Jim stopped his horse and pulled out the map Colonel Richmond had given him. As he consulted the map he glanced around checking for landmarks. His eye caught a spot near the cliff where it looked like a scuffle had taken place. Jim dismounted and walked over to the edge and looked down.

He could see where something had fallen over the cliff. Kneeling down he examined a tuft of something that was snagged on a small bush. Animal fur…well at least it wasn't Artie, Jim thought as he tossed the fur aside and wiped his hands. Deciding it must have been animals fighting over the territory, Jim mounded Blackjack and continued his journey to Yakima.

WWWWWWWWWW

People seated in the restaurant's window stopped eating and turned to stare. Those out on the street stopped in mid stride. The Sheriff stopped his work hanging the newest wanted posters outside his office to look when he heard what sounded like a stage. It was too early for the stage that usually meant trouble of some kind. He put his hammer down and turned to look.

An opulent private carriage pulled to a stop in front of the Sheriff's office. The driver jumped down and quickly moved toward the door. Opening it he reached inside and pulled out a small step ladder and placed it on the ground.

Holding the door open the driver motioned to the person inside. As the townsfolk looked on, a rather dapper dressed gentleman stepped down. His flowing black cape immaculate, setting off the light brown suit he wore with matching felt top hat. The man's fluid and quick movement left nothing to wonder about. This was a man of authority, a man used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. The man walked up to the door of the office and entered the Sheriff close on his heels.

"May I help you, sir?" The Sheriff asked as he moved to stand behind his desk.

"If you are the Sheriff in this town then yes, I believe you can be of service to me." Richmond replied as he took a seat across from the Sheriff and, removing his hat he placed it on his crossed legs.

"Yes, sir, I am the Sheriff…name's Marc Jameson." The Sheriff took his seat and moved some papers to the side of his desk. "What may I help you with Mr. …" Jameson looked at him expectantly.

"Richmond…James Richmond. What you can help me with is directing me to any land that might be available for purchase." Richmond noted Jameson's abrupt double take but didn't let on.

"You want to purchase land in this area? Don't get me wrong, sir, but we don't often get men of your…caliber around here. Will you be wanting to farm, raise livestock or are you just looking for a small parcel?" The man studied the Sheriff as he carefully chose his words before speaking.

"I have done my homework, Sheriff. This land has a lot of promise. I see this area becoming a seat of commerce and I want to be a part of it." Richmond stared at Jameson. "I'd like to start small maybe 1000 acres for livestock and see where things go from there." Richmond tried to hide his smile at the Sheriff's reaction.

"A thousand acres for livestock is a tall order."

"Everything I do is big. As I said I've done my homework. I know what the area can handle and I know what the area is capable of. I would like to take a room at the hotel until I can finalize things and set up my operations."

"Oh we have a fine hotel just down the street…the best accommodations around."

"What can you tell me about the citizens here? I'd like to talk to them if I might, to get a feel for what they'd like to see this town become." Richmond watched Jameson weigh his answer.

"Talk to them…everyone around these parts is pretty friendly. And I think you'll find that most of them have pretty solid ideas about this town."

"Thank you, Sheriff. I will do just that after I get settled at the hotel."

"It is pretty late you might want to get an early start tomorrow. These are hard working people…they tend to go to bed early around here." Richmond nodded.

Rising and heading for the door Richmond turned just as he opened it. "If this town is as quiet and well maintained as it appears I think this will turn out to be very lucrative for us all." Richmond put his hat on and left leaving Jameson staring after him, wondering what that last comment was supposed to mean.

WWWWWWWWWW

Artie groaned as he started to regain consciousness. He opened one eye and looked ahead at… the ground? He had been thrown over a saddle and was being jostled along a rough trail. It was not yet dawn, still fairly dark and hard to see but Artie could just make out a small white patch on the horse's flank. He concentrated on the odd almost star shaped design to keep from crying out in pain. His body felt like he had just taken a tumble down a mountainside. Very funny, Artemus, keep it up and maybe you'll laugh yourself to death. Artie wondered why he was being transported in this manner and was about to speak up when one of the riders spoke first.

"Think he'll come to before we get him to the doctor's place?"

"If he knew what was good for him he wouldn't. But layin down like he is he won't be able ta see us when we dump him."

"You think the boss meant what he said, Jeff?" The man sounded scared.

"The boss always means what he says. Now let's dump him on the porch and head outta here. People are liable ta start wakin up soon."

The horses came to a stop and the two men dismounted. Walking over to Artie they grabbed him and roughly pulled him from the horse. Artie couldn't hold back the moan and the men froze, looking at each other. Jeff nodded toward the doctor's porch and they half carried half dragged Artie to the porch and dropped him in a heap in front of the door. Jeff pulled his pistol from his holster and gripped the barrel tight. Artie turned his head and opened his eyes just in time to see the handle of the pistol connect with his head sending him into darkness.

