Part Three
by
SasseyJ
DISCLAIMERS: See Part One, please.
Chapter 11
Following the trail wasn’t difficult for the three men. Now that the anxiety of the chase was over, they were all a little more relaxed, ever vigilant, but relaxed. Their pace was not the breakneck one of before. The slower pace actually gave Vin, JD, and Mace more time to survey the land as they rode along and participate in a friendly competition. JD was ever eager to practice his tracking skills. With Mace nearly as skilled as Vin, it was just like having his very own private tutors, much like the rich kids in the house where his mother had worked. Mace and Vin would spot something and question JD. The younger man would concentrate for a few moments, give his answer, and then wait for both men to either praise him or point out his error. So far he had been right on every count, and both of his companions were pleased with his efforts. Their praise had JD eager to learn even more instead of smugly trying to find other entertainment.
JD had just dismounted in order to double-check his next set of findings when Vin motioned him to stillness. Vin suddenly had a feeling that he was being watched. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he felt someone’s eyes upon him, hunting him. It was too like the old days when he had been hunted by disreputable bounty hunters who were more inclined to bring their quarry in dead rather than alive. Mace and JD must have felt similar feelings of being the prey in the hunter’s scope for they, too, began searching the area with their eyes. Surveying the rocky terrain carefully, Vin finay spotted the anomaly; the sun was glinting off of metal, more than likely the barrel of a rifle. Slipping both feet from his stirrup and securing the butt of his rifle in his hand, Vin all but leapt from the saddle shouting orders to JD and Mace to do the same.
“Someone’s up there! Find cover!” He shouted his warning just as he felt the bullet pierce his right thigh. He heard the bark of the rifle just a second later as he hit the ground, hard, rolling over until a rather large boulder blocked his way. The wind being knocked out of him only added to the dizziness and nausea that permeated his world. His only thought, when he could think clearly, was to find cover. Bullets peppered the ground around him coming way too close for comfort. He pushed at the ground with his feet, trying to crawl his way to cover, but he was having trouble finding purchase in the gravely rocks to push his body more than a few inches. Where the hell were JD and Mace?Pain and lack of air in his struggling lungs were impeding his efforts. He tried to push down with his right foot only to have a stabbing, fiery pain shoot through his leg forcing a gasp of pain from him. Well, it would have been a gasp of pain if he had had any air in his lungs with which to gasp. He would have been amused by his thoughts if he had had time to ponder them. Numbness had given way to a blaze of heat that felt like a red-hot poker had been jammed into his leg. A bullet skimmed past his left ear, and a shower of dirt and debris hit him in his eyes, causing them to tear up and blind him temporarily. Another bullet had nipped him on the fleshy part of his upper right arm when someone grabbed his left arm and pulled him behind the boulder he had fallen into.
“Damn, Vin, I thought
ou were gonna get killed ‘fore I got to ya!” JD was breathless with excitement,
anxiety, and fear. He had sounded just like Buck for a moment, there.
Vin blinked rapidly at him to make sure the blurry figure tending to him
was indeed JD and not Buck, so much like the scoundrel had the kid sounded.
“You hit anywhere else ‘sides the leg?” Vin
gasped in pain as JD pressed his handkerchief onto Vin’s
bleeding wound. Vin
heard the gunfire cease a few moments and then the roar of a rifle barking
next to him. Mace was returning fire from an outcropping of rocks
close by. Blinking rapidly again, trying to clear his eyes of the
trash, Vin was
finally able to focus on JD’s face. The kid looked worried, but grinned
suddenly when he saw Vin
finally had his teary eyes open and was paying attention to him.
Another rapid round of blinking, and his eyes were clear as they ever had
been.
“Got
a graze on my arm, but it ain’t bad at all.”
JD looked up at the graze and nodded his agreement with Vin’s
assessment. The graze was barely bleeding, but the leg wound was
going to be harder to stop. Vin
grabbed his own bandanna and handed it to JD to press upon his leg wound
while he pulled his knife out and tore off first one shirt sleeve and then
the other. He used the first one to tie off the graze on his arm
using his teeth and his left hand. Then, taking the second sleeve,
he handed it to JD who tied the makeshift bandage tightly onto his thigh.
The bleeding was slowing down, and Vin
grinned through his pain at JD. “Hurts like a bitch, though.”
JD
grinned back and ducked as another barrage of bullets rained down upon
them. “You still got your mare’s leg? I pulled your rifle back
here. It landed on this side of the boulder, so I just put it there
‘till I could get you outta the way.”
“Right
here, Pard.
Let’s just see who’s tryin’ to kill us.” Vin
hissed in pain as JD pressed his open palm over the makeshift bandage as Vin
twisted to check out Mace’s position. Taking a deep breath, Vin
looked out from behind the boulder. More bullets fired in rapid succession
forced him back behind the boulder. Spitting out the dirt that had
flown into his mouth on his aborted yell to Mace, Vin
wished fervently that he had his canteen with him. He tried again,
this time staying behind the boulder with JD. It was an awfully small
space for two men to take cover behind, but there wasn’t much of a choice
where they were pinned down. “Mace?
How many, ya reckon?”
“Only
coming from one spot; same rifle sound. I’d say it was one man.”
“Damn,
we left Jenkins trussed up like a turkey. You don’t think he got
loose, do ya, Vin?”
“We
left him off the rode with no weapons, JD. He had a knife wound in
his side. I don’t think he could’ve got the jump on Johnson’s son
this close up the trail. That boy’s almost as big as Josiah.”
“Hank’s
smart like his old man. Him and Trip, they wouldn’t get caught off
guard too easy, and not even Jenkins could take both of ‘em.
Hank’s damn fast with that gun of his.” Mace slapped his rifle up
again and took another couple of shots before he heard Vin’s
mare’s leg boom as it joined him. JD was finally satisfied that Vin’s
leg wound had slowed enough for him to join in the fight. None of
them had the advantage, and it was more keeping the gunman busy using his
bullets than it was trying to get off an accurate shot. No matter
how good a shotVin Tanner
was, he would still probably lose his head before he could get a clear
shot, so good a hiding spot their assailant had chosen.
A
ricochet slammed into the rocky wall behind them, and JD let out a yelp.
His hand slammed over his upper shoulder trying to staunch the blood flow. Vin
quickly took a look and went to work patching his young friend up.
JD grimaced and then gasped in startled pain as Vin
quickly pulled a piece of splintered rock from JD’s shoulder. The
wound welled up with blood cleansing the wound, but slowly clotted and
stopped bleeding as soon as the splinter had been removed. Vin
swore in several languages neither Mace nor JD could translate as more
bullets kept them from raising their heads to see where their horses had
gotten to. JD would have been more impressed if he had known Comanche
or Spanish, but he and Mace caught Vin’s
frustration. They were basically helpless, prisoners to the man above
them with the deadly firepower. They had no water, no food, no
bandages other than their shirts. They were lucky the injuries weren’t
serious, but Vin
knew neither JD nor Mace would leave him to find better cover, so here
they would all stay until someone sent help. Vin
only hoped it would be sooner rather than later. He had no desire
to be buzzard bait, and buzzard bait they would be if they had to spend
the day out in this heat with two wounded men and no water.
