Canyon Station

By David E Waddell

Quint Hayes is a Preacher in Abilene, Kansas who came home one night to find his wife and son murdered and then was shot and left for dead by the same outlaws that killed his family. After recovering from his gunshot wounds he turns in his Bible and picks up his old revolver and then leaves Abilene to seek vengeance against the outlaws that killed his family.    Emmett Sanders escaped from Yuma Territorial Prison after his dying cellmate, Macallum, told him where four bags of gold c

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781633386037

Book preview

1

Here comes the stage, Macallum said. Get ready.

I see it, Jeb said, as he drew his revolver from its holster.

The team of six horses was pulling a stagecoach at a fast trot. The stagecoach was carrying four passengers inside. Sitting on top on the driver’s seat were the teamster and a guard carrying a shotgun. The stage had set out from Prescott and was heading to Fort Mohave. On top of the stagecoach was a strongbox that carried $72,000 in gold coins. Macallum and Jeb knew of the small fortune in gold in the strongbox, and both were eager to steal it from the stagecoach.

Jeb and Macallum rode their horses up alongside the stagecoach and fired their revolvers into the air to get the teamster’s attention. The teamster looked over his left shoulder and saw two riders pointing their revolvers at him and the guard sitting beside him. The teamster pulled hard on the reins to slow the stagecoach down.

Jeb and Macallum rode their horses up alongside the stagecoach. The guard, sitting next to the teamster, swung his shotgun around and pointed it at Macallum. Before the guard could fire his shotgun, a bullet from Macallum’s revolver slammed into guard’s left arm. The guard dropped his shotgun, and the teamster halted the stagecoach.

Don’t touch your revolver! Macallum yelled at the teamster.

I won’t, the teamster replied.

Draw your revolver slowly out of your holster and then toss it to the side of the road, Jeb instructed the teamster.

The teamster obeyed and tossed his revolver. His revolver landed on the left side of the road.

Throw all your weapons out of the stagecoach! Jeb yelled at the four passengers sitting inside the coach.

One passenger threw his revolver out the window, and it landed on the ground in front of Jeb.

Bring that strongbox down here! Macallum ordered.

The teamster picked the strongbox up and tossed it down to Macallum. The strongbox landed on the ground near Macallum and Jeb.

Macallum and Jeb dismounted their horses and walked over to the strongbox. Macallum shot his revolver several times at the lock on the strongbox, and the lock broke open when the third bullet smashed into it. Macallum knelt down beside the strongbox then opened it up. Inside the strongbox were four white bags. Macallum opened up the first bag and looked inside it.

We got what we were looking for, he said with a huge smile on his face.

Good! the teamster yelled. Then he got his team of horses moving, and the stage pulled away from Jeb and Macallum.

Aren’t we going to stop them? Jeb asked.

Let them go, Macallum responded. We got the gold coins. I doubt the passengers had much money on them.

They will get a posse after us as soon as they get to Fort Mohave, Jeb said.

We’ll be long gone before a posse gets back here, Macallum said, as he handed a bag of gold coins to Jeb. Let’s pack these bags of coins on our horses and ride out of here.

That sounds good to me, Jeb replied. Let’s get out of here and find a place to hold up for a while.

Jeb and Macallum loaded the four bags of gold coins onto their horses. They secured the bags tightly before they mounted their horses. Jeb and Macallum rode their horses down the road away from the direction the stagecoach was traveling. They both knew a posse would be hunting them in the near future. They needed to flee the area quickly, but with their horses carrying two bags of gold coins each, that would be difficult to do.

We need to hide these bags of gold coins, Macallum said.

I agree, Jeb said. A posse will have no problem catching up with us with our horses carrying these heavy bags along with us too.

I know a place by Canyon Station we can hide these bags at, Macallum said. The stagecoach station isn’t too far from here.

That stagecoach probably stopped there before we held them up, Jeb said.

I guarantee you they did, Macallum replied. The station is only a few miles from here.

That’s good news, Jeb said. The sooner we can hide these bags of coins, the sooner we can get out of this area.

