DISCLAIMER: I do not own or profit in any way from the characters of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. They belong to MGM, Mirisch, Trilogy, CBS, and TNN. However, I do not want my original characters borrowed or used without my knowledge or consent. If you are unsure if a character is canon or an original, please click on original characters for an extensive list of my characters and when they were first introduced in my fan fiction.
SPECIAL NOTE: I must cite Bernard Cornwell's SHARPE'S EAGLE where I learned how soldiers in the Penisular Wars prevented infection in sword and bullet wounds by use of maggots and Penelope Ody's THE COMPLETE HERBAL MEDICINE for the herbal remedies Nathan uses in Chapter 7.
As always, special thanks to Paula, Wen, and Judy for being the best beta readers a writer could have.
RATING: PG 13
Vin Tanner sat silently laughing on the chair leaning back precariously on two legs against the saloon wall on the boardwalk. In a moment he would get up and walk across the street and save Chris Larabee from the two calculating females who had decided that he needed a woman. Things would sure be easier if he just realized that Mary Travis was the perfect woman for him. Vin really was going to go save his friend before he lost his temper and shot the two females, but it was just too much fun to sit here and watch the black clad gunman try to escape from his adoring audience without hurting their feelings.
"They still after him?" Buck came out and leaned against the wall Vin had his chair propped up against.
JD followed on Buck's heels. "By the time they got through with him yesterday, he had that vein throbbing right in the middle of his forehead."
"Our illustrious leader's vein often throbs shortly before his temper explodes and someone pays the unpleasant price." Ezra had turned his back to the scene across the street to look at his friends and grin in unholy glee. His gold tooth flashed in the morning sun. "Do we need to intervene?"
"Nah, he'll holler fer me 'fore he kills 'em." Vin returned Ezra's grin with his own look of mischief.
"Haven't seen much of Mary, lately." Josiah stepped out holding a beer in his hand.
"She's been layin' low 'specially since the twins asked her if she would like to marry Chris in front of him yesterday." Nathan was grinning as he saw the others had yet to hear this story.
A low growl of laughter burst forth as Vin sat forward, his chair thumping on the boardwalk. He had witnessed the incident. He had also noticed that Chris was glaring at all six of them from across the street. He got to his feet just as Larabee reached the end of his rope.
"Tanner!"
"The leader bellows." Ezra intoned to the group. The doom in his voice would have had the highest paid actor in New York jealous of his theatrics.
"The faithful friend responds." JD answered in the same tone. He had purposely lowered his voice in a good imitation of Josiah.
"Will he get there in time to save the hapless females from the man in black?" Josiah had to join in on the fun.
"Or will the man in black shoot ole' faithful cuz he didn't walk fast enough?" Buck's addition caused all the men to start laughing. Nathan shook his head and slipped into the chair Vin had just vacated. Ezra's raised eyebrow showed Nathan that he had timed it perfectly. Ezra hooked a chair and pulled it over sitting down next to Nathan. JD and Josiah sat on the steps and Buck moved out to lean against the pole. They were all grinning at Larabee despite his infamous glare, but they worried little about that glare right now because their audience had grown. Alexandra and Mary had heard the yell, and they had come out of the Clarion office to watch as Vin rescued a grown man from two six year old girls.
Strolling across the street, Vin heard the twins banter as he drew closer. Mrs. B, who had been purchasing several new saucepans, winked at the tracker as he crossed the street. He tipped his hat to her not only to acknowledge her many kindnesses to him, but also to cover up the grin that Lisha's last statement had elicited.
"But you like Aunt Mary. I seen you kiss her."
"I didn't kiss her. She hit me in the mouth with her head when you tripped her with a fishin' pole."
"Ooooooo, you took Aunt Mary an' Lisha fishin' without me?" Lison was horrified. Our Chris would never play favorites, would he?
"No, I didn't. We were talking in Potter's and your sister picked up a fishin' pole to show Yosemite what happened at the picnic."
"You sure?" Lison wanted to be clear about this.
"I'm not in the habit of being called a liar, young lady." Our Chris had just used that tone of voice Daddy got when the twins had asked something he felt had insulted his dignity.
"Well, okay, if you say so." Lison knew how to butter a man up.
"Daddy always talks to Mommy before he kisses her." Lisha was like a dog with a ham bone. Chris wondered how in the hell he managed to get into this discussion with two little girls. He was going to shoot Tanner for grinning and taking his sweet time getting here. Then, he was going to shoot the other five for standing over there laughing at him. They only thought they were safe. He didn't care if Judge Travis hung him for it; he was just going to have to shoot all six of his friends.
"It 'pears you got some trouble, cowboy."
Chris lightly fingered the butt of his gun. Vin knew exactly what that gesture meant. 'I'm gonna enjoy shootin' ya.'
The grin traveled from his mouth to his twinkling blue eyes. It was contagious as Larabee broke out into a sheepish grin. The twins had jumped Vin the minute they knew he was near. Now he was holding them one under each arm. The twins were dangling there giggling, their matchmaking efforts forgotten as Vin pretended to drop both of them. Mary and Alexandra walked up with Billy and Jamie.
"Isn't it time for your lessons? Boys, why don't you take your sisters to Mrs. Jason?"
The two boys were happy to take the twins to Mrs. Jason for it meant that Chris and Vin would be available for them. They hadn't decided yet whether they wanted to follow their heroes around emulating every step or learn how to spot a double-dealing card shark from Ezra. Buck always got to play the villain, and he always had the best insults ready for JD who always played the innocent dupe.
"We'll come back when we finish." The twins blew kisses to their men as they each held onto the young men's hands as they were escorted to their lessons.
"Not if I can leave town first." Chris noticed his audience had heard his muttered comment. Sheepishly, he looked over at them. "Those two could try the patience of a saint." Chris tried the Larabee glare on Alexandra. She was duly impressed, really she was.
"Yes, but what effect do they have on wounded grizzlies?" Mary clapped her hand over her mouth as Alexandra shot back that comment with a twinkle in her eye.
"Did she just call me a grizzly, Vin?"
"That she did, Larabee, but I got to remind you that she is my beloved aunt. You can't shoot her." Alexandra smiled benevolently on her nephew. He had started using that term to tease her ever since she had told him he couldn't order her about because she was his beloved aunt.
Larabee gave an exaggerated sigh. "This place is getting' too damned civilized when they let women and children run loose."
The two women pretended to be shocked as they walked into Mrs. Potter's store. Chris and Vin heard Mary's lilting laugh blend with Alexandra's.
"Good lookin' woman. Gonna make some man real proud one day." Vin caught the narrowed look of disgust from his friend out of the corner of his eye. Wiping the grin off is face and using all he had learned from Ezra, Vin turned his most innocent face on Larabee. "What? I was just remarkin' on what a fine woman Mary is." The snort he got from the man on his left said more than any words. It was a combination of disbelief that Vin had turned on him as well as a promise of dire accidents that could happen to a man who liked to bait grizzlies. Tanner started to say something when he saw Bill practically run from the telegraph office.
"Looks like trouble, pard."
"That it does, cowboy."
Vin was surprised when Bill handed the telegram to him and not Chris. He read it slowly concentrating on Bill's careful printing. Chris looked over his shoulder and read it, too. Then he looked up at Bill a question in his eyes.
"It just came in, Mr. Tanner. I brought it right to ya. Anything ya want to answer?"
"Tell 'im I'm startin' on his trail now." He tossed Bill a coin and shook his head when the man would have given it back. "Send it for me now, okay?"
"Tell Bull, I'll be helpin' Vin out on this one." When Vin looked over at him, Larabee's grin was evil. "You think I'm stayin' here with those hellions while you escape, you're crazier than I thought."
