Colorado City

by DeniseV

Heyes and Curry were hoping for some quiet downtime. It seems that every single thing is working against them.

Chapter One

"How much money you got?" Hannibal Heyes asked his partner.

Kid Curry wished he had a dime for every time he'd been asked that by his best friend, but, as the saying goes, 'if wishes were horses…' Rather than dwell on such thoughts, he simply proceeded to count his coin and paper as he sat atop his horse on the outskirts of Colorado City. The newer, swankier town of Colorado Springs was still a good seventy miles to the north. The pair had just finished over two weeks' work in Taos, New Mexico, a job that entailed delivering several large wagonloads full of wire and other supplies for the expansion of the telegraph system into the mountain towns that were becoming more populated as the west continued its rapid growth and expansion. It had been rough and rocky terrain for much of the way, starting from Denver and then heading south to the small town destinations around Taos, and then back again. Twice. The pay was good and the job had the added benefit of not keeping them in one place too long. But they paid the price for the extra cash and that other important fringe benefit; incessant pounding of their joints and muscles by the hard wood of the wagon had them yearning right quick for a horse and saddle.

Now, after many miles on horseback from Taos as they headed to their next work destination – Colorado Springs – they knew that stopping in Colorado City for a couple of days rest was a must. The too-small-to-spot towns that they'd hit these last days had been frustrating. They'd managed to find a drink, here and there, though neither Heyes nor Curry would be classifying what they'd imbibed as 'decent' liquor. No good poker games and hotel rooms barely cleaner than camping out had contributed to their already sore state and downright crotchety dispositions.

"I got fourteen dollars and four bits," Jedediah Curry, also known as Thaddeus Jones, told his partner. "Except for the money we earned the last coupla weeks, which you got." Kid worried his brow for a moment and then asked, "You still got our money, ain'tcha Heyes?"

Hannibal Heyes, alias Joshua Smith, frowned as he continued to count his own currency. "'Course I still got it, Kid. I'd just rather not hafta dip into it if we can avoid it, least not 'til after we finish that job up in the Springs."

Curry leaned back in his saddle, stretching as best he could, and rubbed his lower back. "Can ya hurry it up, then? I thought we were gonna take it easy in Colorado City."

Heyes looked up, forced to squint into the sun to get a look at his partner, but then lowered his head quickly, allowing the brim of his hat to ease the effect of the bright sunshine as it seemed to pound sharply into his skull. He ignored that pain, for now; he knew he'd have little success ignoring his anxious partner.

"We are, Kid, we are. Jest calm down. I'd like to stay in the nicest hotel we can. You know none of those places on the west side is fit for stayin' in."

"I remember. But we need to actually move the horses to get to town. I got dirt layered over dirt in places where no dirt was ever intended to be."

Heyes shook his head lightly. "Quit yer squawkin'. I'm tryin' to count."

"What? Gettin' feeble in your old age? Can't do two things at once anymore? You're gettin' soft." Which wasn't true. Hannibal Heyes had good reason this time if he was a little slow on the draw, so to speak. Kid Curry also knew that the extra chit-chat was giving his partner the breather that he needed after their long ride.

"We got thirty-six bucks, Kid. That's plenty," Heyes added, ignoring his friend's gentle jibes. "Let's get to town and get us a bath, a room, a whiskey, a game and a good night's sleep on a real bed."

"And a decent meal," Curry added as though it was more important than everything else on Heyes' list, combined.

"Goes without sayin'." Heyes hoped he'd find time for something soft and curvy that looked and smelled pretty, too. Of course, that was assuming that he'd be up to anything on that list other than sleep.

The two reforming outlaws had chosen Colorado City, specifically, to spend a couple of days of down time. It was a big, sprawling, dusty mountain town that was regularly packed with visitors due to the continued gold strikes in the area over the last decades. Heyes and Curry had learned the hard way that mining for gold, or silver, or most anything was back breaking, hard work and always hit or miss. It had each time been a miss for them when they'd tried it, so they'd learned that lesson and moved on, and watched with amusement as so many came and went, most with their pockets emptier than when they'd started.

