Philip Dampier's Blog

Shootout at the Spring

Episode Twenty-four

Chad heard his name being called, but it seemed so far away that he wasn’t sure. He couldn’t really make anything out, and then his hat was lifted off his face. Slowly, he regained awareness. It was Ben looking down at him.

“They’re coming.”

Chad sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He thought he felt worse than before he slept. The rancher was walking out towards the wagon, talking to the driver, telling him where to park the old buckboard. Ben let out a whoop. Tied to the rear of the wagon was Old Joe, pack intact.

“Let’s get ‘em up and get out of here,” Chad said.

Ben and the rancher picked Pearson up and carried him to the wagon. Chad motioned for Sheriff Mann to climb aboard as well. Everyone else was assisted onto their horses as needed, and the entire group headed west to bypass the trees and ford the creek. Riding next to the wagon, Chad directed the driver to the best speed they could make and not shake the passengers in the wagon to pieces. A loud groan could be heard from the blankets on the wagon bed every time one of the buckboard’s wheels hit a stone or a rough spot.

After an hour or so had passed, Chad called Ben over to him. “Ben, I want you to ride on ahead, and when you get to the fort, tell the duty officer what is going on. They can notify the doctor, and maybe they will send a squad out to escort these criminals in.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

“Just angle over to the river and follow it to the fort.”

“Why don’t you go, Chad, and leave me here? You could see your wife.”

Chad did not speak for a time; he seemed lost in reflection. “Yes, I could, and nothing would make me happier, but my responsibility is here with the prisoners. I’ve lost too much time chasing Lance to take even the smallest risk.”

The rancher called across the wagon, “It will be less than an hour if you keep a good pace. Take care of that horse when you get there.”

Ben smiled at the suggestion and urged his horse into a mile-eating gallop, and swung east towards the wide Missouri. Chad watched his new deputy and friend’s back grow smaller and smaller. He consoled himself with the knowledge that he would see Nancy before the day was over. I’m going to need a few days’ rest after this trip. I hope Washington hasn’t sent any new urgent assignments while I’ve been gone. I would like to spend a week with Nancy in our little house. God, I miss her so much. I never realized how much I would miss her.

As the group took a slight angle toward the river, the land grew flatter and the grass shorter. A homestead appeared on their right, and then within half an hour, another. The homesteaders had planted rows of small trees around their sod houses in the hope of future shade and wind protection, but little else showed much improvement. Still, the frequency with which they discovered ranchers and farmers confirmed that the fort was drawing near for sure.

“Cavalry!” someone shouted.

Sure enough, coming straight towards them was a small squad of horse soldiers, the stars and stripes fluttering behind the staff of the guide-on rider. There were a dozen riders, and the squad included a silver-barred lieutenant and a three-stripe sergeant. Chad spurred Buck and rode out to meet them. He wanted to talk to the officer-in-charge before the sheriff had a chance to speak.

The palaver took several minutes as Chad went through the entire story. He expressly listed the various charges against Lance and the sheriff and his posse. The lieutenant spoke to his non-com, “Sergeant, take the prisoners into custody and escort them to the Camp Provost Marshal’s office and secure them in the lock-up. The marshal will make a formal complaint later today.”

“Thanks, Lieutenant,” Chad said, “I want to commend rancher Horace Shelton. Without his help, we wouldn’t have made it this far, and a great injustice would have occurred. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have urgent business in Fort Pierre.”

The lieutenant smiled, “God be with you, Marshal.”

Chad turned and waved to Shelton and his driver and then kicked his heels against Buck’s flank. The big buckskin seemed to know where they were. It was as if he could smell home. Maybe the scent of the river and its accompanying fort was drifting across the grass. He broke into a run, his mane and tail flowing in the breeze caused by his hurry to reach the fort.

The fort came into view, and beyond it, the various buildings and houses of the townspeople. Chad broke his normal routine and sped past the stables, where he kept his horses. He did not slow Buck down until he reached the hotel, where he dismounted, threw the reins at the hitching rail, and rushed through the front door. The scene that followed was quite similar to the one that occurred previously in Cumberland, Maryland.

When he and Nancy emerged from the interior, Chad pressed some silver in a young idler’s hand with instructions for Buck. “Tell them I want Buck to get the full treatment.” The youth looked at the coin and responded enthusiastically, “Yes, sir. Full treatment.”

