Chapter 4

The storm that had raged outside had passed and the morning sun was shining. Kitty started to awake from her slumber. Slowly opening her eyes, she realized she had no idea where she was. Panic started to set it in. Her heartbeat increased and her breathing became shallow. Kitty sat up to get a better look at her surroundings. After doing so, she was confident she had no clue where she was or how she got there.

Hoping she was only having a dream, Kitty pinched herself. Pain. It was not a dream. It was a living nightmare. Kitty was in some cabin, and none of her friends, especially Matt, knew where she was. She had a feeling whoever brought her to the cabin would not let her go.

Kitty looked down and noticed she was still in her saloon dress from the night before. Her dress seemed to be in place. No buttons or lace was torn. Her hair also seemed to be in place. Considering the situation Kitty was in, she felt that was positive. That meant nobody tried to take advantage of her. At least that's what she hoped. If someone did try something, Kitty was positive she would know. Then again, she had no idea how she ended up in an old cabin.

The last thing she remembered was being extremely tired and going up to her room. She recalled being so exhausted that she did not even bother changing into her nightgown. All she wanted to do was climb into bed and go to sleep. Kitty knew she fell asleep immediately after she laid her head on her pillow.

There was a window next to the bed. Kitty was about to push the old, tattered material to the side, when the cabin door opened. Kitty quickly turned towards the door. A man she had never seen before was standing in the entrance.

"Well, look who's finally awake," said Louis. "Hey fellas! She's awake!" Hearing their brother yell, Jesse and Shawn returned to the cabin.

When Kitty saw Shawn, she was confused. Why was he involved? He seemed like a decent young man last night. "Shawn? What's going on here? Where am I? Who are you?" Kitty's questions came one after the other.

"You're in an old, abandoned cabin. Where? That don't matter. Who are we? I'm Louis Washburn. These are my brothers, Jesse and Shawn."

"Washburn?" Kitty questioned.

"We're sure the name sounds familiar," stated Jesse. "After all, you were the one that snitched information to your Marshal. That information hanged our brother, Artie."

Kitty recognized the last name immediately. "I'm not the one who shot and killed the bank teller in Garden City. Your brother did that. He got a fair trial."

"As far as we're concerned, Artie would still be here, if you weren't the Marshal's pretty little informer," said Shawn.

"So do you plan on killing me because your brother was hanged?" Kitty asked. She really did not want to die, but that might be a better alternative compared to what the Washburn brothers had planned.

"Nope," Louis answered. "We have you here to get revenge against the Marshal." Kitty raised her eyebrows and gave Louis a questioning look. "We believe yer more than the Marshal's informer. We believe yer also his girl. Before we left Dodge with you, we left a few notes. He's gonna see that yer missing and start to panic."

"Matt Dillon doesn't panic," said Kitty. "That's what makes him one of the best Marshals around."

"I disagree," said Louis. "Not knowing where you are, who has you, or what's happening ta you is gonna cause him anxiety."

"Is that your plan, to cause him anxiety?" asked Kitty.

"Part of it," Jesse responded. "We're gonna leave him clues around town that will lead him to you. If he solves the clues and gets here on time, we plan on killing him and taking you with us. If he doesn't get here on time, we leave the cabin and take you with us."

"I almost hope he doesn't find us in time," said Shawn. "It'd be nice ta have a sweet young thing like you with us."

"How long does Marshal Dillon have to find me?" asked Kitty. Kitty thought it would be best to call Matt, Marshal Dillon. She did not want to give any signs that she was very close to Matt.

"Three days," Louis replied. "We plan on leaving three clues. If he's not here by the end of the third day, we leave and there'll be no more clues."

Kitty almost wished that Matt would not make it to the cabin on the third day. She did not want the Washburn brothers to lead Matt to his death. If Matt came to the cabin after they left, he could easily follow their tracks. Kitty prayed that the Washburns did not consider that.

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"Boy that shore was some storm last night," said Chester as he adjusted his suspenders.

"Yeah," Matt agreed. "I bet the farmers are happy. We needed that rain. Things were getting really dry around here."

"I always sleep mighty fine during a thunderstorm," said Chester. "The sound of the pouring rain is like a lullaby. It darn there puts me right ta sleep."

"If yer ready, we can meet Doc at Delmonico's and get something ta eat," said Matt.

"Them are the greatest words in the English language," said Chester.

