4 P. M, on the north side of River Bend…
It took Allie and me a little longer to get to River Bend than we thought it would. The weather was bad, so that made downhill trekking a little more treacherous. There were a couple of places where we stopped and walked our horses, just to make sure of the footing. But we made it, and I was happy to see the town again. I confess my heart was thumping a little bit in anticipation of seeing Kelly. Does she want to see me? Has she found somebody else? Conners, are you as big of an idiot as you think you are…I hoped the answer to the first question was “yes,” and the answer to the last two questions was “no.” But, that was why I came back.
Allie spoke first. “I want to find the telegraph office and send a wire to Ranger HQ as soon as I can.”
“Ok. It’s on the other side of town.”
Because of the weather, there weren’t too many people out and most of them had their heads buried in their coats. I could see some activity in some of the shops; it was hazy and damp outside, but there was still plenty of light.
We were about a quarter mile into town, when one man did see me, and he stopped and stared. “Rob Conners!” he said, and a couple of people close to him looked up.
I smiled. It was always nice to pleasantly surprise people. At least, I hoped the surprise was pleasant. “Howdy,” I responded. I didn’t know the fellow.
He came running over to me. “We all thought you were dead. Did you change your name to Jesus?”
I laughed. “No, I don’t know who that fellow was that you buried, but it wasn’t me.”
“Well, land o’ Goshen, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” He looked at Allie. “You’re that Ranger lady, ain’tche?”
Allie smiled, too. “Yes, I am.”
“Well, you two showed up in the nick o’ time. Trent Tolliver holdin’ some children hostage at Mrs. Whitby’s school. He’s insistin’ that Kelly Atkins and Kelly Kramer be there by 6, or he’s gonna start killin’ the children. You two gotta do somethin’.”
My blood turned to ice. I looked at Allie and her face was grave. “Have either Kellys showed up at the school yet?” I asked.
“I don’t know, I haven’t heard. The marshal, mayor, and a few others are there.”
I knew all I needed to know. Except for one thing. “Where’s the school?”
“South edge o’ town.”
“Thanks.” And I started Ol’ Paint off at a canter. I didn’t wait for Allie.
But she caught up with me. “Rob, hold it a minute.”
I stopped Ol’ Paint and looked at her. “Would it surprise you if I told you that I’m in a bit of a hurry to get to that school?”
She smiled. “I know you are, but let’s think it through a minute. You don’t want go busting into that building with your gun blazing. Do you have any idea what you are going to do when you get there?”
Allie was right, but I wasn’t going to sit my horse for long. I nodded. “I’ll talk to Ben, see what’s going on.” I gave her a wry smile. “Is that good enough?”
She smiled back. “Yeah, that’s good enough. I’ll stay, too. The telegraph can wait. I owe Tolliver, maybe more than you do.”
“I can understand that, and I appreciate your help. I’m sure everybody will be glad to see the best Ranger in the territory.”
Allie snorted. “Well, I hope Trent Tolliver is happy to see me, too.”
“I doubt that he will be. Let’s go.”
We rode up to the abandoned barber shop a few minutes later. There were some horses hitched to rails on both sides of the street. I could see lights and a few people mingling around. “I’ll bet Ben will be really happy to see you,” Allie said.
“And you, too. Remember he probably thinks you’re dead as well.”
We walked into the building and, again, I got some stares. Ben was standing at the back of the room, talking to someone. He looked over and saw me and Allie. I could see…relief?...joy?...something like that in his eyes as he walked over, but his face looked severe.
“It’s about time you got here,” he said to me.
I was amused. “You were expecting me?”
“Of course, I was. I knew Tolliver couldn’t kill you.”
I was curious. “But how did you know that man that was dragged in here wasn’t me?”
“He had his gun on his left hip. You’re right handed.” And with that, he smiled big and we hugged each other. “I’ve never been so happy to see anybody in my life,” he said. And if I didn’t know better, I would have sworn I saw a tear in the big Negro’s eyes.
“And you’re the Marshal here now,” I said. “They couldn’t have hired a better man.”
“I don’t know about that,” Ben replied. “This one is over my head.” He looked at Allie, who had graciously stood by and let Ben and I renew our acquaintance. “McConnell will be very happy to know you are alive, young lady. He was seriously afraid that Tolliver had gotten you, too.”
“He almost did,” Allie responded. “But, you-know-who showed up at just the right time and hauled my carcass out of hell.” She looked at me to indicate who the “you-know-who” was.
Ben grunted. “Why am I not surprised?”
A few other people came over and shook my hand, expressing their surprise, yet satisfaction, that I was still in the land of the living. I appreciated that, but there were matters pressing that I needed to know about.
“What’s the story here, Ben? Has he got either Kelly, yet?”
Ben sighed. “Yeah. Kelly Atkins showed up about an hour ago and traded herself for three of the children.”
My stomach twisted into a knot. “Did he…is she…?”
“He hasn’t killed her, at least that we know of. We’ve heard no gunfire. I’m…almost…sure he’s going to use her, and Kelly Kramer if/when she shows up, as hostages to get out of town. He has to take somebody. We wouldn’t let him out of here alive otherwise. I made that clear to him.”
I nodded, mollified a little bit, but still in great angst. “How long has he been here?”
“Since about noon. He was holding five kids and the teacher. Kelly talked him out of three of the children.”
That sounded like Kelly. She’d sacrifice herself for those children. “Have you come up with any kind of plan of action?”
Ben slowly shook his head. “We’ve been talking about it, but haven’t come up with anything yet. I had Turley check, and Tolliver has a man in the woods to the south, watching the horses, a man behind the building, and another guarding the door at the back. It’s at the northeast corner of the building.”
“Is that the only other way in, besides the front door and windows?”
“Yes,” Ben said.
“Actually, it’s not.” Mayor Dodd had been standing by, listening, and now spoke. “I just remembered. There’s a door in the floor of the storeroom.” He shrugged. “Maybe somebody could sneak in that way.”
I said to Ben, “Let’s kick that around a bit.”
He nodded. “But Tolliver has somebody at the windows on that side of the building, so it won’t be easy.”
“Do you know, exactly, in the room, where Kelly and the children are?”
“No.”
“How many men does he have?”
“He said six, but we’ve only seen five.”
I looked at Allie. Her mind was obviously in gear as well.
Then I asked, “Where’s Kelly Kramer?”
“We can’t find her,” Ben said. “She went out to visit a friend yesterday and hasn’t returned yet. We don’t who her friends are, so we don’t know where she is.”
“I know where she is.” That was Allie.
We looked at her. “Where?” Ben asked.
And the Lady Ranger just smiled…