WWWWWWWWWW

Jeremy sighed as he surveyed the street. He had checked every establishment in town including the ones Artie wouldn't normally frequent in a disguise like the old fur trapper. No one seemed to remember seeing him and that had Jeremy worried. He checked his pocket watch and sighed. Almost time for the town to rise and shine, Jeremy thought as he pulled on his mule's reins and made his way to the livery stable.

WWWWWWWWWW

Jim pulled Blackjack to a halt in front of the Sheriff's Office, swung a leg over his horse and stepped down. He knew it was early in the day but he wanted to stop and check in with the Sheriff first thing. He banged on the door and waited as he heard rustling sounds inside. A man with tussled hair quickly tucking his shirt tail in opened the door and admitted Jim.

"Something I can do for you, Mister?"

"Are you the Sheriff?" Jim asked as he extended his ID.

"Yes, sir." Jameson handed the ID back and hastily ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry bout my appearance…" He began only to have Jim cut him off.

"No need to apologize, Sheriff. I just wanted to talk to you first thing and didn't stop at the livery stable yet." The Sheriff waved him to the chair in front of the desk and asked if he wanted a cup of coffee. Jim nodded and the room was silent save the noise the Sheriff made. Handing Jim a cup of coffee, Jameson then moved to sit at his desk.

"What can I do for you, Mr. West?"

"Sheriff, I'm here on official business. We got word there is a plot to stop the telegraph from going through to Seattle. I am here to look into the allegations." Jim studied Jameson hoping he wasn't spilling the beans to the wrong person.

"Don't take this wrong but the government sent ONE man? I know something's going on but I've not been able to get a handle on it." Jameson shook his head not giving Jim any insight as to whether or not he was involved in the mess.

"I assure you I can do the job." Jim replied sternly. "But I should be joined later." Jameson seemed to be taking the conversation in stride.

The two men talked for better than an hour and when Jim rose to leave he was still no closer to figuring the Sheriff out. Either he's in on it and he's one of the best actors I've ever met or he really doesn't know what is going on in his town, Jim thought as he headed out of the office.

WWWWWWWWWW

Jeremy surveyed the town and looked again for any signs Artemus might have been there. He had asked all over town the day before and so far no one had seen him. This wasn't like Artemus. Jeremy was about to head toward the far end of town near the doctor's home/office when he spotted the sharply dressed man exiting the hotel. The man stepped out of the hotel and stretched, taking in his surroundings.

He didn't seem to notice Jeremy as he nodded and tipped his hat to a passing couple. Over at the Sheriff's office Jim had closed the door and was about to step down onto the street when he looked over toward the hotel the Sheriff had directed him to. He started and his foot slipped off the boardwalk, causing a couple of young ladies to giggle. Jim grabbed his horse's reins and hurried across the street.

"Howdy, sir…Richmond's the name. James Richmond. I want to talk to some of the residents around here. How about we go get some breakfast and chat a bit?" Richmond vigorously shook Jim's hand and Jim tried not to stare open mouthed.

"Uh…" Jim stammered. "I'm new in town myself but I'd very much like to talk to you." Jim moved to walk beside Richmond as they made their way toward the restaurant.

Jeremy took in the scene before him a shocked look on his face. He decided on a new direction and quickly smoothed his hair and straightened out his clothing before making his way toward the agents.

WWWWWWWWWW

The doctor pulled the curtain that covered the window beside the door to one side and looked out. He knew he had heard something when he was walking past the door. He again heard what he thought were moans. Looking down he spotted the man in a crumpled heap on the porch. Calling to his wife who served as his nurse, the doctor quickly pulled the door open and rushed out.

Kneeling beside the man he checked his injuries. The nurse appeared and they carried the man into the house and to the examination room. The doctor began issuing orders to his nurse as he began to take stock of Artie's injuries.

"Hannah, he's a real mess…bring me the instrument tray." The doctor's wife hurried to comply.

The doctor picked up a pair of long Lister scissors usually used for cutting bandages and began to cut away the cloth surrounding the still oozing gash in his right leg. He pulled the lamp closer as he examined the wounds. As he examined the wound he pulled several strands of dark coarse hair from the wound and noticed several more on the man's clothing.

"Put this in a Petri dish, I want to look at it later." Hannah took the hairs and placed them in a dish. Artie stirred when the doctor began to probe the gash on his leg. He tried to pull his leg away.

"Mister, you need to lie still. You're pretty badly injured and I need to get a good look at you." Seeing the fear in Artie's eyes the doctor looked at him reassuringly, "It's all right, I'm a doctor. My name is Jones…Edward Jones and my nurse is Hannah, she's my wife.

