Tom Garrett's Town

By M.J. Buchanan

Tom Garrett is a cowboy who spent most of his life as a trail boss and in some rather bizarre circumstances became the marshal of Tombstone, Ariz. This book is about a major criminal who was captured by Tom and escapes while being returned to Tombstone for hanging. He plans to exact revenge on not only Tom but the entire town, for having sentenced him to hang.

Tom has been taken prisoner, placed in jail and with no weapons, must figure a way to take back his town from this unscrupulous outlaw. This book is a continuation of Tom Garretts Ride.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 11, 2007
• ISBN: 9781469117744

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Tom Garrett’s Town

M.J. Buchanan

Copyright © 2008 by M.J. Buchanan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

This book is dedicated to my mother Marcia Buchanan who took me to all those wonderful westerns in Arizona during the l930’s and my two sisters, Shirley Lord and Pat Henson who were always there for me.

I would like to acknowledge my friends Eliane Smith, Nancy Davis, Ginny Jung, Bunne Renhult, Ellie Begg and Gerald Krause. Thanks for all the encouragement while writing this book.

CHAPTER 1

It has been several months since Tom Garrett took the job as temporary marshal of Tombstone replacing Marshal Nick Goddard who was wounded in Bisbee, Arizona and left there with some major outlaws until they all recovered.

Tom never considered becoming a marshal as he spent most of his life driving herds from ranch to market but life is strange sometimes. There you are living in your own world doing the same things you’ve always done and in the blink of an eye, a totally unexpected incident happens and your whole life is turned completely up side down.

Take for instance Tom’s situation. While returning from his latest cattle drive he discovered a train out in the middle of nowhere just setting on its tracks. He stopped to find out if he could help but there was no one to help, the train was completely empty. In an effort to discover what happened to the passengers and crew, he became involved in a kidnapping, jail break, bank robbery and ended up helping to capture the notorious Lynn Curtis Gang.

Even with all of the above, it’s still pretty far fetched to see how Tom would end up being a marshal but this is how it all came about. Nick Goddard, the regular marshal was severely wounded while chasing Lynn Curtis after he escaped from jail and robbed the Tombstone Bank. Nick caught up with Lynn in Bisbee, Arizona and after a fierce gun battle was severely wounded and out of action. This left the job of capturing the Curtis Gang up to Tom and his side kick Jack Davis, who came upon the scene while tracking the train passengers. Tom and Jack shot up the Curtis Gang and almost killed Lynn so this all boiled down to the outlaw and the Marshal both injured and left in Bisbee to recover.

Now, Tom, the only man left in one piece, was asked by Nick to return the bank money taken by the Curtis gang, back to Tombstone. Tom agreed and when he successfully arrived in Tombstone, the townspeople were so grateful they asked him to take the marshal’s job, temporarily, until Nick recovered and returned from Bisbee.

Tom had always been a cowboy and really hated the confinement of city life but he was getting older and had been thinking he needed to find another way of life. It looked like taking this temporary job would give him a chance to see what it was like to live in a town so he decided to give it a try.

That’s how life goes sometimes, at the drop of a hat, you can have a complete lifestyle change. One thing you have to say though, it’s never been dull for our cowboy.

It was now several months after the gun battle and Marshal Nick awoke this bright Arizona morning feeling like he was well enough to make the trip from Bisbee to Tombstone. He had not completely regained his strength but was getting anxious to finish his job by hanging Lynn. It was touch and go with Lynn for a while as his wounds were really serious but anyone that ornery seems to have the physical toughness to survive. Nick felt that Lynn was finally well enough to make the trip so he decided this would be the day to return to Tombstone.

Nick had some major decisions to make when he got back to Tombstone. He had been shot before in this marshal’s job but never to this extent and he wondered if it was time to hang up his guns. His cattle ranch had prospered over the years and he had plenty to do without being Marshal. Nick knew that Tom Garrett, the temporary marshal was a competent lawman and from what he heard over the last few months very popular. This would make his decision a lot easier when he got back to town as Tombstone would be in good hands if he decided to quit.

