The Only Sure Thing

by DeniseV

Heyes and Curry just finished up a hard job and they move on to another one that they aren't crazy about. Plus, Heyes is on a bit of an unlucky streak with the women, but it turns out it's not just his luck with the ladies that has taken a turn.

This story was inspired by a trip I took two years ago to visit the American West. I have included a link to some photos that in particular I used to inspire me in writing this episode of Heyes and Curry's lives. The West is incredible, and you can see how men like Heyes and Curry would manage to survive their difficult situation when they had the ability to make the rugged landscape an integral part of who they were. You can go here to see the small subset of photos that I used for inspiration (it also includes some shots from the series): .com/action/welcome?sid=0EbsnLlq2bMX5w . If this link gets hacked off, like sometimes happens here at , then contact me privately for it. I pictured each and every one of these pictures as I developed this story. If anyone is interested in seeing more of the beauty that I found in the West, please feel free to contact me via email (just check my profile for my email address) and I can provide you a link to the larger album at Shutterfly. Enjoy the story!

---

THE ONLY SURE THING

"The only sure thing about luck is that it will change."

– Wilson Mizner, American playwright, raconteur, entrepreneur, and sometime scam artist.

"Oh. So you're blaming me for this?"

"That's not what I said, Kid. All I said was we might, might," Hannibal Heyes emphasized with his gloved finger raised in the air, "have gotten out before the sheriff arrived if you'd been waitin' like I asked."

"I was five minutes late!" Kid Curry defended himself once they slowed their horses to an easy canter. It seemed that Heyes had once again pulled off the impossible in his winding, daredevil riding up the valley from Meeteetse, along the western edge of the Bighorn Basin, and into the Shoshone Wilderness, taking the reformed outlaw pair to the outskirts of the not-so-long-ago-minted Yellowstone National Park. Kid had to give his partner credit: he had an uncanny ability to read the lay of the land, even in places where they hadn't traveled before. They had steered clear of a series of tiny towns that had popped up east of the vast lands that had pre-dated the establishment of the new parklands, and it was a hard-scrabble existence for those that chose to live there. The former-but-still-wanted outlaws had heard rumor that Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody was looking to harness those precious pockets of water in this predominantly barren but beautifully rugged landscape and make a real town out of the dry wilderness, and make agriculture a real possibility here in one of the last true areas of livable wilderness in the West. But that would be years to come as Cody continued to make his fortune in his "Wild West" shows.

Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes, known mostly these days as Thaddeus Jones and Joshua Smith, had been working on a ranch in the brisk days of late autumn in the high desert of western Wyoming territory. They'd spent five long, busy and brutal days in the blowing wind of the range fixing fence, one of their least favorite kinds of work: the back-breaking kind. Their job was done and they'd been paid, fairly decent wages for the work; their boss on this job was a good man who had worked hard for his success and knew firsthand the value of the effort that the two men had put forth. The pair had opted for the sort-of town of Meeteetse in northwest Wyoming for a drink and some poker, and to lie low for a day or two. They both hoped for more, but knew that finding women in some of these more remote places was hit or miss, at best. And they needed to stay remote whenever possible; they were on the far side of a territory that would like nothing better than to corral their hides and put them in the territorial prison in Cheyenne in eastern Wyoming – and throw away the key, at least for twenty years a piece.

"Kid, I would have liked to have found myself something pretty to spend some time with, too, but I got my priorities straight. I just thought we both had the same priorities."

"We do, Heyes. But don't be mistaking this for anything other than what it is."

"And what would that be?"

Kid hesitated, suddenly not so keen to go down this road. He wasn't sure how to go back, though, now that he'd started, so he said softly, his head lowered, "Couldn't get yourself a woman." Heyes scowled when Kid added, "Again." The blond looked up and caught Heyes staring him down, the annoyance about the smart comment obvious on the darker one's face. The expression didn't last long, however, as they both knew that Heyes was on a remarkable run of bad luck with the ladies – but more important than that - he had an indelible soft spot for his friend that made it near-impossible to stay mad at him for long. Heyes cracked a smile and then chuckled, Kid joining him in the much-needed relief after their long and dangerous ride.

They continued to ride in easy silence, giving their horses a chance to rest, appreciating the relative flatlands, but wanting, indeed needing to keep a steady pace to get farther into the backwoods and the protection from being seen that they offered.

"You know, Heyes, I'm not sure we're doin' ourselves any favors headin' farther in at this time of year."

"I know, Kid. But if we stay due north, and keep to the inside edge of the forest, we can probably cross over into Montana in about two, three days time, and keep outta sight at the same time."

"I wish we were headin' south," Kid lamented.

"Me, too. But Rock Creek is north, and where our next job is."

"Leading some rich people on a horse drive?"

"Well, Kid, it's work. It's good money, the work shouldn't be too hard, no doubt it'll have a moment or two of annoyance, but it's good, honest work that'll earn us good, honest money. And we need the money."

"I know. I never thought you'd agree to a drive this late in the season, this far north."

Hannibal Heyes looked sideways at his best friend. "Now Kid, I know you're not deaf. Got wax in your ears? Or you still got that pretty Nellie's perfume swirling around, making your concentration a little off?" Heyes ended with a knowing smirk.

"Jealous," Kid replied as he rode on ahead.

"Maybe a little," Heyes countered under his breath as the smirk left his face. Maybe there'll be a pretty filly on this expedition that he could have some fun with. Kid's words earlier were true; it had been a long time...

"It sure has," Kid answered.

"I hate it when you do that."

"I know you don't like hearin' it, but sometimes your face is an open book."

"Only when you catch me unawares, Kid. We're out in the middle of nowhere. I'm allowed to be caught unawares out here."

"Whatever you say, Heyes."

The two men made camp for three uneventful nights as they made their way north, and uneventful was the key in two ways: no one saw them that might be inclined to turn them in, and nothing saw them that might be inclined to eat them, at least none that had made their presence known. Yellowstone was known for wolves and coyotes and bears…and rattlesnakes, though it was getting too cold for the rattlers to still be a danger on the trails. Heyes and Curry weren't on trails, though, so they both made certain to be careful about knocking into – or leaning up against – any rocks where the deadly reptiles might be resting. Bighorn sheep were also prevalent. Yellowstone, like few other places in the West, still had some bison left. The former outlaws had little experience dealing with the large animals, though they had heard tell of some peculiar – some would even say schizophrenic – behavior of some of the bison in the area. The duo was just as happy to have not come face-to-face with one and been close enough to determine the accuracy of such a diagnosis. There had been a dusting of snow late on one of the days they traveled, though, and the white had made it easy to spot the large, brown animals in a meadow they had passed on the ride. Heyes and Curry had made sure to take it nice and easy through the area so as not to rile the striking, outsized beasts.

It was nearing sunset when the two reached Salvatore Caruso's ranch. Caruso was an immigrant from Italy who had become surprisingly successful in the horse business in Montana. He'd been in the country six years, in Montana the last three, and his organization was a prime source of horses for every possible use throughout Montana and much of Wyoming.

"We have arrived," Heyes said tiredly.

"My behind wouldn't know the difference. It's numb," Kid offered smartly.

"It's been a long day in the saddle," Heyes agreed.

A tall gentleman, dark-haired with a moustache and the beginnings of a paunch, came out from the front of the magnificent timber and stone frontier homestead. The main house was surrounded by equally impressive work buildings and other structures that the two tired men imagined would include housing for them and the other cowboys who would be joining them, as well as for the party of folks who were paying for the chance to experience an authentic horse drive. Tidy white fences surrounded areas that were clearly for specific purposes: a clothes line, an area where there appeared to be an ageing wooden fort for children's play, gardens now abandoned for the coming winter, a smokehouse.

"Mr. Jones?" the tall man asked, looking at Heyes. "Mr. Smith?" he queried, turning to the Kid. "I am Salvatore Caruso."

"Other way around, Mr. Caruso," Heyes corrected in an easy manner. "I'm Joshua Smith." He pointed to his riding companion, who was slowly, finally removing his tingling buttocks from the saddle. "This is my partner, Thaddeus Jones." Caruso and Heyes shook hands from Heyes' seat on his horse.

"Scusi. Mi dispiace. I am sorry."

"No apology necessary. Honest mistake," Kid Curry returned, also shaking the man's hand. Heyes followed his partner out of the saddle, only barely stifling a groan.

"You gentlemen seem to have had a hard ride." If the groan hadn't signaled the difficulty of their day, their filthy, dusty clothes clearly did.

"A long, long day in the saddle, signor."

"Ah, you know some Italian, Mr. Smith?" Caruso asked.

"Call me Joshua, and no, not really. Just a word here and there that I learned from reading."

"Then maybe we can teach you a little more during your time here," Caruso suggested warmly. The Italian seemed quite friendly, though not overly so. Just what Heyes would expect. The man seemed kind, but also seemed like the sort of man who would make sure he stayed alert until the time when he no longer found the need to be.

"Maybe, though I don't know that I'd make much use of it in this country," Heyes smiled back.

"Then you must visit Italy one day," Caruso replied as he slapped Heyes on the back. A cloud of dust lingered in the air. "It is a far different place from here in the American West. Come, I will show you your quarters. You can get yourselves cleaned up." He looked toward the stables. "Dov'è," Caruso said in a normal tone, followed by a short pause, and then, "Adelina!" Heyes and the Kid jumped at the unexpected – and very loud – bellow. A young woman in western gear rode up to them – expertly - on a striking roan.

"Sorry, Papa. Mildred was, as you may have guessed..." the father and daughter next spoke in unison, "being difficult," the daughter in English, the father in what was obviously Italian. The Carusos, and Heyes and Curry, all laughed.

"Ah, I fear we will have to leave the old girl here for this drive, Bellissima."

"That doesn't seem right. We have always had Mildred with us," the very pretty young woman said.

"Yes, but we must admit when we are no longer capable, am I correct?"

"Certo, Papa."

"Adelina, these are our guides for this trip, Mr. Joshua Smith and Mr. Thaddeus Jones. This is my daughter, Adelina."

"Hello," Adelina said, the daughter only slightly less filthy than the two reforming outlaws.

"Hello," Heyes said with a broad smile. He admired what he saw. There was a lot to admire, under the dirt.

"Howdy," Curry added quickly, his brilliant smile in unabashed competition with his partner's for the young lady's attentions.

"I was just showing these gentlemen their quarters. Will you be joining us for dinner?" the horseman asked his daughter.

The dark-haired woman who was the image of her father smiled brightly as she looked from Heyes to Curry and then back to Heyes. "Of course," she said as she remounted and took off in a cloud of dust.

Heyes and Curry followed Caruso toward a small building. Heyes asked, "Is Mildred your cook for your drive?" It would be unusual to have a woman cook on a horse or cattle drive, but it wasn't unheard of.

Salvatore Caruso laughed with gusto. "No, no, my friend. Mildred is Adelina's horse. The one that she has had since she was a little girl. It has, how do you say, pained her to finally realize that Mildred must be put to pasture. She was a fine horse for many, many years."

"Ah," Heyes replied knowingly. "It is hard to part with a good horse," he noted, though it was a situation that he and his partner had faced any number of times during their outlaw days and even now as they made their attempt at amnesty.

"It is, and Adelina has been riding Mildred for nearly twelve years."

"That is a long time to have the same horse," Kid Curry noted. "How old did you say she was when she first got Mildred?" the Kid asked casually.

"I did not say, but Adelina is old enough and wise enough to make her own choices." The senior Caruso looked back and forth to both men. "I will warn you that Adelina is a flirt, it is in her blood. This she gets from me. But she is wise like her mother was. Also, she will break your heart if you allow it. She is young and not yet ready to settle down. She gets this restlessness from her mother. Adua and I were blessed with one child, and a beauty she is." Caruso stared at both men. "Be careful."

Heyes was a little shocked to hear a man speak of his daughter in such a way. Though Caruso seemed to be simply stating facts rather than pointing out negatives about his child, Hannibal Heyes still felt uncomfortable knowing so much, and in this manner, about Adelina Caruso. He knew he'd have to work overtime trying to rein in his partner, who no doubt was looking upon Caruso's warning as more of a challenge, or worse, a dare.

"Thanks for the advice," Heyes replied with a smile, "but we're just here to lead a drive."

"Molto buono. So, here we are. There is a washroom to the rear, with a toilet. It is not elegant, but it is civilized."

"Thank you, Mr. Caruso. It's the best we'll have seen in near three weeks," Heyes said.

"Va bene. And please call me Salvatore. Dinner will be in about a half an hour, at the main house. Just come in the front door and turn left. You two are the last to arrive. Will thirty minutes give you enough time to clean up?"

"With the promise of a home cooked meal, my partner can be ready in half a minute," Heyes said with a smirk.

"Ah, a hearty appetite is a good thing," Caruso countered.

"That's good to hear, because I got one," Kid chimed in.

"Molto bene. Ciao."

"Ciao," Heyes mimicked, familiar with the short word for both hello and goodbye in Italian. Hannibal Heyes had been a voracious reader as a child and into his youth, and he had taken up the habit again now that he and the Kid were working their way towards amnesty.

"I'm looking forward to some of that," Kid said.

"What?"

"Chow."

Heyes shook his head at his partner and then watched as Salvatore Caruso headed to his house. The sun was setting and casting a golden glow on the house and the prairie to the east. The rugged terrain to the north and west seemed an orange and red silhouette, almost as though the mountains were on fire. It was the beginning of a stunning sunset.

"Pretty country."

"Yeah. Yeah, Kid. It is."

"You know, Heyes, it's still a risk, bein' this close to Wyoming territory. I thought we'd agreed to try to find work farther away. Lom thought it was a good idea."

Heyes turned from the sunset and smiled at his partner. "Naw, it's fine. And we've worked in Wyoming and Montana territory a lot over the last months. Just because we're gettin' over that year mark waiting for our amnesty doesn't mean we should start acting all panicky. We run a risk that we'll be spotted anywhere we go. Remember what happened down in Arizona? People taking their turns stealing us in order to take us in for the reward?" Heyes paused thoughtfully. "We can't hide in a cave, Kid. And even if we could, we couldn't. We'd both go crazy living like that. Might as well be in prison in that case, at least we'd get fed and have a roof to live under."

"I guess you're right. Let's get cleaned up and get us something to eat."

Heyes snorted. "I knew your stomach would set your mind at ease."

"Very funny."

"Come on. You clean up first," Heyes said as he pushed Kid's saddlebag into his hand and shoved him in the direction of the bathroom. "This'll be fun. We're just showin' some rich folks how to stay on their horses and not cause a stampede."

"Thanks, Heyes. Now that definitely puts my mind at ease."

---

"Are we going to take a break sometime soon?"

Hannibal Heyes rolled his eyes – out of sight of his 'customers' – as he kept his brim low over his eyes, a rare spectacle for people who knew him well, as he had only ever looked upon his hat as a necessary inconvenience.

"Mr. Jordan, as we talked about last night at dinner, we will be taking a break at about mid-morning."

Alexander Jordan looked to the sky, eyeing the sun still somewhat low in the eastern horizon. "It's not mid-morning yet? My behind says it is."

Kid Curry leaned close to his partner, the rims of their hats touching. "I'll bet," he said in a hushed tone.

"No, sir," Heyes replied to the large man in the business suit as he gave Curry a warning grin. "Give us another hour and we'll be ready for a rest."

'I'm ready now,' Kid mouthed just before they heard Jordan say the same thing out loud.

"I knew he was going to be our biggest problem on this trip the minute I laid eyes on him and saw him go for that fourth biscuit last night," Curry chided his friend.

"Whose idea was it to take this job?" the dark one asked as he pushed his black hat high on his forehead.

