Winter's Refuge
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Note:
Preacher's backstory is told in "The Making of a Preacher" in FanFiction and Archive of Our Own.
HEYES
A soul crushing wave of despair swept the room. Their feelings of exhilaration at newfound freedom morphed to apprehension about their loved ones. I felt it as an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Since I've been out of prison, my feelings are close to the surface. I can't easily control them as I'd learned to do after that last day in a big loving family in Kansas. Now I looked around the room seeing the ex-hostages' shock, desperation, and tears. Seeing Sophie's tears, as she held a crying Deidre, forced tears from my own eyes, too.
The Kid was still standing in the doorway with his arms crossed as if made from stone. If my emotions had been forced to the surface, his had become buried deeper and more under control. He lets them out around Chrissy and his kids, and around me. Today he's not letting anything show in his face or his body language.
Colin didn't have much else to say except that Loveland had taken the list of rescued hostages and telegraphed it to the governor's office. The US Marshals office would come to the cabin when their loved ones had been identified. And that was it. Walking haltingly over to the kitchen, he held onto the back of chairs and leaned on a bookcase to steady himself. He was pale and his steps became clumsy. And he started to collapse. The Kid had been watching him, too, and was there to catch him. He eased him onto a bench at the kitchen table. No one else moved to help him; he had been the bearer of bad news.
Rushing over to help Colin sit up, I held him upright as the Kid found the laudanum and measured out a dose. Like he was a child, the Kid lifted him in his arms. "Clear the couch," he said to no one and everyone in the room.
Deidre, tears still running down her cheeks, took charge. "Off the couch, Mr. Sletten, Glen. Arnie run and get a pillow and blanket from the bedroom."
Colin slept deep. I don't know what dosage the Kid gave him, but he fell into a deep sleep. He kept talking, apologizing, and mumbling about the war in a low-pitched monologue.
ASJ*****ASJ
Little Johnny has taken to Mike Loveland. Well, Mike always has a piece of candy ready for all the kids…and sometimes adults. I smile at them as my mind works on a quandary of my own. Emery…I know that name. It dances on the tip of my tongue but stays elusive. I need to ask the Kid if he knows an Emery. It's an unusual name but I know I've heard it before. My mind won't let it go.
JED 'KID' CURRY
The expectant joy in this small cabin has gone. It's replaced by an ominous cloud of waitin'. Sophie tries to be cheery, but I can see the worry in her eyes. Her husband works for the central Colorado main telegraph office. And he's trained their son to take over for him.
"Oh, Mr. Curry, I'm prayin' it's not so but my husband, Clay, and our son, Phil, are at the least in trouble with the law and at worst…well, at worst, they're dead. There's really no ideal outcome to hope for here," she said as she mixed cake batter furiously in a bowl.
I wanted to tell her that the governor had told me they would only spend a night in jail, have a quick trial, and be free on probation. But I wasn't allowed to…because it might not be true for all of them. If they had done more than cooperate when forced or been involved in the robberies themselves, then the consequences would be different.
"I'm not much at prayin' but a friend just told me to open my heart when I'm prayin' and I'd be heard. Pray they're alive." I told her, stickin' my finger into the batter and enjoyin' the stolen taste of the sweet mixture.
She slapped my hand and even managed a small laugh. "Keep your finger out of there!" Then she looked at me seriously. "All we can do is wait…and hope…and pray."
The day passed slowly. Deidre gave everyone chores and Pappy did his best to keep spirits up with stories of his army days. The only positive thing was Mrs. Dent. She started to wash the kitchen floor without bein' asked, then swatted Arnie on the rear end when he stepped on her clean floor with dirty shoes.
"Mr. Weber, I don't know what your mother taught you, but you keep your muddy shoes off my just mopped floor. You're just like my Lloyd," she said, then realized where she was and looked around. Memories of her life, before and durin' captivity came back to her all at once. I saw her eyes grow big, then fill with tears. "Oh, dear. Oh dear!"
Sophie realized what was happenin' and hurried to her. "Janice, dear, just cry it out. You deserve a good cry." She pulled her down on the kitchen bench next to her.
I didn't know what to do. Female tears at any age, I can't deal with. I want to hurry and make things right. But I can't help here so I slip out the door. Arnie followed me.
"What happened in there, Mr. Curry?" he asked, puzzled. "I ain't never seen Mrs. Dent talk before except to scream 'no' when Mark or MG 'gave' her to one of his men. Usually she stayed with Matt for days, if you know what I mean."
