PART 6:

Buck awoke to the sounds of Nathan's clinic. He could hear voices, muffled but recognizable. The healer talking quietly near him, and Ezra, much nearer, responding. They were just shooting shit, talking about nothing in particular.

It was a reassuring way to awaken.

He turned his head slowly to take in sights, finding himself in the familiar bed. As he blinked, his vision cleared and he found that he was not alone.

The bed wasn't very wide, but it was big enough for two.

Beside him, inches away, Ezra gazed back. "Feelin' better?" Standish asked. His voice still had that muffled quality to it, and far off … a ringing.

Buck groaned and tried to sit up but a stabbing pain in his head kept him still. "What the hell?" he asked.

"Buck!" he heard Nathan call brightly, and suddenly Jackson's warm expression swam into view. "Glad to see you awake, Buck," the healer stated. "You took quite a knock on the head."

"Now that he's awake, I should probably be on my way," Ezra commented, trying to get up.

A firm hand from Nathan kept Standish in place. "Not so fast, Ezra! I don't want either of you moving for at least a day!" Jackson declared. "Both of you got more bruises than I can count. I let you leave town and look at how you return!" But he smiled, full of good humor. He gave Ezra a gentle pat before finally removing his hand and turn to Buck. "Just glad to see you're awake, Buck."

"Glad to be awake," Buck responded, rubbing his head, trying to remember what was going on. "The explosives! Damn!"

"Damn, indeed," Ezra replied. "Apparently, Carson was quite correct in that regard. I believe Stevenson is insane."

"Good thing you and Ezra showed up when you did," Nathan said. "If you hadn't, Chris and the others would have been in the jail when it went off, along with those Sahales and Miss Witt."

"Everyone okay?" Buck asked quickly.

"You got the worst of it," Nathan told him.

"And what about him?" Buck said, jabbing a thumb in Ezra's direction.

"Not much worse for wear," Ezra replied. "I think only a few new bruises were added. Mostly from you landing on me. You are neither gentle nor light."

"He took a few more blows as well," Nathan explain to Buck. "Wrenched his knee a bit, so that's another reason to keep him in bed for bit longer."

"Plus, I'm half deaf from all that shouting. Really, Mr. Wilmington. You were inches from my ear. I could hear you just fine… that is until you damaged my hearing." Ezra turned to Nathan. "Really, Mr. Jackson. His proximity is affecting my ears again. I really should move."

"I think the explosion had more to do with it than Buck." Jackson told him. "I want you off your feet and resting!" Then he turned his wrath on Buck. "What were you doing, dragging him all over hell when he was that hurt?"

"Mr., Jackson," Ezra said in a tired voice. "The hospital did not allow me to return, so…"

"You never should have left in the first place, Ezra! And hospitals know nothing," Nathan snapped. "I'm the one that knows best, and I'm going to keep you here and make sure you rest and don't hurt yourself any worse!"

"I'm much better than I was," Ezra responded quietly.

Nathan did not look pleased. "You were a damn fool to take that ride from Cedar Ridge!" He turned his ire on Buck, "And you were a fool to let him do it!"

Buck grumbled, "You try stoppin' him. He's persistent as hell!"

Ezra smiled. "It is my middle name."

"And you," Nathan said, poking Buck, "You're gonna to stay right here as well, because you have a concussion."

"Yes, a concussion," Ezra said. "That's a nasty thing to have, a concussion. You'd best keep still."

"I seem to remember that they couldn't wake you up after the crash," Buck countered. "People kept sayin' that they thought you were dead."

"Obviously, I'm not!" Ezra replied.

Nathan just fixed Ezra with his usual no-nonsense look. "Josiah told me all about that. You scared the life out of that man."

"Better him than me!"

With that Nathan shook his head and settled in his chair beside the bed. "I'm just glad that you're both awake and talking. Now, maybe things can get back to normal around here."

"So," said Buck. "What about the trial?"

