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.
Two of the townspeople tried to help Bull over to the saloon across the street, but he stubbornly refused help. He leaned on Jules and started to limp towards the rubble. His ankle was already swelling and he was favoring his right hip where he had landed. Jules was right with him torn between worrying how badly he was hurt and praying that Josh was alive and not hurt. She really wanted to scream, but she knew in her heart that Josh was still alive just as she knew that her parents were dead. She looked up with wide eyes full of fright at Bull and he squeezed her shoulder.
"You best help Dal get John Henry outa the way so's we can look."
"Grandpa Bull?" Bull straightened up and forced his weight on his hip and ankle. It hurt like hell, but he refused to give into it until he had found the three missing ones. If so much as a hair was parted on Josh's head, he would kill those two murdering bastards with his bare hands. Little Josh was one mischievous boy full of sass but not a bad bone in his body. He had a real good heart, and there was no way Bull would believe the Almighty would take such a joyous heart now that Bull had finally found the meaning of his whole existence. He was here to raise these children, so God surely would not take little Josh so young least that was what he was praying.
"We ain't givin' up till we see the bodies and they ain't breathin'. You got that, girl?"
John Henry had regained a little of his control as had Dal, and they both moved in close to Bull to reassure themselves that their mainstay was indeed just a little worse for wear. Bull patted Dal on the back and ruffled John Henry's hair.
"You boys wait with yer sister while I go fetch Josh and Mr. Vin and Mr. Chris."
"I'm helpin'." Dal refused to budge. His glare had caused some of the women who would have normally offered to watch over these poor boys to step away and remain silent. Josh was the youngest, and it was his duty as the oldest to take care of him. He was going to find his brother. John Henry moved beside him and gave a half-hearted grin.
"I ain't stayin' outa the way whilst I'm needed. I can pick up little things. Sides, I got to be there to whup Josh for scarin' the daylights outa us."
Bull started to protest, but Buck came up and lifted John Henry into the air. "You can help me and JD over on this side, but ya gotta do just what I tell ya." He felt the same way everyone else did. The piled up rubble was not burning, so Buck was praying that a miracle had occurred. One did as he heard someone calling his name. Sure enough, it was Josiah. The rest of the seven had arrived, and they were nearly six hours early. Their horses were lathered in sweat, and they looked like they had ridden all night. Buck was never so glad to see three more exhausted men in his life.
"What happened, Buck?"
JD's hopes had risen as soon as he spotted Ezra, Nathan, and Josiah. Nathan started towards the man on the ground but Big Foot shook his head. He pointed to Bull instead, but Buck's explanation had him helping Bull over to the rubble where others had begun removing the debris from where the doc's house had once stood. It was a somber group that met the morning as the sun illuminated the extent of the damage. One wall was still standing, the one on the far side opposite where the dynamite had been placed. The rubble appeared to have stacked itself against it in a triangular shape almost like a pyramid. The frame of the front door still stood with half of the door hanging by one hinge while the other half lay flat on the ground four feet away smoldering. Ezra looked over at JD the worry evident on the normally poker faced gambler.
"Are you saying that an ignoramus of colossal proportions not only ambushed our Mr. Tanner but tried to exterminate him by rendering this abode intended as a place of healing into firewood?"
JD must have hit his head because he actually understood Ezra's question. He paused long enough to see the undertaker arrive with a coffin large enough to carry Stan's body away.
"He was one of them, one of the men that ambushed Vin. But when he figured we were telling the truth that Vin got pardoned, he came to warn us. His friend killed him for trying to save us, the kids 'specially." He shook his head at what Willie Boy and Bart had done just for five hundred dollars. Ezra put his dirty hand on JD's shoulder seeming to care little for the havoc the wood, soot, and smoke were wreaking upon his once spotless red jacket.
"Some men do not understand the value of friendship when it comes to money, son." JD looked at Ezra and realized he had understood every single word. He also understood that Ezra would never have said that aloud if he were not so worried about what lay beneath the rubble. Suddenly, there was a noise like a moan and then there was the high piercing sound of a frightened child, a very terrified little boy, but it was muffled by all of the debris.
"Josh! That you?" Bull was yelling at the rubble. A muffled yell came back.
"Grandpa Bull? Ya gotta get me outa here! Mr. Chris and Mr. Vin are squishin' me!" Before the sheriff could start tearing at the wood, Big Foot put a restraining hand upon his arm.
"You start grabbin' that wood and you could cause the rest to fall right on the boy an' kill 'im." Turning to the rubble, Big Foot cupped his hands and shouted into the structure formed by the rubble. "Josh, we gotta do this right or else ya might get hurt worse. Ya understand?"
"But Mr. Chris is moanin'. He wakes up in here an' he's gonna be mad."
"He ain't gonna be mad at you, Josh. He likes you." Buck just had another miracle. He looked at Josiah hope flaring in his eyes. Chris was moaning. That meant he was alive as well. That only left Vin. Buck promised God he would go to church for a month if Vin was alive as well.
The muffled voice became clearer as several miners helped Big Foot and Bull remove a few more boards. "Mr. Buck? Mr. Vin wants ya to tell, wait, to tell Mr. Ezra he don't think he wants to see dynamite fer a while."
"Tell Mr. Vin that I doubt our fearless leader would allow such privileges any time soon, and under the circumstances I must concur. Do inform Mr. Vin that he is to stay very still until we reach him." Ezra was letting Vin know their position under the rubble was precarious and not to allow anyone to move if he could help it. JD snorted when he heard that. It did him the world of good to hear Ezra crack a joke. There was the sound of Josh's voice, but it was lower now like he was talking to someone very close to him. Then, he got louder.
"Mr. Vin says fer you to stop makin' him laugh cause with me and Mr. Chris on top of him, laughin' makes him hurt worse."
Nathan moved to Ezra's place while the others followed directions in removing more of the rubble this time. "Where is Mr. Vin?"
"He's on the floor against the wall, an' I'm on top of him an' Mr. Chris is on top of us both. He's squishin' us."
"Can Mr. Vin hear us real good or are ya havin' to tell him what we're sayin'?" Nathan needed to know how Vin was. Buck had told him how Vin was before the explosion. Nathan needed to know how lucid Vin was because of the weakness from the blood loss and pain and because of the laudanum he had taken earlier. "Is he breathin' OK?"
Enough rubble had now been removed that all the men working around the sight heard the giggle.
"Mr. Vin says he's as good as can be what with bein' shot, blown up, and buried with Chris Larabee and a wiggle worm on top of him an' squishin' him into the floor. Hey, I'm the wiggle worm? I'm getting' squished, too!" Josh sounded just a tad indignant at being called a wiggle worm by his hero, but a booted foot appeared just as Buck carefully moved one more, very long piece of wood. Josiah held the board steady that would have gone crashing down upon the three trapped in the rubble and slowly removed it with Ezra's help. They saw the mattress and bed sheets tangled with the boot. They uncovered the second booted foot and this time both feet moved in jerking movements. The rubble shifted dangerously, and Josh yelped in pain. Buck shouldered in beside Nathan and grabbed the ankles of the boots.