"I think she did what she could to find a painless place in her mind and stayed there. What happened to her should never happen to any woman. And today she remembered everything that occurred."
Arnie looked around then spoke quietly. "Mr. Curry, I think what happened to Mrs. Dent happened to every woman here, except Miss Sophia. Even Amelia. Pappy tried to fight back one day and that's how his back got crippled."
I nodded. I didn't want to think about this reality. I wish Aiden were here to help this group, especially the woman, physically and mentally. Now, I was relyin' on Miss Sophie to know what to do.
Me and Arnie found Heyes in the barn muckin' out the stalls. With one look, I knew he had heard what went on in the house.
ASJ*****ASJ
Mike had taken Amelia, Emery, and Marcel for a hike up in back of the cabin. And Little Johnny had gone along ridin' on his shoulders. Deidre had asked them to see if they could find any autumn olives - Mike called them autumn berries - to bake a pie. As they wandered off together, Mike was pointin' at everything and sayin' the name, like "fence," and "barn" and "wagon." Amelia and Marcel were repeatin' the words after him. Amelia kept Emery by her and just as they went out of sight climbin' a hill, I heard him say, "Melia." I wondered who would be more tired when they came back, the children or Mike.
Colin woke up slowly. I was bringin' some wood I had cut into the cabin when I noticed his eyes were open, watchin' me. As he slept on the couch in the great room, Miss Sophie kept the others relatively quiet so as not to disturb him. Well, all except Mr. Sletten. He planted himself in a chair by the fire and was readin' a book he found in the cabin. He helped only when asked and complained about everything.
When Colin saw I knew he was awake, he started to sit up slowly. To me, he looked weak, pale, and lost. I sat next to him.
"How you feelin'?"
Still tryin' to wake up, he looked at me for a moment. "Pain's less. Head's spinning."
"Well, you haven't ate much for two days. Let's get some food in you and you'll feel even better."
He leaned closer to me. "Everyone hates me here," he said softly. "They had to be told." Then a look of urgency crossed his face. "I need to find the outhouse…now."
LOM
True to his word, Preacher met us when we got off the train in Idaho. I think maybe he hitched a ride in the freight cars on the same train, but I'd never ask him in front of Susan. We hadn't told anybody, except my temporary deputies, Nat and Junior Bickson, that we was going out of town. I even lied to them and said we had been secretly married three months earlier and now I was finally well enough to go on a honeymoon to Denver. I asked them not to tell anyone but knew the whole town would know by noon. That suited our plans just fine.
As we entered the simple two-story train station in Pocatello, Preacher asked us to wait while he went to the telegraph office. He came back not with a telegram, but a man as tall and skinny as he was.
"Lom, this is a friend of mine and a friend of my father's, too. Reverend Lucas Ross."
I held out my hand, but the man simply said, "Follow me. Everything's prepared."
Susan grabbed my arm tighter, and we walked quickly to keep up with this mysterious man. I thought about what Preacher had said, "And a friend of my father's." I'd never heard him speak about his family before, never even knew his real name, although the Kid sometimes called him "J".
The Reverend was older but stood straight and had looked me straight in the eyes when he spoke to me. I wasn't wearing my badge. Preacher not so delicately had told me it would scare away the people we wanted to help us.
We entered the back door of an old wooden church. I'd seen the wooden cross on the roof as we approached. The altar was decorated with two vases of wildflowers, whose smell brightened the simple small interior. It was pretty and bright and quaint. Susan loosened her grasp of my arm and twirled around. "It's perfect! And so thoughtful of someone to decorate it with flowers!"
"Well, let's get to it," Ross said. "Josiah, you going to do the ceremony? You remember how, son?"
"Some things you never forget, Reverend Lucas." Preacher answered. " Lom, Miss Susan, would you stand with me before the altar? Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"
I don't remember much of the ceremony, just the radiant look of joy on my Susan's face. And now she is truly my Susan. When we were finished, we moved to a small room behind the altar and Reverend Ross took out some paperwork. He looked at me saying, "Josiah did tell you there was a fee for the services today?"
"Yes." I handed him the envelope with the three hundred dollars Preacher had me prepare before we left. The man counted every bill out onto the table.
"Exact. Perfect. Sign here, Mr. Trevors. And Mrs. Trevors, sign under his name."
I glanced at the paper before I signed. The wedding date was three months and two days earlier than today. I could tell Susan noticed that too by the smile she gave me. Preacher signed it as Josiah James Justice. When I looked at him, he said, "One of many names my family used growing up."
