Chapter 23

 

 

 

It was back to Wednesday, September 6th, 2006.

Crazy Hole looked quiet and peaceful. Then the blue plasma light illuminated the inside the cave. Alicia walked out with her horse. She removed the cloth from the horse's eyes, then got in the saddle and waited.

Blue plasma light illuminated the inside of Crazy Hole. Angie and John walked out with their horse.

He removed the cloth from the horse's eyes.

She got in the saddle her horse and looked down at John.

John reached inside his shirt and broke off his bullet necklace, and he threw it in the desert.

"It's about time," she said proudly he took the first step.

John smiled while he got in the saddle her horse and sat behind her.

The blue plasma light illuminated Crazy Hole while Clint walked his horse out, and he saw Alicia and smiled. He removed his Marshal's badge and shoved it in his shirt pocket.

He removed the cloth from the horse's eyes and got in the saddle of his horse.

They all rode their hoses away into the desert.

They rode their horses back to Rusty's Desert Horse Ranch and Stable. During the ride, Alicia informed them that she saw Rusty again in Oak Creek. He was going to stay there and hopefully become a Town Marshal.

They placed their horses in some stalls when they got to Rusty's place.

They walked out of the stable to Alicia's car.

They got inside, and Alicia drove everybody away.

During the drive, they talked about how they should handle Crazy Hole to prevent other people from entering. They had a plan.

Later that day, Clint, Alicia, Angie, and John rode up to Crazy Hole on horses from Rusty's

Off in the distance, about one hundred feet away on a horse, was sixty-three-year-old Roger Willoughby. He decided that today, he finally dared to enter Crazy Hole to see if the legend was true. But the sight of four people riding up to Crazy Hole on horses stopped him. He stopped by a large bush and got out of the saddle of his horse. He grabbed his binoculars off his saddlebag.

Roger peeked around the bush, and through his binoculars, he noticed that the two men had large leather bags tied to their saddlebags, and the two women each had a shovel tied to their saddlebags. "Must be going in there to dig for buried treasure," he said, and the more he thought about it, the more he figured that that was what they had planned.

Clint, John, Alicia, and Angie stopped their horses fifteen feet from Crazy Hole, and they all got out of the saddles of their horses.

Angie held the reins of all the horses while Alicia removed the shovels and walked them over to the entrance of Crazy Hole.

"Yep. Going to dig up some buried treasure," said Roger peeking out from behind that bush and still looking through his binoculars. "But why by the entrance to the cave? That's strange."

Alicia dropped the shovel by the Crazy Hole entrance.

Clint and John carefully removed the leather bags off their saddlebags. They walked the bags over to the entrance to Crazy Hole.

They each carefully opened up the leather bags and dumped out the contents. Each bag held two two-gallon pots of a small Cereus Peruvian column cactus they purchased at a nursery in Phoenix.

From behind that bush, Roger watched through his binoculars while Clint and John started cutting away the other bush by the right side of the cave opening.

After that bush was cut away, they started digging four holes at the entrance to Crazy Hole to the left of that huge rock.

"Cactus? They're putting cactus at the entrance of Crazy Hole? Weird," Roger said while he watched Clint and John dug the four holes.

Fifteen minutes had passed, and Clint and John had the four Cereus Peruvian column cacti planted in the ground at the entrance to Crazy Hole.

Back at that bush, Roger got in the saddle of his horse and rode off in the desert a little disappointed he couldn't see if the Crazy Hole was real. But he didn't want to run into one of those Cacti.

Back at Crazy Hole, Clint and John looked over their gardening work. "That should prevent someone from entering the cave," said Clint.

John nodded in agreement, then they walked over to Alicia and Angie.

Clint walked over and stood next to Alicia. "Well, I guess the town folk of Oak Creek will be wondering for years what happened to me," he said while he placed an arm around her shoulder.

She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

He placed his arm around her shoulder.

John walked up to Clint. "I can't thank you enough for saving my life," John said while he extended his hand to Clint.

Clint shook his hand. "You're welcome. I'm sorry I got so crazy when I arrested you. But I really thought you killed my deputy," Clint said.

"That's fair enough. I had no business getting involved with this outlaw stuff," John replied.

Clint placed a hand on John's shoulder. "That's okay. Some men take a little longer to grow up," Clint said.

Alicia and Angie nodded in agreement.

They got in the saddles of their horses and rode away off in the desert.

During the dusty ride back to Rusty's empty ranch house, Angie, John, Clint, and Alicia all agreed to meet the next day for dinner.

The next day brought changes to some lives.

John bought a newer car. It was a 2002 Honda Civic since he still had cash left in his savings account.

John drove, and Angie sat in the passenger seat with two golf club bags in the back seat. The just finished playing golf earlier in the day.

John turned his Honda to the street where the Outlaw Steakhouse was located.

Angie frowned at him, as she was all too familiar with this street.

John drove past the entrance to the parking lot of the Outlaw Steakhouse.

Angie looked surprised and proud of John.

John drove his Honda farther down the street to a nice upscale restaurant called The Purple Cactus.

He parked his Honda and quickly got out and opened Angie's door like a gentleman.

"No Outlaw Steakhouse, and you opened my car door. I'm surprised at you," she told John while they walked to the front door of The Purple Cactus.

"I'm trying to change," he told her.

He opened the door for Angie.

"I think you have," she replied, then kissed his cheek.

They entered the restaurant.

Meanwhile, at the Resthaven Park Mortuary & Cemetery, Phillip had the remains of his father moved to a burial plot. He bought a new tombstone and had it installed and then planted some flowers.

Back at The Purple Cactus, John and Angie sat down at a table with Clint and Alicia. Angie sat next to Alicia, and John sat down next to Clint, who looked different with modern clothes and hairstyle.

