Riding out on the trail...TW rode hard for a couple miles before slowing down and stopping.

Ma'am I need ta stop for a tab bit and fix my leaking plumbing.

TW half smiled at the Keengan Girl...I've heard a lot of good things about you from the indian boy Chase riding with you.

He's safe by the way and out of that town. I'm kind of banged up a bit..but I'll be alright. We have to keep moving and meet up with your other side kicks. He waited patiently for her to say something..

Maddie was still reeling from what had just happened. Being collared and leashed, slapped, fondled and then the explosions after this cowboy had shown up, but she was also as mad as a coyote stuck in a trap. Of course, she also wanted to just lay down and cry, but preferred the anger to that.

When they stopped and he said something about fixing his leaking plumbing, she quickly shimmied down off of the horse and put a few feet between her and the cowboy, when she saw the blood. Sighing, she knew that it needed looking after and said so.

"Mister, thank you for getting me out of there and away from that piece of scum and for letting me know that Chase is okay. Now, if you'll be so kind as to let me have a look at your wound, then we can be on our way."

She saw him give her an amused smile which riled her up to no end and her blue eyes flashed at him.

"Look, sit down and let me have a look or just keep bleeding. Makes no difference to me."

Murdock's pistol flashed from his holster and the deputy took a few wide shots at Dawson. He missed on purpose, but he had to make it look convincing. That's when the second floor of the Desert Rose came down on him and McIntire. Thankfully, the wily deputy had anticipated the collapse by the loud snaps of the creaking timbers and made it out of a window before he was buried alive. The spry cowboy hit the dirt and rolled off of his shoulder and in one smooth motion rose to his feet, picked up his hat and kept running else the entire building come down next.

Murdock stopped on the other side of the street and stood amongst some dumbfounded onlookers as the gasped in horror at the destruction around them. One of them asked Mitch, "Where's the Marshal?", and dusting off his head the deputy stormed off without a word to find out what happened to Barr.

As the deputy rounded the corner he was surprised to find that the Marshal's house was a ablaze! One of the explosions had ripped right through it and Murdock feared the worst as he knew it was the last place that he had seen Barr. Kicking, through, the front door, Mitch covered his mouth with his arm and kept low as he navigated through the burning remains of the living room. A few burning beams toppled over, nearly striking him and as the heat was increasing, Murdock knew he was going to have to turn back but before he did he found what he hoped he wouldn't. Marshal Barr's smoldering body was pinned under a mass of fiery debris. He never even knew what hit him.

"Poor bastard." Said Murdock to himself.

The deputy wasted little time gathering his belongings and high-tailing it out of town. He drove his piebald straight on to the hide-out, his keen eyes making sure no one was following him and taking a round about way just to make sure. It was well past noon when the deputy's horse was heard by the three gunfighters within the old farm house. Sandy had his rifle trained on the rider the entire way, but once his face came into view, the sharp shooter raised his rifle and nodded to his friends that it was safe.

The met the deputy outside and Murdock not bothering to dismount informed them of what happened. Already in the distance a black plum of smoke appeared on the horizon verifying the deputies story.

"Dawson up and blew up half the town." Exagerrated Murdock, but as Tumble had destroyed several of the more prominent structures it might as well have been.

"Where's Barr?" Grimly inquired Sandy who already suspected the worst.

"Dead." Said Murdock, "An explosion took down his house with him in it."

Sandy sighed and shook his head. "What about, McIntire?" he asked Mitch.

Murdock shook his head. "Don't know. If'n he's alive he'll be madder 'n hell. That's why I'm clearin' outta these parts." And with that being said, Murdock tipped his hat to his partners, "Via con Dios, my friends." he told them, then he road off eastward never once looking back.



Sandy walked back into the house, sat down and ran his fingers through his hair.

"What the hell do we do now?" he posed.

Jesse stood beside him, put a hand on a hip and took a swig of whiskey from the bottle then threw it over to Bones.

"Well boys I may not know much, but I sure as hell knows it when a deal's gone sour. I say we clear outta here before this hornet's nest yer big friend's stirred up blows our way and bite's us on the ass!"

