Summary: Adam is home for a short visit and goes with Joe, Jamie, and Candy on what is supposed to be a short hunting trip. Things get complicated when Joe goes to a nearby town to replenish their supplies. The four men learn important things about each other as a result. Originally a Man In Black challenge but completed for the Better Late Than Never Challenge.
Rating: T  Word count: 4,183

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The Marshal

When Joe didn’t return to the hunting camp with supplies by afternoon, Adam was worried. Jamie and Candy told him Joe likely found a skirt to chase and would be there the next morning. He wasn’t. The night was black as pitch, and there were no stars to count to try to help Adam get to sleep. At dawn, Adam was saddling his horse when Jamie and Candy told him they all needed breakfast because it was a long ride, and there was likely to be trouble. He accepted their advice, but he regretted having done so when they got to town.

The first thing the three men saw was an ugly sight. Joe was beaten and bleeding, surrounded by five men who had strung a noose over the limb of a tree next to the stable. Jamie rode close before dismounting as Adam and Candy took strategic positions to his right and left. It was by silent agreement that they let Jamie speak. The two older men assumed he would be the least likely to antagonize the men threatening Joe. Jamie started with a simple question.

“Say, what’s going on here?”

“We’re hanging a killer is all.”

“Yeah, he shot two of our friends last night.”

“So he must have drawn first and caught them by surprise or he shot them in the back or something like that?”

“Nah, he’s a fast gun, and they didn’t know it. They called him out. He just killed them.”

“So, two against one, but he was fast enough to take both of them. I don’t have a lot of experience with gunfights, but that sounds like a fair fight to me.”

“Weren’t fair cause he’s a fast gun.”

“Guess they shouldn’t have gotten into a fight with him then.”

“He didn’t look like no fast gun. Not like that one in black there. He looks like one. They wouldn’t have messed with him.”

“So, they messed with him because they thought they could win, and they were wrong. Again, it all adds up to a fair fight that he didn’t cause.”

“This here’s none of your business, mister, so back off.”

“Well, it is my business. You see, that’s my brother. Don’t even bother saying he doesn’t look like me because that doesn’t matter.”

“What don’t matter, mister, is that there’s one of you and five of us. So, brother or not, back off, or you can join him in going to hell.”

“I don’t think so. See, I got help. This here on my right is our other brother. He’s dressed in black for a reason. And over here is a good friend who’s like a brother. So, you see, it’s three of us. You better back off, or you like as not, you are going to be the one going to hell.”

The loudmouth paused for a moment only to assess the situation. Then like his two dead friends, he made a mistake. He laughed and discounted all that Jamie had said.

“You’re still outnumbered. I don’t care if one of you is dressed like an undertaker.”

“Now, you must have found out how fast our brother is. He used his skill to kill two of your men. You didn’t like that, so you ganged up on him. Well, my oldest brother there is pretty fast, too, but most of all, he doesn’t ever miss what he’s aiming at. Our friend over here is almost that good, too. Now, my oldest brother is likely to shoot at least two of you right between the eyes. I’ve heard he likes going for the eyes. It seems he likes looking at a man when he kills him. Our friend will plug two in the heart at about the same speed.”

“Yeah, you talk so smart about them. What about you?”

“I’m not so fast or so accurate with a pistol, so I’ll have to shoot you in the belly or, as my brother Hoss used to call it, the gut. It’s the biggest part so I won’t miss it. You’ll die slowly. Sorry about that, but you’ve got your chance to walk away now. What worries me is that it doesn’t seem like you’re going to do it. Joe, you need to keep your head down when the shooting starts. All right?”

Two of the men behind the loudest talker and the other who had spoken earlier started backing up. It appeared they didn’t want to fight. Jamie saw the odds were getting better. Then the man with the big belly pulled his pistol and was going to aim it at Joe. He never got the chance. Adam shot him in the head, much as Jamie had predicted although not between the eyes. The two reluctant men ran but the other two drew their pistols. Drawing wasn’t a good idea. They were dead before they had a chance to point those pistols. Jamie ran to Joe as Adam watched the two who had run to make sure they didn’t change their minds about fighting.

“How is he?”

“Banged up pretty good, but nothing too serious that I can tell.”

“It feels pretty damn serious to me. Help me up.”

The town sheriff showed up then. He had not dared to face the five men who had been intent on lynching Joe. Now though, he was facing three strangers who had killed three citizens of his town. Puffed up with moral outrage, he faced them with a shotgun in his hands. Sweat on his forehead and the white knuckles said he wasn’t a brave man.

“I’m going to have to ask you men to drop your weapons.”

“Sheriff, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Taking a badge from his pocket and putting it on his black leather vest, Adam stared the man down until he lowered his shotgun.

