August, 1859.
Jimmy Hickok rapped on the office door briskly, and waited a moment before it was opened by a burly looking man wearing a gunfighter's rig and a pair of Colt pistols similar to his own. Jimmy instinctively lowered his hands toward his own guns for a moment, as the man barked out a greeting. "You here about the job?" the behemoth asked. Jimmy nodded shortly. "Then come on in and wait for Mr. Pittman with the other fella."
Jimmy entered the office, looking around cautiously, as he did whenever he found himself in new, unfamiliar surroundings. There was a young man sitting in a chair in the small room, near a door to an office beyond. The room was papered with wanted posters for fugitive criminals and ads for missing slaves. Jimmy wasn't much of a reader, but he could make out enough of the words and didn't like what he saw. Jimmy's lips tightened in distaste. He wanted no part of slave catching. The advertisement had sought a man handy with a gun for personal protection. He needed a job, but if it involved helping slavers he would continue to look for something else.
He settled down in a chair opposite the other young man, who nodded a brief greeting. Jimmy nodded back curtly, surveying his competition for the job. The other young man looked a year or two younger than he was. Wearing worn clothes, he was probably a little hard up for work, just like Jimmy was. When the other young man spoke, it was with a slight hint of Southern drawl.
"Lookin' to get the bodyguard job, are ya?"
Jimmy nodded in response.
"Name's Mike Kidd. I'm here for that job too. Good luck," was the gentlemanly response. Jimmy gruffly muttered, "Jimmy Hickok" before standing and turning his attention to the posters on the wall. "Not sure I'm going to want this job, though," he said, pulling down one of the posters and reading it aloud slowly:
$100 Reward. Runaway. Negro woman, about 20 years of age. Has a brand in shape of an L on the left side of cheek.
"Nice," spat Jimmy disgustedly, flinging the poster on a table nearby. "If they do this kind of work here, I ain't sure I'm interested in working for that type of folks."
The young Southerner shifted uncomfortably. "The advertisement was for a personal bodyguard, not a slave catcher," he said. "And not all folks treat their slaves that bad. Not sayin' I don't feel bad for them, if they're getting treated harsh, though."
"That's big of you, Kidd," muttered Jimmy. "I was raised to believe it ain't right for one person to own another, no matter what. And if slaves were so happy working for nothing and being ordered around and having no rights of their own, the slavers wouldn't have to keep them in line with whips and dogs and chains and brands and slave catchers." He paused for a breath. "Maybe I should just get out of here."
Kidd flushed. "I ain't saying it's right. But it's a fact of life. And some slaves I've seen are better off than poor whites back home, or workers up north, working 12 hours a day at some machine for a few cents a day in some firetrap of a sweat shop."
"Maybe so, Kidd, but the big difference is that a slave has no free choice, and most of 'em ain't better off than anybody. And you know it."
The two suddenly realized that the door had opened during their brief, intense conversation and a tall, muscular man of about fifty years was standing there, watching them in amusement. He introduced himself. "Howdy boys. I'm Ethan Pittman. I'm the fella you're here to see about a job."
Jimmy thought to himself, Well, the decision not to work here is probably made for me, now. But Ethan grinned.
"I like to see young fellas with some moral conviction, even if I don't agree with the opinions behind it. Especially for the job I have in mind for you. It's a job of some, how do I put it, delicacy. I'm looking for a fella with integrity as well as skills with a gun." He gestured with his head toward the door. "Let's head outside so you can show me how you handle a gun. You come on too, Pete," he said to the large man who had answered the door earlier.
The four men trudged out back to a shooting range. Jimmy grinned to himself. I'll beat this hayseed at shooting with one gun tied behind my back, he thought as Pete set up a row of cans. "I'll go first," he smirked smugly.
Facing the cans, Jimmy drew one of his pearl-handled Colt pistols with lightning speed and nailed each can dead center in rapid succession. Turning, he taunted Kidd lightly, "Can you do that?"
Kidd didn't answer, as Pete set up another row of new cans. When the range was clear, Kidd drew, not quite as fast as Jimmy. But he hit every can once, then again as each flew in the air, with deadly accuracy.
As Kidd stood waiting for his gun to cool a bit before holstering it, Jimmy furiously faced Kidd. Kidd and Jimmy eyed each other coldly for a long, tense moment before Kidd turned away. Jimmy nodded grimly. Ethan had watched the entire scene with keen interest.
"You boys interested in knowing what the job is?"
They nodded, looking at each other and then back at Ethan. "Well, boys, as you saw in the office, my business is catching fugitives. I have a hundred men on my payroll, most of them bounty hunters and slave catchers. In a business like mine, I make some enemies. I'm not too worried about myself. I'm as fast on the gun yet as ever. But I'm worried someone might try to take a shot at the little missus. Your job would be to stay with her around my place, and sometimes take her into town on a little shopping trip, such like. Sounds like pretty soft work for $20 a week, wouldn't you say?"
They nodded. "Which one of us gets the job, though?" demanded Jimmy.
"Well, that's a bold question but a fair enough one, Hickok," Pittman said. "I'm thinking I'll hire both of you."
The two eyed each other warily, before both agreed to take the job.
As they headed back, Pete spoke quietly to his boss behind the two boys ahead of them. "I ain't questioning yer judgment, Mr. Pittman. But, well, do you think it's a good idea to have two young fellers like them hanging around Mrs. Pittman all the time? Might cause some trouble, I'm thinking."
Ethan chuckled. "You're worried Louise might get her head turned by a young, handsome fella like one of those two, eh Pete?"
"Well, no offense Mr. Pittman, but Mrs. Pittman ain't been all that happy since you brought her here. What with her being so young, the same age as those two, well, I'd be worried about it if it was me."
Ethan looked at his right hand man approvingly. "I appreciate your speaking your mind freely, Pete. That's partly why I hired them both. They can keep an eye on each other, as well as Louise. And they should complement each other, keep each other in line. One's fast and hot-headed. The other's a sure shot, and more level-headed. I'm thinking they're the perfect combination of talents for the job."
Pete shrugged. "If you say so, boss."
Ethan showed the boys into the foyer of his large home, built on a plot of land surrounded by a trench and a stockade fence; guards patrolled outside the perimeter of the fence and within the grounds. An elderly woman scurried out to the men, and Ethan remarked, "Two more for dinner, Mrs. Monahan." She nodded, and replied, "I'll be ringing the bell in about ten minutes."
Ethan showed the pair of boys up the staircase to a second floor room. "There are two beds in here. That's my wife's bedroom there," he said, gesturing to the room next to theirs. "I sleep in the room down the other end of the hall." Kidd and Jimmy exchanged looks at this, behind Ethan's back. "I'll introduce you to Mrs. Pittman at dinner. After tonight, you'll take your meals in the kitchen, and you'll be working watching her during her meals. I'll expect that at least one of you stick with her at all times, except when she's in her room, of course. And then I'll expect you two to take turns sitting out in the hall outside her room. She isn't allowed off the property without my advance permission, and never alone."
Kid and Jimmy were a little puzzled at this. Were they being hired as bodyguards or prison guards? Both began to get a little uncomfortable with this proposal, but continued to listen for the time being before making a decision.
After Ethan finished describing the layout of the house and added that Pete would take them around to see the place later, it was time to go down to dinner, as Mrs. Monahan rang her dinner bell.
The three of them went down to dinner, and seated themselves around a large table. A few moments later, the door to the dining room opened and a teenaged girl walked through. She stopped, confused at the sight of two strangers at the table.
Kidd stood at the entrance of a young lady, with Jimmy springing up in imitation. "Is this your daughter, Mr. Pittman?" Kidd asked innocently. He thought to himself that the job was definitely looking up, if this lovely girl his own age was a part of it. She was formally dressed in a white embroidered muslin dinner gown, with long, full sleeves, a full skirt with three deep flounces lined in green ribbon, and a wide sash of the same green color tied in a small bow just above her tiny waist. Kidd was reminded for a moment of the rich young plantation ladies who would come to church in their finery back home. The girl had long auburn hair caught up loosely in a snood at the back of her neck. As he spoke, Kidd was taken aback at the sadness in the girl's wide brown eyes. The two locked eyes for just a moment, and Kidd felt a spark of electricity pass between them before the girl looked down.
Ethan, who had walked around to pull a chair out for the young lady, laughed good-naturedly at Kidd's naïve blunder. "No, Kidd, this is my wife."
Jimmy, who had also admired the newcomer as she approached, was visibly surprised, though Ethan, pushing the chair in for Louise, didn't notice. Jimmy observed silently that Mrs. Pittman looked more than thirty years younger than her husband. He supposed she had married Ethan for his money. He reflected that she didn't look like Pittman's money was making her too happy, though.
"Louise, let me introduce Mike Kidd and Jimmy Hickok. I've hired them as your bodyguards, on account of some threats I've been getting recently. They'll be assigned to watch you around the clock and report to me."
The boys were dismayed when, for a fleeting moment, Louise looked stricken. Clearly, she had known nothing about this and was not pleased at the news. But she was silent, and after nodding briefly to the newcomers, sat with her hands folded in her lap, nervously plucking at the long layer of lace at her sleeves. She seemed almost as if she was uncomfortable in the elaborate dress, like he felt as a child in his stiff Sunday collars, Kidd thought.
"Well then, let's eat," said Ethan mildly. The boys glanced at each other and resumed their seats for the meal, though Kidd couldn't help noticing that Louise never spoke and ate next to nothing, shaking her head slightly to decline dish after dish as a parade of servants brought them in.
When dinner was over, Ethan remarked, "Well boys, you're on the clock now. I'll be heading back out to the office for a while. You're in charge. Be good, Louise." Ethan walked over to Louise and bent to kiss her on the top of her head. At his approach, the girl stiffened reflexively, clenching her jaw as if to keep from flinching. Ethan didn't seem to care, and strolled out the door whistling.
The three young people were left sitting awkwardly, staring at each other. As Ethan's steps faded in the hall, Louise's immobile face shifted into near sullenness. "I guess Ethan hired the two of you to keep me in line while he's out," she muttered. "Nice job for two able bodied men," she sneered. "Couldn't find a real job?"
Abruptly, she stood and shoved her chair back, flinging her napkin on the table and storming toward the door. Abashed, the two boys stood to follow. "I guess I'll have to get used to you two shadows now?" she said as she walked a few doors down the hall. "Is it all right if I have some privacy in the water closet?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm, her hand on the door. The two boys standing in the doorway of the dining room looked embarrassed.
"Sorry, ma'am. I expect it is a nuisance, but your husband is worried about you. We'll try not to bother you any more than we can help, while still doing our job," Kidd said kindly. Louise looked at him curiously, and that same flash of electricity passed between them again. This time Jimmy noticed it as well, amused. After a pause, Louise broke her eyes from Kidd's and muttered, in a somewhat mollified tone, "Well, I appreciate that, Mike. I'll be just a minute."
