The Proper Thing To Do

Elizabeth went back the hotel at five that night, but she told the hotel clerk she wasn't feeling well and so wouldn't join Mayor Ellington for dinner. In truth, she'd had a small meal before she left Pastor Branson, a meal in which Samuel joined them.

She found it difficult to fall asleep because she was both excited and somewhat in dread about what would happen tomorrow. Instead of thinking about that, she turned her attention to Samuel because he was a man such as she'd never met before.

On the outside, Samuel looked like many of the rugged cowboys who she's seen in town before. He wore heavy pants, a heavy shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and open at the neck. He wore heavy boots on his feet and a tan, sweat stained hat on his head that looked like it had been walked on as much as worn on his head.

That alone would have made Samuel look rough. The Colt revolver in the holster belted on his hip and his chiseled, sunburned face completed the picture of a man better left alone than challenged. That impression was reinforced when she heard him arguing with Mayor Ellington in the dining room that morning.

Yet, when meeting Pastor Branson, Samuel had been a perfect gentleman, and when they sat down to eat, he'd smiled and told Mary if she ever wanted a job as a cook to come see him. Mary had looked embarrassed, but Elizabeth knew she appreciated the compliment.

It was also obvious to Elizabeth that Samuel was an intelligent and educated man. The proposal he made to Pastor Branson was both simple and sly.

Elizabeth smiled when she remembered what Samuel had said just before he got on his horse to ride back to his ranch.

He'd tipped his hat and smiled.

"Ma'am, if you ever want to see a real ranch, the invitation to come to the Rocking H is always open."

Three events took place on Monday that churned the town of Leland until all the past worry and hate boiled to the surface.

The first event was when Pastor Branson and Samuel went to the bank just as it opened. They were inside for only about fifteen minutes. Then Samuel got on his horse and rode out of town. Pastor Branson walked back toward the church.

Elizabeth had not gone down to the dining room for breakfast. Instead she watched out her window until she saw Pastor Branson walking towards the hotel. She had already packed all her things in her traveling bag, so she picked it up and walked to the desk. As she handed the clerk her key she said, "Please tell Mayor Ellington I have made other living arrangements". Then she met Pastor Branson and they walked to the church parsonage where Mary had prepared a room for her.

Nothing else happened until Mayor Ellington went to the dining room for breakfast at his usual nine o'clock. When he didn't see Elizabeth there, he walked back to the desk clerk and asked him if Elizabeth was still ill. The desk clerk shook his head.

"No Sir, Mayor Ellington. She gave me her key about half an hour ago and asked me to tell you she'd found another place to live."

"Where?"

The clerk shrugged.

"She didn't say, Sir, but if I had to guess, I would guess down at the church. I saw her walking that way with Parson Branson."

The clerk could see Mayor Ellington's face turning red in rage. His voice was almost a scream.

"Nobody walks away from me like that, nobody, and nobody helps anybody who tries without suffering the consequences. She'll see, you'll all see. Only one person runs this town, me, Mayor Winfred Ellington."

With that, he stomped out of the lobby and slammed the door behind him.

Samuel was watching two of his Mexican vaqueros breaking in a three-year-old gelding when another older vaquero pointed at the road that led to the house and barns.

"Senòr Horn, a rider comes fast. We stop him?"

Samuel squinted his eyes to see the man better and then shook his head.

"No, Juan. I recognize the horse I sold three years ago to the man who runs the general store. We'll see what he wants."

The man was only feet away from Samuel when he pulled the blowing horse to a stop, leapt from the saddle, and ran up to Samuel.

"Mister Horn...Ellington...the Pastor...the schoolteacher..."

Samuel said in a quiet, but commanding voice, "Jackson, slow down until you can breathe again."

Jackson waited a little, but he was too excited to wait for long.

"Mister Horn, the new schoolteacher left the hotel this morning and told the hotel clerk she was going to live at the parsonage. When Mayor Ellington found out, he got Marshall Avery and went and arrested Pastor Branson and his wife and put them in the jail. Then he got the new schoolteacher and took her back to the hotel. The hotel clerk told me he has her locked in his room. He said I should tell you so here I am telling you."

Samuel frowned.

"Did he say why Marshal Avery arrested Pastor Branson and Mary?"

Jackson shook his head.

"No, but I heard that Mayor Ellington said he was going to turn the church into a house for himself since he owned it now."

