Saying Goodbye

a sequel to Second Chances

by Karen ©2002

Disclaimer: The characters of The Young Riders were created for television by Ed Spielman. The series aired on ABC TELEVISION from 1989 - 1992.

"What are you thinking about?" Buck asked as he dropped down next to Ike and stretched out on the river bank.
*Nothing, and everything,* Ike answered.
Buck nodded. "It's because of Jonah, isn't it?" he asked as he sat up and faced Ike.
It was Ike's turn to nod. *I never expected to see him again. I always figured that he'd just ambush me someplace; and the only way I'd know it was him would be hearing his laugh as he rode off and left me to die.*
Buck asked, "You really thought that about him?"
Ike again nodded, *Didn't you?*
Buck shook his head, "Not really. I figured he'd never make it out alive."
Ike turned to face Buck. He was still worried that he was responsible for the death of his friend's mother. He wanted to find out, but he didn't want to pry. Besides, he wanted to respect Buck's belief of not mentioning the name of the dead. He smiled, *I'm glad he didn't worry you. He definitely hurt you enough before. I'm . . .*
"It wasn't my mother," Buck said, cutting Ike off. "She wasn't shot, and we found her outside our home. She was still alive when we found her."
Ike sighed with relief. *I'm glad it wasn't her. I'm not sure I could handle being the reason you had to leave the village.*
"Even if it had been her, it wasn't you," Buck said. "I told you that already; that Ike died the day you saved me. He doesn't exist anymore, remember?" He lay back down and began to study the clouds as they floated overhead.
Ike nodded. He turned again to watch the river and let his mind wander back to his life with Jonah, his life before Buck . . .

He'd only been with them for a day, but it was long enough to know he'd made a mistake. He sat away from the others, nursing his swollen lip, trying to figure out what he'd done wrong.
"It wasn't you," said Justin. "He was mad 'cause Marcus forgot to get coffee; you was just closest."
Ike looked up at Justin and carefully took the plate of food being offered.
"Mind if I sit?" Justin asked pushing his long brown hair out of his eyes.
Ike shook his head.
Justin sat on the log next to him.
Ike studied the older boy as he ate. He took in every detail of his companion's face - the shoulder length, unruly, curly brown hair; the deep, dark chocolate color of his eyes; the curve of his nose; the small scar on his left cheek; the tan color of his skin. His face was so expressive; it gave his true feelings away. He was as scared as Ike was.
Ike smiled as Justin turned from his doodling in the dirt to face him. "Did you notice the look in his eyes just before he hit you? The coldness?"
Ike nodded - no longer smiling.
"If you can stay away from him when he gets that look, you won't get hurt as much. He don't normally come after anyone. He just uses whoever's closest. You understand any of this?"
Ike nodded. He wished he could find his voice to tell Justin he understood. He wished he could talk to him and plan an escape, but he couldn't so he sighed and returned to eating. Justin returned to his drawing.
When Ike finished eating, Justin took the plate, "He's still upset. Stay over here until he falls asleep. Alright?"
Ike looked into Justin's eyes and nodded. The concern he saw there was both reassuring and frightening. It was nice to once again feel cared for, but the need for the concern was unnerving. What had he gotten himself into?
Justin took the plate and returned to the gang. The older men were passing around a whiskey bottle and making plans. Jonah glanced at Justin, "He still there?"
Justin nodded.
"You best make sure he stays. I don't want to have to spend time finding him again. He's gonna make us rich. We just need him to remember where his pa put that map."
"What if he don't?" Marcus asked.
"Depends on how useful he makes himself," replied Jonah. "If he turns out to be as useful as Justin here, I plan on keeping him. If not, well poor little orphans get lost everyday," he continued with an evil laugh.
Ike heard the laughter. It sent shivers down his spine. He needed to get away from here; uncle or not, this man was evil.
A short time later, Justin returned. "You can come over by the fire now and go to sleep. We'll most likely get up early and be on our way. Jonah wants to go back by town before we head out. You got a bedroll?"
Ike shook his head. He'd only brought a few items with him from the orphanage - his box with the few personal items he'd managed to salvage from his past life, a change of clothes, a blanket, and a few dollars. Jonah already took the money.
"That's alright," said Justin. "Grab your blanket. You can bed down with me."
Ike did as he was told and followed Justin back to the area near the fire. The others were all snoring away; the empty whiskey bottle lay on the ground next to Jonah. Justin made his way to an area away from the others, but still near the fire's warmth. He took his bedroll and lay it on the ground then spread Ike's blanket out. "Crawl in," he said. The two of them soon joined the others in slumber.
The next day, Ike felt Justin crawl out from under the covers. The cold air that replaced him woke Ike up. He sat up and surveyed the campsite. The other men were still sleeping. Justin was quietly coaxing the fire back to life. He smiled when he noticed Ike watching him. "You can go back to sleep," he whispered. "I'll wake you when you need to get up."