Vin shook his head laughing as he stepped back up on the boardwalk. "Preciate the company, pard. I'll go tell Alexandra first, then the twins."
"I'll go tell the boys and saddle the horses."
"I'll meet ya back here in a half hour?"
"Half hour it is." Vin followed the women into Potter's to explain while Chris was met with concerned faces.
"Somethin' wrong, brother?"
"Vin got a telegram from Bull. Big Foot was supposed to meet them outside Garrison, but he hasn't shown up yet. Said some men were followin' him in his last telegram."
"Garrison? That the town that's run by a group of miners, ain't it?" Nathan was frowning. "I went through there 'bout two years ago. Place was a real hellhole."
"I believe your assessment of it is correct. Buck and I traveled through there three months ago delivering that prisoner for the Judge."
"You're right Ezra. Bridge had washed out to Brecken so we had to go around cause snow wouldn't let us take the trail through the mountains. You wouldn't even talk to that one man who offered you a game."
"Garrison reeked of mendacity, my friend. The citizens would not understand a friendly game of chance if it was served to them upon a golden platter accompanied by a celestial choir."
"Damn, Ezra, town must be really bad if you won't even gamble there." JD was impressed. He'd been to Purgatorio, but he would like to see Garrison. "Can I go with you and Vin, Chris?"
"Now, JD, you don't want to go there." Buck would have said more but Josiah managed to step right on Buck's foot as he stood up. The ladies' man started to protest when he saw the look on Josiah's face. Josiah was right. JD had the right to decide where he would go, and Buck had to let him make the choice.
"If it's as bad as you say, then Vin an' Chris are gonna need someone to watch their backs."
"What are you plannin' to do to my back?" Vin was on his way to break the news to the twins. He squeezed into the space between Buck and Chris to lean against the post.
"JD thinks ya need someone to watch yer backs in Garrison." Buck was frowning.
"You offerin'?" Vin watched JD puff up.
"Damn straight I am."
Chris slapped the kid on the back. "I guess you'd better go pack a few things. We're leavin' soon as we get our gear together an' Courage here tells the twins he's leavin'."
"Cute, real cute. Maybe I'll leave you here with the twins."
"On second thought, I'll go get the horses ready. JD, grab my saddle bags, would ya?"
"Ah, bravery in its purest form." Ezra's gold tooth flashed despite the Larabee glare.
"Smells more like chicken to me." Chris shoved Buck off the boardwalk. Landing on his feet, Buck started imitating a rooster. The others started laughing as Josiah offered to get the horses ready while Chris got his gear together. Ezra stopped them, though.
"I think it might be wise for you gentlemen to send a wire at least once a day to let us know how the search is progressing. A few coded words to let us know all is well and another to send for help?"
Chris nodded. "That's a good idea, Ezra. You got any words in mind?" That got a salute from Ezra as he pretended to think about the code words.
"If all is well, Vin will send his love to his family, and if anything is amiss, you will inquire after Mrs. Travis's health."
"I think I can remember that. What about you old man?" Chris shoved Vin off the boardwalk right into Buck, which toppled both men to the ground. They just missed the water trough. Then he went inside laughing at his friends as Josiah pulled Vin up and Ezra and Nathan each hauled Buck to his feet. Turning to Vin, Buck waggled his eyebrows.
"You think the twins will ask him to kiss Mary goodbye?"
Vin turned and smiled at his friend, "Now, Bucklin, you ain't suggestin' what I think you're suggestin'?"
"No, he isn't suggesting anything, are you, Buck?" Chris had reappeared out of thin air. Six men split up in six different directions. Larabee grinned in satisfaction. Sometimes it was just too easy to enjoy himself.
Chris was following the two men enjoying the peace and quiet as JD rode alongside Vin who had been watching the sky for a while. Spring weather tended to bring quick, furious storms that drenched the countryside with water that in turn allowed the mountains and plains to be awash in color from blooming wildflowers. This spring was no exception. Blankets of red, blue, yellow, pink, and violet covered the countryside. It was the afternoon of the second day since they had left Four Corners when JD had caught Vin looking at the sky several times and finally noticed a wave of blue washing in from the north.
"Storm comin'?" JD looked at the sky. It sure looked like a storm was brewing. "Every time we saw that color blue marching towards us we always took cover back home."
"Really, even in fall?"
"Yeah, any time. Usually a snow storm from up north or in summer a storm brewing in the Atlantic and when it hit sometimes the wind would be so bad it would knock buildings down."
Vin nodded his head. "We got a storm like that back in Galveston when I was chasin' a bounty. Storm damn near flooded everything. Took me three days to get dry once the rain stopped. Then, I thought I'd bake it was so hot." JD laughed at how Vin fanned his face with his hat to emphasize how hot it got in Texas.
"Winter was always my favorite time of the year. You could go skatin' on the pond, take sleigh rides, sit in front of a hot fire with your friends and drink hot chocolate. My ma used to love hot chocolate." JD was smiling with his memories of his mother.
Chris smiled as he listened. Sarah had always loved spring with all its beauty. Looking around he thought how much she would have loved this day and how much she would have loved JD and Vin. She would have treated them just like she had treated Adam, Buck, and him by plying them with food and love until they thought they would pop. She just might have been able to keep Vin in one spot, although Chris was beginning to think the young tracker had finally found a place he didn't mind calling home. He was so wrapped up in pleasant thoughts of Sarah and Adam playing in the wildflowers that he almost missed JD's question.
"I asked what time of year you liked best, Chris?"
"Spring." He didn't even have to think about it. "I always liked spring best because Sarah loved it so."
"So'd my ma." Vin's voice was barely above a whisper, but the smile on his face indicated that like Chris he, too, had been lost in favorite memories.
"You like spring best, too, Vin?" JD was enjoying himself.
"Fall, that's the time I liked best when I was growin' up in Texas."
"Why fall?"
"Well, it'd be so hot you figured you were just gonna melt, finally. And then come October you'd see it." Vin was staring at the sky now like he could see what was in his mind.
"See what?" JD was fascinated.
"You'd see the sky turn a darker shade of blue, kinda like that dress Mary wears to Sunday church. Wouldn't be no rain or nuthin' with it just blue clouds rolling closer and closer. And just when you'd think you couldn't stand the heat no more you'd feel the North Wind that was blowin' all them blue clouds at ya. The air would go from hot to cool to cold with just them clouds and the wind blowin' in." Vin smiled at his rapt audience. "We called 'em old blue northers cause they'd come and go right out of the north til it got to be winter."
"Yeah, but didn't it rain with 'em?"
"Not always. That's what was so fine 'bout 'em. One minute you're wet with sweat, and then you're just as dry and cool as can be. I liked that feelin' of cool air blowin' on my face and through my hair."
"You think that's just cold air comin' in?"
"Naw, I think we're gonna need to find shelter soon. That sky's 'bout to open up an' pour on us."
Chris finally spoke, "We won't reach Garrison tonight?"
"You wanta take a chance horses slippin' in the mud in these mountains we can go straight through, but I ain't real familiar with this territory. Always used the trail to Brecken goin' north, not this one. Only been this way a time or two."
"Let's find shelter then." Chris no sooner spoke that a gunshot reverberated throughout the mountains.
Vin's horse reared and the tracker went down. Something wet splattered on Chris as he jumped from the saddle his gun in hand and went running to his friend as he scanned the surrounding area. It was blood, Vin's blood, and he was not making any attempt to get up. Vin was lying face down and the ground was covered in blood. JD already had his guns out scanning the area as he stood in front of Vin. Chris was looking for a safe haven to drag his friend when they heard the shout.
"Put your guns down! We don't want you, just Tanner."
"Like hell we will!" Another rifle blast and dirt kicked up at JD's feet.
