Wait and see. Not exactly Elias' forte, yet it made perfect sense, should Guyer turn in his badge he would be out of their hair once and for all, well, that was the thought anyway. And, if he didn't, he could always be disposed of with or without his son's help. Elias Steelgrave had been disposing of irritants for a good many years, a small town Marshal would not be as big a problem as it had been made out to be. At some point caution may have to be thrown to the wind.
The fly in the ointment would be who would the Town Council attract for the job? Maybe they would re-hire Hannah Corey, not that she was to be trifled with, but that seemed unlikely. She would be no pleasure to deal with if she was their choice. Her father, too old to be effective, but not out of the question. Which left the unknown, and that posed a problem, what if Kalispell hired a professional lawman? A man who was wise to the ways of outlaws, cattle barons and such. Men like Hickok, and a handful of others who had experience with exactly what was going on in the Flathead Valley.
He sat back and lit a cigar. Perhaps he would be better off if Guyer stayed on, but then, there was his deputy Pike. This would require more thought.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
There were things that needed doing, that was for sure. There were things that should not have left the main house. Plans that should never have been heard, but, out for his prescribed walk Carson overheard a great deal of what had been said inside between Steelgrave and the two men who were there, and he didn't like what he heard.
Now 'Carson,' born Abner Howser, was not the most law abiding of men, but killing a town Marshal? That was going a bit far, even for him, but what choice did he have? There was no paper on him that he was aware of, so that was not the problem, it was the men that worked for Steelgrave. He would be a marked man if he left.
He made his way back to the bunk house where he found Doc Gilcrest and motioned him outside where a conversation took place, trusting Doc would not betray him. He relayed everything he overheard from the main house.
"Don't sound like anything I wanna be part of." He said. "Now you get yer things together, leave yer horse saddled an' ready, I'll do the same. Long about dark mebe an hour past we'll go on a walk leave one direction, go around, get are horse and slip away."
"Got no where ta go Doc." Carson replied.
"Some of the boys left here to sortta look after Ellias' daughter, we'll hunt 'em up, mebe throw in with 'em. Come the morrow, you can let the Marshal know what ya heard an' we kin make plans after."
"That's what we'll do then." Carson said. The nightly walk was well known to the men, sometimes short, sometimes longer. This one would be quite a bit longer.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Doc Gilcrest was a canny man. He knew what he was about. The outlaw trail had been his for a long time, from his days with Quantrill's Raiders and a spell with the James gang after the war to riding west. The horrors of Lawrence Kansas hung with him. He had wanted to leave the Raiders, but he would have been killed had they caught him, so he stayed, but did little killing after that.
The horses were saddled and ready, tied in the trees past the house and the out buildings so they could ride out almost unheard, and catch the trail a bit farther up than the entrance to the Evergreen. It was a risk, but Doc had done everything possible to avoid detection.
With supper long past and most of the men in the bunk house, Carson got up off of his bunk and made a show of stretching. The he took down his gunbelt and strapped it on.
"You still makin' thet walk 'o yers? " Dick Janis asked. "One'a these walks a rattler's gonna get ya!"
"That my friend is why I wear my gun, he rattles, I shoot!" Carson replied casually. "Doc thinks these walks help with the healin'."
"I do an' we need to get to it." Doc said as he walked into the bunk house.
'mon, ain't gettin' no better standin' around."
So, everything was ready for the escape. Now all they had to do was start their walk, see when the 'night hawk' passed, and get to the horses. Once the man on watch passed them they would be clear to get going. So they started out slow even though Carson was able to walk much faster, the pace was to allow the night man to pass.
"Howdy Doc, Carson, still at it I see." The night man said.
"That we are Watts, that we are, but he's healin' up just fine." Gilcrest answered.