"That would be yours, Heyes. All yours," Kid Curry laughed as he turned his horse to the right and headed to check on the rear of the group. "Howdy," he said to Salvatore Caruso as he left, a huge grin on his face.

"You have the patience of a saint, Mr. Smith," Caruso commented softly as he reached Heyes.

"Joshua, please."

"Of course. You handled Mr. Jordan well."

"I don't know about that, Salvatore. I don't think that Alexander Jordan is ever 'handled'."

"He is a powerful man with a lot of money. And control of everyone else's money, including mine. But he is still only a man, just like you and me."

Heyes knew this to simply not be true, but that was not a conversation he would have with Salvatore Caruso on this drive. An owner of banks – lots of banks – and a reforming bank robber had inherently little in common. And after observing the gentleman's temperament over the course of the last evening and morning, Heyes was glad to say that he was nothing at all like Alexander Jordan.

"That may be so, Salvatore, but Mr. Jordan is paying for this excursion. I don't want to get him too riled up."

"He might be, what is the saying, 'Footing the bill' for this trip, but I believe he does need to be made aware that he is no longer in an environment where he is the expert. It could be dangerous to allow him to think otherwise."

"On that I think we can agree," Heyes smiled.

"Va bene."

"Oh, and about having the patience of a saint? Have you met my partner?" Heyes asked wryly. Caruso laughed heartily as he made his way to ride alongside their benefactor.

---

"Mr. Caruso, your English is wonderful." Emma Jordan, Alexander Jordan's daughter, had seemed taken with the jovial yet sophisticated Italian. She had spent a good deal of the morning riding with her father and Caruso, much to her own dismay, as she thought that she'd stay as far away from her overbearing father as possible on this trip. She wished so much that her father was more like the patriarch of Adelina's family.

"Ah, well, Miss Jordan, Adelina's mother had a fascination with America since she was a child. 'Quando andiamo in America, dovremo conoscere la lingua.' Of course, she was right, as she always was. In order to get ahead here, we would need to know the language. So we studied English since early in our marriage."

"Your accent is barely noticeable, though it is beautiful to hear. Say something in Italian," Emma insisted.

"Emma Elizabeth, stop fawning over the man," Alexander Jordan admonished.

"I'm not fawning, Father. I just think that speaking two languages is so very impressive. Some people at the bank can barely speak their native language properly."

Hannibal Heyes snorted a laugh, glad that he didn't have any coffee in his mouth from the cup he held in his hand. He saw Alexander Jordan's face turn red before the explosion came.

"You find that funny, Mr. Smith?"

Not wanting to be caught in a lie, Hannibal Heyes answered truthfully.

"Well, sir, I have to agree with your daughter." He nodded at Emma with a dimpled smile. "It is impressive what Mr. Caruso has accomplished. And there are a lot of folks here in the West who haven't had an education. Or circumstances didn't allow them to finish what they started," he added with knowing empathy. "But I don't think of that as a good excuse not to be an educated person. There's ways to learn things without goin' to school."

"Is that so? What makes you such an expert? You're leading a fake horse drive," Jordan noted snidely. "I guess your education, such that it is, hasn't done much for you."

"Father!" Emma screamed, horrified at her only surviving parent's rudeness. Kid frowned at the interchange, and wondered what was taking Heyes so long to respond. On first glance he was sure that he and his friend came off as just a couple of cowpokes, their duds having taken a beating over the course of the last year. But they'd had good schooling, back in Kansas, before everything went to hell, and Heyes knew more from reading and living than most people would know in a lifetime. That was something that helped keep them alive more than once, how smart Heyes really was. Heyes' smarts were just as important to their survival as Kid's skill with a gun. There was a nerve that Jordan might have pricked with his cruel words, but the Kid doubted that he'd cut that deep. They'd both grown thick skins over the years. But Kid Curry was sure that they would be the recipients of a good Hannibal Heyes silver-tongued tongue-lashing.

He wasn't disappointed. And he was happy that this time he wasn't at the receiving end of it.

"It's true, sir, that my formal education ended sooner than I would have liked. But I take pride in the fact that I did not allow that to stop me from continuing to read and learn. It wasn't how I would have liked it, and there's probably things I wouldn't have done in my life if I'd've been able to stay in school. My life hasn't gone the way I would have liked, but my learning has served me just fine. And I guess that if I had the chance to choose to work in a stuffy office all day, growing fat and bitter, or being out in the country, freedom of the range and fresh air and hard work the other option, then I guess I would choose the latter. That it was thrust upon me makes little difference in the final outcome."

Salvatore Caruso had kept his head down through most of Heyes' speech; it was the only way to keep Jordan from seeing how much he agreed with the young man. He leaned over close to Heyes and said, "So much for patience, Joshua." He placed his hand on Heyes' shoulder and pressed firmly, a quiet warning that he'd probably said enough.

Jordan huffed. "Caruso, I don't know where you got this fella, but I think you could have done better. I'm paying for this expedition. I don't much care for paying to keep this one around. He's rude."

"You should be able to recognize rude, Father," Emma said quickly, clearly speaking before she'd thought it through. The worst already said, she continued, "But Mr. Smith wasn't. He was just defending himself. I, for one, Mr. Smith, admire you greatly for standing up to my father."

"You could teach my debate students a thing or two," Russell Murtaugh added.

"Oh, yes, he could, couldn't he Mr. Murtaugh," Emma agreed enthusiastically. Several others seated in the circle for their midday break nodded their heads in agreement. Emma added, "And you're only paying for half. You should be clear about these things when you say them, Father."

"I'm afraid I've said too much," Heyes interjected, partly to forestall the looming argument between father and daughter. "I apologize if I offended, Mr. Jordan," Heyes continued. Kid Curry gave his friend a worried frown. Heyes shrugged his shoulder.

Jordan huffed again, but didn't say more.

Caruso patted Heyes on the shoulder once again, as though to remind him that he still held the Italian's confidence even if he'd lost the banker's.

"Shall we move along?" Salvatore Caruso suggested.

"Yes, we should. Thaddeus, can you get the wranglers started?"

"You bet."

"Well, look at that," one of the folks on the trip said, pointing over to the far meadow. Three mule deer lay in the tall grass, taking in the goings on across the way, seemingly not bothered by the noises and activity. A young man walked over closer to the deer to get a better look, his father joining him. Heyes smiled and let them take a few minutes to enjoy the unusual spectacle. The three deer, all does, just lay there sunning themselves. It reminded Heyes of when he'd see his mother and Jed Curry's mother, and a few other neighbor moms, on the rare moments when they all had a few minutes, just gathering together, having a "girls' day out" as his mother used to call it. He shook his head at the memory, and turned to the rest of the group.

"Everybody, let's saddle up." Heyes instructed. The cool day had been made into near-perfect riding weather by the bright sunshine. The great weather for their first full day of the drive seemed the only bright spot, leastwise in Heyes' mind, after the disagreeable discussions from earlier.

All of the non-professional members of the expedition headed to their horses. Heyes watched the paying members of group as they dispersed. In additional to Jordan and his daughter Emma was the teacher Russell Murtaugh and his son, Will. From what Heyes and the Kid had gleaned at dinner, both men were widowers. Will seemed a good young man, but quiet, even a little withdrawn. He was thirteen years old and had clearly not yet recovered from his mother's death nearly a year before. The Jordans and the Murtaughs both lived in Rock Creek, the same town as the Carusos, though Salvatore's spread encompassed significant acreage a fair distance outside of town. These two families – the Jordans and the Murtaughs – proved that Kid's assumption the previous day was wrong: not everyone on this trip was rich. The Jordans were, but Heyes and Kid figured that the Murtaughs had been saving up for a long time to make this journey.

Also making the trip were two men who had remained very quiet at dinner the night before. Richard Brandt and Stephen Holmes were men that even Salvatore Caruso had little information about. They had paid their portion of the fare, but all Caruso'd been able to find out about them was that they had been speculators in a silver mine. When Heyes and Curry had returned to their quarters after dinner the previous night, the Kid had said he had a 'bad feeling' about those two. Heyes had reluctantly agreed. And it didn't make him feel any better that the two had remained isolated from the group at breakfast, at the morning break, and now at lunch…and at all times in between. He would be watching them carefully, as time and circumstances permitted.

The outing also included Bob Berry and his wife Robin, from Houston. The Berrys were regular participants in the Caruso's package deals, not that they needed to be. Bob was an experienced big game hunter, and as knowledgeable of the area as Salvatore and Adelina. His wife Robin was an experienced outdoorswoman, and an artist. Their plans for this trip were of a specific nature: Robin would be sketching some of the high desert flora. They had heard the previous evening of Robin's near perfect memory. Between her sketches and her notes, and her memory, she would be able to go back home and paint the colors of the plants in their vivid, perfect beauty. It was late in the season, but Robin had explained there was still beauty to be seen in a plant's dying and dormant stages, that there was exquisiteness in the twilight of a plant's life, in the dew hanging as clear crystal orbs in the early morning from a golden shrub that had started life a rich, vibrant green. That grandeur existed in the wildness of a wind-swept pine high on a rocky rise. Heyes and Curry had been impressed with her passion, mesmerized by her descriptions and hoped that she found the living gems in nature that she sought.

Rounding out the paid members of the group were Archie Mendelsohn and his brother David. Eastern educated and on sabbatical from their teaching positions at prestigious universities, they had headed west for this horse drive adventure. They were friendly, enthusiastic, book-read on what it meant to be on a drive, seemingly self-sufficient, and followed directions to the letter. Jovial and helpful so far, and Heyes suspected they had taken some pleasure in his own tirade earlier against Alexander Jordan. And most importantly: David made the best trail coffee Heyes and Curry had ever had.

These two were, in fact, the exact opposite of Brandt and Holmes.

A scream to his left brought Heyes out of his brief musings. Young Will stood over near a tree, huddled behind his father, who remained still and staring, frightened, in the direction of a large boulder. Heyes moved over on his horse. As he neared he asked, "What's wrong?"

"S...ss...ssnake," Russell Murtaugh answered in a stuttering whisper. "Pr...Pretty sure it's a rattler."

"Stay calm. Where'd you last see it?" Heyes asked in an even, quiet tone.

"I...It was t...toward the left of th...th...that rock. I didn't s...see it disappear. I w...was w...worried about Will."

"It's okay, Mr. Murtaugh. Stay where you are." Heyes dismounted and walked carefully to father and son, keeping his eyes on the boulder the entire time. Once he was even with the pair, he said, "Walk slowly toward the horses. Try to be as quiet as you can." Murtaugh and his son looked to him with wide eyes, scared of taking even one step for fear of bringing the snake out again. "It's all right, just go slow and easy." Heyes kept his eyes on the rock, and only took his attention away from it when the Murtaughs started away. They were moving slow and methodically, just as Heyes had hoped they would. A roar from behind him broke the silent calm he had been working so hard to achieve.

"What's the hold-up?" Alexander Jordan bellowed. Oh the irony of the choice of words, Heyes thought.

The snake scurried out from under the large stone and headed straight for Hannibal Heyes. "Run!" Heyes ordered the Murtaughs, who heeded the instruction with swift obedience. Heyes took a step backward, his boot catching on some loose rock. His right foot twisted painfully, and he thought he'd be able to stop the fall that ultimately came. It felt like time had stopped, except the rattler was still there – threatening – when he finally fell, landing hard. The rattlesnake had coiled back, ready to attack its prey, when a shot rang out. Heyes saw the head fly from the rest of the snake's body, the tail still vibrating, seeming as loud as the echo of the gunshot.

"You all right?" Kid Curry asked as he rushed to kneel beside his partner. Heyes could hear other voices behind him: Adelina checking on Murtaugh and his son, Jordan arguing with Salvatore. Was he all right? It was a good question. He didn't feel all right, though he knew he hadn't been bit. "Hey...Joshua?" Kid asked again, catching himself before saying Heyes' real name. "Are you hurt? The rattler didn't getcha, did it?"

Heyes realized he was scaring his partner, and probably the rest of the party, by not answering. He was still shaky, but knew he had to say something.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. I'm n...not bit," he said, unable to catch the stutter that projected his fear of what might have been. It was likely a death sentence getting bit by a rattlesnake out where they were now. Quieter, and just for his partner to hear, Heyes said, "Get everyone on their horses." He reached his hand toward Kid, a silent request for an assist up. Kid pulled him to his feet and noticed immediately that his friend was favoring his right foot. Heyes didn't seem too steady in any respect, but only to Kid's highly-experienced eye.

"Are you sure..." Kid started, but Heyes cut him off.

"I'm okay. Go get everyone ready, and send Salvatore over here."

"If you're sure..."

"Please, Kid. There ain't nothin' we can do about it now, anyway."

"You are hurt," Kid challenged.

"Only a little. Let's get goin'."

"But Heyes, there shouldn't be any rattlers out this time of year."

"I know." Heyes looked into Kid's eyes with great concern. "Send Salvatore." Kid eyed his partner warily. "Go ahead," the dark one insisted.

Kid went to make sure everyone got saddled. "Everything's okay. The rattler's dead. No one got hurt," he lied as he looked to his partner once again, worry evident on his face. "Let's get saddled up." As he passed Caruso, he leaned in close and said softly, "Joshua needs to speak to you." The horseman walked over to Heyes.

"Are you hurt? Should we head back?" Salvatore Caruso asked with concern. He obviously had not believed what Curry had just said about there not being any injuries.

"I twisted my foot and got the wind knocked outta me." That part he'd chosen to keep from his partner, who was already worried enough about what was going on. He was going to have one helluva bruise on his back later. "I'm fine. But I don't think our expedition is."

"You mean the rattlesnake?"

"Yes, I mean the rattlesnake. Rattler shouldn't be out in this weather, they're all already in their holes for the season. They sure wouldn't be this close to the paths."

"You don't think it's possible..." Salvatore started. Heyes cut him off, already prepared for the query.

"If you're asking if I think it's possible that one snake might still be out about now, then no, I don't. I think someone had that snake with them and I think they were purposefully looking to make something happen out here."

"Joshua..."

"I know how it sounds, Salvatore. Impossible, even maybe a little paranoid." Heyes paused as he watched Caruso's face change from skepticism to acceptance of the likelihood of what Heyes suggested. "What do you know about Brandt and Holmes?" Heyes asked, more insistent on an answer this time than when he'd asked the previous night.

"As we discussed last night, Joshua, hardly anything. They made some money on silver. I don't even know where. And I don't know where they're from. They said Colorado, but nothing specific. They arrived and paid the entire amount with cash. They were last minute additions when we had a cancellation. We usually look for monies in advance, and that gives us time to do some checking with the sheriff, but there was not sufficient time this time. That does not always bring results. And that is all I know." He shook his head regretfully.

"I don't mean to worry you, but Thaddeus and I both have concerns about those two. There's nothing...firm I can say about why, just..." Caruso finished the thought.

"They have not mingled with the other guests. They seem to want to remain isolated from the others. This I have noticed."

"Well, at least now we'll have three pairs of eyes watching them," Heyes noted as he lifted his right foot gingerly and tried to flex it. He winced.

"Four. Adelina is not happy with those two, either."

Heyes smiled. "She is her father's daughter."

Caruso beamed a brilliant smile. "Yes, she is." He became serious again when he asked, "You have hurt your foot badly?"

Heyes couldn't see the point in lying about it. "It's not good, but I've worked through worse."

"Do you think Adelina should take a look at it?"

"No. If I take it out of the boot now, I may not get it back in. Let's keep moving. I'll have Thaddeus have a look at it tonight when we make camp."

"When Adelina finds out that you are injured she will insist on caring for you. It is her way, just like her mother."

