Chapter 2

Hearing the gunfire, Matt took off to where it was coming from. He turned the corner and saw Dirk Smythe shooting his gun off into the air. Smythe was hooting and hollering while shooting his gun.

"Yeehaw!" Bang! Bang! Smythe continued shooting into the air.

"Smythe!" Matt shouted, getting Dirk's attention. Dirk stopped shooting as Matt walked up to him, holding out his hand to Dirk. "Give me the gun."

Dirk handed his gun over to Matt. "What's the matter, Marshal?"

"What's the matter?" Matt repeated. "You're drunk and disorderly. The way yer shootin' around, yer bound to kill someone. I should lock you up right now."

"I'm afraid yer wrong, Marshal," said Dirk. "I ain't drunk. I ain't had no beer or whiskey yet. Ya can't lock me up for being drunk, if I ain't drunk."

"Well, I can lock you up for disturbing the peace," Matt pointed out.

"Aw Marshal," Dirk whined. "Do ya have ta lock me up? I ain't gonna cause no more problems. Ya have my gun."

Matt took a deep breath and shook his head. "I have a feeling I'm gonna regret this. Alright, you can go, but if you are the cause of any problems, you'll spend more than one night in jail. Consider this your warning. I'm keeping your gun. You can get that tomorrow."

"Thanks, Marshal," said Dirk as head off towards the Bulls Head.

Matt was sitting in his office completing his reports for Washington. He would have finished it earlier, had it not been for Dirk Smythe's shenanigans. Matt hadn't even taken a look at the wanted circulars. That would have to wait until tomorrow.

Paperwork. Matt dreaded it. He wasn't too handy with words and Washington always wanted thorough reports. Matt always makes sure that all t's and i's are crossed and dotted. Nope, Matt was not a man of words. He was a man of action. His belief has only been that actions speak louder than words. Kitty could testify to that.

Kitty learned early on that words were not Matt's forte. Matt loved Kitty, and he told her that every so often in their own private times. But he was better at showing her that he loved her. At first Matt was afraid that his lack of words would cause him to lose Kitty. He feared that she would meet some other guy who would tell her things that she wanted to hear. However, Kitty reassured him that he had nothing to worry about. His actions spoke louder than words.

The same was true when it came to Ruby. Matt told his daughter that he loved her and how special she was to him. But he was able to show his love for her with hugs and kisses, and the time he spent with her. Ruby had no complaints. She adored her daddy as much as he adored her.

Thinking of his girls made Matt more eager to get home. He looked at the clock for the third time in the last ten minutes. It was a quarter past five o'clock. Festus and Newly were at Delmonico's eating supper. After they returned, Matt would head for home. That was usually around a half past five o'clock.

Matt did not want Newly and Festus to rush through their meals. He was grateful that he had Newly and Festus working for him. They worked hard for him. Therefore, Matt wanted them to enjoy their meals.

Dirk Smythe stumbled out of the Bulls Head. He was not drunk when he entered the Bulls Head a couple hours ago, but the same could not be said now. He was heading in the direction of the Oasis, no doubt for more alcohol. In Dirk's path was Blane Ackerly and his wife Darla.

Blane and Darla Ackerly had been living in Dodge City for the last ten months. They moved from St. Louis to Dodge City. When asked why they made the move, their response was city life was too hectic and chaotic. Blane and Darla wanted a more quiet way of life. They had some land north of Jake Wirth's property. The Ackerly's were a kind and respectful young couple. Blane and Darla stepped out of Jonas' store. They were loading their wagon with goods from Jonas' store.

Seeing Blane Ackeky, Dirk, whose mind was clouded with booze, decided to call out Blane. Drunken Dirk put his hand inside coat as if he was reaching for a gun.

"Hey Ackerly!" Dirk yelled. Blane turned towards Dirk's shouts. "Draw!"

Dirk started to pull his hand out of his coat. Blane, fearful for his life and his wife's, drew his gun and fired. Dirk went down, grabbing his left shoulder. He was withering in pain. A crowd had gathered around.

Matt heard the gunfire. He put on his Stetson and quickly left his office. When he stepped outside, he was surprised to see Blane Ackerly with his gun drawn. Blane wore a gun, but he rarely, if ever used it. He saw Dirk on the ground, and could only imagine what had taken place.

"Hold it!" Matt exclaimed as he came upon the scene. "Blane, drop your gun."

Blane followed Matt's instructions. "Marshal, don't shoot. I ain't gonna shoot no more."

"What happened?" Matt asked.

"He shot me," Dirk cried out. "I ain't even wearing a gun 'n he shot me."

Darla's eyes widened. Her husband just shot an unarmed man. There were laws against that.

"Somethin' tells me there's more to the story than what yer saying," said Matt. "A couple of you men get Dirk over to Doc's office." Matt turned his attention to Blane. "What happened?"

"Marshal, I had no idea he was unarmed. He shouted my name 'n told me ta draw. He had his hand in his coat. I thought he was going for his gun," Blane explained. "I was afraid for my wife and myself."

"That's what happened," said Darla, confirming her husband's story. "Do ya have ta take him ta jail?"

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have ta," Matt replied.

"It's okay, Darla." Blane tried to reassure his wife. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Before Matt took Blane to jail, he took note of the bystanders. He believed Blane's story, but wanted to have witnesses to validate it. He would speak to those witnesses at a later time. Matt allowed Blane to help Darla onto the wagon, and then led him off to jail.

"Momma, when is daddy gonna be home?" Ruby asked for the fourth time in the last half hour.

"I'm not sure, honey," Kitty answered for the fourth time. "But I'm sure he'll be home as soon as he can."

"I wish daddy could send us a telegram to the house. That way he could tell us he was going ta be late," said Ruby.

"That would be hard for him to do. We don't have a telegraph office at our house." Kitty pointed out.

"We can build one," said Ruby.

"That wouldn't work either," said Kitty. "We don't have the equipment and it costs too much. Plus, I don't know how to take messages from a telegraph machine. Anyway, let's start eating supper, and if daddy comes home while we're eating, he can join us."

Ruby wanted her daddy to eat with them, but agreed with her momma. "Okay."

Supper was eaten and dishes were clean. Matt still wasn't home, but Kitty was not going to let herself worry. She knew if anything had happened to him, Festus or Newly would have come out to the house to let her know. To Kitty, no Festus or Newly showing up was a good thing.

TBC