"Buck!" she called out and quickly placed the water on the floor before rushing over to her friend. Buck looked pale and his face was flustered. She reached for the water canteen she had left for him and realized that it was empty. She wondered how long he'd been without water and quickly fixed a glass of cold water. when she placed herself on the edge of the bed, Buck mumbled something, but she was unable to make out what he was saying. With some difficulty she managed to get the water between his lips. "Buck?" she whispered and wiped his face with the wet rags. Please, she added in her mind, but all she got back was a moan. Lou placed her hand on his forehead and it confirmed her worst fears. Buck had fever, high fever. And worse, he was shivering as if he was cold. "Please, Buck, wake up," she mumbled as she continued dabbing his face. After a few minutes he moaned and opened his eyes. "Lou?" "I'm right here. How are you?" "Don't know. I'm cold and freezing." Lou quickly reached for the second blanket and wrapped it around him. "Better?" Buck shook his head and shivered and Lou realized that the extra blanket wouldn't help at all. She had to get his fever down or he would be seriously ill. But she had no clue on how to do that. "Lou, you'll have to help me," Buck mumbled as he looked at her with glassy eyes. "With what?" Lou asked gently. "I need to get out of here." "Why?" Lou asked. "We're safe here, you can rest up and hopefully we can get a word to the others soon." "It's not that Lou. I just can't stay here." "We're staying, Buck and that's it." "Lou, it's not that." Buck's face suddenly twisted with pain and almost threw Lou into panic. "What's wrong?" she asked fervently. "Buck?" "I'm not well, Lou." "I know. You've got fever." "The wound…I've…I know what happens when you get fever from these wounds, Lou. I can't stay here, in this room. There's a sacred place …" Suddenly Lou knew what he talking about and she felt her heart fall. "No," she stated with more security than she felt. "Not another word. You're not gonna die, Buck. I won't let you. As soon as it's morning I'll go over to the store. They must have something to keep the fever down." "Lou…," Buck said with some despair. "No. We'll get through this, you hear." She tried to sound as confident as she possibly could, but on the inside she was trembling. Buck was real bad, and she knew that if the store didn't have anything to help her get the fever down, then … She didn't want to think about the alternative. "I'll go down to the store as soon as they open, alright?" Buck looked at her but then he simply nodded his head as he chilled again. Lou rose from the bed. She didn't like the fact that he was freezing, but she hadn't any more blankets. Then another thought hit her. With Buck using all the blankets, there was no place for her to sleep. Sighing she quickly washed up and changed into the nightgown she had received. Buck would have to do with only one blanket, she thought as she reached for it. Then she hesitated. She couldn't let Buck freeze for the rest of the night. Making a quick decision she wrapped one part of the blanket around her shoulders and walked over to the bed. She placed herself next to Buck and wrapped the other part of the blanket around him as she edged as close as she could. "Lou?" "Shhh, try and sleep. I'll be right here." Buck wanted to object, but he was too tired. Lou's warm body next to his seemed to ease the chills and he closed his eyes. Soon both of them were sound asleep.
Kid paced impatiently in the bunkhouse. "We should have heard something from them by now," he muttered. "I wouldn't be too sure about that," Noah objected. "Lou is careful. She's not going to do anything hasty." "And we don't know how badly Buck's been hurt," Cody added. "Maybe she taking care of him." Ike looked up at him, worry showing in his face. Rachel threw Cody a warning glance. "Maybe," Cody added with a faint smile. They were all waiting for Teaspoon and Jimmy to return from another meeting with the town and seeing the boy. But none in the room believed that there would be anything emerging from those meetings that would change the situation. "I wonder was Buck was doing on that run?" Cody said after a few minutes of silence. "I mean why did it take him so much longer time? Ike?" <I don't know.> Ike shook his head. The mystery had been on his mind as well, but he had no answers. "I doubt that we'll find out," Noah said, "until Buck can tell us. And even then I doubt it will help - ain't too many out there that can be a witness." "But there must be something we can do?" Cody stated. "We can't just ignore the fact that Buck and Lou have a prize on their heads." "What do you suggest we do then?" Noah asked with some irritation in his voice. He knew too well what it meant to have a crime pinned to you simply because you were an easy target. Even if there were people in town that had their doubts about Buck's guilt they would not speak up. Most people believe in staying out of trouble and defending a half-breed was certainly a lot of trouble. If they didn't find any proof that would free