Rising Star Adventures and Beyond

2023 Novel part 1

sprint-

Mary Billings sat in her rocking chair praying just like she always did every morning. She loved to sit in her bedroom in her rocking chair by the window, looking out at her property and the landscaping while she talked to God. It was a beautiful, sunny day. There was a slight wind that was blowing through the tall grass in the pasture. It looked like waves of the ocean. The birds were flying from tree to tree and the cattle were all standing around munching on the grass. She always thought it was kind of funny how they would all group together like a bunch of women gossiping about their men.

She prayed,

"Dear God,

Thank you for this beautiful ranch that you have given us to enjoy. Please, bless the livestock and protect our animals and assets from harm. Provide out every need. Please, watch over Randy as he goes about his chores today. Let him stay out of trouble and stay safe. Give him strength and the energy and wisdom to do the things that need to be done today. I worry about his relationship with you. Ever since his dad passed away, he seems harder and not himself. I know it's been about 4 years ago and I had hoped that he would be doing better by now. I think he may be bitter about it. Please, help him to forgive the man that killed his father. Let him draw close to you and live his life for you. Open his Spiritual eyes that he may see.

In Jesus name,

Amen

She sighed, stood up, and went in to start breakfast for her, her son, and their ranch hands. She knew they would be a hungry bunch. None of them had gotten much sleep the night before. A section of the fence was breached, and they spent a big part of the night, rounding up their heard and getting them back on their property. They didn't have their whole property fenced off, only a section for the livestock. They had to protect them from theives and preditors.

The fire was going nicely in the stove now. She fried up a bunch of eggs in the skillet. She made some bread the night before and sliced it. She got the butter and dishes out and set it all on the table. The coffee was ready. Now all she had to do was go out and yell, "Come and get it boys!"

The men scarfed down the breakfast in no time and chugged down the coffee untill nothing but a bunch of dirty dishes were left. Randy helped his mother gather the dishes to wash them while taking note of the supplies they were going to need from the general store. They were a bit low on goods. He had planned to go into town this afternoon so he figured he could pick up supplies while he was there.

Randy looked at his mom, "Hey, mom! is there anything you need from town? I probably won't be going back for a couple of weeks."

"I suppose I could use some more sewing needles, thread and a couple yards of material. Don't forget to get the tools you are going to need to reinforce the fence." she replied.

"Ok, mom, I think I have everything written down on this list here. I will be back a little late. Please, save some dinner for me." With this, he left the house.

That afternoon, Randy arrived in town. His foreman had come with him and was driving the wagon to hall all the supplies. He was thankful for the company. He knew he would have to travel home after dark and it would be a long quiet ride home if he had been alone.

They stopped at the livery stable to get some things for the horses. Then they headed to the general store to pick up the supplies.

sprint-

They loaded the supplies into the wagon: flour, coffee, the sewing supplies his mother requested, salt, some tools, fabric, potatoes, and seeds for planting. Randy decided while they were there in town, he wanted to visit a couple of friends. He and his forman parted ways and agreed to meet back up in a couple of hours.

One of Randy's friends were on the way to the Barber shop so he agreed to go with him. He figured he could also use a quick trim. Once they got in the Barber shop and stated their greetings, Randy's friend sat in the barber chair and Randy stood waiting to the side.

After a few minutes, a couple of strangers walked in off the street. One of them looked very familiar, but he could not place it at first. Then the stranger talked and he recognized him. He all of a sudden saw red! "Hey, you are the man that killed my father! I should shoot you in the gut like you did him you yellow belly!"

The stranger reacted, "Who you calling yellow, boy? Come say that to me out in the street!"

It all happened so fast! Before he knew it, his friend was watching half shaved with a partial hair cut out the Barber shop window and he was in the street facing another man with a gun. He had never been in a gun fight before. Normally, he wouldn't even like to hurt a fly. The reality set in and he began to tremble. Was this man that killed his dad going to kill him too? He couldn't let that happen. What about his mother? He looked around at his surroundings to see what was nearby.

The stranger drew his gun, but he drew his a bit faster. He fired. Then he dove behind the watering trough to his left just in case he had missed. He heard 2 more gun shots. When he looked up, he saw the sheriff step out of his office and fall to the ground.

sprint-

Someone yelled, "The sheriff has been shot!"

