FORK IN THE ROAD
By Rackuhn
Summary: Heyes loses Kid when they split up while being chased by a posse, but Kid ends up losing much more.
This is the first ASJ (and one of the first fanfics) I ever wrote so please excuse any grammatical and spelling errors there might be (hopefully I've gotten better since this one). I was more focused on the plot than anything else. Hope you enjoy it anyways.
Disclaimer: Don't own the boys, just borrowing them for a short time. Doing this only for fun, not for profit.
Heyes and Curry rode into the small town of Junctionville, population 150. It was a small mining town that was on the verge of growing bigger, just waiting for that one silver strike that would bring the masses to it's doors. So far though, that silver strike was eluding all that tried. There definitely was silver in the surrounding areas of that small town, but that major vein had yet to be found. "This is the kind of town that is just waiting for us to take its money," Heyes said to Curry as they sauntered into the local saloon. "Looks like easy pickin's here." Curry just nodded in agreement hoping that his cousin was right.
They were both doing fairly well at winning the townsfolk's money and for once, even the losers were accepting that they were losing and not trying to accuse the winners of cheating. They had been playing for around three hours when the sheriff walked into the saloon, checking to see if everyone and everything was all right. Both Heyes and Curry noticed immediately when the man walked into the room. Quickly glancing at each other, they both relaxed knowing that neither one had ever run into this particular sheriff before, so for the time being, they were safe.
It was an hour later when the deputy arrived back in town and came into the saloon. Both men immediately turned to one another thinking the same exact thing, they had to leave and leave now. Unlike the sheriff, both men recognized the deputy and realized that he had seen them. Upon spotting them, the deputy ran over to where the sheriff was sitting and leaned over and whispered in the man's ear, pointing out the two outlaws. "Sorry fellas, something's come up," Heyes said while both he and Kid threw down their cards, collected their winnings, and ran out the door. Fortunately for them, neither man had taken his horse over the livery yet, so they quickly mounted their steeds and bolted out of the small town, leaving behind several stunned men at the tables. The sheriff and the deputy both ran out of the saloon just in time to see the two men riding out of town. Quickly alerting the saloon patrons, the newly formed posse headed out in the direction of the two outlaws.
Coming to a fork in the road, both men paused to figure out which way would be best to go. Heyes' mind formulated that it would be better for the two of them to split up for the time being, hopefully throwing off the posse and allowing both of them to escape. Heyes figured that a bunch of drunken miners would not want to waste the time trying to chase two outlaws when, with just one lucky strike, they could make twice the money that the bounty was on their heads. The plan was made that they would meet up with each other in two days in the town of Mill Creek; another small mining town that they knew was safe and which was about a 35-mile ride from where they were.
Being happy with that plan, both rode off in different directions. It was about two hours later and fifteen miles away from Junctionville that Kid figured he had lost the posse and slowed down his horse enough that it was just ambling along. Darkness was setting in and all Kid wanted to do was find a place to hole up for the night and get a good nights sleep. The next town, Two Mules, was five miles away and he was debating whether or not to go there and get a nice comfortable hotel room or just find a nice sheltered area in the woods somewhere. Unfortunately for Kid, the decision was made for him.
As he was slowly riding along, Kid first heard the shot ring out then felt a searing pain in his left shoulder. Before he could react, a second shot grazed his left temple and sent him flying off his horse. Kid was unconscious before he even hit the ground. His horse trotted off down the road a couple hundred yards and stood there not knowing what to do. It whinnied when it spotted the two men crawling out from out of the woods and towards Kid.
The first man that reached Curry kicked him lightly in the ribs. "Is he dead, Zeke?" asked the shorter of the two men as he stood behind the other for protection.
"He must be Bo, he ain't movin'," Zeke said as he toed Kid again. "Come on an' see what we can find." Both men started scavenging through Kid's pockets looking for anything of value.
"Well will you looky here," Bo whooped when we found the money in Curry's pockets. "There's gotta be about seventy-five dollars here."
"Keep looking," Zeke ordered. "Maybe there's more." Both men continued their search and were disappointed when no more money was found.
"Now what?" Bo asked, not quite sure what to do next.
"Grab his horse while I gets his gun," Zeke said. "We can always sell that stuff and make a few more dollars." While Bo ran and grabbed Kid's horse, Zeke pulled out Curry's gun and looked at it with admiration. "Wow," he said, "never saw a gun like this'n before. Sure beats what we're usin'." Zeke stood there admiring it for a few seconds more. "Come on, let's get out of here before someone else comes along." Both men headed back towards the woods to where their horses were tied up. Quickly mounting them, they sped off with Kid's horse in tow.
The sleek looking horse that was pulling the coach suddenly stopped and reared in fear at the form that was on the road in front of it. The coach driver, Donahue Jenkins, manservant to the two spinster sisters, Penelope and Emily Porter, managed to calm the animal down before anything happened to it or the coach. Once settled, Penelope stuck her head out of the coach window. "Jenkins? What is wrong with Lady Lilly?" she asked as Jenkins climbed off.
"There appears to be something blocking the road, ma'am," Jenkins responded as his tall, lanky body headed towards the form. Jenkins walked over with one of the lanterns from the front of the coach, doing his best to shine it on the object in the road. He stopped suddenly when he realized that it was a man lying in the roadway. Cautiously he approached the man, fearing it might be some kind of trick to try and rob those using this road. When he rounded the man, he noticed a dark stain on the man's shoulder and another on his head. Leaning over, he carefully checked to see if the man was alive.
Back in the coach, Penelope's head suddenly was pulled back in and replaced by Emily's. "What is it, Jenkins?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"It is another victim of a robbery, Miss Emily," Jenkins explained. "He is alive, but he appears to be badly hurt."
"Oh my," Emily exclaimed as she pulled her head back in and opened the door. Both sisters crawled out of the coach and headed over to where Jenkins was leaning over the unconscious Kid. The two sisters quickly walked over to where Kid was lying to see for themselves what shape the stranger was in, and they both gasped in horror as they realized that the young, blonde man was shot. "Oh, the poor thing," Emily stated as she stared at the unconscious kid. "We must help him."
"Oh my yes," Penelope agreed. "Hurry, let's get him on the coach and get him to our house immediately." Both women, even though small in stature, each grabbed one of Kid's legs while Jenkins picked him up by the shoulders. Together, the three of them managed to carry Kid over and into the coach, where they made him as comfortable as possible. Once the women were settled in, Jenkins climbed back up onto the seat and coaxed Lady Lilly into action.
An hour later, the coach carrying the Porter sisters, Jenkins, and Kid arrived at the sister's southern plantation style house. The house, which was given to them by their late father, was in need of some desperate repair, but was still charming enough that people would gawk as they rode by. It was there that the two sisters and Jenkins carried in the still unconscious Kid and placed him on a bed in the small downstairs bedroom.
"Oh my, he's heavier than he looks," panted Penelope and she fanned herself with the fingers of her hand.
"He certainly is," agreed Emily, "and he's such a handsome young man, don't you think?" Penelope nodded in agreement as she looked upon the still man. Jenkins walked back into the room carrying a tray that contained a bowl of warm water, towels, and bandages. He placed them on the nightstand and turned to the two ladies.
"Oh good, Jenkins," Penelope said as she headed over to the supplies. "Why don't you go fetch Doctor Davis while we take care of the young man."
"Yes Ma'am," Jenkins said, bowing slightly, then quickly hurried out the door.
"The poor thing," Emily said as they started removing his shirt for better access to the wound. "Why would anybody want to hurt such a fine looking young man?"
"I don't know, Emily," Penelope stated as they started cleaning the head wound. "There are just so many criminals out there that it makes me want to scream."
"Well I can tell by this man's face that he definitely is not the criminal type," Emily stated matter with certainty.
"Oh yes you are right," Penelope agreed. "Definitely not the criminal type."
After being three days on the road, Heyes finally made it to Mill Creek. He knew that he was late and that Kid would probably be worried about him, but the posse he thought that would give up didn't; they followed him. It took him over a day and half to finally lose them and another day and a half to get to this small town. He and his horse were both exhausted and Heyes wanted nothing more than a good, hot bath and a nice comfortable bed. Once he got his horse taken care of, he headed over to the local hotel.
"Good afternoon sir," the desk clerk said as Heyes walked in.
"Good afternoon," Heyes responded in kind. "Could you give me the room number for a Mr. Thaddeus Jones?"
The clerk checked over the register. "I'm sorry sir," he said looking back up at Heyes, "there's no one registered here by that name."
"Are you sure?" Heyes questioned. "He should have arrived yesterday. He's about my height, blonde, curly hair…"
"I'm sorry sir. I haven't seen anyone like that."
"Huh," Heyes said thinking on his next option. "Well thank you for your help." Heyes headed for the door and turned around. "Uh, could you do me a favor? If my friend happens to check in before I get back, could you tell him that Joshua Smith was looking for him?"
"If I see him sir, I will," the clerk replied.
"Thanks again!" Heyes left the hotel in search of the local saloon, hoping that Curry had just arrived before he did and was getting himself a drink before heading over the hotel. He used that thought to comfort himself as he walked along, knowing that if the Kid was here, he should have seen his horse at the livery. He cautiously entered the saloon and looked around for any signs of his cousin. Not finding any, he headed over to the bar and got the bartender's attention.
"Excuse me," Heyes said with his best smile. "I was wondering if you had seen a friend of mine in here lately. Blonde, curly hair, about my height, wearing a brown coat?"
"Nope," the bartender said while wiping down a glass. "You gonna order anything?"
"Uh, sorry. I need to find my friend first," Heyes said taking an instant dislike to the man. "Maybe later."
"Suit yourself," the barman replied and walked away.
Heyes stood there for a moment as he looked around the room once again, listening carefully to the ongoing conversations. He heard a couple of stories from different men about how they were almost trampled to death by the cattle they were herding, he also heard several stories of the men's latest conquests, but nothing that would tell him about what happened to his partner. Finally, he pushed off from against the bar and headed out the door. He headed for the telegraph office only to find out that there was no message for him there either.