Nathan shrugged, "Well, Judge Travis decided to reschedule after all that's gone on. Been some crazy stuff happening."

Buck sank back into the pillows. "That's an understatement. Did Ezra fill you in on what we know?"

"Between him and Josiah, I think we got most of the story."

Buck went on, "And you got Rand's men?"

Nathan said, "Two of them were able to hide out until after the blast. I think that spooked 'em and we were able to get 'em. The one with the broken arm was easy to find. They admitted that they're the ones that crashed the train and killed the crew."

"How'd you manage to get that out of them?" Buck asked

"You know how Chris can be. He found out that Rudolph took his train to Ridge City that morning to talk to the telegraph man, Stevenson. They'd already planned that Stevenson would be sending messages to get us out of town. Rudolph just needed to tell him to start sending them. He didn't know that Carson had sent Benson earlier. Carson wanted to kill his brother, and used his men, Lew and Bill to do the deed."

"And destroy Rudolph's most precious asset at the same time," Ezra filled in. "The Columbia was a beautiful and expensive machine."

"So, did they crash it as a distraction?" Buck questioned.

"Apparently it wasn't meant to be," Ezra said. "It was pure vengeance from an unhappy brother. Stevenson just used it as a reason to send us that note."

"And that telegraph man is still on the loose," Nathan said.

"They're still out lookin' for him," Ezra told Buck. "It won't take long. Lew and Bill gave Chris a good description. They're sayin' he's the one that blew up the jail. They didn't know he was still going to do it. Their last orders were to meet up again in Four Corners." He yawned.

"We'll find Stevenson," Nathan assured. "They say he's not really right in the head. He'll show up eventually."

"And you all figure out why someone took a shot at me?" Buck asked.

"Nobody's owned up to sending that man," Nathan said. "But we're pretty sure that both of the Sahale brothers wanted Carson dead. They knew he was courting Helen and wanted him gone."

"But why was he waiting out there?" Buck asked. "He couldn't have been there long. There wasn't any manure around the horse."

"Probably was on his way to Cedar Ridge when he spotted you charging in," Ezra decided. "He had enough time to climb into the rocks and take aim. It was just bad luck that you were on Carson's horse," Ezra's eyes, much less swollen than they had been the day before, were half shut. "And poor planning on their part because Helen apparently wed Rudolph, not Carson. And both Rands were already dead in any case."

Nathan came around the other side of the bed, and put a gentle hand on Ezra's chest. "That's enough. You need to get some rest, Ezra. Buck's awake now, so it's time for you to sleep."

Ezra looked up at Jackson defiantly, but the weariness was obvious on his battered face when he glanced to Buck. Quietly, he muttered, "Your turn to keep our admirable healer on his toes, Buck," and almost immediately his eyes closed and his face smoothed out with sleep.

Nathan harrumphed, but he couldn't hide it. He was pleased as punch with the result of his request. "He's been awake this whole time, worried about you," Jackson said.

"I'm fine," Buck said. "Just sore."

"And unconscious for quite a while," Nathan added.

"He was too!" Buck said, pointed to Ezra, and added sharply, "He's a lot of trouble." And he checked to see if there was a reaction on that peaceful face.

"No end of trouble," Nathan added.

Apparently, Ezra was fast asleep, and not taking the bait. "Has anyone said why they were tryin' to kill him?" Buck asked. "Seems like they were tryin' awful hard to get that job done."

Nathan shrugged. "According to Lew and Bill, they didn't even know he was on the train when they crashed it. They found out about it later, so after that,they were trying to tie up loose ends. They wanted to burn the train cars to hide any evidence that they had been on the train, and Ezra just happened to be inside with Josiah when they set the blaze."

"And when they shot at him from Rudolph's hospital room?"

"Apparently, it was Bill who shot Rudolph," Nathan said. "Lew was keeping watch at the window and saw Ezra in the street. He figured Ezra might've heard some information from Rudolph that'd lead back to them. They took the chance to get rid of him. Ezra was just in the way."

