Ike headed to the barn. He was going to try and make it to Blue Creek on his own. Nickerson's men were out for blood and he couldn't risk Teaspoon, Emma, or one of his fellow riders getting hurt or killed because of him. This was his fight, not theirs.
He was saddling his horse when he heard the barn door creak open. He knew without looking that it was Buck. His Kiowa best friend and blood brother always seemed to know what he was thinking or feeling without him saying a word. He also knew that Buck wasn't about to let him face Nickerson and his gang alone.
Buck didn't say a word to him, but walked instead to the stall that held his horse and freed him from it. As Buck led his mount out of his stall, the other riders drifted into the barn too. Ike stopped saddling his horse to gaze around him as the other riders began to prepare their steeds to be ridden.
He caught Buck's attention and signed a question to him that his friend relayed aloud to the others. Hickok's answer came fast and was laced with anger. He understood Jimmy's fury at having the place they all called home come under attack; he was angry too. He signed that Nickerson's men had come for him, not them. Kid told him that if they had come for him, then Nickerson's men had come for the rest of them too.
Kid's words made him realize that he could count on them to stand beside him, no matter what came his way. It made him feel good to know that he was not alone.