With Tioga and Smokey Fountain in jail back in Durango, Miles has traveled back to Silverton.  He is determined to bring down the crooked Marshal Johnson and his cronies.  However, Sheriff Gold was in Telluride, and Mateo had to see to duties in Durango.  Miles was alone, possibly outnumbered eight to one.  Join with me now in another thrilling tale in those exciting days of yesteryear.

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       By the time I walked the quarter mile into town, it was dark.  While sitting on the train I had pondered several plans, but tossed them all away.  Now walking in the cool night air of the high country, I tried to think of some definite plan to arrest Johnson.  If I could get him I figured the rest would fold.

       I found out that Johnson had a room above the Silver Bucket, but to get to it I had to go through the saloon, and even before that I had to make my way up the streets to get to it.  Stopping in the shadows by a hardware store before crossing Greene Street, I thought I should hide the Greener as best I could.  Pushing it up under my lightweight coat I held it by the barrel.  I wanted to be able to get it into action as quickly as possible and figured I could let it slide down my hand then bring it up.  

       When I finally was able to get it into position, I didn’t like the cumbersome way it felt.  This was Silverton afterall.  Would it be that strange for a man to walk into a saloon with a shotgun?  I made sure my badge was hidden, but wanted to be able to flash it if needed.  Staying as much as I could in the shadows I moved across Greene Street, moved up to the alley and ducked in it.  I’d make my way up the alley a couple of blocks.  

       I hadn’t gone very far, when I could hear the commotion of wickedness and revelry.  It was primarily along Blair Street, but also along some of the side streets.  It was too early to move in on Johnson so I found a darkened spot behind a building.  Moving deep into the shadows, I plunked myself down and began my wait.  I knew the dives and saloons wouldn’t start to quiet down for several hours yet, and some of them were open all night closing only for a couple of hours in the morning to clean up the joint.

       The Silver Bucket was a half block up then two blocks down on Blair Street.  I sat there thinking of the past week or so.  Of Ferguson, the store owner being killed for standing up for his rights.  Of Devlin, shot down while in my custody.  I thought of the beating my friend Morgan Appleby took and then the fight at the Wells Fargo office and the one at the house of Ron Barnes.  

       I had sent a telegram to the new U.S. Marshal in Denver, Walter Smith, telling him of my actions.  I knew what Dave Cook would do as well as Jens Blasco, but Smith was not known to me.  I hoped he would approve of my actions.

       “Yur in my spot,” came the slurred voice a man startling me.  I had dozed off, and his voice along with the reeking smell of liquor emanating from him brought me quickly to my senses.  “Yuh, need to find yur own place, theesen’s mine.”

       “Okay friend, no need to get yurself all riled up over it.  Yuh can have yur spot, if’n yuh help me up,” I replied trying to act as if I was in a stupor.

       He reached down his arm and bent over.  I grasped it and when I began to pull I realized that I was going to bring the drunk down on top of me.  Moving to the side I held his arm while struggling to get up on my own.  “Theesen my spot, jist so yuh’s know,” he muttered then slid down where I had been sitting.  

       Before I had taken two steps I could hear him snoring or snorting was more like the sound.  He was hard to see in the darkness and as I looked down, I wondered how he would survive the winter up here.  Parson Chapman had introduced me to the Reverend Sinclair who I knew fed the down-and-outs during the winter months, those who did not work for the mines or did not have the means to make it down to Durango.  I don’t know if he had a place where they could stay though.

       I shook myself to make sure I was awake and opened my coat so I would have easy access to my pistol, then moved on out of the alley.  There were a few people still on the streets with some derelicts lying by hitching rails.  I also noticed that there were two men handcuffed to the posts.  In a few minutes I found myself standing outside the Silver Bucket.  There were still several patrons at tables and along the bar.  My glance then took in a staircase to my right.  Breathing a prayer, I then pulled my hat down low and walked in moving slowly but directly toward the staircase.  I wasn’t sure of the time, so I looked around the room to hopefully find a clock.  There was one right above the entrance; twenty minutes past midnight.

       No one tried to stop me as I started up the steps, and I didn’t look around to see if anyone was even paying attention.  As I topped the stairs, I looked down a hallway with two rooms on one side, and three on the other.  I hadn’t bothered to even think that there may be more than one room.  I decided to walk down the hall and begin from there working my way back to the stairs.

