BEAR CREEK (SAGE COUNTRY Book 1)

by Dan Arnold

  Sage Country

  Book One

  Bear Creek

  ©

  By Dan Arnold

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are a work of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance or reference to any actual locales, events or persons, living or dead is entirely fictional.

  COPYRIGHT © 2011

  DAN ARNOLD

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Cover design by Dan Arnold

  Photo credit © Dan Arnold

  Sage Country

  Book One

  Bear Creek

  By Dan Arnold

  I shot him as he was getting off his horse.

  I’d just had breakfast with Tom and Becky at the Bon Ton and was walking out the door. I barely noticed a man at the hitching rail, just starting to step off his big bay horse. I wouldn’t have paid any attention to him except his body language changed the minute he saw me. When I turned my head to look at him, he was reaching for his gun.

  All in a flash I realized he was Ed Rawlins and we were firing at each other.

  1.

  Bear Creek, Colorado was a fairly peaceful town considering how fast it was growing. What with it having its own railway depot, and it being a cross roads for the region and all, we had a lot of people passing through. Some were hoping to find a spot to settle down, others came for other reasons. Everyone brought their troubles with them.

  As town Marshal in Bear Creek, I enjoyed a relatively easy life. I had my own room at the Marshal’s office, free meals at the Bon Ton (paid for by the city of Bear Creek) and a fair bit of leisure time. This way of life was a far cry from my days breaking horses, herding cattle, and doing any hard or dirty job that came to hand. In my younger days I had traveled far and suffered more than my share of hardship.

  I had become pretty fond of Bear Creek, and the folks there had come to respect me and accept me as part of the community. We all got along pretty well.

  How I got to be the town Marshall, and what happened after, started with a runaway horse.

  I’d come there that day just passing through, on my way from Texas to Wyoming. I’d taken the Union Pacific train from Fort Worth to Kansas City, then on to Denver. I changed trains again in Denver, catching the train north to Cheyenne. Bear Creek was one of the stops along the way.

  I stepped down off the train that evening with no idea it would be a long time before I left this town again. I just wanted to stretch my legs and breathe some cool, high country air while the passengers and freight were loading. I was thinking back to the first time I’d been through this part of the country.

  As a very young man, right after the War Between the States, I’d made a couple of cattle drives through this area. I’d helped push herds of wild cattle to Wyoming from Texas, with Yellow Horse and Charlie Goodnight. I never saw this town back in those days.

  I was standing there on the railroad station platform, half day dreaming, remembering that time, back in 1869 when I’d tried to…

  My memories were cut short, as I became aware of a ruckus in a livestock car.

  Suddenly all hell broke loose.

  Actually it wasn’t all hell, not at first. It was just one horse.

  A railroad hand had just led the saddled bay gelding up the ramp into a livestock car when the horse spooked. It crashed around in there, got turned around and came flying back down the ramp with the railroad hand limping and stumbling behind it. “Loose horse,” he yelled, as he realized he was hurt and couldn’t hope to catch it. The big bay had taken off at a full gallop, charging up the dirt street toward the main part of the town.

  I took off right behind it, and so did another man.

  The horse was fully saddled, and dragging his bridle reins as he ran. When he got to the main street with all the lights and activity, he slowed to a nervous walk.

  The main street of Bear Creek was noisy on that Friday night. There was music playing in a couple of saloons, horses and buggies were tied to various hitching posts, and people were moving about. There was loud talk and even louder laughter.

  When the horse pulled up, walking forward unsure where to run. I slowed to a walk myself, as I didn’t want to scare him further. When I looked over at the other man, I could tell he had the same thought. We were easing up on the bay horse from both sides when another man stepped out in front of him and caught hold of his bridle reins, just as smooth and natural as could be. He put his face right up to the horse’s muzzle as though he were going to kiss him.

  “Gimme my horse you half breed son of a bitch,” the other man who had come up from the depot hissed.

  He was furious and had a gun pointed at the young man holding the horse. The young man seemed hurt by the other man’s cruel taunt. Clearly he was only trying to help. He stepped back from the horse and calmly held the reins out toward the man with the gun.

  The man thumbed back the hammer of his gun.

  “Whoa now,” I said. “There’s no need for trouble here.’

  The man with the gun took the reins from the kid while still holding the gun on him. “You made a bad mistake, boy,” he said, and shot him right in the chest. The sudden roar of the gun was startling. The young man collapsed as if all the air had been let out of him.

  The gunman whirled on me, catching me flat footed and completely shocked.

  “Mister, you really ought to mind your own damn business,” he spat.

  He was trying to keep his gun leveled on me, but the horse was having none of it and was trying to get away from him. People were coming towards us, drawn by the gunshot. He holstered his gun and focused on trying to get his horse under control, holding the reins with both hands. For a moment there, I’d been certain he was going to shoot me. If I had reached for my gun, it could have gone either way.