Sandy leaned back and looked over at Bones and smiled. Jesse always had a colourful way of saying things. More often it was just for effect, but this time he felt that she made perfect sense. Without Barr or Mitchell to act as inside men on this deal, the plan was useless.

Sheriff McIntire was pulled from the debris. He was unconscious and needed a doctor. His last memory was seeing Deputy Murdock shooting his revolver at the ceiling versus at Dawson. When the second floor collasped, he was able to roll under a poker table that flatten over and pinned him from moving.

Dawson...he knew he hit Dawson in the chest several times before the big man slammed into him. What kept him up, grabbing Maddie and running up the back door. he would never know. He looked at the destruction through the doctors office window and saw people rushing to put out small fires all over the place. One man did all this damage. Where the hell was Barr at and why didn't he have a possee together already.

It was then that the doctor stopped back in from behind the screen..."Sheriff McIntire, I'm glad you're awake. I have some bad news to report, Marshal Barr was in his home when an explosion ripped through his home, he was buried in the rubble and didn't make it."


Buick Daniels spoke up..."John...its Buck." He leaned over the gurney, interupting the doctor. "How you feeling John?" McIntire acknowledged...Buck Daniels his deputy.

I'm glad I was there to pull you out of the rubble and I got two clean shots off...both hit Dawson in the chest. There's more...John. Deputy Mitchell Murdock,who went to look for Marshal Barr afterwards, was last seen riding out of town with his belongings, a sleep roll and headed in a different direction then the murderer Dawson and the Keegan girl rode out on..."


Sheriff McIntire jumped from the gurney pissed...reaching for his side arm that wasn't there and clutching his bandaged forehead. McIntire unstable, collasped to his knees trying to get his bearings. His world was fading in and out from the concussion. "GIT ME UP ON MY FEET..GIT MY MEN ROUNDED UP...WE NEED TO GO AFTER THose tw,,,two...Sheriff McInitre passed out

Down on his knees...Dawson looked at the young lady...

"Maggie...is it you? Maggie it's me, Ethan."

TW was seeing a ghost. He had loss some blood and in his blurred vision instead of seeing Maddie...he saw another brunette. "Sure...I will seat still on that rock there. Ethan sat down and felt two bullet holes..."SHIT! McIntire actually shot me twice. "He looked back at her and smiled..."you're nt Maggie,you're Maddie...and and I need to git on my horse..and

TELEGRAPH SENT TO SHADY GULTH
SHADY GULTH Sheriff Office

TO: Thomas McCaffety, Deputy
FROM: Buck Daniels, Senior Deputy


Tom,

1. Trouble in C.Hills. I've been appointed as the new Sheriff for Coyote Hills by the Mayor and town council.
2. Sheriff John McIntire has been injured and is being sent back to Shady Gulch., should be there in a few days.
3. Marshal Barr is dead.
4. Deputy Mitch Murdock is missing and is wanted for questioning
5. Tumbleweed Dawson is wanted for murder
6. Lil Maddie Keegan girl is wanted for questioning as an accessory to Marshal Barr's death
7. NEED TWO WANTED posters drawn up for:

********************************
WANTED for MURDER
Ethan Dawson known as 'Tumbleweed'

WANTED as an ACCESSORY
Madison Keegan known as 'Maddie'

********************************

8. Send this to Shady Gulch Newspaper

Trouble in Coyote Hills
Nine buildings damaged by explosion
One building destroyed by explosion and fire
Three Injured
One Dead
One Missing and Wanted for Questioning


********************************


9. Also is the gallows finished? Sheriff McIntire will hold a special hearing and hang all involved as soon as their caught.

10. Send out a small possee to look for the two renegade gunslingers named Sandy and Bones
John M. has a sweet deal for them both. Keep them happy until mcIntire speaks to them both.

11. Is the warwagon ready?


sincerely,

Buck

Maddie rushed over to Ethan and struggled to help him lay down, getting him into the shadow of a scroungy bush. She was sweating before it was done and worried when she saw the blood on the front of his shirt. Ripping it open, buttons flying everywhere, she quickly assessed the damage. One hole just under his left collar bone and the other was just below his breast, same side, in the fleshy part. This one had gone clean through but the other one was still inside his body. She would have to dig it out.

