Title: Mystery of the Oxbow
By: greygoose70
Summary: "Why are you being so god damn stubborn!" Castle yelled.
"Because I'm god damn good at it!" Kate yelled right back.
DISCLAIMER: Own nothing associated with the show, AWM, or ABC.
Chapter 5
Day 11
It was mid-morning when Castle and Kate saw them coming. It was basically the same group that had captured them the previous day. The leader, Gray Wolf, stepped in front of Castle, pulled a knife from his scabbard. Castle's recognized it as being his knife. Gray Wolf placed the knife at the rope that surrounded Castle's neck and cut it lose, he then did the same to the rope from Castle's wrist.
Castle and Beckett were led to a hutch where they were told they would live. As they entered Beckett gave Gray Wolf a smile, Castle gave him a not too friendly leer.
Later that day Castle and Beckett were seated in a large cavern. On one side of the room sat Two Bears, the Cheyenne Tribal Chief. Next to him, on his right, sat Gray Wolf, Chief of the Dogmen, to his left sat Yellow Bear, the Tribal Council leader. Two Bears was giving Castle and Beckett the history of the Cheyenne's journey following the raid by the white soldiers at Sand Creek, How Iron Wolf led them on a northern route until he discovered this valley where they have lived ever since. He told them of the hazards they faced, how they hunted for food, and his own personal experience with the white man when he was a young boy.
"Jacko," Castle whispered to Kate as Two Bears finished.
Castle and Beckett were then dismissed by Chief Two Bears so that he could hold his regular council meeting. Seems even Indian tribes had events that needed to be discussed.
For the remainder of the day Beckett mingled with some of the women while Castle went in search of Trip.
Later that evening Castle and Beckett were once again seated in the cavern along with the council members and a large constituency of the tribe. This time they were being asked about many of the things the tribes people had seen but didn't understand, the latest being about the big silver bird in the sky.
Beckett told them it was called an airplane, that it carried people from city to city, sometimes many miles away, even across huge water expanses. She then went on to tell them a man had walked on the moon. Someone in the crowd made a comment that brought a round of laughter, Beckett herself even chucked. "What'd she say?" Castle asked.
"She called me a wonderful liar," Beckett replied. Castle let out a snicker.
Once it had quieted down Chief Two Bears enquired about other Cheyenne tribes. Beckett's face went sorrowful. Castle seeing the look on Beckett's face asked, "What is it, Kate?"
"He asked about other Cheyene."
"What you going to tell him?"
"The truth." Beckett then stood and with a sadness in her voice explained the governments intervention, and not just to the Cheyenne, but other Indian tribes as well. How the tribes were placed on reservations, how the young were taught the 'white man's ways', even to the point where they were made to look more like them.
The faces of those in the room all took on saddened faces knowing that they were probably the last of their kind to still hold to the traditions and ways of their people.
After Beckett's explanation those that were present began to disperse and head for their homes. Castle and Beckett among them.
Back in Canmore that same evening Kevin Ryan was seated on a stool in Doc's Bar polishing off his first beer of the night. "Ready for another?" 'Doc' Carvey, the bars owner asked as he wandered over.
"Yeah, one more," Ryan replied.
"Something wrong?" Doc asked as he set another schooner of Coors down in front of the deputy.
"Not sure, Doc. Have you seen Castle in the past few days?"
"No. Not since he got back from tracking those convicts, which is a bit unusual since he is normally in here nightly. Why?"
"I was out by his place today. The place was all locked up and his horse trailer was gone as was his two horses and pack mule."
"Well, the last time I saw him was four or five days ago, he was going into the County Gazette building."
"Thanks, Doc. I'll swing by there in the morning and talk to Gladys."
Day 12
Deputy Ryan entered the Canmore County Gazette building, told Gladys "good morning", then enquired about Rick Castles visit from four days ago. Gladys explained to him how Castle asked for copies of the Gazette beginning from 1900 to the present, how he sat at a table and leafed through them, making occasional notes. "What do think he was looking for? Ryan asked.
"Names and dates, I think. I took a peek once and saw the name Terry Perkins, and the year 1956."
"Will you bring me the same volumes you gave him please," Ryan kindly asked.
Just as she had done for Castle, Gladys went to a back room and returned with the same four volumes and placed them on the table.
Ryan took a seat at the table and viewed them, they were labelled by the years they covered, the top one labelled, 1900 through 1920. He chose the second one, 1930 through 1950, pulled it out and started flipping through the pages until he came to the year 1956, where he began scanning each page. Then on the issue dated August 25th, 1956 he found it. Local man gone missing in the Oxbow. The article said that Terry Perkins, an adventurer, entered the Oxbow on June 3rd, 1956, on an exploratory mission, has not been heard from or seen since.
