It was a nice time, if even for a few hours.  Molly and I are usually busy with something and often I’m out of town.  So far I haven’t done much with the Secret Service.  This past trip to Silverton was the first time.  I knew I’d need to contact them to see when they expected me in Denver.  Marta ran the diner well and she had a cousin that helped out now and then so maybe when I go to Denver, Molly will be able to accompany me.
I walked Molly on back to the diner so she could check up on things, then I turned and went to see Billy Denton and getting Charlie released.  I wasn’t a real happy person so it was a good thing I was able to sit with Molly for a spell.  I may have gone in that marshal’s office spitting nails and end up as Charlie’s cellmate.
Billy was sitting there, as normal, not doing a lick of work when I entered.  “All right Billy, why are you keepin’ Charlie locked up?”
I must have shocked him some when I burst in like that for he most fell out of his chair.  Perhaps I caught him sleeping.  Looking up startled he replied, “Attempted murder!”
“There were plenty of eye witnesses that said the three other men shot first.  Charlie was just defendin’ himself.”
“Only one man, from what I know.  He’s laid up at the doc’s and swears that Charlie shot him as he stepped off the train,” said Billy bristling up.
“That’s crazy!  Again you have witnesses against that.  At least let him out, Charlie’s not goin’ to run off until he gets his name clear.  What’s his bail?”
“No bail; I don’t know who you think you are Forrest, coming in my office and ordering me around.  This was attempted murder!”
“Have you even looked for the two other men?” I asked, trying to stay calm.  “Plus you do realize that the man that Charlie shot has a poster out on him!”
That caught him by surprise.  “No, ahh, didn’t know that.”
“Have you taken security precautions down at Doc’s place?  Maybe you should go through those posters now and again.  That’s what they’re for, to make you acquainted with the lawless element that might wander into Durango.”
“Don’t you tell me how to operate my office!” he yelled.  The veins on his neck popped out and that’s not common for a young guy.  
“Well, someone needs to tell you,” I said calming down again.  “Tell you what, release Charlie into my care.”
“That’d be like throwing kerosene on a fire.  You’re worse than he is as far as I’m concerned!” he was settling down some himself.  “Now, why don’t you just get yourself out?”
Turning to leave, I stopped at the door and looked back at him.  “I’ll be back.”
I hurried on down to the judge’s office to see if I couldn’t get Charlie out.  If nothing else he should have bail.  Walking inside I saw the clerk sitting at his desk working on some papers.  “Tell the Judge that Miles Forrest would like to see him.”
“Oh, hello, Mr. Forrest.  Sorry, but the Judge hasn’t been to his office in a couple of days.”
“He sick or somethin’?” I asked.
“Well, ah, I don’t rightly know.”
“Hasn’t shown up for two days and no one’s checked on him?  What’s the matter with you?  That’s not like the Judge not to show up without giving notice.”
“I’ve been rightly busy myself!” he exclaimed and pointed to all the papers.  
“Paper!  You value your paperwork over the absence of a co-worker, and friend?”
Something wasn’t right, and I hurried even faster over to the Judge’s house.  He lived about five blocks from his office so it didn’t take long to get there.  I couldn’t detect from the outside if he was in there.  From what I could tell there were no lamps flowing.  I knocked on the front door–no answer.  When I turned the knob, it was locked.  
“Judge!  Judge Klaser!” I yelled with no answer, so I let go and kicked open the door.
Going into the room I didn’t see him.  I kept yelling out his name.  Moving through the front room, his study and the kitchen, there was no sign of him.  I climbed quickly up the stairs and into a bedroom.  On the floor, lay the Judge.  He was all tied up, and I thought he might be dead.  Kneeling I could then see there was blood around his head.  It wasn’t fresh, maybe a day old.  Feeling for a pulse I found a faint one.  As fast as I could I untied the ropes.  I was a mite fearful to move him, but I also wanted to get him off the floor and check for further injuries.
I took the chance and was able to get him up on the bed.  There was not much else I could do so I went back downstairs and outside to run to get the doc.  As I went out the door, one of the boys we used for errands, Tommy, I think was him name hollered at me.
“Mr. Forrest!  I’ve been lookin’ all over for you!  Mrs. Forrest says to come quick!”
“Now what?” I thought…

I stepped on the train as it was moving slowly up the grade. Then moving on through the door into the car I stopped to take notice of the passengers.
“Molly!” I exclaimed.
“Miles!” she said standing, leaving her seat, and coming toward me.
Holding my arms open to hold her, I asked, “What is the world are you doin’ here?”
I don’t know if it was because I was happy to see her or that I had been standing out in the cold, but a shiver went down my back. She noticed it as well. “Miles, you’re shivering. You’re cold, come sit down, I have a blanket.”
