by Shari Dare
"One of Clayte's hands is dead, but that's it. Clayte and some of his men are wounded and in the custody of the marshals who came with me. They're guarding the lot of them in that old bunkhouse that you no longer use."
"How did you get here so quickly? Black just sent the wire last night."
"Black's been checking in with me regularly through the mail. I had an assignment in Sheridan. When it was finished, the men who were with me agreed that we should come up here and see what was going on with Black. We were at the stage stop when the wire came through this morning that there was trouble here and the stage shouldn't stop today. We'd tied our horses to the back of the stage, so we were able to get here quickly. Along the way, we recruited the help of the sheriff from the next county. I was shocked when we got here and found not only the barn roof gone, but learned that you were missing. I had no doubt that Black would bring you back here, but I never expected to have him shot in the back."
"Is he going to be all right?"
"He'll hurt like hell for a few days, but that's about all. The bullet was in his shoulder. The only reason he passed out was because of the loss of blood. Of course he won't be any good with his left hand for a couple of months."
"Can I see him?"
"He's still out of it. He won't even know you're there, but I don't see no harm in it after the Doc checks you over."
* * * *
Consciousness returned to Black slowly. With it came memories of rescuing Belle and the breakneck ride to get her to safety. Had he made it? He hoped so. As the memories returned, so did the pain caused by the bullet that hit his back. He tried to move his left arm and found it was in a sling. Someone had patched him up, but who? It certainly wouldn't have been Clayte and his bunch. If they had captured him, he wouldn't be waking up. They'd make sure he was dead and left for the buzzards.
Slowly he opened his eyes. As things came into focus, he realized it was night and he was in the room he occupied the first few nights he was on the Double Bar B. After getting his bearings, he turned his head. A lamp on the dresser gave the room a soft glow. In its light, he saw Belle sitting in one of the chairs and Ed in the other.
"Welcome back to the land of the living,” Ed greeted him, his voice hardly more than a whisper.
A closer look at Belle told Black why his friend wasn't speaking out loud. She had fallen asleep.
"How bad?"
"Not bad enough to keep you down for too long. I think you've earned the rest."
"How did you know to get here?"
"I read between the lines of your letters. It wasn't hard to figure out that things were coming to a head. I had Rogers and Morris with me in Sheridan, so I decided we should head north rather than go back to Denver right away. It's a good thing we did."
"Did you get Clayte and his bunch?"
"They're locked in Belle's bunkhouse until a judge can get out here from Billings. I stopped in the next county and recruited the sheriff. He's guarded the bunkhouse while Rogers and Morris went into town to arrest Joe. Tomorrow morning we'll take the others into town to join him in his own jail."
Before Black could comment on what Ed just told him, Belle begin to stir in the chair. Once she was awake, she got to her feet. “I was so worried about you,” she said.
He half expected her to burst into tears. Instead, she sat dry-eyed beside him on the bed.
"Takes more than a bullet to stop me for long. Give me a couple of days and I'll be ready to take on the world, or at least take on you in that bed across the hall. That is of course if you're up to it."
"Trust me, Black Conley, I'm in much better shape than you are. The doctor gave me some ointment for the welts, and it took the pain away. The worst pain was sitting here waiting for you to wake up."
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Chapter Fifteen
March had turned to April before the trial of Clayte and the others got underway. Belle sat with Black and Ed in the chairs that had been set up in the saloon, which now served as a courtroom.
Clayte and his men looked less menacing as they were paraded into the makeshift courtroom, their hands and feet shackled. Seeing them in such shape made her almost feel sorry for them.
Black squeezed her hand reassuringly, as though he could read her thoughts. “Whatever happens will be for the best,” he whispered, just as Clayte's children were ushered into the saloon.
Around them people whispered about how terrible it was that if the trial went wrong, these poor innocent lambs would be orphans. The very thought made Belle's heart melt. She knew the children had been sent to various households in town and that just wasn't right. They should be together.
One by one, people testified against Clayte. Belle listened as Jeb and Pete told of losing cattle and Zeek related the story of how he was beaten and shot in an attempt to make it look like the rustling had been Belle's fault.
At last it was Belle's turn to testify. With confidence she faced the people who were assembled as well as the jury of her friends and neighbors. With as much composure as she could muster, she began to relate the details of her kidnapping and torture at the hands of Rance and Charlie. In order to implicate Clayte, she told of how they talked about their boss taking her virginity. Not even the cross-examination from Clayte's lawyer could shake her calm or get her to change her story one bit.
When she finished, Black took the stand and told of everything that had happened since his arrival in September. The most damaging evidence was the letter he produced from the widow of the man who he had found dying in the cave on Belle's property.
By noon the testimony was finished and the people who had packed the saloon brought in food they had prepared, while Clayte and the others were taken back to the jail.
"Thank you,” Belle heard someone say. She turned to see Nora Calhoun standing behind her.
"Oh, Nora, why are you thanking me? This has certainly turned your life into a living hell."
