Julia lay helplessly on the ground. Once the three villains had tied the rope from her ankles to the back of Lillybelle's saddle, she knew they wished harm to her. They seemed to be taking their time in doing it. She was still baffled by the third man, who had not yet spoken. He dismounted and stood over her as if he were contemplating something.
"C'mon, boss, ain't we gonna slap this here horse and send her running?" Mr. Blue asked.
Julia had expected as much, but the idea was so horrific she tried to scream in spite of the gag. "Grmmmph!" was all she could manage.
The Boss was still pondering what to do when Julia heard a commanding male voice call out "You there, get away from that girl!"
The three villains all turned, then moved away from Julia. The newcomer waved a Colt at the group. He too, was familiar to Julia.
"Mount up and get the hell away from here!" Henry Fulton ordered. "I'll untie her. Men like you aren't fit to touch decent folk."
The three villains mounted up and hastily rode away. Fulton took his horse and rode up to the captive. He dismounted and after holstering the pistol, produced a knife and quickly severed Julia's bonds.
As soon as the gag was removed, Julia buried her face and in his chest and began to sob. It was only for a half minute but she said when it was over, "I don't... what I mean... I guess."
"I believe the words you are looking for are "thank you"" Fulton
said, drily.
Becky took one look at Julia's dusty clothes and asked the inevitable
question. Julia's reply confused Becky all the more.
"You sure it wasn't the Coltons?" Becky asked.
"Absolutely." her cousin replied "They're in jail, remember?"
"That's right, and the circuit judge isn't due for another three weeks." After a brief pause, Becky said, "There can also be another reason behind this."
"Which is?"
Becky again paused "This is hard for me to say, but will be harder for you to accept."
"Come on, out with it." Julia said impatiently.
"Did you stop to think that this Mister Fulton might have staged this whole thing for your own benefit?"
"What! How could you say something like that! Mister Fulton is decent man! A gentleman!"
Becky rolled her eyes. Julia needed to be told that Beacon Street was nothing like the outside world.
"There was something about the third man, the one who didn't speak." Julia said. "There's something about him that stuck as ..."
"Odd?" Becky prompted.
Becky said nothing more. No doubt Fulton had hired somebody from the
town to stage the little scene. After all, why would this "Boss" have
wasted so much time?
"Just the same, We should do our riding together." Becky said. "If
for some reason I don't feel up to it, I'm sure one of the ranch hands
will be willing to help."
On the ride back, Julia remarked. "It's a pity Magda must
stay at the ranch."
"Well, if you can figure out the finances, perhaps we can hire
some extra help." Becky commented.
They pulled up through the gate of the ranch and up to the main
house. Becky brought the buckboard to a stop by the front door. She'd
put it away as soon as she changed clothes. They came through the front
door together and were met by an unbelievable sight. A chair had been
set in the middle of the room and Magda was secured to it with a tightly
wound coil of rope. A rag was wound securely around her mouth.
Becky and Julia rushed toward the chair, where they noticed Magda
shaking her head violently. They then felt the barrels of revolvers at
the backs of their heads.
e-mail: historian62@hotmail.com
The two cousins spent the next couple days tending to the ranch.
Julia discovered the ranch's finances were in disarray and set herself to
setting them straight. Becky didn't mind it one bit. Julia knew her math
and that was a subject that Becky's own education had neglected. Becky
kept her thoughts toward mending fences and keeping track of the
livestock. For five days, plus Saturday mornings, the ranch was at work.
On Saturday afternoons, the ranch hands, as well as the miners headed
for town. Some even engaged is spiritual pursuits on Sunday.
Julia was at first a bit put out by the fact there was no
Presbyterian minister around. The Protestant chapel was split between a
early morning Baptist service and Noontime Methodist one, while the local
Catholic chapel offered two Masses. Becky pointed out that the Bible
used by all the denominations was essentially the same, so why all the
fuss over where you go to church? Nevertheless, she accompanied Julia
that Sunday.