"I can think of worse fates, but I don't think it's serious enough."

"Fine. Then let's move on, and we will all be aware of Mr. Brandt and Mr. Holmes."

"And let's don't forget about Mr. Jordan."

"As though we could even if we wanted to, Joshua," Salvatore countered as he threw his arm jovially across Heyes' shoulder and then slipped it down to his waist to assist the hurt cowboy back down the rocky hill.

---

"You're gonna have to pull hard."

"You shoulda taken this off when we were still stopped for lunch. The cool water from the pond mighta helped with the swelling."

"Mighta. But I didn't," Heyes said disgustedly.

"This is gonna hurt," the Kid added.

"Just do it." Heyes was irritable, though mostly with himself.

Kid pulled and Heyes couldn't suppress the groan of pain.

"Sorry," Kid said worriedly. Heyes shook his head and then watched as his partner removed the sweat-soaked sock from his foot. His ankle was a nasty yellow with purple highlights, and decidedly swollen despite its confinement in the boot for so much of the day.

"How's it look?" Heyes asked, his eyes closed, his head down, making his best effort to bear the pain.

"Ugly. How's it feel?"

"Bad."

"I'll bet. I'm gonna wrap it in this wet cloth. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Kid put the cold, wet cloth around the swollen ankle. Heyes hissed and grabbed for his leg, as though massaging it might help the hurt farther down. The wrap immediately sent a shiver through him, but the ankle did start to feel better for it. Heyes kept his eyes shut as he leaned up against a tree.

"You okay?" Kid asked.

"Yeah. Let's try to not let Adelina find out about this," Heyes said.

"Adelina? Why?"

"Her father says that she's the nurturing type."

"So, what's wrong with that? It might be just what you need to get over the hump."

"Ha,ha."

"Seriously, partner. I'll step aside if you're interested."

Heyes opened his eyes. "You'll 'step aside'? How magnanimous of you."

"How what?"

"Nevermind." Heyes closed his eyes again. The Kid thought Heyes looked miserable, and he showed no signs of wanting to pursue the Adelina angle. Curry let it slide.

"I'm going to wet this again. Are you feeling cold?"

"A bit." The shiver would have told the true story if he'd tried to hide from his attentive partner the fact that he felt chilled to the bone.

"I'll get you a blanket." Kid paused and then said, "Oh, and Heyes? Prepare for the worst." Hannibal Heyes opened his eyes to find Adelina Caruso standing in front of him.

"Mr. Smith..."

"Joshua, please."

"Mr. Smith, why did you not tell me that you got hurt helping Will?"

"Was I supposed to?"

"Don't be funny. And yes, I believe that my father told you that I would be the person to see if someone from the group got hurt."

"Well, that explains it, then. I'm not part of the group. I'm leading the group."

"Uomo irritante. Lo stessi del Papa," Adelina yelled.

"I'm sorry?" Heyes asked, looking for a translation, and smiling a little too much for Adelina Caruso's taste.

He never got a translation, though her fiery demeanor gave him an inkling about her meaning. She certainly made no attempt to hide it.

"Let me look at your foot."

"I don't think that's what you said." Heyes grinned at the pretty girl.

"Let-me-look-at-your-foot," Adelina demanded more firmly.

"You don't need to, Adelina. Thaddeus is taking care of it." Heyes trembled. Damned cold night.

"Why do you shiver?"

"Because I'm cold?" he replied snidely. "My partner is fetching me a blanket." Where was the Kid?

Adelina finally kneeled in front of Heyes rather than continue to tower over him, for which his sore back was grateful. She was a tall beauty, that was for certain. "Do you not think we should cancel the trip? My father told me that you and Mr. Jones are both suspicious of those two men, too."

"No, we should not turn back. People paid good money for this excursion. It wouldn't be fair, and it's too late in the season to quit and try again."

"But your foot."

"I'll be fine."

Adelina let out a frustrated growl. "Ah! Gli uomini sono così...così ridicoli!"

"If you say so."

"You do not even know what I said."

"I don't think I had to. What about you, Thaddeus?"

"Nope. The message came through loud and clear," Curry said with a smile as he placed the blanket around Heyes' shoulders, and tucked him in as well.

Another growl and Adelina stormed off.

"Tempestuous," Heyes said.

"Strong-willed," Kid added.

"I think I could fall in love with her," Heyes admitted as his eyes trailed her to the far side of the camp.

"Me, too," Kid agreed as he sat down next to his best friend, making sure to sit on the side where he could protect Heyes from the brunt of the wind racing down from the mountains.

---

"This is gonna hurt, Heyes."

"It hurt taking it off, I guess it's poetic justice that it hurt going back on. At least the swelling's down. Some."

Curry pushed hard as Heyes stepped into the boot. A loud, "Ow!" could be heard across camp.

"Stupido," Adelina said as she passed them on the way to her horse.

"Seems your charms are having their regular effect on women, Heyes," Kid joked.

"Yes, well, I reckon it's just as well. I think we might have our hands full on this trip, Kid."

Heyes' serious demeanor, and the fact that he'd not taken the bait on Kid's joshing about his partner's love life, or lack thereof, made Kid Curry worry.

"You think we're in for something else from those two?"

"I do," Heyes answered as Kid helped him to his feet. "Ouch."

"Something bad could have happened with that rattler. Something far worse than a twisted ankle," Kid noted.

"Something deadly," Heyes countered.

"Yeah. Do you think one of us should watch them a little closer today?"

"I do. I don't think we really have enough people for that, but I do," Heyes agreed.

"Then why don't you do that? Maybe it'll keep you off your foot, give it a chance to heal up."

"It's just badly twisted. I'm fine. And I was going to be in the saddle most of the day, anyway. But I think I will make those two my special project. I'm gonna go tell Salvatore our plans."

"No, you stay here. I'll send him over. Then I'm gonna tell the wranglers to take it easy today. The paying customers won't know the difference, at least most of 'em won't, and it should make it easier for you to watch them."

"Okay. Thanks, Kid."

The morning went by without incident. Heyes even noticed that Brandt and Holmes were more relaxed. He hadn't decided yet whether that was a good or a bad thing. Lunch had been friendly enough; Brandt even participated in the conversation, though nothing new about what these two were up to could be gleaned from the chit-chat.

The teacher Russell Murtaugh had become fast friends with the two college professors in the group. The Mendelsohn brothers had also taken young Will Murtaugh under their wing. Both Heyes and Curry had noticed a distance between father and son, but the young boy seemed more open and outgoing with the two young professors. They were obviously old enough to teach at the college level, but the brothers came off as quite young, something that Will seemed to sense. Also, the brothers had not been remiss about acting like brothers, playing jokes on each other and generally keeping the group entertained. Even Jordan had found it in him to laugh at the brothers' antics. The Berrys were enjoying the fun, looking on knowingly; they were the parents of adult children and recognized the light-hearted, outgoing and typically sibling behavior from their own brood.

A wide but fairly steep passage through some rock was coming up on their trail. The chuck wagon had taken it slow or risked throwing a wheel. The reformed outlaw duo had not been in this area before, though Caruso had warned them of this spot on their journey. Heyes surveyed what Salvatore had said would be the hardest part of the trip. It didn't look too bad, though Heyes noted that his partner was keeping a close eye on Alexander Jordan. The man was already top-heavy in the saddle; the steep incline, and subsequent decline on the far side, was just a recipe for disaster in Heyes' mind where that pompous, arrogant man was concerned. It didn't surprise him that it would be harder to get Jordan through the pass than it was getting the chuck wagon through. The wagon had gone on ahead as the members of the excursion took the time to look for signs of wildlife in the area. The Berrys were off ahead, familiar with the itinerary and the terrain. The rest of the group always caught up with them, more often than not finding Robin Berry with her sketchpad out, sitting on a rock, leaned over a plant. She had wanted in particular to find a Twinflower and Dotted Blazingstar, knowing that she was too late in the season for the Wild Bergamot and the Alumroot Brookfoam. But the Holy Grail for her on this trip, the Ten-petal Eveningstar, would be the true find. The petals, said to be ten on each flower, were cream to pale yellow in color, with a multitude of long, bright yellow stamens. The flower stayed open in the evenings. Robin had never seen one in person, but she was an anxious amateur botanist and an eternal optimist. And, along with her husband, a person of abiding faith.

Wild mustangs were a fairly common sighting in these parts, though none had made their presence known on this day. It seemed that maybe Bob and Robin would need to use the power of prayer for anyone to get a peek at these grand wild horses on this trip. They had surreptitiously spoken with Heyes and Curry, noting to the pair that they had prayed for the rest of their journey to be a safe one. Heyes and Curry let them talk; the two had decided long ago that since they weren't real sure where they stood on religion, that it was best if they didn't discuss it with other folks. But it always interested the two to hear other people talk about what their religion meant to them.

The difficult terrain yielded some beautiful vistas. They were straddling what was currently defined as the border between the Wyoming and Montana territories. Both territories were bound to make statehood status in the next couple of years. It was likely that the dividing line would change somewhat before then. But as of this day, the rugged terrain made for a challenging path, but a handsome one as well. The wild mustangs from the time of the Spanish were still visible, but only at a great distance, and only fleetingly, at best. Smooth, white-topped peaks up against the horizon yielded to ragged, red rocked edges of the near-distant mountains. Bighorn sheep were plentiful – and less skittish than the wild horses - clearly thriving on the craggy rock, low grasses and broom found in the area. The river that etched the canyon through the Bighorn Basin was a tributary of the Yellowstone River, appropriately named Bighorn River. The canyon was magnificent, and not that far from their itinerary for this trip. It's meandering depth could be seen for miles and miles. Heyes and Curry had discussed the dangers inherent in taking folks too close to the edge. Salvatore had assured them that they would remain comfortably clear of the canyon. Heyes was sure that their party – or a fair part of it – would have appreciated the grandeur of it, but their concern over Brandt and Holmes made him relieved that the deep crevasse in the earth would not play a part in their journey.

Heyes had moved ahead of Brandt and Holmes, not wanting to make the shadowing he was doing of the pair too obvious. He had been watching Jordan - and Jordan's poor horse - struggle up the hill. He laughed as he caught sight of the Kid: if looks could kill, as the saying goes, Heyes was pretty sure that Kid would have caused Jordan's demise. He turned from the spectacle up ahead, a smile on his face as he thought of the Kid complaining about Jordan once they would settle in for the evening, to find Brandt and Holmes parked next to him, a gun pointed at him from Brandt's hand. He held it low, near the saddle's horn, so that it wasn't obvious. Heyes knew no one else could see it.

"This is an interesting turn of events, gentlemen," Hannibal Heyes commented dryly.

"Don't be smart. Why're you trackin' us?" Holmes asked.

"Why would you think I am?" Heyes countered as he looked over to Kid and Jordan. Curry would be busy for the next while. He didn't see either Caruso, father or daughter, in his sights.

"We just know. Now, move down that path."

"And you wonder why I might want to keep an eye…" Heyes wasn't able to finish as Holmes slammed the butt of his rifle into the boot of Heyes' bad foot.

"Holmes!" Brandt said in a hissed warning.

Heyes bit his lip so as not to yell out, not wanting the rest of the party's attentions drawn to the men with drawn guns, fearful of the other, innocent people getting hurt. Or worse. But in his effort to remain quiet, the pain became dizzying. He panted through the new throbbing that eclipsed the gentle but persistent pain he'd felt since Kid had helped him on with his boot first thing that morning. He couldn't imagine walking on that foot anytime soon, and that made him madder than having a gun pointed at his heart.

"What?" Holmes asked.

"Whadja do that for?" Brandt demanded. He looked Heyes in the eye. "Head down the path." Heyes scowled but turned his horse in the direction they'd indicated. He was curious about the simmering argument before him, now behind him, though the flairs of heat washing over him from the pain in his foot teetered closely on distracting him from his newfound curiosity.

"He wasn't moving. And we need answers. Besides, he could be..."

"Shut up," Brandt warned. "Let's get him outta sight first."

Heyes was at a decided disadvantage. First, his foot was killing him. Second, he was at the front of the line, with Brandt and Holmes leading him, at gunpoint, away from the rest of the party, and any help he might enlist. It had become painfully obvious that nobody had noticed that they were missing, but with all of the horses and wranglers minding the horses, it might be a while before they were noticed. Outside of the wranglers, the only other people besides the customers were Salvatore and Adelina and the cook – Mr. Dodd - driving the chuck wagon. And the Kid. But this was a tricky passage and they would all be otherwise occupied at this exact moment. Plus, he'd told Salvatore that he would be watching Brandt and Holmes; he might have set his own trap this time, and fallen perfectly into it.

"Gentlemen," Heyes said, but he said nothing more as he felt something hard slam painfully into the back of his head. He felt himself falling, but he wasn't aware enough of assuring a soft landing. He felt a sharp pain in his left hand as he landed hard. He thought briefly that his back still hurt from the previous day, but he'd had no time to dwell on that fact before he lost consciousness.

---

Kid Curry worried as he worked to keep Alexander Jordan on his horse. He wasn't worried about Jordan falling. In fact, he'd be more than happy to see just that. The man was...how would Heyes put it? Insufferable. No, Kid's worries were more of the type that involved his insufferable partner. Kid had lost track of Heyes a few minutes earlier, and now was unable to spot Heyes – or Brandt or Holmes. He needed to get Jordan through this passage – fast – but fast was an impossible feat with this less than expert horseman.

Adelina came back through the pass.

"What is taking so long?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Jordan yelled back in response. "This is a tricky path."

"Everyone else made it through. We have been waiting..." Kid cut her off.

"Everyone?" he asked, his concern evident on his handsome face.

"Actually, no. I was going to see where Mr. Smith was, and Mr. Brandt and Mr. Holmes." Adelina and the Kid locked eyes. They both had the same worry. Adelina started back along the trail. Kid Curry grabbed her arm.

"You should wait," he said softly and only for her ears. "Something's wrong, and you could be walkin' into trouble."

"I can take care..." the pretty and expert horsewoman started.

"Adelina!" Salvatore's voice stopped his daughter in her tracks. "Finish helping Mr. Jordan to the others. Stay there until we get back. Thaddeus?" Consternation warred with Adelina's natural instinct to obey her father. Natural instinct won out, which Curry was relieved to see.

Salvatore and Kid headed back down the trail. As they crested the hill they came upon Holmes and Brandt, looking decidedly flustered.

"Why are you men so far behind?" Salvatore asked.

"Sorry, Mr. Caruso," Brandt replied. "We saw ourselves a Bighorn, actually two, a fella with a giant rack and his mate. We followed it a ways, but decided we should head back."

"We're sorry if we slowed things down," Holmes added.

"Continue through the notch and meet up with the rest of the party," Kid directed.

"You two coming?" Holmes asked.

"We will be along," Caruso answered.

Once the suspicious pair had crested the trail's hill heading toward the mesa where Adelina and the rest of the expedition waited, Kid said, "They've done something to Joshua."

"It does seem likely. Let's go find him."

It wasn't long before they found tracks leading down a side path. A short distance down the path, around a bend and a large boulder, they found Heyes sprawled on the ground, his horse waiting patiently beside him.

"Damn," Kid said as he jumped from his horse and hurried to his partner. He skidded to a halt on his knees, careful not to move his friend just yet. "Hey...uh, hey, Joshua, can you hear me?" Kid leaned down, putting his head first to Heyes' chest, to listen for a heartbeat, and then to his face to check his breathing. He let out the breath he was holding as he heard both still going strong.

"Be careful not to move him," Salvatore warned as he dismounted his horse.