"Mister.....hey, mister.....I'm gonna have to dig out the bullett up by your shoulder. It's gonna hurt, but I'll move as fast as I can."t

Her voice was soft as she spoke to him and she gave him a smile before she ran to his horse and grabbed his saddlebags. Rummaging though them, she found a small bottle of whiskey, some jerky, and a small roll of bandages with a small sewing kit. Not much else. ~Well, it'll have to do~, she thought to herself. It never ceased to amaze her that these types of men carried sewing kits to mend their own tears in their clothing, but couldn't cook worth a damn.

Taking his knife out of it's sheath at his hip, she found a semi-smooth stick and placed it between his teeth.

"Bite down on this."

Pouring some whiskey over the wound then the knife, she mumbled soft apologies as he groaned at the burning from the alcohol.

"You have to hold real still.....I'll go as fast as I can."

Making the hole a little bigger, she quickly dug around until she found the bullett and proceeded to dig it out. What only took about 15 minutes, seemed to take hours, but finally she pulled the bullet free and through it to the side as she cleaned the wound again with whiskey. Thankfully, by then, he had passed out. Now, she set to work on patching him up. She was able to grab a hold of a loose string in the dress she was wearing and used this to sew up the hole, then started on the other wound, stitching it up as well.

Once she was done, she wiped the sweat off of her brow, took a swig of the whiskey and sat down next to him, making sure that his wounds stayed clean until he woke. She was a mess herself, hands now shaking as the adrenaline began to wear off.

maddie...maddie....

maddie...I ach and Im cold...help me git up and on the horse and we'll go find some shelter someplace. I know we were supposed to meet up with your partners ...but I've been out for while after I? How many hours?


Maddie said something like 4 hours and she couldnt move me. She was pretty tired herself and pushed me up onto the horse, and then I grabbed her right wrist and pulled her on the horse with me. It was cold and TW was still feverish. I know of a place we can hold out for a few days, maddie..

Follow that trailhead 'til you go over a lil hill. Turn right at the cactus tree and turn north through the cactus grove. When you pass the last one look to the right, there will be a cabin. The roof has collasped on one end a but there are four walls and inside, one can hold up for a few days without being seen. There's some firewood there.

By the way, maddie...my name's TW, short fer Tumbleweed. I'm not from these parts...been driving cattle up north through the plains when my partner went for some supplies in that lil town Shady Gulch and thats where all the trouble started. Maddie if I doze off, wake me up so that I kin protect ya if need be.

***********************
Maddie got us to the cabin. This fella Sandy and Bones had already left the place. No tellin what happen 'em but they were gone. TW was acky and comfortable in the old cabin, although he was gettin hungry.

Maddie was rummaging through the dibilatated cabin, looking for canned goods and/or water or something to drink. Finding nothing, she turned to TW and checked on him, feeling his head. She was glad to feel that he was warm, but not dangerously so. When he mumbled something about being hungry, she placed her hands on her hips and looked around, unsure as to what to do.

Heading out to the horse, she made sure that he was taken care of, rubbing him down the best that she could and setting him up in the run down barn. Grabbing the saddlebags, she brought them back into the cabin and rummaged through them for the jerky. Knowing that he may not be awake enough to chew it, she decided that she would have to find a way to get some other type of nourishment.

"TW...TW, I have to leave for just a little while and try to get us a hare or lizard or something like that. I also need to find some water, I saw a well near the cabin. Just lay here and I'll be right back. Your gun is right here next to the cot."

As she turned to leave the cabin, she mumbled under her breath.

"What kind of a name is Tumbleweed?"

She returned a couple of hours later with a freshly skinned hare that she'd trapped with a snare and a bucket of water. Building a small fire in the little fireplace, she let the rabbit cook as she bathed TW's head with a piece of the dress she was wearing and the cool water. She was dead tired and her whole body ached, but she didn't stop nor complain. Once the rabbit was done, she found a somewhat clean stick in the rubble at the other end of the cabin and using TW's knife cleaned one end, making sure that the tip was blunt. Next, she found an old wooden bowl, cleaning it out the best she could, and proceeded to mash up some of the meat from the rabbit. Heading over to TW, she began to feed it to him in small increments, encouraging him to swallow, which he did. Every few bites, she gave him small sips of water.

