Chapter 5 Telling Friends

Dodge City, Kansas (Train Depot)

Newly had been sitting at the jail. Any Dodge citizen that was in need of medical assistance, the law, or a gunsmith knew that Newly O'Brian was at the jail. The townsfolk were very fortunate that Newly was a man of many talents. He was quite an asset to Dodge City. Luckily for Newly the citizens of Dodge did not wear him thin while Kitty, Doc, and Festus had been gone.

Newly picked up the telegram that Kitty had sent several days ago and read it again. He had read it multiple times. Each time Newly read the telegram, he could not stop the smile from spreading across his face. It simply read that Matt had been found, they were heading back on tomorrow's train, and they would be back on the eleventh. Today was the eleventh. Today was the day Festus, Doc, Kitty, and Matt would be returning to Dodge.

As Newly sat at the desk, staring at the telegram, he wondered if Matt had gotten Les Dean. The telegram did not say anything about Les Dean. Then again, Newly really did not expect it to say anything about Les Dean. After all, the telegram came from Kitty, not Matt. Kitty would not put any type of information about Les Dean in her telegram. Newly would have to wait for Matt to return to find out what happened to Les Dean.

It was in the middle of the afternoon when Newly heard the distant sound of the train whistle. He had been reading the newspaper that he picked up from the Dodge House. Newly folded the newspaper and placed it on the table. He grabbed his hat, put it on, left the jail, and walked to the train depot.

When Newly arrived at the train depot, the train was just pulling in. Once the train came to a complete stop, the passengers began to alight the train. Newly patiently waited for his friends to get off the train. After several minutes, Newly finally spotted Kitty, Matt, Doc, and Festus. It was such a relief to see all four of them, especially the Marshal. Newly made his way over to them to greet them.

"Welcome home, Marshal," said Newly as he took Matt's hand and firmly shook it.

"Thank you, Newly," said Matt. "It's good to be home."

Newly noticed that Les Dean was not with the group. That did not surprise Newly. Matt went after the man several weeks ago. Newly highly doubted Matt would bring Les back to Dodge after several weeks had passed. Still, Newly was curious and decided to ask Matt what happened to Les Dean.

"Were you able to get Dean?" Newly asked Matt.

Matt took a deep breath before he answered. "No, I wasn't. It's a long story that I really don't want to share here. It's a story that needs to be shared in private."

"Enough said," Newly replied.

"Is there anyone in jail?" Matt asked Newly.

"Nope," said Newly, shaking his head.

"Kitty, do you think the four of us could meet at the Long Branch after closing hours?" asked Matt.

"Four of us?" Newly questioned.

"You, me, Kitty, Doc, and Sam," Matt responded. "Festus, I figured you wouldn't mind staying at the jail."

"Not at all, Matthew," said Festus.

"Kitty? The Long Branch? I can't think of any place else," said Matt.

"That's fine," answered Kitty. "I'll make sure Sam sticks around after closing."

Dodge City (Long Branch)

Later that night, after the Long Branch closed, Matt, Kitty, Newly, and Sam sat around a table in the dimly lit saloon. Kitty did have a couple of girls staying in rooms upstairs. Matt didn't want them to hear anything. That was a reason why they were not sitting around their usual table near the stairs. Instead they sat around a table that was furthest away from the staircase.

"Newly and Sam, what I'm about to say needs to stay among us. Festus already knows the story. So do Doc and Kitty," said Matt. "Can I trust two of you not to say anything?"

"Of course, you can trust me. I won't say a word," Sam promised.

"Same here," said Newly.

After Newly and Sam promised to keep what was about to be said a secret, Matt began his story. Even though Kitty and Doc already heard the story, Matt still wanted them there. He wanted Kitty there for her support. He wanted Doc there in case Sam or Newly had medical related questions about Matt's amnesia, questions Matt or Kitty may not be able to answer.

"As you know, I went after Les Dean for shooting Evans Vincent here in the Long Branch. That man was very elusive. He took me all the way to the Arizona territory. I had gone that far and I wasn't about to give up. I knew I was closing in on him. Les also knew I was closing in on him and that I wasn't going to back off until I had him in custody. I was in the Arizona territory, when the next thing I knew, I heard a gunshot. The bullet grazed side of my head, knocking me off Buck. The shot dazed me, but didn't knock me out. I could see my pistol and tried to crawl to get it. The last thing I can remember was Les Dean coming up to me and hitting me with the stock of his long gun. I'm not sure how long I had been laying there. The next thing I knew I was waking up in a bed in a small cabin. That apparently was two days later. I had quite the headache."

