Jimmy stared unbelievingly at Colter, his mind racing with thousands thoughts. He wanted to tell Colter to stay out of it, he wanted to rush over to Teaspoon to tell him about Colter's presence, he wanted to head out, trying to find Lou and Buck before Colter had a chance of finding them. Colter had already stepped down from the sidewalk and was preparing his horse and Jimmy realized that he wouldn't have time to tell anyone - not if he wanted to keep an eye on Colter. Jimmy stared down the street in hope of seeing somebody that could take a word over to Teaspoon, but the street was empty, except for a few people that he wasn't too familiar with. As Colter mounted his horse, Jimmy made a quick decision and walked over to where his palomino was tied. He quickly mounted and rode up alongside of Colter. Jake stared at him with a questioning grin in his face. "I'm going with you," Jimmy stated, without any additional information. "You're coming with me? For what? You're gonna compete with me over the reward?" Colter looked genuinely surprised. "You might say that," Jimmy replied, in his mind thinking that the only way to save Lou and Buck from the bounty hunter was to keep an eye on Colter. He wouldn't let any of his friends end up with a bullet in their backs from the notorious bounty hunter. Hopefully Teaspoon would understand what he was doing without him telling him, or at least Jimmy hoped he would. As he joined Colter heading out of town, he failed to noticed the interested look from Thompkins, who had been witness to the complete conversation.
Cody held in his horse and stared out over the plains before him. He was far from the normal Express route, following Teaspoon's order to look for Lou and Buck on the runs. So far he hadn't found any signs to where his friends were hiding and he had just decided to give up and find a place to spend the night. His only trouble was where. In his search he had strayed further from the trail than he had planned and now he was a bit uncertain of his surroundings. Cody shook his head in dismay. He didn't look forward to spend the night outdoors, especially since he hadn't had any supper. But as things looked that was what he was going to do. He sighed audibly when he noticed something just beyond a small hill. He rose in the saddle. It looked like a road and a smile spread on his face. If there was a road, there were houses or even a village not far away. Maybe he wasn't too far from a decent meal and a bed. With that thought he urged his horse down the road. He hadn't ridden very far when he came upon a wagon. A single man was trying to mend one of the wheels. As he just couldn't ride past him, Cody called out a greeting and dismounted. "Can I give you a hand?" he asked. "You sure can," the man replied and rose and stretched out his hand. It was a young man, about the same age as Cody. He had an open and honest face and from the look of it he was a farmer. "What happened?" he asked politely. "The damn wheel broke," the man replied as they together manage to hitch on the now repaired wheel. When they had finished, the man turned to Cody. "Thank you, Mr..?" "Cody, Billy Cody. You can call me Billy." "Thanks, Billy. My name's Ed Whitesides. My folks run a small ranch just outside the town. May I ask what you're doing out here?" "I'm an Express rider. I'm on my way home," Cody explained lightly, not interested in revealing his true reasons. "You said there was a town here?" Ed smiled. "I ain't sure it's worth calling a town," he smiled apologetically. "It's nothing more than a few houses, a few saloon, a few stores, you know, nothing fancy." "A hotel?" Cody asked hopefully. "You're needing somewhere to stay?" Ed asked as he climbed up on the wagon. "I'm sure that we ---" Before he could continue Cody held up his hand to decline. From the look of things, Ed's parents probably wasn't among the richest in the area, and frankly, Cody preferred a hotel room before a small settler's homestead, that most likely wasn't more than just one or two room. "Thanks, but I don't want to impose." Cody realized that he was probably right in his assumptions, as Ed seemed a bit relieved at his reply. "There's no hotel in town, but some of the saloons offer rooms. I'll buy you dinner for your help at The Golden Nugget - it's one of the better ones." "Thanks," Cody replied. He really needed a good meal and he didn't mind the company, in fact it could be a nice change to the last lonely evenings. "What's the name of this town anyway?" "Manasco."