Ike thought about the offer, but decided that he'd rather go ahead and get up and help. He didn't want Jonah to be angry. He'd overheard enough of the conversation last night to know he was in trouble. They were looking for a map, and the only map he'd ever seen was in the back of the family's Bible. He would gladly give it to Jonah, but he had no idea where the Bible was.
Ike crawled out of the covers and quickly put them away. He went to assist Justin and once again tried to recall what had happened to his family. He couldn't remember any details. He knew they were getting ready for supper; he remembered he was hiding because his mother had found his newest drawing which unfortunately was on the first page of Genesis. He remembered horses, voices, gunshots, voices, horses, and silence. He had no idea where the Bible was. The people who took him in had managed to salvage a few remembrances for him, but the Bible wasn't one of the things they sent with him.
Not too long after they finished cooking breakfast, the other four men woke up. The stumbled over to the fire where Justin served them. "Why don't you go and put away their bedrolls?" Justin told Ike. "That way we can get started earlier."
"Good idea," said Jonah. "Think you can handle that?"
Ike nodded and moved to clean up the sleeping areas of the other men. He wished he had some way of communication with them. He could tell them now about the map. As he was working, he tried to think of a way to let Jonah know that it was missing. He finished tying the last bedroll and returned to the fire. Justin handed him a plate, "Eat up and we can go."
Ike ate quickly while the others finished breaking camp. As soon as he swallowed his last bite, they were on their way. They headed into town to get some supplies and then they were on their way to wherever the road would lead them.
They spent their days drifting. They'd stop and stay in a town for a few days. At times the other men would leave and then come back. They'd been wandering for almost a month; no real purpose to their movements, when Ike realized they were getting close to where he used to live. Jonah noticed the change in Ike, "Something wrong, boy?" he asked.
Ike shook his head.
"Know where we are?" Jonah questioned.
Ike nodded.
"Good," Jonah said. "Lead on then."
Ike nodded solemnly and headed in the direction of his family home. When they topped the rise, he stopped. The house was in ruins; he didn't remember there being a fire.
The others reined in their horses. "Ain't gonna be there," said Marcus.
"It wasn't burnt last time I saw it," said Jonah. "You sure this is your place?"
Ike nodded and rode down towards the remains. He went to the outbuilding he had hid in. It was still there untouched. He opened the door and went inside. In a few seconds he returned, holding his kite.
"Damn," said Jonah. "Guess we'll have to find Jackson after all." He spurred his horse onward. Ike watched them go. For a moment he thought he was free, then Jonah yelled, "Don't just stand there staring at the sky, Son. Get a move on."
Ike dropped the kite and mounted his horse. He should have known he couldn't get away that easily.
They once again drifted from place to place not seeming to have a purpose, but really looking for someone only Jonah could recognize. Ike had managed to let Jonah know that the only map he'd ever seen had been tucked in the back of the family Bible. He'd also convinced them that he had no idea what had happened to the book. As they made their way from town to town, the gang took to stealing small items. The people of this area were friendly and willing to share what little they had with strangers, especially two boys in search of their father.
"This looks like a good place," Jonah said. "Remember, keep them at the house; we need time to grab us one of them pigs." The six of them sat on the top of a small hill overlooking an isolated farm. The house was nestled in a small group of trees with the barn and pig pen tucked closely in behind it. The fields were on the other side of a small rise. They were just beginning to bring forth a crop of corn. The stalks were swaying gently in the breeze while the farmer worked at weeding the rows.
"Yes, Sir," said Justin. "Come on, Ike. It's time to get to start acting lost and afraid. Let's go see if these kind folks know our long lost father." Ike mounted his horse and followed Justin to the small, isolated cabin.
Jonah chuckled as the two boys headed towards the house. The others waited patiently for the sign to move in and take what they wanted.
The boys were met by a woman holding a shotgun.
"What do you want?" she asked bringing the gun up in their direction.
Ike did his best to look frightened and lost. Justin said, "We're trying to find our father. He come out this way a year or so ago. We seen your smoke and figured maybe you knew him. His name's Jonah Marcus."
The lady relaxed a little. "Can't say that I've heard of him. Why are you looking for him?"
Justin glanced at Ike, who changed his look to one of sadness, then continued, "He was supposed to come build us a house then come back and get Momma and us. Not too long after he left Momma and Ike got sick. Ike here got better; Momma didn't. Soon as Ike was well enough, I sold off what little we had left and we came looking for Papa. Guess we've been looking almost a year now."
"You poor boys, you hungry? Supper's almost ready. Nathaniel will be back soon."
"That's alright. We didn't want to trouble you," Justin said turning to leave.
Ike looked at the woman doing his best to look pathetic. As Justin rode past, Ike turned his horse to follow letting himself slip to the ground as he did so. He had to quickly hide his grin as the lady dropped her gun and ran to his side. "Please," she said to Justin. "Come in and eat something. After supper, we can make up some beds in the barn. You two need to rest up."
