A Friend in Need

by Pat Storm

A past kindness returned in an unusual way.

Chapter 1

Jess Harper was brushing down the horses he'd just changed out from the last stage of the day. He and his partner, Slim Sherman, had a small ranch just outside Laramie, Wyoming. To supplement their income they had a contract to run a relay team change station for the stage line. Slim, that morning had business in town, so he left the chores to Jess for the day. Running a relay station worked best as a two-man job changing the stage teams but one man could handle it when necessary.

The stage driver was always willing to help when a station was short handed. It took a little longer with one man on duty but it wasn't much more difficult. On the days that there were more than three or four stages stopping it was decidedly a two-man job since the horses needed proper care between changes. Keeping the teams rested and ready for their next shift was an important part of the two partner's job. Blacksmithing, as well as treating minor injuries was part of their job. Jess always liked horses, so he took it upon himself to see that the horses received special treatment when they stayed at the Sherman Ranch and Relay Station. During hot weather it wasn't unheard of to see Jess pouring a bucket or two of water over some of the horses and giving them a good scrubbing to relieve the itch from sweating under their leather trappings. He considered them all his good friends. The years he'd spent alone on the trail, his horse was his only and best friend. He held regular conversations with all of them. Some folks thought they understood him and he them. Jess found that it calmed the horses and they gave him someone to talk to when he was alone. If he had a horse around he'd surely never be lonely.

"That was the last stage. I wonder what's keepin' Slim? He shoulda been home by now." Jess said to the horse he'd just finished brushing and was leading to the barn for a good meal of fresh hay. "Feel a little better now, boy? Not so itchy?"

He had one more horse to brush and settle in before he could call it a day. Walking from the barn he saw a cloud of dust rising just over the ridge near the ranch house. He started currying the last horse and said, "Looks like a lot of riders comin' this way." Jess assumed it was a posse coming to find more men to join them on a search. He and Slim often helped the local sheriff track after outlaws. He could tell the approaching horses were traveling hard and fast. "They're gonna tire those horses before they git very far at that pace, if not windbreak um. Some people are durned fools." Keeping an eye on the rising dust there soon appeared several rider-less horses headed in his direction. Right behind them he saw his partner, with a rope in his hand, shagging the horses toward the ranch's yard and corral.

"Open the gate," Slim shouted to Jess who was already headed in that direction to do just that. With the gate open Jess blocked the way around the outside of the corral by waving his hat to divert the horses from running past him, directing them into the corral. Once the horses were all within the fence Jess closed the gate. Looking closely at the animals he recognized they all belonged to the ranch. At first he thought Slim was driving in a new herd by himself. That was ridiculous, but that was what it looked like. "No-one drives a herd by themselves." Jess thought and just had to know what was going on, why his partner did such a crazy thing, even if they were his own horses

"What in tarnation you doin', Slim? Roundin' up horses on yer own now? I thought most of these were goin' to the army next month."

"They are. And it wasn't my idea. It was theirs." Slim shouted over the clatter of hooves, nodding his head in the direction of the horses that were still stirring around in the corral. "They were loose. I ran into them on the way back from town. We've got to go check the fence in the high pasture. It must be down somewhere. My guess would be the north side from where I found them."

"Too late to check on it tonight," Jess said looking up at the angle of the sun.

"Yeah. They're all here, so it can wait. Lucky I saw them grazing along the road on my way back. At first I though they were a herd of mustangs until I got closer. If that buckskin and appaloosa weren't in the bunch I might not have paid attention enough to recognize them. We probably wouldn't have missed them until the army came for them or someone told us they were loose. We could've lost them to Indians or rustlers just as easily."

"Good thing they stuck together. Where abouts did ya spot um?

"Oh, they'd traveled quite a distance. You know the high pasture where we had them? " Jess nodded. "Well they were down near the creek that runs out along the road. You know, where that small water fall runs into the creek at the fork."

"That was a distance for um to travel keepin' together. They could have scattered all over the territory if they' a mind to. Good thing you had to go to town today. I was wondernin' why you weren't back yet."

"It took a little bit to round them up together, alone. They finally got the idea and I had no problem to keep them following the road home. Almost lost them at the turnoff, though. I had to slow them down and made them go into the turn. I managed on my own, but I'm not looking forward to doing it again. I reckon it was more luck than skill that got them all here."

"Better you than me." Jess said. "I'm glad I only had to handle the stages by myself all day. You just missed the last one. If you'd been back sooner, I sure coulda used the help." Jess teased.

"Help? You think you needed help?" Slim teased back, brushing some of the dust off his chaps with his hat. "Seriously though, thanks, Jess. Sometimes I really wonder what I ever did before you were here to cover for me during these little emergencies."

Slim unsaddled his horse while Jess finished currying the last team horse. "Leave Alamo here. I'll finish him up for ya." Jess said walking the other horse to the barn.

"Thanks, Pard. I ate a lot of dust. I'm pretty dry. Need a good long drink of water, or some lemonade if Daisy has it."

"Supper should almost be done, too," Jess replied. "Let me know how close up we are to eatin'. I got a horse in there in need of new shoes. If I have time before supper at least I kin pull um 'n finish him up after we eat."

"Okay. I'll let you know in a few minutes."

Slim said patting Alamo on the rump as he walked around him toward the ranch house.

Slim opened the door and was greeted by Mike who was sitting at the table doing his schoolwork.

Daisy peeked around the corner from the kitchen. "Slim. I'm so glad you made it home before dinner,"

"Oh, ran into a few minor problems. It took a little more time then I expected."

"Is everything alright Dear?" She asked.

"Yeah. Everything's fine, for now, anyway. Just more work for us to catch up on. A fence must be down in the high pasture. I ran into the whole herd of our horses out grazing their way to town."

"You caught um all?" Mike piped in.

"Sure did. Not much fun rounding up horses on your own, but Alamo did a fine job." Slim said as he ruffled Mike's blonde mop of hair, then turned to speak in the direction of the kitchen. "Daisy?"

"Yes, Dear?" She peeked around the corner from the kitchen again with a large wooden spoon in her hand.

"Jess wants to know how long before supper. He wants to finish up in the barn, but needs to know how much time he has before jumping into something new."

"Oh, maybe a half hour, or so. "Daisy said from the kitchen where the clatter of pots and pans could be heard.

"Thanks, I'll tell him. Do you have any lemonade? I'm pretty dry."

"No, Dear. I'm sorry. I've been putting up preserves all day so I didn't find the time. And, honestly, I forgot. I have coffee almost ready."

"That's okay. Just asking about the lemonade, water will do fine." He walked into the kitchen, opened the cupboard door and took out a tin mug. "I'll be back in with Jess in about a half hour." Slim walked out the door with mug in hand, straight to the water pump. Filling the cup with fresh cool water, he downed it then refilled the mug before walking to where Jess was brushing Alamo.

"Lemonade?" Jess asked, seeing Slim carrying the cup.

"Nope. I think she's been putting up the last of the berries today. Said she forgot. Oh, supper will be done in about half an hour. Might as well put Alamo away and leave the other horse until after we eat and I'll give you a hand. Let's go wash up."

"Okay. I'll be right there." Jess took hold of Alamo's reins and led him into the barn. Slim walked to the designated wash-up-before-dinner plank fully equipped with water basins and soap, all placed near the house and a water pump. He started pumping water into the washbasins while he waited for his friend to join him.

When Jess and Alamo entered the barn they were greeted by, Traveler, Jess' horse. Traveler and Alamo were almost as close friends as Slim and Jess. Their stalls were side by side and when separated they always greeted each other happily when they were reunited.

Jess joined Slim by the house, rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a washcloth to wash up before going in for dinner. "We'll have to ride out and check that fence tomorrow." Slim said as he scrubbed the dust from his face.

"I reckon I kin ride out there tomorrow and fix it. Probably just some logs came loose and fell. I'll take some new wire out 'n fix it myself. It shouldn't take long." Jess volunteered.

Slim smiled. "Okay. You took care of the stages, today, I'll do a day of it by myself tomorrow, that is if you're sure you want to ride all the way out there on your own. Nothing to do out there but fix the fence, there's no stock out there to have to round up. I did that today. By myself, remember?" He chided.

"Yeah. I kin handle it on my own. Feel like a long ride up the ridge, anyway."

"I figured as much. A long ride beats working here on the ranch." Slim teased.

"Well, you had your ride today. I think I'm due one." Jess said while wiping his hands and arms with a towel then throwing the towel over Slim's shoulder.

"If mine was just a long ride with nothing else, then maybe. Do you know how long it took me to get those horses to herd up and move in the direction I wanted them to go?"

"Ya coulda come back for me. I woulda helped ya."

"Then who would have taken care of the stages?" Slim asked using the towel to dry himself.

"Mose. Mose knows how to take care of it. He knows where to find everything."

"And what if a stage came through without Mose?" Slim asked as they walked toward the house.

Jess shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then I reckon they'd have to wait 'til we got back." He smiled at Slim, stepped up on the porch and went into the house, Slim followed right behind him, shaking his head, grinning ear to ear.

Slim had to tell his story about how he rounded up the horses, by himself, he reminded Jess again while they had their dinner. Jess said he'd take care of the fence in the morning and should be back early. He didn't expect that since it was a fairly new fence that there should be much repair necessary. He reckoned a junction had come loose allowing the horses to escape.

After they finished their meal, the two men went back out to the barn to finish their chores for the night while Mike helped Daisy clean up the table and dishes. Once they were finished with the after meal chores Daisy sat down at the table to help Mike with a difficult mathematics problem he couldn't understand. Daisy was a blessing to them all. She was well educated and could help Mike with his schoolwork. She also served as a nurse during the war. She had a flair for nursing and was often called on as a midwife, as well. She was an excellent cook and superb in her organizational skills. She was also very tactful and could almost always charm the boys into doing anything she asked. The shape of the ranch repairs was never better. If she saw something starting to wear, need repair or paint, she hinted to the boys. If her suggestion was ignored she had her ways to make those hints sound very important and saw to them getting done. But then, the boys often knew they were being manipulated and complied with little complaint. They loved Daisy and knew she'd never ask them to do more than was really necessary, sooner or later.

Mike came to the family as an orphan shortly before Daisy joined the household. He'd been left, more or less, on the Sherman doorstep, a young handful of a boy. When they were unable to find any living kin to the boy, Slim and Jess took over guardianship welcoming him into their small family.

Daisy came along at just the right time to tame the little terror. Once she mastered Mike, she then worked on the two older men. Though no one would admit it, Daisy ran the ranch. Slim had the final say, but it was more often than not, by way of Daisy's word. Daisy was definitely a part of the family. A very important part of their small family.

Both men tended to the horse in need of new shoes. One man worked on the horse while the other beat the shoes to fit. When they finished with the horse and the other barn chores they walked to the porch to sit and relax until bedtime. Daisy heard them talking on the porch and poured them each a glass of lemonade to surprise them. She opened the door and stepped out with the two glasses in her hands. "Here you go, Dear,, just like you asked." She said smiling at Slim as she handed them each a glass.

"Thanks, Daisy. You know you didn't have to do this. I just thought if you had some made up I would have liked some since I was so dry. Water was fine. It wasn't important."

"Taking care of my boys is my job, Dear, and I like to have lemonade ready for you anytime we can get some lemons. It's always such a special treat."

"Okay, Daisy. If you say so." Slim smiled not wanting to continue the conversation. He already felt guilty that he asked for the lemonade and she went through the trouble to make some though she was busy and probably tired.

"Mike's in bed. I think I'll turn in, now. Anything else you boys need?"

"No, Daisy. We're fine. Goodnight." Slim said, taking a sip of his lemonade.

"Goodnight, Daisy." Jess said. "And thanks for the lemonade.

"Goodnight, boys. Sleep well." Daisy slipped back into the house, checked to make sure everything in her kitchen was in order and went to her room to go to bed. Her boys sat rocking on the porch in silence, enjoying the other's company, sipping their lemonade and listening to the sounds of the night.

Chapter 2

The sun started to peek over the horizon already taking the chill off the coming day. The roosters crowing woke the inhabitants in the ranch house. Daisy rolled out of bed, put on her housecoat and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Slim watched as Jess rolled over in his bed to try and catch a few more winks. With a devilish grin Slim took the pillow from under his head and tossed it across to the other bed hitting his target on the head and shoulders.

"Slim!" Jess shouted, not at all happy.

"Morning, Pard." Slim sat up and picked up his clothes. "Come on sleeping beauty. Time to get up. We both have a long day ahead of us. Remember? You have a nice long ride before you have to work today?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm gittin' up." Jess said not making any attempt to move to do so.

"You know, Pard." Slim said while he was dressing. "I've been thinking about your day. A nice long ride out this morning, then all that back-breaking work you have to do all by yourself."

Jess rolled over and looked at his partner who was almost fully dressed. Slim continued, "And after all that long back-breaking work you have a long hard ride ahead of you before you get back home. Are you sure you're up to it?"

"Yeah, I thought about that, too. Ya know? I think I prefer the company of Traveler to you, anytime. It's gonna be so pleasant not havin' some one jawin' at me all day."

Slim threw Jess' clothes at him. "Get up." He said somewhat gruffly as he left the room. Jess laid still a minute more, groaned, and then sat up to start dressing. "Worse than a naggin' woman." Jess grumbled to himself while pulling on his jeans.

Daisy had the stove hot and the coffee brewing while she was slicing some bacon. Mike was in the chicken coop gathering eggs for breakfast when Jess finally wandered out of the bedroom. He yawned and stretched out his arms to get the kinks out. He groaned as he grabbed at his sore shoulder.

Slim was at the desk working on the books. "About time. The day's almost gone already." He teased at Jess.

"Yeah. Good mornin' to you too." Jess grumbled, not exactly in a jovial mood. He had slept on his shoulder wrong and it ached, some. He knew it would work itself out once he was up and about, but it was the getting up and about and started that was the hard part.

Jess wandered into the kitchen and took a cup from the cupboard. "Mornin', Daisy." He said much more cheerfully than he greeted Slim, as he poured himself some coffee.

"Morning, Dear. I've packed you a lunch to take with you this morning."

"Can always count on you, Daisy. Thanks." Jess said and gave her a hug from behind while she was still at the cutting board.

"Jess. I almost cut you. Be careful." She admonished him then returned to cutting her bacon. The pan was hot so she started frying some of the bacon as she continued to slice more.

Mike came through the door with a basket of eggs. "Mornin', Tiger." Jess said as Mike handed Daisy the basket of eggs.

"Do you have your books ready for school, Mike?" Daisy asked.

"Yes, Aunt Daisy. Hi Jess." Mike replied as he passed through the kitchen into the next room.

Jess poured himself another cup of coffee, filled another cup, and then walked them into the next room to the desk where Slim sat working, handing one to him. "Here ya go, Pard. Sorry about bein' so grouchy. Not real use to bein' attacked by a pillow in the mornin'. Lucky for you I wasn't sleepin' with my gun.

"

"You're sure edgy today. Are you sure you're up for the ride?"

"Sometimes the nights just ain't long enough. But," Jess said holding up his cup, "I reckon I'm awake, now."

"Oh yeah. I forgot. You're the man not to talk to until you've had your coffee. Before coffee it's Bear Jess. Our Jess shows up after the first cup."

"Just 'cause I don't wake up grinnin' like a silly fool like some folks?"

Daisy called from the kitchen, "Mike. Set the table. I'm almost done here."

"Yes, Aunt Daisy." Mike responded and went to the kitchen and picked up the dishes Daisy had already set out on the cupboard for him. He took them and placed them on the table.

"What's up with Mike, today? He's awful quiet." Jess asked Slim.

"We had a little talk yesterday again, about him teasing the girls at school. I reckon he's giving a little thought to what I said." Slim responded.

"The boy is growin' up, ain't he? Sounds like teasin' him out of it ain't workin' no more."

"Looks like. Come on, Pard, looks like our long day is about to begin." Slim said as he stood up and headed toward the table.

"At least it starts with a good breakfast." Jess grinned as he followed his best friend to the table.

Daisy served up their breakfast. They all discussed the day ahead of them. Daisy cautioned Mike to be good at school. He'd been reported for teasing the girls. The teasing he took from Slim and Jess over girls was enough punishment, usually, but later Slim seriously had a talk with him about his actions. She wanted him to remember to behave himself.

After breakfast they all set off in their different directions, Daisy to clean up after the meal, Mike to get his books and wait for the stage to arrive to take him to school. Jess headed for the barn to ready his horse for his ride up the ridge. He gathered the tools, wire and gear he reckoned he'd need, then brought Traveler out from the barn tying him to a post.

Slim was readying a team for the stage that would arrive shortly so, Jess went to help him. At least the horses would be ready when the stage arrived. Jess decided to wait until they had the team changed and then leave Slim to do the aftercare of the horses. He reckoned he deserved one more cup of coffee before he left and he'd down that when he picked up the sack of food Daisy had packed for him.

The stage arrived right on time. The two men changed the team as Daisy and Mike came out from the house into the yard. She fussed over Mike's clothes a little then Mike climbed into the coach. Once the team was set, they waved goodbye to Mike as he set off for his day at school in Laramie. He would come back on the afternoon stage.

"Well, yer on yer own now, Pard. I'm off to my long ride and it's such a beautiful mornin' for a ride." Jess said with a smile looking up at the cloudless sky.

"I just don't want to hear about your aches and pains from how hard you worked at picking up those heavy logs and having to replace them all by yourself. Remember, I offered, but no, you said you could do it yourself."

Jess laughed and walked toward the house as Slim lead the weary team toward the barn. Daisy had the sack all set as well as a cup of coffee waiting for Jess when he came through the door. "Daisy, you kin always read my mind." He took the cup of coffee and drank it down in three gulps. She took his cup, handed him the sack and he gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek. "What's for supper?"

"Jess! You just finished breakfast. I think I'm going to make you wait to see when you get home. Maybe then you won't dawdle." She teased.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said as he walked out the door.

Jess walked to his horse and put the food sack into his saddlebag. Hoping into the saddle he rode to where Slim was working on the drained team. "I'm headin' out. I shouldn't be long. I promised Daisy I'd be back by supper. I intend to finish the job, though, so I might be a little late. Depends on how much fence is down. Have a good day, Slim. See ya soon."

"Be careful out there, Pard. If the work needs two of us, just let it be. We can ride out there in a day or two and fix it. The horses are fine in the corral for a few days. Enjoy your ride."

"Thanks, Slim. You be careful, too. Don't let Mose run you over with one of his wild teams." Jess smiled and turned his horse to set off to find the problem fence.