The two stood idly a few feet from the door waiting for her. "She sure is a pretty little thing, ain't she, Kidd?" Jimmy remarked. "Kind of spunky, too."
Kidd, oddly moved by the young Mrs. Pittman, simply nodded. He thought guiltily for a moment of Doritha back home. He knew that as good of friends as he and Doritha were, and as long as they'd known each other, he'd never felt for her how Louise had made him feel in just an hour. He felt strangely as if Louise's soul spoke directly to his through her eyes, whenever she looked at him. He shook off the thought, disloyal both to Doritha's ever-fading memory, and to his new boss. She's a married lady. Keep your eyes in your head, a voice in his head told him, as Louise came out of the powder room and gestured. "Let's go outside, okay? I'd like to go for a ride around the property if you don't mind. I've been dying for a ride for a long time. It won't be dark for a couple hours yet."
"That should be fine," Jimmy remarked, relieved that she seemed to be accepting their presence with a better grace. "You're the boss, Mrs. Pittman."
"Call me Louise," she said too quickly. She amended awkwardly, "Well, call me that when no one's around. You'd better call me Mrs. Pittman if Pete or Ethan are there." How I hate the sound of those words, Mrs. Pittman, she thought to herself. What have I done? she thought forlornly, for the thousandth time since marrying Ethan Pittman. She resumed speaking hurriedly. "Let me just run up so I can put on a riding habit."
Within ten minutes, all three were walking out to the stables. Louise was now dressed in a neat riding habit with a divided skirt, and soon swung astride a large black stallion named Lightning. Kidd had asked the groom as they saw her mount him, "Isn't that a lot of horse for such a little girl?" The groom, a kind elderly man named Moses, chuckled. "Miss Louise, she can handle it. He's her regular horse," he answered. Kidd shrugged and mounted his own horse, Katy. Soon the three were trotting along a riding path.
Louise came alive when she was riding, Kidd and Jimmy both noticed. She rode like part of the horse, her face flushed with happiness at being outside, doing what she loved best. Before Kidd and Jimmy could react, however, Louise had spurred her horse with her heels, and he shot out like his name, as fast as lightning. She rode high in the saddle, close to his mane, as he jumped over fences, fallen trees, small streams, everything in their path. Frantically, Kidd and Jimmy spurred their horses to keep her in sight. Finally, after leading the boys on a lengthy chase, Louise slowed her horse, patting him. "That's enough for today, sweetheart," she murmured to the big horse, as Kidd and Jimmy pulled up to them. "Nice riding, boys," she said casually.
"You too," Jimmy said, grinning ear to ear in open amusement. Kidd seemed more annoyed. "Next time, how about a warning?" he demanded. "And don't you think you were going a little fast? We'd have some explaining to do if you fell and got hurt."
Louise's eyes flashed. "Listen, Mike. I've been riding since I was a little girl and I don't need you or anybody else to tell me how to do it. I guess you think because Ethan hired you, that gives you the right to boss me, but think again. I don't need a mother; I'm a big girl. I do what I want, when I want, and I don't need your permission. If you don't like it, why don't you go running to your boss and tell on me?" she spurred Lightning again, this time keeping him to a reasonable canter as she headed back to the stables.
Jimmy spluttered a repressed laugh at this exchange. Kidd shot him a dirty look and started after Louise, riding up next to her. He reached out and touched her arm, before remarking, "Louise, I'm sorry. You're right. I didn't hire on to be your ma. I guess I was just embarrassed a girl beat me in a race," he finished, appealing to her with twinkling eyes.
Louise glanced at his boyish, teasing face. She smiled in spite of herself. "Apology accepted," she said graciously. Her eyes turned worried for a moment.
"What's the matter, Louise?"
She flushed. "I know what I said back there, but, well, I mean to say," she faltered. "I hope you won't mention that I rode on ahead like that to Ethan. He, um, he wouldn't like it." Kidd was taken aback at the ring of fear underlying her voice. He nodded, agreeing. She rewarded him with a rare smile, and the three of them rode into the stables.
After Louise had gone to bed for the night, Kidd and Jimmy sat out in the hallway companionably. Their earlier rivalry had gone beneath the surface for the time being, as the two newcomers to the household got to know each other.
"Hickok, what do you make of Louise and Ethan?" Kidd asked curiously. "Seems like a strange match, don't it?"
Jimmy shrugged. "Seen it often enough, Kidd. She's a young, pretty girl, so that's what Ethan sees in her. He's rich, I'm sure that's what she sees in him."
Kidd shook his head slowly. "Somehow, I don't believe that of her," he said.
"Come on, Kidd. Ethan's a nice enough fella but he's almost old enough to be her grandfather. What else could she see in him?"
Kidd considered that. Louise didn't seem too fond of Ethan, seemed almost afraid of him in fact. So why had she married him in the first place? He glanced up at the clock at the end of the hall. "Well, it's almost nine. Why don't you go take the first shift of sleep, and I'll stay out here. We can switch, say at one o'clock?"
"Suits me," said Jimmy. "Night, Kidd."
At about midnight, Ethan came up the stairs. A very different Ethan than the one who'd left hours before, Kidd noted. He'd seen that look often enough on his own pa to know what it meant. Ethan was drunk, though he handled himself fairly well nonetheless. But his eyes were red-rimmed, and he reeked of whiskey. He passed by Kidd, nodding briefly, before opening Louise's door without knocking, taking out a key from his pocket as he did so. After the door shut, Kidd heard a key turn in the door. Moments later, he saw light under the door. He wondered if it was necessary for him to stay out in the hall, now that Ethan was there. Ethan hadn't told him to go, but it seemed silly to have a guard out in the hall while Louise's husband was in with her. He got up quickly to knock on the door and ask. He'd only been in there a moment; it probably was okay to knock.
As he stood there, debating whether he should knock, he was startled to hear a thump up against the door, as if someone were being shoved. He backed up a pace in surprise, and in the next moment, the thump was repeated, then again. Someone was slamming against the door repeatedly. Awkwardly, Kidd backed away to his chair. The slamming increased and to Kidd's embarrassment, he could hear Ethan's voice, yelling coarse words Kidd would never dream of using in the presence of a lady. There was no sound from Louise. Finally, Ethan called out Louise's name loudly. Ethan had been in the room only about five or six minutes, Kidd thought, looking up at the clock again. The door opened suddenly, and Ethan walked through, fastening his pants as he went.
Ethan walked past Kidd, again nodding calmly as if nothing were amiss, and went into his own room. The door to Louise's room was left standing open, and to his dismay, Kidd saw Louise crouched in the doorway in a rumpled nightgown, trembling violently. Kidd's sharp eyes immediately took in angry, purple bruising on her arms, previously hidden under her long sleeves. He instinctively went forward to help her, and she looked up with fear followed by shame. She stood stiffly and slammed the door in Kidd's face without a word.
When the clock struck one, Kidd went into the room he shared with Jimmy and woke him. As Jimmy headed yawning to the door, Kidd hesitantly mentioned what he'd seen. Jimmy shook his head. "Stay out of it, Kidd. She's a free person, and it's her business what kind of marriage she wants. Guess she likes the life Ethan gives her here enough to put up with it."
Kidd flushed, as Jimmy walked out into the hall. He knew there was more to this than that. He felt that Louise needed his help, but what could he do? Hickok was right. They were married and that was Louise's choice, he reasoned. But the memory of her in her thin nightgown on her knees, shaking after Ethan's callous treatment, haunted him nonetheless.
Jimmy and Kidd settled into the household over the next several weeks. They both grew to like their little charge, and she clearly liked having someone her own age to talk to. Ethan spent little time in the house, so the three young people spent long hours riding together, playing cards or checkers, and with Louise reading out loud from the newspapers, to loud debate between Kidd and Jimmy about states rights and other news. The two boys began to consider her their friend, and gradually, their concern for her grew.
Ethan was outwardly an affable man, but the boys saw more and more that he had a brutal side, which he took out most often on Louise in private. A few weeks after they started working there, they started to notice that Ethan, becoming comfortable with their presence, was not careful to keep his abuse a secret. Louise started appearing at breakfast with bruises on her face, not just hidden beneath her clothes. Kidd and Jimmy were becoming more and more sickened, but agreed that their quitting would be no help to Louise. They knew as well that the marshal in town would be no help; he was Ethan's brother, and had visited the home often without appearing disturbed by Louise's battered appearance.
Finally, the pair decided that they needed to intervene. On one of their rides, they confronted Louise.
Jimmy started, clearing his throat. "Louise, we know we may be getting above ourselves bringing this up. But we think of you as a friend. And we're worried about you."
Louise looked away, embarrassed. "I guess I know what you're getting at."
Kidd said, earnestly, "Why do you stay with him, Louise? And why did you marry him in the first place?"
She sighed, pulling her horse to a stop and dismounting in a grassy clearing. The boys jumped down too, and stood, waiting, as the horses grazed.
"I ran away from an orphanage in St. Joe about five years ago. Got a little brother and sister still back there, and I wanted to try to make a living and get them out. Got a job working for a fella who, well, forced himself on me. I got in trouble." She looked at them, slowly saying, "You know what I mean by that, right?" They nodded, shocked.
She looked away, downcast. "I had a little baby to take care of. I had no way to make a living for us. I had to do whatever it took to survive. I, well, went to work in a cathouse." Louise refused to meet either of their pitying looks, plunging ahead with her story.
"I met Ethan there after only a day or two. He was a regular. I knew he liked it a little rough in the bedroom, but most of my customers did, and back then, he wasn't even as bad as a lot of the others. He never hit me, either, like most of the men who came to the house did. Not until after we were married, that is."
Kidd visibly shaken at her words, waited for her to continue, though he dreaded what further revelations she would make.
"Ethan can't have children of his own. He'd been married before, a couple times, and never had a child. So when he found out I had a baby son, and I was desperate to get us out of that house, he offered to marry me, and take me and my son and brother and sister to live here. Seemed like a step up from being a whore, but I guess in some ways it isn't much different. I just got one customer now," she said bitterly.
"He started getting mean right after we were married. He was so different than I thought. You know he seems like a nice enough man if you don't live with him. But he started hitting me and Jeremiah and Theresa, my brother and sister. So when Ethan decided he didn't want them around anymore, I didn't fight it, I let him send them back to the orphanage. Not long after that, my baby . . ." she paused, painfully. "My baby got sick and died, when he was only a year old. Now, I have nothing," she said brokenly.
"Why don't you leave?" asked Kidd.