"We'll kill all of ya if ya don't let us have the body. He's worth five hundred to us, an' we aim to collect!"
"You're gonna get a rope instead! Vin got pardoned! He ain't wanted no more!" Chris spotted the flash of light where the setting sun glanced off the barrel of the rifle, but nothing else as the shooter was ensconced in an alcove that provided excellent cover. Chris put his hand to Vin's throat. He had a pulse, so Chris quickly forced control on his growing rage. It would only get him and JD killed and then Vin would truly be at their mercy.
Chris heard the cocking of a rifle and he yelled to prevent them from shooting JD who refused to relinquish his position in front of Vin. "Kid's tellin' the truth! Tanner got pardoned by the governor of Texas four months ago. You try to collect a bounty on him you're likely to find yourselves in jail. He's a peacekeeper in Four Corners and works for Judge Travis."
There was nothing for a while and then, "Tanner still alive?"
"Barely, we got to get him to a doctor!"
"We're comin' down! You move and Willie Boy shoots the kid!"
"We ain't goin' anywhere without Vin! C'mon on down!"
JD still had his guns out, so Chris holstered his and turned Vin over. The low moan told him that Tanner was alive and barely conscious. There was a bullet hole right under his arm on the left side. There was no exit wound, but the bullet was close enough to his chest to make Chris sick with worry that the bullet had nicked a lung or something else vital. He tried to rouse Vin, but the man just lay there bleeding all over everything. He had a cut on his forehead right at the hairline that was bleeding like a stuck pig and was already puffing up. That could be why he could not regain consciousness. JD tossed something white at Chris. It was a clean, white handkerchief. "Thanks, JD."
"He gonna be okay?"
"Don't know. He needs a doctor."
"Garrison got one?"
A man appeared to their front left with a rifle in hand. Another man stood to the right with another rifle trained on them. The third man, their sharpshooter, stood up from his spot where he had ambushed Vin. Chris took a good long look at him memorizing every feature on his face.
"That old man gave us some hogwash that Tanner was pardoned, but we got this here flyer confirmed by the sheriff in Garrison that Tanner's still wanted."
"You know where Big Foot is?" JD still refused to put up his guns. No one was going to take Vin anywhere until they cleared this up.
"Yeah, we took the old man cause Bart heard that his friends were meetin' him in Garrison before they went to Denver. Willie Boy knew the old man and Tanner were friends. Seen 'em back in Texas with another old buffalo hunter. He said if we took the old man, Tanner would come for him. Looks like Willie Boy was right an' we're five hundred dollars richer." The man looked like he needed a bath and he smelled worse. Spitting on the ground he never took his eyes from Larabee.
The glare Chris pinned him with made him glad he had a rifle trained on the man in black. "The old man was right. Tanner got a pardon."
"Sheriff says different. Still got a wanted poster on Tanner."
"I don't give a damn if he's got the entire state of Texas up his ass. Tanner got a pardon four months ago. You wire Tascosa and Austin an' they'll verify it. Sheriff Johnson in Brecken and Judge Travis witnessed it." The silent man to the right stared at Chris, and Larabee knew he at least was beginning to feel uncertain. The man he identified as Willie Boy came and stood by the silent one while the other spit in the dirt again. Vin moaned again and the silent one nodded at him. Willie Boy grimaced in disgust.
"I tolt ya I couldn't guarantee I'd kill 'im at that distance, Stan. Sides, he'll die 'fore we get 'im to Garrison."
"He dies, you die slow." All three men looked startled. The man in black and the kid neither cared they had three rifles trained on them nor were they concerned about it; they were threatening to kill them. The kachink of a shell sliding into the chamber of a rifle made the three men turn around. A tall man with a mustache had his rifle pointed at the men. He looked madder than hell and twice as mean.
"Which bastard shot Vin?" Buck Wilmington was not going to ask if Vin was alive or not. Chris and JD hadn't killed anyone yet; that meant Vin was still alive.
"Does it matter?" Larabee could always count on Buck.
"You talk real big, cowboy. Just cause you got a third man don't mean we can't take you all." Willy Boy had a big mouth.
"He's Chris Larabee, an' he don't like being called a cowboy."
Willie Boy almost swallowed the tobacco he had in his mouth. The silent one's eyes got real big. The mouthy one looked green. He no longer spit at Larabee's feet. JD would have enjoyed himself if he hadn't been so worried about Vin. His friend was just too quiet and still. They all knew Chris Larabee would hunt them down and kill them real slow if he said he would. Hell, he was fast enough to get them all even if he was kneeling by Tanner with his gun holstered. That changed the odds somewhat. The mouthy one looked over at Willie Boy and the silent Stan. Stan just looked from Tanner to JD to Larabee to Buck and then back at the men with him. Finally, he spoke.
"Paper says he's wanted."
"Paper's wrong." This time Larabee smiled at them just willing them to give him a reason to start shooting. The kid grinned just like him.
"We got three rifles on ya."
"An' you'll be dead before you get one shot off. You got kin you want me to send word to?" Larabee rose quicker than lightning and was standing on the other side of the kid with Tanner between them. His gun was out and leveled on them. Someone was about to die. "Garrison is close. We take Tanner there and get him a doctor. You have the sheriff wire the law in Tascosa and Judge Travis. Word comes back he's still wanted, and maybe I let you live. He dies an' word comes back he's not wanted any more, I'll give you two days before I come after you. Your choice, but either way, Tanner needs a doctor now."
The three men looked at one another and then back at Larabee and the kid. There was more to that little man than they had first supposed as he looked quite happily capable of helping Larabee kill them. The man they called Buck sat astride his horse just waiting for a reason to start the killing. Stan was a man of few words, but he figured a few more days waiting on the money would be better than dying here on the spot.
"We ain't lettin' you out of our sights. Bart, you ride with them. We'll follow."
Chris grinned the same feral grin that unnerved the men before. "That's fine. Just stay out of my way. JD, get the horses."
"Chris, what if it rains like Vin said?"
"It ain't gonna rain, boy."
"Vin said it would, an' he ain't never wrong." JD was getting pretty damn good with his own version of the Larabee glare, but it was easy when his friend might not make it through the night.
"Who knows the land around here real good?" Bart, the mouthy one, looked up. "You lead us into Garrison. Your friends can follow. Maybe we can come across someone else you can dry gulch while you're at it." The disgust in Wilmington's voice was evident.
"I'll ride with them, Chris." JD was going to watch Vin's back like he promised. Chris smiled at him. Then he turned back to the other men. "Where's Big Foot?
Willie Boy looked up. "We got him tied up over yonder with the horses."
"Get him, now." Chris never looked up and never raised his voice, but Willie Boy took out like he had an ass full of buckshot. Chris looked over at Buck. "I'll bandage him. Once Big Foot gets here, I put Vin with you. Big Foot can ride with ya an' I'll follow with JD." Then, Chris turned on the remaining two men. "He so much as gets a bruise from this ride to town, an' I'll rip your tongues out before I put my gun down your throats and blow you to hell and gone." He meant it, and the men sprang to help.
Stan didn't speak much and he wasn't the brightest man in the world, but he was good at telling when a man spoke the truth and when he didn't. He'd told the others they should have checked on Tanner, but the sheriff had said he had papers that said Tanner was still wanted. If Larabee was right and Tanner died, Stan Parsons would be a murderer plain and simple. He did not like that thought one little bit. He pulled a flask of whiskey out of his coat pocket and handed it to Larabee.
"This here'll help him if he wakes up." Larabee took a long look at Stan before he took the flask and opened it. He poured a generous amount into the wound and then pressed a torn up shirt JD had pulled from his bags and used it as a bandage. Vin was still bleeding quite a lot.
"How far to Garrison?"