Just like them. Though Heyes and Curry had tried three times to strike it rich in different mining attempts, they had finally decided to abide by the 'three strikes and you're out' philosophy of the ever-more-popular game of baseball.

Colorado City made hiding in plain sight pretty easy. It had become easier for the partners in towns like this since they'd made the deal with the governor through their friend, Sheriff Lom Trevors, to keep clean and go for the amnesty. When the towns were this crowded, and tempers from the heat and hard work from mining causing minor, and sometimes major skirmishes to keep local law enforcement busy and otherwise occupied, not to mention distracting to the general populace, the former outlaw duo managed to walk freely without concern. The fact that they weren't doing anything to jeopardize their shot at amnesty helped in their confident strides down main streets of towns like Colorado City.

The two had more that a passing familiarity with the town. It had been their 'home away from home' when they'd worked – to no avail – their last claim in Victor, Colorado. Lots of folks had enjoyed success in Victor and Cripple Creek, but not the former Devil's Hole Gang members. They were definitely a cursed pair where mining was concerned.

Of course, the down side about Colorado City was that Colorado City was not exactly Colorado Springs. The town was rough, there was no other way to put it. The dirty, grimy men making their way to town from the mines, to cash in, cash out, or spend some time in civilization, weren't particular about much of anything. Those that ran most of the hotels, saloons and brothels knew it; they didn't spend any more on the upkeep, be it the joint's amenities or its product – be it whiskey or women – than they had to.

There was one hotel that catered to a higher, more refined clientele. The miners steered clear, not wanting to waste any profits, or what was left of their working capital, on a hotel room…with clean sheets. They were more inclined to spend their money on women and drink, and both of those temptations could be found in lesser establishments all over town.

Heyes and Curry made their first stop the livery stable; they would need their horses fresh when they headed out of town in two days' time. They stored their saddles and headed for the Silver Star Hotel. They came across no fewer than four fistfights on their way there.

"The place is hoppin'," Kid said as he removed his gloves and placed them over his snug-fitting gun belt. The clouds of dust the fights had kicked up caused nary an impression on the already dust-laden pair.

"Too quiet is never good, Kid, but too raucous ain't great, either," Heyes noted as they took the step up to the boardwalk to avoid the latest fight. "We'll have to watch ourselves, make sure we don't get dragged into any of this by mistake."

"I don't know about you, Joshua," Kid replied, reverting to their aliases now that they were within earshot of folks, "but I'm plannin', in the following order, a bath, a drink, a meal, a game or two of poker, and a bed."

"Alone?" Heyes asked with a smile, clearly talking about the bed.

"Tonight, alone will do. If you and I hafta share, that's fine, too."

Heyes snorted. "And you have the nerve to talk to me about old age." Heyes' eyes sparkled with mischief, even as he surveilled everything going on around them. "You haven't been in the company of a pretty lady in a long time."

"That may be so, but it still ain't at the top of my list. I'm tired and hungry. Aren't you?" Kid Curry was probably the only person who could tell that behind that mischievous glimmer was a man still in a goodly amount of pain, and probably near dead on his feet. Hannibal Heyes, though, would rarely show a hand like that to just anybody…in fact, most likely the only person who'd get a glimpse at that losing hand was the man walking right next to him.

Heyes let out a sigh and nodded his head. "I'm pretty beat." Curry thought that an understatement as he looked carefully at his partner. They'd spent the last few months criss-crossing the west, looking for work, doing work, and working hard to remain as invisible as possible. Heyes had taken a tumble, and a hard hit to the head a little over a month previous. There'd been precious little time for him to recover before they found out that one of the most notorious bounty hunters around, Alexander 'The Ax' Bradshaw, was gunning for them. And gunning was not creative phrasing; he truly had no interest in Heyes and Curry alive. Most bounty hunters that the pair had the misfortune of going up against had been willing to bring them in alive, the 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' banner not much of an incentive to go for the former if the one taking them in didn't have a taste for killing. Alexander Bradshaw? The story goes that he killed a man once just because the fella had made the mistake of calling him by the as-it-turned-out deadly common nickname 'Alex'.