"Well, you boys be careful out here." Watts replied as he moved on, Carson and Doc waving as Watts rode on. They started on once more, looking back to see what Watts was doing and how far away he was before they would make their move for the horses. Men just didn't leave the Evergreen.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
They had crossed the Whitefish trail, ridden east into the trees a ways. Made themselves a dry camp and slept. Waking before dawn and mounting up with the sunrise, then riding south to the edge of town where the residential part of Kalispell was. Doc Gilcrest led him down the street with clapboard houses on either side sort of helter-skelter until they reached one with a man sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee and a coach gun pointing at them.
"Well well well, Doc Gilcrest, and who's this?" The man was Dex McKenny posing the question.
"Name's Carson, got plugged on the Lost Lake side of things and decided to slip away first chance. Has some information fer the Marshal 'bout 'lias wantin' him dade."
"Well climb on down, and come on in, coffee's on an' you boys look like ya could use a cup." McKenny said as he lowered the shotgun. "Best let me go first." He led the way to the door and as he opened, it the sound of two guns being cocked greeted them. Easy boys, easy. Me an" Gilcrest an a man name 'op Carson."
"Doc? What in blazes 'er ya doin' here?" Bannister asked holstering his gun.
"Yeah, what's deal you on the dodge?" Santee asked.
"This here's Carson, he overheard 'lias talkin' 'bout killin' the Marshal, so we packed are war bags an' here we are." Gilcrest informed them.
"I won't be a party ta killin' a man the way I heard it. And it sounded like open season on him." Carson said. "I ain't sure the old man is right in the head."
"Oh, he's right in the head, as right as any fool might be, but mean, nasty, and dangerous. He won't do the killin' hisself, he'll have one of his boys do it." Bannister assured him. "You're welcome to fort up with us, keep watch on Miss Steegrave if you like, glad ta have ya. Things are startin' ta move on this hospital project and the more of us the better."
"Count me in." Carson said.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
"You seen Doc Gilcrest?" Deckerd asked. Lane looked up,
"Maybe out on one 'o them walks they keep takin' at all hours. Maybe at grub."
"Yeah, maybe. and with that he went to the cook house where Sourdough, the cook, was just finishing up with the morning cooking gear, the tin plates and silverware already done.
"Mornin' to ya Mister Deckerd, whot kin I do ya for?," He asked wiping his hand on the apron he wore.
You seen Doc?" He asked. "Cain't find him no where."
"No sir, not him nor Carson neither, an that's uns'ul. That boy Carson kin shore pack away the groceries!" Sourdough replied, surprised that neither had been to breakfast.
"Ya ain't gonna find 'em here, their horses are gone. Maybe they went out early." Lane said who was just walking by from the stable. "Caint say, all I know is their horses is gone." And with that he walked on.
Deckerd exhaled in disgust. Granger wanted Gilcrest for whatever reason and had him to look for him. 'Well, missed breakfast and their cayuses was gone. Wonder, might they have gone ta town? And if they did, what for?' He thought as he he reached the main house where Granger was with Mister Steelgrave. He walked up the steps and knocked on the back door.
"The hell you say!" Elias shouted even though Deckerd was standing right in front of him. .
"Yes sir, horses are gone, neither one was to breakfast. Cookie'd know." Deckerd. "No tellin' where they are, 'er where they went."
"Kalispell! They damn sure didn't go to Whitefish!" Elias was angry, that Carson and Gilcrest had run off in the night, and there was only one place to go, forgetting about Columbia Falls or Corum, or south of Kalispell toward Flathead Lake, there were any number of places they could have headed, but Kalispell was number one on the list,. and the most likely.
"I want a couple of you boys to ride on into Kalispell and see if you can find them, and if you do, kill 'em!" Elias ordered. "Damned if I'll harbor traitors on this ranch, not for a minute I won't! And those other three, Bannister, Santee, and McKinney, they get in the way, kill them too. Teach that little brat a lesson!"
"Sure boss, anything you say I'll get a couple of the boys, and head on down there right off." Deckerd agreed.
