The Rescue 7

I do want to thank all of you who have been so kind to me. I admit to being human and occasionally throwing a temper tantrum as I did on my last story. For that I apologize. Thank you for reading that and this and your many kind comments.

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Matt and Festus crouched low behind the heavy shrubbery on the north side of the road. The stage should be coming anytime now and they were both ready. Or at least as ready as they could be. Neither one had ever held up a stage in their lives, but they were going to do so today.

Matt took another glance at the tree, he and Festus had cut down and dragged across the road. It was positioned so that the stage would have to stop or else go down into the gully on south side of the road, as there was no open space on the north side.

Atop the stage, the driver, Bill Dudley, an older man with a dozen years under his belt as a driver, was moving the carriage at a fairly fast clip down the rough and rutted road at the direction of the deputy beside him. He normally took this stretch of road at a slower pace. But Corey Aimsler had made it clear he was in charge of things and would not tolerate anything less than top speed.

As they once again hit a particularly rough spot in the road, the driver looked over at the stern countenance of the man beside him. "This road's really rough, deputy." He shouted to be heard. "Ain't safe to be moving this fast. We hit something, even something small, and it could wreck us sure."

"You just do as I tell ya." Aimsler yelled back. "I'm in charge of getting that murderer, back there, to Hays by tonight. And I'm gonna do it, if I have to drive this thing myself."

Looking into the gray eyes and scowling expression of his seatmate, Dudley had no doubts he would do it. Turning back to his team, he snapped the reins forcefully and called, "Haw!"

Aimsler nodded with a grunt, satisfied that Bill Dudley knew who was really in charge of the stage. He didn't know that the first rough jolt had created a small crack in the singletree which was about to trump his authority.

Inside the coach, Kitty was doing her best to stay upright and in the seat, but she failed more times than she succeeded. With her hands cuffed behind her, she was unable to hold on to anything or even put her hands out to brace herself. The first time the stage jolted her, she was able to place her feet on the seat opposite and keep her place, but she hadn't been so lucky the second time.

The second deep rut, tossed both the coach and the passenger briefly into the air, bringing them back down with a thud. Kitty, unable to control her movement, fell hard against the back of the seat and then forward, landing on the floor with a painful crunch, where she stayed.

"Matthew," Festus exclaimed in alarm as the stage came into view. "Ain't he a goin' a mite fast?"

Matt watched in horror as the stage barreled down the road towards the barrier he and Festus had created. He knew as fast as it was going, it'd never be able to stop in time. "Festus, we've got to get that tree out of the way." He yelled as he dropped his rifle and ran out into the road.

Festus followed suit and together, the two men managed to get the obstruction out of the way just as the stage came barreling past.

But it was already too late.

The small crack in the singletree had grown with each successive jolt and by the time the stage passed Matt and Festus, it was almost all the way through the thick board. As the coach hit one more rut, it broke in two, freeing the horses from their burden and sending the coach into a free fall down into the gulch on the south of the road, where it tumbled over and over, finally coming to a halt near the bottom.

"Kitty!" Matt yelled as he raced down the gully towards the coach, praying she had survived the crash.

Bill the driver, seeing what was about to happen, had jumped from the coach just before it went over and was lying on the side of the road. Festus ran over to him, hoping to find him unhurt, but kneeling beside him, he realized that hope was futile. Upon landing, Bill had hit his head on a rock and now his sightless eyes were staring blankly at nothing.

Festus gently closed his eyes and headed towards where the mortal remains of Corey Aimsler rested. But his fate was no better. He lay on his back with a broken neck. Festus knew he was dead before he even reached the body.

Down in the ravine, he saw Matt had reached the stage and climbed on top, looking down into the coach.

"Festus, see if he's got any keys on him?" Matt called up, when he saw the chains and cuffs on Kitty.

Quickly, Festus searched the dead man's pockets and found the keys in his vest. Pulling them free, he hurried down the gulch to the stage and tossed the keys up to Matt, who promptly climbed down into the coach.

"Kitty?" He called her name as he knelt down beside her. Quickly as he could, he removed the chains and then turned her to the side and unlocked the cuffs. Her wrists and legs were severely bruised and abraded from the shackles and she had a gash on her forehead but she was breathing.

"Matt?" Her eyes fluttered open to see his concerned face in front of her and she thought she'd never seen a more beautiful sight.

"I'm here, honey." He smiled. "Me and Festus are going to get you out of here. You think you can get up?"

Kitty took stock of her condition for a second and then nodded. "I think so." She answered.

"Good." Gently, Matt placed his hands around her waist, lifting her up to Festus who pulled her on top of the stage to sit and wait until Matt could climb out. Once he was out, he jumped to the ground and pulled Kitty down into his arms and stood her on her feet. "Think you can walk?" He asked.

Kitty nodded but didn't move. "You need to get out of here, Matt." She looked up at him sadly. "When this stage doesn't show up in town, they'll come looking for it. You didn't cause it, but you'll be accused of it."

Matt shook his head. "As far as everyone knows, I rode south yesterday morning and Festus rode east."

But Kitty shook her head. "No, Matt, they'll still blame you. You have to go. Please. Don't do this. I'll tell them what happened when they arrive but no one will know you two were here. Matt, you have to do what's right."

Matt looked down at her and his heart broke at what she was willing to do for him. She was willing to wait for the hangman to keep him safe. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her close. "That's what I'm doing, Kitty." He told her. "I'm doing what's right."

When Festus jumped down from the coach, he and Matt, together, brought Kitty up to the road. "What we gonna do now, Matthew?" Festus asked.

Matt looked around at the area and then back down at Kitty, who was still holding tightly to him. "We cover over two dead men and then we ride."

TBC