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   The Man From Eagle Creek
   Chapter Twenty Six
   Sheriff Red Neely sent the telegraph message to the Circuit Judge in
Topeka, requesting a hearing and a trial as soon as possible, with a brief
description of the charges.
   The next morning early Sheriff Neely got his reply.  The judge would be
here within a week with plans to stay until the trial was over.
   He directed the sheriff to make sure the four men were represented by
council beforehand.  There wasn't a lawyer in Stockton, Kansas so Sheriff
Neely sent another telegraph message down to Sheriff Wade down in Hays, for
a lawyer to be brought up to defend the four men accused of rape.
   Eighteen days from the day of the rape of the two Crawford girls, the
jury of twelve men found the four men guilty as charged and Circuit Judge
Ray Williford sentenced the four men to twenty five years in the Kansas
State prison in Leavenworth County, Kansas.
   The next week they were escorted by three State Marshals to Leavenworth
County to start serving their terms.  The one legged man was found dead the
next morning after they arrived in prison.  Three weeks later two more of
the rapists were found stabbed to death and witnesses among the inmates
swore they'd killed each other in a fight.
   The fourth man tried to attack a prison guard and escape, he was killed
by another guard.
   Sheriff Red Neely rode out to the Crawford farm himself and told Wes and
his family the news of the last rapist being killed in prison.  There was
some satisfaction in knowing that justice was carried out and that even in
prison, there is a code of ethics among the prisoners.
   The Crawford girls were married in a double ceremony five years later to
local boys and raised their families on the farm in rural Kansas.
   Will McDonnough and Mac Willamacher were still itchin about the way
they'd been put down by Tom Cooper.  They knew that one day they'd get
their chance to set him straight once and for all.
   Tom and Cal had stayed for the trial since they were the key witnesses.
When the prisoners were taken into custody by the marshals, they said their
goodbye's to Sheriff Red Neely.  They headed over to Osborne County to meet
with Sheriff Gene Williams in the town of Osborne.
   Tom and Cal were riding east to the county line between Rooks County and
Osborne County.  They were glad justice was done as promised by Sheriff
Neely and Tom himself to the Crawford family.
   "Tom, reckon what would have happened if those four were not found
guilty?" Cal asked.
   "Well Cal, you know there was a lot of folks that wanted to string them
up as it was.  I reckon those men wouldn't have lived very long if that
little fast talkin law attorney had gotten them off."
   The acres of farmland outnumbered the fenced pastures two to one along
this area.  There were a lot of smaller fenced areas, most to the south and
east corner of Osborne County.  The rains had been good to this part of
Kansas in recent months.  The grass as well as the farm crops was dark
green and growing.  They made it over to the town of Osborne in one long
day and found the small sheriff's office locked up.  They figured the
deputy or who ever was in charge was on his rounds of the small town. 
There were only a few stores and one saloon, the only stable was at the
blacksmith shop the same as it had been in Stockton.
   They did see a sign that read `Boarding House' and a smaller sign that
read `meals served'.  After they had their horses taken care of, they
walked over to the pump near the blacksmith shop and washed up as best they
could.
   "What do you say we try to get us some warm food Cal, before we turn in
for the night?"
   "Sounds good to me, for some reason I'm about starved."
   The front door to the boarding house stood open and the two men walked
in.  The furniture was old but solid, there was a worn braided rug on the
floor and painted pictures on the wall.  There was no one in the front room
and hearing pots and pans being banged, they walked over to see where the
dining room was.  The room they looked into was the kitchen where a short
bald man was at the big wood stove turning pieces of meat in a skillet,
there was one young girl washing dishes and another one loading plates with
food from the pans on the stove and on the long table in the middle of the
room.  The girl washing dishes looked up to see the two strangers standing
there and smiled as she wiped her hands on her apron and walked to them.
   "You men looking for a room or a meal, or both?"
   "Well, we're kinda hungry and could use some of that good smellin'
cooking we see there," Tom said.
   "Follow me," she said as she took them through another door into the
dining room.
   The girl was tall and slender, almost to the point of being skinny.  She
wore a long white straight dress that touched the floor with a white apron
tied at her neck and waist.  Her hair was piled up on top of her head in a
small bun.  Tom figured her to be about a year or two younger than him. 
