Cue the western theme music--Imagine horses clopping and the
sound of a lone gunshot.
Please note that Miss Michelle Bauer's school lesson for the day can be found at the end of this episode.
As he does at the beginning of every episode, Marshall Danny "Matt Dillion" Santos kneels by a stone marker in Boot Hill, the town cemetery. He contemplates his life and that of the common outlaw. "Out here I remind myself of how violence always ends, buried in the rim of a nation on the edge of the wild frontier. Some were slaughtered aimlessly, the rest I killed. I'm a lawman and a US Marshall. Law comes hard to the frontier and men like these did not want it. And there are more men alive today who will come to Dodg e City that do not want it. They are the drifters, the killers, the spoilers, the lawless and they have to be dealt with. My job is a chancy one and it makes a man watchful and a little bit lonely. But someone has to do it."
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Marshall Santos is in St. Louis to drop off a prisoner at the federal prison for the mentally insane. He agreed to meet Doc "Galen Adams" Bauer's little sister who is the town's new schoolteacher. Santos had seen these schoolteachers before; they usually looked all prim and proper like the last one, Miss Carla Ray. Then they come to Dodge where there are 15 men for every single female (including the working gals otherwise it would be 25 to 1) and they get a little wild and go off cavorting and get into all kinds of trouble. Difficulties he has to handle for the town. What would this one be like; another 29 year old red head that had seen this side of dawn once too many times?
He looked up and saw just such a woman, pasty and ill looking from the travel.
"Ma'am, would you be Miss Bauer?" Marshall Santos tipped his hat to an older looking woman dressed conservatively in a high button collared dress.
"No sir, I am,"
Marshall Santos looked around and saw a very beautiful young woman of about 19 years dressed in a yellow poplin dress with blue cornflowers all over the fabric. She had her hair piled up in ringlets on her head and was wearing a jaunty little hat with blue ostrich feathers. She was lovely and for a minute, the Marshall was speechless.
"You are Doc Bauer's baby sister? Doc told me to look for a plain looking woman, with his description, I would never have recognized you."
"Well, thank you Marshall, I will take that as a compliment. Since my brother has not seen me since I was 14 years of age, I hope I am much improved. You know of course my brother's memory and his disposition, so.."
The Marshall was thinking that this woman had a very fine comportment.
That is what his mother used to call an attractive figured woman with good posture.
"Excuse me did you say something, ma'am?"
"I asked if you knew when the stage was set to depart. I understand that it will take us at least 5 days to get to Dodge City. Will you be traveling today as well?"
"Miss Bauer, the Sante Fe stage always leaves promptly every day, although the exact time is always in doubt. I'll follow the stage back a ways but travel is much quicker by horse, so I will see you in Dodge City after we've gone the first 100 miles or so."
"Well, it is nice of you to meet me here and follow the stage for a while. I am quite nervous about the travel; do you think there will be Indians or a holdup? My brother is forever writing me about how scary this territory can be."
"You are quite secure ma'am. The stage drivers carry back-up and plenty of guns to fight off any attack." The Marshall thought to himself this little gal was either scared or she was doing what Doc always did, making small talk when silence is just as good.
The Sante Fe set off at 22 minutes past noon, just four hours late. They traveled for 10 hours and stopped at a roadside inn. After a restless night, the travelers on the stage (there were 4 at this time) set off for another two days of restless, jostling travel. The stagecoach had no shock absorbing capability other than the leather strapping contraption above each wheel. The travel was rough and everyone on the stage knew one another quite well, whether they wanted to or not. In the middle of the third day, Miss Bauer jostled awake to the sounds of rifles. She tried to peer out the mud-encased windows but she could not see a thing. The other travelers, obviously more experienced in this type of occurrence looked away from her obvious distress.
The stage slowed to a stop and within minutes, they heard someone yell, "Wait up, hold it." There were more gunshots and some loud thuds. All of the passengers were alarmed now and when Marshall Santos opened the stage door, everyone sighed in relief.