Justin dismounted and went to Ike. "What do you think, Ike? Think we should stay? You know we don't have no money."
"That's alright," said the lady. "You can help my husband with the chores while you stay."
Ike looked hopefully at Justin. Finally, Justin agreed, "Alright, but only if we work first. What's something we can do now?"
The lady helped Ike to his feet. She picked up her shotgun and looked around her home. "One of you can come inside and help me finish up the meal so it will be ready when Nathaniel gets back from the field. The other one can go milk the cow, feed the chickens, gather the eggs, and check on the pigs."
"I'll work out here," said Justin. "Ike's still not real strong." He turned towards the barn then stopped, "Just so you know, Ike don't talk none. He hears just fine, but for some reason he ain't said nothing since Momma died." He took their horses and left.
The lady led Ike inside where she helped him out of his coat, and then started him on peeling potatoes. Just as Ike and the lady finished putting the last dish on the table, Justin came inside carrying a bucket of milk and a basket of eggs. "Where would you like these?"
"Here, let me take those. Ike, you show your brother where to wash up," she said.
Ike led Justin to the back side of the cabin where the rain barrel was. Justin quickly cleaned himself up, "Jonah said to go ahead and eat; we can leave tomorrow after breakfast. He said not to take anything so we don't cause alarm yet. He figures we can stock up on supplies easily in this area if we keep going from farm to farm."
Ike nodded. He wished they could just stay here and forget Jonah and the others. He felt sure they'd be welcome. Sarah, the lady, had told him that she and Nathaniel had no children. It saddened her that she hadn't been able to give him the son he so desperately wanted.
Maybe, if they were invited, he could convince Justin to stay. Maybe he'd have a family again.
Later the next morning, the two boys mounted their horses. Sarah insisted on giving them supplies to last them a few days. Nathaniel had found an old bedroll and some extra shirts and coats. He insisted they take them, as well as his old rifle.
"Sorry we couldn't help locate your pa," Nathaniel said. "Maybe you could stay here, and we could figure a way to get word out where you was."
Ike looked hopefully at Justin, but Justin shook his head. "No, I think it's best we keep moving. Thank you for your kindness; we'd best be going. What's the next closest town?"
"That would be Marysville," said Sarah. "It's west of here; about two days ride."
"Thank you again," said Justin. "Let's go, Ike." The two boys headed off towards Marysville. As they cleared the rise, they were met by Jonah and Marcus. It looks like you did alright for yourselves. Guess we can try this again next town. That alright with you boys?"
"Whatever you say," replied Justin.
Ike just shrugged.
"Don't tell me you feel bad about getting them people to help you?" Jonah laughed. "We're going to have to toughen you two up. There ain't no need letting yourself feel sorry for anything you do. Them people gave you some stuff; didn't hurt them none.
"Shoot, for that matter, you both need to learn not to care about others. No need getting attached to anybody or anything. Things break, get stolen, or wear out. People always let you down in the end; ain't no one gonna die to save you. That's all fairy tales and lies."
"You mean you wouldn't stop to help one of us if we was in trouble," Justin asked.
Jonah laughed. "Depends on what would be in it for me. I'd go to your hanging and not shed a tear. I can always find myself a new kid, you should know that."
They rode on in silence. Ike wandered why Jonah wanted them to stay if he didn't care about them. Once again he wished he could recover his voice so he could ask.
As they rode towards Marysville, Ike began to drop back. Justin came to him, "You need to keep up, or he'll think you're trying to get away."
Ike shrugged.
"The only way you get out is in a box," Justin said. "You've see too much to be allowed to leave. You got no choice."
Ike stopped, looked at Justin and waited.
Justin stopped too. "He'll track you down and bring you back. If he doesn't kill you, you'll wish he had. I've seen him do it. You can't quit him and stay alive; not until you're old enough to be in as much trouble as him if you get caught. Understand?"
Ike nodded and started forward. He felt trapped and helpless. This feeling was almost as bad as he'd felt when the neighbors first took him to the mission. There he'd felt unwanted, alone and unloved. He hated the feeling of helplessness that engulfed his waking hours. That's why he'd foolishly jumped at the first chance to leave. He'd know better next time, if there ever was a next time. He was beginning to doubt that he'd ever get away from Jonah. He definitely wasn't brave enough to die trying. That was the one thing Jonah had said Ike knew to be true - People always let you down in times of trouble; he'd hid and his family was dead - He'd definitely let them down. He was nothing but a useless coward; if he wasn't he'd just leave this mess - Jonah be damned.