Chapter 3

Jess set out through the yard gate. He could tell Traveler was feeling his oats, so he reckoned once warmed up he'd give him his head and let loose some of his energy. Until they got to their destination this could be playtime for both of them. With the changes of pace on their way to the ridge they made extremely good time. As they got closer to their destination Jess made his horse behave and cool himself down. Traveler would get to graze the afternoon away enjoying the lush grass unless his help was needed to pull something too heavy for Jess to handle on his own.

They made it to the high pasture from where the horses had escaped. The fence looked good and solid but Jess got down from his horse to make sure all the joint ties were tight and in place. He didn't want to come back to repair this pasture again any too soon. He started walking the fence line, leading Traveler behind him. Once he found where the fence was down he would make his horse comfortable while he fixed that portion of the fence. The break wasn't where Slim predicted, so Jess had to follow farther along the fencing. As he walked the line he checked each tie as he went along and found all of them tight. He came upon one post connection that was coming loose, so he stopped to make the repair. It wasn't the problem, but it could potentially become one in the future. After rewiring the junction the man and his horse moved on.

They finally happened upon where the fence was downed. A tree had fallen on the wooden fence knocking down a considerable stretch. "Dang!" Jess exclaimed. "And I thought this was gonna be easy. Sorry Trav it looks like I'm gonna need a little help from you after all. Good thing that tree didn't fall directly on the fence. We'll just have to move it over a little to git it out of the way."

He ground tied his horse and walked to the tangle of branches resting on the ground and on part of the fence to see the best way to move it. Tugging at some of the fencing logs he was able to free some of them. He moved them to the side before he'd try to shift the tree. When he finished moving the fencing logs that were not pinned down by the tree he walked over to where Traveler was patiently waiting. "Well, Pard, looks like I need yer help now."

Taking the rope off his saddle, Jess carried it to the tree. He found the most likely branches to tie to the rope then walked the loose end back away from the tree, dropped it on the ground and went to get his horse. "Sorry Trav. I know I promised ya an easy day, but I need some of yer muscle. Come on." Jess said as he led his horse to the loose end of the rope and fixed the rope to the saddle. He led Traveler forward by the reins and the strong horse made the tree take a bigger tumble than Jess anticipated. "Holy cow, Trav. Looks like ya done good." It looked like the tree totally cleared the work area. Leaving his horse ground tied but still connected to the tree by the rope, he looked to see if he needed more assistance to tug at the tree a little more.

Jess examined the area around the tree and saw the shifting had freed up the rest of the logs he needed to repair the fence. Checking the tree, it looked pretty firm as it lay so he walked back to his horse. "Hey, Trav, sometimes we just git plum lucky. You did a great job. One tug 'n your work's all done. Sure wish mine was." He petted the horse's strong neck, removed the rope from where he tied it to the saddle, dropping it to the ground. "Come on boy. I think you earned your afternoon off."

Jess led Traveler away from where he would be working and unsaddled him. He removed his bridle, replacing it with a halter he took from his saddlebag then turned him out to graze with a dragline. Going back to the tree, Jess pulled the rest of his rope loose, looped it, and laid it near his saddle.

Now began the hard part of his day. Those logs were heavy, heavier than he recalled when he helped build the fence a season or two ago. Maybe the logs were skinny, but they were long. It took all he had to drag them back in place and reattach them to the posts. Luckily none of the posts had been damaged and only one of the long pieces of the fence was badly broken. He could repair things, for now, but he and Slim would have to come back later with a log to repair the broken, missing one before they could use this pasture, again.

It was getting close to noontime and Jess' stomach was starting to rumble. He took off his hat, wiped his brow with his sleeve and gazed at his saddle thinking about the sack Daisy had packed for him. He glanced at Traveler who was happily grazing only a few yards away. "Okay. I'll eat first, then finish up. I need a drink, anyway." Laying down his tools he walked to his saddle and removed his canteen from where it was tied. He took a long swallow not realizing how dry he really was. He gulped down a little more water then reached for the sack looking in to see what Daisy had packed him. "Ham sandwiches. Great." He thought with a grin. Taking off his gloves, he had a sandwich in his mouth before he sat down in the grass. Searching through the tote bag he found Daisy also packed some cookies and an apple.

He finished both sandwiches and decided he'd reward himself later, when he was done with the fence, with the cookies and apple. Closing up the sack he laid it back next to the saddle to return to work. Walking toward the fence he called to Traveler who picked up his head and looked at him with his ears pricked full forward. When he wasn't called for again, Traveler returned to his grazing. Jess picked up the end of a log and dragged it to where the next repair was waiting for him.

Chapter 4

Finished with the fence, Jess glanced up at the sun, once again. "Wow, it's still pretty early. Traveler. Come here, boy." Swishing the flies away with his tail, the horse walked to where his master stood. "Hey, what do ya say, we go play some hooky? I know a fishin' hole just the other side that run of trees." The horse nodded his head as if he understood and was in total agreement that it was a great idea. Jess took it as a good sign and checked his saddlebags to make sure the fishing gear was still tucked in there. He never took it out, but you just never know if someone might borrow it. Sure enough, it was there.

He saddled his horse, picked up the tools and put them back in the saddlebags, then replaced the rope on the saddle, along with his canteen and the sack still holding the cookies and apple. He rechecked the cinch then mounted up, turned his horse toward the tree stand and crossed the field. They scared up a few rabbits while riding through the open field but Jess wasn't in the mood for hunting. He was in the mood for fishing. With luck they'd have fish for breakfast in the morning. He was pleased with the thought of surprising them with the treat when he got home.

They reached the fishing hole and Jess unsaddled his horse to allow Traveler to graze while he fished. Jess stomped down the grass near the bank to sit then prepared his gear to do some serious fishing. Along the muddied bank he dug around for some worms to put on his hook. Tossing his line into the water, he then sat down in the flattened grass. He'd placed the sack of food next to him. Reaching in the bag he pulled out a cookie and nibbled on it while he waited for a tug on his line. The apple he cut up with his hunting knife sharing some with a grateful Traveler.

The afternoon passed peacefully. Jess caught a number of fish. Some of them weren't worth keeping so he threw them back. Watching some coyotes playing or hunting in the field up wind from him further entertained him. A lazy turtle sunning itself on an old fallen log watched Jess watching him for a long while before diving into the pool. The birds were active, as well, and he couldn't count the variety he heard or saw. He heard wild turkeys gobbling near the stand of trees. Hawks were circling the sky on the hunt for their afternoon meals or to feed young ones back at their nests. He saw a deer in the distance that he reckoned he could pick it off easily with his rifle, but decided it wasn't worth the trouble to have to clean it and haul it back to the ranch. Fishing was the perfect way to spend this kind of day. "Could the day be any better?" He thought.

Once he figured he caught enough fish to do his family for breakfast he decided they'd better head for home. Slim would still be surprised that he was back so soon and bringing home fish for breakfast to boot. Of course Slim would chew him out for going fishing when there was work to be done back at the ranch. But, Jess knew, that was just Slim. "Slim just has to be Slim," he thought, getting up for his canteen, taking a long swallow. The ham had been a little salty. He took another swallow, corked the top and tied the canteen back to its place on his saddle.

"Okay, boy. I think we've loafed enough for the day. Slim'll never let us off the ranch on our own again. But he'll forgive us when he tastes these at breakfast." He said, holding up his string of fish.

He bridled his horse, saddled up, and checked that everything was tight, then hoped up into the saddle holding on to his prize sting of fish. He turned Traveler to head back to the ranch. Normally Jess would have cut straight across the field, but he wanted to take advantage of the shade from the woods on the way back to the road.

Yeah, a long slow ride home sounded good to him. He reckoned they'd just walk. If he got home too soon Slim would find something for him to do. He wanted to finish the day just Traveler and he enjoying each other's company, like old times, and the perfection of the day.

They rode close enough to the woods that they were shaded from the sun. The air was a little cooler there, too. As they plodded along Jess had to pick up and admire his fish a few times along the way. "These'll be good eatin' fish," He thought to himself, feeling proud about bringing them home to his family.

During one of those times of admiring his fish and not paying attention, Traveler shied sideways then reared straight up in the air. Jess fell off, still clutching his fish. He hit the ground hard, and was so stunned that the pain in his leg didn't register instantaneously. His first instinct was to try and see what had spooked Traveler. He saw a large black snake slithering away through the grass and relaxed. 'That one's harmless enough', he thought. Then, looking up "Trav?" he questioned, hoping to bring his horse to him, but Traveler was well on his way headed in the direction of home. 'Those snakes don't even rattle. They just eat rats. Why on earth?' he thought to himself as he watched his horse disappear through the field. "Damn! Not exactly the end of a perfect day," he exclaimed aloud. It was at that moment the initial adrenaline wore off and the pain in his leg started to register fully. As the gravity of his situation registered, he recognized that he had to get up and moving towards home if he was to have any hope of finding shelter before the sun went down.

Jess tried to stand up but this leg gave way. He fell on the rocks once again, this time hitting his head hard on one and his world went black.

Chapter 5

When Jess came to, the sun was low in the sky. From the extreme pain in his left leg he knew the bone was broken. When he looked down at his jeans there was blood soaked through the material just below his knee. He reckoned the bone had broken through the skin.

Stranded this far out he needed to build a fire for the night. Between the cougars and bears in this part of the country he knew a fire would help ward them off, especially if they smelled blood, his blood.

He checked his holster for his gun and found his revolver right where it should be. "Well, at least I still have this. Wish I had my rifle," he said to no one, but needed to hear a human voice, even if it was only his own.

There was enough scrub in the area, dry branches and leaves for kindling, but he would have to drag himself closer to the woods to find burnable wood.

Jess pulled his hunting knife from its sheath and cut the length of his jeans from the bottom leg to his knee to examine how much damage had been done to his leg. Luckily he was wrong, there was no bone protruding. Whatever snapped his leg had left a bad abrasion in his skin near the break. He reckoned it was the rock laying just a few feet away from him.

Hopefully, Traveler would be home by now and Slim would be out looking for him. Now he wished he hadn't finished his work so early to be tempted to going fishing. Slim would be looking for him far to the east of where he was now. When he didn't find him, Slim would widen his search. He'd probably widen the search going toward home thinking Jess had been left afoot between where he was supposed to be working and the ranch.

Finding him where he was now could take days. He was unable to travel and Slim would be looking in all the wrong places. He doubted Slim would check his saddlebags to notice the fishing gear was wet. They both carried their fishing gear with them when out doing chores, just in case they could catch dinner before heading for home.

If the fishing hole was closer to where Jess had been working, Slim probably would have guessed right away where to look. But the hole he used was far and out of the way. It wasn't on the way home from where he'd been working.

Some of the country he traveled through getting to the fishing hole would be hard tracking, even for a seasoned scout. There was a far stretch of rocky area with little grass that he had passed through. All he could hope for was that Slim might back track the trail left by Traveler on his way home. The trail a panicked horse might take could go in several directions before heading straight home and Slim would know that. Knowing how Slim thought though, Jess guessed Slim would start looking in the most likely place. Where he was supposed to be, out on the ridge at the high pasture.

"Snakes!" Jess thought. "And not even a rattler." He knew Traveler, like many horses, would shy at a snake, especially at the sound of a rattler. Why he shied at that harmless black snake, Jess couldn't imagine. It had to have startled him or he would have ignored it. The pace they'd been walking, Jess reckoned Traveler might have been dozing during the walk.

"If only I'd been payin' more attention to where I was goin' rather than admirin' my fish, I wouldn't be in this mess." He thought with a building anger directed at himself, not his horse.

"Well, at least when I get a fire goin' I won't starve." He wished the fishing hole were closer. Going without water would be his biggest problem, especially if it got hot the next day while waiting for Slim to find him. This time of year extremes were still possible, hot days and cold nights.

He felt the bone in his leg. It ached, it hurt, but wasn't unbearable. Yet. But he knew it would swell and get much worse before long. There was no way he was going to be able to walk on it. It felt like a clean break, nothing out of alignment. "Sometimes you git lucky", he thought, "if this kin be considered luck. I reckon it could have been worse." He'd have to try to splint it and maybe fashion a crutch, once he was able to get to the wood at the edge of the forest.

Temporarily he wrapped his bandana around the break hoping this would hold it in place while he dragged himself toward the woods. Keeping the leg from further damage was most important at this juncture of his misadventure.

Once he was sure he had the bone as secure as he could, Jess grabbed his fish and tried to drag his way to the woods. At least he could eat tonight. Heck, there were enough fish for breakfast, too. "That is if a bear doesn't catch a whiff of them and decide they'd be easier to take away from me than go fish for some himself." he thought. As far as Jess was concerned he didn't mind sharing a few of his fish with a bear, as long as the bear wasn't interested in having him for dessert.

Dragging himself toward the woods, he could see there was plenty of dead wood at the edge. At least he wouldn't have to go into the woods to find firewood. For a crutch or splint for his leg, he might need more than he could find out in the open. When he got there then he'd worry about going into the woods and only if it was necessary. Time would tell. He hoped all he needed would be right there at the edge of the woods.

Some medicinal whiskey would do him well right about now, he thought. But he'd be happy to just settle for water. Drinkable water.

He looked up at the sky. Not a cloud for as far as he could see. Not much of a chance for rain tonight.

Reaching the edge of the woods exhausted but not much worse for the wear, Jess felt his leg and the bone had not moved. It was still in perfect line.

"Why is it when you don't have somethin' ya miss it most?" he said to himself, wishing he had his canteen with him. He lay back to rest for a moment or two to allow the throbbing in his leg to subside. Once he felt he could move again he started to gather wood for his fire. The sun was very low in the sky, now, so he wanted to take advantage of what light that was left to gather what he needed.

While searching he found some straight, sturdy pieces of wood to use to make a splint for his leg. He put them aside so he wouldn't burn them by mistake. Much of the wood he found was rotting, but it would burn. There were some good pieces that would last the night. Looking over what he gathered he was confident he had enough to keep the fire going all night.

Next he had to find something to use as a crutch. Nothing he found on the ground was appropriate. He looked up at the nearby trees and saw a branch. If he could reach it, break or cut it loose, he could work on it over night to fashion a suitable crutch.

The injured man dragged himself to the tree and used the trunk to pull himself up on his good leg. The branch hung low enough for him to grasp it. A few sharp tugs and he heard a snap, but the branch was not going to give in that easily. He would need to use his knife to get it freed.

Darkness was settling around him before he was able to pull the branch loose. The fork would work well under his arm and the branch appeared fairly straight and sturdy enough to carry his weight without any give, bend or breaking.

Now he had to transport all his treasures away from the woods and make a clearing. He surely didn't want to set the forest afire or start a wild burn in the field.

It took him about an hour to pull his bounty to an area that was flat and where the grass was not too hard to flatten down and clear away. He found some rocks as he moved along to circle the fire. Not enough to really suit him, but under the circumstances he had to make them do.

He dug out a little pit in the ground. Luckily the grass he yanked from the ground didn't have deep roots but the disturbance of the earth was enough to make digging with his hands possible. His gloves saved his hands from becoming raw from digging. Jess was always grateful for this small piece of his equipment; they surely served him well in so many ways and so many times.

When he was finally satisfied he wouldn't set the world on fire, he built his small camp/cook fire. The tinder caught quickly and the dry wood burnt well. He hoped he had enough to keep it burning all night, even if it had to be conservatively.

By now he was very hungry and prepared the fish to cook over the open fire. "Wish I had some coffee to wash ya down with." Jess said to the fish he was cleaning. Not getting a response, he put the fish one by one on the fire to cook.

Gathering the grass he tore away for the fire he made himself a soft resting place for the night. If only he had his bedroll, Jess aspired. Nights could get pretty chilly this time of year. Knowing shock could set in from his broken leg, he knew he had to try to keep warm as best as he could. He'd have to practically hug the fire if the night got too cold.

After he had eaten, saving some fish for morning, and settled the fire to a slow burn for the night, Jess dragged himself to his grassy bed and started to work on making his splint and crutch. The light from the fire was enough to get the job done. He took off his shirt, donning his jacket over his long underwear shirt, and tore the shirt into strips to tie the splint in place. The remaining material he used to pad the arm brace of his crutch. Once all this was accomplished he had to try it out. It was tough getting up, but with his good leg, arms and the help of the crutch Jess was successful at getting to his feet. The crutch worked well enough to get around. If he needed more wood for the fire at least he could hobble out to get it rather than drag himself. How he'd carry the wood, well, Jess would worry about that later. "One thing at a time", he thought.

Even though the crutch worked well, it was terribly uncomfortable and he knew he wouldn't be making any long journeys with it. It was effective, but not good enough to get him back home.

Once again he settled down on his grassy mattress, covered himself as best he could with some of the hay and tried to get some sleep.

Chapter 6

Slim was sitting on the porch grumbling about Jess being so late for super as Daisy insisted that they wait for Jess. It was near sundown and he should have been back long ago. Slim kept watching, with hope, to see Jess come past the gate so they could all finally eat.

Mike was complaining to Daisy, as well, but she took pity on the boy and gave him a snack to hold him until Jess got home.

Besides the cry of a distant coyote and the growing chorus of crickets, the night was practically silent. The occasional stomping of a horse in the barn, or a cow calling to her calf would break the quiet evening from time to time. Slim listened intently for the sound of Jess' horse to come riding into the yard. After what seemed like an eternity he finally heard a horse coming in at a considerable gallop. "Jess knows he's late and making up time," Slim thought. "But it's not like Jess to ride that hard this close to home unless it's an emergency."

When the rider-less Traveler came into the yard Slim stood up quickly. "Where is Jess?" he thought worriedly. He called to Daisy to come out as he went to check on the horse. When he found Traveler was slightly lathered enough that he would need some cooling down, Slim became more worried.

Daisy and Mike appeared on the porch and Slim explained to them what happened, "Oh, Slim, you don't think he's hurt, do you?" Daisy said her concern showing in her face.

"Maybe his horse just shied at something and left Jess afoot out at the pasture. Mike, I'll unsaddle him. Could you walk him a few minutes to cool him down?" Slim said trying to not sound too concerned. He led Traveler to the barn as Mike followed them. Slim unsaddled the horse and wiped him down as best he could then handed Mike the reins to take Traveler out and walk him around the yard. Slim, in the meantime, saddled his horse and another. When he walked the two horses out of the barn Daisy approached him.

"I'm so sorry, Dear,, that I made you wait to eat." Daisy said wringing her hands. "Will you eat before you leave?"

"No. I hate to think of Jess walking home in the dark. If he's hurt, the sooner I find him, the better."