Buck of the charges, Buck would either be hanged or being forced to be on his run for most of his life. And from the way things looked right now, maybe that went for Lou as well. Noah gazed over to where Kid was standing, staring out over the prairie. He must be going through hell right now, Noah thought. Noah was almost right. Kid was worried, real worried. He knew that Lou could take care of herself, but with a wounded Buck to take care of and a prize on her head… She probably wasn't even aware of the wanted poster. He had had this terrible image in his head of Lou getting into a town and being shot trying to avoid trouble. He tried to shake the image from his mind but it was no use, it stayed. He wanted, no he needed, to know that she was safe. They didn't have wait very long for Teaspoon and Jimmy's return. They only had to take one look on their faces to know that their suspicions were right. "Nothing?" Kid asked. Teaspoon shook his head. "Nothing." "What about those posters?" Noah asked. Teaspoon sighed. "They were sent to the territorial marshal's office and all the nearby towns." "The territorial marshal?" Kid stared at Teaspoon. "But why?" "Apparently the town council thought it was important to inform the territorial marshal to know about the murder." "That's a good thing, ain't it?" Cody asked. "I mean with Sam as the territorial marshal, he must be able to do something?" "It would, if Sam was there. Remember the letter Emma sent - they're on some sort of meeting in St. Louis this month. When he gets back this might be over." "Then what do we do?" "Jimmy has to continue to talk with the boy." "It ain't no use Teaspoon," Jimmy objected, almost desperately. "He's telling me the same story every time!" "At least he's talking to you. There's more to his story than what meets the eyes and we have to find out what." Jimmy sighed and nodded. "What about the rest of us?" Kid asked. "You'll continue with your runs." "Teaspoon!" Kid looked angrily at him. "Hold on there, Kid. On your way back, you'll search every town, every farm or other hiding places. But be careful, we don't want to raise any suspicions. We're gonna have eyes on us for a time being." The riders looked at each others, none ready to voice their concerns and all of them knowing that it wasn't much they could do.
Lou woke up as the first rays of sun managed to make their ways through the shrubbery outside and the dark and dirty window. For a moment she wondered where she was until she noticed the sleeping body next to her. Buck had his back turned to her and she rose herself up on one arm, leaning over Buck to see his face. He was sleeping, although it wasn't a peaceful sleep. His face was flustered and when she placed her hand on his brow she felt the fever. She sighed and wondered what time it was. It was probably too early for the store to open, but she wanted to be there when it did. She shredded the blanket and rose trying not to wake Buck up. She walked over to the water and quickly freshen her face up, trying to dismiss a light headache. She didn't have to look herself in the mirror to knew that her eyes were red and that she had dark shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep. She had to find somebody that could take a message over to Teaspoon as soon as possible. She grabbed her skirt and the blue shirt and quickly got dressed. Then she returned to Buck. "Buck?" she whispered and was rewarded when he opened his eyes. "I'm going over to the store. You're gonna be alright?" Buck nodded and closed his eyes again. "I'll leave some water right here. Buck? You've gotta drink." Buck mumbled something. "Buck?" Lou insisted. "You have to drink." "I know," Buck mumbled slowly. "Fine. I'll be right back."
Lou quickly walked down the street, clasping her last dollars in her hand. She had no clue if the store had something that could help her or if she had the money for it, but she had to try. There was nothing else she could do. Bitterly she regretted her decision to stay in Manasco. If she'd gone to Plum Creek, she could have had a doctor see to Buck. Instead it was up to her to help him. When she reached the store it was still closed. There weren't too many people on the streets and when she saw movements inside the store her impatience got the better of her and she knocked on the door. A man looked out from the inside on her with a disapproving look before opening the door. "We're not open," he stated. "I just…" Lou begun. "We're not open," he repeated and closed the door. Lou slowly started pacing the street outside, waiting for the store to open. It was about ten minutes later that she finally was allowed inside. She quickly scanned the shelves for anything useful. Not seeing anything she turned to the man behind the counter. "Excuse me, sir, do you have anything for reducing fever?" "Reducing a fever? I doubt it. Got in some elixir last week, but I believe that was for coughing not fever." Lou's heart fell. This was not good. She was just about to ask if he knew anybody who might help her when somebody spoke behind her, causing her to turn around. "You're sick, Louise?"
