Acts of Kindness 

	“Mr. Jonas,” Chester Goode said for the third time.  Wilbur was a bit put out, as usual, with Chester.  The marshal’s assistant had spent the last two hours pouring over a catalogue for some new clothes.  “Chester, for the third time, it doesn’t matter what color you pick; they’re all the same price.”
	“That’s not what I was gonna ask,” he replied with a quick shake of his head, the lock of bang that always fell in his eye flopping down.  “How long would it take to get these in if I ordered it now?”
	“Two weeks by stage for the order, four weeks to get the order in, same as usual,” Jonas replied tersely.
	Chester squinted at a calendar that was posted behind the cash register.  Counting to himself he made his decision, “Then I’d like this coat and these boots ordered and a pair of these lined gloves.”
	Jonas looked at the items Chester’d picked and snorted, “How on Earth do you plan on getting the money to pay for that?”
	“Well every year I get a bonus for Christmas don’t I?” Chester said.  Jonas nodded.  The town chipped in and gave the marshal extra money and Dillon passed some of it on to Chester and a couple others who regularly helped him out. “Then I’ll have plenty of money by the time it comes in.  How much will it come to?”
	The storekeeper did a quick figure, “It’ll be around $17.00 plus shipping.  You’re sure you’re gonna have that much for Christmas?”
	“I got more than that last year.  Just order it please,” Chester fairly begged and Jonas shrugged, “All right.  Guess if you’re gonna spend money, it might as well be on new clothes.”

	Kitty Russell shivered as she drew the fur trimmed cape closer to her neck.  It had gotten bitterly cold before Thanksgiving and had just stayed that way.  Now it was December 22nd and she needed to go do some last minute Christmas shopping.  She dreaded the walk across the street.  It was so cold she just wanted to stay inside.  Debating with herself, she finally stepped off the boardwalk right into the brunt of the frigid air.  Not caring if there were any wagons coming, she rushed across to the shelter of the other buildings.  The bell to Wilbur’s store jangled cheerily.  
	“Miss Kitty,” Jonas Wilbur greeted as he straightened the yard goods. “What can I help you with today?”
	“I needed some stockings and two yards of that pale blue ribbon.  Do you have any eyelet in stock?” she asked pleasantly.  Her cheeks were nearly flame pink from the blast of cold air.  
	“Sure don’t.  Mrs. Johnson came and bought every last inch of it yesterday.  I have some nice crocheted lace though.”
	“Hmm, I don’t know.  I wanted it for presents for the girls.  Let me look,” she said and went over to the corner where the spools were kept.  Jonas went back to straightening.  It was nearly time to close and it was already dark out.  “Sure does get dark this time of year,” he commented idly. 
	Kitty smiled, “Yes it does.  But, it’ll be light again pretty soon and then we’ll be complaining about the heat and the bugs.”
	He laughed, “That’s true enough.”
	As the talked the bell rang.  Chester Goode practically raced in and shut the door behind him.  He wasn’t dressed for the weather at all, but it was all he had so he didn’t have much choice.  He hated asking to borrow Mr. Dillon’s coat.  Besides, he was out of town for the day.  
	“Mr. Jonas did my order arrive?” Chester asked. 
	“Yes, it came in today.  Do you have the money?”
	“Not yet.  Mr. Dillon is supposed to be back tomorrow morning.  I don’t suppose I could get it ahead of time,” Chester suggested but Jonas shook his head.  “Chester Goode I don’t run a charity shop.  You want these clothes you’ll have to pay for them.  I had to pay to get them shipped remember.”
	“I know, I just thought with the weather and all...” the handyman’s voice trailed off hopefully.  
	“No,” Jonas insisted.  
	Kitty couldn’t help being peeved with Wilbur Jonas.  He was always picking on Chester treated him like a pesky kid most of the time.  Kitty noticed Chester’s hands, “It’s too cold to be out without gloves Chester.”
	“Uh, Miss Kitty, well, I had some gloves. I left them over in the office,” he replied a little embarrassed.  He didn’t want to tell them he’d caught them on fire stoking the stove that morning.  Kitty somehow knew he didn’t have any.  “If you carry my packages to the Long Branch for me I’ll buy you a drink,” she bargained.  
	He didn’t haggle, “I’d carry your packages even if you wouldn’t buy me a drink.”
	“Chester you are a dear,” Kitty grinned genuinely pleased and paid for her things.  

