C L A R A’ S C R U S A D E

C.J. PETIT
 Copyright © 2022 by C.J. Petit

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the publisher

except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America
ISBN:
9798847964050
 
 CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
EPILOGUE
 PROLOGUE
August 24, 1888
Cottonwood, Northwestern Arizona Territory
 
Clara Foster’s black dress and bonnet made her feel as if she was sitting
in her cookstove’s oven as she watched the gravediggers shovel dirt onto
her husband’s coffin. The three other mourners had already left the
cemetery, but Clara didn’t blame them. She was surprised that even that
many had the courage to show their respects.
But now that James was gone, she faced a very difficult and totally
unexpected dilemma. James had been so devoted to his work that he hadn’t
planned for the possibility of his death.
Clara admitted that she was much more at fault for being caught off
guard. Even after toning down her fierce accusations, once James started
printing her exposes of the town’s massive corruption, she knew the mayor
and the sheriff wouldn’t tolerate it much longer.
She had anticipated trouble but expected it to take the form of broken
windows or even setting the building on fire. But after her first husband had
been murdered, she should have suspected that they might assassinate
James. What made it worse was knowing she was entirely to blame for his
death. If she hadn’t convinced him to join her crusade against their
corruption and violence, he’d still be alive.
The ground was almost level again, so Clara blessed herself, and then
turned and started back to the office. She knew the easiest and safest thing
for her to do would be to sell out and leave town. Between their savings and
what she’d make on the sale, Clara would have enough money to last her
for five or six years, making it possible for her to move far away and start a
new life. She was still fairly young, so maybe she might even remarry.
 While that was the easy path for her to follow, Clara wasn’t about to take
it. She was a hard, stubborn woman and wasn’t afraid to follow the more
difficult and dangerous trail. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with
what they did to James for telling the truth.

By the time she entered the office of

The Canyon Caller
, Clara knew
what she would do. First, she’d send a telegram to the territorial governor’s
office in Prescott requesting assistance. While she would continue printing
the paper, she wouldn’t renew James’ campaign against corruption. At least
not until the governor sent help.
After she closed the office door, Allen Williams looked up from his
typesetting table and said, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there, Clara.”

Clara untied her bonnet’s bow and replied, “I understand, Allen. I was
surprised there were three others at the burial.”
Allen stood and asked, “What are you going to do now?”

Clara removed her black bonnet and tossed it onto the long, wide
worktable before replying, “I’m not selling out, Allen. But let me tell you
what I’m going to do.”
As he listened to Mrs. Foster’s plan, Allen was torn between being proud
of her and being terrified for himself. At least she wasn’t going to poke the
bear for a while. But unlike Clara, Allen didn’t believe the governor would
send any help. He also knew he didn’t have her courage and hoped when
she finally understood the futility of her request, she wouldn’t resume
writing the corruption articles. But at least he had control of what was
printed in
The Canyon Caller
.

_____
After ten days of anxiously awaiting a reply from the governor’s office,
Clara was more than just disappointed. She was furious. She didn’t know if
the governor’s office just didn’t care or if the sheriff had prevented her
telegram from being sent. She considered mailing a letter but suspected it
would never leave town.

Despite the lack of support, it wasn’t in her nature to surrender. But

when Clara told Allen she was preparing to renew her editorials against
corruption, he refused to set the type for any accusatory editorial or article.
What’s more, he swore that if she insisted, he would abandon her and leave
the territory.
Clara wasn’t able to set the type or use the press, so Allen’s mutiny
created another dilemma. If he quit, she would lose her only source of
income. She wished she’d taken the time to learn how to do the physical
work of putting out the paper, but now it was too late. When she had asked
Allen to show her, he had refused saying it was for her own good. So, if he
left, she would be unable to run
The Canyon Caller
as a one-woman
newspaper.
So, despite her anger and frustration, Clara had no choice. She would
keep printing
The Canyon Caller
but with only insipid stories and ads.
 CHAPTER 1
September 13, 1888
 
Deputy Sheriff Steve Hilliard left the cool shadows of Rita’s Cantina and
stepped into Arizona’s intense heat. He belched, and then grinned before he
turned left to head back to the jail. After taking two steps, he spotted a
stranger riding in from the west end of town leading a heavily loaded pack
mule.
Steve kept walking as he studied the newcomer. It was unusual for
anyone to come from that direction at this time of day, but it was how the
man sat in his saddle that attracted his attention. He was either sitting on a
thick cushion or he was one of the tallest men he’d ever seen. His deep red
horse was at least sixteen hands, too.

As the deputy studied the slowly approaching stranger, he didn’t see

anything about him that appeared suspicious. But he wasn’t concerned that
the man might be an outlaw. The boss had learned about Mrs. Foster’s
telegraphed plea for help and had told Steve and his fellow deputies to keep
an eye out for strangers.
Steve had good reasons to doubt that the governor had sent the stranger
in response to Mrs. Foster’s telegram. He was just one man and it had been
too long since she’d sent the telegram. But he’d still question the stranger
before he reported his arrival to Sheriff Johnson.

When the rider was close, Steve stepped into the street forcing the rider
to pull up.
He then looked up and asked, “What’s your name and business, mister?"
 The tall newcomer looked down, smiled and said, “My name’s Lin
Walker. I’m a writer.”

Steve tipped his hat back and asked, “What do you mean a writer?”
“I write books.”

“You sure are well-armed for a feller who writes books for a livin’.”
“I quickly learned that it’s not a good idea to ride alone and unarmed
while leading a loaded pack mule through open territory.”

Steve grinned as he said, “You shoulda figgered that out before you
started. So, why’d you come to Cottonwood? There ain’t much to write
about around here.”
“I travel the Southwest to get ideas for my books and wanted to find a
town that wasn’t infected by a railroad.”

“There’s plenty of towns that ain’t got a railroad.”

“I know. But it’s not just the lack of a train station that I need for
inspiration. The town must also have a personality.”

Steve snickered before he asked, “How the hell can a town have a
personality? It ain’t alive.”
“Sure, it is. It’s filled with living, interesting people with unique stories
to tell.”

Steve shook his head as he said, “You sure got queer ideas, mister. How
long are you gonna stay in town?”
“I don’t know yet. I might leave tomorrow if I don’t find anything
interesting. Where can I find a place to stay?”

Steve pointed to the east end of town and said, “The Western Hotel is on
the left. But if you’re gonna stick around more’n a couple of days, the
Delgado Boarding House is on the right side of Center Street.”
 Lin tipped his hat, said, “Thanks, Deputy. I think I’ll head to the
boarding house,” and then tapped his red gelding’s flanks and continued his
interrupted ride.

Steve watched him ride away and then shook his head again before he
hurriedly strode to the jail to tell his boss about his conversation with the
unusual stranger.
_____

After the brief interview, Lin suspected it wouldn’t be long before he

underwent another, more intense interrogation by the sheriff. He only hoped
to be able to enjoy a hot meal before then.
As he walked Copper along Center Street, Lin examined Cottonwood
and marked each business. He passed two liveries before he pulled up in
front of the one just a block away from Delgado’s Boarding House. After he
dismounted, he tied off Copper at the long hitchrail and entered the large
barn.

After his eyes adjusted to the shadows, he spotted the liveryman in the
back stall brushing down a light gray mare.
Lin took two steps closer before the man turned, set down the brush and
said, “Hello.”

As the liveryman left the stall, Lin said, “Good afternoon. I need to
board my horse and mule.”
The much shorter man offered his hand and said, “I have not seen you
before. My name is Miguel Ramos.”

Lin shook his hand and in accent-free Spanish, replied, “I just arrived in
town. My name is Lin Walker.”
Miguel was surprised when the tall white man replied in his native
tongue before he replied, “How long will you be staying?”
 “I’m not quite sure yet. I’ll be getting a room at Delgado’s shortly, so I’ll
pay for a week.”

“It will cost three dollars for both animals and another fifty cents if you
wish for them to have oats.”
Lin smiled, slid his hand into his right pocket, pulled out a half eagle and
handed it to Miguel.

As the liveryman stared at the gold coin, Lin said, “Let them feast on
oats, and don’t bother giving me the change until I leave.”
Miguel grinned as he pocketed the coin and then followed Lin outside.

As Lin unstrapped his saddlebags, Miguel said, “You have a beautiful

horse, senor.”
“He’s as fast as they come and can maintain a gallop for five minutes
without being overstressed.”

Miguel rubbed the tall red gelding’s nose and asked, “What do you call
him?”
Lin hung his bulging, heavy saddlebags over his shoulder and said, “I
gave him a very unimaginative name. I call him Copper.”
Miguel smiled as he said, “But it is a good name.”
Lin slid his Winchester from his scabbard and said, “I did give a little
more thought when I named my mule, though. I call him Job because he
carries a heavy burden.”

Miguel nodded and smiled as Lin walked to his pack mule, flipped open
the flap of a rubberized pack and pulled out a leather case.
Lin turned and said, “They’re all yours, Miguel. I’d shake your hand, but
it seems as if our Creator failed to give us a third arm.”

Miguel laughed as he took Copper’s reins and said, “But I am happy He

gave horses four legs so I could feed my family.”
 Lin chuckled and started walking to Delgado’s Boarding House as
Miguel led Copper and Job into his barn.

After climbing the three steps onto a narrow porch, Lin didn’t need to set
down his Winchester as the door was already open. He entered the boarding
house, passed through the foyer and stepped into the sitting room.
He stopped and smiled at an older couple who were sitting on the couch
and then said, “Good afternoon. Is the owner available?”
The gray-haired gentleman replied, “Mister Delgado is upstairs, but I’m
sure he’ll be down shortly. I’m Saul Jacobs and this is my wife, Miriam.”
“I’m pleased to meet you. My name is Lin Walker and as you probably
noticed, I just rode into town.”

Saul asked, “Are you just passing through, or are you planning to settle
in Cottonwood?”
“I’m just visiting, but I’m unsure of the length of my stay.”
“We’re taking tomorrow’s stage to Sulphur Springs then onto Las Vegas
where we’ll take the train to San Francisco.”
“Did you live in Cottonwood?”

Saul nodded as he replied, “For nine years. I started a savings and loan
and was doing well until…”
Saul stopped speaking in mid-sentence when his wife set her hand on his
knee and asked, “What do you do for a living, Mister Walker?”

Lin replied, “I write historical fiction, or as some critics call them,

bloated dime novels. I write under the name L.A. Walker, so some of my
friends call me Law.”
Miriam smiled and then asked, “Have you had many of them
published?”
 “I’ve written six. Five have been published and the sixth is still being
edited by my publisher in San Francisco.”

“Do you live in San Francisco?”

“I do when I’m not traveling the country searching for inspiration.”

Saul was about to ask a question when they heard Mister Delgado
trotting down the stairs.
When he reached the bottom of the stairway, he smiled and said, “Good
day, sir. Will you be staying with us?”

Lin returned his smile as he replied, “Yes, sir. My name is Lin Walker,
and I’ll need a room for at least a week.”
Lupe Delgado stopped before Lin and said, “Excellent. It is ten dollars
per week and meals are served at seven o’clock, noon and at seven in the
evening. But the times are not set in stone.”

Lin said, “That’s fine. If you’ll hold my Winchester, I’ll pay you in
advance.”
Lin handed Lupe his repeater then dug into his left pocket and pulled out
a gold eagle.

After Lupe traded the Winchester for the coin, he said, “Your Winchester
is unlike any I have seen before.”
“You have a sharp eye, Mister Delgado. It’s their latest model, the 1886,
and there are more differences inside than those that are visible. It’s much
more robust than the ’76 and fires a more powerful cartridge. This one is
chambered for the .45 centerfire cartridge, and I use the .45-90. But they
make many other versions, including one beast that fires a .50-110
cartridge.”

Lupe grinned as he said, “You know much about guns, Mister Walker. Is
it necessary for your work?”
 “Yes, sir. As a writer, I need do a lot of research to avoid irritating my
readers.”

“Ah! Well, I’m sure you must be tired after your ride, so I’ll show you to
your room.”
Lin replied, “Thank you,” and then smiled at Saul and Miriam and said,
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Mister and Mrs. Jacobs,” before he followed
Mister Delgado up the stairs.

_____
Sheriff Johnson snickered before saying, “Well, don’t that beat all. How
the hell can a feller make a livin’ writin’?”

Steve Hilliard grinned as he said, “That’s what I was wonderin’ when he

told me. But he must make a lot of it goin’ by the way he looked. And his
horse was top notch, too.”
The sheriff asked, “What kinda iron was he carryin’?”

Steve replied, “He had a Winchester, and a pistol was wearin’ a gunbelt
with a Remington. I think he mighta a shotgun on his pack mule, but I ain’t
sure.”
Sheriff Johnson grunted before Luke Riddle asked, “Did you see where
he went after you talked to him?”
“He said he was gonna get a room at Delgado’s.”
Hector Ruiz said, “It sounds like he’s plannin’ on stayin’ for a while.”

Sheriff Johnson leaned back and said, “I ain’t so sure he was straight
with you, Steve. Maybe I’ll go have a chat with him in a little while. I’ll
find out if he’s what he claims to be. I ain’t easy about havin’ a stranger in
town after that tall witch sent her telegram to the governor askin’ for help.”
Hector said, “You shoulda told Ed Shafter to tell you before he put it on
the wire.”
 “I warned him about sendin’ any more she brings to him. At least the
governor didn’t seem to care after he got the telegram. I reckon she finally
figgered out that she ain’t gettin’ any help and there ain’t no use in doin’
any more complain’ in the newspaper.”

Steve grinned as he said, “This week’s paper had a good story about
Sadie Hollister’s gout.”
Luke laughed and then said, “How the hell would you know, Steve. You
can’t read a lick.”
Steve glared at his fellow deputy and was about to retaliate when the
sheriff snapped, “Drop it, Luke! I’m gonna tell the mayor about that feller,
and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
The room fell silent before the sheriff stood, snatched his hat from the
desk and left the jail.

_____
Lin had laid his writing case and Winchester on the bed before he set his
saddlebags on the floor near the dresser and moved his spare clothes into
the dresser drawers. He then sat on the bed, opened the dark leather case
and pulled out a large notebook. After laying it on his lap, he removed one
of six pencils that were held in place by leather loops much like those on his
holster.
Lin opened the notebook and then flipped to the first empty page and
entered the date. Then he began writing about his initial impression of
Cottonwood and the short interview with the deputy. He added the brief
conversation with Saul and Miriam Jacobs and his belief that Saul was
about to explain why his savings and loan had failed before his wife had
silently stopped him. He finished the three-paragraph entry with his
suspicion that it wouldn’t be long before the sheriff arrived to conduct a
much more intense interrogation.
 After returning the pencil and notebook to the case, he stood, removed
and rolled his gunbelt and then stored it in the top dresser drawer. He knew
it was too early for dinner, so he decided to take a long stroll through
Cottonwood to get a feel of the town.

After reaching the first floor, Lin waved to the Jacobs as walked by and
then left the boarding house. He soon reached Center Street, turned right
and began studying traffic and greeting the folks he met. He stepped past
Winter’s Drugs and then J&J Feed & Grain before he walked by Saul
Jacobs’ small and empty savings and loan. The next building that he noticed
was neither small nor empty. It was the large brick home of The
Cottonwood Bank.
As he strode along Center Street, he looked down each of the side streets
which were mostly residential. He noted which of them were the homes of
the more affluent residents. But it was the businesses and official buildings
that interested him.

Lin continued his exploration and after passing Arnold’s Bakery, he

smiled when he reached R. Cooper & Son Firearms and Ammunition. He
didn’t need any more firearms or ammunition but would enjoy chatting with
R. Cooper or his son while he was in town if he had the time.
After glancing through the window of Lopez Leather Goods, he trotted
by the unnamed blacksmith shop and then the much larger building of
Joseph Smith, Wheelwright.

Lin just looked east at the remaining shops and businesses before he
trotted across the street. When he started on the western leg of his walk, he
first passed Fannie’s Millinery, then London’s Barbershop and Bath before
he reached Clark’s Dry Goods and Sundries. He thought about entering the
large store but decided to finish his tour and do his shopping on his return
leg.
After walking past J.M. Smith, Greengrocery and Butcher, he took a bit
longer studying The Western Hotel as he passed by. Lin slowed to a crawl
when he neared the office of
The Canyon Caller.
Below the newspaper’s
name, he noticed the gap between Owner: and Foster. And there were still
some residual specks of white paint where the Christian name had been
scraped away.

As he looked through the large window, he saw the tallest woman he’d
ever seen talking to a man who was almost a full head shorter. He stopped
and stared as she lectured the man who was obviously the newspaper’s
typesetter. It was obvious that the man wasn’t very happy about whatever
she was saying.
He expected the typesetter would soon rise to his full five-and-a-half-
foot height and express his dissatisfaction, but he did nothing of the kind.
Lin watched as the short typesetter sat on his tall stool and fumed but kept
his mouth shut.
Clara’s frustration with the situation and Allen’s refusal to print what she
written had finally boiled over. When she discovered four serious mistakes
in this morning’s proof, it ignited her simmering temper. She knew she was
overreacting but knowing it didn’t restrain her vitriol.
Her cathartic scolding was almost finished when Allen shifted his focus
to the front window. She turned to see what had attracted his attention and
was startled when she saw a very tall stranger on the other side of the glass
staring at her.
Lin was about to resume his inspection of Cottonwood when she looked
at him. So, he smiled and then tipped his hat before he turned and walked
away from the window.
After the stranger disappeared, Clara asked, “Have you ever seen him
before, Allen?”
Allen was still looking at the empty window as he replied, “No. I would
have remembered someone that tall even if he had just ridden through
town.”
 Clara was also staring at the vacant window as she said, “He must be six
inches taller than I am.”
Allen then looked up at his boss and said, “So, are you finished with
your tirade now, Clara?”
Clara didn’t turn her eyes back to Allen before replying, “I’m sorry for
overreacting, but I’m just so damned frustrated by having to put such
meaningless drivel in the paper.”

“We’re losing revenue, too. I reckon the powers that be are suggesting
that our friendly businessmen stop advertising.”
Clara finally looked at Allen before saying, “I was thinking of increasing
the price to three cents. That would make up for the lost revenue.”
“But we’d lose more when folks stopped buying.”
Clara sighed and said, “Maybe I should go to Prescott to see the
governor in person and demand he sends help.”

“If you leave, I won’t be here when you get back."

She knew there was nothing else she could say, so Clara just walked
away and took a seat behind her desk.

_____
When Lin left the newspaper behind, he saw two lawmen leave the jail
and sit down on a bench in front of the western window. He pretended he
hadn’t seen them as he continued walking west on the boardwalk.

Lin was treated to the magnificent view of an empty lot as he continued

to ignore the two men sitting in front of the jail. But he did wonder if either
of the two men wearing badges was the sheriff. Neither of them was the
same deputy who’d questioned him earlier, but Lin still suspected they were
both deputies. He didn’t believe the sheriff would let him walk by without
conducting a more detailed interview.
 After passing The Wet Gulch Saloon and its neighboring competitor, The
West End Saloon and Dance Hall, Lin walked by John Vance Construction
before he strolled by the town’s surprisingly large library and approached
St. Edward’s church. He wasn’t able to determine the Christian
denomination, but as it was the only Protestant church he’d seen, Lin
suspected it served all non-Catholics in the town.

As he passed the open door of the schoolhouse, Lin heard a burst of

childish laughter and giggling. When the sounds of merriment faded, he
was impressed that he hadn’t heard the teacher demand silence.
Then he stopped in front of the large, brilliantly white adobe Catholic
church, San Felipe de Jesus and looked west along the road to Sulphur
Springs.

Lin didn’t see anything interesting ahead other than the town cemetery
he’d noticed on the ride into town, so he spun counterclockwise on his heels
and started back. He’d glanced at the two deputies during his turn, so he
knew they were still watching him. He was almost disappointed that one
wasn’t inside the jail notifying their boss, so maybe the sheriff was off
visiting the mayor and brought the other deputy with him.
Once the sitting deputies were behind him, Lin began scanning both
sides of the street. He was curious if he’d spot the sheriff among the other
pedestrians, but knew there was also the possibility that the sheriff wasn’t
even in town.

He would soon learn otherwise.

When Lin passed the newspaper office again, he didn’t look inside but
planned to buy a copy of the paper when he visited Clark’s Dry Goods.
Besides saloons and liveries, local newspapers were the good source of
information, and he needed to learn much more about Cottonwood.

He soon entered the large emporium and turned down the first
meandering aisle. As he wandered past the barrels of crackers and dry
beans, Lin attracted the attention of the other customers. He knew it was a
combination of his height and his status as a stranger, so he smiled at each
of them and took advantage of their interest to study them as well. He soon
noticed they seemed to have a greater level of distrust than was typical of
the other small towns he’d visited. And he wasn’t even wearing his gunbelt.

After picking up a bar of white soap and a tin of tooth powder, Lin
stepped to the front of the store, placed his items on the counter and then
slid a copy of
The Canyon Caller
from the short stack.
The proprietor was talking to a lady customer as he bagged her order and
was pretending that he hadn’t noticed the tall stranger standing at the
counter. But his pretense failed when he tried to place a tin of baking
powder into the bag and dropped it to the floor.
Mister Clark quickly retrieved the tin and successfully dropped it into
the canvas sack. The lady immediately snatched the bag from the counter
and then risked a quick glance at Lin before she hurried from the store.
When George Clark finally looked at his next customer, Lin smiled,
offered his hand and said, “Howdy. My name’s Lin Walker, and I just
arrived in town.”
George shook his hand and replied, “I kinda figured that out. I’m George
Clark and that’s my name on the sign over the door. Are you staying very
long?”
“Not too long, maybe a week or so.”
George quickly totaled his three items before he asked, “If you don’t
mind my asking, what do you do for a living?”
“I write novels.”

George’s eyebrows rose as he asked, “You can make a living writing

books?”
“If you can convince a publisher that folks will buy them.”
“Why did you come to Cottonwood?”
 “When I’m not sitting at my desk writing, I travel to new places for
inspiration. I listen to local stories and legends that I can include in my
plots. I also use some of the more interesting folks I meet and use them as
characters.”
George glanced at the open door before he quietly said, “You might
wanna be careful around here, Mister Walker. Don’t start asking too many
questions, and I wouldn’t stay too long either.”
Lin smiled as he said, “I don’t intend to start trouble, Mister Clark. I’ll
just watch and listen.”
George said, “Your bill comes to fifty-five cents, Mister Walker.”
As Lin dug into his pocket for the change, Mister Clark said, “I’ll offer
just one more suggestion, Mister Walker. Reading the paper is as close as
you’ll want to get to
The Canyon Caller.
”
Lin handed him two quarters and a nickel and then picked up his soap
and tooth powder with his left hand before taking the newspaper with his
right.
Mister Clark was dropping the quarters into his cash drawer when Lin
said, “I’ll keep that in mind,” and then turned and left the store.
Once outside, Lin looked west and noticed the two deputies were gone.
He scanned the busy street for the sheriff but didn’t spot anyone with a
badge which was a bit surprising. He waited for a buckboard to pass by
before he started across the road. Before he reached the other side, Lin
wondered if he’d been wrong when he’d seen the two lawmen sitting in
front of the jail. Maybe one of them was the sheriff and he simply wasn’t
curious enough to talk to him.
A minute later, he hopped onto the boarding house porch and stepped
into the foyer. When Lin entered the sitting room, he expected to see Mister
and Mrs. Jacobs but found a very different couple looking back at him. He
recognized the deputy and was pretty sure the man sitting next to him was
the sheriff.

He clamped the newspaper under his right arm then removed his hat
before he grinned and said, “We meet again, Deputy. May I assume you are
accompanied by your boss?”
Steve Hilliard replied, “This here is Sheriff Johnson.”
The two lawmen remained seated as Lin stepped closer to the sheriff and
then stopped and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sheriff. After my short
meeting with your deputy, I can understand why you might want to ask me
a few more questions.”
Sheriff Johnson replied, “I got a few,” and then turned to his deputy and
said, “You can head back to the jail, Steve.”
Steve nodded and then stood and walked past Lin without giving him so
much as a glance.
Lin took a seat and set his hat, the newspaper and his soap and tooth
powder on the side table. Once he was settled, he waited for the sheriff to
begin his interrogation. He was especially interested to learn if the sheriff
was a good poker player.
Sheriff Johnson was close to glaring at Lin as he said, “We don’t get
many strangers in my town and when Steve told me you wrote books for a
livin’, I was kinda skeptical.”
“I can understand why you would be.”
“You got any of your books with ya?”
“No, sir. I wrote them, so I know what’s printed on their pages. I don’t
bring any with me because they’d just be unnecessary weight for my mule
to carry.”
“So, as far as I know, you could be an outlaw plannin’ to rob the bank.”
 Lin smiled as he replied, “I wouldn’t even think of writing about a lone
outlaw robbing a bank that’s protected by four lawmen. Not one of my
readers would believe it, and neither would I.”
“Do you do any writin’ while you’re ridin’ across the country?”
“I keep extensive notes about things that I find interesting but do the
actual writing after I return to San Francisco.”

“You rode all the way from San Francisco to come here?”
“No, sir. I took the train to Las Vegas then headed this way to see the
Grand Canyon.”
The sheriff huffed before he asked, “Did you already write about
Cottonwood?”
“I’m close to finishing my first page of notes about your town.”
“Can I see what you wrote?”
Lin replied, “Sure. But I don’t think you’ll find them very interesting.”
Sheriff Johnson stood and said, “Let me be the judge of that.”
Lin rose from his chair and then wrapped the soap and tooth powder in
the newspaper before he took it and his hat from the side table and started
walking to the stairway.
As he and the sheriff climbed the steps to the second floor, Lin felt a bit
guilty for not explaining why the sheriff shouldn’t bother reading his notes.
But by the time he reached the door to his room, his mild feeling of guilt
had been replaced by curiosity about the sheriff’s reaction when he tried to
read them. If he was a good lawman, he should find it amusing. But Lin
strongly suspected that when Sheriff Johnson saw his notes, he wasn’t about
to giggle. But he was glad his Winchester was hidden under the bed and his
pistols were in the dresser drawer.
 He preceded the sheriff into the room and then sat on the bed, set his
purchases and his hat on the quilt and picked up his writing case. As he slid
his notebook from the satchel, Sheriff Johnson grabbed the desk chair and
set it near the bed before taking a seat.
Lin smiled as he opened the notebook to the page with his last entry and
handed it to the sheriff.
Sheriff Johnson looked at Lin’s notes for a few seconds before he glared
at their author and asked, “What kinda gibberish is this?”
Lin grinned as he replied, “It’s Latin.”
The sheriff snapped, “Why don’t you write in English? Are you hidin’
somethin’?”
“In a manner of speaking. I use Latin to make it difficult for anyone else
to read my notes. My publisher was the one who recommended I use the
ancient language to protect them from plagiarists.”
“What’s a…that?”
“It’s someone who steals another writer’s ideas and passes them off as
his own. If you’ll look at my notes, you’ll notice that Saul and Miriam
Jacobs’ names and the name of your town are all written in English. I’ll
probably include your name when I add more notes.”
The sheriff handed the notebook back to Lin and said, “Are you gonna
write about me in your next book?”
“I might. I won’t know what I’ll include in my next novel until I return
to San Francisco and put pen to paper.”
Sheriff Johnson looked at Lin’s writing case and said, “I don’t reckon
you’re gonna find anything worth writin’ about in my town. Me and my
deputies keep things real peaceful.”
Lin pulled a pencil from the case then said, “I can see that. But before
you leave, would you give me the names of your deputies? I’m always
looking for interesting names.”

“The deputy you talked to is Steve Hilliard. My other deputies are Luke
Riddle and Hector Ruiz.”
Lin nodded then wrote down their names before asking, “And may I ask
for your Christian name, Sheriff Johnson?”

“It’s Ray. That’s short for Raymond.”

After he added the sheriff’s name to the sheet, Lin closed the notebook
and returned it and the pencil to his writing case. He then stood as a hint to
the sheriff that it was time for him to leave.
Sheriff Johnson slowly rose but took a few seconds to scan the room
before saying, “I gotta agree with Steve Hilliard, Mister Walker. You ain’t a
regular kinda feller.”
Lin smiled and said, “I’d be the first to agree with you, Sheriff. And
please call me Lin.”

The sheriff stared at Lin for a few more seconds before he snorted and
then turned and left the room.
Lin listened to the sheriff’s footsteps as he walked down the hall and
descended the stairs before he closed the door. He unfolded the paper and
picked up the soap and tooth powder, grabbed his hat and walked to the
window. After setting his hat on the top of the dresser, he dropped the soap
and tooth powder into the top drawer. When he returned to the bed, he
stretched out and began reading
The Canyon Caller.

He found the articles to be well written, but decidedly bland. The only
interesting story he read was the two-column report about the Jacobs
closing their savings and loan and leaving for San Francisco. But even that
article was noticeably vague. It didn’t explain why the business failed, nor
did it delve into the impact it would have on the citizens. He'd ask Saul
Jacobs why it had been such an uninformative piece when they shared
supper.
 Lin sat up, folded the newspaper and set in on top of his writing case.
Despite Mister Clark’s unsubtle warning, he knew he’d be paying a visit to
The Canyon Caller
tomorrow morning. He had many questions to ask that
only Mrs. Foster could answer.

_____
As Sheriff Johnson walked back to the jail, he was still unsure of what to
make of Mister Walker. He was certainly strange, but Ray didn’t believe the
tall man posed a threat. But while he wasn’t the help that Mrs. Foster had
begged from the governor, Ray didn’t want him to talk to the widow. She
might convince him to notify the U.S. Marshal when he returned to San
Francisco.
When he entered his jail, Sheriff Johnson found his three deputies sitting
around the desk waiting for him to give them his opinion of the stranger.
He tossed his hat to the desk making Hector and Luke duck before Steve
caught it and laid it on the desktop. The sheriff then stepped to the only
open chair and sat down.
As his deputies focused on him, Sheriff Johnson said, “I reckon he’s
what he claims he is, but he’s pretty smart and I don’t like havin’ him
around. If he starts talkin’ to Mrs. Foster, she might get him to tell the U.S.
Marshal when he gets back to San Francisco.”
Steve asked, “What do you want us to do, boss?”

“I think somebody oughta have a chat with Al Williams and let him
know that it ain’t a good idea to talk to Walker either.”
Hector asked, “Why don’t we just tell Mrs. Foster?”
“She knows we can’t hurt her after her old man ran into that .45, so all
she’ll do is get madder. But maybe she’ll keep her mouth shut if Al tells her
he might not see the next sunrise if she talks to Walker.”
Steve grinned as he said, “I’ll be happy to be the one to talk to Al, Ray."
 The sheriff stared at his senior deputy as he replied, “Okay. But don’t let
anyone hear you when you make him see the light.”
“I’ll wait until sunset before goin’ to his apartment.”
“Just don’t go too far.”

Steve nodded and began imagining his late evening discussion with the
typesetter but didn’t think his boss was serious about not going too far.
Steve wanted to have as much fun as he could while he scared the bejesus
out of Al Williams.
_____

Before Lin sat down for supper, Mister Delgado introduced him to his
wife Rita and their two teenaged daughters, Maria and Isabella. After the
table was set, the Delgado family joined them, which surprised and pleased
Lin.
He was seated across the table from the Jacobs, so soon after they began
eating, Lin said, “While I was touring Cottonwood, I passed your empty
office, Mister Jacobs. I was wondering if I might use it as an observation
post.”

Saul’s face soured as he replied, “I don’t mind, but it isn’t up to me,

Mister Walker. It’s owned by our mayor who also happens to be the
president and owner of The Cottonwood Bank.”
Lin noted the hostility in Mister Jacobs’ face but knew it wasn’t directed
at him, so he asked, “Is it locked?”
Saul replied, “The front door is barred, but they didn’t bother locking the
back door after they emptied the building.”
Lin nodded and suspected Mrs. Jacobs wouldn’t allow her husband to
answer any more questions about their failed business. So, he decided to
ask Mrs. Foster about the bland composition of her article tomorrow.
 After he resumed eating, Lupe Delgado asked, “What did Sheriff
Johnson want?”
“Your sheriff seems to be a very suspicious man. He wanted physical
proof of my livelihood even after I provided all pertinent personal
information to Deputy Hilliard.”
Fifteen-year-old Maria asked, “Do you really write books?”
Lin smiled as he replied, “Yes, miss.”
Thirteen-year-old Isabella then asked, “Does it take you long to write
them?”
“On average, it’s about six months from the time I start writing until the
book is published.”
Mrs. Delgado then asked, “Do you think our library has any of your
books?”

“I suppose it’s possible. But if they do, don’t look for Lin Walker. At the
strong recommendation of my publisher, I use L.A. Walker as my pen
name.”
Maria asked, “Why didn’t he want you to use your Christian name?”

Lin replied, “Because he thought he’d lose the entire Southern market if
I used it. My parents were abolitionists and two of the first members of the
new Republican party. After Abraham Lincoln was selected as their
candidate for president in 1860, my parents decided to name me after him.
But to keep me from becoming swollen headed, they named me Lincoln
Abraham.”
Everyone around the table laughed before Saul said, “I can understand
why your publisher would be worried. There are many Southerners who are
still fighting that war.”
Lin swallowed and then said, “And too many of them who still don’t
understand that President Lincoln was the best friend they ever had. And
they weren’t fond of President Grant either, even though he treated them
with as much mercy as President Lincoln did.”
The rest of the meal’s conversation was mainly about his books, but Lin
was also able to learn more about Cottonwood, mostly from Maria and
Isabella. But even they seemed reluctant to talk about those who ran the
town.
_____

Lin said his goodnights and after a short visit to the privy, he returned to
his room. After lighting the room’s one lamp, he sat at the small desk and
opened his notebook. He spent almost twenty minutes writing his Latin
notes before returning the pencil and notebook to his writing case. While he
didn’t believe that Sheriff Johnson or any of his deputies would pay him a
visit, he opened the bottom drawer and removed his ankle holster.
He walked to the bed, took off his boots, but not his socks before he
pulled off his britches. He strapped the small holster around his right ankle,
released the hammer loop and pulled the pistol from its holster. Lin then
moved the hammer to the half-cocked position and opened the loading
cover. He slowly rotated the cylinder to verify the load before closing the
cover, releasing the hammer and sliding it back into his ankle holster. He
knew it was an unnecessary precaution but didn’t want to be unarmed, just
in case.
The only difference between the full-size Colt ’73 and the Shopkeeper
model in his ankle holster was its very short barrel length. The powerful .45
caliber bullet only had to travel 3 ½ inches before leaving the muzzle. It
wasn’t nearly as accurate as those with standard barrel lengths, but it still
had the same stopping power. And removing those extra inches of steel
made it lighter, too. His Remington was chambered to use the same Colt
cartridge as well.
But he still carried three different cartridges when he was on the road:
the .45 Long Colts, the .45-90 Winchesters, and a box of .41 caliber
cartridges for his Remington derringer.
 He kept the derringer in one of his writing case’s pockets that was
probably intended to store nibs. He’d bought the small pistol almost on a
whim when he was browsing in Granderson & Sons Firearms in San
Francisco. The twin-barreled Remington derringer was nickel-plated with a
rosewood grip. He’d only fired it twice and was impressed with its better-
than-expected accuracy. But the Shopkeeper gave him three more shots and
each of them would stop a man with only one.
With the weight of the Colt on his ankle, Lin stretched out on the bed
and began planning for tomorrow. He was certain that the sheriff would
assign one of his deputies to keep tabs on him, so he decided to take Copper
for a ride before he paid a visit to
The Canyon Caller
.
_____
Allen was sitting at his small table rechecking the proof for this week’s
paper to catch any errors he might have missed on his first two reviews. He
didn’t want Clara to find any after he printed all one hundred and twenty
papers tomorrow.
He had just flipped to the back page when he was startled by a loud
knock on his door. He quickly turned and stared at the door but didn’t leave
his chair. He was sure one of Johnson’s deputies was standing on the other
side and hoped he’d believe the apartment was vacant and leave. To give his
hands something to do, he began folding the proof sheet until it was just
eight inches square, but his folding distraction didn’t help.

Allen’s heart began pounding against his ribs as he prayed for the deputy
to go away. He was certain that one of them had shot James Foster and
feared that when he opened the door, he’d be looking down the barrel of a
cocked pistol. After fifteen silent, hopeful seconds the loud pounding
resumed, but Allen still didn’t move.
He was close to panic when the door beating stopped and he heard Steve
Hilliard shout, “I know you’re in there, Williams. I just wanna talk to ya, so
open the door.”
 Allen didn’t trust Hilliard only wanted to talk, but suspected he’d enter
anyway, so he slowly stood and walked to the door. His right hand grasped
the doorknob and then took a deep breath before twisting it.
When he swung the door open, he felt like laughing when he realized
Steve Hilliard didn’t have a gun in his hand.
He kept his grip on the doorknob as he asked, “What do you want,
Deputy?”
Steve pushed the door wider then stepped into Allen’s small apartment
before saying, “Close the door and sit down.”
Allen’s short stretch of relief evaporated before he closed the door and
then slowly crossed the room and returned to his seat at the table.

Steve had to move the room’s second chair from the small kitchen area
before he sat down and glared at Allen for a few seconds to add a little extra
intimidation. He felt a good measure of satisfaction when he saw the small
typesetter’s Adam’s apple bob up and down when he swallowed.
Allen broke the tense silence when he nervously asked, “What…what do
you want to tell me?”
Steve slid his Colt from his holster and set on the proof sheet before he
leaned forward and in a quiet, menacing voice, said, “The stage is leavin’ at
nine o’clock in the mornin’. It ain’t as fancy as our friendly mortician’s
hearse, but it moves a lot faster and carries folks who are still breathin’.”
Allen couldn’t find his voice as he stared at Steve’s pistol. It seemed to
be as large as a howitzer and the tips of the bullets looked like cannonballs.

Steve saw the terror in Allen’s eyes and knew he’d be miles out of town
by ten o’clock tomorrow. Then it wouldn’t be long before Mrs. Foster sold
out and boarded the stage herself. He was sure Sheriff Johnson would be
pleased, but he wanted to add a final touch to his visit.
 He picked up his Colt, cocked the hammer and slowly pointed the
muzzle at Allen’s nose. He didn’t say a word as he watched Allen’s
horrified reaction. He hoped the typesetter would be so terrified that he’d
wet himself, but Steve was disappointed. For twenty seconds, Allen just
stared wide-eyed at the muzzle and trembled.

Steve finally laughed as he lowered his Colt, released the hammer and
slid it back into his holster.
He rose from the table, smiled and said, “It was nice talkin’ to ya,
Williams,” and then turned and walked to the door.
After Deputy Hilliard left, Allen remained at the table and continued to
shake. He’d never been so scared in his entire life and didn’t want to face
Hilliard’s gun a second time.
As soon as his trembling faded, Allen stood and closed the door before
walking to his dresser. He’d pack tonight and wait until the stagecoach was
almost ready to leave before buying his ticket. Luckily, he could buy the
ticket without waiting for The Cottonwood Bank to open for business. He’d
had his savings in Jacobs Savings & Loan when he was forced to close shop
and wasn’t about to hand his money to Mister Bradley. So, he created his
own small bank out of a Mason jar and kept it in his pantry cabinet.
He was still undecided about whether or not he should tell Mrs. Foster
about Hilliard’s visit. He knew he should warn her but didn’t want to sound
like a coward when he said he was leaving. even though he knew he was as
yellow as a man could be. But if he told her he was boarding the stage, he
knew he wouldn’t be able to stand up to her fierce questioning. So, as he
was stuffing his travel bag, he decided not go to the office in the morning.
_____

In her apartment above the newspaper office, Clara was just picking at
her baked chicken pie. She regretted not apologizing to Allen after severely
chastising him for missing the four typos. It was an unnecessary
overreaction and would apologize tomorrow morning.
 While she blamed her stubborn nature for not expressing her regrets
before Allen left for the day, she wasn’t about to absolve him for his part in
adding to her frustration. She knew he wasn’t a brave man, but she still
faulted him for not even teaching her to set the type and work the press.
Clara felt her anger beginning to flare, so she set down her fork and let
her mind wander away from her troubles. The only thoughts that interested
her involved the very tall stranger who had appeared outside the window.
She’d only seen him for a few seconds, but there was something other than
his height that intrigued her. She closed her eyes and extracted his image
from her memory. While he was a very handsome man, it wasn’t his
attractive face that piqued her interest. It was something in the way he
looked at her that was different. It was as if he already knew her.
Clara opened her eyes then picked up her fork and began eating. She
didn’t know anything about the stranger but hoped he just wasn’t passing
through town. If any of the townsfolk had still dared to visit the office, she
already would have heard the gossip about him.
Before she finished her supper, Clara decided to visit Arnold’s bakery in
the morning to buy a loaf of bread and hopefully learn more about the tall
stranger.
 CHAPTER 2
Lin checked his pocket watch before he dressed and wasn’t concerned
that he had missed breakfast as he was planning to skip the morning meal
anyway. When he left his room, he was wearing his Remington and
carrying his Winchester. If one of the sheriff’s deputies decided to search
his room after he was gone, he wouldn’t find the derringer in his writing
case, either.
As he trotted down the stairs, he smiled at what seemed to be the almost
silly precaution. But after the sheriff’s visit, he wouldn’t put it past them.
While nothing he’d observed since he entered Cottonwood was openly
threatening, he still sensed a pervasive undercurrent of fear.

_____
Sheriff Johnson stared at Steve Hilliard and wasn’t sure whether to
praise him or give him grief for driving Allen Williams out of town.
After a short mental debate, he said, “I guess you done good, Steve. I
just ain’t sure if Williams showed Mrs. Foster how to work their printin’
press. I reckon we’ll find out soon enough.”

Steve said, “But even if she does know how it works, she’ll be too scared
to start printin’ those stories again.”
“Williams was easy to scare off, but that tall bitch has sand. But if she
can’t print newspapers, she’ll have to sell out and things will quiet down.”

Hector asked, “What about that writer feller, boss?”

The sheriff replied, “We’ll just keep an eye on him ‘til he leaves. I
reckon he ain’t gonna be any trouble.”
 Luke grinned and said, “He’s the only feller in town Mrs. Foster’s gotta
bend her neck to look him in the eye. Maybe they’ll hook up and leave
town. Then they can have long, skinny babies.”

Steve and Hector laughed, but Ray stood and said, “One of you go check
on what that tall bastard is doin’ and see if Williams gets on the stage. Mrs.
Foster might scare him enough to make him to stick around. I’ll be in my
office.”
His deputies were still snickering when the sheriff walked past the cells
and entered his private office.

_____
When Lin entered the sitting room, he smiled at the Jacobs and said, “I
hope you have a pleasant journey.”

When Saul rose from the couch and approached him, Lin stopped and
waited.
When Mister Jacobs was close, he quietly said, “You seem like a good
man, Mister Walker. So, before we board the stagecoach, I feel obligated to
advise you to be very leery of the sheriff and his deputies while you’re here.
They’re more like a gang of ruthless outlaws than lawmen. And our mayor
gives them free rein so he can make more money. That’s why my savings
and loan failed.”

Lin nodded as he said, “Thank you, Mister Jacobs. You’re a good man,
and I appreciate your warning.”
“I wish I’d been a braver man. But I was afraid they might hurt my
wife.”
Lin looked past Mister Jacobs, smiled at Mrs. Jacobs then laid his big
hand on Saul’s shoulder before he quietly said, “You have more courage
than most men, Mister Jacobs. But I believe the bravest person in town is
Mrs. Foster.”
 Saul looked up at Lin and said, “I agree with you, but how did you
know? Did you talk to her?”

“Not yet. But I plan to visit the newspaper later this morning.”
“Be sure not to let the sheriff or his minions see you enter her office.”

Lin smiled and said, “That’s why I’m going to ride out of town for a bit
before I sneak back in from the north. I wish you and Mrs. Jacobs well and
hope to see you again after I return to San Francisco.”
As Saul shook his hand, he said, “I hope you return safely, Mister
Walker.”

Lin smiled, said, “So, do I,” and then turned and walked to the foyer.
When he stepped into the bright morning sunshine, Lin scanned the
streets for anyone wearing a badge but didn’t spot anyone from the gang of
outlaw lawmen. He noticed two men loading a trunk onto the roof of
stagecoach parked in front of the depot and assumed it belonged to the
Jacobs.

He watched them struggle to lift the large, heavy trunk onto the roof and
was curious who would win the test of wills.
Would it be the humans or
would gravity triumph?
 Lin smiled and decided to become a spectator of
the battle.
As he cheered for his species, he noticed a small man standing nearby
with a travel bag at his feet. He was nervously shifting his feet as if he
needed to escape or had an overfilled bladder. When Lin recognized the
typesetter whom he’d seen being chastised by Mrs. Foster, he was surprised
the man was leaving town. He wondered if it was because of the tongue
lashing or a much more frightening warning from one of the deputies.

Lin forgot about the trunk tug-of-war and shifted his attention to the
home of
The Canyon Caller
and felt an urge to satisfy his curiosity. But the
sudden desire was overruled by his cautious mind. He’d learn why the
typesetter was leaving after he snuck back into town.
 By the time he turned his eyes back to the stage depot, the war had been
won by the humans. The trunk was safely on the roof and was already being
lashed down. Lin mentally saluted their victory before he turned and headed
for the livery.

Before he had walked twenty feet, he saw a deputy step out of the jail.
Judging by his appearance, Lin believed he was Hector Ruiz. Now the only
lawman he hadn’t seen was Deputy Luke Riddle. He acted as if he wasn’t
being watched as he approached the livery. When he entered the barn, he
smiled when he found Miguel talking to Copper.
Miguel turned, grinned and said, “He does not speak Spanish.”

Lin chuckled as he stepped closer and said, “He’s not conversant in

English either, Miguel.”
“Are you just visiting him?”

“No, sir. I’m going to make a wide circuit around Cottonwood.”

Miguel nodded and then started walking to the other side of the livery to
retrieve Copper’s tack with Lin following.

_____
Five minutes later, Lin led Copper out of the big barn, mounted and
waved to Miguel before heading west. As he rode past the jail, he nodded to
Deputy Ruiz just before Deputy Hilliard stepped outside.

After Lin rode by, Hector asked, “Is he leaving? Do you think one of us
should follow him?”
Steve watched the riding writer for a few seconds before replying, “He
ain’t got his pack mule, so he ain’t leavin’. But go ask the boss if one of us
should saddle up to see where he’s goin’.”

Hector nodded, and then turned around and hurried into the jail.
 After leaving Cottonwood, Lin pushed Copper to a fast trot. He didn’t
know if the sheriff and his deputies kept their horses saddled but wouldn’t
be surprised if had a deputy trailing behind. He was curious but wouldn’t
check his backtrail until he turned north.

He'd studied the landscape west of town on his way in but now wanted
to get a closer look. He rode for almost ten minutes before he slowed
Copper to a walk then made a right turn onto the rough terrain. Less than a
minute later, he angled to the east and was almost disappointed when he
didn’t see one of the deputies on the road.
Lin was more than two miles out of town when he began his return leg
and used the ride back to study the landscape in greater detail. It was dotted
with cacti which was typical for this part of the country but there were large
areas of grass and more than a few deciduous trees, including cottonwoods
which gave the town its name. He could see two wide creeks but many
more waterless gullies. The most noticeable features were the distant
mountains that still had spots of snow on their peaks and the nearby dark
hills that looked as if God had used them as dumping grounds for the
leftover chunks of rock.
As Copper wound his way back to Cottonwood, Lin was already
planning to swing south to see the Grand Canyon before he headed back to
San Francisco. Of course, whether or not he ever witnessed the spectacular
chasm would depend on what happened in Cottonwood over the next few
days.
Lin was still studying the terrain when the stagecoach rolled out of town.
He angled closer to the road and before it arrived, he took off his hat. When
it passed, he waved it over his head and smiled when he saw Mister Jacobs
wave back. He tugged his hat back on and watched the coach race down the
road. But rather than returning to the empty roadway, Lin shifted Copper
more to the north to give him a better chance of not being spotted when he
returned.

_____
 When Clara entered the office from her second-floor home, she wasn’t
surprised that Allen hadn’t shown up. She thought about going to his
apartment to apologize, but quickly discarded the notion. She may be
willing to say she was sorry for the way she reacted to his errors but wasn’t
about to beg him to come to work.

She sat before her desk and read the stories she’d written for the next
edition and hated every word. Every paragraph was tasteless pablum and
nothing more than what the townsfolk had learned from gossip.
Clara tossed the papers onto her desktop then stood and walked to the
printing press. Allen had already set the type, but he had the proof sheets, so
she had to check his work by reading the typeface.

She ran her right index finger across the first few lines of metal letters
then stopped and snapped, “
Who the hell cares if he spelled ‘passing’ with
an ‘i’ instead of an ‘a’?
I just don’t give a damn anymore!”
Clara balled her hands into tight fists as she returned to her desk but
didn’t sit down. She just stood silently staring at it as if it was to blame for
all that had happened. But she knew her anger and frustration weren’t
helpful, so Clara took a deep breath and let her temper fade away.

When she was reasonably calm, she pulled James’ pocket watch from
her dress pocket and was almost surprised when the hands told her it was
9:22. Even if Allen had been seriously sulking, he should have arrived by
now. She dropped the watch into her pocket and walked to the back door.
Maybe he wasn’t feeling well and left a note explaining his absence. But
when she reached the door, she didn’t find a scrap of paper on the floor. She
swung it open and stepped outside to see if Allen was on his way, but the
back alley was empty.
Clara reentered the office, closed the door behind her and then slowly
walked to her desk and took a seat. Then she remembered seeing the
stagecoach roll past the window and felt her stomach twist and then drop.
She didn’t want to believe that Allen had deserted her and Cottonwood
simply because she’d lost her temper. But if he had gone, it wasn’t simply
because of the one scolding. Since James’ death, they’d been constantly
butting heads over the corruption stories, so the sharp reprimand may have
been the final nudge that made him decide to leave.

Clara hoped that Allen hadn’t been on the stage, but if he was gone, she
would probably have to sell out and take much less than what the
newspaper was worth. That assumed she’d even get an offer. As she sat
behind the gouged and stained desk, Clara allowed her anger to return. But
just enough to give her the added strength she would need to keep going for
as long as possible.
To that end, she stood and walked back to the press. Allen may not have
shown her how to set the type and work the machinery, but she’d watched
him enough to try to teach herself.
She stood before the iron beast and reached for the lever that lowered the
upper plate. But when her hand grasped the cold metal, she just closed her
eyes and sighed. She never felt so alone and if she was like most women
she knew, she’d collapse to the floor and start sobbing.
Clara opened her eyes, glared at the printing press and said, “I’m not
going to shed a single tear. If the mayor and his badge-wearing thugs think
I’m going to surrender and leave, they underestimated me.”

She smiled and patted the side of the press before she returned to her
desk and sat down. She took one of the sharpened pencils from its tin cup
holder, slid a blank sheet of paper from the stack and began writing an
editorial that mattered. She’d learn how to use the press after she finished.
_____
Sheriff Johnson had been surprised when Hector told him that Walker
had ridden out of town but agreed with Steve that he’d return soon. So, as
Lin was about to reenter Cottonwood, Steve and Hector were sitting in front
of the jail talking about Steve’s visit with Al Williams.
 Lin rode into town on the northernmost street that paralleled Center
Street and was reasonably sure that he hadn’t been spotted by the deputies.
After crossing two side streets, he turned Copper south until he reached the
back alley that ran behind the buildings facing the main road.

He pulled his gelding to a stop and after making sure of his location,
turned him left and headed down the alley. He continued past the businesses
until he reached the back door of
The Canyon Caller
and dismounted.
In the absence of a hitchrail or hitching post, Lin used a nearby bush to
secure Copper’s reins. After he patted his red gelding’s neck, he walked to
the door where he hesitated. Even though it was a business, he still checked
both directions before he knocked three times and waited.
Clara was startled when she heard the loud knocks on the back door and
for just a moment, thought that Allen had finally stopped sulking and
decided to come to work. But even before she stood, she realized that Allen
wouldn’t knock which meant that someone else was waiting behind the
rectangle of pine boards. She slowly began walking to the back of the room
and on her way to the door, she grabbed James’ large hammer. When she
opened the door, if she saw one of the sheriff’s deputy thugs, she’d let him
know he wasn’t welcome.
But as Clara reached for the latch, she suddenly wondered why any of
those badge-wearing bastards would even bother knocking. One of them
had snuck in through that door and put a bullet into James’ head. She still
gripped the two-pound hammer’s handle as she lifted the latch and pulled
the door open. She immediately was stunned into immobility when she
found herself staring at the tall stranger’s chin.
Lin smiled and said, “Hello, Mrs. Foster. I was wondering if you’d be
willing to talk to me for a few minutes.”
Clara raised her eyes and for the first time in years, she was rendered
speechless. As her mind searched for the words necessary to form a reply,
her right hand lost its grip and the hammer fell to the floor with a loud thud.
 Lin asked, “Are you all right, ma’am? If this is a bad time, I can return
later.”

Clara managed a smile before replying, “No. No. It’s all right. I was just
expecting someone else. I’d very much like to talk to you, so please come
inside.”
After Clara stepped back to allow Lin to enter, he took off his hat and
then bent down and plucked the hammer from the floor.
Lin then stepped inside before Clara closed the door, looked up at him
and said, “I saw you looking through the window yesterday.”
As they started walking to the desk, Lin said, “I just arrived and was
touring your town. I apologize if you were offended by my gawking.”

Clara sat behind the desk and said, “There’s no need to apologize. I was
just surprised to see a man who was taller than me.”
Lin set the hammer on the desktop and then pulled a chair close, sat
down and said, “Those extra few inches do tend to make people view me as
a walking, talking spectacle.”
Clara smiled as she said, “I can empathize. I’m a head taller than most
women and towered above the other girls before I even started school.”
Lin touched the hammer and then said, “I apparently startled you by
arriving at your back door instead of using the street entrance, but there was
a reason I didn’t want to be seen entering your office.”

Clara smiled as she replied, “I was startled but only picked up the
hammer because I thought you might be one of the sheriff’s deputies.”
Lin glanced at the window before he said, “Those deputies were the
reason I needed to use the back door.”
Clara turned to look through the window before she asked, “Why are
you concerned about them? Are you wanted?”
 Lin chuckled before replying, “Only by some of the reading public. But
when I arrived yesterday, I was met and questioned by Deputy Hilliard. I
told him I was a writer and I travel to find inspiration for my books. Later
that afternoon, he and Sheriff Johnson were waiting for me in Delgado’s
Boarding House and the sheriff asked me to give him proof of my
profession. Despite showing him my notes, I’m convinced he’s still
suspicious and has his deputies keeping me under observation."

Clara’s eyebrows arched as she asked, “You’re an author?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ve written six books, but one is still being edited by my
publisher.”
Clara stared at Lin as she quietly said, “I’m surprised a successful author
would come to Cottonwood. But I don’t believe that’s what motivated the
sheriff’s suspicious behavior. What’s your name?”
“I apologize for not introducing myself when you opened the door as I
should have. My name is Lincoln Abraham Walker, but I publish under L.
A. Walker.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mister Walker.”

“Please call me Lin. It’s my preference, but because of my initials, some
of my friends call me Law or even Lawman.”
Clara smiled and said, “I’m Clara Foster and would be honored if you’d
address me as Clara. I’m very pleased to meet a published author, but I wish
you were a real lawman.”
Lin paused for six seconds before he said, “I can understand why you
might harbor that hope, Clara. Since I arrived, I noticed that the townsfolk
seemed very guarded about what they say. And much more than I’ve
experienced as a stranger in other small towns.

“That was particularly noticeable when I met Mister and Mrs. Jacobs at
the boarding house. When I read your story about their departure after their
savings and loan failed, I was struck by how much it resembled their
defensive attitude. I was going to ask you about it even after Mister Jacobs
warned me to be wary of the sheriff and his deputies just before he and his
wife boarded and departed on this morning’s stage."

Clara glanced through the window again before saying, “I’ll explain why
that article was so bland and why everyone is afraid to speak plainly, but
not here. You may feel it’s inappropriate, but it’ll be better if we continue
this conversation upstairs in my living quarters.”
Lin stood and said, “It’s only inappropriate if you’re planning on putting
it in the next edition of
The Canyon Caller
.”

Clara laughed before she left her seat. As she led Lin to the stairs, she
wondered when was the last time she was able to laugh.
As Lin followed her up the stairs, he was already convinced that Clara
was an honest, logical woman and not the hysterical, vengeful wife of a
murdered husband. Now he just needed to hear her complete story. After
she provided those details, he’d tell her the real reason he came to
Cottonwood.
After they reached the second floor, Lin quickly scanned her living
quarters and wondered if it had always been this sparsely furnished. It was
just a step above his room at the boarding house. There was one bed, two
pine chairs, a couch and a side table. The small kitchen and dining area with
a table and three more chairs was in an alcove.
Clara sat on the couch, so Lin stepped to the closest chair, sat down and
said, “I believe it won’t be long before those deputies start looking for my
horse, so I can’t stay longer than a few minutes.”
“You rode your horse to get here?”
“I rode out of town a few miles to ensure I wasn’t being followed then
looped back.”
“Oh. Then I’ll try to keep this brief. But I do need to tell you how it all
started. I’ve been living in Cottonwood since I was seven years old. It was a
lot smaller then, but it was a nice town, and I was happy here. My mother
died when I was nine, and I lost my father when I was sixteen. I had no
source of income and knew I had to find a husband or, well, you know. You
can imagine what I looked like as a teenager, so when the town’s barber,
Fred Endicott proposed, I saw it as a lifeline.
“Fred was forty-two years old when we were married and was six inches
shorter than me. He wasn’t a bad husband, but he was meek and let other
men treat him as if he was a little boy. I lost two babies in the eight years
we were married, but Fred didn’t blame me. By then, Mayor Bradley and
Sheriff Johnson had turned our peaceful town into their private, fearful
domain.
“Last year, on the eleventh of September, Fred was shot and killed while
he was using the privy. I immediately suspected the sheriff or one of the
deputies had murdered him but couldn’t prove it. And of course, they were
unable to find the ‘real’ killer.”
Lin asked, “Why did you believe the sheriff or one of his deputies had
killed him?”
“In June, the sheriff decided to double the monthly taxes he charged
most of the town’s businesses. Fred tried to explain that it would be hard for
him to make ends meet, but the sheriff said to pay up or leave town. That
night, Fred was close to tears but thought he could manage to pay the higher
taxes. But those taxes were being paid by most of his customers, so many of
them stopped coming and his income was cut almost in half. By August, we
didn’t have enough money to pay the sheriff’s so-called taxes, much less
afford to leave town. Fred was almost catatonic after telling Deputy Hilliard
he couldn’t pay the taxes. I believe that the sheriff decided to make Fred an
example to keep the others in line.”
Lin nodded and said, “I only spoke to the sheriff for a few minutes, but I
imagine doing something like that would make sense to someone like him.”
“Everyone in town believed it too, so after Fred was murdered, no one
else dared to complain or miss a tax payment. I had to sell the barber shop
for less than half of its value and could have left town. But I was so
disgusted with what our town had become that I decided to stay and do
whatever I could do to stop them. I had several proposals of marriage in the
first two weeks after burying Fred. Some made the offer because I wasn’t as
skinny as I was when I was sixteen while others would be willing to
overlook my height because I had the money from selling the shop.

“But I turned down their proposals and approached James Foster, a

widower who owned
The Canyon Caller.
I was the one who proposed
marriage, but more as a business arrangement than a marital union. I offered
him most of the money in my account at the savings and loan if he would
make me a functioning partner.
“He accepted my offer, and we were married in January. Because of the
nature of our arrangement, we never consummated the marriage and slept in
separate beds. So, I suppose an argument could be made that we weren’t
legally married. But it wasn’t until June that I was able to convince James
to print my editorials condemning the mayor's corruption and the sheriff’s
strongarm tactics.

