Anything Could Happen

[Scarlet Angel]

The man thought he'd followed far enough back that he wouldn't be noticed. His companions were late bringing back the woman so he'd been sent to investigate. He followed far enough back he could just make out the rider in front of him was the Marshal.

He froze as Marshal Ross dove from the saddle and yelled. Grinning to himself thinking they might be so green they'd shoot one another. That's what the Marshal deserved for having a posse made up half of women.

Scarlet hesitated hearing Tensleep yell at her. If they were riding together why weren't they riding closer to one another? She thought.

"Hesitation will cost you your life!" She could hear Johnny's voice like he was standing right next to her.

If the man was with Tensleep he should have identified him. Scarlet squeezed the trigger already knowing she'd only graze the man's shoulder.

[Elegant Ella]

Ella fired, hitting the man in the right shoulder, knocking him back in the saddle.  His horse balked when Diamond moved to block its path, and the man fell from the saddle. 

"It is not murder, but justice, to kill a man who has murdered others," replied Ella, looking down at him.  "Not that death itself is a punishment.  A swift death can be a mercy when the appropriate punishment is pain from untreated wounds."

She fired again, hitting him in the right leg.   

[Scarlet Angel]

The man glared up at Ella. Even through the pain she could see evil.

[Elegant Ella]

Ella realized that she was reacting to exhaustion by trying to torture the man.  He wasn't going to be a source of information about the outlaws. 

She fired once more, hitting him in the forehead. 

[Tensleep]

The marshal rolled again as he heard two shots fired, then another shot. A noise from behind him caused him to turn and bring his pistol to bear on a man trying to control his horse. As the rider started to turn Tensleep snapped a shot that broke his shoulder and knocked him from his horse.

Slowly the marshal stood and walked to Buck where he drew his rifle.

The outlaw lay still waiting for someone to approach. He heard another shot sound.

"Stand easy Buck, gonna be awright." Tensleep talked to his horse softly. Louder he said so that Scarlet, Fritz and Ella could hear, "Reckon we might as well jist shoot this feller dead too so he won't slow us down."

These words were to let his friends know that the outlaw was still alive.

[Scarlet Angel]

The outlaw Tensleep was watching knew there was no escape. He was off his horse and guns were aimed at him. He just had one decision to make. Hoping he'd at least wound the marshal and get the same his friend had gotten he pointed the hideout gun in Tensleep's direction and pulled the trigger.

The man screamed and twisted in pain afraid to look at what he was sure was a bloody stump where his hand had been.

[Tensleep]

Tensleep was watching when the old pistol exploded. Smoke, blood and flesh made a grisly cloud around the outlaw.

Quickly running to the downed man Tensleep yelled, "ELLA!!!!"

[Elegant Ella]

Tensleep's call pulled Ella out of the dark mood she was falling into.  She rode over to him, and dismounted. 

Sizing up the situation, she holstered her pistol in the crossdraw holster and started pulling things out of her pockets. 
Spreading a piece of oilcloth under the wounded arm, she started cleaning the wound, trying to evaluate what could be done. 

Mercifully, the man soon fainted.  Ella finished cleaning, and bandaged up the remains of a hand. 

"I can't amputate out here," she told Tensleep.  "I might be able to patch it up somewhat back at the Starr, but he is not going to ever get much function back."

[Scarlet Angel]

Jimmy rounded up the horses of the dead men. He handed the reins of one to the man he was now just calling Cap'n with a sarcastic tone.

Cap'n Smith looked at the reins Jimmy handed him.

"Yer lucky I'm even givin' you a horse. I'm not gonna check the saddle for ya too." Jimmy said as he checked the rigging of the horse he was going to ride.

"I demand you take me to the fort." Cap'n Smith said mounting his horse.

Jimmy glared over at him. "YOU are in no position to demand anything. Fort's that way." Jimmy pointed in the general direction.

A look of defeat started to cross the man's face. "You have to do what I say." The man tried to sound like he was in charge but he knew better.

Jimmy moved his horse next to T.J. and pulled out the pistol the man carried then checked to see if it was loaded then handed it over. "Fort's thata way." he repeated as he pointed again.

The man looked at the gun in his hand for a long moment then pointed it at Jimmy. "Take me to the Fort." He said a little more confidently.

Before Cap'n knew what had happened he lay on the ground tasting blood, his face throbbing with pain.

"You get one thing straight you sorry sack o' shit. You EVER point a gun at me you pull the trigger and make sure it's fatal." Jimmy growled knowing he'd been right to give Cap'n a gun with spent shells. Something still just didn't set right about this whole thing Jimmy thought.