Buck shook his head against the pillow.

Nathan moved around the room, straightening things. "Everyone's been by to check on you."

"JD? Is he doing better?"

"Much better," Nathan assured happily. "He's pretty much over his stomach problems now. Oh, and Vin wanted to talk to you. Somethin' about a Miss Lindsay Lang, and some fancy jewelry."

Buck beamed. "So, she's still happy with the gift?" he asked, feeling smug. "I knew that'd do the trick. That should keep Tanner out of my way for a while."

"Oh, you done that. Vin says he knows when he's beat."

"Smart man."

"He said he wouldn't stand in the way when a married couple's happiness is on the line. He's learned his lesson."

"Wait… what?"

Jackson was smiling widely, enjoying Buck's reaction. "Marriage. Vin said that Miss Lang was fixin' to marry you. Said that she was gonna accept your proposal."

"I did no such thing!"

"You gave the girl some shiny jewelry," Nathan reminded.

Tucked beside him on the bed, Buck could feel Ezra vibrate with suppressed laughter.

"Don't you start!" Wilmington said. "You're the one that suggested the jewelry!" And he gave Ezra a jab that drew a sharp gasp out of him.

Ezra gave him a wounded look, and then looked to Nathan. "Mr. Jackson, do you have any other accommodations? My bedmate is entirely inconsiderate of my needs. I was trying to sleep."

Jackson was chuckling. "Let Ezra sleep, Buck. It's his turn. Besides, you have to figure out how to deal with poor Miss Lang."

"Poor Miss Lang," Ezra repeated closing his eyes and resting his hands on his chest.

Buck glared at him and considered poking him again, but Nathan waved a finger at him. "Leave him alone. And you, should lay back and wait for Chris to show up. He's gonna want to talk to you about what's been going on. You can use some more rest."

"I'm fine," Buck said.

"You took a tumble from a horse and had a jailhouse fall on you," Nathan said. "You're going to be stuck here with him for a while."

It wasn't the worst place in the world, Buck decided.

*(7)*{7}*(7)*{7}*(7)*{7}*

Buck was able to struggle out of bed by mid-day, but Ezra was too exhausted to do much of anything. He made what appeared to be a valiant attempt to follow, but it took little coaxing from Nathan to get him to remain.

"You see," Standish said to Buck. "I'd go with you but, Mr. Jackson is making things difficult." And promptly fell back to sleep.

Buck waved a goodbye to Nathan. All things considered, he would have liked some more rest, but this was something he didn't want to miss.

Stiff and sore and annoyed, Buck was able to make it down the stairs and headed to the saloon. As he walked down the street, the hole where the jailhouse had been was a painful reminder of what had happened the previous evening.

People could have died. Friends nearly died.

"Buck," Chris greeted when Wilmington came through the saloon doors.

"Larabee," Buck returned as he shuffled in. "Josiah…"

"Good to see you, Buck," Josiah said from his spot near the door. "You're looking better."

Chris gave him a nod and turned his attention to the man sitting at the table.

The stranger was wearing what was once a nice suit, but now he was disheveled and dusty. He sat with his hands in front of himself on the table, and his eyes on Larabee.

"So this is the guy?" Buck asked as he limped into the room and found a chair across from the man.

"George Stevenson," Josiah stated. "The man who wanted to blow us up."

Stevenson cringed and said, "It wasn't anything personal, I promise."

"You're the telegraph man?" Buck asked.

"Mr. Rudolph Rand's personal secretary," Stevenson replied, smoothing his hands onto the tabletop. "I owe everything I am to that man. I was his steward aboard the Columbia and performed all administrative duties for Mr. Rudolph Rand at his business, including sending personal messages for him through the wire service."

"How'd you catch him?" Buck asked the others.

"Wasn't me," Chris replied.

Josiah chuckled. "It was Winston and his kids."