"Good now get out of here and get it done!" Elias bellowed. His anger had not subsided an iota. All Granger could do was stand and watch.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
"That's what he said. Ride in, find 'em and kill 'em." Deckered said, repeated what Elias said.
"Not so easy a thing to do, kill one man, not two, and five? In town? Crazy, all I can say." Dutch stated.
"Best we get mounted an on are way. We can figure whether to run or take our chances in Kalispell." Watts interjected, they were all weighing their options on the orders they were given. If they did go to Kalispell the would be holed up with the other three. Five against three, not counting a response from the law and anyone else.
Reluctantly they mounted up as Granger caught up with them. "You boys just find 'em, don't try ta git yerselves shot ta doll rags. If you can talk some sense into 'em. Elias will have 'em kilt one way 'er tuther."
With that the three rode out.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Talk to them? Elias said to kill them, kill them all, and in town, that would be a tall order no matter who was sent to get the job done. Of course without that gun hand Pike, Guyer may not want to get in the middle of it, but that was hazarding a guess. And how many would be with him?
"We been told, Granger, if it can be done, we'll do it, but we ain't stupid." Dutch said.
"Yeah, but ta my way 'o thinkin' boys, there' six of 'em." Granger forecast, "You're forgettin' Leah, and she ain't about to see them boys shot up!"
"You got a point there, three ain't hardly enough, but, we got it to do." Deckard added.
"Say, ain't there a couple Deputies outta Helena down there? An' that kid Charley Wentwoth his other depity?" Watts asked, mentally adding up the odds, and to him they did not look good.
"Well then, it surely does sound like talkin'." Dutch said as he wheeled his horse and led out. They could talk about it on the way to Kalispell, there was no rush.
Tempting Fate In Kalispell
Three dangerous men made their way toward Kalispell and the job that was theirs to do. Oh, they talked of their options, clearing out of the country topped the list, facing impossible odds was also talked over, each man agreeing they would likely be outgunned. They had to worry about Leah whose clapboard was across the street. That was well known to every man on the Evergreen.
A hornets nest with a bag of bullets if it went wrong, and the odds were, it would go wrong no matter how it started. Even with hands raised away from their guns, something, anything, could happen, and then it would be a disaster.
They took stock of the men they would face, Santee might be the fastest of them, but McKenny and Bannister were as deadly. Then there was Carson, recovering or not, he was as good as any of them, and finally, Doc Gilcrest. Old, yes. Slow, maybe. Deadly, without a doubt! His graveyards were well known. And lastly, Leah Steelgrave.
What might Elias' firebrand daughter do, faced with the situation? She would be behind them, with five in front of them, death appeared to be Imminent. But, could it be avoidable?
TBC: Kalispell, Residential Areas, 'Corpse An' Cartridge Affair...or?'
Granger stood, he understood the anger from Elias, but to send three men to face five tough men that wouldn't back down from anyone, and probably his daughter. "Boss, them boys are gonna die! They're outgunned to start with, and you surely have not considered your own daughter will be involved."
"I haven't forgotten a thing. Dutch isn't stupid enough to be outgunned. He'll find a way to deliver the message if I know him." Elias retorted. "I probably shouldn't have said to kill 'em, not that I don't want all of them dead, but I knew what the odds might be, and the chance Leah would stick her nose into it. He'll find a way to scare the holy hell out of them!"
"No sir, I don't think so. There ain't an ounce of backup in any of them men, not even Doc Gilcrest, old as he is. They'll send them three back on a shutter, but you got a point. Dutch ain't about to get them shot up. Not if there's a way around it." Even Granger had to agree with that, Dutch was no fool, and neither was Deckard, Watts? Jury was still out on him.
"Just the same, better we have some men ready if it all goes bad. I don't count on that as the outcome, but you can never be sure. Bannister is liable to shoot first and see what Dutch wants later." Elias relented.
"Yes sir, boss. I'm on it." Granger replied, and with nothing further from Elias, he left to follow orders.