Another person yelled, "Did anyone see who shot him?"

The banker yelled back, "I saw Randy Billings in a shoot out with a stranger and it was him that shot the sheriff!"

The doctor yelled out, "He is dead. The shot went right into his heart!"

The deputy then looked at Randy as he was pulling himself off the ground. "Randy, you're going to have to come with me and face trial for killing the sheriff."

Randy yelled out, "No! I didn't do it!" He looked around and saw the stranger dead on the ground too. Imediately, he began to feel remorse and regret. He began to panic as the deputy started coming towards him. His fight or flight response kicked in and he chose to run. "No! I didn't kill the sheriff and I won't go in with you!" He ran a few steps to his horse and got on.

Just as he got in the saddle, a warning shot rang out as the deputy didn't want to shoot him. However, Randy didn't stop. He kicked it into high gear. As the horse began to gallop, he saw a building splinter nearby as more shots rang out. A cloud of dust popped up just missing his horse. He rounded the corner and took off towards the woods.

sprint-

Thankfully, Randy knew these woods well. He had been playing and hunting in these woods since he was a kid. Unfortunately, so did some of the other towns folk. He knew he could take cover from flying bullets in the woods temporarily at least. He had no idea where he was heading.

He couldn't go back to town to meet his foreman, but he was sure he would hear all about what happened and take the supplies back to the ranch and the news back to his mother. That thought made him feel a little queezey. What would his mother think? Would she believe the accusations? How would he get word to her again? Well, He would have to worry about that later.

As he entered the woods, he could hear the shots and racing hooves in the distance. This meant the deputy and a few men weren't that far behind him. He had to think fast. The trail wasn't a strait one so he hoped it would cover him for a little while. It would be getting dark soon and he didn't want to still be in the woods when dark came. His knew horse would need rest eventually. He thought of a little creek that ran out of the woods he had ran across a couple of years ago. Maybe he could find and follow it again.

He knew he couldn't go back anywhere near his home for a while because people would expect him to show up there. For now, he decided to just focus on finding the creek and getting out of the woods. He rode as a very good pace, and hoped the town's people would give up the search temporarily to go find a posse once the dark set in. Every now and then he could look over his shoulder and see some movement through the trees of the people who were following him.

As he rode, he began to fully realize the predicament he had gotten himself into. It was not a good one. If he faced trial for killing the sheriff, he would more than likely hang. He knew he was innocent of that at least. However, had he not sought revenge on the man that killed his dad, he wouldn't have found himself in this predicument. He would have either left the barber shop and went to another location or he would have stayed and gotten his hair cut. Either way, he would not have been out on that street at the time the sheriff was killed with a gun in his hand. No one could accused him of being the one to shoot the sheriff. Wait, had he been the one to successfully shoot and kill his dad's killer? Maybe he deserved to be in this situation. He never wanted to be hunted by the law or to be in trouble. He always tried to be a good son and take good care of his mother. What would she do now?

He groaned within himself. There was the creek. Thankfully, he had remembered where it was. He also hoped the creek would help cover his tracks of where he had been. This would also give the horse and him a chance to get some water. He plunged into the creek and headed south. He was trying to remember what the next town was that he would come to, but he could not remember the name of it for the life of him. He had only visited it once as a teenager with his dad. He at least knew how to tell which direction he was headed by the location of the sun.

After traveling down the creek for awhile, he finally saw the clearing. If he had remembered right, it would take him right back to the main trail back to the next town. As he got to the clearing, the sun was beginning to set. So, he got himself and his horse some water and headed into the clearing to try to find the trail before it was too dark.

It took him a few minutes, but just before dark, he saw where the trail was and headed for it quickly. He had to slow down just a bit before he got to the trail because it was very dark now. Once he got on the trail, he decided to keep riding towards the next town. He was afraid to stop to rest. He didn't know if they would continue looking for him after dark or if they would wait until in the morning to proceed. He hoped they would wait until morning and this would give him a good head start and a chance to put pleanty of distance between them and him.

Just before dawn, he reached that first town. He rode straight through and stopped a couple of miles outside of town to rest himself and his horse. He figured he would go as far as he could before he would stop running. If he was able to get a few towns away maybe he would be safe for awhile.

