The Monkees: Gold Rush

I've Been a Keepin' In My Heart...

Peter was in the saloon playing the piano. Mike and Davy and Micky were sitting at a table talking quietly together. Aponi was back at the hotel. She was in her room doing nothing.
Aponi wished she could go onto the street, but she could easily get hurt that way. The feelings towards Indians weren't at all kind. Who knew how bad the fight could be if she was in a white woman's clothing?
There was a knock on Aponi's door. She stood up and walked to the door. She opened it and looked out carefully. It was Colorado. He smiled at her and dipped his hat politely.
"Do you know where the three boys you were with are?" Colorado asked.
Aponi nodded. "Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Well, there could be. I'm just making sure nothing goes wrong," Colorado said.
"They are at the saloon. I know Peter is," Aponi said.
"You better come with me," Colorado said. "There's a guy who's gonna go after your friends and I don't know how far he'll go to get to them."
Aponi nodded quietly. Colorado walked with her down the steps and out of the hotel. It was starting to get dark.
Aponi and Colorado walked to the saloon. Colorado had his hand on his gun. He didn't say a word to Aponi. The silence was terrifying. It was like the entire universe knew something was wrong. Colorado noticed that Aponi was tense.
"I came in like a restless wind
On a wagon train
But I'm gonna go like a July snow
Back to where I came from
Gonna leave this hum drum
It's too slow and tame..." Colorado began to sing softly.
Aponi looked up at him. He smiled at her and closed his eyes for a little while before continuing on in the song.
"None of your business where I've been
Don't ask me what I've done
Run your ranch and punch your cows
And stay behind my gun man
Colorado's right hand will put you on the run."
Aponi felt a little better as they neared the saloon. She began to notice there were a few men standing under the porches of the buildings in town. They all had been leaning and watching her and Colorado. Just watching.
"I got a gal in Denver town
That's crying over me
But I said goodbye and I let her cry
I miss her company
But I'll get out of this rut
Rio Bravo's killin' me."
One of the men straightened up. His hand was at his waist, and he started to follow Aponi and Colorado.
"They got a man locked in a cell
That's a free'r man than I
He's gonna laugh right in their face
When they lead him out to die
And he's gonna leave this badland
And ride off in the sky."
Colorado seemed to notice the man, but the man hadn't tried anything yet. Colorado pulled his gun out of his hollister. He never stopped singing in all this time.
"You're gonna see ol' Colorado
Headin' for the door
You better believe I'm gonna leave
Like the 904 train
Gotta breath some air again
That ain't been breathed before..."
Colorado pushed Aponi to the side and turned around pointing his pistol at the man. The man also had a gun pointed at Colorado.
"That was a mighty pretty song," The man said.
Colorado didn't let his guard down. He was ready to shoot the man. "A friend of mine wrote it for me," He said.
Silence stretched between the two men. Aponi could feel her heart beating in her ears. She was hidden behind a few barrels. The man lowered his gun. Colorado left his gun trained on the man.
"Shooting me wouldn't have gotten your brother out of jail," Colorado said.
The man shrugged. "No, but it would have rid me of somebody I don't particularly like," He said.
"The feeling's mutual," Colorado growled.
"I might not be able to get my brother out of jail, but I will not let him hang for shooting an animal," The man said then he turned to walk off.
Colorado watched him walk off. He wished so desperately for an excuse to shoot him. Colorado replaced his gun to its hollister. He walked over to Aponi and offered her his hand to stand up. She took it, and they began to walk to the saloon.
Aponi hesitated before entering the saloon. She felt very nervous about entering. Colorado squeezed her arm and led her in.
Aponi saw Peter playing the piano first before looking for the other three. Mike and Davy and Micky were sharing one bottle of whiskey. Mike looked a little better than he had that morning. Davy and Micky were smiling and laughing.
Aponi started towards Peter. Colorado followed her, but as they passed Davy and Mike he tapped them on the shoulders and gestured to them to follow him. Mike and Davy followed Colorado to the piano where Peter was playing.
"What's this all about?" Mike asked crossing his arms.
"You three are gonna have to stay in the jail until the circuit judge gets here," Colorado said.
"What?!" Mike exclaimed.
Colorado was surprised at how angry Mike had gotten.
"You're not arrested or anything. It's for you there's protection. See, Nick Todd's brother, Pat Boone, he's out to kill the witnesses to the crime," Colorado said quickly.
"I didn't witness the crime," Mike said.
"Neither did Aponi," Peter said.
Colorado thought for a moment. "Was it just you and Davy?" He asked Peter.
Peter nodded.
Colorado rubbed his chin. "Then I guess we'll have to protect just Davy and Peter," He said. "I don't know. This might be a little tricky."
"Hey, Davy and Peter are my friends. If there's anything I can do to help, I want to do it," Mike said.
Colorado nodded. "Why don't we all go to the sheriff? He's a lot smarter than me when it comes to decisions like this," He said. "Do you guys have guns?"
Davy and Peter shook their heads. Colorado held out one of his two guns. "One of you can use this," He said.
Davy took it.
"We're gonna walk to the jail. They're are some of Boone's lackeys out there. If they try anything, we might end up in a shoot out. Peter, Aponi, since you two don't have guns you need to get out of the way as quick as possible," Colorado said.
Peter glanced at Aponi, and he and she nodded. Colorado, Mike, Davy, Peter, and Aponi headed towards the exit of the saloon. They stepped onto the streets. Aponi noticed the same men standing around. Peter noticed them too. He squeezed her arm to reassure her. Aponi was scared, but she wasn't scared for herself. She was more scared for Peter and the others. She didn't want them to get hurt.
The group crossed the street slowly. The street was excruciatingly quiet.

(The song Colorado is singing is Restless Kid. It was written by Johnny Cash for the movie Rio Bravo. I thought it would be nice here since Ricky's trying to keep Aponi calm by singing. I don't think I'm gonna ever have Johnny Cash show up in this story, but he was a cool guy. I added the YouTube video up there, but if that doesn't work just google it, a version will show up.
Oh gosh, two notes in a row... ~ Adde Away!)