"Meet Doc at Delmonico's?" Matt teased.

"Awe , yer funnin' me," Chester laughed.

"Come on. Let's go," Matt chuckled.

As they were about to leave the jail, Chester saw the envelope on the floor. He picked up the envelope and read the front of it. "Mr. Dillon, this was on the floor by the door. It has yer name on it." He handed the envelope to Matt.

Matt took the envelope. "Do you remember seeing this last night?"

"No," said Chester, shaking his head.

"Neither do I." Matt took the envelope and tossed it on his desk.

"Don't ya want ta see what's inside?" asked Chester.

"If it were anything important, whoever brought it here would've made sure I got it," said Matt. "They wouldn't just shove it under the door. Let's get going. We don't want ta be late and make Doc mad."

"Ain't that fer shore," Chester agreed.

Matt and Chester walked into Delmonico's and saw Doc sitting at a table. "I was wondering if you two were ever gonna show up," he said.

"Oh, go take a pill," Chester shot back.

Before Doc could retort back, Matt intervened. "Let's go inside 'n get something ta eat. I don't smell any burnt eggs, so that's a good sign."

Delmonico's was busy. Matt, Chester, and Doc were fortunate to find a table. It was not unusual for Delmonico's to be busy during breakfast time. This time the reason for the busyness probably had to do with the fact that there was a new cook. The citizens of Dodge were always curious when a new cook arrived at Delmonico's. Some cooks were keepers. On the other hand, some cooks, if you could call them that, would have been better off steering far away from Delmonico's or any restaurant.

After seating themselves, Emmy Gould made her way to them, ready to take their orders. Emmy was new to Dodge. She was a single woman who had been working at Delmonico's for three weeks. Like any other single woman in Dodge, she needed a job to make a living.

"Good morning, Marshal, Doc Adams, Chester," Emmy warmly greeted.

"Hello. Hello. Good mornin'," the trio greeted Emmy at once.

"What can I get you?" she asked.

This time Matt, Chester and Doc took turns with their order. Doc went first. "Oh let's see. Bring me a bowl of mush."

"I don't know how ya can eat that stuff," Chester commented on Doc's order. "Miss Emmy, you can bring me a stack of flapjacks and a plate of bacon."

"And you wonder why you get indigestion so often," Doc remarked after hearing Chester's order.

Matt shook his head at the banter between Doc and Chester. "Emmy, I'll have four eggs, three pieces of rye toast, and a stack of ham."

"I'll get those orders out to ya as soon as I can," said Emmy.

After finishing their breakfast, Matt and Chester went back to the jail, and Doc rode out to the Marions. Mr. Marion cut his foot on a plow, and Doc was making house calls out there to make sure gangrene was not setting in.

Back at the jail, Matt sat down at his desk and picked up the envelope that was addressed to him. He pulled out a small knife from his desk drawer and used it to tear the envelope open. Once the envelope was opened, Matt pulled out the piece of paper that was inside. One minute Matt was reading the letter, and the next minute he was grabbing his hat off the hook and running out of the office. His actions confused Chester.

"Mr. Dillon!" Chester yelled. He looked at the piece of paper on the desk. Chester picked it up and read it. "Roses are red. Violets are blue. We have something that belongs to you. The little saloon girl with hair of red isn't asleep in her bed. Oh forevermore!" Grabbing the letter, Chester rushed over to the Long Branch.

Matt hurriedly pushed his way through the Long Branch doors and went straight to the staircase. He took the stairs two at a time. Before Matt barged into Kitty's room, he took a deep breath to calm himself down. If Kitty was in there, he did not want to scare her or invade her privacy. He knocked on her door and waited for a response. When he did not get one, Matt opened the door and walked inside. His stomach turned when he saw the empty bed.

Matt knew Kitty was in trouble. It was not a coincidence that she was not in her room and he received a letter saying she wasn't. While trying to assess the situation, Matt noticed an envelope on Kitty's pillow. He went over and grabbed it. Matt tore the edge of the envelope, being careful not to rip the paper inside. He pulled the paper out, unfolded it, and began to read.

Dear Marshal,

We figured you'd be the one to find this letter. We have your little informer. If you want her back, and we're sure you do, you have to solve 3 clues. You have 3 days to solve these clues. The third clue will lead you to her. After the third day, she's ours.

First Clue: I have an eye, but cannot see. There are different types of me.

TBC