==============================================================================

sprint-

The foreman came out of the saloon just in time to see Randy ride past him at full speed and saw the deputy shooting after him. When the deputy got closer to him, he asked him what was going on. The deputy shouted back, "Randy killed the sheriff and ran from me when I tried to arrest him! Do you want to be a part of the posse?"

The foreman answered, "No, I had better get back to the ranch and let his mother know what happened."

"Suite yourself!" the deputy said as he ran back towards where his horse was and was gathering a few men to go with him along the way.

The foreman rushed back to where the wagon was, and a small crowd had gathered near the area the incident had occurred. He figured he had better get as much of the story as he could because Randy's mother would want to know every detail.

He made his way to crowd and began to ask questions and listen to the gossip. He found out that Randy had a shootout with the stranger and the sheriff had gotten killed during the fight. The stranger's back was to the sheriff and Randy had killed the stranger and then turned the gun on the sheriff. This was bad. The stranger in the shootout could be considered self defense, but killing the sheriff was big trouble. If found guilty in the court of law, Randy could be hanged. No wonder he high tailed it out of town like he did.

The foreman made his way back to the wagon and started his journey back to the ranch. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell Randy's mother. There is no doubt she would be very upset. What would this mean for the operations at the ranch? Randy had been in charge of everything. Was he going to have to take orders from a woman now? He wasn't sure how he felt about that. His head was realing with all the new information and the things that had just occurred.

It was dark by the time he had made it back to the ranch and pulled up in the wagon in front of the house. As he walked in the front door, Randy's mother asked, "Where's Randy? I saved you both some dinner."

sprint-

"Well, that's a problem. Randy won't be eating dinner here tonight. He is now a fugitive of the law." The foreman replied.

Randy's mother said, "What do you mean a fugitive of the law? Randy is a good man."

"Ma'am, I won't argue that point, but he got himself into some trouble today. Can I tell you about it over my dinner? I am hungry as a bear!" The foreman replied.

"Yes! Of course, but I want all the details!" Randy's mom said as she set the foreman's dinner and a cup of water on the table.

As the foreman sat down at the table to eat, he told her everything he knew about the situation. "And so, the last time I saw Randy, he was riding full speed out of town with the deputy chasing him."

"What on Earth was Randy thinking? He has never gotten himself into a gun fight before or has he ever been in trouble. Does he realize what that means for the ranch, for me, for himself? I just can't wrap my head around this right now. I need some time to think. I will talk to you in the morning. Go ahead and put the wagon and horses away in the barn and the supplies and get yourself some rest."

"Yes, Ma'am! I will see you in the morning then." The foreman got up and went outside to finish his work and go to his bed.

Randy's mother began to cry out to God as she cleared the dirty dishes off the table. "God! What do I do? Please, protect Randy. If he is innocent, then please make it known. If he is guilty, please forgive him. Have mercy on me. I don't know what I am going to do. I lost my husband, and now I may lose my son! I am left alone here with the hired hands. How do we carry on with the work here at the ranch without Randy to run things? How do we all survive through all of this? Help us! Give me wisdom as to what to do now. I don't know what to think or believe. I love my son, but now I don't even know if he is ok. In Christ's name, Amen."

The next morning, she hadn't slept well at all. However, she got up at her usual time and went about her morning routine. She said another quick prayer and got breakfast ready for the men. Her heart was heavy, but she was determined to trust God with the whole situation.

The foreman came in before anyone else in hopes to talk to her before the other men came in. "Mrs. Billings, do you want us to continue business as usual? I can take charge until you are able to figure things out."

"Yes, I think that would be best. I will be riding into town today to see what I need to do to set things straight. We need to keep things going as smoothly as possible for now. I should know a bit more this evening and will hopefully come up with a plan from here."

"Ok, then that is what we will do. The men will be here shortly for breakfast, and we will continue working on the North side fence." The foreman sat down at the table to wait for the rest of the men to show up.

After breakfast, Randy's mother asked the foreman to get the wagon ready for her as she went and got herself ready to go to town. It seemed like such a long ride to town. She assumed it was because she was anxious to hear updates on her son's situation. The first place she visited was the general store. Sometimes, it was the best place to hear the latest news. She only learned that a posse had been formed and had headed out early this morning. At least she knew Randy was still at large for the moment.