Artie tried to stay conscious as he looked around the room. The room seemed to have all the proper accoutrements of a doctor's office. Artie lay back against the cool examination table and sighed. If these people had any part of those men he had seen earlier he was in no shape to try and fight his way out. He let out a yelp when the doctor pushed on his leg wound.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I've got to fully examine you. Do you remember what happened to you?" The doctor asked as he continued his examination.

"I was headed to Yakima. I remember seeing something coming at me and fighting with it…" Artie decided to keep the details to a minimum until he knew more about these people.

"You do seem to have been in quite a tussle." The doctor commented.

"I don't remember much after that until I woke up here."

The doctor carefully cleaned the wound and applied a salve. He bandaged it and Artie relaxed a little. Next Jones moved up to Artie's ribs. Jones lifted an eyebrow curious at the scars he found. Knowing they were not typical scars an old fur trader would accumulate, he chose to keep silent for the time being. He probed Artie's chest area and Artie hissed.

"How many?" Artie asked with a sigh.

"Excuse me?" Jonas asked quizzically.

"How many ribs did I break this time?" Jones continued his examination before answering.

"I would say at least three maybe more. Can you move your left arm at all for me?" Jones said as he began to remove Artie's worn jacket.

"I…can't…" Artie almost growled.

"Don't get worked up, you need to stay calm. I didn't expect you could move that arm. I need to look at it but from what I've seen so far I'd say it's dislocated." Artie rolled his eyes and groaned.

Between Jones and Hannah they were able to remove Artie's jacket and suspenders. Hannah looked on as the doctor unbuttoned his patient's shirt and began to pull it off. Hannah examined the articles of clothing and decided that with a little sewing and a lot of soap she could probably salvage them. She left the room to begin cleaning the clothing and Jones went back to examining his patient.

"Doctor, when can I get out of here? I need to find..." Jones gave Artie a quick double take…where had this younger voice come from?

"Sir, I've not finished my exam yet but I would say not for several days at least." Artie tried to rise and the doctor gently pushed him back.

"You need to lie still please." Edward admonished him as he tried to continue his examination.

"You don't understand." Artie tried to plead his case.

"I understand you have a strong desire to leave here, sir. But you have to understand that won't happen for some time. Now lie still and let me finish." Jones rebuked as he reached for Artie's left shoulder.

"Ouch! You don't need to be so rough."

"Sorry sir, but I'll have to get a bit rougher I'm afraid. That shoulder has to be put back in place. This is going to hurt a little…" Jones grasped Artie's shoulder in one hand and his forearm in the other.

"Just tell me when you're..." Artie began.

The doctor knew if he gave his patient a warning his mind would manufacture more pain than he needed right now. Jones tightened his grip on Artie and quickly yanked his forearm down and forward. He smiled as he heard bones snapping back into place. Artie's eyes grew wide at the sudden jolt of pain and he collapsed back onto the table unconscious.

"Now maybe I can continue my examination without interruption." Jones commented to himself as he reached for a sling to hold the arm in place.

Continuing his exam the doctor discovered multiple bruises, cuts and abrasions, all of which he carefully cleaned and then he bandaged the worst ones. Jones shook his head wondering what had happened to this man. He reached for the old man's face to clean some cuts and rolled the man's face to the side. Pulling the light closer to the examination table, Edward gently began to swab a cut on Artie's cheek with iodine. As he swabbed a particularly nasty cut the iodine slid down Artie's cheek forming a pool when it reached his beard.

Jones paused and looked curiously at the pool of liquid. As he reached to lift the light his wife appeared and picked up the lamp. Turning back to his work Edward carefully examined his patient's beard and became even more confused. The beard did not appear to be real. His wife gasped and Jones turned to look at her.

"Until he can explain this I think we need to keep this to ourselves, Hannah." Jones expression told his wife all she needed to know and she nodded her ascent.

"Did you wash his clothes? Maybe there is something in them that might tell us who he is."

"No dear, I put them by the basin but I thought you might need my help. I was planning on washing them later." Hannah looked apologetic.

"You did a good thing, dear. We can go through his pockets later."

Jones quickly completed his exam and treated the man's many wounds. They gently transferred him to one of the beds Jones had available for patients he needed to keep a close eye on. Who was this man and why was he wearing a disguise? And how had he gotten all those other scars? Jones found he had far more questions than answers but he knew he would have to wait until the man woke before he had any hopes of getting the answers he wanted.

"Hannah, until this man comes to and we can talk to him I don't think we should tell anyone he's here." Hannah looked at her husband surprised.

"But Ed, what if he's a criminal?" Hannah asked cautiously.

"In his condition he'll not be doing us any harm. But something about him tells me he's no criminal. We'll just have to wait." He sighed and pulled on the blankets and covered his patient up.

WWWWWWWWWW