by: Miss Raye

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Teaspoon and Jimmy found their horses milling in the throng of people crowding the streets. On the boardwalk outside the jail, the sheriff was busy tryin' to calm down the crowd. Once they'd walked their horses clear of the crowd, they mounted up and headed out of town. Out toward the Marcus house.

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Tears, hot and wet slicked over his face, the graves still freshly covered weighed on his soul as if he himself were buried under all that dirt. He bowed beside the graves, the breath frozen in his chest, "I'm sorry.. so sorry.. I tried... I tried everything I could-"

Voices, loud and angry bubbled up inside of his mind. The people from the town they wanted him dead! He clenched his jaw, still angered by what had happened in town. He should have been prepared for the hostile attitudes today but he hadn't been. Damn them all! Why should it matter what they thought of him? But strangely it did.

Then, he had to admit, it wasn't the town he was really worried about. He sifted his hand through the loose dirt on the graves, he felt for the Marcus family. They were laid out under all this dirt.. why? 'Cause they didn't have enough money to make his uncle happy.

Hooves plowed up behind him but he knelt, immobile with guilt.

"What are you doin' out here?"

"Why do you care?"

Jimmy ignored the bitter tone, "Most of the town thinks you're long gone."

"So what!?"

Teaspoon dismounted and followed Jimmy to the boy's side, "Well son, we're glad we found you first-"

"Why? You gonna shoot me?"

Teaspoon shared a look over the boy's bowed head, "Shoot? Um.. no. We were thinkin' more of provin' you didn't kill the Marcus family."

For the first time, since they'd found him, the boy looked up at them. "How do you figure to do that?"

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"Testify? I can't do that… he'd kill me!"

"If you testify, he won't be able to do anything like that. They'll hang him."

He froze, his eyes hooded as they stared down at the ground. "Hang him?"

Jimmy knelt down and tried to look him in the eye, "He'll never be able to hurt you again."

The boy's eyes flew up to meet Jimmy's gaze, "I ain't worried about me-"

"What about those boys. The Marcus boys."

"I never thought he'd-" He looked up and Jimmy saw the first tears the boy had shed since the morning the Marcus family had been found. "Never thought he'd hurt 'em. Just scare them, so's they would give him their money."

Jimmy fought back his own comments, letting the boy have a moment.

"The problem was… they didn't have none."

The pause was excruciating for Jimmy. "Can you tell me the rest?"

The boy shook his head. "Why not?"

"Nobody'll believe it."

"Why not?"

"I'm only a boy."

Jimmy watched the boys' face. It was stoic and unemotional again. He'd probably heard his uncle say things like that again and again. "That's not true, Teaspoon would, I would."

He shook his head harder, "Uncle Barnabus-" the boy froze. His face stretched over a surprised 'o', "I never shoulda… he's gonna-"

Jimmy set a hand on the boy's shoulder, "He not gonna do anything to you. I'll make sure of it."

The eyes that looked back at him held little hope, "Then you're gonna try and kill him."

Jimmy's eyes never let his, "No. I'm gonna bring him in. He's gonna go to trial and the judge will make him hang, and then you won't ever have to worry."

He sucked in his bottom lip and Jimmy watched as his chin trembled, "Then where will I go?"

"Go?"

He brushed Jimmy's hand off his shoulder, "They'll hang my uncle and the rest of the gang. They'll go in the cemetery. Me…I guess they'll ship me off to the orphanage."

The boy walked out of the room and planted himself down on the porch steps, his shoulders stiff and tense. Slowly, Jimmy stood and looked out the open door. The boy had a point, what would happen to him?

Teaspoon came to stand beside him, "You get anymore out of him?"

"Yeah." He looked to his mentor, turmoil in his eyes, "Now, I'm more worried than ever."

"How so?"

"We'll bring in the man that did this."

"Most likely."

"And he'll hang."

"Sure."

"What happens to him?" Jimmy motioned out the door.

Teaspoon took in a deep breath and followed Jimmy's gaze, "Interesting question Jimmy. You got an answer?"

"No." His tone hedged, waiting for Teaspoon to continue, "You?"

Teaspoon clasped a hand on Jimmy's shoulders, "Hickok, you got two options." He paused to look at his deputy, "you can let the judge take of this problem… or-"

Jimmy nodded, "Or?"

Teaspoon's mouthed stretched over his teeth as he sucked in a breath, "I've got faith in you son. You'll figure it out."

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It was still the middle of the day when Teaspoon returned to town. He rode up one of the side streets hoping to avoid notice by the law. Tethering his mount on the dark side of the Saloon and found his way in through a side entrance and sidled up to the man he'd spoken to that morning. "Damn it's hot out."

Barnabus tossed back his drink, "You don't say."

Teaspoon eyed the bustling Saloon, "Looks like every body from three towns over came in while I was gone."

"Yep." He motioned for another drink, "Where did you go anyhow?"

"I had some business to attend to. Found some puzzlin' tracks on my way."

"Tracks?" Barnabus leaned closer, "What kind of tracks?"

" Footprints.. small ones at that… heading over by that burned out house. Strange though."

"Strange? How?"

"Well, the family was killed last night... but these tracks were made sometime today."

The man scoffed, "Well now, how would you know that?"

Teaspoon leaned back against the bar, "Well, I used to be a bit of a scout. Spent some time down in Texas, scouting for Houston."

Barnabus nodded, "Tracks huh?"

"Yep…small like a woman's… or a-"

Barnabus shoved a double eagle coin in Teaspoon's hand. "Thanks friend. I'd be real obliged if you'd keep that information to yourself."

Teaspoon put the coin between his teeth and bit down hard. "Well thanks, 'friend', I sure will."

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"He ain't comin'."