Chapter
12
The
heat of the sun, the parentage of their unknown assailant, who had bled
more - all had been covered in the last
few hours. Mace, at first, had thought the other two were fading
under the heat, but he finally realized they were busy keeping each other
sharp in the only way they could under these dire conditions. Vin
and JD sure had a variety of ways by which to vent their frustrations.
It now led to the next subject of water or the lack thereof.
“God,
I’m thirstier than a cactus at a barbecue in the middle of the desert!”
Vin
looked at JD like he’d just sprouted horns. It appeared they were
bringing their friends in on their predicament. He glanced over at
Mace and noticed him staring open mouthed at JD’s latest bit of imagery.
JD witnessed the exchange and then answered the unspoken look in Vin’s
twinkling eyes.
“What??
It’s hotter than hell, and I’m dyin’ over
here!”
Vin
snorted, his laughter bubbling throughout the area as it intermingled with
Mace’s loud guffaws. By now JD was grinning. It was a relief
from the sweat saturating their bodies, the tension, and the God-awful
thirst that had descended upon all three men.
“You’re soundin’
way too much like Bucklin, JD. I think that’s scarin’
me.”
“Well,
come on. Even you got to admit it’s hotter than a wild fire in hell
out here in this sun!”
“There ya
go again, JD, soundin’ just like Bucklin.
Next you’ll be sayin’ it’s so hot you’d
get nekkid an’ dance a jig for a sip of
tepid water.” At least their banter took their minds off the heat
and their pain.
“Vin,
I’d kiss Ezra in a dress for just a tablespoon of hot water!” Now,
it was time for Vin
to add his two cents.
“Hell,
JD! I’d play poker with Ezra for this year’s pay just for a cup of
hot water!”
“I’d
tell Josiah he was uglier than a grizzly when he’s drunk for a bucket of
dish water! That’s how hot an’ thirsty I am!”
“You
just think you’re thirsty. I’d ask Miz
Travis out for dinner in front of Chris if I could have just a bucketful
of Nathan’s ditch water right now!”
JD
had to think for just a second in this two-sided quest for one up-man-ship.
Then, “Well, I’d eat one of the twins’ mud pies just for something cool
and wet in my mouth!”
“Now,
that’s just too scary for me. Mud pies?” Mace now understood just
how these men handled dangerous situations. He was rather impressed
with their tenacity under the circumstances. Both JD and Vin
were looking worse for wear, and Mace had really been contemplating something
stupid and dangerous just to try and get them some help. He felt
it was up to him, since he was the only unwounded man at this point.
JD’s and Vin’s
bantering back and forth set his mind more at ease over their conditions,
which was just what Vin and JD had in mind.
They understood that they would be experiencing the same thoughts. Vin
acknowledged Mace’s contribution to their conversation with a rueful grin.
“We ain’t
buzzard bait, yet, Mace. So, don’t go ponderin’ somethin’
stupid. Sit tight. Chris is probably wonderin’
why we ain’t back by now. Another
couple of hours, an’ they’ll be here. Then, we’ll flush out whoever’s
up there in them rocks.”
Vin
felt just like he looked, but he wanted Mace there with him and JD just
in case either one of the wounded could not stay alert until Chris and
the boys got there. JD was thinking similar thoughts. He knew Vin
had lost more blood than he had, and he knew that the untended wounds would
soon start to get infected. JD had picked up enough from Nathan to
know that untended wounds out in the heat with no water could kill a strong
and healthy man quicker than anything. It was that dehydration stuff
you had to worry about, but Vin
was right. With his shoulder throbbing, he would not be of much use
in a run for the horses, and the horses were nowhere to be seen anyhow. Vin
couldn’t run with a bullet in his leg, so that left them pinned here until
help came. Mace needed to stay with them, since he was good with
rifles, too. Nope, the best thing was to wait until the shooter decided
to bring the fight to them, or they succumbed to the heat and their wounds.
Jenkins
was slowly fuming up in his spot in the rocks. He had chosen well
for position, but for a cool place in which to shelter, it was pure hell.
He kept drinking his meager amount of water. The horses had run off
back down the trail, so he could not get whatever water they had carried.
With Royal and his men behind him, he was actually just as pinned down
as the men below him. There they were down there laughing and talking
about something else. If they were as bad off as he had first smugly
assumed, why were they laughing and talking like they were at some damned
party? It was just plain unnatural for them to be acting like they
were all right. They should be more than miserable, at least more
miserable than him! Then,
Vin
ducked down as a splinter of rock barely missed his left eye. JD
wasn’t so lucky as he yelped in pain.
He had grabbed his hand and was holding it. Vin
managed to pry it away from JD long enough to note the scraped skin and
the bruise forming there. They were lucky this time. No blood
anywhere, but Mace was over behind his rock rubbing his right eye furiously.
“Mace!
Mace! You okay?”
Mace
finally turned towards Vin
and JD. Both eyes were red and weeping. “I’m all right.
Some dust that got kicked up got in my eyes. S’all
right, now.” Mace didn’t know whether he said it a second time to
convince himself or the others, but his eyes were still just a bit blurry
and sensitive from the dirt. It was getting better the more he blinked,
though. “Damn, I guess whoever’s up there don’t appreciate you boys’
sense of humor.”
“Yep,
his manners are worse than Top Hat Bob’s breath.” JD was at it again.
Somehow, he felt it was up to him to keep their spirits up until Buck and
Josiah got there. Vin had a wicked sense
of humor, but you had to prod him a bit to get him to share it. However,
since Buck wasn’t here to irritate everyone with his penchant for making
the direst of circumstances fun, JD knew he had to carry on for him.
This was actually the most talking Vin
had done in a long time, and JD was rather enjoying it despite the sniper
above them. Maybe if they got whoever was up there riled enough,
he would make a mistake or come down and try to take them one by one.
He must know that at least two of them couldn’t move too quickly now. Best
to keep him guessing, though. Keep him off balance would be
the advice from Chris if he were here, and JD wished Chris Larabee
with him and Vin
right now in the worst way. Mace was a good man, but there was no
one like Chris to scare the hell out of any man with just one cold, feral
grin. It gave JD shudders to think of any of the looks Chris had given
their enemies over the years.
Vin
hissed as he moved, trying to get more comfortable. He knew there
was an infection settling into the gunshot wound to his leg already, but
hopefully Nathan would be here before the wound got any worse. Gangrene
wasn’t something Vin
wanted to contemplate, must less the cure for gangrene. He liked
his leg just where it was, attached to him. At least they were riling
that no good son of a bitch who had them pinned down. Now, if they
could just get him off guard and in a rage, he might just let the boys
get to them before any more damage was done. So, Vin
went along with JD’s attempts at morale boosting. Thank the spirits
JD wasn’t telling his horrendous repertoire of jokes to Mace. Vin
smiled to himself. He’d have to thank Ezra for those two words.
He liked the way they sounded as much as he liked what they meant, but
Ezra didn’t really need to know that. It would just make that colossal
ego of his bigger if he knew Vin
actually paid attention to his vocabulary.
“Hell,
Top Hat Bo was a saint next to that son of a bitch Jenkins.”
“Now
that was just mean, Vin. I like it.
