Mrs. Dalton’s Boys, part 5
Adeline Dalton was now living in Coffeyville, Kansas. If she had any hopes and dreams that her boys would grow up to be worth something, and she probably did, those dreams were soon to come true. It just didn't come about the way Mother Dalton had figured it would.
Eventually, the law picked up the trail of Bob and Emmett Dalton in the mid-west. So naturally posses were formed to hunt the boys down with orders to capture the Daltons dead or alive. And about their worth-the law figured they were worth about $5,000-each.
The Dalton brothers were now considered professional outlaws. But outlawing was not all that occupied their time. Bob Dalton had a sweetheart. Eugenia Moore was an attractive country girl living in the area where the boys were hiding out. Adding to Eugenia's charm was the fact that she had a bosom-buddy girl friend who was a railroad telegraph operator and evidently wasn't adverse to passing on a bit of information-like when an unusually large shipment of money would be passing near by via the rails. This handy source of information enabled Bob to learn that just such a situation would take place aboard the Santa Fe express on May 9, 1891. The stashed cash was being carried to a bank in Kansas City, Missouri. Bob also learned that the express messenger, if under attack, was instructed to pretend that he didn't have the combination to the safe and to insist that it could only be opened at its destination. Then came word to the Daltons of a bonus to the situation.
It seems that the party that was looking for the Daltons in the Cherokee Strip was being led by a courageous and tireless deputy marshal by the name of Ransom Payne. Payne is described as being in his early forties. He was a tall, strong man who sported clean-cut features and a blond mustache. With Payne and his group was a veteran Indian guide known as Tiger Jack. Earlier, the Daltons had learned that Payne was after them so Payne, himself, was now marked for death.
The delightful bonus to the Daltons came when they learned that not only was there to be a large cash shipment aboard the before mentioned train but also Payne, their pursuer. The scene was set. Somewhere, in the dark of night, along the Cherokee Strip, the Dalton Gang was about to double their pleasure-or so they thought. The plan was to take Payne out, permanently, and pay themselves handsomely for the deed.
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