“These men were attempting mayhem, and you did nothing.”

“Marshal, I couldn’t stop five men by myself.” He paused briefly as he continued to stare at the dead men on the ground. He addressed Adam though. “You look more like an undertaker than a marshal.”

“Some have called me that.”

The sheriff whipped his head toward Adam so fast he must have hurt his neck. He put a hand to the side of his neck.

“I think I’ve heard of you.”

Silent for a short time, Adam didn’t respond to that and stared down the sheriff again until the sheriff turned to look back at one of the dead men. Adam knew then that there was more of a problem than he first guessed.

“Who did we kill that is important in this town?”

“The fat one is the mayor’s brother, and the mayor owns most of the businesses here.”

“Then you better get him here so he can understand all of this.”

Adam turned to the other three when the sheriff left on his errand. Their looks told him how much he had surprised them. Knowing the most obvious question they must have, he decided to tell them the answers before they asked any questions.

“I had this badge in my pocket because I always carry it. I swore an oath more than five years ago, and I’ve never broken it. Sometimes, I’m not openly on duty, but I am always a marshal. I work in special cases rather than a region, and I work more as a supervisor or manager than in an office. At this time, I don’t have an open case, and I arranged for time to visit my father and brothers.”

“Older brother, you’ve been gone seven years. What were you doing the other two years?”

“Joe, I’ve been doing what my letters said I was. I traveled and visited many places my curiosity had drawn me to, but in two years, it wasn’t fulfilling to be doing that. I took a job with a friend’s firm designing buildings. He was killed because he crossed a criminal organization.”

“And I suppose you got involved in finding who did it?”

“Yes, I did and found that I was good at it, and that it was more interesting than what I had been doing. I was offered a position and took it.”

“But you never told us.”

Even when Jamie visited in Denver, he had not been told anything about this work Adam was doing.

“But you run a design business and make investments?”

“Yes, Jamie, I have time to do that, and part of my job is to remain secretive. That kind of work allows me flexibility and the expectation that I would travel often. Writing about being a marshal to my family wasn’t a good idea. But appearing to be a businessman and investor was a good idea. It means that my family is safe, and I have a safe place to live.”

Getting a sudden insight, Joe had one more question.

“Is this why you didn’t come home when we lost Hoss? You were away on an assignment?”

There was no answer. Adam dropped his head and turned away overcome with emotion at the unexpected question that hit him hard. Before he could turn back, the sheriff was back with a man who was red in the face and out of breath.

“You can’t come into my town and murder people and think a badge will let you ride off free as a bird.”

“No, if that was the case, that would be unfair, but instead, we intervened to prevent a lynching. The men involved when faced with legal authority chose to resist by drawing firearms. There was no alternative but to defend ourselves. As your sheriff was unable to maintain law and order, I can have your town placed under federal authority until proper law enforcement can be secured if you wish. I would be willing to stay to oversee such enforcement and can call upon a federal judge to be here soon to hear any cases that might be pending. As there is an Army fort nearby, I would call on the commandant to loan me a small number of soldiers to maintain peace and order in the town until deputy marshals can be summoned to fulfill that role. The town would be responsible to provide food and lodging for them and for me. Is there anything else you would need?”

“No, no need for anything including all those things you mentioned. I’m sure the sheriff now knows what he has to do, and he’ll get some help to make sure the job gets done. I’m positive he’s sorry that these unfortunate incidents occurred and will make sure nothing like it happens again.”

“Now, my brother appears to have a case against the town for damages.”

“Yes, I see that. Well, how about a tab of five dollars at the general store for a new shirt and some food for the trail.”

“Five dollars?”

“All right, ten dollars.”

Adam simply raised one eyebrow.

“Twenty-five dollars and a bottle of whisky from the saloon.”

Adam waited.

“One of the best bottles.”

“Sounds fair. We’ll be on our way as soon as we get the things we need.”

As they walked to the general store, Joe had a couple of comments.

“My shirt is fine. But you could have asked for two bottles.”

“Your shirt is bloodstained and Hop Sing is going to make you pay for that. We need to ride as far from this town as possible before camping again so we won’t be able to enjoy two bottles. One will be enough.”

“You think they will retaliate?”

“Candy, if they can, they will. I’m going to hang back a bit to make it difficult for them if and when they try.”

With a look in his eyes that said they were going to be very sorry if they tried, Adam let the others know he meant much more than simple difficulties. They all knew that if anyone came after them, it wasn’t going to be simple harassment. They were likely going to try to kill one or more of them. Adam was telling them he wouldn’t let that happen, and there were only a few ways to guarantee that.

“We could all wait for them.”