"Chris, stop movin'! We can't get ya out if ya shift all this rubble so's it falls on top of ya! Josh, what's happenin', boy? You okay?"
There was silence for a few seconds and then the sound of voices that dwindled down into one. "You boys, want to hurry?" It was Chris. His words were a bit slurred like he had just been roused out of a drunken stupor, but his voice was strong albeit laced with pain. "I think Josh has a busted arm and Vin is bleedin' again. He's also awful hot." Buck grinned in relief. Then he looked straight up and said thank you as loud as he could ending it with a loud whoop. The others would have joined him, but the Larabee glare could be felt in the voice that echoed from the rubble.
"You wanta hold your celebratin', Buck, 'til we're there to share it?" His disgusted sounding voice only made Wilmington laugh in relief as he lifted yet another board. They could see Vin's sock covered feet now looking pale against the long johns he was wearing. There was a lot of blood showing in the sunlight, and Nathan bent to get a closer look. He frowned after a close study.
There was nothing for another moment only the sound of men grunting with the effort to remove the rubble as quickly as possible. They could see parts of the bed. Larabee must have heard the warning and pushed Vin on the floor with Josh on top pulling the mattress and bed over them as he covered them with his body and the mattress. Finally, as Nathan began to gently expose the limbs he could see, he saw the source of all the blood. "Chris, your leg hurtin'?"
"Yeah, but that don't matter none. Nathan, you gotta hurry. I think Vin's passed out. He ain't breathin' too good. And Josh here is being real brave, but me movin' when I woke up caused his arm to get pinned beneath him. It's really hurtin' him."
"Just a few more pieces of wood, Chris." Josiah's voice helped Chris to control his growing anxiety. Chris had heard Stan shout his warning and he was moving on sheer instinct before he knew it. He had shoved Vin off the bed and against the wall tossing Josh on top of him. Then, he grabbed the side of the bed and pulled frame and all on top of them against the wall right before the explosion. The bed frame had banged him on the back of the head, and everything had gone blank until he had heard voices. Vin was not faring well and had lost consciousness again. He knew that he had saved their lives, but he was still worried that his rough handling had caused more injury to Vin and a broken arm to Josh. "Hang on, Chris!" Josiah bellowed with the effort it had cost to lift the huge piece of roof that had formed a miraculous protective barrier over the three survivors. Ezra and JD added their strength while Buck and Nathan pulled Chris, Josh, and Vin out from under the rubble.
Chris had a long jagged cut running down his left leg from his hip to the top of his boot. The blood made it look worse, but Nathan figured he would have to stitch the wound closed. Josh had a broken arm that Nathan would set with Big Foot's help. First they had to check Vin out, get all three cleaned up, and then they would take care of all the injuries. Chris's wound was not fatal unless it got infected.
All Josh had was the broken bone and a few bruises. Like any little boy, he would boast of his harrowing experience and show off his broken arm to all interested parties. Every female who could understand English would be waiting hand and foot upon the poor, injured, motherless boy with the big brown eyes and the grin that traveled from his mouth to his eyes, but he wouldn't give a fig for that. He was going to turn out to be a real handful to keep still while his arm healed. Nathan grinned in anticipation of the hell that one little boy would cause after he had been cooped up for a day in bed. Now, he had one more to look over.
Once Vin was clear of all the rubble, he had moaned and shifted restlessly, but his breathing had improved as the weight was lifted from his injured side and broken ribs. Nathan quickly assessed Vin's injuries. The head wound was not bleeding but it was dirty, and the bandage over the bullet wound was covered in blood, dirt, and soot. If Vin did not have an infection already, he soon would have one. Nathan shook his head in disgust not only at what had been done to his friend but also because it was on Vin's left side. Didn't the man know he had a right side, too? No it was best not to tell Vin that. He might start getting hurt there, too.
Nathan needed to get him cleaned up and in a bed where he could clean the wounds thoroughly with carbolic periodically in order to prevent an infection or try and clear one up. It felt like another rib was broken, and lying on the cold floor after getting drenched in the rain was causing some congestion in his lungs. Nathan could hear it crackle through the stethoscope that Dr. Connors had sent him from San Francisco. Some willow bark tea would do a world of good to stave off a cold or even worse pneumonia. He would have to put some lemon in the tea to help with the congestion and phlegm that might cause the tracker to start coughing.
Nathan started issuing orders as Josiah helped him carry Vin to the hotel with Buck and Ezra carrying Chris right behind them. Big Foot carried Josh as the others followed behind. JD turned to the town sheriff to see what was going to be done. He was angry and did not care who he insulted right now. One man was dead and three people wounded because the sheriff had just assumed Tanner was still guilty. JD was going to have Vin Tanner cleared and the sheriff's job if the man did not act swiftly enough to get the men who had done this to his friends, his family.
The remaining members of the group took every precaution to ensure that Josh, Chris Larabee, and Vin Tanner were resting better than could be expected in a hotel room in Garrison. Morphine and carbolic acid were two items that Nathan had insisted be ordered immediately since he had three patients who were in dire need of the items, and there were none to be found in Garrison anywhere. The fact that the doctor was a drug addict only made Nathan shake his head in wonder. Here was a man who had been sent to all the finest medical schools and what did he do instead of putting his patients first? He threw his money away on drugs for himself.
Nathan did not spend much time dwelling on the town doctor for he also needed more bandages and a bigger supply of willow bark tea and other herbs he could use to help prevent infection. He had brought a generous supply with him, but he would need more now that the doctor's house had been destroyed. Fortunately, the town did have a small apothecary. Nathan had also seen one remedy tried by one doctor during his time as a stretcher-bearer that he decided just might be the best possible way to prevent any infection that might have set in with Vin's injuries and even Chris's.
It was not a pleasant remedy, but Nathan had seen men in worse shape treated like this during the war. If he had to, Nathan would pack Vin and Chris's wounds with maggots that would eat the dead and infected tissue while the creatures would leave the healthy tissue alone. Neither man would like it, but Chris could lose his leg and even his life while Vin stood to lose his life should a bad infection develop near his lungs. So far, both men were responding to the treatments Nathan had begun, but he would keep a constant vigil with Vin should his wound fester or his cough and fever worsen.