       Outside the first door, I stopped, checked the Greener then pulled my pistol making sure it was loaded and ready.  I listened outside the door, then reached down to slowly try turning the knob.  Locked.  I took a deep breath and hoped I would make too much noise as I kicked the door in.  It was now, I …

Sheriff Gold and Mateo had been able to secure Tioga in the Durango jail.  He was spilling his guts telling the district attorney and Judge Klaser all about what Marshal Johnson was doing in Silverton.  Miles had been able to arrest Smokey Fountain, one of Johnson’s deputies and the man who killed Miles’ prisoner.  He was sitting in the Durango jail as well, barely hanging on to life because of the wound in his leg.  He had lost a lot of blood and infection had set in.  Come back with me to yesteryear and another thrilling Saga of Miles Forrest.

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       “I don’t know Miles, if that prisoner of yours is going to make it,” remarked Doc Jones, while sipping at his coffee in the diner.  “I just can’t seem to get rid of the infection or bring down his fever.  If I could have gotten to him sooner, well, then there might be a chance.”  He set his cup on the table and began to rub his chin.

       “It couldn’t be helped.  I had to keep him in the baggage room of the station, and then the train ride back to Durango.  It was probably twelve, maybe thirteen hours before I could get him to you,” I replied.

       It was then I glanced at Molly and received one of her “looks.”  The kind that meant “you were dumb to do what you did,” kind of look.  “Miles, why did you even try to go back up to Blair Street?”

       I chuckled, along with Charlie, while Doc just wiped his hand over his mouth.  “Well, I thought I might send Marshal Johnson a little message.”

       “You really did that?” piped up Doc.  “Handcuffed three of his deputies to awning posts?”

       “Yeah, I did.  I would have tried to do a couple more, but didn’t want to push my luck.  The saloons were starting to empty out, and I didn’t want to get caught.”

       Charlie was shaking his head.  “I would imagine that Johnson was fit to be tied when he found those deputies.”  He looked up at the clock on the wall.  “Sorry, I’ve got to be going if I want to be in Telluride by tomorrow night.  We’ll take care of them when I get back.”  He took one more swig of his coffee, then headed over to give Marta a hug and kiss goodbye.

       “You’re not waiting; you’re going back up there?” stated Molly and it wasn’t a question.  She knew me well enough.

       “Miles, you ought to wait, or at least take Mateo with you,” squaked Doc.  “How many men does he have now?”

       I pulled on the edge of my moustache, then tasted my coffee which had lost its heat.  “He started with around a dozen,” I said, counting the men that I knew were no longer with him.  “He’s short five.  I should be all right.”

       Molly had gotten up to retrieve the coffeepot from the stove.  “I should clobber you alongside the head but you probably wouldn’t feel a thing,” she muttered as she filled my cup instead of conking me with the pot.

       “She’s right, it don’t make sense you going back up there alone,” declared Doc, who put his hand over his cup so Molly wouldn’t refill it.

       I tasted the hot coffee, much better.  “No, right now is the time.  They’re edgy and I don’t want them gettin’ set.  I’ll be careful, you know I always am.”

       “Oh, excuse me!” Molly had snorted at my remark as she was taking a drink and spurted coffee on her hand with some dripping off her chin.  It brought a big grin to my face, but then I received that “look” again, this time in the form of a scowl.

       “They won’t be expectin’ me back so soon, and without help.  This way I can get into town without bein’ seen.  It’ll be dark before the train arrives and I’ll slide off as it slows down upon entering town.”

       At that moment in through the door walked Rev. Chapman.  “I just spoke to the Sheriff.  I hear you’re going out to do the Lord’s work,” he remarked then pulled out a chair.  Molly immediately got up to pour him a cup of coffee to which he nodded a thank you.

       “I don’t know about the Lord’s work,” huffed Doc.  “Maybe a fool’s work.”

       The preacher put his hand on Doc’s arm.  “Surely he is.  Someone has to ensure justice.  Just like you Doc Jones, someone has to mend up the bones and sew up the wounds.”

       “Just like Parker has to bury the dead,” scoffed Doc.

       “The dead can bury the dead,” said the preacher.  “That’s when my job comes into play, to comfort the broken-hearted.”

       “Can’t you talk sense to him, Dale?” asked Doc.

       A large smile appeared on the preacher’s face.  “You think I could change his mind only knowing him a short time while the two of you know him inside and out.  No, no my friends, we’ll pray and send him on his way in the hands of the Lord.”