“Jamie, they would likely notice that, and things could escalate rapidly putting all of you in jeopardy.”

“But what about you?”

“They will never see me.”

Although Candy and Jamie were skeptical, they saw Joe nodding. He looked at them and shrugged.

“He grew up playing with the Paiute. Sometimes, he can act more like them than any white man I know. Dressed all in black like he is, he can be nearly invisible once we get back to the trees.”

The four rode out of town together, but Adam left them when they got to an area of heavier tree cover. As the other three rode on, both Jamie and Candy had questions for Joe. Jamie was first.

“When we rode into town and saw you in trouble, Adam told me I was going to do the talking. He and Candy would take positions to back me up and be able to see what was going on that way. He told me to be bold and talk like we were the toughest bunch of gunmen these men had ever seen.”

“Yeah, and you did a great job of that, little brother. Adam showed a lot of trust in your ability to talk through that situation. I was surprised at first that he didn’t do the talking, but you were good, and it worked out very well.”

“Yeah, I know it worked. But how did he come up with a plan so fast?”

“It’s one of the things he does really well. And it’s a good thing you didn’t question him on it because one of the things he’s really bad at is handling a challenge to his planning.”

Candy had to grin at that, and Joe saw the response. Chuckling, he explained to Jamie why they thought it was funny.

“As Candy has guessed, more than a few times, I challenged Adam on his plans. We tended to be a little like fire and ice.”

That set up the question Candy had.

“Your brother was so different in that town and then on the trail here. On the Ponderosa, he was quiet and polite. He seemed more like an eastern gentleman than a cowboy. But when it came to shooting and then facing down the sheriff and that mayor, he was hard and cold. I would have done anything he said with the way he talked. It was like killing those men was just business, and he would shoot the sheriff or that mayor if he needed to do it. I think they thought so too.”

“I thought you were going to ask a question.”

“I kinda thought I did, but here it is. How did he get to be so cold? I mean, nobody else in your family is like that.”

“He was brought up different than the rest of us. He was using firearms and defending the family at an age when I was still playing with my toy soldiers. He’s got a heart, but he’s had to wall it off from a lot of terrible memories so sometimes it makes it seem like he’s cold. He isn’t. He cares a lot. It took me a long time to understand that. He shows it in different ways than the rest of us, but it’s there.”

“Like risking his life to make sure the three of us are safe?”

“Yeah, like that.”

That night, the three men made camp by moonlight having gone as far from that town as they could safely ride. Joe had alerted Jamie that they should be on alert. Candy was rolling out his bedroll when he was tapped on the shoulder. Dropping his bedroll, he went to grab his pistol but found his holster empty. Whirling around, he found Adam stepping back with his pistol.

“You do need to pay more attention to what’s going on around you.”

Tossing the pistol to Candy who was furious, Adam strolled to the fire Jamie had made and sat down after dropping two pistol belts and two rifles next to their gear. Joe grinned at Candy’s reaction, and then had a question for Adam but assumed he knew the answer.

“Did you muffle your horse’s hooves?”

“Good logic. Yes. You knew I was back?”

“I heard a few sounds. I told Jamie you might be back.”

He got a sour look from Candy for not warning him.

“So, two came after us?”

“No, six came, but they were discouraged by what happened to two so the other four turned back too. It might be just to regroup so don’t get overconfident.”

All three were curious about what had happened, but it was Jamie who asked.

“What did you do to them? We didn’t hear any gunfire. Are they dead?”

“You did a good job of hiding your trail so they were spread out looking for it. I pulled two of them from their horses, got their weapons, and pulled their boots. I stuffed their socks in their mouths to keep them quiet. Then I tied them over their saddles like sacks of grain. I had to use their shirts and suspenders to tie them. In the process, I found these. They’re not dead, but they’re not completely healthy either. They will need to return to their town.”

Digging in his pocket, Adam dropped six twenty-dollar gold pieces next to the fire where they could see them.

“They were well-paid. I think I will make another visit to that town soon enough.”

“How did you decide which two to pick?”

“They were at the stable, Joe.”

“Justice. I like it.”

In the light of the campfire, Joe noticed what appeared to be a wet patch on Adam’s shirt. He rummaged in his saddlebags and pulled out a wad of cloth to use as a bandage and the bottle of whisky they had gotten from the saloon. He put a hand on Adam’s shoulder.

“Which one got you?”

“The second one. He must have heard some noise from me taking the first one. He had a knife that I didn’t get from him soon enough. It’s not too bad.”

“We’ll be the judge of that. Open your shirt.”

