Lawman

Chapter 8

When he arrived back at the jail there was a small group of men standing outside the door. He pushed his way through, telling them to break it up and move on. They didn't make any attempt to stop him but didn't make any move towards leaving either. He ignored them for now.

Matt was surprised to find the young Jed Bowman still there.

"I heard how you handled those men in the Aces Wild, Marshal. Not many men could have done that. I think I'm going to stick around." Dillon smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Go and make sure all the rifles you have here are loaded. I'm hoping I can hold these man off - but just in case."

He went back to talk to Hamilton.

"If things get out of hand here tonight, I'm going to hold those men off as long as possible. That young deputy out there is going to help us - when I tell you, i want you to go with him and find a place to lay low for a few days. I want your promise again that you won't try to escape."

"Matt I don't want to be the principal guest at a lynching party, if it comes to that.."

"If it comes to that I'd understand, but the only good way out of this is to prove you are innocent and that's what I'm trying to do."

"My house, I could hide out there."

"No that won't be safe." Matt didn't want to start a long discussion, he didn't have time. "But what about Gina."

"I'll take care of Gina."

The noise outside the door was getting louder. He went to talk to Jed.

"Do you think you can get Hamilton out of here?"

"There is a back door leading to an alley - but surely they'll be watching."

Matt paced the floor for a minute or two.

"Maybe I can get their attention and clear the way for you. Is there anywhere you can go and hide out for a day or so?"

The boy thought.

"There's an old grist mill by the river - we used to play there as kids. The creek where it stands dried up and the mill hasn't been used for years. Its all overgrown but i know how to get inside."

"You'll have to go by foot, I can't risk bringing horses back here, it would attract too much attention."

Matt looked through the window at the gathering crowd of men outside the jail, someone had got them riled to the point that it was going to be difficult to talk them down.

"Wait here Jed, I'm going to see if they have anyone posted out back. Carefully he opened the back door and looked outside. There were only two men that he could see. He opened the door and walked deliberately towards the woodpile, pretending not to notice them. As he bent down to get an armful of stove wood the men approached. He waited till they were close enough then used the butt of his pistol to put one man on the ground, then grabbed the other one by an arm which he twisted up his back.

"Don't make a noise and you won't be hurt. Pick up your friend and come inside." He waived the colt peacemaker in the direction he wanted the man to move, and made him walk ahead. He told Jed to tie and gag the unconscious man and put him in the remaining cell. Then he took the one that was still walking in side the office and threw him in the chair recently vacated by the young deputy.

"Tell me who's organizing all this," he questioned as he stood back, gun still at the ready.

"No-one," the man replied hesitantly.

Matt stepped closer and slapped a quick backhand across his face.

"I don't have time for this, tell me or you wont be able to stand on your feet for a few days." The man reconsidered the threat and decided that he owed no allegiance to anybody.

"A man called Johnny Halstead."

"Look around that curtain at the crowd and tell me which one he is."

"Oh he's not there right now, I saw him ride out of town earlier." That piece of information he was happy to give, you couldn't hurt someone who wasn't here.

There were at least 20 men out there now, Matt knew he could take three or four down if the fight started, but he couldn't hope to win.

He picked up one of the rifles and headed out the door. There was a lot of jeering and yelling to greet him as he stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

One of the men stepped forward, he was older than the average cowboy in the crowd.

"We ain't got no grudge against you Marshal we just want that low down murderer in there."

"How do you know he's guilty. Who's the Judge and Jury here?"

"Its pretty obvious - he was the only one who knew about the money."

"That isn't enough to prove his guilt."

A general roar erupted from the crowd, and Dillon raised his hands to silence them.

"Hamilton wants to talk to his wife before anything happens, can you at least grant him that?"

The men talked among themselves, maybe they could allow that.

"I'm going to send this young Deputy to fetch her if that's alright with you."

Again there was some discussion.

"We'll give him ten minutes with her."

Matt went back inside and instructed Jed to leave by the front door of the office and head in the general direction of Hamilton's house. As soon as he was out of sight he should circle back. Matt would be waiting with the prisoner by the back door. Maybe he could give them enough time to get clear. They were to wait at the mill till he came and no one, not even Gina, must know where they were. He would come to get them within forty eight hours - he still had things to do around town.

The plan worked well and when Jed Bowman showed up at the back door Matt was waiting with his friend Doug Hamilton. He wished them well and reminded Doug of his promise.

Almost exactly ten minutes later the crowd outside began to grow restless again. The man who Matt had knocked out behind the jail was still asleep in the spare cell. He took the other man back to join him and locked them both inside. The crowd was banging on the front door of the jail by now and he knew it wouldn't hold them back much longer.

"We are coming in now Marshal," one man called.

He went outside and faced them, pulling himself up to his full height so he towered over most of them. It was a useful advantage he had learned years ago.

"Listen men, I'm telling you, its time for you all to go home before you do something you might regret. Let the law handle this." He stood looking at them, apparently relaxed but he held a winchester rifle in his hands and was ready to use it if he had to. At least that is what he wanted these men to think, he would probably just fire over their heads if it became necessary.

The crowd quietened for a minute, talking among themselves. Then the man who seemed to have been appointed spokesman stepped forward, encouraged by the others.

"We're coming in Marshal, you best get out of the way."

Matt stood aside, there wasn't anyway he could stop this many determined men. He really didn't want to start a gunfight. These men weren't bad people, they were just being used to further someone else's end and killing any of them wouldn't help Doug's case. Hopefully Hamilton and the young deputy were far enough away by now. He needed to go visit Gina and tell her what had happened, of course he had no intention of telling her where her husband was hiding out.

As he walked away from the jail he heard a roar from the men as they discovered that their prey had left. He thought they might come after him, but maybe cooler heads prevailed because gradually the noise faded away and when he turned to look back along the street towards the jail, the crowd was much less and small groups of three and four where breaking off from the main gathering and walking away.

xxx

After visiting Gina and assuring her that her husband was safe, at least for now, he made his way back to the hotel. Somehow Gina was troubling him. Admittedly she gave the appearance of being a loving caring wife, but even so why had she delivered the newly cleaned boots and freshly laundered shirt to the jail so soon after he had found the distinctive boot prints and the shirt button. Was it just coincidence? He put it aside, he needed some sleep. Already it was the early hours of the morning and he would have a lot to do tomorrow. Doc should be arriving on the afternoon stage and they would have an unpleasant task to perform.

Xxx

Elton Etheridge was concerned that this Marshal out of Dodge City would upset the smooth running of his town, yes, his town. He owned several businesses here, including the bank and the feed and grain store. He also owned a considerable interest in the Aces Wild Saloon, especially the back room gambling parlor. The income from these gave him a particularly affluent lifestyle that he would do anything to hang on to.

That young cowboy, Johnny Halstead, had done a good job of implicating Hamilton and getting the town turned against him. Of course twenty five hundred dollars was a lot of money and a good incentive, but to Etheridge it was worth it. The gambling at the Aces Wild Saloon could bring him more than that on a good Friday night. Unfortunately there was a woman involved somewhere in the deal and he knew that could lead to trouble.

Now this Marshal and his Doctor friend wanted to exhume the body of Dirk Williams, the bounty hunter. What could they hope to find now, six days after the burial?

TBC