Ike looked away from the swiftly flowing water and at his friend. He was so glad that Buck had happened into his life. He wasn't sure that he'd ever told Buck how grateful he was. His life had been going so wrong. He had known that he wasn't doing what he should be doing. He'd felt ashamed of what he had become, but had no idea how to change. He smiled as he watched Buck studying the sky. He started to tell Buck what he was feeling, but then he noticed that Buck wasn't looking at the sky anymore; he was sleeping. Ike decided to let him rest; it had been a rough night last night waiting to face Jonah this morning. He turned back to the river and once again let his mind drift. . .

Time past. They traveled from town to town - always on the lookout for the opportunity to take what they needed. As they continued to get away with their thievery, they grew bolder. The more daring the gang's actions became, the more Ike wanted to get away. He hated himself for what he was becoming, but he didn't know how to stop.
"Looks like nobody's home," said Jonah as they rode past a one cabin. "Let's go see. Justin, go check it out."
Justin rode up to the cabin and dismounted. He knocked on the door. No answer. He pushed open the door. No one was there. He went back outside and fired one shot into the air. The others joined him. It took them no time to clean the place out of any valuable or useable supplies. They set it ablaze as soon as they were done...
Ike cringed as he watched the house go up in flames. It was bad enough that they'd taken everything of value. He couldn't understand why they had to destroy the building too. The first time it happened, he'd tried to stop Marcus and received the worst beating of his life. Now he just rode off as the fire took hold - consuming another part of his soul along with the wood of each home.
As they traveled they encountered many different people. Once they even spent some time with a small tribe of Indians. They stayed near the village and traded stolen items for food and furs. They bided their time - waiting. Finally, early one morning, Marcus came back to camp from the village, "All the men are gone," he said. "Left this morning for their big hunt." He laughed and slapped Justin on the back. "I got a squaw all picked out for you, Boy. Today you're gonna be a man."
They broke camp and mounted their horses. They rode into the village with no trouble - after all, they were friends. Marcus rode up to the home of the chief, he stopped and dismounted. He waited for Justin to join him. They went inside. There was a scream followed by a gunshot. Jonah and the other men drew their guns and began shooting anything that moved. When they stopped, the others left to go see what they could find. Jonah grabbed Ike and pushed him inside the dwelling Marcus and Justin had entered earlier. Marcus was telling Justin what to do as he attempted to have his way with the chief's daughter. Jonah slapped Ike on the head, "Pay close attention now. Your turn's coming soon." He laughed.
Ike pulled away and went outside. Marcus followed. Ike decided to make it look like he'd left to help with the looting. He entered the next dwelling. A woman charged at him screaming. She tackled him, knocking him back out the door. Marcus grabbed her by the hair and slapped her face. She struggled so he threw her to the ground and kicked her, "You go on and see what you can find inside," he told Ike. "I'm gonna tame this one first, then I'll come help you." He reached down and grabbed hold of the woman and dragged her off to the woods.
Ike watched them leave. He felt sick. He wished he was braver, then he could stop this madness. He re-entered the dwelling and began to look for supplies. He made a pile of things that could prove useful. As he was looking for a way to carry them, he discovered a girl about his age. She was hiding under a stack of blankets. Ike motioned for her to stay quiet and turned to leave. As he turned, Marcus entered dragging the woman behind him. She was badly beaten, but still alive. Marcus noticed the girl almost at once. "What do we have here?" he asked as he dropped the woman, and reached for the girl. As he grabbed the girl, the beaten woman pushed herself up and jumped on Marcus. He let go of the girl, pulled his gun and fired. Ike watched the woman as her lifeless body fell to the ground.
Marcus slapped Ike on the head. "Go after her. She's white," he said pointing his gun at the fleeing girl.
Ike chased after her. He caught up with her just as she reached the horses. He brought her back to Marcus. The whole time he kept asking himself, "Why? Why didn't you let her escape? Why didn't you just keep running? Why are you such a coward?"
When he dragged the girl back, Marcus told him, "Take her to Jonah. He'll probably want to take her with us."
Ike did as he was told. Jonah looked her over then smiled. "Good boy, Ike. We'll take her to town and see if anyone knows where she came from. Heck, Boy, there may even be a reward for finding her."
There hadn't been a reward, but they had managed to take most of the town's money anyway. Ike had been so distraught over the fact he'd helped this come about that he'd left the party being held in honor of the "heroes." He felt miserable. She hadn't wanted to come with them; he'd had the chance to let her get away, but he didn't. He'd ruined her life because he was too afraid to stop what he knew was wrong. To make things even more miserable, today was his birthday. He'd turned twelve and nobody had noticed.
Ike wandered the streets, lost in his thoughts, feeling ashamed and sorry for himself. All of a sudden, he heard Justin yelling, "Ike! Wait! Don't! Ike, please stop!"
Ike stopped walking and tried to find Justin. He looked up and froze. He was about to walk off the edge of the top floor of the unfinished rooming house. All the town's people were staring at him. Justin was running from the hotel across the street. He stopped and hollered, "Just stay still. Wait for me to get there."
