Outlaw Born

Outlaw Born - Chapter 4

The small but growing town of Dixon, New Mexico was just ahead. Ben grinned as he slowed his horse to a walk. Just a few more miles and he would be home. First, he had to stop at Macintyre General Store.

Other than the fresh coat of paint on the livery and the new rail station in the distance, everything looked just as he left it five years ago.

Ben dismounted and tied his horse to the nearest post. He stopped on the boardwalk and brushed off some of the road dust in an attempt to look half presentable. He heard a voice filled with surprise from the doorway of the shop. "Benjamin Mason. As I live and breathe."

Ben looked up into the face of Frank Macintyre. Ben walked into the shop and held out his hand. "Frank, it is good to see you. It's been too long. That will be changein now that the war is over. I wanted to pick up something for Ellen and Henry."

He glanced around the shop. "Do you still carry ready-made dresses? Or maybe just some of that soft print she likes so much."

"Ben.... " Frank didn't know what to say, how to say. It was obvious Ben hadn't gotten the letter.

Ben continued as he looked around the shop. "The ladies in Washington had these fancy woven bonnets, I could see Ellen in one with her hair all tucked back..." He paused and grinned. "Sorry, I'm goin on and on, I'm glad to finally be home."

Frank nodded slightly, his own expression not so joyous though he tried. He put a hand on Ben's shoulder, he could feel how thin the other man had become out in the field. "It is good to have you back home Ben. Did you get Pastor Green's letter?"

Ben felt a weight in his gut. Why would the preacher write to him? "No, I'm afraid the Union mail wasn't very reliable at times. It's been 10 months since I've gotten any word from home."

He picked up a box of cards maybe he would teach Henry to play. The art of the box cover had two men with two cards of each of their hands visible. One man two aces, the other two eights. His heart skipped and stilled for a breath, as his gut suddenly felt a heavy pressure like he had felt in the moments before a hard battle began.

Ben held the shopkeeper's gaze. He could see the lines of age on the older man's face. Ben feared what he saw in the man's eyes, sadness. "Frank, what was in the letter from Pastor Green?

Frank rubbed his double chin as he tried to find the right words. "Ben.... Ellen is in town."

Before another word could be said, Frank called back to his wife. "Luella, I'll be back in a little while."

She walked out and put a hand over her heart when she looked at Ben. "Take your time, dear. Mr. Mason.... I'm so sorry."

Ben's gaze went between the two, what could she be sorry for? The weight in his stomach grew heavier, his mind attempted to tell him what his heart knew but Ben refused to acknowledge any such notion.

Macintyre took off his apron and laid it on the counter. He put a hand on Ben's shoulder and led him out of the shop and down the thoroughfare. "Much has changed since you went to fight. The first year or so things were calm. Ellen was quite proud of you, so was your uncle. Old Pete would brag a storm about his nephew the lieutenant."

He glanced at Ben. "Then the railroad folk started comin through, buying up every bit of property they could get their hands on. The land owners that didn't succumb to the bags of money they were offerin were pushed off."

Ben stopped their progress and looked at him. "Pushed off? Pushed off how, didn't any one stop them?"

Frank nodded but he could tell Ben was already taking this hard. "Yes, several fought them. Formed coalitions and wrote to the congressional offices and solicitors. Everything legal. The problem was the railroad folk didn't play by the same rules. They turned this town inside out to get their way.