"I know. He might have hurt his back or neck," Kid answered. "Joshua," he pleaded. Heyes moaned and started to move. "No, no, take it easy," Kid said as he placed his hand on Heyes' shoulder to keep him in place. He started checking his partner and quickly found a bloody gash just behind Heyes' left ear, in addition to the readily obvious bloody scrape on the side of his forehead, embedded with dirt.

"Here," Caruso said, handing Curry a clean cloth.

"Thanks. Joshua, are you with me?" Heyes had quieted after the Kid's earlier query.

"Oh, uh, " Heyes replied.

"Joshua?" Kid asked again as he continued to check for injuries. Heyes opened his eyes wide for the first time. He didn't seem to be focusing well. "Joshua?" Kid asked again, taking his hand and placing it on his friend's cheek, forcing Heyes to look at him. "Where else are you hurt?"

Heyes blinked a few times, looked left and then right. Kid made Heyes look at him again. "Joshua?"

Heyes frowned, and blinked a few more times. He paused, and then looked like he was concentrating. It reminded the Kid of when they were younger and Heyes would be deep in thought over his next scheme to get out of chores. Or when he was in the middle of cracking a particularly proddy safe. Heyes smiled briefly and said, "Thaddeus."

"Yeah, it's me. Can you tell me where you hurt? What happened?"

"Um, I...I'm not sure." He moaned and reached for his head. Kid caught the hand before Heyes reached the gouge he was reaching for on the back of his head. "My head h...hurts."

"Yeah, you've got a nasty gash behind your ear. Lucky you got such a hard head."

"Huh. It ain't my head that hurs mose," Heyes slurred.

"No? Where else..." Kid started to ask. He was feeling Heyes' arm and then moved down his left arm to his hand. He was worrying about the trouble Heyes seemed to have talking when his friend yelped loudly. Heyes closed his eyes and grasped Kid's arm.

"Stop!"

"You hurt your hand?" Heyes nodded as he breathed through the pain. "I'm gonna take your glove off. I can't see anything with it on."

"Uh-huh."

Kid gently removed the glove, though he found that harder than expected due to how swollen the hand had already become. Kid whistled. "I don't know, Heyes. This might be broke. Does it feel broke?"

"Uh, I don't know. My foot..."

"Yeah, I know about your foot."

"No. Feels like," Heyes said, but stopped, hissing at the pain, his face twisted in an effort to endure it. "Feels on fire."

"Joshua, did Holmes and Brandt do this to you?" Salvatore asked.

Heyes scrunched his face up in concentration, and a lot more pain. "Huh?"

"Did they attack you? Hit you on the head?" Caruso showed Curry a large rock with blood on it.

"Uh...I...no." Heyes frowned some more. "Um...actually, I'm not...uh...I don't know. I don' r'member."

"You don't remember?" Kid asked.

"No."

"What is the last thing you remember before we found you?" Salvatore asked as he handed Kid some more cloth to wrap Heyes' hand.

Heyes put his good hand up to his head. He rubbed his temple, a headache obviously hindering his effort to remember. "I, uh, I was watching...I remember seein' Thaddeus trying to get Jordan over the notch." A slight grin came to his face.

"I'm glad you found that amusing, partner," Kid said as he finished wrapping the hand.

"It was."

"Yeah, to everyone but me, I'm sure. What else do you remember?" Kid asked.

"Tha's it."

"That's it?" Kid asked, glancing over at Salvatore Caruso.

"He might have got hit hard enough that it's affected his memory."

"Why're you askin'?" Heyes queried.

"Because we found Holmes and Brandt coming up the trail and you were nowhere to be seen. They said they'd been down a trail doggin' some Bighorns." Kid looked Heyes in the eye, but none of this looked like it was really connecting with his friend. Kid shook his head and feigned a smile, not that there was the least thing to be happy about, except that one Hannibal Heyes was still alive. But he didn't want to trouble Heyes in his confused state. "Don't worry about it. What about your foot?"

Heyes laid his head on the ground and sighed. "I don't know. It hurts. A lot. But I..." Heyes paused as he breathed through his assorted pains, "I guess...we should get back...with th'others and...we can deal...with it when...we make camp."

"Joshua, Thaddeus. I don't know if this means anything, but there is a sizeable rock here. It has some blood on it."

"The question is, did one of them use it on you or did it fall and hit ya," Kid said.

"Yeah, I guess tha's the quest'n," Heyes said with little interest. The combined pains were starting to get to the former outlaw.

"Well, we ain't gonna figure this out right now, and we need to get you some doctoring. Looks like Adelina's going to get her hands on you after all." Kid smiled when he said it, and saw a similar knowing grin on Salvatore's face.

Heyes wasn't smiling at all. Kid noted the look and decided it was time to move along.

"You ready to get up?"

"No, but I guess we got to."

"We are nearly halfway through to the drop-off point of the drive. What should we do?" Salvatore asked as he helped Kid get Heyes to a sitting position.

"I don't know, Salvatore," Kid said. "Maybe we should see how Joshua is first."

"Joshua is clearly injured and in no shape to continue. He could have a concussion, and it seems likely that he has memory loss. An injured foot and hand…" Caruso let that all sink in with the Kid.

"I know," Kid replied. To Heyes he asked, "How're you doin'?"

"I feel like crap." A sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead and his upper lip. "Feeling a little sick to my stomach." He leaned back on his elbow and breathed through his mouth, and then added as an afterthought, "My back...aches."

"Just take a minute. We won't move again until you're ready." They waited quietly for a few moments to give Heyes some time to settle his nausea. Kid kept his hand on Heyes' back, massaging it in the hopes that it might help his friend. He looked over to Caruso. "You said we were about halfway through. Do you think we should go back or keep moving ahead?"

Caruso shook his head. "I am not sure. Going back would certainly get us to a doctor sooner. But going forward would probably be easier, especially with Jordan. It is flat most of the rest of the way. The only reason we are not further along is because of the pace we have had to keep for him."

"Except for the possible concussion, Heyes' injuries aren't so bad that Adelina couldn't take care of them, are they?" He looked back to Heyes. "How bad is your back?"

"Well, unless that hand is broken," Caruso replied worriedly.

"I forgot about that," Kid admitted. He looked at Heyes, who was surprisingly quiet, even given how badly he was likely feeling. "Joshua, how is your back?" he asked again.

"My head, hand and foot all trump my back." He decided to lay back down. "Oh, I don't f... feel too good."

Kid Curry shook his head. "I'm not sure we should keep goin'," he said to Caruso, "but..." He looked at his partner again. "Joshua, what do you want to do?"

"Huh?" he asked. His eyes remained closed, his skin pale and sweaty.

"Do you..." Kid stopped. He looked at Salvatore again. "I think we should head back. He doesn't look good to me." He sat down next to Heyes, who promptly leaned over against him.

"Why should I look good?" Heyes asked sluggishly.

"Well, you probably shouldn't. But we have to make a decision about whether we keep going or not."

"Why wu'dn't we keep goin'?" Heyes slurred.

"Because you aren't in any shape to go anywhere."

"Gotta go somewh'r. Can't stay here," Heyes said as he leaned into Kid's shoulder.

"He's right about that," Caruso said. The more the Italian watched the interactions between these two, the more he liked what he saw. The commitment and the caring between the pair was something special, something that he'd rarely had the chance to witness, certainly between two men in this wild West. The lives people were forced to lead out here could leave them hard men, bitter men. These men were good and kind men, he could feel it in his bones.

"He's a stubborn cuss," Kid said with a crooked smile. He put his arm around his best friend's shoulder to make him more comfortable.

"Pot, kettle," Heyes answered. Kid felt Heyes' weight fall into him, fully.

"Joshua? Hey, Joshua?" he asked. "He's passed out."

"All right. You stay here with him. I will go tell Adelina that we are heading back. I believe that he should be seen by a doctor sooner rather than later."

"Me, too. I'll wait here."

Kid thought about the pain his partner was going through. It wasn't right. This was not right, it wasn't supposed to happen. It was a 'fake' horse drive, like Jordan had called it. It was supposed to be easy. Long days in the saddle, but easy, really. Easy money. Not risky, except for the persistent worry about being recognized and sent back east to Cheyenne. Kid looked down at his partner slumped up against him. He squeezed him gently and asked, "What're we gonna do, Heyes?"

"We're gonna get 'em." Heyes moved to lean away from the Kid. "Help me lay down."

"Sure," Kid agreed, surprised and thrilled to have his partner awake again. "Whaddya mean, 'We're gonna get 'em'?" Kid helped Heyes to the ground, removing his own jacket and placing it under his friend's head.

"Thanks." Heyes closed his eyes and breathed the shallow breaths that indicated that the nausea was still bothering him. His eyes seemed glazed, unfocussed, to the Kid.

"Heyes?" Kid asked.

"Hm?"

"Sorry." Kid wanted to let Heyes rest, but he needed to know what he'd meant by what he said earlier. He patted Heyes' chest and asked, "What did you mean, about gettin' 'em?"

"Oh." The dark one frowned and then squinted, as though trying to remember what he'd said. He put his good hand to his face and said, "Oh, I don't feel good, Kid."

"I know," Kid said sympathetically. "But what did you mean…"

"I remember."

"You do?" Kid asked.

"Yeah. Ugh." Heyes breathed as though he was going to be sick.

"Heyes?"

"Give me a minute." Hannibal Heyes turned away from his partner, his breathing coming faster. He gagged, and then leaned over further and promptly threw up. Kid grimaced, but made sure that his friend didn't fall into the mess. "Kid," Heyes said with a desperate tone that Curry was unused to hearing. Kid was right beside him. Heyes grabbed for Curry's arm, grasping as though he'd fall off a cliff if he let go. "Dizzy," the former outlaw added as he vomited again. "Ev…everything's spinning." Heyes dry heaved some more. "Uh. I hate this."

"I know." Kid looked Heyes in the eye, leaning in close to check his partner. "You done?"

"For now, yeah."

"You wanna lay down again?"

"No, Kid. Mind if I lean up against you? I'm so dizzy, but layin' down seems to make it worse."

"All right." Kid got Heyes situated and then tried to continue to find out what Heyes meant when he said he remembered.

"You okay?" he asked first.

"Feel terrible," Heyes answered.

Kid wrapped his arms around his best friend. "I know. I wish I could do something to help."

"You are." Kid smiled at the matter-of-fact reply.

"You said you remember."

"Uh-huh. They caught me...followin' 'em," Heyes said tiredly in explanation. "Whacked my...foot real good. I didn't see 'em...but I'm sure...they knocked me...on the back of...my head." Heyes was losing strength fast. "Kid, they're going to..." Heyes groaned as he put his head down heavily into Kid's chest. Heyes didn't speak again for a long, long while.

"Heyes?" No answer told Kid Curry what he already knew. "Damn it, Heyes. What are they going to do?"

---

Almost three quarters of an hour later, Adelina Caruso came storming down the trail. The Mendelsohn brothers followed, at a more careful pace, behind her. The young Caruso jumped from her horse and raced to the injured man just as Kid pleaded for what seemed the hundredth time for Heyes to wake up. He jumped when he realized that Adelina was right in front of him.

"He's unconscious. He's passed out twice now," Kid said in explanation of why his partner lay sprawled in his lap. He hoped desperately that she hadn't heard him say Heyes' real name.

"Heyes? Hannibal Heyes? He is Hannibal Heyes?" Adelina Caruso demanded. She received no reply from the Kid, though his demeanor said all that needed saying. "So you are Kid Curry," she stated directly, clear and positive of the fact.

"Adelina, please don't say anything."

"I have to tell my father."

"Why?" Kid argued angrily. The Mendolsohn brothers dismounted and made their way towards them, thus ending the conversation, at least temporarily.

"We will talk later," Adelina said as she started to open the saddlebag she carried and remove supplies.

"You won't tell your father?" Kid pleaded.

"I did not say that." She looked at him and found herself filled with compassion for this man and the worry he carried in his entire being for his friend. She cocked her head and gave Kid Curry a sad smile. "Papa said that Mr. Smith had been hit hard," Adelina said, changing the subject. "It is not surprising that he lost consciousness."

Kid gave her a similarly sad smile. "He'd prefer it if you called him Joshua, ma'am," Kid noted with a sad smile.

"If you do not call me ma'am, I will try to call him Joshua. It is hard for me; I was not brought up that way."

"Then let's make a pact: no ma'am, I'm Thaddeus, he's Joshua and you're Adelina."

"Va bene," she answered with a smile.

"And we're Archie and David. Our last name is too long to bother with," Archie joked. "We should get on with checking Joshua over and meeting up with the chuck wagon." The brothers held Heyes up while Kid moved out of the way. They gently lowered him to the ground.

"Mr. Mendol..." Adelina started, but quickly corrected herself, "Archie and David have much experience dealing with emergencies."

"You're doctors?" Kid asked hopefully.

"No," David said as his brother proceeded to examine Heyes. "But we have organized back home in Cambridge a sort of emergency response team. And we've taken classes with doctors in order to treat some of the more common injuries or sicknesses that we run in to." David paused to see how his brother was faring. 'How's it look? Need any help?"

"Definitely a concussion. His hand's a mess."

"He said his back hurts, and his foot…" Kid stopped, realizing that he shouldn't say too much in front of these two. He was sure they were fine, upstanding folk, but there seemed little to gain in letting too many people in on their concerns over Brandt and Holmes. Kid continued, "His foot got hurt more, maybe when he fell off his horse."

"You think his injuries are all from falling off his horse?" Archie asked. "I doubt it."

"We don't know," Kid replied. "He ain't been conscious enough to tell what happened."

It wasn't a complete lie. Kid looked to Adelina, who seemed content to keep her newfound knowledge about he and Heyes to herself. For now.

"Well, what we can do for now is clean and wrap his head and hand. We'll do it again with hot water and antiseptic when we camp tonight." Archie turned to the Kid. "Has he moved about? How bad is his back?"

"I...I think it's just sore. He threw up earlier, as you can see," Kid replied, not a little bit of fear for his friend tinting the words.

"All right. Might as well get his boot off while he's out. I heard him yelp all the way across camp when it went back on this morning."

"Yeah. Good idea, Archie," Kid said hesitantly. All these people helping Heyes was making him a little nervous. "He said the foot was really hurting," Kid agreed. Kid Curry watched as the Mendolsohn brothers and Adelina cared for his partner. He sat quietly, calculating what he'd do to the pair that'd done this to Heyes. But what was Heyes worried about? What were Brandt and Holmes going to do? With Heyes hurt, Kid would have to be more aware of the pair. He needed to talk to Salvatore. He looked down the trail to see the senior Caruso coming towards them. He looked back towards Adelina, wondering, hoping...and then stood up to greet the rancher.

"How is Joshua?" Salvatore asked the Kid, serious concern and worry clear in his face.

Kid took off his hat and shook his head. He ran his hand through the golden curls, and finally said, "He's unconscious. Archie and David and Adelina are taking care of him." The sadness and regret in the voice told Caruso so much: that Curry thought he was the one who should be doing that. Caruso nodded his head in understanding. He knew how he would feel if he could not be the one helping his Adelina.

"We've got the horses turned around," he said, deciding that talking about the drive might take Curry's worries away from him, even if only temporarily. "We will probably be about an hour getting them, Jordan and the rest of the party back to this point. I have told the head driver to stop at the bottom of the hill with the horses. The chuck wagon will stop at the main trail where this one meets. We will make room for Joshua in the back."

"Thanks. He won't like it, but thanks. He hates to put anyone out..."

"Thaddeus, I feel it is my fault that Joshua got hurt. I should have interviewed everyone better, made sure about their backgrounds. I never thought..."

