Chris finished his dinner and still Vin didn't show. The blond left
the saloon and headed toward the jail to see if the sheriff had arrived yet.
Stepping out onto the boardwalk, he looked off into the distance. Clouds
heavy with moisture rolled overhead, casting shadows across the dusty street,
threatening to spill water down on the town at any moment. Pulling
his black duster closer across his chest, the gunslinger moved out into the
street.
Long fingers dipped into his shirt pocket, checking to make sure the missive
was still where he'd put it. Judge Travis had asked him to deliver
it directly to Sheriff Clay Fugate. Chris knew that it had information
that Orrin wanted hand delivered to the town official but hadn't bothered
to read it himself. He figured the Judge would tell him anything he
needed to know concerning their own town.
Nathan had been there when the telegraph arrived. The healer had offered
to make the ride, stating that he had some items he needed from the towns
apothecary. However, when the telegraph he'd sent to Red River was
answered, they were informed that the local medical office had burned to
the ground in recent days and the town would not be able to supply his needs.
Vin volunteered to ride to the bigger town further west and pick up the needed
medical supplies. A duty he performed on a regular basis for Nathan.
Chris had thought of handling both errands himself, but he didn't want Tanner
near the law outside Four Corners. It was decided that the two men
would ride back together after completing their errands.
Chris looked down toward the end of town, a sign with a picture of a horse
and the words 'livery' hung over a large barn surrounded by a corral.
He saw the familiar lines of his own mount as the gelding munched at the
hay. He hoped to catch site of Tanner too and was disappointed his
friend had not arrived yet.
The blond was still lost in thought when he heard his name called.
Brows drawn down in a puzzled frown, he turned.
"Larabee, I'm calling you out!"
The gunslinger found himself facing the same short young man that he'd seen
in the saloon, standing in the middle of the street. The kid's hands
were fanned out on either side of the set of ivory handled colts strapped
across skinny hips.
"Ah! Damn!" Chris cursed the callow youth, as he moved the duster back off
his right hip, exposing his own gun.
oooOOooo
Guy walked around the longhaired man as he waited with growing impatience
for his wife to come back out of the house. Just as he was thinking
of going in after her, she appeared in the doorway with her small medical
basket hanging from her hand. He could read her reluctance by the way
she held onto the door, poised there as if held by some unseen hand.
Bell was already regretting his jealous impulse that meant he was going to
commit murder to keep himself from going to jail. Knowing it was too
late to change him mind now, Guy motioned his wife forward.
Vin understood too clearly, what this woman's husband had planed. Guy's
bizarre mumblings had given him enough notice of what the man intended for
him.
Just as Lu stepped down onto the ground, the rain started, in soft falling
waves that rapidly increased into a drenching downpour. Guy took off
to the barn, leaving his prisoner there kneeling on the sodden earth and
his wife standing in the rain looking after him.
Vin closed his eyes, savoring the feel of the life giving substance as it
ran down his face and seeped in under his jacket. He knew, perhaps
better than Bell that the combination of his wounds and the weather would
rapidly sap his strength and leave him vulnerable to fever.
Turning his head up toward the sky, he opened his mouth as wide as it would
go, ignoring the sting of the bandana as it pulled at the sides of his mouth;
he was able to take in enough water to slake his thirst without cutting off
his breath.
Guy paced the open door to the barn; keeping the shotgun trained on the kneeling
man out in the yard. He watched his wife stand as if turned to stone
just past the porch steps. The anger he'd felt when he first saw the
stranger came surging back to the surface.
Marching back out he fisted his fingers into the injured man's wet hair and
pulled up until Vin was walking sideways, trying to relieve some of the pressure.
Yelling now to be heard over the wind and rain, "Come on girl." Bell
didn't have to look back to know his wife followed.
Guy flung Vin down on a rotten bail of hay, oversetting the straw and tipping
his prisoner over onto his back. Walking around the side, he once again
fisted that long hair and pulled hard hearing a satisfying grunt of pain,
he jerked just to hear it again.
Tanner couldn't help the noise he made in response to the hard pull that
tugged at the injury on the back of his head.
Vin was unprepared for the knife that cut through the ropes that bound his
hands, the rush of blood to his extremities sent prickles of pain down to
the tips of his fingers. The gun that Guy pulled from the top of his
belt was pressed hard against the back of the Texan's head.