"Leave? To go where, back to the whorehouse?" She shook her head, violently. "Never. This is bad, but that was worse."
"Ain't there something else you could do?" Kidd insisted.
Louise sighed. "Fact is, Kidd, I tried once, after my little boy died. I managed to give the guards the slip, but Ethan tracked me down so fast I couldn't believe it. He beat me worse than he ever did before or since, and said if I run off again, he'll track me down and kill me next time," she said. "He can do it, too, and leave no trace. It's his business, and he's good at it. I have no choice. I made my bed, now I have to lie in it, I guess." She looked sadly into the distance. "I'm just glad you two came. It's easier now." Louise looked up again shyly at Kidd and Jimmy. "I finally have two real friends. I hope you won't leave because of this. I don't know what I'd do."
She walked past the stunned boys and got back on Lightning. "Come on, let's ride," she said, restlessly, spurring her horse and racing away, like she had that first day. The other two raced to mount their horses, worried about their friend and wondering what could be done to help her.
Turning to speak to Kidd as they swung on, Jimmy stopped at the look on his friend's face. Kidd was watching Louise disappear into the distance with a heartsick, loving look. When Kidd noticed Jimmy looking at him, he abruptly looked away. "Kidd, she's spoken for, like it or not," Jimmy said. "She belongs to Ethan."
Kidd looked at Jimmy sharply. "I thought you were the one who told me it's wrong to own another person, no matter what, Hickok. This is no different. She doesn't belong to him or to anybody." He sighed, thinking to himself, But it is true, I got no right to care for her like I do. But I can't help it.
That night, as Kidd sat outside Louise's room, the noise from Louise's room was worse than usual. Most times, Ethan was brutally efficient, going into her room, doing his business, and leaving fairly quickly. Tonight, he was in an especially vicious mood. Jimmy had the night off and Kidd was pulling a double shift outside Louise's room. Kidd listened tensely. The sound of breaking glass and Louise's sudden scream startled him to his feet. Louise had an incredible capacity to handle pain and rarely even cried out, let alone screamed. Kidd jumped again at the sound of the bed crashing against the wall, combined with Louise's desperate, racking sobs, sounding as if he'd broken her spirit, finally. Ethan shouted at her to stop crying, and there was a sound as if a head was being knocked against the wall repeatedly. Kidd finally couldn't take it any more, and stood and pulled his gun.
When he reached Louise's door, Kidd never paused, but kicked it in with a slam, training his pistol on the man holding the slender girl up against the wall. "Get away from her," Kidd spoke evenly. Ethan released Louise, who ran sobbing into Kidd's arms. Holding her against him with one arm around her naked shoulders, Kidd cocked his pistol and aimed it at Ethan's head. Louise cried out in protest. "Mike, he's unarmed. It'd be murder. He ain't worth it." Kidd nodded slowly, before holstering his pistol, gently putting the shivering, naked girl from him, and advancing toward Ethan. Louise backed into a corner, as Kidd grimly said, "That ain't to say he ain't got a beating coming," before turning on her husband in fury.
"That's for Louise," Kidd snarled, after leaving the man barely conscious on the floor of the room.
Checking that the coast was clear, he beckoned to Louise, but she was still in shock, and remained frozen in the corner. "Louise, come with me, honey. You have to come now," Kidd said. She looked at him, her tiny frame trembling and shivering, and gasped, "Mike, he'll just track me down -"
Kidd took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Do you trust me?" Her eyes cleared a little. She nodded. "Then come with me. I'll take care of you, I promise." She was still trembling too violently to dress herself; Kidd had to retrieve her nightgown from the floor and help her into it, and pull shoes and a coat from the closet for her. Once she was decently covered, they slipped down the hallway to the back stairs and escaped on the run to the stables.
Moses woke up when he heard them enter the barn, and came out of the tack room as they were saddling up.
"What are you all doing? Miss Louise, you can't leave -"
"Moses, we are only taking our own horses," Kidd said. "Miss Louise can't stay here. Look," he said, raising a lantern to Louise's battered face. Moses slowly nodded. He asked, though, that they tie him up as well, so that he would not be blamed for their escape. Though it took valuable time, they complied. The pair galloped off, carrying axes across their saddles to chop an opening in the stockade fence in the back of the property, escaping into the night.
After riding through the night and most of the next day, with only brief breaks, they stopped, exhausted. Kidd, spotting something that drew his attention in the yard of a nearby farmhouse, said, "You wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Louise, worn out and half starved, gathered wood for a fire and knelt to build one before Kidd returned.
"I got some provisions and some other things at that farmhouse back yonder," he informed her. They tore into the food and water he'd brought.
Afterwards, the two stood by the fence around the farmer's field, and watched the sun going down in the distance. Louise turned to Kidd. "I want to thank you, Mike," she murmured. "You didn't have to get involved, but you did, and I appreciate it." She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, and Kidd impulsively turned to catch her kiss on the lips. Without thinking, he kissed her more deeply and pulled her toward him.
Louise found herself returning his kiss, placing a hand around his neck and losing herself in the sensation. She'd been touched by a lot of men, none of whom she cared to remember. Their touch had always caused pain or revulsion, or both, but this was different. He was so gentle, yet so passionate at the same time. His mouth on hers sent a sensation through her she'd never felt in her life, leaving her breathless. A little frightened at her own emotions, she broke away, chuckling nervously.
Kid wanted nothing more than to kiss her again, but remembered in time that he couldn't. She was married, even if it was to a monster; she could only be a friend, he reminded himself. "Sorry, Louise, I guess I got a little carried away. Won't happen again."
After a few moments, Kidd spoke again. "We've got to make a plan other than riding in a straight line, if we're going to lose Ethan's men. I'm sure when he comes to, he'll send them out after us."
"What do you have in mind?" Louise asked.
He pulled out another bundle and handed it to Louise. Curious, she opened it. There was a complete set of boy's clothes and a pair of scissors in it. "What's this for?" she asked.
Kidd explained, "Whoever Ethan sends after us will be looking for a man and a woman. Not two men." She looked a little confused. "You need to cut your hair and put on these clothes, and disguise yourself as a boy."
Lou looked askance at the clothes. Kidd encouraged her, "you don't have to fool anybody close up. It's just so nobody will remember seeing a pretty girl in a nightgown with a coat over it, riding around with a man. We can't stay on these back roads forever. We're going to be hitting Sweetwater in another day's ride. We'll circle around, and go back and forth across the Sweetwater River a few times to mess up the trail."
Louise nodded. "Makes sense I suppose," she said, fingering her long hair wistfully. "Will you cut my hair for me?"
Kidd took up the scissors, as she undid her braids and allowed her long, dark hair to tumble over her shoulders and down her back. She sat by the fire with her back to him, and he ran his fingers through her hair. It was fine and soft and warm, like the cotton he'd picked back home so many times, but silkier and shinier. He wished he could keep running his fingers through it all night, but he reluctantly began to snip, leaving her hair cropped close like a boy's. He gathered up the hair. "Do you want to keep it?" he asked. She shook her head. "It won't do me any good now that it's off my head, Mike," she said ruefully, looking at the beautiful hair now shimmering like satin threads in Kidd's hands.
She took up the clothes and the pair of glasses, and went behind a nearby thicket to change. Hesitating a moment, Kid tied a string tightly around the end of the shorn hair and rolled it in a piece of cloth, placing it in his saddlebag. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't bring himself to just throw it away.
When Louise emerged, Kidd could not believe the transformation. "Meet Mr. Lou McCloud," Louise said, smiling.
Riding into Sweetwater, Kidd was even more astonished at the drastic, sudden change in Lou. Her disguise seemed to give her some inner assurance and confidence; she was spunkier and happier than he had ever seen her. As they swung down from their horses, she swaggered alongside him through the streets of Sweetwater, looking around curiously.
Lou looked up as they passed a poster hung on the side of the saloon.
"Mike, look at this," she exclaimed excitedly. This must be for that pony express idea we read about in the paper a while ago, remember? Look, it says the pay is $25 per week. That's a lot of money. What do you think?"
Kidd considered it. "Well, it sounds providential. But I'd be away from you a lot on runs, and it might not be safe for you alone for a couple weeks, until we're sure Ethan's stopped looking for you. Maybe we could find someplace where you and I could both work."
Lou's face darkened. "What do you think this is?"
He looked at her astonished. "You're not suggesting you'd try to ride for the Pony Express, are you? That's a man's job, and a hard one at that." At her scowl, he added, "Let's not get carried away with this disguise, Louise. You may be dressed like a boy, but that doesn't make you one. I'm not sure you can fool people very long. And this route's pretty rough from what I heard. It'll be too much for a woman."
Louise's eyes snapped. "Listen, mister. I'm all those things on the poster, except one. I'm young, skinny, wiry, not over eighteen, and an expert rider," she ticked off from the list. "Just as good a rider as you, I might add, maybe better. I'm going to apply. It ain't for you to tell me I can't. If I can't pass muster, then I'll let the Pony Express tell me I can't, not you, thank you," she said firmly, turning on her heel and marching off determinedly. Turning her head over her shoulder as she walked, she tossed back, "and it's LOU, not Louise!"
Kidd stood open mouthed. What kind of Frankenstein's monster had he created, he wondered, dumbfounded. He trotted after her, shaking his head in mixed admiration and worry.
The kind-faced woman at the station house, who introduced herself as Emma, had directed them to the back, where a group of boys were lined up waiting. Kidd and Lou joined the group, but were surprised to see one familiar face among them - Jimmy's. His eyes showed his recognition without speaking. Before they could say anything to one another, they were joined by a grizzled old station keeper who introduced himself as Teaspoon Hunter.
Teaspoon went down the line of riders in turn, asking their names. Buck, the half-Kiowa brave; Ike, the mute rider; Cody, the sure-shot; and Jimmy all introduced themselves in turn. Lou gave her new name quietly. As Teaspoon approached Kidd, Lou murmured low, "Don't use your real name."
Taken off guard, Kidd had started to give his last name. Stumbling over his words, he said, "Uh, Kid. That's my name. That's what folks call me." Teaspoon narrowed his eyes at the young man. "You sure of that, now?" he asked.
"Uh, yes. Kid. That's my name."
"No last name?"
Kid swallowed, not able to come up with anything on the spot. "Uhhm. None that I go by," he said lamely.
The riders trudged across the field to the area where Teaspoon wanted them to demonstrate their riding skills. "Smooth back there, Kid, really smooth," snickered Jimmy. "Shut up, Jimmy," muttered Kid, embarrassed. Lou giggled on the other side of Jimmy.
"And look at you! Got to say, Lou, you're the best looking boy I ever seen."
"Why, Jimmy!" Lou giggled again.