"Now, don't go blamin' yourself. Before he passed out this last time, Joshua was going to tell me something, like he'd found out something about those two." Kid walked Caruso away from the others to assure that the conversation remained private. "If he has, and he knows the reason..."

"So he has regained his memory?"

"I think some, anyway. But I don't think we should tell anyone. I think we should let Brandt and Holmes think they're in the clear with Joshua, let them think he doesn't know what happened to him, that he lost his memory. That he's pretty bad off." That would be easy to do, since Kid knew it to be true. "We can tell everyone that we assume he had a bad fall. I just hope Joshua wakes up soon so he can tell us what he knows."

"I cannot believe that this has happened. I am so sorry, Thaddeus," Caruso admitted morosely.

"Me, too." Kid stared in the direction where his partner remained unmoving, except for when one of his three caretakers moved something for him. There were a lot of white bandages showing now, replacing the cloths that the Kid and Caruso had used earlier. Salvatore looked at Curry as the Kid continued to only have eyes for his friend.

"Let us see what is happening." He patted Kid's shoulder and then gently pushed him in the direction he obviously so wanted to go, though the fact that he needed prodding said a lot about what he'd fear he might find.

"So, gentlemen," Caruso started. He received an eyeful from his daughter. "And signorina. How is Joshua?"

"Well, Mr. Caruso..."Archie replied.

"Salvatore, please."

"Yes, sir. Salvatore. I think Joshua has a pretty bad concussion, but we can't know how bad until he comes to. Between passing out and the really deep gash on his head, we'll need to hope he regains consciousness soon."

"He didn't through our entire examination," David added.

"What else did you find?" Caruso asked.

"We wrapped his hand for transporting him out of here. We thought it best to stabilize it. I'll need to give it a thorough check for broken bones once we're settled for the night. It's swollen pretty severely. It's at best a serious sprain."

"We checked his back," David continued on from where Archie stopped. "He's got a huge bruise, but it's not from anything that happened here. The bruising is about a day old. Probably happened when he fell and originally hurt his foot."

"He didn't say anything about that to me," Salvatore said. "Did he tell you, Thaddeus?"

"No. No he didn't."

"You don't sound surprised," Adelina interjected.

"I'm not," Kid admitted.

"Testa dura," Adelina commented as she walked in a snit with the dirty rags to her horse.

"Adelina," her father warned.

"What'd she say?" Kid asked.

"Hard head," Salvatore translated, "but I am sure you already know this about your friend."

"Do I?" Kid Curry countered knowingly.

Caruso turned to the Mendelsohn brothers. "And what about his foot?"

The brothers looked at each other, each shaking his head, neither anxious to answer.

"What?" Kid asked worriedly.

"Well, it looks to us..." David started. His brother tapped him on his arm and interrupted.

"And remember, we aren't doctors and we certainly aren't experts on the kinds of injuries that can be sustained out here in this rugged wilderness," Archie noted.

David went on. "We think someone hit Joshua's foot..."

"Hard," Archie added.

"On purpose," David said. "Really hard."

Kid Curry scowled with anger. "You can tell that, even with it being hurt from before?" Kid questioned.

"Unfortunately, it isn't hard to see. There's a big, what I guess you'd call a dent in all that swollen flesh," David answered.

"A dent? What kind of a dent?" Kid asked, the growing anger obvious to everyone there.

Archie took his turn to answer. "Kind of like the butt of a rifle."

Kid and Caruso looked at each other. And the Mendelsohn brothers looked at Caruso and Curry. It was clear as day to the brothers that something was going on between the two men that the Cambridge men had not been made privy to.

"Thaddeus," Salvatore started. Kid cut him off.

"What?" Kid demanded angrily. His anger overtook any thoughts or care of figuring out what Brandt and Holmes were up to. Heyes always said that Kid's temper would be his downfall. 'Temper your temper' he liked to say. But all Kid could think about was his partner, hurt, unconscious. Why it happened held far less interest to him than did what he would do about it.

"You and I know who did this, Salvatore."

"Thaddeus, you should calm down..." Caruso began again. He stopped as he watched Curry check that his firearm was loaded and ready.

"Calm down?" Kid asked, looking at the horseman through squinted but crystal clear blue eyes. "I don't think so."

"Thaddeus." The voice broke through the fiery hatred that had been building in Kid Curry's soul. He turned to see Hannibal Heyes, his deep brown eyes pleading with him to do as Caruso had asked. Heyes didn't need to verbalize it. The look said it all: he really did need to calm down.

"Hey, partner," Kid said as he sped to his friend's side. Curry kneeled near Heyes as Adelina and the brothers stepped away. "How're you doin'?"

"I, um, fainted, huh?" Heyes asked tiredly.

"Once or twice. But you're awake now."

"Thaddeus, we should look him over while he's awake," David said hesitantly, though with enough urgency that Kid knew he'd need to leave his friend too soon.

"Oh, sure, sure. Joshua, how 'bout we let the experts look at ya?"

"Okay."

"I'll be right over here."

Kid watched and waited – and listened – as David and Archie completed their examination of Heyes. Adelina gave the injured man a drink, and stayed with him, talking to him quietly while the Mendolsohns updated Kid and Salvatore. Her occasional hearty laugh told Kid that his partner was feeling better, though some of that effort on Heyes' part was no doubt for show, taking his chance to impress the pretty girl despite how lousy he might still feel. For the long time that they'd been friends and partners, Kid Curry had learned that there was little harder to resist for the ladies than an injured Hannibal Heyes.

"He's still disoriented," Archie said, bringing Kid's attention reluctantly away from Heyes, "and he doesn't remember what happened to him. He's in pain, but I'd rather wait to give him any pain relief until we're sure he's conscious to stay."

"We told him we were heading back. He seemed fine with that. He asked about Emma," David noted.

"Emma?" Kid asked. "Just Emma? Why?"

"Yep, and I don't know. We told him she was fine, that everyone was fine but him. He's pretty lucid, his disorientation is mostly due to not being able to remember what happened. I don't think he's got any permanent damage from the knock on the head," David went on. "Generally he's showing pretty good neurological reactions, though he is tired, and the pain from his various injuries is draining, for sure. I think he will regain his memory, eventually. His body's just working on other things right now."

"That is good to hear," Salvatore said with relief.

"He asked us to keep an eye on you," Archie said, looking at the Kid. "He said you might want to go off half-cocked. I think, even though he can't remember, that he knows his injuries were no accident."

"He's pretty smart that way," Kid noted. His attempt at a smile was obviously forced, and did not go unnoticed by the brothers and Caruso. The foursome walked back over to Heyes and Adelina.

"Are you gonna listen to him?" Archie asked as Kid kneeled down next to Heyes. "It's going to be hard enough for him to heal without the added stress of worrying about you." Kid knew that Mendolsohn was speaking from his heart; it was written all over his face how he'd feel if he were in the same position, but with his brother being the injured one.

Kid looked to Heyes, who caught the look and gave him one back, one that said, 'Please wait before you do anything. I need you here.' Kid knew he only had one option.

"For now." Kid reached out and patted his friend's arm. "For now." He squeezed the arm affectionately and then asked, "Are you ready to get moving?"

"I'm ready, but, um, I need a hand up," Heyes said as he struggled to lift himself from the ground.

"Joshua," Kid said as he put his hand on Heyes' shoulder to stop his movement, "you are not getting up. We'll carry you."

"Mr. Jones, you won't have to do that." Will Murtaugh came running up with his father Russell not far behind, the two of them carrying what looked like a makeshift cot. "My dad and I put together this travois."

"Trav-what?" Kid asked.

"A travois. My dad had one of the local Indian chiefs come in to class and show us how to make one. Mr. Dodd gave us some supplies from the chuck wagon. We figured that Mr. Smith might need help gettin' back down the trail."

Kid looked at Heyes and smiled. They had wondered whether they would ever hear young Will Murtaugh speak. Kid's smile lost a little of its luster as he realized that his partner might not have any recollection of that conversation from the previous night.

Heyes couldn't see Will from his position on the ground. He called weakly, "Will." Will walked over to him and kneeled down, now face-to-face with the injured man. "You'll have to excuse Mr. Jones, Will. His French isn't very good."

"About as good as yours," Kid retorted lightly.

"You two are funny," Will blurted out.

"Will," his father chastised.

"No, it's okay," Heyes said. "That was very thoughtful. And I will need it, so it seems. Much obliged," Heyes added, suddenly tired from the brief conversation.

Will put his head down, a little embarrassed at the kind words directed his way. Russell put his hand on his son's shoulder. Will said, "My dad helped."

"Thanks, Mr. Murtaugh," Hannibal Heyes said, barely a whisper as the reforming outlaw surrendered towards sleep.

"You're welcome. It's the least we could do, considering what you did for us with the rattler." Soft, regular breathing was Heyes' reply. Murtaugh smiled at Kid and then turned to Salvatore. "Mr. Caruso, the chuck wagon will be waiting by the time we walk Mr. Smith back." He encouraged his son up and moved them both out of the way as the Mendolsohn brothers and Kid Curry prepared to place Heyes on the travois.

"Then we should go."

---

"Joshua, wake up." Kid knew that Heyes wasn't deeply asleep yet. They'd gotten Heyes to the chuck wagon and settled as comfortably as possible. The expedition continued back in the direction of the Caruso spread, staying on the trail – without a break, much to the consternation of Alexander Jordan – until it was time to camp for the night. The four hour bumpy ride seemed to be surprisingly restful for Hannibal Heyes who, with the help of his partner and David, walked gingerly from the chuck wagon to a spot near the campfire.

From that point, Kid had been waiting anxiously to get some time alone with his friend. David and Archie had taken the time to clean and disinfect all of Heyes' injuries. David took a long time to examine Heyes' hand. He'd determined that the swelling needed to recede some more before he could be absolutely sure that nothing was broken, but he'd felt optimistic when he said that it didn't appear to have any breaks. Kid had gladly and patiently listened to David and Archie give their update – it had been better news than he expected – and then he needed to spend some time with the Carusos. They discussed the fact that there was bound to be more to deal with from Brandt and Holmes; those two had an agenda, but the only person who had an inkling of what that might be now lay sleeping, amnesia having taken that critical information from them all.

The Carusos had arranged two campfires, one near the chuck wagon where everyone was now gathered eating supper and discussing the history of driving horses and cattle around the west, and the other one – for the injured man – who needed peace and quiet in order to rest properly.

"Heyes," Kid said more urgently, trying to wake his not long slumbering partner. Heyes blinked several times, and then opened his eyes for good, looking tired and confused.

"Sorry, Heyes, but we need to talk." Heyes watched Kid, saw the worry, which immediately brought him to full wakefulness, or as awake as he could be with a lingering concussion insistently forcing his eyes closed.

"Yeah, Kid. What is it?"

"How do you feel?"

"Achy. Tired. Terrible."

"Sorry."

"Why? None of this is your fault," Heyes said, followed by a yawn. "Excuse me."

"Look, I know you need to rest, but I wanted to check. Do you remember what it was, about Brandt and Holmes?"

Heyes' eyes got dark, and he looked away. "I know there's somethin', Kid." He looked back at his friend. "And I know it's important." This was another moment where Hannibal Heyes' expressive face gave him away: he was embarrassed that he couldn't give Kid the information he sought. "But I just can't remember."

"Did it have anything to do with Emma Jordan?" Kid chose to ignore his friend's embarrassment, unwarranted that it was. He knew Heyes better than anyone, and he knew that Heyes would appreciate the slight, this time.

"Emma?"

"Yeah. You asked about her, you asked David and Archie if she was okay."

"I did?"

"You did."

"Huh. I don't remember." Heyes' eyes were getting heavy. Kid knew his chance had passed in trying to get information out of his hurt and healing partner.

"Go back to sleep," Kid said. The Mendolsohns had removed the bandage from Heyes' head, and the livid bruising, yellow, purple and shades of gray, mottled the side of his face. Kid brushed Heyes' long bangs from his forehead, and then he placed his hand there. The brow was cool, no fever. Heyes had got pretty banged up on this trip. Kid figured the silver lining was that this would be the last trail drive Heyes would show any interest in for some time to come. That was something Kid Curry could live with, even if it meant they had to scrimp more than usual. He hated driving, and he knew Heyes felt the same way, despite his tendency to forget that fact when his pockets started to head towards empty.

"Wasch-out fer Emma," Heyes slurred as he headed to sleep once more.

"Why? Do you remember?" Kid asked hopefully.

"No."

"So why am I watching out for her?"

"B'cause I said so?" Heyes asked, understanding that his subconscious was telling him that his query about Emma earlier was important.

"That's good enough for me." Kid looked across their campfire to the larger one. He spotted Emma, laughing at something Salvatore had said. His eyes moved down the line, seeing friendly faces - Salvatore and Adelina Caruso, also laughing; the Mendolsohns, obviously the cause of the continued mirth; the Murtaughs, father with his arm across his son's shoulder, the son smiling with the rest of the group; the Berrys, Robin, as expected, sketching, and Bob, sitting quietly by her side. And then Kid Curry saw something that left him cold: Richard Brandt, staring at Emma Jordan, and Stephen Holmes, looking Kid dead in the eye.

---

During the night, Heyes moaned and started to thrash about, wondering why he couldn't breathe properly. He opened his eyes in hopes of seeing what was causing his troubles and came face-to-face with Richard Brandt, the man's gloved hand over Heyes' mouth and blocking the reformed outlaw's nose, thus keeping him from catching any decent air. Heyes knew Kid would be sound asleep; worry tended to make his partner sleep like the dead. Heyes struggled some more, but Brandt sat straddling him, keeping him well immobile.

"Quit yer strugglin'. We got the girl, so it don't matter if you remember or not. Tell Caruso and Jordan that we'll be waitin' at the ranch. We want fifty thousand dollars." Heyes' eyes grew huge in the moonlight. "Don't look so surprised. Jordan's got it, or he can get it easy." Brandt looked at Heyes and asked, "Do ya understand?" Heyes nodded. "I'm puttin' this scarf in your mouth. I need to get outta here before anybody hears or sees me leave. I will kill you if you call out, and it won't do the girl no good neither, understand?" Heyes nodded again, his face growing red from anger and the very few breaths he'd been allowed. Brandt finished tying the cloth and quickly tied Heyes' hands behind his back, being surprisingly mindful of his bad hand. Heyes made special note of that fact; hadn't Brandt been upset when Holmes had slammed the rifle into his foot? Holmes had slammed the rifle into his foot! As Heyes' image of that moment grew more clear in his memory, Brandt got up and was quickly gone into the dark of the nearby woods.

Heyes tried to call out, but he'd been well and truly muffled by the scarf in his mouth, tied tight with another. He tried, "Ah-ee-uh," the best he could get out in trying to call 'Thaddeus'. He kicked his good foot into the ground in frustration, which sent vibrations of pain into every hurt he'd received over the past two days. He put his head down to his chest and breathed through the pain. He needed to calm down, and then try to get up, which would be quite a feat. He ached – everywhere. He had no leverage in his upper body because of his bound hands, or his lower right side because of his foot. He looked over to Kid, who snored loudly not six feet away. Heyes decided that crawling was his only option in getting to his partner in any manner that might remotely be classified as expeditious. He snorted and shook his head as he realized that all of his efforts to improve his vocabulary had not helped him one bit as he evaluated his current predicament. Had Jordan been right? Had all of his efforts reading and learning been for naught? He shook his head; he didn't have time to think about that. He started over to his partner, his foot throbbing in pain, his hand throbbing in an opposite beat to his foot, his head still not ready for all this effort. But all of those aches, not to mention his back, paled as he cringed at what he heard next.