He then turned and made his way to the local sheriff's office, checking to make sure that this sheriff did not know him. Turning into an alley that led to the back of the jail, Heyes carefully looked into each window of the jail house only to find one man, who had obviously had to much to drink, locked up. "Where are you Kid?" Heyes muttered quietly as he headed back to the livery. He knew that the posse did not follow Kid, for he had counted the men several times as he was trying to escape them. "Something must have happened," he thought, as his intuition about these things kicked into full gear. Quickly saddling up his horse and giving her an apologetic pat on the neck for taking her back out so soon, he headed down the street in the direction he knew Kid would have ridden in.
Heyes rode hard but not as hard as he would have liked. He knew that his horse was already exhausted from the last three days of riding, and if he pushed her any harder he would end up walking. As he rode, he kept a careful eye open for any signs of his partner, fearing that he might miss something that would lead to Kid. It was dark by the time Heyes reached the town of Two Mules, a quaint little town named after the founder's two mules that were used to save him and ten other men that were trapped in a mineshaft cave in. Heyes realized that he was only about twenty miles away from Junctionville and had hoped to run into his partner by now. He also figured the word was out on him and Kid running from there, so he knew he had to keep a low profile from the sheriff.
Heyes desperately wanted to keep moving but his horse was plain beyond exhaustion and he himself wasn't much better. He rode over to the livery and checked his horse in for the night, but as he was leaving one of the other horses caught his attention. The horse immediately nudged his hand in greeting in welcoming the familiar man. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Heyes asked the horse, hope rising in his chest. "Where's Kid, huh?" The horse gave a soft whinny in reply as he continued to rub the beast's nose. Looking around, Heyes noticed that the horse was in the section of the livery where the animals are either rented or bought. "Now that's strange," Heyes thought to himself. "Why would Kid be selling you?" Fear began to rise again as he contemplated what was going on. He gave the horse a quick pat on the neck and headed out to the local hotel.
Once there, he asked if Thaddeus Jones had rented a room and receiving a negative reply turned and walked back out. With a feeling of having done all of this before, he headed over to the saloon and once again cautiously entered. The room was full of drunken miners, ranch hands, and barmaids dressed in their fancy clothes. He walked over to the bar and questioned the bartender about his friend and once again received a negative answer. Heyes' frustration was starting to grow. He knew that that was Kid's horse in the livery, but where was Kid?
He stood there back against the bar scouring the place when his eyes lit upon two very drunken men. It wasn't the sight of the men that really caught his eye, but the weapon that one of them was carrying. Heyes wanted to rush over to the two men and find out what happened to Kid, but he knew that he couldn't do it in such a public place. So he ordered himself a beer and sat down watching the two men as they continued to drink.
Finally about two hours later, the two men got up and turned to leave, Heyes leaving right behind them to follow. He walk quietly so that neither one would hear him and he waited until they were far enough from the noisy saloon so as no one else would notice what he was about to do. Just as the two men approached an alleyway, Heyes quickened his step and got up right behind them with his gun in his hand. "All right gentlemen," Heyes said with venom in his voice. "If you would just turn into that alley, we can conduct our business." Both men froze when they heard the gun hammer cocked into place, and being too drunk to think properly, they did as the voice told them.
Once inside the alley, Heyes had them turn slowly around. "What do ya want, mister?" Bo asked as they faced the man with the gun. "I got no money, mister. Zeke's got it all."
Zeke slammed his elbow into Bo's side causing the man to flinch. "Shut up ya dang fool," Zeke yelled at Bo. "Why did ya tell him that fer?"
Heyes stood there for a moment debating with himself that either these two were that drunk or just very stupid. "I don't want your money boys," he said holding the gun tightly in his grip.
"Ya don't?" Zeke asked in confusion.
"Nope. Just wanted to know where you got that gun?" Heyes saw the man named Zeke trying to think as quickly as he could to come up with an explanation.
"I's won it in a sharp shootin' contest," Zeke smiled, showing Heyes how many teeth the man was missing.
"Is that a fact?" Heyes questioned.
"It sure is," Bo confirmed, nodding wildly.
"Well boys, I have a confession to make," Heyes smiled as the two looked on at him. "Ya see that there gun you're wearing just so happens to belong to a good friend of mine, a friend that I just so happen to be looking for." Even in the darkness, Heyes could see the blood drain from the two men's faces. "I know for a fact that that is his gun, since I was the one that bought it for him."
Both men looked at each other swallowing hard. "Now," Heyes continued as he eyes grew cold, "what I want to know is what happened to the man that was wearing that gun?"
"He did it, he shot him!" Bo exclaimed while moving away from Zeke.
"What do you mean I shot him?" Zeke replied, turning to punch Bo in the arm. "You shot him too!"
Heyes' blood went cold as he listened to the two frightened men argue back and forth. "Where?" Heyes shouted out, making the two men jump, "And when did you shoot him?"
"About five miles down the road, that away" Bo explained in a very nervous voice as he pointed in the direction he was talking about.
"An…and about three days ago," Zeke explained. "We took his money, gun, and his horse and left him there."
"Was he alive?" Heyes asked, not really sure if he wanted to hear the answer.
"I…I don't know," Zeke said. "He wasn't movin' when we robbed him." Zeke and Bo were really starting to squirm under the constant glare from Heyes. Both were waiting for him to pull the trigger. "We were just trying to make a livin' mister."
"There are other ways of doing that," Heyes growled out in anger. "All right, drop the guns and belts on the ground and back away." Both men did as they were told. "Oh and fellows, I will take what money you have left over." Both men dug into their pockets and pulled out what was in them throwing it next to the guns. "Now get out of here before I do shoot you!" Heyes yelled. Bo and Zeke were on their way before Heyes even finished the sentence. Gathering up the guns and money, and with a surge of adrenaline, he headed back over to the livery.
When he got there, he literally ran into a slightly rumpled dressed man with graying hair, who was having his horse hitched up to a wagon. "Excuse me," Heyes said in apology.
"Quite all right," the man replied.
Turning to the livery owner, Heyes got to business at hand. "I need a horse and I know that mine won't make it tonight. Could I borrow that one instead?" Heyes asked pointing to Kid's horse. "It's an emergency." The livery owner nodded in agreement and Heyes went to work saddling the mare, hoping that he would somehow find his friend, preferably alive.
"An emergency you say?" the other man asked as he waited for his wagon.
"Yeah. I just found out that a friend of mine was shot about three days ago and I need to find him," Heyes found himself explaining as he continued to get ready. "Trouble is, I don't even know where to start looking."
The other man stared at Heyes as he watched the intensity of his actions, as a sudden feeling came over him. "Three days ago you say?"
"Yeah," Heyes said not really paying much attention to the man.
"Is your friend about your height and have blonde, curly hair?"
Heyes stopped dead in his tracks as he looked back at the other man. "Who are you?"
"Please, just answer the question."
"Yeah. Blonde hair, my height, and was wearing a brown coat with a blue shirt," Heyes stated, keeping his excitement at bay. "Have you seen him?"
"As a matter of fact, I'm on my way to see him now," the man said smiling. "My name is Doctor Mark Davis," he said while holding out his hand. "I've been taking care of your friend for a few days now."
"Joshua Smith," Heyes returned with a smile as relief washed over him. "H…how is he? Is he okay?"
"I'm afraid that he's been unconscious since he was found by the Porter sisters three days ago," Davis explained. "He suffered a gunshot wound to the left shoulder and a nasty bullet graze to the left temple. The wound to the shoulder was deep and he lost quite a bit of blood before I could patch him up, so I'm not sure if it is the loss of blood or the head wound that is keeping him from waking up."
Heyes mood dropped when he heard how bad Kid's condition was, but he was determined to get to his friend. "At least he's alive. Mind if I ride along with you Doc?"
"Sure," the doctor smiled. "I'll enjoy the company being it is dark already, and since I promised the Porter sisters that I would come out tonight. Would have been there earlier, but Mrs. Duffee's baby decided to make his debut." Doctor Davis stopped his talking as another thought entered his head. "Oh by the way, could you tell me the name of my patient?"
"Jones, Thaddeus Jones."
"Thank you Mr. Smith," Davis replied. "It makes me feel better when I know the name of my patients. Come along. I'm sure you are quite anxious to see your friend." Heyes smiled at the doctor and tied Kid's horse to the back of the wagon. He hopped in and the two of them rode off to see the injured man.
As they were riding along, the doctor explained to Heyes about how Kid was found lying in the middle of the road and how the Porter sisters and their servant have been taking care of him, with his help of course. He told Heyes that he would ride out at least twice a day to check on the injured man, making sure that his wounds were healing nicely, and that his only concern at the moment is why his patient hadn't woken up yet. Heyes smiled to himself as he listened as Davis told him about how the two spinster sisters have taken a shine to the young man and have been making sure that he is more than comfortable, even though the man was unconscious. "Only Kid could charm a couple of old ladies even when he's asleep," he thought to himself.
The two men passed the time talking, Heyes telling the Doctor about how he and Kid were to meet up in Mill Creek, but how his partner never showed, so he started searching for him, and the Doctor telling Heyes more about the Porter sisters and how they were the only other major land owners around the area, due to the fact the Peterson Mining Company had recently purchased the rest. "Can't for the life of me figure out why, since all the gold has been mined out years ago," Davis said in wonder. An hour later, the two men finally reached their destination and were greeted by Jenkins as he came to secure the wagon.
"Jenkins, this is Mr. Joshua Smith," Davis introduced. Heyes noticed the thin man staring at him, wondering who he was. "Mr. Smith may know who your young guest might be." Jenkins eyes lit up in pleasure as he accepted the doctor's information.
"It is very nice to meet your acquaintance," Jenkins said bowing slightly.
"Nice to meet you two, Jenkins," Heyes returned.
"Follow me gentlemen," Jenkins said, turning to lead the way to Kid's room. Heyes and the doctor followed Jenkins into the house and were almost to the room when two elderly women came out of the kitchen with a tray of fresh bandages.
"Oh Doctor," Penelope cried out when she spotted the man. "You finally made it. We weren't sure if you would come tonight."
"Always keep my promise," the doctor said taking the tray from the women. "Mrs. Duffee had her baby today. A healthy boy."
"Oh that's wonderful!" Emily said excitedly. "We'll have to make sure to visit her sometime soon." Emily smile faded just a bit as she spotted Heyes. "Who is this nice looking young man?"
"This is Joshua Smith," Davis said in introduction. "He came with me this evening to see if our patient is a friend he's been looking for."