That night, she makes a makeshift pallet on the floor next to the cot. His knife is next to her and his gun lays in between her and the cot. She quickly falls asleep once she checks on him.

It's been 2 weeks since TW, been stitched up by the pretty keegan girl named Maddie. She looked after TW for a few weeks until they were able to move again. Now, back on the road again, TW is itching to get on the road again and leave this countryside. He's had enough of Marshal McIntire but apparently things have gotten worse since we were gone and Maddie's Daddy has been arrested and is sitting in Shady Gulch waiting to be tried and hung for harboaring two outlaws. Maddie is tore up and pissed off at the two wanted signs of both her and TW. TW is worth $50,000 and Maddie is worth $2000.

TW wakes up to seeing a herd of horses running up the trail and Maddie behind them whooping and a hollaring...waving her hands and using a lasso to stir the herd in a horse pen.

"Well I'll be damn!"

Grabbing his chest and walking to the cabin door, Ol' TW sure like the way that lil woman handled herself.

"YOU GO MADDIE...I dont care what they say about you...I sure do I like seeing this part of you and you're looking at the best trainer for Cutting horses ...right here"

I think its best we start to move again and get back to your daddys ranch and see if anyone is still there and see what we can do about rescuein him ...what ll you think?

Bones watched as Murdock rode away, there was no doubt that with the death of Barr that Mitch would not return to these parts. Bones' mind was unchanged in the face of these unforeseen events, he aimed to chop the legs out from under McIntire just the same.

In his time riding with Sandy and Jesse Bones had learned all about stacked odds, they were always against he and Sandy and Jesse and every time they beat them, and beat them proper. The thin gunfighter was weary of drifting around the country and avoiding the law in certain territories, and he was damn tired of leaving enemies and scum like McIntire behind to suck towns and the hard working people that dwelt there dry.

"I'm still going for the wagon Sandy, and the man. I'm gonna finish this."
Bones said, breaking the desperate silence.

Bones stood in the center of the old shack, his clothes were covered in the dust of the place. Bones looked down to his gun belt, it was dark in contrast to his yellowing overcoat and faded and soiled white shirt.

"I need to finish this, Jesse needs the money..."
Bones smiled at the woman.

"She promised me a new shirt."

"Damn, Bones I so much as thunk we'd go and dig up another coffin and git you newer one." Jesse quipped.

She smiled wryly and took another swig of whiskey. "I sure wouldn't mind livin' high on the hog for a while though boys. I'm wit', Bones."

Jesse cast Sandy a sideways glance and the Englishman nodded. She never though for a moment that Sandy would have decided otherwise, but she liked to let him think he had a choice in the matter otherwise.

"It's settled then."



They decided to wait for sunset before heading out. It made more sense to travel under the cover of darkness and avoid the heat of the day. Barr had stashed enough dry goods in the cellar to last a man a week if necessary, so they didn't much trouble killing a few hours. When the sun had finally set, Sandy went out and loaded some extra food in his saddle bags, holstered his rifles and tightened the straps in preparation for the journey ahead. He started walking back into the shack but paused when he heard the sound of a small stone knocking of another. Whatever kicked it up walked on two legs and Sandy wasn't taking any chances. He dropped down low and spun around with his gun drawn.



"Jeezus! Hold yer fire. I've already died once today!" Said Marshal Barr with his hands raised.

Sandy slowly stood, took a step toward the Marshall and curiously slapped the man's shoulder.

"Seem pretty live to me." He said, "Mitch was convinced you were dead. What the hell happened?"

Barr's eyes drifted down to Sandy's pistol.

"I'd feel a little more comfortable discussing this inside and without that gun pointed at my belly."

Sandy holstered his weapon and gestured for Barr to lead the way.

When Barr walked into the shack, Jesse looked like she had just seen a ghost... literally.

"Shit!" Exclaimed Jesse, "Thought you was dead!"

Barr smiled widely. "Not yet."

"Mitch was pretty sure." Said Sandy as he walked in behind the Marshal, carrying his repeating rifle just in case trouble followed Barr.