Curry had pulled Heyes from a disturbingly deep sleep when the hotel manager had been kind enough to give them the heads up that Bradshaw was asking around for two men with their descriptions. They tore out of the small Texas-New Mexico border town just in time, though Kid got winged by a bullet to his upper arm for their troubles. Heyes had patched him up as best he could, lingering double-vision from his fall notwithstanding. They'd stumbled upon a doctor, finally, as they zig-zagged a route away from Bradshaw, but not too far from their job that was coming up in Taos. The doc fixed Kid up good, and suggested that all of Heyes' symptoms from his concussion would ease if he would stay off his horse for a while. That had ended up being all of four hours before Heyes insisted they get on the road and put more distance between them and the bounty hunter. They felt pretty confident that they'd lost the one fervently seeking them, but both reforming outlaws knew that bad luck and questionable fate were never too far out of their sights.

Heyes made it to the hotel door first, but both men ended up forced through the doorway together, Kid's right shoulder pushing the second door open. Two men were pounding each other, bare-fisted, as Heyes and Curry somehow managed to keep on their feet.

"Whaddya think yer doin'?" one of them asked, turning to Kid Curry.

Before Kid had a chance to answer, the second one said, "This ain't yer fight!"

"See what I mean?" Heyes asked his partner softly. Unfortunately, it wasn't said softly enough.

"Whaddya mean by that?" the first drunken fighter asked.

"Nothin'," Heyes came back, hoping that the denial would be enough to keep the two of them out of the fracas, but knowing that their chances were about as good as a pair of deuces being a winning poker hand.

The men seemed to lose all interest in fighting each other now that they had a different game that might bring them some winnings, even if those winnings weren't of a monetary sort.

"Well, I think ya mean somethin'," the man said. He placed his filthy, dirt-encrusted hand on Heyes' chest, far quicker than Heyes' reflexes could counter on this particular day, and pushed - hard. Heyes flew from the spot, the small of his back catching the reception desk's nice oak square on.

The click of a rifle stopped all the action. Heyes sank wearily to the bench up against the wall to the left of the front desk.

"That's enough," the strong feminine voice instructed. "You two," she said, pointing her weapon at each of the two drunk delinquents. "Out! Now! Don't come back, ya troublemakers."

"You don't know 'bout trouble, woman," one of them said. Kid pulled his gun from his holster, faster than he should have, or needed to. Heyes shook his head.

"I think it's best that ya listen to the lady," Curry said calmly.

"We ain't gonna ferget you," one of the men said, staring the Kid down. Kid thought he heard his partner mumble, 'Course not'. The blond shot his friend an annoyed look.

"And you," the other one said. "I'm gonna remember you," he added menacingly to the woman with the rifle. They both slunk out the front door.

Heyes pulled himself up from the bench, making good use of the polished oak of the registration desk to assist in that effort.

"I believe we owe you our thanks," he said to the woman who now held the rifle comfortably under her arm.

"Don't thank me yet," she answered seriously. "I think I need to know a little bit about your friend here before I let ya check in." Heyes' demeanor changed instantly and drastically, the smile that he offered the woman seemed to disappear in one swift motion. Kid could tell that she wasn't too keen on the reaction, but he also knew that the reaction wasn't at all what she thought it was.

"What's goin' on, Joshua?" Kid asked as he backed his partner up to the conveniently placed bench. "You all right?"

"Oh, I don't know. I crashed pretty hard into this nice piece of oak." Heyes reached with his left hand to feel his abused upper back. The effort seemed to hurt more than it was worth so he stopped right quick.

"That's not what I'm talkin' about and you know it," Kid said as he kneeled in front of his friend. "Open your eyes."

"Nope. I don't think that I will just yet."

"What's the matter with him?" the woman asked, setting her rifle up against the aforementioned nice piece of oak.

"Well, nothin' that a little more rest in a nice bed wouldn't fix."

"Thaddeus," Heyes started in warning.

"Forget it, Joshua." The Kid turned to the woman. "We'd like a room, two beds if ya got it."

"We don't need two…" Heyes started to argue.

"Knock it off. It's been weeks since it happened. We're gettin' two beds so that you can get some rest. That's final."