We went to her seat, but as she started to sit I just took her by the arm, along with the blanket and we went to the back of the car. “I can see everyone from here.”
“Oh, I didn’t think. I should have,” she replied.
She sat down and then I sat and she wrapped us both up in her blanket.
“Now, tell me why you’re on this train!” I ordered.
“There were no customers, so Aniha said for us to come meet the train and that she could take care of the place should anyone enter. Marta and I were with Charlie Gold when the train arrived. I waited and waited and you didn’t get off, but I just thought that you were probably back with Hawk,” she paused catching her breath.
“Three men stepped off and Charlie pushed Marta to the platform and yelled at the men. I was used to you doing that so when Marta went down I fell to the platform as well. Shooting commenced. Charlie shot one of the men and he fell. The other two men went between the cars and Charlie ran after them, but stopped at the car as a bullet grazed his arm. He was standing by the man he shot, who was not trying to raise his gun. I had pulled mine by this time and shot. I don’t know if I hit him or not, but it did get his attention and Charlie’s. Charlie whacked him over the head and took his gun.”
“Easy, easy,” I said. “You have plenty of time to tell me. After the train gets to Silverton it will take a couple of hours to get it ready for the return trip.”
“Miles, that new marshal came and arrested Charlie for attempted murder! We have to get back!”
“What? Who was the person Charlie shot?” I asked.
“You’d never believe it. It was the same person he shot in the leg during the holdup when he was hurt so bad,” she stopped and sort of giggled. “This time he shot him in the other leg.”
“Well, Charlie won’t be goin’ anyplace. They can’t have a trial before we get back. So, just relax. It’ll all work out.”
I pulled her a little closer to me. “I’m cold,” I said using it for an excuse. Truth being I was too cozy and soon fell asleep. I slept through that blasted train whistle until Molly nudged me awake when we arrived in Silverton.
“Let’s grab a bite to eat. We’ll be here awhile. I’ll need to speak to the conductor first, but I’m a mite hungry.”
I told him what had transpired over the past twenty-four hours and that I would be riding back with him. He was not to leave without me. Going back to the same restaurant where the commotion took place, was it just yesterday? I went to sit down and wouldn’t you know it, the same girl came to wait on us.
“You!”
“Just can’t stay away from this place.”

Hawk was settled in his car, and I was settled in my seat listening to the chug a-chug a-chug of the train as it moved slowly down the tracks. I miss riding the high country, but the railroad has cut the trip down to hours.
It was downright cold sitting there and moving through the shade of the darkened canyons as the rails followed the Animas River didn’t help. It almost seemed like the icy hand was reaching up from the river to enter the vitals. It was pretty though, especially with that light snowfall. I was dozing off when I saw something, well someone I recognized. My mind went back through the wanted posters I pieced through in Durango. The fellow up in front of the car seemed to fit that description and he was riding with another fellow. I decided I take a meander up the aisle.
“You got a name?” I asked as I came up next to them.
“Who’s asking?” came the curt reply.
“Deputy U.S. Marshal, Miles…”
I don’t know what I felt the most; the cold or the headache. I reached behind my head and there was no bleeding, but there was a nice knot. I was laying in the snow several feet below the tracks. I mustn’t have been there too long because I could still smell the smoke from the train. It had been cold up in that train car, but it was downright freezing now.
It was already dark in the canyon, but it would be night soon. I had to find a place to spend the night or I’d freeze to death. If I could make it through the night I knew there would be another train coming up the next day. I began to climb back to the rail bed and then walk up the line. If I remembered correctly there was a group of rocks where I could take shelter.
About a half mile up the tracks there they were; now to find enough wood to keep me through the night. With the rocks I would be sitting in a good place, for the fire would reflect off them and I would stay right warm. I began the search. Up and down I moved searching for wood of any sort. Then I spied several hunks of coal. If I could get the fire going good that coal would last a long time.
It wasn’t long before I had everything situated and reckoned there was enough fuel for me to last through a couple of days if need be. What I was really missing was a pot of coffee and something to eat. Sitting there I thought of Molly. She was used to me not showing up when I was on a trip like this, but this time I figured it would be different because Hawk was on the train and I wasn’t. That would cause her some concern.
I was plenty warm. I’ve been out many a time in the cold. This was an ideal place with the rock reflecting the heat. I’ve had times when one side of me would freeze and the other would be frying. Then I’d roll over and the same would happen; it would not be a night for peaceful slumber, but with the heat bouncing off those large rocks it was right comfortable.