"Wasn't me burnin' up in that fire." Explained Barr as he grabbed the bottle of whiskey off the make shift table and sat down on it. He took a good drink and exhaled slowly. "For about the tenth time that week, ol' Pete Barnes, had come a knockin' at my door complainin' about Curly Joe's goats gettin' in his corn. Ten times must a been the charm. I told Pete to go sit in the parlor while I stepped out to grab a coffee can for the man's chew. That's when Tumbleweed started blowing apart the town. There was a flash of bright light and the next thing I remember was waking up in the barn across the road. I figured being dead might just work to our advantage so I kept hidden and rode out here as soon as I could."

The Marshall looked around then. "Where is Mitch?"

"Gone." Answered Sandy.

"Gone?"

"Yeah. He didn't want to stick around and deal with McIntire if you were dead."

Barr nodded. "Well, we better go after him."

"What?"

"We need him."

"I think we can handle the wagon." Said Sandy.

"How fast can you pick a lock?" Countered Barr, "I've never seen anyone that can pick a lock like, em. The doors of that there wagon are locked tight, and we need someone who can get into em, and fast. I hope the three of ya weren't thinkin' we'd blast our way in?"

As Barr walked in behind Sandy Bones spun to face the men, his twin colts were steady and high in his pale thin hands. The long barreled Dragoon pistols pointed over Sandy's shoulder at the walking dead man.

"Evening sheriff..." Bones said flatly as he holstered his guns.
This was unexpected, Barr had escaped death and kept his promise to meet back up with the three outlaws.

"You sure went a long way to keep yer word Barr, coming back from the dead and all."
Bones said not trusting his story about this unfortunate Pete Barnes and his piss poor timing.

Bones listened to Barr sell Murdock's skills as a lock pick, and damn it all is he wasn't right, Bones had thought of blasting the belly of the wagon open if it proved to be a rolling fortress. Bones and Sandy and Jess had pulled plenty of smash and grabs in the past and finesse was not a strong point. No one among the three misfits was any kind of a lock expert and they had never squared off with anything like the heavily armored iron wagon before.

Bones watched Barr as he spoke of Murdock, Bones thought that there was little difference between men like Barr and Murdock and outlaws like he, Sandy and Jess. When the chips were down they were all killers and crooks, and Bones considered himself among this group. The only real difference was that men like Murdock and Barr got a regular paycheck for their troubles.

Bones wondered if Barr was turning the screws on them, leading them to prison or the gallows. Bones was not afraid either way he only hoped that if the fix was in that he would have a chance to do something good for his friends and lastly to put down any that would profit from their misery.

Bones rubbed his graying whiskers as Barr finished.
"Murdock is half a day ahead, it would be easy enough to catch up."

He and Sandy and Jesse were already packed up, their horses were rested and watered.

Bones put a dusty boot into a stirrup and climbed in the saddle. The thin gunfighter slapped his hat with it's prominent bullet hole and all on his lap as he sat on his horse, a small puff of dust came loose and drifted away.

The evening air was cool, much cooler than the blazing heat they had endured in the days at the shack, and Bones was grateful. Slipping his hat back onto his head Bones looked to Sandy to read his friend, what did he think about this ride and did he trust Barr.

Sheriff McIntire raised from the bed and pushed his feet into the tall black boots...Daisy May turned over and pulled the covers back over her neked self. He pulled a couple of dollars from his wallet and tossed it on the bed. Then he walked and stood by the window, peeking out. Looking down the street at the dark tall shadow and the horses standing in front of it. He reached in his pocket and pulled a long slender cigar. Licking it, he reached into his other pocket and raised his boot, striking the match , he lifted the match and lit his cigar. Then blew out the match and dropped it into the spittle can. He sucked in a bellow of fresh sweet smelling tobacco and held it in as he looked down the other way and saw noone up this early on a sunday morning. Exhaling, he stood ny the bed and kissed Daisy May...thanks darling for a wonderful night. He walked to the door, opened it, put on his black cowboy and walked out...closing the door behind him.