Nathan wrote out his list of supplies and handed them to Jules who insisted he stay with the wounded. She was quite capable of sending a telegram to anyone he wanted, and she took both boys with her because Bull had told her that the boys needed food and sleep. So did she, so she was determined not to give Grandpa Bull any trouble. She would send the telegram, feed the boys, and make sure they took a nap in the room across the hall. Nathan had just finished the stitches on Chris's leg and Josiah was wrapping it in bandages. A whispered conversation with Big Foot had the older man out of the door and returning about fifteen minutes later with a small box. He walked over to check on Josh while Nathan took the box and walked over to Vin Tanner. He put the box in the drawer next to the bed where it was cool and dark. Big Foot had managed to find him some maggots, but Nathan was still debating whether or not to use them. It would depend on how Vin's wound looked when he checked it later that afternoon.
It was noon and the others had eaten all of the sandwiches that had been brought up to the room by none other than Sheriff Matthews. Even Josh had managed to scarf down one sandwich before he drifted off, and Chris had even eaten something once he had seen Nathan was concerned but not overly worried with the state in which he had found Vin's health. Nathan had made certain that Vin had the rich broth the hotel cook had sent up instead of anything heavier, and then he had dosed him liberally with a concoction of willow bark tea and a tonic of white horsehound, wild cherry, and hyssop. Vin had developed a cough while they were cleaning the soot and other debris from his body, and his overly warm skin, although cooled after the bath, indicated he had a slight fever already.
Nathan also cleaned the head wound and the bullet wound with carbolic acid, but he had also washed it with a tincture of purple coneflower and had given Vin a dose of that as well. Nathan wasn't taking any chances and had done the same to Chris's leg wound before he stitched it closed with the fine silk thread the cook had boiled in clean water for him. Josh had poultice of comfrey leaves put on his many bruises as did Vin on his ribs and Chris on the back of his head. Nathan was learning to mix some Indian herbal remedies with his old family ones that all seemed to work effectively with the carbolic acid in keeping infections down. Vin's wound had been exposed long enough to have a sight redness form. He would more than likely recover from the slight infection, but Nathan was more worried about a severe chest cold, bronchitis, or even pneumonia setting in. With three broken ribs, Vin did not need a cough to cause more injury to his body. Nathan thought about the creatures in the small wooden box he had secreted in the drawer and then finally decided he would not need them. He still might change his mind if he saw any pus developing on any of the wounds.
Once he had been dosed with laudanum and his arm had been set, Josh was out like a light on the cot that had been set up between the two big beds in the room. Bull sat on the chair next to Larabee's bed and propped his foot up on it while Big Foot followed Nathan's instructions and placed a poultice made of comfrey leaves on Bull's swollen ankle to help reduce the swelling. Larabee had finally relaxed his protective vigil somewhat as soon as Nathan had assured him that Vin would probably recover if they could control the infection and fever. Vin's statement that he didn't need any baby sitters had been met with a snort by Larabee, but the fact Vin was already getting testy with them told Larabee more about his state of health than any doctor could. Larabee drifted off soon after, and that had left Vin the only one left to tend.
Sheriff Matthews had brought the sandwiches in as his excuse to check on the wounded men. He had explained how the law in Tascosa had been swift in its response stating that Tanner was no longer a wanted man in Texas. Matthews was organizing a posse to find Willie Boy and Bart and bring them in for the murder of Stan, the attempted murder of Vin Tanner, and the kidnapping of Charles Lowery. His apology was stonily accepted by a worried Buck Wilmington.
JD announced his intention of joining the posse as did Ezra Standish and Buck Wilmington. The three men had left as soon as they had finished helping Nathan tend his patients with the promise that they would wire Mary and Alexandra for more supplies. Larabee said something to Ezra and Buck that had resulted in solemn promises by both men to their leader. JD had been so eager to go after the two that he had gone ahead to get fresh horses for them, so he had no idea that Larabee had made Buck and Ezra promise to bring their youngest back alive and safe. Big Foot got to his feet, and he, too, stopped at Larabee's bed before he left.
"I'm goin' with 'em. Those two hurt my boys, an' I don't fergit a thing like that." Chris nodded. He knew exactly how the older man felt. Having known Vin as a boy and now Josh at a similar age, Big Foot was due his revenge. Chris's only regret was that he couldn't go with them. Big Foot knew what the man on the bed was thinking. "Don't worry. I'll do my best to bring 'em back alive so's you can watch 'em hang." Then, he changed the subject. "You think Vin's aunt and Mizzus Travis'll be coming once they hear you two're hurt? Them little girls are gonna love havin' you two trussed up like Christmas presents just fer them." Chris's look of horror at the prospect of having the twins try to marry him off to Mary while he was trapped in this bed was something that he did not want to ponder. Mary tending to him while he was in bed was one fantasy; two little girls pushing him into a relationship he was just beginning to see the possibilities of was not a fantasy. It was a nightmare, and Vin Tanner had better get well enough to keep the twins occupied and out of Larabee's hair or Tanner would have one more bullet hole in him.
There was coughing from the other bed and a hiss of pain followed by a sleepy voice that carried softly on the afternoon air.
"You'd best send a wire an' tell 'em not to come. Mary and Alexandra just might listen to you." Vin yawned and suffered Nathan putting the stethoscope to his chest and listening. "I ain't got pneumonia or anythin' like that, an' I don't catch colds easy, Nathan. Will you relax?" Vin sounded just a tad disgusted. His personal healer had dosed him with everything under the sun and some things that never saw the sun, so he felt he was justified in telling the man he was not going to catch any colds or anything. He did admit to himself this was the most he had ever coughed at any given time, but he did not feel heavily congested nor did he have a sore throat or a stuffy nose. He just felt hot and hurt every time he took a deep breath or coughed. Vin decided he didn't mind Nathan's ditch water and all of his syrups and such, but he would die first before he told the healer that. No sense in getting Nathan's head too big to make it through the door without having to widen it. Looking around as his eyes once again grew heavy, Vin managed to get out one more question as Josiah placed a cool cloth on his hot forehead.
"Where's eveybody?"
"Gone to get them men 'fore they come back an' try agin." Bull was happy to explain. "Big Foot's goin' out with Buck, the kid, and the fancy gambler. Jules' has her brothers in line getting' supplies ordered for Nathan. Them fellas killed one of their own, an' the sheriff is out to get 'em. I heard he was a good man, but I think I'd prefer to raise them kids in Four Corners instead of Garrison. What do you think, boy?"
Vin would have thought a lot of that, only he was already asleep. Once he knew everyone else was accounted for he could rest easy. His only thought was for his friends to watch their backs. He nodded off into a healing sleep without knowing he voiced his concern out loud. Big Foot and Bull exchanged knowing grins and then shared with Josiah, Nathan, and Chris.
"Boy always did have to have the last word." At Josiah's raised eyebrow, Bull nodded in agreement.
"Never was one fer much talkin' but when he did most folks always listened. An' when they didn't, he always managed to somehow get the last word, tho sometimes that last word was a bullet." Bull grinned a purely evil grin.