That made Buck smile. "Our telegraph man?" He laughed, thinking about whip-thin Winston Juje managing to take down a man.

"Stevenson was found at the wire desk, and Juje didn't take to kindly to the intrusion," Josiah explained.

"Winston doesn't like anyone messin' with his stuff," Buck said.

"He apparently tackled this man, and then the kids joined in. They held Stevenson down while the youngest went to fetch us," Josiah said. "Mr. Stevenson didn't seem too pleased when we found him."

"Those children were animals," Stevenson whispered.

"He tell you anything yet?" Buck asked.

"We were just discussing the messages that he was sending from Ridge City," Josiah said. "And he's been admitting to all of it."

"I did nothing wrong," Stevenson hissed. "I was doing what I was told."

"Benson told you to get Cook out of the train station?" Chris asked as he paced the room.

"Yes, well, no," Stevenson said, looking at his hands. "Benson came to me and said that Mr. Rudolph wanted it done. I, in turn, sent a note to Mr. Cook. I do what Mr. Rudolph tells me."

"And then the train switch was turned," Josiah led on. "Was that you? Or was it Benson?"

Stevenson gave him a startled look. "Mr. Rudolph was on that train! I'd never do such a thing! It had to be Benson. I was at my position all day. Ask anyone at the telegraph office." He looked fretful as he muttered. "How could I do anything to hurt Mr. Rudolph? How could you even suspect that of me? Mr. Benson told me that Mr. Rudolph wanted the message sent."

"You sent the note to the lawman at the hospital, drawing him away from guarding your Rudolph Rand."

Stevenson's face contracted as if in pain, and he lifted a fist to pound it once, pointlessly, onto the table. "Benson, Mr. Benson said to do it. He said that Mr. Rudolph wanted it done. He didn't want a guard. Benson! Benson tricked me. He tricked me into letting Mr. Rudolph get hurt!"

When he looked up, his eyes were full of tears. "They killed him. Bill and Lew shot him in his bed, didn't they? Those bastards! He couldn't move at all, and I hadn't even gone to see him or anything. I should've gone to see him!" He buried his head in his hands, sobbing. "They got the train switched because of me, and got the guard away because of me. Oh, Lord, what have I done? What have I done!? I'm so sorry, Mr. Rudolph. I'm so sorry."

The three men watched impassively as Stevenson cried.

"And then you blew up the jail, trying to kill folks who done you no harm," Josiah stated.

Stevenson's head snapped up. "It was Mr. Rudolph's plan! It was his plan all along to get you all out of the way, so that he could have his true love and his land. That's all I was trying to do. I was just trying to finish what he wanted, to get you all out of the way."

"Where did you get the dynamite?" Buck asked, curiously.

Stevenson chuckled. "I got it in Ridge City, days ago! I got it from a crazy old miner. He didn't want it anyway, said it was too unstable. I knew it would be perfect for the plan. Wouldn't take much to set it off, no sir!"

"And you rode all the way from Ridge City to Four Corners with unstable explosives in your saddle?" Buck said, his voice rising in disbelief.

"I was careful," Stevenson said, hushing his voice. "I rode softly."

Buck exchanged glances with the others, thinking about how easy it would have been for that dynamite to go off while Stevenson was riding toward their home.

"You wanted to kill us, the Sahale brothers and Miss Witt?" Josiah asked.

Stevenson smiled. "They'd be together again, then, wouldn't they? Mr. Rudolph would be with his beautiful Miss Witt. See, it makes sense. I had to keep going with the plan. I couldn't stop."

"Rudolph figured Miss Witt would be in the jailhouse too?" Josiah asked. "He wanted her dead from the start?"

The telegraph operator nodded, his grin growing wider. "She could be his forever," he said. "He said it was the best way to marry. Then there'd be no question of infidelity. I thought that sounded funny when he said it to me, but now it all makes sense. And he'd have the gold and the land and everything he wanted. Just goes to show what a smart man he is." And he nodded vigorously. "Smart and wise and kind to all, that's my Mr. Rudolph Rand!"