Cap'n  lay his head on the ground and touched his fingertips to his broken nose. He had thought a trip to the west would be adventurous. He never counted on sleeping in the dirt, riding a horse and nearly getting killed, and he never counted on being treated like this. The army had made the offer sound almost romantic and heroic.

This man who had treated him poorly had not even offered him a name, just barked things at him and quite frankly scared the hell out of him. He was right up there with the outlaws the army said he'd probably never see.

"Who are you?" Cap'n asked only to hear hoofbeats as Jimmy rode off.
The man scrambled to his feet and grabbed the reins of the horse that was starting to wander off. Mounting up he rode after Jimmy figuring if the man was going to kill him he would have done so by now, obviously he was a friend of the army scout who had saved his life, which made him the only man Cap'n Smith could trust right now.

Cap'n retrieved his handkerchief and pressed it gently against his nose. This man James, as Terrance had called him, was quick with his fists, his gun and his horse. He had moved so fast Cap'n didn't realize what was happening until he'd hit the ground. James had disarmed and unseated him in what seemed like one swift motion. Reading about these kind of men was what had made him curious about the west. Meeting them was what made him sure if he told anybody, but the Colonel he was supposed to report to, the truth it would cost him his life.

[Elegant Ella]

After Ella put her supplies back in her pocket, she pulled out her bag of ammunition and reloaded her pistol, and returned it to its proper holster.  Then she went to the body of the man who had taken her outside pistol and reclaimed it. 

"Can we head to the Starr now?" she asked Tensleep, with a touch of plaintive whining in her voice.  "I have patients waiting for me, but I'm not going to do them any good until I get some rest." 

[Scarlet Angel]

Tensleep lifted the prisoner up on his horse. With a bit of a sadistic smile he tied the man's good hand to the saddle then said "Let's get outta 'ere."

The weary group mounted up and headed back to the Starr with Tensleep in the lead and Scarlet and Fritz riding the upper trail watching for any more surprises.

The soldiers in the wagons were being moved into the medical building when the posse rode up.

Scarlet was happy to see her escaped horse safely in the corral with the others that were due to be sold and she hoped Bo didn't have some long speech about riding Phantom.

The soldier sitting on the porch of the medical building with a rag to his face being closely guarded by one of the hands was odd to see.

Scarlet took Diamond's reins when Ella dismounted and headed towards the barn.

[Elegant Ella]

Ella's first stop was on the porch to see to the man with the rag. 

The hand spoke up, "Nothing wrong with him except a nose out of joint.  Jimmy said for you to go on in, he's got a friend bad hurt." 

Ella nodded, and stepped on past.  Jimmy and Rose were in the first room on the left, the surgery, with a man lying on the table.  It looked like Rose has already peeled him out of his clothes, and started cleaning and bandaging wounds. 

Rose looked up at her entrance and said, "Bill and Johnny are bathing the other patients and getting them settled."

Ella nodded, washed her hands, and went to work. 

[Scarlet Angel]

T. J.'s pulse was thready  at best.  Rose had discovered two more bullet wounds when she had peeled off his coat. If it wasn't for Ella, Rose would have told Jimmy to contact his next of kin straight away. As it was right now she was pretty sure the look she saw on Ella's face was concern, and that was putting it mildly.

The bullet lodged in the mans back was what Ella was having the most difficulty with. They all had enough experience to know T.J. had been shot point blank two or three days ago. There was nothing for Jimmy to do that he wouldn't be in the way. Ella and Rose were doing everything thing they could.

Rose shot a worried look at the slamming of the door.

The eye's of the ranch hand guarding Cap'n grew wide and he danced aside.  Jimmy grabbed Cap'n by the collar and hauled him to his feet.

Everyone that could see what was going on came to a stop.

"You tell me why T.J.'s got wounds that should've killed 'im. I assume the rest of your patrol is dead and the only blood you have shed is because of me?" Jimmy growled.

Both Tensleep and Fritz started to dismount.

"Don't."  Scarlet's voice was low and demanding, causing the two men to exchange glances as they settled back in their saddles. Jimmy was her family and they both trusted she had her reasons for stopping them.

Capn's eyes were wide and darting looking for help he couldn't believe nobody was coming to his rescue. The man that was supposed to guard him had completely stepped away. 

"He shoved me up against a dead horse then lay on top of me when the men came around." Cap'n said.

"The rest of the soldiers....they dead?" Jimmy asked.

"They weren't when we left but that was two hard days ride. You wouldn't believe what they did to them...all of them."  Cap'n replied.

"Why did he trade his life for yers?" Jimmy said between gritted teeth.

