, Basco and I both drank it too. But we came across Anderson and his drovers. His cook took care of us. We are trying to find Basco's mother. She is missing. She couldn't have gotten far. She's on foot."
"Matt, Kitty's missing. Festus is out looking for her. Matt, do you think…"
Shaking his head, "Ah, Doc."
Slowly Angelina buckled to the ground. "Hey! Hey, old woman. Please, you have to untie me. You need help. I can't help you like this. Look, I'm not going to harm you. Just let me loose."
Kitty was slowly trying to work her hands free. Her wrists were raw. But she pulled one hand free then the other. Crawling close to the old woman, she was feeling to see if she was breathing.
She could now see Angelina was fevered and beading up with sweat. She tried to make her comfortable with pushing leaves up around her and taking her shawl and putting it up under her head.
Touching the back of her own head, she was feeling where the old woman had hit her. It was wet with blood and her head was pounding with pain and throbbing. Shaking it off, she stood, looking around trying to get her bearings.
Thinking to herself, "Where the hell are we? Ughhhhh! I've got to find some way out of here or find someone." Again she grabbed her head.
She knew with the sun going down it would be getting cooler. She undid her skirt and covered the old woman with it like a blanket, figuring as long as she kept moving she'd keep warm.
She started walking, trying to follow the sun. After walking a short way, she heard footsteps in the brush. Not sure if it was someone out there or an animal, she tried to remain still. Then before she could move, she felt two arms grab her and she let out a loud scream.
TBC