“As you might expect, the first ones weren’t very specific or accusatory.
James was concerned about reprisals and extensively edited what I had
written because it was his name on the byline. Allen Williams, our
typesetter and printer was just as nervous, but I convinced him that he
wasn’t in danger.
“When the sheriff didn’t react to the early editorials, James cut back on
his editing in the belief that they were having an effect. As it turned out, he
was right, but it wasn’t the effect he believed. It was just after sunset on the
twenty-first of August and James was sitting at the desk editing one of my
editorials. I was upstairs cooking our supper when I heard a gunshot. I
hurried across the room and as I raced down the stairs, I heard the back
door slam shut, and I found Fred slumped over the desk. When I saw the
bullet hole in left side of his head, I bent over and vomited.”
 Clara had maintained a calm demeanor since she started, so Lin was
almost surprised when Clara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He had
many questions to ask her, but knew his time was running short. So, he
decided to let her finish before he revealed his true purpose for coming to
Cottonwood.
Clara opened her eyes and said, “It was like Fred all over again only
worse. I didn’t even bother reporting it to Sheriff Johnson but just walked to
the mortuary to have James’ body removed and to arrange for his burial. I
felt incredibly guilty for what happened because I knew James would never
even think of offending the mayor or the sheriff if it wasn’t for me. After
James was buried, I vowed to renew the corruption campaign, but Allen
refused to do the typesetting and printing. If I’d known how to do the
physical part of putting out the paper, I would have fired him.
“So, I sent a telegram to the territorial governor and asked him to send
help but never received a reply. I don’t know if it was because he didn’t
care, or if the sheriff had managed to  stop my request from even being
sent.”
When Clara hadn’t spoken for more than ten seconds, Lin said, “You
shouldn’t feel guilty for what they did, Clara. Place all the blame on those
who murdered both of your husbands. And despite committing those
murders, I doubt if any of them feel even a sliver of guilt. They’re probably
proud of what they’ve done.”
Clara stared at Lin and said, “I’m sure you’re right, but they’re still in
control of the town and nobody will try to stop them now. I don’t even
know where Allen is.”
“I know where he is. When I left the boarding house, I saw him standing
at the stage depot with a travel bag.”
Clara looked into Lin’s dark brown eyes and whispered, “Then they’ve
won.”
Lin said, “No, they haven’t, Clara. At least not yet.”
 Clara quickly asked, “Why not? Do you know how to set type and use
the printing press?"

"You’ll be surprised to know that I’m quite adept at doing both. When
my publisher bought one of those fancy typesetting machines, I bought his
old setup at a discount and was trained how to use them.”
Clara was amazed but said, “Even so, I wouldn’t want you to risk your
life trying to help them. You’re an author, and despite your initials, you’re
not a real lawman.”
Lin reached behind his vest and pulled a heavy steel badge from his shirt
pocket before saying, “I am a real lawman. I’m a United States Marshal. A
lawman with jurisdiction in every state and territory across our nation. And
your governor didn’t ignore your request, Clara. But because the Arizona
U.S. Marshal’s office is understaffed, Marshal Walcott forwarded your
request to the San Francisco office. Ironically, even though our office is
much further away than Prescott, because of the Grand Canyon, my travel
time is shorter than it would be for Marshal Walcott.”
Clara stared at the badge and even though she read United States and
Marshal, she found it almost impossible to believe.

“Are you really a United States Marshal?”

“Yes, ma’am. But no one else can know about it until I feel it’s
necessary.”
Clara shifted her attention back to Lin before she asked, “So, you’re just
pretending to be an author as a cover?”
“No, it’s not a pretense. I have written six books and five are in print. I
was a U.S. Marshal when I sent my first book to my publisher and was
surprised when he accepted it. It sold well and after he accepted my next
novel, he asked me to move to San Francisco. I didn’t want to resign, so I
sent a letter to the head of the service explaining that I planned to move to
San Francisco. I offered to remain an active marshal but without pay and he
agreed. After moving to San Francisco, I met Marshal Plummer, and he was
more than pleased with the arrangement.”

“How can you write books and still be a marshal?”

“I’m not a full-time marshal. I visit the office at least once a week and
Marshal Plummer lets me review the assignments. I take the ones that
interest me, and not just because they might make a good plot for one of my
books. On average, I take two or three jobs each month.”
“Why were you intrigued by my request?”
“That’s a good question. I’ll begin by explaining why you didn’t receive
a reply from Marshal Walcott. We commonly receive requests from angry
relatives claiming that their loved ones were murdered by a local sheriff or
town marshal. In almost every case, the man who was killed had initiated
the violence. So, Marshal Walcott considered your request to be a low
priority. He even included his evaluation when he forwarded your telegram
to our office.
“When I read your message, I gave it more credence because you
claimed your husband was murdered because he’d written about local
corruption in his newspaper. That was what interested me enough to make
me decide to take the assignment.
“But while I may have been intrigued, I still needed to learn more about
the situation in Cottonwood before talking to you. For obvious reasons, I
couldn’t send you a telegram letting you know I was coming. But after I
arrived, it didn’t take long for me to accept the validity of your claim. Now
I need to plan how I can best handle the problem. Until I’m satisfied the
plan has a good chance of success, I’ll continue wandering around town
interviewing people.”

“But why did you come alone? I included the number of our murdering
lawmen in my telegram.”
 Lin shrugged and said, “I’m good at being a real lawman, Clara. And
being a genuine, published author makes a perfect cover story as it can be
verified by sending a telegram to my publisher.”
“Can you arrest the sheriff and his deputies for murdering my
husbands?”
“I could if I had evidence, but I don’t.”

“But everyone in town knows it’s true.”

“That’s all hearsay, which isn’t admissible. Even if it was, your
testimony could be turned against you. Their lawyer would begin his
examination by saying how unusual it is for a woman to have two husbands
murdered just a few months apart. Then he’ll ask you if you saw your
husbands’ mysterious, shadowy killers. When you truthfully admit that you
didn’t, he’ll ask if you were the first one to find each of the bodies. After
you say that you were, he’ll loudly accuse you of murdering your husbands
for some nefarious purpose.”
Clara exclaimed, “But you believe me!”
Lin nodded and replied, “Just because I believe you doesn’t mean a jury
will convict them. Any halfway competent defense lawyer could win the
case even if the judge allowed hearsay to be admitted. And speaking of
judges, is your judge in league with the sheriff, or is he afraid to intervene?”
“We don’t have a judge anymore. Judge Carter left town about a year
and a half ago. Or at least that’s what we were told. Sheriff Johnson even
moved into his house after he was gone."
“What about a town council or county commissioners?”
“They don’t meet anymore. And before you ask, the county prosecutor
quit before Judge Carter left and wasn’t replaced.”
Lin sighed and then said, “It’s even worse than I imagined. But I’ll still
need to find solid evidence before I can act.”
 “How can you possibly find any evidence?”

“I don’t have much more time, so we can continue our conversation at

another time. But before I leave, I need to ask you two things. First, where
did your typesetter live?”
“He lived in Apartment C in #6 Ash Street.”

Lin nodded as he asked, “Do you have a gun?”

“No, but I wish I did.”
Lin slid his hand into his pants’ left pocket, pulled out his derringer and
said, “Take this. It’s very easy to use. Just point it, pull the hammer back
and fire. If you need to take a second shot, just repeat the same action. It’s
not accurate past twenty feet or so, but it’ll stop a man if he’s close. Keep it
in your dress pocket when you’re awake and set it nearby when you go to
bed.”
Clara quickly accepted the small pistol and asked, “Why did you need to
know where Allen lived?”
“When I saw him at the stagecoach depot, I noticed how anxious he was
to board the coach. I initially believed that he was angry after you chastised
him, but now I think one of the deputies probably visited him last night. I
was thinking of checking his room for clues to see if that was the case, but
it might make the sheriff suspicious if he or his deputies see me enter the
building. But it would be perfectly logical if you were to enter his
apartment to see if he was all right after he didn’t show up for work.”
Clara’s eyes opened wider as she said, “Now I understand why he didn’t
even leave me a note. I’ll go there after you leave. The proof sheet of the
next edition is in his apartment, so that’s a good reason for me to enter his
apartment as well.”

Lin could almost feel one of the deputies pointing at his noticeably tall
red gelding, so he stood and said, “I’ve got to leave, but after I leave my
horse at the livery, I’ll stop by sometime this afternoon to interview the
editor of the local newspaper. Then we can have a longer conversation."
Clara rose and said, “I can never adequately express my deep gratitude
for your decision to help me, Lin. And thank you for the derringer, too.”
Lin smiled, said, “You’re welcome, Clara,” and then stepped quickly to
the stairs.
After he opened the back door, Lin took a peek outside then looked back
at Clara, smiled and stepped into the sunlight. He closed the door, untied
Copper’s reins and mounted. He rode east for a block and then turned north
until he passed the last buildings. Once he reached open ground, he turned
east again and continued riding until he was almost a mile out of town.
Now that he’d confirmed Clara’s accusations, Lin began to examine the
situation in greater detail. He wasn’t going to rush, but he was very
concerned for Clara’s safety even after giving her the derringer. He was
convinced she had the willpower and courage to use the weapon but after
hearing how James Foster had been murdered, he was very uneasy about
leaving her alone. He didn’t think it was likely that one of the deputies
would sneak into her upstairs bedroom while she slept, but even that remote
possibility gave him a chill.
As much as Lin enjoyed her company, he decided to ask her to leave
Cottonwood as soon as possible. He suspected she would strenuously object
to his suggestion, and if she did, he wouldn’t argue. He’d have to think of
some other method to ensure her safety. Ensuring the safety of innocent
people was part of his job, but Lin had a more personal reason for
protecting Clara from harm. She was the most remarkable woman he’d ever
met.
As soon he entered Center Street, Lin started scanning for deputies and
soon spotted Hilliard and the last unseen deputy, Luke Riddle sitting in
front of the jail. They were both looking west, so Lin was able to reach
Miguel’s livery without being spotted.
 Rather than stepping down and leading Copper into the barn, Lin walked
his tall gelding through the open doors before dismounting. He didn’t see
Miguel, so he led his horse into the stall beside Job’s and began stripping
him of his leather. When he removed the scabbard, Lin decided to leave his
Winchester with Miguel rather than keeping it under his bed.
He was lugging the saddle to the shelf when Miguel walked through the
back door and said, “I was having lunch with my family.”
Lin smiled as he replied, “After my friend is naked, I’ll head back to the
boarding house and hope I’m not too late for lunch.”
“If you are too late, you should visit Rita’s Cantina. They make the best
food in town. They have beef steaks and roast chicken if you do not like
spicy Mexican food.”
“I love spicy Mexican food. So, if I missed lunchtime, I’ll be sure to eat
my fill at Rita’s. And I should let you know that I left my Winchester on the
shelf. I stored it behind the saddles, so no one should see it.”
Miguel glanced at the row of assorted tack before he said, “I can’t find it,
but I will keep it safe.”
Lin said, “Thank you, Miguel. Now I’ll head back to Delgado’s and see
about lunch,” and then waved and walked out of the barn.
He didn’t check to see if the deputies had spotted him before he turned
right and headed to the boarding house. Before he climbed the porch steps,
Lin realized with the Jacobs’ departure, he was their only guest. So, maybe
they wouldn’t stick to their mealtime schedule now that he was their lone
diner.
Lin passed through the open doorway, took off his hat and entered the
empty sitting room. He assumed he was too late for lunch, so he kept
walking toward the stairs. He had just set his right foot on the fourth step
when Maria popped out of the hallway.
 Lin paused his ascent, and then turned and smiled when she said, “We
were waiting for you to return, Mister Walker. We are about to have lunch,
but in the kitchen.”

Lin said, “Thank you, Maria,” and stepped back down to the sitting
room.
Maria hadn’t returned to the kitchen but kept her big brown eyes focused
on Lin as he approached.
When he was close, she bent her neck to look up at him and said, “You
didn’t have breakfast, so you must be hungry.”
Maria’s sudden entry into the teenage world of puppy love was obvious
and as they walked down the hallway, Lin hoped her parents didn’t accuse
him of encouraging it.

When they entered the kitchen, Mrs. Delgado smiled and said, “Please
have a seat, Mister Walker.”
Lin replied, “Thank you, ma’am,” and then took his seat hoping that
Maria didn’t sit next to him.

Maria didn’t seem to be concerned she quickly sat at Lin’s right and
asked, “Did you find something interesting to write about in your next
book?”
Before he could answer, Isabella set an overly full plate of pork chops
and beans on the table in front of him then plopped onto the chair on his left
side.
Lin picked up his knife and fork and then said, “Yes, Miss Delgado. I
most certainly did discover some interesting things about Cottonwood that
might find their way into my next novel.”
When Isabella asked, “What were they? Can you tell us?”
Lin smiled but his reply was gratefully rendered unnecessary when Mrs.
Delgado snapped, “That’s enough! Let Mister Walker eat his lunch in
peace.”
Lin looked at Mrs. Delgado and winked before he cut into one of his two
thick pork chops. Now that he was able to eat without suffering a meal-long
interrogation by the Delgado girls, Lin began planning for his afternoon. He
considered moving to the hotel.
He decided to bring his writing case when he left the boarding house and
visit The Cottonwood Bank to meet the mayor. Mayor Bradley was
apparently in league with the sheriff and probably saw himself as the lord of
the town. But Lin suspected, that like most politicians, he’d bend over
backwards to get his name in print. He didn’t expect to learn anything about
the mayor’s dealings with the sheriff but wanted to get a good read on the
man.
As he’d told Clara, finding hard evidence of her husbands’ murders was
almost impossible. But he might be able to convince Mayor Bradley to
testify against his badge-wearing partners. That assumed the case ever went
to trial. After talking to Clara, Lin suspected that he wouldn’t be escorting
any prisoners when he left Cottonwood. He only hoped that he was able to
leave at all.
_____

After having her lunch, Clara left the office through the front door and
walked along the boardwalk with a mild scowl on her face. She was trying
not to overplay her role as she headed to Allen’s apartment building.
Having the derringer in her purse gave a small boost to her already solid
base of confidence.
As she strode along Center Street, she noticed Steve Hillard and Luke
Riddle staring at her. She was going to ignore them but decided to stay in
character. So, as she passed the jail, she turned her eyes to the left and
glared at them. But before she looked forward to avoid a misstep, Clara
knew it hadn’t been an act. She hated all of them, but especially the one she
believed had murdered both of her husbands, Steve Hilliard. He may be the
worst, but all of them were phony lawmen and not fit to wear a badge.
 When she turned onto Ash Street, her scowl faded and she smiled before
saying, “I met a real lawman today.”

_____
The two deputies grinned after they watched Clara pass and Luke said,
“I reckon she don’t like us much, Steve.”
Steve snickered and then said, “She’s gonna hate us more on her way
back, too.”
Luke nodded and said, “She’s plannin’ on givin’ Al Williams a good
chewin’ out for not showin’ up, but she ain’t gonna find him.”
“And nobody is gonna take his job now that he’s gone. She ain’t gonna
find another feller to marry her, neither. Not after havin’ two husbands
filled with lead.”
“She sure is a hard woman, and she don’t even wear a bonnet like other
women. She wears her black hair long like a damned Injun, too. If she
didn’t have those big bumps stickin’ out front, I’d be willin’ to bet she’s an
hombre.”
Steve nodded as he said, “I gotta agree with ya. But if she was six inches
shorter, she’d be real looker. I’ll tell you what, Luke. Even with that extra
half-foot, I might pay her a visit in her place one of these nights.”
“And you already know your way around that place at night after paying
her old man a visit last month.”
Steve grinned and said, “That old bastard never even heard me step
inside before I blew his head off. At least her little barber hubby saw me
when he stepped outta the privy.”
Luke smiled as he said, “I reckon Clara’s gonna hear ya when you walk
into her bedroom. But be careful, Steve. Don’t let her beat the hell outta
you.”
 Steve glared at Luke for a couple of seconds before he watched Clara
disappear down Ash Street and said, “I can handle that wildcat.”

_____
Clara entered #6 Ash Street and soon opened the door to Apartment C.
She closed the door behind her and then scanned the room, unsure of what
Lin needed as a clue to prove that one of the deputies had threatened Allen.

She didn’t see anything that seemed to qualify as a clue but noticed the
multi-folded proof sheet on the table. Even though she wasn’t going to print
the paper, she didn’t want to leave it in his empty apartment. So, Clara
stepped to the small table and was about to snatch the folded sheet when
she noticed an odd indentation.
She bent over and studied it closely for almost a minute without
understanding what had created it. Clara thought Lin might know what had
left the mark, and it might be a clue. So, she opened the jaws of her large
canvas handbag and managed to fit the folded sheet inside without having
to fold it again.
After closing her purse, Clara realized that Allen’s second chair was
positioned next to the table which was unusual. He always kept the second
chair in his kitchen area so he could use it to reach items on the top shelf of
his small pantry. She knew it was possible that Allen had moved it before
he left, but she would tell Lin about it when he visited her.
Clara continued her search for clues and walked to the other side of the
room to look through the three drawers in Allen’s dresser. But just as she
was about to open the top drawer, she realized why she was in Allen’s
apartment. She froze with her right hand on the drawer’s brass handle and
simply stared at the bare wall.

She’d been so angry and frustrated when she’d sent the telegram to the
governor that she hadn’t given much thought to its consequences. After
sending it, she imagined a large posse of well-armed lawmen riding into
Cottonwood to set things right. But that was just a vaporous wish that
evaporated when the governor hadn’t replied to her telegram.
But then Lin walked through her back door and suddenly, everything
was starkly real. She’d felt guilty for forcing James to print her damned
corruption editorials and couldn’t imagine how guilty she would feel if Lin
was killed on her behalf. She closed her eyes and regretted ever sending the
telegram to the governor.
When she opened her eyes, Clara shook her head and snapped, “Stop
worrying! It doesn’t do any good. You started this crusade, so just do
whatever you can to help Lin because nobody else will.”
With her mind settled, Clara resumed her search. The drawers were all
empty, and after examining every nook and crack in the apartment, she was
satisfied that she had found the only potential clue.
After leaving the apartment building, she headed toward Center Street
and tried to think of the best way she could help Lin. Clara hadn’t come
close to an answer when she turned onto Center Street and noticed that
Hector Ruiz had joined Steve Hilliard and Luke Riddle. None of them
spotted her because all of them were staring east along Center Street. It
didn’t take long for her to find the object of their attention because even
from two hundred yards, Lin was easily identified.
Clara was anxious to tell him what she found and unintentionally picked
up her pace. Then she realized the three hated deputies would see her
hurrying along and might be suspicious, so she slowed back down.
She watched Lin step onto the boardwalk and noticed he wasn’t wearing
his gunbelt but was carrying a large leather case. He said he was going to
interview Mayor Bradley, so she believed that he must be going to the bank.
Yet even though it was the middle of the day, Clara felt uneasy knowing she
was better armed than Lin.
If she had looked back, she would have noticed that there were now only
two deputies watching Lin. Steve Hilliard had hurried into the jail to tell the
sheriff that Walker was on his way to talk to the mayor.

_____
Lin took off his hat as he entered The Cottonwood Bank, and those
employees who had noticed his entrance stared at the tall stranger. Before
he reached the closest clerk’s desk, a burst of whispering had turned every
pair of eyes in the building onto Lin. He was used to the gawking, so he
wasn’t even irritated when he stopped before Leonard D. Abbott’s desk.
Mister Abbott looked up…and up, before asking, “May I help you, sir?”
“I hope so. My name is Lin Walker. I’m a writer, and I just arrived in
town yesterday to do research for my next book. I was wondering if it
would be possible for me to interview Mayor Bradley?”

Lin suspected the sheriff had warned the mayor about him, so he
wouldn’t be surprised if Mister Abbott claimed that his boss was
unavailable. But the clerk surprised him.
Leonard Abbott smiled and replied, “I’m sure he’d be pleased to impress
you with his importance, Mister Walker. Just don’t believe much of what he
tells you. Mister Bradley is all pomp and no circumstance.”

As Lin grinned, the clerk stopped smiling and quietly said, “And he’s a
good friend of Sheriff Johnson as well.”
Lin nodded before Mister Abbott said, “His office is at the end of the
short hallway on your right.”
Lin said, “Thank you, sir,” and then stepped past the clerk’s desk and
headed to the hallway.
After he entered the short corridor, he was able to see the interior of
Mister Bradley’s office but not the mayor. But before he reached the open
doorway. Mayor Solomon Bradley popped into view as he returned to his
desk.
 The bank owner was reading a ledger when he heard Lin’s footsteps and
turned to see which of his employees needed to see him. Instead, he saw the
tall stranger that Sheriff Johnson had described to him. His surprise was
evident as his eyes bulged and he almost dropped his ledger.
Lin ignored his shocked reaction as he stepped into his office, smiled and
offered his hand.
Mister Bradley recovered quickly and closed his ledger before shaking
Lin’s hand.

Lin said, “Hello, Mayor Bradley. My name is Lin Walker. I’m a writer
and just arrived in your town yesterday to do research for my next book. If
you could spare a few minutes of your busy day, I’d like to interview you
about Cottonwood.”
Despite his right hand being swallowed by Lin’s long fingers, the mayor
smiled and said, “Why, of course. I’m very proud of our town. Please have
a seat.”

The mayor stepped around his large desk, set the ledger on its glossy
surface before taking a seat in his well-padded red leather chair. He was a
short man whose success was evident by his tailored suit complete with a
gold watch chain draped across his rounded belly. He had a smooth chin but
sported a massive pair of muttonchop whiskers that joined a thick
moustache.
Lin sat in one of the two maple chairs before the desk, lowered his hat to
the floor and then set his writing case on his lap.

He opened the flap, extracted a notebook and a pencil before saying,

“Thank you for granting me the time, Mayor.”
Mayor Bradley beamed as he replied, “Not at all. I’ll be happy to extoll
Cottonwood’s virtues.”

Lin smiled as he opened the notebook to the next blank page and wrote
the date.
 Then he looked at the mayor and asked, “May I ask for your full name,
Mayor?”

Lin avoided showing any signs of amusement when the banker leaned
back in his fancy chair, linked his fingers across his impressive middle and
said, “I was born on the twenty-second of October in the Year of Our Lord
of 1848. I was given the name Solomon Oliver Bradley and baptized at
Saint John’s Episcopal church in Florissant, Missouri ten days later. My
family crossed the Great Plains in 1859 and settled in…”
Lin wrote Solomon Oliver Bradley then switched to Latin as the banker
droned on about his remarkably unremarkable life. But Lin wasn’t
recording the mayor’s biography. He was creating and writing ribald
limericks. He’d learned all he needed to know about the man even before he
had lowered his pompous and substantial behind onto his red leather seat.
After almost five minutes of self-aggrandizement, Mayor Bradley finally
began talking about Cottonwood. Lin wasn’t surprised by his glowing
description of the town or that he took credit for making it the crown jewel
of Arizona Territory.
When he eventually stopped talking, Mayor Bradley said, “I hope you’ll
be able to include Cottonwood in your next book, Mister Walker. The
country needs to know how wonderful life is in my town.”

Lin closed his notebook and said, “I find your town very interesting, so
I’m sure I will use it in my book. But I usually change the names of the
town and those I meet to avoid any legal action.”
Mister Bradley quickly said, “I promise you that no one will complain if
you use Cottonwood instead of a fictitious name. And personally, I would
be honored if you included my name as well.”

Lin returned the notebook and pencil to his case, closed the flap and then
smiled as he said, “I’ll be sure to spell your name correctly, Mayor.”
“When will you be returning to San Francisco to start writing the book?"
 Lin knew he hadn’t told the mayor where he lived, so the mayor’s
question confirmed his suspicion that Sheriff Johnson had warned him of
his presence.

Lin smiled and replied, “In another few days. I have a few more
interviews I’d like to do before I leave. My next stop will be to your local
newspaper.”
The mayor blanched before he snapped, “That would be a mistake,
Mister Walker!”

Lin tilted his head slightly before asking, “Why would it be a mistake?
Newspaper offices are one of the best sources of accurate information.”
“The woman who owns the newspaper is deranged and cannot be
believed. Even her printer was so afraid of her, he left town on this
morning’s stage.”

Lin was surprised to learn that the mayor must have known about Allen’s
departure before Clara did but just stored the information for later use.
He then said, “I can handle any woman, so I’m not concerned, Mayor. It
might make the interview more interesting, too.”
Mayor Bradley leaned forward and in a conspiratorial voice, he said,
“She’s nothing like any woman you’ve ever met. She’s fierce and
argumentative and the tallest woman I’ve ever seen. In the past year, she’s
buried two husbands, and each of them was murdered by a single shot. And
despite his best efforts, Sheriff Johnson couldn’t find the mysterious
strangers she claimed to be the murderers. He told me that he believes she
had been the one to shoot them.”
Lin hesitated for just a couple of seconds before he quietly asked, “Then
why hasn’t he arrested her?”

The mayor hesitated before saying, “He never found the gun she’d used
and she’s a very good liar. So, he knew no jury would ever convict her.”
 Lin took a deep breath, picked up his hat and then stood before saying,
“Well, if she shoots me, the sheriff finally will be able to find the missing
gun.”
Mayor Bradley popped up from his chair and said, “You mustn’t believe
a word she tells you, Mister Walker.”
Lin smiled as he replied, “I write fiction, Mayor Bradley. Really good
liars always have great imaginations to back up their lies. So, whatever lies
she tells me should be much more interesting than the truth. Thank you for
your time.”

He saluted the mayor before he turned and made the four-second journey
to the bank lobby and soon stepped into the afternoon heat. Lin pulled on
his hat, checked for the three deputies who’d seen him enter the bank but
only spotted Luke Riddle and Hector Ruiz. He assumed Steve Hilliard was
in conference with Sheriff Johnson about his visit with the mayor.
As he slowly stepped along the boardwalk to tell Clara what he’d
learned, he realized he’d made a serious mistake by even visiting the mayor.
Then he turned the mistake into what could be a fatal blunder when he told
the mayor he was still going to interview Clara. So, now he not only had to
come up with a plan to deal with the sheriff and his deputies, but he needed
to do it before he entered her office.

He believed that the mayor’s desperate attempt to convince him to avoid

interviewing Clara prompted his panicked claim that Clara had murdered
her husbands. And now he was concerned that the idea might make its way
to the sheriff. He was sure that Clara wouldn’t care if the sordid theory leapt
to the head of the gossip train. But they might concoct a scheme to use the
mayor’s claim as a pretext to do much more than just try to shame her.
Lin suddenly wondered if the concept hadn’t just popped into the
mayor’s head out of desperation. It was more likely that it originated with
the sheriff, and he had confided the plan to the mayor. When the mayor was
close to panic to keep him from talking to Clara, he had used their plan as
his most powerful argument.
 Lin then thought of postponing his visit to the newspaper office until
after sunset, hoping it would make the mayor and his lawmen partners
believe he’d bought their story. But he quickly discarded the notion. He was
sure that the sheriff would visit the mayor before the sun went down and he
might decide to initiate the ‘Mrs. Foster is the murderer’ plot.
He slowed his pace to a baby’s crawl as he tried to find his illusive plan.
Lin was so immersed in his thoughts that he almost ran over young couple
who’d just emerged from the small jewelry shop.
Lin quickly smiled, tipped his hat and said, “I apologize for my
clumsiness.”
The young man smiled as he replied, “I imagine it was just ‘cause you
weren’t able to see us from way up there.”
Lin chuckled and said, “It does happen more often than I’d care to
admit.”

As the couple strolled away, Lin had an epiphany. He picked up his pace
not only tell her about his visit with the mayor, but also to explain his
instantly conceived and very unusual plan. He was in a much better mood
than he was before his near collision.
_____

Sheriff Johnson leaned back and said, “I don’t think the mayor’s gonna
tell him a damned thing. Our fat leader is probably just braggin’ about how
great he is.”
“Are you gonna go down there and talk to Bradley after Walker leaves?”
“Not right off. I’ll wait ‘til the bank closes.”
Steve was about to stand when Luke stepped into the office and said,
"Walker just left the bank, boss.”

Ray asked, “Where’s he goin?”

 “He’s headin’ this way, so maybe he wants to talk to you again.”
The sheriff snickered and then said, “That ain’t likely.”
Steve was grinning as he stood and said, “I’ll see where he’s goin’.
Maybe he’s plannin’ to woo that tall bitch after all.”

Sheriff Walker chuckled as Steve and Luke walked to the door. He knew
a high-toned man like Walker wasn’t about to   woo Mrs. Foster. But he
wouldn’t be surprised if he was planning to interview her. And that would
be a problem. A problem that should have been solved when Steve shot
James Foster.
He was supposed to leave the Colt on the floor under the desk, but that
woman had surprised him. Instead of staying upstairs cowering in fear,
she’d run down the stairs without even knowing if the shooter had gone.

The oversight hadn’t become a serious issue until Walker rode into town.
Now Sheriff Johnson hoped Walker just returned to the boarding house after
talking to the mayor. But if he interviewed Mrs. Foster, he knew she
wouldn’t hesitate to accuse him and his deputies of the murders.
He freely admitted that she was more eloquent and convincing than
anyone else in town and didn’t doubt that Walker would believe her. So, if
he interviewed her, then a Colt with one empty casing in its cylinder would
have to be hidden in her office. Then he’d have Steve discover the evidence
of Clara Foster’s guilt.

He was still hoping Walker just returned to the boarding house when
Steve hurried back inside and exclaimed, “I was just jokin’ before, but
Walker just went into the newspaper office!”
The sheriff let out a breath, shook his head and said, “Stay out front and
keep your eyes on that newspaper. I’m gonna hafta talk to the mayor sooner
than I figgered. When I get back, we gotta talk.”
As the sheriff grabbed his hat, Steve said, “Okay, boss,” and then left the
jail to relay the sheriff’s simple instructions to Hector and Luke.
 CHAPTER 3
Since returning to her office, Clara had been sitting at the desk staring
through the large front window expecting to see the deputies walk by with
their pistols drawn. She knew it was highly unlikely, but the horror of
James’ murder was still fresh in her mind.
She had the derringer sitting on the desk next to her purse, so anyone
who entered wouldn’t see it. The folded proof sheet was beside the
derringer waiting for Lin’s inspection, which she hoped would happen soon.
As she watched a freight wagon pass by the window, the door swung
open, and her heart skipped a beat when Lin entered the room.

Her blood-pumping muscle resumed to its rhythmic pace before he

closed the door, smiled and said, “I just had a very interesting chat with
Mayor Solomon Oliver Bradley.”
Clara quickly asked, “Do you want to go upstairs to tell me about it?”
“No. I’m sure the deputies saw me enter and already have reported to
their boss. And I imagine the sheriff will be meeting with the mayor shortly.
So, if we went upstairs, they’d be even more suspicious than they already
are.”
Lin set his writing case on the corner of the desk and then took off his
hat and pulled up a chair.

After he sat down, he asked, “Did you go to Allen’s apartment?”

“I did. And I’m pretty sure that one of the deputies visited him last night.
I noticed that the chair he always kept near his pantry had been moved next
to his small table. But the only thing I found that might be a clue is this.”
 She slid the folded proof sheet across the desk without pointing out the
almost invisible indentations that shouldn’t have been there.

Lin picked it up but didn’t unfold it before he began to search for what
had intrigued Clara. He didn’t find anything unusual until he tilted it
slightly. When he saw the barely noticeable depressions, he had no trouble
identifying what had created them.
He set the proof sheet on the desk and said, “It was hard to find, and I’m
impressed that you not only noticed it but also recognized its significance. It
confirms our suspicions that one of the deputies visited Allen last night and
frightened him into leaving.”
“It does? What made it?”
“It was a pistol. When it was placed on the paper, the slot between two
of the chambers on the cylinder left a raised mark.”
“But it has no value as evidence, does it?”
“No. I was hoping that Allen left a note explaining what had happened,
but at least now you know why he left.”

Clara nodded as she asked, “How did the mayor react when you met
him?”
Lin replied, “Before I tell you, I need to officially begin the interview in
case anyone looks through the window.”

Clara nodded as Lin opened his case and took out his notebook and a
pencil. After opening the notebook to the same page he’d written his lewd
Latin limericks, he set his pencil’s point on the page and smiled at her.
Lin then asked, “So, Mrs. Foster, can you tell me your opinion of Mayor
Bradley?”

Clara laughed before answering, “You can imagine what I think of him,
Mister Walker. Now tell me what he said.”
 “He almost fell over when he first saw me. But when I said I wanted to
interview him for my next book, he puffed out his chest almost as much as
his overeating had expanded his belly. Then he spent the first few minutes
providing me with his glorious personal history from his birth to his ascent
into becoming the First Earl of Cottonwood and the most important man in
town. Then he glorified Cottonwood, and with great humility, admitted that
he was responsible for making it the jewel of the territory.

“When he asked me to include Cottonwood in my next book, I told him

that my publisher recommended against using real towns or people I meet
to avoid legal issues. So, after he assured me that wouldn’t happen, I agreed
to use the town in my next fictional masterpiece. Then I added a bit of
unnecessary honey by telling him I’d be sure to spell his name correctly.”
As she listened, Clara pictured Mayor Bradley as he inflated his
importance and found it difficult to restrain her laughter.
Despite the troubling information he was about to tell her, Lin
thoroughly enjoying making Clara smile. So, he paused before continuing
to the mayor’s reaction after Lin said he was going to interview her.
When Lin hadn’t spoken for a few seconds, Clara smiled and said, “I’m
surprised he still had buttons on his vest when you left.”

Lin glanced through the window before he said, “He still had all of his
buttons. But I wanted to see how much he knew about the sheriff and his
deputies’ illegal behavior. So, as I was preparing to leave, I told him that I
was going to visit the local newspaper to interview the editor.”
Clara’s eyebrows rose before she said, “I imagine he wasn’t smiling
when you told him.”

“No, he wasn’t smiling. He said that you were deranged and a liar and
not to believe a word you said. which was pretty much what I expected. So,
I told him I was still intent on interviewing you because good lies can
sometimes become great plots. Then he told me that you were so crazy that
Allen was scared into leaving town on this morning’s stage. So, he must
have known Allen had taken the stage before you did.

“But what he said next was much more disturbing. He was close to panic
after his arguments failed to dissuade me from interviewing you, so he
added one final accusation to keep me from entering your office.”
Clara quietly asked, “What was it?”

“Remember when I told you what a defense attorney would do if you

testified against the sheriff and his deputies for murdering your husbands?”
Clara nodded as Lin said, “Well, that’s pretty much what the mayor
suggested. He said the sheriff suspected you had murdered both of them and
the only reason he didn’t arrest you was because he couldn’t find the gun
you had used.”

“Does it really matter what he thinks? The whole town can believe that
nonsense, and I wouldn’t care.”
“It could matter very much, but it’s not the gossip that worries me. I first
thought I’d blundered by insisting I would still conduct your interview. I
was concerned that when the sheriff visited Mister Bradley, the mayor
would tell him how he tried to keep me from seeing you.

“That might give the sheriff the idea to plant a pistol in your office and
then ‘discover’ it, so they could charge you with murdering James. To
conduct the trial in Cottonwood, the mayor could act as the judge and
assign a friendly prosecutor. It wouldn’t be legal, of course, but I don’t
believe they care about the Constitution or the laws of the territory.”
Clara stared at Lin for a few seconds before she quietly said, “I should
have known they might try something like that.”

“But then I realized it was much more likely that it wasn’t the mayor
who had suddenly concocted the scheme. The sheriff probably told him of
the plan which means they might be inspired to use it now to convince me
that you were the murderer.”
 “And then they’d arrest me and throw me in jail to be hanged as a
murderer.”

“That wouldn’t be a problem. If they were planning to simply arrest you,

I can prevent that from happening. I have jurisdiction anywhere in the
country and the authority to take their badges. I’m much more concerned
that one of his deputies might shoot you and then say it was self-defense.
He’d claim that you tried to kill him with the same gun you’d used to
murder your husbands.”
Clara stared at Lin as she quietly said, “That is a terrifying thought.”

“It is very frightening, and I don’t want to give them the opportunity. So,
is there someplace else you can stay?”
“No. This is all I have now.”

“Not even in another town?”

Clara looked through the window and said, “Just because I’m frightened
doesn’t mean I’m leaving, Lin. This is my town too, and I’m not going to
let them win.”

Lin waited until she looked back at him before saying, “I didn’t think
you would, but I needed to ask before I find another way to keep you safe.”
“I’m not a fairytale fair damsel in distress, Lin. And I’m not going to
hide upstairs knitting a shawl while you risk your life. I’m going to do
whatever I can to help you.”

Lin smiled and said, “I never thought of you as a damsel in distress,

Clara. I know how brave you are, but you can’t stay alert while you’re
sleeping. And if you stay here by yourself, you’ll become nothing more
than a target.”
“Can’t we just secure the office so they can’t enter while I’m sleeping?”

Lin set his pencil on his writing case and said, “We can, but it would be
just a temporary fix. I was planning to use the abandoned savings and loan
to keep an eye on your place, but my visit with the mayor changed
everything. After I left the bank, I was trying to think of the new plan to
deal with them while keeping you safe when I had a revelation.”

Clara asked, “Are you going to show me how to shoot a real gun?”
Lin smiled and replied, “That might help, but I hope it won’t be
necessary. Before I tell you about my rather unusual idea, I need to know if
you can ride.”

“I can. But I don’t have a horse and haven’t ridden one in more than two
years. But I just told you I’m not leaving, so why did you ask if I could
ride?”
Lin nodded and said, “You’ll understand before I’m finished telling you
about my plan. Do you still have a riding skirt and a good pair of boots?”

Clara was puzzled but answered, “I have the boots but wore a pair of
denim jeans when I used to ride. I have them upstairs.”
“That’s fine. Now here’s why I asked. When I leave, I’m going to stop at
the boarding house to pick up my saddlebags. Then I’ll visit Miguel Ramos
and buy you a horse and saddle but have him keep them in his barn until
tomorrow. Then I’ll come back here, and we’ll secure the office from
intruders.”

Lin paused before adding, “And I won’t be returning to the boarding

house.”
Clara blinked and then asked, “You’re staying here tonight?”

Lin smiled as he replied, “I’d be disappointed in you if you’re worried

about what the old biddies would think.”
“So, would I. But why stay when you know it will almost force the
sheriff to act?”

“Because I want him to act on our terms, not his. I want them to believe I
was peppered with Cupid’s arrows when I met you, and then immediately
begged you to accept me as your humble suitor.”

Clara stared at Lin for a few seconds before she asked, “Do you really
expect them to believe that?”
Lin was surprised by her question and replied, “Why wouldn’t they
believe it? You’re the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met.”

Clara smiled as she said, “That’s because I’m the tallest woman you’ve
ever met.”
“I’ll agree that you are at least two inches taller than any other woman
I’ve seen, but you’re also the most attractive woman I've met. But maybe I
used the wrong adjective. I should have told you that you’re the most
impressive woman I’ve ever met. You’re very intelligent and the bravest
person I know, and I’m including myself.”
Clara blushed slightly before she said, “I believe you overestimate my
appearance as well as my mind and courage. I’ve never had anyone try to
shoot me, while you probably have faced danger dozens of times without
hesitation.”
“I’ll admit that I’ve been in a few hazardous situations, but in each of
them, I was well-armed and usually had an advantage because of my skill
with firearms. But you, Mrs. Foster, could have abandoned Cottonwood
after your first husband was murdered.
“Instead, you chose to stay and challenge the men who’d corrupted the
town. Then you had a second opportunity to escape from danger, but again
you didn’t leave Cottonwood. You confronted those cold-blooded
murderers without a gun or even a single bullet. And that, Clara, is the very
definition of true courage. It's what makes you an exceptional person, and
someone who must be protected at all costs.”
When Lin finished speaking, Clara realized he’d meant every word and
was too stunned to reply.

Ten seconds later, Lin asked, “Are you all right, Clara?”
 Clara nodded as she replied, “I was just surprised that you seem to
believe that.”

“I believe it because everything I told you is true without a hint of

embellishment. And you shouldn’t have been surprised at all. Now, before I
leave, I’m going to give you some added protection just in case.”
“But you’re not carrying a gun.”
Lin smiled then pulled up his right pants leg and slid his Colt
Shopkeeper from his ankle holster. He then flipped the folded proof sheet
over, laid the pistol on top and pushed it into the paper.
As Clara stared at the pistol, Lin said, “This shoots a much more
powerful round than the derringer. It’s loaded with five cartridges and
works like the derringer, only it’s harder to pull back the hammer and has a
serious kick when it’s fired.”

Then he unbuckled his ankle holster, slid the Colt home and secured it
with the hammer loop before he said, “Take a look at the paper, and I’m
sure you’ll see something that looks familiar.”
Clara took the proof sheet from the desktop and saw similar but deeper
indentations than those on the other side.
When she set the folded papers onto the desk, Lin handed her the ankle
holster and said, “You shouldn’t need this, but I’ll feel better if you have it
with you.”
Clara picked up the holster and said, “It’s heavier than I expected, but
I’m sure I’ll grow to appreciate its weight. Does it have to be strapped to
my ankle?”
“No, but it’s meant to be hidden, so you could keep it in your handbag.”
Clara nodded before she lifted the hem of her dress to her thighs and
then strapped the holster above her right knee and secured it with the small
buckle.
 Then she stood and walked in a short loop before she nodded, looked at
Lin and said, “This isn’t as annoying as I thought it would be.”

Lin smiled and shook his head before saying, “I’m sorry I wasn’t
shocked when you exposed your legs. I simply enjoyed the view.”
Clara sat down and said, “I didn’t expect you to be shocked. I’m not an
innocent young girl, Lin. I’m twenty-five years old, I’ve been married twice
and lost two babies. And I’m sure that you’ve seen many other women’s
legs before.”

Lin tilted his head slightly before saying, “Not nearly as many as you
seem to believe. And now that I’m supposed to be your beau, I feel I should
tell you that I’m twenty-eight years old and have never been married or
even engaged.”
Clara’s eyebrows rose a little before she asked, “That doesn’t mean
you’ve never been with a woman, does it?”

“No, but I’m not a Don Juan, either. It’s just that I never met a woman
who interested me enough to consider sharing the rest of my life with her.”
Clara imagined that Lin must have rejected dozens, if not hundreds of
women, and despite his apparent admiration, she doubted if she met his
lofty standards.

Lin then smiled and said, “We can talk about our past lives after I return.
I should be back in less than an hour.”
“I’ll lock the front door and watch the back for any unwanted visitors.”
Lin nodded then stood, grabbed his hat and pulled it on before he walked
to the door. As soon as he stepped onto the boardwalk, he looked west and
thought about waving to the three deputies staring back at him. But he had a
lot to do and couldn’t spare the time, so he made good use of his long
strides as he headed to Miguel’s livery. He felt naked knowing he was
unarmed, but that would change soon.
 _____

Sheriff Johnson was angry enough to shoot the mayor but just gritted his
teeth and snarled, “What were you thinkin’? And that’s only if you got a
brain in your head.”
Mayor Bradley was terrified of the sheriff but was seething after hearing
his insult, so he replied, “I’m a lot smarter than you or your deputies,
Sheriff. Besides, what difference does it make? Even if he believes every
word she says, he still has to return to San Francisco. I’m sure that you can
use your deputies to ensure he doesn’t reach Sulphur Springs.”
Ray was surprised when the mayor actually seemed to grow a backbone
but was more impressed that he’d arrived at the same solution to the
problem that he had.
The sheriff then said, “You may not be so dumb after all. I reckon we’ll
just keep an eye on Walker to see what he does. I’ll have one of my
deputies sittin’ near the telegraph office to keep him from wirin’ the
governor’s office, too. They might believe him ‘cause he’s not a hysterical
woman. When he rides off with his pack mule, I’ll make sure he doesn’t
leave the territory.”
Mayor Bradley then asked, “What about Clara Foster?”
Sheriff Johnson grinned and asked, “Do you mean the murderin’ Clara
Foster?”
The mayor smiled but felt a chill run down his newly discovered spine
when he suspected his sheriff partner might send Steve Hilliard to his house
after he eliminated Mrs. Foster.
The sheriff stood and pulled his hat on before he turned and left the
mayor’s office. He then exited the bank through the back door to avoid
being seen by Walker.
_____
 As he crossed the street, Lin wondered if the sheriff had already spoken
to the mayor and had to assume that he had. He knew he could be wrong
about their response to his visit but hoped that they would at least delay
their plan until tomorrow.
He entered the boarding house less than a minute later and quickly
walked to the stairway and bounded up the steps to the second floor. When
he entered his room, he was almost surprised that nothing had been
disturbed. He picked up his saddlebags then walked to the dresser and set
them on the floor. He yanked open the bottom drawer, grabbed his gunbelt
and felt human again after strapping it on. Then he began moving his things
to the saddlebags.
After the drawers were empty, Lin knew he’d need more cash than he
had in his wallet, so he unbuttoned his vest and shirt and opened the pouch
on his money belt. He counted ten twenty-dollar bills and stuffed them in
his right pocket before buttoning his shirt and vest. He made one final
inspection to make sure he hadn’t missed anything before he hung his
saddlebags over his shoulder and left the room.
As he trotted down the stairs, he was relieved that neither of the Delgado
sisters were waiting in the sitting room and soon left the boarding house.
Before he entered Miguel’s livery, Lin walked down the wide alley along
its eastern wall. When he reached the back of the barn, he looked at the
horses in the corral and spotted a handsome tan gelding with long white
stockings on all four legs. He took a minute to give it a closer inspection
before he turned around and headed back to Center Street hoping it was for
sale.
Lin soon entered the livery and found Miguel standing beside Copper
with a young boy. He was obviously teaching the lad, and Lin assumed he
was Miguel’s son and the future owner of the livery.
When he was closer, the boy pointed at Lin and said, “Papa, Mister
Walker is here.”
 Miguel turned and grinned before saying, “This is my oldest son, Diego.
I taught him how to judge a horse and wanted him to tell me what he
thought of your fine gelding.”
Lin smiled, looked down at Diego and asked, “And what do you think of
my tall red friend?”
Diego’s neck was bent backwards as far as possible as he replied, “He is
the best horse I have ever seen. He looks like he can run very fast for a long
time.”
“You’re right about his speed and endurance. Can you guess his age and
height?”
Diego closed one eye before answering, “I think he is six years old and
is fifteen hands tall.”
Lin smiled as he said, “You’re very smart, Diego. He’ll be seven years
old next April, but he’s a little over sixteen hands.”
Diego looked at his father and said, “I was really close, Papa.”
Miguel put his hand on his son’s shoulder and beamed as he said,
“Mister Walker was right when he said you are very smart, Diego. Now, go
help your mother with the firewood.”
Diego nodded and then smiled at Lin as he said, “Goodbye, Mister
Walker.”

Lin said, “It was a pleasure meeting a great horseman, Diego,” and then
waved before the boy almost danced out of the barn.
Miguel smiled and said, “Diego always makes me and his mother proud.
Are you going for another ride?”

“Not today. But are any of the horses in your corral for sale?”
“All of them are for sale, but why would you want another horse?”
“As a gift. I’ll need a full set of tack for him as well.”
 “I have three saddles, so you can choose one. Do you wish to inspect the
horses in the corral?”

“I’ve already made my choice. How much would you want for the tan
gelding with the white stockings and the saddle?”
Miguel nodded and said, “You are a good judge of horses as well, Mister
Walker. The tan gelding is the best one in the corral. I will sell you the horse
and saddle for a hundred dollars. Is that alright?”
Lin nodded and said, “That’s fine,” and then pulled the wad of twenty-
dollar notes from his pocket, counted out five and handed them to Miguel.
Miguel seemed a bit surprised that Lin hadn’t haggled, but smiled and
said, “Thank you, Mister Walker.”

Lin grinned and said, “You should call me Lin, Miguel. Early tomorrow
morning, I’ll be taking both horses and my pack mule for a long ride, so I’ll
need to have them ready, including all of my panniers. And could you fill
my water bags as well?”
“All will be ready for you.”
“And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell the sheriff or his deputies of my
plan to take a ride or even that I bought the horse.”
Miguel spit on the floor before growling, “They are not good men, and I
will tell them nothing.”
Lin wasn’t surprised by his answer or even his phlegm emphasis before
he said, “Thank you, Miguel. I’ll see you early in the morning.”
As soon as he turned onto the street, Lin noticed that only Hector Ruiz
was sitting in front of the jail and wondered where the other two had gone.
His best guess was the sheriff had just returned from his mayoral chat and
was giving orders to the other two deputies. But the slim possibility that
they decided to pay Clara a visit while he was in the livery spurred him to
take a faster pace as he headed back to the newspaper office.
 Lin had to wait for a buckboard to pass before he started across the street
to the opposite boardwalk. A few seconds later, just before he reached the
locked front door of
The Canyon Caller
, he peeked through the window
and was relieved when he saw Clara sitting behind the desk looking back at
him.
Clara was even more relieved when Lin appeared at the window and
immediately hopped to her feet and trotted to the door.
Lin heard her hurried footsteps and was smiling when he heard her
release the cheap lock and open the door.
When he stepped inside, Clara closed the door and asked, “Do you want
me to lock it again?”
“No, ma’am. I’m not sure that lock would prevent a determined
jackrabbit from pushing the door open. I’ll make the door more secure
before sundown.”
As they walked to the desk, Deputy Sheriff Hector Ruiz ran into the jail
to tell his boss.
After sitting down near the desk, Lin set his saddlebags on the floor and
laid his hat on the desktop. Clara took her seat behind the desk and waited
for Lin to divulge his plans for dealing with the sheriff and his deputies.

Lin said, “When I left the boarding house, all three deputies were sitting
out front. But after I finished buying your horse and saddle, I noticed that
only Hector Ruiz was there. I believe Sheriff Johnson is telling them about
his visit with the mayor.”
“Do you think he already talked to the mayor? I was watching the street
and didn’t see the sheriff walk past.”
“He could have taken side streets to avoid being seen, but there’s an
equal chance he’s waiting until the bank closes before he asks the mayor
what he told me. But either way, it won’t affect our plans.”
 “Have you added any more details?”
“Not yet. As we flesh out the plan, I want to hear your suggestions.
Okay?”
Clara smiled and said, “This is a new experience for me. A real man
asking me what I think.”
Lin replied, “For someone like you, that must be enormously frustrating.
It’s also a true waste of your potential. I told you before that you’re one of
the smartest people I’ve ever met, but it’s more than just being intelligent.
You have a logical, ordered way of thinking that makes full use of your
sharp mind.”
“You need to stop complimenting me or you’ll turn me into a prima
donna.”
“I can’t imagine you becoming a prima Donna or a prima Clara, either.
But let’s start working on our plan.”
“Alright. We can start by explaining how pretending to be my beau and
buying me a horse will help stop them.”
“I want folks to see us together, so in a little while, we’ll have supper at
Rita’s Cantina or Harper’s Diner, whichever you’d prefer. Tomorrow
morning, we’ll share breakfast then walk to Miguel’s. He’ll have the horses
and my pack mule ready, and then we’ll ride past the jail and leave town.”
“You want them to see us leave?”
Lin nodded as he replied, “I want them to believe we’re leaving
Cottonwood permanently. And I’m sure the sheriff will send at least one of
his deputies after us to keep us from reaching Sulphur Springs.”
“Where are we going?”
“When I was riding into Cottonwood, I identified the best defensive sites
just in case. About eight miles west of town, there’s a boulder-covered hill
with a nice gap that would make a perfect ambush location.”
 “Are you going to shoot them?”
“I hope it doesn’t come down to gunfire, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t.
I’ll be wearing my badge and when they’re close, I’ll identify myself as a
United States Marshal. If they’re smart, they’ll drop their weapons. But in
my experience, if a man knows there’s a good chance that he’ll hang if he
gives up, he’ll risk going for his gun. If there are more than one, it’s almost
a certainty they’ll try to shoot it out because each of them will believe his
partner will be killed and he’ll get a shot off.”
Clara stared at Lin as she quietly asked, “How many gunfights have you
had?”

“I’ve been involved in eleven shootouts altogether.”

She then asked, “Have you ever been shot?”
Lin smiled as he said, “Twice, but neither one was fatal.”
Lin was trying to make her laugh, but Clara was horrified and exclaimed,
"
How can you joke about being shot?”

“I’m sorry, Clara. I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

Clara was mostly mollified before she asked, “Where were you shot?”
Lin almost replied that now that they were engaged, he’d show her
before they went to bed, but the common-sense part of his brain swatted the
thought away before it reached his tongue.
“The first one caught me in my left upper arm, just below the shoulder. It
was fired from a Winchester ’73 from over two hundred yards, so it didn’t
do too much damage. That was in June of ’82. The second time, I was
caught by surprise and dove to the ground just before the man fired both
barrels of his twelve-gauge shotgun. Almost all of them passed overhead
but two of the pellets found their way into my right hip.”
“Did you have to kill both of the men who shot you?”
 “I had no choice with the first one because he kept firing at me as I
worked my way closer, and I needed to have my wound treated. My first
shot ended that confrontation. The shotgun shooter was much closer and
gave up when I had him dead to rights.”
“Did he hang for trying to kill you?”
“No, ma’am. I didn’t even charge him with the attempted murder of a
United States Marshal. He was pretty drunk at the time, which is why he
caught me off guard. He had escaped from prison, so I just brought him
back to finish his prison term. Of course, they added another five years just
for leaving prematurely. I kept his twelve-gauge but cut its barrels and
stock. Now it's only twenty-eight inches long and has a really wide scatter.
It’s with my packs at Miguel’s.”
Clara tried to imagine what it felt like to be shot but couldn’t, so she
asked, “How many men have you killed?”
“Four.”
“Does it bother you when you kill a man?”
“The first one almost made me sick. I finally learned to live with it by
focusing on the lives I had probably saved by stopping them.”

“If you feel that way, why don’t you just resign for real? You don’t need
the money, do you?”
“I only tried threatened to resign because my publisher wanted me to
move to San Francisco and devote all of my time to writing. And I don’t
take jobs just to find inspiration for my books.”
Clara said, “You didn’t explain why you didn’t resign for real.”
“It’s a long story, so I’ll explain later. While I’m securing your back
door, you should start packing for tomorrow. Take enough to last you for a
couple of days. And when you dress tomorrow, don’t wear anything white,
yellow or red, just grays and browns.”
 Clara smiled and asked, “Does that include my underwear?”

Lin grinned and replied, “If you have brown underwear, it’s time to do
your laundry.”
Clara laughed and then stood, looked down and started to lift her dress
but let it drop when she heard Lin’s deep laughter.

Clara then asked, “Are you sure we should have supper at the diner, Lin?
The only ones we’re trying to convince we’re a couple probably already
know you’re here.”
“I told you how smart you were. You’re not only right, but it’s a much
better idea. If I don’t leave, they’ll be even more convinced I’ve been
smitten.”
Clara smiled as she said, “They’ll probably think we’re spending hours
frolicking in bed.”
Lin’s eyebrows rose just a bit before she laughed and then winked before
she walked away from the desk. Lin watched Clara cross the room and
wondered if she understood that he really was smitten. But it was much
deeper than an infatuation. She was not only the most impressive woman
he’d ever met, but she was also his perfect match. She challenged him.

As his perfect woman began climbing the steps to her apartment, she
said, “It won’t take long to pack and then I’ll start cooking our supper.”
“And I’ll get to work making the first floor safer from intruders.”
After Clara disappeared into the upper floor, Lin slapped his right cheek
to clear his mind before he headed to the back door. It didn’t even have a
cheap sliding latch like the front door. If it had, then maybe the murdering
deputy wouldn’t have been able to surprise James Foster.
But as he stared at the door, he decided that creating an alarm would be
better than trying to keep someone from breaking in. Besides, it would only
be needed for one night.
 Before he began work, Lin made a quick visit to the privy. Because once
the door was alarmed, he and Clara would be limited to bedpans.
_____
As Lin began designing his deputy alarm, the three deputies watched
Sheriff Johnson as he paced the interior perimeter of the jail. After Hector
told him that Walker had reentered the newspaper office, Ray hoped that the
writer had just returned because he’d forgotten something. Hector had
continued watching for another ten minutes before Ray realized that Walker
wasn’t leaving. Now he had to deal with the unexpected and potentially
dangerous development.
He walked through open doorway and looked down Center Street as if
he expected to see Walker leave the newspaper office. But he soon turned
around and stepped before his waiting deputies.
“Alright. There ain’t no need to get excited. He may not be a tough
hombre, but he’s still a man. He’s probably just fillin’ her head with
promises so he can have his way with her. And I don’t care if he’s humpin’
her silly as long as he stays put. This is my town, and he ain’t nothin’ but a
damned nuisance. So, we’ll stick with what I told you a little while ago.
Luke, you’ll watch the telegraph office whenever it’s open. Other than that,
we’ll just keep an eye on ‘em.”

Steve asked, “Do you reckon he’ll take her with him when he leaves
town?”
“I’d be surprised if he did ‘cause he’s too fancy for a woman like her.
But if he does, it’ll be a lucky break for us ‘cause we won’t need to worry
about gettin’ rid of her while she’s still in town. If they do go ridin’ off
together, then I want you and Hector to go after ‘em.”
Steve said, “I can handle that writer on my own, boss. Then I can have a
little fun with the tall bitch before I finish her off.”
 “I don’t care what you do with her, Steve. I just don’t want to leave
anything to chance. You’ll need to bury the bodies and get rid of his horse
and pack mule, too.”
Steve nodded and then looked at Hector and said, “I get her first.”
Hector snickered before saying, “Okay, but I get his guns.”
Ray said, “I’ll be in my office for a while,” and then walked past the
cells, entered his small office and closed the door.
The sheriff took a seat behind his desk and began drumming his fingers
as he stared at the calendar on his wall. He felt as if he was missing
something about Walker and it bothered him. He stopped tapping his desk,
leaned back and locked his hands behind his neck. He wanted Walker to
leave soon and hoped that whatever he’d missed wasn’t important enough
to spoil his plans.
_____
Lin was pleased with his simple alarm. He’d taken an empty tin from the
waste bin then used his knife to punch a hole near the top. Then he dropped
three steel typefaces into the holey can and set it on the desk. After he tied a
cord to the printing press, he ran it through the tin and tied the other end to
the back door latch.
Even though he didn’t believe an intruder would use the front door, Lin
decided to add another alarm for the street entrance. This one was even
simpler than the one on the back door. He simply grabbed the hammer
Clara had been ready to use as a defensive weapon and leaned it against the
door.
Satisfied that no one could enter without being heard, Lin returned to the
desk and sat down. He took his notebook and a pencil from his case and
opened the notebook to the next empty page. He wasn’t going to add
interesting tidbits for his next book but would be logging details for his
report when he returned to San Francisco.
 But shortly after Lin began writing, he was stymied by a severe case of
writer’s block and knew what had caused the problem. He set the pencil
down, then looked at the ceiling and followed Clara’s footsteps as she
crossed the room. After she stopped moving, he didn’t try to resume writing
because his mind was hopelessly out of focus.
Lin was too distracted to recall all the details, so he decided to write a
letter to his publisher’s attorney. He picked up the pencil and quickly filled
the page. After signing the letter, he pulled two envelopes from his case,
and on one he wrote:
Barney N. Bailey Publishing Co.
3 Ring Street
San Francisco, California
Attn: Bob Keeshan
 
He slid the letter into the envelope then unbuttoned his shirt and vest,
unbuckled his money belt and set it on the desk. After refastening his
buttons, he removed the remaining greenbacks placed them on the desk, but
left all of the double eagles, eagles and half-eagles inside. Then he took the
five twenty-dollar bills from his pocket and added them to the thirteen
twenty-dollar notes on the desk. Lin aligned the eighteen bills and slid them
into the second envelope before inscribing it with Clara’s name.
After sealing the envelopes, he returned them, the notebook, and the
pencil to the case and then closed the flap and secured the ties.