"Hour, maybe more iffen it rains." Stan no sooner said that when a large wet raindrop splattered on his hand. It was followed by one after another. The sky had darkened and Vin was right. Big Foot rode up in the falling rain looking haggard but otherwise all right.
"Damn, I tried to get away from 'em. That boy gonna make it?" Big Foot remembered the blue-eyed Comanche they had saved from a bear and the grief-stricken young man they had taken with them buffalo hunting when the Army had "rescued" him from the Comanche by killing everyone he had considered his family. Vin Tanner did not deserve to be shot like a mad dog.
Chris Larabee looked at him. "He will be if we got anything to say about it." Big Foot jumped down and helped Chris lift Vin to Buck while JD watched the other men. The raindrops had turned into a downpour in the time it took to get Vin settled sitting astride Buck's horse with Buck's arms wrapped round him holding the younger man against him to prevent as much jostling as he could. They all knew the rain could be deadly if they didn't get to Garrison soon, but Vin needed the bullet out and the bleeding stopped or he was a dead man. They could only pray Bart could get them there in time. Larabee grabbed Bart by the collar before they set out in the cold, driving rain.
"You lead us there as fast as you can. You even look like you're wastin' time, an' I'll cut you from your neck straight to your balls and leave you spread eagle in the middle of an anthill. You understand?" Bart shook his head yes. This man in black was crazy mean, and Bart was known to be as sharp as a two by four.
"He your brother or somethin'?" Bart wanted to know why these men were so loyal to a murderer.
"You could say that." Chris's feral grin had the desired effect. Bart turned his horse and led them straight to the doctor's home in Garrison within the hour. By that time Vin was soaked, shivering with cold, and moaning in pain. Buck looked at Chris as he let Vin slide down and Chris held him up until Buck dismounted and helped him carry Vin through the door JD had opened to the doctor's house.
"He hasn't stopped bleedin', yet." Buck was worried. They carried Vin over to the table as JD went looking for the doctor. They heard yelling in the other room and a scream. A partially clothed woman came barreling through the door holding her dress together. It was apparent the doctor had been having some fun with one of the working girls. JD pushed the partially clothed man into the room.
"He's drunk, Chris." JD was disgusted. Healers weren't supposed to go and get drunk. Nathan never acted that way.
Big Foot was at the door with Buck's rifle. "Them boys are bringing the sheriff over."
"Buck?" Buck knew exactly what Chris wanted him to do.
"JD, you get Vin out of them wet clothes and covered with a blanket. I'll get the doc here sobered up an' let Chris handle the sheriff." Nodding, JD did what he was told.
Chris checked his gun, nodded to Big Foot who handled the rifle like it was another arm, and both men stepped out to meet the sheriff. He trusted Vin to Buck and JD until they could wire for Nathan. Right now he had to set a few men straight, and if he got to shoot someone in the process so much the better. When Bart had asked if Vin was his brother, Chris had immediately thought yes. Tanner was as close to him as Buck maybe closer. They were all that close to him.
Hell, when had all six men become his brothers? The fact that he thought of them that way scared the hell out of Larabee. He had tried so hard to remain so detached and still they had wormed their way into his life so much so that if one of them got hurt, Chris hurt as well. Damn them all. Who the hell had asked them to adopt him? And who did he think he was adopting them? He had turned from people, Buck especially, when Sarah and Adam had been killed, but now here he was worrying over someone again. He frowned as he realized he really did not want the caring to stop. For three years he'd lived in a bottle with a gun and tried to kill himself any way he could. Nothing had worked, and now he was glad it hadn't. Somehow he had found his heart again, and he was glad. When they got Vin well and back home he would have to tell Mary that. Oh God, here he was making plans like he was at some party or something instead of waiting for four men to approach him with guns drawn trying to take his friend, and all he had was an old man at his side.
"Heads up, son. I may be old, but I can still shoot the rattle off a snake at a hundred yards. Who do you think taught that boy in there to shoot?"
"That so?" That same pride Chris had heard in Vin's voice when one of the others teased him about his sharp shooting skills was there. No doubt Big Foot had taught him his attitude as well. He'd better not die on him. Who would protect him from the twins? The sheriff was finally within range. Chris put his hand near his gun. Big Foot raised the rifle to hip level.
"That's far enough." Chris wasn't letting anyone else near Vin tonight.
"That man's wanted in Texas for murder. I got the flyer."
"He got a pardon. You wire Tascosa or the governor's office in Texas. They'll confirm the bounty was withdrawn."
"I don't need to." The sheriff took a step closer. Chris had his gun out before the man could blink.
"Wire Judge Travis then. He's a witness to the pardon, and Tanner works for him." That got the sheriff's attention.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Name's Larabee."
"Shit, not the gunslinger Travis hired to clean up Four Corners with those six men? They call you boys the Magnificent Seven." Chris looked bored. Some of the citizens looked mighty impressed. Big Foot grinned. He hadn't had this much fun since they got attacked by Apaches back in '60. If that boy in there would just wake up and be his ornery self, then Big Foot could relax and enjoy himself.
"Yeah he is, mister. An' iffen you try an' hurt Mr. Vin, Mr. Chris will shoot you deader than a beaver hat." Young Josh Quinn Samson was being held back by his brother Dallas who glared at the sheriff. John Henry would have said something but Bull grabbed him.
"Jules, you take your brothers in the doc's house an' see iffen you can help. Me and Big Foot'll help Mr. Chris. Ain't no one takin' Vin nowheres." Bull was carrying a big sawed off shotgun. That boy meant a lot to him and Big Foot. Hell, they had practically raised him. He shoved his way past the men in the street and stood on the other side of Larabee. "Ain't them the men what took you?" He was talking to Big Foot but looking at the sheriff.
"Yep, they are. Took me so's they could dry gulch Tanner." The sheriff had the decency to look shocked.
"You said he drew on you." That set Chris's temper to boiling.
"They shot him out of the saddle. He never knew what hit him. He'd be dead if that idiot knew how to shoot." The disgust in his voice was plain.
The sheriff was a decent man. He'd been hired to turn Garrison into a decent place to live, and so far in three months he had worked wonders. He had heard of Larabee and the other six men in Four Corners and he knew Judge Travis would not hire a murderer to watch over the town his grandson lived in. If he tried to take Tanner, which he was more disinclined to do now that he knew the man had been ambushed, then Larabee would kill him straight out. Dan Matthews was not a stupid man, nor was he a hot head. He'd gotten his reputation by being fair and methodical. He had not bothered to find out if the bounty on Tanner had been withdrawn, but all these men said it had. He made his decision.
"All you settle down. Tanner ain't goin' nowhere's. I'll wire Judge Travis and the sheriff in Tascosa. Won't hurt to wait a day or two." Turning his back on Larabee indicated that he was no threat, so Chris left Bull and Big Foot out front. Sure enough Buck had the doctor drinking some concoction that was making him puke his guts up. The kids were busy boiling water and started a fire to keep Vin warm. JD was holding the blood soaked bandage on Vin's wound. He was scared and trying not to show it. So was Chris. He'd give anything to have Nathan here right now. Buck was a step ahead of him.
"Nathan and the boys are a day and a half behind me. The boys, John Henry and Josh, heard those men braggin' about how they were gonna get Tanner. They told Bull, he wired us, an' I came ahead to warn ya. Sorry I got there too late."
"We only sent the telegram yesterday morning, Mr. Buck." Jules had sent the wire.
"Hell, Buck, you came along right when we needed ya. They were gonna kill us too and then where would Vin be?" Chris grabbed Buck's shoulder and squeezed it.
"JD's right, Buck. You got there just in time." They paused once and looked at one another. They each saw the same determination in each other's eyes. Vin Tanner was not going to die on them. The doctor was finally ready. His eyes were bloodshot but they were free of alcohol for the moment. He looked over at his patient and then the others in the room.