Lou found herself staring into the questioning face of Mrs. Abell. Desperately she tried to find an answer. "No," she started. "It's not for me. It's - my brother. He's sick." "Your brother is here?" "No," Lou quickly replied, "no, he's staying with my mother. But he's sick and I promised mama that I would send her some medicine." At least it sounded plausible, she thought as she carefully looked as Mrs. Abell to see if she believed her. "I didn't know you had a family?" Mrs. Abell walked up to the counter, placing her basket on the floor. "I need some flour and sugar, Mr. Gray. And a few other item, I wrote them up for you." Mrs. Abell handed the man a list and he quickly disappeared to get the items. "You didn't ask." Lou replied warily. "So how bad is he, your brother?" "Pretty bad." Lou saw no reason to lie about that. "Well, you won't find anything here. Mr. Gray has a good store, but he don't anything about medicine." Mrs. Abell stopped talking as Mr. Gray returned with her merchandise. She paid him and he helped her pack the merchandise into the basket. Mrs. Abell turned to Lou. "I might be able to help you," she said casually. "My grandmother was quite good in using herbs and such to keep fevers ad other illness away. I might have something back home." "I'd be grateful," Lou said with renewed hope. "Then come on," Mrs. Abell stated and headed to the door, Lou following. On their way back, Lou had to use most of her wit to answer Mrs. Abell's question. Mrs. Abell wasn't being inquisitive in any way, but her polite questions on her 'family' was not easy to avoid without being rude. And Lou didn't want to be rude, especially not when Mrs. Abell might be able to help her. "Well, then we're here," Mrs. Abell stated as they reached a small house down the street. Lou was a bit surprised, she had imagined that Mrs. Abell had an apartment over the saloon. It was a small house, but well-kept Lou noticed as she followed Mrs. Abell inside. Mrs.Abell placed her basket on the kitchen table. "Now, let's see what I've got," she said and walked over to one of the cupboards. "Ah, there it is," she continued and took out a small bottle containing a white powder. Searching another cupboard she then returned to the kitchen table where she poured some of the powder into an empty bottle. "This is white willow bark," she explained. "You take one teaspoon of this into water and let it boil for a minute, and then you let it draw for fifteen minutes. Then add some sugar and tell your mother to let your brother drink 1-2 cups per day. It should bring the fever down." Mrs. Abell looked at Lou with a frown on her brow. "I thought I had something more effective here as well, but I couldn't find it. Wait, maybe…, stay here." Mrs. Abell disappeared into the house and Lou waited impatiently for her return. She needed to get back to Buck. "I know I had it," Mrs. Abell returned with a smile on her lips, this time with two more bottles in her hand. "Louise, see if you can find two more empty bottles over there." Lou did as she was told and soon Mrs. Abell had created two more bottles, one with another powder and one with a liquid in it. Lou stared at them with some apprehension. She would have preferred a doctor's prescription than Mrs. Abell's own decoctions. Her hesitation must have shown, because Mrs. Abell stared at her. "These are as good as anything you might get from a doctor," she said sternly and Lou quickly apologized. Mrs. Abell nodded appreciating. "Here's dried mullein," she stated pointing to the powder. "Put one to two teaspoons in water, let it draw for ten to fifteen in a cup of boiling water. Then you let the patient drink the infusion every half hour until the fever gets down." "Should I use - tell my mother to use both?" Lou asked as she eyed the bottles nervously. "Start with the mullein. When the fever is down some, you can change to the willow bark," Mrs. Abell suggested. "What kind of fever is your brother suffering from?" "Kind of?" "Yes, is he restless, have rapid pulse, feeling sick or does he seem worse by being touched, his eyelids are heavy and he's very tired?" "The last, I think," Lou replied. "Then you should take this as well," Mrs. Abell suggested and gave her the bottle with the liquid. "What is it?" Lou asked. "Gelsemium," Mrs. Abell replied. "Eases the pain." Then she looked at Lou. "We should pack in those bottles in something I suppose, so that you can send them." "I can do that," Lou replied quickly. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Abell." Mrs. Abell nodded. "Just don't be late for work - and get some sleep. I can't have a waitress that looks as if she going to fall asleep any minute. Let Millie or one of the other girl lend you some make-up - you look a bit pale." Mrs. Abell watched the girl walk down the street with a thoughtful look on her face when a sound behind her made her turn around. "Did you have a visitor, Edina?" Sam asked as he reached for a glass of water. "Yes. The new girl, Louise. She's hiding something, Sam." "You think she's in trouble?" "Maybe." "Then fire her. We don't need trouble." "Don't be so insensitive, Sam. I like that girl, there's more to her than meet the eye." "Then don't fire her. But don't say I didn't warn you." Sam walked up behind her. "Why don't we talk about something else, like allowing me to make you an honorable woman." "I've been married, Sam, that's enough." "Well, if that's all, then I'm going back to bed. It's going to be a long night." "Oh, don't sound so disappointed, Sam. You know what you got into." "Did I indeed," Sam stated and placed his arms around her waist. "Why don't you join me?" "I've got things to do," Mrs. Abell replied, releasing herself from Sam's arms. "The girl still on your mind?" "Yes. I want to know why she's lying." "Women," Sam sighed and returned to the bedroom. Mrs. Abell turned to the window again. "Maybe I should pay her a visit," she stated to herself.