"Thank you, Reverend Ross." I held out my hand. The return handshake was weak and the hand soft. This man had not known hard work in his life. He left quickly.
"Thank you, Preacher. I owe you one," I told him. "Susan and me are taking the train to Denver tonight, but can I pay for a hotel room for you?" He hadn't asked for anything from me, no money, no favors.
"No, think I'm going head for Arizona. My father preached there for a while when I was a boy. Have a few good memories."
Susan had walked across the street to admire a hat in the mercantile window.
"You're a lucky man, Lom. Take care of your family."
"I intend to." I handed him a second envelope I had gotten ready before we left. "Funny how things work out. Never thought I'd have a family."
He looked in the envelope and smiled. "God works in mysterious ways. Cherish them. I lost mine." Then he looked at the envelope in his hand. "Promise I won't drink it all in one place. I think you should find your wife and buy her that hat she's looking at."
I turned to look at my Susan. When I turned back, Preacher, Josiah James Justice, was gone.
With my new wife, her new feathered hat and our altered date marriage license in hand, I boarded the train to Denver and our honeymoon.
HEYES
Dinner was strained with Colin at the table. Miss Sophie kept up a flow of conversation, asking the children what new words they had learned. Little Johnny insisted on sitting on Mike's lap and Mike didn't mind that at all. Emery sat close to me on the long bench, almost leaning against me. He's more alert than he was and I'm glad he feels safe with me. But there is something nagging me about the name Emery. I think I have it but the thought slips further away when I try to grab it. The Kid said he don't know anyone named Emery, but I know there is something about that name. When I'm alone on watch tonight, I try to think about it.
The Kid took first watch and I'll relieve him in four hours. Mike will take the third watch. He said he's used to getting up before dawn to be sure the newspaper gets printed and out. I'd seen Colin carefully add Mrs. Dent's husband' name, Lloyd, to the list. They were from Carbon County, Wyoming. He owned a small waystation and telegraph office. And it was along the Union Pacific rail line.
Miss Sophie and Miss Deidre had made two pies of the wild autumn berries Mike and the children had brought. The berries were small, round, and red with a sweet tart taste. It was apparent from the juice on their faces that everyone had eaten many of them before they got back to the cabin.
JED 'KID' CURRY
After my watch, I slept up in the loft. It was crowded but there was room. Mike was asleep and I smiled to see Little Johnny asleep next to him, arms and legs flung everywhere. Michael sleeps that way often. I can't sleep, but I lie quiet. I don't think Colin is sleepin' much either. He was awake when I came up here to wake up Heyes. Tomorrow's going to be a difficult day as he expects the marshals to return with news of some of the loved ones.
ASJ****ASJ
Janice Dent baked a sweet bread with the autumn berries for our breakfast. She's not afraid of the men here although she keeps her distance from Hauser Sletten. Takin' Mrs. Roberts for a long walk, I heard her whisperin' to her. Didn't help much. Mrs. Roberts sat in the corner, alone until Miss Sophie told her to go make the bed in the bedroom and dust the room. She did exactly as told and no more. Janice warned all the men not to go near her or try to talk to her. Later, she told me to give her a wide berth. That she was afraid mostly of me and Heyes…and our guns. Mike don't wear a gun although he has one on a top shelf in the barn. We did as she asked and stayed away from Mrs. Roberts.
HEYES
Everyone keeps looking down the road, wanting the marshals to come and yet not wanting to know the fate of their loved ones. Deidre had told me, "Until someone tells me otherwise, they're all alive and fine. I can't function with all the possible what ifs. These people have become my family."
Me and Colin went on the berry search with Mike and the kids after breakfast. Colin walks haltingly using a tree branch as a crutch. But he doesn't complain and seems to enjoy being out of the cabin. When Mike said a word and pointed, Colin repeated the word in French. I tried to listen carefully to the pretty words but right now just thinking in plain old English is all I can handle. Mike pointed out twinberry honeysuckle. Colin actually gave a small smile. He shrugged his shoulders, saying "Twinberry Honeysuckle." Turning to Mike and I he added, "That's not something I learned to say in French."
Mike gave a small laugh. "Well, tell them it's poisonous and not to touch it."
Colin translated. I never knew it had a name, just knew it was poisonous, just like baneberry. We found the trees with the autumn berries, and we all stuffed ourselves, even Emery. In my dream last night, I saw the name written out. Maybe I saw it on a wanted poster? Or maybe there was another prisoner in the Wyoming Territorial Prison with that as a last name? No, I had definitely seen it in writing.