"I ain't got no ether or anything for pain but laudanum. Carbolic's all been used up and the new shipment ain't come in yet. I may not be able to help him much."
Chris walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar. "Use whiskey instead of carbolic an' take the bullet out while he's unconscious. Our doc'll be here by tomorrow. Then you can go back to your bottle. Just keep him alive." The doctor merely nodded and walked over to his patient.
"Get these kids outa here an' let me get to work."
Bull came in when the kids went out to sit on the front porch with Big Foot. Buck washed his hands in order to help. Chris and Bull took either side to hold Vin down if he woke up. The door banged open and the saloon girl was back. She had several bottles of whiskey.
"The old man told me to bring these in to you." She stood off to the side as the doc picked up the probe and took the bandage off the ugly wound. The last thing she heard before the sight of blood made her head spin and her knees go weak was a groan of pain as the doctor probed the wound searching for the bullet. Then there was nothing but blackness rising up from the floor.
The doctor's hand shook as he probed the bullet wound. Vin groaned once and then again as an uncontrollable shaking caused the doctor to jerk the instrument the wrong way. This time clouded blue eyes flashed open as Vin tried to find the source of the searing pain. Through the pain filled haze and the pounding in his head he heard the sound of a gun being cocked and then he heard a deadly voice full of rage speak.
"You jerk that probe one more time you sorry excuse for a sawbones an' I'll blow a hole in you so big they could run a train through ya."
Where had Buck come from? Vin tried to focus, but the effort cost him. Pain reverberated through his skull as he lifted his head and the searing pain tore at the lower part of the left side of his chest near the armpit. The bullet had entered at an angle driving the bullet into the flesh and deflecting off the rib it managed to break before embedding itself in the muscle tissue near the lung. Any wrong movement on part of the doctor probing the wound for the bullet could result in puncturing the lung.
A skilled surgeon could remove it with some maneuvering and a lot of luck, but Doc Hanlan had never been a skilled surgeon. At best steeped in book knowledge, he did not have the natural aptitude to practice what his brain found so easy to absorb. Working alongside his father in the profession his family had chosen for him, he had soon found that morphine and alcohol would dull the horrors he had witnessed in the War. More importantly, it banished the guilt he felt as his clumsy hands sent more men to their premature deaths than he wanted to acknowledge. The need he had to escape his tormented life had just fed his growing addiction to morphine and alcohol until he managed to give his life over to feeding his habit. When his family had discovered that he was using their money to feed his habit and destroy his own life as well as that of his patients, he had been removed from his father's successful practice and shipped out west where any doctor was appreciated.
While at its peak in mining silver, Garrison had provided Hanlan with a job that brought little stress. He treated the prostitutes and their customers for anything from bruises to disease, and he had been paid handsomely with enough money to feed his morphine and alcohol addictions. Any argument ending in violence, which often happened in a boomtown had usually led to death before the doctor even reached the wounded man or in some cases woman. The very violent lives they lived made it easy for Hanlan's ineptness to be hidden. However, as the silver mines provided less and less silver, the town had begun to change as the miners left and more decent folk began to move in and take over. Doc Hanlan's inability to practice real medicine was becoming increasingly obvious, as had his fondness for liquor and morphine. This man lying on his table had been the first patient he had seen in several weeks, thus the absence of morphine. Doc had injected himself with the last of the morphine yesterday and was using laudanum and alcohol to ease his withdrawal, thus the shaking hands and sweat that threatened to drop onto the wound below him.
The injured man had become conscious again. It was unfortunate, but Hanlan didn't want to waste his precious laudanum on a murderer. Only the other men with guns had forced him to forego his pleasure and try to save this man. Why bother if he was just going to end up at the end of a rope? So, he had probed the wound again with his shaking hands believing the friends would think he was giving his patient the best care he could. The man's struggles alone could be blamed for any further injuries as Hanlan dug the probe into the wound again. That had earned him a gun in his face and the threat by the mustached man. The icy glare from the intense man in black just made Hanlan more nervous and he once more jabbed the probe in instead of gently following the path carved by the bullet. Taking a deep breath, he tried to ignore the movements and groans of the injured man when a hand gripped his in a death grip. Looking into icy green eyes that could penetrate your very soul made the fragile hold Hanlan had on reality snap totally and he began babbling in fear.
"Get this fool out of here!" Chris couldn't believe it. They had taken Vin to a butcher. He had seen men like this during the war and recognized the ravages of a morphine addiction. Buck, too had seen the façade of a mere drunk slip and reveal a man who had sampled one too many times the very miracle drug that was there for the benefit of his patients. Incensed, Buck had no problem dragging the doctor away from the table and his friend. Before, Buck had worried that Vin might bleed to death or that the ride in the rain might encourage infection to set in and ruin his friend's chances of survival. Now he worried they had made it worse by allowing a drug addled hack to touch him.
Chris looked helplessly around not knowing what to do. Big Foot entered the room after Bull had sent JD to fetch him. Taking one look at the babbling man in the corner by the working girl who had fainted earlier and who was now sitting there cradling the wreck in her arms, he shook his head in disgust. He quickly washed his hands as he saw Larabee and Wilmington both move into position on either side of Vin. They were speaking softly to the injured man keeping him calm and still.
"You're gonna be fine, just relax, Vin."
Vin looked at Buck for a moment and then he tried to raise his hand to touch the man's shoulder. "Where'd you come from?" His voice sounded hoarse, and he would have asked why when the probe the idiot doctor hadn't removed shifted and he hissed in pain trying to draw his left side out of range from anyone who might be inclined to touch it. That only intensified the pain, and he reacted by grabbing onto the first thing that was within reach of his hand.
It was Chris's hand that he had grabbed and Chris's worry increased when he felt how weak Vin was. "Easy, now. You got shot by some men who think you're still a wanted man. Buck, kept them from doing any more damage."
"Big Foot?"
"Right here, boy." He moved over next to Buck so Vin could see him. The cut on Vin's forehead had finally stopped bleeding, but there was still blood weeping from the bullet wound. They had to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding. "One of them bastards knew you an' me was friends, so they took me cause they knew Bull would send for you to help. It was an ambush. We got to get that lead outa ya 'fore you lose too much more blood." He put his hand on Vin's forehead and felt the heat gathering there already. He had cut bullets out of Bull and some others before, and they had lived. Hell, he'd even cut a bullet out of his own side once and then cauterized it with gunpowder from a bullet. He could do this. He looked at Larabee and saw the man staring at him. Big Foot turned his attention back to Vin, but it was to Chris and Buck that he spoke as Vin's eyes fluttered closed from exhaustion and pain.
"You remember that time Bull got hisself shot in the gut by that drunken soldier outside of Ft. Stockton? Doc said he was gonna die an' to sew him up an' leave him be, but you wouldn't let me. You musta been all of seventeen an' could shoot better 'n any man I ever saw. Member that, boy? You made me dig that bullet out an' fix ole' Bull up."
Vin tried to focus on the words, but the pain was threatening to consume him. Breathing was difficult and caused a stabbing pain every time he took a breath. He didn't know if it was the bullet or his ribs, but something was wrong and he was growing weaker and weaker. Chris and Buck looked worried, not concerned, but gut wrenching worried. Vin saw JD as he moved to stand beside Chris. The kid looked scared and then Vin knew that the pain he felt was probably going to get worse before it got any better, if it did get better.
"You sayin' I'm dyin' or you're gonna cut a bullet outa me?" It was difficult to talk, but he managed to get the wry question out before the pain clawed at him again.