Cap'n tried to break the eye contact they had by looking away.

"You best start talking or Miz Ella's not gonna be able to help you." Jimmy said drawing his knife.   

Johnny moved in closer so he could intervene should he have to, Bo close behind.
"You're supposed protect me."  Cap'n  said.

Jimmy's lip curled up. "Y'er very confused boy. I'll protect you long enough to take you right into that outlaw camp and let'em have you, you don't start tellin' what I'm asking ya." 

"I don't know what the solders were told about me." 

"Were told? What's that mean?" Jimmy narrowed his eyes at the man but loosened the hold he had.

Cap'n figured if he didn't tell the truth that would be worse than hiding the information he did know. "They told  me they'd pay my way and all I had to do was ride along with the soldiers. I can tell you what the men looked like that shot up the soldiers I was with."  He said.

"Who's they?"  Jimmy  said putting his knife way much to the relief of everyone around him.

"Soldiers and official looking men."

"You best not be lyin' ta me." Jimmy said letting the man go deceiding Tensleep could deal with the frustration if he chose to.

"Don' t let 'im out of your sight." He said to the man that had been guarding him as he went towards the barn.

Scarlet watched Jimmy pass then turned to Tensleep. "What's our next move and when do we leave?"

[Elegant Ella]

Ella concluded she was not going to get the bullet out of his back without killing him.  Stitching the wounds closed would just trap the rot inside, and reopening them to clean them would probably kill the man then. 

She cleaned all the wounds as thoroughly as possible, and packed them with a special mixture of herbs while reciting all the proper words from her grandmother's teachings. 

She stepped back, and looked in the cupboards for inspiration.  Was there anything else out of science or tradition that she could try? 

There were a couple sealed bottles of boiled salt water.  Putting that in Fritz's veins had seemed to make his pulse stronger when he had lost this much blood.  It sure couldn't hurt to try it again. 

[Tensleep]

Tensleep piled off his horse as Jimmy walked away. He stepped onto the porch and looked at the man called Cap'n.

"I really don't have time to fool with ya mister." Tensleep looked down and then continued. "I figger you don't want us to know who ya are or what ya know or where ya came from. I really don't care right now. There are people dying out on the plains everyday and I intend to put a stop to it. So you just sit there like ah clam an' we'll get back to ya in a few days or weeks."

He turned to the puncher guarding Cap'n. "Put this jackass in tha cell, lock tha damn door an' fergit he's there except once ah day to water 'im. I don't care if he lives er dies."

He looked to Fritz and Scarlet as he mounted. "Let's get tha hell back on tha trail, we have wasted enough time."

[Scarlet Angel]

Combined effort of Tensleep and Scarlet

"He ain't safe in that cell 'Sleep." Johnny called out.

Tensleep looked at him questioningly, more curious than anything else.

"Look if T.J. dies and Jimmy decides it's his fault." Johnny pointed at Cap'n "there's not a man on this place gonna stand between them. If that outlaw rides out here lookin' for him I just might be inclined to turn 'im over too." 

Capn's eye went wide as he listened to what the Ranch owner had to say.

"Only two men on this place can save your hide mister, and they're both fixin to ride out." The ranch hand said with half a smile.

"Marshal!" Cap'n was on his feet. "Robert Dove, Boston. I'll tell you anything you want to know as long as you can insure my safety."

Johnny suppressed a grin. While he hadn't lied he knew every man had a breaking point, one just had to find it. Sometimes lettin' one in on the truth, especially when it involved his future, was the best way to get what you wanted from them.   

Tensleep leaned forward on Buck, his forearms resting on the saddlehorn. "Yer buyin' tha insurance Mr Dove, let's see what size policy ya want. Where'd tha army pick you up? Why? What tha hell do you know that's important enough to lose good men over? You got answers then you got insurance, but let me tell ya, you lie to me an' I'll ride off an' Jimmy can do what he dern well pleases with you. Ya hear me mister?"

Robert Dove peered in Jimmy's direction. The man was washing the army scout's blood off of the light colored horse and in Robert's opinion looked to be growing more irritated every second.

"I was on a train headed towards Fort Worth. It was robbed and most of the passengers killed, some taken. I do not know why the army is interested in what or who was on the train. There was another man besides myself, looked like we could be brothers. He told the Army he could identify the men that robbed the train. Then they escorted him off. They told me they were sending some men to El Paso if I wanted to ride with them I was welcome to. They dressed me like one of the soldiers so I wouldn't draw attention....or so I was told."

"Now why in God's good name should I believe that story? Man looked like you gets hauled away, and the army offers you a free trip to El Paso. That don't make much sense." Tensleep straightened on Buck.

