The sun was shining and the chill in the morning air was beginning to lift.
Jack Craddock tipped his hat as he met Sally Duffield on the boardwalk leading to his office.

"Mornin' corporal" he acknowledged Clive Bennett with a nod, as he lifted the coffee pot from the stove and filled his cup.

"Good morning Jack...how is Mabel today?"

Seems everyone the marshal spoke to asked that question. Most times he replied that his wife was fine, but with Clive Bennett he could be more honest.
"Crankier 'n a wet hen", he responded.

"She must be close Jack. What does Marie say?"

"Any day now."

Craddock sat at his desk, brushed some papers to the floor and stretched his legs out, propping them on the corner of the desk.
"What'cha readin' ?" he asked the mountie.

"It's a report on rum runners, a man was arrested with a supply of tainted alcohol at Fort Whoop Up. Several people died after drinking it. It says here, he confessed to having a still located just north of Bordertown."

" North huh? Reckon that's yer jurisdiction compadre." the marshal grinned.

"I can handle it Jack". He replied smuggly. "I think I'll ride out that way now and see what I can find."
Bennett rose to his feet and fastened the gunbelt around his waist. "You ah...think you could do the rounds Jack?....after you've finished your coffee of course."

"S'ppose you'll be wantin' me ta keep an eye on yer side 'a town while yer gone?" Craddock asked sarcastically.

"If you think you can handle it." Clive said, equally sarcastic.

" Ain't nothin' worth stealin' on yer side Bennett."

"Well then I guess you should be able to handle it Craddock."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Perched in her favorite spot, the settee, Mabel sat crocheting a baby blanket.
Watching through the window she noticed her husband leaving the livery stable, he was hurrying towards the cabin. She heard the ' thump, thump' of his boots as he climbed the steps. Setting the blanket down she looked towards the door.

"Mabel ! You all right?" he asked, as he opened the door.

"I'm fine Jack... just like I was a half hour ago when you checked."

"Ya ain't got no aches ner pains ta say the baby's comin' ?"

"No." she replied.

"Ya sure?"

"Yes."

"All right then. I gotta go fer a spell. Bennett went off ta check on some moon shiners 'er somethin', and his horse come back without 'im."

"Do you know where to look for him?" Mabel asked, concerned.

"Got a general idea....I'll be back soon as I can." With a smile he added, "Don't do nothin' till I get back."

"I won't."

Jack bent down and kissed his wife. "Be careful," she reminded him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The marshal took the north road out of town and soon realized he wouldn't be able to pick up the mountie's trail. It was a well travelled road and Bennett's track would have been covered hours ago by someone else.
(Now if I were a moon shiner, where would I hide my still?)
He followed the road to where it branched off to Fort Whoop Up, then dismounted and tied his horse to a treebranch. He walked back and forth on the road, looking for a break in the underbrush. If there was a still nearby, the runners woulda had ta carry it to the road by hand.
Walking further along the Whoop Up fork, he saw it, an old coal road, used for hauling the coal from the mines. Nature had taken back most of it, but the growth was still visibly low compared to the surrounding area. Craddock parted the bushes in front of him and proceeded carefully down the road on foot.
When he was about 200 feet off the main road he paused, removed his hat, and combed his hair with his fingers as his eyes scanned the underbrush for clues.
As the marshal replaced his hat, he caught sight of an area where the brush had been trampled. He turned off the coal road, walking another three or four hundred feet, unholstering his gun as he proceeded.
There it was, the moonshiners still, right in front of him.
He looked for signs of a struggle, there were none. If Bennett had been here, he hadn't been disturbed.

On the ground beside the jugs of moon shine, sat an old washtub with a hinged top. Curiousity made Craddock lift the lid and look inside.
He was startled by a mass of angry snakes, dropping the lid he stepped backwards, loosing his balance as he did.
Scrambling to get to his feet Jack suddenly felt the earth give way underneath him....he felt himself falling and there was no way of catching himself before the earth swallowed him up.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mabel was in her dressing gown, pacing the kitchen floor when she heard a knock. Opening the door to Dr. Dumont, she invited her inside.
Marie confirmed that neither Jack nor Clive had returned. Both women were concerned.

"If they aren't back by morning I'll have Archie ride out to the encampment and fetch Gabriel." Mabel told her.

Marie thought someone should stay with the pregnant woman, but Mrs. Craddock insisted she would be fine alone.
"If I need help I'll open the door and scream." she joked.