Samuel frowned again. He'd expected Ellington to try something. He just hadn't expected him to go this far this fast. He turned to Juan.

"Juan, how many men can you round up in the next half hour?"

Juan counted on his fingers, then smiled.

"At least twenty, maybe more."

"Well, get as many as you can, get them armed with Winchesters and on horses. We're going to settle this with Ellington once and for all."

Two hours later, Samuel rode at the head of a group of twenty-six men on horseback. Some wore the traditional dress of the Mexican vaquero. The rest were dressed like Samuel in heavy pants, heavy shirts, boots and hats. All carried a Winchester rifle cradled in their arms and wore a revolver in a holster on their hip.

The first stop Samuel made was at the Marshall's office. He didn't bother to knock. He just drew his Colt revolver and swung the door open. When Marshall Avery made a move toward his side, Samuel cocked the hammer on the Colt.

"Avery, I'd think twice about that if I were you. If you draw that pistol I'll shoot you where you stand. I'm gonna give you another option and I'm only gonna say this once. Get on your horse and ride out of Leland and don't stop until you get to Arkansas. Either way there won't be any lawman interfering in what has to be done so I don't give a damn what you decide. You decide and decide now."

Marshall Avery frowned. "You won't get away with this Horn. I can have ten men here in an hour."

Samuel nodded.

"Yep, the same ten men you've been sending out to raid the farms next to my property. You think your ten men could stand up to my twenty-six men with Winchester rifles? Go get 'em and we'll find out. Of course, you'll be the first to die. I'll see to that myself. Now, that badge, gunbelt, and revolver belong to the town. Lay them down on the desk and get the hell out of Leland."

Samuel turned to Juan then.

"Juan, send a couple men to follow Avery. If he turns back..."

Juan grinned.

"If he turns back, I think a rattlesnake will bite him. He won't make it back to Leland. He'll be food for the buzzards and coyotes."

Samuel turned back to Marshall Avery.

"Well, Avery, you gonna draw that pistol so I can shoot you dead or are you gonna do what I said?"

As Avery rode out of town followed by two cowboys, Samuel took the keys and unlocked the jail cell holding Pastor Branson and Mary.

"Pastor, did Avery say why he was arresting you?"

Pastor Branson nodded.

"When he found out that we paid off the loan at the bank this morning, he said I'd violated the terms of the contract I'd signed when I got the loan. He said because you gave me the money and the contract said the person taking out the load had to pay it back, I was guilty of fraud and because Mary didn't stop me, she was guilty too. He said no matter how the trial turned out, he now owned the church and the parsonage."

Samuel chuckled.

"We'll see what he has to say when I read him what his contract really says. What about Elizabeth?"

Pastor Branson frowned.

"Marshall Avery just said she couldn't leave the hotel because she and Mayor Ellington had entered into a contract where he agreed to pay her expenses and he wasn't going to pay the church to give her room and board."

Samuel turned to Juan.

"Juan, send ten men to watch the hotel. I don't want Ellington to run and hide and I don't want him shot if he tries. I just want them to hold him until I get there."

Samuel then turned back to Pastor Branson.

"Pastor, take your wife home. You don't need to be a part of this. I'll take care of Ellington myself like I should have done when he started taking over the town."

Pastor Branson shook his head.

"Samuel, I'm already a part of this. I can't hurt or kill anybody, but isn't there something else I can do to help?"

Samuel nodded.

"Yes there is. On your way home, go to every place in town and tell the people that Mayor Ellington is leaving and they need to decide if they want to stay and be a part of Leland or if they want to leave with him."

Samuel then turned back to Juan.

"Let's go find Ellington. He'll be in the hotel with Elizabeth. That's the only place he has left to hide."

When Samuel and Juan walked into the hotel lobby, the desk clerk blanched white as a sheet. Samuel said, "Where's Ellington and Elizabeth?"

The clerk whispered, "Down the hall, Room 100" and then ducked down behind the counter.

Samuel and Juan stopped at the door with the number 100 on it and drew their revolvers from the holsters. Samuel turned to Juan and said, "You ready?"

When Juan nodded, Samuel raised his right foot and slammed it with all his strength in the area of the doorknob and lock. There was the loud crack of splintering wood as the door was flung into the room. A second later Samuel stepped inside followed by Juan.