Buck gave a weak grin to JD and Chris before turning a confident countenance to Vin. "You're too damned stubborn to die, so I guess that leaves cuttin' on ya. Sure hope Big Foot knows what he's doin' cause that doc sure ain't any help."
"Hell, can't we wait for Nathan?" Vin spasmed in pain again and the grip he had on Larabee's hand was stronger this time. "I'd even drink his ditch water without gripin'." He heard Larabee's snort of disbelief and JD's slight laugh.
"I think I just got insulted."
Buck patted Big Foot on his back. "No thinkin' required. He insulted ya for sure." For a moment Vin grinned but then the pain came back full force threatening to drown him in it.
"Do it 'fore it's too late." Then he focused every thought he had on just takin one breath one right after another. If he just kept breathing slowly and did not have to take any deep breaths like talking required, it did not hurt as bad. He felt a cool cloth on his forehead as JD gently wiped the beading sweat from his forehead. "Was that you standin' over me tryin' to get killed?" JD knew better than to upset Vin right now, so he looked down into the pain filled eyes and lied through his teeth.
"Naw, it was Chris. He was gonna take all three of them on till Buck showed up." He placed his hands on either side of Vin's head to keep him still. Chris joined JD by leaning into Vin's right shoulder effectively pinning Vin to the table. Buck took Vin's left hand and gently positioned it out of the way allowing JD to grab onto it and secure it. Then he held onto the tracker's slim hips holding him down. Bull appeared out of nowhere to hold his feet still.
Vin wasn't stupid, and he knew the bullet had to come out to prevent his dying from infection and possibly bleeding to death. That didn't mean much, however, as Big Foot took hold of the probe and once more tried to follow its path through the muscle tissue. The pain increased tenfold as Vin clutched at both hands that imprisoned his. Biting his lip, he felt every excruciating movement of the probe as Big Foot maneuvered it carefully through the path carved out by the bullet. The room began to spin around as his eyes darted from face to face begging for the pain to stop, but his friends were unable to stop the pain from shooting through him until breathing stopped being a normal function and turned into a form of torture. Someone forced a strap into his mouth and he bit down as the probe moved further in. He felt the sweat pouring off of him as his world became one mass effort to hang on just one more second and then as the mindless pain became almost unbearable. Then Big Foot uttered a curse and pushed the probe further in. Vin cried out once before the blackness finally took him.
The men holding Vin pinned to the table felt him relax as unconsciousness finally obliterated the pain consuming his body. Buck and JD leaned forward at the same time; one to wipe the sweat from Big Foot's forehead and JD to wipe a cool cloth over Vin's equally wet forehead. The old man said nothing as he carefully moved the probe through the muscle tissue. He had learned over the years that a bullet could carve a mighty big path through the human body and if you were patient enough and lucky enough you could follow that path right through to the bullet.
Vin Tanner had heard he was in trouble and he had come without question to help his old friend. For that reason alone Charles Lowery was going to do everything possible to save the boy who had become a man any man would be proud to call son. This was hard though. He knew if he followed this path for too long he might end up puncturing a lung and that would kill Vin as surely as leaving the bullet in would. So, Charles Big Foot Lowery took a deep breath and continued to work his way in after the bullet. He silently prayed that Vin would not regain consciousness until he had found the bullet and removed it.
Chris Larabee was just as focused on his private thoughts as Big Foot was. He felt utterly helpless. He knew that if Buck had not come along when he did that he and JD would have died defending Vin. He had never once regretted his determination to wrest Vin from the jaws of death, but upon discovering the doctor they had brought Vin to was a worthless hack, his hopes of saving Vin had plummeted into a dark despair. Now, an old man Chris knew only as one of two men who had known Vin when he had lived with the Comanche and then had taken him in when the Army had destroyed his Comanche family was trying to remove the bullet. The bullet that threatened to take a member of his family from him.
There was nothing Chris could do for Vin but be there for him, but he dearly wanted to run from this place, find the men who had shot his best friend, and fill them full of lead. Only the knowledge that JD and Buck would probably hang with him prevented him from doing just that. Besides, Vin might regain consciousness while he was out seeking revenge and what if his friend needed him? It was just the waiting that got to him. Normally, Larabee could sit in silence for hours, but it was a companionable silence he had always shared with Vin. Right now he needed to hear that Vin was going to be all right.
If only Nathan were here. The former slave cured more people through compassion than most doctors did with all the medicine and education the world could offer. Chris would bet on Nathan any day. Now, Vin would like the irony of that. Chris would place a bet on Nathan being able to cure the devil, and that showed not only how long Chris had been hanging around one Ezra Standish but how much confidence he had in Nathan. Vin would certainly enjoy that if Chris ever deigned to tell him.
Chris was not going to tell Vin anything if he did not survive this, damn him! Hang on you sorry excuse for a friend.
He looked up to see JD and Buck looking at him. Buck nodded at him and JD gave a weak smile drawing Chris's attention to the fact that Vin was still alive and Big Foot had stopped pushing the probe into the wound. The next statement brought a round of near hysterical laughter as Big Foot gave them hope to cling to.
"Found it. Bullet bounced off and broke a rib goin' in, but damn if this boy ain't got the luck. I don't think it got near the lung at all. We get this here bullet out an' clean it real good with some whiskey, an' boy should make it. I seen him come through worse than this." He grinned as he took up the doctor's discarded instrument and followed the probe's path to clamp down on the bullet and extricate it from the wound. That part was relatively easy now that he knew the lung was undamaged. Any pain Vin had felt breathing was from the broken rib. Big Foot would set it as best he could and then bandage the wound. The whiskey should help prevent infection, but Big Foot was going to feel a hell of a lot better when Nathan Jackson got there. Jackson without any formal training was a better doctor than most educated doctors Big Foot knew. Time would tell, but right now time was on their side.
He had it! The bullet was easily snagged and Big Foot worked his way carefully back out of the wound. He maneuvered it carefully so the bullet would not slip from his grasp and force him to go looking for it once more. Just a little further. He had no idea how long he had held his breath until he pulled the bullet from the wound and gasped for air at the same time. He heard the others all breathe sighs of relief that made him feel like he was sitting on top of the biggest gold mine in the world. Damn he liked that feeling of success a whole hell of a lot. Three bottles of whiskey were simultaneously handed to him. He grinned as JD let loose one burst of laughter that earned him a grin from the older men.
Big Foot was ready to celebrate his victory, but instead he cleansed the wound as best he could, packed it with some whiskey soaked gauze, and got set to wrap that broken rib in such a way it didn't interfere with checking the open wound for bleeding and infection. He would cauterized it if it started bleeding again, but for right now he thought they could get away with packing it.
"I ever tell you boys how I come to be called Big Foot?" JD looked in amazement at the old man. How could he possibly think they would want to listen to that now? He almost said it aloud until he caught Chris looking at him. Chris raised one eyebrow, and JD realized that Big Foot needed to talk; they all needed to talk about something anything that would keep hope alive. Vin would be proud that JD had understood Larabee without having to ask.
"How'd ya come by that name?" JD could help keep the atmosphere in here full of hope. Vin definitely did not need to wake up to a bunch of depressed friends. Might make him think he was dying, and JD refused to believe that. Plus, there were four kids in here who needed to know everything would be all right.
"Well," Big Foot had washed his hands and dried them before taking the fresh bandages in hand, "This boy here was no bigger than John Henry over there when we first met him. Ornery as the bear who treed him but a good heart. He was plum fascinated by my rifle." The boys all looked up and Chris held Vin propped up as Big Foot wrapped the bandages. Buck winked at JD. This information had to be shared with Ezra and the others if only to provide an opportunity to tweak their resident tracker when he got uppity on them, which was seldom, but a royal hell raisin' when it did happen.