It would be a long night of waiting and worrying. Mabel was exhausted, but she refused to give in and go to bed. Instead she sat by the window...and waited.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Marshal Craddock's fall had knocked him unconscious. Clive did his best to tend to his friends' injuries. He himself had taken a hard fall when he slipped into the mine pit earlier that morning.
Running out of light and feeling the cold night air, Bennett layed down on the ground beside Jack. When he had left Bordertown, the morning air was still chilly, so he had taken his heavy jacket. Craddock had ridden out of town later in the day, when the sun was warm, so he only had a shirt for warmth.
Clive opened his jacket and spread it over both of them.

Hours later, Craddock began to stir.
"Jack...can you hear me?" Clive asked, not able to see his friend in the darkness.

" 'Course I can, I ain't deaf."

"Are you in any pain?"

"Just my foot...think it might be broke. Everythin' else seems okay though." Craddock replied. "I got matches in my pocket somewhere's."

Digging through his pants Jack found the box of wooden matches and passed them to Clive.

"You lifted the lid on that old tub didn't you?" the corporal questioned him.

"Yup." the marshal answered, taking off his boot to assess the damage. He knew his foot was badly swollen.

"There were snakes under it."

"I know!" the marshal snapped back.

"How bad is it?...Is it broke?" the mountie asked, striking a match as he bent down for a closer look at Jack's injury.

"Why didn't ya call out to me Bennett? Let me know you were here?" Craddock asked.

"Because I thought you might be moonshiners Jack. They would have covered the hole and left me here."

"Yah...well I mighta done the same."

After a brief silence corporal Bennett asked if the marshal had told anyone where he was going.

"No...'cept I told Mabel I was lookin' fer you."

"Well, maybe she'll spot the report on my desk." Clive tried to be optimistic.

"I doubt it corporal."

"Why? Mabel is always reading the things I leave on my desk. For some reason she thinks it's her business."

Putting his sock in his pocket, Craddock replied, "It ain't on yer desk corporal.....I burnt it."

"You what! You have no right to touch the things on my desk Craddock!"

"...Fire went out, I had ta get it goin' again."

"With my report?" Clive was angry, not only were they trapped with no chance of anyone finding them, but Craddock had taken the liberty of destroying his property. "Why didn't you burn some of the junk on your desk?"

"Cuz the stuff on my desk is important Bennett."

"Jack I don't think you understand the seriousness of this situation. We are trapped here, if no one knows where to look for us, we will die here! They may not find our bodies for years!"

"Yah....who knows Clive, ya might be better lookin' by then." Jack chuckled.

"What about Mabel?" Clive asked. "She might already think you're dead, she might be counting your money right now."

"I ain't got no money Bennett! Mabel knows that. 'Sides she didn't marry me fer money."

"Oh, that's right...it was your charming personality and dashing good looks." The mountie replied with a tone of sarcasm.

"Look corporal are you gonna stand there jawin' all night or are ya gonna help me find a way outta here!?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

By morning, the two lawmen had exhausted all their ideas.
Jack's foot was so badly swollen that it throbbed with pain continually. Clive had injured his shoulder in the fall, but it only hurt when he lifted his arm. He had tried tending to Craddock's injured foot, but when Jack insisted he 'leave it be', Clive had to admit he wasn't sure what to do anyway.
They concluded they must be 20 feet down, in an old mine shaft, left abandoned years earlier. Bennett had attempted to climb out, but the pain in his shoulder became unbearable. Jack could stand, so long as he didn't put any weight on his right foot...it was useless to think he would be able to climb to the surface. They sat and waited, and hoped someone would find them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Archie arrived at the livery it was almost daylight. Mabel was sitting on the pile of boards that had been discarded and tossed to the side of the building.

"Archie! It's about time!"

"Mornin' Mrs. Craddock. You should be inside, you're going to catch a chill out here."

"They aren't back Archie." Mabel replied, ignoring his advice.

"I know", the blacksmith frowned." We're roundin' up some folks ta go after 'em."

"Will you ride out to the encampment at Eagle Hill Lake and get Gabriel?" she asked.

"That half breed? s'ppose it might be a good idea....might get shot though, ridin' into an indian village this early in the day. Might take 'em by surprise."

"You can't surprise indians Archie, they'll know you're coming." she argued.

Archie Stanton tightened his saddle sinch, "I'll head up there now, while the others are getting their gear, tell the lads where I am, and not to leave without me." he said as he mounted his horse.

Mabel watched the horse and rider disappear.
She hoped Gabriel would be there and not off doing things he shouldn't be doing. She doubted whether Archie and the other men would be able to find Jack and Clive without his help...and she wanted Gabriel to be there anyway....just in case the news was bad. Shaking off the urge to cry, Mabel got up from her perch and waddled towards the saloon. She didn't fancy talking to Marie, she would only lecture her. 'You should stay inside, you mustn't get upset, you need to rest'.
She was met by half a dozen men, carrying rope, saddle bags and rifles. Wendell MacWherter was one of them. At first he avoided eye contact with the marshal's wife, then, seeming to have a change of heart, he stopped and turned.