It was much later in the day, when Chad was on his second cup of coffee, that Nancy showed him the telegram.

“What’s this?”

“It’s from Washington. I read it; I hope you don’t mind. I was so worried about you, and I thought maybe it would give me a clue or something.”

Chad’s smile was encouraging. He unfolded the telegram and scanned its contents. Then he read it out loud.

“TO U.S. MARSHAL CHADWICK PENNINGTON STOP YOU ARE HEREBY RELIEVED OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT FROM THE TERRITORY OF THE DAKOTAS STOP YOU ARE ASSIGNED IMMEDIATELY TO THE WYOMING SECTION OF THE TERRITORIES STOP YOU WILL PROCEED TO CHEYENNE WYOMING IMMEDIATELY AND ESTABLISH A U. S. MARSHALS OFFICE THERE STOP NOTIFY WHEN MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.”

Chad looked up at his wife and smiled. “You’ll like Cheyenne; it’s a much larger town than Pierre and growing. Wyoming is beautiful.”

“I’ll like it anywhere as long as you are there with me. Chad, these last few days have been awful, just awful. I couldn’t sleep; I was so worried.”

“I missed you, too, Nancy. I hope we never have to be separated that long again. I was worried about you. Come here, and let me hold you tight one more time.”

Chad pushed his chair away from the table and pulled Nancy down onto his lap. She clung to him in a way he had not seen before. He held her like that for several minutes and then realized he had some business that couldn’t wait.

“Listen, I have to go send a reply to Washington. I need to inform them about my new deputy and see what they want to do with him. I want to know who’s coming here as well. I’ll be right back, I promise. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

Nancy started to tell him about her possible pregnancy but decided she would wait a couple more days and be sure.

“Please hurry, Chad; I don’t want to let you out of my sight for even a few days, ever again.”

Chad left the building housing the telegraph office and went to search the post for Ben. He finally found him in the chow hall, having a much-earned meal of beef and beans.

“Ben, glad I found you. You ever been to Wyoming?”

“No, can’t say as I have. Mostly Kansas and Nebraska. Why?”

“The main office has approved your status as a deputy, and the two of us are assigned to open an office in Cheyenne, Wyoming. What do you say about that?”

“Sounds exciting. Sure, not much to this place, is there? Can I have a couple of days to unwind? I didn’t think I’d missed army chow, but after our trip across the Dakotas, it sure tastes good. I want to give the local saloon a try as well, maybe play some poker, take a long hot bath, and sleep on a real bed.”

“Two days, it is. It might be longer; I’ve got to get rid of my house and furniture. If I bought a cart, do you think Old Joe could pull it to Cheyenne?”

“What’s going in the cart?”

“My wife and a few of her personal things. Your stuff and my stuff. I may shop for a small tent for Nancy.”

“What’s the land like between here and there?”

“Mostly prairie, a few rivers, and creeks, all fordable. Some climbable mountains between here and Cheyenne.”

“What’s Cheyenne like, Marshal?”

“They’re sending two U.S. Marshals, my friend, but I don’t want to alarm Nancy.”

“Two days it is; Joe and I’ll be ready, Marshal Pennington. Thanks again for the job.”

That night, Chad and Nancy lay wrapped in each other’s arms, tired but unable or unwilling to go to sleep.

“Is Cheyenne bigger than Fort Pierre, Chad?”

“Oh, yes. It probably has two or three hotels needing a receptionist. There’ll be stores, and you won’t be the only non-military spouse in town either. I’m not counting the extra ladies, of course.”

“I’ll miss the officer’s wives, but to be honest, they pretty much stayed together. I wasn’t one of them. You know what I mean?”

“Yes, it’s almost the same for me. Now I have a partner to share the load, and I hope you’ll have lots of friends once we’re settled in. Ben is coming over in the morning after breakfast, so you can meet him. He’ll help us pack the house up once we decide what we’re taking with us.”

“I’m going to miss my little house, Chad.”

“I’ll find you a larger one.”

“That’s good because we might need a larger one.”

“What?”

THE END

If you enjoyed this story, you will like the prequel, “Dakota Marshal”. Check it out.