"Take yer coat an' shirt off. Nice and slow." Bell looked up
at his wife and motioned her forward with his free hand. "Once he's
out of them cloths, you put some stitches in that wound."
Lu stayed back until the prisoner stripped down and then watched as her husband
re-tied the bindings, the stranger's arm dripping anew with fresh blood.
Guy kicked at the pile of clothing to get it out of his way. A knife
scooted out from under the buckskin jacket. He felt the strangers eyes
on him as he bent down to pick up the weapon. He met the other mans
eyes and tossed the weapon toward the back of the barn.
The body reveled to Lu was whipcord lean and peppered with old scars.
Dragging her curious eyes away, she reached for the small bottle of carbolic
that she kept for cleansing. Her husband's next words stopped her.
"Just the cat-gut Lu, that'll be enough, don't want him too well."
In that moment she finally understood what her husbands true intent was.
Guy was so fearful of killing a man of the law outright; that he was going
to try to poison this mans body with fever and sickness. Lu stood up,
shaking her head and wanting no part of killing anyone and puzzled at his
strong reaction to this lawman.
"No, Guy, You can't mean to do this." She backed away from the two
men.
Vin watched her eyes for any telling signs of what Bell might be doing behind
him. He understood clearly, what Bell had in mind for him and was a
bit surprised that Lu didn't seem to know her husbands character well enough
to know it too.
Vin was helpless to interfere when Guy stepped past him and hit his wife
across the face. The sound of flesh striking flesh was followed by
a soft gasp and a flood of tears as Lucinda cradled her cheek.
"You want to tell me that again?" His tone was so menacing that it
filled Vin with helpless rage to be a silent witness, unable to help her.
With an apologetic look, Lu approached the half-dressed man. Seeing
the young lawman's features pulled tight in pain as well as the sting across
her cheek, set her hands to trembling. Turning one last look
on her husband, who had his pistol pressed against his prisoners head with
enough force to cause Vin to catch his breath.
The Texan closed his eyes and tried to focus on anything but the burning
pain in his arm as Lu pulled the thick heavy stitches together, closing the
gaping wound.
A few agonizing moments later he got the pain under control and looked
past her shoulder, seeing the bay still saddled and standing in the rain,
made him think of Peso. Vin briefly wondered why Bell hadn't gone after the
animal, then just as quickly dismissed the thought as the sharp sting of
Lu's needled pulled at his injury.
As soon as Lu has finished, Guy took the tip of his pocketknife, placed it
just under the last stitch and tugged until the knot broke loose.
The tracker knew without looking, the wound was dirty with bits of debris
and by the morning, it would be running with infection.
oooOOooo
"Look, Kid…"
"I ain't no kid, now get ready to draw." David's hand fanned out to
his sides, his fingers wiggling.
The gunslinger saw the young man's eyes dart rapidly between his face and
gun in nervous anticipation. Larabee decided to try one more time to
get him to stand down before someone ended up dead in the street.
"You want to draw against a lawman, son?"
David looked around, seeing that a large crowd had gathered to watch the
gun fight. After hearing the gunslinger now worked for the law, he
almost backed down, but at that moment his two brothers stepped in front
of the gathering, smirks on their face. It was the final straw and
he drew hoping to catch the gunslinger by surprise.
Chris had a split second to decide to kill or wound and at the last moment,
he sifted the barrel of his gun slightly to the right and the boy caught
the bullet in the shoulder. He felt the projectile from the kid's gun
as it passed between his neck and shoulder, knowing that a half inch had
separated him from possible death due to his own hesitation.
David was thrown back onto the ground, shocked by the pain in his shoulder
and the speed with which Larabee had drawn his gun. Laying there gasping,
he looked up into the cold eyes of the man he'd just tried to kill.
"Just hold still, boy." Chris hunkered down next to the injured man.
Pivoting on his booted heel, he looked around him. "What's wrong with
you people? This kid needs a doctor."
Deputy Jacob Smith came upon the scene the same time Doc Henderson arrived.
The young man saw Chris Larabee pressing against what looked to be a gunshot
wound on David Carters upper shoulder. Looking around he saw the kid's
older brother step through the crowd with his pistol pointed at the gunslingers
back.
Thunder sounded and rain suddenly poured down in sheets, soaking everyone
and everything. The loud noise didn't completely cover the gunfire
that sounded at the same time.