"He was determined to have Big Foot teach him to shoot so's he could help his father and brother hunt for the tribe. Followed us around an' bugged us all day long." Bull was joining in on the fun.
"Yep, I had just got me some new boots, an' I had to buy a size larger cuz the trader didn't have but two pair left, one too small and one too big. I needed them boots somethin' fierce, so I stuffed them with newspaper and wore 'em."
Josh yawned, but he still managed to get the question out. "Is that why they call you Big Foot?" Big Foot tied the bandage off and then started to clean the head wound. After cleaning it with the fresh soap and water JD and Buck had supplied him with, he poured whiskey right onto the gash. Vin stirred some, moaning softly, but he made no more movement after that. Finally satisfied he had done everything he could for Vin, Big Foot wrapped a bandage around the head wound. Buck helped Larabee settle Vin back on the table. Buck had taken several pillows from Doc Hanlan's bed and put them under Vin to make him more comfortable. JD produced another blanket that he had used to cover Vin to keep the cool night air off of him. The process had taken very little time and the audience was waiting patiently.
"Vin ain't gonna like it when he wakes up to find his clothes gone again." Larabee snorted and JD grinned at Big Foot to apologize for interrupting him. The big man didn't seem to notice.
"Boy said he could track me anywhere cuz his brother had taught him how, an' then told the chief to make me teach him how to shoot iffen he could catch me after a day a trackin' me. Chief laughed an' asked Vin what made him think he could." Big Foot waited for the others to ask him for the punch line. Buck obliged him.
"Hell, I can see Vin doin' that. He's a cocky bastard, ain't he?"
"Cocky's the word all right. Said he could track me in a rainstorm without no trouble at all. When I asked him how, he pointed to my boots and said with feet as big as mine, there weren't no way he could lose me. Said everywhere I put my big foot a lake would form."
Everyone started laughing. "Ole Big Foot an' the chief laughed mighty long about that. We all did. Big Foot offered to teach Vin to shoot just for givin' him his own nickname. Chief agreed it was a fair trade." Bull felt better already. He didn't want his kids to see someone they liked so much die on them. He felt it in his bones that Vin would indeed make it. He just didn't realize there were two men who refused to listen to wiser heads. There were still two men who were convinced that Tanner was still wanted and they were planning a way to separate him from his friends long enough to get him to Tascosa and get their reward.
Stan tried to warn them to wait for the sheriff to check it out so they wouldn't get arrested for kidnapping and trying to kill Tanner, but Bart and Willie Boy would not be swayed. Stan was the only man who refused to have anything to do with the plan Bart had come up with to take Tanner and ride for Tascosa as fast as they could. When he saw the dynamite in Willie Boy's hands he hit the roof.
"There's kids in the doc's house! Sheriff will shoot you boys the minute he sees what you're up to! Folks round here won't cotton to innocent kids getting' hurt just so's you can get Larabee away from Tanner long enough to snatch him! Things are changin' round here, an' that sheriff won't stand for vigilantes no more!"
Bart actually shoved a gun into Stan's belly. "That's why you're gonna get them kids outa there. We wait until the sheriff sends that wire. We pretend to be leavin' Tanner alone til we find out. They'll probably put him in that back room. Then, when they least expect it, we blow the back wall off the doc's place and grab Tanner. Won't make no mind iffen it kills him. He's wanted dead or alive."
Stan did not want anything to do with this. He agreed, but he planned to be long gone when Willie Boy and Bart tried to blow up the doc's house. This was just the sorriest idea Stan had ever heard. He took a long swig of whiskey and handed the bottle to Bart. The other man laughed and holstered his gun. He took the bottle and took a long swig. They were going to be five hundred dollars richer in just a few more days, and if Stan was not around to help them, it would be one less person to split the money with. He watched from across the street as the lights in doc's place were being extinguished one at a time. Only the window in the room doc used for operations still had light in it. They were sitting with Tanner all right guarding him. Would make no difference to Bart. He would have Tanner dead or alive within the next twenty-four hours telegram or no telegram.
It was nearly three in the morning when Vin drifted back into consciousness. His left side hurt every time he took a breath like someone was squeezing the very air out of him. He could almost feel the entire path of the bullet, and the tightly bound ribs didn't make him feel much better. His head still throbbed, but it was more like a dull ache than the hot stabbing pain from his armpit to his chest. Vin hated taking anything for it, but he would have been thankful for some of Nathan's ditch water right now. His whole left side felt like someone's horse had stomped on him, and to make matters worse, his mouth was as dry as the sand at noon in the middle of desert. He licked his dry lips and blinked several times. He heard the movement before he could focus on the source, but he recognized the voice.
"Welcome back." It was Chris. Vin turned his head and saw his friend sitting next to the bed pouring a glass of water. He opened a bottle next to it and poured several spoonfuls into the water. Vin recognized the label. It was laudanum.
"I don't," he was interrupted before he could finish.
"Don't make me get Buck in here to help me pour this down your throat. This is the only thing this town has in the way of painkillers besides whiskey." He grinned at Vin's hopeful look. "Nathan would have my hide if I gave ya whiskey, and Big Foot says you need to stay still and quiet so the bleedin' don't start again. If it does, he'll have to cauterize it." Chris gently lifted Vin and put the glass to his mouth. Knowing Chris was quite capable of carrying out his threat, he drank the laudanum without comment. However, he was so thirsty that he would have been thrilled with real ditch water. Chris must have read his mind because he chuckled. "Don't worry, I ain't tellin' Nathan how cooperative you're bein' unless you piss me off."
Vin grinned and sunk back against the pillows. He was exhausted just from the effort it took to drink the water. He felt the laudanum begin its lethargic journey from his stomach throughout his body. He knew about how long he had before sleep would claim him again.
"Big Foot said we was ambushed by fellas that kidnapped him?"
"Yeah one of 'em had seen you an' him an' knew you'd come lookin' if he went missin'."
"Buck's here?"
"Josh an' the boys overheard the three men who ambushed us plannin' it. Sheriff was busy with some other mess, so Bull wired us. Buck came ahead until the others got someone from Brecken to watch the town. They should be here tomorrow, I mean this evening." Vin's eyes were struggling to remain open by now, so Chris lowered his voice and continued talking until the wounded man succumbed to the laudanum and drifted asleep. Chris looked up to see two big brown eyes peering around the door. "I thought you were supposed to be asleep."
Josh came into the room and climbed right up on Chris's lap. "I heard talkin'." He grinned up at Chris and reminded him how much reassurance little boys needed, too.
"That's cause Vin was awake for a little while. I gave him some laudanum, so he could sleep some more."
Josh shook his head and got comfortable leaning his head back against Chris's chest. "Mr. Vin gonna be okay?"
"We think so." Chris had a feeling that he was going to have help this watch.
Josh yawned and snuggled in closer, "OK." The next thing he knew Chris was holding a sleeping boy in his arms. Little Josh reminded him so much of Adam at that moment that he just pulled the child tighter and leaned back his head. The laudanum and his injuries would keep Vin asleep well until late morning. Chris leaned his head back and closed his eyes. There had been no fresh blood when he checked on the wound, so he let his guard down a moment. Fatigue took over as he allowed his body to relax. He never heard the door crack open and two heads peer into the barely illuminated room. Buck and Big Foot shared a smile at the picture of the famed Chris Larabee with little Josh fast asleep on his lap and his feet propped on Vin's bed.
"Been a long time since I seen him look that relaxed."
"Heard he lost his wife and boy." Buck just shook his head. He was so grateful his old friend had appeared in Four Corners that day and that those trail drovers had tried to lynch Nathan Jackson. Buck reckoned that was the luckiest day of seven men's lives for that was the event that had instigated their meeting and banding together to save Rain's village from that Reb bastard. He had no idea that two of the men who had tried to kill his friend were at that very moment tying sticks of dynamite together planning to kill as many of them as they could.