"Then let me pack up some food for you both." She said turning, without waiting for a response from Slim, to return to the house to prepare a sack for Slim to take with him. Slim tied the horses to the post next to the house and walked to check on Traveler's cool down. Putting his palm to the horse's chest he said to Mike, "Walk him about another ten minutes or so, then take him in the barn and brush him down for the night. Give him some extra hay and make sure his water bucket is full. When you put him away he may drink much of it, so make sure it's full before you go to bed."

"Sure, Slim. You think Jess is okay, don't cha?" Mike said with tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm sure he's fine. He just let his horse get away from him. It's not the first time and he was okay those other times. Maybe Jess didn't have him tied tight and something spooked him and Jess couldn't stop or catch him, then Traveler just came home. Don't worry, now. We'll worry later if we have to. Why worry before there's something to worry about. Right, Tiger?" Slim said, trying to keep the boy from being so concerned.

"I reckon." Mike said, looking down at the reins in his hands, not really sounding convinced.

Daisy came out on the porch with the sack of food. Slim noticed her, but first he bent down to be eye-to-eye with Mike and said, "Don't worry! Okay? Take care of Traveler so I can tell Jess Traveler's been put in good hands and getting the best of care." He tussled the boy's blonde hair before he walked to the porch.

Daisy voiced her concern, once again. Slim felt she needed the same speech he had just given Mike if time allowed, but he just took the sack, gave her a hug and said, "Don't worry. Everything's fine. We'll both be back, shortly."

She tried to give him a brave smile as she watched him mount his horse and lead the other horse out the yard. Mike waved but Slim didn't take notice, being more concerned than he wanted to admit. He would have normally turned to wave to Mike and Daisy but his mind was already elsewhere. He finally admitted to himself, he was worried too.

It was too dark to do any real tracking. Figuring his best chance of finding Jess was to head for the fence line where he was working during the day he hoped to run into him walking back to the ranch with nothing more hurt than his pride and some anger for whatever spooked his horse.

Occasionally Slim would call out Jess' name, hoping to get a response and an exact point to where to ride and meet him. So far only the crickets or a night bird responded. What little moon there was, was practically useless, even though the sky was clear. A full moon would have been welcome help to light the way.

As Slim neared the work area and got no response from Jess, he was becoming very concerned. He followed the fence line and saw the repairs were completed. He rode further along the line but didn't see any more repairs and the grass didn't look disturbed. He reckoned Jess hadn't ridden or walked this far down the line,

He didn't see any disturbance in the grass, as he back tracked, where Traveler may have shied and run off. From what he could see, it was a normal riding, dismount, fix the fence and move along job.

Backtracking a little more he came to what looked like a trail going off through the field in a westerly direction. "Could Jess have ridden off that way for a reason?" Slim asked him self. "Finished early and saw deer and went hunting?" Many thoughts ran through Slim's mind. Jess was so unpredictable, sometimes, who knew what he might be up to?

The light was so poor Slim had to travel slowly to stay on the track cut through the tall grass. He reached a rocky area and lost the trail. He'd have to drop the search until morning so he wouldn't destroy or confuse any evidence of which way Jess might have gone.

As much as he hated to, he decided to make camp back behind him in the grassy area. As he rode back to the field he looked around at the horizon in all directions hoping to see a campfire in the distance, but he was disappointed. The only things he saw burning were the stars in the sky. No faint glows anywhere. And with the sky so dark, if there was any smoke to be seen, it was well hidden in the darkness.

He called out, once more, in all four directions and listened for a response, but the night sounds were as silent as the sky was dark. The only sights and sound were the crickets singing in the field and the stars shining down from the vast open sky.

Slim gathered some scrub and wood from around the area and put together a rather large campfire hoping if Jess was within visual distance he might see the fire and come to investigate. At least try to beg a cup of coffee from a stranger he might find.

When he finished clearing a place and started his fire he tended to the horses, unsaddling and hobbling them so they could graze overnight. In the morning he would have to find them some water. There was a water hole just north of where he was, only about two miles away.

He took out some of the food Daisy had packed for him along with the coffee and his camp coffee pot. The sight of the coffee pot made his heart ache. He hoped Jess was holed up in someone's house or camp, eating a good meal and drinking coffee to his heart's content. It was a good thought but deep down he didn't feel it was reality. The furrows on his brow deepened. It was going to be a long night and Slim didn't expect he'd get much sleep.

Before he bedded down he called out for Jess in each direction, once again. Slim felt he was all alone in the world. Not another soul out there.

Chapter 7

Jess woke with a start early in the night. He wasn't sure what woke him and it took him a few seconds to acclimate himself to where he was and why. It didn't take long. Only a slight movement of his forgotten leg brought his whole day back to his mind quickly and painfully.

Then he heard the sound that must have awakened him. Wolves. There were wolves in the woods and from the sound of their howling they were much closer than he wanted to hear them. He looked to his fire thinking he should add more wood to build it up to maybe keep them away.

As he rolled over to get some wood to place on the fire he heard a low growl from the other side of the fire. Through the glow he could see a large wolf watching him from the far side of the campfire. At first he froze, and then he slowly started to reach for his gun. The wolf turned and trotted away back into the woods. "I wonder if he's a scout for the rest of the pack. Am I about to be under attack?" Jess asked himself. He pulled his gun and checked to make sure every chamber was loaded. He added one to the empty chamber he normally carried on his gun. He would only have those six chances to stop an attack. He hoped they would be enough.

He heard the howling coming closer and more howling in the distance. He also heard a wolf at the edge of the woods growling angrily. "Is he protecting me, his prey, for his own pack to arrive? Will he fight off one pack to spare me to be dinner for his own family?" None of these thoughts appealed to the injured man.

Six bullets. And he had no way to run or climb a tree. He was trapped. Jess feared his bones would be scattered and he'd never be found.

The growling became more aggressive and Jess heard a fight break out amongst the wolves. If only he could see the battle and kill some of them. In the dark he had no idea how many there were and with the fighting going on, when he would be attacked. Being good enough to be fought over did nothing to add any comfort to his thoughts.

The growling, barking, yapping and yipping continued. It seemed like and eternity to Jess but it was only a matter of minutes before all went quiet. He heard movement in the woods and reckoned the wolves were spreading out to attack him from several directions. He readied his gun. The rustling in the brush sounded like it was moving away from him rather than toward him and Jess wondered if they were spreading out to come at him from the field as well as the woods. "How large is this pack anyway?" he wondered. His heart was beating so hard and fast he was sure the animals could hear it and would also smell his fear. He sat quietly trying to listen for movement around him over the beating of his heart.

Once the only sound he heard was the return of the singing crickets, he still couldn't relax. He figured the wolves were regrouping. A battle for superiority may have been happening within the pack and that caused a delay in the attack. It was not a case of if an attack was eminent, but when.

Jess felt very vulnerable and outnumbered. He sat in his bed watching and listening in all directions, but heard nothing. He sat silently for a long while, afraid to move for fear of provoking the attack, but he also feared loosing what fire he had. The fire needed stoking and wood added to keep it going. If it went out he would loose any chance of seeing the glowing eyes of an approaching attack.

Weighing the dangers, Jess opted to build up the fire. He moved cautiously and as quietly as he could. The pain in his leg was growing and the swelling was going into his boot. He'd have to pull off the boot before he started to loose circulation in his foot to compound his problem. But then, if he didn't make it through the night, the boot was the least of his problems. The ache was gone. It was now a constant throbbing pain that would stab him sharply when he moved that leg or put any weight on it. If he could get the boot off it might help relieve some of the growing pain and pressure, but he dared not try to remove it now. The less movement he made the safer he would stay, for now.

As he watched the fire grow he relaxed some. Putting more wood on the fire hadn't drawn any unwanted attention to him as far as he could tell. At least he would have some light to catch a glimpse of any eye shine in the woods or the field. Seeing them, at least he could take a few of them with him before they got to him, he thought. Jess kept vigilant turning in each direction looking for bright eyes watching him, but so far, there were none that he could see. His leg's hurting forced him to lie back to relieve some of the pressure. He lay with his back to the fire watching the field for the possibility of the marauding pack to attack from that direction. His ears were tuned into listening for any rustling in the woods. He hugged his six-shooter.

Behind him he heard a rustle in the woods. Jess cautiously rolled over to watch beyond the fire to see what was making the sound. It was just barely audible, but something was out there and moving. And it was moving closer.

He watched as a lone wolf came creeping, on his belly, from the woods in his direction. Jess raised his forty-five taking aim, but something stopped him from shooting the animal. The wolf was showing extreme submissiveness to the human. Jess was puzzled but decided to wait it out to see where this was going. Was this wolf a decoy to get his attention for the others to come in on him for an attack? "Are they that crafty?" he thought to himself.

Jess looked around and saw no shinning eyes in the woods or in the open field, just this one lone wolf crawling slowly in his direction. He remained behind and a distance from the fire crouched down and putting his head down on his paws, just watching Jess.

Jess was afraid to move but was also afraid to not keep watch for the rest of the pack to come to back up this strangely acting wolf.

The wolf continued to lay down, keeping his distance from Jess and made no aggressive moves. Jess lay back down and watched the wolf on his vigil while looking for any others to join him. It was some kind of waiting game and Jess wasn't in the mood for games. "Let's get this over with." he said finally to his companion.

The wolf lifted his head and cocked it to one side as he listened to Jess speaking to him. That seemed a very unlikely response to Jess and he was puzzled by the animal's actions. The wolf put his head back down on his paws keeping his eyes on Jess.

Jess spoke to him again, "Okay, what do you and your buddies have planned for me?" Again the wolf lifted his head to listen. "I reckon you're savin' me for breakfast? Or did they go git the kids to join in on the feast?"

The wolf continued to hold his vigil. Jess couldn't figure it. They both laid and watched each other for maybe an hour. Jess would have sworn the wolf actually closed his eyes and napped some of the time.

Suddenly, the wolf stood up and growled. Jess thought 'This is it' and lifted his gun, but to his amazement the wolf turned his back to him, growling toward the woods.

Now Jess could see the glow of eyes in the woods. It was too hard to count them. They blinked on and off, here and there. The same wolf, or wolves were on the move, or several of them were watching him.

The wolf that had been his companion started growling angrily, again. Jess was guessing this was the same wolf he confronted the first time. "Is this a rogue pack and this lone wolf is protecting his prey until his own pack gits here?" Jess wondered. He watched as some of the glowing eyes blinked out. The return growling from the woods was not as aggressive as the wolf that stood guard over his camp.

There was a howling in the distance then a return call, but the wolf in Jess' camp did not respond. Jess could see the raised hackles on the animal he was starting to consider as his wolf. He was hoping this guardian was not a traitor just holding him for the right family coming to feast.

His wolf walked the edge of the forest and back again toward Jess. The glowing eyes in the forest were gone. He heard more howling farther away. Again, his wolf didn't respond just looked back over his shoulder. It was like this wolf had no pack, no connections with any of the others. "Is he waiting for me to fall asleep before attacking me himself?" The thoughts kept running through Jess' mind faster than ever. He couldn't settle on any one to explain what he was experiencing. Or was there? "Could it be I'm dreaming all this? A fever dream?" No. This was real.'

The thought of falling asleep and being attacked by the lone wolf disturbed Jess into thinking he should shoot the animal before he could attack. But, if he did that, the others might return and his guardian would no longer be there to protect him, at least, from that pack. "Mornin' can't come soon enough," Jess said to the wolf.

The wolf walked toward him with his head held low and his tail tucked between his hind legs. He came close enough that he was just beyond Jess' reach. This was when Jess noticed the blood on the animal and the recently torn ear. It was all from a recent fight. Although the animal didn't walk with a limp, there was a huge open wound on his shoulder.

He was probably the largest wolf Jess had ever seen. If he attacked Jess wouldn't stand a chance, but the wolf continued to hold his submissive stance. They watched each other a few minutes then the wolf lay down. He put his head down on his paws and his tail brushed across the ground, scattering the dry leaves and grass. From this position the wolf crawled on his belly closer to Jess. He was almost close enough for Jess to reach out and touch the wolf, if he dared.

Staring at the animal and noticing his markings, Jess got a sense that he knew this wolf. It looked like one of the orphans Andy had a habit of taking in and raising up. Andy had taken in several wolves over the years, but the coloring of one of them had some red fur striped through his coat and the markings around his eyes were unusual, like he was wearing a mask over his eyes.

Andy named him Whiskey due to his reddish coloring. The wolf lying near Jess looked just like that youngster that Andy had a few years back. Jess chuckled to himself. He had wished for whiskey, but this wasn't what he had in mind.

Whiskey came to the ranch as a pup that was badly dehydrated and half starved. Slim found him wandering near his den, his siblings already dead of starvation, dehydration, or both. Their mother must have been killed. They didn't expect the cub to survive, but in time he rallied and grew into a well-developed teenager. Like most teenagers he became a handful, but it was all just fun and games to the wolf.

As the pup grew and got stronger Jess enjoyed wrestling with him. Whiskey would use his mouth in these bouts but never bit or bared his teeth down hard on his playmates.

One day Slim insisted it was time for Whiskey to be let go back to the wild. Whiskey was like having a large puppy around the ranch. Jess enjoyed playing with him as much as Andy. One day Slim took Whiskey for a long ride in the wagon and left him on a mountain ridge. Whiskey never came back home. Andy cried over the loss of his friend and Jess genuinely missed the animal. But Slim's word was law around the ranch and a full-grown wolf was not something they needed. Especially now that he was grown and healthy and proved he could catch his own food by catching some of Jonesy's prize chickens. He also worried if Whiskey wandered off the ranch and someone shot him how Andy would react. Slim didn't want to see his brother have to deal with the guilt that if he had let the animal go he would probably still be alive.

Whiskey was a sore subject around the ranch for some time afterwards, but eventually things got back to normal and Andy had other orphaned or injured animals to tend to and occupy his time. Jess reckoned Andy would never forget Whiskey. Now Jess was grateful for the experience and mutual respect he shared with the animal as he grew. Jess was astounded that the wolf remembered him and was now willing to give his life in repayment to one of the humans who saved his life years ago.

Jess asked, "Whiskey, is that you?" The wolf's head came up and tilted to one side. "It is you, ain't it?" Jess said, unable to hide his amazement.

Whiskey crept closer to Jess then rolled over exposing his belly to Jess in the ultimate show of submission. Jess was tempted to rub his belly like he use to when Whiskey was a pup but he wasn't sure if the animal would allow it, so he resisted the urge.

As Jess got a little braver he reached out his hand to the wolf. Whiskey gave him a sniff, and then rolled back over on his belly.

Moving slowly and cautiously Jess pulled out a piece of left over fish he was saving for his breakfast. He took off his glove and offered it to the wolf. Whiskey gratefully took it and wolfed it down then stretching out his neck to see if Jess had more to share. He smelled Jess' hand and gave it a lick. Jess wished he had more to share with what he now believed to be his guardian. He had one fish left. He would save it until morning and if the great wolf was still with him, he would share his meal with him.

Jess dozed, but remained vigilant. He felt Whiskey would warn him of any impending danger. He wished he could help the great wolf with his wounds, but he was unable to help himself with his own. He wondered if the wolf would be upset if he tried to pull off his boot to ease up on some of the swelling heading toward his foot. He slowly moved to grab the boot and start pulling on it. It was tight, real tight. It hurt like hell, but he got it to budge, and finally removed it. He felt along his leg in the splint and the bone still felt like it was in place. Whiskey just watched him with great interest.

When Jess set the boot down away from his bed Whiskey got up and went to examine it. He picked up the boot and took it back with him where he laid down a few feet away from Jess in what appeared he'd claimed as his own resting place.

Chapter 8

The sun was starting too peek over the horizon. Another clear day as far as Slim could see and with very little wind. Slim was grateful for those small favors since the calm day would leave any tracks easier to follow. He reckoned he'd gotten a little sleep, since the night did pass, but he sure felt like he hadn't slept a wink. Crawling out from his bedroll and standing up, he stretched cursing how hard the ground had been to sleep on. He looked in all directions hoping to catch sight of Jess and was sorely disappointed. As the night before, he called out Jess' name in all directions then listened for an answer. Again, there was no human response.

Slim stoked his fire and put on a little more wood. He put on some coffee hoping Jess would smell it brewing and come running. But he knew there was a very small chance of that happening. Slim called out in all directions as the coffee came to a boil. Hoping that Jess may have been on the move over night or awake and walking by now he aspired that Jess would be within calling distance. But, again, no response

Slim drank his coffee and ate a couple of the muffins Daisy had packed. He sighed to himself, "Jess. Where are you?" as he looked ahead of him in the most likely direction Jess may have gone.

When he finished eating and had a second cup of coffee he put out his fire and called out for Jess one more time. Still nothing. He packed up his camp, saddled the horses then set out toward the rocky ground to see which direction Jess might have gone. Other than a few rocks with fresh white streaks from a recent horseshoe hitting and scraping them, there was very little to go on. Once he reached the grassy other side of the rocky stretch he decided to circle the area looking in the grass for where Jess exited. But, in the meantime he had to get the horses to the waterhole before he continued his search.

Once at the waterhole he grew impatient waiting for the horses to drink their fill. It highly aggravated him to feel this way. He always felt he was a patient man but for some reason, this time, he felt Jess was in urgent danger. He prayed Jess was still alive and would stay that way when he found him. But where to look was a puzzle. It was a huge world and Jess was out there in it. But where?

Alamo showed he was done drinking by stomping his hoof and turning away from the water. The other horse indicated he was done, as well. Slim checked his cinch and remounted Alamo to continue the search. He hated to back track to the rocky area but without finding a direction to follow he'd be wasting his time riding around looking for a sign of Jess passing that way. A needle in a haystack would be easier to find.

The rocks were right where he left them. He started his search riding toward the ranch first, but there was no sign of anyone passing through in that direction. The grass all stood tall and undisturbed.

He backtracked, again, and started his search around the other perimeter of the rocky ground. Finally ahead he saw what looked like some trampled grass. When he got to the spot he could see someone had recently traveled through there. "Why would Jess head out that way?" Slim asked him self. There was nothing out there. He saw no signs of a deer trail that Jess might have followed. His tracks looked like the only trail that passed through the field in weeks.

As he crossed the grassy meadow following what he guessed was Jess' trail he came across some tracks that were heading crosswise to the trail he was on, but he could tell they were much older than the freshly trampled trail he was following He continued with the freshest trail. Then it dawned on him. "The fishing hole! I bet Jess found time to go fishing and Traveler got away from him there." He laughed to himself, "Well it serves him right to have to walk all the way home from there when he should have been working." Sure enough, as he looked ahead at where the trail was leading it was headed straight for the fishing hole.