"You are?" Emily exclaimed in excitement. "Oh I do hope he is your friend."
"Uh, yes Ma'am, so do I," Heyes replied in kind, holding back the impatience that was building. "Doctor?"
"Oh yes," the doctor said clearing his throat. "I imagine that you are quite anxious to see your friend." Davis smiled as he turned toward a door and opened it. He stepped back and allowed Heyes to enter.
Heyes entered the dimly lit room, stopped, and the others heard him take a quick intake of breath when he saw his friend lying on the bed. Heyes noticed his friend's face seemed pale compared to its normally healthy glow. A large bruise on Kid's left temple was apparent, even with the bandage hiding most of it, and his left shoulder was tightly wrapped in white gauze hiding the bullet wound that Heyes knew was there.
"I take it this is your friend?" Davis asked as he headed over to Kid's bedside.
"Yes," Heyes' voice hitched as he tried to hold his emotions in check. "Yes it is." He then turned to the two ladies. "I want to thank you for taking care of him."
"Oh my, we were most happy to," Penelope responded; glad to know that someone who cared for this mysterious young man had come looking for him.
"Mr. Smith?" Emily asked quietly. "What is your friend's name?"
"It's Thaddeus, Ma'am. Thaddeus Jones."
"What a splendid name," Emily responded. "It fits a nice looking man like him." Heyes smiled at the women's fondness for his partner. Quietly, he walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down taking Kid's hand in his.
"Hey partner," Heyes said. He was slightly disappointed when Kid didn't respond. Without any regards to the other people in the room, he quietly talked to Kid. "It took me a while, but I was finally able to track you down, although I can see that you were in good hands. I guess I was worried for nothing, seeing how you are being taken care of by a couple of beautiful women. No wonder you don't want to wake up and leave." The two sisters blushed at the comment made about them. "But I need you to get better soon. We have a lot of things that need taken care of." Heyes watch as Doctor Davis finished examining Kid and pulled the sheets back up. "How's he doing?"
"Well, the wounds are healing nicely and there's no sign of infection…" Davis supplied.
"But he just won't wake up," Heyes finished.
"Don't you worry, Mr. Smith," Penelope consoled. "This young man has just been through a lot the last couple of days, so rest is the best thing for him." Emily nodded in agreement. Heyes smiled back at the two women, touched by the way they were trying to comfort him.
"You're right, Ms. Porter," Heyes said with a small laugh. "With the care that you two are giving him, he'll be up and about in no time."
Heyes found himself also "mothered" by the two sisters as he was given something to eat, a chance to clean up, and a nice, clean, comfortable bed to sleep in. As worried as he was about Kid, exhaustion had taken over and he slept until almost nine the next day. Getting up, he dressed and headed down the stairs to where Kid was located and was just about to enter when Emily saw him.
"Mr. Smith," she cried out trying to get his attention.
"Please call me Joshua, Ma'am."
"Only if you will call me Emily and my sister Penelope," she responded with a smile.
"Deal."
"I was waiting to prepare you some breakfast, but now that you are up, I'll get on it immediately," Emily informed him. "I hope you're hungry."
"I'm starved, Emily," Heyes stated with a sincere smile of his own. "But don't rush on my account. I was headed in to check on Thaddeus."
"You do that," she ordered. "He's looking much better today."
"I'm glad to hear it," Heyes said happily. He then turned and entered Kid's room. He sat down next to the bed and took a hold of Kid's hand. He sat there for a few minutes just watching his cousin breathe, still trying to get over the fear that he had lost him. It was then that he felt Kid's hand squeeze his.
"Kid? Can you hear me?" Heyes watched as Kid's head rolled from side to side fighting to wake up. "Come on Kid. That's it." Kid closed his eyes tighter then opened them, but Heyes could tell they weren't focusing just yet. "Come on Partner. You need to wake up." Heyes kept up his ramble hoping to draw Kid out of his stupor.
Curry's head turned in the direction of Heyes' voice, but Kid closed his eyes again and grimaced in pain. "Heyes, will you shut up!" Kid ordered as the pounding in his head increased. "You don't have to yell."
Heyes' laughter filled the room as Kid flinched from the echo it caused in his head. "Sorry Kid. It's just that I'm glad to see you awake."
Kid lay there for a few moments trying to get his bearings. He knew that he was in a soft bed, but had no idea how he ended up there. He tried lifting his left hand to rub his head, but the twinge from his shoulder stopped him and he hissed in pain. "Hey, take it easy there," Heyes admonished. "You shouldn't be moving that arm just yet."
Finally realizing that there was more going on than he could remember, Kid opened his eyes to take in where he was. "What time is it? Why's it so dark in here?" Kid asked as he blinked a few more times trying to clear the cobwebs that were in his brain.
"What do you mean?" Heyes asked as concern for his partner started increasing. "It's late morning."
"Quit fooling around Heyes," Kid said in a shaky voice. "It's dark in here."
Fear started mounting in Heyes as he passed his hand over Kid's eyes; he never flinched. "Oh God," Heyes muttered.
"What?" Kid demanded.
"Kid, the sun is out and it's shining through the window right now," Heyes answered.
Curry lay there rubbing his eyes and blinking some more, and holding his own hand in front of his face, but nothing changed the outcome. "Heyes," Kid said in a small voice. "I can't see."
"I know Kid. I know."
Less than two hours later and Doctor Davis was sitting on the bed checking Kid's eyes. He sighed slightly as he pulled away and removed his equipment. "Well Doc? What's the verdict?" Heyes anxiously asked.
"Well," Davis started addressing both men, "I'm not finding anything wrong with the eyes themselves."
"Then why can't I see?" Kid asked trying to remain calm.
"As far as I can tell," Davis continued, "it must be the head injury itself, your one eye is still dilated. You did take a severe blow to the head and there's possibly some swelling that is somehow interfering with your vision."
"Will he be able to see again, I mean, once the swelling goes down?" Heyes questioned trying to keep his own fears in check.
"If it is just swelling, it's possible, but I can't say for sure," Davis said sadly. "Unfortunately, head injuries can be very tricky when it comes to diagnosing." He stopped and placed his hand on Kid's shoulder. "Mr. Jones, I wish I had a better prognosis for you, but I guess my only answer for you is that time will tell if you get your vision back. There's nothing I can do for you otherwise."
Kid's head dropped to his chest as he took a deep breath. "Thanks Doc," Kid said, his voice breaking slightly.
Doctor Davis stood up and closed his bag. "I'll be by later on this evening to check on you once again. We'll see about getting you up out of this bed." He smiled sadly at the lack of response he received from Kid. He then looked at Heyes. "Mr. Smith," he said in acknowledgment. Heyes returned with a nod of his head. Davis then turned and headed out the door.
Heyes stood there for a few moments not really sure what to say. "Uh, Kid?"
"It's okay Heyes," Kid said facing his cousin but not seeing him. "If…if you don't mind, I would like to be alone right now."
"Uh sure," Heyes said growing more uncomfortable with the situation. "Just one thing though." Kid nodded. "I…I just want you to know that no matter what, I will always be there for you Partner. That's a promise." Heyes sighed when Kid did not respond and he quietly left the room.
The lunch that Emily had made for Heyes seemed to go untouched at the news of Kid's condition. The sisters watched as he sat glumly at the table, moving the food around on his plate, each understanding what the young man was going through. Even though they hadn't known the two young men that long, they both soon came to the same conclusion that these two men had stolen their hearts and they both agreed to do anything they could to help them. As Heyes silently got up from his chair, both women watched him as he headed outside. Penelope quietly followed him and peered out through the window, observing him as he paced back and forth on the front porch. Heyes felt frustrated as he realized that this was one situation where one of his brilliant plans could not solve the problem and everything would be as it was. It was also at this same time that both Heyes and Penelope heard a crash come from Kid's room.
The door flew open as both of them quickly entered the small room. Heyes first noticed the broken shards of china at the base of the wall that used to be a plate, a plate he could tell that was thrown in anger. He then noticed Kid's bed was empty. Scanning the room, he found his cousin sitting awkwardly in a darkened corner with his head on his knees, being obvious that that was the spot where Kid fell as he tried to run. He could also see the sobs that wracked his cousin's body. Heyes turned to Penelope and silently asked her to leave. Nodding in understanding, she quietly shut the door as she left.
"Hey, are you done breaking the Porter's dishes?" Heyes quietly joked as he knelt down in front of his friend. Kid jerked in surprise at having his cousin in front of him.
"Go away," Kid ordered, not wanting Heyes to see him like this.
"Can't do that," Heyes responded. "Already told you I'm not leaving." Heyes sat down beside Kid, shoulder to shoulder, as he patiently waited for a response. He didn't wait very long.
"God Heyes," Kid sighed as he ran his good hand through his hair. "What good am I now?"
"What do you mean?" Heyes asked in concern.
"Let's face it. The only thing that I was good at was gun fighting, now I can't even do that."
"Wait a minute, Kid. Where's this coming from?"
"Oh come on Heyes! You heard the Doc. Chances are I'm never going to see again."
"He didn't say that! He said that there's a possibility that you might not be able to see anymore. There's still a good chance that your vision will come back."
"He doesn't know that for sure. I could be like this for the rest of my life and if I am, what am I suppose to do?"
"I don't know, but we'll think of something."
"Yeah, well I've already been thinkin'. I want you to leave me here, get the amnesty, and go live a normal life."
Heyes sat there stunned at Kid's declaration. "You want me to what?"
"You heard me."
"Yeah, I heard you and I cannot believe that you just said that!" Heyes jumped up to his feet with anger in his voice, and started pacing in the room. "You said that you were thinking but obviously not hard enough. What are you going to do when the sheriff finally discovers who you are and throws you in jail?"
"Right now that doesn't sound like a bad idea to me."
"Have you gone completely crazy?" Heyes yelled as he became angrier. "You wouldn't last five minutes in the penitentiary in your condition, not with all the other convicted felons and not to mention the guards, especially when they find out who you are."
"Well what do you want from me Heyes?" Kid yelled back in frustration, a lost look on his face.
"What I want is for you to stop trying to break up this partnership!" Heyes yelled as he stopped pacing and turned to look at Kid. In a softer voice, he continued. "What I want is for you to keep living and not give up just because you're scared. Hell, I'm scared too!" Kid's head moved to the direction of Heyes' voice, surprise covering his face. "I…I have no idea how to fix this Kid. Do you know how helpless I feel not knowing how to change what happened? I have no plan that can get things back to the way they use to be." Heyes ran a hand through his hair as he sat down on the bed.