We must be makin’ a mighty poor impression
on him if he’s still so unsociable.”
“Well,
now, we could invite him down here, but I don’t think he’d like the party
we have planned for him.” Mace decided he was tired of listening
and worrying. He was going to join these two in their banter.
If nothing else, it should piss off the man in the rocks above.
“I’d
like to gut the bastard.” Vin raised his
voice as much as he could, hoping the sound would carry far enough for
the man above to hear them.
“He
deserves to die slow, kidnappin’ two sweet
little girls,” JD was ready to help Vin
gut Jenkins, if it was Jenkins up there in those rocks.
“If
it’s Jenkins, I’m gonna skin him alive for takin’
my twins. He’s got Alexandra all upset. Nobody,
upsets my kin. They don’t scare or hurt my kin an’ get away with
it neither.” Vin was working himself into
a rage at this point, and JD leaned over
to grab Vin by his upper arm. Blue
eyes as icy as the sky on a wintry day stared back at him. Yep, Vin
was not a happy man. Blinking three times in succession and licking
dry lips with his tongue, he frowned at JD just as Jenkins opened fire
again having heard their threats. Vin
made a show of firing back sporadically. He finally decided he’d
had enough of irritating the sniper and turned his attention back to JD.
The kid was looking a little peaked. Hell, to tell the truth, Vin
was feeling like JD looked. “You look like hell, JD.”
Vin
had to laugh at the look that appeared suddenly on JD’s face, breaking
his concentration and stopping JD’s return fire at their sniper.
Eventually, JD stared to laugh as he spit back at his friend. “Well,
if I look like hell, then you look like death warmed over.” JD
paused a moment for effect, “Twice.”
Vin’s
eyes ducked as he lowered his head for a second. Getting dead serious
for a moment, he raised his head back up and looked JD right in the eyes.
“If they don’t come soon, you and Mace make a run for it back down the
trail. Leave me your guns, an’ I’ll give ya
cover for as long as I can.”
JD’s
eyes went black, causing Vin
to instinctively pull away from the kid’s anger. “I ain’tleavin’
you here! Don’t ever ask me to do that again! We get out of
this together! I ain’tlookin’
your aunt and those little girls in the eyes an’ tellin’
them I ran while you stayed behind an’ died for me. You understand?”
Mace
heard what was being said, and although he stayed silent, he felt the same
way. No way was he leaving Tanner behind helpless. Well, as
long as he could lift a gun, Tanner was far from helpless, but he was down
to one leg with a bullet still in the other. Then, he heard Tanner’s
answer and almost spit, if he’d had any moisture in his mouth to spit.
“Now,
don’t go and get all riled an’ your long johns in a knot, JD. I had
to try. At least this way if we both get killed, Buck won’t come
straight to hell and beat the crap out of me for not protecting’ you better.”
“Like
Chris wouldn’t beat the crap out of me for leaving you behind.
They’re worse than big brothers sometimes, ain’t
they?”
“I
don’t know JD. Chris’s got that big brother stuff down pat, but Bucklin,
he’s like a mama bear with you, kid. I’m surprised he don’t
tuck you in at night.” Vin
winked at JD to show him he understood where the kid was coming from.
Mace sighed as he understood that Vin
would not ask them to leave again.
“He
knows I’d shoot off that thing he wears his blue ribbon on if he ever tries
to tuck me in.” JD and Vin
stared snickering then, the image of Buck sporting a blue ribbon on a certain
part of his anatomy. Their banter turned wicked as they started disparaging
their friend.
“Now,
that is a picture I coulda lived without,
JD. I don’t even want to think of Bucklin runnin’
around yellin’ for help an’ holdin’
his crotch.” Vin
started snickering anew.
“Can’t
you just see him running around with his hands over his crotch yellin’,
‘Now, JD, you put that gun down!’” JD’s
voice got lower as he did a fine job of mimicking Buck. “‘Don’t be shootin’
Old Buck there. Think of all the disappointed women!’” JD fell into Vin,
his snickering turning into guffaws of laughter.
“He’d
be yellin’ for Chris to come save him an’
for Nathan to sew it back on.” Vin
was near tears as he giggled uproariously. Mace was starting to snicker,
too, as he realized just what JD and Vin
were saying. He was hard pressed to keep an eye on the man above
them and the men next to him, he was trying that hard not to break into
the giggles emanating from the other two. They were beginning to get a
little punch drunk from the blood loss and the heat. Mace leaned over a
bit to warn the guys to settle down when gunfire erupted again. All
three men ducked behind cover before they realized that there were no bullets
exploding into the rocks and dirt around them. This time the bullets
were being aimed the other way. The time for silliness was over as
all three began shooting at the sniper trying to distract him from whomever
he was shooting at. The gunfire was being returned to the sniper
as well for Vin
heard the sound of men shouting and frightened horses screaming in pain
and terror. Hearing the thudding of hooves coming towards them, Vin
nudged JD towards a safer cropping of rocks. He yelled at Mace to
follow them as JD grabbed Vin
under the arm with his good shoulder. Using the frightened horses
as cover, they ran or rather limped as fast as they could the fifty or
so feet away. Mace joined them shortly, grinning maniacally as he
tossed two canteens and a rifle down on the dirt.
“I
managed to grab us some water.” His grin of triumph was returned
as JD quickly opened one of the canteens and handed it to Vin.
It was full, and Vin
took a long drink. The tepid water tasted like pure heaven.
Mace and JD were sharing the other canteen. Both looked like they,
too, had discovered a piece of heaven. Whoever their sniper was shooting
at now had their best wishes for they had shared their water with them.
Now, they just might last until Chris and the others got there. It
made them relax a little more in their safer haven, but it made them wonder
who was shooting at whom right now, and were they friend or foe?
They could do nothing to find out right now, so they settled down to wait,
each hoping that their friends were close enough to hear the shooting and
offer a helping hand.
Chapter
13
“Wait!”
Chris threw up his hand, effectively halting the column of men behind him. Lison
immediately stopped the aimless, yet amusing, conversation with her twin
that had been entertaining Chris ever since he had removed her from where
she had been riding with her irate father. It seemed as if one of
the twins had let slip yet another rather questionable item one of the
Seven had taught the twins. That oh so similar vein that often throbbed
on Larabee’s forehead had seemed by some
quirk of fate to have established itself on the unfortunate father’s forehead
when Lison innocently mentioned it was easy
to draw to an inside straight if an individual knew how. This had
prompted Chris to glare at Ezra and grab Lison
at the same time. Buck had quickly plucked Lisha
from Ezra’s care, while the gambler made his presence scarce. Nathan
and Josiah had helpfully flanked John Terrell until the urge to kill one
of twins’ chosen ones had subsided to just an intense desire to bruise
the unrepentant con man. “You hear that?” Chris had stopped
and turned to Buck to see if his old friend had heard the gunfire as well.
“I
hear it, and I got good money that says Vin
and JD’ve found trouble again.” Buck
spoke to no one in particular as Chris had taken Lisha
from Buck and turned aside to hand the twins to their father and consult
with Sheriff Johnson and John Terrell as soon as Buck had confirmed hearing
gunshots. Ezra quickly took Chris’s place beside Buck, purposely
ignoring the pleading looks from his beloved young ladies. Josiah
and Nathan were reloading their rifles as they rode up to wait anxiously
for their leader’s orders. They, too, dodged the twins.