The other girl was almost as tall and looked to be even younger.  She was
dressed the same as the one leading them to the table.  Tom glanced at the
girl as she turned to seat them, he noticed that she was nearly as flat
chested as a boy, and barely had bumps under her tight dress.
   There was one long table covered with a white table cloth.  Knives,
forks and spoons were already set at each chair.  There were already three
men and a woman seated at the table on one side near the far end of the
table.  The young girl pointed to the two chairs on the opposite side and
opposite end of the table from the others.
   "Would you like coffee with your meal?" She asked as they took off their
hats and sat down.
   "I'd like water." Tom said smiling at her.
   Cal wanted water and she left to get their food.
   The three men had looked up when Tom and Cal came in the room, but kept
eating as they watched them take a seat across and down from them.  The
woman glanced up also and then went back to talking to the man next to her.
   Soon the door opened and both girls came in the dining room with plates
loaded full of food and a glass of water each.  The second girl placed
Cal's food in front of him as he leaned back out of the way.  He could
smell her fresh smell and the smell of soap and food on her.  She sure
smelled good, he thought.  When she leaned in to place the plate in front
of him, he noticed that she wasn't near as big up top as Helga Ehrlichmann
had been.  Cal's face turned as red as a beet at that thought.
   Tom and Cal looked at their plates loaded with mashed potatoes and
gravy, fried corn, beans, and two pork chops, and a big piece of hot
cornbread.  The two girls stood looking at the two tall strangers sitting
there and all four faces turned red as they looked at each other, not
speaking.  One girl turned and pulled on the sleeve of the other girls
dress and they both hurried back into the kitchen, faces even redder now.
   "You fellers looking for work or just passin through?" The biggest of
the three men asked as he looked down the table at Tom and Cal.
   Tom turned to look at the man and both men saw the badge on the other,
for the first time as he did.
   "Well Sir, we're looking for the county sheriff, we have a message here
from Sheriff Neely over'n Rooks County," Tom said.
   "I'm Sheriff Williams, I see you fellers have badges, are you deputies
in Rooks County?"
   "Yes Sir, kinda sorta, if you've got a few minutes to spare we'd like to
visit with you after we eat."
   "Sure deputy, you fellers just go right ahead and eat and we'll meet you
over at the office when you're done."
   Tom and Cal finished their meal and both girls came back in once again
   "Would you like some apple pie?" One asked, her face red again.
   "I'm just about full up myself that was some fine food," Tom said.
   Tom looked at Cal and he was looking at the other young girl, both were
red faced as they smiled openly at each other.
   "You strangers gonna be here long?" The girl asked Tom.
   "Well, we have business with the sheriff and we'll be here until
tomorrow at least.  What time is breakfast served in the mornings, I reckon
we'll be back to eat then."
   "We start serving at five thirty, but you can come on in anytime after
five, we'll be here," She answered and both blushed again.
   "Do you girls work here all the time?"
   "Yes, that is our daddy back there and he owns this boarding house, we
help him and momma with the cooking and the cleaning of the rooms."
   "Then we'll see you again tomorrow morning I reckon."
   "Will you be staying here at the boarding house while you're here?"
   "No we'll stay at the stables, my horse gets upset when I'm not close
by."
   The girl looked disappointed at this news, but said nothing about it.
   Tom looked at Cal and he was still smiling at the girl that stood
smiling at him, both their faces were still red.  Tom reached over and
jerked his friends' shirt sleeve and nodded to the door.  Cal held out his
hand to the girl, then jerked it back.  He put his hat on then took it off
and nodded at her.  Then, nearly stumbling as he turned to leave, he took
her hand and shook it.  As they walked out the door, they heard both girls
break out into giggles.
   "Damn Tom I'm sweatin' all over, that girl was smilin at me and makin me
nervous."
   "I noticed that you were smilin back Cal, I reckon you like the way she
looks?"
   "You know Tom, I'm beginning to notice more about how girls are made. 