Ryan closed the tome and returned it to its proper place, then gave them back to Gradys. "What are you up to Castle," he muttered as he exited the building and headed out to perform his morning rounds.
The Cheyenne Village
That same morning Castle and Bekett were taken to the hutch of Gray Wolf, where they were introduced to Yellow Feather, his wife, and Spotted Elk, his son. Spotted Elk is sick, suffering from a wound he received during the gunfight with the convicts. Despite Gray Wolf's concerns, Beckett and Yellow Feather are able to convince him to allow Castle to sneak into Canmore to obtain penicillin. Finally agreeing Gray Wolf tells them he must first get approval from the tribal council. The council denies his request.
Late that night Gray Wolf sneaks into Castle and Beckett' hutch and leads them out to a remote area away from the village. He is going against the councils orders, and allowing Castle to get the medication his son needs.
Castle rides Lady hard so that by early morning he is sitting atop a hillside looking down on Canmore. Castle sneaks into the town utilizing backstreets and alleys to get to the rear entrance of The Medicine Shop, the local drugstore. After having to threaten old man Jarvis, the pharmacist, Castle was able to receive the penicillin he asked for, then made for the rear entrance, but the second he stepped outside he was greeted by deputy Ryan, who had his weapon drawn and pointed at him.
"Put your hands up Castle and step down here," Ryan shouted; "and don't try anything, I've already radioed for backup."
"What you go and do that for," castle replied stepping down until he was standing in front of the deputy.
Just then the rear door swung open and Jarvis came storming out yelling. Ryan momentarily diverted his attention to the pharmacist. Castle used that moment to snatch Ryan's gun out from his hand and slugging him. "Never take your eyes off a suspect," Castle said while disabling the weapon and tossing it aside, he then mounted his horse and took off in a dead run.
Ryan instantly got on his radio and put out an APB giving other deputies what direction Castle was headed. Ryan then went and retrieved his gun, reassembled it. hopped in his vehicle and took off after Castle.
Castle turned left on the first street he came to when exiting the alley. He heard tires squealing, so he looked back and saw a sheriffs car speeding toward him, he pulled his rifle from its boot. When the car caught up with him the deputy inside yelled for him to pull over. "No," Castle yelled, "you pull over!" Castle then swung his rifle, smashing it into the car windshield, shattering it, causing the driver to jerk the steering wheel right and crash into a parked car.
Castle spurred Lady on hoping to get out of town where he would have some open fields he could cross, but then a car turned onto the street. I was another car from the sheriff's fleet and it was headed right for him. Castle saw a passageway between two buildings and turned Lady into it. The passageway was too narrow for the sheriff vehicle to get through, so just maybe he could get some distance between himself and them.
Another left put him on First Street, the town limits just a hundred yards ahead, but damn there was another sheriff vehicle coming up behind him. This time it was Sheriff Blaine himself, so he spurred Lady again. The horse responded, began giving everything she had, and in seconds shot past the town limit sign, then across the highway where she jumped over a wire fence and sprinted across an open field heading for the Canmore River.
Sheriff Blaine who was in hot pursuit of Castle as he travelled down 1st Street shot across the highway, then drove straight through the wire fence, began churning up dirt from the field in hopes of catching Castle, however he had to come to a halt when he saw Castle enter the river. Blaine continued to watch Castle until he exited the river hoping to see where he might be headed. When he thought he had it figured out he got on the radio telling all that Castle was headed for the railroad river bridge, to block it.
Castle has kept Lady in a dead run along the path that parallel the railroad tracks, deputy Ryan in hot pursuit only 50 feet or less behind him. As Castle glanced ahead he saw where a standard type road block had been set up across the tracks. Sheriff Blaine was standing directly in the center, his weapon in his hand. Castle figured he had but one choice, and that was to head straight for Blaine, see if the Sheriff was actually going to shoot him.
Sheriff Blaine stood centered between the rails of the railroad tracks, watching as Castle rode toward the blockage. If he had to he would shoot him, but despite their differences, he knew that would be a decision hard for him to make.
With only a 100 feet to go Castle steered Lady between the rails and headed for the small gap in the road block, the same spot where Blaine stood.
Sheriff Blaine saw Castle direct his horse to where the large gray mare was speeding right toward him. What the hell is he doing he thought, but as man and horse got closer…he knew, so he dove to one side, then watched as the horse jumped through the gap and over the front end of the vehicles, then raced across the bridge.
End of Chapter