Kitty wired Hannah the offer to sell half of the Long Branch, and got a quick, affirmative response with a hefty advance payment. Clearly Hannah knew that the only reason Kitty was selling was to get fast cash. Hannah also promised to send half of the month's profits, although Kitty well knew that after paying salaries, supplies and repairs there was sometimes no profit or a very small one.

At the end of the month Kitty went to the post office and picked up the documents that finalized the sale of half of the Long Branch along with the balance of the payment that Hannah owed.

Kitty was glad to get the money because she and Iris were still working through Carl's debts. They had been paying off the men who seemed the most threatening first, while making partial payments to some others. Kitty had felt terrible for Iris when several people who Iris had once considered to be her friends started asking to be repaid. Iris hadn't realized how many of her friends Carl had borrowed money from, and now knew why person after person had started giving her the cold shoulder.

The thought of it make Kitty furious. Because of Carl, Iris had lost her possessions, home, friends, even much of her clothing and Kitty feared, her sense of self worth.

Kitty's thoughts went to another pressing aspect of reaching the end of the month. The stark fact was that the bank was just days from taking over Iris's house. They had not been able to rent a place. Most reputable landowners wouldn't rent to a woman. Kitty had new address to try. She only hoped that this would work.

She hired a carriage, gave the driver the address. Once they arrived she told the driver to pick her up in 20 minutes. It was in a part of town that was not considered unsafe but maybe was somewhat questionable. Kitty rang the doorbell. A tall, stout, hard looking woman answered.

Kitty looked up – "Are you Mrs. Prince, the woman who has an apartment for rent?"

The woman scowled, "I'm Mrs. Prince, and I suppose you want a place to entertain in, do you? We are not that kind of establishment."

Kitty was surprised, "Not at all. I am looking for a place for me and my cousin."

"And I suppose your so called cousin happens to be a man, right?"

Kitty was trying to keep her temper under control and answered evenly, "No, my cousin is a woman who was recently widowed. She has a child and another one on the way."

Mrs. Prince shook her head, "You mean a noisy brat and another noisy brat on the way?"

Kitty kept her temper. It occurred to her that Matt would be proud of her self control at this moment. "Not all children are noisy, Mrs. Prince. Perhaps you'd like to show me the apartment. I'm willing to pay 3 months in advance."

Mrs. Prince looked pleasant for the first time and nodded. She took Kitty up 2 flights of stairs to a small sparsely furnished apartment. There was a small sitting room with an ugly couch and a tiny table, a kitchen, and two tiny bedrooms each with a bed and small dresser. The bedrooms barely had room for a person walk around to the other side of the bed.

Kitty sighed knowing it would have to do. She signed the rental agreement and paid 3 months rent. When she went back downstairs. the carriage was waiting for her.

Kitty returned to Iris's house to find Iris and Davy sitting on the floor of the now empty house with a few suitcases packed. Kitty plastered on a smile.

"Come on you two. We are going to our new home let's go."

In Dodge

Matt was re-reading the most recent letter he had gotten from Kitty. The letters were fewer and less detailed than they had been. He understood the necessity of the Long Branch deal with Hannah, and knew how hard it must have been for Kitty to come to that decision. This letter also said that she and Iris were moving to a new place and that she would let him know the address as soon as possible.

Matt was sitting in his office thinking – "I miss Kitty so much. I have to admit it also gets more difficult, as time goes on, for me to find satisfaction in this job when Kitty isn't here. As Doc well knows my leg and back give me more pain than I like to admit. Funny, when I think of Dodge 10 or 12 years ago, never mind when I first arrived, I don't know if I would be able to handle a town and territory like that now. Yes, we have our cattle drives, hold ups and problems but things are sure a lot more civilized than they were in the past. Even so I know it's harder for me to do the job, even though the job has gotten easier in some ways. What I also know is that what I really want to do is spend time with Kitty and see her happy. I worked hard to rehabilitate my right arm to get this job back, and I'm glad I did, but now I'm not so sure I want to keep doing it. My urge to protect, make things safe for decent folks and see the destructive, criminal element get put away has always been so strong and it is still is, but the drive that pushes me to do it is diminishing."

With that Matt made a decision with the surety that went with most decisions he had made in his life. It was a letter to the War Department that started with:

I, Matthew Dillon, am resigning my position as Marshal of Kansas territory, out of Dodge City, effective September 21…

That date was about 3 months away, and would mean Matt Dillon would have served as Marshal for 20 full years. The best Marshal the country had ever seen.