Lin then stood and stuffed the heavy money belt into his saddlebags.
With his precautions complete, he scanned the room to find the best place to
spend the night when he realized his bedroll was back in Miguel’s livery.
He looked at the front door and thought about retrieving it but didn’t
want one of the deputies to see him. Then he remembered that Clara said
she and James slept in separate beds, but he had only seen one. When he’d
noticed the only interior door in her living quarters, he thought it was a
closet but now realized it was probably her bedroom. And after Clara’s
recent ‘frolicking’ comment, he didn’t think she’d mind if he made use of
James’ bed.
He was returning to the desk when Clara stepped to the top of the stairs
and said, “If you’ve already finished, you can come upstairs, so we can talk
while I cook.”
Lin shifted direction and said, “I’m on my way.”
When he started to climb the steep stairs, he was pleased to see Clara
smiling down at him. She waited until he was almost to her feet before she
stepped aside to let him complete his ascent.
After he stepped into her living area, Lin glanced at the only visible bed
before he walked with Clara to the kitchen-dining alcove.
She stepped to the cookstove, picked up a large fork and turned one of
the two salted beefsteaks while Lin took plates from a shelf and began
setting the table.
Clara flipped the second steak and asked, “So, now can you tell me why
you didn’t resign?”

“First tell me where to find the knives and forks.”

Clara pointed to a small cabinet and then asked, “Are you delaying your
answer to my question to give you time to create a fictional answer?”
Lin opened the flatware drawer and said, “It was just a matter of timing,
ma’am. So now, I’m going to sound like the mayor when I answer your
question.”
Clara smiled and said, “Thank God you don’t look like the mayor.”
Lin grinned and replied, “Give me a few years and maybe I’ll shrink
nine or ten inches and add twenty pounds.”
Clara laughed before Lin began his lengthy reply to her question.
 “I was born on the eighth of April in 1860 to William and Elizabeth
Walker and grew up in a Michigan town called Hillsdale. My older brother
died from pneumonia when I was four and my mother died in childbirth
when I was six. My father loved my mother so dearly that he never
remarried, so he was my only family.
“But even before I lost my mother, I knew how fortunate I was to be his
son. He was kind and understanding but strong and self-assured as well. I
never wanted to disappoint him and did everything possible to make him
proud of me. He was also the smartest man I ever knew and was my teacher
as well as my father and best friend.
“He was a professor at Hillsdale College but wasn’t a bookworm. He
took me fishing and hunting and taught me the difference between a real
man and just an adult male. He was surprisingly humble and would tell me
the mistakes he’d made in his life to keep me from repeating them.”

Clara lifted one of the steaks from the skillet, so Lin paused his narration
and carried both of their plates to the cookstove to accept the cooked meat.
He didn’t return to the table but waited for Clara to add the side dish. After
Clara returned the empty skillet to the cookstove, she picked up a large
spoon and scooped fried potatoes from a pan onto the plates.
After sitting down, Lin said, “My father’s nightly lessons allowed me to
finish my primary education and high school quickly, so I entered Hillsdale
College when I was fifteen. I was nineteen when I graduated which was the
best day of my life. But it wasn’t because I was proud of myself for
completing college. It was seeing the joy in father’s eyes and knowing that I
had never disappointed him.”
While he’d been speaking, Lin had cut his steak into bite-sized pieces, at
least for him, so he took a break to move some of the hot beef into his
mouth.
As he chewed, Clara asked, “Was your father a professor of English?”
 Lin shook his head, swallowed and replied, “He taught classical
languages and history. That’s why I can read and write in Latin. I never
could master writing in Greek, though.”
Before he was able to spear another chunk of steak, Clara asked, “You’re
a writer, so did you get your degree in English?”
“No, ma’am. It was in history and mathematics.”

Clara may have had more questions in her mind’s queue, but she kept
them in line as she wanted Lin to finally reveal the reason why he was still
a United States Marshal. So, she scooped some fried potatoes from her plate
and waited for him to continue.
Lin followed her lead and tossed a forkful of potatoes into his mouth and
then rapidly masticated the mass of tasty tubers and swallowed.
“I had been offered a position at the college but wasn’t sure it was what I
wanted to do with my life. My father didn’t try to influence me at all and
left the decision up to me. I was still unsure of whether or not to enter the
world of academia when my life was shattered. I was at home reading
Caesar’s Commentaries
while my father was out with a friend who was
celebrating the birth of his first grandson.
“It was a Friday, the twenty-third of July in ’79, and he was walking
home under the full moon when two highwaymen sprung from behind a
hedgerow and beat him to the ground. They proceeded to rob him of all of
his valuables and then took his life.”
Lin took a breath and then a bite of steak to calm his mind and soul. He
was relieved knowing he was finished telling Clara the emotional passages.
After he swallowed, he smiled and said, “Now I’ll finally answer your
question, Clara. Later that night, when Sheriff Higgins arrived and told me
what had happened, I was so shaken that I didn’t ask him a single question.
It wasn’t until the day I buried my father that I walked to the sheriff’s office
and asked if he’d captured my father’s killers. There are no words in the
English language to accurately describe my reaction when he told me he
didn’t know who’d committed the crime.
“I was so furious that I left the office and began my own investigation. I
soon discovered the sheriff hadn’t even been to the crime scene. When I
confronted the sheriff, he claimed he had looked around but when I
challenged him, he said, ‘All of you college folks think you’re so damned
special’. That’s when I realized he was letting his personal prejudices
interfere with the performance of his duties.
“So, I went to Lansing and met with United States Marshal Richard
Brooks. I was much calmer by then and was able to explain the issue in a
concise, detailed manner. I was almost surprised when the marshal agreed
to return to Hillsdale with me. Before we even started back, I decided that I
would honor to my father more by keeping others safe rather than teaching
history and mathematics.”
Clara had cleared her plate as she’d listened, so she said, “You can finish
talking after you finish eating, Lin.”
Lin smiled and drank half of the water in his glass before he said, “I’m
almost done with both,” and then attacked his supper with vigor.

After ninety seconds of serious consumption, Lin’s plate was free of

food, and he began the last chapter of his story.
“I helped Marshal Brooks with his investigation, and it took just three
days to find and arrest the men who’d killed my father. After they were in
jail, Marshal Brooks had Sheriff Higgins apologize to me and then warned
him that he had authority to take his badge. When we left the sheriff’s
office, I asked him how I could become a U.S. Marshal and he not only
explained the process but also wrote a letter of recommendation. After I
was accepted into the service, I sold the house and never returned to
Michigan.”
Clara asked, “Not even to visit your father’s grave?”
 “His remains were buried under the ground, but my father isn’t there,
Clara. He lives in my heart and soul. All that I have that belonged to him is
the watch that Marshal Brooks recovered from his killers.”
Lin felt it was time to change the subject, so he smiled and said, “You’ve
told me most of your life story, but I don’t know the date of your birth or
your family’s name.”
Clara replied, “I was born on the twenty-first of November in 1863, and
my family’s name was Bell.”
“So, you were Clara Bell, then Clara Endicott before you became Clara
Foster. Which name would you prefer I put on the marriage license?”
Clara smiled as she asked, “I think it might be overplaying our hand if
we go to the courthouse to get the license before we leave in the morning,
don’t you?”
Lin grinned and replied, “We’ll want to be riding out of town by the time
the courthouse opens. That illogical question just popped into my brain.
What I need to do now is to give you some basic training on how to fire the
Colt.”
“You said it was simple like the derringer, so why would I need
instructions?”

“I didn’t think you’d be using it this afternoon. But while the firing
process is the same, the Colt’s weight and power require much more
control.”
“I hope you’re not going to put a hole in my wall.”
Lin grinned and said, “Only if you hurl the gun into the wall. I’ll empty
the pistol and then we’ll do some dryfire practice.”
Clara nodded as she said, “Let’s clean up first.”
She and Lin stood and cleared the table before quickly washing the
dishes, including the skillet. The pot of fried potatoes would serve as their
breakfast.
When the chore was finished, Clara lifted her dress above her knee, then
smiled at Lin before she slid the Colt from the holster then released her
dress and let gravity do its job.
As she handed him the pistol, Lin asked, “You enjoy tormenting me,
don’t you?”
“I couldn’t access the pistol through my dress, Mister Walker.”
Lin chuckled and then pulled the hammer to the half-cocked position and
began dropping the five .45 caliber cartridges onto his big palm. He set
them on the table then showed the Colt to Clara.

“I don’t believe you’ll ever need to load it, but I’ll show you how
anyway. When the hammer is halfway back, like it is now, the cylinder is
free to rotate. It also locks the trigger to prevent an accidental discharge. It’s
a six-shot revolver, but most of the time, I leave a chamber open for safety
reasons.”
Clara realized why Lin needed to teach her about the Colt. It was more
complicated than the derringer, and she wondered what it felt like when it
was fired.

Lin pointed the muzzle to the floor and said, “I want you to verify that
all the chambers are empty. Never take anyone’s word for it. Always
assume it’s loaded until you see those empty chambers.”
Clara watched as Lin slowly rotated the cylinder and then said, “I’m sure
that there aren’t any bullets.”

Lin smiled and said, “Those things on the table are cartridges. The part
that leaves the muzzle is the bullet. I’m only telling you the difference
because I believe you’d want to know.”
“I always like to be accurate in my choice of words, so thank you, Mister
Gun Teacher.”
 Lin showed her how to release the hammer before he said, “Now I’m
going to demonstrate how to fire the pistol. For most women, they’d have to
use this method.”
Lin held the pistol’s grip in his right hand and then slid the palm of his
left hand beneath the Colt’s butt. He pulled back the hammer and squeezed
the trigger.
After it snapped back and fired the imaginary cartridge, he said, “This is
how I fire pistols,” and then followed a similar process but didn’t use his
left hand.

Clara asked, “Do you think I should shoot that way or like a woman?”
“You have big hands and I’m sure you have the strength, but let’s do
some dryfiring using the womanly technique first.”

Lin gave her the Shopkeeper and then watched as Clara mimicked his
demonstration. She followed each step perfectly and after she fired, Clara
took a second shot.
Then she turned and said, “This was pretty easy, Lin.”
“Go ahead and try it twice more.”
Clara wanted to try using the manly method but nodded and assumed her
firing position. When she pulled the trigger, Lin slapped the Colt’s barrel,
rocking the revolver back.

Clara sharply asked, “Why did you do that, Lin? You almost knocked it
into my face.”
“I wanted you to get an idea of what to expect when you fire a live
round. If you’d lost your grip, I was ready to catch the pistol before it hit
you.”

“Does it really feel so violent?”

“It’s pretty impressive. But you did a good job keeping it under control.”
 “Can I fire a live round tomorrow?”
“I hope not. After we leave town, I won’t want our deputy followers to
know you’re armed. And we won’t even look back to see if they’re even
behind us.”
“Then how will we know if they’re following us? They could shoot you
in the back if they were close enough.”

Lin smiled and said, “You forget that we’re infatuated with each other,
Miss Bell. And as we gaze into each other’s eyes, we’ll make good use of
our peripheral vision.”
Clara asked, “How far behind us do you think they’ll be?”

“Even if they were expecting us to leave, which would be a surprise,

they’ll probably give us a good lead before they start after us. They’ll want
us to just disappear, so they won’t shoot us until Cottonwood is out of
sight.”
Clara nodded then asked, “May I reload the Colt?"

“It’s your pistol and they’re your cartridges, Clara.”

Clara sat down and Lin watched her load the Shopkeeper as if she was a
gunfighter, or at least a gunsmith’s apprentice.

Then she said, “I’m going to take off my holster now, so if you don’t
want to be tormented, you can turn around.”
Lin just folded his arms and smiled before Clara slid her dress above her
knees and unbuckled the small gunbelt. After she set it on the table next to
the Colt, she let her dress down then holstered the short revolver.

Lin took his seat and said, “I’d like to be on the road by eight o’clock, so
we should get as much rest as possible. Is that the door to your bedroom?”
“It is.”

“Then you won’t mind if I use the bed out here?”

 “Of course, not. I wasn’t expecting you to sleep on the floor.”

Lin nodded and said, “Then I’ll go downstairs to get my saddlebags.”

“I have a bathtub in my bedroom if you’d like to take a bath before
retiring.”

“I do need a good scrubbing, so I’ll take a quick bath when I return. If

you’d like to use it first, I’ll fill the tub before I head downstairs.”
“I took a bath last night, so it’s all yours.”

Lin stood and said, “I’ll be right back,” and then hurried to the stairs.
After he reached the office, he checked his alarms and looked through
the window. The sun was setting but he still spotted Hector Ruiz sitting in
front of the jail. If the sheriff had ordered his three deputies to keep an all-
night watch, it would be to his advantage. When he and Clara left town in
the morning, whichever deputies followed them would be drowsy.
Lin left the window, snatched his saddlebags from the floor and then
picked up his writing case before he walked to the stairs.
When he reached Clara’s penthouse apartment, he said, “I spotted Hector
Ruiz in front of the jail looking this way. If they stay up all night to make
sure we don’t leave, then they’re going to be tired when we meet them on
the road.”

Clara said, “I don’t think they’ll stay there all night. They’re probably
waiting just until sunset to see if you return to the boarding house.”
Lin lowered his saddlebags to the floor next to the bed then set his
writing case on the blanket before he said, “That would be the smart thing
to do, but they don’t impress me as deep thinkers.”
As Clara smiled, Lin removed his gunbelt and set it on the side table. He
was about to pick up his saddlebags when he realized he had another
bedding problem which was more troublesome than leaving his bedroll in
Miguel’s livery. When he left San Francisco, he wasn’t planning on
spending a night with a woman, especially an incredible woman like Clara.
So, he only had a change of clothing in his saddlebags.
Lin thought about asking her if she kept her recently deceased husband’s
nightshirt, but it sounded creepy for a number of reasons. He needed to
come up with a solution to his minor dilemma while he sat in the bathtub.
So, he picked up his saddlebags, smiled and said, “After I scrub off my
layer of Arizona, you may not recognize me.”
Clara smiled and said, “If I see a stranger emerge, I’ll be ready to shoot.”
Lin opened the bedroom door and said, “I’ll come out with my hands
up.”

He stepped into the bedroom but before he could close the door, Clara
asked, “When you’re finished, will you show me your gunshot wounds?”
Lin wasn’t sure if she was serious, so he replied, “I’ll consider your
request, ma'am,” and then closed the door.

He pumped water into the tub until it was half full before he began
undressing. Lin had hot and cold in his house in San Francisco but was still
accustomed to cold baths. And tonight, sitting in cold water was a very
good idea. After finding his new bar of soap, he stepped into the iron
bathtub and began scrubbing.
As he worked up a good lather, he looked at the scar on his left arm and
almost felt the .44 punch into the muscle. When he’d answered Clara’s
question, he’d minimized the damage the bullet had created. The shooter
was closer to eighty yards when he’d fired, and the bullet had nicked an
artery as it passed through his arm. He was losing blood rapidly before he
created a tourniquet by ripping the chin strap from his hat. He only survived
because the shooter had made a fatal mistake. He had believed he’d fired a
killing shot then decided to take Lin’s gun and whatever else he wanted.
What he got was a .45 from Lin’s Remington.
 The scars left by the two shotgun pellets were little more than pink
circles, but it was their location that convinced Lin to deny Clara’s request.
He also decided what he would tell her when he left the bathroom cleaner
fully dressed.

After washing his hair, Lin stepped out of the tub, and after drying
himself, he pulled the drain plug and let the water return to mother earth.
He ran his long fingers through his deep black hair then slid on his new
underpants, pulled on his britches and socks and tugged on his boots. After
buttoning his shirt, Lin put his dirty laundry into his saddlebag but left the
soap.
When he stepped out of the bathroom, Clara quickly asked, “Why are
you dressed? Are you leaving?”

“Only if you order me to go at the point of a gun. I’m dressed because

I’m not going to sleep under the blankets. I want to be ready in case one of
the deputies decides to pay us a late-night visit.”
“I thought you set up alarms.”
“I did. But I’m sure at least one of them knows where you sleep. And if
they believe we’re frolicking, they might see it as an opportunity. They
could burst through the back door and charge up the stairs before I could
throw off the blankets. I know there’s only a small chance of that
happening, but I’ve learned it’s better to be ready for all possibilities.”
“It’s not because you’re afraid of me, is it?”
Lin smiled as he replied, “You may be a confident and intense woman,
Clara, but I’m not afraid of you. We just have to be more alert than the
deputies tomorrow, so we’ll need a good night’s sleep.”
“Okay. But are you going to show me your scars before I leave?”

“I’ll show you the one on my arm, but the ones made by the shotgun
pellets are almost gone.”
 Lin rolled up his left shirtsleeve as far as possible and Clara stepped
closer to get a good look.
She touched the bumpy, hard skin and said, “That looks worse than I
thought it would.”
Lin pulled his sleeve back down and said, “I’ll admit it’s ugly, but my
arm works as well as it did before I ran into that .44.”

“I guess I’ll go to bed now. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Clara.”

Clara looked into his brown eyes for a few seconds before she quietly
replied, “Goodnight, Lin,” and then turned and walked through her
bedroom doorway.
Lin watched her leave and for just a moment, believed she was going to
leave the door open. He had an odd mixture of relief and disappointment
when she closed the door.

He walked to the table, blew out the lamp then visited each of the room’s
three windows. The moon was almost full, so he had a good view of most
of Center Street but a more restricted section of the back alley. There was a
deputy sitting in front of the jail, but he wasn’t able to identify which one
was on duty. If he didn’t fall asleep within an hour, he’d take another peek
just to see if a different deputy had taken his place.
When he finished observing the observer, he walked to the bed, sat down
and pulled off his boots. His gunbelt was within reach, so he just stretched
out with his feet hanging a good eight inches off the bed and concentrated
on what he expected to happen tomorrow.

Lin was fairly certain that the sheriff would send one or two of his
deputies after them. But if they reached the ambush site without being
followed, he’d have to come up with a totally new plan. One that would
have a much lower chance of success.
 As he stared at the ceiling, he hoped that the new plan wouldn’t be
necessary. If he could eliminate two of the deputies, he should be able to
finish Clara’s crusade against corruption by sunset tomorrow.

_____
Luke saw the upstairs window go dark and snickered when he pictured
Walker and Clara enjoying themselves. Steve wasn’t supposed to relieve
him for a couple of hours, and he was getting thirsty. So, Luke figured it
wouldn’t matter if he took a break to have a cold beer at The Wet Gulch.
Besides, Steve and Hector were going to have all the fun tomorrow, so he
may as well have some good times of his own tonight. He took one last
look at the dark newspaper office and then stood and hurried across the
street.
_____
Clara wasn’t surprised when after more than an hour or so, she was still
wide awake. But it wasn’t because she was worried about the danger they
might face tomorrow. As Lin said, she’d already challenged the sheriff and
his deputies without a gun or even a bullet. She was also confident that Lin
would put an end to their reign of greed and fear. What did concern her was
what he would do after Cottonwood was once again a peaceful town.

Since he first mentioned his idea that he would act as her suitor, she
hoped it wasn’t just a pretense. She knew how she felt about him and that
he admired her.
But would he mount his red horse and just promise to write
to her before he rode out of town?
If he did, she only had herself to blame. While she was hoping Lin
would fulfill the intense fantasies she’d enjoyed since meeting him, her
coquettish conduct may have backfired. Even though Lin obviously
appreciated her flirting, her suggestive behavior might have led him to
believe she wasn’t the kind of woman he’d want to marry.
For just a few seconds, Clara wished she’d restrained herself. But she
soon decided it was more important for Lin to accept her as she was and
wouldn’t change her behavior in the slightest.

With her mind set, Clara closed her eyes and let her mind return to her
fantasy world with Lin, hoping he would make them real.
 CHAPTER 4
When Lin’s eyes popped open, he quickly sat up, looked out the back
window and was relieved to see the faint light of the predawn painting the
glass. He swung his long legs from the bed and quickly pulled on his boots.
Then he stood, buckled on his gunbelt and stepped to the bedroom door.
Lin rapped three times before saying, “Clara, it’s time.”
After a few seconds, he heard Clara say, “I’m awake. I’ll be out in a few
minutes.”
“I’m going downstairs but should be back before you’re ready.”
After hearing Clara’s muffled reply of, “Okay,” Lin stepped to the front
window and looked west to see if one of the deputies was watching. There
was no one was sitting in front of the jail, so he hurried to the stairs and
soon reached the first floor.

Lin untied the cord from the back door latch and lowered the typeface tin
noiselessly to the floor before opening the door and trotting to the privy. He
didn’t bother looking for deputies before he entered the little house. If they
were watching, it wouldn’t matter.
He reentered the office less than a minute later and after closing the door,
he climbed the stairs. Clara was still getting dressed, so Lin walked to the
cookstove and opened the firebox door. He piled the kindling and set it
ablaze before adding the firewood.

Lin closed the iron door and tried to remember the last time he’d built a
fire in a cookstove. He had a gas-fired stove in his house and appreciated
the convenience but only used it for light meals when he was too busy
writing to go to a restaurant.
 He was setting the table when Clara stepped out of her bedroom wearing
a tan blouse, britches and carrying her travel bag.

Lin felt the urge to take another cold bath before he said, “Good
morning, Clara.”
Clara set her travel bag beside Lin’s saddlebags and then replied, “Good
morning, Lin. I see you’ve already built a fire in the cookstove. I wasn’t
sure if we were going to have a hot breakfast.”
“I woke earlier than I expected, so we have some extra time.”
Clara nodded before she picked up the ankle holster and asked, “Do I
still need to keep this hidden?”

“Yes, ma’am. I don’t want anyone to know you’re armed. Now that
you’re wearing boots, you can hide it under your britches just as I did.”
Clara said, “Okay,” before sitting down and lifting her right pants leg
above the boots and strapping on the holster. She tugged the denim over the
pistol and then stood and walked across the room.

She stopped next to Lin and said, “This is more comfortable, but once
we’re out of town, I think I’ll take it off.”
“That’s fine. And once we’re out of sight of our deputy followers, I’ll
put a Winchester in your scabbard.”

“What will you use?”

“My Winchester ’86. I have a Winchester ’73 carbine wrapped in one of
Job’s packs. I’ll show you how to use it after we reach our boulder fort if
we have the time.”

“Alright. You can take a seat and I’ll start working on breakfast.”
After Lin sat down, he watched Clara and noticed she seemed more
reserved. She hadn’t even smiled since she left the bedroom. He didn’t
believe she was afraid, so he thought she must be concentrating on what lay
ahead. So, he just let her think while he pictured the boulder-covered bump
in the earth where they’d set up.

Copper, Job and Clara’s tan gelding could be hidden behind a row of
boulders which were taller than a stagecoach. He'd set up closer to the
roadway where he had a good viewing angle yet still be able to step out
from his boulder to begin the showdown. He was planning to let them get
within pistol range so they’d know he wouldn’t miss. He only hoped they
didn’t think he was pretending to be a U.S. Marshal and was only bluffing.
Lin was deep in thought when Clara set two loaded plates on the table on
the table, and a few seconds later, placed two mugs of hot coffee next to the
plates of reheated fried potatoes and slices of ham.

After she sat down, Lin said, “Thank you, ma’am. This should keep our
stomachs happy for a while.”
Clara finally smiled and said, “I thought as long as we were going to
have a hot breakfast, it should be filling, too.”

When they started eating, Lin considered telling her about the envelopes
in his writing case, but quickly decided to wait until he felt it was necessary.
When he did, he’d just tell her to deliver the letter to the address on the
envelope, so his publisher would know what to do. He’d explain the
envelope full of greenbacks was to cover her traveling expenses.
With that issue resolved, Lin said, “When we get to Miguel’s livery,
you’ll meet your new horse. He’s a handsome tan gelding with four white
stockings. It’ll be your job to give him an appropriate name.”

Clara smiled and said, “I’ll think of something better than Copper.”
“It wouldn’t take much imagination to find one. I spent more time
searching for a name for my pack mule.”

“Job was a good choice. It’s appropriate but subtle.”

 “I don’t believe Job understands my reasoning. At least he’s never said
he understood the connection. Of course, I don’t think he’s ever read the
Bible, either.”

Clara laughed then continued eating.

Lin was relieved when he heard her laughter and delayed taking another
bite as he enjoyed watching her smiling face. He hoped that he’d hear her
melodious laughter for the rest of his life, but he had a lot to do before he
could ask her to return to San Francisco with him.

_____
The sun had been up for about thirty minutes when Lin and Clara
prepared to leave the newspaper office. Lin had been surprised when he’d
scanned the street without seeing a single deputy. He only hoped they
stayed out of sight until he and Clara entered the livery.

Lin hung his saddlebags over his left shoulder and held his writing case
in his left hand and Clara carried her travel bag in her right hand when he
turned and smiled.
Lin asked, “Are you ready to ride, sweetheart?”

Clara smiled back as she replied, “I’m ready, my intended.”

Lin opened the front door and after Clara passed by, he followed her
onto the boardwalk, he closed the door and took her hand before they began
walking to the livery.

Lin saw the empty space in front of the jail and said, “I wonder where
our watchers are. Maybe Sheriff Johnson invited his deputies to the dance
hall to watch his dazzling performance of the can-can.”
Clara started laughing before Lin added, “While wearing nine flouncy
petticoats.”

Clara laughed even harder and felt tears sliding down her cheeks as she
tightly gripped Lin’s hand.
 Lin smiled as he listened to Clara laugh while still searching for the
absent deputies. He couldn’t spot a single one of them but everyone else on
the street was looking at them. It was why he’d made his crack about the
sheriff. He wanted to be noticed.

Clara was just smiling when they entered the livery. Miguel had both
horses and Job ready and was obviously surprised when he saw Lin and
Clara step through the doors holding hands.
He soon smiled and said, “Now I understand why you wanted the tan
gelding.”

Lin hung his saddlebags then squeezed his writing case into the left
saddlebag before he said, “We should be back before sundown.”
“And I will be happy to take care of them when you return.”

As Clara hung her travel bag over her saddle horn, Lin asked, “Has the
sheriff or one of his deputies visited since I left?”
“No.”

Lin nodded, watched Clara mount, and after she took the gelding’s reins,
he stepped up onto Copper and waved to Miguel before walking his red
gelding into the morning sunlight.
Lin still didn’t see a deputy when they turned left onto Center Street and
Clara asked, “Do we wait until one of them shows his face?”

“No, ma’am. We’ll take advantage of their mistake. Just don’t look at the
jail when we ride by. That’s why I’m on your right side. I’ll be looking at
you, so I’ll be able to spot anyone who might be looking out the window.”
“Then we should begin our pleasant conversation.”

Lin smiled at her and said, “All of our conversations have been pleasant,
sweetheart. I haven’t enjoyed talking to anyone this much since Job told me
how he dreamt of being a magnificent white stud stallion.”
 Clara laughed before she replied, “I imagine that’s a hidden desire of
every lonesome jack.”

Lin grinned as they walked their horses past the jail and said, “And he
also told me he didn’t know what inspired jenny’s dreams.”
They were approaching the end of Center Street when Clara asked, “Did
you see anyone looking back at you?”

“Nope. It was dark inside and with the sun at our backs, I wouldn’t have
seen him unless his face was within an inch or two of the glass. But they’ll
know we’ve gone soon enough, so let’s add some speed.”
Clara nodded and they soon were moving at a fast trot.

_____
If Lin had been able to see inside the jail, he would have spotted the
sheriff and his three deputies surrounding the desk. It was just a quirk of
timing that allowed Lin and Clara to leave Cottonwood without being seen
by the outlaw lawmen.

Sheriff Johnson had a contrite Luke Riddle standing before his desk
while Steve and Hector watched with grins on their faces, thoroughly
enjoying the spectacle.
Ray shook his head and snapped, “Damn it, Luke! How do you know
they didn’t skedaddle while you were gettin’ soused at The Wet Gulch?”

Luke stared at the desktop as he replied, “I saw the light go out in the
window and figgered they’d be too busy to ride off.”
“You’re damned lucky Steve checked in Ramos’ livery last night to
make sure his red horse and mule were still there.”

“I’m sorry, boss.”

Ray took a deep breath before saying, “You gotta be smarter, Luke.”
 With the finish of the ass-chewing, Hector turned and walked to the door
and swung it open. He stepped onto the boardwalk, looked to the newspaper
office and shaded his eyes against the sun’s glare. When he hadn’t seen a
sign of either Walker or Mrs. Foster, he turned his eyes to the west and
spotted two riders leading a pack mule heading to Sulphur Springs. They
were around a half a mile away, so it took him another thirty seconds before
he recognized Copper’s distinctive red coat.

He kept his eyes on the two riders as he exclaimed, “They’re riding

away! Both of ‘em!”
The sheriff and the other two deputies raced to the door and looked
where Hector was pointing.

Sheriff Johnson snapped, “Damn! I didn’t figger they’d leave this early,
but we needed to give ‘em a good lead anyway. Steve, you and Hector get
your horses ready, but before you set out, make sure they’re past that curve,
so they can’t see ya.”
Steve replied, “I know, boss,” before he and Hector headed to N&B
Livery to retrieve their horses.

_____
Lin was in the almost finished telling Clara about his first job as a U.S.
Marshal when he spotted the four bad lawmen rush out of the jail.
He abruptly ended the story in mid-sentence and said, “They just ran out
of the jail and spotted us, Clara. I don’t know how they missed us when we
rode past, but I don’t think we’ll see any followers until the town’s out of
sight.”
“That will be when the road makes the turn to the south in about another
two miles or so.”

“Yes, ma’am. When we lose sight of the town, we’ll pick up the pace a
bit to increase our lead. There’s another long stretch of reasonably straight
road before it curves southwest again. Then we’ll have another couple of
miles before we reach our ambush site and after we dismount, I’ll give you
the Winchester.”

“My father had a Winchester, so I know how it works. but I’ve never
fired one.”
“That’s alright. I don’t think you’ll be firing one today, either.”

“But if it becomes necessary, I won’t hesitate to use it.”

Lin smiled as he said, “I know you will.”

Clara looked at the road ahead and saw the start of the curve which
seemed to be the entrance to a totally different world. After they lost sight
of Cottonwood, she felt as if it wouldn’t be there when they rounded the
curve on their way back.
Lin had been using his peripheral vision to see if the deputies had started
following. The road remained clear, so he refocused on Clara and noticed
she seemed troubled.

“Are you all right, Clara?”

Clara looked back at him and replied, “I’m fine…really.”

“I know you’re not afraid, but are you worried about something?”
“I’m not worried, but when I looked at the curve ahead, I had an eerie
feeling that I’d never see Cottonwood again.”

“I’ve had that sensation a few times, but it’s never happened. The good
news is that we’re almost two miles out of town and we don’t have any
followers yet. So, we should have plenty of time to set up.”
“Can I take a quick peek?”

“Go ahead.”
Clara looked back and saw Cottonwood’s normal street traffic but there
were no riders leaving town.
 She looked at Lin and asked, “What if they don’t follow us?”
“Then while we’re having a picnic lunch among the boulders, we’ll
come up with a new plan.”
“It will be more dangerous if we have to deal with all four of them in
town, won’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am. But I can’t imagine the sheriff would risk letting you leave
town.”
“Why not? He tried to drive me out of town.”
“Because he believed that no one would listen to you for the same reason
that Marshal Walcott didn’t reply to your telegram. The sheriff may not
know I’m a marshal, but he knows I’m relatively well-known. And if I
backed up your story, he knew there was a good chance that he’d be visited
by U.S. Marshals within a few days.”
“I know you’re right, but it still makes me angry that no one wanted to
believe me.”

“I understand why you’d feel that way. For thousands of years, women
have been considered too emotional and irrational. Even the word hysterical
is from the Greek word
hysterikos
which means ‘of the womb’. But I think
our society is beginning to change.”
Clara looked at him for a few seconds before saying, “I wish I knew
even half of what you know. You’ve written six books and could have been
a professor while I only had four years of schooling.”
Lin hadn’t intended to impress her with his knowledge of history and
language but was surprised by her apparent embarrassment.
“Spending a lot of time in a classroom doesn’t make you smarter or
better than anyone else. You’re more intelligent and knowledgeable than
most of the college students I’ve known. And I haven’t had such
stimulating conversations with anyone since my father died.”
 “You aren’t just saying that to make me feel better, are you?”

“I haven’t said anything to you that I didn’t believe, Clara. And there is
no reason for you think poorly of yourself, either.”
Clara smiled and said, “I guess I just proved the Greeks’ point by
sounding like an emotional, irrational woman.”
Lin chuckled and replied, “You’re hardly irrational, Clara. I believe
you’d scare the be-Zeus out of the ancient Greeks.”
Clara laughed and appreciated Lin’s Greek modification of ‘bejesus’.

They were approaching the curve, so Lin took a glance behind them and
still didn’t see any riders. But it didn’t affect his belief that the deputies
would depart Cottonwood as soon as he and Clara were out of sight.
_____
Steve sat in his saddle and said, “They’re gonna hit that curve in a
couple of minutes, Hector.”
“I can see that. They will be three miles away when we start out.”

Steve grinned and said, “We’ll gain on ‘em fast enough. They’re too
busy talkin’ and makin’ moony eyes at each other.”
Hector snickered and then said, “Maybe they will pull off the road to do
it in the dirt.”
Steve laughed before saying, “We might even catch ‘em naked.”
Hector then pointed west and said, “They reached the curve.”
Steve looked west and watched until they passed behind the hill before
he tapped his heels into his gelding’s flanks. In less than a minute, they left
Cottonwood behind and pushed their horses at a canter to cut into the
couple’s lead.
_____
 But as soon as Lin and Clara rounded the curve, they accelerated their
horses and Job the same speed as their followers. He hoped to reach the
next curve before the deputies spotted them, but it wouldn’t matter much if
they did. But the added speed meant any further conversation would be
difficult.

So, Lin shouted, “We’ll keep this pace until we enter the next curve then
check to see if they’re behind us.”
Clara yelled, “Okay,” and then shifted in her saddle.
Lin noticed her discomfort and realized that Miguel must have adjusted
the stirrups for his longer legs. He hoped Clara would still be able to walk
after they reached the boulder ambush site and dismounted.
_____

The pounding of their horses’ hooves didn’t affect Steve and Hector as
they didn’t feel like chatting even if they didn’t need to shout. Their horses
left a long dust cloud behind them while Steve and Hector envisioned what
would happen when they caught up with their prey.
Hector was eagerly anticipating having his way with Clara then taking
whatever he could from Walker while Steve imagined something very
different. He wanted to see the look on that tall writer’s face when a .45
caliber slug of lead punched into his gut. He didn’t want it to be a killing
shot like those he’d used on Clara’s husbands. He wanted Walker to be alive
long enough to watch him take Clara and hoped he’d still be breathing
when he shot her, too.

As they enjoyed their fantasies, neither deputy gave a thought to the

possibility that Walker might set up an ambush. Despite the sheriff telling
them that he felt as if he’d missed something about Walker and to be
cautious, Steve and Hector knew he wasn’t going to be a problem. He just
wrote books.
_____
 The second curve was still more than a mile ahead when Lin turned his
eyes toward Clara and peeked at the empty road behind them. He knew they
would soon appear, but even if they had pushed their horses to a full gallop,
he and Clara should have at least ten minutes to set up the ambush.

Not being able to talk gave Lin time to add more details to the expected
confrontation. The first was what he would tell Clara after he gave her the
Winchester. He knew she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot one of the deputies, but
he didn’t want her to suffer the consequences of killing a man. He’d still
have her fire the carbine, but not at a deputy. But he also needed to know
more about the men who were coming to kill them.
So, when they began setting up the ambush, he’d ask her about each of
the deputies. He’d only spoken to Steve Hilliard and had a good idea of
what kind of man he was. If Steve was one of their followers, Lin was
almost certain that he would throw some lead rather than throw up his
hands. But Clara knew all of them, and he wanted to hear her opinion so he
would have a better idea of what to expect.

They were still around a mile away from the next curve when Clara
shouted, “Can we look now?”
“At this distance they won’t notice, so let’s take a peek.”
When they looked back, the road was still clear, so Clara loudly asked,
“Are we going to slow down now?”
Lin shouted, “Not yet. We have less than a mile to go, and I don’t want
them to gain on us.”

Clara nodded but still wondered if any of the deputies had even left
Cottonwood. But it was a relief knowing she only had a few more minutes
in the saddle.
Lin had a completely different reaction when he didn’t see the deputies.
He still was confident that they were there and was pleased knowing they
had more time to set up the ambush.
 Just as they reached the curve, Clara looked back, saw two specks appear
on the road and shouted, “There they are, Lin!”

Lin checked their backtrail, saw the two distant riders and estimated they
were almost four miles back. It was almost as far as he could see, and he
knew if Clara had been an average-sized woman, she wouldn’t have spotted
them. He assumed they’d been seen by the deputies but didn’t expect them
to push their horses any faster. They were expecting Lin and Clara to
continue to Sulphur Springs which was another fifteen miles away and
wouldn’t want to exhaust their horses.
After they lost sight of the deputies, Clara turned her attention to the
road ahead in anticipation of seeing the boulder-strewn hill. She’d only
traveled this far from Cottonwood once since her father died and hadn’t
paid any attention to the landscape on that trip.
Lin knew what to expect, so he continued adding more details to the
ambush. The critical factor was the one he was unable to control; the
reaction of the two deputies. He hoped they’d surrender without a shot
being fired so he could have at least one of them become a witness for the
territorial prosecutor. But if Steve Hilliard was one of the two, he was
certain that the man Clara believed to be her husbands’ murderer would
never give up.
They rounded the curve and Lin spotted the ambush site. What made it
even better was that less than a mile past the boulders, the road twisted
toward the south again. If it had been straight for a couple of miles, the
deputies might suspect an ambush.
He had no way of knowing that even if it had been straight all the way to
the Pacific Ocean, Steve Hilliard and Hector Ruiz would only suspect that
he and Clara were frolicking in the sand.
_____
After they had rounded the curve, Steve pointed and shouted, “There
they are! I figgered we’d be a lot closer by now!”
 Hector yelled, “Maybe they saw us and think we are gonna rob them!”
“Nah. They’re just anxious to take that lovin’ break.”
Hector snickered and watched as the lovers disappeared behind the rocky
hill that had required the road builders to create the next curve.
_____
Lin and Clara slowed just before they reached the ambush site and Lin
said, “The entrance we’ll use is after that large boulder that looks like God’s
bowling ball.”

Clara laughed at Lin’s comparison but also in relief knowing that her
posterior’s torture would soon end.
After passing God’s bowling ball, Lin turned Copper left and walked
him and Job up the slight incline between the boulders that seemed like a
miniature canyon. After they reached the top of the low hill, Lin
dismounted and tied Copper’s reins to a stubby tree of an unidentified
species.
He stepped next to Job and asked, “Can you dismount on your own,
Clara? I’m sorry I didn’t adjust your stirrups before we left.”
Clara replied, “I’ll admit that my behind has had better days, but I think I
can manage to get down.”
Lin watched Clara slowly dismount and then tied the tan gelding’s reins
to Job. He then stepped to his pack mule, unstrapped a long bundle and set
it down. After he unrolled the wool blanket that disguised the Winchester,
he picked up the carbine but left the blanket where it was.
He handed it to Clara and said, “I’ll get my Winchester then we’ll find
the best places to set up.”
Clara replied, “Okay,” and then after Lin turned to get his repeater, she
began rubbing her sore posterior.
 Lin slipped his Winchester ’86 rifle from his scabbard and then returned
to Clara and said, “Let’s get situated so we can welcome our unfriendly
visitors.”
As they began walking behind the boulders, Lin said, “I need you to give
me your opinion about Hector Ruiz and Luke Riddle. I already have a
pretty good idea of what to expect from Steve Hilliard.”
Clara said, “Hector is probably the smartest of the three, but he’s still a
thug who doesn’t mind pushing people around. Luke isn’t very bright and
only hurts people because he’s trying to impress Steve or the sheriff. I think
he’s even afraid of Steve”

Lin nodded and said, “That helps a lot. So, if we’re lucky, Luke and
Hector will show up. But I’m pretty sure that the sheriff sent Steve Hilliard.
He seems to do all the killing for Sheriff Johnson.”
“That’s what I believe, too.”
Lin stopped when he reached a narrow gap between two of the enormous
balls of granite and said, “This is your spot.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll be on the right side of God’s bowling ball and when they’re within a
hundred yards, I’ll move to the side close to the road. I’ll give them another
few seconds before I step out with my Winchester ready to fire and order
them to stop and tell them I’m a United States Marshal. If they let me keep
talking, I’ll have them dismount and drop their gunbelts to the ground.”
“What if they start shooting?”

“As soon as one of them goes for his gun, I’ll open fire. Then I’ll have to
lever a fresh round into the firing chamber. In the three seconds it will take
for me to do that and aim, the second one will probably take a shot. If you
see him pull a gun, that’s when you’ll fire your Winchester.”
Clara nodded and said, “I’ll be ready, Lin.”
 “But I don’t want you to aim at him because you’ll probably miss. I want
him to miss, not you. And the way to ensure that happens is if you spook
his horse. So, if they don’t surrender, aim at the ground in front of their
horses. Just don’t stick the barrel out into the sunlight or they might spot the
reflection.”

Lin expected Clara to object, so he was relieved when she said, “You’re
right. I’d probably miss my shot, but even I can hit the ground.”
Lin smiled and said, “Your Winchester has an empty chamber, so you’ll
have to work the lever before they get close.”
“I won’t have a problem.”
“I’m sure you won’t. You’re an amazing woman, Clara.”
He then shifted his eyes to the road and said, “They should get here in
another ten minutes or so.”
Clara looked through her gap and even though she expected to see the
two deputies, her stomach twisted into a knot.

As she watched the distant riders, she asked, “Are you afraid, Lin?”
Lin took the badge from his shirt pocket and pinned it on his dark gray
vest as he replied, “I suppose I should say that I’m terrified, but I’m not.
You are my only concern.”

Clara turned and looked into his dark brown eyes and said, “I’ll be all
right, Lin. Don’t get a third gunshot wound just because you’re worried
about me.”
“I have no intention of being shot, Clara. But there’s always a chance
that one of them might get a lucky shot. If that happens, I want you to
mount Copper and ride out of here as fast as you can. But don’t return to
Cottonwood. Go to Sulphur Springs and send a telegram to Marshal
Plummer in San Francisco.
 “In my writing case, there are two envelopes. The thick one with your
name on it has enough money for you to take the train to San Francisco.
The second one has the address of my publisher. It contains instructions
about what to do with my books and royalties.”
Clara stared at Lin for a few seconds before her brow furrowed and she
exclaimed, “I am not going to San Francisco! And you are not going to be
shot!
Do you hear me?
”
Lin had anticipated her reaction, so he just smiled and replied, “I think
those deputies heard you from a couple of miles away. But I’m not planning
to get shot or killed. It’s just a necessary precaution. You can’t return to
Cottonwood without me, and after you notify Marshal Plummer, Sheriff
Johnson won’t know what hit him. When Cottonwood is a normal town
again, you can return after delivering the envelope to my publisher.”

Clara wanted to argue but knew it was just a waste of time; time they
couldn’t afford.
So, she said, “Alright. Just don’t make me have to ride Copper. His
stirrups are probably even longer.”

Lin smiled and said, “Thank you, Clara. We have a few more minutes
before we need to move into position, so is there anything you’d like to talk
about?”
“What will you do after you’re finished in Cottonwood?”
Lin glanced through the gap to estimate how much time he could spare
before replying, “I’m not quite sure yet. But before I can answer your
question, we’ve got to get through the next few hours.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s keep an eye on the deputies. You should identify them before I
can because you know their horses. When you do, let me know.”
 Clara nodded before they turned to watch the deputies’ approach through
Clara’s gap.
_____
Because the road ahead was clear, and they still believed Lin wasn’t a
threat, Steve and Hector were still daydreaming about what would happen
when they caught their prey. They were also tired from a lack of sleep,
while well-rested Ray Johnson and Luke Riddle were miles away sitting in
Cottonwood’s jail.
They were about a mile and a half from the ambush site and if they’d
listened to the sheriff, they might have paid attention to the boulder-covered
hill. But their eyes were focused on the dusty road just a hundred yards
ahead of them as they let their minds wander.
_____

Lin decided it was time to move and said, “I’m going to watch them
from my gap next to God’s bowling ball. Do you have any questions before
I leave?”
Clara kept her eyes on the deputies and said, “No, but I think that’s Steve
Hilliard on the right and Hector Ruiz on the left.”

“Now we know who we’ll be facing, so I’ll see you in another ten
minutes.”
Clara looked at him and said, “Don’t give them a chance to get off a
lucky shot, Lin.”

Lin grinned as he said, “Only if I’m lucky, Clara,” and then turned and
trotted to God’s bowling ball.
Clara watched him until he stopped and then looked back at her with a
big smile as he waved. She waved back before she turned to watch Steve
and Hector continue drawing closer.
 When they were around a thousand yards out, Lin worked his
Winchester’s lever bringing a powerful .45-90 cartridge into the breech.
When she heard the sharp sound, Clara quickly levered a .44-40
cartridge into her repeater. She tried to stay calm but felt as if her heart was
slamming against her ribs in an attempt to escape. Her biggest fear was that
she’d screw up and one of those two bastards wouldn’t need a lucky shot to
put a bullet into Lin. So, Clara focused on Steve Hilliard and let her hate for
the murderer overpower her fear. In just seconds, she knew she wasn’t
going to let Lin down.
Lin watched them approach as if they hadn’t a care in the world which
was further proof that neither one of them was a real lawman. They were
about two hundred yards out when Lin moved to the other side of the
boulder and stepped back to bring his Winchester into a firing position.
He listened for the sound of their horses’ hoofbeats waiting for them to
get within pistol range.
When he knew they were close, he quickly sidestepped from behind the
boulder and shouted, “I’m a United States Marshal! Stop where you are and
put your hands in the air!”
Steve and Hector may have been woolgathering, but they still noticed
Lin’s sudden appearance even before he shouted. They rode for another
twenty yards before they realized who he was and that he was aiming a
Winchester at them. It was the Winchester made them pull up when they
heard his shout.
They were around thirty yards away when Lin loudly identified himself
as a United States Marshal and ordered them to throw their hands into the
air. But the combination of their disbelief in his claim, their poor opinion of
the writer’s prowess with the Winchester and the trust in their own skills
with firearms made surrendering seem almost silly.

Lin had his sights set on Steve Hilliard, so he was surprised when it was
Hector who reached for his pistol. He quickly shifted his muzzle eight
inches to the left as Hector’s Colt left his holster. He squeezed his
Winchester’s trigger and as Hector was cocking his Peacemaker, Lin’s .45
caliber slug of lead slammed into the center of his chest. The bullet had so
much energy that it drilled through Hector’s sternum as if it was a sheet of
paper before it cut through his aortic arch then obliterated a thoracic
vertebra and left his body leaving a gaping hole in his back.
Hector was still sitting in his saddle when Lin quickly cycled his lever.
As Lin’s spent brass flew into the air, Steve cocked his Smith & Wesson’s
hammer and brought it level. But before he could pull his trigger, the
ground in front of his horse exploded and the sound of another Winchester
echoed from the rocks. His horse jerked back just as he fired making his
front sight swing just an inch to his left.
Lin was moving his front sight to put his next .45 on target when he saw
Clara’s shot hit the dirt just as Steve fired. But even though Steve’s startled
horse made him miss, God’s bowling ball corrected the error. The .45 struck
the curved granite and after chipping off a few shards, the unforgiving rock
kicked the invading slug almost ninety degrees. The badly misshapen bullet
found a home in Lin’s holster yet still had enough energy to knock him off
balance.

He awkwardly fell onto the dirt downslope but didn’t lose his tight grip
on his cocked Winchester.
After she’d taken her shot, Clara quickly turned to check on Lin and was
horrified when she saw him fall.

She screamed, “Lin!” but didn’t rush to help him. She knew that Hilliard
would take another shot at him, so she quickly cycled her lever and aimed
at the killing bastard.
Steve was cocking his pistol for a second shot after he’d seen Walker fall
when heard Clara’s scream and realized she had fired the shot that had
caused him to miss. He quickly glanced to his left and saw a Winchester’s
barrel appear from behind a boulder, so he shifted his aim just before the
Winchester’s muzzle flashed. He knew she’d missed, so he smiled and
pulled his trigger. He wanted to scare the daylights out of her with a close
ricochet, so when he saw pieces of rock blast away from the boulder, Steve
forgot about Clara and cocked his hammer to take an undisturbed shot at
Walker.
He was swinging his pistol to take his shot when he felt a sledgehammer
pound into the right side of his chest. He wobbled in his saddle as the .45
drilled through his lungs and shattered a rib before exiting his body. He let
his Smith & Wesson slip from his hand then grabbed his chest in a vain
attempt to staunch the flow of blood. He stayed alive long enough to see
Lin rise from his kneeling position before he toppled from his saddle,
joining Hector who’d dropped to the ground just three seconds earlier.
Clara knew she’d missed and was working the Winchester’s lever when
Steve’s bullet blasted into the rock just above her head. Some of the pieces
of flying granite struck the top of her head, and she was rocked back by the
shock but still finished bringing a fresh round into the Winchester’s firing
chamber.
She stepped back into the gap and was aiming at Hilliard when she was
surprised to hear the welcoming bark of Lin’s Winchester. Clara knew she
wouldn’t need to take another shot and was lowering her repeater when
Hilliard begin to fall. When she felt streams of blood flowing down her
forehead, she quickly leaned the Winchester against the boulder and laid her
right hand on the top of her head to stop the bleeding. But as she added a bit
of pressure, Clara felt a stab of pain and realized there were stone fragments
buried in her scalp, so she lifted her hand slightly.
Lin had recovered quickly and just as he steadied into a kneeling
position, he saw Hilliard fire at Clara. He didn’t think she’d been hit by the
bullet, but worried she’d been injured by the splinters of rock. But despite
his concern, he didn’t let it affect his aim, and just as Hilliard began to
swivel his pistol towards him, he squeezed his trigger.
He quickly stood, and then waited until he saw the deputy begin to roll
off his horse before he turned to check on Clara. He saw her looking at him
while holding her bleeding head and started running towards her.
Lin reached her three seconds later, leaned his Winchester next to hers
and said, “Let me take a look, Clara.”
Clara lowered her hand before saying, “It’s not a bullet wound, Lin.”
Lin was spreading her black hair apart to examine the wounds as he said,
“I know, sweetheart. But I’m going to have to remove those pieces of
granite before I clean and bandage the wounds.”
Clara looked up at him and asked, “Were you shot? I saw you fall.”

“No, love. I was just knocked off balance when his bullet ricocheted into
my holster. You can look at the slug while I’m treating your wounds.”
Lin took her left hand and escorted her to Job and the pack that held his
emergency medical supplies.

As they walked, Clara wasn’t thinking about her painful, bloody

wounds. She was focused on how Lin had just addressed her. He’d called
her sweetheart earlier when they were pretending to be a couple, but the
pretense was no longer necessary. And even before they left Cottonwood,
he’d never called her ‘love’. She hoped it wasn’t simply because he was
being sympathetic.
Lin released her hand when they reached Job and grabbed a canteen and
then hung it over his shoulder. He then opened the medical pack’s flap and
took out a bottle of grain alcohol, a towel and large roll of cotton gauze.
He then turned and said, “I’ll need you to sit on the blanket that I used to
hide the Winchester, Clara.”
Clara was a bit disappointed when he’d used her Christian name, but
said, “Alright,” and carefully lowered her still sore behind onto the blanket.

Lin set the gauze and the alcohol on the blanket and then opened the
canteen and splashed some water onto the towel. He set the canteen on the
ground and draped the wet towel over his shoulder.
 Before he started, Lin said, “This might hurt a bit when I remove the
shards, but it’ll hurt a lot more when I use the alcohol to keep the wounds
from becoming infected.”
“It already hurts, so I won’t complain.”
Lin smiled, said, “I won’t mind if you grouse, just try to keep your head
still,” and then bent over to get a closer look at her wounds.
Clara focused on the mangled bullet buried into the leather of Lin’s
holster as he began to treat her wounds.
Lin quickly removed three of the four pieces and was impressed that
Clara hadn’t even groaned. The fourth one was much smaller than the
others, but Lin knew it had to be removed. He didn’t warn Clara before he
used his thumbs to squeeze her scalp around the wound and was relieved
when it popped out.
Lin tossed it aside and said, “I’ve removed all of the pieces of rock, so
I’ll clean it with some water before I use the alcohol.”
Clara asked, “Can I move a little now? My bottom was already sore
before I sat down, and there’s a small rock under the blanket.”
Lin smiled as he replied, “You should have told me when you sat down,
but if you’ll stand up, I’ll move the blanket to a smoother surface. I would
hate to have your perfect behind continue to suffer.”
Clara looked up at Lin and said, “I didn’t think you even noticed.”
“I noticed when you left your bedroom but had to avoid paying too much
attention or we might not have left Cottonwood until mid-afternoon.”
Despite her sore behind and damaged, painful noggin, Clara was smiling
when Lin took her hand to help her stand. She stepped off the blanket
before Lin slid it a few feet to a rock-free patch of dirt.
After she sat back down, Lin said, “I’ll clean the wounds and then wipe
the blood from your face. It’ll make you feel better until I use the alcohol.”
 “Thank you, Doctor Walker.”
Lin slipped the towel from his shoulder, but the dry Arizona heat had
already evaporated much of the water, so he grabbed the open canteen and
dumped most of its water onto the towel. He lowered the canteen to the
ground and gently began to clean Clara’s wounds. After they were clear of
dried blood, Lin had her close her eyes before he carefully wiped the blood
from her face.
When he finished, he dropped the pink-stained towel onto the canteen
then picked up the bottle of alcohol and unscrewed the cap.
Lin shoved the cap into his pocket then picked up the gauze and said,
“Get ready for the sting, sweetheart.”
Clara couldn’t care less about the pain after hearing him call her
‘sweetheart’ again, so she said, “Okay, Lin. I’m ready.”
Lin poured just enough alcohol to cover the four wounds then after she
winced, he set the bottle down and began wrapping the gauze around her
head. He probably used too much but didn’t want any dirt to reach the
cleaned wounds.
After he tied a loose knot to keep it in place, he said, “I’m all done, and l
compliment you for being such a good patient, Clara. Now just stay put
while I move the bodies off the road before anyone sees them.”
As he picked up the bottle and screwed on the cap, Clara asked, “Are
you sure they’re dead?”
Lin set the bottle onto the towel and replied, “I’m sure. If they were alive
when they fell, they would have tried to break the fall.”
“Are you sure you won’t need my help?”
“I’ll won’t have any problem getting them on their saddles, so I should
be back in ten or fifteen minutes.”
 Before he headed to the roadway, Lin took off his vest, folded it and put
it in the medical pack. After he picked up their Winchesters and slid them
into their scabbards, Lin quickly stepped toward the road. Before he
descended the hill, he glanced back to make sure Clara hadn’t followed
him. He was relieved to see that she was still sitting on the blanket watching
him before continuing down the hill.
Lin scanned for road traffic coming from the west before he stepped to
Steve Hilliard’s body. He unbuckled his gunbelt, stuffed it into his horse’s
saddlebag, and then lifted the corpse from the ground and draped it over his
saddle. He stepped past Steve’s horse and soon had Hector’s body hung
over his saddle. He didn’t bother tying them down before he took their
horses’ reins and led them south past the hill. He wasn’t going to bring the
bodies back to Cottonwood, so he walked their horses to a deep gully about
two hundred yards past the hill.
Lin stopped at the arroyo’s rim, slid each dead man from his saddle and
let it drop to the ground. He didn’t bother searching the bodies before he
yanked off their badges and stuffed them into his left pants pocket.

Lin looked down at the lifeless deputies and said, “You didn’t deserve to
wear the badges because you weren’t real lawmen. You weren’t real men
either, so I’m not going to pray for your salvation. You both earned your
trip to hell.”
Lin then dumped Hector’s body into the gully before he rolled Steve’s
over the edge. He’d bury them under a few inches of dirt just to keep away
the vultures after he took care of their innocent horses.
He patted Hector’s mare and Steve’s gelding and then took their reins
and led them to the back of the hill.
When he spotted Copper’s head, he smiled and said, “You’re in a much
higher class, my red friend.”
He angled toward his gelding and soon spotted Job and Clara’s tan
gelding before he saw Clara still sitting on the blanket looking toward the
road.

When Clara heard the hoofbeats behind her, she turned and saw Lin
leading their horses and wondered what he’d done with the bodies.
Lin reached Job and stopped before saying, “I rolled their bodies into a
gully, so after I tie off their horses, I’ll head back to bury them. How are
you feeling?”
“I’m all right. What will we do now?”
“I’ll tell you what I planned to do when we returned, but I want to hear
your opinion before we do anything.”

Clara didn’t know how Lin would be able to bury the bodies until she
saw him untie a flap on one of the panniers then pull out a small, folding
shovel. Lin opened the spade then slid a locking pin in place before he
trotted down the hill and soon disappeared.
Lin strode quickly to the gully, stopped at the rim and began scooping
dirt over the dead men. It was fairly mild for late summer in the territory,
but after just a minute of work, his shirt was soaked in sweat. When there
were a few inches of earth covering Steve Hilliard and Hector Ruiz, Lin
wiped his brow with his shirtsleeve and headed back.
As he walked back to the boulder hill, Lin knew he’d have to modify his
plan because of Clara’s injury. He didn’t want her to get back in the saddle
for a few more hours, even after he adjusted her stirrups.
He was halfway to the hill when he spotted a wagon heading west, so he
began jogging to avoid being seen. It probably didn’t matter if he was
spotted because he doubted the driver would send a telegram to Sheriff
Johnson after they reached Sulphur Springs.

He slowed when he reached the bottom of the hill and soon saw Clara’s
white-covered head. Lin wished he’d grabbed Hector’s hat but suspected
she probably wouldn’t wear it anyway.
 He stopped beside Job and was folding the shovel when Clara said,
“That didn’t take as long as I thought it would.”

Lin slid the spade into the pack and said, “I just buried them under a few
inches of dirt to keep the vultures from circling. If it wasn’t for the flying
scavengers, I would have just left them baking in the sun.”
Clara angrily replied, “I wouldn’t care if a hundred buzzards dropped
from the sky before they were chased off by a hundred coyotes.”

“I agree with you, Clara. I was only concerned that the big birds would
attract attention. And I finished just in time because a wagon will pass by in
a couple of minutes.”
Clara was about to ask about his plans when she saw Lin take off his hat,
hang it over Copper’s saddle horn and begin unbuttoning his sweat-soaked
shirt. A warm flush filled her from head to toe as she watched him pull it
open and then peel it from his torso.
Lin turned to get a clean shirt from one of his packs, saw her staring at
him and smiled as he said, “I’ve had the pleasure of seeing your legs, so I’d
be surprised if you were embarrassed to see my bare chest, Clara.”
Clara smiled and said, “I’m not embarrassed at all. I’m experiencing a
completely different and very pleasant emotion.”

Lin smiled and tossed his shirt over Hector’s saddle and then took his
full canteen from his saddle. He unscrewed the cap, took two long steps and
handed it to Clara.
Clara said, “Thank you, Lin,” before she placed the mouth of the canteen
to her lips while still keeping her eyes on Lin as she drank.

Lin returned to Job, took out a clean shirt and walked to Steve Hilliard’s
gelding, hung the shirt over the Winchester’s butt and removed his canteen.
He was facing Clara as he unscrewed the cap then emptied the canteen onto
his head letting the cooling water flow over his overheated body. Lin
returned the canteen to Steve’s saddle before he ran his fingers through his
jet-black hair.