Jimmy waved a hand to quiet the boy; "He'll be here."

"How do you know your friend didn't run off on us."

Shaking his head, Jimmy tried not to laugh, "No, not Teaspoon."

Horses, over half a dozen of them, came into view, Barnabus at the lead. He rode up by the house and jerked his mount to a stop, "Come on out boy!" The men looked around, hands poised over the butts of their guns. "I ain't got time to waste boy, come on out!"

He made a move to leave, but Jimmy held him still.

"The laws after you.. they'll be here soon. So you better come on out. We're your only chance!"

Somewhere, a prairie dog called out. Jimmy motioned for the boy to stay in his hiding place. Moving in careful, measured steps, Jimmy stood and called out to the men, "He ain't goin' anywhere with you."

"And who might you be?"

Jimmy turned so his badge flashed a bright light into their eyes, "James Hickok, deputy-"

"James 'Wild Bill' Hickok? Well now, what do we owe this pleasure to?"

"I want you to leave the boy alone."

"I'm responsible for him."

"Fine job you've done so far."

Barnabus dismounted, seemingly unconscious of the twin Colts pointed at his chest, "He's my brother's boy and I'll have the raisin' of him."

"Not if you're dead you won't."

Laughter, dark and cruel broke the silence, "Brave words Hickok."

"Throw your weapons down." Now, the rest of the men joined in the laughter.

Barnabus stared back, "Thinkin' to bring us in by yourself?"

"I ain't alone."

"That, we know."

Barnabus drew his gun in one swift motion and fired a shot into the dirt at Jimmy's feet. Hickok didn't flinch, but the boy barreled out from his hiding place and ran out in between the two men. "Stop!" He looked back at Jimmy, "I'll go with them."

"No you won't!" Teaspoon appeared at the back of the group. "You go back over by those rocks and let us handle this son."

"No one else is gonna get hurt because of me." He took a step closer to his uncle.

"Son? That ain't the right thing to do."

The boy didn't acknowledge Teaspoon, "He's family."

Jimmy called out, "Family, don't leave you to die for them."

"He took care of me." He took another step.

"That's right boy, come closer."

"Don't move!" Jimmy pulled back the hammers of both Colts.

The boy called back over his shoulder, "It ain't worth you getting' hurt!"

"That's my call."

Turning, the boy took a step back toward Hickok.

"Don't you dare." The threat was quiet but potent, the boy froze.

Jimmy looked into the boy's eyes and nodded. "Remember the Marcus boys."

The boy sprang into action, running for Jimmy as fast as he could. Barnabus aimed for the boy's head while his men tried to clear their weapons. One well placed warning shot from Teaspoon set the others straight.

The first shot went wild, but the second drove straight toward Jimmy's heart. It wasn't until the last minute that the boy fell against Jimmy and knocked him out of the way. Shots continued to pepper the ground around them until Jimmy put an end to it with one well-placed bullet.

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Barnabus howled from inside his jail cell, "Don't think you're free of me yet!"

The sheriff shook his head, "We will be in a few days…as soon as they finish that scaffold outside."

"I ain't gonna hang!"

"Sure… sure Barnabus. It ain't like I've never heard that before." Pokin' his head out the door, he called to the two men enjoyin' the shade. "You fellas stickin' around for the hangin'?"

"No, we'll be heading out as soon as we figure out what to do about the boy."

Exhausted from the events of the last few days, the boy lay fast asleep on a cot inside the Sheriff's office.

"Oh, that reminds me." Sheriff Harmon pulled a piece of paper from his vest pocket. "This came for you by Pony Express this mornin'."

Jimmy took the paper and read it carefully.

Teaspoon leaned against his chair, rocking it on its back legs, "What you got there Jimmy?"

Looking back, Jimmy smiled, "The answer."

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Two days later an odd little group awaited the stage. Jimmy stood beside the boy, his hand on his shoulder. As the driver secured the bags on the top of the stage, the passengers climbed into the carriage, finding their seats for the long journey.

Jimmy squeezed his shoulder, "You'll be fine."

The boy shot back, "I ain't scared."

Chuckling in silence, Jimmy answered back, "I would be."

Eyes, wide with disbelief stared up at him, "You?"

"You're goin' to be fine. You'll love them."

"They're just folks-"

Jimmy leaned down, "you won't feel like that after you meet them."

Tears laced through the boy's lashes, "You're just sayin' that."

A knowing look from Jimmy made the boy turn away. "You think so?"

"Yeah, what would people want with me anyway. I ain't the smartest kid around or even the strongest. Why would anyone want me. I ain' t nothin' but an orphan."

Teaspoon and Jimmy shared a knowing look before Teaspoon set the boy straight, "That don't matter to these people. You're already family as far as they're concerned."

The stage driver called down, "The boy about ready to go?"

Jimmy looked up into the morning sun, "Yeah.. just about."

Teaspoon handed a letter up to the driver, "Here ya go. This instructions are all there."

As the stage driver opened the letter an pored over the contents. Jimmy helped the boy up into the carriage and saw him settled in, "You mind them."

He leaned back against the seat and crossed his arms over his chest, but there was a smile in his eyes, "Yes sir."

Jimmy slid the bolt home, locking the stage door. "All set!"

The stage driver nodded, "Well, better head on out if'n we want to make good time to St. Jo."

The stage rocked as the horses pulled against the brakes, restless to continue their journey. A head peered out of an open window. "Jimmy?" Both Teaspoon and Jimmy looked up, "What're their names again?"

The horses lurched into a run as the driver released the handbrake. The stage rolled into action and Jimmy and Teaspoon stepped into the street and waved, "Cain... Sam and Emma Cain!"

THE END

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Copyright 2001