Helga was a pretty girl and her teats were stickin out like cannons, but
this girl is built tall and slim like I am.  I could just barely make out
that she even had teats.  I sure wish I knew more about all this boy girl
stuff, it's makin me get all itchy in my belly.  When I get close to a
girl, like just now, my peter gets all swole up so bad I'm scared they will
see my britches stickin out."
   "I know the feelin Cal, I reckon that's just something boys have to live
with when they're around women folks.  I reckon we ain't much different
from my horse when it comes to all this matin' and stuff.  I met a young
girl back up in Newton, Nebraska that I reckon one day will be my wife,
that is if she still wants me when I get back to her.
   "She is prettier than any I've seen and she makes me feel like I'm real
special.  I really like lookin at her and listenin to her talk.  When she
laughs I just want to grab her and hug her and hold her tight.  I reckon as
near as I can tell, I love her Cal."
   "Tom, do you reckon I'll ever meet some girl that I feel like that
about? I mean I like lookin at all of them and wonderin about what it would
be like to know them and set and talk a while.  I just don't know what I
would say cause I can barely breath when I'm close to a girl.  That day we
sat on the porch with Helga, no matter what I did I couldn't stop lookin at
her teats.  I know she saw me cause she would look right at me and see me
lookin."
   "Cal, you worry too much, and I don't know enough to tell you all about
it.  I did lay with a young girl for a while and we had more fun than I
ever could imagine before.  She got killed in my bed roll and I felt like I
had lost part of me it hurt so bad.  It's hard for me to tell you about
feelin's that I can't even explain to myself.  I know that I love the girl
up in Nebraska but I still liked being naked with the girl I was tellin you
about.
   "Then there was the two Sioux Indian twins up in The Dakotas that I
spent the day with on a hillside out on the prairie."
   "Damn Tom, you mean you were with two girls naked at the same time and
you were with another girl later and you got naked with her too.  I never
knew all that about you, and now you tell me that you still don't know all
bout this boy girl stuff.  Man if I'd been naked with three or four girls
I'd be knowin a lot more than I do now."
   "Like I told you Cal, once you do lay with a girl all naked and feel her
next to you, it's different than thinkin about it in your head, but that
don't make you know all about it.  It sure does make you want to know more
though and it makes you look at all women a lot different too."
   "Tom I really thank you for tellin me what you do know and I just hope
that if I ever get naked with a girl I won't be so scared I won't even know
what to do.  Did you ever feel that way Tom?"
   "Yep, I reckon that's something that all boys worry about, but somehow
it'll all work out and even though you fumble around a lot, the girl seems
to know how it all works.  She does the part she does and you do the part
you do and it feels like nothing else on earth when you get to doin it."
   "I just hope that when I do get to that part with a girl I can remember
all you told me about it.  I got so shook up back there with that girl
grinning at me like she liked me, that I felt plumb light headed."
   The two friends had made their way over to the sheriff's office as they
talked about their personal feelings and how girls made them feel when they
got close.  Tom and Cal walked in the open door of the sheriff's office and
the sheriff was at his desk waiting on them.
   "Fellers, I'm Gene Williams and I'm sheriff of Osborne County, now what
can I do for you?"
   "Tom Cooper here and this is my friend Cal Randal.  We were hired down
in Ellis County by Sheriff Wade as deputies.  We were also hired as range
riders by Gale Fortenberry, president of the cattlemens association.  We've
been riding through all the counties and came here to meet you."
   "I got the telegraph from Sheriff Bill Wade down in Ellis County.  I
don't have but one deputy here and I reckon that if the other sheriff's are
buying into what you two and Bill Wade are trying to do, I'll throw my
chips in the pile too.
   "We've had some problems here in the county, but from what I've heard,
not as much as what goes on back down south and west of here."
   Sheriff Williams wrote out a letter identifying each of them as being
legally sworn and duly authorized deputies of Osborne County.
   "That was my wife and her two brothers back there at the boarding house.
Her brothers own the largest cattle ranch in the county and all this
trouble between the cattlemen and the farmers has really been an
embarrassment to them.  The folks here in the county respect the TTT Cattle
Company as being upstanding and progressive in the future of Osborne County
as well as the State of Kansas.