As he took his clean shirt from its Winchester hanger, they both turned to
watch the wagon as it quickly passed on its way to Sulphur Springs.
Lin was letting the dry Arizona air suck the water from his skin when he
smiled and asked, “Are you entertained by my shameless exhibition,
ma’am?”

Clara was smiling as she replied, “Very much so, Marshal Walker.”
Lin stepped to his tall red gelding, took his hat from the saddle horn and
pulled it on before turning to face Clara and beginning the finale to his late
morning show. He focused on her smiling eyes beneath her bandaged head
as he slid his left arm through his shirtsleeve. Before he shoved his right
hand through the other sleeve, he realized that he hadn’t needed Hector’s
hat after all.

He quickly buttoned the shirt, stuffed it under his britches then snatched
the towel and bottle of alcohol from the ground then walked around
Copper’s head before he stopped beside Job. He returned the alcohol to the
medical pack and then removed and donned his vest before he tossed the
towel onto Job’s neck and opened another pack. Lin had to rummage
around for a few seconds before he snatched the porkpie hat that he’d
packed almost as an afterthought, and then returned to Clara.
When he arrived, Clara asked, “Where did that come from?”

“I wasn’t sure what kind of impression I wanted to make when I arrived

in Cottonwood, so I tossed it into one of Job’s packs.”
“Do you expect me to wear it?”

Lin handed it to her and said, “Maybe. If we return to Cottonwood

during daylight hours, we’ll need to camouflage your bandaged head.”
 Clara studied the light gray hat before she raised it over her head and
then gingerly lowered it over her bandages. She was pleased that it didn’t
hurt but was surprised when it didn’t slide down to her ears.

After a few seconds, Clara took it off, set it on the blanket and said, “It
doesn’t hurt at all, but I must look pretty silly wearing it.”
“I don’t think it’s possible for you to look silly, Clara. But if you’d been
wearing it earlier, you wouldn’t have needed those bandages. Now that I
think of it, I’ve never seen you wearing a hat. Why don’t you wear one even
if it’s just to block the sun?”
“When I started school, the other students taunted me about my height
and wearing a hat made it even worse. As I continued to add inches, I saw
hats as torture devices rather than head coverings. Weren’t you teased about
your height?”
Lin sat down beside Clara before he replied, “No, it was just the
opposite. Tall boys and men are admired or feared. What happened to you
was just another disadvantage of being a woman.”

“At five feet and ten inches, I’m at least six inches taller than most
women. How tall are you, Lin?”
Lin smiled and said, “I’m six feet and four inches, which was also
President Lincoln’s height. So, it seems my parents were prescient when
they chose my name. And, I might add, Mister Lincoln wasn’t embarrassed
by adding another ten inches of height by wearing a stovepipe hat.”

Clara laughed and then asked, “Now that we can camouflage my

bandaged head, when will we return to Cottonwood to deal with the sheriff
and Luke Riddle?”
“I’m still undecided. So, we’ll put our heads together to figure out the
best solution. I’m not sure when the sheriff expects Hilliard and Ruiz to
return, but I’m sure either he or Luke will be watching the road. So, if we
head back before sunset, we’d need to ride most of the way cross-country.
What do you think?”

“I think we should start back at sunset, so we can use the road until we
spotted Cottonwood. What will we do when we get there?”
“I was planning to return and then just walk into the jail with my sawed-
off shotgun and put them in their cells. But now I may need to modify my
plan. Sheriff Johnson will be very anxious when he wakes up in the
morning and realizes his deputies haven’t returned.”
“I’m sure he would be, but what do you think he’ll do?”
“You’d be able to answer that question better than I could. What will
make it more difficult to predict is that he doesn’t know I’m a United States
Marshal. The only ones who do are sitting on a hill surrounded by
boulders.”
Clara nodded as she said, “That’s one problem I hadn’t considered.”
“We’ll talk about it after I set up a campsite. It’s not even noon yet, so
we’ll have another seven hours to decide what to do.”
As Lin rose from the blanket, Clara said, “I’ll help.”
Lin quickly said, “Stay there while I examine your wounds. You don’t
have any fresh blood stains, so I might be able to remove the bandage. Then
you can wear the hat just to keep them clean.”

Clara said, “Okay,” before Lin untied the bandage’s knot and began
unraveling the gauze.
After her wounds were exposed to the sunlight, Lin saw no signs of
bleeding, just dark scabs.
“I won’t need to replace the bandage, Clara. Just wear the hat and avoid
banging your head against anything harder than a fresh muffin.”
 Clara picked up the porkpie hat and pulled it on before she looked up,
smiled and asked, “May I stand now, sir?”
Lin grinned, took her hand and helped her to her feet before he
regretfully released his grip as he needed both hands to untie Copper’s
reins. After taking his gelding’s reins he led the four horses and Job down
the hill and turned west.
He stopped in the middle of a patch of dry grass, tied Copper to a
mesquite bush and after the horses and mule began to graze, Lin opened a
pannier and pulled out what appeared to be a bedpan.

Clara asked, “I thought men didn’t bother using bedpans.”

Lin smiled as he replied, “Only if there’s a blizzard, and I don’t expect
one to arrive anytime soon. I use this for watering horses.”
Clara smiled as she watched Lin set it on the ground in front of his tall
gelding and then take a water bag from Job’s pack saddle. He opened the
valve and quickly filled the pan before stepping back when Copper lowered
his head into the water.
After he’d satisfied each animal’s thirst, Lin left the pan on the ground,
untied his bedroll and handed it to Clara before taking another one from
Job.

Lin said, “We’ll lay these in the shadows of that big boulder. It’ll be a
little cooler and give us enough space when our four-footed friends begin
pooping.”
Clara laughed before they walked close to the boulder and after Lin
kicked away the rocks, they untied the cords which had kept the bedrolls as
rolls and not beds and stretched them across the shadowed ground.
Lin said, “If you’ll have a seat in our fancy restaurant, I’ll visit Job’s
pantry and see what’s on the lunch menu.”
 Clara nodded and then sat on the bedroll and watched Lin walk away.
While she’d been relieved that Hilliard’s bullet had buried itself in Lin’s
holster rather than in his chest, she was surprised when he didn’t seem to be
even mildly upset. After he’d told her how he felt after he’d killed a man,
even though it was in self-defense, she expected him to be affected almost
to the point of brooding.
Lin hung one of the two filled canteens over his shoulder then unhooked
the pack containing his provisions and tinware. When he turned, he found
Clara intently staring back at him for a reason he couldn’t understand. He
started lugging the sixty-pound pannier to the bedrolls and was curious why
she seemed to be studying him.
Lin stopped and set the pack on the ground and then lowered the canteen
beside the pannier before sitting down next to Clara. He didn’t ask her what
was on her mind but expected it wouldn’t be long before she told him.
He opened the flap, pulled out two tin plates and set them on the bedroll
before adding two matching cups and cheap flatware. Lin then extracted a
canvas sack and a jar of mustard and laid them next to the tinware.
Clara was curious what was in the sack and watched as Lin pulled
another cloth bag from the pannier and set it down before he added a small
wheel of cheese.

After Lin filled both of the cups with water from the canteen, he smiled
and said, “Our mulish chef suggested we enjoy his special sausages with
corn dodgers and sharp cheddar.”
“I was wondering what was in the sacks.”
Lin opened both bags and let Clara take two of the sausages before he set
two on his plate. After they each took a pair of corn dodgers and added
them to their tin plates, Lin pulled the drawstrings on the bags and
unscrewed the mustard jar’s cap.
 Clara’s mouth was already watering as Lin slid his eight-inch-long knife
from his sheath and cut two wedges of cheddar from the wheel and placed
one on each of their plates.

Then he smiled and said, “You can start eating while I clean my knife,
Clara.”
Clara replied, “I can wait,” before her stomach complained about the
delay with a loud growl.
Lin grinned and quickly cleaned his knife of its cheesy film before
returning it to its leather home.
After spreading mustard on her sausages, Clara silenced her stomach by
taking a big bite. She was impressed with the intense flavor as she chewed
but after swallowing, she delayed sampling a corn dodger until she asked
Lin about his surprising lack of reaction after killing the two deputies.
Lin was munching on his first bite of sausage when Clara said, “After
the shooting, you behaved as if nothing had happened. Why weren’t you
upset after you shot them?”
Lin swallowed and then replied, “I was too busy to even think about it.
When I saw Hilliard take a shot at you, I was worried you might have been
hit by the ricochet. Then I needed to clean and bandage your wound quickly
before moving their bodies off the road. But if it makes you feel any better,
I won’t sleep very well for the next week or so.”
“No, it won’t make me feel better. I just didn’t understand why you
seemed so, well, normal.”
Lin shrugged before he took a bite of one of his corn dodgers. While he
was pleased that Clara had explained what was bothering her, he hoped she
didn’t believe he was a cold-blooded killer.
As she resumed eating, Clara wished she hadn’t asked him about his
calm demeanor, or at least how she’d posed the question which made it
sound as if she was almost afraid of him.
 They cleared their tin plates and emptied their cups in silence but when
Lin began gathering the tinware, Clara said, “I was being unfair when I
asked about your reaction to the shooting, Lin. You’re the best man I’ve
ever met, and I shouldn’t have questioned your character. I could claim that
it was because I’ve never seen a man die before, but that would be a poor
excuse.
“I found Fred lying on the ground less than a minute after he’d been
killed. And less than a year late, I saw James slumped over the desk while
his blood was still spreading across the desktop. But after seeing each of
them, I only experienced a powerful anger. Even as I watched them being
buried, I felt no remorse. Only an intense desire to make them all pay for
what they’ve done.”
Lin set the tinware onto the ground and said, “I can understand why you
felt that way, Clara. Sometimes an intense emotion doesn’t leave room for
any other feelings.”

“But I felt guilty for not feeling grief for Fred or James, and I’d been
married to Fred for eight years. And even though my marriage to James was
a business arrangement, other than anger, all I felt was guilt for having
coerced him to printing my accusatory editorials.”
Lin looked deep into her sad brown eyes and said, “I told you that you
shouldn’t feel guilty for what they did. So, now I’ll add that you shouldn’t
blame yourself for being furious and wanting revenge.
“So, let’s move on as if we never had this conversation. There are still
have two more of the bastards in Cottonwood, and we need to plan how to
take them down and finish your crusade against corruption.”
Clara nodded and asked, “What about the mayor? My crusade won’t be
complete until he’s locked in a prison.”

“After we deal with the sheriff and his last deputy, I don’t think we’ll
have a problem with the mayor. When Mister Bradley hears that he’s lost
his protection, he’ll probably try to escape, but we won’t let him.”
 ‘’Do you have a new idea of how we’ll handle the sheriff and Luke?”

“I still think walking into the jail with my shotgun will work, but the
timing will be different. If we leave after sundown, we can enter
Cottonwood about a mile north of town. Then we’ll unsaddle the horses and
Job and walk into town. We’ll enter your office through the back door and
wait. We’ll keep an eye on the jail and as soon as the sheriff and Riddle go
inside, I’ll pay them a visit. What do you think?”
“I’d be surprised if they behaved as if it was a normal day. The sheriff
would probably have Luke search for Steve and Hector while he stayed out
front watching Center Street.”
“You’re probably right, but that might be a better scenario. If we see
Riddle ride out of town, and then I’ll try to sneak up behind the sheriff. So,
we’ll just need to wait and see what happens tomorrow morning. But do
you see any problems before then?”
“No, sir.”

Lin nodded and then said, “I’ll return everything to the pack and then I’ll
need to clean our Winchesters and their pistols.”
“I can put everything away and then I’ll watch how you clean the guns.”
Lin smiled as he said, “Thank you, ma’am,” and then stood and walked
to the horses.
Lin first took Steve’s Smith & Wesson from his saddlebag, cleared the
chambers, and then put the four live cartridges into his left pocket before he
slid the pistol under his waistband. He did the same for Hector’s Colt even
though it hadn’t been fired and then hung his saddlebags over his shoulder.
He had been surprised when he discovered that both deputies had filled all
six of their pistols’ chambers. After he pulled his Winchester ’86 from
Copper’s scabbard and his Winchester ’73 from the unnamed tan gelding’s
scabbard, Lin headed back to the bedrolls. He smiled when he saw that
Clara had already put everything away.
 Lin stopped in front of Clara, set the two pistols onto the bedroll before
he laid the two Winchesters down. When he was free of firearms, he slid his
heavy saddlebags from his shoulder and set them on the ground. Lin
emptied his left pocket of the live cartridges, piled them near the revolvers
and finally sat down beside Clara.

Clara said, “One of those pistols is a Colt like the Shopkeeper but with a
longer barrel, but the other one doesn’t look like a Colt or your Remington,
Lin.”
“I’m not surprised that you noticed the differences. Hilliard used a Smith
& Wesson Model 3 and Ruiz owned a Colt Peacemaker. While each of them
is chambered for a .45 caliber cartridge, the Smith & Wesson can’t use the
Colt’s ammunition, but the Colt can use Smith & Wesson cartridges.”
“That’s odd, and I’m sure you’ll explain the reason while you clean
them.”
Lin smiled and said, “Only if you want to hear it, Clara.”

“I definitely want to know the reason.”

Lin laughed before he asked, “I doubt if any other woman would want to
hear me talk about guns. But if she said that she did, she’d just let me drone
on without hearing a single word. But you’re not like any other woman I’ve
ever met, Clara. You think like a man but without losing any of your
femininity."

Clara smiled and asked, “So, you don’t think I’m a shrew?”
“You’re as far from being a shrew as you are from being a man.
Whoever thought you to be anything other than a strong, confident woman
is an idiot.”
“Then I guess Cottonwood is overpopulated with idiots, including many
of the women. But the sheriff and his deputies were at the top of the list.”
 Lin nodded as he opened his saddlebag and pulled out his large firearm
maintenance box. He set the pine box onto the ground before him, opened
the lid and took out the bottles of cleaning fluid and oil. He unscrewed their
lids and then carefully placed them the ground. Then he removed a small
bundle of eight-inch-long steel rods and set them on the bedroll.
He then picked up the Smith & Wesson and said, “Smith & Wesson was
the first manufacturer to produce a reliable cartridge handgun. Their first
models were a lot smaller and didn’t look anything like this one. They
weren’t very powerful, either. By the time they came out with the Model 3
which used .45 caliber cartridges, Smith & Wesson was still the only
company making cartridge pistols.
“Colt had started manufacturing their 1873 model which was also
chambered for a .45 when the army decided to equip the cavalry with the
powerful handguns. After a typical army evaluation process, they chose the
Colt over the Smith & Wesson, even though the Model 3 was much easier
to reload.”
Lin then picked up Hector’s Colt and showed both pistols to Clara as he
said, “Take a look at their cylinders, and you’ll notice that the Colt’s is a
little longer.”
Clara nodded and asked, “Why would that be the reason the army chose
the Colt?”
Lin set the Peacemaker on the bedroll and picked up one of the Long
Colt cartridges. He cracked the Model 3 open and slid the cartridge into one
of the chambers before he showed it to Clara.
“The Colt cartridge can fit into the Smith & Wesson, but just like us, it’s
too long, while the Colt was happy to use the shorter Smith & Wesson
cartridges. The army didn’t want their troopers to be stuck in a situation
where they had the wrong cartridges, so they selected the Colt.”

Clara asked, “Why didn’t Smith & Wesson just make their cylinder a bit
longer?"
 "I imagine they didn’t realize it was such a critical factor until the army
announced its decision.”
Clara smiled as she said, “Thank you for the lecture, Professor Walker.
But I’m afraid I must leave your classroom to visit the privy.”
Lin grinned and replied, “I believe it’s behind the boulder, and I
apologize for not having added a door for privacy.”

Clara laughed, and then stood and hurried to the boulder.

Lin was still smiling as he watched Clara disappear behind the boulder
and then reached into the maintenance box and took one of the small square
pieces of cotton gauze. He was attaching it to the end of one of the steel
rods to clean the Smith & Wesson when he heard the chilling sound of a
threatened rattlesnake’s warning.
He dropped everything before he exploded off the bedroll, ripped his
Remington from his holster and hurried to the boulder. Lin slowed just
before he made the turn to avoid startling the threatening rattler. Then just
as he cocked his hammer, he saw Clara’s terrified face as she stared at the
five-foot-long reptile.
Lin stopped and hoped Clara was too petrified to move or even say
anything that would trigger the rattler’s attack. She was standing within
striking range of the big diamondback, so he knew he couldn’t miss the
most important shot he’d ever taken. Lin was just ten feet away when he
settled his sights on the snake’s head and squeezed his trigger. His
Remington released its .45 caliber missile and a tiny fraction of a second
later, the diamondback’s head exploded. He didn’t worry about the ricochet
but quickly holstered his pistol and hurried to Clara.
Clara hadn’t seen the big snake coiled in the shadows until it loudly
announced his presence. Even though she knew she should slowly back
away to avoid feeling the rattler’s venomous fangs, her overpowering fear
kept her feet glued to the ground. She had been so intently focused on the
snake’s soulless black eyes that she hadn’t noticed Lin’s arrival.
 Suddenly, there was a loud blast and those cold, threatening eyes
disappeared. Clara felt a massive surge of relief and finally turned her eyes
away from the headless rattlesnake just as Lin arrived.
Lin wrapped her in his arms and asked, “Are you all right, Clara?”
Clara just embraced him, laid her head on his shoulder and nodded. She
almost wanted to thank the rattlesnake as she let her mind fill with new
fantasies.

Lin was relieved that he hadn’t missed the shot, but he now had a new
concern. Despite his own dreams of being with Clara, he knew this wasn’t
the time nor the place to make them real.
Unfortunately, he had no control over his physical reaction for holding
her, and if Clara had been a proper young woman, she probably would slap
his face. And if she was an improper young woman, she’d have a very
different reaction. But he was counting on Clara being Clara and would act
as if she hadn’t noticed.

Thirty-seven seconds after Lin took her in his arms, he said, “I’ll get rid
of the snake, so you’ll be able to use your privy in peace,” and then let his
arms drop.
Clara released Lin before she said, “I’ve never been so close to an angry
rattler before. I knew what I should have done to avoid being bitten but was
too terrified to move.”
Lin smiled and said, “I’m not a fan of snakes, either. I think it’s part of
our nature ever since Eve was tempted by a serpent in the Garden of Eden.”
Clara smiled and then watched Lin walk to the boulder, grab the
diamondback’s body and drag it away. Once he was out of sight, she finally
was able to relieve her bladder before it became as angry as the rattlesnake.

Lin thought about using the rattlesnake meat for their supper but didn’t
want to make a fire. So, he walked past the bedrolls and then circled behind
a boulder and hid the carcass beneath its shadows. Lin kicked some dirt
over the headless reptile until it was almost impossible to see before he
headed back to the bedrolls. Now he had to clean his Remington as well and
decided to move it to the front of the line. After all, it had helped to save
Clara, so it deserved preferential treatment.

Lin had emptied his Remington and was adding some cleaning fluid to a
patch of gauze when Clara returned and sat down beside him.
He focused on his pistol and began sliding the cleaning rod through the
barrel when he said, “I apologize for not telling you that I have a package of
privacy paper in one of Job’s packs.”

Clara smiled and replied, “I might have needed much more than privacy
paper if you hadn’t arrived when you did. So, thank you for rescuing me,
Lin. I’m also very grateful for your prowess with firearms.”
“Thank you for giving me the one accolade most men value above all
others. I practice often to maintain a high degree of accuracy with all my
guns, but I’ve never been so concerned that I might miss a shot.”
“Even when you were close to bleeding to death and couldn’t afford to
miss?”
“He was a much bigger target than that rattlesnake’s head, even at ten
feet. I knew if I missed this one, I wouldn’t have time to take a second
shot.”
“But you weren’t in any danger from the snake, Lin.”
Lin slid the cleaning rod from his Remington’s barrel and simply said, “I
know.”
Clara didn’t reply while Lin continued cleaning the tool that he’d used to
save her life. She quietly watched as he filled five of the six chambers with
cartridges and then slid it into his holster before moving on to the Smith &
Wesson.
 Lin expected Clara to ask why the Model 3 was broken open like a
shotgun, but she still hadn’t uttered another word by the time he reloaded
the pistol. After screwing two more of the steel rods onto the first one, he
reached for his Winchester ’86 and began to wonder if he’d said something
to upset her.

For almost fifteen minutes, Lin cleaned, oiled, and reloaded the three
pistols and two Winchesters in silence. After he unscrewed the rods, he
recapped the bottles and returned them to their pine home. He then closed
the lid and stretched his saddlebag wide to wedge it in without damaging
his writing case.
As Lin carefully slid the box into the saddlebag, Clara noticed his
writing case and an earlier, unasked question popped into her mind. She
wasn’t sure he would have answered it before Hilliard and Ruiz arrived, but
hoped that now, he’d be more inclined to tell her what he’d written to his
publisher.

After he closed the saddlebag’s flap and secured the buckles, Clara said,
“Lin, you said the letter to your publisher contained instructions about what
to do with your books and royalties in case you were killed. Now that it’s
not likely to happen, will you tell me what those instructions were?”
Lin was surprised by her question and doubted if Clara would drop the
subject if he declined to answer.

So, as he began unbuckling the saddlebag, Lin said, “It would probably
be better if you read the letter.”
She watched as he slid his writing case from the saddlebag and then
opened the leather satchel, slid out the thinner envelope and handed it to
her. But after Clara held it in her fingers, she hesitated. She simply stared at
the address and almost wished she hadn’t asked what was written inside.
Lin had expected Clara to rip it open, but when fifteen seconds had
passed and the envelope was still intact, he thought she was concerned
about damaging the letter. So, he pulled out his big knife, took the envelope
from her fingers and sliced open the flap. He handed the open envelope
back to Clara and then sheathed his knife.
Clara glanced at Lin before she pulled the single folded sheet from the
envelope. After setting the empty envelope onto the writing case, she
unfolded the letter and began reading. Thirty seconds later, she refolded the
letter, slipped it back into its envelope and returned it to Lin. Now that she
understood his instructions, her mind began forming many more questions.
She hoped Lin would answer all of them before she asked her first.
When Clara had started reading, Lin watched her eyes and waited for her
to lash out at him just as she had when he’d told her of its existence. But her
reaction was much different, so as he returned the envelope to his writing
case, he had to immediately modify his response. He still thought it was a
terrible time to tell her how he felt, so he decided to edit his reply and save
the final chapter until after her crusade was over.

When Clara’s brown eyes finally focused on him, Lin said, “Bob
Keeshan isn’t my publisher, he’s the publisher’s attorney. He was the one
who strongly suggested I use L.A. Walker and not my Christian name. And
every time I met with him since they published my first book, he almost
begged me to make a last will and testament. But I never did because after
my father died, I had no family and didn’t care what happened to my
property or my royalties.”
Clara was satisfied with his answer to one of her questions, but waited
for Lin to answer the most important one:
why did he leave everything to
her?
After a brief pause, Lin said, “The last time I talked to Bob Keeshan, he
told me if I didn’t want him to make a will, he’d still follow my instructions
even if the letter wasn’t witnessed or notarized. When I met you, I suddenly
cared about what would happen to my estate if I died, so I wrote the letter.”
Clara thought Lin’s reply was heading down the right path but had yet to
reach its destination. She remained silent and hoped he would take the last
leg of the journey.
 When Lin realized she wasn’t quite satisfied, he obfuscated by saying,
“You have so much potential, Clara. Potential which would be wasted if
you stayed in Cottonwood. But if you moved to San Francisco, you would
have all the resources you need to show the world what an extraordinary
person you are.”

Despite Lin’s praise and belief in her potential, Clara was very
disappointed in his answer. She hadn’t expected him to take a knee and
propose, but she’d hoped for a more emotional explanation.
As Lin returned the writing case to the saddlebag, he knew Clara had
been saddened by his answer but hoped to make her much happier in a few
days. Of course, that assumed he’d be able to rid Cottonwood of Sheriff
Johnson and Deputy Riddle.
_____
Luke entered the jail and said, “There still ain’t no sign of ‘em, boss. Do
you reckon they followed ‘em all the way to Sulphur Springs?"

"Not likely. They were just three miles back when they left and shoulda
caught up to ‘em before they got halfway to Sulphur Springs.”
“Maybe Steve and Hector are still busy with Mrs. Foster. Or they coulda
rode to Sulphur Springs to sell their horses and mule before comin’ back.”
Ray scowled as he said, “If they take Walker’s big red horse into Sulphur
Springs, somebody’s gonna know how he got it and might wire Marshal
Walcott down in Prescott. Then we’d be facin’ real trouble.”
“Do you want me to send a telegram to Sulphur Springs to see if they
showed up?”

“Nah, it’ll only make ‘em wonder what’s wrong. But if they ain’t back
by mornin’, I want you to ride to Sulphur Springs. When you find out what
happened to ‘em, send me a wire before you head back.”
“You don’t figure Walker ambushed ‘em, do ya?”
 The sheriff was close to laughing off the idea when his earlier feeling
that he’d missed something about Walker resurfaced.
He took a few more seconds before he said, “I’d be surprised if he did,
but there’s somethin’ about that writer that don’t sit right. On second
thought, if they ain’t back in the mornin’, I’ll ride to Sulphur Springs. I
wanna find out first hand what’s keepin’ ‘em.”
Luke was surprised with the sheriff’s decision and was able to hide his
enormous sense of relief. The thought of riding alone down that road and
possibly confronting Walker had given him the willies. He wasn’t a cold-
hearted killer like Steve or a nasty son of a bitch like Hector. He’d never
taken a single shot at anyone and believed that even the writer was probably
better with a gun than he was.

Despite his almost benign behavior, Luke knew he was hated almost as
much as the sheriff and his fellow deputies. He only hoped Steve and
Hector returned before the sheriff left because he believed that some of the
Cottonwood men would take advantage of the situation after they learned
the sheriff, Steve and Hector were all out of town. If he found himself
facing an angry mob, he knew the mayor would act as if he’d never met any
of them.
He stepped through the doorway and turned to watch the road to Sulphur
Springs.
Where the hell were Steve and Hector?
_____
After disappointing Clara, Lin moved the cleaned weapons and his
saddlebags back to the horses and used the time to find a pleasant topic to
cheer her up. That eliminated guns and their plans to deal with the sheriff,
his last deputy, and the mayor.
So, when he returned to the bedrolls, he smiled and asked, “Have you
come up with a name for your new horse yet, Clara?”
 Clara blinked and replied, “Not yet. I’ve been occupied with more
immediate concerns.”

Lin wasn’t surprised by her sullen reply but wasn’t about to give up, so
he said, “I imagine so. But it’s quiet now and we have another four hours
before sunset. And if it’s any help, I have a suggestion.”
Clara looked at him and asked, “And what is your recommendation,
sir?”

Lin took off his hat and set it on the bedroll. After he wiped the sweat off
his brow with his sleeve, he scratched his head then said, “Now, I been
thinkin’ pretty hard about this, ma’am. Your horse is mighty fine-lookin’
feller and I figger he oughta have a name that’ll make him prouder than a
coyote who just took down a grizzly.”
When he saw Clara’s lips beginning to curl into a smile, Lin stopped
scratching his head and cradled his chin with his thumb and index finger.
“Now, a lotta fellers would just call him Sandy or Boots, but that’s just
‘cause they’re ignorant about how a horse feels. But you ain’t like them
fellers, ma’am. You’re a right smart lady and might even be able to ask him
what he wants you to call him. So, why don’t you sashay over yonder and
ask him?”
Clara laughed before she replied, “I reckon I ain’t gotta meander way
over there to ask him, mister. When I was ridin’ in his saddle, he was tellin’
me what I outta call him.”
Lin grinned as he said, “Now maybe I don’t know horse talk, but I ain’t
hard of hearin’, neither. And I didn’t hear him say one word after we rode
outta Cottonwood.”
“That’s ‘cause he told me without talkin’.”

Lin snickered and then shook his head before asking, “Are you tellin’ me
you can hear what he was thinkin’? If that’s what you were sayin’, that’s the
tallest tale I ever did hear.”
 Clara grinned as she said, “Maybe if I just told you his name, you’d
figger out how he told me on your own.”

After a short pause, Clara said, “I’m gonna call him Rumpus,” and then
she crossed her arms and smiled when Lin erupted in laughter and folded
over.
He laughed for a good fifteen seconds and when he returned to a normal
sitting position, Lin needed another ten seconds to wipe the tears from his
face.
When his cheeks were just damp, Lin smiled at Clara and said, “Even
though my failure to adjust your stirrups was the main reason for your sore
Rumpus, I don’t believe you could have given him a better name. Rumpus
may be a handsome gelding, but he’s definitely a horse’s ass.”
Clara laughed before she replied, “Now that we’ve settled that question,
what will we do before sunset?”

“It’ll be pretty late when we sneak into your office, so we should take a
nap.”
“Can I take off my hat while we rest?”

“Sure, you can. I don’t think it will be a problem.”

Clara carefully lifted the porkpie hat from her head and set it on the top
of the bedroll closer to the boulder before she wiggled across the outer
bedroll and laid down.
Lin moved his hat onto his saddlebags before he stretched out beside her
with his boots resting on dirt.
Clara asked, “Have you ever found a bed where your feet don’t hang
over the end?”

Lin rolled onto his left side before saying, “Not until I had a large, four-
poster built that’s almost nine feet long and more than seven feet wide.”
 Clara rolled onto her right side and asked, “Did you have a special
mattress made to fit it?”
“Sort of. I had them sew four regular mattresses together.”
“How big is your house?”
“It’s not nearly as large or as fancy as the mansions on Nob Hill. I had it
built to be comfortable and useful rather than trying to impress people.”
“I’ve never seen a big city. It must feel strange living among so many
people.”

“I’ve been to Chicago, St. Louis and Denver, so I’m accustomed to it.
Besides, my house is my sanctuary. After I moved to San Francisco, I
bought a ten-acre lot on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the
western edge of the city. Then I sat down with the architect, and he
designed the house.”
Clara quietly said, “I’ve never seen the ocean,” and then asked, “What
does your house look like?”
Lin smiled and replied, “The architect said it looks like a ranch house for
a giraffe. It has nine-foot-high ceilings, and each room is at least twenty-
four feet by sixteen feet, except for my favorite room.”
“Is that your office and library?”

Lin chuckled before saying, “Nope. My favorite room is my bathroom.”

Clara smiled before asking, “Why is it your favorite room?”

“Because I had it built with all of the latest advances in plumbing. It has
a largest bathtub I could find, a separate shower stall and even a water
closet. I had them lay down a tiled floor, too.”
“You have a water closet?”
Lin nodded and then replied, “And I’m very happy that I had it installed,
too. It makes early morning sprints to the privy unnecessary.”
 Clara tried to picture Lin’s favorite room but found it difficult to
imagine, so she asked, “Do you have a pump in the bathroom?”

“No, ma’am. The house has hot and cold running water, so I just walk
into the bathroom and turn on the faucets. There’s another set in the kitchen,
too.”
Clara’s eyes widened as she asked, “How do you make the hot water?”
“I have a gas-fired boiler in a utility room attached to the back of the
house.”
“You have gas coming to your house? I imagine gas lighting is much
brighter than a kerosene lamp.”

“It is, but I don’t have gas lighting. I use the gas for the boiler and my
cookstove. I have electric lights which are much brighter and safer, too. I
even had a telephone installed last year.”
Clara stared at Lin as she asked, “You have a telephone?”

“Yes, ma’am. I bought the telephone after my publisher had one

installed. It saves me a lot of time by not having to ride to their offices two
or three times a week.”
Clara may have been amazed by the many wonders in Lin’s house, but
she was much more curious if someone else lived there.
Clara quietly asked, “Do you have a cleaning lady or a cook?”
“No. I discovered that whenever I encounter a writer’s block that
housework was a good way to unblock the dam.”

Then he grinned and said, “So, I probably have the cleanest house in San
Francisco. I use a Chinese laundry and cook my meals when I don’t want to
leave the house. But most days, I dine at one of the nearby restaurants.”
Clara found it almost impossible to imagine that kind of lifestyle. She
had never seen an electric light and had only read about telephones. She felt
a touch of embarrassment when she compared it to her own life.

“You must collect a lot of royalties to afford to live like that.”

“Not at first. By the time I finished my second book, I’d only sold
sixteen hundred and forty copies of my first novel. But my publisher was
very pleased with the sales figures. He said for new authors, it’s like a wave
that spreads out by word of mouth. By the time I finished my third book, I
knew he was right. By then, my initial offering had sold more than thirty
thousand copies.”

“How many has it sold now?”

“The last time I checked, it was just under a seventy-five thousand. What
surprised me was most of them were sold in the big cities back East. I
imagine it’s because none of them have ever seen a large herd of cattle
being driven across the open plains. They can only imagine the hardships of
the pioneers as they crossed the Great Plains in their wagon trains, or the
battles fought by the tribes to keep their land.”
“But they don’t spend their money to buy books about the West unless
they’re well told and interesting.”
“History itself is very interesting, so I simply use history as a foundation
for my fictional stories.”

Clara nodded, and after a long pause, she asked, “Can you send me one
of your books when you return to San Francisco?”
Lin was expecting Clara to ask him what everyone else had after finding
out how many books he’d sold; how much did he earn in royalties per book.
So, he was startled by the question she chose to ask. He believed that Clara
was fearless, but she seemed to be almost frightened with the idea of living
in a large city and wondered if she was uncomfortable about leaving
Cottonwood.

He didn’t ask her why she’d made the request but simply replied, "I'll
send you all of five of them, and I’ll post the sixth one when it goes into
print.”
Clara said, “Thank you, Lin. I’ll try to take my nap, now.”
Lin nodded and watched as Clara rolled onto her back and closed her
eyes. He returned to his supine position but kept his eyes wide open. He
was tempted to ask her if she was determined to stay in Cottonwood but
needed to concentrate on tomorrow’s confrontation with Sheriff Johnson
and Deputy Riddle. He’d decide what to do about Mayor Bradley later.

When he focused on the sheriff, he realized he’d forgotten to ask Clara

what could turn out to be a critical question.
Was the sheriff married?
He
didn’t even know if any of the deputies or the mayor had wives in
Cottonwood, either. If the sheriff had a wife and a house, it could be a
problem. He’d have to ask Clara before they started back.
Lin then followed his plans for tomorrow morning beginning with
watching the jail from Clara’s second floor living quarters. The best
situation would be if both the sheriff and his deputy entered the jail and
stayed inside long enough for him to arrive with his shotgun. He knew it
was also the least likely scenario.
He agreed with Clara that the most probable situation was that the sheriff
would have Luke Riddle leave town to find the overdue deputies. But that
would be almost as good because the sheriff would be alone in the jail when
he showed up with his shotgun.
Lin temporarily discarded his concern about a Mrs. Johnson and focused
on the next possible situation. If the sheriff decided to search for his missing
deputies himself, that would be a harder nut to crack. From what Clara had
told him about Luke Riddle, if he left town, he probably wouldn’t find the
two bodies. And even if he did discover them, it wouldn’t matter. He’d rush
back to tell the sheriff, but by the time he returned, his boss would be
locked in one of his cells.

But if the sheriff rode out of town, he’d almost certainly discover his
dead deputies. Then he’d follow the tracks he and Clara would leave behind
them and all his plans would be worthless. Lin had to be ready for that
possibility which meant he needed to have Copper nearby rather than leave
him, Rumpus and Job a mile out of town. But to keep his red gelding close,
he’d need to disturb Miguel when they returned. He was sure Miguel would
willingly agree to help, but he’d still show him his badge and explain why
he had the two deputies’ horses.

In the morning, if they saw the sheriff ride out of town, Lin would cross
Center Street lock Luke Riddle in a cell and then mount Copper and begin
the chase. He didn’t have the same problem that Hilliard and Ruiz had faced
when they followed him and Clara. Lin didn’t care if the sheriff spotted him
trailing behind him. He trusted in the longer range of his Winchester ’86
and his accuracy with the repeater.
Lin had ordered the Winchester with a twenty-six-inch barrel to improve
its range and power, but his long arms made the rifle feel more like a
carbine. He’d routinely made shots of over three hundred yards with the
rifle which would be almost impossible with the ‘73. Even if the sheriff
carried a ’76 with its greater range, it wasn’t a match for his ’86.

Lin was satisfied that he’d covered most situations but would have to
deal with unexpected twists when they happened. He closed his eyes but
wasn’t about to take a siesta as he tried to understand why Clara had asked
him to send her a book.
As she lay beside Lin, Clara was also wondering why she’d asked that
question. She knew she was uncomfortable thinking about the crowded
streets of San Francisco but believed her discomfort had been matched by
her curiosity about Lin’s house. Her deep desire to be with Lin should have
outweighed any of her concerns, so Clara had been surprised when that
question that escaped her mouth.
But as much as she was annoyed with her rebellious mind, Clara was
confident she’d have time to repair the damage before they reached
Cottonwood. She started composing her path to recover but soon faded into
her afternoon nap.
 CHAPTER 5
Lin opened his eyes then glanced at Clara before he studied the sun’s
position in the sky. He estimated sunset would begin in about two more
hours, so he sat up, picked up his hat and pulled it on before quietly leaving
the bedroll. Out of habit, he scanned the horizons before walking to the
boulder privy. After successfully emptying his bladder without being
threatened by one of the rattler’s kin seeking revenge, he walked to the
horses and Job.
Lin checked their legs before he slid the pan from the pack and set it
onto the ground. After filling the pan and letting each of them empty it, he
returned the pan to the pack and hung the almost empty water bag onto one
of the hooks on Job’s pack saddle.
He had almost reached the bedrolls when Clara opened her eyes and then
turned and smiled before she asked, “Did you take a nap?”

Lin stopped and replied, “I couldn’t relax enough to drift away. I was
thinking about our return to Cottonwood and what might happen in the
morning. That’s when I realized I hadn’t asked you if the sheriff or any of
the deputies were married.”
Clara sat up and then stretched before saying, “None of the deputies
were married. The sheriff isn’t married either, but he shares his house on
Carson Street with Ellen Posey. She was hired to be his cook and
housekeeper.”

Lin asked, “Do you that’s all she does?”

“No. That’s because the sheriff doesn’t hesitate to talk about their nights
together when he visits one of the saloons.”
 Lin wasn’t surprised and wasn’t concerned about the sheriff’s lack of
morality. He needed to know if Ellen Posey would be a problem if he had to
enter to the sheriff’s house to find him.

So, he asked, “Do you think Ellen Posey would interfere if I chased the
sheriff into his house?”
“If you walked in the door with your Remington cocked, it’s more likely
that she’d beg for you to give her the pistol so she could shoot him.”
“Why does she stay with him?”
“Ellen is a pretty young woman who lived with her family north of town
on their hardscrabble farm. Their farmhouse burned down about eight
months ago, and she was the only survivor. Our noble sheriff offered her the
housekeeping job, and she was so naïve that she gratefully accepted. Now
she’s almost a prisoner in his house and no one dares to help her, including
me.”

Lin couldn’t imagine Clara turning away from the situation, so he said,
“I find it difficult to believe that you wouldn’t find a way to help her.”
Clara stood, looked straight into his brown eyes and said, “By the time I
learned that she’d moved in with him, I already had my own worries about
Fred. But that’s a poor excuse. Even though we didn’t have much room, I
should have offered her sanctuary.”

“You can’t be a one-woman army, Clara. There were many others in

Cottonwood who should have stood up to the sheriff. But after we put
Sheriff Johnson in one of his own cells, you can be the one to give the good
news to Ellen. Okay?”
“I’d be happy to tell her.”

“Now, let’s have supper and I’ll tell you about some changes I’ve made
to our plans.”
Clara nodded before she and Lin walked to visit Job’s pantry.
 _____

Despite the glare from the low sun, Luke still stared at the empty road
but didn’t think Steve and Hector would be returning before sunset. He no
longer thought they had just dallied with Mrs. Foster and then took
Walker’s horses and pack mule to Sulphur Springs. He knew it wasn’t
possible for Walker to surprise Steve and Hector but was beginning to
believe that neither of them would ever return to Cottonwood. He didn’t
know why he felt that way but wasn’t about to say anything to the sheriff.
Luke began nervously shifting his feet as he watched and hoped to see
two riders fade into view like ghostly mirages.

He was so focused that he was startled when the sheriff stepped beside
him and said, “You keep an eye out for ‘em ‘til sunset then get yourself
some chow and spend the night in the back room. If they show up, let me
know.”
Luke asked, “What if they ain’t back by sunup?”

“I’ll be gone by then, so just keep an eye on things ‘til I get back.”
Luke nodded and then watched Sheriff Johnson cross the street. His fear
of being left alone in a town filled with men who hated him returned in
spades. He almost vomited at the thought of facing an angry mob seeking
revenge.

The image seemed so intensely real that Luke decided he’d had enough.
After sunset, he’d go to his room and pack all he could carry, empty his
mattress bank, and then saddle his horse and sneak out of town. He’d follow
the Grand Wash north to Moccasin Springs and then ride west to Nevada.
He knew the sheriff wouldn’t bother looking for him even if he returned
with Steve and Hector. And there would be no vengeful mob chasing him,
either.
With his escape plan set, Luke felt immensely relieved and hoped Steve
and Hector didn’t return. He didn’t care if they rode all the way to Alaska.
 _____

Clara took a drink of water and said, “I don’t think they’ll both stay in
town. And I believe it’s more likely that the sheriff will be the one to look
for Hilliard and Ruiz. He doesn’t think much of Luke Riddle, so he’ll want
to do the search himself.”
Lin nodded and replied, “You know them better than I do. If the sheriff
leaves, it shouldn’t take me long to lock Riddle in a cell. When I chase after
the sheriff, Copper will cut the gap quickly. And I’ll have the sun at my
back, so it’ll be difficult for the sheriff to see me.”

“What if he spots you then disappears around a curve and sets up his
own ambush?”
“Unlike Hilliard and Ruiz, I’ll be expecting an ambush. I’ve run into
drygulchers before, so I know how to deal with them.”

Clara set her plate down and asked, “Why do you even have to chase
him, Lin? Can’t you just wait for him to return?”
“If I don’t follow him, I’m sure he’ll discover the bodies and find our
trail. Then he’ll know we’re here and have us at a disadvantage.”

Clara looked at him and asked, “If you have to chase him, what will I be
doing? Am I supposed to stay in my apartment watching like a disinterested
spectator?”
Lin had been so accustomed to operating alone that he hadn’t included
Clara in any of his plans. He suspected that if he didn’t find a meaningful
task for her quickly, she’d saddle Rumpus and follow him.

Clara’s brown eyes bore into him as she waited to hear his delayed reply
and was about to repeat her question when Lin said, “Before we start
watching the jail, I want you to have your derringer in your pocket and the
Shopkeeper in your ankle holster. If I have to chase after the sheriff or
Riddle, you wait until the bank opens and escort the mayor to the jail.”
 “Why would he even listen to me?”

“For two reasons: you’ll have your Shopkeeper in your hand, and you’ll
be wearing a badge.”
“I don’t want to wear one of those bastards’ badges.”

“You won’t be. You’ll be wearing a United States Deputy Marshal’s

badge. Before I leave your apartment in the morning, I’ll swear you in as a
temporary U.S. Deputy Marshal.”
“Can you do that, even if I’m a woman?”

“I can and I will. After you lock the mayor in another cell, you’ll need to
guard him and the other prisoner. While you’re keeping an eye on them,
you can explain what’s going on.”
Clara was satisfied with her role but smiled and asked, “You just came
up with that, didn’t you?”

Lin grinned as he answered, “Yes, ma’am. But you’ll have to admit it’s
still a good idea. I hadn’t decided what we should do about the mayor until
a few seconds ago. If he learned the sheriff and his deputies were no longer
there to keep the townsfolk in line, he might empty his vault and
skedaddle.”
“I was impressed with how quickly you came up with it. And I agree that
there would be a good chance that Mayor Bradley would do just that. He
probably wouldn’t tell Agatha he was leaving, either.”

Lin assumed Agatha was the mayor’s wife but didn’t ask. The sun was
already hiding behind the distant mountains and soon would make its
spectacularly daily exit from the Arizona sky.
So, he stood and said, “Let’s start packing. And remind me to adjust
Rumpus’ stirrups.”

Clara smiled and then stood and said, “Trust me. If there’s one thing I
won’t forget is that you need to make those stirrups shorter.”
 Lin smiled and then he and Clara began gathering loose items and
returning them to Job’s packs.

After tying off the bedrolls, Clara watched closely as Lin adjusted her
stirrups.
When he finished, he stepped back to stand beside Clara and said,
“We’re ready, so we have time to enjoy Mother Nature’s show.”

Clara glanced at Lin before she turned her eyes to the deep red western
sky. She was still awed by the stunning display but wished she was seeing
the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.
They watched the stellar performance until the last touch of color began
to fade into blackness.
Lin untied Rumpus’ reins, handed them to Clara and said, “It’s time to
start back. We don’t want to arrive too early, so we’ll take our time.”
Clara nodded and said, “Okay,” and then mounted her tan gelding.

Lin released Copper’s reins, stepped up and then waited for Clara before
they made a wide turn to the east. After passing the boulder hill, they
angled to the north and soon reached the roadway.
The moon was almost full when it appeared over the northeastern
horizon giving them a clear view of the roadway.

With the rhythmic clopping of twenty hooves in the background, Lin

asked, “I assume Miguel lives in the adobe house behind his livery, is that
right?”
“Yes, he does. He lives there with his wife Estella and their six children.
Diego is the oldest, and Estella is carrying their seventh. So, I don’t think
he’ll be asleep when we arrive.”

Lin grinned as he said, “That must be a crowded, busy home. I imagine

money is pretty tight, too. So, I’ll give him Hilliard’s and Ruiz’ horses and
sneak a hundred dollars into one of their saddlebags.”
 “That’s probably as much as he makes in three or four months. He’ll be
very grateful for the horses but might be too proud to accept the money.”

“Maybe. But I’m sure his wife will convince him that his manly pride is
a poor substitute for more food for their children.”
Clara smiled as she said, “And she’d be right.”

Lin was smiling as he focused on the moonlit road ahead until it curved
behind a hill. All he saw were the shadows of coyotes and smaller night
predators stalking desert mice, sleeping snakes and lizards. He knew the
dead rattler would attract coyotes and hoped they didn’t find the bodies
until either Sheriff Johnson or Deputy Riddle passed the gully grave.
_____
Luke had been on edge since leaving the jail and was close to panic as he
saddled his small horse. He could almost feel the sheriff’s eyes on his back
and expected to hear his voice asking where the hell he was going. But he
never considered changing his mind.
He left many of his possessions in his room because he didn’t want to be
seen lugging a large, stuffed sack into the street. Luke had almost two
hundred and fifty dollars in his pocket and knew it was more than enough to
keep him going for a few months. Where he would go or what he would do
didn’t matter.
He mounted his pinto mare, walked her out of N&B Livery and then
turned east to pick up the Grand Wash. When he reached the almost dry
creek bed, Luke turned Mabel to the north and was finally able to breathe
easier.
_____
After they rounded the curve, Clara said, “I didn’t expect to see any road
traffic, but I still was relieved to find it empty.”
 “So, was I. I hope it stays clear until we reach the last curve before
Cottonwood. Then we’ll leave the road and ride cross country.”

“Do you think Luke Riddle is still watching the road for Hilliard and
Ruiz?”
“Even with this much moonlight, I don’t think it’s very likely. But if the
sheriff was really worried about his missing deputies, he might have set up
shifts.”

“Then they’d both be too tired to leave Cottonwood, at least until mid-
morning.”
Lin turned, smiled and said, “We should be so lucky.”
As they continued their slow, quiet approach to Cottonwood, they had no
way of knowing that their fortune had already turned sour and would only
get worse by sunrise.
Clara said, “I’m sure the weather is much different in San Francisco.
What is it like?”
“Most of the time, it’s quite comfortable. But it can feel pretty chilly,
even in the summer. It’s a combination of wind and moisture coming off the
ocean. The sunsets aren’t as spectacular as the one we just witnessed, but
they’re still impressive. We have days where the fog is so thick you can’t
see ten feet in front of you. Some mornings, when I leave my house, I can
see the blue sky overhead and a thick blanket of fog covering the ocean.”
“That must be an amazing thing to see.”

“It is. And I have two rocking chairs on my back porch to enjoy it, too.”
“Do you swim in the ocean?”

“Yes, ma’am. But not near my house because it’s too rocky. I visit a
beach closer to the Golden Gate.”
 Clara tried to imagine the scenery but found it even more difficult than
trying to picture his house.

So, she asked, “Are there bears and coyotes near your house?”
“I’ve seen a bear but no coyotes. But the most impressive wildlife I’ve
spotted are the whales. They travel like a family and blow spouts of water
when they breach the surface. There are masses of seals and plenty of large
sharks who feed on them.”
Clara looked at Lin and said, “It sounds like a different world.”
Lin smiled as he replied, “That’s one of the great things about our
country. If you travel a hundred miles, everything can change.”
Clara asked, “Can you tell me more about San Francisco and your house,
Lin?”
“I’ll start with the room where I installed my printing press.”

Lin began describing his home and hoped Clara would be able to see it
for herself in a couple of weeks.
_____

An hour later, Lin and Clara turned right, leaving the road and walking
their horses onto the rugged terrain. They soon passed the hill and saw the
distant lights of Cottonwood.
Clara said, “I’m surprised that I can already hear the piano being played
in one of the saloons.”
“They should tune that piano. It’s making The Camptown Races sound
like The Beantown Blowhards.”
Clara laughed and then asked, “Have you ever been to Boston?"
“I haven’t been further east than Ohio. My publisher has asked me to
visit the Eastern cities to promote my books, but I’ve been able to avoid
making the journey.”
 “Why don’t you want to go?”

“I’m not overly fond of big cities. I appreciate the many conveniences
but prefer a quieter lifestyle. That’s why I bought the acreage near the
ocean. I can enjoy my relative isolation and still have access to the benefits
of city life.”
“You’re beginning to sound like a monk, Lin.”

Lin chuckled and then said, “I don’t know of any monks who own a
personal armory, Clara.”
Clara laughed before she looked ahead at the mostly dark buildings of
Cottonwood. They would soon reach the town and within a day, Lin would
probably have Sheriff Johnson and Luke Riddle locked in their jail cells. He
still hadn’t told her of his plans after his work was done, so the thought that
he might leave in a couple of days sent a chill down her spine. But as much
as she wanted to ask him about his plans, Clara decided to wait until
Cottonwood had been returned to a normal town.
_____
When they were about a half a mile from Cottonwood, Lin angled
Copper southeast and headed to the first side street. As they drew closer,
Clara felt her anxiety beginning to rise but quickly pushed it away.
They soon entered the side street, and Lin was curious if the sheriff or
his only deputy was still watching the road. After leaving their animals with
Miguel, he’d be able to take a quick look when they crossed the street. Even
if one of them was there, he’d be facing in the wrong direction.
Neither of them had seen anyone before they pulled up behind Miguel’s
livery and dismounted. Lin tied Copper’s reins to the corral rail, and then
stepped next to Clara as she secured Rumpus.

Clara asked, “Do you want me to stay with the horses while you talk to
Miguel?”
 “It’s not necessary, but you can wait here if you wish.”

“Then I’ll come with you.”

Lin smiled and then surprised her when he took her hand before they
walked to Miguel’s adobe home. There was light coming from one of the
windows, so Lin expected Miguel to still be awake.

When they stopped before the door, Lin released Clara’s hand but
delayed knocking until he heard Miguel’s muffled voice. Then he rapped
three times and waited.
Just a few seconds later, the door swung open and as soon as he
recognized his unexpected night visitor, Miguel grinned, stepped outside
and closed the door.
Lin said, “I hate to disturb you this late, Miguel. But I have a favor to
ask of you.”
Miguel said, “It is no problem, Lin,” and then noticed the badge pinned
on his chest.
He pointed at the badge and asked, “You are a lawman?”
“Yes, sir. I’m a United States Marshal. I came here to investigate the
complaint Mrs. Foster made about the sheriff and his deputies.”
“You must be careful. I think the sheriff is worried about you. Deputy
Hilliard and Deputy Ruiz left early this morning to find you and Mrs.
Foster.”
“We found them before they spotted us, and I buried them about eight or
nine miles west of town. That’s why we waited until it was dark before we
returned. I brought their horses with us and have them tied to your corral
fence. I still have to deal with the sheriff and Deputy Riddle, so I don’t want
them to know we’ve returned. I need to have our horses stabled but not in
your livery. The sheriff might pay you a visit in the morning and would
surely notice Copper and his deputies’ horses.”
 “I can put them in the corral behind my house.”
“That’s perfect. Could you unsaddle them for me?”
“Of course.”

“But I’ll need Copper to be ready to go as soon as possible just in case I

have to chase one of them.”
Miguel nodded and then said, “I’ll have him saddled before sunrise.”

Lin said, “I’ll need to take some things before you hide the animals.”
Miguel nodded and then he walked with Lin and Clara to his large
corral.
When they reached Job, Lin slid his sawed-off shotgun from one of his
packs, handed it to Clara and then walked to Copper. He removed his heavy
saddlebags and hung them over his shoulder before he slipped his
Winchester from its scabbard.
 
Lin turned, shook Miguel’s hand and said, “Thank you for all your help,
Miguel. You’re a good man.”
Miguel smiled and said, “You are a good man, too. I wish you the best of
luck tomorrow.”
Lin replied, “Hopefully, by sunset tomorrow, Cottonwood will be a
pleasant place to raise your children again.”
As Miguel untied Copper’s reins, Lin took Clara’s free hand before
walking down the narrow alley beside the livery. When they reached Center
Street, Lin glanced at the jail and found no one there. So, they calmly
strolled across the main road and entered a dark side street.
As they walked in the shadows, Clara asked, “Why did you bring your
Winchester?”
 “Just as a precaution. After I see them enter the jail, by the time I get
there, one of them could step outside and see me before I was within the
shotgun’s range.”
“What is its range?”
“Around forty yards. But the spread is so wide that if I fired it at that
distance, I’d risk injuring any bystanders.”

“Oh. And I imagine it would be too far to use your Remington, too.”
Lin smiled and said, “You learn quickly, Clara. That’s because you’re so
smart.”

Clara appreciated his compliment but felt a bit odd holding a shotgun in
her left hand and talking about guns while Lin held her right hand.
They soon turned into the long back alley that ran behind the row of
silent businesses and less than a minute later, they stopped before the
newspaper’s back door.
Lin released Clara’s hand and took the shotgun before she opened the
door, and they entered the dark room. After she closed the door, Lin laid the
shotgun and his Winchester on the desk, and then removed the deputies’
gunbelts from his saddlebags and stored them in the desk’s bottom drawer.
As he took off his hat and set it on the desk, Clara asked, “Do you need
to do anything before we head upstairs?”
“No, ma’am. You lead the way and I promise to catch you if you stumble
on the stairs.”
Clara smiled as she stepped to the stairway and began to climb the steps
to the second floor.
Lin was grateful for the darkness as he followed Clara up the stairs. But
his imagination saw what the lack of illumination kept from his eyes. He
hoped that mental image wouldn’t make it difficult for him to get the sleep
he needed.
 When they stepped onto the upper floor, Clara took off her porkpie hat,
set it on the small kitchen table and then pulled up her right pants leg and
unbuckled her ankle holster. After setting the Colt Storekeeper on the
tabletop, she began gently touching the top of her head.
When she finished probing her wounds, Lin asked, “How do they feel?”
“Not as bad as I expected. I’ll take a bath and wash my hair before I turn
in. So, I’ll prepare a cold supper if you want to clean up.”

“I am a bit dusty, and I should scrape off this stubble, too. I don’t think
I’ll have time in the morning.”
Clara smiled and said, “The bathroom is all yours, Marshal.”
Lin nodded and then stepped into her bedroom and lowered his
saddlebags to the floor. He stripped off his shirt but didn’t pump any water
into the tub. He filled her wash basin before picking up his bar of white
soap and began to scrub his torso and arms. After drying, Lin took his razor
from his saddlebags and carefully removed his whiskers.
Clara had quickly gathered their supper before watching Lin shave,
despite knowing it was a pleasant but still painful form of self-inflicted
torture. When Lin set his razor aside and began splashing water on his face,
Clara turned and hurried back to the table and sat down.

Lin heard her hurried footsteps and smiled before donning his shirt. He
hoped to end Clara’s crusade quickly, so he could finally ask her if she
would return to San Francisco with him.
_____
Inside #8 Carson Street, Sheriff Johnson was in his own bedroom and
already snoring when Ellen entered her bedroom, tossed her clothes into the
hamper and opened the top dresser drawer. She took out her nightdress and
then slowly stepped to the bed and sat down.
 Ellen touched her bruised legs and worked her fingers up to her stomach
and ribs. She didn’t understand why the sheriff was particularly vicious
because he rarely spoke to her. She knew that after the sun rose, she’d see
the effects of tonight’s battering.
Ellen wasn’t sure how much more she could take but knew there was no
place for her to go. She was ashamed of what everyone in town thought of
her but even more ashamed for meekly submitting to his cruel behavior. If
she had half of Clara Foster’s courage, she would have taken the butcher
knife and stabbed him, but she didn’t even argue with him.
At least she should have a whole day to recover. The sheriff had told her
to have breakfast ready before dawn because he’d be riding to Sulphur
Springs. He didn’t say why he was going, but Ellen prayed he’d run afoul of
a gang of murdering cutthroats.
With that glimmer of hope still on her mind, Ellen slid her nightdress
over her head and slipped beneath her wool blanket.
_____
After finishing their cold supper, Lin said, “I’ll clean up while you take
your bath, Clara. Then we’ll try to get some sleep.”
Clara said, “Alright. I just hope we don’t oversleep.”

“I’ll set my pocket watch’s alarm to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Clara nodded before she stood and walked to her bedroom. After she
closed the door, Lin quickly cleared the table and washed their plates and
flatware. He walked to the bed, sat down and pulled his pocket watch from
his pocket. He set the alarm for five o’clock which should give him enough
time to prepare. Then he’d set a chair by the front window and watch the
jail.
Lin set the pocket watch on the side table and pulled off his boots before
stretching out on top of the blankets. After he closed his eyes, he spent a
few minutes reviewing his reactions to each of tomorrow’s possible
scenarios. But he couldn’t have imagined that Luke Riddle had already
deserted or that the sheriff planned to leave town before his pocket watch
chimed.
Clara was more concerned about Lin’s future plans and didn’t even think
about what the sheriff and Luke might do. She slid beneath her covers,
closed her eyes and let her mind travel into her favorite fantasy land.
 CHAPTER 6
Sheriff Johnson finished his hot breakfast and pushed away from the
table. He then stood and grabbed his hat before walking to the door. He
hadn’t said a word to Ellen before he left the house and stepped into the
dim, predawn light. He hurried across the back porch, down the steps and
trotted to his small barn. Just ten minutes later, the sheriff rode his
handsome black gelding though the barn doors and headed west along 2
nd
Street.
By the time Lin’s watch began dinging, Sheriff Johnson was already on
the road to Sulphur Springs.

_____
When Lin’s eyes popped open, he quickly snatched his pocket watch
from the side table and pushed the alarm button. After the timepiece fell
silent, he swung his feet to the floor and quickly pulled on his boots. He
didn’t waste time stretching before he stepped across the floor and looked
out the front window. Center Street was empty, so he tiptoed to the stairs
and quietly stepped down to the first floor to make a quick visit to the privy.
He reentered the office two minutes later and noisily ascended the stairs
as a wakeup call for Clara. As he passed by her bedroom door, he heard her
moving, so he grabbed a chair and set it near the window.
He’d been watching the jail for almost ten minutes when Clara left her
bedroom wearing her britches and then picked up a chair and set it beside
him.
After she sat down, she asked, “Have you seen either of them yet?”
“No, ma’am. But I expect one of them to show up pretty soon.”
 “Can I start a fire in the cookstove?”
“I don’t think they’d notice, and I’d appreciate a hot cup of coffee.”
Clara stood and three steps later, she stopped before the cookstove and
opened the firebox door. She added the kindling, set it ablaze and then laid
two well-seasoned split pine logs onto the small fire and closed the door.

