Beulah City Breakout

By AliasFluffyOne

Kid’s eyes blinked slowly open. His curly blond head lay pillowed on his sheepskin coat. The peaceable man was stretched out on a narrow bed, his denim clad legs crossed at his ankles. The thin jailhouse mattress was hardly any comfort. What woke him?

Ping.

There, that tiny, high-pitched sound again. Kid was the only prisoner in the jailhouse. He knew the sheriff had left hours ago. The lawman had a family, and spending Christmas Eve with them was more important than watching his prisoner sleep. Beulah City had a new, modern jail. The stone walls and cell doors, with their fancy locks all the way from Chicago, were thought to be impregnable.

Ping.

Kid identified the sound. Metal scraping against metal. The lean former outlaw slowly raised one hand to the brown hat covering his face. A little nudge, and a glimpse of the starlit night appeared overhead through the bars at the tiny window by his side.

Ping.

That noise, again. Kid turned his gaze away from the window to the cell door. His lips curled up in a smile. A shadowed figure knelt before the lock in the darkened jailhouse, but Kid would have recognized his partner anywhere. Heyes’ face frowned in concentration as he twisted a small metal tool in the keyhole of the heavy lock. The tool slipped. Ping.

“Joshua…”

Heyes looked up in surprise. The voluble man kept his voice to a low whisper, but his exasperation showed in his tone.

“You’re awake? Now? After all the times I’ve called your name?”

“Yeah, I’m awake,” nodded Kid.

The sturdy man gestured to the lockpick gripped in his partner’s slender fingers.

“The noise woke me.”

Heyes’ eyes went from his partner’s face to the tool in his hand and back to his partner’s face.

“The noise?” Heyes’ low voice hissed in incredulity. “This little noise? This woke you?”

“Yeah,” nodded Kid in an affable tone as if it were obvious. The quiet man added, “What are you doing here?”

Heyes rocked back on his heels. He stared at Kid as if baffled.

“What am I doing here?” the dark-haired man asked in surprise. “What do you think I’m doing here?”

“Dunno,” answered Kid. “Wasn’t expecting you to arrive in Beulah City for another couple of days.”

Another huff of exasperation from his partner. Kid looked closer. Lines of tension showed around his cousin’s worried eyes. The lithe man turned his gaze back to the lock, his pick, and the cell door. Heyes closed his eyes and tilted his head in concentration. Nimble fingers twisted and turned the narrow metal tool.

“I got finished with the governor’s delivery early,” muttered Heyes.

Kid knew there was more. He waited, patient, silent.

“Wanted to spend Christmas together,” added Heyes.

Well yeah, nodded Kid. He had wanted to spend Christmas together too, but the Governor’s plans for them had sent them in opposite directions. How long had his partner been riding?

“Missoula’s a long way from Beulah City,” nudged Kid.

“Got here,” grunted Heyes. “In time for Christmas, and what do I find?”

Kid didn’t say anything.

“You’re in jail!” huffed Heyes.

The muscular man sat up from the hard cot. Kid put his feet on the floor. He rolled his shoulders, unkinking stiff muscles. Separated, the last several days had been hard on both of them. They had left Porterville to tend to the governor’s deliveries, planning to meet up in this little town west of nowhere. Kid wondered if things would have been different if he hadn’t ridden so hard himself. If he had arrived after sunset, or at least after the sheriff had gone, would he be in this cell? His determined partner turned back to face the lock.

“That new fangled lock giving you trouble?” asked Kid.

Another huff of exasperation blew dark hair from his partner’s eyes. Heyes glanced at Kid.

“No. I’m just hurrying, want to get us outta here before the sheriff shows up,” explained Heyes.

“Sheriff’s gone for the night. He wanted to take his family to Christmas Eve services at the church,” informed Kid. “The deputy is the one you need to watch out for.”

His partner turned. Heyes’ face lit up with a broad smile.

“The deputy… is he a skinny fella with buckteeth?”

“Yeah,” nodded Kid.

“I left him tied up in the stable with the horses,” the satisfaction in Heyes’ voice was evident.

The dexterous man turned back to the lock. Heyes’ careful hands slowed as he inserted the pick again. Without taking his eyes from the task at hand, Heyes spoke again.

“What did you do to get yourself arrested?”

“Rode into town this afternoon, stabled my horse, started walking towards the saloon,” answered Kid.

His partner stopped twisting the lock pick. Dark eyes glared at Kid.

“What… did… you… do?”

“Good thing you didn’t arrive until later, Sheriff Millhouse don’t allow guns.”

Heyes eyes shot to the gun case on the wall. At least a dozen rifles leaned against each other.

“Funny way of showing that.”

“Leastways, not for strangers in town,” clarified Kid.

“And he just arrested you?” demanded Heyes.

“No,” sighed Kid. “First, he asked me to take off my gun belt and give it to him.”

There was a moment of silence.

“And…?”

“I asked why,” answered Kid. “And while the Sheriff was explaining his new policy, the deputy came up behind me.”

The cocked pistol in the small of his back had been an unpleasant surprise remembered Kid.

“The Sheriff took my rig and said the fine was ten dollars or ten days in jail,” concluded Kid. The softspoken man shrugged. “I didn’t have ten dollars.”

“Ten dollars,” huffed Heyes indignantly. He turned back to face the lock. “That’s robbery!”

“That’s what I thought,” nodded Kid. His lips turned up in a smirk. “And we would know…”

Once more, Heyes turned the pick.

Click. Not a ping sound, but a satisfying click. The older Kansan nudged the cell door open as Kid stood up. Heyes straightened up and gestured to kid to come through the open cell door.

“Ready to go?” urged Heyes. He pointed in the direction of the nearby stable. “Horses are waiting.”

“Not quite,” answered Kid.

He nodded towards the Sheriff’s desk.

“My pistol and gun belt are locked in the top drawer.”

He didn’t have to say more. Within a minute, Kid had his gun belt buckled and was tying his treasured colt down on his leg.

“Ready now?” urged Heyes again.

Kid’s eyes turned back to the rifle case.

“Just one more thing...”

The rifles were soon stacked inside the cell, the door shut again. Kid twisted a bullet casing open and packed the keyhole with gun powder. Heyes produced a candle stub, wax now trimmed leaving most of the wick visible. He packed the charge against the gunpowder, then flashed a mischievous grin at his partner.

“Do you want to do the honors?”

“Well, since Kyle isn’t here, I guess I will,” agreed Kid.

He struck a match, brought the tiny flame to the end of the wick. The flame flared momentarily, then started burning its way towards the keyhole. Blue eyes met brown. They spoke in unison.

“We gotta get outta here!”

It wasn’t until they reached the top of the low rise behind the jailhouse that they heard a small poof, followed by a thud. Heyes smiled in satisfaction.

“The explosion must have knocked the back off the lock.”

Kid’s eyes narrowed in puzzlement.

“You think so?”

“You want to go back and check?” challenged Heyes.

Both men shook their heads in an emphatic NO. They retrieved their horses leaving a grumpy deputy behind. Stars overhead shone brightly in the clear night sky as they rode away from town. In the distance, church bells started ringing.

“It’s Christmas,” realized Kid.

“Yeah,” agreed Heyes.

Heyes turned to face Kid.

“Merry Christmas Thaddeus.”

“Merry Christmas Joshua,” replied Kid.

“You know, I think this might be one of the best Christmases ever,” stated Heyes.

The man of few words looked upwards, a broad smile across his face. Kid nodded.

“We’re free, and we’re together.”

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