The summer heat had hit Edgewater like a hammer, baking the earth and driving folks indoors. The tin roof of the Marshal's office clicked and popped under the strain of the sun. Inside, Marshal Reid Maddox sat back in his chair, holding a tin cup of steaming tea.
Deputy Caleb Rowe watched him with bewilderment. "Marshal... it's 110 degrees out there. Might be hotter in here. And you're drinkin' tea?"
Maddox took a slow sip. "Hot tea cools the body down, Caleb. You sweat more, body adjusts quicker to the heat."
Caleb blinked, unconvinced. "I'll stick to water."
The door creaked open, and a soft, anxious voice followed. "Marshal Maddox?"
A woman stood in the doorway, bonnet in hand, her cheeks flushed but not from the heat. Sarah Wyatt, a schoolteacher and widow, had always held herself with quiet strength. Today, she looked worn thin.
"It's about my boy, Tommy," she said, stepping inside.
Maddox nodded to a chair. "Have a seat, Miss Wyatt. What's the trouble?"
She sat, glancing at Caleb before turning her attention fully on the Marshal. "My boy's been telling stories. Wild ones. He says there's a pair—man and woman—who live just outside of town. He says they rob and kill at night."
Caleb shifted, letting out a low whistle. "That's a mighty tall tale for a kid."
"I know children pretend. They make up friends, adventures... but Tommy's got half the school talkin'. He insists it's real, and now folks are callin' him a liar. I was hoping you'd talk to him, Marshal. He listens to you."
Maddox tapped his cup thoughtfully. "I'll see what I can do."
Tommy Wyatt was waiting out front, standing beside his little sister Maggie, who clung to his hand.
"You're Marshal Maddox," he said in awe. "You really are."
"That's right," Maddox said, smiling. "Heard you've been seein' some strange things."
Tommy nodded solemnly. "White Fawn and I—we saw them."
"White Fawn?"
"She's my friend. She lives out near the old cottonwood gulch with her folks. They don't like people much. They live in this old blockhouse, way off the trail."
"What did you see, Tommy?"
Tommy hesitated. "Her ma and pa... they wait at night. There's a tree near the trail. Her pa climbs it and drops down on travelers. Then they take their money and... and leave 'em."
Maddox raised an eyebrow. "You say they kill people?"
"I didn't see them die, but... they didn't move after."
"And no one's come to town about missing folks?"
Tommy looked down. "No, sir."
Caleb leaned in. "Seems awful strange, don't it?"
Maddox studied the boy. "Tommy, you sure you're not making this up?"
Tommy's face tightened. "I swear, Marshal. I can show you. But you gotta promise—no arrestin' them. Not yet. Not till we're sure. White Fawn's not like them. She's good. If you take her folks in, she'll be alone."
Maddox considered. "All right. You've got my word. You show me, and I won't act without cause."
That night, under a sky thick with stars and sweat, Tommy led Maddox and Caleb on foot through the scrubland outside town. The air smelled of creosote and dust. They reached the gulch just before midnight.
"That's the tree," Tommy whispered, pointing. "He climbs up there and waits for riders. They only go after people who look tired... drunk or lost."
Maddox nodded, motioning for Tommy and White Fawn—who had joined them silently—to stay behind a large boulder. He dusted off his coat, loosened his gunbelt slightly, and stepped out onto the road, whistling tunelessly.
He swayed in his saddle, acting the part of a tired rider. The moon cast just enough light for the glint of movement above.
And then—like a thunderclap—the figure dropped.
Maddox barely twisted aside in time, his horse rearing. The attacker—a broad-shouldered man with tangled hair and wild eyes—lunged with the butt of a rifle.
"Hold it," Maddox barked, drawing fast.
The man froze.
Another figure emerged from the brush—this one a woman, rifle in hand.
"No," Tommy's voice came from behind the boulder. "Please don't hurt them!"
The woman stepped forward, eyes wary and haunted. "You're the Marshal?"
"That's right."
"I don't want trouble," she said. "Let him go. He didn't hurt you."
Maddox didn't lower his weapon. "You've been jumpin' travelers and robbin' them?"
The man straightened. "Didn't kill anyone. Just scared 'em. Took what we needed."
"Name?"
"Ed. Ed Harlan."
The woman's face crumpled. "He's my husband."
"Not by blood," Ed added quickly. "She was taken by the Cheyenne years ago. I found her... traded for her. We just want to go west. Oregon maybe. Start over. But we didn't have money. We couldn't stay in Edgewater—not with people askin' about her daughter."
Maddox's jaw tightened. "You've got no right to take what ain't yours. You know that."
"I didn't hurt anyone," Ed insisted. "Only scared 'em enough to drop what they had."
"And you think that makes it right?"
White Fawn stepped out then, her dark eyes fierce. "He saved my mama. He's good."
Tommy stood beside her, defiant. "He's not a killer. I saw it. I saw him stop."
Maddox holstered his gun slowly. "You'll still have to answer for what you've done, Ed. But I believe you meant to build a life. That doesn't erase the law."
The man's shoulders slumped. "So what happens now?"
"You'll come with me. I'll see you get a fair hearing. You serve your time, and then we'll get you that wagon to Oregon."
"And her?" Ed looked to his wife. "White Fawn?"
"They'll stay in town. I'll make sure they're taken care of."
Tears welled in the woman's eyes. "Thank you."
Maddox tipped his hat. "Don't thank me yet."
Three days later, Dr. Carr examined White Fawn and her mother in the back room of the clinic, while Maddox leaned against the doorframe.
"She's healthy. Malnourished, but nothing a few meals and some peace won't fix."
Maddox nodded. "She's a strong one. So's the boy."
Carr gave him a long look. "You didn't tell me why you're really worked up over this."
Maddox sighed. "Because the system's flawed, Doc. A man like Ed Harlan gets pushed into a corner. Does wrong, sure—but not evil. Just desperate. And now the law has to choose whether to crush him... or give him a chance."
Dr. Carr grunted. "Well, that's your job. I just fix broken bones."
On the day of Ed Harlan's transfer, Tommy walked alongside the Marshal toward the jail.
"Will he be all right?"
"He'll serve his time. But after that, I'll help him get to Oregon. He'll need honest work, but he'll make it."
Tommy smiled faintly. "You believe me now."
"I never stopped believing in you, kid. Just needed to see it with my own eyes."
As Ed stepped into the Marshal's wagon, chains on his wrists, he looked back at White Fawn and his wife.
"I'll be back," he said.
"You better," the woman said.
"I will. And next time, we leave right."