“Now
that is as disadvantageous a wager as ever I have heard, Mr. Wilmington.
Of course the odds would favor our two young compatriots locating troublesome
miscreants in the midst of absolutely nowhere.”
“I
swear, Ezra, I’m gonna put a leash on both
of ‘em, if Chris don’t stop lettin’
‘em go off an’ get into trouble.”
“Oh
yeah, Buck, like you an’ Ezra don’t lead ‘em
into half the trouble they find.” Nathan was checking to see that
he had sufficient medical supplies. He looked up to see both men
frowning at him. All Nathan did was grin and say two words, “
Josiah’s
white teeth sparkled in the sun as he showed Ezra and Buck a full set with
his feral grin. “All I’m gonna say
is, ‘Apaches attackin’ the Temperance Train.’”
Ezra
looked at Buck as Josiah turned away to grin at Nathan; the satisfaction
he felt at reducing both men to silence apparent on his smug visage.
The Southerner mouthed the words, ‘Apaches attacking
the Temperance Train,’ behind Josiah’s back like an unruly schoolboy mimicking
his teacher. Buck opened his mouth for a hopefully smart retort when
Chris stopped him.
Chris
was giving his final orders. Everything was forgotten except that
two of their own were in danger. All else was unimportant.
“John,
you best take cover here with Sheriff Johnson an’ the twins. We’ll
send for you as soon as we know what’s up ahead.” Chris joined the
rest of the seven. “Let’s ride, boys.” With that, the five men were
off as if the hounds of hell were on their heels.
The
twins hid their worry by shouting their encouragement to their disappearing
heroes, “Our Chris, you shoot them critters who’re trying to hurt Ours!”
“You
tell Ours and Our JD if they gets shot,
we’re gonna be real mad at them!”
Sheriff
Johnson and John Terrell each had a reluctant twin squirming around in
their arms trying their best to figure a way to follow their heroes.
After all, Ours had kindly saved them.
It was their turn to return the favor. Lisha
turned tear filled eyes on her daddy from her perch on Sheriff Johnson’s
horse and fluttered her wet tipped eyelashes at him. Lison
tearfully hid her face against her daddy’s strong chest and sniffed loudly.
Their father was not immune to their charms, but he also knew exactly how
his twins’ logic could numb a grown man into submission if he let them
get started.
“Don’t
even think it.” The vein was back to throbbing in his forehead.
Both twins looked at each other and then back at their daddy. Taking
one more meaningful glance at one another, each girl tried once more.
Their father silenced them with a glare before either could speak.
“Not one word. Not onesniffle. Not
one, ‘Please, Daddy, with sugar on it!’” Twin glares worthy of Chris Larabee
popped up on each of the children’s faces. Their father was unaffected,
“I mean it! I just got you back, and I’ll be damned if I lose you
again. You will not try to cajole, trick, or sweet-talk any poor,
unsuspecting man here into taking you and following Chris and the others.
Have I made myself clear?” John Terrell regarded his beloved twins
sternly. “Well, do you BOTH UNDERSTAND ME!”
Daddy
had effectively nailed each loophole shut with a speed worthy of the West’s
fastest draw. Both girls recognized the authority in that voice,
and the punishment that would swiftly follow if they disobeyed.
In
unison, “Yes, Daddy.”
“Yes,
what?”
Lisha
looked at Lison. She drew a deep breath
and answered for both of them as Lison reluctantly
nodded her head in defeat. “Yes Sir, Daddy. Lison
an’ me will stay with you until Our Chris
sends for all of us.” An eyebrow was raised in apparent disbelief
at the quick capitulation.
Lison
sighed. She knew what her father expected, and so did Lisha.
“We promise to be good, Daddy.”
“We
promise to wait for you to take us to Ours.”
Their
father’s face relaxed as he judged that he had won this battle of wills.
Now, if he could just manage to keep his beloved wife out of mischief as
effectively as he could reign in the twins, his life would be so much easier. Boring,
but easier. John turned to look at the lingering dust cloud
on the trail the five men had taken. A deprecating grin formed on
his face. John Terrell hated easy as much as he hated boring.
He silently prayed his nephew, who was the male embodiment of his family’s
stubborn nature, was all right before turning back to ensure the safety
of his daughters.
The
object of his prayer meanwhile was lying on the ground trying to clean
his leg wound with some of the water from the canteen. Vin
wasn’t about to tell JD that he was feeling pretty foul by then, but he
was beginning to worry about the bullet lodged in his leg. If Nathan
didn’t get there soon to dig it out, he didn’t even want to think about
that dire possibility. The gunfire had turned sporadic from the trail
in front of them, indicating that whoever had opened fire upon their sniper
had either taken cover or had been reduced significantly in number.
The fact that their assailant still had firepower made him worry about
the safety of their rescue party. Chris and the others were in danger
of riding into the same ambush that had landed him and JD in this predicament.
He winced in pain as JD lent him a hand in trying to clean the leg wound
as best they could without whiskey, a fire, and plain old soap and water.
Mace was looking behind them; the worry that their rescue party would get
ambushed, too, was evident on his face. JD finally broke the uneasy
silence.
“I
think Mace should try and make a run for it as soon as we hear that bastard
start firing at that other group. Buck and the others need to be
warned.” Vin nodded
his agreement as he slumped against his rocky couch too weak to do more
than grunt in agreement. It almost seemed as if the rush for safer
cover had sucked from him what little strength he had left. JD was
worried that the seemingly endless wait in the hot sun without water combined
with the blood loss had placed Vin
in too precarious a position. He kept praying Nathan would show up
with carbolic, bandages, and his famous ditch water. Things were
not looking so good after all.
Chapter
14
Buck
stooped to the ground and, using a trick he had learned from Vin,
rubbed some dirt on the shiny metal of his rifle to dull the glare from
the sun. Taking off his hat he sprinted up the ridge and then eased
slowly up over the boulder in front of him. Chris Larabee
copied Buck, then stealthily moved into position next to him. Both
men carefully searched the surrounding area, certain the last spout of
gunfire had been heard from just over this ridge. They spotted their
missing men quickly, giving only a passing glance to Ezra as he joined
them on the ridge. They pointed out their friends to Ezra, who looked as
worried as they were about the lack of movement they were witnessing.
Chris saw the glint of sunlight flash off of the barrel directly across
from him. The way his eyes squinted in the sun trying to verify what
he had seen alerted Buck and Ezra, and they turned to look in the same
direction.
There
it was again. Chris frowned, looking around for some kind of approach
to the sniper on the other ridge. Ezra spotted the other group of
men when one dashed out from the safety of the rocks to cross to the other
side of the trail. Concentrated fire broke out as another man made
his move closer to the sniper’s position. Josiah and Nathan craned
their necks to see anything as they waited impatiently down below for some
kind of report. They kept busy by calming the horses they had come
across along the trail. It had taken close to fifteen minutes for
them to corral the spooked beasts and another fifteen minutes to water
them in the small stream they passed a half of a mile behind them.