Sitting there I now was sure that the man I walked with was the one on the wanted poster and the one that had shot Charlie. The other man must have been in the robbery and was the one that Charlie shot. But who hit me? I didn’t even see a third man near them. My mind was hurting from the pain but also that I couldn’t recollect seeing the third man. Maybe it was the jasper that had taken those pot-shots at me.
Slumber was starting to set in so I put a couple of good-sized logs over a bed of hot coals and in the middle I placed one of the chunks of coal. In case I fell asleep that should burn for a while. I didn’t want the fire to go out and start all over again.
Waking I felt a chill. I looked at the fire and there was a dull glow. I glanced up at the sky and it was clear; the clouds had left and the stars were brightly shining. But that also meant that the temperature was going to be dropping rapidly. I reckoned it was about two in the morning. I put on some more wood and fanned a flame into existence.
The sound startled me. I had fallen asleep again, and it was late. I heard the blast of the whistle; the train was moving up the track. The sun was shining, therefore it had to be mid-morning. Now I had to find a place where I could board the train. It would be going slow enough that it wouldn’t be a problem as long as there was room enough for me to stand and grab it as it went by.
The fire was almost out again and I kicked the few pieces burning away from each other and stomped them out. Then I moved up the rails to find a place. Just past the boulders there was plenty of room for me to step aboard. As the train approached I grabbed the bar and put my foot on the step to hoist myself aboard. I moved on the little platform and entered the door to the car, and there I saw him waiting for me…

As I opened my coat to show my badge the shot rang out.  I immediately fell to the ground, by belly trying to scrunch under the snow.  I saw the marshal fall, and the man that was standing behind him just stood there with his mouth ajar.  
“Get down, stupid!” I yelled.
I didn’t know where the man was from, but it was apparent that he had not been in the West long, and especially in these rough and tumble mining towns.
“Blast it!” the marshal exclaimed.  “Shot bloodied up my leg.”
Here we are, two lawmen, lying down in the snow at the edge of the street.  The dapper had crouched low, but would not lie down.  “Get down!” I ordered again.
He crouched a little lower.  “Don’t want to ruin this suit.”
“A bullet hole, and some blood streaming out will ruin it sure ‘nough, and maybe your life as well.”
Still he refused.  I sort of crawled around so I could get a look at where the shot came from.  There was no place to go without standing up, so the marshal and I just laid there, looking and waiting.
“How’re you doin’?”  I asked.
“Bleedin’, but not sure how bad.”
With him bleeding and not knowing how bad it was, I knew I had to get him inside so someone could check his wound. “Mister,” I said to the stooped-down man.  “Help me with the marshal.  We’ve got to get him inside.”
“But, he’s all…”
“Help me, or I’ll make sure that suit of yours gets dirty.”  
I’ll swan, I never saw the like.  What kind of folk is the world producing nowadays?
He came over and helped me pick the marshal up.  “I think I can walk, just give me someone to lean on,” said the marshal.
I was watching from where the shot had come from, but didn’t see any type of movement.  There were not even very many spectators as a shooting in Silverton was not that all uncommon.  We got the marshal into the restaurant, and found that someone had sent for a doctor.
I decided to wait until the doc arrived, but did notice there was quite a bit of blood.  Ordering a cup of coffee I sat down by the table where we laid the marshal.  “As I started to tell you Marshal, my name is Miles Forrest, Deputy United States Marshal, and also badged by the Secret Service of the United States.”  I showed him my badges.  I was just up here checking on some of the mines and the mill and their shipments.”
“The guy shooting at you?” he asked.
“Second time.  He misjudged when I opened my coat; it made me look bigger than I am,” I said pausing as my coffee had arrived and I took a sip.  “Yesterday,” and I pointed to my coat and the torn shoulder, “someone took a shot at me.”
By now the doctor had arrived and told the marshal to take off his pants.  “Can’t, hurts,” he moaned.  “Plus there’re too many people around.”
“You’re wearing longhandles,” replied the doc.
Finally, with some help the britches came off.  The doctor wiped off the blood as best he could.  “Fortunate,” said the doc.  “The bullet just put a groove right below your hipbone.  It didn’t penetrate.  As soon as I patch you up, you’ll be good to go.”
“Want some coffee?” I asked.
“I want something stronger than coffee,” the marshal said.  “By the way, I’m Callen Calhoun; folks call me CC.”
“I didn’t see anyone, but then I was laying down on my stomach.  Ifn you’re alright, I’ll be leavin’.  The train will be departin’ and I still have to get my horse to the station.”
Finishing my coffee, I started out, but stopped at the door; I ain’t nobody’s fool.  When I reckoned the coast was clear I started walking to get Hawk and load him on the train.  A good shooting; always a way to start a day, but aside from the foolishness, that was twice someone had taken a shot at me and missed.  I was sure thanking the Lord.