Chapter 9

Jess slept but between the cold of the night waking him with chattering teeth or movement in his sleep making a sharp pain shoot through his leg, it was not a restful sleep.

With no cloud cover to keep any warmth on the ground the night temperature dropped to about forty degrees. He had to roll over from time to time to heat one side of his body then the other, near the fire. He wished Whiskey would trust him enough to come sleep with him for warmth. But no matter how hard he tried to coax him, Whiskey preferred to stay just a step or two out of reach.

Even though the great wolf would not snuggle with Jess, he did claim Jess' boot as his own and slept with one paw over it.

' "Who woulda dreamed a wild wolf would bring you comfort enough to get some shuteye." Jess thought. Then he spoke to the wolf. "Whiskey?" The wolf lifted his head. "Thanks, Pard, for findin' me and keepin' me alive. If it weren't for you, I know that pack woulda finished me off last night. I reckon ya more than paid your debt. Now if ya could just bring me some water." Jess said with a sorrowful smile.

It was still chilly. Jess stoked the fire and put the last piece of wood into the embers. He sure did hope Slim would find him today and soon. He didn't relish the thought of spending another night here. He'd need more wood to keep the fire going during the day so that it was easy to build up for the night. That meant he'd have to go back to the woods and find more dead branches.

The fire built up enough for him to heat up his remaining fish. As promised, he shared it with Whiskey, who took it from his hand like a gentleman,

Jess was torn to go get wood now or wait until later. He feared that once he got up the wolf would run off. He enjoyed his company and was growing to rely on his protection. After a great deal of thought he decided to get the wood early. If Whiskey ran off now maybe he'd return once Jess settled back down in his bed by the fire.

Jess reached for his crutch slowly. He didn't want it to appear to be a threat to the wolf. Whiskey kept a wary but interested eye on Jess' movements. Jess raised the crutch and Whiskey stood up. Slowly Jess used the crutch to stand up. Whiskey just watched.

Jess took his first steps and Whiskey flinched some then backed up, but showed no signs of aggression or any sign of running off. Jess was relieved. He hoped his journey to get some wood wouldn't scare off his companion.

Using his crutch, Jess slowly limped toward the woods. Whiskey watched him but did not move. Once Jess was about twenty feet away the wolf started walking in his direction. He continued to follow Jess to the edge of the woods.

Now Jess' dilemma was how he was going to gather the wood and carry it back to his camp. The crutch had become a liability. With effort and ingenuity he was able to gather a pile of wood together in one place. Whiskey lay in the field watching the strange actions of the human.

Jess knew he gathered more wood than he could carry, but at least it was gathered should he have to come back for more.

He picked up as much as he could carry and hobbled back to camp. Near the fire he dropped the wood then sat down to make it into a neater, easier to reach pile. To his amazement, Whiskey was coming toward him carrying a rather large branch, part of it dragging the ground. "Well, I'll be." Jess said aloud, shaking his head.

Whiskey dropped his branch a considerable distance from Jess, but it wouldn't be difficult for Jess to get it later. That large piece would burn most of the night, if he needed to spend another night.

Whiskey came closer to Jess and sat down facing him. He almost looked like he was grinning. Jess couldn't help but grin back. Again he tried to coax the wolf to come to him, but Whiskey just sat wagging his tail. The only way he would come within reach was with the offer of food. And now, that was out of the question.

Whiskey stood up and turned away from Jess then ran from him, stopped and turned to look back at him. He was acting like he wanted to play, like old times. Jess wished he could oblige him but it was impossible. When Jess didn't follow, Whiskey took off far into the field. Jess hoped his friend wasn't leaving him.

He watched as the wolf disappeared amongst the high weeds and grass of the field. It was strange to feel so unprotected, already. The bond he and Whiskey had formed in that short time was very special to Jess, not just for the protection the animal provided for him, but to understand that an animal could feel and remember kindness that had been done for him.

The morning wore on and Whiskey didn't return. The air was still cool, but refreshing. Jess napped on and off. When he was awake he recognized his need for water was growing. He felt feverish. He sat up and looked around him again for any sign of water. He pulled himself up with his crutch so he could try to see over the grass for any indication of a waterhole he might not been aware of. The field offered no glimpse of water. The grass grew tall and straight for almost as far as he could see. Standing up straight, rather than slumped over his crutch was of no help, either. The grass was almost as high as he was tall in his slumped stance against the crutch. The woods might offer the chance for discovering water, but it would most likely be polluted by fallen leaves and rotting wood.

Short of a running stream, river or spring fed water hole, the chances of drinking water was very slim nearby in those woods. When he was gathering his wood, he was sure he would have noticed the sound of running water.

He sat back down, resigned to the fact that he'd have to pray Slim would get there soon with water. He ripped some fresh grass from the wall of grass near where he laid. It was cool. He put it to his head to try and bring down his fever. He knew it was far from adequate, but it was better than nothing. It took no time for it to become warm and of no value. Not worth the energy to pull it. His gun felt cool so he put the cool metal against his head.

Jess lay back to look at the sky. Overhead a few white puffy clouds drifted by holding no promise of rain. "Rain," he thought, "I've no shelter if it rains so I'd probably die of exposure, but if it doesn't rain I'll die of thirst or fever." Slim just had to find him and soon. If he wouldn't be live prey for the wolves he'd soon be carrion for the scavengers.

He slept fitfully again. The fever brought dreams; the pain woke him from those dreams. He looked at his swollen leg and decided he must loosen the splint. The cloth was cutting into his leg and cutting off circulation. He had enough problems; he didn't need to add gangrene to the list.

Chapter 10

Slim finally reached the fishing hole. Sure enough there was evidence that someone had spent some time fishing. The grass was still matted down from where the fisherman sat and the grass where a horse had grazed as he fished was very evident.

He could see that the man mounted the horse and rode in the direction of the ranch. "So where is he?" Slim thought. "What happened and why did Traveler come home alone?" None of this added up or looked right. If Traveler didn't run off here then where and most of all, why? Jess was well within easily reaching home in just a matter of hours even if he were on foot. Slim hoped he would follow the trail, find where Traveler and Jess parted company, and then follow Jess' trail back to the ranch. He pictured that Jess would be there waiting for him drinking a hot cup of coffee perhaps sitting on the porch. He imagined seeing Daisy cooing over him and anticipated Jess' whopper of a story of about what happened. He'd never admit he just let his horse run off from him, especially when he was where he wasn't supposed to be.

Slim started to follow the trail away from the fishing hole. Through the field the disturbed high grass showed him exactly the way the horse and rider had gone.

Again he called out for Jess then listened intently, but again to his disappointment, there was no response from his partner and friend.

Jess woke to the sound of movement through the grass. It wasn't a rider or he would have seen him over the tall grass. He reached for his gun. Seeing Whiskey return would have been a comforting thought, but not knowing what was approaching him, he best be prepared for whatever should appear.

The grass was parting quickly until it got within twelve feet of the small, rough camp. The animal had now slowed to a walk. Each step appeared to be slower than the last. Was there an animal stalking him? Jess aimed at the spot he expected the beast to lunge from. The animal stopped just mere inches from sight, and then approached very cautiously. Jess pulled back the hammer on his revolver.

To Jess' relief, Whiskey poked his head through the grass. Jess' heart was beating hard and fast. He didn't realize how tense he'd gotten. He rested the hammer on his forty-five and breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking down as he laid his gun within easy reach he tried to shake the adrenalin rush he experienced and said, "Whiskey, ya scared the livin' daylights outta me!"

When he looked up again Jess saw the wolf was holding a dead rabbit in his mouth. Once again Jess was astounded at the intuition the wolf possessed.

Rather than tear the rabbit apart and eat it in front of Jess, Whiskey dropped the rabbit on the ground close to where Jess sat. Cautiously and watching for any movement from the wolf Jess reached out for the rabbit hoping there wouldn't be a battle over the wolf's kill. Whiskey sat down and had that look of a grin on his face, once again. Jess just couldn't believe it. This wolf was trying to care for him almost as if he were repaying the care he'd received years ago at the ranch.

Jess pulled his hunting knife from its sheath and started to skin the rabbit. He tossed the skin to Whiskey who proceeded to tear it apart and eat it. Jess stoked the fire then quartered the rabbit for cooking. He tossed the rest of the dressing from the rabbit to Whiskey who quickly made it disappear. When he finished his meal he laid down to watch Jess cooking the rabbit with great interest.

It didn't take long for the vultures to detect death. Above them Jess saw a few of the scavengers already gathering. "Forget it. There won't be enough left over," Jess yelled up to them. "And if yer waitin' on me, ya got a long wait."

Whiskey must have thought Jess was talking to him and was brushing the ground with his tail. Jess had noticed Whiskey was showing far less signs of submission, but was also not showing any signs of aggression. He was accepting Jess as his equal. Jess was more than a little humbled and was more than willing to treat his companion as his equal. In fact, he felt honored.

Jess shared pleasant conversation with Whiskey. He filled Whiskey in with the happenings back at the ranch since the wolf left, while the rabbit roasted over the fire. Jess was still aware of his fever and especially of his thirst. He knew Whiskey seemed to have possession of knowing his needs but was not capable of helping him with either of his present problems. He looked back toward the woods trying to see a wild fruit tree or bramble of berries. Fruit or berries would provide him with some moisture. Even a small amount was better than none. But no matter how he tried to imagine an apple tree, all he saw was aspen, maple, oak and various useless scrub bushes. Not even a sign of any berry bushes even though they would be practically bare of fruit this time of year. And it was far too early for ripe fruit to be on the trees.

When the rabbit was done cooking, Jess shared his meal with Whiskey. The wolf would take the food from Jess' hand but still would not let him touch him. After a little thought Jess realized that Whiskey probably did not want to get the scent of man on him. He reckoned that maybe in his early days of release he was an outcast. "Who knows, he might still be an outcast." Jess thought to himself. He was starting to feel a greater kinship with the wolf imagining Whiskey's life running parallel to his own.

Slim continued to follow the very evident trail. In the distance he spotted some buzzards gathering and circling near the wooded area.. He hoped that wasn't a bad sign. If they were circling either something was dying or dead and being devoured by scavengers higher up on the food chain and the birds were just waiting their turn to pick the bones clean. Slim picked up his pace. The trail appeared to be headed directly toward where the birds were circling. He called out to Jess but once again, received no response.

Jess and Whiskey had finished their feast and Whiskey cleaned up every bone. He left nothing for the buzzards, as Jess promised, but that didn't discourage them or make them go away. Jess thought if he was hungry enough later they could have buzzard for dinner, if the birds continued to circle above. He didn't think he was desperate enough for that yet, but it was an option should it become necessary.

Slim had to be looking for him and figured out where he'd gone, by now. He left a good trail since he wasn't trying to hide his little side venture. He preferred seeing Slim arrive before he had to shoot one of those buzzards. They weren't an appetizing thought. He tried to hide the thought from his mind that they could possibly be circling waiting for him to die. Maybe they could smell the infection in his leg.

Slim trotted along the trail coming up closer to the woods and the circling vultures. A whiff of smoke drifted on the air. He stopped and looked around for a fire or any sign of smoke. Ahead, near the woods he thought he saw smoke but the backdrop of trees made it difficult to distinguish if a small fire might be burning. He yelled out, "Jess!" Again, he heard no response.

Chapter 11

Jess was napping when Whiskey stood up and started to growl. He was looking off into the field. Jess saw nothing, but Whiskey was aware of something moving in the grass. Jess sat up and prepared to use his gun, if necessary. "Please don't be a bear," he mumbled under his breath. He knew Whiskey wouldn't stand a chance against a full-grown bear. If it were a deer Whiskey wouldn't be growling, he'd be on the hunt or stalking it.

Jess watched as the wolf raised his hackles. He wondered if the other wolves were coming back. A cougar or a bear would be a disaster. He stood up with the help of his crutch and held his gun ready for what ever might pop out of the grass to do him or Whiskey harm. Then Jess saw a hat high above the grass. It was a rider. He called out, "Hey, over here."

"Jess, is that you?" Slim called back.

"Slim! Yeah, over here. I broke my leg."

"I'll be right there." Slim called back, picking up his pace.

Whiskey stood his ground and continued to growl at the approaching rider. "Whiskey. It's Slim. It's okay, boy." Jess said to his companion. The wolf ignored him and continued to stand guard sending out his warning growl. His lips were rolled back showing his viciously sharp teeth. The growl was becoming angrier and more aggressive. Jess didn't like the looks of what was going on and what could happen.

"Slim." Jess shouted. "Stop a minute. Don't move. We might have a problem."

"Yeah, like what?" Slim called back, not imagining why he should hold still and not ride in to rescue his friend.

"I sorta got me a guardian and he's seein' ya as a threat." Jess called out.

"Well, tell him I'm okay." Slim called back

"It's not that easy. We don't speak the same language."

"Indian?" Slim called.

"No." Jess responded, shaking his head with a bit of a grin showing on his face. "Wolf."

"What?" Slim figured he couldn't have heard him right.

"A wolf. I think it's one of Andy's orphans. Remember Whiskey?"

"Yeah. I let him lose the other side of the ridge. That was years ago."

"I don't want him to attack you. He's kept me alive so far. I owe him my life and I want to be sure he continues to live his."

"How are we going to do that?" Slim asked. His horse was getting restless standing in one place and the scent of a wolf on the wind wasn't making things any better. The other horse was older and more docile. He didn't appear to be in any distress and perfectly happy to just stand and snatch at some of the grass for a snack.

"Don't know. Got an idea. Stay there." Jess started to hobble in Slim's direction. So far Whiskey stayed at the camp on guard. When he could no longer see Jess he started to follow him. This wasn't what Jess wanted. He turned around and shouted, "No. Go back." at Whiskey knowing the animal didn't understand the words but hoped he'd understand the inflection. The wolf stopped in his tracks but once Jess started walking again he followed.

"Slim, I have a crutch and I'm walkin' out to ya. The wolf won't stop followin' me. When I git there, if he shows any aggression, for God's sake, don't shoot him. Fire in the air to scare him off, but only if you have to. Right now ya best not show any sign of bein' any harm to me. He might recognize you just like he did me once we get closer."

"I don't know, Jess. Alamo might not appreciate a wolf approaching him."

"Just trust me. I'll watch the movement of the wolf and adjust my movements if need be. I think we have a fair understandin' between us." Jess limped on a little farther and could see Slim above the grass. Slim could see the top of Jess' head as he hobbled toward him. Jess stopped. "Whiskey. Remember Slim? Remember Andy? " Jess said with a sound of pleasant enthusiasm. He tried to convey to the wolf that this was a good thing. At least the wolf had stopped growling once Jess started walking toward Slim.

"Slim?" Jess called.

"Yeah?"

"Talk to Whiskey. Call him by name. Sound friendly. Maybe he'll recognize yer voice. Ya got any food with ya?"

"You're hungry now while we're dealing with a wolf?" Slim said with surprise and a touch of agitation at the request showing in his voice.

"No. No, somethin' to offer the wolf."

"I have some of Daisy's chicken, but she sent it for you!"

"Slowly get off your horse, but hang on to 'im tight. Walk forward with a piece of chicken in yer hand."

"I'd rather be holding my hog leg." Slim said.

"Please, Slim, bear with me. Whiskey is calm right now. He's listenin' to us talk. Maybe he recognizes your voice. Oh, and Slim?"

"Yeah?"

"I guarantee Whiskey will eat the chicken before he tries to eat you. Once he tastes Daisy's chicken he'll loose all interest in you."

"Ha, ha", Slim said dryly with a grim smile, but did as Jess asked. He first tied the other horse to Alamo's saddle and then wrapped Alamo's reins around his hand. "Okay, I have a chicken leg in my hand and I'm keeping Alamo back as far as I can." He hoped he could keep control over his horse should he panic seeing the wolf.

Alamo knew Whiskey from when he lived at the ranch. Slim prayed that both animals remembered each other and there would be no attacks or panics happening. The other horse had been an old timer on the ranch and was around to see many of the orphan animals Andy had raised up. If he remembered correctly this was the horse that used to run and play with Whiskey in the corral. Whiskey would chase after him and grab his tail. The horse would spin around and chase Whiskey until the wolf got away by running under the fence. Remembering that wolf brought a smile to Slim's face. He was sorry when he had to release him, but he knew it was best for the animal to roam free and be away and wary of humans. He thought of Whiskey often over the years hoping he'd done well for himself. Now it appeared the animal was still around and still had no real fear of man. Slim wondered how Whiskey survived not being shot if he held no fear of humans. He reckoned the first man the wolf would try to befriend would kill him for sure. It was a puzzle Slim would probably never solve.

Jess continued slowly hobbling toward Slim. The wolf backed off some, but he continued to keep an eye on Jess, never letting him out of his sight. Jess finally reached Slim. "Keep talkin' to him, Slim."

"I don't see him. Where is he?" Jess stepped aside and Slim saw the great wolf a few paces behind Jess. He had his head lowered. "Jess," Slim said nervously, "he looks like he's going to attack."

Jess looked back and saw the stance of the wolf and told Slim that Whiskey was showing submission, not aggression. "Don't show any fear, Slim. Do you have any more chicken?" Jess asked. Slim held up the sack he was holding in the hand with the reins wrapped around it. "Give me the leg." Jess said and Slim handed it to him. Jess took a bite from it then turned toward the wolf and put out his hand offering his friend the treat. "Whiskey, you have no idea how lucky you are. Daisy makes the best fried chicken, ever." The wolf took the offering and practically swallowed it whole. "Slim, more chicken." Slim pulled out a thigh piece and started to hand it to Jess. He still couldn't believe his eyes. "No, this time you give it to 'im." Jess instructed.

Slim looked stunned, and blinked his eyes while trying to comprehend what Jess just said. "Huh?"

"Just keep talkin' to 'im. Call 'im by name 'n reach out to hand him the chicken."

With apprehension, Slim did as Jess directed and the large wolf came forward, cautiously, and took the chicken gently from Slim's hand. He licked his chops and eyed Slim with a hopeful look for another hand out. Slim read his message clearly and pulled out another piece of chicken and offered it to Whiskey. "I don't believe this, Jess."

"You shoulda been livin' it in my world the last twenty four hours. I still don't believe it myself. I'm glad you see 'im or I woulda thought it was fever."

Slim was still worried about the horses. He could feel the tension from the pull on the reins. He was sure they smelled the wolf and couldn't relax with the thought of the predator in their approximation.

"Jess, we've got to make him move on or we're both liable to be left afoot. The horses are a little skittish."

"Yeah, I know, Slim. I just haven't figured that part out yet. At least he's accepted you and he don't show no threat to the horses. Now it's just winnin' over the horses or makin' him leave. I'm open to ideas."