Kid was more serious. "Jimmy, what happened with Ethan after we left?"
Still grinning, Jimmy replied, "Well, for one thing, I was out of a job with no body to guard. Not that I cared about that. That was quite a beating you gave him, Kid. I'm proud of ya." Checking to make sure no one was near enough to hear, he continued quietly.
"Nobody found him until the next morning. But once he was up and around, later the next day, he did put a bunch of his best men on rounding both of you up. It's good you're still laying low. This job should be a good cover for both of ya."
Lou looked happily at her two friends. "I'm so glad you're going to be working with us too, Jimmy," she whispered.
Kid muttered, "You got to get hired, first, Lou."
Lou flushed, annoyed. "You just watch my dust, cowboy," she said, walking faster, and volunteering to go first when Teaspoon set the riding test for them. Looking her over a second time, Teaspoon took note of what looked like fading bruises from a pretty bad beating, and asked, "Ain't you a mite puny for this work?" Lou eyed him from under her hat and glasses, then shot out of line, jumping on one of the Express horses from a run, vaulting on and off as he ran, jumping a six foot fence and back again, and raced back to her place in line, replacing her glasses without a word.
"Puny, but spry," commented Teaspoon approvingly. "Yer hired."
Jimmy grinned, as Lou shot Kid a triumphant look, and Kid looked ill at ease. This should be interesting, Jimmy thought.
Lou settled into the routine of the Pony Express quickly. Kid and Jimmy were amazed that Lou was able to pull off her disguise, fooling Teaspoon, Buck, Cody and Ike with no problem. What's more, despite her tiny size she quickly earned the respect of the other riders by doing her job as well as any of them. The other riders and Teaspoon believed that Kid, Lou and Jimmy had worked together and become close friends at their last job, which was true enough as far as it went, the three reasoned. Lou and Kid grew ever closer as they continued to work together over the next year. Lou considered her marriage over and was eager to pursue a romance with Kid, who had saved her from her private hell, and who alternately annoyed and endeared himself to her with his protective nature. To Lou's frustration, however, Kid held back. He considered Lou, as a married woman, off limits, and the two were officially no more than best friends, never so much as sharing another kiss after their first while on the run from her husband.
Rachel Dunne, who came to work as the station mistress after Emma married, immediately realized that Lou was female, and as quickly agreed to continue to keep that fact a secret from Teaspoon and the riders, even as Emma had before her. Just as intuitively, Rachel sensed Kid's unspoken love for the young girl, as well as Lou's return longing for him. Rachel did not know that Lou was married; and not knowing the reason for Kid's qualms, thought all the two needed was opportunity and some gentle encouragement. Well-intentioned Rachel took it upon herself to assign Kid and Lou a special run where they'd have to spend the night in a deserted way station alone together. "Nature should take its course from there," Rachel figured, mischievously.
The two found themselves alone at Red Fern station that night. Kid's resolve started weakening as he saw Lou emerge from behind a curtain in her nightgown, a last minute gift from Rachel. "Surprise," she said, nervously. She could see how Kid felt from the way he stared, open mouthed, at her, breathing out in a small rush of air. She was thrilled when Kid took her in his arms, lifting her up to kiss her gently, turning slowly to lay her down on the bed. Lying over her, he kissed her again, stroking her short hair tenderly with both hands. Overcome with emotion, he whispered her name huskily.
He was about to tell her he loved her when he suddenly remembered that it couldn't be. He stood up abruptly and turned away. Hurt and humiliated, Lou sat up, looking up at him.
"Kid? Why are you stopping?" she asked, quietly and sadly.
He stood with his back to her. "Because this ain't going to work."
She waited for him to continue. "I care about you a lot, Lou, but we can't do this. It just isn't right," he said, slowly. He wished with all his heart that it could be otherwise. "You're married," he said, and his words stabbed, like a dagger, into her heart.
"Kid, when I married Ethan, I was young and desperate. I made a terrible mistake, and I've paid dearly for it already. Don't you think I have a right to move on, to be happy? I'm eighteen years old. Do you think I've committed some sin so horrible that I deserve to be alone the rest of my whole life?"
"It isn't that, Lou. I want you to be happy, more than anything. You do deserve to be. But that doesn't make what we almost did just now right. We have to go back to the way things were before this happened. We have to be just friends, nothing more. I'm sorry."
"You think we can?" she asked, voice trembling.
Afraid to look at her or comfort her, for fear he'd give in to his overwhelming desire to hold her, make love to her, and forget that she could never really be his, Kid whispered, "I don't know," and walked out without another word to spend the night in the barn. Left behind in the cabin, Lou wept burning hot tears for the love that she knew they felt for each other but could never act upon. Alone in the barn with only his convictions to keep him warm, Kid grieved as bitterly as she did.
Not long afterwards the station relocated to Rock Creek, where Kid met schoolteacher Samantha, a southern belle, an educated lady, and a beautiful woman all rolled into one. The dark-haired beauty took a shine to the Kid, who in return seemed besotted with her from the moment they first spoke. Lou helplessly stood by forced to watch as Kid courted another woman in her very face.
Soon a heartbroken Lou was volunteering for double runs and spending most of her time outside the bunkhouse finding chores to keep her busy and out of the sight of Kid. But her heart broke again and again when Kid went to call on Samantha, or when Samantha dropped by for a visit, or when they went out together dressed up and looking their best. They were a handsome couple, and Lou forlornly looked in the mirror at the pathetic, mousy creature she'd been reduced to, to survive. Lou thought she had no way of competing with Samantha, who was cultured, feminine, unsullied, and most important available - everything that Lou wasn't, she thought.
Jimmy replaced Kid as her best friend and confidante, as he was the only person in the world, other than Kid, who knew the whole truth about her. Jimmy, a good friend, sympathized with her heartbreak over Kid and Samantha, and even tried to intercede for Lou with Kid, pointing out that it wasn't wise or fair to pursue someone else while carrying a torch for Lou. But Kid stubbornly insisted that Lou's marriage made any involvement between them impossible, and he didn't intend to spend any more time brooding over her. Lou, who happened to walk by the barn door as Kid and Jimmy spoke, was crushed at Kid's words, and inconsolable even by Jimmy.
For his part, Kid tried to console himself by spending more time with the vivacious and outwardly uncomplicated Samantha. But both he and Samantha soon realized that there was very little spark, after the first attraction wore off between them. Kid liked Samantha well enough; and she liked him. But they each were nursing a secret heartbreak that made falling in love unlikely for either of them just now.
One afternoon on a picnic with Kid a few days after his talk with Jimmy, Samantha spilled lemonade on her skirt, and scrubbed at it with her handkerchief. Spotting the corner of a handkerchief in Kid's jacket pocket, she reached over and without thinking retrieved it to dry the rest of the spill. She was extremely surprised when, as he protested too late, it unraveled, and a thick lock of long beautiful auburn hair tied by a string fell from it to the picnic blanket. Kid looked embarrassed and went to pick it up. Samantha was too quick for him and snatched it up first.
"Now Kid," she drawled. "How about you explain who this belongs to, and why you're carrying her hair around in your pocket?"
Kid thought at first that Samantha might be angry, but instead he noticed with surprise that she seemed merely sympathetic and interested. He said slowly, "It's an old friend's."
Samantha raised an eyebrow. "Must be a pretty good old friend." Suddenly she looked at the length of hair as she handed it back to Kid.
With a flash of bizarrely accurate feminine instinct, Samantha realized. Lou. The skinny little "boy" who rode for the Express. Who had no Adam's apple, and who had no five o'clock shadow any time of the day. Who wasn't shaped quite like any other runty boy she'd ever seen. Whose big long-lashed brown eyes had sadly followed whenever they saw her with Kid. This hair was the same color as Lou's, she was sure of it.
"Do you have feelings for this girl?" Samantha asked, slowly. "You don't need to tell me who she is, if you'd rather not. But I do think with all the time we've spent together, I have a right to know that much."
Kid sighed. He supposed Samantha was right, at that. He admitted, out of fairness to Samantha, "I . . . have feelings for her, yes. But I can't act on them."
"Why not? Doesn't she feel the same?" Samantha asked, sympathetically.
Kid still absently held the length of hair in his hands, turning it over unconsciously and letting it run through his fingers in what Samantha noted was a practiced gesture. "I don't know. She, well, she isn't free to. That's all."
Samantha was intrigued. She was nearly certain that Lou was the answer to this mystery. The more she pictured the little rider in her mind's eye, the more she thought back to the unspoken tension she'd seen between the two riders, the more sure she was. But she tested her theory one more way. "Have you talked to any of the boys about this? Maybe Jimmy or . . . how about Lou? He seems like he might understand."
Kid went white at the mention of Lou's name. "No, nobody knows her here," he hurriedly lied, before gathering up the locks of hair in the handkerchief again and shoving it in his pocket. "Come on, let's pick up and head back. It's - it's looking like rain," he said, glancing at the nearly cloudless sky. Samantha needed no further convincing that her hunch was right about little Lou at the station.
As they returned to the station, Samantha told Kid about her own heartbreak with Robert, the lover her family had made her give up back down South. She left out many of the details, but finished, "So, Kid, I know how you feel right now. I left Robert, but I never stopped caring about him. The heart doesn't turn on and off like a telegraph, you know." She sadly paused. "I think you really care for this girl, and she for you. Don't let anything stand in the way of that if you can help it, Kid. Do whatever it takes to clear away any obstacles. Life's too short not to follow where your heart leads you."
Kid considered her words. His feelings for Lou had only intensified since their night at Red Fern. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to shake them. He nodded suddenly, saying, "You're right, Samantha. It's time I stopped running away from my feelings. I'll take your advice."
Reaching the station, Teaspoon shouted to Kid, "Glad you're back, son, Lou just rode in from a long double ride; the only other rider here is Ike, and he's taken sick and can't make the next run. You're up."
Kid nodded and jumped onto the waiting fresh mount, waving to Samantha as he left. Samantha noted an exhausted, grimy Lou leading a horse into the barn. Hesitating only a minute to set down her basket by the barn door, Samantha followed her inside.
"Lou?' she called as she entered the barn. Samantha saw Lou, about to groom her horse, turn defensively toward her. "Can I help you with something?" Lou asked, a little coldly.
Samantha took a few steps into the barn. It was dimly lit, but she could see plainly, now that Lou had taken off her hat and coat and pocketed her useless glasses, that she was right. This was no boy. Lou's jealous, teary eyes were another dead giveaway that this was the girl Kid loved.
"I thought we might have a talk, woman to woman, Lou," Samantha ventured.
Lou was cut to the quick by her words. "Who told you that?" she snapped. The tears in her eyes spilled over. "Kid?" Her already broken heart was painfully beating in her chest at this new betrayal. She flung her currycomb into a box of tools at her feet, and brushed past Samantha, hoping to escape somewhere, anywhere as long as it was away from Kid's lover.