"That was no doubt from the bullet wound and being bashed in the head with Les Dean's gun," said Doc. "I reckon it was the bash to the head that was more responsible for your memory loss."

Newly looked at Matt. "Memory loss?"

"I'm getting to that part. When I woke up, the only other person in the cabin was someone named Mike Yardner. When she asked me who I was, I had no idea. I didn't know who I was or where I was from. My mind was completely blank. Mike told me my horse came running up to her trough. She could see the horse wasn't a wild one, that it previously had a rider. So she mounted her own horse, took her dog, and back tracked the direction that Buck came from. She found me, got me onto her horse, and brought me back to her cabin. I was shocked she was able to get me on a horse. But she told me I was able to somewhat help her. I don't remember any of that."

Sam and Newly were confused. The Marshal told them that a person named Mike had found him in the desert, but then he kept saying she and her. Did the cabin belong to Mike Yardner or some woman? Not wanting to be rude, but needing answers, Sam spoke up.

"Beggin' your pardon, Marshal. "But I'm confused about who took care of you. Was it this Mike Yardner person or a woman?" he asked.

"That's the biggest reason I'm sharing this story in private with the two of you," Matt replied. "Mike Yardner was a woman. She told me that her pa wanted a boy, but she ended up being a girl. Her pa wanted to name her Mike. Her ma wanted to name her Peggy. Her pa won, and she ended up with the name, Mike." Matt saw the looks on Sam and Newly's faces. He knew what they were more than likely thinking. He decided it would be best to answer any unspoken questions. "Yes, Mike was a woman, but nothing intimate happened between us. I may not have known who I was, but something told me not to get involved with her. Besides, I didn't feel anything romantic for her. I was grateful she took care of me, but that's it."

Both Sam and Newly believed that no romance or intimacy of any kind took place between the Marshal and Mike Yardner. They were one hundred percent sure that he wouldn't do something like that to Kitty. Sam and Newly also knew Matt Dillon was not a man that was accustomed to lying. He was an honest and truthful man.

"You had no idea who you were," Sam stated. "But wouldn't your Marshal's badge at least let you and Mike know you were a Marshal?"

"I didn't have any form of identification on me," Matt replied. "Les must've taken all that would've identified me."

"Besides the memory loss, did you have any other injuries?" Newly asked.

Doc and Kitty looked at Matt and waited for his answer. As far as they knew, Matt's head injury was the only injury he suffered. He never mentioned any other injuries. They were both eager to hear Matt's answer.

"I had a badly injured ankle," Matt answered. "I must've hurt it when I fell off Buck, after I was shot. I didn't even know I hurt my ankle, until Mike told me it was badly swollen. I told her I had inconvenienced her enough and was about to get up and leave. That's when she told me."

"You never said anything about your ankle being injured," said Kitty.

"I didn't think it was necessary," Matt responded. "By the time you found me, it was better."

"I wish you would've said something to me," said Doc. "I would've examined it back in Arizona. I still can examine it."

"It's fine Doc. It wasn't broken," said Matt.

Matt finished telling Sam and Newly about his time in the Arizona territory with a woman named Mike Yardner. While Matt was sharing his story, both men would take quick glances at Kitty. They were trying to gauge her reaction. The entire time Kitty kept her hand on top of Matt's. It was as though she was giving him her strength and support.

Most of the townsfolk really didn't question Matt's absence. Those that did were told that Matt had a head injury that clouded his memory. When asked where Matt had been the last few weeks, they were simply told that Matt was being taken care of on a ranch in the Arizona territory. People left it at that, except for Burke. He liked to start gossip and rumors. Burke was doing just that in front of the Dodge House.

"How do we know the Marshal really lost his memory?" asked Burke. "As far as we know, maybe he made that up. Maybe he was hoping that he wouldn't be found. Who knows? He could've decided he was tired of being the Marshal and wanted to start a different life. He's been the Marshal for twenty years."

Festus happened to be among the small crowd in front of the Dodge House. He did not like what Burke was saying. He was quickly going to put an end to it. "Burke, if yer thinkin' that Matthew would lie about him being swimmy heady and want to disappear from Dodge, then you ain't got a brain in yer head. Matthew would never quit being Marshal and leave Dodge without tellin' anyone, especially me, or Doc, or Mizz Kitty. And if you go a telling people that, I'm gonna be all over you like ugly on an ape."

Burke knew Festus meant business, and he wasn't about to mess with him. Things seemed to settle down in Dodge.

TBC