"Heyes," Kid said softly, sensing his cousin's guilt, "this wasn't your fault.
"It might as well be," Heyes said defiantly. "I'm the one who came up with the brilliant plan to split up." Heyes sighed before he continued. "I'm the one who sent you down that road only for you to get shot." Heyes slapped his hand on top of the bed.
Kid heard the muffled thump and heard the frustration in Heyes' voice. "You know, you really are something else," Kid said with a small laugh.
Heyes turned and looked at him in confusion. "What?"
"You are the only one I know who could make this whole situation your fault," Kid said with a smile. "Can you tell me how you were suppose to know that I was going to get shot? Has that brain of yours developed some kind of ability to predict the future? If it has, you'll make a fortune at the poker tables."
Heyes found himself lying back on the bed with tears of laughter streaming down his cheeks. The stress that was so recently crushing him suddenly lifted and his laughter died down. "See why I don't want this partnership to end?" he asked as he sat back up. "I need you Kid. I need to know that you'll be there for me too, not just as a gunman, but as a friend, to keep me in line."
Kid's own laughter quieted. "Yeah, I see what you mean."
"Listen Kid," Heyes began, "I meant what I said earlier about how I would be there for you no matter what. I know that you would do the same for me if our positions were reversed. We just need to take this one day at a time and hope for the best."
"You're right," Kid agreed rubbing his good hand over his face. "I guess I was just too lost in my own self-pity to see how this was affecting you."
"Gee, I don't know why?" Heyes said sarcastically. "Listen, we'll stay here for a while longer. I'm sure the Porter sisters won't mind since we've been practically adopted by them."
"Wish we would have met them twenty years ago though," Kid said wistfully.
"I know what you mean," Heyes agreed quickly thinking back to their own childhoods at the orphanage. "Like I said, we'll stay here for a while, maybe even send Lom a telegram about your situation. Maybe he could help us somehow."
"I wonder how good he is at finding bad guys that shoot other bad guys?" Kid joked.
"Uh, hate to tell you this but I already ran into the guys that shot you."
A look of horror spread over Kid's face. "Tell me you didn't kill them?" Kid was suddenly very concerned about Heyes' quest for amnesty.
"No…no they're still alive," Heyes explained, "came very close to killing them, especially when I found out that they both shot you, but I remained calm, took the money that they stole from you and retrieved your gun at the same time. They might think twice about trying to rob someone again."
"Wish I could have been there to see that," Kid laughed.
"I wish you were there too, then that would have meant that none of this had happened." Kid sat there as he took in the irony of that statement. "Come on, let's get you off of the floor and get you outside for some fresh air." Heyes reached down and grabbed Kid by his good arm and pulled him to his feet.
"What about the Doc?" Kid asked as he held on to Heyes' arm waiting for the bout of dizziness to pass. "Don't you think that he'll be upset seeing me up and about?"
Heyes laughed. "Kid, the way I see it, if you're strong enough to throw a dish and jump out of bed, then you're strong enough to get dress and take a walk to sit on the front porch. Besides, Penelope did a great job of doing your laundry. She even mended the bullet hole in your shirt."
"I'll take your word on that Heyes." Kid said smiling with Heyes' grin joining his.
Kid Curry decided the early afternoon sun felt good on his face, even though his left shoulder was aching. He was trying to adjust the homemade sling to make himself more comfortable when Emily came out and found him there. "Oh Thaddeus, it is so good to see you up and out of that bed," she exclaimed as she sat down beside him on the porch swing.
"Thank you Emily," Kid responded. "It feels good to be out of that bed after being in it for so long." The smile on Kid's face was a welcome sight to Emily, especially since she heard about what had happened earlier that day. "I want to thank you and Penelope again for taking care of me and Joshua the way you have been."
"Oh think nothing of it, young man," Emily gushed in embarrassment. "It has been a pleasure taking care of you two boys. We don't often get the chance to help out others like we want to. We would like to do more for the town, but we just don't have the money." She placed her hand on his and gave it a slight squeeze. "Besides, how often do two old women get the chance to take care of two handsome men like yourself and Joshua?"
"Oh Emily, even though I can't see you and Penelope, I can tell that you two are not old by any means," Kid smiled. Emily's heart broke a little at that statement, seeing that the sparkle that was in his eyes leave and feeling the anger that was in his voice, even though he tried his best to hide it.
"Thaddeus, I am so sorry the way things have turned out for you," Emily sighed trying to come up with the right things to say. "I just wish that there was something that I could do!"
"You're already doing it," Kid stated as he lifted their entwined hands up. "Besides, I'm hoping that the Doc is right about the swelling causing my vision loss and once it goes down, I'll be able to see again."
"That's the spirit," Emily said approvingly. "Keep that attitude up and it's bound to come true."
Kid laughed at her enthusiasm. "I'll try, but even if it doesn't happen, I know I'll be okay, somehow. Joshua and I had a long talk this afternoon and together, we'll get through this. Only I don't know who's having a harder time dealing with it, me or him." He smiled as he felt Emily's other hand wrap around both of theirs.
"Well just remember, you two can stay as long as you like," Emily stated.
"Well that's something that we were gonna talk to you and Penelope about tonight," Kid sighed.
"Oh?"
"You see, even though we enjoy being here with you two and we both know how much you like having us here, I'm afraid that we can't stay."
"Why on Earth not?" Emily asked puzzled.
"It's not that we don't want to, mind you, it's just that we can't." Kid sighed knowing that this was hurting Emily's feelings.
"Must you leave so soon?"
"Well, we were planning on staying a few more days, at least until the Doc thinks I'm well enough to travel. But after that, I'm afraid we have to leave."
"But where will you go?"
"We have a friend in Wyoming that Joshua is sending a telegram to. We're kinda hoping that he can help us out."
"What a shame," Emily sighed, "about leaving, I mean. We were hoping that you would stay a while longer."
"I know," Kid replied. "If some things were different, we would be glad to stay."
"Thaddeus, are you and Joshua in some kind of trouble?" she asked hesitantly. Kid smiled in amazement at the woman's insight.
Kid knew that he wouldn't be able to lie to her, but he knew that he couldn't tell her everything either. "Yes ma'am we are, but hopefully for not much longer."
"Oh dear," Emily replied. "And you two have such nice, honest faces too."
"I wouldn't go that far, Emily," Kid replied with a laugh.
"Well I would, especially if you are getting out of the trouble you say you are in. Nice, honest faces," she stated emphatically. Kid laughed and squeezed her hand again.
Heyes found himself in the building that housed both the assayer's office and the telegraph office, waiting for a reply from Lom Trevors about any help he could provide for Kid and himself. It was while he was waiting that he noticed a map on the wall of the local area, including the Porter's house. This particular map was showing the land owned and the mining operations that were currently being run by Peterson Mining Company. Looking at the map, Heyes noticed that the owner, Robert Peterson, had bought all of the surrounding area around the Porter's house, just like Doctor Davis had mentioned. He also remembered that Davis told him that the area's gold was mined out. "Now why would Peterson be so willing to buy up property if there was no gold left?" Heyes said to himself as he continued to study the map.
While he was pondering that thought, he began looking at the other maps that were hanging on the wall. One map showed the waterways that flowed through and near the town, while another showed the rail lines. Heyes noted that the closest line was over fifty miles away. Sitting down in one of the chairs that were provided for guests, Heyes picked up a copy of a newspaper that had been left behind. It wasn't the local town's paper, but he decided to read it anyway, seeing how he liked to keep up with current events, even if it was about Mrs. Steven's prized chicken.
Heyes sat and chuckled as he read the paper when an article from the third page struck his eye. Quickly folding the paper and placing it under his arm he headed over to the assayer's desk. "Uh excuse me," Heyes said getting the attention of the small man behind the desk. "Those maps over there on the wall. Are they current?"
"Why yes they are," the man told Heyes.
"And the Peterson Mining Company owns all of the land surrounding the Porter's property?"
"Yes he does."
"Interesting. Tell me, has Peterson ever tried buying the land from the Porter's?"
"Yes he has, but they have refused to sell."
"I see," Heyes said scratching his chin. "Just out of curiosity, how did Peterson take the news?"
"Oh, he wasn't happy at all," the small man stated. "In fact he's still trying to get the sisters to sell to him, anyway possible."
"Uh huh," Heyes said contemplating his next question. "Tell me. Is there a lawyer in town here that isn't owned by Peterson?"
"Only one," the little man said. "That would be Harry Jacobson. He is the only man that has ever refused to work for Peterson."
"And why is that?" Heyes asked smiling, already liking this Jacobson fellow.
"Harry doesn't like the fact that the entire town is owned by one man who can take away everything the little man has worked so hard for."
Heyes' smile grew. "Just where can I find this Harry Jacobson?"
"He's a block down the street, just past the saloon. Why?"
"Oh, I just have a business proposition to offer him. Thanks for the help." Heyes turned away, headed to the telegraph desk. He told the clerk that he would be back in a little while to collect his telegraph and headed out the door, down the street to see one Harry Jacobson, Esquire.
Emily and Penelope had eventually taken Kid back into the house and had him sit down at the kitchen table. Knowing that he was feeling useless and that he couldn't do much with his arm in a sling, the ladies had him snapping beans for the evening's supper. Kid found himself enjoying the company of the two women as he helped the best he could. Even though he couldn't see them, he felt the ladies hovering ever so slightly, watching him, making sure that he was all right. He did find the conversation lively though and was truly enjoying the stories the two women were telling him, even if it was a story about Mrs. Steven's prize chicken in the next town. Kid stopped his work when his ears picked up the sound of an approaching horse.
"What is it Thaddeus?" Penelope asked as she saw him listening intently.
"Someone's coming up the drive," Kid said as he carefully placed the bowl of beans on the table.
"Someone's here?" Emily asked. "I didn't hear anything. A few short moments later a knock on the front door confirmed the Kid's suspicions. "My you have good ears, Thaddeus."
Penelope headed out the kitchen to answer the door, she stiffened slightly, surprised to see Sheriff Lawson standing there. Emily had told her about the conversation she and Kid had had earlier about the two of them being in some kind of trouble. "Sheriff," Penelope said slightly louder than she normally would as she allowed the man in. "What brings you here?"