Ike nodded. As he waited, he noticed Jonah and the others going towards the bank. About the time Justin reached him, he saw them leaving with money bags in tow. Ike managed to let Justin see what was happening. "We need to keep these people watching us," Justin whispered. "If they notice the others, someone will get hurt. Understand?"
Ike nodded and backed away from Justin. Justin reached for him, "Ike, please don't."
Ike kept backing away. When he got close to the other edge, he managed to maneuver himself so that he and Justin traded places. They kept the people watching them until they were sure the others were safe. Then, Ike allowed Justin to catch him and talk him into coming down. They went back to the hotel. "He just gets excited and forgets where he is," Justin explained. "He'll be fine in the morning. Really, he just needs to get some sleep." Justin led Ike into their room.
As they went to sleep, Ike felt relief for the first time in a long time. Jonah and the others were gone. He was free, and Justin was still with him. They could try and find a family together. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.
The next morning, Ike again awoke because he no longer felt Justin's warmth next to him. He sat up and looked around the room. Justin wasn't there. Ike was beginning to panic when Justin came in the room. "Good, you're awake," he said. "I just settled up our bill. Get dressed so we can get out of here before they realize what happened."
Ike looked at Justin. He desperately wanted to know why they should leave. They hadn't done anything wrong and it was a chance to get away.
Justin noticed the look on Ike's face. He sat on the bed next to Ike. "We have to leave," he said. "When the bank opens this morning and they discover all the money's gone, who are they going to blame?"
Ike shrugged.
"Come on, Ike. I know you ain't stupid. Who's the only people not here?"
Ike looked up - realization dawning on him.
"Right," said Justin. "And who rode into town with them and kept everyone busy last night while the bank was robbed?"
Ike dressed quickly. He tried to suggest they go somewhere else by pointing in the opposite direction, but Justin wouldn't agree. "I told you before. You don't quit Jonah and live."
The way Ike saw it, they weren't quitting Jonah; Jonah had quit them. He managed to get this idea across to Justin as they saddled their horses.
"Just wait," Justin said. "He didn't quit us. He's waiting. If we ain't there by noon, he'll start looking."
They rode out of town as the early morning sun cleared the horizon. A few miles out of town, another of the gang was waiting. By noon, they were all six back together; one big, happy family.
"That was a great plan," said Jonah. "You two work well together." He slapped Ike on the back. "I've always said you was gonna make me rich," he laughed.
Ike cringed as the laughter filled the air. The sound still made his skin crawl. He knew he'd be hearing it in his nightmares for years to come.
The next few months followed a routine. They'd enter a town to pick up supplies before heading off or continuing some adventure, Ike would go "crazy" and Justin would have to calm him down and get him looked after. While people were busy watching them, Jonah, Marcus and the others would steal whatever they wanted or felt they needed. Sometimes it was money, sometimes it was supplies, a few times it was both. This worked well until one day in Julesburg. Somehow Ike and Justin mistimed their act. The shopkeeper made it back to the store before Jonah had finished. The others were gone; Justin was getting Ike back on his horse when there was a shout followed by a gunshot. As Ike and Justin rode out of town, Ike saw the shopkeeper stumble out the front of his shop and fall to the ground.
When they got back to camp, Jonah yanked Ike off his horse, "What's the idea of stopping early, Dummy? You trying to get me caught? I'll teach you. . ." He raised his hand up to strike Ike.
"It was my fault," said Justin. "I'm the one who tells him when to stop."
Jonah dropped Ike, kicked him once, and turned on Justin. He hit and kicked him until Justin wasn't moving and Jonah was worn out. Ike waited until Jonah caught his breath, gave Justin one last kick, and walked away. Then Ike crawled over to where Justin lay. He managed to get Justin away from the horses and near enough to the fire to say warm. He cleaned Justin up as best he could, and sat tending his wounds. As he nursed Justin back to health, Ike decided that his habit of standing by while others were injured was one he was going to break the next chance he had - no matter what it cost him.
A month or so later, Justin was again able to ride so they started their raids back up. They began with isolated cabins and Indian villages while Justin continued to heal. The sun was just awakening when, "Ike, where are you, Boy? You know better than to keep me waiting," Jonah bellowed.
Ike hurried to where Jonah sat.
"Get the horses saddled. We're going to town for supplies, and it's time Justin started pulling his weight around here again. It's up to you two to cause the distraction," Jonah instructed. He shot a glance at Justin, "Just make sure it lasts long enough this time."
Ike nodded and quickly saddled the horses. Soon the six of them were headed into town. As they sat on the outskirts of the town looking down the main street, Ike looked around for a place to cause a disturbance. It had to be someplace that would get everyone's attention, but also someplace away from the businesses. He was about to give up when he spotted the school. He got Justin's attention and pointed. Justin looked where Ike indicated. He smiled and nodded. "Jonah, Ike and me are going to go to the school and stir up the little kids. That should get people down to the school and away from you. How long do you need?"