Lou didn't want to wake up. It was too nice to be sleeping. She wanted to ignore the soft voice that kept calling her name, over and over. "Let me be," she mumbled sleepily, but the voice wouldn't go away. "Lou?" There it was again. Reluctantly Lou opened her eyes and saw Millie's worried face hovering over her. "What is it Millie," she mumbled, still not sure if she was awake or not. "Your friend --- well, he's awake. I thought you wanted to know," Millie said as Lou yawned and stretched. "Buck? How is he?" "Fine, I think. But he still got fever. And someone should have a look at the wound," Millie said hesitantly. "What time is it?" Lou asked as she closed her eyes. She definitely could use a few more hours of sleep. "It's well after noon. You need to head over to the saloon soon." Lou moaned slightly. "I suppose I better get up then," she mumbled. Then she realized that she should head over to the sheriff's office in case there was a possibility to send a message to Teaspoon. She grimaced at the thought and then quickly stepped out of bed. Millie handed over her clothes, relieved that Lou was awake and that she no longer was alone with the responsibility of caring for the Indian. "Millie, do you think you could take care of Buck's wound?" Lou asked as she buttoned her blouse. Millie looked aghast at her. "What?" she asked. "Could you check on the wound? See that it gets cleaned and that the infection hasn't spread?" "Don't you think it's better you do it?" Millie asked, slightly nervous. She still fought with herself to overcome her fear of Indians in general and she was not at all comfortable with the task. "I don't think so," Lou smiled faintly, oblivious to Millie's discomfort, "you're a much better nurse than I'll ever be." "But---," Millie tried to object, but Lou had another objective on her mind. She really needed to get in touch with the others, as she had no clue to what was going on. If she and Buck was forced to stay in Manasco much longer, there was a risk that they could be discovered. And even if nobody would make the connection to the murder of a farmer in Sweetwater, they could still be in trouble. "I really need to do something before I get to work," Lou said as she finally saw Millie's hesitation. "Please, Millie?" As Millie never had been able to say no, Lou's plead was even harder to turn down and despite herself, Millie found herself nod. Lou smiled at her. "I'll pass the store. Anything you need?" Millie slowly regained her composure and turned. "I have a list here somewhere," she mumbled. "If it's not too much trouble that is?" she added. "No trouble at all," Lou confirmed, eager to find out if she could get a message through the sheriff's office. She no longer believed that she would run into to anyone at the saloon that would pass Sweetwater. This town was too much off the normal route for that to happen. The only ones that ever entered the saloon were soldiers from the nearest fort, a few gold diggers and hunters and the people from the farms that surrounded the town at various distances. A few minutes later, Lou briskly walked down the street to the sheriff's office. She was anxious to get her message out. She was tired of working in the saloon and she longed to see Kid again. And Buck really should see a doctor. No matter that the medicine from Mrs. Abell seemed to work, the wound was still infected and she feared that as soon as they gave up on the medicine, Buck's fever would come back. She really hoped that when she got in contact with Teaspoon, that they would be able to get back - that Buck had been cleared from the accusations. Buck could never have killed the man, she knew it. And Buck had said that he hadn't killed him, and Lou believed him. As she walked down the street her thoughts returned to the others. She wondered what Kid was doing right now. Their relationship had been a bit tense lately since Kid wanted to take their relationship to a new level, a level Lou definitely wasn't ready for. Not yet. And in one way it was good to be away from each other - at least for a while. She only wished that their separation had taken place under different circumstances. She really needed to think about what she wanted to do. It was in these thoughts she reached the sheriff's office. The sheriff was already outside, hanging up some posters when she approached him. he turned and smiled at her. "Hello there, miss. Can I help you?" "Yes," Lou begun, but silenced when she saw the poster that he was hanging up. There were two names on it, two names she recognized - too well. It was Buck's and hers. That was it, she didn't dare send any messages through the sheriff. If it had been dangerous before, now it was even stupid. She smiled at the man. "I was just wonderin' if there's a lot of trouble here?" Lou asked innocently, wishing for nothing else than to return to the boardinghouse. The sheriff smiled reassuringly at her. "There's not much trouble in this town, miss. I assure you that you'll be safe." "Thanks, sheriff, that's all I wanted to know," Lou smiled and pointed at the poster. "Are they from here?" she asked innocently. The sheriff shook his head. "No, and I seriously doubt that you'll see any