"Lou, wait. He didn't tell me. I figured it out myself," Samantha told her quickly. "Don't be angry at him."
"What difference does it make to you whether I'm angry at him or not? I'm nothing to him," Lou choked out bitterly.
Samantha smiled. "That just isn't so, Lou. I know I'm meddling, but I'm an inveterate romantic, and when I see my friend Kid head over heels in love with someone, I don't mind meddling at all."
Lou paused at Samantha's words, then asked in a small voice, "Did he say he loved me?"
"He didn't have to. Anyone could see it."
Lou blushed before asking suspiciously, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I think love is worth fighting for, Lou. I don't know what's come between the two of you, but you should fight for Kid. You'll never find a kinder hearted man, or a better one. And he loves you. If you have feelings for him, fight for him. He didn't tell me just what the problem was that you had, but I told him the same thing just before he left. And I'm glad to say thanks to my advice, he said he'll do whatever it takes to solve your problems."
Samantha turned to leave Lou with her thoughts. As she reached the door, she turned back. "And Lou, your secret is safe with me. I know you may not believe this, but I know something about having to hide in plain sight to survive in this man's world. If you ever want a girl friend to talk to, just look me up," Samantha said, as she left.
Lou was surprised at Samantha's kindness, and at the fact that Kid still cared that much. But what could she do to fight for him, she puzzled. She couldn't change the one thing that stood in the way as far as Kid was concerned. Ethan would never give her a divorce, and so as long as her husband lived she was off limits to the Kid. She picked up her currycomb again and turned back to her horse, despairingly.
Word reached the station a few days later that struck the little express family, especially Lou, like a thunderclap. Kid had disappeared, and was under suspicion for the murder of Ethan Pittman. Lou went ashen at the news relayed by a replacement rider taking Kid's return run.
"They saying why? And who is this Ethan Pittman they say he did in?" demanded Teaspoon.
The new rider answered, "Story is that Kid ran out with Pittman's wife a while back. He came back to try to get Pittman to divorce his wife, and things got ugly. They say Kid emptied both pistols into him at close range, even though he was unarmed. Marshal Pittman - that's Ethan Pittman's brother - came along and found him standing over the body. He and his posse are out looking for him."
"That don't sound like the Kid," observed Teaspoon. "Who's this Pittman woman they're talkin' about? I've never seen Kid with any woman except that pretty little schoolteacher in town."
Meanwhile, Lou's mind went, unbidden, back to the scene in her bedroom with Ethan. Kid had been close to killing her husband then, and had beaten him badly; but that was different, she tried to tell herself. Ethan had been hurting her, and Kid was acting in the heat of the moment. He would never deliberately plan to kill Ethan to free her. He wouldn't even take her to bed out of his sense of propriety, for heaven's sake. It wouldn't make sense that he would commit murder for her. But what about what Samantha had said . . . that Kid rode out planning to do whatever it took . . . Lou refused to finish the thought. She simply prayed that Kid would be all right.
Sleep was a long time coming for Lou that night. She laid awake for several hours, worrying about Kid, after listening in guilty agony as the boys speculated about the mystery woman Kid had committed murder for. Rachel was out of state visiting an old friend for a few weeks, and Jimmy had been out on a run when the news came, so she had no one she could confide in. All she knew was she was unable to help Kid, and that knowledge was killing her.
Finally, she drifted off to sleep, only to be jerked awake by a man's hand clasped across her mouth. Her panicked eyes took in the Kid standing beside her bunk, fingers of his other hand raised to his own lips to caution her to silence. He whispered, leaning close, "Don't say anything, I don't want the others to wake up. I'm in trouble, Lou. I came to say goodbye. Meet me in the barn?" He turned and slipped out of the room. Lou eased herself over the side of her bunk and to the floor silently. She grabbed her clothes and put them on as she followed him to the barn.
In minutes, she pushed open the barn door and saw Kid standing inside, in the moonlight by the windows. The two stood staring at one another for a long pause. Finally, Kid started to speak.
"Lou, I came back to tell you a lot of things. I - I'm in a lot of trouble, honey."
Her eyes filled with tears, "I'm so sorry, Kid. This is all my fault."
He interrupted. "No, Lou, it's not. Don't ever think that. Whatever happens, I'm glad I got to know you. I'll never be sorry for that."
Kid wiped the tears from her face gently. "You know, I never even told you I loved you, did I?"
She shook her head, biting her lips.
"I love you," he said, simply.
She sobbed then, a heart wrenching cry from deep within her. "I love you too, Kid." They held each other tight for long minutes, before he found the strength to go on. "I went to Ethan to try to get your freedom, a divorce, so you could come out of hiding. I even went to a lawyer to get some papers for him to sign."
"Oh Kid. If you'd only talked to me about it first, I could have told you it was no use. What did he do?"
He looked down. "That's just it, Lou. I never got the chance to talk to him."
"But . . . but they're saying you killed him, Kid."
"I didn't do it, Lou. He was laying face down on the ground, shot, when I got there, I swear it. His brother came along a minute later, and he wouldn't listen when I tried to tell him he was like that when I got there."
Kid buried his head on Lou's shoulder. "I know, it looks bad, Lou. It's true that I wanted to kill him back a year and a half ago, when I saw him about to rape you again, but . . . "
Lou stiffened slightly, with her hand resting on the back of Kid's head soothingly. She had never thought of what Ethan did to her as rape. She always thought he had the right to take whatever he wanted because she was his wife. But hearing Kid's term now, she knew it was accurate enough. Her stomach turned at the thought of how Kid must have felt, walking in and seeing it that night.
"But I didn't do it, I swear it."
"Kid, if you are innocent, then we can prove it. We can try to find the real killer," she started, before seeing his face as he pulled back. He shook his head. "Pittman was crazed. He wouldn't listen to reason. He drew on me, and I had to wing him or he would have killed me. If I go back there, he's going to kill me before I get any trial. And it looks bad; he knew I'd beaten his brother and run off with you. I . . . almost did kill him that day, I was so angry at what he'd done to you. Even if he doesn't kill me when he gets the chance, no jury's going to believe I just happened to show up right when he got killed."
"I believe you, Kid," Lou said softly.
He looked at her gratefully. "Thank you, Lou. That means a lot. But I came back here to tell you, finally, how I feel about you. I was a fool to let a piece of paper come between us . . . I know that now. If you can wait until I figure out how to fix this mess, I hope you can give me another chance. Meet me in a month, in Denver -"
Lou cut him off. "No Kid. I'm not going to meet you in Denver."
Kid looked crestfallen. "I guess I can't blame you for that after how I acted. Just - - just know I love you with all my heart, Lou. Take care of yourself." He turned to leave, when her voice rang out again.
"There you go again, Kid. Listen, promise me something. Promise me never to ride on without me again. If there's trouble ahead, I want to face it with you."
He turned back and looked her full in the face. She held out her arms to him, and he rushed into them. "I shouldn't let you come with me - - it's crazy - -" he murmured, between passionate kisses.
She pushed him back a little. "It's my decision, Kid, and I won't live without you, not for another day. I'm coming on the run with you."
The riders were surprised when they woke the next morning and saw Lou's mussed bed, but no sign of their small bunkmate. Ike, walking in for breakfast, reported that Lightning was missing from his stall as well.
"Wonder where the little runt ran off to?" Cody asked.
"He didn't have a run today. Maybe he got up early and went off on an errand," Teaspoon answered, unconcerned. "We'd best concentrate on finding the Kid. That posse was in town at my office at dawn this morning asking about him. They'd tracked him into town, but lost the trail. They looked pretty rough; I'm figuring we'd better try to search for him too. I don't know if they'll take him alive. It's a pity Jimmy and Lou ain't around this morning. They know him best and might have an idea where he'd most likely head off to."
Buck entered the bunkhouse as Teaspoon spoke. "I think Kid was here sometime after we went to bed, Teaspoon. It didn't rain until late last night. There's more than one set of hoof prints in the mud outside the barn this morning, even though only Lightning was taken out. One horse had new flat plate shoes - that'd be Lightning, the farrier was here just a few days ago. The other one had fullered, seated out shoes, like Katy wears. The thing is, the hoof prints go off together, side by side, so it looks like Lou must have left with somebody after the rain stopped last night. I'm thinking it was Kid."
"I don't know, Buck, why would Kid risk coming back here to take Lou with him on the run? And why would Lou go? I know they're friends, but that's an awful risk for both of them to take."
"But who else would have ridden out from the barn overnight?" Cody asked. "Nobody else took a horse out of the barn, that's for sure. The other horses are all still in there."
Teaspoon looked baffled. "Well, I reckon we'll have to start following those tracks, and the sooner the better. Let's go, Buck, Cody, Noah. Ike, you and the new fella can hold down the station with Jimmy when he gets back."
Lou and Kid had ridden all night and through the next day, trying to put as much distance between the posse and themselves as possible. Finally, exhausted, they found shelter in a cave outside a town called Serenity Falls. The long ride had tired them, and they simply crawled into Kid's bed roll, Kid curling around Lou's body protectively, and slept soundly. The dawning light woke Kid first, and he stroked Lou's face and kissed her to wake her.
"Good morning, sunshine," he smiled down at her. She laughed in spite of herself at his silly, innocent grin. "How can you be so cheerful with the trouble we're in?" she wondered.
"Because I'm with you."
She thought about that a minute. Odd to say, even with all her worry at their predicament, she had never been happier either. The thought almost frightened her; she was unused to being happy, and hoped that it wasn't just a prelude to more disaster.
Kid cleared his throat. "I wanted to ask you if we could make a stop in Serenity Falls, though, before we get back on the road."
"I guess we could do with some supplies. I have some money -"
"Not just for that, Lou." He looked a little nervous, suddenly. "I wanted to ask you if you'll do me the honor of marrying me today," he whispered quietly.
She paused, as shocked as she was happy at his proposal. "But Kid, we never really even courted. Are . . . are you sure?"
He smiled down at her. "We may not have gotten a chance for any courting, but what's that matter? You think I don't know you after living and working with you for a year and a half? I doubt we would know each other better if we saw each other once a week at a social or sitting for an hour at a time on your daddy's porch, like most courting couples, that's for sure."
Kid turned serious. "Lou, I've loved you since I first saw you. Let's stop in Serenity Falls and promise ourselves to each other, forever, please?" His loving eyes were pleading with hers; but it didn't take much convincing. Tears in her eyes, she murmured, "I will, Kid," and he leaned down to kiss her passionately.