Mayor Ellington was standing behind a desk with his left arm around Elizabeth's neck. In his right hand was a cocked revolver pointed at Elizabeth's temple. He sneered at Samuel.

"Samuel, if you try anything, Leland's going to lose a school teacher. Now, turn around and go back to your ranch and stay there. If you come to Leland ever again, I'll have Marshall Avery arrest you for trespassing."

Samuel chuckled.

"That's gonna be hard to do since Avery decided quitting the Marshal's job was better than being shot. He's on his way to Arkansas right now followed by two of my men who'll make sure he doesn't come back."

Samuel saw the flicker of fear Ellington's eyes, the same fear he'd seen hundreds of times during the war. That fear passed and was replaced by hatred.

"I'll have my men hunt you down and kill you and then I'll take your ranch for myself. There will be nobody to stop me."

Samuel's smile changed to a grim look of determination.

"No you won't. Those men were Avery's men and since he's gone they won't get paid. I expect they've already heard and they've pulled up stakes and headed out. Besides, I have ten men watching the hotel and another fifteen waiting outside.

"The first thing you're going to do is put down that revolver and let Elizabeth go. The second thing you're going to do is write one of those contracts you like to use when you take the land other people have worked hard to farm. This contract is going to say that you're leaving Leland and give up all your rights to everything you own here. Ownership of your assets will pass to the town of Leland and a new town council led by Pastor Branson will decide who gets what. They'll decide that after all your paid crooked friends have left town.

Ellington snapped back.

"I haven't done anything that wasn't spelled out in the loan contracts. It's not my fault you people are too stupid and uneducated to read."

Samuel smiled.

"Well, I can read and I don't need to be a lawyer to know why you wrote them like you did. You thought you'd tied everything up with a nice little bow that would guarantee you'd end up with all the property in town and around my ranch. Once you had that property, you'd have cut off my water. I figure you'd offer me a penny on the dollar for my ranch. Probably would have worked out that way except Pastor Branson showed me the contract he signed.

"Funny how you wrote the contract for the loan to the church. You didn't say how that loan had to be paid off. All it said was if the person getting the loan didn't pay on time, the property was yours. Well, this morning, Pastor Branson and I went to the bank to find out what the church still owes on the loan. Your clerk said it was three hundred and twenty six dollars and nineteen cents.

"I gave Pastor Branson three hundred and twenty six dollars and nineteen cents and he gave it to your clerk. Your bank clerk said he didn't think the church could pay off the loan all at once. I asked him to show me where it said that. He read the contract through twice before he said he couldn't find anything there like that. As of this morning, the bank has no claim to the church and Pastor Branson and I have a contract that says the church will pay me back if and when and as much as they can afford to pay.

"Now, you put down that revolver, let Elizabeth go, and start writing what I tell you to write."

Ellington sneered again.

"I suppose if I refuse, you'll just shoot me."

Samuel smiled again but his voice was calm and firm.

"If I have to."

Ellington frowned.

"I guess you've given me no choice."

He put the revolver on the desk and then released Elizabeth. Samuel told Juan to go make sure she was all right, then turned back to Ellington.

"Now, get some paper and a pen and start writing."

Ellington smiled.

"I happen to have some contract forms in my desk. I'll use one of those."

He slowly pulled open the middle drawer and then reached down. Samuel had glanced over at Juan and Elizabeth and didn't see Ellington pull a second revolver from the drawer. He turned back when he heard the click as Ellington cocked the revolver and was starting to raise his Colt when there was the sound of a gun shot from where Juan and Elizabeth stood.

Ellington staggered, but raised the revolver toward Samuel again. He almost had it leveled when Juan fired again. This time, Ellington dropped the second revolver and fell down behind the desk. By the time Samuel got to him, Juan was already there and looking at Ellington.

Juan looked up then and grinned.

"Senòr Horn, it's a good thing you bring me along. You getting slow."

Samuel didn't have time to reply because Elizabeth ran up and put her arms around his neck.

"Mister Horn, I...what he said he was going to make me do...you saved me from being forced to marry him. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you enough."

Samuel gently pulled Elizabeth's arms from his neck.

"No need for thanks, Ma'am. Just the proper thing to do. Let's get you back to the parsonage so Mary can take care of you."

As Samuel, Juan, and Elizabeth walked into the lobby, the hotel clerk raised up from behind the counter.

"Is it over?"

Samuel nodded.

