Snippet #2637786

While Anna dealt with the remaining sinners outside, Horatio focused on the scared, vulnerable girl at his side. Keeping half an eye on the still groaning and bleeding bandit, he started talking with the child, hoping to get her to open up.

"What's your name, child?" he inquired, giving the girl what he hoped was a placating smile. "My name's Horatio....I'm a Dog too, like Anna."

The bruised and battered girl seemed nervous around him, still clutching the female Dog's coat tight to her frame. She seemed to become more at ease though, when Horatio confessed to being a Dog as well. "I'm....m-my name's Elizabeth Daniels."

Horatio nodded, briefly recalling the names of all the missing children. She was the sister of the boy who had been left behind, then. The blind boy, Jacob. Well...if nothing else, at least he would be able to reunite brother and sister again. It was a paltry consolation prize, considering the no doubt horrid fates that awaited the children who had already been taken to parts unknown, but the older Watchdog would take what he could get.

"I see. Well Elizabeth, you're safe now. Don't worry." Horatio proclaimed, smiling gently at the child. Assuming a role he hadn't played in...quite some time. "Anna and I will make sure no one else hurts you anymore...and we'll take you back to your brother, too."

Elizabeth seemed to perk up at this, the traces of a smile coming to her lips. "He's....all right, then? I haven't, I haven't seen my brother at all since comin' here."

Horatio nodded in the affirmative, speaking quickly to assure Elizabeth of that fact. Indeed, hearing such news seemed to brighten her a bit, bringing the scarred girl some comfort, which Horatio was more than happy to provide.

The shooting finally came to a stop after awhile, and after a few minutes the flap to the tent opened up, and Sheriff Thompson stepped inside. He looked around briefly, before his eyes rested on the three figures inside. He grimaced, the young man clearly doing his best to hold back from swearing. "Ah...Anna told me the others had already been moved. I was hoping she was wrong, but..."

Horatio nodded grimly, sharing in the black lawman's pain. He stood up, reaching down to help Elizabeth up to her feet as well. The girl hesitantly took his hand, using her free arm to keep the loose coat around her small frame. "The others may be gone Sheriff, but so long as we save one child, everything will not have been in vain."

Thompson gave a little nod, still looking a bit unhappy, bit he pushed aside his thoughts of failure. "True enough. All right then...we got Doc Cottle pulled up in his wagon, now. He'll take care of the girl from here. You wanna take her to him, or should I?"

Horatio briefly considered his options, looking down at the scared, uncertain little girl. "I'll go ahead and do it. You take that bastard there over to Anna...he'll need to be interrogated."

"And then some," Sheriff Thompson agreed, inclining his head. He looked down at the bandit, a grim smile overtaking his face. "No one in the posse is pleased that we came too late to save everyone. Though...well, I imagine a lot of spirits will be lifted once this bastard's got a noose around his neck. After Anna's done with him, of course."

That said, Horatio left the tent, carefully escorting Elizabeth to be tended to by Doc Cottle, while Sheriff Thompson roughly got the wounded bandit to his feet, and marched him over to where Anna was.

People were still searching all over the fort, looking for any last holdouts or documents, as Anna requested, so for the moment she would have the last remaining bandit all to herself, free from interference from anyone else.

"Horatio said to bring this bastard over to you," Sheriff Thompson proclaimed, unceremoniously pushing the bandit forward, making the man gasp out and stumble, tumbling to the ground before Anna's feet. "Do you need some help with him, or should I join the others?"