After filling her coffeepot, Clara set it on the hotplate before she returned
to her chair.
Lin kept his eyes on the jail as he asked, “Do you know where they
stable their horses, Clara?”

“The deputies keep theirs at N&B Livery, but the sheriff has a small barn
behind his house.”
“That’s good to know. I figure it’ll take me about two minutes or so to
get there after they show up. So, I’ll use the back alley to get as close as I
can.”
“But they won’t be arriving at the same time, so you’ll have to wait until
they’re both inside the jail.”
“I know. But even if one of them leaves the jail to watch for Hilliard and
Ruiz, at least I’ll know where they are and should be able to get the drop on
them.”

Clara stared at the jail and asked, “Are you sure they aren’t already
inside?”
“I suppose it’s possible. But if they are, I don’t think it’ll be long before
Deputy Riddle steps outside to watch for his pals.”

“I don’t think they’re his friends, Lin. When they’re together, he acts
tough, but I think it’s just to belong. He might even be pleased if he knew
they were dead and gone.”
 Lin turned to look at Clara before asking, “Do you that if the sheriff
sends him to look for them, he’d just disappear when he finds their bodies?”

“I hadn’t thought about it, but I think it’s possible. If he does ride away,
are you going to chase after him after you lock up the sheriff?”
“Yes, ma’am. He is at least guilty of accessory to murder. But he may be
more valuable as the only witness against the mayor.”

“But everyone in town knows the mayor is just as guilty.”

“I’m sure they do, but he’s also a rich man who can hire a good defense
attorney.”

Clara knew Lin was right but that didn’t prevent her anger from
beginning to churn. She took one last look at the jail before she stood and
returned to the cookstove.
_____

Sheriff Johnson was a couple of miles from the boulder hill when he
spotted the flock of buzzards circling in the sky but didn’t pay them much
attention. They were a common sight and he assumed they were waiting for
some coyotes to finish their breakfast. He was impatient to reach Sulphur
Springs and hear Hilliard’s excuse for his and Ruiz’ dilly-dallying.
What concerned him even more than their delay in returning was where
they had buried the bodies. He couldn’t imagine they hadn’t caught up with
Walker and Mrs. Foster before they reached Sulphur Springs.

_____
As the sheriff headed west on the road, Luke Riddle was three miles
behind and two miles north riding a parallel course. He was moving much
slower across the difficult terrain but still would have been ahead of the
sheriff if he hadn’t pulled up before midnight to get some much-needed
sleep.
 Luke slowed his pinto before he reached a deep gully then walked her
over the edge. The mare sat on her haunches and began to slide down the
gully wall’s face and soon reached the bottom. Luke nervously looked in
both directions almost expecting to see either the sheriff or Steve Hilliard
riding towards him. After seeing nothing but dirt and cacti, Luke grinned
and started Mabel forward to climb out of the gully.

His pinto started up the steep arroyo wall and was just a foot or so from
level ground when she felt her back hooves slip. She quickly turned to her
left to regain her balance and was close to recovering when the human on
her back tried to help.
Luke was startled when he felt his horse suddenly turn and slammed his
spurs into Mabel’s flanks which only made the situation worse.
When the sharp metal spurs dug into her, the mare jerked forward which
lifted her front hooves from the side of the gully. For just a moment, her
only contact with the steep dirt wall was with her sliding rear hooves.
Mabel twisted in panic before she began to awkwardly tumble to the gully
floor.
Luke didn’t have time to pull his boots from his stirrups when the pinto
began falling to the bottom of the gully. He instinctively threw out his arms
in an effort to protect himself just before Mabel crashed into the ground.
Luke screamed when he felt his horse’s massive weight land on top his left
leg.

As Mabel struggled to regain her footing, Luke continued to wail but

was able to free his right foot from his stirrup. He was enormously relieved
when the horse suddenly rolled off his leg and managed to get to her feet.
Luke’s relief lasted for just a few scant seconds before Mabel began
trotting down the gully and dragging him along. Luke screamed even louder
as he felt his leg’s broken bones ripping apart his calf muscle and tried to
pull his Colt to shoot his horse. He’d just pulled his pistol when the pinto’s
left rear hoof stepped on his right upper arm.
 The metal-clad hoof crushed his humerus and ripped off a large chunk of
his bicep before his pinto mare lifted her foot from the ground.

Luke didn’t realize he’d dropped his Colt as his mind was overwhelmed
by the incredible amount of pain. He was close to losing consciousness
when his left foot suddenly popped free of his stirrup.
Luke soon wished he had blacked out as he lay on the floor of the gully
writhing in pain. He was bleeding profusely from his massively damaged
right arm and his hideously shattered left leg. So, Luke turned his eyes back
to search for his lost pistol but not to shoot his horse. He didn’t care where
she was going but desperately needed to end his pain.

He finally spotted his Colt buried in the dirt just twenty feet away, but it
may as well have been twenty miles as he couldn’t even crawl. Luke slid
his knife from his scabbard and stared at the shiny blade but knew he didn’t
have the courage to use it. He tossed it aside, closed his eyes and began to
weep.
As Luke sobbed, Mabel, now free of the annoying human, slowed to a
walk and clambered out of the gully. Once on level ground, she began
walking back to her barn in Cottonwood.

_____
Sheriff Johnson was too far away to hear Luke’s wails as he approached
the halfway mark between Sulphur Springs and Cottonwood. It was only
now that he began searching for any signs that might tell him where Hilliard
and Ruiz had buried the bodies. He’d completely forgotten about the
vultures.

_____
Lin took his last bite of beans, set the plate on the floor and then picked
up his cup of coffee.

Before he took another sip, he said, “Something’s wrong, Clara. At least

one of them should have shown up by now.”
 “I know. Even if they’d already been inside the jail before you looked,
one of them should have stepped outside long ago.”

Lin sipped his coffee before saying, “I’ll give it another fifteen minutes
before I head to the jail and take a look.”
“What do you want me to do?”

“Keep an eye on the jail. If I don’t enter with my shotgun, I’ll wave for
you to join me.”
“Okay. But what if they’re in an alley waiting for you to show up.”

“I’m not going to put myself in a line of fire, so that shouldn’t be a

problem.”
“Shouldn’t be or won’t be a problem?”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Lin smiled and said, “I’ll stick
with ‘shouldn’t be a problem’. You can lose a poker hand even if you’re
holding four aces.”
Clara thought about suggesting that she could cover his back with her
Colt but knew it would be just a waste of breath and time.

Lin continued sipping his coffee as he studied the alleys and buildings
close to the jail. He spotted the most likely spots for a shooter but didn’t
believe the sheriff even suspected he and Clara had returned.
But their absence troubled him more than he’d led Clara to believe.
Their behavior made no sense to him even if they knew he and Clara had
returned. If the sheriff wanted to set up an ambush in Cottonwood, he
would have sent Deputy Riddle to the jail to draw Lin out into the open.

Clara gathered their empty plates and cups and carried them to the sink.
When she returned to her seat, she noticed a buckboard roll by and knew it
wouldn’t be long before Lin left.
 Lin didn’t know if the fifteen minutes had passed but his growing
concerns made him stand and say, “Keep watch on the jail, Clara.”

Clara nodded and then watched as Lin hurried to the stairs. She was still
looking at him when he started down but then he stopped when only his
shoulders and head were still visible.
He smiled and said, “I’ll be fine, sweetheart,” and then continued down
the stairs.

Clara sighed before she whispered, “Please stay safe, my love.”

Lin stopped before the desk, grabbed his hat and tugged it on before
grabbing his shotgun with his left hand and taking his Winchester in his
right. When he reached the back door, he leaned the repeater against the
wall, opened the door and then took a peek outside. Once he was satisfied
that no one was watching, he took his Winchester, closed the door and
began walking along the alley.
He passed three cross alleys before he turned left and entered the fourth.
After stepping through the shadowed space, Lin approached Center Street
and stopped. He glanced to the east end before he looked at the jail.
After taking a deep breath, Lin stepped into the morning sun and strode
toward the jail. He scanned the potential ambush sites as he angled across
the street and soon reached the corner of the sheriff’s office. He leaned his
Winchester against the wall and then cocked both of his sawed-off
shotgun’s hammers before stepping onto the boardwalk.
He took three long strides past the first window before reaching the
door’s handle. But when he tried to turn it, Lin found it locked, so he
quickly stepped to the other window and stopped. He took off his hat and
waved it past the glass but wasn’t surprised when a bullet didn’t shatter the
window. Not many fell for the trick.
Lin’s heart was pounding when aimed his shotgun at the wall before he
sidestepped to the window. He couldn’t see much inside the dark room, so
he lowered his shotgun, tipped his hat back and peered inside. He soon
realized that unless the sheriff and his deputy were hiding in the sheriff’s
private office, the jail was empty.
He stepped back, pulled his hat back down and then turned and
beckoned for Clara to join him. Then he released the scattergun’s hammers
and retrieved his Winchester. He leaned against the wall and tried to figure
out where they were.
Lin still hadn’t come up with a reasonable explanation when he spotted
Clara hurrying towards him. He left the wall and watched her as she
approached just to admire her form. He could return to the puzzling
situation after she arrived.
Clara hopped onto the boardwalk and as she gulped air, she asked,
“They’re not…not there?”
Lin replied, “Not unless they’re hiding in the sheriff’s private office.
Where do you think they could be?”

Clara said, “We could visit the sheriff’s house. If he’s not there, I’m sure
Ellen Posey will tell us where he went.”
“That’s a good idea, so let’s head to the sheriff’s house. When we get
there, I want you to stay close in case he’s waiting inside with a cocked
pistol.”
“Alright.”
Lin nodded, handed Clara his Winchester and said, “You won’t need this,
but I want to have at least one hand free to pull my Remington.”
Clara grasped the Winchester and said, “Okay,” before they stepped off
the boardwalk and began walking to Carson Street.
After a few seconds, Clara said, “I think some of the folks are watching,
Lin.”
“I’m not surprised. I’d be pretty curious about what we’re up to myself.”
 When they turned onto Carson Street, Lin released his Remington’s
hammer loop but was reasonably sure his pistol would remain in its holster.
He suspected they wouldn’t learn where the sheriff or Luke were until Clara
asked Ellen Posey.

When they turned onto the sheriff’s walkway, Lin quickly scanned the
windows but didn’t spot anything moving behind the panes of glass. He and
Clara stepped onto the porch and Lin loudly knocked on the front door.
Twelve nervous seconds passed before the door slowly began to open.

Ellen felt sick when she’d heard someone step onto the porch and
thought about going upstairs to her room rather than open the door for Steve
Hilliard. But she knew he’d enter the house anyway, so she reached for the
doorknob and opened the door.
When she saw Clara, Ellen almost laughed in relief but when the door
swung a little wider, she was startled to see Clara holding a rifle. And then
she was stunned to see a tall man standing beside her with a shotgun. Her
eyes bulged and her mouth dropped open before she noticed the badge on
the tall stranger’s vest.
Lin smiled and said, “I’m U.S. Marshal Lin Walker, ma’am. I went to the
jail to speak to Sheriff Johnson, but no one was there. Is he still at home?”
Ellen replied, “No, he’s not. He left for Sulphur Springs before dawn,”
and then asked, “You’re a U.S. Marshal? And why is Mrs. Walker with
you?”

Lin was surprised when he realized she didn’t seem to know he was in
town but said, “Mrs. Foster made a complaint about the sheriff and his
deputies, so I came to investigate her claim. I don’t have time to explain
much more, but I’m sure Clara won’t mind staying with you to answer your
questions. But do you know where Deputy Riddle is?”
“He’s gone, too? But why aren’t Hilliard and Ruiz in the office?”
 Lin looked at Clara and said, “I’ve got to get moving. Do you have your
Shopkeeper?”
Clara nodded and said, “I’ll stay with you and tell you what’s been going
on, Ellen. And don’t worry about Steve Hilliard or Hector Ruiz. Marshal
Walker buried them both yesterday.”
Lin took the Winchester from Clara and then surprised her when he
leaned down, kissed her and said, “I’ll be back soon, sweetheart."
Clara was stunned as she watched Lin hurry down the porch steps and
jog away. After a few astonished seconds, she touched her fingertips to her
lips before she turned to a puzzled Ellen Posey and walked with her into the
sheriff’s house.
Lin didn’t slow down until he reached the small corral behind Miguel’s
house and found Copper saddled and ready to chase after the sheriff.
He opened the corral’s gate, slid his Winchester into his scabbard and
was returning the shotgun to Job’s pack when Miguel appeared.
Miguel stepped to the corral fence and said, “I didn’t see the sheriff this
morning. Are you going to pursue him?”
“Yes, sir. I just learned that he headed for Sulphur Springs before dawn.
Have you seen Luke Riddle?”
“No. But you can stop at N&B Livery and ask them.”
Lin mounted and said, “I’ll do that. Thanks again, Miguel,” and then
saluted the liveryman before he walked Copper out of the corral.
Miguel waved and watched Lin ride away hoping he was able to stop the
sheriff from ever setting foot in Cottonwood again. He wasn’t concerned
about Deputy Riddle and was sure that when he learned of his fellow
deputies’ deaths, he’d just vanish into thin air.
During Lin’s brief stop at the N&B Livery, he learned that Deputy
Riddle’s pinto mare had been missing when one of the liverymen arrived
just a few minutes ago.

Lin thanked Burt before setting Copper to a fast trot and leaving
Cottonwood. Not knowing where Riddle was increased the possibility of an
ambush, so Lin would need to be even more alert.
_____

Before they sat on the couch in the parlor, Clara had noticed the large
bruises on Ellen’s arms and hoped that Lin didn’t just arrest the sheriff. She
also felt even guiltier for not helping Ellen.
After they sat down, Ellen asked, “Is he really a U.S. Marshal, Clara?
And did he really kill Steve and Hector?”

“Yes, he is, and yes, he did. He came all the way from San Francisco to
stop them. And by sundown, I’m confident that Cottonwood will be a good
place to live again.”
“Have you known him very long?”

“No. He arrived in Cottonwood just a few days ago.”

Ellen’s eyebrows rose before she asked, “But he kissed you and called
you sweetheart. Is he your beau, too?”

“I was surprised when he kissed me, and I wish he was my beau, but I’m
not sure. He’ll be returning to San Francisco when this is all over and hasn’t
asked me to return with him.”
Before Ellen could ask another question, Clara said, “I was sickened
when I saw the bruising on your arms. Your life must have been nothing
less than a horrible nightmare, and I’m sorry for not helping you.”

Ellen replied, “You weren’t the one who beat me, Clara. And none of
those brave men in town helped, either.”
“That still doesn’t make me blameless. But Lin is the one brave man
who will end your torture.”
 “But what will happen to me after the sheriff is gone?”
Clara smiled, took her hands and replied, “Don’t worry, Ellen. I have no
doubt that Lin will do all he can to give you a good future.”
Ellen quietly asked, “You love him, don’t you?”
Clara sighed before she replied, “More than I thought possible.”
Ellen asked, “But you don’t know if he loves you?”

Clara didn’t answer her question but said, “Tell me what the sheriff did
to you.”
Ellen nodded and began telling her tragic story. It wasn’t long before
both women were dabbing at their eyes with their handkerchiefs.

_____
Lin was approaching the first curve and slowed Copper to a walk as he
scanned the area for potential shooters. He started south and swung his eyes
clockwise past the rocky hill before he looked northwest. Lin hadn’t seen
anything suspicious until he focused to the north and pulled Copper to a
stop.

In the distance, Lin spotted a saddled, riderless horse heading east. When
he noticed the horse’s sharply contrasting white and black coat, he knew it
had to be Luke Riddle’s pinto. So, he turned off the road to pick up the
pinto’s trail. As he wound his way north, Lin hoped the sheriff hadn’t found
his buried deputies and was still riding toward Sulphur Springs.
_____
With each passing mile, Sheriff Johnson was growing more annoyed
with his deputies. He no longer cared where they’d buried Walker and Clara
Foster. He was convinced they had sold Walker’s horse, pack mule and all
of his belongings and had used some of the money to live it up in
Blackjack’s Saloon.
 Sulphur Springs was more than an hour’s ride away, so Ray expected to
spot them as they headed back to Cottonwood. While he would still chew
them out, he’d be sure to demand his share of the booty.
_____
When Ellen finished describing how she’d been abused by the sheriff,
she asked, “Do you really believe there’s no chance he could return?”

Clara replied, “I suppose there’s a tiny possibility that he might, but if he

walks through the door, I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”
“How could you stop him, Clara? You don’t have a gun, and the sheriff
has his in a locked cabinet.”
Clara smiled and said, “I have two guns, Ellen. I have the derringer Lin
gave me in my dress pocket, but I’d probably use my Shopkeeper to stop
him.”
Ellen lowered her eyes but didn’t see either pistol before she said, “I
heard the marshal ask if you had your Shopkeeper but didn’t know what it
was. Now I know it’s a gun but still can’t see it.”
Clara pulled her pants leg above her boots and slid the short-barreled
Colt from her ankle holster.
As she showed it to Ellen, she said, “This pistol fires the same .45
caliber Long Colt as their standard model. All that’s different about it is its
3 ½ inch barrel. So, it still has a lot of punch but loses accuracy after thirty
feet or so.”
Ellen studied the pistol for a few seconds before looking at Clara and
saying, “I’m surprised how much you know a lot about guns.”
“Lin taught me everything about guns. If I’d had one after Hilliard
murdered Fred, he never would have been able to kill James.”
“I wouldn’t believe any other woman who made that claim, but I’ve
always admired you for your bravery, Clara.”
 Clara shook her head before saying, “I wasn’t brave enough to stand up
for you, Ellen. But I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to help you restore
your reputation after Lin rids the town of Sheriff Raymond Johnson.”
Ellen saw the determination in Clara’s brown eyes and knew she
wouldn’t hesitate to shoot that bastard if he walked into the parlor.
_____
Lin picked up the pinto’s trail and turned west but didn’t see any sign of
Luke Riddle. He didn’t spot any vultures overhead either, so Lin imagined
Luke had fallen from his saddle and broke an ankle or twisted a knee.
As he followed the trail, Lin was counting on Clara’s assessment of the
deputy. If he was anything like the sheriff or Hilliard, Lin might be riding
into an ambush.
Ten minutes later, Lin spotted a deep, wide gully and pulled up. It was
beyond effective Winchester range, but Lin suspected that if Riddle had
fallen, he wouldn’t have a long gun. So, he nudged Copper into a walk and
approached the gully.
Lin halted Copper when he was about fifty yards from the gully and
dismounted. He slid his Winchester from its scabbard and slowly walked to
the gully’s edge. After he reached the drop-off, Lin spotted Luke Riddle
lying on the gully’s floor surrounded by large dark patches of dry blood. Lin
grimaced at the sight of his leg before he turned and walked back to Copper.
After sliding his Winchester into his scabbard, he removed his slicker
from behind his saddle and headed back to the gully. When he reached the
edge, Lin sat down and then half slid and half stumbled down the gully’s
wall. He reached the floor, stood and walked to Luke Riddle’s body.
Lin didn’t have time to bury him, so he opened his slicker and stretched
it over Luke’s legs. He hadn’t seen Luke’s badge, so he took a knee next to
the body and searched his pockets. He found a wad of cash in his right
pants pocket, stuffed it into his left pocket and then checked Luke’s left
pocket where he found his deputy sheriff’s badge.

Lin stood, slid it into his pocket with the other two deputies’ badges,
unbuckled his gunbelt and then tugged the slicker over his head. Before he
climbed out of the gully, Lin moved four good-sized rocks onto each corner
of his slicker. It probably wouldn’t delay the scavengers for very long, but
Lin still felt better for having covered the carcass.
Five minutes later, Lin was riding south. When the gully shallowed, he
and Copper cut across it and then angled back toward the roadway. He was
relieved when he didn’t see any riders but expected to meet Sheriff Johnson
soon. It was now a question of where that meeting would take place. He
would have just set up another ambush and waited for the sheriff but didn’t
believe it would work. He suspected Sheriff Johnson would be expecting an
ambush after he discovered that his deputies had never arrived in Sulphur
Springs. But he couldn’t let the sheriff return to Cottonwood, either.
So, as he rode toward the road, Lin began working on the best strategy
for stopping the sheriff.
_____

Just as Lin reached the roadway, Sheriff Johnson spotted Sulphur

Springs without having bumped into Hilliard and Ruiz. While he still
expected to find them in the saloon, he decided to stop at Jackson’s Livery
first. He’d ask Archie Jackson if he’d seen his deputies but knew he might
not have spotted them if they entered town after sunset. Even if Archie
didn’t see them, he would have definitely noticed Walker and Clara Foster.
Besides their outlandish height, Ray knew most men and especially a
liveryman would notice and admire Walker’s tall red gelding. Even he
admitted it was more impressive than his own handsome black horse.
After a couple of minutes, Ray spotted a few riders among the traffic on
Sulphur Spring’s main road, but his deputies weren’t among them. He
nudged Blackie to a faster pace as he focused on the town. He’d check
Jackson’s corral before dismounting and if he saw Walker’s horse among
the others, he’d take it as evidence. Then he’d pay a visit to Blackjack’s
Saloon.

Sheriff Johnson slowed Blackie just before he entered the town and
pulled up next to the livery. It only took Ray a quick glance to realize that
Walker’s horse wasn’t one of the three horses in the corral. So, he stepped
down and walked his gelding to the hitchrail near the barn doors, tied his
reins and then entered the livery.
Archie Jackson turned to see who just entered his barn and almost
dropped his pitchfork when he recognized the sheriff. He didn’t know why
he was here but feared the worst.

Ray stepped close and then asked, “Have you seen any of my deputies in
the last couple of days, Archie?”
The liveryman was relieved but puzzled by the sheriff’s question as he
shook his head and replied, “No, sir. I ain’t seen ‘em.”

Sheriff Johnson grunted before asking, “What about a real tall feller
riding a red gelding. He was ridin’ with a woman and leadin’ a pack mule.”
“I saw a feller ridin’ a real handsome red gelding trailin’ a pack mule a
few days ago, but he didn’t have a lady with him.”
Ray quickly asked, “But you ain’t spotted him lately?”
“Nope. I suppose he coulda rode by after sunset, though.”
The sheriff glared at the liveryman as he snapped, “You ain’t lyin’ to me,
are ya?”
Archie took a step backwards before replying, “I ain’t got no cause to be
lyin’, Sheriff. If I saw ‘em, I woulda told ya.”

Sheriff Johnson was reasonably sure that Archie had told him the truth
but after hearing his terrified denial, Ray was convinced that neither his
deputies nor Walker and Clara had ever reached Sulphur Springs. So,
without saying another word, the sheriff spun on his heels and walked out
of the barn.
After untying Blackie, he mounted but didn’t go anywhere. He just sat in
his saddle and tried to figure out where they had all gone. He knew they
hadn’t returned to Cottonwood,
but where else could they be?
The sheriff still hadn’t come up with a reasonable explanation before he
walked Blackie to the nearby trough and let him drink. When his gelding
was satisfied, he wheeled him around and started back to Cottonwood.
_____
Lin was about a half of a mile from the next curve when he slowed
Copper, left the road and pulled his Winchester. He let Copper choose their
path as he focused on the multitude of ambush sites on the rocky hill. He
hadn’t seen the sheriff’s horse, so he didn’t lever a cartridge into the breech
as he looked for any sign of movement.

He was more than halfway around the long, low hill without having
spotted anything suspicious, so he turned his attention back to the road. He
didn’t see any riders, so he slid his Winchester back into his scabbard and
took Copper’s reins.
A few minutes later, he reached the roadway and wondered how much
longer it would be before he either saw the sheriff or felt a bullet slam into
his chest. Lin could already see the vultures circling high above the boulder
hill and couldn’t imagine the sheriff hadn’t found his deputies’ bodies.
Where was he?
_____
The unseen sheriff was about a mile east of Sulphur Springs asking
himself a similar question. He was about to start scanning for any signs of
an ambush when he finally remembered seeing the buzzards earlier that
morning. But even after the revelation, Sheriff Johnson didn’t believe that
his deputies were attracting the flying scavengers. He assumed some
coyotes had unearthed Walker and Clara’s bodies, and Steve and Hector
must have deserted him. He knew that Hilliard had ambitions to be the big
boss and probably convinced Hector to tag along. His biggest question now
was where they might have gone. He was angry for their betrayal but was
relieved knowing he wouldn’t need to worry about that tall bitch and her
taller boyfriend anymore. He decided to stop at the gravesite on his way
back just to be sure the vultures weren’t there just to finish off a dead
coyote or wolf.

_____
Lin was close to the boulder hill before he pulled up and watched two of
the braver buzzards drop down and disappear into the gully. Just seconds
later they climbed back into the sky after grabbing a quick bite before the
coyotes could add them to their lunch menu. And as the boulder hill was
such an ideal ambush site, Lin decided to leave the road and keep at least
two-hundred-yard gap as he circled around the hill.
Lin entered the rough terrain and kept his eyes trained mostly on the
boulder hill to maintain a safe distance but included quick glances to the
west in case the sheriff suddenly appeared on the road.
After he passed the western edge of the hill, Lin steered Copper back to
the road and after finding the highway still clear, he headed back to the
boulder bump.
Lin took one last look to the west before he started up the hill and
disappeared into the boulder-less alley. When he reached the low summit,
he dismounted and tied Copper’s reins to the same small tree he’d used
when he set up his ambush for Hilliard and Ruiz.
He took down one of his two large canteens and unscrewed the cap.
After drinking more than a pint, he removed his hat, turned it over and
dumped the rest into its crown. He smiled as Copper gratefully accepted his
liquid offer and then pulled it back on. The evaporating water was cooling
his head as he hung the empty canteen on his saddle and then slid his
Winchester from its scabbard.
 Because Lin wasn’t sure of the sheriff’s location, he hadn’t intended to
set up another ambush. Before he walked to the graves, he wanted to take
another peek at the roadway. But unlike the nice gaps that faced east, the
boulders on the other side formed a solid wall. He was about to descend the
hill and check the road when he reached level ground but decided to take
advantage of the added height. So, he hopped on a low boulder and climbed
two more before the western horizon came into view.
The road was still clear of traffic, but Lin didn’t climb back down.
Instead, he took a seat, laid his repeater on his lap and removed his hat
before he wiped the sweat off his forehead with his shirt sleeve.
He was about to tug his hat back on when he smiled and said, “You
didn’t wear a hat until I gave you that porkpie to cover your wounds, Clara.
And now I can confess that you definitely looked better when you were
bareheaded. Maybe I’ll go hatless as punishment for my white lie.”
Lin laughed, set his hat on a neighboring boulder and enjoyed the view
while he tried to figure out the most effective way to confront the sheriff
and avoid being shot.
_____
Sheriff Johnson was less than three miles away, but the rugged terrain
prevented him from spotting Lin. Like most dishonest men, he trusted no
one, especially those who shared his same poor character. So, after
believing that Hilliard and Ruiz had deserted him, he wondered if they’d
checked Walker’s pockets before they buried him. He’d heard the writer
kept a serious amount of cash with him and hoped they hadn’t discovered
Walker’s stuffed wallet.
Ray knew he’d see those ugly black birds in the sky in a few minutes
and decided to check Walker’s body. If he found Walker’s wallet bulging
with greenbacks, he’d get the last laugh on Hilliard and Ruiz. His surge of
greed made him push his gelding to a faster pace.
 As he approached the last turn before the boulder hill, Sheriff Johnson
had yet to give a single thought to the possibility that the vultures might be
feasting on his deputies.
_____
Lin had just decided to continue his ride to Sulphur Springs when a rider
popped into view, and Lin immediately assumed he was Sheriff Johnson.
But he didn’t hurry down from the boulder knowing sudden movement
attracts attention. So, he pushed his hat off its rocky perch and then very
slowly slid from his boulder while focusing on the rider.
It took Lin more than a minute to reach cover and retrieve his hat, but
now he faced moral and tactical dilemmas. A successful ambush required
the target to be unaware of the shooter, but Lin couldn’t believe the sheriff
didn’t expect an ambush. Even if he hadn’t discovered the bodies, he would
have learned that neither of his deputies had reached Sulphur Springs.
But even in the slim chance that he wasn’t suspicious, and Lin could
surprise him, his ambush site created its own problems. The sheriff would
never be closer than two hundred yards from his high boulder perch, and
even though it was well within range of his Winchester, Lin knew it didn’t
matter. As soon as he appeared, the sheriff wouldn’t even give Lin a chance
to warn him before he bolted. Then he’d disappear behind the taller
boulders in just a couple of seconds and would have the advantage.
But he couldn’t shoot him without warning and that was the moral issue.
Lin didn’t have much time to deal with either dilemma, so he slid down
from the boulders and soon reached Copper. He untied his reins, mounted
and then turned him toward the road. As Copper slowly descended, Lin
levered a cartridge into his Winchester’s firing chamber and then pulled his
red gelding to a stop before reaching flat ground.
He patted Copper on his neck and said, “I’m going to depend on you
more than I ever have before, my friend. I promise to do my damndest to
keep either of us from getting shot, too.”
 Lin listened for hoofbeats as he sat in his saddle holding his Winchester
at the ready. The sun was almost directly overhead and there wasn’t a wisp
of wind to combat the sun’s blazing assault. Lin’s shirt was soaked with
perspiration, but he didn’t give in to the urge to wipe the sweat from his
brow. It was his inherited patience that allowed him to calmly wait for what
would most likely be a fatal confrontation.
_____
Sheriff Ray Johnson was focused on the vultures as he approached the
boulder-covered hill. He was still angry about his deputies’ desertion but
was already thinking of hiring their replacements. He had three candidates
in mind and one of them was even more vicious than Steve Hilliard. Ray
couldn’t depend on Luke Riddle to do the nasty work, so the first job he’d
give to Cracker John Smith would be to fire Luke…with his Colt.
After selecting his new deputies, the sheriff continued riding and soon
noticed that the vultures were at least two hundred yards south of the road.
In his anxiety to find Walker’s body, Ray decided to leave the road before
reaching the hill.
_____
Despite Lin’s calm demeanor, Copper seemed to sense the tension and
began to paw the ground. Lin normally would have calmed his equine
friend by stroking his neck and talking to him, but he needed to listen as he
expected to hear hoofbeats at any moment. He only hoped Copper wouldn’t
initiate the gunfight by leaving their granite cover.
Lin was still waiting when Sheriff Johnson left the road and angled
Blackie to the southeast, directly towards the landing spot for some of the
vultures.
So, while United States Marshal Lincoln Abraham Walker waited,
Sheriff Raymond Udall Johnson, who had no idea that Lin was even alive,
much less a U.S. Marshal, was unwittingly shattering Lin’s plan.
_____
 As Lin sat on Copper waiting for Sheriff Johnson to arrive and the
sheriff rode Blackie towards the back of the boulder hill, a pinto mare
walked into N&B Livery.

Burt Hotchkiss was mucking out the back stall and was surprised when
he spotted the pinto. He leaned his flat rake against the wall and then
quickly walked to Mabel as she dipped her muzzle into the trough.
The liveryman shouted, “Hey, Nate! Come out here!”

Nate Smith stepped out of the back room and noticed Burt standing near
Luke’s mare but didn’t know why his partner seemed so excited. He
wondered if it had something to do with that U.S. Marshal Burt had talked
to earlier.
Nate asked, “What’s got you all in a dither, Burt?”
“She just walked in on her own, pretty as you please.”
Nate looked at the open doors before asking, “Do you reckon it’s got
somethin’ to do with that U.S. Marshal who was askin’ about him?”
“Maybe. I was really surprised he was a marshal, too. I heard he was a
book writer.”
“Me, too. There’s sure a lotta queer things goin’ on since he got here,
too.”
Burt asked, “What do you reckon we oughta do?”
Nate shrugged before replying, “One of us can take care of Mabel while
the other one goes to the jail to tell the sheriff.”
Burt nodded as he said, “I reckon it’s better if you tell the sheriff. Just
don’t tell him that I told the marshal about Luke.”
Nate replied, “I ain’t about to. He’s probably already spittin’ nails ‘cause
Hilliard and Ruiz ain’t back yet.”
 As Nate turned to leave, Burt said, “I wish those two bastards never set
foot in this town again.”

Nate said, “You and just about every other regular person in
Cottonwood,” and then began walking out of the barn.
_____
A few blocks away, Clara couldn’t help but notice how nervous Ellen
had become. She hadn’t spoken for more than ten minutes and probably
hadn’t heard a word of what Clara had said. She was just staring at the door
and wringing her hands.
So, Clara added a little more volume when she asked, “Would you rather
we waited in my apartment above the newspaper office?”

Ellen snapped out of her daze, looked at Clara and asked, “Do you think
we’ll be safer there?”
“Much safer. We’d be able to see anyone entering Center Street through
the windows and even if the sheriff manages to reach town, he wouldn’t
look for us there. But if he decided to come her, I’d stop him before he even
set foot on the second floor.”
Ellen hopped to her feet and said, “Let me get my hat.”
Clara watched Ellen hurry away and slid her Shopkeeper into the ankle
holster before she stood and picked up her porkpie hat. As she held the hat
in her hands, Clara smiled and hoped to be reunited soon with the incredible
man who’d given it to her.
When Ellen returned wearing her plain, gray bonnet, Clara tugged her
hat on before the two women walked to the foyer and soon left the sheriff’s
house.
As they walked along Carson Street under the harsh mid-day sun, Clara
noticed that Ellen had her head down to avoid making eye contact with
onlookers.
 Clara said, “You have no reason to be ashamed for what the sheriff did to
you, Ellen. You should be furious and let everyone see it. Let them be the
ones who feel shame and guilt.”
Ellen quietly replied, “I’m not like you, Clara.”
Clara snapped, “I may be a lot taller than you are, but I’m still a woman.
You can choose to accept your subservient role or decide to stand up for
yourself as I have.”
Ellen slowly brought her head level, looked at Clara and said, “I’ll try,
but I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it.”
They reached Center Street and stepped onto the boardwalk before Clara
reached into her right pants pocket and pulled out her Remington derringer
before saying, “This is the derringer Lin gave me when I felt defenseless.
Now I want you to have it to give you more control over your life.”
Ellen took the small pistol, dropped it into her dress pocket and then
asked, “Can you show me how to use it, Clara?”
Clara was surprised by her question, but smiled as she replied, “Of
course, I can. I’ll teach you while we’re having lunch and watching Center
Street.”
As they strode along the boardwalk, Clara noticed a marked change in
Ellen’s bearing and hoped it was permanent.
Before they reached the newspaper office, Nate Smith spotted the two
women and was surprised when he recognized Ellen Posey walking beside
Clara Foster. He couldn’t imagine Sheriff Johnson letting Ellen leave the
house, much less associate with Clara. He took one last, confirming glance
before he crossed the street. The day was getting stranger by the minute.
But when he reached the jail, he was surprised again to find the front
door still locked.
What the hell was going on?
 Nate turned around but didn’t step into the street. He looked toward the
newspaper office and continued watching until the women entered. He may
only be a liveryman, but that didn’t mean he was dimwitted.
Nate knew Walker had stayed with Mrs. Foster before they rode out of
town together. Now that he knew Walker was a U.S. Marshal, he dismissed
the rumors that he was sparking Clara. He must have arrived in response to
that telegram she’d sent to Prescott. That would account for the sheriff
sending Hilliard and Ruiz after them, too.
But both the deputies were still missing and so was Luke Riddle. He
suspected that the marshal had killed all three deputies but had no idea
where the sheriff was. His curiosity drove him to turn right and head to the
newspaper office hoping the women would solve the mystery.
_____
Copper was growing more fidgety, so Lin leaned back in his saddle to
tell his red friend it was okay to take a few steps away from the road. When
Copper had moved another twenty feet up the hill, Lin leaned forward
again. Copper took another three steps before he stopped but Lin felt
uncomfortable with the new location. It would allow the sheriff to get closer
and might reduce his chance of catching him by surprise.
He was about to have his tall horse move forward to his original position
when he experienced his own surprise.
Lin was startled when he heard a distant voice behind him loudly say, “I
ain’t gonna miss those two, Blackie. I just hope they didn’t find that tall
bastard’s money.”
Lin froze and tried to get a grasp on the unexpected situation. He
assumed that Sheriff Johnson was the speaker and realized he should have
anticipated that the sheriff would avoid ambush sites just as he had. But he
seemed to believe that he’d find Lin’s body buried in the gully,
so why
would he be concerned about an ambush?
 Lin didn’t waste any time trying to understand the sheriff’s reasoning
and quickly dismounted. He patted Copper’s neck, took off his hat and hung
it on his saddle horn before he turned and slowly began climbing the hill.
Before Lin could see over the crest of the hill, Sheriff Johnson passed the
gap between the boulders without giving it a glance. He focused on the
descending buzzards as he walked his black gelding closer to the gully. Just
before he pulled up, Ray slid his Winchester ’76 from his scabbard and
levered a .45-60 centerfire cartridge into the chamber. He wasn’t going to
search Walker’s body with those beaked scavengers nearby.
He dismounted and let his reins drop before he stepped to the gully’s lip
and looked down. There were so many buzzards devouring the remains that
Ray couldn’t even see Walker or Clara’s bodies.

The sheriff snarled, “You ugly bastards,” and aimed at one of the ugly
black birds.
Lin had his first look past the hill’s summit but didn’t see the sheriff, so
he continued ascending and hoped he didn’t find him with a rifle aimed in
his direction. He could have loudly spoken just to draw Lin into the open.

Lin had just reached the top of the hill when he was startled by the sharp
crack from a nearby rifle and immediately stopped moving. He may have
discovered the sheriff’s general location, but still needed to exercise the
utmost caution in his approach. Even though he hadn’t seen a ricochet, Lin
had to assume it was another attempt by the sheriff to make him expose
himself.
As Lin began his slow descent, Sheriff Johnson watched the buzzards
spread their long wings and flap into the sky leaving their dead feathered
friend on the gully floor. He levered in a fresh round and then slid down the
gully wall to search Walker’s body.

Lin was continuing his leery, gradual descent when the sheriff reached
the bottom of the gully, popped to his feet and kicked the dead vulture aside
before setting his eyes on what remained of the uncovered bodies.
 It took the sheriff almost ten seconds to realize that he was staring at
Steve Hilliard’s skinless face and another four seconds before he bellowed,
“You bastard! I don’t know how you done it, but when I find ya, I’ll give
your carcass to the buzzards!”
Lin was stunned when he heard Sheriff Johnson’s loud reaction but
didn’t hesitate to take advantage of the situation. He hurried down the hill
and when he reached flat ground, Lin spotted the sheriff’s tall black gelding
standing near the gully. It was almost two hundred yards away, but he knew
the sheriff would soon be climbing out of the gully, so he began running
toward the horse.
The sheriff’s immense fury prevented him from wondering how the
writer had managed to surprise and kill both of his deputies or where he and
Mrs. Foster had gone after ambushing Hilliard and Ruiz. He only wanted to
return to Cottonwood and hire his three new deputies before hunting down
those two murderers and filling them with lead.
Lin was just fifty yards away when he stopped, dropped to the ground
and assumed a prone shooting position. He was catching his breath as he set
his sights on the gully rim where he’d buried Hilliard and Ruiz. It took him
just fifteen seconds to recover from the sprint as he waited for the sheriff to
show himself.
Sheriff Johnson was still furious as he started to climb the gully wall but
didn’t want to get his Winchester covered in dirt, so he released the hammer
and then put it behind his back and slid the barrel beneath his pants waist
band. When the Winchester’s lever touched his gunbelt, he twisted the
repeater to keep it from sliding any further and began to awkwardly crawl
up the side of the gully with the carbine’s muzzle poking at his calf.

With his tactical issues resolved, Lin now only faced his moral dilemma.
He could fire as soon as he saw the sheriff’s head but knew he wouldn’t.
And he’d never even get the opportunity to identify himself as a United
States Marshal, either. As soon as the sheriff spotted him with a Winchester,
he’d just slide back down the gully. Then it would turn into a game of cat
and mouse.

He was thinking about rolling a few feet to his left to use the sheriff’s
horse as a shield when the sheriff’s hat popped into view. Lin swung his
front sight two inches to his left just as Sheriff Johnson’s face appeared.
Ray spotted Blackie where he’d left him and almost missed Lin as he lay
flat on the ground fifty yards away. But when he spotted a shooter with a
rifle aimed at his nose, he didn’t care who he was. He just let gravity pull
him back down into the protective gully.

Lin cursed himself before he scrambled to his feet. He didn’t think the
sheriff would even take a peek for at least another ten or fifteen seconds but
wasn’t about to look over the edge to find out where he was going. So, he
took advantage of the delay and jogged to the left side of the sheriff’s horse.
When he reached the gelding, he lifted his Winchester’s muzzle until it
pointed at the sun and took the horse’s reins.
Lin quickly mounted the black gelding and felt like a jockey with the
short stirrups before he acted as if he really was a jockey and raced the
sheriff’s horse back to the boulder hill.

When he’d reached the gully floor, Sheriff Johnson yanked his
Winchester from his waist and then ran east down the arroyo. He quickly
passed his deputies’ bodies as he wanted to put as much distance between
himself and the shooter. He sprinted for almost thirty seconds before his
lungs demanded he slow down. He was gasping for air as he looked back to
see if the shooter had followed him but didn’t see any sign of him. But not
seeing him was much worse, so he began looking for a boulder or even a
cactus to hide behind.
Ray almost laughed when he spotted a deep gouge in the gully’s western
wall about forty yards away. He moved as fast as he could, but his huffing
prevented him from hearing Lin riding away on Blackie. When he reached
the almost-cave, Sheriff Johnson stopped and watched the rim of the gully
as he backed into his protective cover. After he felt safe within its shadows,
he caught his breath and cocked his Winchester’s hammer. It was only when
his mind calmed that he realized that Walker was the shooter.

Ray mumbled, “Son of a bitch! How the hell did he get behind me?”
He may not have gained any respect for Lin’s prowess with firearms, but
he wasn’t about to stick his head out from his dirt sanctuary, either. He
believed the writer would stupidly walk along the rim of the canyon
searching for him. Then Ray would give him a .45 caliber lesson to teach
him he should have stuck to just writing about gunfights.

_____
Lin dismounted and tied Blackie’s reins to the tiny tree before walking
down the hill to retrieve Copper. Now he had all the advantages. The
sheriff’s horse had his two canteens, and it was around eight miles to
Cottonwood with at least six more hours of afternoon heat before sunset. He
had plenty of time to figure out how to make the best use of those
advantages but still wanted to end the situation before mid-afternoon.
After reaching Copper, he took his reins, said, “Let me introduce you to
Blackie. He’s almost as tall as you are but you are much handsomer and
stronger,” and then led him back up the hill.
_____

Clara and Ellen had just reached the second floor when they heard
someone knocking on the front door.
Ellen quickly asked, “Is that the sheriff?”
Clara shook her head as she replied, “It can’t be. But I want you to stay
here while I’ll go downstairs to find out who it is.”
“Okay.”
Clara smiled to show her lack of concern before heading back down the
stairs. She knew Lin wouldn’t knock and was sure that the sheriff wasn’t
standing on the other side of the door. Her best guess was that she’d soon be
face to face with Luke Riddle.

Clara quickly crossed the office floor and just before she reached the
door, she heard three more loud knocks which confirmed her suspicion that
Deputy Riddle had spotted her with Ellen and wanted to know why Ellen
had left the sheriff’s house.
So, when she opened the door, she was surprised to see Nate Smith
looking back at her.
Before she could ask him what he wanted, Nate said, “Howdy, ma’am.
Mind if I come in? Things are gettin’ queer around here and I was hopin’
that you and Miss Posey could help me figger it all out.”
Clara was relieved but puzzled why the liveryman was the first one to
ask about the fast-moving situation.
She quickly said, “Of course, you can come in. After all, it’s just a
business.”
After Nate entered, he took off his hat and held it in both of his hands as
he waited for Clara to close the door.

Solely for Ellen’s benefit, Clara loudly said, “Ellen is resting upstairs
after all the excitement, Mister Smith,” before she started walking to the
desk.
She sat down and pointed to the other chair before asking, “How can I
help you, Mister Smith?”

“Well, ma’am it all kinda started when Deputy Hilliard and Ruiz rode
outta town yesterday mornin’. I figgered the sheriff wanted ‘em to follow
you and Mister Walker, and probably for no good reason.
“Then Mister Walker showed up early this mornin’ and asked Burt for
the whereabouts of Deputy Riddle. He was wearin’ a badge and told Burt
he was a U.S. Marshal but didn’t explain why he wanted to know about
Luke. Then a little while ago, Luke’s pinto mare came strollin’ into the barn
wearin’ a full set of tack but without Deputy Riddle.”
Clara had answers for all of Nate’s mysteries except the solo arrival of
Luke’s horse. So, she began her explanation by verifying that Lin was a
United States Marshal who had come to investigate her complaint about the
sheriff and his deputies.
Nate listened closely as the pieces began to fit into the puzzle. It wasn’t
long before he began to hope that Burt’s wish that Sheriff Johnson never
returned to Cottonwood might come true.

But even as she enlightened the liveryman, Clara failed to realize that the
story soon might reach Mayor Bradley’s ears.
_____
Lin took a few swallows from his second canteen and after hanging it
back on his saddle, he took one of the sheriff’s canteens and used his hat as
a trough for Blackie. After the black gelding finished drinking, he dumped
the rest of canteen’s water into his soggy hat for Copper. He soon restored
his hat to its original purpose and tugged it back onto his head before
returning the empty canteen to the sheriff’s saddle.
Before he mounted Copper, he lengthened Blackie’s stirrups then patted
the black gelding on his neck and said, “The sheriff gave you a bad
moniker, mister. At least now I don’t feel so bad about naming my red
friend Copper.”

Lin untied Blackie’s reins and knotted them to Copper’s saddle before he
mounted. He thought about turning back to the road but decided to head to
the gully. He’d let the sheriff know he was a United States Marshal but
didn’t expect him to give away his location by replying. But just
announcing his authority and jurisdiction would end his moral qualms. So,
if he saw the sheriff with a gun in his hand, Lin wouldn’t hesitate to fire.
 As he walked Copper down the hill, Lin believed the only way he could
avoid shooting Sheriff Johnson would be if the sheriff was close to dying of
heat and thirst. His lack of water and Arizona’s oppressive heat were now
his allies and probably his best weapons.

Besides his reluctance to shoot anyone, even the lowlife men who were
intent on killing him, Lin had another reason for wanting to avoid shooting
Sheriff Johnson. With Luke Riddle’s accidental death, the sheriff was the
only one who could provide the evidence he would need to arrest the
mayor. Lin doubted if the sheriff knew about Riddle, so if Johnson tried to
test his stamina, Lin planned to use his ignorance as another weapon to pry
him out of the gully. Now he needed to have a nice chat with Sheriff
Johnson.
Lin turned Copper east as soon as he left the hill and planned to stay
least a hundred yards away from the gully. While it was possible that the
sheriff had run west after he disappeared into the ravine, he believed it was
much more likely Sheriff Johnson headed east toward Cottonwood. But if
he did decide to make his escape west toward Sulphur Springs, it wouldn’t
matter much.

He watched two vultures drop into the arroyo near the spot where the
sheriff had appeared but kept Copper walking. Lin didn’t know if Sheriff
Johnson was still moving, but believed he probably was holed up hoping to
get a clear shot.
After another minute or so, Lin turned Copper toward the gully, pulled
him to a stop and then slid his Winchester from his scabbard and cocked the
hammer.
Lin shouted, “I’m a United States Marshal, Ray. I came to investigate
Clara’s claim that her husbands had been murdered by a sworn law officer.
It didn’t take long to confirm her accusation and recognize the fear you and
your deputies had instilled in the good folks of Cottonwood.
“I assume that you just found the bodies of two of your thuggish
deputies. I gave Hilliard and Ruiz a chance to surrender, but they tried to
shoot their way out. Now I’ll give you the same chance. If you throw your
Winchester and pistol out of the gully, I won’t shoot you. I’ll wait for a
couple of minutes, but if I don’t see your weapons fly out of the gully by
then, I’ll head back to Cottonwood. I’ll be taking your horse with me, and
he has all of your water.”
Sheriff Johnson had been startled when he heard the writer claim to be a
U.S. Marshal, but hoped he’d continue talking. The longer he spoke, the
better fix Ray would get on the tall bastard’s location. And he wasn’t about
to shout back and give away his position.
Lin would have been shocked if the sheriff had replied, so after thirty
seconds of silence, he yelled, “I’ll bet it’s over a hundred degrees already
and the hottest part of the day is yet to come. How long do you think you
can hold out? After I leave, you’ll have at least eight miles to walk, but
without water, you know you’ll never make it. When you get desperate, you
could always eat that dead vulture. It’s your choice, Mister Johnson. But
you only have another ninety seconds to decide.”
Ray’s tongue felt as if it was made of granite when he slid it across his
dry upper lip. He hadn’t needed Walker to tell him how desperate his
situation was. His only chance to survive was to shoot him before he rode
away with Blackie. He had located Walker’s position, but that had presented
another problem. Walker was sitting on that big red horse of his directly in
front of his hole-in-the-wall. If he showed his face, he’d never get a shot
off.
Ray felt the clock ticking as he burst out of his sanctuary and trotted
back toward the vultures. When he felt he’d given himself a decent chance
of shooting Walker, he stopped and faced the gully wall. Now he faced the
same issue he had the last time he’d tried to crawl out of the ravine. He had
to keep his Winchester clean, but this time, he had to be ready to fire as
soon as he reached the top of the gully.
As the sheriff tried to solve his Winchester problem, his two-minute
warning expired. Lin didn’t realize the sheriff had moved, but he hadn’t
expected to see his Winchester and a gunbelt fly out of the gully, either. So,
as the sheriff began his slow climb using just his two feet and his left hand,
Lin released his Winchester’s hammer, slid it home, and then started Copper
walking toward the road. He didn’t look back even though he knew he
could be within range of the sheriff’s Winchester.

Sheriff Johnson’s sweat was dripping across his brow as he approached

the rim of the gully. He knew that if he missed this shot, he wouldn’t be
able to replace the water he was losing.
He knew he couldn’t afford to waste time by taking a peek, either. So,
when he reached the top, he threw his left elbow over the edge and dropped
his Winchester’s forearm into his left hand and aimed it where he expected
to find Walker. He was sickened when he found Walker more than four
hundred yards away and leading Blackie back to Cottonwood.

Sheriff Johnson was out of options, so he raised his Winchester’s muzzle

a few inches and pulled his trigger. It was a desperation shot but he still
hoped it found a home in Walker’s back.
Lin wasn’t startled when the Winchester’s report echoed across the
baking ground. What did surprise him was when the expended slug buried
itself in the dirt just three or four yards ahead of him and two yards to his
right. But the near miss didn’t affect his decision. He just kept riding and
didn’t look back.

When Ray realized he’d missed, he hoped Walker would be infuriated

and return to kill him. But Walker kept riding away, and the sheriff knew
another shot would just be a waste of ammunition.
He crawled out of the gully and then began walking back to
Cottonwood. It was his only chance to stay alive.

_____
After Nate Smith left the office, Clara hurried up the stairs to tell Ellen
what she might have missed. When she reached the second floor, she found
Ellen sitting at the table anxiously looking at her.

When Clara sat down, Ellen quickly asked, “What did Nate Smith
want?”
“You didn’t hear anything?”

“Just that you told him I was resting upstairs.”

Clara said, “He hoped we could explain what he called ‘queer
happenings’ in Cottonwood. I could clarify all of them except for the last
one. I first confirmed that Lin was a U.S Marshal and came to Cottonwood
because of my telegram. Then I told him about Hilliard and Ruiz and that
Lin was searching for Sheriff Johnson.”
“What was the last one you couldn’t explain?”
“Nate was in his barn when Riddle’s horse walked in without Luke. He
was still saddled, but they don’t have a clue about Riddle’s whereabouts.”
“Do you think Lin shot him?”
“No, I don’t. If he had, he wouldn’t have just sent the horse back on his
own. We’ll just have to wait for Lin to return to find out.”

“When do you think he’ll be back?”

“It could be within an hour or not until tomorrow, but I’m sure he’ll be
the one to ride into Cottonwood. It’s just a question of whether he’ll be
returning with the sheriff sitting in his saddle or draped over it.”
Ellen gritted her teeth and said, “If that bastard is dead, I hope he
suffered long enough to understand what it feels like.”
Clara could understand Ellen’s vehemence as she said, “Whatever
happens, you’ll be free of that son of a bitch.”

Ellen sighed and then said, “I hope so. But with my reputation, I don’t
think I’ll ever find a good man. You must know how lucky you are to have
Lin.”
 “I’m not sure I have him, Ellen. He hasn’t told me what he plans to do
after peace is restored to Cottonwood.”

“Why don’t you ask him?”

Clara quietly replied, “I’m terrified he might not give me the answer I
want to hear.”

“I didn’t think you were afraid of anything, Clara.”

Clara looked into Ellen’s eyes before saying, “Only this,” and then stood
and walked to the cookstove to build a fire.

_____
Lin had been riding for around three minutes when he decided it was
time to turn around and have another conversation with the sheriff. After
making the U-turn, he was surprised to spot Sheriff Johnson walking on
level ground more than a thousand yards away. He was stumbling along
with his Winchester leaning over his shoulder looking much like a wounded
soldier returning to camp after losing a day-long battle.

As Lin headed back, he realized that Sheriff Johnson was in worse shape
than he’d expected. He suspected the sheriff hadn’t had anything to drink
since leaving Sulphur Springs and might not even make it another mile.
Despite the sheriff’s sad condition, Lin wasn’t about to make himself a
target. He even thought about switching to Blackie to protect Copper before
he pulled his Winchester and cocked the hammer.
Sheriff Johnson hadn’t seen Lin turn around as he was focused on the
patch of ground just a few feet in front of him. His felt as if he was stepping
across hot coals in bare feet as he plodded along. The ground was
shimmering as he tried to avoid tripping, so he didn’t even realize he was
adding more unnecessary, tortured steps by weaving back and forth.

Ray realized he’d never make it even halfway to Cottonwood and

thought about laying down and waiting for the sun to set. So, he stopped
walking and lifted his Winchester from his shoulder. Then he took one last
look ahead and thought he was seeing a mirage. Walker was heading
towards him but had a ghostlike appearance and seemed to be floating on
the shimmering air. He wiped his eyes with his left shirtsleeve and took
another long look. After Ray realized Walker wasn’t a mirage, he was sure
the writer had decided to take advantage of his weakened state and was
returning to kill him.
The sheriff wanted to let the bastard get closer before he surprised him
with his first shot, but those damned heat waves were making it difficult for
him to judge distance. He was still clear-headed enough to realize he would
make a much better target if he remained on his feet. So, he dropped to his
knees as if he was exhausted, which was hardly a pretense. Then he flopped
onto his chest and knocked off his hat in the process. He had his left arm
extended with his Winchester’s forearm resting in his hand before he laid
his head on the dirt. He was able to face in Walker’s direction before he
closed his eyes to prevent sun blindness and waited for the writer to draw
closer.
When the sheriff fell to his knees, Lin fell for his ploy until he realized
that Ray had collapsed into an almost perfect prone firing position. Lin
estimated he was about four hundred yards from Sheriff Johnson but
believed he was already within range of the sheriff’s Winchester.

After seeing his last bullet strike the earth around five hundred yards
from where it had been fired, Lin suspected he was using the ’76 model of
the repeater. His ’86 wouldn’t have ended its travel for another two hundred
yards. So, he had to be ready the moment he saw the sheriff’s Winchester
’76 move.
Ray’s biggest fear now was that he might fall asleep, so he pictured the
horrific sight of Steve Hilliard’s face and let his anger keep that from
happening. That image also made him even more determined to shoot that
tall bastard. And after he knocked him out of his saddle, Ray would empty
his Winchester into his face as payback.
 The sheriff opened his right eyelids just enough to check on Walker’s
position. He still had difficulty estimating the range but had expected him to
be closer by now. Those same annoying heat waves that distorted his vision
also prevented him from noticing Lin had his repeater in his hands.
As Copper carried him nearer to the sheriff, Lin began making mental
adjustments to his shot. There was no wind to cause drift, so he only needed
to estimate the drop. The temperature was well over a hundred and the
altitude was more than five thousand feet above sea level, so he’d set his
sights around two feet above the sheriff. In another hundred yards, his bullet
would drop about a foot, but he doubted he’d get any closer.
Lin passed the three-hundred-yard mark without seeing the sheriff twitch
and began to wonder if he’d been wrong and the sheriff really had passed
out. But with the sheriff’s Winchester still pointed in his direction, he
wasn’t about to release his repeater’s hammer. He did take the precaution of
angling Copper to his right until Sheriff Johnson’s muzzle was no longer a
tiny black speck.

Ray hadn’t noticed Lin’s slight shift but had a much better idea of the
range. He thought about waiting for a few more seconds when he spotted
the rifle in Walker’s hands and realized he was out of time.
He took a deep breath before he opened both eyes and quickly rolled his
Winchester into a firing position. As soon as he looked down his sights, he
realized he had to aim more to his left.

Lin had brought his ’86 into firing position as soon as Sheriff Johnson
had begun to move. He leaned back to stop Copper and set his sights on the
sheriff’s behind. He then placed his right index fingertip on his trigger but
waited until he saw the sheriff beginning to adjust his aim. He still took his
time squeezing his trigger until the butt slammed into his shoulder when his
bullet spun down the barrel and exploded from the muzzle.
Ray was about to pull his trigger when Lin’s .45 drilled into the right
side of his back, just below his ribs. The aerodynamic projectile drilled
through his liver, severing his hepatic artery before it created a huge exit
wound and finally ended its travel two inches below the Arizona dirt.

The devastating impact caused Ray to convulse in shock which ruined

his aim before his trigger finger jerked back firing his Winchester. He felt
the sickening warmth of his blood flowing onto the hot ground and knew it
was pointless to try to staunch its flow. He just rolled onto his back, closed
his eyes and waited for death to claim him.
Immediately after firing, Lin knew he’d hit his target, so he slipped his
Winchester into its scabbard and set Copper to a fast trot toward the sheriff.

When he was close, he quickly dismounted, trotted to where Sheriff

Johnson laid on his back and took a knee. The sheriff was still breathing,
but Lin knew he wouldn’t live much longer.
He looked at the dying man’s face and said, “You’re going to die in a
few seconds, Ray. I’m not going to ask God to forgive you because I hope
you spend eternity in a place much hotter than Arizona Territory. But before
you leave this earthly plane, I want to tell you that your biggest mistake
wasn’t any of those you made today. It was when you underestimated
Clara.”

Lin watched the sheriff for another thirty-six seconds before he gasped
and stopped breathing. Before he stood, Lin ripped the badge from the
sheriff’s body and added it to his deputies’ three badges in his left pocket.
He picked up Johnson’s Winchester, verified it was a ’76 and then carried it
to Blackie and returned it to its scabbard.
He led Copper and Blackie closer to the body, let his reins drop and then
removed the sheriff’s bedroll and stretched it over his saddle to keep the
leather from getting stained with blood.