	The Long Branch was packed.  They weren’t drinking so much as just staying warm.  Doctor Adams had finally managed to hobble in.  He was nearly dwarfed in the muskrat coat and hat.  “Not fit for man nor beast,” he grouched and flopped down at the table Kitty and Chester were occupying.  Kitty called over to Sam, “More whiskey Sam.”
	“Coffee too,” Doc added.  
	Kitty sighed, “Wish I charged double for coffee.  I’ve sold more of it the last couple days than I have alcohol.”
	“Well, I’d rather hear it. Spirits and this cold don’t mix,” Doc said and gratefully accepted what Sam brought over.  Warming his hands with the coffee steam he took a sip of the warm brew.  “Tonight would be a good night for some wassail.”
	“Sailing?  Doc how can you think of sailing in this weather,” Chester complained. 
	“WAH-ssail Chester, it’s a drink they fix over in Europe for Christmas.  Oh never mind. I’d be so tired of explaining it by the time we got it made I couldn’t enjoy drinking it,” the physician grumped and slouched down in the chair.  Kitty laughed loudly, “Doc, you’re a Scrooge.”
	“I am not.  I have the spirit of Christmas it just gets a little trampled after being out all day in the freezing cold.  Speaking of spirits, where’s the big jolly elf?” he asked looking around and not seeing Matt anywhere. 
	“He left early this morning for Fort Dodge.  He should have been back by now though,” Chester said a little concerned.  
	“Probably didn’t want to leave the nice warm commandant’s office.” 
	As if they’d called him forth, Dillon appeared at the door.  He was covered in snow and what looked like soot. “Well, if it isn’t Santa Claus,” Kitty chuckled.  “Little early this year aren’t you?”
	“More like a little late.  You know the Lansing’s out on the way to Fort Dodge,” he mentioned and pulled the coat off.  
	“Yeah,” the other three replied. 
	“Their place burned down, right to the ground.  I happened along just as they were trying to put it out but the pump had frozen.  Pretty bad,” Matt said shaking his head.  Kitty could tell by the way he acted it bothered him a lot.  
	“Anyone hurt?” Doc asked.
	“Yeah, Mrs. Lansing’s got a burn on her arm, it’s not bad, but I wish you could come take a look,” he waited till he got the drink Sam brought over at Kitty’s signal to say the rest, “The little boy got killed.”
	“Oh Matt no,” Kitty lamented.  They’d doted on that little boy.  The Lansing’s had wanted children for years and Sarah had barely made it through Richey’s birth.  
	“Yeah, ran in after his dog and couldn’t get back out.  The bad thing was the dog was in the barn the whole time.  I thought Jared was going to shoot him when he came out of hiding.”
	“Those poor people,” Chester remarked and tried to fathom losing a child that way.  It’d be hard, awful hard.  They all sat quiet for a time, the news dampening any holiday cheer they might have.  
Dillon remembered something, “Oh, Chester here’s a little something.  I know you’ve been counting on it for a few weeks so I’ll give it to you early.”
The marshal plunked a large coin on the green felt table.  The twenty dollar gold piece gleamed in the light.  For weeks Chester had been eagerly awaiting that coin, weeks of anticipation and now it seemed like nothing.  With a sigh he took it, turned it over and over in his hand.  Doc sniffed, “Aren’t you going to thank him?”
	The assistant looked startled.  “Oh, thank you Mr. Dillon.”
Matt didn’t think anything of it.  He wasn’t in any mood to be offended by something as little as Chester’s lack of etiquette.  Besides, he could tell Chester was pretty shaken up as well.  
“Where are the Lansings?” Doc asked downing the last of his coffee.  
“Over at Ma Smalley’s,” Matt said.  
“I’ll go right over,” he said and started pulling his coat and hat back on.  
“Matt, what do you think they’ll do now?” Kitty asked.  
“Well, they’ve still got the barn, but that’s not much.  Not when they figure what they lost.”  
Chester kept turning the gold piece, stayed quiet while Matt and Kitty talked.  Finally he couldn’t stand it and interrupted quietly, “Mr. Dillon, I reckon the Lansing’s need this worse than I do.”
Without another word he plopped the gold piece down and headed for the door.  Matt and Kitty looked after him.  “Matt that was the money he was counting on for his new clothes.”
“I know but he’ll be able to work a deal with Jonas,” Matt shrugged and looked at the money sheepishly.  He’d buy Chester’s clothes, but he had already donated his entire Christmas bonus to the Lansings.   
“I doubt it.  Jonas isn’t in too giving a mood,” Kitty said with a sigh and sipped her whiskey. 