"Yes sir," Heyes said, sending his friend a sloppy salute.

"Do I get a say in this?" the woman asked.

"Sorry ma'am," Kid said. "My partner has a way of gettin' me all riled up."

"The feeling's mutual," Heyes replied smartly.

The woman smiled quizzically as she looked from Curry to Heyes and then back to Curry. "You wanna tell me about why you're so fast with that gun?"

"Practice, ma'am. Mostly at pullin' the gun on my partner," he joked, hoping that the attempt to lighten the mood would calm the woman. "As you can see, he can be a lot to handle." Heyes smiled and shook his head, his eyes still closed, but then he frowned at what a bad idea that movement was, and the battle it started in his stomach.

She looked back and forth between the two, with amusement, and her motherly instincts won out. "I'm Felicity Altman. I own and run this hotel."

"Altman?" Heyes and Curry both asked, Heyes keeping his head steady and his eyes closed.

"Felicity," she replied, looking between them now with more suspicion than amusement. "Altman," she added, and then asked, "Why?"

"Oh, um, well, we…uh," Kid stammered. Heyes took over.

"We knew an Altman from our third…"

"And last," Kid interrupted.

"And last venture into mining. A Jack Altman?" Heyes said questioningly. He opened his eyes, just barely, but decided to keep them closed, for now. "Worked over in Victor. Any relation?" he asked, raising his eyebrows high but choosing to continue playing it safe and keeping his eyes closed. It was obvious to anyone looking at him that Heyes was in pain; for all of his impressive abilities at misdirection, he couldn't hide that fact this time. He put his hand up and rubbed at his eyes and then massaged his forehead.

Felicity Altman's face now lost its smile. The cloud that overtook her very being was dark, near the dark of midnight…or a mining tunnel with all of the lighting gone out. With all their bad luck in mining, Heyes and Curry had intimate knowledge of that frightening prospect. They knew what that kind of dark was like, and Kid saw it, right there, on the face of the woman who was so obviously the mother of their old acquaintance.

"Jack…Jackson was my son."

"Was?" Kid asked. The Jack Altman they knew was their age, and could easily have been Felicity Altman's son. Heyes opened one eye momentarily. Based on the proximity to the mine they worked in Victor, Colorado, the reflection of the son in the mother's eyes and coloring, and her sad, devastated attempt to keep her smile, they knew it had to be the same Jack Altman.

"He died in a cave-in last May," Felicity responded as she walked to the back of the nice oak registration desk. Heyes had both eyes open now, watching her close down, seeing how she would choose to handle not having to deal with the pain, the memories of the loss of her son. Again. He made an effort to stand, but it was woefully unsuccessful as he fell back into his seat.

"Joshua, just sit there 'til we're checked in."

"Mrs. Altman," Heyes said, conceding that he should stay seated as he made no further immediate effort to get up, "we're real sorry to hear about Jack. We never had much luck with the mining business, but we consider ourselves lucky to have spent time you're your son." Heyes looked around the foyer and up the staircase…noting the nice oak everywhere.

"Yes, Mister…I'm sorry. I only know your first names, which will change of course, once you've both signed in," Felicity noted. There was still sadness to her demeanor, but she also had a business to run.

"Excuse us, ma'am. I'm Thaddeus Jones, and the one who's not admitting how bad he's feelin' is Joshua Smith."

"Well, Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones…" she said, and then noted, "Well, isn't that funny?"

"You can call us Joshua and Thaddeus," Heyes said as he covered a yawn. "Excuse me."

Felicity reached for a pen and handed it to Curry. "Yes, Joshua," she finally said, having noticed Heyes' admiration of the décor. "Jackson did end up with a good strike, right at the new year. We re-did the place. Finished it up about two months before…well. Jackson wanted to try one more time for a big hit. I told him it wasn't necessary, that we could make a decent living running this hotel. We'd paid cash for the upgrades, and I'd near paid off the mortgage. Business was good. But, you knew Jackson, so you know…"

"He liked adventure…a challenge," Kid commented. "We didn't know him real well, but we knew that. I doubt he'd've found too much challenging about running a place like this." It had been no doubt, however, that there had been both challenge and reward in getting the place into its current impressive shape.