He finally stepped to the sheriff’s corpse took hold of his shirt at the
shoulders and dragged it close to Blackie. After lifting it onto the bedroll,
he tied it down with the sheriff’s rope before mounting Copper. Before he
started back to Cottonwood, Lin took his canteen, unscrewed the cap and
guzzled the last of its water.
He hung the empty canteen on its hook, patted Copper’s neck and said,
“I’ll let you and Blackie drink all you want when we get back.”
As he turned around and headed for the roadway, Lin knew he still had a
lot of work to do. He wasn’t sure what he could do about the mayor, but
he’d have to stay in town until he was satisfied the folks had a dependable
sheriff and reliable deputies. And then there was Clara.
 CHAPTER 7
Clara and Ellen were sharing a late lunch when Ellen asked, “Do you
really think Lin can find a way to help me? I feel as if the whole town will
blame be for what the sheriff and his deputies did.”
“They won’t blame you, Ellen. But I imagine you’ll be almost a pariah if
you stayed in Cottonwood.”
“I don’t have any money, Clara. How can I leave town?”

“I don’t know. But you have to trust me that Lin won’t leave without
finding an answer.”
Ellen held her empty fork in her hand as she asked, “Can I come with
you and Lin when you go to San Francisco?”

Clara hesitated before replying, “I’m not sure I’ll be returning with him,
Ellen. But if he does ask me, I believe he’d be more than willing to have
you join us.”
Ellen smiled and said, “I saw how he looked at you before he gave you
that kiss and I’m sure he’ll ask you to marry him.”
Clara smiled, said, “I hope so,” but still had a nagging feeling that she
and Lin would never share another kiss. She refused to believe that her
lifelong bad fortune would suddenly change.
_____
Mayor Solomon Oliver Bradley walked out of his private office to ask
Claude Harrison about a possible discrepancy in the Jacobs paperwork.
But just after entering the lobby, he stopped when he heard one of the
customers say, “That’s what Nate said. He says that Walker feller is really a
U.S. Marshal. He told me the marshal shot it out with Hilliard and Ruiz and
killed ‘em both. That bastard sheriff of ours went lookin’ for ‘em this
mornin’ and Mrs. Foster told Nate the marshal probably got him, too. But
the strangest thing was when Riddle’s pinto came wanderin’ into Nate’s
livery on his own.”

The mayor’s stomach twisted into a knot and hoped it was all just
wishful thinking as he listened to Jack Trotter ask, “Are you sure Nate
wasn’t just tellin’ a tall tale, Bill?”
Bill Jones shook his head as he replied, “I’m sure. After he told me, I
headed down to the jail and it was still locked up. So, I paid a visit to
Miguel’s Livery ‘cause I figgered Walker would have said somethin’ to
him. He told me Walker was a U.S. Marshal, and he had Hilliard’s and
Ruiz’ horses in his corral.”

Jack grinned and said, “So, maybe by the end of the day, we’ll be rid of
the whole bunch.”
Bill nodded then noticed the mayor standing a few feet away gaping at
them.
Bill snickered before saying, “It looks like you ain’t gonna be our mayor
much longer, Sol.”
Jack laughed and so did the other three customers before the mayor spun
around and stomped back to his office. When his door slammed closed,
most of his employees joined in the laughter.

The mayor still heard the added laughter through his closed door before
he quickly took a seat behind his fancy desk. He had to assume all he’d
heard was true. And even if Sheriff Johnson managed to kill the marshal,
Sol knew he had to get out of town before sunrise.
So, he ignored the sounds of merriment and began to plan to leave
Cottonwood without anyone knowing. It wouldn’t be easy but prayed
neither Sheriff Johnson nor Marshal Walker returned before the bank
closed. He wished he could close early but knew it would attract attention.
All he could do for the next hour and forty minutes was to figure out how to
get away.

He didn’t have any way of knowing that he would soon have an

unexpected ally who would give him the time and distraction he desperately
needed.
_____

In The Wet Gulch Saloon, three unkempt men were just as interested in
the rumors about the demise of the entire population of the sheriff’s office.
Cracker John Smith was sharing a beer with Stubbs Gladstone and Al
White when he asked, “What do you boys make of it? Do you believe that
feller was a U.S. Marshal and killed all of ‘em?”
Stubbs shrugged before he replied, “I ain’t seen any of those badge-
toters around all day and haven’t spotted that tall feller, either. But I reckon
we can find out for ourselves.”
Cracker John grinned and said, “After we check to see if ol’ Ray J. is in
the jail, we oughta stop by the sheriff’s house and visit Ellen.”

Al popped Cracker John on his left shoulder before saying, “Let’s finish
our beers and pay our respects to Miss Posey.”
Cracker John then slammed his fist into Al’s left shoulder, knocking him
off his chair. He wasn’t smiling as he picked up his half full mug of beer
and emptied it down his throat.

Al crawled back into his chair, glanced at Stubbs and quietly began
drinking his beer.
_____

The derringer lesson Clara gave to Ellen was even shorter than the one
she’d received from Lin. After Ellen graduated, they had moved their chairs
to the front window, hoping to see Lin enter Cottonwood leading a tall
black horse with a body draped over its saddle.

As they stared westward, Ellen asked, “What will we do when we spot

Lin?”
Clara replied, “As much as I want to talk to him, I think we should let
him do whatever he believes is necessary when he gets back.”

Ellen was about to ask Clara if she’d settle for just talking to Lin when
she spotted three men walking toward the jail and asked, “What are they
doing, Clara?”
Clara suddenly realized she’d neglected to tell Nate Smith not to repeat a
word of what she’d told him until Lin returned. She didn’t consider that the
mayor might also have heard the story, but now worried Lin might be riding
into an ambush when he returned.

She said, “They’re probably checking to see if the sheriff or any of the
deputies are inside the jail. But I’m worried about what they might do when
they realize there’s no one to stop them from running amok.”
As they watched Cracker John Smith try the door knob while Stubbs
Gladstone and Al White peered through the window, Ellen said, “Lin needs
to return before they go crazy.”
Clara shook her head before saying, “If they know he’s a marshal and is
on his way back, they might set up an ambush. I need to figure out a way to
warn him.”
“How can we do it?”

Clara replied, “I don’t know,” just before the trio turned and crossed the
street.
Ellen watched them angle to the northwest and asked, “Where are they
going now?”
 Clara waited for a couple of seconds before answering, “I think they’re
going to Carson Street to see if the sheriff’s home.”

Ellen blanched as she said, “I don’t think they want to find him, Clara. I
think they’re looking for me.”
Clara felt sick for the problems she’d created by her failure to keep the
news in check. There might have been speculation about the sheriff and his
deputies’ absence, but now, thanks to her, it was much more than a
whispered rumor.

Clara knew there was nothing she could do but try to warn Lin but still
pulled her right pants leg up and took her Shopkeeper from its holster.
Ellen saw her set it on her lap and asked, “You don’t think they’ll come
here to look for me, do you?”

“No. But Lin told me to always prepare for the unexpected.”

Ellen was still worried, so she slid the derringer from her dress pocket
and felt safer when she held the small pistol in her hand.

Clara almost hoped those three hoodlums tried to climb her stairs rather
than wait in ambush for Lin.
_____

While Lin may have had no idea of the potential danger waiting in
Cottonwood, he had no intention of entering Center Street leading Blackie
with Sheriff Johnson’s body hung over his saddle.
So, he’d left the road before Cottonwood came into sight, and followed
the trail he and Clara had created last night. After he entered town, he’d
leave Copper and Blackie with Miguel and then pay a call on Clara before
starting the work of restoring order in Cottonwood. He was only a half a
mile out of town when Cracker John and his two pals left the saloon and
headed to the jail.
 Lin was able to avoid being seen when he pulled up behind Miguel’s
livery and dismounted. He was going to tie Copper’s reins to the corral rail
behind the livery when he decided to hide Blackie in Miguel’s small corral
instead. So, he led Copper and Blackie around Miguel’s house and into his
private corral with Rumpus, Job and the two deputies’ horses.

He was about to leave the corral when he spotted Job’s packs nearby. For
no particular reason, he walked to the panniers and extracted his cut-down
Parker Brothers twelve-gauge. He felt less naked having the scattergun in
his hands as he left the corral and headed to Miguel’s barn.
_____

Al White said, “She probably saw us comin’ and is in there hidin’ under
a bed prayin’ for us to go away.”
Cracker John said, “Maybe so. But there’s a chance Ray got kinda needy
and came home early.”

Stubbs asked, “Do you wanna look in the other windows, Cracker?”
Cracker John shook his head before saying, “They could be upstairs. So,
let’s do some more checkin’ around to be sure he’s really gone.”

Al said, “We oughta head over to the newspaper. That writer feller was
gettin’ pretty cozy with Clara Foster, and I reckon she knows what’s goin’
on.”
Stubbs smiled as he said, “And after she’s finished talkin’, we can get
cozy with her ourselves. There ain’t nobody to stop us now.”

Al grinned and looked at Cracker John who said, “Now that’s a fine idea,
Stubbs. Let’s go pay Clara a visit.”
They turned in unison, stepped down from the porch and briskly walked
to Center Street in anticipation of their cozy conversation with Clara.

_____
 Miguel stared wide-eyed at Lin as he said, “I knew you would stop him,
Lin. Do you want me to unsaddle Copper?”

“Not yet, Miguel. I may need him soon. I’m going to the sheriff’s house
to talk to Clara, but I should be back in a few minutes.”
“She is not there now. I saw her and Miss Posey walking to her office
around noontime.”

“I imagine Ellen Posey wanted to leave the sheriff’s house as soon as

possible. When I saw met her, I noticed large bruises on her arms, so maybe
escape is a better word.”
“I knew the sheriff was hurting her, and I am ashamed that I did not help
her.”
“You have a family to protect, Miguel. There are many other men who
didn’t have that concern and could have helped her, so don’t blame
yourself.”
“I know I have a father’s responsibilities, but it doesn’t make me feel
any better.”

Lin placed his big hand on the small liveryman’s left shoulder and said,
“You’ve given me more help than any other man in Cottonwood, Miguel.”
Miguel smiled as he said, “But not as much as one strong woman.”
Lin chuckled before saying, “You’re right, Miguel. Clara is the most
amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
Lin saluted Miguel before he turned and walked out of the barn.
_____
Clara and Ellen were so focused on the western end of Center Street
neither of them noticed Lin when he stepped out of Miguel’s Livery onto
the eastern part of the main road. And because of their limited field of view,
they weren’t able to see the Cracker John trio turn onto Center Street and
step onto the boardwalk.

As they strode along the dry pine boards, Cracker John said, “After we
meet her, we gotta act like we’re only there to ask about the sheriff. When I
decide it’s time to cozy up with her, I’ll pull my Colt to make sure she
behaves herself.”
Al said, “Okay, Cracker. The way she is, we oughta have two pistols
aimed at her. She’s the fiercest woman I ever met.”
Stubbs snickered before saying, “I like a woman who fights back.”
Cracker snapped, “Shut up, Stubbs!”
If Stubbs didn’t know how fast Cracker John was with his Colt, he might
have gunned him down for the way he treated him. But he wasn’t about to
take the risk.
_____

As soon as Lin started heading to the offices of

The Canyon Caller
, he
spotted the three rough-looking men walking along the boardwalk. He was
still watching them when he saw a woman step out of the dress shop and
then immediately return after she recognized them. Lin didn’t know where
they were going, but his instincts told him they were up to no good.
He kept the same pace as he focused on the suspicious characters but
cocked his shotgun’s hammers just as a precaution. But when he glanced at
the newspaper office, he was hammered by a powerful urge to protect
Clara.
Lin stepped more quickly but not fast enough to draw attention. He knew
he was behaving irrationally, but it didn’t matter. He was about to cross the
street when they stopped just before the office’s storefront window and the
tallest of the three began talking to his two partners. Lin thanked his
illogical mind as he crossed the street.
 Lin was halfway across the street when Ellen pointed and exclaimed,
“Lin’s right there, Clara!”

Clara quickly shifted her eyes to the direction Ellen was pointing and her
momentary relief evaporated when she saw the shortened shotgun in his
hands. She didn’t waste time saying anything before she wrapped her
fingers around her Shopkeeper’s grips and shot to her feet.
Ellen was startled when Clara knocked her chair over and raced to the
stairways with her pistol. She didn’t understand her reaction but didn’t
leave her chair as Clara hurried down the steps and disappeared.
Lin brought his shotgun’s short stock to his shoulder just as the tall man
tried to open the office door.
When Cracker John realized it was locked, he said, “She musta seen us
comin’, but that ain’t gonna stop us.”
Lin watched as the man stepped back from the door, pulled his pistol and
then took hold of its barrel and prepared to smash the window.
But as he started to swing his revolver, Lin stopped and shouted, “Hold it
right there!”

Stubbs and Al quickly turned to see who had shouted but Cracker John
was more annoyed than surprised. He mistakenly believed that some hick
was trying to play hero and the rube’s pistol was shaking as much as his
knees. He was also supremely confident in his skill with his Colt which he
already had in his hand. So, without hesitation, he just slammed his pistol’s
grips into his left hand, cocked the hammer and spun on his heels to shoot
the interfering bastard.
Lin was taken off guard by Cracker John’s reaction and was late in
pulling the shotgun’s safety trigger. He doubted he’d have enough time to
move his finger to the second trigger and fire the shotgun’s two barrels
when Clara’s large plate glass window exploded. Cracker John jerked back
and fired his Colt into the air before he collapsed onto the boardwalk.
 Lin was stunned but quickly recovered from his brush with death and
shouted, “Both of you get on your bellies! Now!”
Al and Stubbs were confused but seeing those two ominous muzzles
pointed at them was more than enough to make them flop onto their
stomachs and put their hands flat on the boardwalk.
Cracker John was still breathing when Lin released his shotgun’s
hammers, stepped onto the boardwalk, grabbed the dying man’s Colt and
slipped it under his pants’ waist.

When he finally looked through the glassless window, Lin wasn’t

surprised to find Clara standing on the other side with the Shopkeeper in her
hand. She seemed to be unaware of the world around her as she blankly
stared at the body while smoke still drifted from her Colt’s muzzle. Lin
wished he could just step inside the office to comfort her but needed to be a
U.S. Marshal first.
He glanced at the shooter and knew he was no longer a problem. Then
he stepped close to the two living troublemakers and ripped the Remington
from the holster of the shorter and younger man and then slid it next to the
dead man’s pistol before taking the Colt from the last man’s holster.
Lin kept the Colt in his right hand as he said, “I’m United States Marshal
Lin Walker. You can stand up, but don’t move a finger until I give you
permission.”
Stubbs and Al slowly rose and once they were on their feet, they just
stared at Cracker John who laid motionless on the boardwalk surrounded by
a large pool of his blood.

Lin turned to the onlookers and among the unknown faces, he spotted
the storekeeper, George Clark.
He said, “Mister Clark can you step over here and keep an eye on these
two?”

George nodded and hurried to the boardwalk.

 After Lin handed him the Colt, he said, “If either of them tries anything,
shoot him. You won’t need to worry about being in trouble with the law
because as of now, I am the law.”

George cocked the pistol and asked, “Then it’s true? They’re all gone,
even the sheriff?”
“Yes, it’s true. They’re all dead. But I still have a lot of work to do, so
I’ll need help from the good citizens of Cottonwood.”

As George nodded, two other men stepped onto the boardwalk and one
said, "We'll do anything you ask, Marshal."
Lin said, “I appreciate it. Can someone tell the mortician to come and
collect the body? Tell him I have more work for him when he’s finished.”
The other man said, “We’ll take care of it, Marshal.”
Lin nodded then looked at the two disarmed men and said, “You two can
leave, but you’d better not give me any more trouble.”

Neither man bothered asking for his pistol back before they hurried
away.
Lin watched them leave before he finally stepped through the open
window frame to help Clara recover from the soul-crushing impact of
having killed a man.

Clara had begun to emerge from her shell while Lin talked to George
Clark. By the time Lin finished giving his instructions, she'd pulled her eyes
from Cracker John’s body and lowered the Shopkeeper. But she was still
deeply shaken by what she’d done when Lin stepped over the windowsill.
Lin walked in front of Clara to block her view of the dead man and then
took her left elbow and turned her away from the scene before guiding her
to the desk. He set his shotgun on the desktop and then slid the two pistols
from his waist and placed them near his scattergun before he took the
Shopkeeper from Clara’s hand and set beside the other guns.
 When Lin placed his hands on her shoulders, Clara raised her brown
eyes to look into his and whispered, “Is he dead?”

Lin quietly replied, “Yes, he’s dead. I wish I knew how to make your
pain instantly disappear, Clara, but I can’t. All I can tell you is that you did
nothing wrong. You not only saved my life, but you also probably saved
Cottonwood itself. If I’d been killed, there would be no one to prevent the
town from falling into bedlam.”
Clara softly said, “I…I didn’t want to shoot him. When I heard you
shout, I thought he would just drop his gun. Why did he try to shoot you
when you had your shotgun pointed at him?”
“I guess it was because I didn’t warn them that I had the shotgun. He
was holding his pistol’s barrel, so I assumed he’d just return it to his holster.
It would have been a fatal mistake if you hadn’t kept your wits.”
Clara was about to reply when Ellen shouted, “Is it safe to come
downstairs, Clara?”

Clara looked at the stairs and loudly replied, “Yes, it’s safe, Ellen.”
Lin had completely forgotten about Ellen Posey, so he took his hands
from Clara’s shoulders before he turned to watch her cautiously descend the
steps to the office. She then stopped, bent at her waist and peeked into the
office before continuing down the stairs.
She stepped onto the office floor and stopped as she stared at the
shattered window and the crowds of people on the boardwalk. When Ellen
began walking towards Clara and Lin, she noticed all the guns on the desk
and almost wished she was back in the house on Carson Street.
Ellen stopped beside the desk and asked, “Is Ray dead, Lin?”
“Yes, ma’am. You won’t need to worry about him anymore.”
Ellen sighed before she asked, “What happened? Why is the window
missing?”
 Lin looked down at Clara and asked, “I have a lot of work that can’t
wait. Will you be all right?”

Clara nodded and then said, “I’ll be fine. When will you be finished?"
"Not for a few days, but I should be done with the most pressing jobs
before sunset.”
“Alright. Ellen and I will go upstairs, and I’ll tell her what happened.”
Lin nodded and watched as the two women walked to the stairway.
Despite Clara’s apparent return to normalcy, Lin knew it was nothing more
than a façade. He desperately wanted to remain and help her to overcome
her hidden struggles but knew she would have to keep them bottled up until
he returned. Lin then walked to the desk, and moved all of the pistols,
including the Shopkeeper into the bottom drawer.
He closed the drawer and grabbed his shotgun before stepping to the
front of the office. After unlocking the door, he walked onto the boardwalk,
looked down at Cracker John’s body and wondered how many more
troublemakers were waiting in the wings. He ignored the flood of questions
as he passed through the crowd before he stepped onto Center Street.
As he headed to Miguel’s livery, he added boarding up Clara’s window
to his list of priority tasks. The first item on the list was to search the
sheriff’s pockets for his keys. After he found them, he’d open the jail and
probably have a line of townsfolk waiting to have their delayed questions
answered. But as he prioritized the multitude of things that needed to be
done, he mistakenly placed meeting with the mayor on tomorrow’s agenda.

_____
Sol Bradly had been nervously watching the clock when the echo of
Clara’s shot passed through his bank’s open doors. As his customers rushed
to the doorway and windows, he was close to panic. He imagined that the
sheriff and the marshal had just faced off in the street and one of them had
been gunned down. But it didn’t matter to him which one had won the
gunfight. If the marshal had been victorious, he’d soon walk through the
door and arrest him. If Ray Johnson had killed the marshal, Sol believed he
probably wouldn’t live long enough to see the inside of a jail cell.
Sol took a deep breath and hurriedly searched for a way to avoid either
of the horrifying outcomes. When he looked at the open doorway and saw
people racing past the bank, he found his answer.
He loudly exclaimed, “Let’s close up to keep anyone from rushing in
with a gun in his hand!”
The three depositors quickly rushed out of the bank, and his employees
began their normal end-of-the-day routine at breakneck speed.
Just four minutes after the mayor had given the order, the doors were
locked, and he was alone. Alone and free to prepare for his escape. He
hurried to the storage closet and grabbed two heavy canvas sacks before
trotting to the large safe. He dropped to his heels and began spinning the
large black dial. After the white line stopped at 63, he turned the handle and
pulled the heavy steel door open.
Sol opened the first sack and quickly filled it with most of the currency
before pulling the drawstrings and setting it aside. After opening the second
one, he placed the remaining banded bundles of banknotes inside before
scooping the gold coins on top of the paper. He tightened its drawstrings,
placed it on the floor beside the all-greenback bag and then giggled before
filling his pants pockets with silver coins.
Sol closed the door, took one sack in each hand, and then rose to his feet
and walked to his private office. Once inside, he set the bags on his desk,
opened his desk’s center drawer and took out his Webley Bulldog. He slid
the pistol into his right jacket pocket and looked through his office’s barred
window. Now that he had the means to live well after his escape, he needed
to figure out the best way to leave Cottonwood without being seen and do it
quickly.
 The mayor began drumming his fingers on his desk as he pictured the
town’s layout. Less than two minutes later, he smiled and then stood, took
his hat from its brass hook and popped it onto his head. He took hold of the
canvas sacks, left his office and walked to the back door. After setting the
bags against the wall, he unlocked the back door and swung it open.
Sol tried not to appear suspicious when he stepped into the back alley
and closed the door behind him; He walked a block east before turning left
and less than a minute later, he entered his carriage house. Sol breathed
easier after he closed the door and began to harness his black, roofed buggy.
His escape plan was simple. Once the buggy was ready, he’d drive it
back to the bank and collect the sacks. Then he’d head east until he reached
the edge of town and drive north a few blocks before taking Fourth Street
all the way to the road to Sulphur Springs. By sunset, he’d be miles away
from Cottonwood and out of danger. He didn’t give a thought to his wife
who was sitting in the kitchen having afternoon tea with her only friend,
Mrs. Ida Shaefer.
_____
Miguel watched as Lin approached the sheriff’s horse, took his reins and
led him out of the corral. He followed Lin as he walked to his livery’s large
corral and tied the black gelding’s reins to the top rail.
After securing Blackie, Lin turned and said, “I need to take the sheriff’s
body down and search for the jail keys, but I’ll have to leave it on the
ground after I find it. I’m sorry for having to leave it here, but I’ll cover it
with his bedroll, and as soon as I can, I’ll send the mortician to pick it up.”
Miguel said, “It is alright. Can I unsaddle the horses after you are done?”
“Yes, sir.”
Miguel nodded and then stood by as Lin cut the rope keeping the
sheriff’s body in place and then unceremoniously yanked it to the ground,
taking the bedroll with it. Rigor had begun to take effect, so the body didn’t
straighten after it landed.

Lin quickly found the key ring in the sheriff’s right pocket, set it on the
ground and then unbuckled his gunbelt and hung it over his shoulder. After
he stood, he rolled the gunbelt, put it in Blackie’s right saddlebag and then
pulled the bedroll over the sheriff’s corpse.
Lin snatched the key ring from the ground before saying, “Thanks again,
Miguel.”
Miguel nodded as he said, “You’re welcome, Lin,” and then stepped to
the corral and untied Blackie’s reins.
Lin watched Miguel lead the black gelding away before heading to the
jail using the back alley. As he walked along, Lin examined the four keys
and wondered which one would open the back door. He wanted to delay
meeting the folks for at least a few minutes.

_____
When Clara finished explaining what had happened after she’d hurried
down the stairs, Ellen asked, “Are you okay, Clara? If I had the nerve to
shoot a man, even a first-class bastard like Cracker John, I’m sure I’d be a
blubbering mess after I saw him lying there in a pool of blood.”
Clara felt as she’d been stabbed with a butcher knife but managed to
keep her composure before she replied, “Lin told me what to expect if I
ever needed to shoot someone, so I’m all right.”
“With the window gone, do you think we’ll be safe if we stay here?”

“With Lin in charge, I’m sure no one will bother us. But if you’d feel
more comfortable, we can return to what is probably your house now.”
Ellen’s brow furrowed as she replied, “I won’t be comfortable at all in
that place. It was just my prison, and I don’t think it’s mine, either.”
 “I understand how you feel, Ellen. So, we’ll just stay here and wait until
Lin returns.”
Ellen looked at the stairway and said, “I hope he tells you that he wants
you to join him when he leaves and says I can come along. I hate this
town.”
Clara didn’t hate Cottonwood and now that it was no longer under the
sheriff’s thumb, it would once again be a good place to live. But regardless
of how nice Cottonwood would become, she prayed that she’d soon be
living in a house that overlooked the Pacific Ocean.

_____
Mayor Bradley pushed open his carriage house’s two wide doors, hurried
back to the buggy, climbed inside and took the reins in his hands. He gave
them a short flick and his sturdy gray gelding pulled the buggy into the late
afternoon sun.

He turned left and headed to his bank to pick up the means to a new
future. Sol was relieved knowing that in less than an hour, he wouldn’t see a
sign of Cottonwood.
_____

But as he’d pulled out of the carriage house, Ida Shaefer saw the buggy
roll away and asked, “Why does Sol need the buggy at this time of day?”
Agatha set her cup on the table and then hurried to the kitchen window
just in time to see their buggy disappear around the corner.
She returned to her chair and said, “Whatever his reason, he should have
asked my permission before taking the buggy.”
Ida said, “Maybe it has something to do all of those rumors. The ones
about the writer really being a U.S. Marshal and the sudden disappearance
of the sheriff and all of his deputies.”
 Agatha chewed her lower lip before saying, “You might be right, Ida.
My weak husband foolishly believed he was in charge of the town, and that
the sheriff and his deputies were his servants and protectors. If those rumors
are true, then he would fear for his life.”

“Do you think he might be scared enough to leave Cottonwood?”

Agatha was about to deny that possibility because she didn’t believe her
husband had the spine to leave but withheld her reply. If Sol was horribly
frightened, it might be enough to overcome his lack of courage. He’d also
been even more secretive and withdrawn since Mister Walker showed up.

Ida watched her friend as she mulled the possibility that her husband had
just deserted her before she asked, “Do you want to find out if something
happened that could have made Sol want to leave?”
Agatha nodded and then stood before saying, “Mrs. Foster should know
more of what’s happened than anyone. And as much as I’d prefer to ask
someone else, we’ll pay her a visit.”
Ida smiled as she stood and said, “And from what I heard, she’s been
spending a lot of time with Mister Walker, too.”
“I’m not surprised. She is an immoral woman and doesn’t even pretend
to be a lady, so we’ll only stay long enough to learn what has happened.”
The two women left the kitchen and walked to the foyer where they
pulled on their hats, hung their heavy purses over their forearms and then
took their parasols before they left the house.
By the time they stepped onto the front porch and opened their parasols,
Sol had retrieved his moneybags and was driving east on Second Street.
_____
Lin had unlocked the jail’s back door with the first key he’d tried. After
entering the sheriff’s office, he walked to the front desk and pulled open the
top left-hand drawer. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the four badges
and dumped them inside. He closed the drawer and knew he wasn’t going to
be able to hold off the queue of anxious citizens any longer. As he stepped
across the floor to open the front door, Lin hoped that one of them was the
mortician.

After opening the door, he led the steam of visitors inside, took his seat
behind the desk and loudly said, “Please limit your questions to give me
time to get to work.”
Lin expected them to ignore his request, so he was pleasantly surprised
when the first three men just thanked him for ridding the town of their
outlaw sheriff and his hooligan deputies. He was even more pleased when
the fourth in line turned out to be the mortician. After telling him where to
find the sheriff’s body, Mister Boxer said he’d happily bury both the sheriff
and Cracker John Smith at no charge. Lin also told him where to find Luke
Riddle’s remains but said it was up to Mister Boxer if he wanted to go to
the gully. Before he left, the mortician told Lin where his business and
home were located in case that he had more work for him. Lin thanked him
but said he hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.
The next man asked Lin if he was going to appoint Sheriff Johnson’s
replacement, but Lin told him that their next sheriff would be chosen by the
citizens.
Lin was surprised that it wasn’t until the sixth man approached him
before someone asked when he was going to arrest the mayor. He wasn’t
happy when Lin explained that with the sheriff and all of the deputies dead,
he didn’t have any admissible evidence to arrest the mayor. Before the
disappointed man left, Lin told him he planned to visit the mayor in the
morning and hoped to trick him into incriminating himself. That news
allowed the citizen to leave the jail with a smile on his face.
Then Mister Horace Walton offered to board the open window of
The
Canyon Caller
and Lin gratefully accepted
There were only four more waiting in line and Lin hoped he’d be able to
spend more time with Clara within the hour. He also needed to send the
telegrams to Marshals Plummer and Walcott before the telegraph office
closed.
After listening as the next man ask if he would be able to return the
‘taxes’ they’d been forced to pay to the sheriff, Lin told him he’d include
that issue in his chat with the mayor.
The next man asked about the mayor and Lin gave each of them the
same reply. Before the next-to-last visitor approached the desk, Lin began
to feel the combined impact of his lack of sleep, food and water.

He was bored with the mundane but necessary administrative part of the
job but was grateful that the chases and shootouts were finished. He also
decided that before he left, he’d spend a few minutes in the back room to
satisfy his thirst and clean off some of the dust he’d accumulated.
As he listened to the town’s baker ask about the next sheriff, Lin was
unaware that his meeting with the mayor would be much earlier than he’d
planned.
_____
Agatha and Ida stepped onto Center Street and were startled by the
carnival-like atmosphere. People hurrying about and all of them were
smiling. Small groups were gathered and happily chatting as if it was a
holiday.
Ida said, “Look how happy everyone is.”
As they stepped onto the boardwalk, Agatha replied, “Everyone except
for my husband…and me.”
After stopping by the bank and finding it closed and no sign of her
husband, Agatha said, “Let’s go talk to that woman and find out what is
going on.”
Ida asked, “You don’t think Sol ran off with her, do you?”
 Agatha sniffed before saying, “He’d run off with the sheriff’s concubine
before he’d let that tall adulteress into our buggy. But I wouldn’t care if he
did. I’m sure he’s abandoned me, and I want him to pay dearly for it.”

They were nearing the newspaper office when Ida pointed at the
boardwalk and exclaimed, “
Is that blood?
”
Agatha had seen the dark red patch and quickly replied, “I believe it is.
And the newspaper’s front window is gone, too.”
Ida said, “I believe we’ll have to spend more time with Mrs. Foster than
we would like.”
Agatha sighed and said, “I suppose so.”
The two women stepped around the blood and Agatha opened the door.
After they closed their parasols, they entered
The Canyon Caller
office
.
After not finding anyone in the room, Agatha shouted, “Mrs. Foster, this
is Agatha Bradley! I need to speak to you on an urgent matter!”
Clara was moving the coffeepot of boiling water from the cookstove’s
hotplate when she was surprised by Agatha’s shout. She quickly turned, saw
Ellen pop to her feet, and after waving her back down, Clara hurried to the
stairs.
Clara had been stunned with Mrs. Bradley’s arrival. They’d both been
living in the same town for years, but Mrs. Bradley had probably spoken
fewer than twenty words to her. And even though she had never included
Agatha in any of her defamatory editorials, Clara was certain the mayor’s
wife considered her an enemy. So, as she trotted down the steps, Clara
hoped Agatha wasn’t waiting with a cocked pistol in her hand.
But as soon as Clara saw the mayor’s wife with Mrs. Shaefer and not a
pistol, she relaxed. Now she wondered what was so important that the two
proudest women in town would shame themselves by paying her a visit.
 When Clara reached the office, Agatha quickly asked, “Is it true that the
sheriff and all of his deputies are dead, and Mister Walker is a United States
Marshal?”

Clara replied, “Yes, it is. Lin is a marshal, and Sheriff Johnson and all of
his deputies are dead.”
“Is Mister Walker here?”
Clara blinked before answering, “No, but I expect him to return within
an hour or so.”
Agatha asked, “Do you know where I can find him?”
Clara suspected Agatha might be planning to shoot Lin to prevent him
from arresting her husband, so she asked, “Why do you need to see him?
He’s very busy setting everything in order.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I just saw my husband drive our
buggy away and want the marshal to catch him.”
Clara was surprised but knew Lin needed to know immediately, so for
Ellen’s ears, she loudly said, “Come with me, Mrs. Bradley, and I’ll take
you to see Marshal Walker.”
Agatha nodded and followed Clara out the door with Ida hurrying behind
them. Clara was annoyed when she had wait while they opened their
parasols before they began walking to the jail.

Clara had her revenge by taking long, rapid strides forcing Agatha and
Ida to embarrassingly jog in order to stay close. As they rushed along
Center Street, Clara knew Lin would be chasing the mayor in just a few
minutes but worried about his condition after his long, strenuous day.
They were halfway to the jail when Clara loudly asked, “Does your
husband have a pistol, Mrs. Bradley?”
Agatha was gasping for air as she replied, “He…has…a small pistol…
but I don’t know…what kind.”
 Clara hoped the mayor hadn’t brought it along but was pleased she’d
asked.

_____
Lin had filled the tall glass with cold water and emptied it three times
before he took off his shirt and pumped some water onto a towel. He wiped
the dirt from his arms and was working on his torso when he heard the front
door open.

He was about to curse himself for forgetting to lock it when he heard

Clara shout, “Lin, are you here?”
Lin yelled, “I’ll be right out!”
He tossed the towel onto the bed, grabbed his shirt and tugged it on. He
was buttoning the shirt as he hurried out of the back room and was
surprised to see Clara with two older women.
Lin asked, “What’s wrong, Clara?”
“Mrs. Bradley just told me that her husband was leaving town in their
buggy.”
Lin looked at the mayor’s wife and asked, “Do you know which way he
went?”
“He turned left onto the back alley, but I don’t know where he is now.
We stopped at the bank, but he wasn’t there, and the doors were locked. But
wherever he is when you catch him, I don’t care if you shoot him.”
Lin’s eyebrows rose as he said, “I’ll only shoot him if he tries to shoot
me, ma’am.”
Then he looked at Clara and said, “I’m pretty certain he wouldn’t head
east, so I’ll saddle Copper and should catch up with him before he reaches
Sulphur Springs.”
 Clara quickly said, “He might have a pistol, but Mrs. Bradley doesn’t
know the model.”

Lin said, “Thank you for letting me know. I’d better be going.”
Clara said, “You look tired. So please be careful, Lin.”
“I’ll be fine, Clara. Oh, and someone will be stopping by to board up
your window.”
Clara nodded and watched Lin step to the desk, grab his hat and tug it on
before he waved and hurried out the back door.
After he’d gone, Agatha said, “We would still like to hear what’s
happened, Mrs. Foster.”
Clara stared at the back door as she replied, “A lot has happened in the
last two days, but I do need to return to my office.”
Agatha glanced at Ida before she replied, “Very well.”
Clara was surprised Mrs. Bradley had even asked to have her explain
everything, much less agree to return to her office. But Clara thought it was
time Mrs. Bradley understood the damage her husband had done to the
town and wasn’t about to skip anything in her long narrative. So, as soon as
the women left the jail, Clara began telling Agatha and Ida the story
beginning with the telegram that had brought Lin to Cottonwood.
_____
As Lin trotted to Miguel’s livery, he hoped the mayor had absconded
with as much of the bank’s cash as he could carry as it would solve the
evidentiary issue.
He soon entered the corral and began saddling Copper. He was
tightening the cinches when Miguel arrived and picked up Lin’s Winchester
and scabbard.
 Lin smiled, accepted his repeater and as he strapped the scabbard in
place, he said, “Thanks, Miguel.”
Miguel nodded, lifted Lin’s large canteens from Job’s packs and handed
one to Lin before saying, “I filled them both in case you needed to leave in
a hurry.”
Lin hung the canteen on his saddle’s left side and said, “You should be a
lawman, Miguel.”
Miguel chuckled and then watched Lin mount before giving him the
second canteen.
As Lin looped the strap over his saddle horn, Miguel asked, “Who are
you chasing?”
“The mayor is trying to sneak out of town, and I doubt if he left twenty
dollars’ worth of coins in his bank.”
Miguel looked up and said, “Good luck, Lin.”
Lin took Copper’s reins in his left hand, saluted with his right, then
walked the gelding out of the corral. When he turned onto Center Street, he
accelerated Coppe to a fast trot. He didn’t see any signs of the mayor’s
buggy ahead but hoped to spot him after he passed the first curve.
_____

More than twenty minutes earlier, Mayor Bradley had approached the
first curve and checked behind him. And after seeing nothing but empty
road all the way to Cottonwood, he believed he’d managed to make his
escape without being spotted.
He was relieved that he’d made it safely out of town but didn’t push his
horse because he still had another three hours of travel before reaching
Sulphur Springs. But shortly after leaving Cottonwood behind, Sol already
regretted that hadn’t taken the time to fill a canteen with water. At least he
had a roof over his head to provide protection from the blazing sun.
 The first thing he’d do after arriving in Sulphur Springs would be to
quench his thirst at Winslow’s Diner, have a thick steak for supper and have
them prepare a days’ worth of food for the journey to St. Thomas in
Nevada. The general store would be closed by the time he arrived in
Sulphur Springs, so he’d buy a water bag from a livery before leaving town.

While he was convinced no one was trailing him, Sol was just as certain
that it wouldn’t be long before someone, probably Agatha, noticed his
absence. He didn’t know how Ray Johnson or Marshal Walker would react
to the news but wanted to be out of Arizona Territory as soon as possible.
So, as the buggy horse trotted west, Sol decided to buy a spare horse before
he left Sulphur Springs just to ensure he’d make it to St. Thomas.
He looked down at the two stuffed canvas bags at his feet, grinned and
said, “I won’t waste time dickering, either.”
_____
In the newspaper office, Clara had continued her unvarnished
explanation for ten minutes when Mister Walton arrived with his son John
to hammer boards across the window frame. When Clara said they’d need
to go upstairs, she expected Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Shaefer to leave, but
they didn’t.

After climbing the stairs, Clara looked at Ellen who was noticeably
uncomfortable and said, “I’m telling Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Shaefer what
has happened since Lin arrived.”
Ellen nodded and then sat on the bed as the two well-dressed women
walked by without giving her so much as a glance.
Agatha and Ida took their seats before Clara continued her long narration
of events. As she spoke, she noticed they pretended as if Ellen wasn’t there.
She knew Ellen was probably accustomed to being shunned by the town’s
‘fine ladies’ even more than she was, but it still rankled her.
 So, Clara interrupted her narrative and asked, “Why did you want Lin to
shoot your husband, Mrs. Bradley? Did he beat you?”

Agatha was offended by Clara’s question and exclaimed, “Of course, he

didn’t beat me!
Why would you even ask such a question?
”
Clara shrugged and replied, “I was surprised by what you’d said to Lin
and couldn’t believe you could be that angry just because he drove off
without telling you.”

“Well, you shouldn’t jump to conclusions, Mrs. Foster. My husband is a

gentleman.”
“All men are capable of beating their wives, even if he’s the owner of the
town’s only bank and our mayor.”

Agatha quickly stood, looked down at Clara and snapped, “Sol wouldn’t
dare lay a hand on me, and I resent your implication. Remember your place,
Mrs. Foster!”
Clara rose to her full height, glared down at the mayor’s wife and said,
“You’re not bossing around a weak man now, so don’t think you can
intimidate me, Agatha. And I strongly suggest you both leave before I lose
my temper.”

Agatha turned to Mrs. Shaefer and said, “We’re obviously no longer

welcome here, Ida. I’m just surprised she waited this long before behaving
like the crude, ignorant woman we both know is her true nature.”
As Ida stood and followed Agatha to the stairway, Clara loudly said, “I
have much more respect for Ellen than either of you so-called ladies.”

Ellen glanced at Clara before she turned to watch the two bustled women
hustle down the stairs.
Clara waited until she heard the front door slam before she sat on the bed
beside Ellen, smiled and said, “That felt pretty good.”
 Ellen nodded before saying, “I don’t think they’ll change much, if at all.
They’ll still think of me as a harlot or worse.”

Clara said, “They aren’t fond of me, either. When I went downstairs to
meet them, I half-expected Agatha to be pointing a cocked pistol at me.”
Ellen sighed and then said, “Thank you for standing up for me, Clara.”
“You’re welcome. But I should have stood up for you a long time ago.”
“Do you still think Lin will let me come with you when he leaves?”

“I’m just praying he’ll return safely. He was near exhaustion when he
left the jail and Mayor Bradley has a pistol, too.”
“You don’t really think the mayor will be able to shoot Lin, do you?’
Clara took a deep breath before replying, “It sounds absurd after all he’s
done, but I’m still worried that he might get shot.”
Ellen laid her hand over Clara’s before she said, “I’ll make the coffee.”
Clara smiled as she nodded but couldn’t shake the unlikely but troubling
thought that somehow, Mayor Bradley would kill Lin. She thought about
saddling Rumpus and riding after him but knew she wouldn’t reach him
before he caught up with the mayor’s buggy. All she could do now was to
wait and pray.
_____

After Lin rounded the curve, the low sun was hovering almost directly
over the road and almost blinded him. After lowering his hat's brim to block
the harsh light, he was only able to see about a four hundred yards ahead of
him.
While his vision was severely restricted, Lin knew if the mayor checked
his backtrail, he’d spot him. And if Mister Bradley did see him, it might be
to his advantage and not the mayor’s. He might panic and push his buggy’s
horse to the point of exhaustion which would effectively end the chase.
 Lin didn’t rule out the possibility that the mayor might pull the buggy off
the road and set up an ambush even if he only had a pistol. But if he spotted
the empty buggy, Lin wasn’t about to dismount and search for him among
the rocks. He’d just have to react to whatever happened.
He kept Copper moving at a medium trot knowing he might not spot the
mayor’s buggy for another hour or more. He had to accept his growing
tiredness as another factor he had to contend with as well. The mayor and
sunset would both arrive in Sulphur Springs in about two more hours, so he
hoped to end this unusual pursuit before then.
_____

Sol hadn’t even thought about looking behind him after he’d seen the
empty road before he rounded the first curve. If he had, he might have
spotted Lin even though he was almost three miles away. The same sun that
prevented Lin from seeing him would serve as a spotlight for Sol.
So, he felt safe as he planned on what he would do after leaving the
territory. He’d spend a day in St. Thomas before heading to Las Vegas.
From there, he could take the train all the way to San Francisco. But as soon
as that city popped into his mind, he remembered Walker called it home.

So, he quickly modified his final destination to San Diego. It was a

rapidly growing city and had the advantage of being close to the Mexican
border. If Walker had survived and really was a United States Marshal, it
might suddenly become necessary for him to hurriedly leave the United
States altogether.
_____

Lin had been gaining on the mayor but not as rapidly as he believed. So,
after Sol’s buggy rounded the next curve. Lin was still more than two miles
behind him.
Lin still had his head down to block the sun as he followed the buggy’s
ruts. But he knew that after he followed the road’s next turn to the
southwest, the sun would be a few more degrees to his right and he should
be able to see all the way to the boulder hill and hopefully spot the mayor’s
buggy.
_____
After the hammering stopped, Clara went downstairs, thanked Mister
Walton and his son and then locked the door. Before she returned to her
apartment, Clara walked to the desk and opened the top drawer. She looked
at the pistols and instead of taking her Shopkeeper, she picked up the
Remington because it was the same model Lin carried.

Clara knew it wouldn’t fit in her ankle holster, so she carried it in her left
hand as she ascended the stairs. When she reached her apartment, she sat at
the table across from Ellen and placed the pistol on the tabletop.
Ellen stared at the revolver and asked, “Do you think someone will break
in now that Lin is gone?”

“No, but if someone does, I want to be prepared.”

“Isn’t my derringer good enough?”
“Lin said it could probably stop one man but gave me his Shopkeeper to
make sure.”
Ellen didn’t ask why she had the bigger pistol but believed it was
because Clara had used the Shopkeeper to kill Cracker John.

Clara then stood and said, “I’ll rebuild the fire and we’ll cook our
supper.”
Ellen replied, “Alright,” before she rose and walked to Clara’s pantry.

As Clara added kindling to the embers in the firebox, she tried to

suppress her concerns for Lin’s safety. He wasn’t chasing a vicious outlaw
with a powerful rifle, so there should be no reason for her to worry. But
because of the unwarranted nature of her anxiety, Clara found it almost
impossible to push it aside.
 _____

Lin followed the road as it circled around the tall hill and after reaching
the straightened roadway, he was finally able to bring his eyes level. He still
had to block the low-lying sun with his hand but could see the clear road all
the way to the boulder hill. He finally spotted the mayor’s buggy in the
distance about a mile or so from the boulder hill and pushed Copper into a
faster pace. He was sure the mayor had spotted him and knew he’d
disappear after passing the hill. Now he wondered if he had a rifle with him
in addition to the pistol Clara had mentioned. Lin had to assume he did, so
he’d leave the road to give himself a wide safety margin as he rode past the
boulder hill in case the mayor was waiting to ambush him on the other side.
Lin knew he’d been riding for less than ninety minutes, but he felt as if
he hadn’t left the saddle all day. And the rhythmic sound of Copper’s
hoofbeats combined with the hypnotic effect of the bouncing sun and his
lack of sleep were making it difficult for him to stay alert. Lin began
searching for a way to avoid slipping into the vague world of woolgathering
and needed to find it soon.

_____
Mayor Bradley had no idea that Lin was behind him. He only knew he
was out of danger and in a couple of hours, he’d be sitting at the diner’s
table in Sulphur Springs. So, he closed his eyes, ran his thick tongue across
his dry lips and could already taste the cold beer and see the juices flow
onto his plate when he cut into his thick steak.
_____
Lin’s quickly found a simple solution to his concentration problem. He
opened one of the canteens, took three long swallows and then took off his
hat and dumped half of the remaining contents onto his head. As the cool
water flowed down his neck, Lin pulled his hat back on and capped the
canteen before hanging it over his saddle horn.
 He took his reins in his hands before saying, “That’ll keep you awake for
a while, Marshal Walker. But you shouldn’t waste water. Hopefully, you’ll
catch up to that buggy before you feel like napping in the saddle again.”
Lin chuckled before he focused on the boulder hill. He didn’t see
anything that seemed unnatural and began reconsidering his recent decision
to give the hill a wide berth.
He knew it was unlikely that he’d find the mayor waiting in ambush on
the other side, and if he left the road, he’d have to slow down and lose
distance and time. Time he couldn’t afford. So, he decided to stay on the
road and hoped to spot the buggy before it reached the next curve that was
only about a mile or so away. It was worth the risk.
_____
In The Wet Gulch Saloon, Stubbs Gladstone and Al White were sitting at
the same table they’d shared with Cracker John just a few hours ago. Rod
McAllister had taken his place and listened as Stubbs talked about their
confrontation with the U.S. Marshal.
When Stubbs finished, Rod asked, “And he didn’t even give you back
your pistols?”
Stubbs shook his head as he replied, “Nope. Me and Al figgered we were
lucky to get outta there before he shot us both.”

Rod then asked, “But Cracker John was killed by Clara Foster, wasn’t
he?”
Al said, “Yeah, but if that marshal had let loose with both barrels of his
scattergun, we woulda been cut to ribbons.”
Rod looked at Stubbs and said, “But Cracker John woulda probably got
him first if that tall bitch didn’t shoot him in the back. Ain’t that right?”
Stubbs shrugged before saying, “Maybe. But I ain’t sure he woulda get a
shot off. We were really surprised C.J. tried to shoot him in the first place.”
 Rod quickly said, “From what you told me, Walker didn’t tell you he
was a marshal and had a shotgun pointed at ya. It wasn’t Cracker John’s
fault for tryin’ to defend himself.”

Stubbs glared at Ron as he said, “You weren’t there, Rod. So, you ain’t
got the right to say we screwed up. I reckon if you’d been with us, you
probably woulda peed your pants.”
Rod knew he’d pushed Stubbs too far, but as Al snickered, Rod knew he
couldn’t let Stubbs’ insult stand.

He glared at Al as he said, “You both have empty holsters, so I reckon

you can’t do anything about it anyway. But Cracker John ain’t gonna rest in
peace ‘til his murderer gets what’s comin’ to her.”
Stubbs glanced at Al before looking at Rod and saying, "I figgered you’d
want to shoot a woman, Rod. ‘Cause you ain’t got the guts to shoot a U.S.
Marshal. But just remember that after you shoot Clara Foster, that marshal
will hunt you down like a dog. And I reckon he ain’t gonna just arrest you,
neither.”

After hearing how the marshal killed the sheriff and all of his deputies,
Rod knew he had almost no chance of surviving a gunfight with Walker. He
wished he’d never joined Stubbs and Al at their table, but now had to find
some way out of the disastrous mess he’d created for himself.
He needed to buy time while saving face, so he nodded and said,
“Maybe I’ll just wait ‘til Walker gets back in town and take him down
first.”
Al snickered before saying, “Good luck with that, Rod. You ain’t that
good.”
Rod glared at Al as he said, “I ain’t plannin’ on standin’ in the middle of
Center Street and havin’ a gunfight, Al. But he’ll make a pretty good target
for my Winchester.”
 Stubbs smiled and said, “That’s a good idea, Rod. When he’s lyin’ in the
dirt bleedin’ to death, you can head down to the newspaper office to get
revenge for Cracker John.”

Rod puffed up his chest but didn’t say another word. He’d just dug
himself into a deeper hole that was looking more like his grave. If he did
nothing, Stubbs and Al would turn him into a laughingstock, but trying to
gun down a United States Marshal could be a death sentence.
_____

Lin rounded the boulder hill and almost laughed when he spotted the
buggy about eight hundred yards in front of him and was surprised that he’d
cut the gap so quickly.
Sol’s parched throat and the lure of a cold beer waiting for him in
Sulphur Springs made the mayor snap his reins to add more speed so he
would arrive sooner. As the buggy accelerated, Mayor Bradley looked
down at the bags of cash bouncing on the floor and worried that the one
with only greenbacks might fall onto the road. So, he wrapped his reins
around his left knee and didn’t notice the sag in the right rein before he bent
over and moved both bags onto the seat.

He pulled open the drawstrings to the bag with only banknotes and
began pulling the loose change from his right pants pocket and dropping
them into the bag. After Sol emptied the pocket, he didn’t think he’d added
enough weight, so he began taking the coins from his left pocket.
Sol dumped in one handful of silver and tightened the drawstrings. He
was hefting the sack to be sure he’d added enough ballast when the front
wheels dropped into a small ravine. The buggy bounced once and then a
second time when the back wheels crossed the six-inch deep gouge in the
roadway.

As Sol tried to avoid falling, he knocked the sack onto the floor and
immediately lunged to grab the canvas bag before it fell out of the buggy.
But in his haste, Sol failed to remember he had the buggy’s reins still
wrapped around his knee.
Sol was close to rescuing the fallen bag when the horse felt the strong
pull on the left rein and immediately made a hard turn to the south side of
the road.
Sol was still leaning over when the left wheels almost lifted from the
ground as the gelding yanked the buggy into the sharp turn. He bounced off
the black leather seat and desperately tried to grab something to avoid being
thrown from the buggy. But before he could even find a handhold, the reins
tightened around his left knee keeping him safely inside.
But the reins that had momentarily saved him now pulled on the horse
with even greater force. The gelding increased his rate of turn and had
almost completed a U-turn when the buggy suddenly tipped over.
Sol screamed as he watched the Arizona earth replace the Arizona sky
and grabbed for the roof support just before the buggy’s right side slammed
into the rocky ground and his right shoulder bounced off a sharp, half-
buried rock.

He was still screeching when a small boulder snapped the front roof
support rod before smashing into Sol’s face and knocking his head back
until it shattered the center support strut for the buggy’s roof.
The buggy created a huge dust cloud when it lurched to a stop, and the
horse was huffing as it stood, still harnessed to the overturned buggy. The
human sounds were already gone and all that was moving behind him were
the two left wheels which were spinning in the air.
_____
Lin was stunned when he saw the accident but didn’t increase Copper’s
pace as he focused on the distant scene to see if the mayor had been thrown
from the buggy.
 As he drew closer without having seen any sign of the mayor, Lin tried
to understand what had caused the panicked turn from the road. The only
logical explanation was that the mayor had looked back, spotted him and
decided to leave the road to hastily set up a defense. But even that theory
had a hole as big as a train tunnel. Even if he did have a Winchester, he had
to know he had little chance of winning a long-range shootout.

Lin was a quarter of a mile away when he began to believe that Mayor
Bradley was no longer capable of firing his pistol. It was now just a
question of whether he'd be returning with an injured mayor or another
corpse.
How he returned would depend on the condition of the buggy. If it was
still functional, he’d need to turn it upright. If not, the injured mayor would
be riding bareback on their return to Cottonwood, or his corpse would be
draped over his buggy’s horse.

Lin slowed Copper but didn’t pull his Winchester as he drew close to the
wreck. The horse blocked the front of the buggy, so Lin still couldn’t see
the mayor. But the extensive damage to the right side of the buggy made
him realize that it wasn’t going anywhere.
A few seconds later, he spotted Mayor Bradley, but his face was hidden
by a large stone that barely qualified as a boulder. Before he even
dismounted, Lin knew he wouldn’t need to give the mayor any medical
help.

Lin stepped down, tied off Copper’s reins to the left front wheel and then
walked around the front of the horse and peeked behind the boulder. He
controlled his stomach’s threatened upheaval before he picked up one of the
two sacks from the ground and pulled the drawstring to look inside. He
wasn’t surprised to see it full of greenbacks and coins before he tightened
the drawstring, picked up the other sack and carried them to Copper. After
putting them both in his left saddlebag, he walked back to the mayor’s
body.
 When he pulled the mayor’s corpse from behind the boulder, Lin was
surprised to find the reins wrapped around his knee. He suspected it had
been the cause of the accident but didn’t waste any time trying to
understand the mayor’s reason for tying the reins to his leg.

He unwound the reins and pulled the mayor’s body further away from
the buggy. Lin avoided looking at Bradley’s mashed, deformed face before
he laid the mayor face down on the dirt and then stepped close to the horse.
There was no point in trying to salvage the harness, so he slid his knife
from its sheath and sliced the leather straps binding the horse to the buggy.
After it was free, he cut one of the reins and hung it over his shoulder.
Lin then led the horse to the mayor’s body and secured the horse’s only
rein to the buggy before picking up the corpse and tossing it over the gray
horse’s back. The gelding nickered and lurched away, and Lin thought the
body would fall to the ground and was grateful when it stayed in place. He
then took the cut rein from his shoulder and used it to secure the body.

Lin led the gelding to Copper and tied the long rein to his saddle horn
before taking the full canteen from his saddle. He opened the canteen, took
off his hat and poured half the canteen’s water into his hat’s crown. He
carried it to Copper and watched his gelding drink it dry before he emptied
the rest of the water into his hat and gave it to the buggy’s horse.
After Lin pulled his hat back on, he patted the gray gelding’s neck and
said, “You saved me a lot of trouble by crashing that buggy, sir.”

Lin then returned to Copper, hung the empty canteen and took down the
half-full canteen and took three long swallows before capping it and
hanging it back on his saddle. He untied Copper’s reins, stepped into his
saddle and headed back to the road.
As he rode back, Lin knew it would take around three hours to reach
Cottonwood at the reduced pace, so it would be dark when he entered
Center Street. He only hoped he didn’t fall asleep before he arrived. It
would be a terrible way to end this long, soul-trying day.
 _____
Ellen watched as Clara poked at her food and said, “You need to eat,
Clara. I’m sure Lin’s all right. He’s probably already on his way back with
the mayor in tow.”
“I know. And I feel like a silly schoolgirl for behaving this way, too. Lin
would be embarrassed if he saw me like this, and so should I.”

“Then stop acting like a silly school girl and return to being the strong
woman who just intimidated Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Shaefer before
throwing them out of her apartment.”
Clara smiled and said, “I’ll admit that it was a satisfying thing to do, and
you’re right, Ellen. I can’t let Lin see me fretting like a helpless maiden.”

Ellen nodded and watched as Clara attacked her supper.

_____

In the town’s cemetery at the west end of Cottonwood, Rod McCallister

sat with his back against the gravestone of James L. Saunders, beloved
husband and father while watching the road to Sulphur Springs with his
Winchester on his lap. The sky was already changing hue and Rod hoped
the road remained empty until sunset.
He'd made sure that Stubbs and Al had seen him as he walked to the
cemetery carrying his Winchester. But if Walker didn’t return before
sundown, he could use the darkness as a valid reason for not trying to shoot
him. That would give him more time to invent a more permanent excuse.
So, as he focused on the road, Rod wished the sun would hasten its retreat
from the sky.

_____
With the tension gone, Lin was once again fighting to stay awake and
avoid falling from his saddle. He was keeping his mind busy by planning
what he’d do when he returned to Cottonwood. He’d pay a visit to Mister
Boxer’s mortuary and if he wasn’t at work, he’d stop by his house. After he
dropped off the mayor’s body, he’d unsaddle Copper and leave him and the
buggy horse in Miguel’s corral. Then he’d stop at the jail to clean up and
take his saddlebags with him.

The money in the saddlebags that the mayor had stolen from his bank
would pose a difficult legal problem. Even though Mrs. Bradley would
probably inherit the bank, he wasn’t about to give her the two sacks which
probably contained almost all of the bank’s deposits. The money mostly
belonged to the depositors, so he couldn’t hold it as evidence, either. But
Lin decided to postpone finding a solution until his mind was clear.
After he was presentable, he’d finally return to
The Canyon Caller
office
and Clara. Other than just wanting to see her, he wanted to ask her about
Mrs. Bradley. He couldn’t imagine they were on friendly terms, so he’d
been surprised when she entered the jail with the mayor’s wife. Lin also
hoped Ellen had kept Clara from slipping into a depressed state after
shooting Cracker John.
But his top priority now was to stay awake. He considered dumping the
last of his water over his head again but thought the warm water might have
the opposite effect. It would be like taking a hot shower in his fancy
bathroom at the end of the day. He had to keep his mind busy.
So, he patted his red gelding’s neck and said, “If I’m going to keep the
sheriff’s horse, but I think he deserve a better name than Blackie. So, I’ll
make some suggestions and you can let me know which one you think he’d
like. Okay?”
Lin laughed before saying, “I’ll go alphabetically. How about Apollo,
the Greek god of the sun and the Roman god of poetry and music?”
Copper didn’t seem to like the idea of a lesser horse being named after a
god while he was identified as an element, so Lin smiled and began
suggesting more earthly names.

_____
 Ellen was in the bedroom taking a bath while Clara sat by the front
window watching the vacant road to Sulphur Springs. The road was slowly
disappearing as the sunlight faded, but she wasn’t about to leave the chair.
Clara had expected Lin to return hours ago, yet despite her irrational
concerns, she still found it impossible to imagine that the mayor had
somehow gotten the better of Lin.

She had to believe that Lin had caught up with him when he was close to
Sulphur Springs and decided to stay there overnight. It was the only
reassuring reason that made any sense to her.
As Clara watched the red sky slide into a light violet, a solitary figure
suddenly appeared near the edge of town. For just a few seconds, she
thought he might be Lin. If he’d been thrown from his saddle, it would
explain the long delay in his return. But after she realized he was much too
short, she noticed he was carrying a rifle.
Who is he and where did he come
from? And why was he carrying a rifle?
Clara watched him grow ever larger in her eyes until she recognized Rod
McCallister’s floppy white hat. Knowing that Rod was one of Cracker
John’s lowlife friends, Clara suspected he was probably waiting to ambush
Lin to avenge Cracker John’s death. But as soon as she thought of Rod’s
motive, she had a second, more frightening revelation. Lin hadn’t killed
Cracker John, she did.
Clara watched Rod until he disappeared down a side street before she
stood and walked to the table. After sitting down, she slid the Remington
closer and then watched the stairway while listening for any sounds coming
from the office.