"Yep," Big Foot sighed in exaggeration as he opened the door to leave the room, "some folks is just too hard-headed fer their own good. An' don't y'all worry too much. I'll wire the women an' tell 'em just to send the supplies. They're sure to listen to me." He left the others laughing softly as both Josh and Vin began snoring softly. The similarities between the boy and the man had gotten Bull into a talkative mood, and he started supplying Vin's friends with several anecdotes they filed away for future use should Vin Tanner get uppity on them. Chris nodded off finally and Nathan and Josiah both found a place on the floor where they could stretch out. Bull promised to wake them in a few hours or if any of the wounded needed them. Nathan dreamed of a huge hospital with all the best equipment and medical help. Chris dreamed about fire that didn't burn, and Josiah just slept peacefully the minute his head hit the pillow on the floor. He never remembered the archangel who appeared and promised terrible retribution on men who would kill innocent children for money.
Three hours later found four men gathered around the spot where Vin had fallen from the saddle after Willie Boy had shot him. The posse had split up into groups of four with instructions to scour their areas until half past five when they would all meet back up before returning to town. If they found any sign of the two men or spotted them, they were to fire three times in succession into the air as a signal. The area where Vin had been shot was the last leg of their stretch before returning. The blood had been washed away by the rain, but Big Foot had squatted down next to JD and watched as the boy dug a shiny object out of the ground with his knife. Boot tracks mingled with hoof prints in the mud were easy to spot. Ezra and Buck looked on with pride as JD held up a mud-caked brass button.
"This is Vin's button. He fell right here. An' these tracks can't be more than a few hours old. It ain't hot enough to be real dry and the mud's still soft." Big Foot nodded and asked JD a question that would normally would have been asked of Vin.
"Where'd the shot come from?" JD looked up instantly to the spot and pointed.
"Right up there. You couldn't see anything until he stood up. Chris said it must be a place in the rocks that was mighty tight cuz ya couldn't see nuthin' not even the sun glint off of the rifle." Big Foot nodded again, and then he smiled at JD.
"Vin's taught you real good, ain't he?" JD puffed up and then remembered something else Vin had taught him about tracking outlaws.
"Reckon we should scout around an' see what they came back here for. We got an hour left before we have to head back and meet up with the sheriff."
"And why, pray tell would we want to climb up this very steep and rocky incline to observe where the cretin who shot our friend secreted himself?"
"Son, you wanta talk English like the rest of us?"
"We need to see if Bart or Willie Boy came back here or if they got a cache anywhere near." JD looked around at his friends. "What? Vin says that the best way to trap an outlaw is to go back to his favorite haunts and learn everything ya can about your quarry."
Big Foot grinned, "Yep, Vin done taught you real good. They got a cave outfitted about five hundred yards back up in them rocks. That's where they had me. Figured it didn't matter if they had me tied up cuz Vin was a wanted man an' I was his friend." He looked at JD's puzzled face. "You know, son, guilt by association. I can find that spot easy, but I ain't seen this hole they got to shoot from. Let's go, boys." They took the incline with JD and Big Foot in the lead. They found the spot, and Chris had been right.
It was a hole cut out of the rocks by wind and rain. Men had cut out the rest of the underbrush and removed most of the loose rocks until they had a space where three men, maybe four, depending on size, could shoot anyone or anything in relative safety. Someone had been here recently, since there were the remains of several gutted rabbits lying off to the side. The maggots were already feasting. Ezra and Buck both gave the carcasses a wide berth, but JD and Big Foot examined them closely.
"They came back here last night. Must have killed the rabbits and gutted them here. That'd be time enough for the maggots to hatch." Big Foot nodded as JD began using all the skills Vin had taught him about tracking. "You say they had you in a cave back over in there?" JD pointed at the spot the footprints angled off to.
"Yeah, they got it real cozy with wood stored, extra blankets, ammunition, water, some canned food, and such. They got a spit for cookin', an' it's big enough for horses, too. Couple men hidin' from the law could hold up there for a good week without havin' to leave it."
Buck and Ezra were searching the area looking for any suspicious movement. So far it appeared that they were the only men on this mountain, but something moved over to the right. Ezra wasn't sure if it was a cloud covering the sun making that spot look denser than the rest or if someone or something had actually moved.
"Buck." Ezra didn't have time for the amenities, so he just whispered Buck's name loud enough to get his attention. Buck looked in the same direction and saw something move, but he could not tell what it was either because of the brush and trees intermingled with the rocks. It was enough to make his sense of imminent danger growl fiercely in his throat as he raised his voice to get the other two men's attention, so immersed in their discussion they were.
"JD! Big Foot! Best take cover!" No sooner had he and Ezra turned to take cover with JD and Big Foot than two horses burst out of the trees and gunshots reverberated around them. Buck heard Ezra give a hiss and then stumble, and then Buck felt a bullet graze the upper part of his arm. It hurt like hell and made the ladies' man madder still. Turning and shooting three times in the direction of the thundering hooves, he reached down with his wounded arm and, despite the pain, lifted Ezra up and helped him into the protected area. JD and Big Foot laid covering fire as the two wounded men fell into the small opening. Ezra was holding his lower right hip with both hands as blood poured from the wound. Buck ducked as a chip of stone bounced off and nearly took his eye out. Had he not turned his head to check on Ezra, the stone chip would have hit him right in the left eye. As it was, it ricocheted off the stone wall and landed at Ezra's feet. Both men looked at one another and grinned.
"Someone is not being very hospitable."
"Hell, they're being downright unfriendly. JD, you got your rifle?" Buck snatched the bandanna from around his neck and tried to tie the white linen handkerchief Ezra handed him to the gambler's lower hip. It took Big Foot's bandanna tied to his in order to hold the makeshift bandage in place. He heard JD and Big Foot take two quick shots each, and then there were screams of pain from a horse and a very frightened man. The gunshots stopped abruptly. Silence reigned supreme as their ears adjusted to the sounds around them.
Buck looked over JD's head to see Willie Boy trapped under his horse at the base of the mountain. Neither horse nor rider was moving. Willie Boy's head lay on the ground at an impossible angle to his body like he was looking back at them although his body was pointing in the opposite direction. Bart was lying five feet away his eyes wide open but forever blind to the sky above. His foot was still in the stirrup and the back of his head had been smashed against the large jagged rock lying next to him. He had a bullet hole in almost the exact place where Vin Tanner had been shot. The three peacekeepers looked at Big Foot who just shrugged his shoulders and turned to see how he could help the wounded.
JD was still holding his guns in each hand as he went down to check on the horses. He was just getting ready to holster both guns and free Bart's lifeless foot from the stirrup on the nervous horse when he heard riders coming in. He kept his guns trained until he saw the sheriff. The man took in the wounded men Big Foot was helping and the dead men on the ground.
Gesturing to Ezra and Buck, Matthews asked one question as he got off his horse and went to help JD. "They try bushwhackin' ya?"