Macallum and Jeb rode their horses toward Canyon Station. Macallum showed Jeb the spot where he thought they could hide the gold coins at. Jeb loved the hiding place that Macallum had picked out.

No one will ever find the four bags of gold coins that we’re hiding here, Jeb said. I love this hiding place!

Jeb and Macallum mounted their horses and rode away from the place where they hid the gold coins. They kept out of sight as they rode by Canyon Station. No one saw them ride past Canyon Station on their way to and away from the place where they hid the gold coins.

Macallum and Jeb rode their horses for ten miles and found a place to set up camp for the night. They both were exhausted and slept well through the night. Jeb and Macallum woke up refreshed and saddled up their horses. They mounted their horses and rode away from their campsite. They rode their horses for a few miles and then stopped when they saw a posse heading toward them. Crap, Macallum said. That’s a posse riding towards us. Let’s get out of here, Jeb said.

Macallum and Jeb rode their horses at a fast gallop away from the posse, and the posse followed them. Jeb and Macallum rode their horses for two miles and then stopped. They swung their horses around and looked for the posse. They didn’t like what they saw. The posse was gaining ground on them. Both men realized it was only a matter of time before the posse caught up with them.

Let’s ride our horses over to those boulders and try to scare that posse off with our Winchester rifles, Macallum suggested.

Okay, Jeb responded.

Macallum and Jeb rode their horses at a fast gallop over to a small rock formation. They dismounted their horses and grabbed their Winchesters from their leather rifle scabbards and then hid behind some nearby boulders and waited for the posse.

The posse saw Macallum and Jeb ride their horses away from the road toward the small rock formation. The posse rode their horses toward the rock formation. Just before they got within Jeb’s and Macallum’s rifle range, they dismounted their horses. The posse grabbed their rifles and ran toward the boulders where the two bandits were hiding behind. The posse split into three groups so they could attack Jeb and Macallum on three sides. Each member of the posse dove behind a boulder, cactus, or a desert shrub.

Don’t waste your ammunition, Macallum said.

Don’t worry about me, my friend, Jeb said. I plan on making all my shots count.

Bullets smashed into the boulders that Jeb and Macallum were hiding behind. Macallum picked out a target and fired his Winchester. The bullet missed its target then ricocheted off a small boulder a man was hiding behind. Macallum fired his rifle again, but he failed to hit his target.

I can’t kill anybody I aim my rifle at, Macallum said. They’re not giving me much to shoot at.

They’re using any boulder, cactus, or shrub they can find to hide behind, Jeb said. They fire their rifles and then duck back behind whatever they’re using to hide behind. They make lousy targets, Macallum said.

Jeb and Macallum continued firing their rifles at the posse. They kept trying to kill or wound everyone whom they aimed their weapons at, but their bullets kept missing their intended targets. Bullets from the posse’s rifles continued hitting all around the boulders that Jeb and Macallum were using for cover.

How’s your ammunition holding up? Macallum asked.

I won’t be needing any more ammo, Jeb responded.

Why not? Macallum asked, as he started reloading his Winchester.

I’m hit, Jeb responded.

Macallum looked up at Jeb and saw Jeb holding his right shoulder with his left hand.

How bad is it? Macallum asked.

It’s no flesh wound, Jeb responded. I’m in no condition to ride a horse.

I guess we better surrender, Macallum said.

No, Jeb replied. I can still shoot my revolver with my left hand.

There’s too many of them, Macallum said. Let’s surrender and get you to a doctor before you lose too much blood.

By the time they can get me to a town to see a doctor, I’ll probably be dead, Jeb said.

It’s worth a try, Macallum said.

No, it’s not, Jeb said, as he drew his revolver from its holster. He looked over the boulder he was hiding behind and looked for a target to shoot at. Before he found one, several bullets hit him. Two bullets hit his upper chest, and one penetrated his throat. Jeb fell onto his back while still holding onto his revolver with his left hand.

You fool, Macallum said. Your stubbornness just killed you.

Macallum looked down at Jeb and saw that Jeb was dead. Macallum lost his will to fight, and yelled out to the posse.