"Nothing could be, compared to being Joe's wife and living in this town knowing that everyone suspected him of wrong doing. Since his arrest, I've been able to take care of my children without having to worry about his beatings or being sold to Clayte."
Belle slid closer to Black leaving room for Nora to sit beside her. “What will you do now, Mrs. Calhoun?” Black asked.
"My house is very large. I've always wanted to open a boarding house, and the banker thinks it's a good idea. He's lending me the money to start my operation, and I already have a boarder and he will pay me well. There's also money in the bank. Joe was too cheap to spend anything he didn't have to. I think he had the idea I would be the first to die and leave him with all that money. I have no doubt that he will be going to jail for a long time. It will give me something to live on when he's gone. I'll be fine. The ones I worry about are Clayte and Nettie's children. They're the innocent ones in all of this."
"Indeed they are,” Belle agreed. “I've had word that the railroad will be coming through town and will be here by June. Since that's the case, I won't have the passengers from the stage line to supplement my income. The girls who work for me want to open an orphanage. I'm certain we'd have room for all of Clatye's children until they are old enough to take over the running of the Diamond A. In the meantime, I'll hire men to work that spread so that the children have at least something from their father. I'd hate to see them deprived of what their grandfather worked so hard to build."
Nora nodded, then got to her feet in order to return to the table where her children were sitting.
"Do you know what you just did?” Black asked.
"I put voice to the plans that the girls and I have been making over the winter. I can't stand to see those children growing up without one another. I know what it's like to be taken away from your family. They deserve to be together, just as they deserve to have the ranch that would have belonged to them if their father hadn't been such a greedy man."
* * * *
Black finished eating and excused hims
elf, allowing the ladies time to talk. Once outside, he joined Ed in a smoke.
"How do you think it's going?” Ed asked.
Black shrugged his shoulders. “It's hard to tell. If it were up to me, I'd find every one of them guilty. It's a shame we couldn't have this trial in Denver. At least there'd be no question about what would happen. I hate to think about how many of those men on the jury are drinking buddies with at least one of the ones on trial."
"I know what you mean. It's hard to find twelve men in this town who don't genuinely like Clayte. Up until all this started happening, I think Belle was the only rancher with a problem with the man."
Black nodded his head in agreement. “I remember when I first got here, Jeb and the others were dead set on blaming her instead of the man who was responsible for the rustling. It didn't take long for us to set them straight, but for a while there, Belle was mighty upset."
"Her being upset bothered you, right?” Ed paused, waiting for Black's affirmative nod. “So since it did, what about you and Belle?"
"What about us?"
"Don't act innocent with me, Black Conley, I've known you for too long. Do you really think you can ride on to the next assignment and leave her here? You have feelings for her. I can see it not only in your eyes, but also in your actions."
"My feelings have nothing to do with it. I have a job to do. I can't put Belle and the others in danger because of who I am."
"That job might not be waiting for you. I saw the damage that bullet did. I want you to see a specialist in Denver. If I'm right, I doubt you'll ever get back the full use of your left arm. If that's the case, your career with the marshals is over."
Black made no comment. In fact, he'd been thinking the same thing. As much as he'd come to love Belle, he couldn't stay. There were too many things he had to do before he could even think about asking Belle to share his life. When the time was right, they could begin a family, one in which he could play an active part. At least he knew she wasn't carrying his child. She had only just stopped taking the tea the night before the kidnapping. Things like that didn't happen overnight, and since the shooting he hadn't been up to the nightly activity he'd participated in ever since he arrived at the Double Bar B.
"Did you hear me?” Ed asked.
"I heard you. I was just thinking."
"What's there to think about? Either you want Belle in your life, or you don't. Which is it? So help me if you've only been telling her what she wants to hear..."
"I've told her nothing other than I'm not the man for her. She has told me she understands and doesn't want a commitment from me. Why can't you understand that there are things that must be done before I can do anything like that?"
Ed stared at him as though he was a stranger rather than a trusted friend.
"The jury's back,” Roy said as he joined them.
Black was glad for the reprieve. He certainly didn't want to continue the conversation about commitment and Belle that he'd somehow found himself in the middle of.
"What do you think, Pa?” Ed asked. “Will they find them guilty?"
Roy scratched his head, as though searching for the answer to his son's questions. “I don't know. Clayte and the others are acting like this is just one big party. I heard Clayte say that the drinks were on him as soon as they were found innocent."
"How in the hell can anyone find them innocent?” Black questioned. “They were caught by the marshals when they were firing on Belle's house, the jury has heard Zeek's testimony about who it was that beat and shot him, to say nothing of that letter from the widow of the man we killed last fall."
"You're forgetting one thing,” Roy commented. “That jury is made up of a lot of Clayte's friends. It's possible that they could be looking past the law and relying on friendship alone for their decision. We just have to wait and see how this all comes out."
* * * *
Belle watched the batwing doors of the saloon, all the while wishing the Black would return. The jury had been brought back in and she, like everyone else, was anxious to hear their decision. She just didn't want to hear it alone.
