Gunsmoke and Spies 17
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The next morning, as soon as Amanda was released from the hospital, Lee drove them back to the Boot Hill Museum. Helping her out of the car, he paused for a minute and took her hand. "Amanda," he stopped, not sure how to say just how happy he was that she was alright and there with him. He didn't like to admit, even to himself, about how much she had come to mean to him. "I, uh… well, I'm glad you're alright." He finished lamely.
"Thank you," she smiled happily up at him. "Me too." Impulsively grabbing his hand she began heading for the entrance. "Now let's go. I didn't really get a chance to see this place, when we were here before, because we were following the bald man. I want to see that dress of Kitty's again and Doc's buggy and maybe they have something of Festus'."
Lee just shook his head with a grin as he followed her inside and bought them two tickets to the museum, show and, this time, the dinner as well. Taking her hand, Lee led them back down the hall to begin the tour that had started the whole thing a few days before.
As they once again walked among the tombstones, Amanda studied the names on each one, a little closer than the last time. She wasn't sure why but somehow she expected to see names she knew. There were none though and oddly, she felt rather happy about that. She hated the thought of Matt or Kitty or Doc or any of the others being dead, even though logic told her they would have to be. It was, after all, over 100 years since they had walked the streets of Dodge City.
As they finally left the cemetery grounds and headed towards the stairs, they heard their names being called. Turning, they saw Matt Dillon, walking towards them. Amanda smiled broadly when she saw him, realizing just how much he looked like his grandfather. "Mr. Dillon!" She exclaimed reaching out a hand for him as he approached.
Matt took her hand happily and then extended the same to Lee. "I heard you two were going to take another tour of the place and I was kinda hoping I could tag along."
"Oh that would be wonderful!" Amanda smiled broadly.
"Yeah, it sure would," Lee agreed. "Maybe you can give us some inside stories."
"Never can tell," Matt answered enigmatically.
Once they reached the buildings lining the replica of Front Street, they entered each store front and really looked at all of the artifacts and pieces.
Matt, as it turned out, was an excellent tour guide, knowing the back stories to many of the items on display. "See that little doll over there?" He pointed to a small china doll, dressed in blue satin with a matching bonnet and reticule. "That doll belonged to a little girl named Mary Baines. My grandmother had it made for her cause it matched her own outfit. At one time, Grandma was going to adopt Mary but… well; she ended up not doing so. But she did look out after Mary in every way she could."
"Why didn't she adopt her?" Amanda asked looking at the delicate features of the doll and imagining the little girl that had held her.
"Long story, that one." Matt answered. "Lots of reasons. Grandpa and Doc Adams didn't want her to and society definitely had a problem with a saloon owner raising a child by herself. You see, it was before she married Grandpa. I'm sure there were other, more personal reasons too, but the end result was, Mary was given to a widow woman outside of town who raised her."
Amanda looked down, saddened at what her friend Kitty must've gone through when she had to give the child up.
"Anyway," Matt shrugged, "that is, as we say, that. Come on, I have more to show you."
Following Matt, Lee and Amanda found themselves caught up in the ambiance of the place and the many, many items that swept them both back to the Dodge City that was, a hundred years before. Of course for Amanda, it was sort of like coming back to a place she knew, even if Lee didn't believe her and it was illogical.
"See that thing?" Matt pointed at what looked like a toy horse made out of a log and scrap wood with long ears, one of which stood to attention, and with rockers on the bottom of the piece. "That was made by Festus Hagen. He was a hill man that used to work as my grandpa's deputy as well as a dozen other odd jobs around town. He made that for a set of triplets that were born here in town and adopted by the Roniger family. Their descendants still live around here. Festus called it a 'Rockin' Mule."
Amanda smiled remembering the man and the odd way he had of speaking and squinting one eye. She had liked him.