"You mentioned firing in the air. Do you think we should try that to run him off?" Slim suggested.

Jess knew in his heart that was probably the best option open to them, but Jess didn't want the last memory for himself or Whiskey being chased off by firing a gun. It would probably be best to make the wolf wary of humans, again. The experience with Jess this past day and night needed to be erased from the animal's mind and trust. If he walked up to another human he would be shot for sure. Yet, behind his mind, Jess realized the wolf kept his distance and never let him touch him. That may have just been an extraordinary situation in the animal's life. He wouldn't have survived this long if he hadn't stayed away from other humans. This was just a very special circumstance in the wolf's life and Jess, selfishly wanted to remember it as a sweet memory. He wanted to remember it that the wolf came to help him when he was needed, then returned to the wild, by himself, when he knew he was no longer needed. He seriously wanted to give that scenario a chance to play itself out. After deep thought Jess said, "Slim?"

"Yeah."

I'm goin' back to my camp. I'm sure Whiskey'll follow me. Now that he knows yer not here to hurt me, try walkin' into our camp leadin' the horses. Just listen for me to yell stop, just in case." Jess turned and started to follow Whiskey back toward the campsite. When Jess got within a few feet of the wolf, Whiskey stepped aside to let Jess pass and take the lead.

Slim walked back to the horses to reassure them everything was okay. He could tell by their eyes neither of them was comfortable with the situation at hand. But they trusted him and if the wolf made no moves toward them they would be all right. Petting Alamo's neck Slim sighed and said. "Okay, boy. Let's give it a try."

It was common knowledge that running from a predator would provoke the chase or hunt response. Slim prayed neither horse would shy and run off. As he walked them toward the camp he kept talking to them to reassure them everything was going to be okay. He prayed he was right. He prayed Jess was right and knew what he was doing.

Chapter 12

Jess made it back to camp and was grateful to have his soft grass bed to sink into. His leg felt like it was full of dynamite and ready to explode. He checked the wrappings but he didn't think they needed any loosening, yet.

Whiskey lay down in his usual place and hung his paw over Jess' abandoned boot. His head was up and his ears pricked, set in the direction Slim and the horses were coming from through the field. As Slim approached the small clearing the wolf remained alert from his spot. Slim walked out and around as far from the wolf as he could before bringing the horses into part of the small clearing. Whiskey stayed put, his tail brushing the ground.

The horses looked in Whiskey's direction but must have sensed no danger because they were surprisingly calm.

"It looks like you made you both a cozy little camp." Slim said looking around. "Whiskey just might decide to call this home when you leave." he joked.

"Yeah, well he's already staked a claim on my boot." Jess said pointing to the wolf lying with both his paw and head on the boot. "Ya got any water on ya?" Jess asked.

"Oh, yeah. Sure. I meant to ask you if you needed it when I got here, but, well, my mind kinda went blank when I saw your friend, there. Here you go, Pard." Slim said as he handed Jess the canteen. Jess poured a little in the cup of his hand and offered it to Whiskey. The wolf took a lick or two but wasn't really interested. He must have a water supply close by, Jess mused. Too bad whiskey couldn't talk and tell Jess right where it was.

Jess took small swallows of the water though he wanted to pour the full canteen in his mouth and down his throat all at once.

Slim walked the horses to the woods and tied them securely to some trees. He bought the sack and coffee pot back with him along with the first aid kit he always carried. He reckoned they would eat before they left.

Jess handed him the canteen and said, "Thanks, Pard. Mighta overdone it so don't let me have it again too soon no matter how much I beg ya. Won't do no good if I don't keep it down."

Slim took the canteen from Jess smiling down at him on his grassy bed. He stooped down to take a better look at Jess' leg. He didn't like what he saw. It was quite swollen and where the skin was broken some pus was oozing. "We need to do something with your leg. I have some supplies with me."

"First coffee." Jess insisted as he stoked the fire and added more wood. "And my stomach is longin' for more of that good chicken Daisy sent."

"Okay. We'll start the coffee heating and then I'll look at your leg while it's brewing."

"Deal." Jess said with his boyish grin.

Slim fixed the coffee to brewing then sat down next to Jess. "You okay, Pard? Fever or anything? You look a little white around the gills."

"Oh yeah. Feverish. Some pain. But I reckon it's a long way from my heart." Jess tried to lighten the mood. He knew how serious his leg looked and he knew Slim only had a glimpse, until now, how swollen it really was.

Slim untied the bandages from the splint. He could tell Jess was hurting, but said nothing. Slim didn't like the amount of swelling in the leg nor the pus from the wound. The pus should have been relieving some of the swelling in the lower part of the leg closer to the break, but it didn't look like it was draining anything from the break area. It looked like it was a separate infection. Jess needed a doctor, and soon. Slim saw wounds like this during the war where men lost their legs to gangrene. He didn't want to worry Jess so he first set about cleaning up the open wound then feeling for the alignment of the bone.

"Take it easy, Slim. Pressin' on it ain't gonna make it go away." Jess said between his clenched teeth with the tone of both pain and agitation in his voice.

"Jess, I'm not pressing on it. It's swollen and it's hot. I'm going to re-splint it and we're going to get you to town to see the doctor right away."

"After coffee." Jess insisted with a smile. "It ain't falled off yet so I reckon it'll stay stuck a little longer. Now where's some of that good chicken?"

Slim reached for the sack with what was left of the chicken and handed it to Jess. "Have you decided what to do about Whiskey?" Serious concern showed blatantly on his face.

"Take him home with us, of course."

"Jess!"

"Sorry, Pard," Jess said taking a bite of chicken. "I reckon we'll just git on the horses and leave. If he follows us and don't turn back before we cross the field, I reckon we'll have to scare him off with some gunfire. And Slim, I want to be the one to do it. I'll know when it's right. I kinda gotta explain it to 'im, ya know?"

"Yeah, Jess, I understand. Smells like the coffee's done. Let's have some and more chicken then we'll splint you back up. Let your leg just rest a little without anything tight on it while we eat."

"Fine with me." Jess said holding out his cup for Slim to pour him some coffee. He put the cup to his lips and a glow spread across his face. Slim could see the coffee was one important step to Jess' recovery. That one cup already put a little color to Jess' face. The few minutes wasted here wouldn't matter one way or the other as far as the infection went, but the emotional factor gained gave support toward Jess' survival. 'Just imagine. A wolf and a cup of coffee saving your life,' Slim thought to himself shaking his head and finding it hard to understand.

They both ate, tossing pieces of the chicken as well as the bones to Whiskey. Jess saw the grin on the wolf's face again and almost commented to his partner when Slim said, "Jess, I'd swear that wolf is smiling at us."

Jess laughed and had to agree. Whiskey had a way of showing his satisfaction that was recognizable to the humans, that was for sure.

When they finished eating Slim tidied up the campsite. Jess sat on his bed explaining to Whiskey that they had to leave and that he had to be a good wolf and stay behind. Whiskey just listened to him speak, tilting his head from side to side, occasionally. Jess was sure Whiskey didn't understand a word he said, but it made Jess feel better to say the words, just in case.

Slim picked up the splint and tied it back on Jess' leg and asked him if it was too tight. Jess said it was fine. It was hard for Slim to judge whether he meant it or was just saying it to avoid any more fuss.

When Slim dowsed the fire he checked around the camp making sure there was nothing he missed picking up. He carried most of the gear back to the horses to replace it in the saddlebags before bringing the horses back to the campsite.

Jess had the canteen and took a couple more long swallows then pulled himself up with the help of the crutch. Whiskey lifted his head but continued to lie in his chosen spot. Jess looked at the wolf and said, "Now you stay, boy. Okay? I already told ya why. Please don't follow us. I don't wanna have t' scare ya off."

Slim lead the horses to the camp. Whiskey hadn't moved. Jess hobbled over to the horses with the help of his crutch and some aid from Slim. Slim helped him climb up on the older horse. Once he was surfeited that Jess was seated and able to ride Slim climbed up on Alamo's back. Whiskey continued to lay in his place, paw draped over Jess' boot, and watched.

As the two men started to ride out of camp Whiskey stood up. Jess yelled a gruff, "No." The wolf stood still watching them then took a few steps in their direction. Jess yelled no at him once again. As a pup Whisky learned that word and knew it well. He heard it many times and learned to stop what he was doing when he heard it said to him.

The two men continued through the field. Whiskey was following but holding back a distance. If he hadn't been following in the grass parted by the horses, they wouldn't have seen him. Eventually they lost sight of him. They hoped he turned back to stay in his own territory.

When they reached a small rise at the edge of the field they both turned their horses to look back for the wolf, but there was no sign of him. No movement seen in the grass other than that created by the gentle breeze. Jess, slouching in the saddle said, "Maybe I don't speak 'r understand yer language but ya seem to know ours. So long, Whiskey. Happy life to ya, and thanks, my friend."

The two riders turned their horses and continued on toward Laramie. Slim was glad for Jess' sake that no gunfire was necessary to make the wolf turn and run away. Slim never told any of them that that was how he had to run Whiskey off when he let him go all those years ago. He let them all assume Whiskey was happy in his release and ran off to find himself a family. He'd never tell a soul what happened that day. Not that he regretted it, just regretted it ever had to happen. From that day he never let Andy keep an orphaned or injured animal any longer than was necessary. He didn't want to have to face the same emotions he felt releasing an animal he had also become very fond of. He had to play his part as the mature and unemotional older brother. "If they only knew." He thought. No. It was best they'd never know that his heart ached as much as theirs when he had to banish the mischievous, but lovable animal.

Chapter 13

By the time they reached town Jess was exhausted and barely seated in the saddle. He had finished one canteen of water and most of the other. They rode directly to the doctor's residence and Mrs. Canfield welcomed them in to sit until the doctor was finished with his present patient.

Both men were dirty and ashamed of how they looked, but this was an emergency and they knew the doctor would understand. Slim could tell that the ride didn't do Jess' condition any good. It looked like he might pass out before the doctor saw him. He reckoned the fever was finally catching up with his friend now and his body wasn't running on adrenaline any longer.

By the time the doctor was ready to see him, Jess was so weak Slim had to practically carry him to the exam room. The doctor kindly asked Slim to wait in the parlor while he tended to Jess. He'd let Slim know what he found as soon as he could. Slim sat down, stood up, paced, sat down, stood up and paced some more. He was more worried now than when he met the wolf. Jess went from excitedly introducing him to Whiskey, controlling the whole weird situation, to being so weak he could no longer hold up his head. He could tell Jess was going downhill when they left the camp and more quickly when they no longer saw the wolf. The ride to town had probably exacerbated his condition but it was the only way to get him to help without delay.

He was pacing again when the doctor came out from the exam room.

"How is he? Is he going to be alright?" Slim rushed to meet the doctor in the hall.

"Slim," Doctor Canfield said, "let's sit down and talk."

The doctor led Slim to the couch and sat down with him, both of them sitting barely on the edge of their seat. "Jess is pretty sick. He let his leg swell without loosening the tight bandages. That had a lot to do with the massive swelling. I'm afraid he will need surgery to relive some of the pressure. The skin on his leg is so taut it could almost split like a ripe melon just touching him."

"But will he be okay?"

"Please, let me finish. My wife is preparing a room for him right now. I want to relieve some of the swelling tonight and watch him through the night. I don't want him moved from here until we get him past the danger point. As of now, I think we can save the leg."

"Oh, God." Slim said. "Jess wouldn't….."

"Right now we need to worry about keeping him alive and keeping the tissue of his leg from becoming more infected. I must go now and start the procedure. I suggest you go home or over to the hotel for the night. You look done in, yourself. I fear I'm in for a long night with your friend, but know this; I will do everything I can in my power to save his leg. But his life comes first."

"I understand, Doc. If you don't mind, I could bed down right here on the couch so I could be close by in case you need me."

"Slim, you'll do us all more good if you go get yourself some sleep. Tomorrow you may want to sit with him. I don't think he'll be much for having visitors for a while, but having you near may give him some comfort. I know how close you boys are."

Mrs. Canfield entered the room. "Charles, the room is made up. Mr. Sherman, would you like some coffee?"

"That would be mighty kind, ma'am." Slim said. Anything so he didn't have to leave yet.

"I'm going to go prepare Jess for surgery. Anna, after you give Mr. Sherman his coffee, then please join me. I will need your help. Slim, when you finish that coffee, I want to see you gone. And, not to the saloon, young man. Get some sleep. You may be loosing a lot of sleep before this is all over, so catch what sleep you can, while you can. Goodnight, Slim. Don't worry. I'll stick to my promise." Doctor Canfield turned and disappeared into the exam room with Jess.

Mrs. Canfield led Slim into the kitchen and poured him a cup of coffee. "Sit down, Mr. Sherman. Take your time. I must go help Charles. I know how worried you are. Anyone would be. But he is in good hands with Charles. You may let yourself out when you finish your coffee, Mr. Sherman. Have a good night."

"Goodnight, Ma'am, and thank you for everything."

Slim took the cup from Mrs. Canfield. Mrs. Canfield left him sitting alone with his thoughts and realizing how exhausted he really was. He wished this had all been a bad dream, but the hot coffee convinced him that he was very much awake and this nightmare was really happening. "How will Jess take it if he should loose his leg? I think he'd rather die," he thought. Finished with his coffee he went back to the parlor, picked up his hat and left.

Slim walked both horses to the livery and had them put up for the night. He wished he could get word back to Daisy. She'd want to know he found Jess. He pondered how much to tell her about Jess' condition. He didn't want to worry her, but he had to tell her something. Slim knew she would guess Jess was in poor condition since he didn't bring him straight home.

Slim walked to the hotel and got him self a room. He collapsed fully dressed on the bed. He was asleep before he got up the energy to get undressed or pull back the sheet and blanket.

Morning came and the sun shone brightly through the window. It fell upon Slim's face and woke him. His head cleared and everything came rushing back into his mind. Jumping up from the bed he looked down at himself. He couldn't even remember going to bed. He wanted to wash up, but finding out how Jess was took priority. Slim decided he would check in with the doctor, get breakfast, then come back to his room to clean himself up.

He walked to the doctor's house and knocked lightly on the door. He waited a minute and knocked again a little louder. Mrs. Canfield opened the door. "I thought it might be you, Mr. Sherman," she said. "Come in."

Slim removed his hat and walked into the house. "Ma'am. Do you know anything about Jess?"

"I'll let you talk to Charles, but I can tell you Mr. Harper came through the surgery very well. Charles said that there wasn't as much tissue damage as he expected. I really can't say much more than that. You'll have to wait for Charles to explain more to you."

"More? There's more? He's going to be alright, though, right?"

"Please, Mr. Sherman, I've already said more than I should. I am not the doctor. I only told you as much as I did to reassure you that your friend is doing fine for the moment. Charles will tell you far more."

"Sorry. Thank you, Ma'am. Can I, can I see Jess?"

"Maybe Charles will approve that. That will be up to Charles. Do you want some coffee while you wait?"

"Where is Doc Canfield?"

"He was called out to deliver a baby early this morning. He should be back shortly if all goes well."

Slim thought he was going to explode if he had to wait much longer, but he followed the doctor's wife to the kitchen and sat down to the cup of coffee she placed before him. Mrs. Canfield excused herself that she had things to attend to. Slim thanked her again and tried to sit at the table patiently until the doctor returned. He heard the stage coming into town. Grabbing his hat, Slim rushed out the door. "Hey, Mose," he called to the stage driver.

Mose climbed down from the box. "Slim. What are ya doin' here? Miss Daisy said ya was out lookin' for Jess."

"Yeah, Mose. I found him. He has a broken leg and it's infected. He's at the doc's house right now. Could you tell Daisy that we're in town and Jess was hurt and will need to stay in town a few days before the doc will let him go home?

"

"Why sure, Slim. A few days, is he okay? It ain't like Jess to sit still more than a day er two."

"I'll know more later. Just don't get Daisy worried. At least knowing I found him and the doctor is tending to his injury should be enough to ease her mind, for now. Don't tell her about the infection. Just tell her Jess broke his leg, okay?"

"You got it, Slim. I'll stop by the doc's house my next trip through."

"Thanks, Mose. I'll tell Doc if I'm not around to be sure to let you know what to tell Daisy." Slim turned and walked back to the doctor's house. Just as he reached the porch the doctor pulled up in his buggy and stopped at the front of the house upon seeing Slim.

"Slim. I'll put the buggy away and be right with you. Jess did well last night. I'll tell you more in a few minutes. Go on in the house and get a cup of coffee. I'll be right in to join you." Doctor Canfield said, and then drove his buggy around back behind the house. Slim fisted his hand to knock at the door, but Mrs. Canfield opened the door so quickly his knuckle barely touched the wood. She heard her husband talking to Slim and was about to come out to join them and ask if Slim could see Jess, but she just missed her husband as he disappeared around the corner of the house.

"Mr. Sherman. Perfect timing. I hear Charles is back. That's good. You two can talk. I'll put on some fresh coffee. I'm sure Charles will want to check on your friend, first, so come on in and sit at the table and keep me company until he joins us,"

Slim entered the house removing his hat. Mrs. Canfield took it from his hand to hang it on a hook near the door. She then walked to the kitchen and Slim followed. She went straight to the stove and put the coffee on to brew. "Please. Sit, Mr. Sherman." Slim sat down but he looked like he was sitting on a tightly wrapped spring and about to be launched at any moment.

Anna Canfield was right about her husband. Slim heard the doctor enter the house, but he went straight through the house and into one of the ground floor rooms. He assumed the doctor went directly to the room where Jess was resting. It seemed to take forever for the coffee to brew and a lifetime before the doctor finally came out to sit with him. Mrs. Canfield poured her husband a cup and refilled Slim's cup. He hadn't even remembered drinking it.

"Well, Slim. Jess came through the surgery well. I have his leg draining to keep the swelling down. I cleaned out the other wound. Both are bad. The bindings on his leg were far too tight for far too long."

Slim's face went red. "I loosened them before we left to come to town. Did I bind them too tight?" Slim hung his head feeling now that a lot of this was his fault.