"Heard that your guest was awake," Lawson said as he removed his hat with a smile. "Thought that I would see if there was anything he could tell me about who did this to him."
"Oh of course," Penelope smiled as she turned to lead the man to the kitchen. "Thaddeus dear, Sheriff Lawson is here to see you," she announced as she entered the room.
Kid's posture hardened slightly at the announcement, hoping that this was a sheriff that he didn't know. "Mr. Jones?" Lawson asked as he stood in front of the man holding his hand out in a gesture of friendship. The man was slightly confused when Kid did not return it. Emily quietly caught the sheriff's attention pointing to her eyes and shaking her head. Nodding in understanding the Sheriff pulled up a chair in front of Kid.
"I'm Sheriff Lawson. It's nice to see you up, Mr. Jones," Lawson began. "You had the Doc quite worried, didn't expect to see you up out of bed though."
"Thanks Sheriff," Kid said with a slight smile. "I was feelin' the need to be up but still movin' pretty slow. So, Sheriff, what can I do for you?" Kid found himself panicking slightly, not knowing if this sheriff was here to arrest him, and if he was, there was no way of escape since he couldn't see and Heyes was in town at the moment.
"I just wanted to ask you some questions about the robbery," Lawson explained. Kid relaxed slightly now that he knew what the sheriff was here for.
"I'm afraid that there's not much I can tell you," Kid replied.
"You didn't pass anyone along the way, or see who actually shot you?"
"Nope, didn't pass anyone, and the only time I knew something was wrong was when I was waking up," Kid sighed. "Whoever it was, didn't show themselves before they shot me."
The sheriff was shaking his head as he listened to Kid's story. "Bushwhackers," he stated bluntly. "Unfortunately, Mr. Jones, you aren't the only one that this has happened to, but fortunately, you are one of the few to survive. I'm just sorry that it did happen."
"I appreciate your concern, Sheriff," Kid said. "Sorry that I can't be more help though."
"That's all right Mr. Jones," Lawson said standing. "I promise that I'll do what I can to catch whoever did this to you."
"Thanks Sheriff," Kid said holding out his hand in appreciation. Lawson took it and gave a firm handshake. Lawson let go of Kid's hand, cocking his head to one side.
"You look familiar Mr. Jones. Do I know you?"
Kid stiffened slightly at the comment but never changed the look on his face. "I've never been here before Sheriff. First time through."
"Just out of curiosity, where were you headed?"
"The town of Mill Creek," Kid said honestly. "Was kinda hopin' to find some work up there, but it looks like my plans have changed a bit."
Lawson heard the anger in Kid's voice. "I'm sorry about that," Lawson said sincerely. "Oh, the Doc told me that your partner was here too. Any chance on him knowing what happened?"
"I highly doubt that Sheriff," Penelope interrupted. "He only arrived here yesterday after accidentally running into Doctor Davis."
"Is he here? I'd like to talk to him." Lawson pressed on.
"I'm afraid that Mr. Smith is town right now sending a telegram to a friend about getting Thaddeus some help," Emily explained.
"Oh a doctor?"
"No, another sheriff," Kid stated. "Joshua thought that maybe he might know someone that would be able to help me with my…problem." Kid sighed in frustration of the situation.
"I am sorry Mr. Jones that this has happened to you," Lawson said, kindness reflecting in his voice. "I sure hope all turns out well for you." Turning to the two ladies, "Emily, Penelope, it was nice seeing you two again. If you need anything, let me know."
"Thank you Sheriff," Emily said. They watched as the man left, then both ladies blew out the breath that they were holding. "Oh my, I've never been that scared in my life before. I thought for sure that he knew who you were, Thaddeus."
"I have to admit," Kid said smiling sadly, "I thought he did to."
"Well fortunately he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer," Penelope said wickedly with a gleam in her eyes.
"Penelope!" Emily admonished.
"What?" she asked innocently. Kid suddenly stood up.
"Ladies, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to go sit outside again for a little while." The heartbreaking smile on his face told both women of how difficult this situation was for the young man and that it was going to be a very difficult road for him to follow if his sight did not return.
"Of course, Thaddeus," Penelope said sadly. "Do you need help?"
Kid stiffened slightly at the offer knowing that it was out of kindness that it was offered. "No, I'll managed," Kid stated. "Have to start learning sometime." The two women's eyes filled with tears as they watched the dejected man leave the room, wanting desperately to help him as he continuously ran into things on his way to the door.
Robert Peterson is a man who is used to getting his own way. An honest man the majority of the time, he was not against using extreme measures to get what he wanted and what he wanted was all the land in the territory. A few months back, Peterson found out that the railroads were interested in running a line through the area and that they were willing to buy out all of the local landowners. Finding out the potential line sights and knowing that he could get big money for the land, he started buying all the properties himself, under the guise of the mining operation, thus making his company the biggest, influential landowner in the area. It was only the Porters who were refusing to sell. Surprise showed on his face when the man entered his office.
"What's going on?" Peterson asked, amazed that someone would just barge in like that.
"Mr. Peterson?" Heyes acknowledge as he held out his hand. "The name is Smith, Joshua Smith. When I found out where your office was, I just had to see ya."
"For what reason?"
"I just wanted to inform ya that I am now the proud owner of the Porter sisters estate," Heyes explained with a gleam in his eye and with a theatrical style performance to boot. "And since ya are my closest and only neighbor, I wanted to meet ya personally."
"Y…you own the Porter sisters estate?" Peterson asked dumbfounded.
"That's right," Heyes said acting like a used horse salesman. "I've got great plans for the place. Thinkin' about turnin' it into a get away resort, ya know, where the hard working people can…get away!"
"A resort?"
"Yep! Turns out that the water running through that area has a unique combination of minerals, very healthy," Heyes said winking. "Should make millions."
"Millions?"
"That's right, millions! And with the railroad gonna be runnin' through your land, I knew that it would be a hit."
"How'd you know about the railroad?" Peterson asked flustered.
"Everyone knows that the railroad is comin' through," Heyes said smiling. "Best investment deal I ever made!"
Peterson sat back in his chair as the reality hit him. This man owns the Porter property. "Mr. Smith, please tell me how you managed to acquire the land from the Porters? I myself have been trying for months to have them sell to me. They kept turning me down flat."
"Ya don't say," Heyes replied with a shocked look on his face. "Well, I did offer them the chance to help me run the place, bein' properly compensated for their help of course and since it's been their home for all these years. Yessir, I'm gonna fix the old place up and even build a couple of more houses on it just like it. Give it that deep south look."
"When did you buy the property," Peterson asked as he nervously wiped his brow with a handkerchief.
"Well, it's not quite official yet," Heyes admitted. "Need to have the Porter's sign off on the paperwork. Good ol' Harry Jacobson is draftin' the papers up as we speak. Should have them done in a little bit and then I'll be headin' to visit the Porters tonight so that they can sign the paperwork.
"Harry Jac…" Peterson's voice trailed off as his face turned red in anger. "Well, Mr. Smith, it has been a pleasure talking to you, however, I have an important meeting I must attend. I do hope you understand."
"Oh sure I do," Heyes said with a smile. "I'll just be headin' out then. I'll see ya around neighbor." Heyes waved a quick goodbye to the man and headed out the door. Peterson quickly stood up and grabbed his hat as he too left, locking the door behind him. Heyes stood in the hallway shadows watching the man as he left, a smile plastered on his face.
"You did what?" Kid asked in astonishment as he, Heyes, and the Porter sisters sat in the kitchen. Even though his eyes couldn't see at the moment, everyone else saw the furry that was burning in them.
"Don't worry about a thing, Thaddeus," Heyes said calmly. "I've got it all worked out."
"To get yourself killed," Kid yelled back understanding exactly what Heyes was getting himself into.
"Now boys, calm down please," Penelope said as she watched the two men growing agitated with each other. Once she saw that both men were at least trying to be civil, she continued. "Now Joshua, what exactly are you up to?"
"As I told you, I discovered that Robert Peterson has learned that the railroad is planning on building a line through here, and that he has bought up all of the surrounding property. The only piece of the puzzle that is missing is your land."
"But why would he do that?" Emily asked trying to figure out what was going on.
"Well for one thing, his mining company is flat broke," Heyes explained. "According to the Doc, he's mined out all of the gold years ago and is just finding enough to keep it open, barely."
"So he's buying up all the land so that he can sell it to the railroad," Emily continued his thought.
"Exactly!" Heyes smiled back.
"But why would you want us to sign our land over to you?" Penelope asked.
"That will only be temporary," Heyes assured the two women. "I had Harry Jacobson put a clause in the works that the land will revert back to you in sixty days."
"Sixty days?" Emily questioned. "Why sixty days?"
"Well it doesn't have to be sixty days, I can sign the land back to you at any time, but sixty days should be enough time to keep Peterson from taking your land. He was pretty upset this afternoon when I told him that I had bought your place and was turning it into a resort." The women's eyes lit up with excitement at that comment.
"And since his time is growing short with the railroad officials coming in next week, he'll be desperate enough to do anything to get this land, but he'll be after me instead of you two. This way, if you do sell, it will be directly to the rail lines at a reasonable offer and not what Peterson is willing to part with." Heyes sat back in his chair with a satisfied smile on his face. The smile disappeared when he looked over at Kid's expression.
"Joshua," Emily started, realizing what Heyes was up to. "We can't allow you to do this for us. It's too risky."
"O my yes. Mr. Peterson is much too dangerous a man. You could end up hurt or worse," Penelope pleaded.
"I'll be alright ladies," Heyes assured the women. "I can take of myself."
All three looked up when Kid's chair scraped against the floor and the man, without saying a word, carefully felt his way out of the kitchen. "Thaddeus?" Heyes called out, confused when Kid didn't respond. The two women turned back to Heyes with questioning looks on their faces. With a large sigh, Heyes stood up and followed the path that his cousin had taken a few moments before.
Heyes looked around and found Kid sitting on the front porch swing. He saw the look of fury on his friend's face and without a word he sat down next to Kid. Finally, not being able to take it anymore, he started. "Well Kid, you gonna tell me what this is all about?"