*(7)*{7}*(7)*{7}*(7)*{7}*

Mr. Benson, the lawyer for the Rands and uncle to Miss Helen Witt, rode the westbound train halfway across the territory before he finally awoke and stumbled off.

The telegraph office in Cedar Ridge hadn't been repaired, but he sent word hoping that one of the neighboring towns might receive his message and pass it on to Carson Rand.

The law from Four Corners was waiting for him when he arrived at the Cedar Ridge station. They promptly arrested him for his part in the deaths and injuries caused by the wreck of the Columbia, the burning of the train cars, and the murder of Rudolph Rand. When he heard that Stevenson had tried to murder his niece along with everyone in the Four Corners jailhouse, he didn't seem that shocked.

"They were all out of control," he said. "I never should have gotten mixed up with this lot."

He carried the deeds, the wills, the survey results and the marriage licenses with him. And he more or less admitted to the misfiling at the City Hall, but completely denied having anything to do with the fire.

Ty Sahale had indeed bequeathed his north ranch to his older son Adam, and the south ranch to his younger son Robin. The deeds to the land proved that the claims were valid. Benson had had the land surveyed, and requested an assessment done on Robin's gold stake. They found that someone had salted a long disused mine on Sahale South.

Adam admitted that he'd left the gold there to keep his brother interested in his own property and leave the Sahale North alone.

The Sahale brothers owned their own ranches, with no promises of gold.

Helen had married Rudolph Rand, but before that, she had secretly married the elder Sahale, Adam. Before the gold was found, she saw better prospects in him than in Robin. The younger Sahale, not knowing of that marriage, claimed that she was planning to marry him as well. Nobody doubted it.

To avoid any charges of bigamy, her marriage to the deceased Rudolph would be annulled, and her marriage to Adam would remain valid.

Lew and Bill, Carson's men, were locked up to await their trials for the death and destruction that followed them. Neither of them would accept any responsibility for their actions. "Carson told us to do it," Bill had said. "He told us to beat up his brother and crash the train. Carson just wanted to marry that woman. When things didn't work out, we had to keep going, keep trying. It wasn't our fault. Things just got… out of control."

Stevenson just kept repeating that he was following Rudolph's orders, and seemed to believe that the gentleman would be by any time to help him out of his situation. "Mr. Rudolph will take care of me," he kept saying.

All four prisoners had been taken away to Ridge City. They, at least, had a usable jail.

The Sahale brothers forgave each other and dropped their cases. With the exception of the bridge, they had only damaged each other's property. They'd pay to rebuild the bridge.

Adam was already wed to Helen, and Robin had apparently accepted this fact. He held his head held high throughout everything, saying that this is exactly what he wanted. Adam was resigned. Helen wasn't happy with how things ended up for her. She fussed and fumed and nearly smoked with irritation.

Neither brother would claim sending the man who took a shot at Buck. With a double-branded horse it would be difficult to pin the incident on either of them. It was quite possible he'd acted on his own volition, just trying to help his boss. The man remained nameless, and had paid his price.

Why had the Cedar Ridge telegraph burned? When no suspect was found, the culprit was assumed to be Carson, meaning to only burn the City Hall in an attempt to destroy the information stored there. The files were disarranged, but perhaps he was trying to burn any sign that his brother had wed Miss Witt, so that he might have a chance at her if the murder plot failed. Benson said that Carson had asked him several times if the papers had been located, and Benson had hid the truth as much as he could.

In the end, things settled down. Cedar Ridge rebuilt its telegraph shack and started work on their new City Hall. The rest of the Bonneville Hotel was razed in Ridge City, and the beautiful, Mighty Columbia was melted down for scrap.

And the jail in Four Corners would need to be rebuilt. That would take some time.

*(7)*{7}*(7)*{7}*(7)*{7}*

Buck found Ezra outside of the partially rebuilt Four Corners jail. Standish had the uncanny ability to disappear every time anyone went to work on the structure, but would find a way back onto the boardwalk once the coast was clear.