Tears came fast and full to Felicity's eyes. "Oh, I wish he'd said something," she fretted as she walked the registration book over to Heyes to sign. She dabbed her eyes with a lacy pink and white handkerchief. That she had it so readily available said a whole lot about how much she was still mourning the loss of her son. Heyes looked at Kid, his expression clearly one meant to chastise his friend for speaking so plainly.

"Thank you," Heyes said, tiredly and just a little sorrowfully. It sounded like Jack never really intended to join his mother in the hotel business. He hoped they could steer clear of the topic from here on out; Jack Altman's mother didn't need to constantly be reminded of that truth. Heyes signed the register and then looked at the woman sadly as he handed it back and said, "Mrs. Altman, we're sorry we brought up the subject. We didn't mean to cause you any pain."

"Oh, don't be silly. The truth may hurt sometimes, but it's still the truth."

"And the truth will make us free," Heyes replied with an irony that Felicity Altman would probably not pick up on. It wasn't like the truth of his and Kid's situation had helped them much during this last near-year that they had been going for their amnesty. It seemed they'd been dogged, trailed and shot at more now that they lived a clean, upstanding life than they had when they were robbing trains and banks. But he knew that he had to believe what he'd just said; he needed to believe it, and he needed to believe that he and the Kid would reap the rewards of their efforts these last long months.

"That's what I've heard. I think they're good words to live by," Mrs. Altman said with conviction. Heyes and Curry looked at each other knowingly, a knowledge of many past untruths both told and acted upon for which this woman would no doubt show little approval. The two former outlaws had talked it over many times, about just how much guilt they held in their souls for the bad things that they'd done. As it turned out, they'd been forced to do nearly as many things that they regretted since beginning their quest for amnesty as they had ever done during their spree as outlaws. They'd never physically hurt anyone in their previous lives; that couldn't be said for the lives they'd led since, though most of those actions had been from trying to protect truly good people from truly bad ones. Or to defend their own lives. But what about the pain that had been caused to ordinary people by taking their life savings? That was something to feel guilty for, when it affected everyday people and not just the bank presidents and train owners. But their lives back then had been formed by a difficult youth that fairly well guaranteed they would end up as they had: on the wrong side of the law. They had nothing to give back to those people, except for the promise to do good from that fateful day in Lom Trevors' office in Porterville – forward.

"I reckon they are," Kid said. He moved the conversation back to the business at hand. "Ma'am, can we get baths?"

Felicity laughed robustly, which made Heyes smile, even though smiling seemed to bring him pain, or maybe it was just any movement right now was hurting him some. "I insist! I'll have Maria prepare them for you."

"Them?"

"Yes, Mr. Jones, er, Thaddeus. We have a wash room with two tubs. It's on the second floor. Shall I give you a room on that floor?"

"If you could. Facing the front would be nice," Kid added casually. Heyes raised his eyebrows at the request; he was the one who usually had to remember to ask for a room facing the street.

"Of course. Would you like me to have some food sent up to your room after your bath?" Mrs. Altman asked as she cocked her head towards Kid Curry's partner. Heyes sat back in the bench, his eyes closed once more.

Kid leaned in towards the proprietress and spoke softly. "Nah. Not yet. Let's see how he feels after a bath."

"Very well," she said, accepting that the blond knew best what his partner needed. "The restaurant is through those double doors. Or you could try some of the other eating establishments in town."

"No, I think we'll dine here tonight. Might be safer all around stayin' off the street," he noted, their recent brush with the rough crowd still ever-present in his mind.

"We only serve beer and wine here. You'll have to try one of the saloons for something harder."

"That's fine. I think my friend will be lookin' for a poker game at some point," Kid replied, though he didn't seem overly confident in that particular outcome as he looked worriedly to his partner.

"At some point tomorrow, maybe," she smiled.

"Maybe." Kid grinned back. He paid the bill for the room and the baths.

"Do you need any help?" Felicity asked. "Or maybe I should call for a doctor?" She looked at the Kid seriously. "I would have called for the doctor already if he'd come in here alone and looking like that."