Heyes watched as Kid's hands clenched into fists. It took Kid a few moments to calm himself down enough to speak. "What do you think you're doing?"
Heyes was taken aback by the question, not quite sure where this was headed. "I thought that we were just sitting here…"
"Not this!" Kid yelled back. "You! What do you think you're doing getting yourself involved in this situation between Peterson and the sisters?"
"Kid, this is nothing, really!" Heyes shot back.
"This is not nothing, Heyes!" Kid screamed. "Are you just trying to get yourself killed?"
"Killed? I'm not going to get myself killed helping the Porter sisters."
"You're only making yourself the prime target for Peterson!" Kid responded. "You said it yourself, he's desperate enough to try anything to get this land."
"Kid, nothing is going to happen," Heyes argued back.
"And how do you know that?" Kid asked standing up and turning around to face Heyes' direction. "How do you know that Peterson doesn't have someone right now with a gun pointed at you?"
"Kid…"
"Or that the same thing that happened to me won't happen to you the next time you head to town?"
"Kid!" Heyes softly said as he grabbed the man's arm. "There's no reason for you to worry, I'll be okay."
"How do you know that Heyes?" Kid said frustrated. "Tell me, how do you know?"
Suddenly it Heyes like a ton of bricks what the problem was that was bothering Kid. "This isn't just about me getting involved is it? This is about the fact that you feel you can't back me up on this, isn't it?"
Kid stood there running his good hand through his hair, wincing slightly when he hit the bandage on his forehead. Now that the real reason was out in the open, he didn't know what to say. "H…how am I suppose to help you, Heyes? How am I suppose to watch your back when I can't even see it?"
Heyes sighed and stood up next to his partner. "I'm sorry, Kid. I didn't realize how much this would affect you. Never thought about how you would feel not being able to back me up. I guess I just got so excited about being able to help the Porter's that I never even gave you a second thought."
"That's usually the way it is, Heyes," Kid countered. "But this time I can't help you." Suddenly drained, Kid felt Heyes' hands holding him up and helping him to sit back down with Heyes sitting back down beside him. Heyes felt the frustration of the situation building once again. Suddenly the plan that he was so excited about now had him truly worried about what Peterson may attempt to do to gain this land. With the land now in his name, it would be up for grabs if he did manage to get himself killed and since no money had actually passed hands, there was no way that the Porter sisters could afford to purchase it back. Plus the fact of being an outlaw and if he was killed, there was no way to legally give the land to anyone as inheritance without informing everyone else who he was, thus also exposing Kid's true identity.
"Oh boy," Heyes sighed running a hand over his face. "I did get us into a mess, didn't I?"
"Yup," Kid grinned, his tension easing slightly.
"Well, now what do we do?" Heyes questioned, his mind already working on the problem.
"Definitively keeping you locked up inside for the next few days," Kid smiled back.
"Wonderful," Heyes said sarcastically. Heyes looked up when he noticed Kid stiffen slightly. "What's up?"
"Someone's coming down the road," Kid replied. Heyes watched the road for over a minute before he saw the Doctor's coach turn into the Porter's drive. He knew that Kid had good hearing but to be able to pick up the Doctor's coach so far down the road…
"Doc's here," Heyes said impressed.
"Mr. Jones," Doctor Davis called out as he got down from his coach. "It's good to see you up and about. I take it you're feeling better?"
"Hey Doc," Kid returned. "I was getting sort of restless in bed so…"
"So you thought that you would take a walk," Doc finished. "Not surprised though with all that good food that the Porter's make." Finally making up the stairs of the porch, he sat down in the available rocking chair. "So tell me, how are you feeling?"
"Still hurts some, but the shoulder is getting better," Kid answered truthfully.
"How about your head? Any headaches?"
"Yeah, still having headaches."
Heyes turned with a look of astonishment on his face. "You didn't tell me you had a headache!"
"Well what did you want me to do, Joshua? Give you a minute by minute description of every little pain?" Kid was already sorry for what he just said as soon as the words came out. "I'm sorry Joshua," he sighed. "It's just with everything going on, I didn't want to burden you any more with my problems."
"Hey since when have I ever considered you a burden?" Heyes asked honestly. "Thaddeus, you were hurt and hurt badly by some people who didn't care if you lived or died. Now if you have any problems you let me know alright?" Kid just nodded in response, looking like a chastised ten year old. "I should have had you back in bed resting."
The doctor smiled at the interaction between the two men. "Well Mr. Jones, if you don't mind, why don't we go back into the house so that I can give you a quick examination." The three men entered the house, with Doctor Davis holding Heyes back to allow Kid to find his way back to the bedroom on his own. Both men were impressed at how quickly he adapted to getting around without being able to see his surroundings.
About a half hour later, the doctor finished his examination and the three men were heading to the kitchen when the Porter sisters came out of the kitchen looking for their two guests. "Oh Doctor," Emily cried out in greeting, "I so glad you're here. You're just in time for supper and there's plenty to go around."
"With a gracious offer like that," Davis smiled, "how can I refuse."
The five of them gathered around the table to enjoy the meal that the Porters had prepared. Kid found that he was having a difficult time eating, not being able to see where his food was and only having one good hand to use. Heyes, seeing how frustrating this was becoming for his cousin and knowing that he would not want to be coddled, grabbed Kid's hand, placing a fork in his fingers. "Okay Thaddeus, you have fried chicken at one o'clock, beans at five o'clock, and potato salad at eight o'clock," Heyes informed him as he guided Kid's hand along touching each item with the fork Kid was holding. "On the left side of your plate you have homemade cornbread and to the right, you have a large glass of lemonade along with your napkin just below it." Heyes guided Kid's hand to each of the items. "Okay, dig in."
The others looked on quietly as Kid started eating his meal. Smiles appeared on everyone's face as he found each item he was looking for on the first try. Kid silently thanked Heyes for his intervention and not making a big deal out of the situation.
"Everything is delicious, ladies," Doc said as he continued to enjoy his meal.
"Thank you Doctor," Penelope replied. "But you'll have to give credit to Thaddeus for the beans. He prepared them himself."
Kid chuckled at Penelope's comment. "I don't think snapping beans is considered a cooking skill."
"Nonsense," Emily chimed in. "Besides, take credit when you can, you never know when you're going to receive it." Kid smiled once again at the ladies' compliments.
"He did wash his hands before he prepared these, didn't he?" Heyes joked. Laughter and conversation filled the rest of the evening's dinner until coffee was finally served with cake for dessert. It was then that the conversation turned away from the light topics of discussion.
"So, Mr. Smith," Davis said as he sat back after eating his fill. "I heard that you caused quite a stir this afternoon."
"Oh?" Heyes innocently replied.
"Yes. It seems that Robert Peterson is very upset with you buying out the Emily's and Penelope's land from under him," Doc continued.
"Oh that," Heyes responded as he saw Kid stiffen slightly. "Just thanking the ladies for all they have done by trying to help them keep what's theirs."
"I was shocked when I heard the news, but I was also very glad about it too," Doc smiled slightly. "Peterson isn't too popular around these parts with him buying out all the landowners at a cutthroat rates after causing them great difficulties. Glad to see someone standing up to him."
Heyes' suspicious gaze fell upon the Doctor. "You purposely told me about Emily and Penelope's troubles didn't you?" Heyes asked. "You knew about the railroads and you knew that I would help, didn't you?"
"No, not really," Doc confessed. "But as we continued to talk that first night and when I saw the concern that you had for your cousin, I was sort of hoping that you would be able to help. Nobody else in this town could. "
"Doctor, you shouldn't have," Penelope cried out.
"I know," Doc replied, "but the more I talked to Mr. Smith here, the more I realized that he was the only one who could take on Peterson." He turned his attention back to Heyes. "I didn't want to see these two ladies loose everything that was given to them by their father so I was going to ask you for your help this evening, but you beat me to it. What you did today to antagonize Peterson was brilliant, and I would be honored, sir, if you would let me be a part of this wonderful conspiracy."
"Doc, you got yourself a deal," Heyes said shaking the man's hand. Smiles graced the faces of the individuals sitting there at the table, even Kid's, although his was not quite as bright.
Later on, Heyes had the doctor take the paperwork back to Harry Jacobson with a note explaining the situation and how he was going to lay low at the Porter's house. Doctor Davis told Heyes that he would make sure that Harry would understand and that he would not take no for an answer, although Davis was pretty sure that Harry would cooperate fully with the rest of the scheme.
Robert Peterson's buggy pulled up in front of the old shack that was on the outskirts of town. In the dim light, he could see that someone was home. Smoke radiated out of the chimney, and a light could be seen in the window. Getting out of the buggy, he slowly walked up the small path that led to the front door. Just before he reached it, the door swung open and the business end of a shotgun protruded out. Peterson hands quickly flew into the air in the sign of surrender before he began speaking.
"Jennings, it's me," Peterson said as he stood there patiently waiting for any reaction. Finally the gun was lowered and a voice called out.
"Get in here."
Peterson didn't hesitate and he quickly entered the shack. Looking around he could see that nothing had changed from the last time he was in there. There was still only one small bed in the corner, a small table for eating with two chairs, and a fire in the fireplace. The only things that hung on the walls were a couple of rifles and a few animal pelts.
"Sit!"
Peterson turned to see the scraggly looking man pointing to the other chair. The man was broad shouldered, with graying, matted hair, along with a graying matted beard. Peterson was sure the man hadn't had a bath in quite awhile due to the smell permeating from him. He would normally never have associated with this type of man, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
"I am in need of your services," Peterson simply said.
The man just grinned a toothless grin. "Figgered you might." Peterson just stared at the man. "Your time is running out and the Porters won't sell."
"Oh, but they did," Peterson said calmly. "They sold out to a man named Joshua Smith."
"Never heard of him."
"He's not from around here," Peterson explained. "You take care of him for me and I'll be sure to make it very profitable for you."
"How profitable?" Jennings asked, eyes shining in greed.
"Very. But I need it done quickly," Peterson explained. "Before he has a chance to get with the railroad officials."
"Don't worry," Jennings soothed. "What does he look like and where is he at?"
"Right now, he's staying with the Porters. He's working out some kind of deal with them so that they can stay."
"So they need to leave too," Jennings stated with a look of bloodlust in his eyes.
"Yes."
"I'll take care of it."
