by Dani Larsen
"Well, I'd like to buy you three a ginger ales anyway, or a glass of lemonade. There is a stand over there. Let's go over there and get you all what you want."
He bought them all drinks, and they sat on a vacant bench and listened to the music for a few minutes. Jude started talking to John, and he could tell the other boys were bored.
"We are boring you, aren't we? Why don't you boys go get some candy at that booth over there while I talk to John? Bring us back some when you return, okay? Here is fifty cents. That should buy four pieces of candy."
"Okay, thanks mister." The two other boys took off toward the candy booth.
"John, maybe you better not tell your mother that you saw me. I know she doesn't like me much, which I'm sorry about because I think she is a fine lady, and I know you lost your brother earlier this year. She doesn't need anything else to upset her."
"Yeah, she got upset when I told her I saw you that last time by the school bus."
"There is no need to upset her. That's for sure. I was wondering why you and your family moved out here so suddenly without telling anyone. It sure surprised me. I thought maybe something was wrong."
"It all had to do with a break-in at my grandparent's ranch."
"Really, why would that make your parents move?"
"I'm not sure. It was something about the guys looking for some saddle, but nobody knows why it was so important. I remember seeing a really pretty saddle once in their barn, and Grandma said she was going to give it to my mom, but I never heard any more about it. So I don't know if that is what they were looking for, or not. Anyway, suddenly we moved after that."
"Well, I'm sure glad to see you all anyway." Just then the two boys ran back up to the bench and gave Jude and John each a piece of candy and the ten cents in change.
"Thank you, boys. Well, I better be moseying along now. Nice meeting you fellas. Have fun now." Jude looked at John and winked as he left.
He was upset that John didn't know more about the saddle than that, but he knew for sure that they had it. Why else would they suddenly move? Unless they had the saddle and were afraid that someone was going to come looking for it. I will have to check their place out a few times to know where they might be keeping it, before I go and get it. And, I will get it! Besides, it is my saddle, not Anna's. It belonged to my father, and by rights, its mine!
Chapter Forty
"Finding the Saddle"
Jude wanted to get that saddle and get out of town, but he needed to wait for an opportunity when the Hempes would not be home, to have enough time to find it. The other thing that kept him hanging around was Belinda. She worked as a waitress in the hotel restaurant that he frequented at least once a day. The hotel was renting him a room for a cheap weekly rate, and he usually had dinner at the restaurant when he got home from a day's work.
A relationship with a woman was something he had never experienced before. He usually relieved his stress with girls that worked at the saloons, but he had never met anyone that he liked as much as he did Belinda. She was always friendly when she served him, but he didn't realize she was interested in him. Finally, she asked him to take her to the weekly dance above the Drug Store. He was so surprised that he sat there for a few minutes before he said yes.
The two saw each other almost every night after that. At first they would just stroll down the streets of Sandy, and go to the dances on Saturday night. Then they started walking over to Meinig Park where they would sit on a bench and kiss. One night, she put Jude's hand between her legs, and he realized she wanted more than he had been giving her. He had mistakenly thought she was one of those goody two shoes, before that night. Once he knew what she wanted, he snuck her back to his room where they had sex almost every night. He was not good at it as he wasn't that experienced, so Belinda started teaching him how to make it a more enjoyable experience for both of them.
Jude quickly became addicted to the euphoric feelings he had never experienced before and didn't want them to stop, so he shelved his search for the saddle for a time. He was saving his money, and he kept his plans at the back of his head for that day that he knew would come. Belinda gave him more enjoyment than he had ever had, but he didn't love her. Jude didn't even know what love was, and he didn't think he was even capable of it, but he knew how to make her think that he loved her.
Their romance was hot and heavy from shortly before Christmas of 1924 until the 1st part of July, 1925. They had been together for seven months when things started falling apart. He was eating dinner one night when he saw Belinda flirting with a new guy who had just checked into the hotel. The anger he was feeling as he watched her stand over the man's table smiling and flirting with him, like she used to do with him, was boiling up inside of him. His appetite suddenly left him and he put his fork down and glared at her. Finally, she came over to fill up his coffee cup.
"What the hell are you doing?" He rasped through the grimace that took over his face.
"What are you talking about?" She looked at him as if she didn't know what was bothering him, which just made him madder.
"Do you think I didn't see you flirting with that guy?"
"I was just working for my tips, Jude. How do you think I support myself?"
"Bullshit! You were all over that guy!"
"We are not married, Jude. I can talk to whomever I want."
"Well, you damn well don't need to do it in front of me."
Jude pulled some money out of his pocket and threw it on the table, and he stood up to leave the table seething when he leaned over and spoke in her ear with a voice that put terror in her heart.
"You will not do that again, if you know what is good for you. I will see you in my room when you get off."
Belinda stood there with her mouth open as Jude stomped out of the room.
When he got to his room, he was so angry that he just sat there thinking about Belinda having sex with someone else. He got angrier by the minute and got up pacing back and forth. When she finally knocked lightly on the door, he was so mad at her that he could have easily killed her.