"All except for the buryin'. Go get the undertaker."

The clerk shook his head.

"I saw him right after the shooting stopped. He was in his wagon and heading North. I don't think he'll be coming back."

Samuel smiled.

"Well, go find a couple men and stick Ellington in the ground before he starts to stink up the place worse than he already has and don't waste a casket on him. He doesn't deserve to be buried with the good people in the church cemetery either so pick some other place. The corrals at way station would be a good place. The horses can do to him what he did to the people in and around Leland."

When Samuel and Juan took Elizabeth back to the parsonage, Mary met them at the door. She embraced Elizabeth and then said, "Thank God you're safe Elizabeth." Then she looked up at Samuel and Juan.

"I was going crazy wondering what was happening so I started cooking supper to have something to do. Can you both stay?"

Juan looked at the ground.

"Senòra Branson, I should go back to the ranch. People will talk if I stay because I'm a Mexican."

Mary smiled.

"You're just a man who helped Mister Horn save Elizabeth. The Bible says we're all God's people and if He doesn't care who your parents were neither do we. Now come inside and tell us what happened while I finish supper."

After supper was done and Samuel and Juan had told Pastor Branson and Mary what had transpired at the hotel, Pastor Branson asked what was going to happen next.

Samuel scratched his head and then smiled.

"Well, to my way of thinking, since Ellington's dead all the contracts he had are null and void. He didn't have any family that I ever heard about, so there's nobody to notify and I doubt anybody is going to come to Leland and claim anything. There's the money in the bank to consider too. Somebody needs to check the actual money against what the books say. I'm sure Ellington considered that money to be his so he might have borrowed some without signing one of his contracts.

"I think the town should decide who gets what and I think you should form a new town council to decide that. That's what I was going to have Ellington agree to before he decided to try to shoot me."

Pastor Branson shook his head.

"Samuel, I'm a pastor, not a politician."

Samuel just smiled.

"That's why I think you should do it. I know most of the people in Leland, and they trust you. Nobody will accuse you of trying to get anything for yourself."

It was almost dark when Samuel stood up and said he and Juan needed to get back to the ranch. Pastor Branson followed them to the door, thanked them again, and then watched as Juan walked to his horse, but Samuel went to the cemetery. When Pastor Branson closed the door, he said, "Samuel's gone to visit his wife's grave. I think that's really why he said he had to leave."

Elizabeth stood up without saying anything and walked out the door. Pastor Branson looked at Mary.

"What is Elizabeth doing?"

Mary smiled.

"The same thing I did with you to convince you that you should start courting me. Didn't you see how she's been acting around him?"

Elizabeth stood outside the cemetery fence for a while before she quietly walked up beside Samuel and said, "She must have been a special woman."

Samuel turned and smiled.

"Yes, she was. I've never found another woman like her."

Elizabeth's voice was so soft it was almost lost to the sounds of the crickets chirping for mates and the rustling of tree leaves in the light breeze.

"I felt the same way about my husband."

"I didn't know you'd been married. What happened?"

"We'd been married for a month when Johnathan joined the Missouri State Guard and was killed at the Battle of Carthage."

Samuel said he understood how she felt.

"We'd been married a little over a year when the war broke out. I used to come here and tell Barbara how much I missed her and that I was sorry I wasn't there to say good-bye when she passed. I don't know what I was hoping for. Maybe to hear her voice again like that fortuneteller who came through town a year ago said she could make happen. Didn't though.

"Now, I just come here to remember."

"I never saw my husband's grave, but I'd go to the cemetery at our church and try to talk to him. I'd ask him why he had to go join up. Then, I realized that was just me being selfish so I stopped asking him that.

"I don't know if I'll ever find a man like Johnathan again, so I haven't really tried. You're a little like he was, I think. He joined up because he thought it was the right thing to do. Is that why you went to the war?"

Samuel had asked himself that question a thousand times and still didn't have a good answer.

"I don't really know except that my daddy started this ranch and from what I heard, if the Union won, they'd take it all away and give it to other people. I didn't want that to happen, but not because I'd be left with nothing. That's what my daddy started out with and he did pretty well for himself. I figured I could do the same. It wasn't because of slavery either because Daddy didn't believe any man should own another so he didn't have slaves. I guess it was just because I didn't hold with any government taking anything away from people who'd worked so hard to get it. It just seemed like the proper thing to do at the time.