Chapter 6 - The Choice at Blackstone Pass
Nathaniel closed the door.
Winifred stood beside the metal case.
"Tell me."
Judson watched the armed men.
Nathaniel smiled.
"Your father died because he couldn't choose between family and righteousness."
"You murdered him."
"No."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because everyone wants one villain."
Nathaniel explained that Edmund confronted him in St. Louis.
They argued.
Edmund threatened to deliver the evidence to federal authorities.
Nathaniel tried to take the case.
Edmund suffered a heart attack during the struggle.
Nathaniel could have summoned a doctor.
He didn't.
Winifred's face went cold.
"You watched him die."
Nathaniel's smile vanished.
"Yes."
Judson moved.
A gun pointed at him.
Winifred looked at her uncle.
"You arranged my marriage."
"I arranged access."
"To Judson."
"To his property."
"You thought I would steal the deed."
"I thought gratitude might make you cooperative."
Winifred laughed bitterly.
"You knew nothing about me."
"I knew you were alone."
"No."
She reached for Judson's hand.
"I was alone."
Nathaniel's expression hardened.
He ordered his men to take the case.
Winifred had anticipated that.
She kicked the table.
The oil lamp fell.
Darkness.
Judson attacked the nearest guard.
Winifred grabbed the metal case and ran.
They escaped through the hotel kitchen and into the street.
Within an hour, the evidence was in the hands of a federal attorney.
Copies were made.
Nathaniel could no longer destroy everything.
But Amos Black remained in Colorado.
And a telegram arrived from Marshal Grant.
BLACK HAS TAKEN MATTHEW. RETURN IMMEDIATELY.
They returned west.
By the time they reached Coldwater, the valley was ready for war.
Black's men occupied the pass.
Families who had lost land to forged deeds joined Judson.
Miners abandoned Black's company.
Shopkeepers closed their businesses.
Even Reverend Cole carried a rifle, though he insisted he hoped not to use it.
Marshal Grant had warrants.
Amos Black had hostages.
Matthew was one.
Silas was another.
Black demanded the original evidence and Judson's deed.
Judson looked at Winifred.
"This ends tonight."
"Together."
He nodded.
No argument.
That mattered.
At Blackstone Pass, snow began falling.
Judson carried a case containing copies.
Winifred rode beside him.
Amos waited near the old mine.
Matthew and Silas were tied nearby.
Nathaniel stood beside Amos.
He had beaten them west by private rail.
Winifred looked at her uncle.
"You should have stayed in St. Louis."
Nathaniel smiled.
"You should have stayed unmarried."
Judson dismounted.
"Let them go."
Amos demanded the evidence.
Judson tossed him the case.
Amos opened it.
Copies.
His face twisted.
Marshal Grant stepped from behind the ridge.
"Amos Black, you're under arrest."
Armed deputies appeared.
Black's men hesitated.
Nathaniel didn't.
He grabbed Winifred.
A pistol pressed against her side.
Judson froze.
"Let her go."
Nathaniel dragged her toward the cliff trail.
Winifred remained strangely calm.
Judson knew that look now.
He had seen it before she swung the skillet.
"Nathaniel," he warned.
Her uncle laughed.
Winifred stomped hard on his foot.
Then drove her elbow backward.
Nathaniel lost his grip.
Judson charged.
The pistol fired.
Winifred screamed.
Judson stumbled.
For one horrible second she thought he'd been hit.
The bullet had torn through his coat.
Nothing more.
Matthew tackled Nathaniel.
Marshal Grant's deputies surrounded Amos.
Black tried to escape toward the mine.
Silas, newly freed, stepped into his path.
"Going somewhere?"
Amos stopped.
For thirty years, he'd owned Coldwater through fear.
Now miners, ranchers, widows, merchants, and families stood around him.
People whose land he'd stolen.
People he'd threatened.
People he'd believed too weak to fight.
Amos slowly raised his hands.
It was over.
Almost.
Nathaniel broke free from Matthew and ran toward the cliff.
Winifred followed.
"Stop!"
Nathaniel turned.
The ground beneath him cracked.
He slipped.
One hand caught the edge.
Winifred reached him.
Her uncle dangled above the same ravine where Matthew had nearly died.
"Help me!"
Judson reached Winifred.
She stared down.
This man had watched her father die.
He had manipulated her life.
He had treated her like property.
Judson didn't tell her what to do.
He simply stood beside her.
Winifred lowered herself.
"Take my hand."
Nathaniel stared.
"Why?"
"Because I'm not you."
He grabbed her hand.
Judson helped pull him up.
Marshal Grant arrested him.
Nathaniel stared at Winifred as the deputies took him away.
He couldn't understand mercy that wasn't weakness.
Perhaps he never would.
Matthew approached Judson.
"I don't expect forgiveness."
Judson looked at him.
"You won't get it today."
Matthew nodded.
"But you're alive."
"For whatever that's worth."
"It's worth something."
The brothers shook hands.
It wasn't reconciliation.
It was a beginning.
The federal case spread quickly.
Black's forged deeds were invalidated.
Property began returning to families throughout the valley.
Nathaniel and Amos faced charges for fraud, conspiracy, kidnapping, and multiple acts of violence.
An investigation into Edmund Hayes's death was opened.
The Western Matrimonial Agency was closed.
Weeks later, winter settled over the McIntyre ranch.
The cabin had been repaired.
The barn stood again.
One evening, Judson entered to find Winifred cooking stew.
He leaned against the doorway.
She looked at him.
"Say it."
"What?"
"I can see you thinking."
"I was thinking it smells good."
"Careful."
"Why?"
"You might accidentally call your wife a cook."
Judson smiled.
"I made that mistake once."
"You made several."
He approached.
Winifred handed him a spoon.
He tasted the stew.
"Needs salt."
She stared at him.
Judson immediately reconsidered.
"It's perfect."
"Wise man."
He kissed her forehead.
Then noticed a suitcase beside the bedroom door.
His smile disappeared.
"What's that?"
Winifred turned toward it.
The railroad had restored regular service east.
Her legal affairs in St. Louis were settled.
She was free.
Judson remembered his promise.
If she wanted to leave, he would let her.
He forced himself to speak.
"When?"
"Tomorrow morning."
The words struck him harder than he expected.
He nodded.
"I'll take you to the station."
Winifred studied him.
"That's all?"
"What else can I say?"
"You could ask me not to go."
Judson's jaw tightened.
"I promised the choice would be yours."
She looked disappointed.
"And if I wanted to know whether there's anything here worth choosing?"
Judson stared at her.
Before he could answer, someone pounded on the door.
Matthew entered, breathless.
"Judson."
"What happened?"
Matthew handed him a telegram.
Judson read it.
His face changed.
Winifred stepped closer.
"What?"
The telegram had come from the federal land office.
It concerned the McIntyre ranch.
May you like
And the final line changed everything.
CLAIM OF OWNERSHIP REJECTED. PROPERTY TO BE SEIZED AT SUNRISE.