Lou walked quickly back to the boarding house, eager to get the medicine to Buck. She was just about to walk up the stairs when a voice called out. "Louise!" Lou turned and smiled weakly at Millie. "Good morning, Millie," she said shortly, hoping that the girl would be on her way. She had no time chatting with her. "Where have you been?" Millie asked friendly. "Just doing some shopping," Lou replied. "Did you have breakfast yet?" Before Lou could reply, Millie continued. "I've baked some bread and, well, I wondered if you would like to join me. There's a small table outside. I usually eat breakfast there, but it's not so fun on your own." Millie smiled hopefully at her. Lou could feel her stomach grumble at the thought of breakfast. She hadn't eaten anything for a very long time and the thought of breakfast made her mouth water. But she couldn't accept the invitation. Her first priority was Buck. Millie must have seen her hesitation, because she quickly added. "I'm not eating until later," she said reluctantly, thinking that Lou might turn her down. "I need to do some washing and …" "When are you planning to eat?" Lou asked unable to ignore the hunger completely. "In about an hour, I think." Lou made a quick calculation. In an hour she could have made the infusion and given it to Buck. It would probably be alright if she left to get something to eat. She had to eat anyway. "I'd like that," she replied to Millie's immense joy. "Then I see you in an hour," she said and waved a goodbye. Lou waited until she had disappeared around the corner before she continued to her room. Nothing had changed since she left. Buck was resting, or at least she thought so. She put some water on the small stove and waited for it to boil. She wondered if she should put in the powder before the water boiled or after. Finally she decided to wait and walked over to Buck. "Buck?" Lou sighed as there was no reply. She dabbed his face with the wet rag, hoping that it would bring him to open his eyes as it had before. Buck mumbled and moved his head but he didn't open his eyes. "Come on, Buck," she urged him. "Wake up will you?" She was still trying to get him to respond when she heard the water boiling and she was forced to leave Buck. She followed Mrs. Abell's instruction and twenty minutes later she had managed to get Buck into a sitting position and seated next to him she was trying to get him to drink the infusion. She had finally managed to get him to wake up some. He still looked very feverish and tired but at least he was awake. "Here, take a sip," Lou said and held the cup to his mouth. "What is it?" Buck asked leaning away from the cup. "Mullein." Lou replied. "Come on, drink it." "Where did you get mullein from?" "Stop asking so many questions," Lou said tiredly. "Here." Finally she managed to get Buck to drink the infusion, all of it. She carefully watched his face for any changes as he leaned back in the bed, but there was none. She knew that she was hoping for too much, but if Buck wasn't better soon then she wouldn't get any rest. And she couldn't work at the saloon if she was too tired. She was also worried that she would fall asleep and forget to give the liquid to Buck. Half an hour later she helped him to another cup and then she decided to meet Millie for some breakfast. She walked out into the small garden looking for Millie. It was Millie who spotted her first and invited her over to a small table close to the house. "It's not much," Millie said apologizing, but Lou didn't care. A pot of tea, fresh-baked bread, a small pot of butter, marmalade and some ham stood invitingly on the table. For a hungry Lou it was like a sight of heaven. "It's fine, Millie," she said with a smile. And it was. Maybe it was because she was hungry, but the bread was the best she'd ever tasted, after Rachel's. She actually managed not to worry about Buck for a while and she decided that Millie wasn't so bad to be around. She seemed calmer than in the saloon and Lou suspected that Millie's constant chatter was more caused by nervousness than anything else. It was a reluctant Lou that expressed her thanks after half an hour and saying that she had chores to do, left Millie. Lou had offered to help Millie clean up after them, but Millie had refused and Lou had quickly walked back to the room. Buck was no better than before and with a sigh, she helped him to another cup of the mullein. Aware that she'd probably would need more she started to boil more water. She wondered if she should use the willow bark as well, but she was afraid that she might overdo things. Waiting for the water to boil, she sat on the edge of the bed, slowly stroking Buck's brow and head. "You have to get better," she sighed. "You hear me?" And fast, she thought when there was a knock on the door. Suddenly Lou remembered that she hadn't locked the door when she got back, but before she could get up the door was opened. |
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