Deputy McCaffety stood by the war wagon drinking black coffee and watching the mexican slaves load the bags of gold into the wagon. "Morn'n Sheriff... we're 'bout done here. I sent word to Buck Daniels that we'd be taking that new route this morn'n and reckon that their mogue will be busy, so I told Buck to have the morgue and funeral parlor to start building casket boxes. McIntire smiled and nodded///at McCaffety. I'll be at the saloon gittin some breakfast...Ok sheriff McIntire...I'll have a runner go fetch ya when we're ready to make the run.


An hour later...the war wagon rolled out ...and the gatling gun was mounted on top and a small army of gunslingers as well. The wagon rode on for many hours before a indian raiding party decided to take on the wagon and its riders.. McCaffety told the crew to slow down and when the raiding party was almost on top of them , he launched his own attack and fired hundreds of bullets killing all that continued to chase the wagon. The renegade parties, four in total were left for dead as wagon rode hard to get across the desert. Anything that moved got wasted.



****************************

Meanwhile, Sheriff McIntire watched the war wagon take off, he saddled his horse and a possee of twenty men set out to ride to the Keegan ranch and arrest Ian Keegan. Sheriff McIntire intentions were to give him a short trial and hang im before the sunset in five days time. Aiding and harboring renegade injuns, TW and Maddie Keegan is wat Sheriff McIntire figurin in charging him and if he didnt corporate...he'd gunned him down in cold blood at the ranch.


****************************

Later that evening, the war wagon and her riders rolled into Coyote Hills...the gold was removed and placed in a vault at the Wells Fargo Assay office. The riders and the war wagon bedded down in close quarters with four men on a 2-hour watch.

A little over six days ago...

"Let's go after Murdock." Agreed Sandy after considering the fact that using explosives on the wagon might not be the best idea, especially if it was also hauling legal tender notes. All the money could be burnt and that would be one hell of a waste.

They followed, Murdock's trail which eventually lead them in a more north easterly direction but they didn't catch up with the deputy any time soon. Seemed that, Mitch Murdock was an experienced long range rider by what Barr told them and tracking him down wasn't going to be as easy as they originally thought. Eventually, Sandy was called upon to use his tracking skills to follow the elusive rider and a few times he was guiding them by pure instinct, but thankfully they were accurate. Seemed Murdock had made his way to the Sante Fe trail, and once on it, they rode due east and double timed it, knowing that they would eventually overtake him over the long stretch.

Along the way, Sandy, Bones and Jesse had spent a lot of time covertly discussing their impression of Barr. After much debate, which really didn't amount to much more than a few words here there when they had the chance, it was determined that the ex-marshal could be trusted up until the point they got their hands on the money. Once the goal was insight, there was no telling what might happen, but then again, they had to admit that Barr might have just been thinking the same thing about them, and rightly so. There was no honor among thieves.

For the most of the ride, Barr had proved to be a rather amiable man. He even splurged one night and put them all up in an inn that they happened to come across in a one horse town. He honestly spoke of his dark past and some of the underhanded things he had done, which he wasn't proud of. Rick, as they had come to know him, divulged that he had turned over a new leaf when he had become Marshal. While is original intentions for taking the position were less than admirable, he began over time to truly understand what his tin star represented. He no longer wanted to be feared but respected, as an honest man but before he could do that he had to get rid of McIntire, but so long as the money existed some other bastard would just fall into his place. The key to getting rid of him was stealing all that the black-sherrif had, and of course it never hurts to be rich he admitted.

They finally caught up with Murdock at the Kansas Territory border. The former deputy was resting up by a river when they spotted him and Mitch had first thought he had seen a ghost when Barr rode up to him. They learned right then and there that, Mitch was extremely superstitious and it took a while to convince that Barr wasn't some spirit come back to haunt him for abandoning him.

"So, yer all still goin' after that wagon?" Asked Mitch.

Barr nodded and smiled. "We need ya kid. We don't want a go blasting the wagon all to hell if'n we don't need ta. You know the guards don't carry the keys so you're are only ticket in. What d'ya say?"

Mitchel looked eastward then back the way he had come, then back to Barr. He gave a slight, expressionless nod then turned his horse around.

I had taken three days to catch up to Murdock and they had just about a long a ride back if not longer, considering how they pushed their horses. Thankfully they had two extra, but since they couldn't rotate all their mounts they mainly served as back-ups incase one of the horses went lame on the way.