       A few hours later I was getting off the train as it slowed moving into Silverton.  I’d walk the last half-mile into town and by that time it would be good and dark.  “Time for…”

Sheriff Charlie Gold and Mateo Ramirez left Silverton with their prisoner Thurman “Tioga” Cavendish leaving Miles in Silverton.  The marshal of Silverton had been running a protection racket, and the first person that Miles had arrested had been shot down by a rifleman on a rooftop which Tioga proclaimed was Smokey Fountain.  Miles had hidden himself in the file room of the Wells Fargo office and his plan was to confront and arrest Fountain, and possibly Marshal Johnson.  Miles remembered that the Man at his campfire said He was going to stir things up in Silverton.  Come, join with me, as we go back to those thrilling days of yesteryear and the Saga of Miles Forrest.

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       I must have dozed again while sitting in a chair with my feet propped up.  The darkness of the night had settled in, and I searched for the clock in the office.  The time was ten minutes ’til midnight.  It was time for me to be moving out into the town.  

       In the darkness I checked the Greener to make sure it was loaded, then felt for extra shells in my vest pocket of which there were six.  My hand then pulled my pistol and I checked the loads in it.  I hoped to pull this off without gunplay and bloodshed, but I wasn’t going among the Philistines unprepared.  “Lord,” I prayed, “You’ve got to give me discernment and courage.  Guide my steps, and if I have to shoot, may my aim be true.”  I picked up my jacket, then placed it on the table.  It would be cool outside, but I didn’t want to be hampered in my movements.

       My plan was to walk back toward the station a half block then move up the darken street toward the top of Blair Street then work my way down.  I had one major problem, I didn’t know what Smokey Fountain looked like.  I doubted that Johnson would be on the street this late at night; he would let his deputies take care of the work.  But again, with the commotion we caused earlier in the day he might be roaming around.

       I had just turned the corner when I heard shots back west of the office.  In Silverton that didn’t mean much, but it usually came from Blair Street or the surrounding streets.  Suddenly, I knew what the shots were.  Johnson was attacking either Appleby or Barnes’ homes.  I rushed toward the sound of the firing, not caring if I was seen or not.  I had to get there in time to help these two loyal men.

       They lived only a block apart, so I headed to Barnes’ which was the closest.  I saw movement in the darkness, then a crash as his door was kicked open.  I expected to see a flash from the gun of Barnes, but nothing happened.  I moved closer, there were three men standing at the doorway.  I figured there was a man posted out back in case Barnes decided to run that way.

       There was some hesitation with the men, and I didn’t blame them.  Shots had been fired, they were entering a darkened house and who knows what could be awaiting them.  I saw one start to cross the threshold; I decided it was time to make myself known.

       “Throw up your hands!  You’re under arrest!” I hollered.  

       I heard a curse, then one turned trying to locate me in the shadows.  “I’m Deputy Mercer with Deputies Fountain and Black.  Stay away, this is official business!”

       “This is official business too,” I returned, drawing my pistol and firing at the door frame.

       Mercer dropped to a knee, while the other deputy pushed inside with the man who had already entered.  “This is Deputy U.S. Marshal Miles Forrest, throw down your weapons!”

       There was another oath, a shot fired out where they thought I may be, then I heard a shot from inside.  Barnes!  Another shot, I hollered again, “Throw down your weapons and come out!”

       They rushed out, firing as they came, one deputy dragging his leg.  The Lord had led Fountain to me, now He needed to help me keep him alive.  I only knew where Mercer was.  They were shooting trying to make their escape.  I took a kneeling position and fired low, at their legs.  They were hard to see in the darkness; if they would have kept still they probably would have gotten away.  I hit one of them, then my bullet thudded in one of the others and I heard a deep groan.  They were hurt, but not out of the play.  As far as I know Mercer was the only one unscathed, and I couldn’t locate him.

       “Last chance, throw down your guns and raise your hands!”

       I heard two guns land on the ground.  Either one was hurt too severely or was keeping his gun.  “Stand up and move toward me,” I yelled.  

       One man moved in my direction, limping badly.  “Black is down, he can’t move,” the man uttered.

       “Are you Fountain?”

       “Deputy Fountain, to you,” came his blunt reply.

       “Well, Deputy Fountain, you’re under arrest for the murder of Tom Devlin!”  

       I didn’t want to say more as I kept my ears alert for any sound.  Mercer was still unaccounted for.  After a few minutes, I moved to handcuff Fountain when there was a shot off to my left and a cry.  “Don’t shoot Miles, it’s Barnes.  I just took care of Mercer.”

       “Go get a lamp, I want to check out their wounds,” I said, stepping forward.  I could see that Fountain was bleeding from a wound above his right knee.  There was a form on the ground.  When Barnes brought out the lamp I knelt to see that Black had bled out from where my bullet took him just below the breastbone.  