"Jude, what is the matter with you? I have never seen you act like this before."
"I didn't like what I saw downstairs. You are my woman, you hear me? You belong to me, nobody else!"
"I don't like you like this, Jude, I think I better leave."
"You ain't going nowhere!"
Jude grabbed her by both arms and threw her down on the bed. She started to scream, and he put his hand over her mouth.
"Shut your mouth, bitch, and enjoy what I am going to give you."
She struggled to get away from him, but he was far too strong. Somehow, she knew if she screamed he would kill her. He was done shortly, and she lay there bruised and crying.
"What's the matter, bitch, didn't you like what I gave you? I thought that was what you were all about."
Belinda weakly pulled her torn drawers back up and smoothed her dress down. She walked to the door, opened it, and spoke through her tears.
"I am not your woman, and I never will be. Don't ever talk to me again, and don't come into my restaurant to eat, or I will tell the police what you just did. I may just do that anyway."
She walked out and slammed the door behind her. He suddenly wished he hadn't done that, and he knew he better start finalizing plans to get that saddle and get out of town. The Fourth of July Parade and festival in the park was the day after tomorrow. That was the day he would make his move. He had seen John hanging out in Sandy the night before, and he had asked him if the family would be coming to the Fourth of July festivities. John had confirmed it, and bragged about driving their wagon in the parade to advertise their dairy.
Jude already knew the route he would take out of town. He was going to head down Kelso Road to Bluff Road and through the mountains on his horse, so that if someone tried to follow him in a car they wouldn't be able to get through the narrow unfinished trails. Tomorrow he would buy the supplies he needed for his getaway trip to Hood Ri
ver and across the Bridge of the Gods to Washington State. When he found the saddle he would put it on one of George's horses and haul that horse with him in case his horse tired out and they were being chased, then he could change horses, and he would need another horse to carry the saddle when he first set out.
Jude didn't eat at the restaurant after that, as he didn't want to see Belinda after what happened. He would work tomorrow, his last day, July 3rd, collect his wages after work, and pull off his robbery the next day. Everything was going as planned, until he got to work on the 3rd. After he hitched the team to the wagon and the two men loaded the pipe into the back of the wagon, for him to deliver up the mountain, one of the men struck up a conversation.
"Hey, isn't your name Jude Burden?"
"Yeah, what of it?" Jude got a funny feeling in his gut.
"My wife was just reading this book that was written by some Pinkerton Detective, and when she got done with it she asked me, didn't I work with a guy named Jude Burden."
Jude was suddenly feeling sick.
"The book is called 'The One Who Got Away', and she said it is all about some guy whose real name was some French name but he went by Jude Burden, and that he had gotten away with killing a bunch of people."
"Gee, that is weird. Must be some other Jude Burden. You know me, I wouldn't hurt a flea." Jude laughed nervously, as he took the reins and jumped up into the front seat of the wagon. "See you later."
As he drove the wagon up the road to where he was to deliver the pipe, he swore out loud and decided that when he got to Washington he would need to change his name.
George and Anna got up early on the Fourth of July. It was going to be a big day for the family. They had spent the evening before making wooden signs to nail to the sides of the wagon that John was going to drive in the parade. The sign said, "Hempe Dairy" and "Daily Deliveries". They had ordered phone service, so that they could advertise their business, and put the new number on the sign, even though the phone was not being installed until the next day. Helen was going to ride next to John in the front seat, and Mary, Bert, and George were going to ride in the back and wave at everyone as they rode the parade route. George and Anna followed the wagon in the car up to the parade staging area in the high school parking lot. Anna, John, and Bert were going to drive the wagon back home shortly after the parade because the family was going to have a picnic on their land for several of their neighbors and friends, and they were going to start preparing the food and yard. John had stopped at St. Michael's and borrowed some tables that they put in the back of the wagon for later.
After both vehicles were loaded George and Anna got in the car, and George spoke to his wife.
"Anna, I'm sorry. I just realized I forgot to bring in the mail that I picked up at the post office yesterday. There is a letter from your mother with that mail on the back seat." Anna reached in the back and picked up the small pile and went through it until she found the letter. They were pulling into a parking spot as she found it, so she put it in her purse to read later.
Anna sat in the chair George had brought and set up for her, so she had a good view of the parade. She didn't remember the letter until their wagon had gone by in the parade and she had waved at her children. She pulled it out of her purse and tore open the envelope. George had gone to help the St. Michael's crew set up a booth in the park for the festival, and to buy a basket of corn from them for their own picnic afterward.
Dear Anna,
I have to tell you something very important that I learned yesterday while I was reading Charlie Siringo's new book. He sent me a copy which I read all in one sitting. I was so shocked when I got to the final chapter that I couldn't sleep all night. Mr. Siringo did not realize that we knew who the man in "The One Who Got Away" was, or he would surely have written and told me about him before.