   "I'll ride out with you tomorrow and introduce you to them, they can
tell you what they know of the problems.  I can tell you now that they've
fired three of their cowhands because of their attitudes against the
farming community.  I know they'll be glad to have help settling the
differences as fast as possible."
   "Sheriff Williams, we thank you for your support and we'll meet you here
in the morning.  Cal and I have had some run ins with some of the other
range riders and more'n likely we'll have more.  We have some doubts about
Will McDonnough's intentions as a member of the cattlemens association and
maybe we can find out more about him from your wife's kin."
   "I'll buy you fellers a drink if you'll join me over at the saloon, I
usually have me a nightcap on the way home."
   "Sheriff we thank you again, but we just don't have a taste for the
stuff I reckon," Tom told him.
   They shook hands with the sheriff and walked back over to the stables
for the night.  Sheriff Gene Williams didn't mention that he knew of Will
McDonnough, knew of him real well in fact.
   The next morning Tom and Cal were in the boarding house early, they saw
the two girls dressed the same as they were the day before.  This time
their hair wasn't piled up on their head, it was combed straight and hung
down their backs to their waist.  Both Cal and Tom stood wide eyed and with
mouths open as they looked at the change this made in the girls.
   They were the first customers for the day and were ushered into the
dining room to the big table.  The two young girls and the two young men
were still shy and red faced in front of the other.  The need to know more
and the need to be with young people of the opposite sex was stronger than
the shyness.  They each blushed more at their own feelings and thoughts
than anything else.
   The girls father came to look in the dining room to see where his
daughters were, he pushed the door open and stood there watching as the
four young people stood smiling at each other red faced but afraid to talk.
He shook his head, smiled and walked back to the kitchen.
   `There weren't many times that his daughters got the chance to meet
young men close to their own age, he may as well let them have their fun
and enjoy the company.' He thought as he thought of the mother of the girls
and how he had met her all those years ago.
   ------------------------------
   He knew how it felt to be shy and reserved around the opposite sex.  He
had been the same way at their age, and then he met the most beautiful
young woman he had ever laid eyes on.  He was working for his father who
owned this very boarding house and the girl was traveling west with her
parents.  They were both twenty years old at the time and her family had to
get rooms at his fathers' boarding house because of their wagon breaking
down.
   The first time they met, they were both too shy to even look the other
in the eye, their parents saw this and thought it was funny.  Then they saw
each other again, they felt the attraction and the parents saw it too.  By
the third day the young couple found excuse after reason to be together,
and after getting over the initial shyness they kissed for the first time
ever.
   That was all it took, when the family's wagon was repaired and they were
packing to leave for California, James Bowers stood before the girls
parents with quivering knees and a shaky voice as he bravely told them he
was in love with their daughter and wanted to marry her.  The girls' mother
and father looked at their daughter and she was smiling and crying, and
nodding yes at the same time.  They looked at the boys' parents and they
were also smiling approval.  They reached out to their daughter and hugged
her, then both turned to hug the young man, accepting him as their son in
law.
   The preacher was called and the wedding took place right there in the
front room of the boarding house.  The girls' parents left immediately
after wishing the young couple the best and told them they'd write back
when they reached California.
   James' father gave him the Saturday and Sunday off and told them that
the large double room on the top floor would be theirs to share.
   That was twenty two years ago.  Now he stood here smiling as he looked
at his own two daughters smiling shyly at these two young men.  His wife
was making biscuits on the long wooden table in the kitchen and he turned
to motion for her to come see.  His wife looked at him and frowned then
walked over to the door, wiping the flour and biscuit dough off her hands
with her apron.  She looked through the door and saw her daughters standing
close to the young men.  All four were red faced and confused about what to
do next.
   She turned and smiled at her husband then led him back into the kitchen.
Mildred Bowers grabbed her husband and hugged him to her, then she patted
him on the butt as she kissed him on the cheek.
   "You are going to be needed up stairs as soon as breakfast has been
served and the kitchen prepared for the next meal," She looked up at him
and batted her eyes before she went back to making her biscuits in a hurry
now.
   In the dining room things were beginning to move along smoother.
   "How long will the two of you be here," Cathy asked Tom.
