by Al Lacy
When they had finished, Lucinda blinked at her tears. “Oh, Kathryn, how am I going to stand it? Bart will be in that prison for the rest of his life. And—and next Wednesday, Tag will hang at sunrise.”
Kathryn was secretly comforted, knowing the gang members were finally locked up. Now they wouldn’t be abducting Dr. Dane Logan’s bride during the wedding next Saturday. As for Tag, he was getting what he deserved.
She hid a secret smile. I don’t want Lucinda to know that I’m the one who advised the law about the gang’s plan to rob the Cheyenne banks. She would be furious. I can only hope that I never see Howard Spalding again. I’ll have to be careful when I’m in Fort Collins.
Kathryn met Lucinda’s teary gaze. “I’m sorry for what this is doing to you, Lucinda, but at least your husband is still alive.”
Lucinda sniffed. “Yes. Bart’s still alive. And that is some comfort. But he’s going to be in prison for the rest of his life. So what kind of life does that give me?”
Kathryn put her arms around her. “Honey, I’ll stay with you until we can both make some plans.”
“Thank you. Right now, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
A pang of guilt struck Kathryn’s heart, but she quickly dismissed it. I did what I had to do. Those men had to be caught and put behind bars. But … I do feel sorry for Lucinda, even though she was all in favor of what the gang was doing.
In Fort Collins, Doke Veatch entered his room at the boardinghouse and closed the door behind him. His mind was churning. He had been thinking about Tag Moran all the way to the boardinghouse, and had decided he could not just stand by and let the man who had saved his life die. If it weren’t for Tag, he would have been dead a long time ago.
Doke crossed the room to his gun cabinet and took out a .41-caliber double-vertical-barreled Derringer pocket pistol. He opened a box of cartridges, loaded the gun, and put it in a paper bag.
Before dawn the next morning, he rode out of Fort Collins, heading northwest toward Rawlins, Wyoming, keeping his horse at a steady trot. He arrived in Rawlins as darkness was falling and took a room in the town’s only hotel.
The next morning, under a clear, sunny sky, Doke rode out to the prison, wanting to look it over. As he rode around the twelve-foot-high stockade fence, he noticed the guards with rifles in the two towers that rose above the fence. At one point, he spied one of the guards watching him and waved at him, wanting to appear as a casual, curious rider. The guard nodded and waved back.
Soon he guided his horse to the top of a nearby grassy knoll, which was high enough to let him see into the prison yard. He noted that the gallows was visible in a corner of the yard close to the large stone building with the barred windows that housed the prisoners. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought of Tag dying on the somber gallows on Wednesday morning.
Doke observed the inmates milling about the fenced-in area, which he estimated would cover about half an acre. A few armed, uniformed guards were also moving about, keeping watch on the convicts.
Suddenly he saw Bart and Jason Moran and Tony Chacone standing aloof from the rest of the inmates, talking to each other. He told himself that since Tag was slated to be hanged, he no doubt was being kept in his cell.
Having taken it all in, Doke rode back into town and returned to his hotel room. That night after darkness fell, he rode back out to the prison to make the final move for the plan he had in mind. There was no moon, only the soft, faint glow of the stars to give him light.
On Tuesday morning, Doke drew near the prison and guided his horse once more to the top of the grassy knoll. There he saw the inmates milling about the prison yard and soon picked out Bart, Jason, and Tony. Once again, the trio was aloof from the rest of the prisoners. The guards were there in the yard and in the towers.
Doke rode his horse up to the front gate and drew rein. One of the two guards in the tower next to the gate looked down and said, “What can we do for you, mister?”
“Sir, I’m a lifelong friend of one of your prisoners. His name is Tag Moran, and he is being hanged tomorrow morning. I would like to visit him if possible.”
The guard nodded. “We know about Moran’s appointment with the hangman tomorrow. You can see him. I’ll be right down. Go ahead and dismount and tie your horse to one of those hitching posts.”
Quickly descending the tower stairs, the guard opened the gate and escorted Doke inside the building. He told the guard at the desk who the young man wanted to see and left to return to the tower.
