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The cowboy’s horse tore up the path to the Mexican princess’ castle. “Do not worry chica, them bandits won’t catch us”. “You are so brave!” Her copper eyes twinkled. A bullet ripped at the cowboy’s shoulder. “You are hurt!” The princess worried. The
bandits drew closer. “My princess, nothing will stop me from returning you safely to your abode.” The cowboy grinned broadly.
“Whatcha readin’?”Cody looked up to see Jimmy standing over him. “Oh this? It’s nothing really...” Jimmy snatched the book out of Cody’s hands. “Hey!” Cody protested. “Give that back!” “Wide awake livery...” Jimmy struggled to read the cover. “Library.” Cody corrected. “Yeah, I knew that.” Jimmy flipped through the thin novel and opened a page at random. “Oh princess...” Jimmy mocked. Cody pawed at Jimmy’s arm as he held the book out. Spotting a rider in the distance, Jimmy hollered “Rider Comin!” Cody took full advantage of Jimmy’s distraction and snagged the book back. “Don’t know what you see in that drivel anyway. Those books are about as far from truth as it comes.” Cody smiled. “That’s exactly why I like ‘em.” Jimmy Hickcock scratched his head. The two came in from the porch to the dinning area. Rachel entered with a pot of bubbling stew. Cody shoved the book inside his buckskin jacket. “Why Rachel, I don’t believe you’ve ever looked prettier.” Cody grinned broadly, changing the subject. “Thank you Cody.” A flustered Rachel blushed. “Maybe it’s the smell food that’s got Cody’s heart all going.” Jimmy chuckled as the other riders came into the dinning room and took their places at the table. “Or all them mushy stories he’s been reading.” He teased. “It’s an adventure story!” Cody was quick to justify. Lou giggled. “Now hold up right there boys.” Teaspoon stepped in. “And Lou,” he looked down at the small rider with the delicate wire rimmed glasses. “I got some news, and I’m afraid it’s not too good.” “What is it?” Lou piped in, worry evident in her tone. “Our Rock Creek Station has been ambushed.” He declared. “Ambushed!” Noah rose from the table, outraged. “Ambushed by whom? Why?” “Sit down. All of you just calm down.” Teaspoon instructed. “See, the station used to be owned by a mister David McCanles. Russell, Majors and Waddell’s Overland stage company purchased it to add to our route.” He realized most of the boys were probably already aware of the story thus far. “Anyways, McCanles was never paid in full by our employers..” “Why didn’t they pay him?” Cody inquired. “Same reason you boys all never seen a raise. There ain’t no money to pay with. They’re broke. They have been for awhile now.” Teaspoon admitted. That was a fact the boys hadn’t been previously told. If they had, of course, there’s always a chance that they would have left to find more rewarding careers, instead of wondering if they would even receive their full week’s pay. “Most of the riders were hurt bad.” He said grimly. “Some of them will no longer be able to work, and some don’t want to ride anymore. It’s a real mess there.” He looked at the faces of each of the riders standing around him and could not imagine what he would do if something like that had happened to them. “One of the riders was out on a run when this happened. His name was Joe Thatcher...” Kid was quick on the draw. “Was?” He asked. “Yes.” Teaspoon’s eyes said it all. “He was found dead in a hotel room down in Fort Smith Texas. “Texas!” Noah exclaimed. “Long way from home.” “Well,” Teaspoon started. “His beef is just with that station. Don’t worry about trouble like that here...” Ike motioned to Buck, who cut in. “What about Thatcher? Why chase him all the way to Texas?” “Good question Buck, Ike.” Teaspoon smiled. “I don’t think that Thatcher boy’s death was related..” “Not related? His station was ambushed and he was found dead in Texas!” Cody couldn’t see how there wasn’t a connection. “Well you see, when they found Thatcher’s body... there was no mailbag. There are rumors that he might have been carrying sensitive materials.” “Sensitive?” Jimmy asked. "Well, as you all know war is impending. The country is being torn apart like a railway spike being driven into the ground..." Teaspoon dug his thumbs under his suspenders. Cody nudged Buck and whispered. " Here we go." He rolled his eyes. Teaspoon was known for his long and wordy speeches. Cody thought that he should have been a politician the way he could carry on. Watching Teaspoon's face cloud over with worry as he spoke, Cody's attention focused back on his speech. “I think that to make sure this incident stays isolated we need to go down there and find a few things out. If it is McCanles it could be dangerous. If it is war documents, well it could be even more dangerous for an Express rider. So, do I have any volunteers?" “I will.” Lou chimed in. “You got a run first thing in the morning. I need you to be here to take that.” Teaspoon explained. “Is that safe to send Lou out there? Our nearest station was attacked! A rider was killed! Maybe more than one...” Kid objected. Lou fumed. She knew that Kid cared and was just trying to help, the closer they had gotten to each other the more he started protecting her, and treating her like a woman. Sometimes being treated like a woman felt good, but this wasn’t one of those times. Teaspoon cut in. “Lou is headed west to Fort Larmie. We’ve had no troubles there. Besides she’s one of the best riders and shooters that I know.” Cody was about to object but suddenly decided better of it. "I'll go Teaspoon." Noah volunteered. "I'm sorry son, I can't send you. Fort Smith is a dangerous place for someone like you right now. I can't afford to have anything happen to you." "God dammit Teaspoon. Just because I am colored it doesn't make me any less able to get this job done." "Your not going." Teaspoon repeated. Noah stormed past him into the bunkhouse. Jimmy went to follow him. "Hold it Hickcock." Teaspoon grabbed Jimmy's shoulder firmly. "All right," Teaspoon conceded. "Far as I can see there's only one fair way to decide this."