"What do you think you are doing?" Adelina Caruso asked from behind him.

'Thank god,' Heyes thought, followed by the feeling that the next few moments were going to be unpleasant in every way. Damn Kid's sleep habits. Heyes stopped moving, tried to relax, and waited.

"Oh, no! What happened?" She kneeled down to remove the scarves. "Papa!" she yelled. Grumblings of cranky people, and some skittishness amongst the horses, could be heard. "Papa!"

"Adelina, my head," Heyes begged once she'd removed the bindings around his mouth. He looked over at Kid, who continued to snore. "Would you kick him for me?" he asked. "Not too hard," he added just in time as Adelina had started to take big aim at Curry's behind. "Where's Emma?" Heyes asked. 'How could Kid still be asleep with Adelina's yelling?' he thought to himself. He put his good hand to his forehead and rubbed it gently.

"I do not know where she is. How could this have happened?" She started to work on the rope that kept Heyes' hands bound behind him and had made his crawl to his partner near-impossible.

"Heyes? What..." Kid started. He looked around worriedly, but only Adelina and Heyes had been close enough to hear.

"Hmph," Adelina said, catching the slip.

"Joshua," Kid corrected, glaring at the pretty brunette. "Are you all right?"

Heyes looked from Kid to Adelina, and back to Kid. "She knows?" he asked.

"Yes, she knows. Now shush,"Adelina admonished.

Heyes agreed that now was not the time to get in to how she knew that they were Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. "Thaddeus, go check on Emma," he ordered, already knowing what the result of that action would be.

"She's not here," Alexander Jordan said, a mix of worry and anger in his voice.

"No," Heyes said weakly. His struggle with the presumed kidnapper of Emma Jordan had taken a lot out of him. "Brandt and Holmes took her. They're looking for money."

"How do you know?" Jordan demanded.

"I found him tied up and gagged," Adelina explained.

"Brandt woke me, said Holmes had taken Emma." Heyes didn't like thinking about that. Holmes was definitely the looser cannon of the pair. "He wants," Heyes choked slightly, and then looked around the ground near him. Kid found the canteen Heyes sought.

"Here," Kid offered.

"Thanks." Heyes took a long draught and then continued, "He says they want fifty thousand dollars..."

"Fifty thousand!" Jordan growled.

"Yes sir. He said they'd be waiting for us at Mr. Caruso's ranch."

"Why, it will take days...a week for me to raise that kind of cash!" Jordan claimed. Heyes doubted that. He looked to Kid, who also seemed to find the claim suspect.

"It won't get that far," Kid said.

"Is that right? How do you figure?" Jordan's query was more of a demand for an answer.

"We'll figure out something. Take them by surprise," Kid Curry answered plainly.

"We will?" Heyes asked, wondering what his friend might be thinking.

"We will?" Salvatore Caruso asked. He had arrived just as Heyes had started telling his story to Jordan.

"Sure. We'll figure something out." Kid looked at Caruso, Jordan and his partner. "We will," he insisted, and then looked square at Hannibal Heyes. "Right?"

Heyes once more put his good hand to his still aching head. He knew Kid was right. They would come up with something. Emma Jordan's well-being – her very life – could depend on it.

"The element of surprise will work to our advantage," Heyes said. "I don't know about Holmes, but I don't think Brandt will hurt her."

"How can you say that?" Jordan challenged. "Do you know these men? Are you in on it with them?" the banker questioned. He started to pull his gun from his holster, but Kid easily beat him to it. He took the gun from Jordan.

"Settle down," Kid instructed. Curry gave the gun to Salvatore for safe keeping. "Joshua, what do you mean?"

"Help me up," Heyes said. Kid shook his head but did as he was told. The end result was a wobbly Heyes leaning heavily on his partner, careful to keep his foot off the ground.

"Brandt was threatening, all right, but he wouldn't have killed me. He was careful with the bindings, like he didn't want to hurt my hand any more than it already was."

"That doesn't mean..." Jordan interrupted with another bellow.

"Mr. Jordan," Heyes said softly and steadily. He hoped his own tone and demeanor would prevent the continued yelling from the large, belligerent and angry banker. "I think we need to remain calm about this. Talk through a plan." He turned to Kid Curry. "I also remembered that Holmes took his rifle and slammed it into my foot. I'm having other memories of..." he paused, trying to be careful about what he said, not wanting to upset Jordan any more than he already was. "...memories of want happened to me." Heyes turned to Salvatore. "You'll need to give us a thorough run-through of the layout of your place. We need to think about where on your spread that they're most likely to keep Emma. What would be the best approach with the least likelihood of Brandt and Holmes seeing us coming."

"Papa and I can make a map."

"Thank you, Adelina," Heyes said. He looked up to the sky and then back at Salvatore Caruso. "I know it's early, but I reckon most everyone is awake now. It wouldn't hurt for Mr. Dodd to get breakfast going so that we can get moving."

"I will see to that, too." Adelina left.

"She's a good girl," Heyes noted as he watched Adelina move quickly to the wagon.

"She is the very best," Caruso agreed proudly. "Mr. Jordan, I am sorry for what has happened." As a father, Caruso knew what Jordan was going through. They might be very different men, but on this they would have identical feelings.

"I don't really care about apologies, Caruso. Let's sit down and talk about what we can do to get Emma back."

"First, Mr. Jordan, you will stay with the group here," Heyes instructed. "Thaddeus, Salvatore and I will go after Emma."

"You cannot make me stay here!" Jordan challenged.

"And you're not goin'," Kid said to Heyes.

"And I am going with you," Adelina insisted. "You will need both of us," she said as she nodded toward her father, "to help with finding everything on the ranch."

"Adelina, I do not think you need to come. Draw the map, that will be plenty..." Adelina cut her father off.

"Papa, you need me. And Mr. Smith needs to be cared for, although I agree that he should not go, which is another reason why you need me."

The discussion was moving fast and growing heated; Heyes found the noise unbearable, but even worse, what was going on now was not productive. It was not getting them closer to finding Emma. Anything that didn't do that made no sense to continue.

"Hey!" he yelled. Everyone quieted. Heyes closed his eyes; his own yelling hurt his head worse than all of the bickering. He opened them and said, "Okay. Now, I agree that Adelina would be an asset. Salvatore, you know that she would be." Salvatore conceded with a reluctant nod. Heyes turned to the Italian beauty. "Are you any good with a gun?" he asked her.

Adelina Caruso snorted, and was ready with a snide comeback, but she realized it was neither the time nor place for sarcasm. She answered simply, "Yes."

"Good. Thaddeus, I'm goin', so quit it." Heyes and Kid locked eyes. Their silent communication took a moment, but in the end, Kid understood, with just one look, that Heyes was coming. Period. Kid Curry grabbed Heyes' arm and started walking him over to the chuck wagon.

"Mr. Dodd," Kid started, "can you pull that chair out so that Joshua can sit down?" 'Stubborn son of a…' Kid muttered, only for his and Heyes' ears. Heyes smiled. "Ain't nothin' funny," Kid said with great annoyance.

"I know."

"Mr. Dodd, let's get breakfast going," Salvatore ordered. "Mr. Jordan, Joshua, Thaddeus, and Adelina, we will talk through a plan while we eat. I will be back." Salvatore walked over toward the other excursion members to update them on what had transpired and why they were all awake at four-thirty in the morning.

"You need to have your wounds cleaned and tended," Kid said.

"I know," Heyes replied quietly.

"You're in no shape to be doin' this."

"I know."

"I know you know. Damn it, this was supposed to be easier."

"I know."

Kid looked at Heyes askance. "Are you all right?"

Heyes looked up. "Will you promise me something?"

"I don't know. Depends on what it is."

"I need to lie down. Will you ask Salvatore to bring the meeting over to me? I'm gonna go try to think, but I can't do it when I feel like I'm gonna fall off of this chair."

"And you think you're gonna be able to stay in your saddle?" Kid asked skeptically.

"You worry about staying on your horse..." Heyes said as he slowly tipped over in the chair. Kid caught him and pushed him gently into an upright position, and held tight to his shoulder to prevent any further mishaps.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that before." Kid looked at his friend, bruised and beaten and hurting. He shook his head and looked away.

"You didn't promise," Heyes noted. "I need to know that you won't go riding off without me."

"No, it's true, I ain't promised," Kid agreed.

"Are you going to?"

"Heyes, you don't ever give me much choice."

Adelina Caruso chose that moment to return, startling both men.

"You two aren't very good about keeping quiet about your secret," Adelina said.

"You have a light step," Heyes said with a forced smile.

"And you are leaning over like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Maybe you should lie down for a while."

Kid looked at Heyes. They both smiled and said together, "Great minds..." The two former outlaws laughed.

"Adelina, can you help me get my partner over to his bed?"

"Certo." She helped Heyes to his feet and walked on Heyes left side, holding his hand carefully. Kid walked on the right, taking most of the dark one's weight with his inability to put any pressure on his foot. "You know, I think you are the most stubborn man I have ever met," Adelina said. She looked at him, and Heyes cocked his head and nodded, and started to reply. Adelina added, "But also one of the bravest." She turned to Kid and said to both of them, "I do not care if you are Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. I think you are good men." She paused and let that sink in and then asked, "Do you still rob trains and banks?"

"No, we don't," Kid answered.

"Why?"

"It's a long story," Kid replied, knowing that Heyes was too tired to tell this story again. "But the territorial governor has agreed to give us amnesty if we stay outta trouble and quit robbing."

"How long did he want you to quit this before he would give you the amnesty?" she asked as she gently assisted Kid in getting Heyes into a prone position.

"A year."

"How long has it been?"

"Over a year." Adelina looked at Kid questioningly. "There have been…complications."

"You have not robbed a bank or a train in over a year and the governor has not kept his end of the agreement?"

"Adelina," Heyes said. "As Thaddeus said, it's a long and complicated story. Can we tell you the whole story once we get back to your place? I'd like to rest a bit."

Adelina Caruso appeared flustered at the sincerity of the offer to tell her the whole story, and felt compassion toward the simple request. She placed a blanket up to Heyes' neck and said quietly, "You do not need to tell me more." She leaned down and kissed him on a small patch of forehead that had no bruises. "Rest. We will come back when breakfast is ready."

Heyes was lightly snoring before she finished her sentence.

---

"How're you doin'?" Kid asked.

"Seriously, Kid. I'm gonna let you have it if you don't quit asking me that."

"Fine. I'm sorry I asked. I'm sorry I care!" Kid Curry slapped the reins on his horse and moved up to ride in the lead with Salvatore.

"He's worried about you."

"I know."

"Do you think that you're being a little hard on him? He wears his feelings for you fairly openly," Adelina said as she road alongside Heyes.

"That's dangerous, for him and for me."

"Feelings are hard to just turn on and off."

"Adelina, I'm...I'm sure..." he stopped, realizing two things. One, that talking too freely about him and the Kid was never wise, even if he felt safe telling someone, as he did with Adelina. And two, they would make better time if they didn't talk at all and just rode. "Adelina, can we just ride?"

"Certo," she said, followed by, "Ché uomo di frustrazione." Again, Heyes could tell it wasn't a compliment, but he took comfort that Adelina stayed with him and didn't leave him in her dust.

They road hard for most of the day and reached the outskirts of the Caruso ranch by dusk. The timing was fortuitous, as the shadows of the early evening would give them some cover from being seen too readily by Brandt and Holmes. They had all agreed that the pair was likely working alone, and that would also work to their advantage. Salvatore and Adelina had given Heyes and Curry a good walkthrough of the ranch, and they both had taken time during their brief rest stops to review the map that Adelina had put together. They were glad that they'd taken notice of the outbuildings upon their arrival: that had helped them to picture all of the special possible places where Brandt and Holmes might have put Emma. They didn't discuss this in Jordan's presence, but it was likely that her kidnappers had left Emma somewhere unattended in order to cover enough of the assorted entrances to the spread as possible. And if she was left somewhere – alone - that meant that she was trussed and gagged. And hopefully that was the worst that had been done to her.

The foursome met on the edge of the property. "Adelina," Heyes said, exhaustion and pain evident on his face. "You're going to take the silo, the barn and the coach house. Salvatore, you'll take the bunkhouses and the larger barn on the far side of the property." Heyes looked to the Kid. He seemed barely able to keep his head up, but Curry knew how tenacious his partner could be. Heyes wouldn't quit until this job was done. "Kid, you'll check on the house." Though there were other buildings on the property, it was decided that these lay too far away to be an effective hideout for Brandt and Holmes to place Emma and for them to make a quick getaway.

"And you're still planning to just ride in on your horse?" Kid asked incredulously.

"I think if we can draw one of them out, then we'll have the best chance to get out of this with nobody getting hurt," Heyes defended.

"I'm more worried about my partner than either of them." Heyes smiled and nodded his head, acknowledging his friend's concern, but knowing they had to play the cards they'd been dealt.

"I'm not sure why it matters if one of them gets hurt," Adelina said.

Heyes gave her a sad grin. "I'm not thinking of them, Adelina. Once gunfire starts, we lose any advantage that we might have had. I think I can talk my way into convincing them that I came alone."

"He is known for his silver tongue," Kid said.

"Fine," Adelina replied in a decided snit.

"Adelina, we agreed that this was our best chance. We have to try," her father implored.

"I said fine," she replied, and stormed, ever-so-quietly, toward the places she was assigned to canvass.

"She likes you," Salvatore said, "and she's worried about you."

"She has an...interesting way of showing it."

"She's very Italian," Caruso agreed with a smile.

Heyes nodded. "Good luck."

"Buona fortuna," Salvatore agreed as he headed toward the closest building he'd be checking, the first of three bunkhouses.

Heyes and Kid looked at one another. "I don't like this plan," Kid said.

"We've been over this."

"I wouldn't like it if we went over it a hundred times. You're too exposed."

"Kid, I think I would be dead now if they were really intent on hurting anyone. Don't worry. Just try to get through the house and find Emma, quietly, and get her to where we agreed to meet."

"You better be there, Heyes. Alive."

"I will."

Kid walked toward the direction of the house. Kid, Adelina and Salvatore all had a bit of a walk before they made it to their first destinations. Heyes gave them the ten minutes they agreed to in order to get in position, and then he urged his mount up the long trail that led to the nearly equal length of the tree lined drive to the heart of the ranch.

Heyes approached the near corner of the expansive porch of the homestead. He had to admit, he had somewhat of a dilemma: his back was killing him, as was his behind from all of the riding, but he knew he'd have no chance of getting off of his horse without falling ingloriously to the ground, his foot was still that unsteady. His head was pounding. He decided to stay in the saddle and called out, "Richard Brandt! Stephen Holmes!" He waited. He didn't expect anyone to come out immediately. He knew he'd have more talking to do. "I've come alone!" Still no sign of the kidnappers. "I'm going to drop my gun now!" He carefully took the weapon from his holster, with just two fingers, and with exaggerated slow movements, showed the gun dangling in his fingertips before he tossed it to the ground in front of his horse. "I just want to talk. You know I won't be the last one coming. Jordan will be here, along with Caruso and the expedition, sometime tomorrow." Still no sign of anyone. He hoped that his partners were faring better. "Jordan will need time to get the money, so you're going to end up trying to manage all these people once they get here. Are you prepared to do that?" Heyes asked. He knew he had a good plan; he had to talk these two into thinking that they had no shot at accomplishing their goal once everyone got back to the ranch. "I'm sure you've got the ranch hands who stayed behind all tied up somewhere. I understand that you thought you needed to do that. But what about the six trail hands coming in with the horses? And the Murtaughs and the Mendelsohns and the Carusos and the Berrys? The trail driver and Mr. Dodd? And my partner, once he shows up? Did you think about that?"