As she waited, Clara thought she’d be afraid of what might happen and
was surprised when she found that she wasn’t even anxious. She was even
smiling as she heard Ellen splashing in the bathtub. She didn’t know why
she was so calm, especially considering how she’d felt after shooting
Cracker John.
 But as she tried to understand her unexpected sense of bravado, Clara
remembered Lin’s answer when she’d asked him how he felt after killing a
man. He told her how sick he’d felt after the first one but learned to live
with what he’d done by focusing on the lives he’d saved by stopping them.
And when she’d shot Cracker John, Lin told her she’d saved his life. Maybe
that’s why she felt this way.
But whatever the reason, Clara knew she was ready if Rod or anyone
else came up those stairs. She would protect Ellen just as Lin protected her
and the entire population of Cottonwood.
_____

Rod wasn’t about to return to The Wet Gulch. He took a side street and a
back alley to reach his room at White’s Lodging House.
After entering his dark room, Rod tossed his hat on the dresser and then
leaned his Winchester against the wall before sitting on the bed. While he’d
be able to blame the sunset for failing to shoot Walker, his fervent hope was
that Walker didn’t return at all. If he didn’t show up before sunrise, Rod
wouldn’t take credit for his absence. He’d let Stubbs and Al assume that
he’d done what he claimed he was going to do and decided to let them take
revenge on Clara Foster.
Satisfied he had all his answers ready for tomorrow, Rod pulled off his
boots and stretched out on his bed.
_____
Lin had passed through all of the letters of the alphabet and was halfway
through S when he spotted the distant lights of Cottonwood. He quickly
settled on Slate as the black gelding’s new name and picked up his pace. He
felt revitalized knowing that his hectic day was almost over. In a little more
than an hour he should be leaving the jail and heading to
The Canyon
Caller.
 Because of the increased speed, Lin checked the buggy horse to make
sure the mayor’s body was still there. After verifying that Mayor Bradley
hadn’t gone wandering, Lin focused on Cottonwood. He saw shadows
moving along Center Street, and after the incident with Cracker John, he
was relieved when he didn’t hear any gunshots. He’d been concerned about
those two men he’d disarmed and wished he’d stored their pistols in the jail
instead of Clara’s desk.

_____
After twenty minutes without hearing anyone trying to sneak into the
office, Clara stood and walked to the window. She took a short look down
the moonlit street before moving the chair back to the table. She was about
to sit down when the bedroom door opened, and Ellen stepped out wearing
one of her nightdresses.
Ellen smiled and said, “Thank you for letting me borrow your
nightdress. I’ll watch the street for Lin if you’d like to take a bath.”
Clara shook her head and replied, “No, that’s alright. But I need to warn
you about something. Just as the sun set, I saw Rod McCallister walking in
from the end of town carrying a rifle. I think he was trying to ambush Lin in
revenge for Cracker John’s death.”

Ellen’s eyes shot wide open as she exclaimed, “But you were the one
who shot him!
Do you think he’ll try to kill you?
”
“I thought about it, but that was around a half an hour ago, so I’m pretty
sure he’s not coming here. I’ll tell Lin about it when he returns.”
Ellen sat down and asked, “How late are you going to stay awake
waiting for him?”
Clara replied, “Until I can’t keep my eyes open. But regardless of how
tired I’ll be, I imagine Lin’s already more exhausted by now.”

Ellen then asked, “I’m already getting sleepy, so is it alright if I lie down
on the bed?”
 “Use my bedroom instead. The bed is more comfortable, and you can
close the door to block any noises that I might make.”

“Are you sure, Clara? It’s your bedroom.”

“I’m sure.”

“What about your other nightdress? Do you want me to bring it to you?”

“That won’t be necessary. If I need to get some sleep, I’ll just take off
my boots and stretch out on top of the bed.”

Ellen felt guilty but knew there was no point in arguing with Clara, so
she stood and said, “Goodnight, Clara. I hope I stay awake long enough to
hear Lin return.”
Clara smiled and said, “So, do I. Goodnight, Ellen.”
After Ellen closed the door, the only light in the front room came from
the soft moonbeams that passed through the windows. Clara looked at the
Remington pistol before she closed her eyes and listened for Lin’s return.
_____

Lin turned left on Lincoln Street and as he approached the mortuary, he

was relieved when he saw light coming from the side window. He soon
pulled up, dismounted and tied Copper’s reins to the hitchrail before
stepping onto the small porch. He knocked loudly on the front door and
hoped he wasn’t disturbing Mister Boxer at a critical time during his
embalming process.
But just ten seconds later, the door opened, and Bob Boxer said, “I
thought you’d be stopping by, Marshal. Is that Mayor Bradley’s body you
have draped over the horse?”
“Yes, sir. But I didn’t shoot him. He had a buggy accident and his face
smashed into a boulder.”
Bob nodded as he said, “Can you help me carry him inside?”
 “Yes, sir.”

As Lin and the mortician walked to the gray gelding, Lin slipped his
knife free, so when they reached the mayor’s corpse, he quickly sliced the
rein and slid the knife back into its sheath. They then carried the body into
the mortuary and set it on the embalming table. When Lin heard a sharp
thump, he remembered the mayor had a pistol, so he reached into his right
jacket pocket and pulled out a Webley Bulldog.
Bob said, “It looks like our mayor might have been expecting you,
Marshal.”

Lin knew better, but didn’t want to waste any more time, so he just
nodded and left the room. After storing the Bulldog in one of his already
bloated saddlebags, he mounted his red gelding and headed to Miguel’s
corral.
Two minutes later, he dismounted and led both horses into the corral. It
took him longer than usual to unsaddle Copper, but after turning both
horses free to guzzle at the trough, Lin left the corral with his loaded
saddlebags over his shoulder. He made a quick but very necessary stop at
the privy before walking to the sheriff’s office.
As soon as he entered the dark jail, Lin was suddenly overwhelmed with
fatigue. He fought the urge to flop onto the small bed as he passed through
the back room and entered the last cell. Lin removed both sacks of money
and slid them under the cot before walking to the wall and taking down the
large key ring.
After locking the cell, he put the key ring into his saddlebags and then
returned to the back room to clean up. He left his hat on the bed before
taking off his shirt and pumping water into the wash basin. The cold water
dismissed his sleepiness, but he knew it was only temporary. So, he quickly
pulled on his shirt and hat, tossed his saddlebags over his shoulder and
locked the back door.
 Lin locked the front door after leaving the jail, dropped the small key
ring in his pocket and then quickly strode along the boardwalk to see Clara.
When he crossed the street, he didn’t see any light coming from her office
or apartment and believed she might be asleep already. He couldn’t blame
her after all she’d been through and thought about returning to the jail. But
then he remembered those two friends of Cracker John he’d let go and
prayed she was all right.
He noticed the boarded-up window before he reached the front of the
newspaper and soon stopped before the door and was relieved when he
found it locked. But rather than knocking and disturbing Clara’s rest, he
stepped to the side alley and headed for the back door.
_____
Clara had tried to stay awake longer but just fifteen minutes after Ellen
had closed the door, she stood and stepped quietly to the bed. She sat down,
pulled off her boots and laid her head on the pillow.
So, when Lin reached the unlocked back door, Clara had already
succumbed to Somnus, the Roman god of sleep.
Lin quietly swung the door open, entered the office and pulled it closed
behind him. He didn’t take another step as he listened for any sounds
coming from Clara’s apartment. After almost a minute of silence, he tiptoed
to the stairway and quietly started climbing the steps.
He cringed when a loose nail squeaked but continued ascending the
stairs. He stopped when he was able to see the second floor but didn’t see
Clara on the bed. He hoped she was sleeping in her bedroom but wondered
where Ellen was. Maybe she’d returned to the sheriff’s house now that he’d
moved into a new, much hotter residence.

Three stairs later, he spotted Clara and smiled. After Lin stepped onto
the second floor, he stealthily walked across the room and stopped near the
table. He noticed the Remington laying on the tabletop before he slowly
lowered his saddlebags to the floor. He sat on one of the chairs and was
watching Clara as he unbuckled his gunbelt and then placed his holstered
Remington beside the bare Remington. After putting his hat on the other
chair, he stared at Clara and debated about where he should sleep.
He was seriously tempted to join Clara on the bed, but knew even as
tired he was, sleep would be an impossibility. So, he settled for his only
other option and laid on the floor using his saddlebags as a pillow.
Lin took one last look at Clara and whispered, “Pleasant dreams, Clara.
 CHAPTER 8
Clara was having a horrible nightmare. Lin had ridden off a cliff and she
watched in horror as he and Copper disappeared. As she screamed, she
found herself falling behind him toward a carpet of huge, jagged rocks. She
was reaching with her right hand to try to catch him, but her fingertips were
blocked just inches from his flailing hand. The ground was rushing ever
closer, and Lin was about to smash into a knife-like rock when she bolted
upright with her eyes wide open and her heart pounding.
Clara laid her right palm on her heaving chest as she gulped for air and
thanked God that it had only been a nightmare. After her breathing slowed,
she realized she was still dressed and looked at the front window to see if it
was still nighttime. When she saw the soft light of the predawn, Clara
suddenly experienced a waking nightmare.
Where was Lin?
Clara swung her feet from the bed and was reaching down for her right
boot when she saw a long, dark lump on the floor near the table. Between
the shadows and her newly awakened state of mind, she first thought that
Ellen had moved from the bedroom to the floor. But just four seconds later,
she felt a rush of relief when she realized it was Lin.

Clara quietly pulled on her boots and then stood and tiptoed closer to Lin
to make sure he wasn’t wounded. She stood over him for more than thirty
seconds just watching him breathe quietly before she turned and stepped
quietly to the staircase. After descending a few steps, she took one more
look at Lin before continuing to the bottom floor and then leaving through
the back door to visit the privy.
_____

When Clara closed the door, Ellen slowly opened her eyes, sat up, and
then yawned and stretched. She took a few seconds remembering where she
was before she stood and then took a minute to make the bed before she
stepped to the bedroom door to see if Clara was awake.

Ellen opened the door, stepped into the front room and looked at the bed
only to find it empty. She couldn’t imagine where Clara had gone when she
suddenly remembered what Clara had told her about Rod McCallister. Ellen
swung around to return to the bedroom to retrieve the derringer but as she
turned, she spotted a man lying on the floor in the shadows near the table.
Ellen thought he was Rod McCallister and screamed before dashing into
the bedroom and slamming the door.

Her shriek shattered Lin’s dream and instantly returned him to the real
world. His eyes flew open before he shot to his feet and automatically
grabbed the loose Remington lying on the table. Lin was trying to reach full
consciousness as he searched the poorly lit room for the screamer. He didn’t
remember that Ellen was in the bedroom when he saw Clara’s empty bed
and thought she had screamed before someone had forced her into the
bedroom.
In his haste to save Clara, Lin didn’t take any of his standard precautions
like listening for noises from the bedroom or trying to recall the room’s
layout. He didn’t even cock the Remington before he rushed to the door,
threw it open and ran inside.

After she’d slammed the door, Ellen had hurried to the side table
snatched the derringer, cocked the hammer and pointed it at the doorway.
Her hand was shaking when the door flew open, and as Rod McCallister
rushed in, she closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.
Lin hadn’t spotted Ellen before the derringer’s muzzle flashed and the
small Remington’s .41 caliber bullet glanced off his large Remington’s
frame. As the derringer’s report echoed off the bedroom’s walls, the
revolver flew from his hand and bounced off the floor.

Ellen was shivering but still had the derringer pointed at the door with
her eyes tightly clenched. She was too terrified to remember to pull the
hammer back to take a second shot as she waited for Rod McCallister to kill
her.

After Lin’s eyes recovered from the muzzle flare, he was stunned when
he saw Ellen standing just six feet away with Clara’s derringer in her hand.
He took one long stride to get closer while taking himself out of the line of
fire before he reached for the small, uncocked pistol.
He wrapped his long fingers around the derringer and as he took it from
her hand, he quietly said, “It’s all right now, so you can open your eyes,
Ellen.”
When Ellen heard Lin’s voice, she was horrified for having shot him, but
slowly opened her eyes and saw Lin smiling at her.
She burst into tears and sobbed, “I…I thought you were Rod
McCallister. I almost killed you, Lin! I…didn’t…”

Lin slipped the derringer into his pocket and wrapped her in his arms
before saying, “It’s all right, Ellen. There’s no reason to be upset.”
Ellen hugged Lin and rested her head on his chest as she continued to
weep. Lin wanted to ask her where Clara had gone but decided to wait until
she stopped crying.

_____
Clara was leaving the privy when she heard Ellen’s bone-chilling scream
but wasn’t worried. She assumed Ellen had just been surprised when she
saw Lin laying on the floor.

She was smiling as she closed the outhouse door and then began walking
back to the office. After Clara opened the back door, she expected to hear
Lin laughing at Ellen’s reaction. But just as she stepped inside, she froze in
shock when she heard a gunshot.
The back door remained open as Clara listened for anything that would
explain what had just happened. After ten seconds had passed without any
more sounds, she closed the door and stepped quietly to the stairway and
then started up the steps.

When her eyes were above the apartment floor, she paused but didn’t see
Lin or Ellen. She took the last four stairs and nervously stepped to the open
bedroom doorway. Just before she entered, Clara heard Ellen crying and
then saw the Remington pistol lying on the floor. She was about to ask
Ellen where Lin had gone when she stepped through the doorway and found
him with his arms around Ellen. She felt a flash flood of jealousy that
quickly passed when she realized Lin was just comforting Ellen.
When Lin saw Clara in his peripheral vision, he looked at her, released
Ellen and then smiled and asked, “Can you take over, Clara?”

Before Clara could answer, Ellen lifted her head from Lin’s chest, and
then stepped back, wiped her face and said, “I’m so sorry, Clara. But it was
still dark when I left the bedroom, and I thought Lin was Rod McCallister. I
screamed and hurried back into the bedroom and grabbed the derringer. I
was so terrified that when Lin opened the door, I…I fired the gun. Then I
thought I shot him and just fell apart. I’m such a stupid girl!”
Clara glanced at Lin before hugging Ellen and saying, “You’re not
stupid, Ellen. You were just confused like we all are when we wake up in a
strange place. And I understand why you mistook Lin for Rod McCallister,
too. So, don’t blame yourself. Even Lin will tell you it was just an
accident.”

Ellen began sobbing again before she said, “He already did, but I still
feel stupid for doing it.”
As the two women embraced, Lin stepped away, picked up the
Remington and saw the gouge on the top of the steel frame. It looked as if it
still was functional, but he wasn’t about to fire a round knowing it might
blow up in his face. Then he walked to the wall and found the hole where
the ricocheted bullet entered the pine. He didn’t think it would be repaired
because he hoped Clara wouldn’t be living here much longer.
 Clara smiled at Ellen and said, “I’ll start a fire in the cookstove while
you visit the privy. I’ll have Lin wait until you return before he tells us what
happened with the mayor. Okay?”

Ellen nodded, and after they separated, she said, “I’ll be right back,” and
then hurried to the stairs and soon disappeared.
After she left the bedroom, Lin said, “I’ll start the cookstove fire while
you take care of your morning ablutions.”
Clara laughed before she said, “Ablutions? Really, Lin?”
Lin grinned and then stepped through the doorway and closed the door.
The front room was still more in shadow than in light, so Lin picked up a
lamp, carried it to the table and set it and the wounded pistol beside his
gunbelt. He took a match from the cup near the cookstove, lit the wick and
lowered the glass chimney before he stepped to the cookstove and opened
the firebox door.

After he sat on his heels and added some kindling, Lin was grateful that
Ellen had missed, but not because he hadn’t been wounded. It was because
of the effect a hit would have had on Ellen’s mind and soul. He knew Ellen
didn’t have Clara’s strong character and already had been emotionally
scarred by Sheriff Johnson’s despicable treatment. If her bullet had found its
mark, he knew Ellen would be crushed with grief and might never recover.
Lin set the kindling ablaze, added three seasoned split logs and closed
the firebox door. After standing, he stepped to the table, picked up his
gunbelt and strapped it on before taking a seat. He took the derringer from
his pocket, opened the flap to his left saddlebag and dropped it inside. Then
he set the damaged pistol onto his saddlebags and placed his hat on top to
clear the table. He didn’t want Ellen to see anything that would remind her
of the confused and almost deadly morning.

Clara was still in the bedroom when Ellen returned from her visit to the
privy and asked, “Is Clara taking a bath?”
 “I’m not sure. You can knock on the door and ask her.”

Ellen nodded, rapped on the door and loudly asked, “May I come in to
get dressed, Clara?”
Clara replied, “I’ll be out in a few seconds, Ellen.”

Lin smiled as he watched Ellen standing before the door in her

nightdress and with dirty bare feet from her visit to the privy. He was about
to tell her about the water closet in his large, tiled bathroom when Clara
opened the door and stepped out of the bedroom.
Ellen rushed inside and closed the door as Clara walked to the table, sat
down and asked, “Do you think Ellen will be all right?”

“I hope so. But I can’t imagine how much worse it would have been for
her if she hadn’t missed.”
“It would have been much worse for you, Lin.”

“I don’t think so. I’m used to being shot. But how are you doing, Clara?
You were understandably shaken by having to shoot Cracker John to save
my life.”
Clara looked into Lin’s brown eyes as she replied, “I was almost out of
my mind for a while, and even after I calmed down, I was just going
through the motions. But then I remembered what you told me about how
you dealt with your injured conscience for having killed those men. So, I
focused on how shooting him had saved your life and it washed away most
of my guilt.”

Lin was relieved knowing Clara wasn’t pretending to have healed the
damage to her soul. He was sure she would still have nightmares just as he
did, but hoped he’d be able help her when she suddenly awakened with her
heart pounding.
Clara then stood and said, “I’ll start cooking breakfast and when Ellen
returns, you can explain what took you so long to return last night.”
 As Clara walked to her pantry, Lin replied, “I had a good excuse.”

Clara took a basket of eggs from the pantry and said, “I’m sure it will be
an interesting excuse as well.”
Lin nodded and suspected Clara had her own interesting story to tell as
he watched her almost waltz from the pantry to the cookstove. She was still
wearing her britches and boots but there was something different about her
wardrobe. Lin had been so mesmerized by her well-fitted pants that it took
him another thirty-six seconds before he discovered the change.
She was wearing a white blouse instead of the tan one she’d worn when
she entered the bedroom. But not only was it a different color, Clara had
folded the sides of the blouse which emphasized her impressive figure.
While he greatly appreciated the change, he suspected it had something to
do with Clara’s entrance into the bedroom while he was embracing Ellen.
He smiled at the thought and considered expressing his gratitude to Ellen
but wasn’t sure if Clara would appreciate the jest.

_____
The morning sunlight arrived just as Ellen left the bedroom and helped
Clara set the food and hot coffee on the table.

After the ladies sat down, Lin thanked God for His bounty without
giving into the temptation of thanking Ellen for inspiring Clara’s wardrobe
modification.
As they began to eat, Clara said, “So, tell us what happened after you
started after the mayor.”
Lin nodded and said, “After I left town, the first hour or so was just a
fast ride…”
As Lin continued speaking, he managed to squeeze in bites of scrambled
eggs and ham and gulp some hot coffee. He compacted most of the long
chase but stopped eating when he reached the moment when the mayor’s
buggy swerved off the road and crashed onto its right side.

Clara and Ellen stopped eating when Lin described how the mayor had
met his end.
Neither pushed her plate away in revulsion, but Clara quickly asked,
“Did he take all of the bank’s money?”
Lin nodded as he replied, “He had two bags full of greenbacks, gold
coins, and some handfuls of silver.”
Ellen then asked, “Does Mrs. Bradley get all that money?”

“No, she doesn’t. I think most of the money was coerced from the
townsfolk, so I’ll need to have a territorial accountant come up from
Prescott to sort it all out. I’ve got it locked in a jail cell and after I get a
total, I’ll hold it as evidence.”
Clara was happy knowing that it would take a while before the
accountant arrived from Prescott, so Lin would be staying longer than she’d
expected.
Ellen asked, “What if people need money?”
“After I find a trustworthy bank clerk, I’ll give him enough to cover any
withdrawals, but only after I get a receipt.”
With the money questions answered, Lin resumed his report and ten
minutes later, he finally explained his stealthy entrance to Clara’s apartment
without admitting to his temptation to join Clara in her bed.
As he sipped his lukewarm coffee, Lin asked, “Who is Rod McCallister
and why did he terrify Ellen?”

Clara glanced at Ellen before replying, “He was one of Cracker John’s
friends. I was watching the road to Sulphur Springs hoping to see you. Just
as sunset was about to end, I saw Rod McCallister walk into town carrying
a rifle. I think he was looking for revenge and was planning to ambush
you.”

Lin hesitated to remind Clara who had shot Cracker John, so he said,
“That’s possible. So, I guess I was lucky he gave up when he did. The only
likely spot to set up an ambush that close to town is the cemetery, and I rode
past it about ninety minutes later.”
Ellen asked, “Are you going to arrest him, Lin?”
“I can’t arrest him for just walking around at sunset with a rifle. But
when I have some time, I think I’ll have a friendly chat with Mister
McCallister. I assume he can be found in The Wet Gulch with Cracker
John’s other two pals.”
Clara replied, “That’s a good guess.”
“I need to move their pistols from your desk to the jail, too.”
Clara said, “You have a lot of work ahead of you, Lin. How can I help?”
“You can be a big help. The first thing I need to do is to tell Mrs. Bradley
that her husband is dead. Do you want to come along? I didn’t think she
could be your friend, so I was pretty surprised when you came into the jail
with her.”
“She and Mrs. Shaefer rarely speak to me. But Mrs. Bradley wanted you
to catch her husband, so she stopped by to ask where she could find you.
After we left the jail, she wanted to know what was going on because she
doesn’t mingle with common folks. That didn’t go well, so I think you’d be
better off telling her yourself.”

“Alright. I’ll just need her house address before you tell me why your
meeting didn’t go well.”
Clara gave Lin directions to Mrs. Bradley’s house before telling him
about the contentious meeting with the new widow and Mrs. Shaefer.
 Lin smiled as he pictured Clara unleashing her opinion of Mrs. Bradley
as she towered over her. When Clara described how the two societal
matrons left her apartment, Ellen started giggling.

When she finished, Lin grinned and said, “I can understand why you’d
rather not come along. But while I’m gone, can you make me a list of
trustworthy men, and which of them would be willing to take charge?”
“Alright. There will be more than you might expect. They’re not all
cowards, but most of them had families and businesses to protect.”

“I understand. After I give the news to Mrs. Bradley, I’ll leave a notice
on the bank door and then send my telegrams. Then I’ll talk to Miguel
about the horses before opening the jail and facing the hordes of distraught
citizens.”
“What else can I do?”
“I’ll want to have a town meeting sometime today. The best place to
have it is the Protestant church. Could you visit the minister and ask if him
if he’d allow me to have it there? It’ll probably be early afternoon, and we
can have the bell rung to let the folks know when it’s about to start.”
“We’ll ask Reverend Gooding, and I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to
let you use the church. Then we’ll come to the jail, and I’ll give you the list.
You’ll probably need more help, too.”

Lin smiled as he replied, “I’ll need a lot of help if I ever plan to return to
San Francisco.”
Clara nodded but didn’t ask the one question she desperately wanted him
to answer but watched as Lin plucked his hat from his saddlebags and
pulled it on.
He hung the weighty leather bags over his shoulder and said, “I don’t
have any more room in my saddlebags, so you might want to move the
pistols I left in your desk drawer to your apartment, Clara.”
 Clara nodded as she said, “Okay,” and then watched Lin walk away until
he disappeared down the stairs.
_____
After stepping into the back alley, Lin turned into the blinding morning
sunlight and started briskly walking to the Bradley house. Despite
suspecting that Mrs. Bradley might still be sleeping, he wasn’t going to wait
for more than a minute or so after knocking. He had a lot on his plate and
after hearing Clara’s opinion of the woman, Lin suspected he’d be waiting
on the porch just twiddling his thumbs for a long time before she opened
the door.
But when he turned onto the graveled walkway, Lin was surprised to see
smoke coming from the cookstove pipe. Even if Mrs. Bradley employed a
cook, having someone up and moving in the house was good news.
After stepping onto the porch and knocking three times, Lin only needed
to wait for a half a minute before the door opened. And to his surprise, he
found Agatha Bradley wearing a fancy housecoat with a fox fur collar
looking back at him.

Agatha dispensed with any form of greeting and quickly asked, “Did you
catch my poor excuse for a husband, Marshal?”
Lin didn’t pretend to be sympathetic as he replied, “Yes, ma’am. I left
his body with Mister Boxer last night.”
Agatha showed no signs of sorrow as she asked, “Did you shoot the
bastard?”
“No, ma’am. I was less than a mile behind him when his buggy swerved
off the road, tipped over and crashed. He was dead by the time I arrived.
And when you go to the mortician to arrange for his burial, I suggest you
ask for a closed casket and avoid looking at his face.”
Agatha’s next question revealed what was more important to her than her
husband’s death as she asked, “How much money did he take?”
 “I haven’t counted it yet, but I imagine it was almost all of the bank’s
deposits.”

“Don’t bother counting it, Marshal. Just return it to the bank and I’ll
have Mister Harrison do the accounting. And let me warn you that there
will be repercussions if the books don’t balance.”
Lin held his temper in check and replied, “The money is evidence, Mrs.
Bradley. And I believe that some of it, and probably a significant
percentage, was acquired by illegal means. So, I plan to have the bank’s
books reviewed by a territorial accountant who will decide how much will
be returned to the bank.”
Agatha fumed as she snapped, “I now own the bank! And you have no
authority to keep my money!”
Lin tapped his badge and said, “This gives me the authority, Agatha. I
suggest you get dressed and visit Mister Boxer.”
Agatha glared at Lin as she said, “You’re just the type of man I would
expect to be attracted to a…woman like Clara Foster.”
Lin smiled and said, “Why, thank you for the compliment, Agatha. And
may I say that you’re exactly the type of woman I would expect to marry
a…man like Solomon Oliver Bradley. Or as I like to think of him, just
another S.O.B.”
Before Mrs. Bradley exploded, Lin spun on his heels and left the porch.
He hadn’t even stepped onto the walkway when he heard the door slam
behind him. As he headed to the Western Union office, Lin was surprisingly
pleased with the brief exchange. Mrs. Bradley had reacted as he’d
anticipated with only one exception. She hadn’t asked about the buggy or
the horse.
By the time Lin approached the telegraph office, he’d already gained a
small line of followers. So, just before he entered the small room attached
to the stage depot, he turned and waited for the five men to coalesce.
 When they had gathered before him, Lin said, “I know you all have a lot
of questions, but I don’t have time to answer them now. I’m going to hold a
town meeting this afternoon to explain my plans, so I’d appreciate your
patience.”

The town’s druggist, Lex Brewster said, “We all owe you for getting rid
of those bastards, so we’ll tell the rest of the folks to leave you alone. If
you’ll tell us where you’re having the meeting, we’ll pass that along, too.”
“If Reverend Gooding agrees, we’ll have it at his church. Tell them to
wait until they hear the bell tolls.”
Lex said, “We’ll let everyone know, Marshal. And thanks for rescuing
Cottonwood.”
Lin nodded and then turned and entered the telegraph office. After
writing a long message to Marshal Plummer in San Francisco, he wrote an
even longer one to Marshal Walcott which included his request for a
government accountant. He used one more sheet of paper to write the notice
he’d post on the bank door before handing the two telegrams to the
operator.
Jim Willis counted the words before looking at Lin and saying, “I wish I
didn’t have to charge you, Marshal Walker, but the company is pretty strict
nowadays."
Lin smiled and said, “It’s alright. I can add the cost to my list of
expenses.”
Jim smiled as he said, “Then I won’t feel bad for telling you it’ll cost
you two dollars and forty cents.”
Lin pulled out the wad of cash he’d found in Luke Riddle’s pocket,
peeled off a five-dollar bill and handed it to Jim before stuffing it back in
his pocket.
After the telegrapher handed him his change, Lin added it to his pocket
vault and said, “If you receive a reply before noon, I should be in the jail.”
 Jim said, “I’ll have one of the boys run it down there as soon as I write it
out.”
Lin nodded and then turned around and left the telegraph office. As he
headed to the bank to leave his notice, Lin was no longer being followed.
He suspected it wasn’t because the announcement of the meeting had
already circulated. He was pretty sure it was because they were all gathered
in front of The Cottonwood Bank even though it wasn’t scheduled to open
for another hour.
When one of the men spotted Lin, he left the crowd and hurried to meet
him which triggered a stampede of anxious depositors. Lin stopped walking
as he watched them rush towards him and hoped they managed to stop
before crushing him under their boots and shoes.
He was close to pulling his Remington when the first men suddenly
slammed on their leather brakes making the others pile into their backs.
Lin quickly held out his palms and shouted, “Calm down! Obviously,
you all heard that the mayor and owner of the bank left town and took most
of the bank’s money. But there’s no reason to panic. Mayor Bradley is dead,
but all of your money is safe. I ask for your patience and plan to have a
meeting this afternoon to explain what will happen. I’ll be in the jail until
then and would be grateful for giving me the time to get my work done.”
The man who’d started the stampede said, “I reckon we can wait ‘til you
have the meetin’.”
Lin said, “Thank you,” before waving to the crowd and turning around.

As he walked to the jail, Lin crumpled up his unneeded notice and tossed
it into the first waste bin he passed. After angling across Center Street, his
mind was chaotic with the multitude of tasks laying before him. Lin hated
disorder, so he pushed them aside for the moment and focused on the only
thing he needed to do before unlocking the jail.
 When he entered Miguel’s livery, he wasn’t surprised to find him already
at work, and noticed that Copper and Rumpus were now residing in two of
his stalls.
When Miguel saw Lin enter, he set Lin’s saddle on the wide shelf and
then grinned as he said, “When I found the mayor’s horse in my corral, I
knew you had returned.”
Lin was smiling as he shook Miguel’s hand and said, “I’ll be pretty busy
for a while, but I wanted to let you know that I’ll be keeping the sheriff’s
gelding. I assume Mrs. Bradley will want the buggy horse, but I’m giving
you the others. If you want to visit N&B, you can have the pinto, too. And
that includes all of their tack.”
Miguel quickly asked, “Are you sure, Lin?”
Lin replied, “Of course, I’m sure. You’ve helped me more than anyone
else, Miguel. Except for Clara, of course.”
“Thank you very much.”
Lin nodded as he asked, “Can you give Copper and my other horses and
Job a new set of shoes?”
“Yes, and I won’t even charge you.”
Lin said, “That’s nonsense. I’ll pay you for boarding them all for another
week, too.”

As Miguel was about to protest, Lin pulled the folded stack of Luke’s
greenbacks from his pocket and pressed them into Miguel’s palm before
saying, “Keep the change.”
Miguel had never held more than five dollars in his hand and was too
stunned to reply before Lin gently slapped his shoulder, turned and left the
barn.
As he headed to the jail’s back door, Lin hoped Miguel wasn’t too proud
to keep the money. And depending on Ellen’s plans, he hoped to give
something much more valuable to the Ramos family.
After entering the jail, Lin secured the back door and stepped past the
small private office and cells, entered the front office and hung his hat on a
peg. He finally slid the saddlebags from his shoulder and set them onto the
front desk. He was massaging his aching shoulder as he sat behind the desk
and glanced at the cell that now served as a vault.
Lin pulled open the top drawer before he released both of his
saddlebags’ buckles and transferred the damaged Remington and the
mayor’s Webley to the drawer. Then he removed the large key ring and set
it on the desktop before sliding his writing case from the other saddlebag.

He hoped he’d have enough time to add all of the entries documenting
the details of the last few days’ events. When he slipped his journal out of
the leather case it carried the two envelopes with it.  Lin then ripped open
the one containing the cash and removed the banknotes. He tossed the
empty envelope into the waste basket before taking his wallet from his
inner vest pocket and inserting them inside.
After returning the wallet his hidden pocket, he stared at the second
envelope and thought about tossing it into the heat stove and setting it
ablaze. But even though he believed it was no longer necessary, Lin realized
that he wasn’t out of the woods quite yet. Clara probably was right when
she suspected that Rod McCallister planned to ambush him, so there was a
chance he might try again and be successful. So, he returned the letter to the
writing case, took one of his pencils and opened his journal.
_____
Rod McCallister hadn’t heard about Lin’s return with Mayor Bradley’s
body when he left White’s Lodging House and headed to Harper’s Diner for
breakfast. But as soon as he stepped onto Center Street’s boardwalk, he
froze when he saw several small groups of townsfolk engaged in excited
conversation. He continued watching for more than two minutes trying to
understand what was going on before he started walking again. As he
approached the nearest circle of five men, he slowed to a snail’s pace to
hear what they were saying.
When he was still six feet away, Rod heard one of them laugh and say, “I
heard Bob Boxer couldn’t even keep his supper down when he saw the
mayor’s face.”
Rod stopped a second time before hearing Tom Johnson say, “Now that
even Bradley’s gone, I wish we could convince that marshal to stick
around.”
None of the men even noticed Rod before he spun around and quickly
walked away. As he rapidly headed back to his room, Rod was trying to
remember the excuse he’d created to explain why he hadn’t shot Walker. He
still hadn’t recovered his cover story when he entered his room and closed
the door behind him. Rod tossed his hat against the wall in frustration
before he sat on his unmade bed.
After he’d settled his nerves, he counted himself lucky that he hadn’t
been spotted by Stubbs or Al. It would give him time to either recall his
earlier excuse or come up with a new plan to explain his failure.

Less than a minute later, Rod realized that even if he remembered every
detail of his phony reason, Stubbs and Al wouldn’t believe him. Even
worse, they’d call him a cowardly liar instead of just a plain old coward.
He slipped his Colt from his holster and stared at the killing tool. Rod
knew he stood no chance of outshooting Walker and just a sliver of a
chance of ambushing him in town. But he believed Clara Foster would be a
much easier target even knowing she’d shot Cracker John.
Now that Rod had set his mind to his new task, he began planning how
to carry it out but knew he had to move quickly. It didn’t take long for Rod
to find a simple solution. He’d use the Steve Hilliard method and enter the
newspaper office’s back door with his pistol cocked. As soon as he saw her
shocked face, he’d pull his trigger and hurry out the back door. And just
like Steve, no one would know who’d committed the murder. Even if
Walker suspected him, he wouldn’t avenge her death because he was one of
those law-abiding lawmen.
Rod holstered his pistol before he stood, walked across the room and
plucked his hat from the floor. But when he reached his hand to turn the
doorknob, he hesitated. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to shoot anyone, much
less a woman. But he couldn’t think of another solution, so he turned the
knob and pulled open the door.
_____
Clara folded her long list of trustworthy men, slid it into her pants pocket
and said, “We’ll stop at the jail and give this to Lin before we talk to
Reverend Gooding.”
Ellen said, “Okay. Are we going to move those pistols upstairs before we
leave?”

Clara said, “I almost forgot,” and then pulled open the desk drawers.
After moving them to the desktop, Clara stood and after Ellen took the
Shopkeeper, Clara picked up the gunbelt with the Smith & Wesson. She
started to reach for the Colt’s gunbelt when she smiled, unrolled the Model
3’s gunbelt and buckled it on.
Ellen asked, “Why did you do that?”
“I want to surprise Lin. And I liked how the Smith & Wesson Model 3
loads. It automatically ejects the spent brass from all six chambers at the
same time, too.”
Ellen gawked at Clara for a few seconds before Clara snatched the other
Colt from the desktop and heading to the stairway. Ellen quickly followed
and after leaving the excess pistols in the pantry, they trotted back down the
stairway.

After leaving the office through the back door, Clara and Ellen turned to
start down the alley. But didn’t take a single step before they spotted Rod
McCallister staring at them from less than fifty feet away.
 Rod was worried about being spotted before entering the newspaper
office. So, after reaching the alley, he had looked ahead without seeing
anyone and then focused on the buildings along the left side. It was only
when he heard Clara close the door that he turned his eyes to the front. He
was surprised when he saw Clara with Ellen Posey and froze when he
noticed the gunbelt at her waist. He stopped breathing and wondered if that
was the pistol that she’d used to shoot Cracker John.
Clara’s surprise quickly vanished and was replaced with a surge of anger
when she recalled the image of Rod McCallister walking down Center
Street in the sunset carrying his rifle. Her eyes narrowed before she began
marching down the alley to confront the man who’d tried to ambush Lin.
Rod saw the ferocity in Clara’s eyes and without even thinking of
reaching for his Colt, turned and raced away. He’d rather hear Stubbs and
Al call him a coward than face an angry Clara Foster.
Clara stopped and was surprised when she saw him run away but was
also somewhat disappointed that she hadn’t been able to give him a piece of
her mind. She watched Rod until he turned into the first side alley and
disappeared.
Ellen stepped beside her and asked, “Why did he run away like that?”
“I don’t know, but the real questions are why he was there and what was
he planning to do.”
“You have to tell Lin.”
Clara sharply replied, “I intend to,” before they started hurrying to the
jail.
_____

After he entered the side alley, Rod was relieved when Clara hadn’t
chased him. He turned onto a side street and as he headed back to his room,
Rod even thought about leaving Cottonwood altogether.
 _____
Lin was pleased when he finished his last entry and then closed his
journal before returning it to his writing case. He slid his dull pencil into the
empty loop inside the case and closed the flap. As he stood to unlock the
front door, Lin expected there would be a human flood on the other side of
the door waiting to pour into the jail. But after swinging it open, he was
surprised and very pleased when he didn’t find a single person standing on
the boardwalk.
He stepped through the doorway and looked east down Center Street. He
smiled when he saw the many scattered groups of townsfolk and was about
to reenter the jail when Clara and Ellen appeared from an alleyway. After
they turned onto Center Street, he was about to wave when he noticed
Clara’s intense demeanor and the gunbelt around her waist.
But as soon as Clara saw Lin standing before the jail, her severe
expression vanished. She smiled and waved just before she and Ellen
crossed the street.
Lin returned her wave and smile but still wondered why she had seemed
so determined when he’d first spotted her and why she was wearing a
pistol.
When they were close, Lin was about to ask her when Clara said, “Let’s
go inside, Lin.”
Lin nodded then waited for Clara and Ellen to enter the jail before
following them into the front office.
After Clara and Ellen each took a chair in front of the desk, Lin walked
to the other side, sat down and waited for Clara to tell him what had
angered her.
Before she told him about Rod McCallister, Clara pulled the folded sheet
from her pocket, laid it on the desktop and said, “This is my list of
trustworthy men. But when we left the office, we saw Rod McCallister
standing in the back alley just a few yards away.”
Lin’s anger surged and his brow furrowed knowing McCallister’s most
likely reason for being there and was anxious to hear what happened.
Clara continued, saying, “At first, I was surprised. Then I just wanted to
confront him and tell him that I knew he had planned to ambush you. But
after I started walking towards him, he suddenly turned and ran away. I
wasn’t sure why he was there, but now I think he was planning to enter the
office through the back door and shoot me out of revenge.”
Lin said, “That’s what I believe, too. Is that why you’re wearing the
pistol? Did you suspect he might try something?”
“No, I didn’t even think about him before we left. I only decided to wear
it to impress you when we dropped off the list.”
Lin smiled and said, “You always impress me, Clara. You know I can’t
arrest him even though we both knew what he intended to do. The best I
can do is to put the fear of God in him.”
“I don’t think he’ll try it again, but I do worry about you, Lin. He tried to
ambush you yesterday, but it was dark by the time you rode into town. Now
he could just wait in a room or on a rooftop and shoot you in the back.”
Lin was about to dismiss Clara’s concern but realized it wasn’t as
unlikely as he’d first believed. If McCallister assassinated him before order
had been established, the town could slide into chaos. But he wasn’t
worried about Cottonwood nearly as much as he was about what might
happen to Clara.
So, he said, “You could be right, Clara. He also might have been hiding
in the shadows and watched you leave before sneaking into your apartment.
I think he’ll probably lay low for a while. But I’m surprised that
McCallister is the one to seems to want revenge for Cracker John’s death. I
would expect it from the two who were with him when he was trying to
break into your office. Was McCallister a closer friend than they were?”
Clara shook her head before saying, “No, not really. Stubbs Gladstone
and Al White were always hanging around Cracker John while McCallister
was more of an acquaintance. Maybe the reason they didn’t try to take
revenge is because you took their guns.”
Lin still thought it was odd but nodded as he said, “That could be, but all
we can do is to keep a sharp eye out for him and those other two.”
“I wish you could toss them into a cell without the money.”
Lin smiled before Clara said, “But we’ll be looking for them when we’re
walking to St. Edward’s.”
Lin stood and said, “I’ll come with you to add another set of eyes.”
Clara would have been offended if any other man had made the offer.
But she knew Lin didn’t think of her as a helpless, weak woman.
So, she stood and asked, “Are you going to get your Winchester before
we leave?”
Lin smiled as he replied, “No, ma’am. If necessary, I’ll depend on my
Remington.”
“I know you’re very accurate with your Winchester, but are you that
good with your pistol, too?”
Lin took his hat from the desk and simply answered, “Yes,” before
tugging it on.
Ellen slowly rose to her feet and hoped Lin didn’t have to demonstrate
his skill with a handgun.
After leaving the jail, Clara and Ellen scanned Center Street for any sign
of Cracker John’s friends while Lin locked the door. Lin then slid the key
ring back into his pocket before they began walking west along the
boardwalk. Lin took the outside position and Clara was on the far left, so
Ellen felt dwarfed as she walked between them. She also appreciated being
practically invisible knowing it kept her much safer.
_____
When Rod had returned to his room, he closed the door, snatched his
Winchester, sat on the bed and laid the carbine across his thighs. He stared
at the repeater and wondered what he would have done if the marshal had
ridden past the cemetery before sunset. He shuddered and set his
Winchester on the bed.
He then unbuckled his gunbelt and placed it on the other side of the
mattress. He didn’t want to give Walker any excuse to shoot him. He knew
he couldn’t leave Cottonwood, so if Stubbs and Al gave him grief, so be it.
Satisfied with his final decision, Rod stood, rolled his gunbelt and slid it
and his Winchester beneath his bed. He let out a long breath and then left
his room to have his delayed breakfast.

_____
The meeting with Reverend Gooding didn’t last very long as he’d been
told of Lin’s plan for the town meeting and quickly agreed to let Lin hold it
in his church.

As they walked back to the jail, Lin said, “This is going much smoother
than I expected.”
Clara replied, “Don’t get complacent, Lin.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let down my guard. Do you and Ellen want to stay
with me in the jail?”
Clara looked at Ellen and asked, “Is it alright with you?”
Ellen nodded as she said, “I’d feel a lot safer there than in your
apartment or the sheriff’s house.”
 Lin then asked, “Do you have any plans for the house, Ellen?”
Ellen hesitated before answering, “It’s not my house, Lin.”
“It wasn’t the sheriff’s either. I believe Judge Carter’s name is still on the
deed. And while you may not like to hear me say it, you’re the sheriff’s
common law wife. So, if anyone is entitled to the house, it’s you.”
Ellen was revolted by the very idea that the law regarded her as the
sheriff’s spouse and exclaimed, “I don’t want anything to do with that
house!”
Lin understood her reaction before he asked, “Do you have anything you
want to take from the house?”
Ellen replied, “All I have to my name are the clothes in the small dresser
in my room, and I don’t care if they stay there. I’m not setting a foot in that
house ever again.”
Lin glanced at Clara before saying, “I need to search the house pretty
soon, so I’ll collect your clothes. And I’ll give you some money so Clara
can take you shopping, too.”
As Ellen thought about Lin’s offer, Clara asked, “Why do you need to
search the house?”
“I don’t believe the sheriff trusted the mayor, so I think he kept his ill-
gotten gains somewhere in the house rather than the bank. And I’m sure he
didn’t let Ellen know where he kept his stash either.”
Ellen forgot about the house’s ownership and quickly said, “I tried to
avoid him as much as I could, so it wouldn’t have been hard for him to keep
the secret.”
They stepped onto the boardwalk before the jail and as he pulled out the
key ring, Lin said, “It may take me a while to find his hiding place, but I
can’t delay looking very long. I…”
 Clara interrupted Lin by pointing east and exclaiming, “There’s Rod
McCallister!”
Lin quickly spotted Rod walking away on the other side of the street
when Clara said, “He’s not carrying a gun.”
Lin had just noticed the missing gunbelt and said, “I’ll unlock the jail for
you, but I’d like to have that chat with Mister McCallister.”

As Lin unlocked the door, Clara said, “Be careful, Lin. He might have
given his pistol to Stubbs Gladstone or Al White.”
Lin swung the door open before saying, “I’ll be careful and should be
back in a few minutes.”

Ellen hurried into the jail, but Clara stayed on the boardwalk and
watched as Lin crossed the street. When she saw Rod enter Harper’s Diner,
Clara absentmindedly rested her right hand on the Smith & Wesson and
began scanning the boardwalk behind Lin.
Lin wasn’t concerned that McCallister might have given his pistol to one
of his gun-less friends but was curious why he wasn’t packing iron. So,
before he entered the diner, he decided not to confront the man but just
pretend as if he was unaware or just unconcerned about his two failed
attempted assassinations.
Lin entered Harper’s Diner and spotted Rod just as he was sitting down
at a small table. So, he took off his hat and walked to meet the man who
might have tried to shoot Clara.
Rod was looking for Mary Harper to place his breakfast order, so he was
startled when Lin pulled back a chair and sat down. He was too scared to
stand up or even ask the tall marshal what he wanted, so he began tapping
his right foot as he waited for Walker to say something.

He was still afraid, but then became flummoxed when Lin smiled and
asked, “You’re Rod McCallister, aren’t you?”
 Rod stared at Lin’s badge and could only nod before Lin said, “Clara
told me she saw you this morning, and I wanted to apologize for her
aggressive behavior.”
Rod finally found his voice when he asked, “You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad? Clara thought you were planning to enter the
newspaper office and shoot her because she believed you were going to
ambush me yesterday.”
Rod gulped before he whispered, “Why…why would she think that?”
“Just after sunset, she saw you walking into town from the west carrying
a rifle and assumed you had been waiting to shoot me. I told her there were
many other, more reasonable explanations, but she was convinced she was
right. Then when she encountered you a little while ago, well, let’s just say
she overreacted.”
Rod thought he should be relieved, but he wasn’t. Despite Marshal
Walker’s apparent lack of concern, Rod detected a subtle warning in the tall
man’s dark brown eyes.
So, he said, “You can tell Mrs. Foster that I ain’t gonna cause any trouble
for her. Or you either, Marshal.”
Lin smiled and then stood before saying, “I’ll let her know. And if you
see Stubbs and Al, tell them they can pick up their pistols tomorrow.”
Rod said, “Okay,” and watched as Lin pulled on his hat and left the
diner.

_____
Clara was still standing by the jail doorway watching the diner when Lin
stepped onto the boardwalk but didn’t take her eyes off him as she loudly
said, "He’s on his way back, Ellen.”
From her seat in front of the desk, Ellen asked, “Is he bringing
McCallister with him?"
 "No, he's alone.”
As Lin crossed the street, Clara wondered what he’d said to McCallister.
When she saw the smile on his face, she suspected he’d scared the daylights
out of Rod close to the point of making him lose control of his bladder.
When Lin was still four long strides away, Clara quickly asked, “What
did he say?”
Lin grinned and when he reached her, he took her elbow and said, “I’ll
tell you inside, ma’am.”
After entering the jail, Lin guided Clara to the other chair before
stepping around the desk and sitting down.

As Clara and Ellen stared at him, Lin said, “We had a very pleasant
conversation. Although, I’ll admit it was decidedly one-sided.”
Clara asked, “Did you tell him you knew what he was planning to do
before you scared him out of his wits?”
“Sort of. I just sat down at his table and after I introduced myself, I
apologized for your typical female hysteria.”
Clara exclaimed, “
You apologized and told him I was hysterical?
”
Lin smiled and said, “I didn’t want to cause a commotion but still put
him on notice. So, I made it sound as if you were just being overly
suspicious when you saw him walking back into town with his rifle and told
me he was planning to ambush me. Then when you spotted him in the alley,
you believed he was on his way to sneak into your apartment and shoot you,
which was why you reacted as you did.”
“But I still don’t understand why you told him I was hysterical. You
know I wasn’t.”
“Of course, I do. But as soon as I sat down, I saw the fear in his eyes.
That’s when I decided to make it sound as if I didn’t quite believe you. But
what I was saying in words was very different than what I was telling him
with my eyes. By the time I finished, I have no doubt he got the message.
I’m sure he understood my unspoken threat and won’t step out of line
again.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Before I left, he told me to let you know he wouldn’t cause you any
trouble. Then he added he wouldn’t bother me, either.”

Clara sighed before saying, “I’ll still keep an eye on him.”

Lin chuckled and then said, “I’d be surprised if you didn’t.”
Clara then asked, “What are you going to do next?”
“I’m going to compile a list of things that I still need to do so I’ll won’t
miss anything when I talk to the townsfolk at the meeting.”

“Do you mind if we stay here? We won’t interrupt you.”

“I’d rather you did stay and won’t mind any interruptions, either. This
shouldn’t take long. And before we go to the church for the meeting, I’ll
treat for lunch at Rita’s Cantina.”
Clara nodded before asking, “Is there a pump in the jail?”
“In the back room.”

Clara stood and waited for Ellen to leave her seat before they walked
past the cells to the back room.
____
Stubbs and Al had spotted Rod when he headed to the diner and had
started to follow him when they saw Clara standing in front of the jail with
Walker and pointing at Rod.
Stubbs caught Al’s arm and snapped, “Hold up, Al! Let’s see what’s
goin’ on.”
 They came to an abrupt stop and watched as Lin crossed Center Street
and then followed Rod into Harper’s Diner. Because Clara was still
watching, Stubbs and Al backed into the alley to avoid being spotted.

Once they were hidden in the shadows, Stubbs asked, “What the hell is
goin’ on with Rod?”
“You don’t figger he’s turned on us, do ya?”

“Nah, I reckon he was just tryin’ to be the big man when he said he was
gonna shoot Walker. He wasn’t even wearin’ his Colt ‘cause he doesn’t
wanna make Walker mad.”
Al grinned and said, “Maybe Clara’s wearin’ it.”

“I doubt it. But I wonder why Walker is talkin’ to him.”

Al changed topics when he said, “Walker’s got all of the bank’s money
somewhere in the jail, so maybe we oughta pay Clara a visit before Walker
gets back.”
Stubbs paused before saying, “He’s probably gonna leave Harper’s
pretty soon and we don’t even know where he put it. But he’s the only one
standin’ between us and all that money. So, let’s head back to my room and
figger out a better plan.”
Al nodded and said, “Okay.”

As they headed back down the alley, Stubbs stroked the grip of his used
Colt and said, “I wish we had our other pistols, Al.”
“You and me both. We paid Cooper too much for these old Colts. At
least he included a box of cartridges.”

Stubbs snickered then said, “You can get our good pistols back when we
visit the jail.”
Al tapped his holster and said, “I could buy a whole passel of
Remingtons with all that money.”
 They then headed to Stubb’s rooming house to plan the best way to steal
the money Walker had hidden in the jail.

Meanwhile, about a mile west of town, two riders were also planning to
pay a visit to the jail.
_____
Lin unfolded Clara’s list, and then opened the desk’s center drawer,
pulled out a blank sheet of paper and plucked a pencil from the cup on the
desk. The first item was the one he was sure most of the folks cared
about…their money. Then he added a side note to search the sheriff’s
house.
He had just added his third line about electing a new mayor and
appointing a lawful sheriff when Clara returned carrying a pitcher of water
and Ellen followed with three glasses.
Lin smiled but continued writing as Clara filled the glasses before she
and Ellen returned to their seats. While Clara may have promised not to
interrupt, Lin was definitely distracted by having her sitting close and
silently watching him. What he found interesting was that he barely noticed
Ellen sitting just as closely while she watched. Ellen was a very pretty
young woman with a nice figure, but she may as well have been an old
crone to Lin.
While he appreciated Ellen’s appearance and good nature, she was no
match for Clara, nor was any other woman. His physical attraction to Clara
was enormous, but it was her strength of character and intelligence that
made him love her so much. And with the end of the dangerous part of the
assignment, he could finally tell her how he felt and ask her to come with
him when he headed back to San Francisco.

Lin was almost finished with his list when he heard someone enter the
jail. He quickly looked up and saw a boy carrying a Western Union
envelope.
 Clara and Ellen turned before Clara asked, “Is that for Marshal Walker,
Jimmy?”
Jimmy Olsen nodded, handed her the envelope and turned to leave when
Lin said, “Hold up, son.”
He set his pencil down, reached into his pants pocket, pulled out a
quarter and then flipped it to the boy.

Jimmy snatched it out of mid-air, stared at the unexpected bounty and

exclaimed, "Wow! Thanks, Marshal!” and then hurried out of the jail.
Clara gave the envelope to Lin and said, “He’s probably on his way to
Clark’s to buy a year’s worth of penny candy.”

Lin smiled as he ripped open the envelope and pulled out the telegram.
When he unfolded the message, he wasn’t surprised to find it had been sent
by the U.S. Marshal’s office in Prescott. But he was definitely surprised
when he started reading the long message.
Clara noticed his reaction and wondered who had sent it and what was
written on the yellow sheet.

Lin still held the paper in his hands as he looked at Clara and said, “It
looks like I won’t be staying in Cottonwood as long as I’d expected.”
Clara felt her stomach plunge before she asked, “Why?”

“It seems that after Mister Allen Williams left Cottonwood, he sent a
telegram to Prescott essentially verifying your complaint. Marshal Walcott
knew that I should have already arrived in Cottonwood and was alone, so
he and his newest deputy left the next morning to help me. They should be
here no later than tomorrow and might even show up this afternoon.”
“Why didn’t he send a telegram letting you know he was on his way?”
“After reading your ex-printer’s telegram, he probably believed the
sheriff would read it before I did and might even keep me from ever seeing
it.”
 Clara hesitated before asking, “When do you think you’ll leave?”
Lin understood why Clara had asked but didn’t expand his answer
because of Ellen’s presence. He wanted to tell her in private as there was
still the small possibility that she wouldn’t want to leave Cottonwood.
So, he replied, “It depends on what Marshal Walcott decides to do when
he gets here. But I think he’ll take charge after I explain the situation. It’s
his territory, so he’ll be more capable of putting things in order. If he does,
then I’ll probably head back in a couple of days.”

Clara asked, “Are you going to tell everyone at the meeting about
Marshal Walcott?”
“That will be the first thing I’ll tell them. And I’ll probably defer most of
the other topics until he lets me know what he plans to do. I was a deputy
marshal with Frank for more than a year, so I know he’s more than capable
of setting the town in order.”
Clara’s just nodded as her mind processed the impact of Marshal
Walcott’s unexpected arrival.
Ellen was about to ask if she could join them when they left Cottonwood
before she glanced at Clara and realized Lin had yet to ask her to
accompany him.
Lin held out the telegram and asked, “Would you like to read it, Clara?”
She shook her head and replied, “No, thank you. I’m just surprised that
Allen sent the telegram after he took the stage out of Cottonwood.”

“I guess he finally decided it was safe to join your crusade, Clara. He

just didn’t have your courage to help you when you needed it, Clara.”
“But you came hundreds of miles to sign up for my crusade, Lin.”

Lin folded the telegram, set it on the desk and then smiled as he said,
“And it was the best decision I ever made.”
 Clara may have been disappointed that Lin hadn’t asked her to return to
San Francisco with him but saying that coming to Cottonwood was the best
decision he ever made was enough to calm her anxiety.

So, she smiled and asked, “Are you going to search the sheriff’s house
before or after the meeting?”
“Probably after.”

Then he looked at Ellen and said, “Even though you said you never want
to set foot in the house again, I think you’d enjoy coming along when we
looked for the sheriff’s cache, Ellen.”
Ellen tilted her head slightly before asking, “Why would I enjoy
returning to that place?”

“While I’m hunting for the sheriff’s hidden vault, you can take your
revenge on any of his favorite possessions.”
Ellen’s lips slowly curved as she said, “He has two music boxes in his
bedroom and said if I so much as touched them, he’d cut off my hand. Now
that he’s gone, I can do more than just touch them.”

Lin glanced at Clara before asking, “He collected music boxes? How big
are they?”
“They’re as big as breadboxes. Why did you ask?”

Clara looked at Ellen, smiled and replied, “Because Sheriff Johnson

wasn’t the kind of man who would collect music boxes. Lin believes that
he’s using them as his private banks.”
Lin grinned as he said, “Clara’s right as she usually is. Are you sure
they’re music boxes? Have you ever heard them play?”

Ellen shook her head as she replied, “I never heard them play music. I
only thought they were music boxes because the sheriff said so.”
Lin then asked, “Do the music boxes have locks?”
 Ellen replied, “I never got close enough to see if they did.”
“We’ll find out when we get there, but are you going to join us now,
Ellen?”
“Alright.”

Lin picked up his pencil and said, “I’ll start modifying my list and then
we’ll visit the house.”
Lin picked up the pencil and began placing checkmarks beside the items
he would leave for Marshal Walcott. He was almost finished when he heard
a horse whinny. He looked through the open doorway and saw a dust-
covered rider dismounting.

When he saw the badge on the young man’s chest, Lin smiled and said,
“Marshal Walcott is here.”
Clara and Ellen both turned before Ellen asked, “He’s awfully young to
be a U.S. Marshal, isn’t he?”
Lin stood and said, “I’m a bit young to be a U.S. Marshal, Ellen, but he
must be Frank’s new deputy.”
Just as Clara and Ellen left their chairs, the young deputy was joined by
a much older lawman. As they slapped the dust from their clothes, Lin
stepped around the desk and walked to the doorway.
When Marshal Walcott saw Lin, he quickly asked, “What the hell
happened, Lin? I expected to ride into a raging battle.”
Lin shook Frank’s hand and said, “The fighting is over, but there’s still a
lot of work to be done. I’ll explain shortly.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.”

Lin extended his hand to Frank’s deputy and said, “I’m Lin Walker, and
I’m glad to see they’re finally giving Marshal Walcott some more help.”
 As the deputy shook Lin’s hand, he said, “I’m Sam Beckett, and I’m
really glad to meet you, sir.”
“I’m not that old, Sam. Call me Lin.”
Then Lin turned to Marshal Walcott and said, “Come inside and I’ll
introduce you to the brave woman who is the real hero of Cottonwood.”
Lin then stepped back to the desk, and Marshal Walcott and Deputy
Beckett removed their hats and followed him inside.
As Clara stood beside Ellen watching them enter the jail, she still
harbored a bit of resentment and anger for Marshal Walcott because he’d
disregarded her telegram. She was also saddened by his unexpected arrival
knowing that Lin might leave much sooner than she’d anticipated.

But she set those emotions aside when Lin took her hand and said,
“Frank, I’d like you to meet Clara Foster, the most extraordinary person
I’ve ever met.”
Marshal Walcott smiled and said, “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am. And I
apologize for not acting on your request.”

Clara smiled as she replied, “You needn’t apologize, Marshal. I don’t

believe anyone else could have done a better job than Lin.”
“I’m sure you’re right, ma’am. And I’m anxious to hear what happened.”

Then Lin said, “And this is her friend, Ellen Posey.”

Frank smiled at Ellen and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, ma’am.
And this young whippersnapper is Deputy Marshal Sam Beckett.”

Ellen had never even looked at the marshal as her eyes had stayed
focused on his young deputy.
Clara said, “It’s nice to meet you, Sam.”
Deputy Beckett pried his eyes from Ellen, looked at Clara and said,
“Um, it’s good to meet you too, ma’am,” before he quickly turned his
attention back to Ellen and said, “I’m very pleased to meet you, too. Is it
Miss or Mrs. Posey?”

Ellen quickly replied, “It’s miss, but please call me Ellen.”

Lin glanced at Clara before saying, “Frank, before I explain everything,
you need to know that the sheriff, all of his deputies and the mayor are
dead. Now Cottonwood needs to be restored. I was about to start the
process when I was notified that you were on your way. I believe you’re in
a better position to do the job than I am, so will you take over?”