       I would deal with Johnson another time.  At least I had Fountain, now to get him to Durango…

Silverton Marshal Todd Johnson and his deputies were faced down by Miles, Charlie, and Mateo with the help of Wells Fargo agents Appleby and Barnes.  Tioga, at least for the time being, was still under the custody of Sheriff Johnson.  When Johnson and his men left the Wells Fargo office, Miles found out that the train would be leaving for Durango in thirty minutes.  Nothing hindering, they still had time to make it to the train.  Let’s continue with this exciting tale from yesteryear.

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       I went out to uncuff Tioga from the post, and while doing so I questioned him, “Think your boss will have you shot down like he did Devlin?”

       I didn’t doubt that Tioga was a tough guy on his own right, but he knew what kind of man Marshal Johnson was.  “You’ve got to get me out of here!” cried Tioga.  “He’ll kill me!”

       Smiling, I took the cuffs off one hand then pulled him to his feet.  I led him to the hitching rail that was three feet off the boardwalk into the street, pulling him by the handcuffs.  “Maybe I should give whoever shot Devlin an easier target.  Sure is an easy way to get a prisoner off my hands.”

       “No!  You can’t do that!  You can’t let them shoot me down in cold blood, without even a way to defend myself,” he shrieked.  “It’s against the law; I know my rights.”

       “I don’t know of any law that says I can’t handcuff a prisoner to a hitching rail.  In fact, from what I hear that’s the common practice in this town,” I responded then pushed him against the rail.

       “You can’t!” he pleaded.  

       Jerking his arm up by the cuff I pulled him toward me.  “Who shot Devlin?”  He wouldn’t answer.  “If I recall right you were in the street with Johnson and some others.  That makes you an accomplice to murder.”  I pushed him back against the rail and started to wrap the chains around it.

       “Fountain!” came the scared voice.  “It was Smokey Fountain that shot Devlin.  Marshal Johnson ordered it done.”

       I smiled, then pulled him with me toward the Wells Fargo office.  Upon entering I saw that Charlie and Mateo had their things together and were ready to go.  “Take him to the train.  When you get to Durango, get with the district attorney and see if they can get some kind of deal made for state’s evidence.  I’m goin’ to hang around here and find a man by the name of Smokey Fountain.”

       Charlie took the cuffs, then Mateo came to my side.  “Do you think that wise, you stickin’ ’round?”

       “If you guys hurry and get on that train, they’ll think I’m with you.  Johnson wouldn’t think that I’d stick around with such a prize witness.  Now you get goin’.  Tell Molly I’ll be down tomorrow, the next day at the latest.  Now don’t argue, get!”

       They went out and hurried down the street toward the station.  I watched them through the broken window of the office, then heard the sound of the train whistle letting passengers know that it was time to leave.

       Turning to Morgan and Ron, I said, “I’m goin’ to hide out in that file room.  If Courtney shows up don’t let him know I’m still in town.  It’s not that I don’t trust him, but with him leavin’ I have doubts as to his courage.”  I glanced toward the window.  “You better start gettin’ that cleaned and boarded up.  I’ll leave sometime around midnight.”

       I went into the file room and sat down on the floor.  At least it wasn’t totally dark in there as it was still daylight.  It pleased me when I heard Morgan locked the door and then slide the key under it.  I leaned back against the wall with a cabinet to my left.

       “Lord, I’m sure goin’ to need Your help tonight.  Mostly from doin’ some fool stunt and gettin’ myself killed.  Molly wouldn’t like that much.  Plus I’d miss her makin’ those wonderful pies.  So, I’m countin’ on You,” I prayed, the chuckled to myself.  Yep, He said He was goin’ to stir things up.

       I hated to put Morgan in this situation, but I know he recognized the risk.  I knew that Jakub Brewlinski would hide me out, but I didn’t want to move to his place in the daylight plus the fact that there were many men up there that might see me.  No this was best, best as I could think of.

       There was a knock on the door that suddenly awakened me.  I hadn’t realized that I had fallen asleep.  “Miles, it’s seven o’clock.  Barnes and Courtney have already left, and I’m closing up.  I checked the schedule, the train leaves at nine in the morning.  There’s some old coffee on the stove, it might still be warm.”

       After that there was silence except for Morgan’s footsteps sounding on the wooden floor.  I waited for about thirty minutes then unlocked the door.  It was getting too dark in that room, and I reckoned I would be safe in the darkness of the office.  I went to the stove, touched the side of the coffeepot and found it still warm.  It wasn’t much, but I drank it from the pot.  Warm, bitter, and a bit scorched, but it made me feel better.

       Setting the pot back on the stove, I took a chair and went to the darkest corner.  I’d bide the next few hours there, waiting..