JD just nodded and turned back to the dead man talking softly trying to calm the nervous horse that still had the lifeless body attached to it by the stirrup of the saddle. The animal settled down as JD stroked his nose and continued talking. Matthews managed to extricate the dead man from the animal, and that helped JD's job calming it. Several more men went up the incline to help get the two wounded men down while others went about the task of pulling Willie Boy's body out from under the dead horse. One man held a short conversation with Big Foot.
"Hey, anybody got any whiskey? We got to clean these wounds." The men stopped what they were doing and looked around.
JD yelled up. "What about Ezra's flask?"
Buck held it up with his good arm and yelled back. "It got shot! I think it's dead, JD!" JD burst into laughter. The sheriff and several others grinned.
"I take it he's like this all the time?" The sheriff was beginning to see why these men were called magnificent. Most young men his age would not have the poise or the calm this young man was displaying, and the others were not moaning and demanding attention like some wounded men he knew of. JD decided to explain to the sheriff, since the man was willing to correct is earlier mistake.
"Buck would rather crack a joke than admit he's hurtin'. 'Side's, Ezra's gonna be bellyachin' about his flask until he gets a new one. Buck's just rubbin' salt in the wound so to speak."
"That good a friends, are ya?"
"That we are. You got anything we can use for bandages?"
One of the men walked up. "I knew Stan purty good. Been to that cave they had up there. They might have some stuff for bandages and some whiskey. Willie Boy was real fond of it."
"Go and get what ya can. We'll get these men fixed up," the sheriff never got to finish. A big boom of thunder hit, and a streak of lightning struck a tree about fifty feet away from them. The horses jumped, a few bolted, and all the men scrambled to control them. The rain was beginning again. "Is that cave big enough for twelve men and the horses?" The wind had whipped up, and the sky had grown darker as the storm moved swiftly in behind the thunder and lightning.
"Yes, sir! There are several caves near it the horses can be put in. It'll be a close fit for all of us and them bodies."
Matthews herded the men together, and they all set out for the caves where they could shelter. "Leave the bodies. We'll come back for them. Get those wounded men to shelter now!"
Within fifteen minutes they were inside a cave with two blazing fires going. JD helped light the lanterns inside the main cave. Several of the men opted to take lanterns and firewood and stay with the horses, so the cave only had to accommodate eight men. There were several empty bottles of whiskey on the floor. Willie Boy and Bart had certainly had a fine time while they decided what to do. No wonder they had made that suicidal dash for freedom. They were probably so drunk they would have fallen off of the horses before they had gone a mile. Big Foot shook his head in disgust.
"Only got water to clean them wounds. We're either gonna have to cauterize 'em with gun powder else they're gonna get infected bad."
"Just wrap 'em up. Nathan'll clean 'em when we get back." Buck did not want them to cauterize the scratch on his arm. It already hurt like hell. Burning it by igniting gunpowder sprinkled on it would only make it hurt worse.
Matthews walked up. "We may not get back till morning. These storms can go as quick as they come or they can last two or three days. "Cauterizin' 'em might make the difference between livin' to fight another day or dyin'." Ezra and Buck knew that, and as much as they didn't like the idea, they knew that they would have to allow the only treatment they knew besides whiskey to prevent their wounds from becoming infected until Nathan could get to them.
"Judas priest!! Kill them things!!" One of the men was about to stomp on the maggots consuming the rest of the rabbit stew that had been left in the pot from the night before. Big Foot jumped up and pushed the man aside after he had dumped the contents of the stew pot on the ground so he could stomp the maggots. He picked one up to the disgust of the men around him and grinned at Ezra and Buck.
"Boys, these beauties are gonna make your life a lot more pleasant."
Ezra raised up on one arm and looked at the grin on the old man's face. He looked just like Vin Tanner when the man was waiting for the trap he knew was about to be sprung. Ezra had a very bad feeling about what Big Foot wanted to do with the maggots.
"Ezra, I got a bad feelin' about this."
"I, too, Mr. Wilmington. In fact, I wager that I do not desire to ascertain what Mr. Tanner's mentor wishes to do with those creatures and us."
"I heard of a doc durin' the war who used them things to prevent infections, Ezra." All of the men watched in fascinated horror as Big Foot took as many of the maggots as he could find and cleaned them off as best he could. He put the wiggling creatures one by one on the cleanest tin plate he could find. Finally, when he could find no more, he took the tin plate and walked over to Ezra and Buck. JD was tearing some empty and suprisingly clean flour sacks into bandages. The pot of water was boiling by now on the fire. He called Big Foot's attention to it. The old man indicated he should bring it over. Then he turned to the two men who were looking warily at him. He spoke as if this was a matter of fact they should both be aware of as he untied the bloody bandage from around Ezra's hip. The gambler looked off as the older man slit the pants of his beautiful suit and exposed the long deep gash the bullet had torn from his lower right hip. He took a cloth JD had just taken from the boiling water and wrung out the excess water. Then very carefully he began to clean the blood and dirt from the wound.
"Me and Nathan had a chat this afternoon. Both of us know that these here critters'll eat all the dried blood and infected skin, but they don't touch the new skin that grows back. Now we got us two choices. We can burn your wounds and hope that kills off any infection, but it will take longer to heal and be twice as painful. Or, we can pack your wounds with these here critters until we get back and Nathan can clean them with carbolic if he has any or some whiskey. What's it gonna be?"
Ezra was speechless with shock. His first instinct was to stomp the creatures much as the disgusted man who was now looking a nice shade of green had wanted to do. Buck was no help as he sat there and swallowed several times. If Ezra had known that Buck was trying desperately not to throw up, he might have felt better for that was just how the gambler felt.
"I do not believe I wish to experiment with my health. Unless you can prove to me that that vermin can indeed prevent infection, I would rather suffer the horrors of cauterization."
"Me, too." Buck had no idea what Ezra had said, but it had to be better than putting those things on him.
Big Foot just nodded and then he pulled off his buckskin jacket and rolled up his sleeve. He exposed an old scar, long and jagged from his wrist to his shoulder. "Had me a fight with a bear once. Bear got me real good. Was out with an old mountain man who said he'd fought in Spain against Napoleon. He patched me up as best he could and sewed up my arm. Didn't know nuthin' 'bout whiskey keepin' infection down. Only knew what he learned in the war. He got these maggots and packed my arm with them and then bandaged it. I was out so's I didn't know 'bout it. When I found out a week later why it was itchin' some, I tore that bandage off and washed my arm off in the river. Skin was just as pretty and nice, like new." He looked right at Buck and Ezra. "It works, boys, better than most things I know. Iffen it was me, I'd go with these here critters."
There was silence for a minute, then Ezra took a deep breath, and finally he spoke. "I believe your eloquence has convinced me, but before you do this, would you mind doing me a kindness?"
"Whatever ya want, son."