Marshal Walcott nodded as he replied, “Sure. I’d planned to be here for a

few days anyway.”
Then he grinned and said, “And I imagine you’re anxious to return to
San Francisco and start writing your next book.”
“My time in Cottonwood has provided an entire storyline, so it won’t
take me very long. Now I’ll tell you what happened and what I think needs
to be done. I’ve also scheduled a town meeting for this afternoon where I
can introduce you to the townsfolk.”
“We need to get our horses boarded and find a place to stay, too.”
Lin nodded as he said, “You can leave your horses at Miguel’s Livery
and get rooms at Delgado’s Boarding House which is nearby. They’re both
on the right side of Center Street.”
Frank turned to his deputy and said, “Take care of that, will you, Sam?
I’ll fill you in on what Lin tells me before the meeting.”
Sam nodded but before he replied, Ellen said, “Lin, why don’t they stay
at the sheriff’s house? They can keep their horses in the barn and while
we’re there, we can check the music boxes.”
Frank looked at Lin and asked, “Music boxes?”

Lin grinned as he replied, “We think that’s where the sheriff kept his ill-
gotten cash.”
 Then he said, “That’s a good idea, Ellen.”

Ellen looked at Sam who smiled and said, “I think so too, Ellen.”
Ellen looked as if she’d just won a lottery before she and Sam walked
out of the jail.

After they led the horses away, Marshal Walcott said, “I hope Sam isn’t
too distracted to be useful.”
Lin chuckled before he stepped behind the desk and took a seat. After
Clara sat down, the older marshal sat in Ellen’s chair and waited to hear
how Lin had managed to rid the town of its troubles.

Lin told Frank the basic facts about his initial investigation but began
adding more details after he reached the point when he and Clara left
Cottonwood and ambushed Steve Hilliard and Hector Ruiz.
He still skipped anything he felt was irrelevant, such as Clara’s
rattlesnake episode as he had a lot of information to give to Frank. After
finishing his concise narrative, Lin began telling Frank of his plans for
dealing with the lingering issues. He’d been talking for more than ten
minutes non-stop, and his tongue was close to rebellion unless it was
flooded with liquid.
So, he said, “I need some water, and I imagine you look like you could
use some, too. The pitcher’s empty, so I’ll refill it in the back room.”
Frank grinned and asked, “You don’t have a keg of cold beer back there,
do you?”

Lin laughed as he stood, picked up the empty pitcher and headed to the
back room. He was surprised that Clara hadn’t found some reason to come
along but quickly filled the pitcher and headed back to the desk.
Before returning to his seat, Lin filled the three glasses, and after Frank
took one, Lin guzzled his before he resumed his narrative.
 Clara had briefly thought about going with Lin to ask him why he still
hadn’t asked her to leave Cottonwood with him. But she had decided to
wait until they were alone even though she knew she wouldn’t have many
more opportunities. Lin might even leave tomorrow morning. And that
possibility made her anxious before he had even returned to the desk.

Lin hadn’t noticed Clara’s nervousness as he was focused on Frank as he

continued talking. He was nearing the end of his story when he told him
about the mayor’s accident and Mrs. Bradley’s demand that he returned the
bags of money.
Frank pointed to the cells and asked, “So, all the money is under that
cot?”

Lin nodded and replied, “All of it except what the sheriff kept in his
music box banks.”
Frank glanced through the open doorway before saying, “Speaking of
those music boxes, my boy deputy and Miss Posey should have been back
by now.”

Lin smiled and then looked at Clara and was about to wink when he saw
her staring at him with a serious expression on her face. He lost his smile
and waited for her to tell him whatever was bothering her. But when she
remained silent, he understood it must be personal and wouldn’t say what it
was with Frank sitting beside her.
For a few seconds, they looked at each other before Frank said, “If they
aren’t back here in another minute, we should head to the house and find
out what’s taking them so long.”

Lin broke eye contact with Clara and said, “Maybe they’re unsaddling
your horses before they checked the music boxes.”
Frank said, “I guess so,” and then asked, “Have you counted the money
yet, Lin?”
 “Not yet. I’ll leave that to you. I’m not sure how much of the money
belongs to the depositors, so you’ll have to figure that out. In the telegram I
sent to you this morning, I requested a government accountant be sent to
Cottonwood to go through the bank’s books. But I think you can trust one
of the bank’s clerks, Leonard Abbott to do an honest review. Mrs. Bradley
wanted Mister Harrison to do the accounting, so I imagine he’s just as
shady as the mayor was.”

Marshal Walcott was about to say something when Sam and Ellen
stepped through the doorway carrying two large, polished wooden boxes.
After they set them on the desk, Ellen excitedly said, “They weren’t
music boxes, and they didn’t have locks, either. Sam’s box has greenbacks
and gold coins, and the one I carried only has paper money.”

Sam grinned as he said, “I think there’s more than two thousand dollars
altogether.”
Frank stood before saying, “Lin, let’s get them moved to your cell bank.”

Lin nodded, and then stood, pulled the large key ring from his pocket
and glanced at Clara before Sam and Frank each picked up a box. When the
three lawmen began walking to the cell, Ellen hurriedly sat down beside
Clara.
As Lin unlocked the door, Ellen leaned close to Clara and whispered, “I
think Sam likes me. Even after I told him what the sheriff did to me.”
Clara smiled and quietly said, “I’m very happy for you, Ellen.”
Ellen’s joyful hope illuminated her face and Clara genuinely wished
nothing but happiness for her. But it also made her even more determined to
ask Lin about his future plans. And knowing time was now at a premium,
she decided she wasn’t going to let him leave the jail without giving her an
answer.
After the two boxes were hidden under the cot, Lin locked the cell and as
Sam hurried back to the desk, Lin handed the key ring to Marshal Walcott.
 Then Lin pulled the small key ring from his pocket and said, “These are
the keys to the jail, Frank. It’s your show now.”
Frank smiled as he asked, “You really are anxious to get that book
started, aren’t you?”
“It’ll probably outsell all of the others, too. It seems that the sales are
proportional to the number of bad guys who bite the dust.”

Frank snickered and was still grinning as they walked back to the desk.
Before they passed the first cell, Lin looked at Clara and knew he had to
find a way to be alone with her so she could tell him what was bothering
her.
So, as they returned to their seats, he said, “We’ve got two or three hours
before the meeting, Frank. So, why don’t you and Sam head over to Ellen’s
house to clean up? Ellen can settle you in, too.”

Ellen quickly hopped to her feet and said, “I’ll make lunch for everyone,
too. Then we can all go to the meeting.”
Lin sat behind the desk before saying, “That’s a good idea, Ellen. I have
to add a few more items to my list, so I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
Marshal Walcott nodded and said, “I could use a good cleaning.”
Sam smiled at Ellen and said, “So, could I,” before he and Ellen
followed Frank out the door.
Lin watched them pass by the window and was about to ask Clara what
was troubling her when she suddenly stood and walked to the door. He
thought she was so angry that she was leaving and was about to call her
name when she reached the door and pulled it closed. She then turned
around and marched back with her brown eyes boring into his.
Her face was so intense that Lin wasn’t surprised when she pulled the
Smith & Wesson from her holster.
 Clara set the revolver on desk, sat down and sharply said, “Now that
Sheriff Walcott is taking over, you’re free to leave Cottonwood. But you are
not going to set a foot out of this jail until you tell me what you plan to do
now that your job is done.”

Lin looked at the Smith & Wesson, smiled and then asked, “Are holding
a United States Marshal hostage at gunpoint, Mrs. Foster?”
Despite her stern demeanor, Clara couldn’t avoid smiling as she replied,
“Yes, I am. So, are you going to answer my question, Marshal Walker?”

Lin opened the desk’s top drawer, took out the Webley and set it on the
desk before closing the drawer.
“Now I have the advantage, Mrs. Foster. This is a Webley Bulldog and
because it’s a double action pistol, I can get off two shots before you cock
the Model 3’s hammer.”

Clara looked at the small pistol and asked, “Where did you get that
one?”
“From the mayor’s jacket pocket. But there’s no reason for gunplay,
ma’am. I just was waiting for the others to leave the jail before answering
your question even before you asked.”

“They’re halfway to the sheriff’s house by now and I’m still waiting.”
Lin glanced at the closed door hoping it stayed that way before saying,
“I’m going to return to San Francisco and start writing my next book. And I
want you to come with me, Clara.”
As much as Clara had hoped to hear those words, she still found it
difficult to believe what her ears had transmitted to her brain.
So, she requested confirmation by quietly asking, “What did you say,
Lin?”

Lin knew he’d spoken clearly and was surprised by her question, and
briefly thought she had expected him to remain in Cottonwood. But then he
remembered how excited she’d been when he described his house
overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
So, he again asked, “Will you join me when I return to San Francisco,
Clara?”
With her brain now satisfied that her ears hadn’t lied, Clara smiled and
replied, “Of course, I’ll come with you. It’s what I’ve desperately been
hoping to hear you ask me since we first met.”
“And almost from that first day, I knew I couldn’t leave Cottonwood
without you, Clara. But I had to concentrate on my job, and you already
were making it difficult.”
Clara smiled as she asked, “Like when I exposed my legs?”

Lin grinned and said, “Even before then. But each time that we flirted
with each other, I knew it was making it even harder for me to focus on
what needed to be done. It was like an addiction, and it took all of my
willpower to…well, let’s just say, to do my job.”
“But that still doesn’t explain why you wouldn’t answer my question.”

“Believe me, I really wanted to tell you. But when you first asked me
about my post-Cottonwood plans, I decided to postpone revealing my
intentions until the danger was over. It was also why I tried to disguise my
feelings for you.”
“You didn’t do a very good job, but why did you decide to wait?”

“It was because of who you are, Clara. There was always a chance that
either the sheriff or one of his deputies would get the better of me. If that
happened after I expressed my feelings and asked you to come along, I had
a good notion about how you’d react. Am I wrong in believing you would
have taken my guns and try avenge my death?”
“No, you’re not wrong. But I would have sent a telegram to Marshal
Plummer first.”
 Lin smiled before asking, “But you wouldn’t wait until help arrived,
would you?”

“I probably would have been too angry to wait.”

“So, that’s why I postponed answering your question. I wanted to stop
them first.”

“Then why did you kiss me before you started pursuing the sheriff?”
Lin gazed into her dark brown eyes as he replied, “Unlike the
confrontation with Hilliard and Ruiz, I suspected that Sheriff Johnson might
be the one waiting in ambush. If he was, then there was a good chance that I
might never see you again. It was a very selfish thing for me to do.”

“I don’t think it was selfish, but it was definitely confusing.”

“I can understand why you might feel that way. But I wasn’t about to
chase after the sheriff without having kissed you.”

Clara then said, “But after you returned with his body and there was no
more danger, you still didn’t tell me.”
Lin smiled as he said, “That’s because we were beset by a barrage of
unexpected problems. When Frank and Sam arrived, I knew they could
handle any new trouble, so I was just waiting for us to be alone before I
asked you to come with me.”
Clara took a quick peek behind her before asking, “Do we have to go to
the sheriff’s house right away?”
Lin understood why she’d asked, or at least hoped he did, before
replying, “I wish we could spend an hour or so in the back room to test the
quality of the bed’s construction, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t be long
before we were interrupted.”

Clara laughed before saying, “I was wondering if you knew why I’d
asked. But I suppose we’ll have to wait a little longer.”
 Lin smiled as he said, “Before we head to the sheriff’s house, I have one
more question to ask. After the meeting, I’d like to have Reverend Gooding
to marry us. Is that alright with you?”

Clara expected they’d be wed in San Francisco and was pleasantly

surprised when had Lin proposed they marry before leaving Cottonwood.
She quickly answered, “That would be wonderful, Lin.”

Lin reached across the desk and waited until she took his hands before
saying, “I had no idea what to expect when I left San Francisco. But in my
wildest dreams, I couldn’t have imagined finding my ideal woman. I love
you more than you can imagine, Clara.”
Clara softly said, “And I love you just as much, Lin.”

Lin smiled as he said, “I had planned to use a more inventive way of

telling you I wanted you to come with me, but when you set the Smith &
Wesson on the desk, I thought you might shoot me if I used it.”
“What were you planning to say?”
Lin replied, “Here’s what I wanted to tell you.”
_____

As Lin prepared to tell Clara his imaginative answer, Stubbs and Al

scanned for onlookers as they crossed Center Street two blocks east of the
jail. After stepping onto the boardwalk, they turned right and casually
strolled toward the jail.
Stubbs said, “Ain’t nobody lookin’, but it won’t matter much anyway.
Once we get rid of Walker, we’ll grab the money and just disappear.”
Al grinned as he said, “And none of those sheep are gonna make a posse
to chase after us neither.”
“Rod might follow us hopin’ we’ll give him a share, but we ain’t givin’
him a plug nickel. But enough chit-chat. Let’s get ready.”
 Al nodded as Stubbs slowed and then got in step six feet behind him.
_____
After a short pause, Lin began telling Clara his prepared reply by saying,
“I just realized that if I’ve never told you of my plans after I left
Cottonwood. Clara. Now that things are finally settled down, I finally can
tell you. The first thing I’ll do when I return is to make good use of my hot
shower. Then, I’ll start writing my seventh book based on what happened in
Cottonwood.

“The title will be

Clara’s Crusade.
Of course, I can’t use Cottonwood,
and the real folks’ names will have to be changed as well. I spent a lot of
time choosing a good surname for your character, Clara. I was going to
name your character Clara Walker but realized I couldn’t because it would
soon be your real name.”
Lin smiled as he watched Clara laugh, but out of the corner of his eye, he
saw a man pass the right window and then a couple of seconds later, another
man glanced through the window as he walked by. In that brief moment,
Lin recognized Stubbs Gladstone.
He quickly pulled his hands from Clara’s and snatched the Bulldog from
the desk. When neither of the men walked past the left window, he shot to
his feet, grabbed Clara’s right arm and wordlessly yanked her from her
chair.
Clara was startled but before she could shout, she crashed onto her chest
and then Lin landed across her back, pinning her to the floor.

After flopping onto Clara, Lin almost lost control of the Webley when
his right elbow banged against the floor. He was sliding his index finger
onto the trigger when Stubbs Gladstone and Al White burst through the
door and fired where Stubbs had spotted Lin. It took them two precious
seconds to realize that he wasn’t there and find him on the floor next to the
desk with a pistol in his hand.
 Lin didn’t order them to drop their guns before he pulled his trigger. The
.44 caliber slug of lead blasted out of the Bulldog’s muzzle, crossed the
thirteen feet of open space in a tiny fraction of a second and slammed into
Stubbs’ upper right chest. Stubbs staggered backwards into the wall beside
the door just as Al pulled back his Colt’s hammer and prepared to fire.

Lin centered the Bulldog’s iron sight on Al’s chest and fired just before
Al pulled his trigger.
Lin’s bullet hammered into Al’s chest, just below his heart as Al’s .45
drilled into the front of the desk and then blasted pine shards everywhere
when the slug exploded out of desk’s side panel. Most of the debris
bounced harmlessly off the floor or Lin’s vest, but a two-inch-long splinter
had penetrated Lin’s jeans and stuck in his right thigh. He grunted from the
sharp sting but couldn’t take time to even look at what had hit him because
the gunfight wasn’t over.
Stubbs was standing in his blood-soaked shirt with his back against the
wall when he witnessed Lin shoot Al and thought he had an advantage. But
as he cocked and raised his pistol, he was stunned when he saw the
Bulldog’s muzzle flare.
Lin’s third shot was more accurate than his first and struck the center of
Stubbs’ chest. It shattered his sternum before following a rising trajectory
through blood vessels and lung tissue before finally lodging in his sixth
thoracic vertebra.

Al dropped to his knees before falling onto his face just before Stubbs
slid down the wall into a sitting position. He stared wide-eyed at Lin for
three seconds before slowly falling onto his right side.
_____

Frank had his saddlebags hung over his right shoulder and was about to
climb the back porch steps when he heard the burst of gunfire. He didn’t
know where the shots had been but knew Lin must be involved.
 He shouted, “Sam! Gunfire!” before he tossed his saddlebags to the
ground and raced away from the sheriff’s house.
Sam was in the kitchen helping Ellen prepare lunch when he heard
Frank’s shout. He glanced at Ellen before he snatched his hat from the
counter and hurried to the door. He didn’t realize Ellen was following him
until he started down the stairs. He didn’t tell her to go back to the kitchen
but slowed his pace so she could keep up.
When Frank reached Center Street, he looked at the jail and saw some
townsfolk staring at the open door from the opposite side of the street, but
none dared to approach the sheriff’s office. He slowed down to catch his
breath and pulled his Colt Peacemaker as he headed to the jail.

_____
During those loud, hectic eighteen seconds, Clara hadn’t been able to see
anything, so she didn’t know what had happened. But as the gunfire echoes
subsided, Lin stood, and she was able to turn her eyes to the front of the jail
and saw Stubbs Gladstone and Al White lying dead on the floor in pools of
their own blood.
After getting to his feet, Lin looked down and saw a bloody patch on his
pants and a splinter jutting out of his thigh. He set the Webley on the desk
before he yanked the tiny pine dagger out and tossed it to the floor. He
didn’t take time to search for additional damage but turned his eyes to Clara
to make sure she hadn’t been hurt.
Before he could ask her, Clara sat up, looked at Lin and when she
spotted the blood stain, she exclaimed, “Lin, you’ve been shot!”

Lin quickly replied, “No, I wasn’t shot, Clara. It was just a splinter. Are
you all right?”
Clara stood and then stepped close to Lin and took his hands before
saying, “I’m fine.”
 Then she looked at the two bodies and asked, “Why in God’s name did
they try to kill you in the middle of the day?”

Lin said, “I imagine it was more of an attempted robbery than a planned

assassination, and I was just in the way. Frank and Sam just showed up, so
maybe if they knew I wasn’t the only lawman in town, they wouldn’t have
taken the risk.”
Clara nodded as Lin asked, “Can you go to Ellen’s house and tell Frank
what happened while I start cleaning up this mess?”
Clara released Lin’s hands before saying, “Alright. Do you want me
have Mister Boxer to come to the jail after I tell Frank?”
Lin glanced through the open doorway before replying, “Just have
someone in that crowd gathering across the street notify the mortician.”

Clara said, “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” and then glanced at the large
hole in the desk before walking to the door.
She passed the two bodies and just as she stepped onto the boardwalk,
she spotted Frank hurrying towards the jail with his pistol in his hand.
She stopped, and as she reentered the jail, she loudly said, “Frank’s
already here, Lin.”
Lin was heading to the back room to clean the blood from his leg and
pants when he heard Clara’s announcement and turned to await Frank’s
arrival.
He and Clara were standing side by side in front of the damaged desk
when Frank stepped through the doorway and stopped. He briefly examined
the two bodies lying in pools of blood before he quickly walked to Lin and
Clara.
Before he stopped walking, he sharply asked, “What happened, Lin?”
“I saw Al and then Stubbs walk past one window but when they didn’t
pass by the second one, I expected trouble. So, I grabbed a pistol from the
desk and yanked Clara to the floor just before they rushed in and opened
fire. But they pulled their triggers without realizing that I was no longer
sitting behind the desk.

“Before they figured it out, I fired at Stubbs, but it wasn’t a killing shot.
Then I shot Al White just before he fired and put another .44 into Stubbs
before he could pull his trigger again.”
Frank then noticed the bloody patch on Lin’s britches and asked, “Did
you get hit?”

Lin shook his head as he said, “No. Al’s slug blew a hole in the desk and
sent a good-sized splinter into my leg. I just need to take a couple of
minutes to clean up.”
Frank said, “Go ahead. I yelled to Sam before I ran off, so he should be
here shortly.”

Before Lin went to the back room, he glanced at Clara expecting her to
come along. But she was already walking to the door, so he headed to the
back room.
Clara stepped through the doorway to see if Sam was on his way. When
she spotted him, she was surprised to see Ellen walking beside him. Before
she returned to the jail, Clara began scanning the growing crowds of
spectators lining the north boardwalk.
It wasn’t long before she saw the man she was hoping to find and
shouted, “The danger is over! Mister Boxer, Marshal Walker needs your
services again.”
After she saw the mortician break away from the crowd, Clara pivoted
and hurried back into the jail.
She ignored the two bodies and as she passed Frank, she said, “Sam and
Ellen will be here in a few seconds, and so will the mortician,” and then
continued walking past the cells.
 After Lin soaked a towel in water, he rubbed it with a bar of white soap
and had scrubbed most of the blood stain from his britches. He had just
dropped his pants to clean the blood from his thigh when Clara entered the
back room.

Lin grinned as he turned and said, “You have an incredible sense of

timing, Mrs. Walker.”
Clara closed the door before saying, “This was just a fortunate
coincidence, Mister Walker.”

As Clara stepped closer Lin began wiping the blood from his splinter
wound and said, “Now that we’re about to be married, I need to ask a
question that I should have asked earlier. Are you a Catholic?”
“No, I was brought up as a Lutheran but haven’t been a regular
churchgoer for years. But does it matter? Do you have a problem with
Catholics? Or are you a Catholic and expect me to convert before we get
married?”

“No, I’m a Free Will Baptist, and I don’t have a problem with any
religion. But the Catholic Church has a lot of rules that need to be followed
before a couple can be married. If you were a Catholic, I didn’t want you to
feel as if you would sin by not following those dictates.”
Clara smiled as she stepped closer, set her hand on Lin’s shoulder and
said, “I wouldn’t mind sinning with you right now.”

Lin chuckled, wrapped the towel around his thigh and then carefully
pulled up his pants before saying, “If we were alone, I’d be happy to
oblige.”
Clara sighed as Lin fastened the buttons on his britches and hoped the
next few hours passed quickly. At least with Frank and Sam in town, there
should be no more violent interruptions.
Lin took Clara’s hand before he opened the door and saw Sam and Ellen
standing by the desk grinning at them while Frank was near the front of the
jail speaking to Mister Boxer.

When they returned to the main office, Lin said, “I think those two are
the last troublemakers in Cottonwood, Sam. So, you and Frank shouldn’t
have any problems after we leave.”
Ellen looked at Clara and asked, “Did Lin just say, ‘after
we
leave’,
Clara?”

Clara nodded as she replied, “Yes, he did. And after the meeting, we’ll
ask Reverend Gooding to marry us. Will you be my witness, Ellen?”
Ellen was surprised when Clara said she and Lin were going to be
married in Cottonwood but even more so when Clara asked her to be her
witness.

But she quickly answered, “I’ll be happy to be your witness, Clara.”

Lin squeezed Clara’s hand and then let it go before he stepped to the
desk, saw Stubbs’ and Al’s Colts on the desk and then picked up the
Webley Bulldog and slid it under his waistband.
Sam smiled and said, “I can understand why you want to keep that
pistol, Lin.”
Lin looked at Sam and said, “It may not be as powerful or as accurate as
my Remington or Clara’s Smith & Wesson. But if it wasn’t for the Webley’s
double action, I don’t think I would have had enough time to take the third
shot before Stubbs fired.”
“From what Frank’s been telling me about you, I reckon you still would
have made that shot even if you used your Remington.”
Lin didn’t argue but took Clara’s hand again and then said, “Let’s go talk
to Frank.”
Sam nodded and then the two couples stepped away from the desk.
 After Bob Boxer said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes with my assistant to
collect these two,” he waved to Lin and Clara and then hurried out of the
jail.

Frank said, “I reckon we’ll just wait until he and his assistant drag those
bodies out of here before we head back to Ellen’s place.”
Lin said, “We all don’t have to stay, Frank. I need to give you more
details before the meeting, so Sam, Ellen and Clara can return to Ellen’s
house.”
Before Frank could say anything, Ellen quickly said, “It’s not my house,
Lin. I don’t want it. and I’ll be leaving Cottonwood with Sam.”
Lin looked at his fellow marshal and said, “The house was one of those
details I wanted to discuss with you, Frank. I haven’t checked, but I imagine
the deed is still in the name of the absent Judge Carter. So, even Ellen
wanted it, it would have been a sticky legal issue. But now it’s your
decision about what do with the place.”

Frank grinned as he said, “It sounds as if you already had a something in

mind.”
Lin smiled and said, “I didn’t think Ellen would want the place. And I
expected Clara to ask if she could join us when I finally asked her to marry
me, but Sam intervened before she could ask. What I was going to do was
to pay any overdue taxes and then offer the house to Miguel Ramos. He has
a small house with a big family and another child on the way. Even if he
doesn’t want it, he can sell it and add a few rooms to his adobe home.”
Frank snickered before saying, “I think that’s a good idea, Lin. I’ll add
that to your list when I get a chance.”
“Thanks, Frank. And one more thing. Would you be stand for me when
Clara and I get married?”
Frank glanced at Clara and saw her big smile before he replied, “I’d be
honored, Lin. When are you two going to tie the knot?”
 “Hopefully right after the meeting. We’ll ask the reverend before he
starts ringing the bell.”
Frank didn’t comment on their need to rush the ceremony but turned and
said, “Sam, you can escort the ladies back to the house. Lin and I should
join you in a half an hour or so.”
Sam nodded and then as he and Ellen began walking to the door, Clara
looked at Lin, winked and then hurried after them.
After they left the jail, Frank stepped behind the desk, sat down and
moved the two Colts into the middle drawer.
Lin took a seat in front of the desk and found it difficult to recall the
details he needed to give to Frank. His mind was too busy creating Clara
fantasies which he hoped would become real in a few hours.
After Frank asked, “So, what do you need to tell me?” Lin had to force
those tantalizing thoughts from his mind.
He started with what he believed would be the most dominant issue: the
money. He was still expanding on the problem when Mister Boxer and his
young assistant pulled up before the jail with a wagon.
Frank said, “I guess he didn’t want his hearse to be soiled with their
blood.”
Lin turned to look and said, “It’s probably because he doesn’t think they
deserve his fancy corpse carrier.”

Frank grinned as he watched the mortician and his assistant leave the
wagon and enter the jail. Without saying a word, they lugged Al White’s
body through the door and tossed it onto the wagon’s bed. After carrying
Stubbs’ body away and dumping it next to Al’s, Mister Boxer and his
unnamed helper climbed onto the driver’s seat. The assistant took the reins
and Bob waved to the two marshals before the wagon rolled away.
 Lin then stood and said, “I’ll splash some soapy water on the bloody
floor before we leave.”

Frank rose from his chair and asked, “Don’t you have more you need to
tell me before the meeting?”
“I’ll keep talking while I work.”
Frank nodded and followed Lin to the back room.
_____

Clara had joined Ellen when she resumed her interrupted lunch
preparation while Sam was putting his things away in his assigned
bedroom.
Ellen asked, “How did Lin know that I wanted to come with you when
you weren’t sure you were leaving with him?”

Clara smiled as she replied, “Because he knew he was going to ask me,
and he understands me.”
Ellen then asked, “Don’t you understand him?”
“Yes, I do. It’s just that I couldn’t think of a reason why he kept
deflecting my questions about his future plans.”
“Lin is a handsome, wealthy and famous man. Didn’t you worry that he
really had a wife waiting for him in San Francisco?”
“It never even crossed my mind.”
“Why not? It would be his most logical reason for not asking you to
leave with him.”

“Because he told me he wasn’t married or even engaged. And from the

very first, I knew he wouldn’t lie to me. And as sure as I was that Lin
wouldn’t lie to me, I was confident that he loved me as much as I loved
him.”
 Ellen smiled and said, “I feel that way about Sam, too.”
Clara laughed before saying, “And he already asked you to return to
Prescott with him.”
Ellen looked behind her as she said, “I wish Marshal Walcott wasn’t
staying here.”
Clara didn’t comment. She just envisioned what she and Lin would be
doing when they were alone in her apartment.
_____

After Frank locked the jail door, Lin said, “You go ahead, Frank. I’m
going to visit Miguel Ramos for a few minutes.”
“Are you going to tell him about the sheriff’s house?”
Lin shook his head as he replied, “I haven’t even checked the deed yet,
so I’ll leave that up to you. Besides, Ellen might change her mind about
leaving Cottonwood.”
Frank said, “Good enough,” and then started walking to the future
Ramos home before Lin headed in the opposite direction.
As Lin headed to the livery, he wondered if Frank understood why he
believed there was a chance that Ellen might change her mind and stay in
Cottonwood. If she did decide to keep the house, Frank would lose his new
deputy, too.
Lin soon entered the big barn and smiled when he saw Diego talking to
his pinto while his father was forking hay into Slate’s stall.
Miguel grinned when he spotted Lin and dropped the pitchfork.
As he approached Lin, he pulled a large handkerchief from his pocket,
wiped the sweat from his brow and said, “I heard what those two evil men
did, and I am glad that you and Miss Clara were not hurt.”
 “So, am I. But now that Marshal Walcott and his deputy are here, I’ll be
returning to San Francisco soon, maybe as early as tomorrow. I’d like to
buy a buggy to make the trip to Las Vegas but don’t need a new one. So, do
you know of any used buggies that might be available?”

Miguel nodded as he replied, “Renaldo Lopez has a nice one he is trying

to sell. He is asking for one hundred and twenty dollars, but I think he will
take less.”
Lin slid his wallet from his vest pocket, counted out a hundred and
twenty dollars, handed the greenbacks to Miguel and said, “If you get a
better price, keep the change as a commission. And don’t argue, either.”

Miguel grinned as he stuffed the cash into his pocket before saying, “I
will keep it here and make sure the axles are greased.”
Lin slipped his wallet back into his vest pocket and smiled as he said,
“Thank you, Miguel. Oh, and can you hold onto my pistols for me. I’ll pick
them up after the meeting.”

Miguel nodded and then accepted Lin’s gunbelt and the Webley.
Lin waved to Diego before he turned and left the livery. He decided to
buy the buggy because he believed Clara’s behind wouldn’t tolerate riding
for a hundred miles.
As he stepped along Center Street, the residents smiled and waved as he
passed, so Lin spent most of the walk with his right hand in the air. It wasn’t
until he turned onto Carson Street that he was able to give his hand a rest,
but not for long.
As soon as he spotted the house, Lin found Clara standing on the front
porch, so he smiled and added a much more meaningful wave. Clara didn’t
return his wave, she just hurried down the porch steps and began walking
towards him.
When they met, Clara said, “Frank said you went to Miguel’s livery, but
it wasn’t to tell him about the house. So, what was the reason?”
 Lin smiled, took her arm and as they began walking, he said, “I bought a
buggy.”
“Why did you buy a buggy if we’re going to be leaving soon?”
“It’s because we’ll be leaving Cottonwood soon. Would you rather sit on
a padded buggy seat or ride Rumpus for the hundred miles to the train
station in Las Vegas?”

Clara rubbed her posterior as she said, “I wasn’t looking forward to that
long ride, so thank you from the bottom of my bottom.”
Lin laughed and then replied, “I’m glad to hear that your concerned
behind is pleased with my decision.”

Before they turned onto the walkway, Clara looked at the pink stain on
Lin’s pants and asked, “Is that hole in your leg still bleeding?”
Lin didn’t need to check, so he quickly replied, “It had almost stopped
before I wrapped the towel around my leg, so I’m sure it’s already clotted.
When we return to your apartment, I’ll launder my jeans to get out the
stain.”

Clara pulled Lin to a stop and exclaimed, “You will do no such thing!
When those britches come off, the last thing you’ll be doing is the laundry!”
Lin then smiled and said, “You’re the boss, ma’am.”
Clara scowled at him as she snapped, “And don’t you forget it, mister!”
Clara was pleased when she saw Lin’s stunned reaction and managed to
maintain her fierce facade for more than five full seconds before she burst
out laughing.
Lin’s expression didn’t change at all as he waited for Clara to control her
laughter.
When she finally settled down, Lin’s eyes narrowed and his brow
furrowed before he calmly said, “No man would want to marry a harpy.”
 Clara’s cheery appearance vanished before she sharply asked, “You think
I’m a harpy?”

For almost a half a minute, Clara stared at Lin and waited for him to start
laughing, but he didn’t even crack a smile. She began to believe his ‘harpy’
comment wasn’t made in jest when Lin winked and broke into a wide grin.
Lin then said, “Of course not. I was just saying that men don’t marry
harpies. Surely you must know by now that I would never think of you as a
harpy. You know how much I admire your strength of character. I also was
amazed that you were able to wait so long before you started laughing. So, I
just wanted to impress you with my ability to keep my own poker face.”
“You succeeded, too. I was beginning to believe you really thought I was
a harpy.”
When they started walking again, Lin said, “I knew I’d met a real harpy
when I had my own spirited conversation with Mrs. Bradley.”
As they approached the porch, Clara laughed and said, “I had a different
term to describe Agatha when we had our chat.”
They were climbing the front steps when Lin asked, “Does it rhyme with
witch?”

Clara said, “Maybe,” and then opened the door.

_____
At Frank’s insistence, the conversation during their extended lunch was
limited to topics related to the meeting.
So, it wasn’t until they were walking to the church when Ellen was able
to ask, “When will you and Lin be leaving, Clara?”
Clara looked at Lin who replied, “If the reverend is willing to marry us
today, we’ll probably leave tomorrow morning.”
 Ellen lost a step before she said, “Already? I thought you’d stay in town
for at least two more days.”
Clara replied, “Lin wants to return as soon as possible, so he can start
writing his next book. And I’m really excited about seeing the Pacific
Ocean, too.”
As Ellen nodded, Clara squeezed Lin’s hand to let him know she was
much more excited about seeing the ocean as Mrs. Walker.
They were approaching the church when Frank looked at Lin and said,
“As soon as we walk through those doors, if we see the reverend, we’ll stop
and let you and Clara go ahead on your own. Okay?”
Lin replied, “Thanks, Frank. When we’re finished, we can set up for the
meeting.”
Reverend Gooding was near the organ talking to his wife about the
meeting when he heard them enter. He and Elizabeth ended their
conversation and quickly walked to greet Marshal Walker and the others.
The men left their hats on the table in the back of the church, and Frank,
Sam and Ellen remained behind while Lin and Clara continued walking
down the center aisle.
After three steps, Lin took Clara’s hand and began humming
Mendelssohn's
Wedding March.
He thought she might start laughing, but
she had a very different reaction.
She squeezed his hand and when he looked into her big brown eyes, he
saw her smiling as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She didn’t wipe it
away but allowed it to slide from her face and silently splash onto the pine
floor.

Lin stopped humming and wanted to say something, but Reverend

Gooding and his wife arrived.
 The minister smiled and said, “I’m excited to hear what you have to say,
Marshal. I recognized Miss Posey, but who are the two men with her?”
“They aren’t wearing their badges, but the older gentleman is United
States Marshal Frank Walcott, and the young man is his deputy, Sam
Beckett. They arrived from Prescott this morning and Marshal Walcott will
be taking charge.”
“You’re leaving Cottonwood?”
“Yes, sir. But I won’t be leaving alone. Clara will be coming with me,
and we hope you’d be willing to marry us before we left.”
The reverend smiled at Clara and said, “I’d be very happy to marry you.
It sounds as if you’re anxious to leave, so if you don’t object to a simple
civil ceremony, I could do it before the meeting.”
Lin didn’t need to ask Clara before he said, “That would be greatly
appreciated, Reverend.”
John Gooding said, “I need to get my prayer book and the territory’s
legal paperwork, but I’ll be back shortly,” and then looked at his wife and
asked, “Would you play something appropriate, my dear?”
Elizabeth smiled as she replied, “Yes, dear,” and then started walking
back to the organ while her husband hurried away.
Lin turned and beckoned for the others to join them before looking at
Clara and saying, “I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to buy our rings.”

Clara quickly replied, “I don’t care a whit about the rings, Lin. I’m
happier than I ever thought possible just knowing we’ll be together.”
Lin smiled just before Mrs. Gooding began quietly playing a hymn Lin
couldn’t recognize.

When their friends joined them, Frank asked, “Well? What did the
reverend say?”
 Lin grinned as he replied, “He’ll marry us as soon as he returns.”

Frank said, “That’s a surprise. I imagine it won’t take long either because
we need to start the meeting pretty soon.”
Lin didn’t get a chance to confirm Frank’s guess before Reverend
Gooding returned carrying his prayer book with the folded paperwork
acting as a bookmark and Mrs. Gooding stopped playing.

The reverend stood before them, opened his prayer book and handed the
papers to Frank.
He then smiled and said, “Let’s begin.”
The reverend seemed to be anxious for the meeting to start, so just six
minutes after the ceremony began, he pronounced them man and wife.
As Mrs. Gooding resumed playing, Lin and Clara shared a chaste kiss
before everyone walked to the back of the church to fill out the paperwork.
After Frank signed as a witness, Lin said, “When the meeting starts, I'll
introduce you to the folks and then it’ll be your show.”
Frank grinned as he said, “I reckon you and Clara won’t hear much of
what I say, either.”

Lin smiled at Clara and replied, “We wouldn’t hear a word even if we sat
in the first pew.”
Clara lightly laughed and wished they didn’t wait until the meeting
began.

_____
Ten minutes after the church bell announced the start of the town
meeting, the church was packed with Cottonwood citizens.
Lin then ascended the four steps to the small pulpit and waited for the
murmuring to fade before saying, “Good afternoon. A few hours ago, I was
very pleased when United States Marshal Frank Walcott and United States
Deputy Marshal Sam Beckett arrived from Prescott.

“As this is his territory, he’s much more capable of restoring order to
Cottonwood, and I’m sure you’ll give him all the support he’ll need. So, I’ll
be turning the meeting over to him while Mrs. Walker and I prepare for our
journey to San Francisco.”
When Lin turned around and descended from the pulpit, the murmuring
returned in greater volume.

As Frank climbed the steps, Lin took Clara’s hand and said, “Shall we
make our hasty exit, Mrs. Walker?”
Clara smiled as she replied, “As quickly as possible, Mister Walker.”
The townsfolk stared at the newlyweds as they started down the center
aisle but soon redirected their attention to front of the church when Frank
began speaking.
After snatching his hat from the pile on the back table, Lin and Clara
stepped into the harsh afternoon sun.
As they walked hand in hand along Center Street, Lin said, “That
worked out better than I expected.”
Clara smiled and said, “I wanted to leave before the ink was dry on our
marriage certificate.”
Lin laughed before saying, “We need to stop at Miguel’s, so I can tell
him that we’ll be leaving in the morning. After we leave Cottonwood, we
should arrive in Las Vegas in three days. Then after we board the train,
we’ll reach San Francisco two days later.”
“I can’t believe that I’ll be seeing the Pacific Ocean in less than a week.
Everything has happened so quickly. It seems as if it was just yesterday
when I sent that telegram to the governor. And now, my life has completely
changed. But it’s become so much better.”
 Lin smiled as he said, “My life may not have been altered as
dramatically as yours, but you’ve made it better than I could have dreamt
possible.”
“So, Mister Walker, besides being Mrs. Walker, what will I do after we
arrive in San Francisco?”
“It may surprise you to learn that I’ve already come up with a suggestion
beyond the obvious.”
As they walked past the locked jail, Clara asked, “And what is your
suggestion?”
“You can put my private printing press to good use. After I show you
how to set type, you can write and print your own newspaper.”
Clara laughed before asking, “Are you serious? I imagine San Francisco
has a dozen newspapers already.”
“When I left, there were fourteen, so there could be fifteen or sixteen by
now. But maybe newspaper was a poor description. I was thinking of
something more akin to an opinion broadsheet. I even have a
recommendation of the primary topic for your editorials.”
“You’re doing pretty well so far, so what do you suggest?”
“Women’s suffrage.”

Clara looked at Lin as she said, “You’re an amazing man, Lincoln

Abraham Walker. Most men would be horrified if their wives even
mentioned suffrage. But I already was thinking of using that issue as well.”
“I’d also recommend that you write under a pseudonym to avoid having
mobs of torch-bearing men arrive at our home.”

Clara laughed and then said, “I already have an appropriate name for the
publication, and I’m sure you can guess what I’ll call it.”
“I’ll take a stab at
The Crusader
.”
 “You’re right, of course. And I’m impressed that you even used a noun
instead of a verb.”
The conversation ended when they reached Miguel’s livery. When they
stepped into the shadowed barn, the only human occupant they found was
Diego.
Diego smiled and said, “My papa went to buy your buggy from Mister
Lopez. He should return soon.”
Lin nodded as he said, “When he returns, can you tell him that we’ll be
leaving tomorrow morning.”
Diego quickly asked, “You are going back to San Francisco?”

“Yes, sir. I just married Miss Clara, so I won’t be returning alone. That’s
why I asked your father to buy the buggy. And tell your father that I’ll pick
up my guns in the morning, too.”
Diego’s eyes popped before he stared at Clara and then slowly said, “I
will tell my papa when he returns.”

Lin smiled as he tapped the boy on his shoulder and said, “Thank you,
Diego.”
Diego grinned as he said, “You’re welcome, Mister Walker,” and then
watched Lin and Clara leave the barn.
As they crossed Center Street, Clara focused on the front door of
The
Canyon Caller
and felt an unexpected flush of anxiety. Ever since Lin she’d
seen Lin staring though the office window, she’d been fantasizing about
sharing her bed with him. And as they spent more time together, those
dreams had grown much more vivid and intense.
But now, after all their flirting, Clara suddenly was concerned that reality
would be nothing like her fantasies. And even worse, she might disappoint
Lin.
 They stepped onto the boardwalk and Lin said, “The town sure is quiet,
and I hope it stays that way until we’re halfway to Sulphur Springs.”

Clara missed most of what Lin had said, so she replied, “I think so, too.”
Lin noticed an almost melancholy tone in Clara’s voice and wondered if
something was bothering her. He didn’t ask her if she was troubled because
he was sure she’d tell him after they entered her office.
They walked the last block in silence before Lin released her hand,
opened the newspaper’s door and followed Clara inside.
Lin was locking the door with its flimsy latch as he watched Clara step
behind the desk and sit down. He was now convinced that she was upset
about something, so he took off his hat and walked to join her.
Lin set his hat on the desktop, sat down and asked, “Is something wrong,
Clara?”
Clara glanced at the stairs before saying, “I know you’ll find it hard to
believe, but I’m almost afraid to climb those steps.”
Lin definitely found it difficult to believe and asked, “Why are you
worried?”
Clara sighed and then said, “After all of my flirting and suggestive
remarks, I feel like a fraud.”
Lin took her hands before he quietly said, “You’re the most honest
person I've ever met, so I can’t imagine why you would feel that way,
Clara.”
“I was married to Fred for eight years yet never enjoyed anything about
my wifely duties. It was just another chore like sweeping the floor. But after
we met, I began imagining what it would be like if you were my husband
instead of Fred. Each night, I added more exciting details to those fantasies.
And now that you really are my husband, I’m worried that…well, I’m just
worried.”
 Lin smiled as he said, “You shouldn’t be concerned at all, Clara. Just be
the same strong woman I’ve come to love with all of my heart, and I
promise you that you won’t be disappointed.”

Clara’s anxiety vanished when she saw the immense passion behind his
dark brown eyes. While still holding onto Lin’s hands, she smiled and
slowly rose from her chair.
Lin wordlessly stood and then he and Clara stepped away from the desk
and walked to the stairs. After reaching the apartment, they remained silent
as they crossed the front room and entered the bedroom.

Once inside, Lin wrapped his arms around Clara, and she threw her arms
behind his neck before they shared their first serious kiss.
When their lips touched, Clara felt her knees weaken and knew that even
her most stimulating fantasy would pale in comparison to what she would
soon experience.

Lin may never have been married but none of his other dalliances had
prepared him for what he already felt as he kissed Clara. But now he was
the one who was concerned. He desperately wanted to please Clara but
wasn’t sure he’d be able to give her the time as she deserved.
But soon, they ignored everything except for each other as their stored
passions dominated their senses. They didn’t even notice the stifling
Arizona heat as they almost ripped off each other’s clothes to explore the
skin beneath. Nor did they care who heard their loud cries of unbridled lust
when they finally fell onto the bed.
For almost twenty minutes, Lin completely forgot about time as he
kissed and caressed Clara which drove her into a state of ecstasy that was
close to madness. She was loudly demanding that Lin take her before she
passed out, but he didn’t seem to hear her.
Lin definitely heard Clara’s loud pleas but all they did were to enhance
his own level of excitement. Another few minutes had passed before he
realized he couldn’t hold out any longer.
When Clara realized her demands had been realized, her eyelids fluttered
as she grabbed onto Lin. She thought she might lose consciousness when
she felt an explosion deep within her and released a scream of pure ecstasy.
When Lin finally rolled onto his back and pulled Clara close, they were
both covered in sweat and breathing heavily.
After they caught their breath, Clara whispered, “I wasn’t disappointed.”
Lin kissed her and then said, “But I was.”
Clara rolled onto his chest, looked down into his brown eyes and
snapped, “
I disappointed you?
You certainly fooled me, Mister Walker!”
Lin smiled as he said, “Not in you, sweetheart. I was disappointed that I
couldn’t last long enough to give you all the pleasure you deserved.”
Clara laughed before she said, “I don’t believe it’s possible for you to
give me any more pleasure, my love.”
Lin slid his hand across Clara’s wet behind as he said, “If we wait a few
minutes, I’ll prove you wrong, Mrs. Walker.”
Clara rested her head on his shoulder and thought he was joking, but as
his fingers continued exploring her slippery skin, she realized her new
husband had been quite serious.
_____

It was more than an hour later when Lin and Clara left their marital bed
and Lin pumped some cold water into the bathtub.
As he slowly began washing off her perspiration, Clara felt goosebumps
explode across her body and then said, “I can’t wait to try your hot shower.”
Lin was trying to avoid pulling Clara back to the bed as he replied, “I’ll
be more than happy to join you when you do.”
 Clara laughed and then said, “Now I’m even more excited about using it
before we use your giant bed.”
“That’s only if we make it all the way to the bedroom.”
After Clara turned to let Lin cleanse her back, she stared at her bed and
wished the meeting lasted for the rest of the day. She also wondered how
she ever could have been worried about making love with Lin.

_____
Forty minutes later, Lin and Clara were fully clothed as they descended
the stairs and walked to the front door. After Lin unlocked it and swung it
open, they stepped onto the boardwalk and looked west down Center Street.
Lin said, “I thought the meeting would be over by now.”
“So, did I. We aren’t going to go to the church to find out what’s going
on, are we?”
“Not unless you can’t wait for Frank to tell us what happened.”
“No, thank you. So, we may as well start packing.”
Lin grinned as he said, “I’m already packed, Mrs. Walker.”
“Then you can help me, Mister Walker.”
Lin said, “Yes, ma’am,” before he and Clara reentered the office but left
the door open.
If they had stayed on the boardwalk for another two minutes, they would
have seen the townsfolk beginning to stream out of the church.

_____
Frank was standing beside Reverend Gooding as the departing citizens
expressed their appreciation. Sam and Ellen had already returned to the
house, so when the queue ended, he’d be the only one to visit Lin and
Clara.
 When the last attendee shook his hand and walked away, Frank thanked
the reverend and then hurried east along Center Street. He had a lot to tell
them and hoped that the unexpectedly long meeting gave them enough time
to consummate their marriage.
_____
Clara had filled her travel bag and half-filled James Foster’s larger travel
bag when she looked at Lin and said, “That’s all I’m bringing with me.”

Lin asked, “Do you want to buy some more clothes at Clark’s before
they close?”
“No. But I expect to make a large hole in your bank account when we
arrive in San Francisco.”
Lin grinned as he said, “It’s
our
bank account, Mrs. Walker. And if you
want to buy a fancy gown with an enormous bustle, a hat with a yard-long
orange ostrich feather, and a frilly pink parasol, go right ahead.”
Clara slapped her right hip and then looked down before exclaiming, “I
don’t have my pistol!”
Lin laughed and then stepped closer, wrapped her in his arms and said,
“We’re going to have a very interesting marriage, sweetheart.”
Before they could make it more interesting, they heard Frank loudly ask,
“Do you want to hear about the meeting?”
Lin shouted, “We’ll be right down!” before he and Clara hurried to the
stairs.
When they reached the office, Frank grinned and said, “I was a bit
nervous when I left the church because, well, you two just got married. So,
I was relieved when I saw the open door.”
Lin smiled as he said, “Have a seat and tell us how things went.”
 Clara walked behind the desk and sat down before Lin and Frank took
their seats.
Frank then said, “It was a lot longer than I expected because of all the
questions. But it wasn’t nearly as chaotic as anticipated. What amazed me
was how cheerful everyone seemed to be. Maybe because it was being held
in a church, but I think it was that they were free of the sheriff and his
thugs.
“Anyway, we got off to a good start. Tomorrow, they’ll elect a new
mayor. Then a few days later, he’ll appoint a new sheriff and let him hire
two deputies, but I’ll approve the appointment. I’ll wire the governor and
have him send a judge and a prosecutor, too.”
Lin said, “I’m sure they had a lot of questions about the money.”
“Not as many as you might believe. They had more questions about you
and Clara. In fact, when I was greeting them as they left, more than half of
them asked me to convince you to be their new sheriff.”

Lin looked at Clara but kept a poker face as Frank continued.

“I briefly met with Leonard Abbott after the meeting. He’ll bring the
bank’s books to the jail tomorrow and we’ll start figuring out who gets
what. The ones with bank accounts will be easy. But deciding the amounts
that some of them lost by paying the sheriff’s coercive taxes might take a
while.”
Clara quickly said, “We were paying twelve dollars a month when Steve
Hilliard murdered Fred. I imagine men with big businesses like George
Clark paid even more.”
“Were all of the businesses paying the sheriff?”

“I don’t know. But except for the bank, I imagine most of them were.”
Frank nodded and said, “I guess we’ll just have to work that out. I’ve got
to get back to the house to check on Sam. Do you want to come along?”
 Lin looked at Clara who then said, “We’d be happy to go with you.”
Frank was a bit surprised but thought it wouldn’t long before they
hurried back to Clara’s apartment.
_____
When Lin and Clara returned to her apartment, the sun had set, and there
was no reason to hurry. After a long and lively conversation, they had
shared a convivial supper with Frank, Sam and Ellen. Because Lin and
Clara would be leaving early in the morning, they made their farewells and
Lin gave them his address in San Francisco.
After Lin extinguished the lamp, he joined Clara beneath the quilt.

He slid close, smiled and said, “Thoughtful husband that I am, I’ll allow
you the luxury of a good night’s sleep.”
Clara laughed before saying, “You probably expect me to argue that I
would prefer to perform my wifely duties, now that they are no longer a
chore. But instead, I’ll gratefully accept your unselfish gift.”

Lin kissed her on the tip of her nose and said, “Good night, Mrs.
Walker.”
Clara replied, “Good night, my beloved husband,” before they rolled
onto their backs and closed their eyes.
_____
The sun had been up for less than an hour when Lin waved to Clara and
then crossed Center Street. As he headed to the livery, he expected he’d
need to help Miguel load Job and saddle the horses. He was curious about
the buggy, too.
But as he neared the barn, he spotted a nice buggy with a brown gelding
already in harness standing in the side alley. He assumed it was his buggy
but didn’t recognize the horse.
 Lin passed the buggy and when he entered the livery, he found Miguel
and Diego waiting with Copper, Rumpus, Slate and Job. The horses were
all saddled, and Job was carrying all of his packs, including two full water
bags.
Lin grinned and said, “You must have been up earlier than usual,
Miguel.”
Miguel handed him his gunbelt as he replied, “Diego told me you and
Mrs. Walker would be leaving this morning, and I didn’t want to make you
wait. The small pistol is in Mrs. Walker’s saddlebags.”
Lin buckled on his Remington and then hung his saddlebags over his tall
red gelding’s back.
As he tied them down, he asked, “Where did you get the buggy horse?”

“He was part of the bargain. Renaldo did not need him, and he is trained
to pull the buggy.”
“Did you spend any of your money?”
Miguel smiled and said, “No. I paid one hundred and ten dollars for the
buggy and the horse.”
Lin laughed and said, “You’re a shrewd negotiator, Miguel. Clara is
waiting, so let’s attach all of my four-footed friends to the buggy.”
Miguel nodded before they led the three horses and Job out of the barn.
_____
Clara was standing on the boardwalk as Lin drove the buggy onto Center
Street. Despite living in Cottonwood for most of her life, she was anxious to
be leaving. She felt no sense of nostalgia for the town and couldn’t wait to
see the Pacific Ocean from the porch of her new home with her husband
sitting beside her.
 Lin soon pulled up, set the handbrake and stepped out of the buggy. He
snatched Clara’s bags and said, “I’ll add these to Job’s load before I assist
my dainty wife into the buggy.”

Clara patted the Smith & Wesson at her waist and then clambered into
the buggy before Lin smiled and carried the travel bags to Job.
After he joined Clara in the buggy, he released the hand brake and took
the reins in his hands.
The buggy hadn’t moved for almost half of a minute before Clara asked,
“Did you forget something, Lin?”
Lin slowly scanned the town before he replied, “You know, despite all of
the trouble, I’ve really become quite fond of Cottonwood. And they did tell
Frank they wanted me to be their sheriff.”
Clara was aghast and exclaimed, “You can’t be serious!
You want to stay
and be the new sheriff?
”
Lin stared into her horrified brown eyes for a few seconds before he
smiled and said, “Let’s go home, Clara.”
Clara laughed as Lin snapped the reins to start their long journey and
their new life together.
 EPILOGUE
July 18, 1889
Clara and Lin were sitting on their small bench they’d added to the west-
facing porch. Lin was proofing the next edition of
The Crusader
while
Clara peered through their new nautical telescope.

He had just finished his review without finding any errors when Clara
exclaimed, “There must be ten of them, Lin!”

Lin smiled and said, “That’s not even one of the big pods. I’ve seen
some with more than thirty. Of course, I didn’t have a telescope at the
time.”
Clara sat back and said, “I’ll always be excited when I see them.”

Lin handed her the proof and said, “I didn’t find any mistakes. And I
really liked how you pointed out that Wyoming Territory hasn’t fallen into
anarchy despite allowing women to vote and even hold elected office. You
even wrote how they told Congress where they could go for threatening to
deny them statehood unless they changed that law. Those boys in
Washington don’t know how lucky they are that you don’t live in Wyoming.
It’s a very good article.”
“But I don’t believe the men in power care what I write.”
“That’s not what Bob Keeshan thinks. He told me a lot of their wives are
making them miserable by having recurring nightly headaches.”
“Are you sure he wasn’t just trying to keep you happy to keep you from
changing publishers?”
Lin smiled and said, “I’m sure he was telling me the truth. He’s their
lawyer, so he won’t lose anything even if I did switch publishers. Now if
Barney Bailey was the one who’d told me, I might agree with you.”
“He did seem more than happy with
Clara’s Crusade.
And it’s only been
in print since May.”
Lin took her hand and said, “He was amazed by how quickly I wrote it
even after I explained it really wasn’t fictional.”

“I laughed when I first saw that you’d named the male lead character
Carl Bell. Did you explain to Mister Bailey why you chose that name?"
“No, ma’am. And I didn’t tell him why you became Clara Walters
either.”

“I was surprised that Sam wasn’t angry because you named the evil
sheriff Stan Beckett.”
“He felt too guilty for abandoning Frank and taking the sheriff’s job and
staying in Cottonwood with Ellen.”

Clara smiled and said, “At least they have a nice house.”
“And thanks to my generous wife, Miguel was able to add more rooms
to his home after he sold
The Canyon Caller.
So, it all worked out in the end
and Cottonwood is a peaceful town once again.”

Clara slid closer and said, “I’m much happier here, but I sometimes miss
the Arizona heat. You told me that it gets chilly in the summer, but even
though I’m wearing a heavy sweater, I’m still cold.”
Lin put his arm around her and after Clara laid her head on his shoulder,
he smiled and asked, “Do you want to chase away those chills by joining
me for a hot shower?”

*******
Author’s Note

I thought I’d take a break from the Joe Beck series to write a short stand
alone. Even after the first two chapters, I still expected it would be around
seventy thousand words. After eighty-eight books, I should have learned
that it would surpass that estimation by fifty percent.

There are two reasons why this happens. I don’t know what my main
characters will do until their personalities are fully developed, and I don’t
like leaving loose ends.
Now I’ll head back to Idaho City and see what Joe and Faith are doing.

_____
 

BOOK LIST
     
1 Rock Creek 12/26/2016
2 North of Denton 01/02/2017
3 Fort Selden 01/07/2017
4 Scotts Bluff 01/14/2017
5 South of Denver 01/22/2017
6 Miles City 01/28/2017
7 Hopewell 02/04/2017
8 Nueva Luz 02/12/2017
9 The Witch of Dakota 02/19/2017
10 Baker City 03/13/2017
11 The Gun Smith 03/21/2017
12 Gus 03/24/2017
13 Wilmore 04/06/2017
14 Mister Thor 04/20/2017
15 Nora 04/26/2017
16 Max 05/09/2017
17 Hunting Pearl 05/14/2017
18 Bessie 05/25/2017
19 The Last Four 05/29/2017
20 Zack 06/12/2017
21 Finding Bucky 06/21/2017
22 The Debt 06/30/2017
23 The Scalawags 07/11/2017
24 The Stampede 08/23/2017
25 The Wake of the Bertrand 07/31/2017
26 Cole 08/09/2017
27 Luke 09/05/2017
28 The Eclipse 09/21/2017
29 A.J. Smith 10/03/2017
30 Slow John 11/05/2017
31 The Second Star 11/15/2017
32 Tate 12/03/2017
33 Virgil’s Herd 12/14/2017
34 Marsh’s Valley 01/01/2018
35 Alex Paine 01/18/2018
36 Ben Gray 02/05/2018
37 War Adams 03/05/2018
38 Mac’s Cabin 03/21/2018
39 Will Scott 04/13/2018
40 Sheriff Joe 04/22/2018
41 Chance 05/17/2018
42 Doc Holt 06/17/2018
43 Ted Shepard 07/16/2018
44 Haven 07/30/2018
45 Sam’s County 08/19/2018
46 Matt Dunne 09/07/2018
47 Conn Jackson 10/06/2018
48 Gabe Owens 10/27/2018
49 Abandoned 11/18/2018
50 Retribution 12/21/2018
51 Inevitable 02/04/2019
52 Scandal in Topeka 03/18/2019
53 Return to Hardeman County 04/10/2019
54 Deception 06/02.2019
55 The Silver Widows 06/27/2019
56 Hitch 08/22/2019
57 Dylan’s Journey 10/10/2019
58 Bryn’s War 11/05/2019
59 Huw’s Legacy 11/30/2019
60 Lynn’s Search 12/24/2019
61 Bethan’s Choice 02/12/2020
62 Rhody Jones 03/11/2020
63 Alwen’s Dream 06/14/2020
64 The Nothing Man 06/30/2020
65 Cy Page 07/19/2020
66 Tabby Hayes 09/04/2020
67 Dylan’s Memories 09/20/2020
68 Letter for Gene 09/09/2020
69 Grip Taylor 10/10/2020
70 Garrett’s Duty 11/09/2020
71 East of the Cascades 12/02/2020
72 The Iron Wolfe 12/23/2020
73 Wade Rivers 01/09/2021
74 Ghost Train 01/27/2021
75 The Inheritance 02/26/2021
76 Cap Tyler 03/26/2021
77 The Photographer 04/10/2021
78 Jake 05/06/2021
79 Riding Shotgun 06/03/2021
80 The Saloon Lawyer 07/04/2021
81 Unwanted 09/21/2021
82 reunion 11/26/2021
83 The Divide 12/28/2021
84 Rusty & Bug 01/21/2022
85 The Laramie Plains 02/15/2022
86 Idaho City 03/16/2022
87 Poole’s Gold 05/06/2022
88 Spring Surprises 06/30/2022
89 Clara’s Crusade 08/22/2022