Buck
suddenly flashed a dazzling, white-toothed grin from under his dirty, sweat-streaked
forehead and his trademark mustache at Chris. With a flourish worthy
of a magician, Buck pulled out a pristine, new spyglass from under his
jacket. Ezra’s eyebrows shot up as he recognized the ‘borrowed’ item.
The ladies man used some of the dirt they had disturbed by their movement
to dull the shiny new metal on it before holding the glass to his eye.
He first examined his friends on the ground below. Next, he turned
to survey the rest of the area. There was no doubt as the expensive
spyglass zeroed in on the sniper. It was Cal Jenkins. Buck
bit his lip forcing the outraged cry to go unspoken, or yelled for that
matter.
Silently,
his anger apparent to both Larabee and Standish,
he passed the glass to his impatient friend and waited until Chris had
had his turn to look. His lip turning under into one of his infamous
glares, Larabee lowered the spyglass from
his eye and handed it to without a word to Ezra. That glare offered
no quarter to the man who had wounded Larabee’s
friends. Buck tapped on Chris’s shoulder, silently pointing at the
rather exposed pathway leading down to where JD, Vin,
and Mace were pinned down.
Chris
started to shake his head in the negative when Buck once again pointed
meaningfully down at the three men. Mace appeared whole, but was moving
sluggishly. Vin
and JD were both wounded and not moving at all. They looked like the heat
and loss of blood was getting to them for Chris and Buck had both seen
the bloody, abandoned area where their friends had first been attacked.
Ezra’s swift intake of breath proved he, too, had seen the bloody ground
below them and the identity of the shooter. Buck silently accepted
the spyglass back and wiped it gently before stowing it back into the small
leather case he had hidden inside his coat. Chris motioned down toward
Josiah and Nathan and indicated he wanted to parley. Buck looked
at Ezra, and then both nodded in agreement. The men slid down through
the rocks and dirt to their waiting friends.
Josiah,
who was normally the rock of calm in any storm, appeared as fidgety as
several of the skittish horses. Chris would have laughed had he not
been so concerned with the scene beyond their sight right now. Nathan
didn’t wait for Buck or Chris to speak first. He had had a very bad
feeling when they had come across JD’s and Vin’s
horses first and the others about halfway up the trail from where the others
had been found. As swiftly as he could empty his knives into the
enemy, he fired off question after question.
“Who’s
been shot and where?
Are they alive? Can we get to them? They
in the shade anywhere? What about water? You see any
canteens with ‘em? Their horses are still
carrying theirs.”
Chris
didn’t mince words. He fired off the answers as rapidly as Nathan
had shot off his questions.
“Looks
like Vin got it
in the leg and I think his arm. Got ‘em
both tied up with his sleeves. JD’s got some blood on his shoulder,
and it’s tied up as well. I could see ‘em
both breathin’ through the spyglass.
They don’t look so good, though. They’re right out in the sun behind
a pretty good-sized outcropping of rock, now. They must have gotten
there sometime after they first got jumped cause there’s a spot about fifteen
feet in front of them that is covered in blood. I saw canteens, but
I don’t know how much water, if any, is still in them.” Nathan
pondered the situation while rummaging through his supplies.
“I
need a few minutes to get some extra bandages and water.”
Chris
nodded as Ezra took several canteens they had taken the opportunity to
refill earlier from Josiah. As Chris waited for his men’s undivided
attention before discussing their plan, the gunman finally took the time
to turn a curious eye on Buck. He asked the question that had been
nagging at him for the past few minutes. “Ain’t
that the new spyglass Alexandra gave Vin
for Christmas last year?”
Buck
grinned at Chris despite the gravity of the situation. “You boys
didn’t see me with it.” He winked at his oldest friend, eliciting
a bark of laughter from the gunslinger and a snort from Josiah. Ezra
turned from having grabbed a saddlebag Nathan had tossed him packed with
extra equipment. He looked more like a bellhop in a fancy hotel instead
of a gambler with four canteens and one saddlebag thrown over his shoulders.
“Mr.
Tanner is going to literally skin you alive should he discover you with
it, Mr. Wilmington.
And I, for one, do not wish to be present should harm befall his prized
possession lest your guilt implicate me by association.”
“Now,
Ezra, I just figured Vin
needed a little push to use it. He keeps sayin’
he don’t want to lose it or get it broken when his old one still works
real good. I’m just doin’
him a favor by wearin’ the newness off it.
Once he sees it traveled from home and back again through all this in one
piece, he’ll be grateful I brought him to his senses.” Buck was extremely
proud of his logic.
Ezra
shook his head and looked at the smirking Larabee.
It was useless to wager on when Buck would lose or break the item, or just
what the normally reticent tracker would do with their friend for his transgression.
“I shudder to think what form of revenge our Mr. Tanner will exhort his
beloved aunt and cousins to extract from you.”
“Vin ain’t
one to let someone else take care of his business for him, much less bother
his pretty aunt over somethin’ as silly
as me borrowin’ his new spyglass. ‘Sides, he’s gonna be
too busy thankin’ me for savin’
his life.”
Ezra and Chris gave snorts of disbelief that brought a wounded look to Buck’s face. He looked to Nathan for support, but Nathan was too busy stuffing extra bandages into the doctor’s bag that the others had given him last Christmas to do more than grunt.
“Do
not, my brother, come and try to hide behind any of us when you break it
or lose it,” Josiah answered for Nathan and himself. “I saw what
Brother Tanner did to that railroad man who tried to steal his horse.”
“I
didn’t steal his new spyglass!” Buck rolled his eyes at the others.
“I borrowed it!” Nathan rose, signaling he was ready to render aid
to his wounded friends; but Buck was not finished. “I’m goin’
down that path over there and comin’ up
behind them. I’ll get Mace to pull JD to safety while I grab Vin,
an’ get him outa range. Nathan can
cover us from the rocks. You, boys can give us more cover from here.
Jenkins can’t keep an eye on all of us while them others are after him,
too.”
“The
hell you are! I already got two men down, and I’m not about to let
you get picked off by that killer up there. You might as well paint
a bull’s eye on your chest when you try to get to ‘em
from there.”
“Chris
is right. Be easier than shootin’
ducks in a row. Besides, how do we know those other men are on our
side? Just because they are shootin’
at Jenkins don’t mean they are the good guys.”
Ezra’s
eyes shot wide open, causing the others to look at him in some alarm.
His gold tooth dazzled them, as did his smug grin. “I believe I could
arrange a distraction, enabling Mr. Wilmington and Mr. Jackson to reach
our compatriots with little or no injury.” He dropped the canteens
and saddlebag into the dirt and scampered off to his horse to rummage into
his own saddlebags.
“Don’t
tell me. I don’t want to hear it.” Chris’s voice was more resigned
than excited. He already knew what Ezra’s idea of a distraction was
most likely to be.
“Now,
Chris, let the man tell us his idea.” Buck was already grinning in
anticipation while Josiah and Nathan shook their heads in despair.
Their fears were fully realized when Standish returned holding not one,
but four sticks of dynamite.
“You’ve
been carrying four sticks of dynamite around with us?” The vein in
Chris’s forehead was throbbing in double time. The unrepentant gambler
merely shrugged.