"Everything is going to be all right folks. A lone gunman tried to stop the stage with the intentions of taking the strongbox. But I'd been following the stage for a while and I've taken care of the problem."
Miss Bauer was the only passenger still alarmed. "What do you mean taken care of the problem and what is a strongbox?"
Danny tipped his steel gray hat towards Doc's sister. "A strongbox is where the money is kept on a stagecoach. It is what the robbers are after in a heist. And ma'am, do you really want an answer to your last question?" He gestured to the other passengers, "Folks give the drivers and me about an hour to bury the bodies and we'll be on our way again."
Miss Bauer could stand the suspense no longer and followed the Marshall out of the stage. There she saw the Marshall's beautiful Chestnut gelding dead before her. Past the horse were the robber and his own lifeless Paint horse. Within the hour, the Marshall and the drivers had buried the horses in shallow graves and the robber in an unmarked grave. Miss Michelle Bauer could have sworn she saw tears in the Marshall's eyes as he laid his horse to rest. She would ask him about that later once they were all in Dodge City.
The Marshall looked up, saw her watching him, and gave her a half smile. When he smiled, he was very attractive; she wondered why she failed to notice that before.
He walked over to her and initiated conversation again.
"Well, I've talked to the others and none of them are willing to stay behind. I have to go with the stage because I have business back in Dodge. So ma'am," he smiled again, this time quite mischievously, "it looks like you are going to have to sit on my lap or on the lap of one of these gentlemen for the rest of the day until we get to Wichita."
Michelle whirled her head around surely, the Marshall was joking, a lady of her breeding and in her position as the new town school teacher could not sit on a stranger's lap? It was unthinkable and she told the men standing before her just this.
They all laughed and the Marshall said, "Listen to me, ma'am, the only other option is for you to ride up with the baggage or stay here and I don't recommend either. I am sure any of the men here would be most obliging."
Michelle looked at the other men and then back to Danny Santos. He was at least attractive and clean. The others well, some of them lacked the most basic hygiene.
"All right," she said, "let us go and get this over with." She would remain her composure. The Marshall was acting in his legal capacity. After all, if it were not for him, they would all probably be dead or worse. She scooted into the stage and sat down quite roughly on the Marshall's knees. She heard him laugh then kind of gasp as he adjusted her weight, without her permission!
After a few miles, the two of them seemed to adjust to the uncomfortable position and Michelle trying to stay calm decided to remain quiet. After a few hours of dozing off and on, she heard the Marshall break the silence with what sounded to her like idle chatter.
Danny normally liked peace and quiet but not now with this young attractive woman sitting so close to him, on him. He needed to talk to break from the direction his thoughts were beginning to take him. Why had he followed the stagecoach after the first day? Sure it was out of courtesy to Doc, but it was something more, there was something special in the way this woman held herself, expressed her thoughts and emotions. She was beautiful, granted but it was a deeper quality that he seemed drawn to and darn if she did not settle down and seem to enjoy the quiet as much as he did.
He spoke up, "So, Miss Bauer, you saw my emotions over losing my nine year old gelding back there. He was a wonderful horse, a thoroughbred home-raised by my cousin, Ray. Sixteen hands tall and a real beauty, he could even do dressage when called upon for fancy maneuvers at Fort Dodge. It is a tremendous loss, I have other horses but this one was special, I loved him dearly."
"I see how upset you are Marshall, try not to think about it too much. Tell me about Dodge City, something my brother might not have mentioned to me." Michelle thought this would get her mind off the warmth of his body against hers. When she was not lolling off to sleep in his arms she was very uncomfortable knowing that this was not a proper thing to do with a government official.
Therefore, Marshall Danny Santos started telling her all about his identical cousins, and about his other family members. Michelle learned that his mother, Carmen, was a nun in a small Carmelite monastery outside a poor town in Mexico called San Cristobel. The Marshall doubted if he would ever see his religiously devout mother again as she had taken a vow of silence two years ago and spoke to no one. Nor did she ever leave the convent.