Christmas Eve was bright, sunny, and below freezing.  Chester pulled on the worn out boot.  The crack in the bottom was getting bigger by the day.  He’d have to stuff some more newspapers in the bottom to try to keep out the cold.  He’d go over to Jonas’. He knew what the answer would be but he had to try.  Grabbing the only coat he had to wear he started out.  
The streets were crowded with people trying to get last minute things done.  Wilbur Jonas’ store was pretty busy and he seemed to be in a good mood.  Chester hoped it would last.  He knew Jonas was depending on that money to pay for the goods he’d ordered.  He waited till the store was empty before going over.  The white haired storekeeper figured he was there for his order and rushed back to the back to get it, “Here you are Chester.”
“Uh, Mr. Jonas, uh, there’s a little problem.  I know I ordered that on the promise of a bonus but well, I don’t have it,” Chester said sincerely apologetic. 
“You don’t have it!” he hollered.  “I’ve paid for this already Chester.  You’ve got to buy it.”
“Well, I will, I will, but I just can’t pay you the whole amount now the way I told you I could.  I thought I could pay in installments and go ahead and get the package…” Chester tried but it didn’t work.  Jonas was nearly red faced with the very thought.
“At your salary it’ll take you a month of Sundays to pay off that order.  You should have thought of that before you sent for it.  Chester you beat everything. What did you do spend that money at the Long Branch?  This is really the limit,” Jonas went on without stopping and didn’t give Chester a chance to explain.  The assistant just stood there taking the pummeling from the storekeeper.  When Jonas had a moment for a spare breath, Chester said, “I’m sorry, I guess you’ll have to go ahead and sell them for the money.”
Turning on the broken heel of his right boot, he headed back out into the holiday atmosphere and the freezing cold muttering about Jonas’ mood and the lack of Christmas spirit in some places.  

Kitty looked about her.  She had a scarf somewhere.  She’d made it especially to go with Chester’s new coat, but now she couldn’t find it anywhere in her room.  Every drawer had been ransacked, she’d checked under the bed and in the bed and even in places she’d not opened since she’d moved into that room.  Nothing.  Well, it wasn’t a big thing.  She’d just have to go buy a new one.  She had hand knitted that one though out of some very fine cashmere wool but if she couldn’t find it, it didn’t matter.  Pulling on her boots and her cold weather gear she’d make a mad dash for the store.  
The General Store’s windows were starting to frost over.  As she passed she noticed some new things hanging in the display.  She’d not seen them before and yet she had.  It took a few minutes for her to realize she’d seen a coat similar to that in a catalogue…  It was Chester’s coat.  Apparently Jonas hadn’t been in a holiday mood and let him make a deal with him.  Going in, she wished she could get the set for Chester, but tips had been pretty mingey lately and she was doing good to get him a scarf.  It was a very nice outfit and her friend would have looked so handsome in it.  
“Couldn’t you work out a deal with Chester Mr. Jonas?” she asked as he wrapped the plaid scarf that she’d picked out.  
“I’m not going to work any deal with a man who spends money that’s already been promised,” he grouched.  
Kitty narrowed her eyes, “Didn’t he tell you?  Why he gave his money to Matt to give to the Lansings.  They lost their home and little boy yesterday in a fire.”
The watery blue eyes blinked.  It took a moment for Wilbur to realize what she was saying.  “You mean he gave all that money to help the Lansings?”
“Yeah, he said they needed it more than he did.  Mr. Jonas, Chester’s a good kind man…”
“You don’t have to tell me.  I thought he’d spent his money in the saloon or on some girl.  I didn’t even give him a chance to explain.  If I’d known I’d have worked something out,” he insisted. 
It made Kitty a little mad, “Would you?  You’re always picking on Chester.  He’s one of the nicest, most considerate people I’ve ever met.  He’d do just about anything to pay that debt off he owes you.  You know that. And he needs those clothes.  It’s cold out.”
The older man felt ten times the fool.  He was always edgy at Christmas time.  Being a shopkeeper he was usually all wrung out but this year he was even antsier for some reason.  He ran a hand through the white hair, “I know that.  It’s this season, I get so nervous.  I’ll make sure things are straightened out.”
“Good, now I hope you have a happy Christmas yourself,” she smiled and considered herself very smart to have straightened out the mess.  “Will you be at the party the day after Christmas?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he smiled and waved goodbye.  
	