“One
should always be prepared for any scenario, don’t you agree, gentlemen?”
Buck
almost whooped in glee, but he did not wanted to alert Jenkins to their
presence. Nathan looked disgusted, Josiah resigned; and Chris, Chris
looked as if he wanted to bang his head, or at least a certain gambler’s
head, against the rocks. However, it was the best they could do under
the circumstances. Chris made do with what he had at hand.
Shaking his head in apparent disgust, Larabee
turned in the direction of the hill. It was almost as if he was looking
straight through the rocky hillside beyond to where his best friend lay
pinned out in the debilitating sun with JD and Mace. His pensive
look turned feral as turned back to his friends. The maniacal look
in his eyes had Buck Wilmington grinning like an idiot. The others
were not as clueless as
“The
old war dog here has a plan.”
“Do
tell, Mr. Wilmington. Misters Jackson, Sanchez, and I would never
have assumed anything so frighteningly simple as Mr. Larabee
having devised some dashing albeit dangerous subterfuge with which to render
our compatriots’ currently perilous positions harmless.”
Nathan
looked at Chris, “He just say you had a plan?”
“Hell
if I know, Nathan! Half the time I
have to have Josiah translate whatever drivel Ezra’s spoutin’.
All I know is that I got a way to get our boys free an’ take Jenkins down.”
“If
I were not so curious as to what said plan is, I would vehemently protest
the word ‘drivel’ used by a man I thought a comrade to describe my unappreciated
attempts to impart the sheer beauty of the English language to you heathens.”
No
one spoke for what seemed like a full minute. Then, Josiah broke
the silence, his usually booming voice lowered to a sarcastic rumble, “Ezra
said that he forgives you for hurtin’ his
feelings by making fun of his attempts to educate you, but only if you’re
going to save Vin an’ JD.”
“Thanks,
I think. Buck, you an’ Nathan ain’tgoin’
up there,… now wait a second,” Chris held up his
hand to cut off Buck’s protests. “You ain’tgoin’
without me.” Chris paused again. “Now, listen up, boys.
This here is what we’re gonna do.
Chapter
15
The
heat from the relentless sun was becoming unbearable. Had Cal Jenkins
not been wounded and suffering from blood loss, his plan to kill as many
of the posse as he could, just might have worked. However, he was
beginning to feel his injuries. The bandages that Nathan had used
to bind his wounds were soaked with fresh blood and his own sweat.
Infection and fever had set in. That fever was causing him to hallucinate.
There
had been a flash like sunlight off of a metal object, possibly a rifle,
from the opposite end of the trail, but since then he had seen no movement
and no one visible on the trail. He had assumed it was either the combination
of the sun’s heat or the fever that had caused him to see things that were
just not there.
Jenkins
looked down at the exposed area where Tanner and the other two men, who
had been baking out in the hot sun, had been lying. He could still
see the blood, now turning brown as it dried in the hot sun. Reveling
in their misery had been one of the more enjoyable aspects of his self-imposed
imprisonment on this precipice. However, now they were safely squirreled
away, sheltered by huge boulders and an outcropping of rock. It was
driving Jenkins insane to know he was so close, yet so far from being able
to kill Tanner outright.
Cursing
silently that he could do no more damage unless he could loose a rock slide
above them,
A
movement from Royal's men took Jenkins’
immediate attention. Tanner was safe for now as Jenkins turned his
wrath on the two men trying to bridge the distance towards the trapped
men. Rapidly jerking around to fire on the two men, Jenkins gasped
in pain and nearly dropped the rifle. Sheer hate kept the rifle in
his shaking hands while he opened fire. Had Royal’s
men been any smarter, they would have noticed Jenkins was firing nowhere
near his targets. Others, however, did notice that fact.
The
kickback from the rifle made Cal Jenkins jerk his battered body in pain.
He felt the wound ooze more blood. He fired several more shots that
only succeeded in stirring up more dirt and debris rather than any damage.
The killer dropped the rifle as Royal’s
men backed off once again to grab his canteen of water. Cal greedily
consumed the tepid water, wasting it as it splashed around his face and
onto his chest. He never saw the man who slipped from around the
rocks to drop from his sight right between two of the trapped men.
He didn’t even bother to look at them as he tried to follow every move
he could see Royal’s men making. Nor
did it dawn on him that the two men who had tried to reach Tanner were
now four.
Guy
Royal had. He had watched in amazement as five of the seven men he
hated most in the world crept around behind the rocks sheltering their
missing men. A hatred born from his many lost battles with these
men raged inside as he watched them separate to continue whatever nefarious
plan they had hatched in order to free their friends. It would have
been the perfect opportunity to rid him of their presence, and he almost
took his chance. However, Deputy Johnson’s abrupt movement to stand
beside him had kept his itchy trigger finger from moving.
Guy
Royal kept telling himself over and over again that Tanner was the nephew
of one of the richest men in the country. Only his greed and the
prospect of Terrell’s undying gratitude stayed his hand. Being able
to stand there and watch any and all of the Seven
squirm as they had to express their gratitude to him was certainly worth
swallowing his hatred for the time being. Besides, he had to admit
in all honesty that Tanner had more grit and guts than Royal could ever
have found in that cowardly bundle of lies and deceit he called nephew.
By rights, he should have had a man like Tanner for his nephew. A
man who wasn’t afraid to ride into hell beside the men who had his loyalty
and trust was just the kind of man Royal needed at his side as he carved
his empire from this wilderness. Hell, the man had a devious mind
that Royal could have appreciated, even honed to do his bidding, but that
was not meant to be.
The
fates, for some reason, had laughed in Guy Royal’s
face, and since he would never rule in this land, he could at least reap
as much of the wealth as he could by helping rescue Vin
Tanner. Either way he would turn this disaster into a gold mine for
himself. If he couldn’t be king, he would at least eat at the king’s table,
on the king’s fine china no less. So, he waited patiently as Chris Larabee
and the gambler walked up to him. He kept a cautious eye out on the
big man who veered off to the left as he began a climb to the high ground
across from where Jenkins was perched. Guy Royal remembered vividly
his last up close and personal encounter with Josiah Sanchez. By
all means let the big man go higher, just as long as it was as far away
from him as Sanchez could get.
These
men had a plan; there was no doubt about that. So, Royal could try
and thwart them, and possibly lose any reward; or, he could swallow his
pride – oh how that galled him - and offer his help. His greedy side
won, and his pride was swallowed as visions of gold danced before him.
Ezra Standish would later tell an entranced audience that even a blind
man could have seen the dollar signs flash in Royal’s
eyes as he and Larabee approached the rancher. Larabee
would break in at that point to insist it was only the reflection of the
sun off Ezra’s gold tooth that temporarily blinded Royal to the fact that
Chris Larabee needed his help. Whatever
the reason, Royal’s main motive at this
point was to earn the gratitude of the Terrell family, and if that meant
he had to work with Larabee to save Tanner,
then so be it. Guy Royal had never been shy or at a loss for words.
“Good
thing you boys showed up. We were riding to help John Terrell find
his girls when one of my men trackin’ ahead
of us got ambushed by Jenkins. Bastard pistol whipped him an’ then
stole his horse and guns. We chased him ‘til he holed himself up
there. Been tryin’ to get to your
men, but haven’t been able to get to ‘em, yet.”