It was early evening and the sun was just setting, when Heyes noticed that Kid was having a hard time staying awake. "Come on Partner, time to get you to bed," Heyes told the man as he grabbed him by his good arm and pulled him to his feet.
"I'm fine Joshua, really," Kid said sounding like small child that refused to go to bed.
"Uh huh. Then explain to me why you were asleep in that chair," Heyes joked as he guided Kid to his bedroom. The sisters watched the interplay between the two men, smiling as they continued to bicker all the way. "Besides, you should have been in bed long ago. I'm sure Doc Davis would have been happier having you resting than sitting out here on the porch."
"I was tired of resting," Kid complained.
"And now you're just tired," Heyes continued as he placed Kid on the bed. Heyes pulled off Kid's boots and then carefully removed his shirt.
"Heyes, you really think that this plan you concocted to help the Porters is really going to work?" Kid asked sleepily.
Heyes stopped what he was doing and thought for a moment. "Well," he sighed, "it should as long as I can keep from getting myself killed. Why do you ask?"
"I just wish that I could help you more, that's all," Kid explained.
"Kid, you are helping me!"
"Oh yeah? How?"
"Well for one thing, you convinced me to give the paperwork to the Doc so that he could deliver it to Harry Jacobson," Heyes explained, "that way I'm not a moving target riding back to town."
"And just how long will it be before the railroad officials come here to make an offer?"
"Well, according to the paper, they will be here next week, but that was before I sent them a telegram."
"Telegram? What telegram?" blue eyes turning towards Heyes.
"Didn't I tell you? The telegram I sent after visiting Peterson's office stating that the Porters and myself have a proposition for them to consider," Heyes smiled. "They wrote back saying that they would be here the day after tomorrow."
Curry suddenly started laughing as relief over the situation hit. "Heyes, you're something else. Only you would make an offer to the railroads."
"Just gotta know where their weaknesses are, that's all."
"And if there is one thing that you know, is where the weaknesses are in the railroads," Kid smiled back.
"Yup," Heyes agreed. "Now lie on back and get some rest before you fall over." Heyes gently forced Kid to lie down and smiled when he saw Kid was asleep when his head hit the pillow.
It was about 2:30 in the morning when something woke Kid out of a dead sleep. Frustrated that he still couldn't see anything when he tried to look around, he quietly laid there on the bed and carefully listened. It was then that he heard a crackling sound coming from the other side of his door. Throwing the covers off he got up and using his good hand, felt his way over the door. When he opened it, he felt the surge of heat and heard the crackle of flames as they consumed the front portion of the house. "Heyes!" he yelled with all his might as the smoke started chocking him. Coughing as he went, he headed over the staircase that he knew was by the front door, but was pushed backed by the flames and heat. "Heyes!"
Heyes woke with a start when he heard his name being yelled. He was instantly on his feet with his gun in his hand as he pulled his bedroom door open and looked out. Seeing the smoke coming up the stairwell, he ran over only to see that the fire had already consumed the bottom portion of the stairs. "Kid!" he cried out worriedly knowing that his cousin was downstairs in that inferno.
"Heyes!" Kid yelled back coughing once again. "Where are you?"
Heyes sighed in relief when he heard his partner call out. "Upstairs. Stay back! The fire is already taken some of the staircase out."
Kid groaned in frustration at the news of the stairs, wanting desperately to hit something. "Heyes, the Porters. Where are they?" he asked as he suddenly remembered that they too were trapped upstairs.
"Still in their bedroom," Heyes answered back. "Kid can you get outside at all?"
Kid turned himself around, feeling where the flames and heat were located. "I think so. I don't think the flames have reached the back of the house yet."
"Good! Get outside and listen for me. I'll use our old trick that we used to escape the orphanage to get the sisters down to you, then I'll lower myself down."
"Hurry Heyes. I don't think we got much time," Kid coughed back.
"Just go and listen for me!" Heyes ordered.
Kid once again felt his way towards the back of the house to the kitchen. As he went along, he noticed that it was much cooler here than it was where the flames were. Bumping into things as he went, he finally was able to reach the back door, pull it open, and step outside into the cool, fresh air. "Come on Heyes, where are you?" Kid said to himself as he stood impatiently waiting. Suddenly another thought occurred to him. "Jenkins!" he yelled out knowing that the older man was living in a small cottage not that far away from the house. "Jenkins, wake up!"
Jenkins awoke from his sleep as he heard a voice yelling out. Opening the bedroom window, he peered out only to see that the Porter's house was on fire. Quickly pulling on his boots and a robe, he ran out in search of the young man that was calling out to him.
Heyes, meanwhile, ran back to the where the sister's were sharing a bedroom and pounded on the door to wake them. "Penelope! Emily! Wake up!" The door swung open and the two women stood there looking at what appeared to be a slightly crazed Joshua.
"Joshua, what is it?" Penelope cried out as the man grabbed the two women by an arm.
"There's a fire downstairs," he explained as he herded them to his room. "We have to get out of here."
"Fire," Emily exclaimed. "What about Thaddeus? Is he alright?"
"He's the one that woke me up," Heyes said as he started stripping the bed. "He's headed outside toward the back of the house. The fire is in the front and has taken out some of the stairs, but it hasn't reached the back yet."
"What are we going to do?" Penelope asked, trembling slightly.
With his most confident smile, he turned to the two women with a rope made out of the bedding. "Ladies, have either of you ever escaped from a second story window when you were a child?"
Kid was still standing by the back door when he heard Jenkins approach. "Mr. Jones, are you alright?" he asked as he saw the soot covered face.
"I'm fine," Kid said, still coughing. "But Joshua and the Porters are still inside."
"We must go back and get them," Jenkins said as he tried to get by Kid.
"No good," Kid replied as he held onto the man. "Fire has taken out the stairwell."
"But…"
"Joshua is upstairs with the sisters," Kid explained. "I'm just waiting for him to call me so that I can help him get them down."
"How?"
Both men turned in the direction of the voice that called out. "Kid! Over here!" Jenkins grabbed Kid's arm and both men headed over to where the voice cried out. "Kid, are you ready?" Heyes yelled out as he saw the two men approaching. He said a quick thank you when he spotted Jenkins coming over with his partner.
"Okay Heyes. Let's do it!" Kid yelled back.
Jenkins looked up in horror as he saw Emily climbing out of the window with Heyes help. He realized that Joshua had tied a bed sheet rope around the woman and was slowly lowering her down to the ground. "Here she comes," he said to let Thaddeus know that one of the women was on her way down. Both men reached up to grab her and gently helped lower her to the ground. Once down, Jenkins quickly untied the rope and Heyes pulled it back up. A few moments later and Penelope was also on her way down. Once the two women were safe, Heyes himself crawled out of the window and lowered himself to safety, with everyone breathing a sigh of relief when he touched the ground. Quickly, the group moved away from the burning structure as the flames started reaching the back of the house.
"Our house," Emily cried out as she watched the flames burn their longtime home.
"It's alright, Emily," Penelope whispered as she held onto her sister. "We'll be just fine."
"What do you think started it?" Kid quietly asked Heyes.
"A better question would be is who started it?" Heyes replied.
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Kid answered as another coughing fit hit him.
"Hey Kid, you alright?" Heyes asked as he held onto his partner.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Kid replied. "It was a little smoky in there." The small group stood there in silence as the house burned, knowing that it was too far gone to even try to save. It was then that Kid's ears picked up another noise, a noise that wasn't coming from the fire. "What was that?"
"What?" Heyes asked in confusion.
"There's something over there," Kid said facing the direction of the nearby woods where the noise came from. Heyes' gun was quickly in his hand.
"Stay here. I'll find out." Kid tried to protest but Heyes move too quickly from him to stop the man. Kid swore silently to himself as he too carefully started making his way over in the direction of where the noise came from.
Heyes silently crept through the woods in search of the thing that Kid heard, hoping that it was just an animal, but knowing that most likely it was the person responsible for burning down the Porter's house. Heyes stopped in his tracks when he accidentally stepped on a twig that snapped under his bear foot. Hardly breathing, he waited patiently, searching desperately for some sign of movement. He didn't wait long. Heyes saw the glint of the fire's reflection off of the rifle barrel that swung toward his direction. He quickly fell to the ground as the sound of a bullet crashed into a tree that he was standing by.
"Heyes, you better be alright, or I'm gonna kill you myself," Kid swore to himself as he quietly moved in the direction of the gunfire. He did allow himself a smile when he heard Heyes' gun firing back but the smile faded as he wished he had his own gun in his hand.
Heyes quickly got up and moved behind a large tree as another shot came his way just missing him. He swore to himself wishing Kid were there to back him up. Knowing that wasn't possible, he crouched down and quietly crawled through the underbrush to a large rock. Peering around the rock, he carefully scanned the area around him in search of the gunman. His brain quickly went through several scenarios as he tried to come up with a plan to get out of this situation alive and well.
Even though he was still recovering from his injuries and still couldn't see, Kid moved through the woods like a cat on the prowl, silently bumping into the surrounding trees. He knew that Heyes was in trouble and that he needed to back up his partner anyway he could. Grateful that he was wearing his pants but wishing he had his shirt and boots on, he felt the low lying branches scratching at his good arm and shoulder and felt the rocks that dug into his bear feet. Stopping only momentarily to get a fix on where everyone was, Kid listen intently for any sounds of movement. Though the man walked quietly, Kid heard the gunman moving in one direction and Heyes going in another. He stood there and waited for the gunman to stop. Softly moving through the tangle of trees and stopping long enough to get a bearing on the gunman, Kid finally snuck his way up behind the man. Hearing the man's breathing gave Kid enough point of reference to how close he was and with a deep breath charged in and tackled the man one handed.
Taken by surprise, Jennings landed in a heap with the other man on top of him, the rifle flying out of his hands. The two men wrestled each other furiously but the battle quickly became one sided as Kid's strength and energy began to wane. Finally throwing Kid off of himself, Jennings looked around and found his rifle a short distance away from him. Reaching for it, he turned and aimed it straight at Kid's chest, who was still lying on the ground.
The shot was heard through the woods as Jennings' body fell to the ground, the man writhing in pain from a bullet wound to his right shoulder. Heyes quickly came up behind the man with his gun pointed directly at him, and kicked the gunman's weapon away. Heyes, still with his weapon pointed at Jennings, knelt down by Kid's side and took a quick look at this partner.