   "We're going with the sheriff this morning out to the Tanner Brothers
Ranch to ask some questions about the cattlemens association, then we'll be
here at least until the end of the week."
   Cal jerked his head to look at Tom as he heard him tell Cathy this, Tom
hadn't even told him yet they'd be staying that long.  He turned back to
Callie and she was smiling up at him, her face was flushed but it was more
pink now than red.  Cal still couldn't get his throat clear so he could
speak.  He just stood there grinning at Callie as she smiled at him and
took his hand with both of hers.
   He had his hat in his other hand and it was almost in a ball as he
grabbed and clutched it to his side.  Cal felt like his knees were going to
buckle as she took his hand, his throat was really locked up and he finally
realized that he wasn't even breathing.  He took a deep breath and shaking
like a leaf in a whirlwind, he leaned over to whisper to her that he would
like to see her when they got back to town today.
   Callie smiled and squeezed his hand hard, then pulled it to her mouth to
kiss his white knuckles.
   "I was hoping you would ask to see me, I feel the same way.  I'll talk
to Cathy and we'll try to get permission from our parents."
   Cathy and Tom were both smiling at each other, then turned to look at
Cal and Callie as they stood face to face and grinned widely.  The four
young people heard the pans banging in the kitchen and all of them jumped
as if a gun had gone off.  Callie backed away from Cal and he jerked his
hat down in front of his groin to cover his swollen breeches.  His hand
wasn't as fast as Callie's eyes though and she gasped aloud as she saw what
he was trying to cover up.
   Tom and Cal sat down and both young men made a big deal of adjusting
their guns on their legs and placing their hats on their laps.  This didn't
go unnoticed by Callie and Cathy either, as they went through the big
kitchen door, they looked at each and giggled like little girls.
   "What's happened so early this morning that has my two lovely young
daughters so out of breath, giggling and red faced?" Mildred Bowers asked
her daughters with a smile.
   She had always been close with her daughters and the three of them had
shared some good laughs about the men customers that came here to eat over
the years.  Callie and Cathy burst out with another round of giggles and
their mother joined them, pulling them over to the side so they could tell
her.
   "Callie was holding the young deputy's hand and he got stiff in his
breeches," Cathy told her mother and they all three laughed so loud Tom and
Cal heard them from the dining room.
   "You girls better straighten your selves up before the breakfast bunch
comes in, you can take your two young men out exploring later today."
   Callie and Cathy both put their hands over their mouths as if surprised
at their mother.
   "Don't act so innocent, your father and I have been watching you flirt
with those two young deputy's.  If I weren't a married woman I would be
right in the middle of that tall Indians buckskin breeches myself."
   Callie and Cathy were really shocked at that confession from their
mother, but then they should have known she would speak her thoughts.
   "Does that mean we can spend some time with them this afternoon?" Cathy
asked.
   "I don't see why not, you two have been cooped up in this boarding house
and this kitchen too long now.  You know that these two are not the
settling down kind don't you?  They have that far away look in their eyes.
Yes, I know they like looking at both of you, but don't push or expect a
marriage proposal anytime soon."
   "Mother are you saying what I think you are saying?" Callie asked.
   "I am just saying that you two girls need to enjoy the company of these
young men so you'll know how to conduct yourselves later in life.  You
better take advantage of it too because you sure don't get many chances to
try the things we've talked about all these years."
   Callie and Cathy looked then at each other at their mother, they both
grabbed her in a big hug at the same time.
   "Let's get those two young studs some food before they become too weak
from all the excitement," Mildred Bowers told her two daughters.
   Sheriff Williams was waiting on Tom and Cal when they walked up the
street with their horses saddled and ready to go.
   "How far out to the Tanner spread Sheriff?" Cal asked and Tom smiled at
his question, he knew what his friend was thinking.
   "About an hour or so is all Cal, I figure we will be back before noon."
   "Tom how long did it take to train that big stud to ride without a
bridle, don't know that I've ever seen a man ride like that."
   "Well, we both just kinda got the idea about the same time I reckon, I
had trained him to guide with my knees and it just seemed natural to let
him have his head.  He seems to know when I get on him just how fast I need
to go.
   "He's sure something, that's for sure, you had him long?"