She made her way to the sheriff's office to see if anyone was there, but as she suspected, there wasn't anyone there.

Next she headed to the post office. She didn't get much more information there. Then she went to the newspaper where she got the story that was printed in the paper. This gave her some information but not much more than what she already had.

She decided to go to the lawyer's office.

sprint-

As Mary Billings walked into the lawyer's office, Terrence Hendricks looked up at her. "Hi, Mary, Come on in. I suppose you have hear about your son's situation?"

"Yes, and I would like to talk to you about it." Mary responded.

Terrence motioned to the chair across the desk from him and stood up, "Please, have a seat!"

Mary sat down and Terrence also sat back down. "I need to know how I can help my son."

"Yes! He has gotten himself into quite the trouble. The posse is out looking for him now."

"I thought they might be since there is no one at the sheriff's office. At some point, he will have to face the court. I need to know what I can do now to help him."

"Lady, I am not sure you can. He killed the sheriff. If I were you, I'd pray that he never gets caught. You know there will probably be a bounty placed on his head if the posse doesn't catch him. The federal Marshal will be called on to track him down. If he survives the Marshal and the bounty hunters, he will face being hanged. Unless you can prove he is innocent, you might want to start planning what to do with his remains. I am sorry that I don't have better news for you, but that is about the sum of it."

"Mr. Hendricks, you speak as though he has already been found guilty. He hasn't even faced trial yet!"

"Mrs. Billings, you were not here yesterday. You did not see what occurred and how the town reacted. I think if they had cought him yesterday, there would have been a lynching and no trial. You know how much the sheriff was reverenced here. The town loved him and they were pretty angry when they saw him gunned down in cold blood."

Did someone actually see my son shoot the sheriff?

Ma'am, respectfully, there were several of the town's people out on the street when the shooting happened. I am sure there are many eye witnesses.

"Well, forgive me, but we will have to see about that if I have to do my own investigation!" Then she got up and stormed out the door.

Terrence shook his head and went back to his paperwork.

Mary went down to the church building to pray and to speak to the pastor. Her heart was breaking. She couldn't believe her son would do such a thing that he had been accused of. She knew Randy, at least she thought she did. He didn't even like killing a fly unless he had to. She wished she could hug him and talk to him in person to see what his side of the story was. She knew now that she may never even see him again. He was in a lot of trouble. This is the worst trouble he had been in all of his life.

As Mary walked into the church, she saw that if was empty. So, she went up to the second row to the front and took a seat. She began crying as the overwhelming feelings of Hopelessness started to overtake her. Upon hearing her cry, the pastor came out of his office and walked over to her. He had heard what had happened with Randy and tried to console her, "Mary, I am so, so sorry."

"Oh pastor! I don't believe this! I don't believe it for one minute! My son is in so much trouble and I feel so helpless and hopeless! What am I supposed to do?" She sobbed as she said this to the pastor.

The pastor put his hand on hers and said, "Mary, I am not sure I have the answer for this one, but I know the one who does. Don't lose faith or hope. Would you like me to pray with you?"

Mary weekly shook her head yes as the pastor knelt down. "Dear Heavenly Father, I bring Mary to you right now who is distraught over her son's situation. While we may not know all the details, we know you do. Please, bring Randy back safely and provide answers to his guilt or innocence and be with Mary as she walks this path with her son. In the meantime, watch over the ranch and provide her needs. Touch her heart and give her peace. In Jesus' name, AMEN."

Mary had stopped sobbing by the end of the prayer. "Thank you, Pastor. Keep praying for us please. I feel at least some better now."

"You know I will. Let me know if I can help in any way."

Oh, I will. Then she got up and walked back out of the church. Where would she go next? She didn't make a habit of it, but she decided to step inside the saloon to see if she could learn more there. She did find out that the sheriff had been in the saloon right before the shooting. Although, she wasn't sure how that would help. She heard that Randy had been in the Barber shop right before the shooting, so she went there next.

sprint-

As Mary went into the barber shop, the barber knew she was there to inquire about Randy. He looked up and said, "Mary! I am so sorry about what happened to Randy! I didn't see him shoot the sheriff, but I did see him shoot the man he said killed his dad."

Mary stopped abruptly, "You mean he saw the man who shot his dad? That would at least explain why he ended up in a shootout, but that boy should have still known better. I have never tought him to seek revenge. I have always told him to turn the other cheek, but he took his dad's death very hard especially having witnessed it himself."

