Chapter 11: The Diversion

He was up at about three thirty. He got into his Bible. His prayers were intense, for if there was a time that he needed Gods guidance it was now. That morning, he chose Romans 8:28 as his Bible verse for the day.

JJ got to Mr. Hornsby's house at about five, thirty minutes before dawn. "Mr. Hornsby! I'm ready! Remember; go to your store like nothing has happened. The best front we can put forth is to make sure that anyone that might be watching won't suspect anything out of the ordinary when Albert and I leave," explained JJ.

"Okay, I usually get there about six, so I'll leave now. I'll be praying every moment you are gone, said Mr. Hornsby, coming out dressed ready for work.

"Thanks, I need prayer desperately so I can keep my focus on the day head," said JJ.

Walking into the jail, JJ went straight to the cells and pulled Ron out. He took him out to the front, backhanding him across the face with a blow so hard that Ron was sure his teeth rattled.

"I am going to say this one time, and if I don't get the answer I want, or if I get a sarcastic remark, I will start with a finger and break every bone in your body. The girl your brothers kidnapped is my future wife. You better be praying, if you know how, that not one hair on her head is out of place. Where are they holding her?" asked JJ in a voice that Ron knew he meant business. He knew he had to give JJ the right answer.

"They are at a line shack fifteen miles this side of White Sulfur Springs, in a canyon close to a flat rock. You will see the rock on the road from White Sulfur Springs to Red Brute after you cross the ford on the south side of the Missouri River," said Ron as convincingly as possible. His wrist hurt from being shot, and besides, that was why he had become so fast on the draw, because of his glass jaw.

"I know they will have lookouts posted, so I need to get them before they get away to report to the others," JJ replied in the same gruff voice. Then to Albert hsaid, "Albert, write this down."

A tremendous feeling of relief overcame Ron, as he realized JJ had believed him. His wrist hurt so much, that he was afraid to move it, fearing it would set off another jolt of pain. He concentrated as hard as he could, making sure he gave JJ the best directions he could.

"Okay, there will be a man in the trees on the hill south of the Missouri River ford. He will be watching both sides of the road leading to the ford. There will be a waterfall two miles west of the ford. If you go down the trail to the bottom of the waterfall, you can cross under the falls to the other side. Follow the trail over the top to the other side of the ridge. The trail then runs alongside the ridge. When you come to the rock that looks like a frog, tie your horse there.

Proceed back over the ridge. You will see a man behind a rock looking out through the trees at the ford. After you capture him, proceed on down the trail about three hundred yards. You will find a tree with an unusual fork about seven feet above the ground. It runs parallel to the ground over the trail so that when you are on horseback, you have to duck to go under it. There will be another trail leading to the right down into the canyon. Follow that trail to the bottom and work your way through the trees at the bottom of the canyon until it begins to open out. Tie your horses there.

Back up to the left at the top of the hill is the flat rock. There will be a man somewhere in the trees by the rock overlooking the trail that goes into the canyon where the line shack is. The line shack is about two bits of a mile back, up against a very rocky slope that proceeds up above the shack about two hundred feet.

The shack is actually made up of two sheds, one with a porch, the other without one. I don't know which one the girl will be in. There is almost no way to surprise the men in the shack without being seen, because it overlooks a big clearing, except from behind. I don't know how you will be able to get to it other than if you are a mountain lion and can jump straight off of the mountain to an area of about four to six feet behind the shack. There are no windows in the back of the shack, only on both sides and the front. Their horses will be in a corral to the left side of the shack, down the hill about one hundred fifty feet."

"Albert, put this bum back into his cell, and go get your horse. Come back and be back ready to go. You wrote down every word. Hand me the paper. Don't let on like any thing has happened," said JJ to Albert. To Sam he said, "Don't let any strangers in the jail while we're gone."

While Albert was putting Ron back in his cell, Sam said, "When you get back to town, if you hear about dead men at the jail, just look the other way, okay?"

"Okay Sam, just don't kill Ron until we get Ruth back," said JJ.

As Albert came out from the cells, he said, "Hey JJ! I don't have a bedroll or saddlebags," said Albert.

"That's all right Albert, get your horse and go meet me at Mr. Hornsby's Store. I've got to go to the telegraph office and send a message to Great Falls so we can keep Ron here until we solve this case," said JJ.

As JJ walked by Mr. Hornsby's General Store, he could visualize Ruth running out to say hi. He started praying again for strength to endure this hardship, and for guidance through his search for Ruth.