Christmas morning dawned.  Getting up out of bed, Chester got the jail ready and started the stove up.  He needed some more wood so he went out back and nearly fell over a package in the door.  “What the…?”
Looking at it close in the low light he could make out his name written on the top.  Who’d be giving him such a large package, and why didn’t they just hand it to him?  The wood temporarily forgotten, he pushed the wrapped goods inside.  Packed inside was a pair of boots, a coat, a pair of lined gloves, and some new wool socks.  “Well I’ll swan…”  They were just his size too and looked like the ones he’d ordered from the catalogue.  No card or note was with the items.  He tried to figure out who could spend that kind of money on him.  Mr. Dillon was broke.  Doc never had much money to spend on himself let alone others.  The only person he knew with money was Miss Kitty.  He fingered the wool coat thoughtfully.  She thought enough of him to pay for his order.  And the other day she was saying how business had been so slow lately.  Excitedly he pulled the new clothes on.  They were warm and clean and had no holes or stains.  Feeling like he could take on the world, he had to tell Kitty thank you.  She’d be up in a little bit.  Most likely Mr. Dillon would be with her.  He never did come in that night, and usually that meant he’s stayed at the Long Branch.  
The cold wasn’t nearly as bad now that Chester had his new clothes.  It felt good not to have a half frozen foot to match his crippled knee.  The streets were nearly deserted but he had a smile on his lips and a song in his heart for anyone he met.  The saloon was closed for the day so Chester headed to the alley and the back stairs.  He knew at least one or two of the girls would be up.  It took a while but someone finally came to answer the door.  It was Kitty, “Chester, come on in.”
She stepped back to let him in and realized he had on new clothes, “Well, look at you.”
“Miss Kitty, this is the nicest… well, I’ll pay you back somehow,” he promised earnestly.  
She was confused, “Huh?”
“For my clothes.  I figured you were the only one who could pay for them.”
“Chester, I didn’t get them for you, but I have something that’ll go just fine with them,” she said with a knowing smile as they walked to the parlor where a small tree had been set up.  Dillon was sitting eating breakfast, “Merry Christmas Chester, plenty of eggs and bacon if you want some.  Hey, you got your outfit.  Looks nice, real nice.”
“Thank you,” Chester replied proudly.  Kitty fished through the packages under the tree and found the one she wanted.  She really didn’t expect anything from Chester.  He normally didn’t have two dimes to rub together.  What he gave her couldn’t be bought anyway.  
Unwrapping the gift, he admired the scarf for a moment, “Why thank you.  It matches my new coat really good.”
“I had made one for you but I can’t find it for anything.  When I do you can have it too.  I got that from Jonas.  You know he didn’t know you’d helped the Lansings the way you did,” she hinted.  He got it.  Jonas had given him the outfit and some new socks to boot.  All this time Chester had been thinking how Jonas was being unfair and stingy.  Now he’d have to rethink his thinking.  He didn’t have any money, so he couldn’t repay him that way.  He’d have to think of something else.  As he ate the bacon and eggs, he pondered.  Jonas had everything, what to get and how to get it…  

A thunk at the front door roused Wilbur Jonas.  He’d fallen asleep in his chair.  He wasn’t used to being home all day unless it was Sunday and he’d been to the special church service early and walked home alone.  With his wife dead and his only daughter living in California he really didn’t have much to do during the holidays.  He could have opened the store but he rarely made enough money to cover the amount of wood he spent warming the place.  A lot of the people considered it wrong to work on a holy day anyway.  It was just a nice quiet day at home with his memories.  Getting out of the rocker, he stretched a bit as he walked over to the door.  Peeking out the side light, he made out Chester Goode walking off toward the picket fence.  He was wearing the new clothes.  Pulling open the door, Jonas called, “Chester Goode!”
He started to step forward but a bundle stopped him.  A load of firewood was piled up neatly tied with some baling string.  The handyman limped back to the porch trying to explain, “I wanted to give you something for Christmas, but I didn’t have any money. I thought maybe some extra wood would be nice, it being so cold and all.”
It was how Chester could say thank you without letting Jonas know for certain that he really appreciated the gift.  He didn’t mind getting sniffy with Kitty or even Mr. Dillon, but he couldn’t stand the idea of standing there all watery with Jonas.  The storekeeper didn’t want that either.  
Before Chester could turn to go, he stopped the jailer, “Matter of fact Chester, I was about to go get some wood for the stove.  Since Delmonico’s is closed I was going to just eat some leftover stew, but I’ve got a nice roasting hen hung up in the back for Sunday.  Would you like to share it with me?” 
Chester nodded.  Unable to express his appreciation with words, he just picked the wood up and said, “Where do you want this?”
“Right by the stove Chester.  You look really nice in that new coat and gloves,” he commented as he shut the door.  It was going to be a nicer Christmas than he’d reckoned after all.