I was shocked to find out that Jude Burden is the man we have been looking for ... the man who is after Jack Bane's saddle. I was even more shocked to find out that he is Jack Bane's son. When I read that, everything started to make sense. That is why Charlie sent me a copy. He knew all about what happened that day on Lookout Mountain. He didn't know anything about that saddle though, or that we had it. I told him you had married a man from La Grande when he stopped by here several years ago, but I don't think I told him George's name, or he might have figured all of this out a long time ago.
In Siringo's book it says that Jude, also known as Buddy Dampierre, (his mother's last name), is guilty of helping to murder the governor of Idaho in 1905, killing his foster parents in Cheyenne, Wyoming, when he was fourteen, and beating up his mother, Dolly Dampierre, who hung out at George's uncle's saloon in La Grande. Charlie's book says that he is also suspected in the murder of a woman named Tilly in La Grande, and of causing your father in-law's automobile accident, which was the cause of Frank's death. Obviously, he did not know that Frank was your father-in-law. If only I had mentioned the Hempe name when he was here, Charlie might have been able to figure this all out sooner. He just found out about the saddle because Jude's mother confessed to Anton on her death bed. Anton wrote to Charlie soon after she died. Maybe keeping that saddle a secret wasn't such a good idea after all.
I am so sorry to be the bearer of such bad news. The last time I heard about Jude, he was living in Baker City, so John is going to take this letter into town to mail it, and stop and tell the authorities about him while he is there. Hopefully, they will be able to arrest him. I just wanted to warn you in case he gets away, as we know he is after that saddle. After reading this book, I believe he is a very dangerous man and I'm afraid of what might happen if he comes after your family looking for it.
I will send you the book this week, but I know how long the mail takes to get a parcel to you, so I wanted to warn you first with this letter. Please be very careful.
I am hoping he will be arrested in Baker City and this worry will be over. In the meantime I remain.
Your loving and worried mother,
Mary Troy
Anna was so upset by the time she finished reading the letter that she stuffed the envelope back in her purse, stood up, leaving the chair where it was, and began running toward the high school several blocks away. The children were standing by the wagon where John had just parked it.
"John, have you seen Jude Burden lately?"
"Yes, Mama, I saw him a couple of days ago."
"What did he say to you?"
"He asked me if we were coming to the festivities today, why?"
"Oh my, we must get home right away. Helen, you stay here with Mary and Georgie, and wait for your father. Tell him he must get home as soon as possible, it's an emergency. Just tell him Jude Burden is the man after the saddle. Come on, John and Bert, you are coming with me."
She climbed in the wagon and picked up the reins. Anna had learned to handle a team of horses on her parents' ranch when she was very young. Everything made sense to her now. Now she knew why she had those nightmares whenever Jude was around. He resembled his father. She had not realized that before. She had only been four when that all happened with Jack Bane. He had been following them, and that is why he kept showing up wherever they were. The man gave her the creeps for a good reason. What would she do if he was there? He can have the damn saddle, but if he was responsible for Frank's death then she must stop him somehow, until George arrived. She should have told Helen to tell George to bring the police. John and Bert looked frightened as they sat next to her as she drove the team down Bluff Road, turned left on Kelso Road and headed toward home. The road was blocked with floats and parade goers on Highway 26 so she had to take the long way home. As she drove the team down the long drive that led to the farm, she saw a saddled horse in front of the barn. She was suddenly very angry and very afraid at the same time.
"John, run in the house and get the rifle!" Anna said, as she quickly jumped down from the wagon and went to confront the man who had caused her so much grief for so long.
Chapter Forty-
One
"Anna Confronts Jude"
John came out of the house with the rifle and Anna grabbed it out of his hands, just as Jude came out of the stable holding a pistol aimed at them. Bert had ran up to the stable, and as his mother turned around to get the rifle, Bert turned around toward her, and Jude grabbed him from behind, holding the gun up to the boy's temple.
"Put the rifle down, Anna, or I will blow your son's head off."
"Please, Jude, don't hurt him. Haven't you done enough?"
"PUT IT DOWN, NOW!"
Anna bent down and laid the rifle on the ground at her feet.
"Now, kick it over here."
She kicked the gun with her right foot toward Jude.
"All I want is the saddle, Anna. Just tell me where it is and I'll get out of here and you'll never see me again."
"You can have that damn saddle. I wish I'd never seen it. It's in a wooden crate back in the left corner. It's probably the bottom one in the stack."
"John come over here and get in there and find that crate, and bring it out here to me, and hurry up about it."
John ran in the stable and back to the corner and started unstacking the crates. When he got to the bottom one he started dragging it across the stable and out to Jude who waited, still holding the gun to Bert's head. Tears were running down the boy's face as the man held his arm tightly around his waist.
"Open it up, John."
"It's nailed shut." John was crying too.
"Get a lever and pry it open."
John ran back inside and came out with a lever and started prying open the crate. Anna started inching closer, and Jude screamed at her.
"Stay back, you bitch, if you don't want to lose another son!"
Tears of fear ran down her face, as the anger fermented in her gut.
"Damn you, Jude. Just take the saddle and go!"
John finally got the crate open.
"Now find the saddle and bring it over here. Hurry up!"