"Mrs. Craddock....we'll find them. I'm sure they're fine...wherever they are."

He sounded unconvincing, but Mabel appreciated the effort.
She climbed the steps to the saloon and knocked on the door. Diane's friendly face greeted her, and she stepped inside.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"AAAhhhhhh" Jack hollered as he shifted his weight to get more comfortable.

"It's getting worse isn't it?" Clive asked, as he moved closer for a look..

"I reckon so Clive. It's my whole leg now, like it's spreadin' 'er something."

The marshal spoke through clenched teeth. It was obvious to corporal Bennett that he was suffering an enormous amount of pain. Craddock was the type of man who masked his pain, he didn't make a habit of showing it.
Taking Jack's knife, Clive sliced open his pants reveiling his partners leg from the knee down.
It was swollen to twice the normal size and was completely black. Bennett remembered that while attending school in Toronto, he had seen a man who had suffered severe frost bite on his hands. Jack's leg looked as though it had been frost bitten.

"Listen Bennett...I want ya ta promise me somethin'......Mabel and the baby....they're gonna need some help. I ain't got much money saved, but I suppose she could go back ta teachin' fer a spell. I want ya ta see that leak 'round the chimney gets fixed. I bin promisin' ta do that".

"Look Jack, if you don't get out of here then neither will I." Clive protested.

"Yah... well just in case someone finds ya. It don't look like I'll be leavin' here on my own steam."

"You just have a broken leg...you're not dying." The mountie tried not to show his concern.

"It's gettin' worse Clive.... I seen a fella once...in the war...gangrene had set in, where he'd been shot. Poison went through 'im in no time...he suffered awful."
Jack closed his eyes and laid his head against the dirt wall behind him. He continued, " Tell Mabel I love 'er...and the baby. I figure if she married MacWherter he'd do good by 'em. Give 'em a decent home...and treat 'em right. Tell 'er she's gotta do things different with him though...he's scared 'a her. She's gotta be more gentile..not so ornery and bossy like she is with me....I don't want her marryin' that Couteau...tell 'er I said that will ya? He ain't got nothin' ta offer....ain't no life fer a decent woman, nor a baby...being with him."

"You're not dying Jack." Clive insisted.

"Just shut up and listen will ya!...Mabel can sell my horses...Archie'll see she gets a fair price for 'em.......I wish I was gonna be 'round ta see that baby, I'll tell ya. Ain't no better feelin' Clive...holdin' yer own child. I remember when Sarah Ann was born...I set out on that back step fer hours waitin'.....ya know how hard it is waitin'?....Jaunita, she had a rough time..s'ppose most women do really. I just sat there, helpless like...I heard her screamin'....felt like I was ta blame fer it all....she never complained afterwards though... I thought fer sure she'd blame me....Mabel, she'll be all right...I know she's scared cuz 'a what happened ta Emma....but Mabel's tough, I reckon she could do just about anythin' if she put 'er mind to it."

"You're not going to die Jack!"

They sat in silence for a few moments. Jack was reflecting on his life since he met Mabel. She was different, that was certain, turned his whole world upside down, changed everything. He thought about Mabel and MacWherter...together. The thought made him chuckle at first, then it slowly began to bother him.

"Ya know Clive....I bin thinkin'...you'd make a good father. Ya like kids."

"Are you saying you wouldn't mind if I married Mabel?" Clive asked, surprised.

"She could do worse."

"Yes she could." Clive agreed.

"I'll wager her pa would be real happy." Jack smiled. "Might even make ya a partner in that fancy law firm 'a his.......do me one favor though Clive....don't tell my son nothin' bad 'bout me. Don't tell 'im 'bout my pa and what he done...."

"How do you know you're having a son Jack?" Clive said, trying to change the subject.

"Just a feelin' I got...like one 'a them things folks get 'fore they happen."

"You mean a premonition?"

"I s'ppose.....just tell Mabel I love 'er will ya Bennett."

"We're going to get out of here Jack...both of us!" Clive insisted

"We're waitin' on a miracle corporal, and you know it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mabel thanked the Denny's for their hospitality and, to the protests of both Diane and Zack, she made her way home...promising them she would lie down and rest.
She wanted to be home, she couldn't explain why. She felt funny inside, there was no pain, so it couldn't be the baby. She just felt strange. Maybe it was because she hadn't slept all night. She'd be fine once she had a nap....and Jack was home safely.
Everything would be all right as soon as Jack came home.