He told her about his sister, Pilar who studied in Mexico City. She was due to come for a visit at Christmas time and he hoped the trip would not be too arduous. His sister was very delicate and frail. The only problem with Pilar's planned visit was that she spoke no English, only Spanish. Michelle said she did not speak Spanish but perhaps the Marshall and his cousins could work with Pilar to help her grasp some basic concepts during her visit.
Danny tried to explain that it was possible no one would even notice that his sister failed to speak English since she tended to ramble.
He said that Dodge City was a quiet town much more so in the last year since that rowdy couple left town for California. Josh and Reva Lewis left in 1872 with plans to settle in California. They hoped to strike it rich, poor folks; no one in town had the heart or nerve to tell them that all the gold had panned out in California by 1855. Mrs. Reva had said she was getting the hell out of Dodge and it shocked quite a few of the town's matrons. Still they were gone and the town was downright peaceful and quiet now. Moreover, look at California; there had been three earthquakes and a tidal wave since the couple settled out there in some place called the city of the angels. Now the only problems in Dodge were the normal ones of folks cavorting, acting up, finding love and romance and handling petty crimes.
They talked until the stage pulled in at the Wichita Depot. Both seemed a bit shocked to find they were the last ones in the stage and had been for quite some time. Michelle blushed and the Marshall, who was not used to such feelings, shook his head and laughed. He escorted her to her hotel and bade her a good night.
The next day, Michelle ate breakfast and went to the stage depot. She boarded the stagecoach and saw that she was the only passenger. There were no signs of the Marshall or the other passengers. She sighed as the coach drove off and reached into her parasol bag for a copy of Harpers magazine.
Her brother had instructed her to bring a year's worth of Scientific American's, but she had also packed a few copies of this year's Harpers for her own amusement. She was settled down and reading an article on bustle sizes and posture when she felt a sudden jolt. The wagon shifted suddenly to the left and she fell to the floor. That was the last thing she remembered before the Marshall carried her out into the sunlight. Was this man intentionally following her and how or why did he always seem to come to her rescue over the last few days?
The stagecoach had lost its left wheel and its axle was broken. The drivers said they would leave the coach and take the horses back to Wichita to get assistance. What did the little lady want to do? If she knew how to ride, she could come back with them, otherwise she could stay with the stage; they would be back later in the day. She looked up at Danny and asked his advice.
"I wouldn't stay with the coach, I know these men, they mean well but they get forgetful when they go into town and wait for assistance at a local saloon. You are not dressed for riding and you do not know how to ride do you? I think you should come back with me on this big Palomino quarter horse. She is a good sturdy mare and can carry us both. On horseback we can make Dodge City if we ride hard in a day, tomorrow morning at the latest."
"Well, it so happens, I do know how to ride, English side saddle."
The Marshall laughed at her, "It is like I said, you do not know how to ride, and c'mon do you want to be in front or in back?"
Michelle was horrified, what kind of question was this? Front or back of what?
Danny sensing her confusion, said, "Do you want to ride in front or behind me on the horse, I'd suggest in front if you are not used to riding in a western saddle or bareback."
Michelle looked back at the stage coach and all her belongings. Danny assured her that her belongings would be safe; there were few bandits in the area that wanted women's clothing and books. He helped her up onto the horse and she settled back into his arms per his instruction. She felt very safe and despite the initial discomfort was actually at ease after a few hours. At nightfall, Danny pulled the horse over to a clearing. He explained that they needed to stop because there was too much danger that the horse would step into a prairie dog hole at night. Such a misstep could break the horse's leg and maybe their necks in the process. Danny threw down two bedrolls and directed Michelle in assisting him in; gathering wood, setting a fire, clearing the area and fixing a meager supper of fried bread, beef jerky and weak chicory coffee. Afterwards, he led Michelle to a private area near a stream so she could bathe and ready herself to sleep for a few hours.