"Yeah, some stranger came him and he got this funny expression on his face. He had come in with Cody Rogers. Cody was in my chair and he was waiting. Once the stranger spoke, then his face turned pale and then red and he yelled at the guy, something about being the one to kill his dad. There were words exchanged, and before you knew it they were in the street. He was able to shoot the stranger first, then I seen him dive behind the watering trough. The sheriff came out of the saloon to deal with the ruckus. Next thing we knew, there were 2 more shots fired and the sheriff fell to the ground. You might ask the banker if he saw what happened. He's the one that told the deputy that Randy had been the one to shoot the sheriff."

"Thank you so much for telling me what happened. Shooting the sheriff just don't sound like my son. It's hard enough to know he shot the stranger, but I can somewhat justify that."

"Yes, Ma'am. I hope everything works out. I'd sure hate to see Randy hang. He seems like a good man. This seems so out of character for him. Why, I remember when he was a young boy and his Daddy brought him in here for a haircut. A spider came down and landed on him from the ceiling and he just watched it. It was his dad who swatted it first. Even then, he couldn't understand why his Daddy had killed that spider." He smiled at the memory.

"I sure hope I can prove he didn't do this. I lost my husband. I don't want to lose my son too."

Well, good luck to you, Mrs. Billings.

Mary walked back outside and sighed as she began to make her way to the bank.

sprint-

Mary walked into the bank and she didn't have to go far to see the banker. He was right up front speaking with a patron. She waited patiently for him to finish. "Mr. Banker!"

"Awe! Mrs. Billings! I guess you have heard about what happened with Randy yesterday?"

Yes! that is what I am here to talk to you about. I was told by the barber that you saw Randy shoot the sheriff. You know that is so out of character for him. Please, tell me what you saw."

Mrs. Billings, I don't want to upset you but I did see your son shoot his gun in the direction of the sheriff and the sheriff dropped dead on the ground. I may not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. But I know what I saw.

Are you sure he was shooting at the sheriff? It could have been an accident you know.

Yes, I am sure and it was no accident.

Thank you, but I have to disagree. You may have thought you saw that, but I can't believe my son would shoot anyone down in cold blood without a good reason.

Respectfully, he was probably afraid of being arrested because he did shoot the stranger just before he shot the sheriff.

I suppose that could be a possibillity. We shall see. Thank you for your time. Good day!"

Good day, Mrs. Billings.

She walked out of the bank and back to the wagon. There wasn't much more she could do but pray and wait to see what happened next. She went back to the ranch in time to cook dinner for the men.

==============================================================

Randy must have dozed off to sleep. The sun was hot and it took him a moment to remember where he was at. His horse had been happily grazing on some grass, and he was sure he had been there a couple more hours than he had intended. He knew the posse had been formed and was probably looking for him now. He got a drink of water and got back on his horse. They had both needed a little rest.

Randy made his way to the trail again and tried to maintain a steady pace. He had no way of knowing how close or far away the posse was. So, he figured his best option was to just keep moving. Soon he came into the town of Kirkville. This was a small town he had visited several times before. He was known here. He just wanted to ride through town as quickly as possible. He didn't want to follow a straight trail so as to not be obvious to his persuers. He cut back into the woods near this town to try to throw people off his trail hopefully. He knew he would soon get into teritory he was not familiar with. He remembered his father talking about another town that was on the other side of the woods. He hoped he would be able to find it before dark.

These woods were more dense than the ones he traveled through before and Montana had a lot of mountainous territory. He had to make his way a little more carefully because now he was on a trail he had not been on before. Apparently, it wasn't traveled that much either. He hoped he had not made a mistake by taking this route. The trees made it seem dark while occasionally there would be sun rays that shined through the branches. He remained alert and careful. He thaught to himself, "If I ever get out of this mess, I think I am going to be a better man. I am going to go to church. I am going to stay out of trouble. I hope I can get out of it somehow."