"Kid? You okay?" he asked in a concerned voice.
"Oh, I've been better," Kid replied with a noncommittal answer, wincing at the new bruises he felt forming.
"Wouldn't be able to back me up, huh?" Heyes sighed in relief as he started to examine Kid's injuries.
"Didn't exactly go the way I planned it," Kid grimaced back as Heyes hit a tender spot in his ribs.
"Some thinking actually went into that?" Heyes joked.
"Alright, very little thinking went into it, but it worked, didn't it?" Heyes laughed at the response and carefully helped Kid to his feet. "What happened to the other guy?"
"He's a little shot up, but alive," Heyes responded as he steadied his partner. His gun quickly turned in the direction of the footsteps that were sounding through the woods. Moments later, Jenkins and Sheriff Lawson came crashing through the vegetation.
"Mr. Smith! Mr. Jones!" Jenkins cried out in relief as he spotted the two men. "Are you both alright?"
"I'm alright, but my partner could probably stand another look from the doctor again," Heyes smiled as Kid groaned at the prospect of another examination. "But I think that he could definitely use one though," he continued as he pointed to Jennings.
Sheriff Lawson walked over to the downed man and took a look at who he was. "Adam Jennings," Lawson exclaimed.
"You know him Sheriff?" Heyes asked.
"Yeah," Lawson admitted. "He's mostly a hired hand around these parts but is willing to hire out for other types of jobs, including murder, or in this case attempted murder and arson. Didn't think he was back in town though." Lawson picked the man up, ignoring his cry of pain as he shoved the man forward. "Come on Jennings, let's get you taken care of."
Heyes watched as the two men headed out of the woods. "Doctor Davis is waiting with Emily and Penelope for your return," Jenkins said as he went to help Heyes with Kid. "He's pronounced them both fit and healthy, thanks to you two." The two men both smiled.
Sunrise found the small group crammed into the cottage that Jenkins used. Kid was comfortably sleeping in Jenkins' bed after being examined by Doctor Davis. Davis was not happy hearing about Kid's adventure through the woods that night, but fully understood why he did it. It was found that Kid had a few more cuts and bruises than he did before the night's incident and that he was suffering from a mild case of exhaustion, but was otherwise still healing properly.
The other members of the group were still too keyed up with what happened and became even more excited when Jennings told the Sheriff that it was Peterson who hired him to kill off Smith and the Porters. After the Doctor had looked at Jennings, the Sheriff borrowed the Porter's coach and took the gunman in before the news about the fire could reach town. He wanted to get back to arrest Peterson before the man had a chance to leave and he wanted to telegram the Federal Marshall to look into Peterson's business doings for the last year. Now that he was able to pin some direct evidence against the man, he wanted the man's past dealings audited for fraud and deception.
"Doc, I guess we have you to thank for coming to our rescue tonight," Heyes said shaking the man's hand.
"It was my pleasure, Mr. Smith," Davis replied. "When I saw Peterson's buggy in front of Jennings' shack, something just didn't feel right. It was unfortunate that I couldn't inform the Sheriff sooner, as I was on my way to help Alan Samuel, who just broke his ankle stepping in chuck hole."
"All the same Doc," Heyes continued, "you really helped us when we needed it." Heyes turned and smiled at the sisters. "Well ladies, it looks like I'll be able to sign over your land back to you today and then you can decide whether or not to sell to the railroad."
"Oh we were hoping that you could help us with that, Joshua," Penelope stated.
"Help you? How?"
"We kind of liked your idea of building and running a resort here for people who need to get away," Emily explained. "We were hoping to sell some of our land to the railroad and use the money to build a resort."
"And we were hoping that you would be able to convince the railroad to make the deal," Penelope continued.
"Ladies, I would be happy to," Heyes smiled.
Later on that morning, Kid found himself groaning as he woke up, still fighting off the headache that had plagued him since being shot. He heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor and felt Heyes' hand on his shoulder. "Hey Kid, you awake?"
Opening his eyes, Kid found himself quickly shutting them. "Ahhh!" he groaned again. "Shut the curtains will ya? It's too bright in here."
Heyes froze at that comment. "Kid?"
"What?" Kid asked as he rubbed his temple.
"What did you just say?"
"I said shut the curtains…" His sentence trailed off when realization came to him about what he had just said. Slowly opening his eyes again, he looked to see a blurry but very visible image of Heyes sitting there with a concerned look on his face. "Heyes?"
"Yeah Kid?"
"Did I ever tell you how good it is to see you?" Curry asked as a large grin split his face.
"You can see me?" Heyes asked as a smile formed on his face. "You really can see me? You're not fooling me are ya?"
"I see ya Heyes," Kid said. "You're blurry, but you're there."
"Yee haw!" Heyes shouted out causing the others to come running in from outside.
"Joshua, what is it?" Penelope asked concerned.
"He can see!" Heyes exclaimed picking up the older woman and twirling her around.
"Really Thaddeus?" Emily questioned.
"Yes Ma'am," Kid grinned back. "And may I say you two are even lovelier than I imagined." Both ladies went crimson at Curry's comment.
"Oh Thaddeus, that is wonderful," Penelope exclaimed as she sat down beside him on the bed. "Doctor Davis is going to be so happy that you can see. He was really worried about you, you know."
"I know," Kid replied. "And I'll be very happy to see him too."
This calls for a celebration," Emily spoke up as she headed towards the kitchen. "Flapjack breakfast sound good to everyone?" At the resounding yes that went through the small building, Emily and Penelope quickly got started preparing the feast.
"Oh my yes," Penelope happily said. "We can celebrate Thaddeus' good fortune and our up and coming business transaction with the railroad."
"What transaction?" Kid asked confused.
"Oh, Mr. Smith here is going to help us sell part of our land to the railroad and then we're going to build a resort so that the working people can get away for a nice vacation."
"A resort?"
"Yeah, well I accidentally planted that idea in their heads when I took over their property," Heyes explained. "That's the line I fed Peterson, but it looks like the ladies took to the idea."
"Joshua, are you crazy?" Kid asked in astonishment.
"What's the worry, Thaddeus," Heyes smiled back. "With you backing me up, this deal should be a piece of cake!" Kid's laughter filled the room.
The incident with the sisters had caused quite a stir among the town folks. Once everyone had heard about how Peterson tried to kill the Porters, along with Thaddeus and Joshua, and how their house was burned to ground, the two ladies were offered free board at the local hotel until their new house was built, along with the resort. The investigation of Peterson's business transactions had begun and it was found that Peterson had illegally forced the sale of the other properties. A judgment was made that the people could keep the money that was given them for the sale of their land and that the title holdings would revert back to their names. This gave the people the opportunity to sell to the railroad lines at a fair market value and thus putting The Peterson Mining Company out of business permanently.
Heyes, with his silver tongue, had cut a deal with the railroad to buy only some of the Porter's property at a rate far above the worth of the land and allow them to keep the rest for building a resort. Heyes convinced the man that having the resort would only bring in more people to Two Mules, thus increasing the number of passengers that would use the line. He also managed to get the ladies and Jenkins life long passes for free rides on the trains.
A week later, the boys were preparing to leave. Doctor Davis gave Kid one final examination declaring Kid fit enough to travel. Kid felt good at having his arm free of the sling and his vision had finally returned to normal. They also took the time to inform Sheriff Trevors of Kid's condition and that they appreciated the help that he was willing to provide. Kid and Heyes left their own hotel room with their saddlebags in hand and headed over to where Emily and Penelope were staying.
"Do you really have to leave," Penelope asked as tears started forming in her eyes.
"I'm afraid so," Heyes smiled sadly as he met the ladies gazes.
"It's just were going to miss you two so much," Emily cried out as she hugged the two men.
"We're gonna miss you too," Kid said as he returned the hug. "I just want to thank you for all that you've done not only for me but for Joshua."
"It's us who should be thanking you boys," Penelope answered as she too hugged the men. "It was a real pleasure having you two with us."
"It was a pleasure staying with you two fine ladies," Heyes responded.
"Just one question though," Emily said slyly.
"What is it?"
"Thaddeus told me that you two were in some sort of trouble," Emily started. "The reason you two can't stay wouldn't be that you are actually Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry now would it?"
Heyes glared at Kid as a chagrined look came over the younger man's face. Heyes was all set to lie to the women until he looked at them. Sighing, he dropped his head and looked back up. "I'm afraid that is the reason we can't stay ladies." Kid looked at Heyes as a small smile tugged at his face, as he remembered how he couldn't lie to these ladies either. "He's Kid Curry and I'm Hannibal Heyes."
The gleam in the women's eyes shined brightly as they both started giggling like schoolgirls. "I knew it," Penelope said.
"How did you find out?" Kid asked.
"The night of the fire," Emily explained. "You were calling each other Kid and Heyes." Both men looked at each other as they thought back to that night's events.
"Now ladies," Heyes started, "we're sorry that we lied to you about who we are, but…"
"But you are both trying to go straight, aren't you?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Well when I asked Thaddeus if you two were in trouble, he said that you were but hopefully for not much longer," Emily explained.
"That's right Ma'am," Heyes said. "We're trying for amnesty, but we're not really suppose to let anyone know."
"Well don't you worry about us," Penelope assured. "After all the help that you have been to us and even saving our lives, there is no way that we could turn you in."
"Besides, you both have such nice, honest faces," Emily smiled. Both men chuckled at that statement. "You two take good care of yourselves, and when you get your amnesty, you make sure you come back for a visit."
"Yes Ma'am, we will," Kid said giving her and Penelope another hug.
"And if you two need anything, please let us know," Penelope said as she hugged both men again.
"We will, thank you," Heyes smiled. "Hopefully we will see you soon."
"And in one piece," Kid grinned.
The two men walked down to where their horses were tethered and took one last look around. "Well Partner?" Kid asked as he slung himself into the saddle. "Where to?"
"Well Kid, we were headed to Mill Creek for some work," Heyes said as he got settled into his saddle, "but maybe we should head there and see what kind of poker players there are in that town, since the Doc still wants you to take it easy for a few more weeks."
"Well that sounds real good to me," Kid responded smiling back at his cousin. Turning their horses, they took off at a full gallop leaving the town behind, for a little while at least. The both knew that they would to return one day to be "mothered" once again.
The End.
September, 2005