  A man hurried through the growing knot of people. I could see the star on his chest, and he was moving with a purpose. He looked down and saw the boy on the ground gasping and choking, his shirt nearly soaked through with blood.

  “You men stand right there,” the lawman said. He was now holding his own gun, pointed in our general direction.

  “Somebody go and get Doc Johnson, now!” he barked, never taking his eyes off the two of us.

  “What the hell happened here?’ he asked.

  Before I could say a word, the man who now held his horse more calmly said, “Bastard redskin tried to steal my horse.”

  I was dumbfounded!

  “Who are you?” The lawman asked him.

  “Why, I’m Ed Rawlins,” the gunman replied, as if he expected everyone within earshot to already know who he was.

  “And you are…? The lawman asked, looking at me.

  “My name is Sage, John Everett Sage”

  “Well gentlemen,” he said, “I’m Jack Watson, the town marshal here in Bear Creek. You boys will have to come with me so we can get this thing sorted out.”

  A younger man came running up. He was carrying a double barreled twelve gauge shotgun. He was also wearing a badge.

  “This is my deputy, Tom Smith.” The marshal said. “Tom, you keep these boys under your gun.”

  When the deputy cocked that sawed off twelve gauge, everyone near us stepped back.

  “Now then, Mr. Rawlins, I’ll have your pistol…real slow like, with just your left hand,” the marshal said, with a smile on his face. His gun was steady in his hand.

  Rawlins stared at him cold and hard but didn’t move at all. He was still holding the bridle reins with both hands.

  I heard the train whistle blow.

  After a moment Rawlins sighed, twisted his neck a little and released the reins with his left hand
, slowly moving it down to the gun on his right hip. He eased it up out of the holster and with the barrel pointed at the ground, very slowly handed it to the marshal. The marshal held it down at his side.

  “Somebody take this horse to the livery stable.” He said.

  A man stepped forward, took the reins from Rawlins and led the horse away.

  The marshal spoke to me.

  “I’ll have you to hand your gun to my deputy there, same way…real slow.”

  It was a testimony to the man’s powers of observation. I wear my .45, in a cross draw holster on my left hip, where it isn’t immediately obvious, being covered by my suit coat.

  The marshal was still holding his Colt, now leveled at me, just as steady as ever.

  I did; I handed over my gun, with my left hand, slow and easy, just the way he asked me to.

  A man came and knelt over the boy who had become still. I figured he was the doctor. He got busy trying to save what was left of the young fella’s life.

  As we were walking farther into town, on our way toward the Marshal’s office, I heard the train leave the station.

  2.

  The center of town was a big square. I was reminded of the old Spanish plaza majors often seen in larger cities. I wondered if Bear Creek had started out as a Spanish settlement.

  There was a brand spanking new, two story brick courthouse occupying the middle of the square, surrounded by grass and trees. There was colorful bunting hanging from the windows and a little bandstand or gazebo at the top of some stairs, raising it high above one corner of the square. Everything I had seen so far spoke of growth and prosperity.

  The Marshal’s office was built entirely of granite blocks, with a big porch on the front. It was set in the middle of the block on the north side of the square. Unlike most of the other buildings around the square, the Marshal’s office sat alone and did not share any walls with any other building.

  Inside the front door was one large room with a black pot-bellied stove, a desk, a gun rack on one wall, a safe, and two doors, one at the back and one on the other wall. We went through the door at the back of the office, into the jail. There were six cells, three on each side with two bunks in each cell. There was another door at the back of the jail. I figured it led out to an alley and the privy.

  Marshal Watson and his deputy locked us up in separate cells, side by side. None of the other cells were occupied.

  The marshal stood facing us in the open space between the rows of cells. He crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling.

  “OK,” he said, “let’s go over this again.”

  “I told you, that redskin stole my horse” Rawlins yelled.

  “Mr. Rawlins, I heard you the first time. Now you just be quiet for a minute. I want to hear from this other fella.” He looked at me, and so did Rawlins.

  Rawlins glared at me. “I told you once already, mister; you really ought to mind your own damn business”

  Marshal Watson uncrossed his arms and pointed at Rawlins. “That’s enough out of you. You open your mouth again, and I’ll come in there and shut you up myself.”

  He turned to me.

  “What did you say your name is?

  “John Everett Sage”

  “Mr. Sage, what brings you to Bear Creek?”

  “The train from Denver,” I said, dryly.

  Rawlins snorted at that.

  The marshal looked down at the floor for a moment and when he looked back up at me, I could see he was not amused.

  “Where are you from and why are you here in Bear Creek?”

  I felt kind of bad about my first answer.

  “Marshal, I’m on my way to Cheyenne. I came in on the train that just left. I don’t know Mr. Rawlins over there at all.”

  “I didn’t ask you that. Let’s try this again. Where are you from and why are you here, in Bear Creek?”

  “Yes, sir, I understand. The last few years, I’ve been living and working in Texas. I’m on my way to Wyoming to see my folks. I don’t have any business in Bear Creek.”