He traveled on through the woods at times having to duck under tree branches. Occasionally, the branches would leave scratches on him. He almost lost his hat once. Finally, right before sunset, he came out to the town on the other side of the woods. He wasn't sure what town this was and at this point, he really didn't care. He was tired and hungry. He was glad that he had a little cash still with him. He made his way to the hotel and got a meal and a room. It didn't take him long to eat everything on his plate. He probably could have eaten more if it was there. He gulped down the cup of milk he had been given with gratitude.

sprint-

After Randy finished his meal, he went straight to bed. He thought a bed had never felt so good. It didn't take him long to go to sleep.

Randy slept hard for several hours. The sunlight was coming through the window by the time he woke up. He hoped to get another good meal before he started riding again. He had no idea at this point how far he would go or where he would end up. He just knew he needed some distance right now between him and his hometown.

He Got up, stretched, and washed his hands and face in the basin provided. Randy grabbed his belongings and headed downstairs to get a meal. Most people had already left the hotel. He was only one of 2 lingering behind. The other patron was checking out. He went to the desk, checked out, and ordered a meal. Then he sat down at a table in the dining room and waited.

It wasn't long until the maid brought him some coffee and let him know his breakfast would be ready shortly. He looked up at the clock on the wall and realized it was already 10:30 in the morning. He figured he had better go by the store and grab a few things to take with him that he would need if he slept out on the trail although, he had already stayed longer than he had intended. However, he needed the food and the rest.

The maid came back with his bacon, eggs, and biscuits and set it all in front of him. He thanked her and scarfed down the meal and then washed it down with the rest of his coffee. He grabbed up his things and headed to his horse.

Once he got back to his horse and climbed on, he took a look at his surroundings. The town wasn't much to look at. The buildings seemed to be all the same. It must be one of the mining towns that he had come across and he still didn't know which town he was in.

Randy road slowly down the street looking to locate the general store. There didn't appear to be many people out and about in town right now. He assumed it would get busier in the evening once the minors came out of the mind. If he hadn't been looking closely, he would have missed the sign but there it was, the general store. He tied his horse to the hitch and went inside.

Randy walked inside and looked around for a minute. He picked out a blanket, change of clothes, some coffee for the road, some canned beans, a knife, a utensil, and a few other items he thought he would need. This spent most of the money that he had left, but at least he knew he would be good for a few days.

When he got on his horse again, he saw the posse entering town and knew it was time to high tail it out of there. He went calmly for a few paces so he didn't bring attention to himself. Once he got out of eyesight, he had the horse gallop out of town. He decided to take the trail for a little while, but wasn't sure where he wanted to go next. He knew if the posse had checked at the hotel, he had used his real name out of habit and realized that was a mistake. At least he had been able to rest and get some supplies.

After being on the trail which proved to be a bit of an open area, he decided to migrate back towards the more wooded area. He figured the posse would continue to chase him for at least a little while. He had to try to make them lose his trail. He needed to disappear for a while. He decided to head toward the mountains.

sprint-

Once Randy made his way to the woods again, he began working his way towards the more mountainous Terraine. He figured he will need to stay close to the edge of the woods because the woods would grow more dense at he got to the higher area. He had to weave around the trees and the brush as there was no trail. He wished he had gotten a map back at the store but he just hadn't thought about it at the time.

After a couple of hours of making his way through the wooded area, he came upon another clearing. He looked around for a moment. He was beginning to reach unfamiliar territory. He had never been this far out before. He had never needed to be. He thought for a moment trying to decide which way to go next. He had heard of a town called Butte and thought that might be a good place to hang his hat for a while and try to get word back to his mother somehow. He just wasn't sure how to get there and he wasn't sure which direction to go to get there either. He knew for certain that he couldn't go anywhere back the way he had come.

Randy looked back towards the trail and realized the posse wasn't too far behind. Since he was at a higher altitude, he could see back down on the trail. He had considered going back on the trail, but after seeing this, he thought it better to go back into the woods and head another direction. At least the woods kept him out of plain view. If he could see the posse, it was possible that they could see him.

He went back into the woods and found a trail there. He decided to follow that trail for a while. He was glad he had gotten a good nights sleep because it didn't appear he was going to get to rest again any time too soon. He stopped on the trail for a moment and got a drink of water and hoped he would come upon a creek or something soon so his horse could get a drink.