As the kiss intensified, he suddenly broke away, breathless. "We'd better get going if we're going to find a preacher and get married today, and get back on the road as soon after as we can. There's time for this later." Kid smiled at her again. "Our whole lives."
Teaspoon, Cody and Noah rode in to Serenity Falls, scanning the streets. The trail had led into town, but they had lost it in the dusty streets. "I expect they came into town to get some provisions, so let's start at the mercantile over there," Teaspoon said, indicating.
"Yeah, I've seen them," the elderly but sharp-eyed shopkeeper affirmed, glancing at Ike's sketches of Kid and Lou. "They came in and bought some supplies and clothes less than an hour ago."
"Did they say anything about where they were headed?" Cody asked.
"Well, they bought new dress-up clothes and changed into them in back. Paid for 'em and went out wearing them. Bought a wedding ring, too. Heard them asking outside about finding the preacher or a judge for a wedding. There's no justice of the peace in town, but there's a preacher. His house is two doors down from the church, just down the end of this street. They headed down that direction, probably looking for him."
"Thanks for your help, mister."
As they walked outside, Cody remarked, "I guess it must be true about Kid and that Mrs. Pittman lady. He must have come here to meet her and get married, now that her husband is out of the way. I guess Lou came along to be best man or something?"
Teaspoon sighed, shaking his head. "Looks that way, Cody." Buck rode up, having taken the long way and looped into town from the other direction, hoping to intercept their quarry if they left by the other side of town. "Teaspoon, that posse is hot on Kid and Lou's trail too. I saw them from the ridge above town, heading this way. No sign of Kid or Lou though."
"Let's head to the church, and try to convince Kid to turn himself in. If that posse catches them first, it could get ugly," Buck suggested.
Opening the back door to the church, the riders spotted Kid in a black suit standing at the altar, beside a slender woman. She was dressed in a lilac-colored watered silk dress, edged with wide strips of white battenburg lace at the neck and sleeves, and held a small bouquet of white flowers in her gloved hands. From where the riders stood in the doorway, her face was obscured by a pretty heart-shaped lilac bonnet tied under her chin with a wide white ribbon bow. Though they'd seen Lightning tied outside, there was no sign of Lou in the room.
"Sorry to interrupt, Reverend, but we're here to take this man in. Kid, I'm sorry, but it's for your own good. There's a posse on your tail and if they take you in, it might not be alive," Teaspoon said.
Kid slowly looked into the woman's face, still hidden by her bonnet. Then, the two of them turned together to face the other riders, who reacted in shock at the sight of her face.
Teaspoon found his voice first. "LOU?" he squawked. "How did this happen? I mean, when?"
She smiled sadly, but wryly. "Been like this since birth, Teaspoon. And it's not Lou. It's Louise." She paused. "Louise Pittman," she said amid dawning realization on all their faces.
Kid spoke next, slipping his arm around Lou's shoulders to support her. "Teaspoon, I need to ask you a favor. Let us finish this, before you take me in, please?"
Still reeling from the shock, Teaspoon numbly nodded, and approached, standing to Kid's right. The other riders, dumbfounded, gathered at the back of the church by the door, whispering in amazement to one another.
The minister cleared his throat and consulted his book briefly. "Well, if I may continue, then? Louise, wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband to live together after God's ordinance in the Holy Estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live? "
"I will," Lou said quietly but clearly, gazing up into Kid's eyes. The two of them seemed in their own world, as the minister completed the ceremony, pronounced them man and wife, and instructed Kid to kiss his bride. A tear dropped down Lou's face as Kid leaned in and obeyed. Her arms slipped around her new husband's neck and the two clung to each other desperately for several moments.
"Okay, Kid, I'm sorry but it's time to go now," Teaspoon finally said sympathetically, as the minister handed the marriage certificate to the couple. Teaspoon put an arm out toward Kid, who looked at Louise meaningfully for a moment. She nodded, barely perceptibly, as Kid turned with a swift movement, relieving Teaspoon of one of his sidearms while she as rapidly grabbed the other.
"Sorry, Teaspoon," Kid said briefly, as he gently turned and guided the older man toward the back of the church, while Lou opened the side door beside them on the altar. "But I got no chance if you turn me in to Pittman. I'm innocent, and I don't intend on hanging for something I didn't do." Kid dodged through the side door after Louise, slamming it shut after him. Teaspoon, rushing to the door and trying to open it, realized Kid and Lou had barricaded it somehow from the other side. They could hear the sound of hoof beats as the two raced off.
"Dang it, Kid! We're tryin' to help ya!" Teaspoon shouted, frustrated, before rushing to the back of the church with the other riders to mount their horses and pursue the newlyweds. But the pair had gotten enough of a head start, and Teaspoon and the boys lost them on the way out of town.
Lou lay awake in her sleeping husband's arms, gazing idly around the hotel room they'd finally stopped in after riding over a day and a half without rest. Their horses were exhausted, and so were they; they had no choice but to find someplace to rest for the night. But that hadn't stopped the young couple from finally and fully expressing their long pent-up passion for each other, locked in each other's arms at last. Afterwards, Kid had fallen asleep, and Lou watched him breathing softly and evenly. Even with all the trouble they were in, she was nearly overwhelmed with happiness, as she lay tenderly stroking his peacefully sleeping face next to hers.
She could not get over how different things were with Kid, from any of the many men she had been with before. All of those men had exploited or abused her; of course, she had assumed making love with Kid would be somewhat different . . . that Kid would never intentionally use or hurt her. Just the same she was not prepared to expect that any man could be so considerate, so gentle and patient as he had been in her arms tonight. She unconsciously had thought of any intimacy with a man as something to grit her teeth and endure. She had been thrilled to learn, for the first time, what love really could be with Kid as her teacher on their wedding night. Her gratitude and love for him were too intense at that moment for her to sleep, and so here she lay awake watching him adoringly. Eventually, though, her exhaustion took over, and she found her eyelids drooping and sleep finally beckoning.
Suddenly, the door to the hotel room was smashed in, at the same time that a rifle blast shattered the window of their first floor room. Armed men came pouring in from both sides, as Kid, startled awake, reached for his gun beside the bed reflexively. At his movement toward the gun, several of the men opened fire, guns blazing. Lou screamed uncontrollably, horror-stricken, watching her new husband's body jerk as several bullets found their target. When the smoke cleared, a sobbing Lou held his bleeding form to her, as a man stepped forward and addressed her. Through her sobs she recognized Ethan's brother.
"Hello Louise, it's been a long time," he said calmly, while reloading his rifle and raising it level with her head. "Goodbye."
Lou winced, waiting for the end to come, when she was startled by the cold sound of Jimmy's voice.
"Drop it, Pittman," Jimmy said evenly, his pistol raised level with the Marshal's head. "She's unarmed, you got no right. Put it down, I'm warning ya."
As the posse looked on with interest, Marshal Pittman surveyed Jimmy, then smirked and put up his weapon. "Take them, boys," Pittman ordered.
The other men advanced on the couple in the bed, and jerked Lou to her feet, with the sheet clutched around her. Kid's gunshot wounds were not fatal, but he was bleeding profusely and needed medical attention, Jimmy saw at a glance. Jimmy kindly picked up Lou's lilac dress and underclothes from a nearby chair and handed them to the shaking girl. He checked behind a screen. "You can go in here and put those on," he directed. She complied, and emerged from behind the screen just as Teaspoon and the other riders appeared in the doorway.
"My God," Teaspoon said at the sight of a wounded Kid seated on the bed, being helped back into his clothes by his wife.
"I'm okay, Teaspoon," winced Kid. "But I'm almost wishing I'd listened to you this afternoon. Almost," he added, looking up at his wife and squeezing her hand comfortingly.
"I'm taking these two in, him for murder and her as an accessory. They committed murder in my jurisdiction, Marshal. So they're my catch," Pittman informed Teaspoon.
Teaspoon studied his fellow Marshal. "Marshal Pittman, I presume. I'm Marshal Hunter. Pleased to meet you." Teaspoon stuck his hand out to Pittman, who reluctantly shook it. "These two worked for me in Rock Creek, Marshal. I think there's some mistake here. I understand it's your brother they're accused of killin'. It seems to me you might not be as impartial as you should be as the arresting officer." He looked at Kid, whose shirt was rapidly becoming soaked in blood from his shoulder wound. "This prisoner needs a doctor."
Pittman looked coldly at Teaspoon. "My brother didn't get any doctor, Hunter. I see no reason to slow down and waste time with doctoring this criminal. I'm taking him back to stand trial."
Kid and Lou looked desperately at Teaspoon. "Please, Teaspoon," Lou whispered. "Don't let him take us in. We won't see morning - -"
Pittman turned and slapped the girl across the face, knocking her to her knees. "That's enough out of you, you little whore. My brother took you out of the gutter and married you, and this is how you thank him."
Even injured, an infuriated Kid hurtled himself toward Pittman violently and needed to be held back by Cody and Noah.
Pittman turned and addressed Teaspoon. "They're my prisoners, that's final."
Teaspoon met Pittman's gaze. "Then I'm ridin' along with you to help guard them. I don't want any accidents, Pittman."
The dawn broke through the small window in the jail cell, waking Lou, who looked around confused. She was in a metal cot, pressed up against the bars separating her jail cell from Kid's. His cot had been pulled over next to the bars on his side, and their hands were intertwined through the bars.
Looking at him, she worried over his paleness, no doubt from the loss of blood from his now bandaged shoulder wound. Teaspoon and Jimmy had insisted that Kid be allowed to see a doctor, thank Heaven. She put her free hand up and slipped it through the bars, to touch his face gently. If only I hadn't come into his life, he wouldn't be in this mess now, she thought despondently. I've been nothing but trouble for him from the first.
She looked over and noted that Cody and Teaspoon were sleeping on cots in the Marshal's office. She was grateful for the riders' help, as she knew that she and Kid would be dead now if they had not cared enough to intervene. As she looked on, the front door to the Marshal's office opened, and Jimmy strode in.
Lou sat up quickly. "Jimmy," she said eagerly. He approached the bars. "This is a fine mess you two have gotten yourselves into, Lou," he said.
"I've gotten Kid into, you mean," she said sadly, clasping Kid's hand tightly through the bars.
Jimmy looked at Kid, who was sleeping fitfully. "He don't look too good, Lou. After I leave here, I'll stop in at the doctor's and tell him to come by and check him." Lou looked gratefully up at Jimmy.
"Meantime, I'm workin' on clearing Kid's name. Got the judge to sign an order exhuming Ethan's body for a proper autopsy. Nobody bothered to do it on account of Marshal Pittman didn't order one. He claims he saw Kid standing over the body, and the case is closed."
Teaspoon and Cody were up now, and listening with interest to Jimmy. "What else can we do?" Cody asked.