JJ went into the telegraph office. As he walked in the door, he said, "Hi, Bobby! How are you?"

"Hey, JJ, what brings you in here this time of morning?" asked Bobby. "Look, Bobby, something has come up. You're going to have to trust me. Its better you don't know anymore than that. Can you go get some coffee and sit on the porch until I come out and get you? "asked JJ.

"Why sure, JJ. I'll gladly do that. Is everything all right?" answered Bobby. "Look Bobby, we have known each other for a long time. You're a born again Christian, I'm a born again Christian. This is something that must be kept hush, hush. You just have to trust me on it. Please, I don't have much time!" begged JJ.

"You got it, partner. I'm outta here," said Bobby as he walked out the door. JJ proceeded to send the telegram. It read

"From JJ Staples Marshal Fort Benton ... stop

To Marshal Great Falls ... stop

Concerning Ron Greer ... stop

Need to bring to trial for assault charges ... stop

Delay pickup of prisoner until further notice. stop

Will contact when time of release ... stop"

"Thanks Bobby," said JJ as he opened the door to leave.

"Don't mention it. I needed the coffee to stay awake," replied Bobby.

When JJ got to Mr. Hornsby's Store, Albert was already there. Albert had picked out a set of saddlebags, and a bedroll.

"How much do we owe you Mr. Hornsby?" asked JJ. "Nothing, just get my daughter back," replied Mr. Hornsby.

"But..." JJ started to say that it was the responsibility of the Marshal's office, but Mr. Hornsby cut him off and said, "This is on me and that's it."

Realizing there was no way out but to accept it, JJ said to Albert, "Let's go. We have a lot of ground to cover."

Once they got on their way, JJ led the way off the road about a mile from town.

"I thought they were off the Missouri River JJ!" shouted Albert.

"We used to go this way all the time when we went swimming in the

Missouri River! It takes off about five miles! It comes out at the falls!" shouted back JJ.

"Boy! I sure hope you're right!" hollered Albert.

"Yes, I'm right! Just follow me! But you had better watch your head for low branches!" shouted JJ back to Albert, as he stretched the distance between them.

JJ received no answer from Albert and looked back over his shoulder. He saw Rocky, Albert's horse's name, for he looked like a regular old gray rock, but Albert wasn't on him.

JJ went back and picked up Rocky's reins. As he backtracked twenty yards or so, he found Albert sprawled on the ground gasping for air.

He jumped off his horse and slapped Albert on the back a couple of times so he could get his breath back. After a little bit, Albert said, "Oh, Oh, man! JJ, oh, oh, boy, I almost knocked my head down to my boots," moaned Albert.

"Albert, you have to start watching where you are going before you kill Albert it seems you would be looking for things to knock you off your horse after that rope. Watch yourself. I need your assistance. Are you okay now?" asked JJ.

"Yeah, I think so, but I've got a goose egg on my head and a headache on top of the goose egg. I am going to start watching," answered Albert rubbing his head.

After a few minutes, Albert got up and drank some water from his canteen. After his thirst was quenched, he said as he swung into the saddle, "I'm going to be all right. Let's go."

"Okay, keep your eyes open from now on," said JJ getting on his horse,"

"You can bet your life on it," agreed Albert.

After about one hour, they came out on the road about a mile west of the waterfall. Moving off the road to a trail leading to the bottom of the waterfall, they moved under it to the other side. They were wet and cold, for it was a cool day. Going up the trail to the top of the ridge.

JJ stopped and said, "Let's eat. I'm getting hungry."

"I hope it will help my headache," answered Albert.

As they sat down to eat, they picked a spot in a sunny meadow where they could get dry and warm. JJ said the blessing and then they ate their lunch. Then, looking at Albert's head JJ started laughing.

"Oh man, Albert! One thing's for sure, from the looks of that lump on the top of your head, you don't have to worry about losing your hat," said JJ laughing even harder.

"I saw that limb and tried to duck, but I wasn't fast enough, and it knocked me off the horse. It sure knocked the breath out of me!" exclaimed Albert rubbing his head.

"I pulled a dumb move a couple weeks ago. I was down at Warm Spring Creek and was lying there day dreaming. I tied the fishing line around my toe. When I caught a huge catfish, it cut that line into my toe and I thought it was going to cut it off. It's just now getting well," said JJ recalling his pain.