"Knock Mr. Wilmington out. He is going to fuss quite a lot no matter what course of treatment he chooses." Even Buck laughed as Ezra once again decided looking at something else was preferable to watching what Big Foot was going to do next. Buck decided he would rather be in Chris's shoes right now. If only he had known what Chris and Vin were both suffering right now, he might have decided that having maggots placed on his wound was a kindness indeed.
He was hot all over, not just hot but burning hot, and something heavy was sitting on his chest making it hard to breathe. It must be all these covers that they had piled on top of him. He kicked the covers off and someone pulled them up over him again. Then he started coughing again. The pain lanced through him as he gasped for air, but the pain would not let go. Strong arms lifted him and a deep voice commanded him to drink. Sitting up helped a little with the breathing. Not wanting to trigger the coughing again, he tried to ignore the voice. It was relentless, however, and he reluctantly drank the mixture. He actually recognized it and swallowed gratefully. It was the stuff Nathan had given him earlier that helped relieve the pain and coughing. He was still hot as he protested the thin blanket being pulled up around his throat, but someone had placed cool pillows behind his head and back propping him up so he could breathe easier. He feebly batted at the hands adjusting the blanket, but the voice told him to stop before they had to tie him down. That threat forced his eyes open and Vin saw the shadow of a face leaning over talking to him. Josiah, Vin recognized the voice and the shape of the head even if he could not make out the actual face since it was hidden in shadows.
"No, won't move, jest don't tie me down." It was a feeble plea, but Josiah reacted like he had been hit.
"Who the hell tied you down when you were sick?" The light in the room became brighter despite the fact two more people were leaning over him now. Vin blinked rapidly in succession as he tried to place where he was. "It's all right, Vin, no one's gonna tie you down. You have my word." That was good enough for Vin, and he stopped fidgeting, or tried to. He was still hot, but someone placed a cool towel on his face and another under the back of his neck. Another voice spoke just as the cool towel relieved enough of the heat to allow him to fall asleep once more.
"He gettin' worse?" Chris Larabee was not a happy man, but when Nathan indicated that Vin was no worse than he had been Chris almost felt a little better. He was hot as well having developed a slight fever, and he was pissed at being forced to lie abed when Vin's bushwhackers were running loose. Only the knowledge that Ezra, Buck, and JD were out looking for them made him feel somewhat less guilty at being able to do little but lie in bed. He would rather have had the whiskey instead of the medicine Nathan kept pouring down both him and Vin every three hours, but he had to admit that whatever it was actually worked to keep Vin from getting worse than he was. If you could call developing pneumonia when you were already weak from blood loss and exposure no worse than having a bullet break two ribs and having a house blown-up and dumped on top of you breaking yet another rib. Chris had already made up his mind that Alexandra had to be notified. Nathan beat him to it, however.
"I think, just in case things do get worse, we should wire Miz Alexandra an' Miz Nettie. Anthin' bad happens, those two women will rip us to shreds iffen we don't tell 'em." Josiah snorted in agreement and little Josh frowned at Bull.
"Grandpa Bull? What's Mr. Nathan mean by bad? Mr. Vin's gonna be okay, ain't he?" Bull exchanged a long look with Nathan and then Chris. Then, he reached over and pulled the little boy onto his lap and held him tight.
"Member I told y'all 'bout Vin being raised by the Comanche cause his folks was dead?" Josh nodded and yawned. Nathan had given him a small dose of laudanum to alleviate the pain of his broken arm. "Well, seems he's got an aunt and a mess of cousins. Miz Alexandra is his aunt, and Nathan knows Miz Nettie thinks of Vin as her boy just like I think of you as mine. Iffen you were as sick as him, I'd want to be right with ya."
Little Josh pondered that for a moment and then graced everyone in the room with a brilliant smile. "Ya mean Vin ain't scared of nobody but Miz Nettie and his aunt, so's y'all are gonna get 'em to come here so's you can make Mr. Vin mind and stay in bed till Mr. Nathan says he can get up." The men in the room all started laughing. Little Josh was too smart for his own good sometimes. Bull knew that.
"Which is why I'm gonna introduce you to Miz Nettie and Miz Alexandra so's they'll scare you into mindin' Mr. Nathan." Josh frowned. He had not thought of that, but then it hit him. He turned those big brown eyes of his on Chris and asked the most important question he could think of right at this moment.
"They like little boys?" Chris's answering grin made him a tad nervous.
"Dal like most people?"
"Hel, heck no, Mr. Chris." Josh peaked to see if Bull had noticed his lapse in language. "Dal's a lot like you. He don't like most folks and the rest he jest plain don't trust, but what's that got to do with them ladies?"
"Miz Nettie's just like me and Dal." Josh was perplexed but not for long.
"Then it's a good thing you an' Dal like me. That means Miz Nettie will, too." He shook his head once particularly pleased with his own reasoning. Besides, neither Dal nor Mr. Chris scared Josh none. Now, Jules when she was madder than a hornet scared him, but Dal and Mr. Chris could glare at him all they wanted. He knew they didn't mean anything by it; they were just naturally mean to most folks dumb enough to piss them off. He had no idea that he had just lightened the atmosphere in the room by several degrees. He nodded off on Bull's lap just as Chris looked meaningfully at Nathan.
"If his fever don't get no worse an' we can get some more of these herbs to bring it down in the next coupla days, he'll make it. I'm runnin' real low on boneset an' purple coneflower. Them two are the best at reducing fever and infections."
"What about the apothecary here in town?" Bull spoke up then. "Iffen it's a question of money?" He let the question sink in and Nathan shook his head.
"Apothecary ain't no problem, stocks a whole lot of herbal remedies and such. Owner told me anythin' I needed was on the house since I was the nearest thing to a real doctor they've had in these parts who was sober and not drugged up. Said the new owner of the hotel paid for all the stuff I needed in advance cause it's bad business when the town lets visitors get hurt. This new sheriff and her have been working together to make Garrison a real respectable town. They want the railroad to come through here, an' this lady seems to know Vin is related to John Terrell."
Nathan sat on the edge of Chris's bed to check his leg. It was a little red near some of the stitches, but it was not as bad as it could be. It should with proper treatment get better within a few days and the fever break sooner. Nathan felt Chris's fever was due more to exposure than anything else since the older man had some congestion as well. Being stronger, it had not developed into pneumonia as had Vin's, but he would be courting disaster if he refused any more treatments. Nathan was sure his mixture of herbs was what was helping both men from getting sicker, and he intended to keep it that way.
"I met the owner early this morning. She's a real nice lookin' women, near fifty I'd say. She even offered to sit with y'all if I'd look at some of the town folk or just to give me a rest. She got that apothecary to order more carbolic an' morphine, but I got all the herbs they had. Said they come in a weekly shipment from San Francisco, and won't get no more till next week. Got enough herbs, especially boneset, for medicine till tomorrow evening."