He was getting to see some beautiful scenery at least and exploring places he had never gone before. He had to admit to himself he enjoyed that even though he didn't enjoy the situation he was in. He continued to ride the trail to see where it led and hoped to be out of the woods by dark. He had no idea how long it would take to get out of the woods following this trail. He took a deep breath of fresh air and took in his surroundings. The trees were kind of tall here yet spaced out enough that the sunlight could shine through the branches. It was absolutely beautiful. He could see the birds flying from limb to limb and hear the chirping their songs. He could see squirrels occasional running around the trees and hear them barking at one another. There was a light wind blowing which caused the leaves to rustle. He could smell the scent of the great outdoors.

He thought he saw a clearing up ahead, and hoped for the best. After riding about 4 hours on the trail, he had made his way to a clearing. At this point, he had no idea where he was at. The trail continued back into the woods or there was a trail leading off to the side that remained in the clearing for a little while. He wanted to stay in the clearing so he took the trail to the side. By this time he could no longer tell where the posse or the old trail was. Now he could get some direct sunshine. The elevation was definitely beginning to get higher and the incline a lot steeper.

sprint-

The terraine began to get more rocky. He continued to follow the trail. It would be getting dark again soon. He would need to find a place to make camp over night. He didn't want to be going through unknown territory when he couldn't see what was 10 feet in front of him. Plus, he needed to take shelter from wild animals and rest his horse for a while. He also needed to figure out how to give his horse some water.

After riding for another hour, the sun was beginning to go down. He came across a small stream of water. It wasn't huge, but it would do. He decided to make camp there by the stream. Randy jumped down off his horse and led him to the water. The horse imediately began drinking. There was some grass his horse could graze on for now. He needed to get a fire started quickly as the sun was almost down. He gathered a few small sticks to get the fire started and noted nearby where he could grab some more if needed. By this time the sky was orange and growing darker by the minute. He used a match and got the fire going and gathered a small pile of sticks to add to the fire as needed. He got a can of beans from his saddle bag and ate that for his dinner.

sprint-

After he was done eating, he unsaddled his horse and got the blanket. He set up a spot to lay down beside the fire and tied his horse to a nearby bush.

He lay down and began to pray, "God, if you are there, I know I done some really stupid things. I don't want to die and someone needs to look after mother. I hope she isn't too worried about me. I sure hope I can get out of this mess I am in. I know I should have never saught revenge, but when I saw the man that killed my dad, it was like I was there all over again. Only, this time I could fight back and I got real angry. It all happed so quick. I don't know who shot the sheriff, but I am sure I didn't do that. However, I deserve this because I did kill a man. For that I am real sorry. I hope you can forgive me. Amen" Then he lay there looking at the stars and thinking about the events of the last few days.

He must have dozed off, but woke up startled by a growl or was there 2. He poked a couple more sticks into the fire that had almost gone out. His horse was nervous and a bit spooked. He looked up and there were some wolves surrounding them. He rushed to his horse's side and pulled out his gun. His heart was racing. Thinking quickly, he grabbed another stick and caught it on fire and began to wave it at the wolves the scare them away. More growls and barks came from the wolves. The horse winnied nervously and was stopping his hooves. Randy wasn't quite sure what he was going to do. He didn't want to waiste his bullets and he couldn't afford to lose his horse. This went on for several minutes. Then some shots rang out that he didn't shoot that scared the wolves away.

sprint-

Randy wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or worried. However, he was glad to be rid of the wolves and cried out, "Hey, who's out there?"

"Trapper Joe! You looked like you could use a little help there!"

"Yeah! Thank you! I didn't know anyone else was nearby. Where'd you come from?"

Trapper Joe laughed and said, " You never know who or what you will run into out here. I been following you for a little ways today. I hope you don't mind the company."

Yeah, I guess I am pretty lucky you happened to come along right then.

So, Son, where you coming from? You don't seem familiar with these parts.

To tell you the truth, I am not. My home Town is Elkhorn.

Have you had anything to eat?

Yeah, I ate a can of beans I had in my saddle bags. Have you?

Well, no, but I hope you don't mind me eating some jerky I have with me.

No! Go right ahead!

Trapper Joe also ate and tied his horse near Randy's. He got his bed roll out and placed it on the other side of the fire. "I don't think those wolves will be back now that there are more of us. Where are you headed?"

I was thinking of maybe going to Butte, but I haven't completely decided yet.

You are headed in the opposite direction of Butte, but Boulder should be just a few miles from where we are at now.