You just killed my friend! Macallum shouted. I give up! Don’t shoot!

Throw all your weapons out so we can see them, a sheriff named Baker yelled.

Macallum threw his Winchester and revolver over the boulder toward the posse.

Throw your friend’s weapons out too! Sheriff Baker shouted.

Macallum grabbed Jeb’s rifle and revolver and threw them on the ground, where the posse could see them.

Stand up with your hands raised above your head! Sheriff Baker yelled.

Okay, I will, Macallum responded.

Macallum stood up with his hands raised above his head. He walked out from behind the boulders that he and Jeb had hidden behind. Sheriff Baker and fifteen men who made up the posse walked toward Macallum. They were all eager to retrieve the stolen $72,000 in gold coins.

Where’s the gold coins that you and your partner stole? Sheriff Baker asked, as he and his men walked up to Macallum.

I don’t know, Macallum responded.

Search the area, Sheriff Baker ordered.

Yes, sir, a man named Frank replied.

Frank and the rest of the posse started searching for the gold coins while Sheriff Baker turned his attention back to Macallum.

What’s your name? Sheriff Baker asked.

Macallum.

I’ll give you one more chance to tell me where you hid the gold coins that you and your partner stole from the stagecoach, Sheriff Baker said.

I can’t remember, Macallum said with a wide smirk.

You will have plenty of time to remember where you and your partner hid those gold coins, Sheriff Baker said. You will be spending the rest of your life in Yuma Territorial Prison.

Macallum’s smirk suddenly turned into a frown.

2

Cora Jennings was at home preparing dinner when she heard a loud knock on her front door. When she opened the door, she saw a police officer standing on her front porch. The police officer told Cora that her husband, Arthur, had his wallet stolen from him while he was walking home from his office in downtown New York City. Her husband then chased the robber down an alley, where the robber pulled out a knife then stabbed her husband several times in his gut. Her husband fell to the ground and watched the robber flee down the alley. A pedestrian heard her husband yelling for help then flagged down a police officer who was standing on a nearby corner. The police officer and pedestrian carried her husband to a nearby hospital.

The police officer told Cora that her husband’s stab wounds were serious and that he was fighting for his life down at the hospital. Cora rushed down to the hospital to be by her husband’s side as he fought for his life. Her husband, Arthur, lost the battle a few hours later, and Cora was now saying good-bye to him.

Arthur’s hands were no longer warm and had turned cold with the rest of his body. Arthur was dead, and his spirit had already crossed over the bridge into heaven. Cora just lost the only man she had ever loved, and was heartbroken, and she cried over her husband’s body.

Cora had no children or siblings to comfort her when Arthur died. Both her parents died a few years ago, and the only living relative whom Cora had was her Uncle Bill, whom she hadn’t seen in several years. They did, however, correspond with each other through the mail a few times a year.

The last correspondence Cora received from her uncle Bill was last month. In her uncle’s letter, he wrote he was working at a stagecoach station in the Arizona Territory. He said the stagecoach station was called Canyon Station and he would love for Cora to come visit him.

Uncle Bill was the only sibling of Cora’s father. His full name was William Edward Collins. He preferred to be called Bill, and everyone who knew Cora’s uncle always knew him as Bill Collins.

Bill Collins served in the Union Army during the Civil War. After the war, he had come back to New York City and worked for three different employers over a three-year period. He never liked living in a big city and decided to move West to find new opportunities for himself.

Cora found out through corresponding with her uncle that he had bounced from job to job out West as well. He tried ranching for a while in Texas and then Colorado. Those two ranching jobs physically wore him out. Bill searched for a job where he could use his brain a little more and not be physically worn out at the end of each day.

Cora’s uncle tried working for a small bank in Denver, Colorado. He worked for the bank for over a year before quitting that job. He moved down to Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory, where he landed a job as a clerk at a general store. After working there for a year, he decided to move to the Arizona Territory to look for work and some adventure too.

