In the last episode, the outlaw Fred Dover had passed out and was being carried to the doctor’s office having just come through an appendectomy. Clem Donor was in jail, while his brother, Lige, was still on the loose. Let’s go back to those exciting days of yesteryear and see the continuing saga of Miles Forrest.
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“There’s a little community, ’bout ten miles west of here. I don’t recall the name, but north, on the creek right at a mile we came across an abandoned cabin. We stayed there for a couple of nights. That’s the last place we were before coming here,” Clem paused, scratching at his cheek. “He might have gone there.”
I stood up to leave, when Charlie hollered, “Where are you going?”
Stopping, I turned to face him. He had left the cell and was standing in the doorway. “Miles, that’s my job. I’m the sheriff,” he said curtly. I was sort of stunned by his brashness, but I gave a slight shrug of the shoulders then moved out of the way as Charlie passed. He knew the country as well as anybody, and would easily find the cabin if it was indeed where Clem Donor had said.
When Charlie went out the door, I went back to the cell. Peering down at Donor, who was sitting on the edge of the cot, I asked, “Do you think your brother will try and break you out?”
“Marshal, I don’t rightly know. Lige has always been impetuous, just like when he got shot in the eatery. He might stay and think things through. He might try and check on Fred, or he might take a notion to break me out.”
“He’s your brother, what do you think?” I questioned with a little more force.
“Will the sheriff kill him?” came the meek inquiry from Donor.
I stared intently at Donor. “That all depends on your brother. Now answer my question.”
“If anything, he’ll come to get me,” replied Donor then with pleading in his eyes, “Don’t kill him, please I’m beggin’ you.”
“Donor, he may bring it on himself, but I won’t purposely try to kill him. That’s all I can promise.”
I turned to walk out nodding with my head that Lucas should follow. “Lucas, you heard me in there. I can’t ask you to not do your duty. If there is an attempted jailbreak you do what is needed,” I admonished him, then smiled. “I know you can handle this. Now, you go down and get something to eat and I’ll stay here. After that we formulate some kind of plan.”
Lucas didn’t say anything heading for the door. “If’n you see Mateo, send him by here.”
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Sheriff Gold stopped by the diner to tell Marta where he was going. While they were talking, Molly went to fix him a poke of food to carry along. “I should be back in a day, no later than two. If the kid isn’t at the cabin, I’ll head on back,” he said, then gave Marta a kiss and went out.
There was a good chance that Lige Donor was holed up in a cabin north of Hesperus. The are was more of a farming region, as the gold was higher up in the mountains. The community here was small and mostly Mexican with some Indians living nearby. Mancos was further up the road, a day’s ride, but most likely the kid was somewhere around Hesperus.
The road was good to Hesperus as it was well traveled, but the road to the north at the turnoff was not as well traveled. It was easily passable, but it was not as worn from the travel as the main road. Sheriff Gold slowed his pony to a walk after taking the road. There were few cabins dispersed, but he decided to go on up the creek a mile like Clem Donor had said. He allowed his horse to walk at a slow gait, as he moved his rifle from the scabbard holding it ready.
A mile up the road, there was a cabin snuggled in with some aspens. A small stream moved behind the cabin that downstream moved into the larger creek. Gold sat his horse looking the situation over. There wasn’t a horse in front of the cabin, but that didn’t mean there couldn’t be one behind. Someone was there, as he could see smoke rising from the chimney. That didn’t mean that it was Lige Donor, but on the other hand, he needed to be ready.
He was just getting ready to nudge his horse, when the door opened and ….