Moments later, after identifying himself as a shotgunner for Wells Fargo Stagelines and being frisked, Doke was escorted toward the visiting room while another guard went after Tag.
When Doke and the guard entered the visiting room, the guard guided him to a barred window and had him sit down in the wooden chair that was provided. Doke quickly noted that the window was covered with metal netting so nothing could be passed between convict and visitor.
A few minutes later, the door to the room on the other side of the barred window came open, and the guard who had gone after Tag had him at his side. He motioned toward the window where Doke sat and said, “You’ve got fifteen minutes, Moran.”
Tag nodded glumly and headed toward the window. The guard stepped out, closed and locked the door. There were no other visitors at the moment.
When Tag sat down, he tried to smile. “Doke, ol’ pal, I really am glad to see you.”
Doke made a smile. “You too, Tag.” Keeping his voice low, he said, “We don’t have much time, so listen closely. I have devised a way of escape for you.”
Tag’s eyes brightened a bit. “Go on.”
“I arrived in Rawlins Sunday night and took a room at the hotel. Yesterday, I rode out here to look the place over, then went back to the hotel. After dark last night, I came back out here. I sneaked up to the stockade fence and placed a paper bag containing a loaded double-barreled Derringer next to a fence post. With that four-inch space between the bottom log of the fence and the ground, it was easy to do.”
Tag nodded.
“I’m gonna ask to see Bart next and I’ll tell him where the gun is. It’ll be up to him, Jason, and Tony to get you out of your cell, and all four of you out of this prison.”
A smile spread over Tag’s face. “Bart will handle it, I guarantee you.” The smile drained away; then Tag said, “Doke, thanks for doing this.”
“Hey, pal, you saved my life once. Now I’m doing what I can to save yours. Ah, just one thing.”
“Yeah?”
“I know you still carry your hatred for Dr. Dane Logan.”
“So?”
“I want your solemn promise that you will not kill him.”
“Okay, you have my solemn promise that I won’t kill him.”
“Thank you. I’ll give it a few days; then I’ll come to your hideout in the mountains and see you.”
“That’ll be fine, Doke. You will be plenty welcome.”
At that moment, the guard who had brought Doke into the visiting room came through the door. Moving up to him, he said, “Time’s up, Mr. Veatch.”
The lock in the door behind Tag rattled, the door came open, and the guard said, “Okay, Moran, let’s go.”
To make it look normal, Tag put on an act, shedding tears as if he were seeing Doke for the last time. He was still bawling when the guard pushed him out the door.
When the door clanked shut, Doke turned to the guard who was about to usher him out. “Sir, would it be possible for me to have a few minutes with Tag’s brother, Bart?”
“Well, as long as you’re here, I don’t see why not. You sit tight.”
Moments later, when Doke and Bart were alone, Doke told him of hiding the Derringer in the paper bag at the base of the third post from the southwest corner underneath the stockade fence, on the west side.
Bart grinned. “You really are a true friend, Doke.”
“I owe Tag my life. If I can save his life and make it so you, Jason, and Tony c
an escape, I’m happy. I used a Derringer rather than a regular revolver because you can easily conceal it in a pocket or a boot. Tag said you can handle it from here, Bart.”
Bart nodded. “You bet I can handle it. Once the Derringer is in my pocket, I’ll casually make my way up to the captain of the guards. I’ll grab him and put the gun to his head. I guarantee you, the warden and his guards will not jeopardize the captain’s life. We’ll make our escape, taking the captain with us as hostage. Once we’re in the clear, we’ll leave him tied up somewhere, steal some horses, and head for the hideout.”
“Sounds good. See you soon at the hideout.”
“You sure will.”
Moments later, Doke was in the saddle riding toward Fort Collins, feeling confident he had saved Tag Moran’s life.
At the hideout on Wednesday morning some twenty minutes after sunrise, Lucinda Moran and Kathryn Tully stood at the parlor window looking northward, in the direction of Rawlins, Wyoming.