"Jimmy he ain't much, he's all yours. I hate liars."

Jimmy's head jerked up at Tensleep's voice. Grabbing a handful of mane he swung up onto his horse's back. The sound of the Bowie he carried clearing it's sheath rang loudly in Robert Dove's ears. Robert dodged to the right only to be cut off by Jimmy's horse. Jimmy leaned forward and grabbed him by the collar.

"You best know how far you are from Fort Worth 'fore you start telling stories like that." Jimmy hissed. "T.J. wouldn'ta traded his life for the likes o' you."

"There was a gold shipment on the train too." Robert squeaked as he was being hauled off his feet and fighting to keep Jimmy's knife away from him.

"Two Federal employees were killed. I was the one they missed!"

Everyone heard what was being said as Dove's feet dangled off the gound. "Yer one heck of ah great interrigator there Jimmy... see what else you can get outta this feller. I bet he knows lots o' stuff." Tensleep was grinning now. "Do what ya want to jist don't kill him here, Rose don't like blood in her yard." As he finished speaking the marshal winked at Jimmy.

"What else do you want!!" Dove yelled towards Tensleep the best he could. He could hear his own heart pounding in his ears as the horse started to move. He was now half draped over the front of Jimmy's horse.

"Wanna know where that gold was headed, wanna know why you wasn't killed, not even touched. I wanna know everything that the army wanted to know.  Oh yeah.... I wanna know it NOW!" Tensleep looked at the man closely. "I really don't give a rat's ass about you, but I do want ta know who we are lookin' for and why!"

[1stSgt Fritz King]

Fritz didn't like it one bit.

To wear the uniform, a man makes a sacred trust.  To uphold the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  This was an imposter.  He didn't carry himself like a soldier, let alone an officer. 

Fritz rumaged through the saddlebags he'd appropriated.  He found a box of cartridges for the '66.  Once that was loaded, he checked the short-barreled Colt.  Fritz ejected six empty cartridge casings.  The boy knew he was headed for trouble, and loaded all the chambers.  Fritz put five beans in the wheel, and put the piece in it's holster, making sure to tie it down.

"So," Fritz asked, "where are we headed?" 

[Tensleep]

Combined effort of Scarlet and Tensleep

Tensleep looked at Fritz. "Depends on what the man says."

"Gold was headed to Denver!" Dove replied. He was so focused on keeping Jimmy's knife away from him he didn't notice Jimmy was frisking him with his free hand.

"I hid when we heard the commotion on board. I'm no guard; I only know the combinations to the safes that hold the money and gold. The one that was taken and a bigger one owned by the railroad waiting in Denver."   

Jimmy pulled an envelope from inside the man's coat flipped it at Tensleep then yanked his knife hand free and dropped the man in a heap on the ground.

The man who was guarding him earlier was there to pick him up.

"Put 'im in the Marshal's jail. If T.J. dies this idiot can look his wife and boy in the face and tell 'er how her husband died defending a coward." Jimmy said then rode off.

Tensleep thumbed the envelope open and read the contents of the letter then handed it to Scarlet. "Looks like somebody knew that gold was on the train Mr Dove. It also appears that you knew just when to hide so's not to endanger yerself. Johnny, take this letter an' put it in your safe please. Reckon we best toss Mr. Dove in tha lock up to wait for the army an' ah Federal judge. I figger he's an accomplice."

Scarlet handed the papers to Johnny who nodded his head in agreement to what Tensleep had said.

She then grinned at the man who had Mr. Dove by the collar. "Ya know what ta do with him if he gets outta hand or ya have to hide him."

The man looked up at her. "Yes ma'am." he said amused.

"Best place to start looks to me was where we were when we got Ella back. What do you think Scarlet?"

[Scarlet Angel]

Combined effort of Tensleep & Scarlet


Scarlet looked at Tensleep.

"You don't think they were headed back to the main camp?"

"Maybe, but we really need to know all the camps and all the ins and outs." Tensleep paused. "Be easier to take them in small bunches too."

"Fair enough." She replied.

"Tell the boys I'm gonna set the gate at the shack so watch themselves." Scarlet said to Johnny.

"Let me know what ya get."  Johnny chuckled.

Scarlet looked at Fritz "Sound like a good place to start to you?" she asked.

[1stSgt Fritz King]

"It's a fair bet their dead outriders have been discovered.  They'll be expecting us.  I wish we had some of Bill's toys to play with.  Where is he anyway?"

Ever since he and Patches announced their engagement, they were harder to find.  Fritz couldn't say much...he knew the feeling well.

Had he asked Bo to stand with him yet?