Dave soon left Helena, then as he took the road to Silver City, he picked up his pace. He was certain that it wouldn’t be long before a posse was on his tail and was already trying to figure out a way to avoid the noose that was waiting for him in Fort Benton.
He kept checking his backtrail and once Helena was no longer visible, he slowed his horse to a medium trot. There was a good amount of traffic between Helena and Silver City, so he had to be careful not to arouse suspicion. It was bad enough knowing a posse was going to be looking for him, but he didn’t want a spooked freighter taking a shot at him.
He soon reached Silver City and still hadn’t seen any posse. He was tempted to stop and buy some more supplies but decided that adding distance was more important. But he also had to decide which direction he’d take out of Silver City. The obvious choice would be to head west toward the gold fields, but he didn’t know the terrain. He was familiar with the road from Fort Shaw and those succession of passes would provide him with the best chance of stopping the posse. With the Martini-Henry, he’d be able to convince them that it wasn’t worth their lives to continue their pursuit.
Just two hours after leaving Helena, Dave Forrest was riding on the same road that Jake had used just a few days earlier.
_____
Sheriff Pat Jefferson didn’t bother sending a telegram to Arv Zendt after his deputy’s report. He’d simply grabbed his Winchester and told Deputy George Bennett to mind the office before leaving the jail with Deputy Henderson and Deputy Bill Potts. That left two deputies in Helena, but the town marshal had his own staff of four deputies. All those millionaires didn’t mind paying more taxes to protect their money and their families.
About an hour after spotting Dave, the sheriff and his two deputies rode out of town. Sheriff Jefferson didn’t see the need for a large posse to bring in one man. When he’d read the telegram from Sheriff Zendt, he’d concentrated on the descriptions of the horses and shrugged off the line about the suspect having a long-range rifle. He had confidence in his ability with his Winchester and knew his deputies were almost as proficient.
_____
Dave was soon descending to the small plain and could see the Missouri River to the east. And while that plain may be small compared to those in Dakota and Nebraska Territories, it would leave him exposed for more than an hour. He still hadn’t seen a posse behind him and began to wonder if they were even going to follow him as the murders were committed in a different jurisdiction. But it was safer to assume that he was being chased.
When he reached the flat ground, he kicked his gelding into a fast trot in the hope of reaching the next pass before the posse could spot him.
He was starting his ascent to the pass when he picked up some riders on the crest of the pass behind him. He doubted if they were just out for a pleasant ride. He couldn’t count them at this distance but was certain that they’d seen him.
Despite spotting the posse, he didn’t panic. He didn’t want to overstress his horse. He actually slowed the gelding so he could get a closer look at the number of men in the posse.
_____
It hadn’t taken Sheriff Jefferson long to find out which direction Forrest had gone. He had asked a boy who was carrying his hand-carved wooden rifle if he’d seen a man pass by on a gray horse and leading a packhorse. The boy pointed to the road to Fort Shaw and before he could say a word, the three lawmen set off.
As soon as they crossed the high point, Sheriff Jefferson spotted Dave about six miles away and said, “It looks like he’s about an hour ahead of us, but he’s going uphill, so let’s make use of this downslope.”
He and his deputies then accelerated toward the plain.
_____
Dave was still riding slowly up the side of the mountain to the pass and soon identified just three riders. He didn’t know if he should feel insulted or not, but once he knew the number, he picked up the pace just a bit. He knew he was losing ground to his pursuers, but he wanted their horses to tire. They’d still have to make this climb while he was heading downhill.
He guessed that the three-man posse was just four miles behind him when he crossed the pass and lost sight of the lawmen. He thought about stopping here to set up his ambush but figured that they’d be expecting him to be waiting and might not be careless enough to ride into his trap.
He kept the same rate of speed as he rode down the long decline to a narrow valley. Once he started his next climb, he imagined that the posse would be just two miles behind him. But as he neared the bottom of the valley, Dave decided not to check his backtrail again. They’d been too far back to notice that he’d seen them, so they might believe that he was unaware that they were behind him. If he didn’t turn around again, it should reinforce that belief. Then he’d set up for his ambush with the Martini-Henry.
He’d wait until they were within four hundred yards before he started firing. He hadn’t had a chance to practice with the gun but wasn’t concerned about accuracy. Even if he missed the riders, if they didn’t have any horses, then they couldn’t follow, and he’d be able to disappear.