Heyes walked the horse slowly around to the far side of the oval, closer to the main entrance to the house. "Come on, think about it! You can get out of here before anyone gets here. No one will know the better." He paused, waiting for a response, and then continued, "I'm sure that Brandt and Holmes are aliases. They can't prosecute you if they can't find you. Kidnapping is a serious offense."

"That's enough," Heyes heard Brandt say from behind him. That meant that he'd come from the large barn on the far side of the ranch proper. And if he'd come from the barn, then that meant that Holmes was most likely somewhere near or in the house. Getting Brandt to talk gave everyone the hint that they'd needed. The foursome had discussed the likelihood that the best coverage for two men would be from the barn and the house. Salvatore and Adelina had been right on the money on that. Hopefully, Heyes would have been equally on target with where he suspected they would put Emma. If he was, then it was likely that Kid would be running into Holmes in the house during his search. Heyes hoped and prayed that his partner would be careful. But he also knew that Salvatore and Adelina would be done with their searches quickly, and be available to help at the house soon.

"Why're you here?" Brandt asked.

"Like I already said, I'm here to try to talk you into leaving. Have you spent any time in jail?"

"No. Why? Have you?"

"As it happens, yes I have. And I'm here to tell you, it ain't a good place."

"Well, we ain't plannin' on gettin' caught," Brandt said with far too much assurance, far more than Heyes thought justified, even if he wasn't committed to ruining all of their plans.

"That's what me and the Kid said, but we still ended up serving some time."

"The Kid?" Brandt asked.

"I mean my partner," Heyes said with a sly smile.

"You called him Kid," Brandt said.

"Sure. It's my nickname for him."

"Kinda strange. Wouldn't think he'd want to be called that, considering that there are one or two outlaws out there that have that nickname, too."

"Yeah, he's always on me about calling him that. I try not to, but old habits die hard."

"Why don't you get down from the horse and we can talk about 'Kid' some more," Brandt said, finally brandishing his revolver and pointing it at Heyes.

"I'm afraid you have me, once again, at a disadvantage. I needed help getting up here. I'll need it getting down."

"Let me give you a hand," Brandt said. He walked up quickly, gun still aimed at Heyes' chest, and pulled Heyes from the horse. Heyes flew off the horse and headed fast and ungainly to the ground, first grabbing something from the saddlebag. He landed hard and with a distinct, 'Oomph', but rallied quickly to point his own, extra gun – Mr. Dodd's gun - at Brandt's head.

"Unlike my partner," Heyes said softly and only for Brandt's ears, "I'm a better shot when I have time to aim. I wish I could be as good as him, but I've got other qualities that he says are just as important to our continued survival." Heyes stared Brandt down. "You decide whether it's worth it or not. I figure that since we haven't heard from your partner, that my partner's got to him already. The fact that there've been no gunshots means that there's likely to be a trial."

"You won't stay to testify at a trial. You're Hannibal Heyes, and your partner is Kid Curry. You can't afford to testify at any trial."

Heyes shook his head and smiled. "Amateurs." He saw Brandt's eyes grow wide this time, the look of an offended man. "Let me explain. They won't need me and the Kid to testify. You kidnapped Emma Jordan. She saw you." Recognition dawned on Brandt's face. "You didn't blindfold her or knock her out, did you? At least you didn't blindfold her in time." Heyes gave a knowing grin. "You really don't have the stomach for this kind of thing. I know Holmes is the one behind this. You didn't like it when he smashed my foot, and you probably didn't like it when he got me over the head. And I felt how careful you were with my hand, when you were tying me up. You can get out of here before anyone has a chance to do anything. Before Jordan can press charges." Brandt looked over toward the house. "Don't worry about him. I'm sure my partner is giving him the same option now."

A light went off, Heyes could tell, as the expression changed on Brandt's face. And it wasn't a change for the good. "You...you said that your partner is in the house?" Brandt fingered the gun tighter. "You s...said that you came alone."

"That's what I said, but I never go anywhere without my partner, if I can help it."

"Your partner, Kid Curry."

"Well, I definitely call him Kid. But I didn't say he was Kid Curry or that I was Hannibal Heyes."

Brandt turned to the house again, just as a shot went off inside. Heyes readied himself as the kidnapper turned. He could see Brandt's finger twitch on the trigger, and he knew he had no choice. He tried to aim high on the shoulder – he had no stomach for putting a bullet in the man's head – but Brandt turned just slightly too far and Heyes knew that the trajectory of the bullet was now not what he had intended. Heyes saw the bullet hit Holmes in the shoulder, far too close to the man's chest, and then another bullet hit him, too close to the heart for it not to be deadly.

Heyes heard a third shot that clearly came from Brandt's gun. He hurt in so many places that what difference would one more hurt be? He saw the blood on his arm, a flesh wound, no more. It was definitely not his week. And worse, Kid still hadn't come out of the house with Emma. That meant he'd have to figure out how to get up and go inside to help him. Heyes turned around and grabbed for the stirrup and hoped that his horse didn't get too riled by what he was doing – and by the smell of blood - and run off with him trailing alongside. He reached for the saddle's horn when he suddenly heard someone walking up behind him. He swung around quickly, his gun raised in defense, when he saw Kid Curry standing in front of him, with Emma Jordan, unharmed, to his left.

"What're you doing?" Kid asked as he took the gun from his friend.

"I don't know," Heyes answered honestly as he passed out in his partner's arms.

---

"Why were you so sure that they'd hide her in the house?"

Heyes blinked his eyes a couple of times so that he could get the faces of Salvatore and Adelina Caruso, and his partner, from looking so blurry. Why were they looking at him like they'd just been in the middle of a conversation?

"Huh?"

"You see, he's just kind of with us, and then, just like that," Kid Curry snapped his fingers, "he's not. Does that seem right to you, Joe?" Kid asked.

Heyes turned to look where his partner looked. And there stood Joe Martin.

"Joe?"

"Now that ain't right. How come he remembers you but he forgets conversations he's right in the middle of?" Kid questioned worriedly. Kid's frustration was palpable, but now he'd started to worry his partner, too.

"Joe?" Heyes asked again, this time wanting to know the answer to Kid's question rather than wanting to know why Joe Martin was in Montana, though he was definitely curious about that answer as well.

"Look, you all said that he got hit real hard, that he'd had periods of unconsciousness and disorientation, that he'd gotten up and rode a horse all day not long after suffering a concussion," he said, looking in an accusatory manner at Kid when he said the last part, "and that he'd generally been too active too soon after an awful lot of rough stuff had happened to him. It's not surprising that his body is finally doing something about it, even when his mind refuses to." This time he turned the accusing eye on Heyes.

"Joe, what 're you doin' here?" Heyes asked, rallying some now that he was a little more awake. He tried sitting up but his myriad pains stopped him cold. He looked to Kid and Joe, but neither friend seemed to have any interest in helping him into a more upright position. He eased back into the pillow and said, "I thought you were in…um…where were you?" he asked, now feeling as worried about himself as the Kid appeared to be worried for him. He frowned some as the talking and the thinking seemed to bring on a pounding headache.

"You last saw us in Texas." Joe looked at Heyes closely, saw the onset of the headache, and reached for his bag. "Adelina, could you get Joshua a glass of water?"

"Of course."

"Right. You and Debbie," Heyes remembered.

"That's right." Kid let out a frustrated sigh. Joe gave him a look that said, 'Quit it. It's not his fault', and then said to the injured man, "We moved to Denver to be closer to some of Debbie's family, who had decided to move out from the east."

"Why're you here?"

"Because Thaddeus here had Salvatore track me down. The doctor here in Rock Creek wasn't comfortable with how much you were staying asleep, so they asked me to come. I was happy to oblige," he said, and then leaned in conspiratorially, adding, "Debbie's mom and dad are visiting."

"Ah, sorry to hear that."

"No, it's fine," Joe said with a smile, leaning back. He placed some powder in the water that Adelina brought back. "Drink this. I was glad to get the call, it was nice to catch a breather." He frowned at how what he just said might sound. "Obviously I wasn't glad to hear what happened to you." He laughed uncomfortably. "I'm heading back on the three o'clock stagecoach."

"It's okay, Joe. We knew what you meant," Kid said.

"How long have I been out this time?" Heyes asked. "How is Debbie? And the Wades?"

"You've been awake, but you keep forgettin'," Kid said, not particularly helpfully.

"You've been mostly asleep for almost two and a half days. You've been mostly disoriented when you have been awake. How do you feel right now?"

"Pretty tired, Joe. I don't remember having conversations with you," he said, indicating Kid, Salvatore and Adelina. "Sorry if I worried you."

"You should not apologize, but you did worry us. I think that he might actually remember this conversation, no?" Adelina asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"I think I will." He looked around. The room had a neutral palette, warm tan and cream wallpaper in a fancy swirl motif, with bold and intricate cream-painted moldings. The other furnishings had an antique look about them, though all of the pieces were in mint condition. The bed was unusually comfortable. "Where am I?" he asked after surveying the room.

"This is one of the guest rooms in the main house. Adelina used to say that I would only ever allow royalty to stay in the room," Salvatore stated wryly.

"You must be a prince," Adelina said snippily as she stood and left the room.

Heyes leaned over to Kid and asked softly, "Did I do something wrong? She seems angry with me." Heyes yawned and blinked his eyes lazily.

"That powder I just gave you will help your headache, but you'll be asleep before you know it," Joe noted slyly.

"Great," Heyes retorted sarcastically.

"You need the rest," Kid told his friend.

"Adelina?" Heyes asked, looking to Salvatore Caruso.

"She is worried and she does not like to show it. I am afraid that is an area that Adelina needed her mother to help her with. She feels embarrassed to show too much emotion. That is the American in her. Most Italians have no trouble showing their emotions."

"Well, if I shouldn't apologize for worrying you good folks, she shouldn't be embarrassed about anything. She's taken good care of me, along with Archie and David." Heyes wrinkled his brow and then asked, "Has everyone moved on?"

"As you know, the Murtaughs and the Jordans are nearby and they insist on saying goodbye before you leave. The Mendolsohn brothers are with Chief Washakie, the leader of the nearby Eastern Shoshone tribe. They wished to experience more of the West while they were here, and Chief Washakie is a good man and will show the brothers all that these natives have experienced, the good as well as the bad."

Kid and Heyes looked at each other. They knew a lot of the bad that had been done to the Native peoples, forcing them from their lands, restricting them to the 'reservations' that the government promised them, then finding that the lands they were promised were drastically smaller than had been agreed. They'd heard about these agreements, and watched from afar, unable to do anything, their own precarious situations forcing their silence. Forcing their hand. It was a scenario Hannibal Heyes despised in a game of poker, and he didn't like it any better in the game of life. What had happened to their families in Kansas had been done by white men, though many families had experienced a similar fate from the Indians. But that didn't make what had been done to the Indians right.

"David and Archie will be back here in a few days, so we'll have a chance to say good-bye," Kid told his friend.

"Bob and Robin decided to take advantage of the change in plans and are looking at some land in Wyoming. They could be our neighbors soon, which would be wonderful. They wished you well, and Robin left you this." Salvatore handed Heyes a sketch, a drawing of he and his partner, a true likeness of Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. Heyes eyed his partner, who caught the knowing look, and reached to take the drawing from the healing man. "Please thank them for us," Heyes said. "We'll put it somewhere safe." Kid doubted that it would go anywhere except in their next campfire, but he kept that thought to himself.

"I guess I'm here to stay for a while?" Heyes smiled at Joe. "You didn't answer me about Debbie and the Wades."

"First, the Wades are fine. Evelyn even considered making the trip up here to help. I told her to stay put, but she's pretty stubborn, so don't be surprised if she shows up. Debbie," Joe continued with a shy smile, "is pregnant." Heyes and Kid offered their congratulations, as did Salvatore. "Yeah, we're real excited. I just hope that her parents don't think that means they should stay with us until she gives birth. That could likely kill me." Everyone laughed at what they all agreed was Joe's justified fear.

"Now, about you," Joe said to Heyes. "Walking, or riding around with a concussion is not smart. You could have had some serious bad things happen to you, not the least is falling into a coma."

"Joe, that wasn't gonna..." Heyes objected.

"Listen to me. You scared poor Thaddeus to near death. You have no idea what he went through trying to track me down. And then the worry about you not waking up."

"B...but I'm gonna be okay, right?" Heyes asked, his eyes wide and innocent-looking.

"If you'll listen to me, you will be. I want you to stay in this bed, unless you need to use the privy. Thaddeus will help you bathe. You will take your meals here for the next two days. On the third day, you can sit up and take short walks. Your foot won't take much more than that for a while longer. Your hand isn't broken, you're very lucky. But you should try not to use it for another week. I'll leave some exercises for both your hand and your foot. They'll both be real stiff by the time you can start moving about. The bruise on your back is healing, but that's mostly because you've been immobile." Joe looked at Heyes. "Thaddeus has your medicines and I wrote down the times when you should take them. Any questions?"

"Yeah," Heyes said, somewhat indignantly, "have you been taking lessons from Evelyn Wade?"

"I'm gonna tell her you said that," Joe snapped back smartly.

"Please don't do that," Heyes countered quickly, realizing that neither Joe Martin nor Evelyn Wade was responsible for his proddy disposition.

"I'd never do that. She's a nice lady, and she cares about you. You, too, Thaddeus."

"We know," Kid said softly.

Heyes looked at his partner more closely for the first time since he'd been truly awake. He looked exhausted. He had deeper lines in his face than Heyes remembered, and dark circles from lack of sleep.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. I will go see that lunch is prepared. And I know that Joe needs to get in town, so I will leave you to say your goodbyes. Joe, I will have something prepared for you to take with you for your long journey."

"Thanks, Salvatore," Heyes said.

"Thank you, Mr. Caruso," Joe said.

"Salvatore, please. And I hope that the next time you come this way, you will be able to bring your wife and child. It is a beautiful part of the country here. Well worth exploring, in spite of the troubles we experienced on this trip."

"I'm sure it is, Salvatore. Thank you for the invitation." Caruso left for the kitchen.

"Hey, Joe. Thanks for everything. Thanks for coming; it was real good of you to do that, especially with your wife expecting a baby."

"I still owe you two, a debt that I can't ever truly repay. It was not a problem coming, and I'm glad I did. But you have to take it easy the next few days. Promise me you'll do that. Actually, promise your partner, and that's all the thanks I need." Joe shook Heyes' hand, and then turned and shook Kid's. "Bye."

"Bye, Joe," Heyes said.

"Bye, Joe" Kid echoed.

Heyes watched his partner's back as Kid walked Joe to the door. Kid closed it, and then turned to look at his best friend.

"Kid, come sit down." Silently, Kid did as he was instructed, sitting in the well-cushioned club chair that Adelina had moved near the bed just for this purpose. "I...I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? Why? Adelina and the Mendolsohns..."

"No, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about having you with me, being my friend. It's a hard life out here, one that has separated family closer than us. Except I don't think it gets much closer than us. I don't think I'd be able to do this without you. I just wanted to thank you, for caring."

"Heyes, you don't have to thank me for that. It's not like I have any choice."

"Sure you do. We all have choices..."

"No. Not about this we don't. At least I don't. This job, it's been really, really tough. Seeing all these families, watching them with each other, watching the love that they have for each other."

"Kid..."

"Let me finish. I love you, Heyes. I know we don't say it, but maybe we should. There ain't nothin' that would break me faster than losing you. That's the only sure thing I know. I've aged ten years on this trip."

"I'm sorry, Kid."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about."

"I think there is. You didn't want to do this job. I shoulda listened..."