Danny had never been so uncomfortable in all his life. Why had he taken the long way back to Dodge City? If he had taken the direct route, they could have been in Dodge in less than another hour. Now, here he was with this beautiful and innocent woman alone and she was taking a bath right at this minute. He hit his head forcefully against a cottonwood tree trunk. What is wrong with you; wake up! Stop acting like one of her crush bound students. This was nothing that a trip to Mrs. Drew Kitty's saloon wouldn't cure once he got back to Dodge City. Yep, he would concentrate on that.
She walked towards him, still wearing that yellow dress with the blue flowers but her hair was down and the way the light reflected on it; it looked like streaks of silver and gold. She looked radiant in the moonlight. He sighed; he would not give in to temptation. He helped her unroll the bedroll and watched her settle down.
Michelle closed her eyes and tried to feign sleep. In reality, she would not go to sleep for quite a while. Every time she shut her eyes, the image of him burned behind her lids. He was standing there as she'd first seen him; tall about 6 feet of medium build but strong, dark piercing eyes, gray denim pants that hugged his frame and accentuated his hips, a salmon colored denim shirt and a gray suede vest. His boots were a dark gray almost black and she really like the jangle that his spurs made. Her brother had told her long ago that you could tell everything you needed to know about a man in the west by looking at the way he kept his boots and his hat. Marshall Santos kept both of these items pristine. Oh, bother, she thought. She opened her eyes and saw that he was watching her intently.
"What are you staring at?" she asked him softly.
"Shhh, go back to sleep, I was just watching you sleep. I just want to watch you sleep, okay? I want you to know that you are safe and you are protected when you are with me, you don't have to worry as long as I am around." He reached out, stroked her hair, and then quickly removed his hand.
Michelle smiled and thought that in another situation, she might even find what he just said to be quite romantic, maybe the most romantic thing she had ever heard. She fell asleep with these thoughts rambling through her head and she slept soundly. Danny "Matt Dillion" Santos did not sleep that night, he stayed awake and watched the most beautiful creature he had ever seen sleep.
End of Episode 1
And now a scene from episode 2 where we will pick up where we left Danny and Michelle and meet two new Dodge City denizens, Cassie and Ray:
¦Ray Santos stood there inches away from Miss Cassie; the only thing, which stood between them both, were his worn jeans and his fringed leather chaps. He reached for her brusquely and pulled her to him. She put her right hand on his chest feeling his heart beat beneath his pulsating chest muscles.
Miss Michelle Bauer's school lesson for the day
Today's Lesson: "There is a lot more to riding a horse than just sitting in the saddle and letting your feet hang down" -- Ray Santos (the actor formerly known as).
Here is some information about horses, which may assist those otherwise unfamiliar with our equine friends.
A quarter horse is a compact muscular saddle horse characterized by its great endurance and high speed over short distances.
A cutting horse is an agile saddle horse trained to separate individual animals from a cattle herd.
Hands measure horses; an average height for a good cutting or quarter horse is usually around 16 hands high.
A good age for a sturdy riding or ranch horse is around 8 to 11 years old.
Geldings are castrated male horses.
Mares are full mature females of a breeding age.
A Thoroughbred Chestnut like the one Danny rides in the beginning of episode 1 has a coat of pure or reddish brown with a mane, tail and points of the same or a lighter shade.
Bay Horses are a type of Chestnut that has a coat, which is light reddish brown to brown and their mane, tail and points are all black.
Sorrel Horses are light bright Chestnuts with a white mane, tail and points.
A Palomino is a horse that is an American/Spanish breed with the characteristics of a pale cream to golden coat with a flaxen or white mane and tail (think Mr. Ed).
Paint or Pinto Horses are an American/Spanish breed with patches of white and often-other colors. (Think of the horses in the Dale Evans and Roy Rogers B-movies)
The most common riding horse in the west during the 1870s was the Appaloosa. These rugged saddle horses originated in western North America in the 1850s. They were named for the Indian tribe in the Washington/Oregon Territories. The breed thrives today and its characteristics remain the same; small dark spots or blotches usually on a white coat but the horse's coat itself can be darker with paler spots/splotches.