"I appreciate your concern," Curry started.

"So do I," a nominally roused Hannibal Heyes chimed in.

"He's seen a doctor. He knows what he's supposed to do."

"What about his back?" the worried older woman asked.

"My back is fine," Heyes answered as he tried to stand. Kid went to him quickly. "Actually," he said as Kid helped him to an upright position, "that hurts."

"That's not surprising, Joshua."

"A soak'll do me good, Thaddeus."

"That's probably true, Mr. Sm…Joshua. But if you start to feel poorly, please let someone know. We're blessed to have a fine doctor here in town, along with an excellent nurse. You may want to take advantage of that," Felicity said as she looked at the register. "You've only registered for two days. If you're heading out of town soon, you should make sure that you're fit to do so."

"Yes, ma'am," Heyes replied. There was little point in telling the woman that they had no choice but to ride out in two days; the job waiting for them in Colorado Springs dictated that they stick to that schedule.

"Yes, ma'am?" Kid asked as he walked his friend over to the staircase. "Why don't you listen to me when I tell ya things like that?"

"Who says I don't listen?"

"I say!" Curry challenged.

"Thaddeus, I always listen to you, when it's important. But sometimes you can go on. I've honed my skills over the years to know when I can tune you out and when it's important to listen."

"Is that so? So how come I always gotta listen to you?"

"'Cause everything I have to say is always important." Felicity Altman smiled as the good-natured bickering between the two grew quieter as they headed up the staircase and away from the front desk.

The bellhop walked by. "Charlie?"

"Yes, Mrs. Altman."

"Would you please head over to Doc Murphy. See if either he or Nurse Margaux can come by in the next while. Please tell them it's not an emergency, just a customer who I'm a little worried about."

"Yes, ma'am. The doc probably won't be able to come."

"I know. Nurse Margaux will do."

"I'll be right back."

"Thank you, Charlie," she called as Charlie was already flying off the boardwalk heading across the square to the doctor's office. She smiled and shook her head. "Such energy," she commented to herself and then she turned toward the kitchen.

---

Heyes and the Kid finished their baths and got comfortable in their room.

"You're gonna lay down for a while?" Kid asked, though his tone said it was more of an order than a question.

"Yes, mother, I think I might," Heyes replied as he eased himself onto the bed. He was dressed in his undergarments under his clean pair of pants, and his socks. Neither man had forgotten that the bounty hunter Bradshaw was recently on their tail; it would probably be some time before either of them truly relaxed.

"You got a welt on yer back from hittin' that desk."

"I know," Heyes sighed.

"Yer gonna have a bruise."

"I know."

"That all you got to say?" Kid asked, somewhat annoyed.

Heyes sat up on his elbows, though the action did nothing for his sore back and he lay quickly into the pillow once more. "What do you want me to say, Kid? What happened…happened. We knew it might, but I wasn't ready for it. What would you prefer that I say? I'm sorry? Well I am." He folded his arms over his chest, but that hurt, too, so he unfolded them and let them fall to the bed.

"Naw, Heyes, I didn't mean nothin'." Curry stood looking out the window, watching the rowdy crowd in the streets. He turned from the not even remotely refreshing hot breeze and looked down at his friend. "It's just…you ain't even really recovered from that bump on your head. You know it. You don't usually have to concentrate so much to stay on your horse. And now this. It ain't right," Kid finished sadly.

"I'll agree with that sentiment."

"And I didn't mean to getcha all riled up. I'm sorry 'bout that." Kid sat on the edge of Heyes' bed and looked apologetically at his friend.

"It's okay, Kid," Heyes replied, tapping Kid's hand affectionately. "I overreacted. I'm just…tired."

"Then go ahead and take a rest. I'm gonna go scout around, check things out."

"Be careful," Heyes said, his weariness enhancing the worry in his voice. It was disconcerting to both of them that he didn't jump up to follow his partner around town.

"I will. I won't be long."

"See ya."