"Naw, Heyes. You couldn't have known something like this would happen."

"Maybe not." Heyes yawned again, and Kid followed right behind with a jaw-cracking yawn of his own. "You look tired, partner." Heyes yawned again. "Damn Joe and his potions."

"I'll admit it. I'm pretty exhausted. And Joe's only doing what's best for you."

"Go to sleep, Kid. Tha's what I'm gonna do. No choice," Heyes added. He was asleep within moments.

Kid looked at his friend. It had been a frightening time, these last days, as Heyes stubbornly remained just on the brink of full consciousness. But now he could finally smile as he watched his partner snore. They'd dodged another bullet, in more ways than one. But how many times would they be successful doing that, leading the life they did?

---

"You weren't right about nobody getting shot."

Heyes jerked awake. "Huh?" he asked, not even aware enough to know that someone had really been speaking to him.

"You were wrong."

"Adelina?" Heyes asked groggily. Whatever Joe'd given him seemed only slightly better than suffering the headache. The listlessness, the cloudy feeling – he'd have to check with Kid to make sure he didn't take any more of that medicine.

"Yes. So?"

"Adelina, leave the man alone," Salvatore Caruso ordered as he followed his daughter into the room with a tray. "I have brought you a light breakfast. Joe said to start easy."

"How long…um…thank you," Heyes said, still disoriented from waking.

"You have been asleep for nearly twenty hours," Salvatore replied.

"What? I am definitely not taking that medicine again."

"So it is time for you to get up, eat, and answer my question."

"Adelina!" Salvatore admonished.

"Adelina," Heyes started as he struggled to turn to address the young woman's question.

"Mr. Heyes," Salvatore interrupted, looking the reforming outlaw directly in the eyes. Heyes held his breath; he knew he'd be letting his true identity out of the bag with his plan to free Emma Jordan. He'd been lucky that two of the three people who were part of the rescue plan already knew that small but oh-so-critical piece of information. People who knew the truth held all the power over Heyes and Curry, and Hannibal Heyes knew it. They'd been lucky so far that the people who did know for sure who they were would never say anything. He waited to see what Salvatore Caruso would say.

"You do not have to explain anything. You were successful in getting Emma freed. One man died. Such is the result when people turn to these types of nefarious actions."

"Salvatore, I'm sorry I had to hide who I was..." Again, Heyes was interrupted.

"Basta. Enough. I do not need your apology. Adelina told me about your agreement with the Governor once you let that information out in the middle of my yard. I know a good person when I see one. Being a good judge of character is a major reason I have been able to succeed in this new country. You should not feel that you have done anything wrong. You certainly haven't in my eyes. I do not regret shooting Brandt. There was no choice, as I saw it. The sheriff agrees with my assessment."

"Thank you, Salvatore, but I do regret that it came to that. I didn't...I had hoped..."

"Please, Mr. Heyes, I would like to put these events behind us."

"Very well, but can I ask, what happened to Holmes. I fell asleep before I found out, though I was glad to see that my partner was all right. Where is my partner, by the way?"

"Mr. Curry is out for a ride on a fine horse in my stable. He seemed to be, how do you say, 'itching' to get out."

Heyes smiled. "It's true, my partner is not good just waiting around."

"Mr. Curry shot Holmes in the hand, a very ugly wound. We were lucky that he bled on the hardwood floor and not on my dear departed wife's Persian rug," he said with a wry smile. "She may be gone from here," Caruso said, waving his hand to denote his home," but I know she is still watching over Adelina and me. Believe me, Adua would be sure to send us her displeasure."

"You know, Adelina, this could have gone the other way. I thought that it would, at least with Brandt. I thought I saw something in him, but I guess it was just wishful thinking. Kid and I have been in…tough situations before. We have almost always been able to get away from those situations without any loss of life. I do regret that."

"Well," Adelina said, "it is not your fault, of course. You did not take Emma. You saved her. You are not only a prince, but also a hero."

"Adelina! I do not believe that Mr. Heyes has earned your sarcasm and I do not believe that a man recovering from serious wounds needs to hear it. Apologize to the man."

Adelina Caruso's eyes grew wide at her father's admonishment. Heyes could tell that she didn't often cross her father based on this reaction. But he could also see in her face that she was mortified to have done it this time.

"I am sorry, mi dispiace. I do not handle…I am not the best at seeing people that I care about get hurt. I tend to see my own distress as their fault. I do not know why I do this, but I do. I know that it is wrong." She finally looked Heyes in the eyes, after keeping her head down throughout her apology. "Will you forgive me?"

"Of course." Heyes' stomach growled. "Maybe I should eat some of what you have on that tray, Salvatore."

"Please do," Caruso countered. "Do you need some assistance?"

"I could use a hand up," Heyes admitted. Adelina was quickly at his side, helping him up, and then propping a pillow behind him. She placed the tray on this lap.

"Will you be able to manage on your own? Your hand is still wrapped," she noted.

"Yeah, I see that. I'll be fine. I guess I missed all of the details." Heyes paused as he took a bite of toast and then took a long gulp of the hot coffee, doing it all one at a time with his one hand out of action. "Was Joe here?"

"Yes, I think you are right. You should not take any more of that medicine," Adelina said. "Yes, Joe Martin was here. He said that you needed to take it easy. Your foot, your hand, your back and the gunshot wound will all heal. He said that you should try to not walk too much for too long, but that you can get up and walk on it as soon as you feel steady enough." Adelina continued running through Heyes' injuries as Salvatore left the room. Heyes ate some more toast and drank some more coffee. "Joe is most concerned about the concussion. This is another reason why I do not like that medicine. Maybe you just don't take to it well, but we had no success trying to wake you while you slept. You were breathing well enough, so we just waited, but it was very difficult on…what should I call your partner? It does not seem right to call him 'Kid'," she admitted.

"Actually, we'd prefer it if you just called us Joshua and Thaddeus. It's probably better if we don't say the names Heyes and Curry if we can help it."

"Certo. I will tell Papa." She watched Heyes eat some more and then asked, "How does your head feel?"

"It still hurts. My foot is aching, but my hand feels pretty good, though it is stiff." Heyes seemed to be slowing down, both eating and participating in the conversation.

"You should rest. I will come wake you for lunch."

"Adelina? Thank you."

"It is nothing."

"No, it is very much something. I appreciate that you and your father are letting me stay here, and that you're watching over Thaddeus. He has a tendency to get himself into trouble when left alone too long."

"That's an interesting perspective," Kid Curry said as he walked in on the conversation.

"You know it's true," Heyes responded.

"I reckon. Listen, do you know where Salvatore is? I've got some news."

"News?" Heyes asked.

"Yep. And it's not good. But I think Salvatore should be here for this."

"I will get him," Adelina said as she rose from the chair next to Heyes' bed, taking the tray with her. Kid grabbed the last piece of toast as she headed out.

"How're you feelin'," Kid asked as he chewed the crunchy bread with homemade jam.

"Tired, if you can believe it. How can a person sleep for twenty hours and still be tired?" Heyes shook his head in wonder.

"You're healing. Your body needs the rest. I thought Joe told you that."

"Apparently I don't remember all of Joe's visit," Heyes admitted sheepishly.

"Well, after you fell asleep, Joe said that you might not remember everything he said to you. And he said that if you had any kind of abnormal reaction to that powder that we won't use it again," Kid advised his friend.

"Abnormal, huh? Then 'we' won't be using it again, because sleeping twenty hours is abnormal, I don't care how tired a person gets."

"Thaddeus, you're back," Salvatore said as he returned to the room. "How was your ride?"

"He's a magnificent animal, Salvatore. Really an amazing mount. You should be very proud of what you've got with Galileo," Kid answered.

"Galileo?" Heyes asked with a smile.

"I named him," Adelina said.

"I figured."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Adelina asked with pronounced fake attitude.

"I'm kidding. It's nice."

"Well, I don't know how nice it is, but he's a terrific horse," Kid said, clearly not familiar with the great Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei after whom the great black stallion was named.

"You wanted to see me, Thaddeus?"

"Yes, Salvatore." Kid frowned at being called Thaddeus in front of people who knew that it was an alias.

"I asked them to call us Joshua and Thaddeus. I think it's safer," Heyes explained.

"I can live with that. Anyway, I rode into town to send a telegram to Lom, and the sheriff stopped me. He said that Holmes has escaped. He thinks he might head here to take out a little revenge."

"He may well do that," Salvatore said. "I will put everyone on the ranch on alert."

"I'm going to stay close to the house," Kid noted.

"I can take care of myself," Heyes said. He looked around. "Where's my gun?"

"I'll get you your shootin' iron, but I'm still not leaving you. And I'd feel better being here, just in case."

"Suit yourself," Heyes said through a yawn.

"Go to sleep," Adelina nearly pleaded.

"Yeah, sleep. I'll be here," Kid assured him.

"I'm sleepin'," Heyes said as he fell quickly again into a deep, restful sleep.

"Thaddeus," Salvatore whispered. The Carusos and Kid headed to the hallway. "Did the sheriff say how this happened?" They walked toward the staircase on Salvatore's way to warn all that he could about what to expect.

"Deputy got jumped when he brought breakfast in. The sheriff was out front, talking to some townsfolk about what happened on the expedition. Holmes was pretty quiet going about it, no shots were fired, and Deputy Jones, no relation," Kid noted, "didn't have a chance to yell out a warning. Got knocked on the head real good."

"I think we can all sympathize with Deputy Jones, considering what happened to your partner," Salvatore commented.

"They said he's only been on the run for about an hour. But that was an hour ago; it took me that long to get here, riding as fast as I thought safe. Holmes could be here any time if he got his hands on a horse," Kid said.

"I'm sure he will be stealing one," Adelina said. "Papa, should we not prepare for his visit?"

Salvatore looked thoughtful. "He has his freedom now. Would he really risk getting caught again? You do not think that he might just leave the area?"

"No. As Hey...um, I mean, as Joshua said a few days ago, Holmes was always the one to worry about. He won't leave before he tries for his payback."

"Then it is unlikely that we have much time. The house is somewhat vulnerable, with both the lower porch and upper balcony. There are windows and doors..." Salvatore was interrupted by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor down the hallway – inside Heyes' room.

"Heyes!" Kid yelled, forgetting what they'd agreed to. He ran back down the hall and into the room, followed immediately by Salvatore. He didn't see Adelina enter a different room just opposite the staircase. They found Heyes rolling on the floor, trying to force Holmes off of him. Holmes had the reforming outlaw pinned to the floor, though, his hands tight around Heyes' neck. Heyes had no leverage, his bad foot giving him no purchase to kick with the other, and no strength to kick with the injured foot. Both of his hands were working to keep Holmes from strangling him, and that didn't seem to be working out very well for Kid Curry's best friend. Heyes' face was turning beet red from the exertion and the pressure from Holmes' fingers on his throat. Curry ran, full out, and dove into Holmes, throwing them both away from his partner. The men wrestled on the floor, each getting good licks in but no knockout punches. Adelina ran into the room and tossed a gun to her father. The weapon flew through the air, twirled two full rotations, with the grip landing perfectly where it should – in Salvatore's right hand. Curry and Holmes scrambled to their feet. Holmes went for his gun, but the Kid pulled his faster, and both Salvatore and Adelina had their guns drawn and aimed at the escaped criminal.

"You should drop your weapon, Mr. Holmes. I am fairly certain that any one of us would take pleasure in shooting you right now," Salvatore warned.

"Ex...cept for the...nasty stain it...would leave...on this pretty...carpet," Heyes eked out.

"Of course," Salvatore agreed.

"Why are you talking?" Adelina asked with a shake of the head. Salvatore kept his gun aimed at Holmes as Adelina walked to the bedside table.

"Joshua, are you all right?" Kid asked as he helped Heyes over to the bed.

"Kind of a rude awakening," he scratched out, rubbing his throat. Adelina poured him a glass of water. "Thanks," he told her, and then added for Kid's benefit, "I think I'm fine."

"You will be, but back to bed with you for now," Adelina encouraged.

"That's the best suggestion I've had all week," Heyes said with a gleam in his eye. Adelina and Salvatore looked at each other and rolled their eyes. And then they walked out of the room, taking Stephen Holmes with them.

"What'd I say?" Heyes asked his partner, who simply stood there shaking his head at his partner's luck.

---

"Are you sure that you are well enough to ride, Joshua?"

"I'll be able to make it as far as Mr. Jordan's country house," Hannibal Heyes replied to the Italian rancher.

"It is a peculiar situation, you and Thaddeus staying at the banker's home."

"It is, Salvatore. But he was kind enough to offer, and as you heard my partner threaten, he's not interested in picking me up off the ground every hour. I could use a little more time to heal, and a nice place with pretty views sounds like just what the doctor ordered," Heyes said with a grin.

"Like you even remember anything Joe told you," Kid added jokingly.

"Well, I don't remember everything, but I know what Doc Wilson here in town said, and I know he's right. A few more days and then we can head south, stop and visit Lom first."

"That sounds like a plan, partner."

"Salvatore, thank you for the 'good-bye' dinner last night. It was good to see the Murtaughs and Emma again."

"And Alexander?" Adelina asked coyly.

"Like I said, I appreciate his offer."

"It was nice that the Mendolsohns were able to see you before you left the area," Salvatore said as his daughter handed a wrapped parcel to the Kid.

"They're nice fellas, and we were real lucky to have them around."

"They are now headed to Utah, to learn how to track," Adelina said.

"You know," Heyes said, "I was once champeen..." Kid cut him off.

"Why don't we head out, partner. We want to make sure we arrive before dusk."

"Right. Well, Salvatore," Heyes said as he mounted his horse, "it was a pleasure meeting you and spending time with you and your daughter." Heyes smiled at Adelina. "Will you tell the Murtaughs thanks again for the travois? I neglected to mention it last night. It was hard to get a word in, Will was so excited to relive the entire trip." Heyes could have gone the remainder of his life not thinking of this time again, but watching Will come more and more out of his shell was worth the momentary pain. "And thank your men for us as well."

"We will do that, Joshua. Be well, both of you." All of the men shook hands.

"Adelina," Heyes said as he looked down at the pretty woman from his horse, "it has been a pleasure." She offered her hand up to Heyes. He kissed it. She moved to Kid Curry, repeating what had just transpired between Heyes and Adelina Caruso

"The pleasure was mine. You are both welcome back here, anytime. Please keep us updated on what happens with the Governor. They cannot continue to rob you of your freedom forever."

"That's an interesting turn of phrase, Adelina. But I hope not," Heyes replied.

"Our friend Lom, who we're going to visit later this week, is a sheriff and he's working with the Governor," Kid said. "We are still hopeful that it will happen."

"Very good. Then we will see you again," Adelina said as she tapped the package she had handed to Curry. "This is lunch." She made her way to the house.

"Looks like lunch and supper," Heyes noted, eyebrows raised.

"Adelina is a fine cook. Buon appetito, signori," Salvatore Caruso said as he touched the brim of his hat to Heyes and Curry.

"Bye," Kid said.

"Arrivederci," Heyes added as the partners turned their horses to the long drive that would take them away from the Caruso ranch.

"Where'd you learn that?" Kid asked.

"Adelina taught me."

"Oh she did?" Kid asked. "What else did she teach you?"

"It wouldn't be gentlemanly to kiss and tell."

Kid looked at Heyes askance. "You didn't..." he started, giving Heyes another assessing look. "Naw, she wouldn't..." Kid squinted his eyes at his partner. "But when..." Kid furrowed his brow as he watched Heyes' smile grow. Kid's eyes grew wide as he shouted, "Aw, Heyes! You kissed the girl!"

Heyes just kept on smiling.

The End.