Chapter 8 Gone

Lenny was not quite sure how long he had been riding. It had been at least a couple of hours. He was sure that he was exhausted, and he assumed the horse was too. Not too far ahead Lenny spotted a thicket of shrubs and trees. It would make a perfect place to rest and sleep. Both he and the horse could hide in the thicket. He was also grateful for the river he had been following. Lenny wasn't certain, but he believed it was the Arkansas. They had been studying rivers in geography.

Dismounting his horse, Lenny led it to the bank of the river. The horse lowered its head and greedily drank. Lenny watched the horse take its fill of water and decided to get his own drink. Putting his hand on the saddle horn, it suddenly occurred to Lenny that he did not have a canteen. No matter, he would just use his hands. Kneeling on the bank of the river, Lenny cupped his hands and took out a scoop of water. Like the horse, he greedily drank the cold water. Lenny didn't realize how thirsty he was, until the chilled water hit his mouth. Noticing the horse had finished drinking, Lenny took it to the thicket of trees. Lenny entered the thicket and found a clearing for both him and the horse.

Satisfied that they wouldn't be seen, Lenny stroked his horse' muzzle. "Well boy, we'll rest here for a spell. I'm mighty tired 'n I figure you must be as well." The horse snorted as if he were responding. Lenny smiled. The horse was becoming a faithful companion. "I don't wanna stay here too long. I hope that's okay with ya. We gotta keep on moving." Lenny removed the horse's saddle and harness, laid down, and went to sleep.

The movement of the horse woke Lenny up from his slumber. He rubbed his eyes and tried to adjust to the darkness. Getting his eyes to focus, Lenny walked to the edge of the thicket and peered out. It was darker in the thicket than it was outside of it. The sun had not risen yet, but the atmosphere was partially illuminated. Lenny was tired, but knew he had to get moving. He reckoned he was still a couple of hours ahead of Lewis. Lenny didn't think Lewis took off in the middle of the night to search for him. At least that's what he was banking on. Lenny did his business, saddled up his horse, and led it out of the thicket. Once in the clearing, Lenny brought the horse to the river and let it drink. Lenny also took a drink of water. When Lenny figured the horse had enough, he mounted his horse and took off for the east. The light of the twilight hours made it easier to see.

Garden City

Lewis woke up feeling groggy. His mouth felt as though it was full of cotton. He had a headache to boot. Lewis couldn't remember the last time he was hungover. Wait. He did. It was after his son was put in prison. Before that was after his wife had died. At those times Lewis was drowning his sorrows in his whiskey. Last night he wasn't feeling any sorrow. Thinking back to the previous night, Lewis started to regret his decision to drink. Oh well, he couldn't go back and change things. Lewis threw his covers off, slowly sat up, and swung his feet over the side of the bed. What he needed at the moment was coffee.

Lewis looked over at Lenny's bed. The boy was still fast asleep. He was not surprised that Lenny was still sleeping. The comfort of a bed could be blamed for that. After spending multiple nights sleeping on the ground and in a train car with cattle, Lewis completely understood why Lenny did not make a sound. He almost felt guilty for what he was about to do. Lewis needed coffee and wasn't going to get any staying in the hotel room. He and Lenny would have to go to the cafe and have breakfast. Lewis stood up and walked over to Lenny's bed. He shook what he thought was Lenny's shoulder and felt something soft. Lewis ripped back the covers and saw the pillows. Lenny was gone.

"What the hell?!" Lewis exclaimed to himself, being careful not to be too loud and waking up other hotel guests.

Standing where he was, Lewis quickly glanced around the room. Lenny was nowhere in the room. Lewis was livid. He could not believe Lenny was gone. Lewis never expected Lenny to have the courage to take off. When did he leave? Lewis knew for certain that Lenny was in bed when he returned from the saloon. He saw the boy fast asleep in bed. Lewis reasoned that Lenny took off between the time he came back from the saloon and now. More than likely it was closer to the time he had gotten back from the saloon. Lewis calculated that Lenny had been gone for several hours.

The next question was where did Lenny go. It didn't seem logical that he went to the sheriff. Because if he had, the sheriff would have been to the hotel room to arrest Lewis. Lewis was baffled that Lenny didn't go to the law. Maybe the kid felt something in his heart for him and didn't want to see him get arrested. After all, they had spent some time together. It was quite possible that Lenny was developing a bond with him.