He was a man that did not care for menial labor.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Wilmington," Ezra greeted, setting down his book. "And how are you on this fine day?" His face was still slightly discolored, but the bruises had faded to yellows mostly.

Buck fell into the other chair – one of two that someone had maneuvered onto the new section of the boardwalk. He suspected Josiah of the deed – an enticement to draw Ezra out.

"Ezra," Buck said tersely. "Remind me not to listen to you when it comes to women."

Ezra shrugged. "My advice is always sound. It's unfortunate that some simply do not know what to do with my good words." He took a sip from coffee mug and asked, "How did it go with Miss Lang?"

"I know women, Ezra! I don't need any of your sound advice." He sighed and said, "I don't know how things could've gotten out of control so fast. Lindsay already started making her wedding dress and invitin' folks to the event. I'm gonna have a whole passel of folks angry at me for cancelling the party."

"People do enjoy a good time."

"It wasn't my fault," Buck said. "She just misunderstood my meanin'. I blame you."

Ezra raised his mug again. "Of course," he responded. "I'm a believable target."

Leaning back, Buck sighed and said, "She's done with me. I tried to let her down easy, but she was fit to be tied."

"Did you run down the list of every good reason why she shouldn't marry a rogue like you? It must have taken all morning and driven her to a pool of tears, the poor dear."

"No," Buck grumbled. "I simply told her it was a misunderstanding, that the earrings were just meant as a gift and it wasn't a promise of marriage. I was trying to make her happy…"

"… and not ecstatic," Ezra completed.

"And she kept the earrings."

"Of course. They were a gift after all, and not a contract for marriage. They were lovely baubles… shiny."

Buck turned his glare on Vin's wagon. "She went running to Tanner and they went on a picnic. A picnic, Ezra! You know what that means!"

"A strong possibility of food poisoning?"

"She's his girl now!" Buck cried. "After all my hard work."

"You'll get over it," Ezra assured, "the next time the coach comes into town and when you see the next pretty thing step down."

Buck nodded quietly, knowing that he was right.

He turned toward Ezra as the gambler rearranged his book. "What are you readin'?" he asked.

Standish picked up the book and looked at the title. "Just a geological study of this wonderful country."

"Light reading?"

Ezra smiled and settled his mug on the chair's arm. "I'm reading the portion about volcanoes. There are several in this fair land, some of which are still capable of eruption. It would be tremendous, wouldn't it? Their massive power would be something to behold."

"I think I've seen enough explosions for now," Buck responded.

"True," Ezra responded. "Quite true." His easy demeanor suddenly changed as he sat up in his chair, and fixed his hat on his head. "Mr. Wilmington, this has been a charming conversation, but I fear I must be going. Good afternoon, sir."

And without waiting for a response, Ezra was on his feet, the book tucked under his arm, and he scooted down the street, to disappear into Potter's store – just missing Josiah who suddenly emerged from the other side of town.

Ezra could sure move fast again.

"Buck!" Josiah said warmly, toting his tool box with him. "Are you ready for some good honest labor? This jail isn't going to build itself."

Buck laughed. "It's a good day for it."

Josiah paused and looked disappointed to find Buck alone on the chairs. His eyes fixed on the still-steaming mug that sat on the empty chair, and he frowned. "He's always slippin' the lead, isn't he," Sanchez grumbled.

Buck pressed himself to his feet. "Josiah," he said. "I'll be happy to help with the buildin', but first, I have to chase down a certain someone who's tryin' to avoid his part in it. If you'll excuse me."

Josiah smiled. "Don't hurt him, Buck. We need him capable of holding a hammer."

"I won't hurt him… much."

"Think you can find him? He's a wily character and knows all the secret ways through this town."

"I'll get him." And with a tip of his hat, Buck, the intrepid detective, was on the case.

THE END

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