It would have made Nick’s life a lot easier to hang Lynn in Bisbee but felt he owed it to Tombstone to bring him back since that’s where he was sentenced to hang. Lynn had done a lot of harm in that area and the people needed to see his outlawing career come to an end.

Then there was the problem with the rest of the Curtis Gang, who were also jailed in Bisbee. Nick wanted to return them at the same time but knew he couldn’t handle this job alone. He would have to hire some men to help but it bothered him not having experienced lawmen for back up.

Hiring naïve townspeople could be a problem but there were some cattlemen in town who just completed a drive and if he could get them to help he would feel better about his return trip. Cattlemen were usually experienced with their guns and Nick needed all the help he could get to handle the Curtis Gang.

Nick left the hotel and walked over to the local saloon where the drovers had been hanging out since they came into town. He entered the saloon and was glad to see several men playing poker and standing at the bar drinking. He went to the center of the saloon and said:

Good morning men, I’m Marshal Nick Goddard from Tombstone and I need help to take some outlaws back there for a hanging. Any of you who help me will be well received in Tombstone and the pay ain’t bad either. Anyone interested, step over to the bar and we’ll talk about it."

Two brothers came forward and Nick looked them over. He was a pretty good judge of men and these boys looked OK so he took them on. Three other men from the same drive came over and since they all knew each other and had worked together Nick took them on also.

Nick looked around the saloon and said: OK men, how about one more of you guys, I’d like to have six if possible.

No one else stepped forward so Nick would have to settle for the five he already had. He told the men to bring their gear as they would be leaving right away and they all headed to the jail.

Before we leave guys, I want you to fully understand who you will be guarding. This is what’s left of the Lynn Curtis gang and are a dangerous lot capable of murdering you and laughing about it afterwards. We cannot take any chances with them and must be on guard for the entire trip. We will keep them tied up but we will have to be continuously alert as Lynn’s going back to hang and the rest are vicious criminals who will try anything to get their freedom. Now after you heard this, are you still interested in doing this job?

Dave Renhult, one of the brothers shook Nick’s hand and said, Looks Ok to me as long as they’re tied up and we have our guns this should be a cinch.

Don’t be too cocky Dave, these guys are really clever and we will have to be cautious the whole time.

I’m ready, Dave said.

The other men agreed and so Nick started bringing the outlaws out one at a time where their hands were tied behind them. Lynn was brought out last and was handcuffed. The outlaws were led outside and mounted on their horses. A rope was passed around each ones waist and then to the next man so all six were roped together and no one individually could make a break. This seemed pretty secure and the cowboys were a little more confident in the job.

One of the townspeople in Bisbee noticed the marshal bringing the outlaws out of the jail and spread the word that the gang would be leaving. The Bisbee residents were disappointed that Lynn wouldn’t be hung there but they turned out to give him a rousing sendoff. Nick shook hands with the town sheriff and thanked him and the town for all their help during the past few months. As they started off towards Tombstone the outlaws passed through a huge crowd of people who loudly booed upon seeing Lynn leaving their town.

Meanwhile, Tom Garrett, back in Tombstone, had come to the conclusion that living in a town wasn’t such a bad idea. He had settled in as temporary marshal and in many ways, wasn’t looking forward to leaving this job. Facing the rigors of another cattle drive didn’t seem too appealing and he really didn’t like the idea of leaving Maria, an independent, fiery woman he met in this town. When Nick returned those decisions would be made.

Tom had two great deputies, Sam Cobb who was raised in Tombstone and worked with Nick for many years had agreed to help Tom settle into the marshal’s job and became a good friend. Tom’s partner Jack Davis, who helped him recover the kidnapped train passengers and put an end to the Curtis gang stayed on with him as a deputy marshal. This trio of lawmen were greatly admired by the townspeople and were a popular choice to run the town.

Nick was well on his way back to Tombstone by now when Tom awoke this fine morning in a happy mood. He dressed and went to the saloon for his usual breakfast. He was sitting there drinking his coffee and looking forward to the upcoming Fourth of July Celebration when a rider pulled up out front. The rider went directly to the bar and spoke to Jake the bartender.

"Can