of'em here, miss. And that's soething to be grateful for. One of them murdered a farmer and a family man in cooled blood, from what I understand. Half-indian." He shook his head once more. "Always thought that you should be careful around half-breeds. This surely shows me right." Lou tried to smile and thanked him. But inside her anger was boiling. It just wasn't fair, she thought, nobody was even willing to give Buck the benefit of doubt. If the sheriff found him in town, there was no doubt what the man would do. As soon as Buck was better, they would have to try and get away from the town. It took her a few minutes to realize the full impact of the poster. Not only had the others failed to clear Buck of the accusations, but the accusation was now spreading in the form of the poster. She wondered what had happened in Sweetwater. Teaspoon would never have allowed the poster. It was the same as signing Buck's death warrant. Even if there were bounty hunter that would try and bring in their prisoners alive, most of them would not hesitate to kill a half-breed. She bit her lip as she entered the store and handed Millie's list over to the owner. What did this mean for her? She was wanted too, so she couldn't return to Sweetwater. Then another thought hit her. What if Teaspoon had no possibility of stopping the poster, simply because there was some new evidence that linked Buck to the crime? Maybe she had been too fast in her assumptions that Buck was innocent. After all, he had never told her why it took him so long to get to Ft. Laramie. No, she thought, there was something not right. Buck couldn't have killed Craven. There had to be another answer. But until she found it, Buck was in danger. If anyone saw him in town the hunt would be on again. And if she failed in finding out the truth, then Buck might be running for the rest of his life. And she might have to leave the disguise of Lou behind as well, since 'Lou McCloud' was wanted for accessory to murder. Either she ditched the disguise, or she joined Buck in running. She sighed. The only one that would be happy about it would be Kid, since he would love for her to turn into a girl permanently, she thought as she realized that she missed Kid. She really missed him. The store keeper interrupted her thoughts by handing her the goods. "Would there be anything else, miss?" he asked and Lou remembered to get some new clean bandages. A quick look on the clock in the store made her realize that she had taken longer than she expected and that she should hurry back.
Millie was left in her room desperately trying to remember how to treat wounds. The only thing she could remember was her mother cleaning a shrub with soap and water and telling her that it was the best way to clean wounds. Nothing fancy, just soap and hot water. But a gunshot found? Well, since that was all she had anyway, she didn't think it would hurt to try. Taking a deep breath, she quickly slipped down to the bath room where she nibbled of a piece of soap before getting some more water and returning to Lou's room. Buck was sleeping when Millie entered and she silently placed the water on the floor. She didn't want to wake him up, so instead she proceeded with warming up the water. Now and then she glanced over to the young man sleeping in the bed. When she waited for the water to heat up she walked over to the bed. Buck's fever was still high and his sleep was uneasy. She wondered what kind of trouble he and Lou was in, but quickly forget it as the water started to simmer. Millie hated to wake him up, but the wound really needed to be cleaned. Gathering the new bandages she gently placed a hand on the sleeping man's shoulder. "Mr. Cross," she whispered. She felt more comfortable using his last name. It created a distance and she felt more at ease. "Mr. Cross," she said again, a little louder, shaking his shoulder. But he didn't wake up and Millie sighed. If he didn't wake up, how was she gonna take care of him? A soft moan made her try again, and this time he opened his eyes and stared at her. "Mr. Cross, I need to tend to that wound," she said relieved that he finally was awake. "And you should drink some more of the willow potion," she added. Buck tried to fathom what was going on. He remembered the girl and apparently Lou wasn't back yet. His head hurt and he was tired. He did feel better than earlier but he was far from recovered. The girl had said something about cleaning the wound and he struggled to get into a sitting position. The effort made his head spin and he sank back again. For a minute he closed his eyes and tried to pull himself together. He tried to remembered the girl's name but it kept eluded him. He was disappointed that Lou wasn't there and he wondered what she doing. Was there something wrong? "Where's Lou?" he managed to ask. "She just went out for an errand," Millie replied. "Can you sit up?" Buck made a new effort, but once more he was forced to give up. Slowly, as not to increase the headache, he shook his head. Millie bit her lip and sat on the bedside. It was obvious that she would have to help him. You've done this before, remember, she told herself. But there was a huge difference between