Jonah stopped his horse. The others followed suit. "Let us go in and start shopping. Then go down there. That way it won't look like we all come in together. After you get there, try and keep them busy for 5 - 10 minutes. That should give us enough time to get things situated," Jonah instructed.
Justin and Ike nodded. They waited as the others rode into town and entered the store. After the others had been inside for a few minutes, Justin and Ike rode quietly into town. Ike was glad to see that there weren't many people out and about. The town seemed to be slow in greeting the new spring day. They made their way through the town - past the general store where Jonah and his men were, past the saloon and bath house, past the hotel, barbershop and dentist. They rode slowly trying to not attract any attention. They continued down the street past the sheriff's office and jail, past the church and up to the school. Justin dismounted and hitched his horse to a tree near the door. He went inside.
"Excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt, but my brother and me was wondering if it's alright for us to start classes."
The young lady looked up from her desk. "How old are you both?" she asked.
Justin started to answer when Ike burst into the room. The younger kids screamed. Justin turned to face Ike, "I told you to wait outside," he said angrily.
Ike made his face twist into an ugly sneer, then he started to drool. He headed towards Justin. A few seconds before he reached Justin, he acted like he'd just noticed the younger children. He turned and went after them. In no time at all, he had the whole school in an uproar. He chased everyone outside where one of the older boys managed to run for help. Justin kept trying to calm everyone down. "He won't hurt you, really. He just has there fits. They usually stop as quick as they start and then he's real sorry. Please, if you'd just stop running and screaming." He noticed the boy returning with the sheriff. The sheriff carried a shotgun.
Ike glanced at Justin for his cue. Justin maneuvered himself so he could see down the street to the store. Just as the sheriff arrived, Justin saw Jonah exit the store and mount up. He winked. Ike fell to the ground and started shaking. Justin ran to his side. When Justin crouched next to him, Ike made his whole body go stiff and then he pretended to pass out. Justin worked on waking him up while continuing to apologize for the disturbance. The teacher and sheriff got all the kids back inside the school.
Justin sat and talked to Ike, trying to wake him up. Eventually, Ike opened his eyes. He looked at Justin, then the sheriff and stragglers. He turned his head. Justin helped him stand. Ike stood with his head hanging down as Justin apologized again for the disturbance as both boys mounted up and left town. They returned to their campsite to wait for the others.
Noon came and went. "You think something went wrong?" Justin asked as they got ready to go back to town.
Ike shrugged. He could hope, but decided it was better not to. Jonah would definitely be able to tell if he was disappointed because they had made it. If they were in jail, Ike decided that he'd just keep on riding. He wasn't going to help them. Jonah had taught him well.
As they entered the town, they both spotted the problem at once. The horses were still outside the saloon.
"There's gonna be hell to pay if they lost everything gambling," Justin said.
Ike nodded.
"You know that somehow it will be our fault," Justin added.
Ike nodded again. He jerked his head back towards camp, meaning they should just leave, maybe even just keep going.
"He'll just be madder once he finds out," replied Justin with a sigh. "Wait here. I'll see if I can spot them," he said as he dismounted in front of the saloon and handed Ike his reins.
Justin pulled his hat down onto his head, and straightened himself up to try and make himself look older. He was old enough to be going to saloons, but he looked young and didn't want to draw attention to himself. He walked through the doors and glanced around the saloon. At first he had trouble seeing anything. He finally located them in the far corner of the room. He entered and made his way to their location.
"What do you want?" Jonah grumbled.
"Just making sure everything's alright," replied Justin. "Thought you would have been back at camp by now. You want us to head out or stay here?"
"Wait outside. We'll be there in a minute. We just have to go gather our supplies," said Jonah.
Justin nodded and went back to where Ike was waiting. He took his horse and led it to the hitching post. Ike followed and dismounted. They settled themselves on the bench outside saloon and watched as the town continued to wake up from its afternoon siesta.
"They must have hid the money somewhere by the store. They're going to go get supplies. We can leave a little after they go back to the store."
Ike nodded. He turned his attention back to the awakening town. A wagon full of children rambled into town. Ike sat watching it trying to place the feeling of familiarity. The wagon came to a stop in front of the store just as Jonah and the men exited the saloon. "Wait 'til we're inside, then get ready to ride," he grumbled as he walked past.
The four men turned and went towards the store. Ike motioned to Justin who glanced at the kids, "Nothing I can do about it. Just hope none of them gets in his way."
Ike stood and started in the direction of the store. He had a bad feeling about this, and he'd promised himself that he wouldn't sit by and let someone else die because he was too afraid. When he reached the middle of the road, the four men came out of the store carrying the bags of supplies. As Jonah stepped off the walkway into the street, a young Indian boy happened to come around from the back of the wagon. He bumped into Jonah causing him to drop the bag he was carrying. Jonah turned on him, "Dirty Breed, why don't you watch where you're going?" He swung so fast the boy had no idea what had hit him. Soon he was down on the ground and not only Jonah, but Marcus and the others were hitting and kicking him. The money bag Jonah had dropped lay on the ground, spilling its golden treasure - forgotten.