We sat under a tree and Amelia and Marcel sat in front of Colin. I don't know what they were saying but I could tell they were asking questions. Colin was answering them. Emery and Little Johnny invented some sort of running game on the grass nearby. Only they knew the rules and would laugh together widely. But they tired and Emery laid his head in my lap. Little Johnny looked for the protection and comfort of Mike's welcoming arms.
We returned with two baskets of berries after noon. It was still quiet. No marshals had arrived. And none arrived for the rest of the day. No one spoke about it, but the tension increased during this day without a word. And sleep was hard to come by for all except the smallest children.
JED 'KID' CURRY
Soon after breakfast, I heard Amelia call from the front yard. "Cheval! Cheval! Horse!"
Me and Heyes were makin' a smoother path to the outhouse. We looked at each other. I couldn't read the expression in his eyes but knew they matched mine. This needs to be resolved, but I had come to like these people, even lazy Sletten. Some of them would get news today. I hoped it wasn't too bad.
Colin met the marshals on the porch and all of us were gathered around him. They had brought a string of horses with them that Arnie and Mike took from them.
"Let me, Mr. Heyes, and Mr. Curry talk with the marshals first," Colin asked. A path was made for the marshals to get through. Miss Sophie followed me in. "Just to put some fresh coffee on the stove," she said.
When she was gone, we sat around the table, me and Heyes, Colin, and the two marshals in the lone bedroom. It was the only private place in the small cabin. Colin took a deep breath and his 'official' persona fell over his shoulders. He took charge of the meetin'.
"Thank you for coming. I have determined the name and whereabout of Janice Dent's husband. And the child Marcel's last name is Boulanger. All he knows is he lives in the house next to the church behind the train station. We know from other sources that he is from Evanstown on the Wyoming/Utah border. His pepe, or grandfather, is the reverend and his uncle runs the window and telegraph at the train station. His parents have passed." Colin gave the marshals a copy of the revised list. "Now what have you found?"
The marshals showed no emotion. They were doin' another job and these names weren't people to them. They were more to me and Heyes…and Colin. "We have found out about the relatives for Glen Chinelli, Sergeant Major Allan Allyn' and Hauser Sletten. How do you want to handle this, Mr. Apperson?" the marshal asked Colin.
Colin picked up the paperwork the marshals had laid on the table. We were quiet as he read each page. "We'll - Mr. Curry, Mr. Heyes, and I - will meet with each of them separately. Please get something to eat from Miss Sophie, rest in the barn, take care of your horses, and I will call you when we are finished and give you your instructions."
"Yes, sir."
Colin reviewed some of the paperwork as the men left. There were hard messages to deliver here and he knew it. So did we. Colin reread the papers slowly, deliberately. He seemed to be looking for something specific. He gave a surprised, "Oh" but I didn't have the time to ask him why. I didn't see any way but to deliver the news straight out. "Let's start with Pappy?" It was a question rather than an order. Colin looked tired but not defeated.
HEYES
Colin asked the Kid to call Pappy in first. The man's walk was army confident. When he entered, Colin stood so we did, too.
"Sergeant Major Alan P Allen, retired," said Pappy. He held out his hand in a formal handshake to Colin.
Colin shook it and smiled. He turned to us. "Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet a real hero, Colonel Alan P Allen, Sr, active duty. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have known what Mark McWinters was doing. Sit down, sir."
Pappy smiled a wide grin. "So, your marshals found out. I was wondering if they would. How's my son?"
Me and the Kid looked at each other confused, not really understanding what was going on here. Thankfully, Colin sat back in his chair and explained.
"We knew that there had to be some way that the McWinters Gang, and later MG's remnants of it, knew when big money or gold were on trains or in banks. First, we thought they paid off railroad workers at the stations. But those people didn't really know when shipments were moving…but telegraph operators often do. A necessity for their job is confidentiality. Still, we started looking into them after the gang got some big hauls. Mark was smart. He seldom used the ones in the town they were hitting unless it was a bank. We still think he had a contact higher up with the telegraph, maybe a manager or a supervisor but we haven't found them. The army agreed to help us, but we found nothing until one night we got lucky." Colin looked at Pappy to see if he wanted to continue the story but was waved to continue. "Colonel..."
"Here, it's Pappy," he corrected Colin.