While traveling through the Arizona Territory, he stopped in a small mining town called Cerbat. While visiting Cerbat, Bill stumbled onto a job opportunity that he could not resist: a job to run a stagecoach station called Canyon Station. The station was located near the mouth of a narrow canyon, where a road twisted up through the foothills of the Cerbat Mountains and then descended down to a large mining settlement called Mineral Park. Bill Collins was qualified to be the stationmaster, and he accepted the job.

After the memorial and funeral service for her husband, Cora Jennings met with an attorney named Charles Atwood to go over her late husband’s will. Arthur Jennings had left Cora everything that he owned. Arthur had a large savings account and a row house in New York City that he owned free and clear of any mortgage. Cora told the attorney to sell the house since she had decided to move out West. Like her uncle Bill, Cora had grown tired of living in a big city and desired to see what life was like out in the American West.

Cora’s attorney arranged for Cora’s row house to be sold. The house sold quickly since it was in a good area of the city. Cora walked down to her husband’s bank and met with the accounts manager. She withdrew all the money that was in her husband’s savings account and also cashed the check she received from sale of her house. Over the next couple of days, Cora packed her clothes and a few personal belongings and then said good-bye to all her friends and neighbors.

Cora arranged for a carriage to transport her and her luggage to the train station. The carriage driver helped Cora into the carriage and then loaded her luggage. Cora took one last look at the row house that she and her deceased husband had called home and planned on raising a family in. She felt tears running down her face as two horses pulled her carriage away from the row house. She was going to try to leave her past behind and move forward in her life. She knew it wouldn’t be easy to start a new life out in the American West, but she was determined to do so.

Maybe I’ll visit Canyon Station in the Arizona Territory and see how my uncle Bill is doing, she thought to herself, as the carriage took her down to the train station.

3

Quint Hayes and his wife, Jennifer, had been living in the town of Abilene, Kansas, for three years. Quint served as a deputy marshal under marshal Wild Bill Hickok from May of 1871 until Marshal Hickok left Abilene in 1873 to perform in Buffalo Bill’s play called the Scouts of the Plains. After Marshal Hickok left Abilene, Quint handed in his badge. He put his revolver and gun belt into a dresser drawer in his house and hoped he would never have to use his revolver again.

Quint always enjoyed reading the Bible and had always wanted to preach the Gospel. He found a small church at the edge of town that needed a preacher. The last preacher had died suddenly of a heart attack, and the congregation had been looking for a new preacher. Quint volunteered to be their preacher temporarily until the church could find a permanent preacher.

After a few weeks of listening to Quint’s sermons, the congregation of the small church begged Quint to stay on as their permanent preacher. Quint agreed and continued spreading the Word of God to the congregation of the small church.

Quint’s wife, Jennifer, gave birth to a son two months after Quint started preaching at his church. They named their son David and planned on raising him in a loving, caring, and Christian household. Every time Quint saw David, he would smile. He looked forward to watching David grow up into a man.

Quint thanks God every day for putting Jennifer and David into his life. He was the luckiest man in the world, and he never hesitated to thank God for blessing him with Jennifer and David. Quint’s luck, however, was about to change.

Quint closed his Bible and wrote down a few more notes for his sermon that he would preach tomorrow morning. He was hungry, and was eager to get back home and have dinner with Jennifer and David. He was excited about his new sermon and wanted to share it with his wife and son before he preached it at tomorrow’s service. He grabbed his coat and rushed out of the church. He mounted his horse and rode down the Main Street of Abilene, toward his house that was just a few miles outside of town.

When Quint arrived at his house, he saw four horses tied to the hitching rail in front of his house. Friends and members of his congregation often stopped by Quint’s house to visit, so he wasn’t concerned when he saw the horses. Quint rode his horse up to his house then dismounted and wrapped the reins around the hitching rail.

Quint inspected the four other horses tied to the hitch-ing rail. All the horses looked well fed and taken care of, but Quint didn’t recognize any of the horses. Quint didn’t hear any noises coming from inside the house, which he thought was strange since four visitors were inside, along with Jennifer and David.

Maybe everyone is out back, Quint thought as he opened up the front door and walked into the house.

Put your hands up! a voice