The
rolling of Deputy Johnson’s eyes confirmed Larabee’s
first belief that Royal was lying through his teeth, but Tanner and Dunne
were running out of time, and Chris would have dealt with the devil to
get his men to safety. Ezra’s face remained impassive, but he managed
to convey with his posture that he thought Royal was full of mendacity.
Chris might have laughed at his ability to read Standish by his posture
alone, but the situation called for his full control. The gambler
let few people know him so well, but he had put his faith in his six friends,
and his loyalty and trust in them were just as fierce as theirs for him.
Chris gave Royal not a clue as to what he was really thinking as he smoothly
laid out his demands, never once considering that Royal would not help
him.
“Then
I guess we can count on you to help us get our boys out of the jam they’re
in. I know the Terrells would appreciate
any effort you made to help out Vin.”
With that, Chris turned to the deputy. He had already seen the other
wounded man. “You boys get bushwhacked by Jenkins, too?”
Royal
butted in before the deputy could speak, despite the glare Larabee
threw him. “My trigger happy, bushwhackin’,
idiot of a nephew shot ‘em before I could stop
him. Thought they were with Jenkins. Don’t worry. I’m gonna
turn him over to the Judge. Whatever he says goes. I don’t
hold with goin’ against the law.”
Ezra
raised an eyebrow at that statement while Chris fought the urge to stuff
his fist in the lying man’s mouth and rip out the forked tongue he knew
he would find there. There was no way they could prove Royal was
guilty of releasing Jenkins, or at the very least bumbling their custody
of him and allowing him to escape. However, right now Chris needed
Royal and his men for a distraction. He knew his plan would work,
if only they could implement it. If that meant Chris had to put up
with this lying sack of cow dung, so be it. He would just make certain
Tanner and Dunne thanked him properly for all he was sacrificing to set
them free.
Chris
frowned for a moment hoping Buck would be able to help their two friends,
for it was Buck who was elected to go to them. Buck’s size would
definitely be less noticeable than Nathan’s presence among the wounded.
Buck wore basically the same color clothing as both Tanner and Mace, but
Nathan would have been noticed by Jenkins just as Larabee’s
black clothing and blonde hair would have been a lightning rod for Jenkins’
attention. So, Chris mentally gritted his teeth; and, with Ezra at
his side to guard against any scam Royal might try to pull on them, he
outlined his plan of action.
Meanwhile,
Nathan had waited impatiently while Buck had disappeared around the corner.
It had taken only mere seconds for Buck to jump down between Tanner and
Dunne, but it was the longest several seconds Nathan could remember waiting.
JD’s enthusiastic welcome set one of the two major problems concerning
Nathan to rest.
“Buck!
You made it? Where’s Nathan? Vin sure
could use his help right now!” JD might have been hot and hurting,
but he definitely had most of his enthusiasm in tact, which was a good
sign to Nathan.
Nathan
heard Mace’s sturdy welcome, but Vin’s
voice was a rumble too low for him to hear. ‘Damn him.’ He
was too quiet most of the time, but Vin
could usually rustle up enough noise to greet his friends with an enthusiasm
that could equal JD’s any day. “For once, why can’t he be loud?’
Nathan smirked at the thought of Vin
Tanner running off at the mouth as fast and as loud as only an excited
JD could get. ‘No, I reckon I like Vin
just like he is. Quiet and mean.’ Buck’s
voice calmed JD down as he began checking Tanner’s wounds.
“Now
calm down, JD.
Chris figured I’d best climb down here with you boys, since Jenkins might
just be a little pissed at Nathan. Josiah says Nathan was a little
rough with our sniper, an’ he might be willin’
to fill old Nathan fulla lead instead a thankin’
him for tendin’ to him.” Buck did
a cursory check of JD noting the bloody bandage and minor cuts and bruises,
but Vin looked
like he sounded. “You look terrible, pard.
Hey, Nathan, Vin looks like he’s been rode
hard and put up wet.”
“Good
to see your ugly face too, Bucklin,” Vin
rasped out. “Nathan, can you hear me?”
Nathan
smiled. Vin had
more energy left that Nathan figured he would have after having seen the
bloody place where his friend had lain after he was first wounded.
“I can hear ya, Vin.
Looks like all of y’all lost quite a bit of blood out there. Anyone
hurt real bad? How’re y’all feelin’?”
“Vin’s
been shot twice!”
“You
both need tendin’.”
“Been
better, Nathan. JD’s been shot.”
All
three men spoke at the same time causing both Buck and Nathan to chuckle.
“You’ve definitely been hangin’ around these
two boys too long, Mace. He sounds just like ‘em,
don’t he, Nathan? ‘I’m fine. Been better,’
my ass. Nathan, Vin’s got a
slug in his leg that needs to come out real quick.”
If Vin
had felt any better he would have wiped those smug looks right off three
faces, but even he realized the time for being stubborn was long over.
The bullet in his leg had to come out now. He still stood a good
chance for infection and gangrene to set in, but Vin
also knew he had an even better chance of walking away from this in tact
if Nathan got the bullet out as soon as possible. Looking Buck in
the eyes, Vin
silently let his friend know that he knew how fast his situation could
turn for the worse. JD had seen the look that had passed between Vin
and Buck and felt a momentary panic. Vin’s
situation was becoming dire, and they needed to get out of here as fast
as possible. He nearly sighed aloud in sheer relief when Nathan’s
practical voice began issuing orders.
“Buck,
take out that bottle of carbolic and pour some right onto the bullet hole
in Vin’s leg. JD?
You get a clean roll of bandages an’ let Vin
bite down on it. It’s gonna burn,
an’ we don’t need that damn fool up there knowin’
y’all got some help down here.”
“You
want me to pull off the bandage first?”
“No!
Just pour it on top of the bandage, an’ then take it off. It’ll burn
like hell, but it will also loosen any dried blood. Pour a little
on your hands, first. Mace, you do the same an’ help Buck hold Vin’s
leg still.” Nathan paused as he heard a sharp intake of breath from Vin.
Buck must have poured a generous splash of the carbolic acid right onto
the bandaged wound. He grinned, since he knew Vin
could not see him.
“You’d
best not be grinnin’, Nathan.” Vin
tossed the threat to Nathan from clenched teeth. “Damn! That
stuff burns! I hate it!” Tanner was still complaining when
all of a sudden there was a muffled sound and then silence.
“Geez,
JD! Remind me never to let you help me! Damn, look at his face,
Mace. JD, you best steer clear of Vin
for a while when we get back home. I’d swear that was a Larabee
glare if I ever saw one!” Buck could not keep the glee from his voice.
“Shut
up, Buck!” was JD’s rather nervous response.
“Mfmmffmfed!”
was Vin’s response
delivered at the same time as JD’s.
Buck
just grinned at both of them. They were all here together, and Vin
and JD were safe, a little worse for wear, but all right. Mace watched
as Vin and JD just
settled back to let Buck take over. The way these men carried on
with one another would make a body think they were brothers. Mace
watched in fascination as Buck switched his tone of voice to his unwilling
patient. His voice no more than a soothing tone, Buck prepared Vin.