Jimmy turned to Lou. "Tell me, Lou, did Ethan have any other heirs besides you and his brother?"
Lou shook her head. "No, Jimmy. If Ethan died, his will stated I would get his estate. But I never wanted anything from him. And I reckon after I left him he would have changed his will anyway."
Jimmy nodded. "He did, Lou. He changed his will to disinherit you, and named his brother his sole heir. His lawyer told me so this morning when I went askin' about his business affairs. The will was changed only a month ago."
Teaspoon looked interested. "Did Marshal Pittman know that?"
Jimmy nodded. "The lawyer told me something else. He said that he told both the Pittman brothers that you can't disinherit your lawful wife. The law has a thing called a forced share - - that means that a wife can sue the estate and get her fair share no matter what the will says."
Jimmy looked at Lou. "That could be why he was so eager to put a bullet in you when he caught you in that hotel room, Lou. To keep you from cutting into his inheritance from his brother. And he wanted to kill Kid to keep him from testifying at the trial, since I think he's the one who killed Ethan, to get his money."
Teaspoon looked grave. "That's a heavy accusation to make against a U.S. Marshal, Jimmy. Killin' his brother for money. We'll need more than just a theory, we need some proof to go on."
"I'm working on it, Teaspoon. I questioned one of the guards at the compound. He told me that Kid showed up at the gate, Ethan sent word to let him on in. Kid was carryin' one pistol, that's it. A minute later, Marshal Pittman showed up, and they told him Kid was heading up to the shooting range to talk to Pittman. They said Marshal Pittman took off like a devil the back way toward the shooting range. He was carrying a rifle, like he always does."
"Did they hear the shots?" Teaspoon asked.
Jimmy shook his head. "Ethan was shooting all morning, they heard plenty of shot, but didn't pay it much mind. Didn't know anything was wrong until Marshal Pittman came running back a few minutes later, shot, saying Kid had killed his brother and shot him in the arm. Kid escaped through the woods and crawled under the barbed wire in the back of the property."
Lou, ashen, spoke up quietly. "Kid swears to me he didn't kill Ethan, Jimmy, and I believe him. His brother must have done it."
"I believe him, too, Lou, and I'm working on getting the proof so we can clear Kid. You just hang in there, okay?" Jimmy said.
Turning to Teaspoon and Cody, he added, "You two on guard duty, then?"
They nodded. "Until Pittman comes back at least," Cody said.
"I think it's best if one of you stays here, keeps an eye on things. Pittman can't be trusted to guard them," Jimmy pointed out. "Teaspoon, why don't you come along with me to the coroner's and see how that autopsy is coming along."
The two lawmen stood grimacing in the coroner's office as the coroner performed his autopsy, carefully measuring and making notes.
He looked up finally. "I have reached some conclusions. First one, he didn't kill himself. The fatal bullet entered the back of the head and exited out the face. Impossible for him to do to himself."
"So, what's the verdict? It was rifle shot that killed him, wasn't it?" Jimmy asked, confidently. This would be the proof they needed to clear Kid and show that Pittman was the guilty party, he thought proudly.
The coroner wiped his hands on his filthy, blood-stained apron. "Nope."
Jimmy froze. "What do you mean, 'nope'? It's … it's got to be a rifle wound," he said, approaching the corpse.
The coroner held up the bullet. "This came from a single action revolver, anyone with an eye can see that."
Jimmy stood looking in dismay at the bullet the man held aloft. He'd gone looking for proof that Kid was innocent, but this was one more nail in his coffin. Kid carries a six-shooter and this bullet could have come from it. Staring at the bullet, he remembered Kid's accuracy with a handgun. It would have been no trouble for Kid to pick off Ethan before he even knew that Kid was nearby; Kid could have then moved over to check the body, be sure he was dead, when the Marshall happened upon them a minute later. Jimmy found himself having doubts. Could Kid have committed cold blooded murder? Jimmy thought, shocked, staring open-mouthed at Teaspoon.
Teaspoon looked gravely at the bullet the coroner held aloft. Sighing a little, he continued questioning the man. "So how many bullet wounds we talking, doc?"
"The one to the back of the head with the exit wound out the face; then five more, including the one left by this bullet in the shoulder. All from the same caliber weapon."
Jimmy looked up hopefully. "Six wounds, you say? And some not in the head or chest?"
The coroner pointed. "Only one in the head, Deputy. The rest missed the mark, hitting him in the shoulder, the arms, one in the leg. The non-fatal wounds look like they were from the front. Likely the fatal wound came after he was on the ground, from behind."
Jimmy thought about that. Kid would never have missed five times, especially at close range. Also, there would have been little time to reload to fire at Marshal Pittman, who had said he found Kid standing over the body with his only weapon already holstered. Assuming Kid used his six-shooter, he would have had to have reloaded before Pittman reached the scene, but the guards had said only a short time had elapsed between Kid's entry into the compound, and Pittman's. And that Pittman had run back to the entrance within a short time after he was let in. He voiced his questions to Teaspoon, who shook his head slowly.
"Reckon Kid could'a confronted Pittman, shot him a few times to punish him for his treatment of Louise. Then he could've finished him off on the ground, reloaded, and holstered his gun, before the Marshal showed up."
"Come on, Teaspoon. You mean Kid would just stand there calmly reloading and hang around waiting to get caught? He wouldn't have needed to check that Pittman was dead if he was the one who put a bullet in his head. It don't make sense," Jimmy argued.
Teaspoon pointed out, "Yeah, Jimmy, but you forget that if we believe the guards' story, then Pittman can't have been the shooter either. On account of he wouldn't have had time to get to the range, shoot his brother and get out of sight before Kid showed up. The guards placed Kid there first."
"So there's a third person who's the shooter," Jimmy offered.
"Jimmy. I know you're good friends with Kid and all, but that's stretching things a bit, don't you figure? That'd mean it would have to be somebody that worked for Pittman. What reason would anybody workin' for him have to do such a thing? A cold-blooded murder like this? It's looking more like Kid all the time to me. He's the only one at the scene who had reason to hate Pittman enough to torture him before killin' him."
Jimmy stubbornly insisted. "I'm telling you, the story doesn't add up. I don't know who pulled the trigger on Pittman, but it ain't Kid."
A voice cut in. "I'm afraid I agree with your Marshal, Deputy."
The two men swung around to see a man in a suit standing in the doorway. "I'm the federal prosecutor, Jake Montgomery. Sounds like Marshal Pittman has the right man in custody, all right." Montgomery nodded at the coroner. "When can I expect a written report?"
"Tomorrow, soon's I finish this and get it written up, Mr. Montgomery."
"And you two are?" Montgomery prompted.
"U.S. Marshal Teaspoon Hunter, and this here's my deputy Jimmy Hickok."
Montgomery nodded. "Thanks for the investigation you've performed so far, Marshal, Deputy. I'll take it from here, thanks."
He turned and started walking out. Jimmy followed closely. "Well, you're going to go back and question some of the staff at Pittman's compound, ain't you? To see who else was around that day … who saw Pittman last, that kind of thing, right?"
Montgomery was headed to the jail. "I see no reason, Deputy. You can handle those interviews if you like, but I'm sure they'll only confirm what you've already uncovered. In the meantime, I'm going to go with the most likely theory. That the young fellow in there pulled the trigger. And I'm charging him and the woman with murder."
"Lou?" Jimmy gasped.
Teaspoon cut in. "Now Montgomery, I can vouch that the lady in there was nowhere near the scene of the crime."
Montgomery was entering the area near the jail cells and addressed Kid, who was now awake, and Lou. "I know she wasn't there when the trigger was pulled, Marshal. But there's a certain legal theory known as 'conspiracy' and way I see it, this little lady was in on the killing. I know she helped a known fugitive escape, that's a crime in itself. And what jury will believe she didn't know anything about the murder beforehand?"
"I didn't murder nobody, Mister. And Lou didn't even know I was going to see Ethan," Kid insisted, clutching his wife's hand through the bars.
"Really? Well, the evidence is pretty strong against you, Mr. Kidd. I'll get you convicted for sure, and then I guess Mrs. Kidd will have to roll the dice on her own life. I've got her as an accessory after the fact at the minimum; and if the jury believes she knew beforehand, she'll hang alongside you." Montgomery said quietly.
He started toward the door, then paused and looked back over his shoulder. "Unless, of course, you just confess to the murder. Then I'd be willing to charge her with something less, like aiding and abetting a fugitive."
Kid looked at Lou, and slowly back at Montgomery. Louise, seeing what he was about to say, sobbed out, "No, Kid. Don't confess to something you didn't do on my account, please."
Kid looked at Montgomery, ignoring his wife's pleas. "If you agree to let her go free and clear, I'll sign anything you put in front of me," he said.
Louise began shrieking and clutching toward Kid through the bars, pleading with him not to do this. Marshal Pittman appeared behind Montgomery and snarled, "What the hell is going on in here, Hunter? Why are these prisoners being allowed to touch each other through the bars? And you, get control of yourself," he shouted toward Louise, inserting a key in the cell door and opening it. Going inside, he grabbed Louise and gestured to his deputy. "Get me the leg irons," he shouted.
"Pittman, that's enough, let her be," shouted Teaspoon, but Pittman and the deputy ignored him, chaining Louise to the opposite side of her cell, where she sobbed in despair before the lawmen exited the cell and locked her back in.
Kid was white as a sheet, but more determined than ever at the sight of his wife's treatment. "Answer me, Montgomery. Do we have a deal?"
Montgomery looked at Kid carefully. Pittman interjected. "What deal? What kind of deal are you cutting with these two murderers, Mongtomery? You got them both dead to rights, what do you need to deal for?"
"I'm considering charging Mrs. Kidd with a lesser offense in exchange for a guilty plea to first degree murder by Mr. Kidd, Pittman. Mr. Kidd is offering to do so if I let Mrs. Kidd go free," Montgomery explained.
Pittman, already angry, seemed to go berserk at the proposal. "I'm the victim's family, Montgomery, and I can tell you I ain't accepting that. And the folks in this Territory won't accept it. She's the reason this happened. If she walks out of here free, she'll get away with her lover murdering her husband for her. She'll get a share of his estate, and walk away scott-free? You call that justice?"
"You more worried about justice or about Lou inheriting part of the estate from her husband, Pittman?" asked Teaspoon grimly.
Mongtomery looked down. "I can see we're at an impasse here. Mr. Kidd, my offer's still on the table. You think on it. But if you haven't accepted it before the territorial judge gets here next month, I'll charge you both, and you'll both hang. I'll be back through then," he said, nodding to Pittman. He turned and stalked out of the jailhouse.