In another shop, Matt pointed at a crude weapon made out of pipe and string and wood. "Newly O'Brien made that and gave it to my grandmother to defend herself with, when she and he were being held by the Manez gang." He shook his head with a smile. "After Grandpa and Festus rescued them, Grandma gave it back to Newly and told him to keep it because Festus shot a hole in her ceiling at the Long Branch with it. He didn't believe it'd work, see. He was wrong."
Newly. Amanda thought of the quiet, brown eyed young man that was so concerned about not only Kitty but her, a stranger, as well. She had liked him too.
Wending their way through more buildings and sights, Matt finally led them back to the building that housed Kitty's dress and Matt's gun.
For some reason, that Colt handgun, fascinated Lee. Though not too different from many others he'd seen from that era, this one was more somehow. He almost felt as though he'd held it at one time or something, as strange as that seemed.
"Lee, look." Amanda gasped.
"At what?" Lee still had his eye on the Colt handgun that seemed so familiar to him.
"Look at the dress, Lee." Amanda insistently pointed at the clothing displayed in the window.
"What about it?" Lee finally took his eyes off the gun and glanced at the orange satin dress with the hole in the shoulder.
"Do you see that hole?" Amanda's voice had dropped to a whisper. "It wasn't there when we were here last week, Lee. That dress didn't have any holes in it at all. But it does now and that hole is in the shoulder Kitty was shot in."
Lee's eyes narrowed as he took a step closer to the glass surrounding the dress. The hole was ragged and slightly colored a dark brown around the edges. "Well, maybe they had rats or something." Lee shrugged. He barely remembered the dress from their last visit and had no idea if it had a hole in it or not.
"No, Lee, it wasn't rats. That's the dress Kitty was wearing when Hayworth shot her." Amanda insisted.
"Well, I don't remember the name of the man who did it," Matt spoke up beside her, "but you're right about where the hole came from. My grandmother and a friend of hers were kidnapped once by some gun runners. Grandma was shot in the shoulder when she tried to escape. That brown stain around the edges is her blood."
Though a little taken aback by that, Lee stubbornly refused to believe what Amanda was saying. It didn't make sense, and wasn't possible. "You must've just read that somewhere, Amanda."
Amanda shook her head, not even bothering to argue. She knew it'd do no good. Instead she walked around the room, looking at the others items shown. Sam's vest was still in its same spot and she smiled, remembering the tall, mustachioed, friendly man that had worn it.
Looking around at posted pictures of the town and some of its citizens as well as some of their belongings, she almost missed it.
In one small case off to the side, were several small books. Two diaries, a ledger from the Long Branch and one from Mr. Jonas' store. He'd been another nice man, she reflected. There was also a bible or two.
Then she saw it, lying flat and opened to a page close to the middle. It was an address book, obviously from the 1800's. Getting as close as she could through the glass protecting it, her heart raced when she read the names and addresses on the page.
There on the right hand side, at the top of the page, written in bold yet feminine handwriting was, 'Amanda & Lee, 4247 Maplewood Drive, Arlington VA.'
"Oh my gosh!" Amanda exclaimed. "Lee, Lee! Look!" She pointed to the address book with both happiness and wonder on her face.
Lee, who had returned to his study of the handgun, walked up beside her and looked down at the entry in the book. For several seconds he said nothing. He couldn't think of anything to say. Surely that couldn't be. Looking over at Matt, he jerked a thumb at the book. "Wh…who did that belong to?" He asked in a quiet voice, his mouth suddenly dry.
"That was my grandmother's." Matt smiled genially at him and Amanda. "It was her own personal address book. She kept the names and addresses of people around the country, that she liked to keep in touch with, in there."
Lee took another glance at the book then over at the "I told you so" look on Amanda's face. "But… but that's not possible." Lee swallowed hard. "Is it?"
Matt grinned and shrugged. "You never can tell, by golly. You never can tell."
The End
Author's note: I have referenced several Gunsmoke episodes in this chapter, and if you are ever so inclined to watch them, you won't be disappointed. The list of episodes is at the bottom.
Gunsmoke episodes referenced are: Baker's Dozen 1967, The Foundling 1974, The Pillagers 1967