The waitress dropped off their drinks and left with their dinner orders.

"Look at you, Clint. You're blending in with the future," John said.

"I know," Clint replied while he ran his fingers through his new hairstyle.

Angie looked like she had to pee while she squirmed in her chair, all excited. Then she stuck out her hand in front of Alicia, and she showed off a beautiful engagement ring.

"Congratulations!" Alicia cried out, then leaned over and gave Angie a hug then kiss on her cheek.

"Way to go," Clint said to John with a pat on his back.

"I have more good news. I got accepted into Stone Mountain Community College!" John said. "Going to eventually major in History at the University of Phoenix," said John and looked sure of himself. "Maybe I'll eventually become a professor of history."

"Yep. You look more like a college man than an outlaw!" Clint said. Angie and Alicia chuckled in agreement.

"Oh yeah, I'm also going to work on my grandfather's manuscript he wrote about old western outlaws. Hopefully, get it published."

"But you didn't write it," said Clint.

"I know, but it would be a good remembrance of him, and it would make him proud," said John.

"I see," said Clint.

Angie looked at Alicia and Clint. "So, what's going on with you two?" Angie asked.

"Thanks to Alicia, I'm going to play piano for the Phoenix Symphony," Clint said, then leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Then we plan on marriage, but we're not in any hurry," Alicia said.

"Yep, I'm going to make her a respectable woman," Clint replied.

Alicia jokingly elbowed Clint in his side. "I'll show you respectable," she said.

Clint placed his arm around Alicia's shoulder then kissed her cheek.

John looked concerned when he thought about something. He leaned in a little across the table. "But how can you make him, you know, be a legit citizen?"

"I got that covered. Called in some old favors. Taken care of," said Angie.

It was quiet for a few seconds around the table. Angie's cell phone rang. She looked at the viewfinder then cringed as she forgot someone.

"Hi mom," Angie answered and knew she was in trouble.

"I thought you were coming home? We've been waiting for the past few days for your call," her mom scolded her over the cell phone.

Angie covered her cell phone mouthpiece. "I was supposed to fly home and visit my folks, and I forgot," Angie told everybody.

"Well, let's go visit them. We do have some good news to tell them," John told Angie.

Angie smiled. "Mom, I'm leaving in a few days as soon as I get a flight reserved. Plus, John wants to come and see you," Angie told her mom.

"Okay. We can't wait to see him again," her mom said.

Angie disconnected her call then winked at John.

The waitress brought their dinners, and they ate and chatted.

After they finished their meal, Alicia remembered something, s she reached down by her purse on the floor and brought up an "Outlaws and Lawmen of Arizona" book and laid it on the table.

"I'm curious," she said while she opened up the book.

She opened up to the page on Bart Stone, and she looked the page over.

"Bart Stone was hanged on September 25th, eighteen eighty-three for the murder of Oak Creek deputy Elmer Filson. Charlie Chandler testified before Judge Peter Peabody that Bart Stone fired the shot that killed Elmer. Charlie was given two yeas in the Yuma Territorial prison since he testified against Bart Stone and for his outlaw ways of robbing banks and stagecoaches. Charlie was shot dead in the desert when the Stagecoach taking him to Yuma prison was camped for the night. It was believed that maybe Jimmy Templeton killed Charlie in retaliation for testifying against Bart Stone," Alicia read. "Jimmy Templeton was never caught and never seen again."

"What does the book say about Clint and me?" John asked, curiously.

Alicia flipped through some pages then stopped.

"Outlaw John Mathers, alias the Kissing Bandit, escaped while being hanged. Oak Creek Town Marshal Bartley gave chase, but the famous outlaw was never caught and never heard from again," Alicia read. She flipped through some more pages then stopped.

"Marshal Bartley chased after outlaw John Mathers after he escaped from being hanged. Marshal Bartley never returned back to Oak Creek and was never heard from again. Zeke Cooper became the new Oak Creek Town Marshal," Alicia read. She looked curious then flipped through some more pages.

"I remember Zeke. He would be a good Marshal for Oak Creek," said Clint.

Alicia looked at Clint. "That could have been you," she said and placed a hand on top of his. "I'm glad you're here. Safe and sound."

"Read some more," said John.

Alicia looked back at the book. "Rusty Moore became the Town Marshal of Mountain Rock on September 24th, eighteen eighty-three after Marshal Jeb Paulson passed away in his sleep. Marshal Moore was the Town Marshal of Mountain Rock until the town was abandoned in eighteen ninety-four. Marshal Moore moved to Tucson, where he became Police Chief of the Tucson Police Department until nineteen oh one. Marshal Moore died in his sleep in Tucson in nineteen fifteen," she read from the book and paused while she turned the page.

"Oh, then it mentions how a new outlaw named Blue Earl Olson and his gang started robbing banks and stagecoaches after Bart Stone was no longer around. The Oak Creek Town Marshal Zeke Cooper was shot and killed by Blue Earl Olson on October 8th, eighteen eighty-three while robbing the Oak Creek bank," she read from the book.

"Poor Zeke," said Clint. "He was a good man."

"There you go, the rest of the story," Alicia said while she closed the book and laid it on the floor by her purse.

"Blue Earl Olson? I heard of him," said Clint.

"I believe he was from the New Mexico area and maybe moved his crime spree to Arizona," said John. "History has it that he had a blue scarf that was tied to his saddle. Then he used the blue scarf to cover half of his face."

"Yeah, but he's not a threat to us here today," said Clint.

They decided to forget about the old western says and live in the future. They had dessert with coffee and chatted for thirty minutes.

After dinner, they went to watch Brokeback Mountain at a nearby theater. Of course, Clint was shocked over the thought of gay cowboys, but they wanted to indoctrinate him to the future.