Once Adam unbuttoned his black shirt, they saw it was a long slice but fairly superficial. Adam had packed cloth against it so there wasn’t much bleeding. The biggest worry was going to be infection, but they had the whisky to help with that. Once the wound was cleaned and bandaged, Joe pushed Adam to lay back. The wounded man closed his eyes as the others prepared dinner. He ate a little and then slept briefly. When he woke, he had a suggestion for Joe.

“Maybe we should move the camp.”

“You heard some things?”

“Maybe.”

“Candy and I thought we did too. It’s why the fire is smaller and shielded now.”

Without saying anything more, Joe put out the fire.

“How close do you think they are?”

“Not close. They probably smelled the smoke and know we’re in the general area.”

“Are you going to be able to walk out?”

Without answering, Adam began rolling up his bedroll and collecting his gear. The others did the same as quietly as they could. They muffled all the horses’ hooves and then walked them out. By dawn, Adam and Joe were exhausted but fairly certain they had eluded their pursuers. They couldn’t stop because those men would likely be mad and still following them. Candy and Jamie watched the two men closely and communicated silently that they needed to find a place to camp soon. Both looked over the terrain as they traveled and saw what appeared to be an abandoned cabin. With clouds looming on the horizon, it seemed a good place to try to rest for a time. Both Adam and Joe were riding with their heads down at this point trusting the other two to take care of things. Both noticed though when they switched directions and nodded in agreement upon seeing the old cabin.

The cabin had a dirt floor packed hard as a rock. It didn’t take long using brush to sweep it out and make it reasonably habitable. They didn’t trust the chimney and thought it best to avoid a fire anyway. The horses were secured out of sight behind the cabin and given water and grass by Jamie and Candy. When the two men returned to the cabin, they found Joe looking through their supplies trying to figure out what they could eat in a cold camp. Adam offered a better choice.

“Wait until it rains. We can light a small cookfire under the lean-to roof at the front of the cabin then. Smoke won’t go anywhere if it’s raining.”

Leaning against the wall of the cabin with a blanket wrapped around him, Adam already had his slicker out. He pulled his hat down over his eyes and prepared to take a nap. Joe did the same letting the other two assume they would follow Adam’s plan. Silently, Jamie volunteered to stand the first watch. It wasn’t difficult. The leather hinges on the door were long gone so he could sit in the doorway to keep watch. Candy followed the lead of the Cartwright brothers and soon all three men were getting some needed rest. A few hours later, Jamie woke them with some urgency in his voice even if he was whispering.

“The rain won’t be here soon enough. We have company getting close.”

“I’ll go outside to flank them.”

“Adam, we should stick together.”

“Joe, we can’t let ourselves be surrounded in this little cabin.”

Candy agreed with Adam and volunteered to follow his lead. Jamie and Joe stayed in the cabin as Adam and Candy moved outside to take up flanking positions. Their pursuers advanced too close before realizing the cabin was occupied. Then, believing all four men were inside, they opened fire and advanced as a group, using mass fire as their cover. When Adam and Candy opened fire from each side, they were thrown into disarray, allowing Jamie and Joe to pick their targets, too. It seemed to take a long time but was over in less than a minute. The four men who had come to kill them were dead.

There was barely enough time to collect the horses, stow the gear, and bury the dead before the storm hit with heavy rain and strong wind. No longer worried about being discovered, the four men inspected the chimney and decided to build a fire in the fireplace. After propping up the door, the cabin was reasonably comfortable. After a meal and setting up their bedrolls away from the leaks from the roof, they talked briefly. Jamie asked the question that had three of them curious since they had been in that town.

“Adam, why did the sheriff in town react to you being called an undertaker?”

“Because some have called me that based on the work I’ve done.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dress in black, and if you go on jobs with me, the only ones who get buried are the ones on the other side.”

“Like today?”

“Like today.”

Joe had the next most important question.

“Should we tell Pa any of this?”

“I think you already know the answer to that.”

“Yeah, we do. He would only worry even more.”

Jamie was quiet for a time, but before the others could go to sleep, he had to ask a question.

“How do you not tell Pa about this? I mean, I know he’s going to have a bunch of questions and, when I start to answer them, I’m bound to slip up and say something I shouldn’t.”

Joe chuckled.

“I can tell you what my wise oldest brother told me once when he got tired of me snitching on him and Hoss because of the very situation you describe.”

“What’s that?”

“You think of an entirely different story that happened with none of the bad stuff in it. Then when Pa asks questions, you answer based on the imaginary story. Stick to that, and you won’t get tripped up with the truth.”

“You want me to lie to Pa?”

“No, Jamie, it’s, ah, Adam, what did you call it?”

“Creative storytelling or a narrative meant to reassure the listener.”

“So, we’re doing a good thing.”

“Of course.”