"You're giving me the same dose as Vin." Chris didn't wait for Nathan to confirm information he already knew was correct. "What if I stop taking it?"
"Your leg'll get worse an' maybe gangrene sets in. You could even take cold or worse if you stop takin' this medicine. Only reason you ain't got pneumonia like Vin is that you weren't as weak as him from blood loss. No way we let you go without this herbal mixture til I get some more carbolic in and that congestion in your lungs dries up. Mary an' Alexandra probably got all we need an' it should be here by morning."
There was a silent battle of wills going on as Chris and Nathan glared at one another. Bull looked at Josiah and shook his head. So did the preacher. They were too tired to put up with this and so were the patient and the healer.
"Well, seems we don't have very many good options here, brothers." Josiah had his preacher's voice in full force, and both Nathan and Chris found themselves compelled to give him their undivided attention. "You can stop takin' the medicine an' lose your leg and possibly your life. Or you get pneumonia and maybe gangrene in which case we order you a pine box. Vin might take a turn for the worse and die anyway, or he lives knowing you died slow and painful because of him. Now, you really want to burden him with that? He's real sick, but he's holdin' his own, and I had a nice chat with that lady who owns this hotel. Seems she grows thyme in her garden, an' Nathan's got boneset, but as I understand from her, some of these herbs you want grow wild hereabouts. What say I go look for what you need and take the kids with me? Keep them busy and out of mischief. All we need is a picture of what the purple coneflower looks like. I know what wild cherry, yarrow root, catnip, and hyssop look like."
"I'd go but I can't leave Vin." Nathan wanted to make certain Vin did not miss any of the doses he had been giving him. So far Nathan had found the right amount to give both men to keep their ailments in check.
"I know what all them things look like cuz Big Foot's had me fetch 'em fer him time and agin. Dewdrop is real gentle when someone is hurt, so's she won't give me no grief iffen I ride her. I won't put no weight on my ankle. I'll use that there crutch you got me." Nathan gave Bull a grateful look. Now, all he needed was Chris to cooperate, and he was not up to a battle of wills with the former gunfighter.
Nathan was also dead tired, but he knew that Chris was stubborn enough to refuse the medicine if he thought Vin needed it. He looked over at Chris. The man had listened to all the arguments, and sick as Vin was, Chris knew that Vin would give him hell if he found out Chris was fighting Nathan after he had told him to shut up and take his medicine like a man. The tracker would probably not wait for gangrene or pneumonia to set in anyway; he'd probably shoot Chris for being so stubborn as to make his situation worse. Nathan and Josiah were right, and Chris knew it. He sighed.
"You might as well ask that lady to help out with Vin while you get some rest then. I'll keep Josh busy by readin' to him. Adam always liked that when he was sick." Nathan smiled in relief. Once the others returned he could count on them, especially Buck, to keep Chris cooperating and little Josh amused and still until Nathan said he could move around. Things were certainly looking better for surely they were in for a break soon, weren't they?
"Buck and them should be back this evening, an' Vin an' Josh should sleep for a coupla hours. I'll get Mrs. Stoneham to help out and just rest a while. You'll have her wake me up in about three hours?"
"I'll do everything you say, Nathan. You have my word." Chris was determined to follow all of Nathan's orders. He would show his wayward friends how to treat a man with respect by trusting his expertise. He owed that to Nathan; they all did. Besides, he needed a few hours to ponder all of this while the others were asleep. This hotel woman was being awfully generous with both her rooms and her money, and Big Foot sure had a lot of medical expertise for a man who had spent his life hunting buffalo and mining for gold and silver. There was a puzzle here, two in fact that Chris intended to solve, fever or no fever.
Chris watched as plans were made and as he was introduced to Mrs. Stoneham. She was a good-looking woman on the young side of fifty and meticulously dressed. In fact her clothing was a little too upscale for Garrison. Her eyes lingered on Vin for just a moment and then she turned a serene look back to Chris who by this time had Josh sleeping soundly on top of the covers of his bed wrapped in a blanket from his own. The little boy's head was resting on Chris's good knee, and he was snoring peacefully unaware of all that was going on around him. Mrs. Stoneham's eyes softened as she looked at the little boy. So the woman had children, but where were they?
She took the cloth from Vin's forehead and dipped it in the water by the bed. Wringing it out she began to bathe the sleeping man's forehead, neck, and shoulders. As Nathan closed the door behind him she spoke for the first time to Chris without ever stopping.
"I worked in the hospital in Boston helping tend the wounded during the war. My only son died of pneumonia after losing a leg in a battle in Gettysberg. He was doing so well getting his life back on track, and then he caught a chest cold, said it was nothing. He died six days before his wedding." She paused a moment to rewet the cloth, never once looking at Chris, but he could hear the emotion in her voice. He'd heard it often enough in his own the few times when he found himself speaking of Sarah and Adam. He knew how this woman felt, and he understood she was offering an explanation for her aide. "His father and I had grown apart years before that, but when he died it seemed to kill whatever we had left that kept us together. I left him one day taking a generous sum of money with which I bought this hotel. My son had big brown eyes, and your friend here is about the same age my son would be if he had lived. You can trust me with them."
Chris looked at her when she turned around to look him fully in the eye. She had the same strength that the women he had always admired most possessed. Sarah had that inner strength, and so did Mary, Nettie, and Alexandra. "Yes, ma'am. I know I can." He leaned back against the propped up pillows and closed his eyes. He noticed how hot he was, but he also noticed he was sweating. His fever was breaking at least. Now, it was time for Vin's to do the same. He heard a movement and opened his eyes. Mrs. Stoneham handed him a cloth she had just wet in the basin by Vin's bed. He smiled in thanks as she went back to her task in trying to bring Vin's fever down. He gratefully wiped his face, neck, and shoulders. Putting the cool wet cloth on his forehead, he decided one puzzle was solved. That left only one for him to ponder, but pondering was hard when you were asleep. He would wait until the others returned. Surely one of them would help him solve the mystery since Vin was in no shape to answer questions about Big Foot.
It was ten o'clock at night and there was no sign of the posse. Bull and Josiah had returned soaked to the bone with more herbs for Nathan and three very wet children. The storm had caught them about ten minutes from town. Nathan had gotten up and started separating the flower part of the herbs from the roots he needed. Some he set to boil in a kettle over the fire in the fireplace, one of the few rooms in the hotel that could boast that luxury, making the tinctures, tea, and syrups he would need from each. Some he would let dry, and then he would pound and grind them into fine powders to be used later. He had paused long enough to dose Vin and Chris with more thyme and purple coneflower before measuring out some more laudanum for Josh. Just a few drops mixed in water had the little boy out like a light, but Nathan was being very careful with it so as to ease the child's initial pain without addicting him to it.