"No, you probably did fine. Riding the horse to town, well his leg should have been checked to see if it was continuing to swell more and needing to be readjusted. The ride would have caused more swelling. I'm sure you wouldn't know that. And I am only guessing this because the bindings were very tight when he arrived here. I really expected to see more tissue damage, but he was very lucky. It had not started to become necrotic. I scraped the margins just in case any of the tissue was starting to die. It was better to scrape some of the healthy tissue than take a chance anything was brewing. The other wound with all the pus is going to be fine. I think he got a lot of dirt in it trying to drag himself around and had no way to clean it up. His body was just trying to clean itself out through that wound. It's all cleaned up and looks better, already. We only need to remain concerned about the area around the break. He's in a great deal of pain from the surgery and keeping the drainage exit open. Infection is always a worry. I can control the pain, but the fever will be up to him. He's young and strong, but he's been through a lot. If things continue the way they look right now, he'll live and he will keep his leg. I'll just need to watch him. I want him to stay here a few more days. Besides his wounds he was badly dehydrated from lack of water and fever. I think I have that under control now. Anna has been giving him a lot of fluids and he is showing some improvement in his color and the feel of the texture of his skin."

"Can I see him?"

"He won't know you're here. He'll be doing a lot of sleeping for quite a while. Anna will try to feed him when he is conscious. He needs a lot of fluids and nutrition. We can handle that best right here. Come on." The doctor stood up and started to lead Slim down the hall. "You can sit with him for a little while. I must ask you to go, though, when I need to do any medical procedure on him. As long as you're with him, just keep watch that he doesn't show pain or any discomfort. I want to keep him sleeping as much as I can for the moment. No need for him to suffer any pain. Laudanum will help him a great deal though the next few days."

They entered the darkened room. Slim could barely see Jess under the blankets. "I'll leave you two alone, now. But remember; call me if he shows any distress." Doctor Canfield instructed as he left the room and closed the door.

Slim found a chair and pulled it close to the bed. He sat down and just watched Jess breathing for a while. He leaned over and whispered, "Jess. I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I should have found you sooner and got you here sooner. I should have checked your leg on the ride in. I really messed up. You've got to get better. Oh, please God. Don't let him die." Slim sat with his face covered in his hands silently praying for his partner.

Slim sat with his partner for hours. Doctor Canfield checked on Jess several times to check his pulse, breathing and to look at his leg. So far he was satisfied with what he saw, so he didn't force Slim to leave. With Slim watching over Jess it freed up the doctor to care for other patients and Slim was not a bother to them, at all. Mrs. Canfield was concerned that Slim wasn't eating, so she brought him some snacks to eat while he sat with Jess.

Chapter 14

The hours Slim spent by Jess' bedside grew into days. The doctor said there was improvement everyday but with Jess being drugged all the time Slim was still far too worried about his condition, only seeing Jess in his motionless sleep.

Doctor Canfield wouldn't allow Slim to stay with Jess all the time. He insisted that Slim needed proper rest and nutrition or he wouldn't be well and strong enough to care for Jess when the time came. He convinced Slim to go back to the ranch for few days. Slim didn't want to leave but he felt guilty not being home for so long. So he took the doctor's advice and rode back to the ranch one late afternoon. He arrived in time for supper. He walked in through the door and was greeted by Daisy who was setting the table. "Slim! We didn't expect you." Daisy exclaimed running to give him a warm hug. "How is Jess?" She said as she stepped back from him.

"Slim!" Mike came running from his room and luckily Slim was prepared when the boy leaped into his arms to hug him. "When's Jess comin' home?"

"Whoa, everyone. Give me a chance. I need to put my horse away, first. I just came in to let you know I'm home. And to answer the important question, the doc says Jess is going to be fine. Now let me go take care of Alamo and I'll tell you everything I know at supper. I'm sure Mose has already told you everything in his daily reports. I'll be back after I finish with Alamo and wash up."

"I'll help." Mike said eagerly not wanting to wait to ask questions about Jess.

"Is your school work done?" Slim asked with a serious look on his face.

"No. I was doin' it in my room, but…"

"No buts. Go finish your work while I finish mine. You can wait as long as Daisy for the whole story. Now, back to your room."

Mike turned around, jammed his hands into his pant's pockets and shuffled back to his bedroom scuffing his feet to show his disappointment.

"I won't be long, Daisy. I have a lot to tell you." Slim walked out the door, took his horse by the reins and led him to the barn.

When he finished with his barn chores he went and washed up for supper and re-entered the house to see Mike sitting at the table, still pouting. Slim walked past him and ruffled his blonde hair as he went by. Mike yelled, "Hey!" But now he had a smile on his face.

"Need help, Daisy? Slim asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"No. I have everything under control. You just go sit down. Do you want some coffee while you wait for dinner?"

"That would be great, Daisy." He went to the cupboard and pulled out a cup. Daisy had the pot in her hand before he turned around to get his coffee." She poured some into his cup, "Thanks. Daisy."

Slim took his cup to the already set table and sat down. Mike got out of his chair, walked to stand next to Slim resting his chin on his elbows on the table. "I know. I gotta wait."

"Just a few more minutes. I only want to tell the story once. You'll hear more about it once Jess comes home, I'm sure. Go back and sit down. I'm not going to tell you anything until you're in your chair."

Daisy started bringing various bowls and platters to the table. Once she was seated and everyone served she glanced up at Slim and smiled. "Are you going to make us wait until after dinner?"

"No. Sorry. Just gathering my thoughts where to start." Slim shook his head. "It' quite a story. Why don't I start with how he's doing?"

Slim started his story with his observations and knowledge from Doctor Canfield. He tried to keep things as positive as he could, but deep down he wasn't sure Jess was going to be quite the man he used to be. He worried about the damage to his leg and if it would ever heal right.

He went on to tell the story about the wolf, what part of it he knew, to the awe of Mike. "Jess will have to tell you that story after he gets home. I reckon it's a good one. All I really know about is what happened after I met the wolf."

"You met the wolf, too?" Mike exclaimed.

Slim told them about the ride to Laramie and how poor Jess was by the time they arrived, "He was weak as a kitten and I don't know how he stayed in the saddle."

"I'm going to stay home tonight. The doc assured me Jess will be fine but I want to go back and stay with him until he's fit to come home. Mose said the Bradley boys have been by to help with the stages. That he asked them and their doing a great job."

"That's right. And when they're not here Mose does just fine on his own." Daisy responded, "Well Mike, go finish your school work and get ready for bed. I think Slim told you enough of a bedtime story that you shouldn't need one tonight." She smiled at the boy as she started clearing the table.

"Okay, Aunt Daisy. But I have another question," Mike said looking at Slim.

"What's that Mike?" Slim asked.

"When kin Jess come home? I miss him so much. Kin I visit him after school?"

"Tell you what, Mike. Tomorrow I'll ask the doctor. If he says it's okay I'll send word home to Daisy so she don't worry about you and you can stay with me for the night and go home after school the next day."

"Kin I?" Mike stood up excitedly.

"I can't promise when that will be, but I'll let you know at the school house when the doc tells me it's okay. Don't expect it to be tomorrow though. Jess is doing a lot of sleeping, right now. You'll want to come see him when he's ready and happy to have visitors."

"Mike, when Jess is up to company I'll go stay in town, too. Then you can see him everyday and go to school. We'll get a room and stay until we can bring him back home. We'll need the wagon to bring him home and I'll be glad to drive it there. That way Slim can stay in town until Jess is ready to come home."

"Thanks, Daisy. I know he'd like to have his family around him once he's feeling better. The way the doc talks, he expects Jess to be spending more time awake, shortly."

"Yippee," Mike shouted, hugged Slim, then Daisy and ran to his room.

"Don't forget to wash up before bed." Daisy called after him.

"I won't," he said as he passed through and shut his bedroom door.

"Thanks, Daisy. I appreciate you driving the buckboard to town. I'll let you know when it'll be a good time for you to bring it"

"Oh, Mose gives me updates every time he comes through Laramie.

"Yeah. He stops to ask the doc whenever he gets to town. Doc Canfield even let him peek in on Jess one day. Did he tell you?"

"No, that rascal. But if Jess didn't look well, he probably didn't want to worry me."

"That would be Mose. You know, Daisy, I think he's kinda sweet on you."

"Oh, Slim, don't be silly."

"I don't know, Daisy. He sure goes out of his way to see and talk to you."

"It's just my hot apple pie, Slim," she said, with a noticeable blush.

"I'm going out to check on the barn. When I 'm finished I'm turning in. I want to get to town early."

"Then goodnight, Dear, in case I miss you. And give my love to Jess."

"You can be sure of that, Daisy." He pulled his hat down from the hook near the door putting it on while walking out the door.

Daisy finished her work and went to bed, after tucking Mike in for the night.

Slim spent extra time in the barn, not only caring for his own neglected horse, but also giving some extra attention to Traveler. If Jess' horse hadn't come directly home Jess probably wouldn't be alive today, Slim reflected. But if he hadn't shied Jess wouldn't be in this situation, either. Slim couldn't fault the horse for being a horse. "I know it's not your fault, boy. I'm sure you had good reason to spook. Your buddy is going to be okay and coming home to see you soon. I know he misses you. And I know we all miss him. He'll be home soon. He petted Traveler's neck as he left the stall.

Slim closed up the barn, washed u and went into the house, straight to his bedroom and to bed. He wanted to get back to Laramie as early as he could come morning. He prayed Jess would soon be awake and taking nourishment on his own soon, back to being the healthy partner he had always known him to be. Most of all he wanted Jess to come home.

Chapter 15

Slim woke early as the morning sun found his sleeping face through the bedroom window. He forgot to pull the curtains when he went to bed the night before. But he was glad now that he had. He wanted an early start to spend time in Laramie with Jess. It was hard getting up, though. He realized just how depressed he was over this whole situation. Rather than get up he felt like pulling the covers over his head and hiding forever. He didn't want to deal with what this hard cold world tended to hand out so often. But, he couldn't let his best friend down. He had to be there and stay strong for him.

He washed up, shaved and packed up some clothes, his shaving kit and a few other things to make the hotel room feel a little more like home. He gathered his items, looked around the room glancing at Jess' bed, "I wish you were here, Pard, so I could just watch you sleeping in your own bed before I shook you out of it." Slim left the room and realized he had beat Daisy out of bed. She had her own way of knowing when the boys would wake up and was always in the kitchen making breakfast for them before they came out of their bedrooms. He liked the quiet. Rather than wake Daisy he wrote her a note and decided he'd have breakfast when he got to town. It would serve as both breakfast and lunch to give him more time to spend with Jess.

When he entered the barn he was greeted with a nicker from Alamo followed by one from Traveler. The tall blonde man picked up his saddlebags and placed his meager possessions into the bags. Once he was set he pulled out the rest of his riding gear. "Sorry, Trav, I reckon you'll be resting here a little longer. I'll tell Jess you miss him." Slim patted the bay horse after giving him some fresh hay..

"Okay, Alamo. I sure hope you like the food at the stable in town. I reckon you'll be spending a little more time there." Slim said as he took Alamo from his stall. He brushed him down then saddled him up. As he led him out the barn he ran into Daisy walking toward him. "Slim, you should have wakened me," she admonished him.

"Sorry Daisy, but it's so early. There was no need to wake you."

"You can't leave without a proper breakfast. I have the stove heating up right now. It won't take but a few minutes. Have a little something before you leave, at least."

"I reckon my stomach agrees with you. Breakfast is probably a good idea. I didn't think I was hungry until you mentioned it. Besides, I'm going to miss your cooking while I'm in town again. Go ahead, Daisy, but fix something fast. I want to get moving. I feel I let Jess down coming home last night. But I know you needed me here, too. I'm just so confused right now."

"I know, Slim. Come on in, the coffee might be hot, already. You can have some while I cook something up for you. Ham will heat up quick, and a couple of eggs should hold you."

"Okay, Daisy. I'll go get the eggs. I'll meet you in the kitchen." Slim tied his horse to the post and walked to the chicken coop while Daisy went back into the house. He gathered up enough eggs for all their breakfasts, leaving the rest for Mike to gather before he went to school.

"Here you go, Daisy." He said as he walked through the door with eggs lined up in the crook of his elbow and along his arm, trying not to drop any. I should have gotten the basket. But I reckon I did all right. I didn't drop a single one."

"I'm sure the chickens appreciate that." Daisy said with a smile as she took the eggs from Slim's arm. The ham was already sizzling in the pan and a cup of coffee waited for Slim on the cupboard. He picked it up and sipped at the hot, strong brew silently.

"I know how worried you are, Slim. We all are, Dear. But worry is not going to help him."

"I know that, Daisy, and I know I'm blaming myself for things I shouldn't, but I just can't help it. It all just keeps rushing into my mind, what if I did something different right from that morning to when I found Jess. When he's fine and back home, I know I'll get over it. But for now, I reckon I just have to let it burn itself out."

"Come eat." Daisy said carrying the prepared plates to the table, Slim followed after her with his cup in hand. Daisy went back to the kitchen to bring back some warmed buns and the coffee pot. Slim sat eating in silence, caught up in his thoughts. Daisy recognized this was not a good time to talk to the sulking man. It would do no good to keep rehashing the same thing over and over again, building the feeling of guilt in Slim's mind. She knew she could never talk him out of blaming himself for any part of what happened. It happened and it would take time for him to get over it.

Slim finished his breakfast, had another cup of coffee then, stood up, "Thanks Daisy. I reckon I really did need that, and, yeah. I know it wasn't my fault. Just keep praying for him. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that."

"Of course not. Jess is in my thoughts all the time. I have a direct line with the Lord. He's well aware of my prayers for Jess. Now go. Get to town and get word back to us how Jess is doing." They hugged and Slim left the house, climbed up on his horse and took off on the trail to town.

The road to town was empty. It had to be earlier than he thought. Usually he ran into someone coming back from town or coming out to the main the road from their ranches or farms. He was glad, though; he really didn't feel much like talking. Slim was enjoying the crispness of the morning. He could tell already it was going to warm up considerably. The few puffy clouds, overhead, held promise of a nice day. He thought he could be getting considerable work done at the ranch on a day like this, but also knew he wouldn't be able to keep his mind on what he was doing, especially if it was just maintenance work. The Bradley boys wanted off the farm and relished the idea of having control over the ranch. They wanted to be ranchers and this was good practice for them. From the look of things they were doing a very good job and he was sure Daisy was keeping them busy. The live stock all looked good and he knew he could count on Mike to make sure all the ranch critters had proper care, even if he needed help sometimes. He wasn't afraid to ask and the Bradley boys, being from a large family, treated Mike as if he were one of their brothers.

Alone in his thoughts Slim rode into town wondering how the time had passed so quickly. He was glad that the long ride was over, but a little scared to find out how Jess made it through the night. He rode to the stable, handed Alamo over to the caretaker, and then walked directly to the doctor's house.

Knocking on the door he glanced over at the sheriff's office and saw Mort Corey unlocking the door to go into his office. Slim called, "Morning, Mort." Mort waved and exchanged the greeting.

"I'll stop by to see you and Jess after lunch. I have some things I have to take care of here first. Give Jess all my best." Mort said before he disappeared into his office.

The door opened and Mrs. Canfield smiled up at the tall man. "I knew it had to be you."

"How's Jess this morning? Oh, sorry. Morning Ma'am." Slim said, removing his hat as he entered the house.

"Nothing to be sorry about. I know how concerned you are about that young man. Would you like some coffee? I just made it and Charles will be out to talk with you before you see Mr. Harper."

"Why? Is something wrong? Can't I see him now?"

"Charles is with him right now. And he wants to talk to you before you go into the room. Now don't worry. I think Charles will have some good news for you today, unless things have changed since last night."

"Last night?" He had to have the information now. He didn't want to wait for the doctor to come out and talk with him.

"Patience, Mr. Sherman. It is best you hear it all from Charles, right up to the minute." She led him to the kitchen. "Here, Dear, have some coffee. Charles should be out any minute." Pouring him some coffee she said, "Sit." The last word was more of a command than an invitation. Slim sat at the table and sipped at his coffee.

"Thank you, Ma'am."

The door to Jess' room opened and Dr. Canfield walked out looking down at his pocket watch. He looked up and saw Slim at the table immediately stand up. Charles walked to the stove and poured himself a cup of coffee then brought the pot to the table and refilled Slim's cup. "Please, sit down Slim. I have some very good news for you, this morning. I thought things were going well, yesterday, that's why I wanted you to go home and get some rest. I expected you to stay home at least one more day, though. You need the rest, young man."

"Never mind that. Tell me about Jess." Slim said with a hint of anger in his voice. He wanted to know and know now, not pussyfoot around the subject.

"Calm down, Mr. Sherman. I have very good news for you, but I want you prepared and not to over react. I don't want you to upset Jess."

"Well, let's have it."

"When you left yesterday I examined Jess' leg. The swelling has subsided to almost normal. There was no more drainage, and hadn't been any all day, so I sewed up the drainage port. At that point I didn't know what I would find this morning. I really didn't want you around last night in case I had made a bad decision, and I had hoped you wouldn't be back this soon just in case something went wrong and Jess might need more surgery.

"

"More surgery?" Slim said standing up, almost knocking over the table. "I'm sorry, but.."

"But it's all good news." The doctor interrupted. "Please sit down, again. I want you aware of everything and what I expect from you. I know Jess from past experience and I know he isn't always honest with me. You will have to read your friend for me and let me know when he's in pain. I know he'll never tell me if he's in pain. I have stopped the laudanum as of last night. He slept peacefully without it. He was awake this morning but he's still very weak. I don't worry about him climbing out of bed yet but I know how anxious he is about going home. He's always been like that since I've known him. I don't want him to overdo. I can judge him by his physical condition, but his mental and emotional condition, well, Slim, you know him better than anyone. I know you want him back home, too, but I 'm counting on you to be sure we don't send him home too soon so he doesn't have any set backs. He will tell me nothing hurts just to get out of here. I hope he'll be more honest with you, and if not, you'll know it."

"He's awake?"

"Not at the moment. When you go into the room be very quiet. Don't try to wake him. If he wakes on his own, don't tire him out. I know he'll be very happy you're here. I told him you were sitting with him for days and that I sent you home for some rest. I'm not sure how much he understood last night. But he did ask about you when I checked him just now. He was very weak and dropped back off to sleep before I left, but that could still be a reaction to the laudanum. I'm sure he's aware of his surroundings. I need your help. I need you to stay calm, and for you to keep him calm and comfortable. I don't want him moved until he no longer needs my constant care. Then we'll move him to the hotel so I can stop and check in on him a few times a day. Once the healing process has taken good hold, I'll consider sending him home. Then it will be up to you to make sure he lets the healing process continue. That means sitting in his rocker and whittling if he needs something to do!"

"Then you think he can go home soon?"

"Depends, like I told you. If he keeps mending the way he is, you should have him in the hotel in a day or two and then we'll see how he progresses from there. Maybe a week at most. "

Slim stood up, this time without tipping the table, with a smile shining broadly across his face. Dr. Canfield stood up as well and the two men shook hands. The doctor then led Slim to the door of the room where his best friend was resting.