Kid retreated to his cot, sitting down on it wearily. Louise, crying, walked to the center of her cell, as far as she could in her leg irons. "Kid, please don't agree to this. Please. You're innocent, the jury will believe us."
Kid looked at her briefly, then away. "I'm sorry, Lou. I won't take that chance on your life. You're wrong, no one will believe us, not without some proof of who did this."
The riders looked at each other worriedly. "Well, let's not just stand here," Jimmy said irritably. "Let's get to questioning the rest of the staff at Pittman's compound, to start. Maybe something will turn up."
"I think you've done enough, Jimmy," muttered Cody as they filed out onto the street.
"That's enough, Cody. Jimmy's done a fine job of investigatin'," Teaspoon admonished Cody. He cleared his throat. "It's the dang evidence that ain't helpin' us. But maybe there's still something out there to help the Kid out. If there is, we got to find it."
In the long month after their arrest, Kid's wounds completely healed, but Lou's health declined drastically. Eventually, Lou's refusal to eat and her pale, waxen look had concerned Teaspoon and the others enough that a doctor was summoned. Kid looked on worriedly as the doctor quietly tended to Louise in her cell.
After several minutes' discussion, the doctor stood and tapped on the bars, asking to be let out. Once the door closed behind him, the doctor gave his opinion. "Marshal, she says she hasn't had a cycle since about two weeks before she came in here. She's nauseated, especially in the mornings, for over two weeks. She's reporting other signs of pregnancy as well. All the same as she had in an earlier pregnancy. I can't confirm it of course, but if she's telling the truth, then she is likely pregnant."
Kid looked quickly at Louise, who looked back silently, tears streaming down her face. This was not how she had imagined she would tell him that she was pregnant, with all these people staring them down in their jail cells. But it could not be avoided.
Marshal Pittman sneered. "It's a trick. She knows she can't be hung if there's a possibility she's pregnant, until we can confirm otherwise. She's trying to delay the trial, stay her and her husband's execution. That's all it is," he growled, approaching the bars.
Louise cowered down at his approach. All her courage and spunk acquired while working for the Express evaporated when in the presence of Marshal Pittman, who was almost the image of his late brother. The resemblance seemed to have a paralyzing effect on Louise, Kid had noticed sorrowfully. He was more certain than ever now what he would have to do when the Territorial Judge came to town, to save his wife and the mother of his child from execution. He only regretted that he had to wait until the Judge came through town, and that Louise was subjected to this fear and despair and humiliation on a daily basis until then. But he said nothing of this to Louise; for now, he allowed her to believe that they were both going to have a trial, as any talk of his pleading guilty for her sake caused her to become nearly hysterical. He sighed to himself, silently thinking about the end that seemed to be looming for him as soon as the judge returned to town.
. CENTER> CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Heading across the Pittman compound, Jimmy was despondent. Over the last month, he'd been over the evidence every which way he could think of, but there was nothing to definitively clear Kid. The evidence against him was circumstantial - no one had seen Kid pull the trigger, and the murder weapon had not been firmly established as Kid's six-shooter in particular - but powerful nonetheless. The prosecutor and judge were due back in town today, and Kid and Lou would be forced to enter their pleas. He knew that Kid intended to plead guilty in order to ensure Lou's safety. Once that happened, it would be too late to do anything to help.
Knowing it was an off chance, he had returned to town every time he could get away from his job for the Express, and re-questioned every employee on the compound, except one. He trudged over to the stables to finish the job, pointless though it seemed. He had spoken to Moses at the outset of the case and the old man had denied knowing or hearing anything, but maybe he would have remembered something by now. Jimmy shook his head slightly to himself, knowing how futile this was, but he didn't know what else to do.
Rounding the corner of the stable, he caught sight of Moses shoeing a horse. The old man straightened up with difficulty and greeted Jimmy cautiously. "Hello, Mr. Hickok," he said softly. "Any news on Miss Louise and Mr. Kidd?"
Jimmy shook his head. "Sorry to say, no, Moses. I came by to see if you thought of anything, anything that might help figure out who really did this thing. Otherwise, Kid is going to hang for it . . . and leave Lou a widow with a baby on the way."
Moses started at Jimmy's words. "They ain't had a trial yet . . . maybe he won't get convicted?"
"He's planning on pleading guilty."
Moses looked confused. "But he didn't do it! Why would he plead guilty?"
Jimmy eyed Moses. "He's doing it to keep Lou out of jail. But you seem mighty sure he didn't do it. Maybe you saw something and are afraid to come forward? The stables ain't far from the shooting range."
"Yes . . ."
Jimmy nodded. "It was Marshal Pittman, wasn't it? And you didn't come forward because you were afraid he'd take his revenge on you?"
Moses shook his head slowly. "No, that ain't the reason I kept quiet. It's because I shot Mr. Pittman, that's why."
Jimmy gaped at Moses open mouthed. "You? But why, Moses? "
Moses looked sadly at the ground. "Come back to my quarters with me and I'll explain. After that, and after I take care of a little personal business, I'll come with you and confess to the Judge."
Jimmy put his hand on his Colt cautiously and followed Moses.
Moses opened the door to the little cabin and the two stepped in. Jimmy saw a young woman about his age and three small children, who looked up at his entry.
"Mr. Jimmy, this is my daughter Tillie, and her children."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," Jimmy said politely, tipping his hat.
Moses sighed and pulled a drawer open. Seeing the glint of gunmetal, Jimmy drew fast as lightning, but Moses turned and held the gun out by the barrel. "Take it." Moses said. "It's the gun I used to kill Pittman. It was on the firing range that day, and I picked it up and shot him."
Jimmy examined the six-shooter. One bullet was left in the chamber, and it hadn't been cleaned since being fired last. "Question I still have, Moses, is why? Why'd you kill your boss? Ethan was a lousy husband to Louise, but he was a pretty decent boss far as I could tell. What happened?"
Moses turned again to the drawer and Jimmy took his gun from the holster yet again.
"Wish you'd quit doin' that, Mr. Hickok. I ain't about to try to draw on you, I've seen how fast you are for myself."
The old man pulled a paper from the drawer. "I shot him because of this."
Jimmy read the paper Moses handed him.
Reward, $500 for runaway female slave, age 25, answering to 'Tillie', and her three children.
Jimmy's eyes ran down the page, then toward the four people sitting quietly by the table staring at him. "Your family?"
Moses nodded gravely. "Mr. Pittman figured out they were my folks, runaways, when he got that notice. He was going to turn them in; I asked him to look the other way this once."
Moses' kind old face turned bitter. "I ran off from my old master in South Carolina twelve years ago, left my family behind. I helped arrange for Tillie and her children to get away, finally, this year. I told Mr. Pittman, I'd worked for him faithful for ten years. I asked him to consider that, let me keep my family here. He said no, business was business. After ten years of good service," he spat angrily.
Moses went to Tillie's side, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I couldn't let my Tillie be sent back to the plantation, Mr. Hickok. Not after all those years of working to get her out of there. Not after all she's been through at the master's hands."
Tillie's beautiful brown eyes were filled with tears as she clutched her children to her. Jimmy nodded toward them. "Those children are all the slavemaster's?" he asked, pityingly. She nodded, tears breaking out now. Jimmy shook his head, sadly. "I can't say I blame you for shooting Ethan, if he was planning on sending Tillie back. But Kid don't deserve to hang for this. Moses, if you come with me in time to save Kid and Lou, I'll see to it that your family gets to someone who can help them," he said, thinking of Rosemary and Isaiah.
"Tell me what happened next," Jimmy encouraged him.
Moses sighed. "I lost my head, grabbed the gun and started shooting, that's all. Shot five times, but I'm not much of a shot, not with these old eyes and hands. Hit him in the arms and legs, but I guess he must've bled to death, I don't know. "
Jimmy frowned. "You didn't fire more than five times? And no shot to the head?"
"No. I hid and saw Mr. Kidd come along and see him on the ground, and Marshal Pittman come along a minute later, and Kid run off, though."
Jimmy asked slowly, "Moses, did you see what Marshal Pittman did after Kid ran off?"
Moses shook his head. "He fired after Mr. Kidd with his rifle a couple times, then pulled his pistol, and was firing that after him four or five times, but I didn't stick around. Still was firing when I got out of earshot."
Jimmy looked thoughtful. "I see. Come on along, then, let's go . . . there's somebody I want to stop off and see before you talk to the judge, though."
Jimmy burst through the door to the Pittmans' office on the property, Moses trailing behind. Approaching Marshal Pittman, he snarled, "Got you dead to rights now, Pittman."
Marshal Pittman looked nervously at Jimmy, then at Moses just behind. "What in thunderation are you talkin' about, Deputy?"
"Just that I got an eyewitness here who saw you put the bullet in your brother's head. Figured you had a golden opportunity when you found him with Kid; admit it, Pittman. You killed your own brother, pinned it on Kid, just so you could take over this business."
Pittman paled for a moment, then his gaze settled on Moses. "So you saw? You think you got me licked? Hell, who cares if you saw anything? You think a jury will take his word against a white lawman's? I don't think so." But Pittman's face twitched, and he suddenly drew his gun, raising it toward Moses to fire; but Jimmy was ready, and shot him in the hand, sending the gun spinning.
The door flew open again, and Teaspoon and the prosecutor entered swiftly.
"Nice work, son," Teaspoon said proudly. "I imagine you'll drop the murder charges against Kid and Louise, now that you know he the facts, right, counselor? "
The prosecutor nodded numbly. Moses looked startled, but Jimmy shook his head quickly. Taking the hint, Moses kept silent.
"Marshal, I'll authorize you to release Mr. and Mrs. Kidd," the lawyer told them.
Teaspoon nodded, tossing the keys toward Jimmy. "I think you've earned that privilege, son. Left 'em with Barnett guarding them. Let's head on back and let them out."
"It'll be a pleasure, Teaspoon," Jimmy grinned.
Entering the jail, Jimmy called out, "Not to worry, you two. Ol' Jimmy solved the case for ya. You're free to - -"
Jimmy stopped short. The door to one of the cells was open, the cell empty. Barnett was locked in the other, looking humiliated.
"Teaspoon, I can explain. Those two tricked me - - it wasn't my fault," Barnett began babbling.
Teaspoon and Jimmy stared in disbelief at the empty cells, then turned to each other.
"Please don't tell me we have to chase them down again," Jimmy muttered irritably.
"Expect not, Jimmy. They ain't wanted for anything now, and we do have other jobs that we need to get back to. Guess if we ever see 'em or hear from 'em again, we can let 'em know they don't need to run anymore."
Jimmy chuckled. "I reckon. I reckon they're happy now, that's all that matters." The pair shook their heads ruefully and walked out to return home to Rock Creek, as two lovers raced away together into the sunset.
THE END.