   "Yes Sir, since he hit the ground behind his momma, he and I've been
friends, and when I first put the saddle on him I let him smell the smell
of his own sire on the saddle.  He never even flinched as I saddled him and
rode him out of the barn.  I could tell he didn't like the bit in his mouth
so I asked the Sioux about that.  They showed me how to train him to ride
without the bridle and we just drifted that way."
   "Where did you and Cal meet up, you been together long?"
   "We met one day in Wichita, Cal was runnin a livery stable for his dad
that had belonged to his dad's dad, before that.  I stopped in for a day or
so and we just kinda hit it off."
   "I was askin Tom all about where he came from and where he was going,
I'd been itchin to see some more of this land and he told me to get my dad
to agree and I could ride along with him.  We been together since that day.
We weren't but three days from Wichita when Tom got us a job escortin
wagons loaded with building materials from Wichita to Pratt.
   "We rode back to Wichita and hired freighters to haul the lumber and
other materials, and headed out.  The third morning out we were hit by five
armed men, Tom killed three and I got the other two with this scatter gun
here.
   "When we got over to Dodge Tom walked right into the Sheriff's office
and turned our guns in, then asked Sheriff Charlie Bassett for a job as
deputy for both of us.  I was scared shitless but we got the job and met
the Earp brothers there and Bat Masterson too."
   "Sounds like the two of you have had a good bit of experience, was that
your first law job Tom?"
   "No Sir, I got my first law job up in Newton, Nebraska workin with
Sheriff Keyes for a week or two.  He got caught in a showdown with a man
that was gonna shoot me."
   "I think I remember hearing about that, you shot one man's hand off and
the other man lost his arm at the elbow."
   "Yes Sir."
   "There was a man passing through here back about a month or so ago and
he left us a newspaper from Kansas City at the boarding house.
   Before that paper became so ragged you couldn't hold it, it was read at
least once by every man and woman that could read.  The Bowers sisters even
used to sit and read it to the folks that couldn't read.
   "The reason I brought that up was the story about a half breed Sioux
from The Dakotas that had killed three men in a livery stable one night
after they had already pulled their guns out, that was you too wasn't it
Tom?"
   "Yes Sir, but it didn't happen the way they wrote it up."
   "There were three of them though wasn't it?"
   "Yes Sir."
   "Sheriff, I've seen Tom use that Colt out on the prairie when he would
show me how to use this one he gave me, he is faster than a man's eye with
it.
   "I have seen him draw down on a man that had already got his hand on his
shooter too, and the man never cleared leather Sheriff."
   "Tom, be careful, you'll have men looking you up once word gets out on
how good you are.  The dime novels have made many young men pick up a
shooter and want to be a gun hand.  Some are good, some are buried in a
hurry."
   "Yes Sir I know, Mr.  Cody showed me how to shoot mine, and before I met
him I had never fired this Colt."
   "You mean to tell me that Bill Cody taught you how to handle that Colt?"
   "Yes Sir he did, I rode up on him up in The Dakotas at his camp one
morning and we became acquainted.  He asked to see my Colt and asked if I
could shoot it.  I told him that I never even fired the first cartridge
from it.  He took it and shot a few rounds with it then handed it to me and
told me what he was thinking as he pulled the gun, then how it felt in his
hand, then how to make it feel like a part of me.
   "I reckon he taught me good, it just come natural to hold it in my hand.
Mr.  Cody told me to just keep practicing and I'd get better."
   "Sometimes when Cal takes some practice shots I take a few with mine
too."
   "Sheriff, I ain't just braggin cause Tom's my friend, but you oughta see
him shoot that long barreled Henry he carries too, he can shoot the eye out
of a crow flying at a hundred yards."
   "Tom, you're gonna make a name for yourself with those kind of gun
skills, I'm sure we'll all read more stories about you."
   The Sheriff and his two deputies rode three abreast along the dusty road
to the Tanner spread, talking and makin jokes as if they were old friends.
   The time must have gotten away from them, they were riding under the
overhead entrance to the ranch.  The sign read, TTT , "Tanner Cattle Co."
`Dan and Tan Tanner, Props.'
   
  
The Man From Eagle Creek - Chapter - 26