The Kid threw on his boots, gun belt and leather jacket and headed downstairs. He knew that Heyes would be asleep right quick, and he hoped his friend could get a couple of hours of shut-eye, at least, until dinnertime. They'd arrived in town in the middle of the day…it had been nice of Mrs. Altman to let them check in so early. As he took the last step down the staircase, Felicity Altman called for him.

"Thaddeus, how is Joshua? Did you enjoy your baths?"

"He's resting. The baths were just right, Mrs. Altman. Thank you. But I don't believe I'd ever had a harder time gettin' clean."

Felicity laughed. "Maria said that you boys went through the soap."

"Sorry about that, ma'am."

"Don't be silly." The Kid smiled, his eyes sparkling. Felicity loved the smile, but my how these young men could bring on the melancholy in her. Watching them made her wish that she could see a smile like that from her Jackson just one more time.

"Do you have a recommendation on which saloon is best for a drink?"

"I do indeed. But before I tell you that, I need to tell you that I called for the nurse to come take a look at Joshua."

"You did?" he asked. "The nurse?"

"Yes, Thaddeus. The doctor is usually very busy on Fridays with the men coming in from the mines for the weekend. But Nurse Margaux is very good in his stead."

"Nurse Margaux?"

"Yes, Thaddeus," she said with a sly grin.

"Well, I'm sure that Joshua would be happy to be seen by Nurse Margaux." He looked out the door, appearing torn about whether he should continue on his way and quench his thirst or wait to see just what this nurse was all about.

Felicity kept on smiling, able to read the handsome young man's thoughts, though it wasn't like he was trying to hide his intent.

"'The Luck o' the Irish' has imported, single malt Irish whiskey, if you can afford it," Felicity suggested.

"I might be able to afford one drink," Kid replied. "But I think I'd like to be around when my partner gets examined."

"Suit yourself. And of course, the saloon's not going anywhere."

"That's good to know. I can't remember the last time I had a chance to order single malt. Joshua will be pleased."

Felicity liked seeing the happiness in Thaddeus' face as he thought of something that would please his partner. "Evan Flannery tries his best to keep up a nice place. It's difficult with this crowd, though."

"I recall how rough it could get around town. When Joshua and I would come in with…oh…I…I'm sorry, Mrs. Altman. I don't mean to bring up bad memories for you."

"Oh, Thaddeus. The memories are never bad. In fact, they are mostly very good. If we have the opportunity, I would so love to hear about some of your times with Jackson. He never spoke much of his time in the mines. In fact, I never really saw him much when he was mining, even when he'd be in town for a while."

"I know that I speak for Joshua when I say we'd like to oblige. Maybe if he's feelin' up to it, we could have you join us for breakfast. Except for our bad luck in choosin' the place to start picking at the earth, we have some good stories to tell about our time with Jack."

Felicity Altman's smile grew wistful. "It's good to know that Jackson had such nice companions. Maybe if he'd had nice boys like you with him this last time…"

"Now, Mrs. Altman, you really can't think that way," Kid warned.

"Yes, I know this. Heavens, I've seen enough living in this town through some pretty bad accidents. I know disaster can hit any time, and even to those that are the very best at mining. I do wish…well, you're right. It's not any good to think that way." She looked from Kid to the doorway and then leaned to the left, around the strikingly handsome young blond, to get a better look out into the street. "Here comes Nurse Margaux now."

Kid Curry turned to get a look at the nurse. 'That lucky dog', he thought about his partner…to be comforted and tended to by a nice, caring female. Just having the companionship of a woman was different for them. Lately. Kid found himself enjoying this time spent with Felicity Altman, and she was old enough to be his mother. His feelings for her weren't romantic by any means, but the company of a good woman was still good company no matter what her age. He followed Felicity's eyes out the front door and watched all of the people that he could who seemed to be heading their way; none of them were female or resembled a nurse. Two men stepped onto the boardwalk and then entered the hotel lobby, one scurrying in faster than the other.

"Mrs. Altman, I'll be heading to the kitchen."

"Thank you, Charlie."

"Howdy, Felicity," the other man said. He was tall and lanky, an older gentleman, though young in carriage, and he held something in his left hand that looked suspiciously like a doctor's bag.