“You
ready for me to pull this off, Vin?
I’ll try to be fast.”
Vin
looked at Buck and nodded his assent. He had already started to bite
down harder on the roll of bandages JD had cheerily stuffed in his mouth
when Buck started pulling off the carbolic soaked cloth from his leg. Vin
hissed despite all of Buck’s efforts, and
the big man felt a twinge of guilt. It fleetingly passed his mind
that he was glad that Nathan usually held the job of inflicting more pain
on their mutual friends in order to save their lives. Buck was way
too soft hearted to be a healer. He would never admit that in front
of anyone; but nevertheless, it was true. Buck blanched when he saw
the bloody hole in Vin’s
leg as the carbolic mixed with the oozing blood that poured in little rivulets
downs his leg and onto the dusty ground beneath. There was no sign
of infection yet, and that was a good sign. Nathan had warned him
what to look for and had described in detail what the wound would look
like if Vin was
in dire straights. Buck grinned in relief. They had gotten
to Vin in time.
He turned to tell Nathan, knowing the healer would be so impatient that
he might just forget Chris’s orders and join them there.
“It
don’t look too bad, Nathan. If Chris would get this show started, me
and Mace could get these boys outa here
where you can work on ‘em.”
“There ain’t
no red lines branchin’ out from the wound?
How does it look? It still bleedin’?”
Vin
rolled his eyes. Buck and JD grinned as neither had the slightest
doubt what Vin
was thinking at this particular moment.
“Shut
up, Vin!”
Vin
looked up at the men surrounding him, holding out his hands as if to say
in all innocence, ‘What?’
“I
know what you’re thinkin’, and you can
just stop it right now. You want gangrene to set in? I got
to know how that wound looks.”
Buck
was grinning like a Cheshire cat at Vin.
He could just imagine the argument that would be going on if they were
back at the clinic. Vin would be telling
Nathan he was fine, and Nathan would be poking and prodding Vin’s
wound to make certain that his patient would have a complete recovery.
He wouldn’t have it any other way. “It’s still oozing some blood,
an’ it looks like a bullet plowed into him.”
“Is
it just red around the edges, or is there a bigger area that’s red?
I need to get that bullet out fore the gangrene gets a hold of him!”
Buck’s
head knocked against three others as JD, Mace, and even Vin
leaned over to look at the wound with him. Vin
shoved JD and Mace out of the way but backed off when Buck glared at him.
“Do
you mind? I’m tryin’ to get a good
look at your leg, here. Now, lie back down.” Buck placed his
hand on Vin’s
chest and literally shoved the younger man back down to where he was lying
prone on the ground. “Mace, can you pour some of that carbolic onto
that hole on Vin’s arm there? Then,
clean that graze on JD. Soon as we get the signal,” Buck never paused
as he continued to clean and re-bandage the wound, “Mace, you grab JD an’
I’ll grab Vin.
We’re gonna get back behind these rocks
where there’s a trail we can get ‘em both to
a safe place where Nathan can work on ‘em both.”
“What’s
the signal?” Vin’s voice sounded raspier, since he had spit out the bandages he had been biting down upon. They were making his mouth too drier than the desert in mid August.Buck slung the canteen he had on his shoulder to Mace.
“Give
him some of that water, ok?” Mace nodded and proceeded to help Vin
up long enough for him to take a long drink of water. A voice from
behind them gave more orders, his impatience as clear as a bell.
“Get
him to drink a lot of water. JD, too.
You shot anywhere, Mace?”
Mace
grinned at the look in Tanner’s eyes. Vin
looked mighty displeased as everyone all but ignored his question.However,
he put the canteen back to Vin’s
lips as the tracker obediently drank more water. No one had to force
him as he was so thirsty, he could have drunk
half of the
Vin
frowned at him as he pushed the canteen away in order to catch a breath.
He had no idea that Mace was blaming himself over what had happened.
He was surprised because he had been blaming himself over the same thing.
JD spoke before he could.
“Not
your fault, Mace. Vin’s
taught me to be careful, an’ I didn’t see anything until I saw Vin
get hit.”
Tanner
would have laughed at this point if he had not hurt so damn badly.
Shaking his head slightly, he managed to get his point across. He
voice sounded strong with conviction. “None of us could have known.
I just caught the glint of sun off a rifle just before I got hit.
That saved my life. We moved fast enough when it counted to keep
from getting’ killed an’ that’s all anybody could have done.” He
sank back against the dirt as he let his words sink in. He stayed
quiet as he knew he would need his strength as soon as the signal was given,
if anyone would tell him what the damn signal was going to be. Vin
glared at Buck, but the ladies’ man just winked at him. The tracker
sighed and would have tried again had not Mace cut him off.
“What’s
the signal supposed to be?”
Vin
was getting damned tired of being interrupted. ‘Maybe that was what
the signal was supposed to be! Chris was waiting for him to lose
his temper and shoot someone! Well, Larabee
would just have to give the signal himself.’ Vin
was just too tired to do everything himself.
Acting
like this was the first time he had heard the question, Buck looked over
at JD to gage his fitness to do what came next.
“Once
Josiah gets up above us, he’s gonna throw
a piece of dynamite over towards Jenkins. Ezra an’ Chris are gonna
shoot it. Once it goes off, I’m supposed to grab Vin
and Mace should grab you. Then, we’re gonna
cart you two to safety. Nathan’s gonna
come ‘round if we need any more help.”
Vin’s
eyes got really big, and Buck was hard pressed not to laugh at him.
“Josiah’s gonna throw dynamite over our
heads? An’ Chris an’ Ezra are gonna
try and shoot it? Lord, just kill me now!”
Even
Nathan snorted at that. Buck just patted Vin
on his good shoulder. “Now, you got to have faith in Josiah.
He’s got my lucky sling shot with him. An’ Chris an’ Ezra can do
some mighty fineshootin’ when they’ve got a need
to.”
JD
snickered. Vin
did, too. Looking at Mace, JD explained, “Last time we had a shootin’
contest, Chris missed once an’ Ezra never hit a thing that was over three
feet away.”
“Now,
JD, they were both stinkin’ drunk.
So was me an’ Vin
for that matter. An’ Ezra missed cause
he was using that pea shooter of his. Can’t hit no
target over ten foot away if you’re usin’
a pea shooter. Josiah was passed out an’ Nathan an’ you were laughin’
too much to take a shot.”
“But
I didn’t miss any of ‘em.” Vin
was smug despite the pain he was in.
“You
weren’t as drunk, neither. They’ll do fine. They have to.”
“You
couldn’t hit the side of a barn right now the shape you’re in.” Nathan’s
smug voice came drifting around the corner. Vin
actually stooped to send a silent signal towards Nathan.
“You
best not be sassin’ me, boy. I got
carbolic an’ I know how to use it.”
Mace
turned away so that Vin
could not see the laughter in his eyes. He struggled in vain, but
his snickers bubbled forth regardless. JD and Buck were not as compassionate
as Mace. They were snickering openly at Vin,
and the tracker managed to punch both JD and Buck with his good fist before
they could move out of the way. He would have added a few choice
words to accentuate his displeasure, but he heard a familiar voice shout.
“Heads
up!”
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