Lightning and thunder provided the entertainment as the others assumed that the posse had opted to take shelter from the storm in one of the many mines and caves in the area. None of the townspeople seemed overly concerned, and the man who brought the telegram to them assured them that this was what most did when the spring storms developed out of thin air. Josiah had read the telegram out loud, and Chris slammed back against his pillows with a groan. He was not pleased that Alexandra and Nettie had talked Yosemite into driving them here by carriage. Mary was with them along with all the morphine, carbolic acid, herbal concoctions and decoctions, and sterile bandages they could get their hands on. No mention was made if the twins were coming along, but Larabee figured it was just his luck they would accompany their mother on this trip. There was no way he could evade the twins in his condition. Nathan, Josiah, and Bull got a hearty laugh at his predicament. Even Vin had smiled offering no protest when he found out Nettie and Alexandra would arrive the next day, since Yosemite was taking an easier route than the men had chosen.
Chris's fever had begun to break up, but Vin's had climbed a little higher. It was not much, but enough for Nathan to add a few other herbs and force them down the semi-conscious man. There was elderberry and catnip to reduce the phlegm that Vin had begun coughing up and yarrow and boneset for the fever. That Vin was coughing up a lot of congestion was a good sign, but it did little to help decrease the pain his broken ribs and gunshot wound afforded him. In one moment of lucidity about an hour after the last dose of medicine, Vin had told Nathan not to worry, that he had yet to cough up a lung. No one else had thought it was as humorous as Vin had thought it was, but they didn't argue with him. Mrs. Stoneham had come and gone making certain that everyone had been fed and that the children had gone to bed in the room across the hall.
Nathan finally sat down to eat the sandwich that Josiah had set aside for him. He was bone tired but refused to go back to sleep until he had Vin's fever down, or he had cleared the congestion that was making every breath Vin took sound like an old asthmatic breathing in a bucket full of trail dust. He winced every time Vin hacked or took a particularly congested breath.
"You worried bad, or just worried?" Josiah looked over at Vin. Bull, who was on his way to his bed in the other room paused at the door to hear the answer, Chris propped himself up on one elbow. The sweat glistened on his forehead, further evidence that his fever was breaking.
"I've seen people worse off recover, but he's weak from blood loss an' those broken ribs don't help him rest any."
"Neither do people jawin' when folks are tryin' ta sleep." The words were slurred, but the surly tone could be heard. Bull snorted and shut the door. He leaned heavily on the makeshift crutch as he limped over to Vin's bed. The concern on his face belied the meaning of the words he used. This was the most lucid Vin had been since this whole mess started. He was not out of danger yet, but Nathan took it as a good sign.
"Boy, you're still the orneriest sick person I ever met. Only time I've ever known ya that you're a mean son of a bitch."
He was answered by a fit of coughing that had Nathan, Josiah, and Bull all hovering around him trying to ease his pain. One wheezing and eye-watering coughing jag later found him lying exhausted against the pillows. Nathan was listening to his chest; and, nodding to himself, he went over and started mixing several items together. Vin felt horrible, every breath was a painful wheeze; he was so hot he felt sure he would burst into flames, and Bull was calling him ornery?
"Ya know old man, you can take that crutch an'," he got no further as Nathan walked up with another dose of medicine. "Oh Lord, can't I die in peace without getting drowned in ditch water?"
Nathan laughed. "This ain't ditch water. This is horehound and hyssop, an' it'll ease that cough and congestion some. Your fever's still higher than I like, but your chest sounds looser than it has since last night. You keep quiet like and let me get that fever down."
"That's right, ya stubborn boy. You can be as ornery as Larabee over there,. Jest settle down an' get better. Then when ya do, you an' me'll go behind this here hotel an' I'll teach ya how to talk to you elders."
"You tried that once when I was ten." Vin's voice was hoarse from coughing, but his three friends listened intently.
"Hell, boy, ya whupped that one little feller somethin' fierce." Bull looked at Vin's friends and shook his head. "The chief an' his wife both had to step in to stop him swingin' at this kid who was twice as big as Vin an' Vin with a fever worse than this. Almost lost the fool boy."
"What'd he have?"
"Had the grippe. Lost a third of the tribe, mostly children an' a lot of old people from that bout of influenza." Bull took the cloth from Nathan and started wiping Vin down starting at his forehead. Vin didn't even try to bat the old man's hand away, since the wet cloth felt so cool against his hot skin. "Big Foot said it was one of the worst cases he'd ever come across. Then, there was some bigger boy scarin' all the younger ones with tales that the white man was gonna tie 'em down and scalp 'em cause they were so sick the tribe was gonna leave them behind. Scared the boy here somethin' fierce until the chief said he wouldn't leave Vin behind for all the horses on the plains. Sick as he was Vin he was still faster than a jack-rabbit. He heard that other boy scarin' his friends with the same tale; he jumped from his pa's arms right on that other kid. Vin was whuppin' him good when his big brother finally caught him, an' sat on Vin holdin' him still. Only thing that kept Vin down was the chief an' his wife orderin' the other boy away from all the sick children. You shoulda seen the whuppin he gave that older boy fer scarin' him an' the others with his lies." Vin managed a grin as Josiah and Nathan gently lifted him enough for Bull to wipe down his back and put a cool wet cloth behind his neck. He actually sighed in contentment as they put another cloth on his hot forehead.
"I wasn't ever that ornery." Chris looked in total innocence at the men who all turned to look at him. Vin went so far as to pull the cloth from his face and look at him with fever bright eyes. The skeptical look Vin gave Chris was enough to prompt the reply, "Well, I mighta whupped some kid who told me that, too, but that was just plain justice, not ornery."
The cloth Vin threw at Chris landed on the floor by the bed. Larabee laughed, leaned over, and picked up the wet cloth. He tossed the one he had to Josiah who catching the cloth, laughed, wet it, and wrung it out again. Then, he exchanged it with Chris for the one Vin had thrown at him.
"You go on an' get off that foot. I'll sit with these two ornery cusses."
"I ain't no kid an' I don't need nobody sittin' with me." Vin was interrupted as Josiah missed Vin's forehead, and the wet cloth ended up over his mouth. Two pairs of blue eyes, one spitting fire and the other pair laughing dueled for just a moment before the patient surrendered. A mumbled oath and a promise of next time were the only things heard before Vin closed his eyes and gave in. He felt cooler and his breathing was easier. He was getting better; he just had to before Bull and Big Foot told ever story they knew about him when he was a kid. He was breathing easier, but this damned fever just would not let go.
Even his skin was beginning to hurt due to the fever. So, not only did he have to endure endless tales of his misspent youth, but the others would torment him with them. It was what friends were for, at least that was what Buck was always telling JD. Of course, the last thoughts he had as he drifted off into a feverish and exhausted sleep was that Nettie and Alexandra would not let anyone pick on him while he was so sick. There were some advantages to being sick, but it was only now he had realized what those advantages could be.
Continued in Part Three
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