Chapter 16

Slim opened the door to the room and was pleasantly surprised at how light the room was. The heavy drapes were drawn back and the window was partially opened airing out the collection of odors that accompanied a sick room. It was bright enough in the room he could see Jess' face easily. He could tell his friend had lost weight over the past few days. His face was drawn, but he looked relaxed and wasn't showing any pain. How wonderful to know he was sleeping naturally, not from being drugged.

He put his hat at the foot of the bed then sat in the chair close to the head of the bed. He just couldn't stop smiling to himself. This was the best news he'd had in a long time. Everything was going to be okay. He just knew it. He sat for about an hour just watching his partner sleep when Jess started to stir. It was the first movement Slim had seen him make on his own for a few days now. He sat quietly waiting for Jess' eyes to open.

Jess mumbled a little something in his sleep but then was quiet again. Slim just wanted to reach out and touch Jess to make sure he wasn't having a dream, himself. But he obeyed the doctor's orders and sat still quietly waiting.

When Jess woke, he was facing away from Slim. Slim thought he was awake, but didn't want to startle him, so he continued to sit quietly. Jess rolled himself over on his back and groaned. "You okay, Pard?" Slim whispered.

"Slim." Jess whispered.

"Yeah. I'm here, Pard. I was beginning to think you were going to sleep your life away. How do you feel?"

"Like I wanna sleep my life away. Head hurts. I'm thirsty, you got any water?"

"I'll go see if the doctor wants you to have any and how much. I'll be right back." Slim got up and hurried out the door. He walked to the kitchen where Mrs. Canfield was cutting up some vegetables for the noon meal. "Jess is awake. He wants some water. Can I give it to him, and how much? I thought I'd better ask, first."

"Yes, he can have some water. I have been getting fluids down him the past few days. Just don't let him gulp it, but he can have all he wants. Charles is out right now, but I know he is willing to let Mr. Harper have anything he feels like having. Just let me know if he's hungry. Here, let me get you a fresh pitcher of water to take back with you." She pumped some water into a pitcher and handed it to Slim.

"Thank you, Ma'am." He turned and walked back to Jess' room. When he entered he was glad to see his partner was still awake and eagerly waiting for the water. "Here you go, Pard." Slim said pouring and holding the glass of water for Jess to drink from. "Doc says take it easy. Take a little now and let it settle. I'll give you more in a few minutes. You can have as much as you want. And let me know when you're hungry."

"Thanks, nurse Slim." Jess whispered and put his head back on the pillow. "How long?

"Today is four days since I found you.'

"My leg?"

"Thanks to the doc, you still have it. You know, it was touch and go for a while. Next time, you splint yourself, keep an eye on how tightly bandaged you make it. And if I'm around, remind me to keep watch over it too. We're lucky we got you to town when we did. I don't think the doc wants to hire either of us on to take care of anyone with injuries like yours. More water?" Jess shook his head yes. Slim helped raise him up to sip down nearly half a glass before he indicated he'd had enough. "You in any pain? Silly question I reckon. But the doc said he had medicine here for you if your leg is bothering you any."

"It aches, but I kin handle it." Jess said, his voice sounding a little stronger.

"The wonders of water," Slim thought.

"You know I don't like that stuff. It makes me sleep too much. I don't like not knowin' what's goin' on. This time I had the strangest dreams. I don't recollect havin' dreams when I was on laudanum before. This one is so real. I feel like I really lived it."

"Was she pretty?"

"Who?"

"Your dream girl."

"Naw, no girls. I dreamed about a wolf. He saved my life."

"You didn't dream that, Jess. It really happened. Do you remember how you introduced us?"

"I thought it was a dream, Slim. It really happened? Was it Whiskey?"

"I reckon it was. You better remember everything that happened. Mike is waiting to hear the story. I could only tell him what I knew about it. Pard, you really experienced it. From what you told me, that wolf stood up for you against a whole pack of wolves. And when I got there, he didn't want me near you if he thought I was there to hurt you. Do you remember?"

"Yeah. Not sure what's real and what I dreamed, though."

"I don't think you dreamed any of it. More water?"

Jess shook his head no. He looked tired, like he had just rounded up a herd of horses on foot.

"Doc says you need lots of sleep before he'll let you go home. I have things set at the ranch and I'll be staying here with you. The doc says you can go to the hotel once he's sure you're mended enough. When we get you over to the hotel Daisy and Mike will be coming to stay in town until you can go home. So get to mending, Pard. If I'm not here when you wake up, I'll be back shortly. Doc Canfield makes me go out to eat and won't let me sleep here. You get some sleep, now. "

"Yeah. I reckon I kin do that. Really tired." Jess said, closing his eyes and was asleep before Slim sat back in his chair.

The day passed quickly. Mrs. Canfield brought in some thick broth with vegetables for Jess and sent Slim out to get him self something to eat. He walked to the café and saw Mort sitting at one of the tables. "Did you eat yet?" Slim asked.

Mort shook his head no, "Sit down. Glad to have the company. How's Jess?"

"Doing great, this morning. When I left last night I had no idea what kind of change I would find in him today. Doc thinks he'll send him home in a week or so."

"If I know Jess, it'll be sooner."

"Nope. I know I want him back home, too, but I'm planning on bringing home to him once he's at the hotel. Mike and Daisy will come stay in town with us. By that time I can ride back and forth to the ranch to oversee the Bradley boys and Daisy can care for Jess. Once the doc thinks Jess is ready to travel, not when Jess thinks he's ready to travel, we'll take him home. Making him behave himself at home will be a challenge, but I think Daisy is up to the battle." Slim smiled.

The waitress came and took their order and poured them some coffee while they waited for their food.

"Does the doc have any idea how long it'll take to mend that leg? When he'll be up and around and ready to work or ride?"

"Mort. I'm surprised at you. What's the hurry in Jess getting better?"

"Well, you know how I count on you boys when I have to go out of town. With Jess laid up, he can't give a hand and with him laid up, you can't give a hand when you have to sit on him to keep him down." They both laughed. How well they both knew Jess. "You think the doc will let me see him if I stop over?"

"Not sure. He's pretty weak and sleeping a lot. You might want to give him another day before you drop over. He might be ready for a game of checkers by then." Slim smiled.

Their food arrived and both men enjoyed their meal. Slim told Mort a little bit about the wolf and told Mort to be sure to ask Jess about it. He knew enough about the story, but couldn't wait to hear the whole story himself. Both men stood after they finished eating, shook hands and went their separate ways. Mort headed straight for his office and Slim went to the mercantile and bought some penny candy. He knew Jess had a sweet tooth and maybe a little candy might boost his appetite or at least his spirits. He hid the bag in his jacket pocket not knowing if the doctor would approve but he reckoned if Jess could have anything he wanted, as the doctor put it, a little candy wouldn't hurt.

Mrs. Canfield was dusting in the parlor and saw Slim walking toward the house. She opened the door for him before he climbed the porch steps. "I saw you coming." She smiled as he showed his surprise to the door opening before he had a chance to knock. "Jess took his broth, well. He asked about you. I told him I sent you out to eat before we have to take you in as a patient due to starvation. I also told him how we have to chase you out of here or you'd never leave."

"Is he awake, now?"

"I don't know. I was busy in the parlor. He has a bell to ring if he needs anything. Oh, Charles said, if he wants to sit up a little, you can pile pillows behind him when he's awake. He needs a change of position from time to time. We're limited on how we can place him due to his leg, but we want to avoid any bedsores."

"Okay, thanks. I'll do that. Anything else I should do?"

"As Charles watches his progress he will give us both more instructions. He's in the exam room with someone right now. I'm sure he'll stop by and check on Jess when he has a free minute. Mr. Sherman, I don't think Charles has any doubt that the young man is going to be just fine. Mr. Harper has a good attitude and getting stronger by the minute. He asked for steak for dinner tonight," she laughed. "I told him in time, but nothing that heavy for a few days, yet. He sure is a handful and a bit of a scamp. I swear he was trying to flirt with me when I was giving him his broth."

"Yeah, that's Jess. He flirts with the ladies he knows are married and he's safe with. He's afraid a single lady might take him serious. Then he'd have to run, broken leg or not." They both chuckled at the thought.

Chapter 17

Mose came by with the good news for Daisy on his trip though going back to Cheyenne. They were going to move Jess to the hotel that afternoon. Daisy instructed Mose to not look for Mike to bring him home. She explained she was going to town to stay with Jess and Mike would be staying in town with her. Mose looked a little disappointed. He liked the time he spent with Miss Daisy, especially when she served him coffee and hot apple pie. But he was glad Jess was improving so much and he'd be back home soon. That would mean Miss Daisy would be back soon and baking again, he smiled to himself.

When the Bradley boys finished teaming the stage and it was on its way out the yard, Daisy asked them to prepare the buckboard for her that she was going to town. One of the boys offered to drive her, but she told him she was taking the wagon and going to stay until Jess was ready to come home. They would need the wagon to bring him home. "Slim will probably ride out daily to check on how things are going for you here. I know he appreciates all your help. You boys have been doing a wonderful job."

"Thank you, Miss Daisy. We sure learn a lot every time we come work here on the ranch. I reckon we're more set on havin' our own spread now than even before." The older boy told her.

"You know, if your pa will let you, I bet Slim wouldn't mind if you wanted to stay in the bunkhouse and save yourselves the ride out every morning and night. Of course you would have to do your own cooking. But that is part of being partners in a ranch. If you don't have a wife to cook for you, you have to learn to do some cooking for yourself." The younger brother chuckled and elbowed his elder brother.

"He's already got a gal picked out."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Now boys. I need that buckboard hitched. I have some packing to do and will be out shortly and ready to go to town. Your love life is none of my business." She smiled as she turned to walk away. "Young men today are still the same," she thought to herself.

It only took a few minutes to toss some of her clothes in a bag and a few for Mike. Slim could bring them more if their stay should be longer than expected. She checked the stove that the embers would burn themselves out giving them a stir to be sure. Then she looked around at the rest of the house to see if anything needed her attention before she left, but everything was just as she wanted to leave it. When she walked out on the porch the boys were driving the buckboard toward the house. One of the boys jumped off the wagon, grabbed her bag and put it in the wagon, while the other helped her climb into the buckboard.

"You boys be careful, now. I hope we'll all be back, soon. Thank you for hitching the team for me, and thank you so much for everything you've been doing around here. When you get your ranch you'll know exactly what to do." She turned the buckboard and waved to the boys as she pulled out of the yard. They waved back then ran to the barn to continue with their chores.

On the way to Laramie Daisy ran into many neighbors on the road. They all asked after Jess. She was pleased to spread the good news, but wished she could just keep going and not be forced to stop and be so polite to everyone. She was anxious to get to town to see Jess.

After what seemed like an eternity to her, she finally reached town. She drove to the schoolhouse first. When she walked through the door at the back of the room the teacher stood up. The children all had their backs to her and their noses buried in their books. It wasn't until the teacher walked to the back of the room that any of the students looked up. Mike saw Daisy and didn't know if this was a good sign or not. Everything he had heard was that Jess was getting better. He was worried that maybe something bad happened. He quickly stood up and rushed to Daisy's side. "Is Jess, okay?"

"Yes, Dear. I just stopped to tell you not to take the stage home tonight. We're staying at the hotel for a few days. So go there after school. I must go now and find out more about what's happening, but it sounds like Jess might be at the hotel by the time you get there. If he's not, we'll take you to see him. Now, behave and pay attention. I know you're as anxious as I am to see Jess, but school comes first."

"Aw, Aunt Daisy." Mike said with pleading eyes.

When you get to the hotel, remember to be very quiet. Jess might be sleeping and we don't want to wake him." Daisy further instructed.

"I'll tell you what, Mike. You go finish this lesson and I'll give the class the rest of the day off as recess, and you may leave early." Miss Thomas quietly said, bending over to look Mike straight in the eyes.

"Wow, you mean it?"

"I said it. But you must finish reading that story and write the answers to the questions at the end of the chapter and hand it in. Then you may go."

"And no rushing through it, Mike. I'll ask Miss Thomas tomorrow how well you did. We all want Jess to be proud of you, don't we?" Daisy said, causing the boy to blush. "Thank you, Miss Thomas. I appreciate what you are doing. I know he wouldn't be able to keep his mind in the schoolhouse much longer. Send his homework with him. He will have plenty of time to work on it at the hotel. I understand Jess needs a lot of sleep."

Mike walked back to his desk with a smug smile on his face. He had a secret about recess and he wasn't going to share it. But tomorrow he would make sure he got full credit for the kids having the afternoon off to play.

"Mrs. Cooper. Give my best to Mr. Harper. I understand he's alright, now?"

"Well, not quite alright yet, but the doctor said he will be fine once he's mended. Now trying to make him sit still is about as hard as it is with Mike." Daisy smiled looking at Mike at his desk with his nose in his book again. "Making him understand that he has to be still to mend properly is like trying to talk a hungry dog into giving up his bone.'

"I'll talk to Mike before he leaves to reinforce that he must be quiet to help Jess get better. Maybe a little extra school work will keep him busy, too."

"No, just his regular work should be fine. I'm sure Jess is going to take advantage of having Mike run errands for him, and Mike will feel very important helping with Jess. Have a good day, Miss Thomas. And thank you so much. I'll stop by tomorrow with Mike. Goodbye, Dear." Daisy turned to walk out the door.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Cooper." Miss Thomas said closing the door after Daisy, then turning back to her class and asked them how they were doing with their studies. The consensus was that they needed a little more time, and that was no problem for her. She planned the exercise to last another half hour, anyway.

Daisy drove the team to the hotel. She went inside and was told that Slim had already made arrangements for her stay. The manager sent someone out to bring Daisy's bag in and take her to her room. He assured her he would have the wagon taken to the stable, the animals properly cared for, and the wagon parked until she needed it.

Daisy asked the man if Jess had arrived yet, but he told her no, that he wasn't in the hotel yet. She put the bag on the bed but decided not to unpack it until later. She just couldn't wait to see Jess. She left the hotel and walked toward the doctor's house. Town folk stopped her to ask how Jess was and she had to be polite, once again, answering their questions as best she could, yet let them know she was anxious to see Jess and see for herself how he was mending.

Daisy walked up on the porch of the doctor's house and knocked at the door.

To her surprise, Slim answered the door. "Slim?

"Hi Daisy. Come on in."

"Are you living here now? I never expected you to answer the door."

"No. I got chased out of Jess' room. They're trying to get him ready to move to the hotel. The doc is re-splinting his leg while Mrs. Canfield is getting some food down him. He's been fighting all the broths she's been giving him. He's looking forward to you making him a steak." Slim grinned.

"That's what I need to know. What can he eat?"

"The doc says he's strong enough to try anything he wants, but I don't think he could eat a steak, yet." But if I get one, I'll be glad to bring some of it back for him. The sooner he's eating, the sooner he'll mend. But, then with getting stronger, he's going to be a lot harder to keep still. I already told him if he doesn't behave we have a cage Mike's not using that we can put him in. And I told him I was serious. He smiled. "I think the Canfields are glad to be getting rid of him. He's been flirting with Mrs. Canfield, she tells me. We may need to get that boy a pretty nurse."

"Why, Slim. That's my job." Daisy protested.

Slim gave her a hug, "And you know, I don't think Jess would have it any other way." Look, here comes the wagon to move Jess." A large wagon padded well with hay pulled up to the doctor's house. "I'll let them know the wagon's here. Come on in Daisy. I'll see if they'll let you see Jess before we leave. The parlor's right there." He pointed the room out to her,

Slim walked down the hall and knocked at the door where Jess was being prepared for the move. Mrs. Canfield opened the door. "I thought I'd let you know the wagon is here, so whenever you're ready, it's all set." Slim said, trying to peek over her shoulder to see what was going on in the room.

"Thank you, Mr. Sherman. Charles is almost done. He will go with you. He's putting some extra boards on Jess's leg for the move and will remove them when he is settled into his bed at the hotel."

"Daisy, Mrs. Cooper is here. She's pretty anxious to see Jess. Would that be possible?" Mrs. Canfield turned around to look at the progress her husband and helpers were making. "I think once he is ready to move she could come in and see him a few minutes. It shouldn't hurt. Charles just doesn't want him uncomfortable for too long. The sooner he is settled, the better."

"Thank you, Ma'am. I'll go tell her." Mrs. Canfield closed the door and Slim walked back to the parlor where Daisy was sitting, but stood up as soon as she saw Slim.

"They're reinforcing his splint for the move. I understand it is going to be very uncomfortable for him, but they thought it would be okay if you see him for a few minutes before they move him."

"Oh, I can wait, then. Let's get him to the hotel as soon as possible and comfortable. Which room are you boys staying in? I'll go wait for you there."

"Right next door to your room. Two forty five."

"Okay. I'll meet you there. I'll go fix the bed for him. I'll ask the hotel clerk for extra pillows. I'll see you at the hotel then shortly." She hugged Slim and walked from the doctor's house to the hotel like a lady on a mission.

She went directly to the front desk and told the clerk she needed about five more pillows for her patient. The man behind the desk looked at her a little oddly, but did as he was told and fetched her some pillows from some of the empty rooms near the sign in desk. "Thank you, young man. We need them up in room two forty five, please." She turned and proceeded up the stairs. The clerk stood a second or two watching her before he followed her up the stairs with the pillows. "Place them there," she pointed at the bed near the window. "Thank you, young man. They should be bringing Jess here, shortly. You do know about that, don't you?"

He shook his head yes, but looked a little puzzled. "We expect that we are in the quietest part of the hotel. He is very sick and is here to mend before he can go home. I hope you and your hotel will respect that." The man was still speechless but nodded. She opened the door and dismissed him. He scratched his head while walking down the hall, looking back toward room two forty five a few times. He made note to not go near that end of the hotel while that lady was in command.

Chapter 18

Jess was finally settled in his bed at the hotel. The extra brace was removed and he was allowed to rest in his new bed.

Dr. Canfield took Daisy to her room and instructed her on the dos and don'ts for Jess for the next few days. His main concern was any pain Jess may have after the move. The doctor gave her a bottle of laudanum in case Jess complained of any pain, and he also wanted to know about it immediately. He didn't foresee any problems, but moving a patient with injuries such as Jess' could cause a relapse.

"I know he doesn't like to take anything for pain. Now that he is stronger and awake, I fear he will be trying to do things he shouldn't. If he gets out of hand, just give him a dose of the laudanum and it will make him sleep, then you come find me. I think I've driven it into his head that if he doesn't behave himself he will have a limp and need a cane the rest of his life. I think that may have put enough of a scare in him to make him mind. You may use that threat on him, if necessary. It may not be true, but if it keeps him off that leg, that's when a little white lie won't hurt." He smiled. Daisy patted his hand, smiling in agreement.