Should he search for Lenny? Lewis quickly answered that question with a no. First, Lewis had no idea what direction Lenny headed. He assumed Lenny would try to get back home. Second, Lewis couldn't be one hundred percent that Lenny hadn't gone to the sheriff, who was possibly waiting to make a move. Lewis decided the best thing was to get out of Garden City and try to get to St. Louis. It suddenly dawned on Lewis that he was already an outlaw. He had stolen Lenny from his home and taken him across state lines. Lewis grabbed his extra set of clothing along with Lenny's and left the hotel room. He would discard it out on the prairie. If the law caught him, how would he explain having Lenny's clothing?

Lewis walked down to the lobby. He had to act as casual as he could. He did not want to invite any unnecessary trouble. Not checking out and paying would do that. The clerk looked up when Lewis approached the counter.

"Mr Price, good morning," the clerk greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"I would like to check out." Lewis reached into his pocket and pulled out his money.

The clerk was confused. He wasn't expecting Lewis to check out so soon. "Check out? I thought you 'n your son were staying for a couple of nights. Speaking of which, where is your son?"

"He came through earlier," Lewis lied. "You must've missed him."

"That's possible," the clerk agreed. "I stopped by the bakery to get some biscuits. Why are you checking out?"

"Me 'n my son realized that we like sleepin' under the stars," Lewis lied again.

"Take some biscuits with you," the clerk told Lewis. "I'm sure both you and your boy will enjoy them."

"Thanks," said Lewis as he took several biscuits and left the hotel.

Once outside, Lewis hastily walked to the stable. He needed to leave Garden City, but wouldn't be able to without his horse. Lewis reached the stable. Fortunately the owner was nowhere in sight. Lewis quickly found his horse, saddled it up, mounted the horse and left the stable. Having already paid the stable owner, Lewis knew he couldn't be accused for not doing so. Lewis headed east, trying to avoid the main roads.

The Dillon House

Ruby woke up in a good mood and well rested. Today was Saturday which meant there was no school, and she could sleep in. It also meant a trip to town. While eating supper last night, her parents said they would be going. Ruby hopped out of bed and scampered off to the kitchen. She wanted to hurry and eat breakfast so they could leave for town. When Ruby entered the kitchen, Kitty was bringing eggs and ham to the table, and Matt was drinking his coffee. A grin spread across both of their faces when they saw their little girl.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Kitty smiled at her daughter. "I was just about to come and wake you up."

"Good morning, momma," said Ruby as she climbed up onto her chair.

"What about me?" asked Matt. "Don't I get a good morning?"

"You didn't say good morning ta me yet," Ruby pointed out.

"Sorry," Matt apologized. "Good morning, Little Gemstone."

Ruby giggled. "Good morning, daddy. When are we going ta town?"

"After we eat breakfast, 'n get you ready," Kitty replied as she dished some food on Ruby's plate and poured her a glass of milk. Once Ruby was situated, Kitty scooped some eggs and ham on her plate. Matt took the rest.

Matt could see that Ruby was about to dive into her food. "But that doesn't mean you need to inhale your food. We've talked about that before. We don't want you choking. We have plenty of time ta get ta town."

"Sorry daddy," Ruby her daddy was right and not wanting a lecture, Ruby made sure to take her time eating her breakfast. During breakfast Matt and Kitty discussed what they needed from town, among other things. They treasured the times they could spend as a family. Neither of them knew when Matt's badge would take him out of town.

The Dillon Property

Lenny had been riding for a couple of hours, when he spotted a handsome two story house in the near distance. The home looked warm and inviting. Lenny reasoned that a home that looked warm and inviting had to have matching folks. He could even see a child's wagon in the yard. Another good sign that this house hd decent folks living there. Feeling relief rush over him, Lenny kicked his horse into a gallop and rode towards the house. When he approached the barn, Lenny pulled on the reins and brought the horse to a stop. He sat there for a moment and contemplated what he was going to say. Suddenly, for no reason the horse threw Lenny. Not expecting to be thrown, Lenny did not have time to react. He fell back off the horse and hit his head on the hard prairie ground. He was knocked unconscious.

TBC