  That last part came out wrong.

  It made Marshal Watson smile, though.

  ”Why are you here in town, then?”

  So, I told him the whole story about the loose horse. When I got to the part where Rawlins pulled his gun, Rawlins took a step toward me, grasping the bars of his cell with both hands.

  “He shot the boy for no reason,” I said, looking Rawlins in the eye.

  “Will you testify to that?” The marshal asked.

  “Yes, sir, I will.”

  “You are one dead son of a bitch.” Rawlins said.

  The marshal shook his head.

  “No sir, Mr. Rawlins. If the boy dies, when the jury gets done with you, you’ll be the one hanging from the gallows. That boy is well liked in this town. One way or another, I’m personally going to see you pay for what you’ve done.”

  He unlocked my cell and indicated I should follow him back into his office.

  “You’re both dead men!” Rawlins yelled from behind us.

  We just ignored him.

  The deputy, Tom Smith, was sitting on the edge of the desk.

  “Tom, go see the Doc and check on Willy,” Marshal Watson said.

  Tom nodded and left, as the Marshal stepped behind his desk.

  He motioned for me to have a seat in the chair in front of the desk. Tom left, and we both sat down. The Marshal rested his hat on the desk top.

  “What were you doing down in Texas?” He asked.

  He put on a pair of glasses and opened a desk drawer. He took out some “wanted” posters.

  “I was a Texas Ranger. They wanted to make me a Captain, but I would’ve had to re-locate down to the border lands. I’ve been there and don’t care to go back. I decided to take some time off and find my family, up north.”

  He looked up and nodded.

  “I figured you for some kind of lawman. You don’t look like a drifter or a business type.”

  He took my Colt out of another drawer in the desk and handed it to me.

  “Well, I’m sorry you got mixed up in this,” he said. “Generally, we don’t have people carrying guns in town, so shootings don’t happen often. Since you’re a peace officer, I’ll let you have your weapon.”

  “Thank you. I must say this town appears to be booming. That’s an impressive courthouse you’ve just built.”

  “Rawlins’ trial will be the first one we have in our new county courthouse. Tomorrow is Founders Day for the town and we’re going to dedicate the building.”

  “That explains why there are so many people on the streets. If you don’t mind me saying so, you look under staffed.”

  He nodded again.

  “Tom and I can handle most of the routine stuff, drunks and petty crime, or at least we used to be able to,” he sighed. “We have enough problems with the locals, but there are scores of people passing through. We need at least two more deputies. This town has grown so fast; it’s getting away from us.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me.

  “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in a job?”

  I held up my hands and shook my head.

  “No, sir, I’m just passing through, on my way to Wyoming.”

  “Well that’s going to be a problem for you. You’ve missed your train, and you’ll have to miss a few more,” he said.

  “Why’s that? I figured I’d just catch the next train to Cheyenne. I’ll come back for the trial.”

  He shook his head.

  “You’re the only witness to the shooting. I can’t have you leave the state. Something could go wrong, and that fella would go free,” he said, jerking his head toward the jail. “No sir. I won’t let that happen.”

  “Are you planning to lock me up?”

  “No, I’m asking you to stay. We’ll arraign him before Judge Tucker, on Monday. The trial will be scheduled as soon as we can get him an attorney and gather a jury. The city and county will stand your expenses.”
>
  That brought to mind a question.

  “Don’t you have a County Sheriff?

  He sighed again.

  “We just had the election. He gets sworn in tomorrow. We just formed Alta Vista County. There used to be just one giant county up here, but it has recently been reorganized into three separate counties, and we haven’t had a county sheriff till now. Ten years ago, there wasn’t even a town Marshal here.”

  “Well, now that you have a county sheriff, it will help get you more man power,” I said.

  “Sure. Eventually, but it’s a political thing. Both the guys who ran for the position are local big wigs, with no law enforcement experience at all. The guy who won the election is named Clay Atwater. He owns the freight line”

  I nodded. I’d heard of Atwater Freight.

  “All my gear was on the train. All I have is the clothes on my back,” I said.

  “Mr. Sage, I promise we’ll make you as comfortable as possible. I wish you’d take the job as a deputy.”

  I thought about it for a second. I figured I didn’t really have a choice. I wasn’t expected at any particular time, and I couldn’t let a murderer go free. I would have to stay for the trial. I might as well get paid for staying around.

  “I tell you what, Marshal. I’ll think it over. Call me John,” I said.

  “Call me Jack” he said, standing up.

  I stood up as he reached across the desk to shake my hand.

  We talked for a while about Bear Creek, how fast it had grown, how prosperous the town was, and how the county commissioners would be raising and spending revenue.

  “We’ve even got a fire brigade with a building and a brand new pump wagon and team.”

  He reckoned there were more than a couple of thousand people in the county. Most of them lived in or near Bear Creek. There were three or four outlying towns in the county and any number of farms and ranches. Bear Creek was the center of commerce.