Relief flooded her being when she saw Black, Ed and Roy return to the room. Once Black seated himself next to her she was more confident. The jury had to find Clayte guilty. If they didn't, the man would make her life a living hell, and without Black by her side, she didn't know if she could survive.
"Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a decision?” the circuit judge asked, just as Black took his seat.
"We have,” Red Kline replied. “The whole passel of them are guilty as sin. Makes us ashamed to say we even know them. I've heard..."
"What you've heard has no place here,” the judge warned. “Then your verdict is guilty. That being the case, I sentence all of you to twenty years at hard labor in the state prison up at Helena. All, that is, except for you, Mr. Adamson. It seems that you were the one behind all of this. Your greed will cost you your life. Tomorrow morning, you will be hung by the neck until you are dead."
"But ... but ... you can't,” Clayte sputtered. “I have a ranch to run and seven children to raise. You can't leave my kids without a father."
"I can, and I will. Your children will become a ward of the state and your ranch will be sold to support them until they are of an age when they can become independent."
"May I be heard, your honor?” Belle asked as she got to her feet. All around her people began to whisper. She paid them no mind as she cleared her throat in preparation for permission to have her say.
"What could you have to say that would be of interest to this court, Miss Barton?'
"I have a solution for what will become of Clayte's kids."
"And just what would that be?"
"Everyone here knows that I run my ranch with the whores who weren't welcome in this town. They've never entertained any of the men from this area while they've been in my employ. They've reserved that honor for the men on the stage. Now the railroad is coming to this area, and the stage won't be stopping anymore. I have added a large addition to my home in order to accommodate the passengers. The girls have been talking it over, and they'd like to turn it into an orphanage. That way the children could have good meals, fresh air and learn how to do something other than sit and feel sorry for themselves. As for Clayte's children, the Diamond A is their inheritance. I'd be willing to run it for them until they were of an age to take over. Clayte's oldest boy is eight now; in a couple of years, he will be ready to start riding with the men and learning how to make that spread prosper."
"What do whores know about children?” Clayte questioned.
"More than you do. I've heard the way you've talked about them since Nettie died. They deserve better than that. Would you rather have them sent off to some other orphanage and split up? Our plan would give them the opportunity to learn how to run not only a ranch, but also a home. They'd be given love and respect and they wouldn't have to be separated."
"You have a point, Miss Barton,” the judge said. “The only problem is that an orphanage has to be approved by the state. I'm afraid you're going into this blindly. What if the state doesn't approve of this venture?"
Before Belle could speak, Cara was on her feet. “We've already got the approval of the state. Since the Diamond A would more than pay for the raising of these children, it wouldn't cost the taxpayers a red cent. We want to do this, your honor. We were talking about it long before any of this ever happened. As a matter of fact, we've had the blessing of the state for the past six months. Of course, at that time, we were expecting the state to have to pay us for taking the children into the house. Now that isn't necessary. We all have a lot of love to give. None of us grew up hoping to become whores. We were all forced into it in one way or another. Why can't anyone believe that we could ever become respectable members of this community?"
Once by one the women in the room got to their feet and applauded not only the words Belle had spoken, but Cara's as well.
"We'll all he
lp you get the place ready,” Grace Harrington offered. “Since we have children, we know exactly what you'll need. Until it's ready, the children can stay in the homes where they are now."
Everyone started talking at once until the judge banged his gavel for quiet. “Your offer is a generous one, Miss Barton, but what about the profession your girls have worked at for so long? How can you expect to give these children a normal life if—"
"That's right, Judge,” Clayte said, getting to his feet. “I don't want my girls learning to be whores."
"Would you rather they learned to be rustlers, murderers and kidnappers?” Belle retorted.
Again the gavel banged against the wood of the bar. “Mr. Adamson, Miss Barton, this isn't the time for arguments. I will agree to this only if I will be allowed to inspect your home on a regular basis. If I hear of any nonsense going on out there, the children will be sent to an orphanage and the Diamond A sold."
"The eastbound tracks are within three miles of town and the westbound are within five that means that the trains should start running through here in June. That will give us two months to get the house ready. Since the women in town are willing to help, you can come out anytime after that and see that the children are being well cared for."
"Then so be it,” the judge declared. “The defendant, Clayton Adamson, will be hung by the neck until dead at noon tomorrow."
Clayte and the others were ashen as they were led from the courtroom. Adding to the finality of the judge's ruling, Clayte's own children each turned away from their father, as though disgusted by what they had seen and heard.
"Don't you want to say goodbye to your father?” Belle asked when she caught up with Clayte's oldest son, Matthew.
"Why? It weren't just you he hurt. Now he can't beat us no more.” The boy turned and hurried off to be with his sister.
Belle looked up at the woman who had taken the two oldest children into her home.
"It's true,” Martha Worthing said. “When those children came to me, they were bruised in places a child should never be bruised. When I showed my husband the bruises, he said that the undertaker said Nettie was bruised in much the same way, and it wasn't from her fall down those stairs. It's a good thing you didn't fall for his sweet talk."