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Kid grumbled as he rode the big paint horse out from the stable. "How come I always get the short straw?""I got the other one didn't I?" Jimmy was quick to mention. They rode for most of the day without saying too much. Jimmy could tell that Kid was worried about Lou. Jimmy didn't want to admit it to himself but he was too. Before they had left Sweetwater Teaspoon had told them to go to Fort Smith and find Marshal Tobias Mackenzie; he had explained how they were old friends and how Toby (as Teaspoon called him) would help them in any way he could. He said he believed it was an isolated incident and not an attack on the Pony Express itself. Jimmy knew that there was more that Teaspoon hadn't told them, he didn't know what it was or why. All he had were questions, with no answers. "I think we should make camp for the night, it's starting to get dark." Kid stated. "Yeah I could use a good meal and some rest." Jimmy agreed. Kid's horse Katy, pawed at the ground as he unhitched his bedroll and pack from his saddle gear. "So why do you figure someone killed an Express Rider?" Kid asked. Jimmy rifled through his pack and pulled out some dried meat and a sourdough bread biscuit that Rachel had baked fresh that morning. "Dunno." He said, chewing off a bite of biscuit. "Hungry?" Kid dropped his bedding on the ground. "I'll go find some brushwood." "I'll go with you." Jimmy swallowed the bread and took another big bite. "No, you better stay with the horses." Jimmy shrugged. "Same to me either way." He popped the last of the biscuit into his mouth. Kid returned about twenty minutes later with an armful of branches and cut wood. Jimmy was sitting with his back against a tree squinting at a newspaper. He looked up as Kid laid the pile of tinder down. "Where'd you get that?" Kid asked, moving in behind Jimmy to get a look at the paper. "Teaspoon's I guess. I found it on the table before we left." Kid glanced at the top of the page, Plains Gazette. "Rock Creek?" "Yeah." Jimmy flipped back a page. "Here, look at this." He folded the paper to an article labeled Express rider killed in cold blood. "This paper is dated March eleventh," Kid paused. "That's two days ago. Didn’t Teaspoon say this thing happened just last week?" "Bad news travels fast." Jimmy quipped. Kid read the paper aloud as Jimmy made the campfire. "Rock creek Pony Express rider Joe Thatcher found dead in his hotel room in the city of Fort Smith, Texas." Kid stopped and looked up at Jimmy. "City?" "What about it?" Jimmy asked. "'Ain’t never been to a place that reached city status." Kid smiled like a child with a new toy. "Well by dinnertime tomorrow you can say you have." Jimmy held the skillet over the fire poking at the bacon with his fork. Kid continued reading; "Mayor Herbert Morris is offering a reward for any information about the persons responsible for the murder." This surprised Kid. "Can he do that?" "I suppose." Jimmy said as he pulled the pan from the fire. "You going to eat some of this?" "Well it's a far cry from Rachel's home cookin' but I suppose I gotta eat somethin'." Kid looked at the greasy black strips of meat and added. "Next time, I cook, you go get the wood." He chuckled. Jimmy feined offense as he slopped the meat onto the two tin plates. Kid set the paper down on the dirt and took his plate from Jimmy. "Thanks."
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