"Oh, that ain't nothing! I was in a barn loft four or five years back, in Mississippi. We had an old mule that kicked a plank off the barn. I jumped out of the loft to stop him from kicking and landed on the plank instead. Both feet landed on nails. It took a month for them to heal," said Albert not to be outdone.

"Okay Albert, we are going to be a little early, so let's be careful. When we find the rock, let's backtrack a couple of hundred yards. We'll stake out the guy and wait to take him until he gets relieved. That way, it will give us a little more time to get down the hill. Then, we can sneak up on them before they know what hit them," said JJ, getting down to business.

"Sounds like a plan to me!" exclaimed Albert.

They carefully made their way along the ridge. It was not long before they came to the rock that looked like a frog. It was the shape of a frog with green moss growing on it. They went back up the trail about a hundred yards and down into the trees out of sight of the trail and tied their horses. They worked their way back over the ridge to the other side, where the man was supposed to be hiding. They were very careful not to make a sound. They didn't even speak to each other. After a hike of about five minutes, they were able to see the man down the ridge through the trees, about fifty yards away. Looking around, JJ saw a water-cut crevice that ran toward the man, and about fifty feet behind the man, the crevice cut down the ridge parallel to him. JJ saw that by moving along inside the crevice, they could get close enough to the man without being seen. Then, when he was relieved, they would be able to hear the conversation between the two men.

It didn't take them long to reach their destination as they worked their way down the crevice. Looking at his pocket watch, JJ saw that it was almost five thirty. Figuring they probably kidnapped her around eight forty-five, and probably rode hard until about twelve on the main road, JJ realized that they probably didn't have any difficulty traveling on the road, as there was a three quarter moon that night. Then, they probably got off the main road and bedded down for the night. Finishing the trip this morning would put them there at about twelve pm.

They thought that, sometime in the next hour, the man on watch should relieved. What seemed like an eternity to JJ, was only thirty minutes.

"Boy Steve, am I glad to see you! This has been the most boring six hours I think I ever spent," exclaimed the man on watch.

"Roy, you better be back here by midnight," said Steve.

"I don't know why! I don't see how they can come in the middle of the night! The moon will be down by one and I won't be able to see a cotton pickin' thing!" complained Roy.

"Come on Roy! You know if we are going to get Ron back, we are going to have to be real careful. You'll just have to listen to all the noises. They say this Marshal is really sneaky. John already relieved Larry, and Henry and Rick are at the line shack. Now go get some sleep," encouraged Steve.

"Okay, I guess you're right. Take care. See you at midnight," said Roy as he left.

Waiting about ten minutes for Roy to get out of range, JJ and Albert started to sneak up behind Steve. While they were closing in on him, Steve put his gun down on the rock and started to stretch. Putting his arms up, he turned around. As he stretched, he saw JJ.

Realizing that turning and getting the gun was out of the question, Steve started running as hard as he could toward the next guard! JJ and Albert took off in hot pursuit, racing through the heavily wooded area! JJ had raced through the trees before, but the man in front of him was holding his own. JJ was slowly gaining on the man in front of him. It was just a question as to who would tire out first.

This man looked like he could go on forever! They had covered a distance of about two hundred yards, when the terrain started a slow rise. JJ started to close the gap between them, as he was younger and his legs were more powerful than the man's legs. Suddenly, the terrain started to slope downhill. It got steeper and steeper. JJ started to take longer strides in order to catch up with Steve, but all of a sudden he lost control of his legs! This caused him to stumble. He hit the ground. Trying to maintain his composure, he got up as quickly as he could, trying to ignore all the bruises he had just acquired. JJ had lost as much ground as he had gained racing after Steve as they were going up the hill. JJ picked up his pace and continued racing after Steve. Ignoring the pain he felt from falling, he ran as fast as he could, for he knew this would be the only chance he had to rescue Ruth. All would be lost if he lost sight of the man in flight. The very thought of losing Ruth caused his adrenaline pump so hard that, all of a sudden, JJ noticed a sudden burst of energy, which caused him to run at tremendous speed. He had no idea where this energy had come from. Within a mater of minutes, JJ overtook Steve and grabbed him by the collar. With his powerful hand, JJ jerked down and back, causing Steve to lose his balance and fall hard on the ground. Steve looked as though he was a crumbled heap on the ground. He was totally exhausted. Before he could even get his breath, JJ whipped out his handcuffs and cuffed Steve to the nearest tree. He then took his bandana off, tied a knot in it, and stuck the knot in Steve's mouth. After that, he tied the bandana so tight around Steve's head, that Steve was unable to utter a syllable.