An emotional tide washed through Lucinda. She drew a shaky breath and looked at Kathryn. “Well, it’s all over for Tag by now.”
Kathryn nodded silently. After a few seconds, she said, “If only Tag had listened to me months ago, we would all be in California at this very moment. Gib would still be alive, and so would Tag. And you would still have Bart with you. Now our dream has turned into a nightmare.”
It was Lucinda’s turn to nod in silence.
Later in the day, the two women were sitting on the front porch of the cabin, both staring silently at the forests around them.
“Lucinda, we’ve both got to start thinking about our futures. I certainly don’t want to stay here in this remote place, and I don’t think you do either.”
Lucinda moved her head back and forth. “No.”
“Well, we have plenty of money in the kitty for the two of us. We can afford to move into a town and buy a house.”
Without hesitation, Lucinda said, “I’d like to move to Rawlins so I’d be close to Bart and could visit him regularly. We could buy a house there.”
Kathryn was feeling some guilt over the plight she had put Lucinda in by giving the note to Howard Spalding. For the time being though, she would go along with Lucinda’s desire to make their home in Rawlins. She told herself that her time in this part of the country was limited. Not too long from now, she would take her share of the money and go to sunny California.
She was eager to get started in her new life: a life free from all that had to do with the gang, and from Lucinda, who was still a part of it because she had a husband she would be visiting in the Wyoming Territorial Prison. She smiled at Lucinda. “All right, let’s plan to move to Rawlins.”
Lucinda nodded and returned the smile. “We’ll do it. I’d like to wait a few days though, give my nerves a little time to settle down.”
“Sure.”
All was quiet around them, save the slight sound of the breeze in the surrounding trees and the periodic chirp of a bird.
Kathryn found herself daydreaming about California: the sunshine, the flowers in bloom year round, a place with a view of the blue Pacific Ocean, no snow or frigid temperatures.
She smiled to herself. That sure does sound good! Maybe with my share of the money, I can open my own boutique. I’ll live quietly and enjoy every day to the fullest!
On Thursday, May 19, at Central City, Dr. Dane Logan was seated in the office of his medical practice with Dr. Robert Fraser and Nurse Nadine Wahl.
Running his gaze between them, Dane said, “I want to thank both of you for your great help in taking care of the practice when I’ve had to be away. And now, I want to thank you that you will do the same so I can marry Tharyn and we can have a three-day honeymoon in Colorado Springs.”
Dr. Fraser smiled. “Esther and I would like to attend the wedding, and so would Nadine, but we can’t do that and take care of the practice at the same time. But we certainly wish you well, and we’re very much looking forward to having Tharyn living here in Central City.”
“We sure are,” said Nadine, her eyes bright. “And isn’t she going to be surprised when you bring her here after the honeymoon and she finds out you bought that house over on Spruce Street?”
Dane laughed. “She sure will be surprised, Nadine. And since you and Esther looked it over and gave your opinions about the woman’s touch already evident in the house, I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself!”
“She’ll love it, Doctor; I guarantee it.”
Moments later, Dr. Fraser and Nadine stood on the boardwalk in front of the office as Dr. Dane mounted his horse. As he settled in the saddle, he said, “See you in a few days, and I’ll have my beautiful bride with me!”
Both of them waved as he rode away.
It was a glorious spring day in the Rocky Mountains, and as Dr. Dane guided Pal along the winding path that led eastward toward Denver, the sky was clear. Wildflowers were poking their heads up through the soil, and green buds were evident in the aspen and birch trees.
Drawing in a deep breath of the pure mountain air, Dane spoke to the birds that were twittering in the trees around him. “Thank you for your congratulations! You are certainly right. I am going to marry the most wonderful and most beautiful woman in all the world!”
As he guided Pal down the steep path, Dane whistled a happy tune. It was a long arduous ride down the mountains to Denver, but it didn’t bother Dane. His mind was focused on Tharyn, their wedding, and their future together.
“Just think,” he said aloud, “the next time I make my journey to Central City, my bride will be by my side.” He looked skyward. “Thank You, Lord, for Your abundant blessings. Truly, my cup runneth over.”