Just as the shopkeeper came out of the shop in search of the men, Ike jumped into the middle of the fray. He did his best to protect the young Indian who was now lying badly beaten on the ground. The blows from the four men continued to rain down, fast and furious; they came from all sides. Ike managed to drag the other boy to his feet. As they did their best to defend themselves, Ike thought he heard someone shouting.
"Stop! Ike don't," Justin yelled. He dropped the reins of the horse he was preparing to mount and ran towards the skirmish. As he neared the fight, he spied the money bag lying on the ground. He changed directions and headed towards the gold coins sparkling in the dust. As he reached for the first coins, a shot rang out. The kicks and punches stopped. Silence filled the air. The last thing Ike remembered seeing, before blacking out, was watching Justin fall to the ground - dead.

Ike realized that Buck's breathing had changed and that he was no longer sleeping. He had the feeling that Buck was waiting for something. He turned to face him.
"I was asking if that was want you wanted to do," Buck said.
*I'm sorry. What did you say?*
"I said that Teaspoon suggested we take some time off, and I thought we could possibly go . . ." Buck let the sentence drop. It was clear Ike was still somewhere else.
After a few more seconds, Ike suggested, *Let's go see Sister Catherine and let her know everything is alright.*
"That's what I was going to suggest," agreed Buck with a sad smile. "Then maybe she can move on in peace."
Ike looked at Buck with a puzzled expression.
"You didn't read all of Sister Margaret's letter, did you?" Buck asked.
Ike shook his head. * I just read to the part that said Jonah was looking for me and decided I needed to leave.*
"It said Sister Catherine was ill, but she had wanted to try and come tell us herself. They weren't sure how long she had, and could we please come reassure her that we were safe and still together."
*When can we leave?*
"Whenever we want. Teaspoon said we could take a few weeks. He figured we needed some time to work everything out; I didn't tell him it wasn't my village you were talking about. I just accepted the offer. She's the closest thing to family I have left, other than you," Buck said.
The two of them headed off toward the town where they'd first met, to see the lady who had shown them what a promise to stick together, a lot of determination, and a little faith could do.
Neither of them had much to say as they traveled. They were each lost in their own thoughts and offering up prayers to their respective gods for her recovery or speedy and peaceful passing.
A few days later, they stood outside the gates of the mission where both of their lives had been changed forever. They rang the bell and waited to be let in. Sister Margaret met them and led them directly to Sister Catherine's room.
The ailing nun had always been small, but now she seemed to be weak and fragile as well. Her eyes opened as they were shown in and she smiled when she saw them.
"You came," she said. "I'm so glad you came. I needed to know that you'd stayed together; that you were still looking out for each other."
Ike smiled at her and went to her side. He took her hands in his. She smiled back. "Did Mr. Jonah find you?"
Ike nodded.
"He try anything?"
Ike shook his head. Buck went and stood behind Ike. "No Ma'am. He told us you'd made him realize that he could change and that he owed us for that chance."
"I'm glad," she said. She started coughing. Ike let go of her hands. He looked at Buck who was nervously toying with his medicine bag.
Sister Catherine stopped coughing, "I'm fine. Really." She smiled. "I could use a drink of water though."
Buck poured a glass of water and handed it to Ike who helped the nun drink. She thanked them both and patted the other side of her bed. "Come sit here," she said to Buck.
As he sat she said, "Still holding onto your Kiowa beliefs, I see."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Sort of figured you would," she said. "You were undoubtily the most difficult of my students. Always questioning, but never satisfied with the answer. It just brought more questions." She lay back with a sigh.
"Maybe we should leave," Buck said.
"Nonsense," Sister Catherine said. "Now, as I was saying - always questioning never satisfied. I still remember the first conversation we had after Ike saved you. Do you remember? It was earlier that morning before he came in and tried to steal your clothes."
Buck nodded and grinned. "You were trying to get me to stay in bed, and I was trying to get away. That's when you had those older boys come take my clothes. I was angry with you."
"I could tell. I was angry with you also. I mean, here I was trying to get you healthy and trying to figure out what on earth I was going to do with Ike when he woke up, and you kept trying to leave until I had those boys take your clothes. Thank God, that you didn't want me to see you naked."
Ike looked at Buck, *What?*
Buck answered. "After we got beaten up in town, they brought us back here. I'm not sure how long we'd been here, but when I woke up the doctor was trying to tend to me. He was an older white man, and he was hurting me. I tried to get away. Sister Catherine kept telling me to be still, but there was no way I was going to just lay there and let him keep hurting me. He finally gave up, and went to tend to you. Sister Catherine went and got three of the older boys to come in and remove my clothes. Then she came back and told me she'd take the covers away too if I didn't start behaving. She told me that she had too much to worry about without me hurting myself."
