Chapter 10

I grasped my mother's hand and pulled her away from the door to a sheltered area in the parlor. I set her down on a chair and drew up another to face her. "Mother, I don't mean to sound abrupt with you but there are things which I must make clear to you immediately! We are both in great danger! You must do exactly as I say!"

My mother looked at me as if I were insane and gasped, "Chad, what are you talking about. This is modern Alabama and people don't go around harming each other!"

"Mother, you forget why I left Alabama in the first place. I left because the Tolliferros were trying to kill me. And now others are doing the same! Now, please listen carefully to me!

"As you know, I am now living in New Mexico Territory and life there is different in many ways from life in Alabama. New Mexico Territory is most definitely the 'wild west' with all of the dangers and strange happenings that you have read about in the newspaper. Since 1893, I have lived my life as a bounty hunter; I have killed many men and they have tried to kill me. I have earned enough rewards and bounties that I am now a rich man; few bounty hunters have been as successful as me. I have also helped many people to live happier lives and I am proud of both accomplishments.

"I am in love with Sarah York and plan to marry her in New Mexico and live there for the rest of my life. We want you to join us, but there are several things that you absolutely must do! Firstly, you must accept that I am now known as Mat Sullivan and you will have to adopt the name of Florence Sullivan. To do otherwise will cause great difficulty for both Sarah and me and, ultimately, for our children. For us, the Bennett name must cease to exist!

"Secondly, I will protect you with my life, for your life will be in danger. However, for me to protect you, you must agree to obey my every command. You must never hesitate when I order you to do something, for I will only do so when I perceive your life to be in imminent danger. If I tell you to hide, you must do so, and if I tell you to drop to the ground, you must do so without looking around for a comfortable or clean place. This may seem ridiculous or harsh to you now, but you will see the need for it when we get to New Mexico. Remember that I love you and I am doing this for you."

"Oh Chad, (I frowned!) er... Mat, You must be joking. I can't believe that someone as kind as you and with your religious training could actually kill a person."

"Believe it, Mother! You will understand better when you get to New Mexico.

"There is also the problem of the Tolliferros. I know that after nearly ten years, their hatred of me has not abated. That's why I rushed you away from the door when I came in. Furthermore, I know that every day I stay here, I increase the danger to both of us. Please. Mother, we must leave as soon as possible.

"Of course, the sooner we leave, the sooner we get to New Mexico, and the sooner Sarah and I can be married. Speaking of that, let me tell you about Sarah."

I then proceeded to spend more than an hour regaling my mother with some of the attractions and virtues of Sarah York. By the time I started to run down, she was convinced that I was deeply in love with Sarah.

By now, it was time to eat, so we went into the dinning room where we were served an excellent supper. During supper, we talked mostly about what had happened to my mother during my absence (nothing really, but I still listened, for I was interested). I did find out that, as I expected, she still had the same lawyer; I planned to visit him tomorrow.

As we finished desert, I started telling Mother how I had come to meet Sarah. This was the first time I had time to go over the events in sequence and really think about what they meant. Up until now, I had been so rushed that I had no time for that. Then it came to me! I knew who had ordered the murder of James York! It had to be that lawyer in Julesburg! He was the one, and the only one, who always knew the Yorks' schedule of trips into Julesburg. But too much had happened for all of the orders to come from him; he had to have associates. The problem was that I could not think of a way to identify them. Maybe I could figure out a way to make them identify themselves.

After super, my mother went to bed and I went to my former indoor shooting range. Everything was just as I had left it. Mother had the servants keep it dusted, but it was otherwise undisturbed. I went to the gun rack and selected a .38 and a .32 revolver which I wanted Mother to try out the next day. I was determined that she learn to shoot well enough at least to be able to make some effort to protect herself. I knew I could not make her a competent shooter in only a few days, but I did want her to be able to put up a good bluff.

I had a very welcome bath and then went to bed. It was very pleasant to sleep in a regular bed instead of on a train bunk. The Pullman was remarkable, but it would never be as comfortable as a real bed. Besides, it was not moving!

The next morning, I had good grits for breakfast! This was one of the luxuries I wanted to introduce to NMT as soon as we returned. I wanted my mother to teach Carmelita how to cook Alabama-style grits! We already raised corn, so we were on the way!

After breakfast, I sent a messenger to the lawyer for an appointment that day, the sooner the better. The messenger returned with the answer that the lawyer would see me as soon as I could get to his office (Clio is not big enough to keep even just one lawyer busy!). I left immediately for his office.

When I arrived, I was ushered in and greeted by a hearty handshake. "Chad, it's been too long! I've missed seeing you; why, I've missed even hearing about you. I know that you have been keeping quiet because of the Tolliferros, but won't you give me the story of your life since I last saw you?"

Since he was an old family friend, I had no reluctance in filling him in on my life. I did edit a lot out of my bounty hunting adventures, but I did tell him enough to keep him interested. I explained that I was back to escort my mother to my wedding and told him that she expected to remain with us.

We then discussed how best to provide for the family servants after she left Clio. They had all been with her for years, and we wanted to take care of them during their retirement. None of the servants were less than fifty-seven years old, so we needed to be prepared to support them immediately; they were not likely to find jobs elsewhere. My mother's very conservative investment income, which my father had set up, could easily cover the necessary expenses, so I asked the lawyer to administer them for us. He agreed, so that considerable burden was lifted; both my mother and I were adamant that our faithful servants would be cared for until they died. The lawyer would also take care of selling the house and other property around Clio after we left town. That business covered, I was able to return home in time for lunch.

That afternoon, I started training my mother in the use of a pistol for self protection. She was insistent, at first, that there was no reason for her to learn to use a gun. I finally got through her resistance by asking what she would do if she were threatened by a wolf or bear (I knew that neither one would ever happen, but she didn't). Also, I pointed out that she might need to protect her grandchildren from such a threat. She then started to take an active interest in learning.

We started off by going through the basics of gun safety and how to hold a pistol with both hands and to face the target. We went through loading and firing both the .32 and .38. She was leaning toward the .32 because of the lesser recoil, but I convinced her to use the .38 because of its superior stopping power. She practiced enough over the next two days that she could hit the target most of the time and she could reload the S&W with some ease. I got her to practice the cross-draw and she was actually embarrassed at how skillful she became.

I then introduced her to the tabard. She said that she would never wear such a ridiculous garment. I pointed out that it had saved my life and Sarah always wore hers. Mother was never fully convinced, but she did agree to wear it just to shut me up.

Lawyer Simpson was at his Masonic lodge meeting that night and happened to mention to a friend that he had talked to Chad Bennett that very day. Simpson was overheard and no time was lost in relaying this information to the Tolliferros.

We boarded the train for Mobile the next day. Mother was very selfconscious wearing her tabard and pistol, even though no one could see them under her coat. Once she got on the train, I helped her to take off her coat and replace it with a shawl which was effective in concealing the armor and weapon. Of course, I was able to wear mine openly without raising comment. It was still early in the day, so there were only coaches and no Pullmans until we reached Mobile.