On the same day at sundown, Lucinda Moran and Kathryn Tully were preparing supper for themselves in the kitchen of the old cabin when they heard horses blowing.
They looked at each other, eyes wide.
“Who in the world can that be?” whispered Lucinda.
Both women left the kitchen and rushed into the parlor. They hid themselves behind the drapes at one edge of the large window and peered out.
Lucinda felt her pulse leap and gasped. “Kathryn! It—it’s T-Tag and the others!”
“How do you suppose they escaped?”
Lucinda was on her way to the door, and Kathryn caught up to her just as she plunged out on to the porch and down the steps. Kathryn paused on the porch, watching as Bart quickly dismounted and gathered Lucinda into his arms.
“What happened? How did you escape this time?” Kathryn asked the other men as they were leaving their saddles.
Tag started up the steps. “Let’s go inside,” he said, his voice void of emotion. “Then we’ll tell you.”
Suddenly Kathryn’s heart lurched in her breast. Could Tag possibly have found out about the note I gave Howard Spalding? If he knows, he will kill me. Maybe not immediately, but he will find a way to do it so the others don’t know it was him.
The fear that gripped her was building a pressure inside her head. Her neck muscles stiffened as she walked inside the cabin with the others.
When everyone had gathered in the parlor, Bart and Lucinda sat on the sofa together, and the others took chairs. Kathryn’s blood felt like it had turned to ice water, and a dagger of fear stabbed her heart.
Tag Moran told the women about Doke Veatch, having hidden the Derringer at the base of a fence post in the stockade fence at the prison, and how Bart used the gun to free them from the prison by holding the gun to the head of the captain of the guard. Tag warned the warden and the guards that if they followed, he would kill the captain. He also told them that once he and his gang members were a safe distance from the prison and were not being followed, they would leave the captain alive and tied to a tree where someone could find him.
Tag explained that when they were across the border into Colorado, they gagged the captain and tied him to a rancher’s tree at night. They then entered the barn and stole four of the rancher’s horses, along wit
h bridles and saddles. They rode for the hideout, certain that no one had followed them.
Kathryn’s fear suddenly grew more intense when Lucinda said, “Tag, how did the law know you were going to hold up the Cheyenne banks?”
Tag shrugged. “I have no idea. We asked them, but they refused to tell us.”
Kathryn quickly averted her eyes from Tag’s face for fear that her guilt would show.
“We figured since Tag was gonna hang and the rest of us were in for life,” put in Bart “they could at least tell us how they found out. But not a peep from any of them.”
The pressure Kathryn was feeling abruptly eased. But she was upset in another way at Tag’s next words.
Vengeance was burning in his eyes as he said stiffly, “I’m still gonna get my revenge on that no-good Dr. Dane Logan. Since I promised Doke I wouldn’t kill Logan, we’re gonna go ahead with the plan to abduct his bride at the wedding. You gals can keep her here at the hideout until I’m satisfied Logan has suffered sufficiently thinking she’s dead. Then we’ll set her free.”
Kathryn wanted to tell Tag he shouldn’t make Dr. Logan’s bride suffer for something the doctor did, but she knew better than to cross him.
“Anyway,” Tag went on, “we’ll pull several more bank robberies in Colorado and Wyoming between now and September, then we’ll hightail it for California. Even though we won’t have the quarter of a million each that we had planned on, we’ll live on what we’ve accumulated. No more of the outlaw trail after that.”
Lucinda smiled at Kathryn, who was feeling some relief.
Kathryn told herself that one day she would rid herself of the gang and go on to live her own life.
On Friday morning, May 20, Dane and Tharyn stood in Denver’s Union Station with John and Breanna and David and Kitty, waiting for the train from Cheyenne to come in.
They were talking excitedly about Dane’s parents being on the train, as well as Dane’s friend, Kenny Atwood Ross, and Tharyn’s friend, Leanne Ladd Ross. Kenny and Leanne had taken a train from their home in Bozeman, Montana, to Cheyenne and met up with Dane’s parents for the trip to Denver.