helping the other girls and this young man. She'd never been this close to an Indian before. But she tried to ignore the fear that lingered inside her, and leaned forward to help Buck into a more upright position. As soon as he was sitting, she had to hold him there until he regained some strength to stay up. Millie gave him some more of the willow potion, before she took a look on the rough bandage. It didn't look good and she looked at the pale Buck. "I need to remove this," she said apologetically. Buck merely nodded. He was too tired to care and it took all his strength just to remain sitting. He had felt much better when lying down and he knew that he had only been fooling himself. the worst part was to realize that it would take at least a few more days before he could even think about leaving. He grimaced as Millie removed the last layer over the wound. The thin material had stuck to the wound and the pain as she removed was unexpected. Millie frowned when she saw the wound. She was sure Louise had done what she could but it didn't look good. No wonder he had fever, she thought as she tried to be as gentle as possible in removing the bandage. Without looking at Buck's face she reached for the soap and water. "This may hurt," she stated. When there was no reply she begun cleaning the wound. The more she saw the more abhorred she became. There was no way she could clean this wound properly. What was needed was a doctor, that could open up the wound again and clean it properly. Millie knew that she had to tell Louise when she remembered that the doctor from Plum Creek usually visited every fortnight. He should be in town right now and if she hurried, she could get hold of him before he left. I should ask Lou first, she remembered as she placed a new bandage. But by the time she found Lou, the doctor might as well be gone. She knew that his last stop was by the sheriff's and if she hurried she could be down there within ten minutes. Louise wouldn't mind - after all she too would see reason when she explained it to her. The thought of the doctor occupied her mind and she finished her task and helped Buck back in the bed without thinking. Not until Buck opened his mouth. "Thank you," he mumbled as she pulled up the covers. He was relieved that the wound had been taken care of, but he was worried that it was worse. "It didn't look good, did it?" Millie hesitated. "It's not too bad," she replied. But Buck saw through her response. "Tell me," he demanded. "You need a doctor," Millie admitted. "I'll go and get one. There's one in town right now, and if I hurry---" She rose. "No." Buck wanted to say more, but his voice failed him. "I'll be back within a minute," Millie said ignoring his response. Buck desperately tried to remember her name as he tried to talk her out of it. But Millie wasn't listening. "Please wait!" Buck called out as loud as he dared, but Millie was already out of the door. Exhausted and nervous over what was going to happen Buck sank down on the bed. His next thought was that he needed to get away, before Millie was back with a doctor. He tried to sit himself up, but as before it was useless. The dizziness and pain was overwhelming and he feared that even if he managed to get to his feet, he wouldn't be able to take a single step. He was confined to the bed more effectively than a prisoner behind bars. All he could do now was wait. Lou carried the bag back to the boarding house. She was almost there when she ran into Daisy. "Hey, Millie just walked out - she was asking for you," Daisy said as Lou passed. Lou placed the bag on the ground. "Where was she going?" Lou wondered, a bit puzzled. Millie hadn't said anything about leaving the house. "Said something about getting the doctor from the sheriff's office. I didn't know she was sick." "Doctor? But I didn't think there
was any doctor in Manasco." Lou's mind reeled with all this new information. There was only one reason why Millie could have gone after the doctor. Millie wasn't sick, so it had to be because of Buck. And with the wanted-poster… Lou handed Daisy the bag and with a quick "take this inside, please" she was running down the street in search of Millie. She had to stop the girl from ruining everything. Millie walked briskly down the street as she tried to see if the doctor's wagon was standing outside the sheriff's office. To her dismay there wasn't any wagon outside, but then that might just depend on the fact that the doctor hadn't reached the sheriff yet. She quickly crossed the street and carefully peered through the window. When she only saw the sheriff and his deputy, she decided to wait, hoping that the doctor would arrive soon. While she stood there waiting, she looked over the posters on the wall. Some of them described horrible deeds and she shuddered at the thought of ever encountering one of those responsible, when she saw a familiar name on the last poster. Intrigued she moved closer and read. She had only read half of the poster when she found it hard to breathe and without thinking she rushed over to the door. |
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To be continued...
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