Well, I guess I am going to Boulder instead then. I was a little turned around and hoped to look at a map at the next town I came across.

Well, then Boulder is where you are headed if you remain on this trail. I'm heading there too if you don't mind the company. It can get awefully lonely out on these trails alone.

Yeah, I noticed. No, I don't mind the company. You think we are good to get some shut eye now?

Go right ahead. I apologize in advance if my snoring disturbs you.

If we are lucky, it will scare any more of the wild animals away.

Trapper Joe laughed and said, "It just might at that."

The men ceased talking and each finally drifted off to sleep.

sprint-

The next morning, as the sun was rising, Randy woke up. Trapper Joe had already got the fire rekindled and was making a pot of coffee. "Hi, I see you beat me awake."

"Oh, I am used to getting up early. I do it almost automatically every morning. You want some coffee?"

Sure! Do you have anything for breakfast?

I do. I have some more jerky if you would like.

I have some more beans if you want those.

No, go ahead and have some jerky. I have plenty of it. I am going to boulder to sell these furs. I'll be able to get more if I need it.

Ok, sure I will take some then.

Ok, it's been a while since I ran across someone out here. I been out here in this area trapping for near on 2 months. I did pretty good too, but I don't want to be caught out here when winter arrives. I am going to sell these furs and then go back south, away from the mountains for the winter. When it snows around these parts, it can get pretty deep. I am not too fond of the cold now that I am getting older. It makes my bones ache. What brings you to these parts?

Randy thought about telling the truth, but then he thought a lie would be better. "Oh, I needed to get away from home to figure some things out. Do you know of a good place to get a job in Boulder?"

You thinking about staying the winter there?

Yeah, I might just stay there for a while and earn some more money for the trail.

Well, you might get stuck when the snow comes, but I think there are a couple of ranches around here hiring and you might check with the general store in town.

When does the snow come to these parts?

Oh, about mid November if you are lucky, otherwise late October.

So, I have a little over a month before winter sets in, that's good to know.

As soon as you finish eating, we might want to get on the move again so we can get to town by around 1 pm.

Ok sounds good to me.

Neither of them said any more until they had gathered up everything and got ready to leave. Randy pored some water over the fire to put it out. He had decided the posse would be looking for one man by himself not 2 men traveling together. He figured he would give Boulder a try. He didn't have many supplies and not a lot of money and would need something to live off of especially if he was going to survive the winter. He wasn't sure how far he had come from home, but he knew he had traveled a good distance. He let Trapper Joe lead the way since he was more familiar with the territory.

Trapper Joe started singing a song that Randy had never heard before, but he didn't have a bad singing voice so it wasn't hard to listen to. They rode on for around 45 minutes and Trapper Joe stopped to talk to Randy. "Now the trail is going to widen a little bit. We will be going over some rough ground and we will be going through some open land before we enter town. I recommend we remain single file to give the horses plenty of room to walk over the rocks."

Ok I will follow you lead, Randy replied.

Trapper Joe silently led on. They rode quietly for a couple of hours before either of them said anything.

sprint-

Once Randy got back in his room, he washed his face and hands, kicked off his boots, took off his shirt and spread the map out on the bed. After studying it for a few minutes, he thought it might be a good idea to stay here for the winter. He figured it was far away enough from his hometown and he was about to run out of money. He needed to make more before moving on. He would rest the rest of today and look for a job tomorrow. He folded the map back up and set it on the chest of drawers. there was a newspaper on the night stand, so he picked it up, laid back on the bed, and began to read the town's latest news.

sprint-

As Randy was reading the back page, he saw a story about him with a WANTED in big bold letters by his name. His heart leaped into his throat. He now had a price on his head. He was glad that he signed into the hotel with an alias, Roy Jones. He hoped he could keep his real identity hidden until he could earn some more cash at least and hoped he would not have to flee the town after the snows came. The article read:

WANTED - Randy Billings, accused of killing the Sheriff of Elkhorn in a street fight. He is around 6 ft tall, has a slender build, is about 160 lbs, has brown shoulder length hair, and has hazel-colored eyes. If seen, he is considered armed and dangerous! REWARD - $10,000 for any info leading to his capture and arrest.

'Wow!' He thought to himself, I would have never dreamed this was possible.