Bart and Willie Boy had removed a box of dynamite from their discarded claim five miles from town. Stan had flatly refused to help any more. He, like Willie Boy, had known about Big Foot Lowery for many years, since Stan's folks had come West to look for gold in San Francisco. They had both heard tales in the mining towns how Big Foot and Bull turned to mining when the buffalo had begun running out and their young friend had turned to bounty hunting. He had never met Vin Tanner, but he had heard Big Foot and Bull mention the Comanche trained tracker in some of the saloons where they had all been present. Knowing that both Bull and Big Foot were loyal to friends, he also knew that both men had the reputation of being as honest as the day was long. If they said Vin Tanner had been pardoned then he knew it must be true.
Willie Boy, on the other hand, was forever looking for the free ride or the one trick that would help him strike it rich without any effort on his part. He was, therefore, much less inclined to be generous. That man in black had ridiculed his shooting skills and accused them of ambushing his friend. Then, that big man with the mustache had come along and kept them from collecting their money. Like Bart, Willie Boy was prepared to sacrifice them in order to get Tanner. They felt that when the sheriff got the wire from Tascosa confirming Tanner was still wanted, that he could be brought round to their thinking that Larabee and his men were obstructing justice. So, they had laid their plans accordingly. Stan was ordered to find a way to get the kids out of the doc's house by sunup. They planned to blow up the back of doc's house where they had heard Tanner had been taken when Sadie had led the babbling wreck that used to be Doc Hanlan to her room at the saloon.
Bart planned three separate charges that he would stick into the corners and the middle slits of the wood on the back wall of Doc Hanlan's. While everyone slept, he carefully set the fuses and tied the three wires to the plunger. Right after Willie Boy signaled that Stan had found a way to get those kids out of the house, he would blow the charges. If Tanner got killed along with the man in black, the kid, and the man with the mustache, then that would be three less men they had to contend with. Tanner was, after all, wanted for murder. Just as Chris finally closed his eyes around half past three with little Josh on his lap and his wounded friend in the bed next to him, Bart was settling down to wait for dawn. He planned what he would do with his share of the five hundred dollars.
Willie Boy was also planning. He had already decided that Stan did not deserve a share. So, once he was in the livery to saddle the horses, he took only three - one for Bart, one for himself, and one for Tanner's body. Willie Boy decided that Stan should be the one to take the fall if anything were to go wrong. Either way, he was not sharing the bounty with Stan. He had known the man for thirty of his thirty-six years, and this was the first time that Stan had absolutely refused to go along with one of Willie Boy's plans. It was almost as if his friend had turned chicken after those men had claimed Tanner was a free man. Willie Boy shook his head and finished readying the horses. It was now five in the morning as he made his way behind the livery to tie the horses up in the patch of woods behind the doc's house. Once he had them settled, he moved to take a position across the street in front of the alley where Bart was waiting for the signal. Soon they would be on their way to Tascosa with their bounty.
Stan was in his room at the boarding house brooding. As much as he wanted to deny it, things had changed when his friends had decided to grab Big Foot and force Tanner's hand. Convinced the man was a murderer Stan had been able to ignore the truth that they were in fact planning to commit murder. However, once Big Foot, Bull Samson, and the peacekeepers from Four Corners swore Tanner was pardoned and that Judge Travis would verify it, Stan began to have second thoughts. Planning to blow up the doc's house in the middle of the town with all those folks in it had shown just how much his old friend had changed. Willie Boy was too greedy to wait to find out if Tanner was still wanted, and he was willing to risk the lives of four children and the rest of the folks in town just for a five hundred-dollar bounty. That knowledge went against the very nature of Stan Dawson. He was no ambushing murderer, and he would never put innocent children in harm's way. He used to think Willie Boy thought the same way, but his friendship with Bart had changed Willie Boy. Kidnapping the old man had not set well with him to begin with, and then he saw Willie Boy exit the livery with three horses not four.
Willie Boy and Bart were going to leave him behind. He was opposed to what they were doing, and he refused to lend a hand with the dynamite. However, he had agreed to get the kids out of the house with some excuse. Now he realized why Willie Boy had suggested it. He wanted Stan out of the way, so there were only two men left to share the reward. Well then, he would get those kids out of the house. By God, he would warn them all and get them all out of the house! He was not going to take the fall for those two if that was all the loyalty they held for him. There was no time to wait get the sheriff to help. By the time he had told his story, convinced the sheriff, waited for the sheriff to gather men, and then gone to the doc's house, it would be too late. Bart would set off the charges on time at half past five when the sun rose.
Stan hurried to the door and pounded on it. It was now a quarter past five. The kid they called Dunne answered the door. The big man was holding a rifle on him. Three of the kids were within sight as they were sleeping on pallets on the floor between Bull and Big Foot. They sat up as the pounding had awakened all of them. Stan had seen Willie Boy wave at him trying to catch his attention. He knew Willie Boy would figure out any minute what he was doing, so he just plunged headlong into his warning not waiting for anyone to ask why he was here.
"Ya gota all get outa here! They're gonna blow this place to get to Tanner! They don't care if ya get out! C'mon, Mister, I ain't lyin' to ya!" There was the bark of a gun and Stan stopped talking. He eyes grew wide in terror as he turned around to see Willie Boy standing behind him his gun smoking. JD saw the red blossoming on Stan's back as Willie Boy ran away. JD caught the falling Stan and struggled to get him out of the doorway. He was still alive but barely.
No one asked any more questions as Bull picked up John Henry and shoved Jules and Dal out of the door in front of him. He had his rifle in the other hand as he followed the children out to cover them. Big Foot and Buck headed to the back room for the other three. Chris could take Josh out as they carried Vin. Putting John Henry on the ground Bull shouted at JD and the three children.
"Go get the sheriff, now! Get on across the street as far from here as you can get!" He got no further as a tremendous explosion roared through the town and Bull, Buck, and Big Foot were catapulted out into the street by the force of the blow. The house had collapsed to the ground and burning debris flew everywhere. There was no sign of movement or sound as they all stared horrified at the spot where the two men and the little boy should have been. The sheriff ran up bootless but with a rifle in hand. He saw the debris and Stan dying on the ground. Then he saw who was not there. He looked at the desolate looks on the faces around him as more and more townspeople showed up to see if they could help. Buck struggled to his feet and managed to catch the screaming John Henry as he ran headlong toward the debris. He sat down in the dirt and held the little boy close as he cried for Josh and the others. Bull rolled to his feet and grimaced in pain as he tried to put his weight on his right leg. A shaken Jules came up to him, and he leaned heavily on the girl who was grateful for contact with the man who had taken her and the boys in and kept them safe and loved them as much as they loved him. Dal sat in the dirt between Big Foot and JD. He kept shaking his head muttering no over and over again until Big Foot grabbed him with his uninjured arm and held the boy close.
JD turned the dying Stan over to the sheriff as he got to shaky feet and walked toward the debris. Someone tried to stop him saying he was injured, but JD just pushed the man's hands away saying it was not his blood. Chris and Vin and Josh had been in that back room where only a pile of rubble now rested on the ground. There was very little fire, the explosion having sucked all of the oxygen out of the air with its force. They could not be dead, JD just knew they could not be dead, but where were they? They could not have survived, but where were the bodies? He shook the helpful hands from him once more. He was going to search the rubble until he found his friends and given them a decent burial. Then he was going to hunt the bastards down and kill them. Anyone who would blow up a house with four kids in it did not deserve to hang. They deserved to be exterminated like the vermin they were and left to rot where they fell. JD had never felt as much hatred and anger as he did at this moment.
Continued in Part Two
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