*What did you do?* Ike asked.
Buck grinned. "I stayed in bed, holding onto the covers for dear life."
Sister Catherine giggled. "You'd have thought they were made of gold," she said.
*So,* Ike prompted with a grin.
"Since I couldn't leave, and I wasn't about to risk losing my blanket while I slept, I started talking. I needed to stay awake. I didn't really have anything to talk about so I started asking questions. Things like, 'How long do I have to stay here?' ''When do I get my clothes back?' 'Why wouldn't my leg bend like it was supposed to?' Then I finally asked what I really wanted to know - 'The other boy, is he alright?' "
"I told him we weren't sure," Sister Catherine picked up the story. "That's when he really started in on me: 'Why not?' 'Who is he?' 'Where is he?' 'How did I know him?'
"I got him to stop talking by telling him that if he'd sit back, work on eating his meal, and be quiet I would tell him everything I knew about his savior." As she continued talking, Buck let his mind drift back to when he first learned about Ike McSwain. . .

He sat on the bed still clutching the blanket that covered him and quietly ate the meal Sister Catherine had brought him. She looked at him, cleared her throat and finally began her story by saying, "His whole family was murdered - gunned down for some unknown reason. The killers must have been looking for something because the house was a mess with the furniture thrown every which way and containers smashed to pieces.
"How they missed him no one is sure, but they did. He was found a few days later hiding in an outbuilding. He was frightened, alone, and unresponsive to questions.
"The neighbor who found him brought him here after trying to have him stay at his house for a while, but it didn't work. He was too unsocialable and the terrified the younger children from the family.
"He was brought here. We did what we could for him. We kept him clothed, clean, and fed. We gave up trying to save his damned little soul. It was too far gone - scarred by what he'd seen done, or done himself, to his family. We managed to get him to behave in an acceptable manner for the most part. We were never quite sure it was worth the aggravation to try and educate him so we didn't. He didn't go to class. We all tried, but he wasn't capable of acquiring knowledge. We decided the best we could hope for was to train him like one would a pet. That's what we were doing - making him our pet, keeping him civil until he was old enough to send on his way. Then he would be someone else's problem, someone else's burden, someone else's concern and responsibility. We would have done our part. He would have been with us close to five years, and he would leave us better off than when he came to us. We'd accepted our fate, and then we were saved. He left us after only a few months. That was almost two years ago. Now he's back, and I have to decide what to do with him. I have a feeling he won't be as easy to tame this time - I'm afraid we'll have to send him away. I mean, after all, no one can expect us to do any more for him than we have - we aren't in the business of working miracles, you know."
"Why not?" came the question. "You talk about them enough."
"It's not the same now," Sister Catherine said. "It's not your concern anyway. You need to worry about getting better. So finish eating and then lay back down and get some rest."
Buck did as he was told. As he lay back down his thoughts turned to the boy in the other room. The boy who had most certainly saved his life. She must be wrong about him. It made no sense - why would someone as cut off from the world as she made him out to be bother with helping a half-breed? There had to be a good person hiding inside him, probably just too frightened to come out. The last thought he had before drifting off was that it would be his responsibility to rescue that frightened child.

"Isn't that right?" Sister Catherine said.
"Pardon?" asked Buck.
"I was just saying that I think you decided that first night that you were going to save Ike or die trying," Sister Catherine repeated.
Buck nodded.
*Why?* Ike asked.
"You'd saved my life; I owed you. Besides, I didn't have anything better to do," Buck answered. "It wasn't like I was the most popular person with the other kids or the teachers."
Ike grinned, *That's true. I remember thinking that if you hadn't just been beaten within an inch of your life; you soon would be, the way you kept questioning everything and refusing to bend in your beliefs. I admired your courage. I still do.*
Buck looked away from Ike, blushing slightly.
Sister Catherine laughed. "No need to get embarrassed; he's only telling the truth."
Buck looked at her. "I know. I guess I was a rather difficult student."
"That you were," she agreed, "but I wouldn't have missed being your teacher for anything. You taught me so much about not giving up, and standing for what you felt to be true. You both did." She had to stop talking as another fit of coughing hit her.
Buck stood, "We should go and let you get some rest."
Ike stood also.
She looked up at them and smiled, "Thank you for coming. I know I don't have much time left, but I had to be sure you were both alright. I had to know if you remembered to stick together. I'm so glad you did." She reached up and took their hands in hers. "Promise you always will. You can both do so much more together than either will accomplish separately."
"We promise," said Buck as Ike nodded his agreement.
"Thank you," she said as she lay back on her pillow. "You've made me a truly happy woman." She closed her eyes and relinquished her life.

THE END

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