"Pappy," Colin continued, nodding to the man. "Is stationed at Camp Pilot Butte near Rock Springs. His son, Sergeant Major Alan P Allyn Jr. has a home in Rock Springs where he is the telegraph operator. He also coordinates with the mining companies to move the gold out on the train and the money paid for the gold in. All the payrolls and gold shipments in that area of Wyoming are organized and protected by the army. Bobby Bell and Mark happened to come through Rock Springs after a robbery and through their passing acquaintances with some of the saloon girls learned about the successful big mining operations around there.
"Pappy's son, the Sergeant Major was needed late at the fort. When this happens, Pappy here, who is also a skilled telegrapher, stays in Rock Springs. Important telegrams do come in night and day. Well, this night, Pappy was locking up the office when he saw Mark, Johnny, and another gang member riding down the street. He knew them right away as he'd been on a train they robbed two months earlier. He watched them approach and when they tied their horses in front of the telegraph office, he went into action. He sent a telegram to Fort Pilot Butte telling them that the McWinters were banging on the office door. It said to reschedule all large payrolls, money transfers to avoid Rock Springs and nearby areas. We knew that no telegraph operators were missing. So, the colonel…er, Pappy pretended to be the slightly forgetful father of the telegraph operator. And they grabbed him."
"Told to leave a letter for my son that said to cooperate with them, or I would be killed," Pappy took over the story. "I did, but I signed it Pappy. Junior never called me anything but father. He is alright, isn't he?"
Colin smiled. "Yes, he's fine and waiting for you in Rock Springs. When you sent that hurried telegram, he rode from Camp Pilot Butte immediately with two of the men usually meant to guard you. When he found your letter, he knew the ruse you were playing. He got in touch with the governor. All transport of anything more than a few hundred dollars was rerouted discreetly.
"Johnny came back two days later. Your son let his concern for you show…and let Johnny and Red Thompson read every telegram that came into that office for three days. We flooded it with boring personal telegrams. But we included one that said because the mines production had slowed down considerably, less trains would be routed that way.
"He didn't wear his uniform or reveal that he knew what was going on. Johnny and Red left four days later, stealing the meager earnings from the telegraph office…It was less than two hundred dollars, but your son cried that it was all the money he had in the world."
Pappy smiled and sat straighter than he had since I'd known him. "And you got the message about Devil's Hole?" he asked Colin.
"Yes, sir, we did, although it was six weeks later. How did you send that telegram? Surely, you were watched all the time." Colin leaned forward.
"Yes, but I wasn't blindfolded like you were, sir, until the last day." He winked at me and the Kid. "I heard them talking about how long it would take us to get to Devil's Hole. We stopped one night in a small town…a very small town. Stayed in a room over the saloon. They handcuffed my feet to the bed and went downstairs to gamble. Couldn't see any way out of the room or the town if I did escape so I concentrated on carving that message onto the floor under my bed. Asked whoever found it to send a telegram to the governor's office that Allyn was heading for the Hole. Last thing I did before we left was pretend to trip and grab and move the bed so the message would be seen. Glad it worked."
"Sir, your quick thinking gave us our first break on this case until Mr. Curry was able to get Matt McWinters to talk about it. Thank you."
Pappy stood suddenly. "Please get word to Junior that I am in good health and will return home soon. And would you all do me the favor of not letting what was just said here leave this room until I decide to tell the others. Just say that you are looking for my son. I would like to stay and see if I can help the others through this terrible ordeal. I know not everyone will have positive news of their loved ones."
"As you wish," Colin said, rising and shaking Pappy's hand again. The colonel stood at attention but his back was bent over as he saluted the governor's aide.
"And tell Governor Sanderson that his rescue attempt was a rip-roaring success," he finished. It was a strain to stand straight. Then I watched as the army man we had been talking to again became Pappy, the bent over, limping, old man that the others knew. I think he's really both the Colonel and Pappy.
JED 'KID' CURRY
'Colin, you knew all along who Pappy really was?" I asked.
"Yes, we did. He got us the information on why the hostages were taken and where, but we didn't know what other people had been taken. Every telegraph operator, and every person in Wyoming it seems, was afraid of the McWinters and then MG."
Now I know why the governor agreed to end Heyes' parole early, well one of the reasons anyway. It was so I would leave on this assignment quicker.
"Who's next?" Heyes asked. "Know that none of the others will be as pleasant as that one."
Colin sighed. He was sittin' straight in his chair but lookin' kinda grayish. "You're right. Let's do the hardest one next. Jed, would you ask Glen Chinelli from Alfred's Dream, Wyoming to come in next?"