"Yes, I totally understand. And thank you, Dr. Canfield. I think we'll do just fine. I will most certainly call on you if we need your help. May I see him, now?

"Let me check to see if my men have him settled out of the brace, first. Then he's all yours, Mrs. Cooper." He left her room and went next door to see how things were going. The extra brace boards were removed and Jess was propped up in his bed. Doctor Canfield told his men he would meet them outside. They left with the wood from the special brace. Dr. Canfield walked to the bed to check on how his patient's leg looked. He was pleased that everything felt unmoved and in its proper place. If the trip to the ranch wasn't so far, he would have sent Jess home today, but he wouldn't tell anyone that. If Jess caught a whisper of it, there would be no keeping him at the hotel and quiet any longer. He was mostly concerned about the jostling in the wagon re-breaking the bone. It was highly unlikely, but he always felt it better to be safe than sorry.

Doctor Canfield went and knocked on Daisy's door. She opened it immediately. "He's all settled in. I leave him in your capable hands, Mrs. Cooper. I'll stop by tonight and then again tomorrow. Keep him still and he can go home, soon. I hope that will give him the incentive to stay in bed and behave himself. I don't want him up trying out his leg."

"He'll be fine, Dr. Canfield. I think I know how to handle that boy. If he thinks he won't get any of my hot apple pie until he gets home, he'll do anything I say so he can get home as soon as he can." She smiled.

Doctor Canfield walked her to Jess' room. He could see Jess' face light up when he saw Daisy. "Daisy! You're here." Daisy walked toward Jess' bed as the doctor quietly left and closed the door behind him.

When Daisy reached Jess she gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Jess, you look great. I expected you to look much sicker."

"Mrs. Canfield kept fillin' me up with all her different broths and teas. I reckon if you poked me with a needle I'd squirt water instead of blood." She hugged him again. "Where's Slim?"

"He's helpin' get things arranged with the hotel so you kin use the kitchen. I'm ready for steak, but the doc says I have to work up to it. What did he tell you?"

"That you can't have any of my hot apple pie, until you come home, so you have to behave and stay in that bed. And no matter how good you feel, that leg stays in bed!"

"Yes, Daisy." Jess said with downcast eyes. Then he lifted his head again wearing huge smile. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Me too, Jess. Now, you lay back and rest. That move must have been very tiring for you. I brought some needlework with me. I'll go next door and bring it over here to sit with you while you sleep."

"Yeah, I reckon I'm a little tired. That's all I seem do is sleep. Maybe once I git some real food I'll get the energy to stay awake a little longer."

"You rest, Dear. I'll be right back. And Mike will be here shortly, so you better rest up. He wants to hear all about that wolf and so do I." She smiled sweetly at him as she opened the door leaving him alone for a minute to go get her needlework. She was so pleased to see how well he looked, a little thinner, but she could fix that, she smiled to herself.

Jess dozed off and was sound asleep when she came back. She closed the door quietly and tiptoed to a chair and pulled it a little closer to Jess' bed. She walked to the desk and took out a sheet of paper and wrote "Ill Man Asleep. Please DO NOT Disturb". Then she took it and pinned it with a sewing needle to the outside of the door. "There, that should keep Slim and Mike from barging in and waking Jess up." She thought, feeling pretty proud of herself. She was glad she always had extra needles with her when she did her needlework.

She had just started working on the pillowcase she was embroidering, when Slim came through the door. He whispered, pointing at the sign, "What's that?"

"To keep Mike quiet when he gets here. He's so excited, I didn't want him to forget himself and just come running in and jumping on the bed with Jess," she whispered back.

"Oh. Good idea," Slim whispered and walked over to look at the sleeping Jess.

"I'm going across the street for some coffee. You want some? I can bring some back." Slim whispered, Daisy shook her head no and put her finger to her lips to remind him to hush. "I'll be back shortly," he whispered and left the room.

He breathed a sigh of relief leaving the room. "Daisy is going to run that room like an army camp, and you don't mess with the General." he thought and smiled to himself. "If anyone can make Jess behave, it'll be Daisy. If I were in Jess' place I'd be afraid to even sneeze." He chuckled to himself. " Poor Jess, first wolves, now Daisy." The thought forced him to laugh as he left the hotel.

He walked into the café and looked around. There was no one he knew in the place. It was just about empty. Slim sat down at a table when Mort drifted in through the door. He called, "Mort, over here." Mort looked in his direction and smiled as he walked to the table.

"Hey, how's Jess?" Mort asked pulling out a chair and sitting down to the table with Slim.

"We have him at the hotel, now. He's sleeping so I came out for some coffee. Buy you one?"

"No. I'm just here to place an order for supper tonight. I have a couple of guests over at the jail. Marshall Townsend's here moving a couple of prisoners to Yuma. You might run into him at the hotel, he's staying there tonight. He's leaving early tomorrow."

"Real bad hombres?"

"Naw. Never heard of um. Small time but got a bad break drawin'

Yuma."

"Well, if you find the time, we're in room two forty five. Stop by and see Jess. I know you might not be able to today, but we should be here at least until the weekend. I think the doc is being overly cautious, but better to have Jess back healthy again, I reckon. The work will still be waiting for us when we get home."

"How are the Bradley brothers working out?"

"Pretty good, from what I hear from Daisy and Mose. When I was out there the stock looked good. Someday those boys are going to make good ranchers. I think they could handle one on their own already. They're both pretty mature for their ages and have good heads on their shoulders. Jess has taught them a lot about medicating and treating the stock and they've been a quick study."

"Those boys have been real lucky to have you two to give them all that experience. And I reckon you're just as lucky to have them to depend on when you need them."

"Yeah. I kinda dread the day they get their own ranch. They'll be too busy to give us a hand."

"Gotta go, Slim. I'll look forward to dropping by to see Jess tomorrow sometime."

"Thanks, Mort."

Mort placed his order at the front of the cafe and pointed back toward Slim having a cup of coffee sent back to him. He waved to Slim as he left the café. Slim decided to sit right there and drink his coffee. Daisy had everything under control and he just needed a few minutes to himself. The cup of coffee gave him just what he needed to gather his thoughts together. His life had been such an emotional rollercoaster the past few days.

Mike arrived from school and saw Daisy's note on the door, so he gently opened the door and peeked in. Daisy motioned him to come in and be quiet. He tiptoed into the room and put his books down on the room desk. Then he tiptoed over to look at Jess. He just stood there and stared at him as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Daisy pulled him back and whispered to him to go pull over a chair. "Jess should be awake, soon. He's been sleeping for quite a while, now."

Mike pulled a chair next to Daisy's. He had trouble sitting still after a short time. Jess moved and he thought for sure Jess was waking up and he was ready to spring on him. Daisy cautioned him to sit still, be quiet and when Jess wakes up, to be very careful around his leg. He understood her, but still couldn't contain his excitement.

Jess' eyes opened and Mike leaned forward and whispered. "Hi Jess."

"Hey, Tiger. It's so good to see you. It seems like forever."

"I was so worried about you. I couldn't wait to see ya.'

'Well, I'm all better now. Hey, come on up here 'n sit with me."

"Carefully, Mike. You know what I told you." Daisy said trying to discourage the move, but could see how much Jess wanted Mike on the bed with him.

"Hey, Slim said a wolf saved yer life. Is that true, or is he funnin' me?

"Nope. It's the truth. It's quite a story. You up to a long story?"

"Now don't tire yourself out." Daisy said.

"I won't. If I git tired, I kin finish the story later, right Tiger?" Jess said showing genuine eagerness.

Mike shook his head yes enthusiastically. Daisy smiled. She had been anxiously waiting to hear this story nearly as much as Mike. Jess started his story from the time he decided to play hooky and go fishing, warning Mike, it wasn't worth playing hooky; it only served to get you in trouble. He continued on with his story.

Both Mike and Daisy were held in awe with the long and amazing tale. The story led to Jess answering all kinds of questions from Mike until Daisy told him he'd better let Jess get some rest when she noticed how heavy Jess' eyelids appeared.

"Aw, Aunt Daisy."

"I am a little tired, Tiger. Let me take a little nap and I'll be glad to tell you more."

"Okay, Jess." Mike hugged Jess and climbed off the bed to let him sleep.

"Homework, now, Mike." Daisy reminded him.

"Oh yeah." He went to the desk and picked up his books lying down on his stomach on the floor to do his homework.

Slim came in and quietly closed the door. Daisy whispered that Jess told them about the wolf and how unbelievable it all was that the wolf would remember Jess after all these years. Slim agreed. It was truly amazing.

Chapter 19

The day finally came when Jess was allowed to go home. He had nagged and nagged every time he saw the doctor about how much faster he would get better at home. The doctor wasn't going to buy it, but he was just about worn down listening to all the excuses. He finally told them to get the wagon ready he was going to allow Jess to go home. He could see Daisy had a good hold over Jess and he would listen to her, at least he did at the hotel. He felt confident that Jess was well past the danger of re-breaking his leg as long as he kept off it. He brought a pair of crutches with him when he came to tell them they could get ready to go home. He got Jess out of bed and up on the crutches instructing him how to use them, not putting any weight on his bad leg. Daisy actively listened to the instructions so she would know when to tell Jess he was doing something incorrectly.

"So how do you really feel, Jess? " The doctor asked him.

"Pretty good. Not ready to go out dancin' yet but sure want to get out and sit on the porch at home for some good fresh night air. I plan to marry my rocking chair."

"That I'll approve," the doctor said with a smile. "No horses. No buggy or wagon rides until that splint is removed. And I am the one who is going to remove it, so don't get any fancy ideas, young man. You get your wagon ride home, and Slim is instructed to walk the horses the whole way."

"I'll be driving." Daisy said. "I know the wagon will not go any faster than a walk. Slim will be in the back keeping Jess comfortable.

"Mrs. Cooper. If you ever need a job helping out in my clinic, come see me. Some of my patients will not listen to me, but you, I can't imagine anyone not listening to you." He smiled at her. "Look what you've done for this young sidewinder. I haven't ever seen him so tame." He laughed,

"Hey, I'm still in the room, awake and can still hear everything yer sayin' about me. But you know Doc; everything you've said about Daisy is true. She's far worse than the Captain I had during the war." Jess smiled.

"Slim is getting the wagon padded properly, and once Mike gets here, we can head for home." Daisy smiled. "I better go pack up my things. Will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes, Jess?"

"I reckon I'll have to behave. I don't see anything in this room that looks dangerous."

"Jess, you could find trouble in an empty cardboard box. I'll be back in a few moments." She left the room and Jess lay back in the bed.

Doctor Canfield bid him farewell and good luck for his ride home. "If you need me, send someone to town to get me. But if you stay off that leg the rest of the month, you should be fine. I'll be out to check it at the end of the month and take off the splint if all looks mended. Use those crutches, young man. No weight on that leg. Mind you, you don't want me to trade those crutches for a cane, do you?"

"No sir." Jess said. "I promise. Besides, I'll be surprised if Daisy lets me ever use the crutches. She'll probably tie me down in bed so I can't hurt myself."

"Quite the special lady you have there. You take care, Jess."

"Yes she is. Thanks, Doc, for everything."

"You just get well. That will be thanks enough for me. Safe trip home, Jess." The doctor said as he left the room.

Jess sat up and hanged his legs over the side of the bed. It felt so good to not be on his back. Suddenly the door opened and Jess tried to roll back over on his back, but too late, Mike already saw him sitting up. "Jess. Were you gettin' outta bed?"

"No. Just sittin' up. I thought you were Daisy and she might holler at me since she didn't tell me I could do it. But the doc said I kin use them crutches over there so I figured I should be able to sit up and hang my feet off the bed." Jess sat himself back up. He thought he had his argument all figured out now since it worked on Mike.

"So, Tiger. You ready to go home?"

"Today?"

"Yep. Slim's gettin' the wagon ready. Daisy's next-door packin' up yer stuff. "

"Yipppeeeee." Mike shouted just as Daisy came through the door.

"I would guess you told Mike the good news?" she said.

"He sure did, Aunt Daisy. I like stayin' in town, but it will be great to git back home, 'n have Jess there."

"Just remember, Jess is not allowed to do much of anything, and I don't want either of you up to anything. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Jess said as he saluted. Mike caught a case of the giggles.

Slim walked through the door with his best smile. "So, Pard. You ready to go home? We have lots of work to catch up on."

"We? Me?"

"You bet. I have plenty of work you can do sitting down." Slim responded.

"But Daisy!" Jess looked her way.

"Hey, don't look at me. My only job is to keep you off that leg. What Slim does with your hands is between the two of you." Daisy said matter-of-factly.

"Come on. The wagon's ready. I ran into the doc outside, he said he gave you lessons how to use the crutches."

"Yeah, kinda." Jess answered, not anxious to hobble around on crutches for all to see.

"Well, come on, Pard. Let's give it a try. I'll walk close to steady you. Let's see if we can get you down the hall. Daisy and I will steady you on the stairs. I'll carry you if I have to. When we get to the boardwalk and wagon, well, I'll take over there. Just be careful okay, Pard?"

"Okay. Let's go." Jess said. Slim handed Jess the crutches and helped him to his feet.

"Remember. No weight on that leg." Slim cautioned his friend.

"Yeah, somebody already told me that. I think I heard it about a hundred times, now." He got up on his crutches and hobbled down the hall to the stairs. With help he slowly managed to get down the stairs without much difficulty, then to the hotel front door. At the door Daisy took the crutches and Slim lifted Jess out the door and down into the wagon. Mike helped Daisy climb up on the driver's seat while Slim settled Jess on the hay in the back of the wagon.

"How's that?" Slim asked Jess.

"Umm, a little more hay under my bad leg?" Jess said, pointing to his splinted leg.

Slim packed a little more hay under the splinted leg. "How's that?" Slim asked looking a bit concerned for his partner's comfort for the long ride home.

"I think a little more."

Slim packed a little more hay under Jess' leg. "That okay?"

"Nope, too much, now." Jess responded.

Slim pulled out a little of the hay. "Now?"

"A little more."

Finally Slim got it. He pulled a little more hay out from under the splinted leg and threw it at Jess' face. "How's that?" They both laughed.

"Hey is that any kinda way to treat a cripple? Daisy, did you see that?"

"Yes I did and you deserved what you got. Let's go home. And all of you behave yourselves. Are we ready?"

"I am." Jess said. "How about you, Tiger?"

Mike grinned and shook his head yes. Daisy slapped the reins and the horses started heading out of town taking the family home.

Epilogue

It was a fine fall day. Jess had been after Slim to get out and do some fishing before the winter winds started to keep them closer to the ranch. All the chores were caught up and the day was so perfect, Slim gave in and said, "Yeah, let's go fishing. I'll ask Daisy if she wants to go, if not I'll see if she'll pack us up something to eat. I'm sure Mike will want to go."

"Great Slim. I haven't been fishing since I broke my leg." Jess was still walking with a slight limp when he tired himself out, but most times he walked with no indication that he ever had the accident. "I'll go get the gear and the horses ready."

Slim went to the house and told Daisy their plans. She didn't want to go with them. The neighbors had a new baby and she wanted to go spend the day with the new family. She always loved to fuss over new babies. Before he could ask she headed for the kitchen and said, "Let me pack you a lunch for your trip and you can bring home fish for dinner." And off she went. Slim just stood there and smiled and thought, "I sure hope I have her spunk when I reach her age. I get tired just watching her."

Mike came running into the house. "Slim! Jess said we're goin' fishin. Really?"

"Yep. Now you go get a few clothes together. It might be warm now, but it might cool off before we get back home. I don't want to hear you worrying us about you being cold."

"You mean we're goin' out all day?"

"It's probably the last chance we'll get before the snow starts. Might as well make a day of it. Besides, we all need a day off."

"Wahoo." Mike yelled as he ran to his room to get his jacket.

"Here." Daisy came out of the kitchen and handed Slim a sack of food as he was getting his and Jess' heavier jackets off the hooks on the wall. "You boys have a good time. I'll take the buckboard and go visit for the day. I can't wait to hold that new baby."

"I'll have Jess get the team ready for you. You have a good day, Daisy. And don't get any ideas of bringing home any babies." Slim said with a smile.

"Oh, Slim," she said with a big smile as she went to her bedroom to change into her go visiting outfit and fetch the small knitted blanket she had made for the new baby.

Mike came running out from his room with his jacket and straight out the front door Slim had just opened but hadn't passed through, yet. He was moving so fast Slim almost missed seeing him go by. He watched Mike run beeline for the barn. Jess had the horses saddled and was leading them out of the barn already.

"Daisy is going over to the Randall's place to see the new baby. We need to get the buckboard ready for her."

"No problem," Jess said as he handed the horses reins to Slim, turned around and went back to the barn to ready the wagon. Slim tied the horses to the post, tied the sack to one of the saddles then took the canteens to fill them with fresh water.

Jess brought the buckboard out from the barn and tied the horses to the post near the porch.

"So, where do you want to go?" Slim asked Jess.

"I kinda got a mind to go back to the hole back where I got hurt. Somethin' I want to check on. Just curious."

"Like what?" Slim looked at Jess inquisitively.

"I think you'll see. I just need to know."

Mike came running out of the barn with his fishing gear.

"Don't you ever walk?" Slim said catching him to slow him down.

"Sure I do, but not when I don't want to waste my fishin' time. Mike grinned.

Daisy came out on the porch in her traveling clothes Slim helped her into the wagon and waited for her to turn the horses around. When everyone was all set, the boys rode ahead and Daisy followed until they got to the main road. Everyone was in good humor, including the weather. "Catch us lots of fish," Daisy said to the boys as they split up going in two different directions, the boys away from town, while she headed in the direction of town. They all waved their goodbyes and continued on to their destinations.

When they got to the field where Slim found Jess, Jess started to ride off to where he and the wolf had spent their eventful day and night.

"Hey, where's Jess goin'? Mike asked.

"I think to see if he can find an old friend."

"Oh? Who?" Mike asked, looking over his shoulder as he and Slim continued to go in the direction of the fishing hole.

"The wolf we told you about."

"Oh. Yeah. Let's go, too."

"Naw. I think Jess wants to make this little side trip on his own. " Slim and Mike continued on toward the small lake.

Jess found the area where he and Whiskey had spent those thirty hours or so. He dismounted and walked Traveler around the area searching the ground. But what he was looking for wasn't there. He climbed back up on his horse and widened the circle, but never found his old boot.

In the distance a lone wolf howled. Jess heard him and smiled knowingly. His old boot had become a treasure for a very special friend when he was in need.