"Hello, Frank. Thanks for coming."

"Now, Felicity, you know I'll do anything for you," the tall man replied with a cheeky, knowing grin.

"Thaddeus, this is Frank Margaux, Dr. Murphy's nurse. Frank, this is Thaddeus Jones."

Frank Margaux put his hand out, but the Kid didn't take it, not at first. He looked flummoxed, confused, truly at a loss, his eyes playing tricks with what his mind was prepared to see. As if in slow motion, he finally reached out his hand to take Margaux's.

"Felicity, are you playing games again?" Frank asked, pretty confident of what was currently going on.

"Frank, you know I can't resist," Mrs. Altman said in gleeful defense.

"The poor boy's speechless. That's not very nice."

Kid finally came to his senses and heard the last bit of conversation. A huge smile came to his face and he said, "Oh, this is gonna be sooo good. Better than a glass of single malt."

"I take it that you're not my patient?" Frank asked Curry.

"No," the Kid answered, the huge smile seemingly stuck on his face. "But I will be pleased to take you to him."

"Felicity," Frank said warningly as he turned from this Jones fellow to the instigator behind him.

"Oh, it's fun, Frank."

"I'm sure you think so considering how often you do this. And it seems you have rubbed off on Mr. Jones here." Kid and Felicity shared a smile and indescribable pleasure in their collusion.

"Yes, isn't it wonderful?"

Frank Margaux rolled his eyes. "How bad off is my patient? Is he going to be able to handle the joke?"

Kid's bubble seemed to deflate a little at the comment. Mrs. Altman smiled in a motherly fashion at the worry now evident on the Kid's face, the concern having supplanted the joy at the practical joke in a flash.

"Come now, Thaddeus. You weren't even going to bother having Joshua checked. I'm pretty sure he can take it."

Jedediah Curry smiled unabashedly. His partner could take it, and once the joke was over he'd have wished he thought of it himself. To Frank Margaux, Kid said, "Follow me." Felicity hurried from behind the front desk to join the two men on the grand staircase.

Kid opened the door and entered, Frank and Felicity following and closing the door behind them. Heyes was asleep, resting on his side and facing the door. His hand was up nearly covering his face, now lax and laying palm up on the pillow, though it appeared that he might have been using that hand to massage his forehead. He was slightly damp with sweat, the window shut, most likely to block out the racket from the busy, noisy town center. Though they had been less frequent, finally, over the course of the last couple of days, Kid's partner had been plagued with headaches, sometimes blindingly painful ones, since the fall.

Kid looked behind him at the two visitors, as though he was well-prepared to lose his nerve in playing the joke on his ailing friend. They both smiled at him, silently telling him that it would be over soon, but that he was the one who knew best what his friend would be able to handle. Also, Kid knew that this wouldn't really cause Heyes more pain, indeed, the humor would be something that Kid Curry knew Hannibal Heyes would appreciate.

Curry sat on the edge of the bed. "Joshua," he said, putting his hand on Heyes' shoulder. "Can you wake up?" The sleeping man woke, heeding the familiar voice, but he seemed very drowsy. He turned from his side and lay on his back with a groan.

"Hey," Heyes said softly, but the Kid stopped him, knowing that the familiar, 'Hey, Kid' greeting he would normally get from his friend was something best left unsaid in their current mixed company.

"Hey, yourself. How're you feelin'? You up for some company?"

"Not really," Heyes answered, closing his eyes to an obvious renewed flair of pain in his head. "Time is it?" he asked as he started to roll to his other side.

"Don't go back to sleep yet," Kid said as he held his partner's arm and stopped the roll-over from happening. "Mrs. Altman sent for the nurse to take a look at ya. Nurse Margaux is here to see you."

Heyes opened his eyes and seemed immediately, miraculously, awake. He pushed himself up a little in the bed and said, "Oh. Well, if Mrs. Altman thinks I should see the nurse, then I guess I should see the nurse." He smiled with anticipation, though his tired state and pained eyes told the Kid that most of it was just for show.

"I guess," Kid laughed.

"Go ahead and show Nurse Margaux in," Heyes told his friend.

"Joshua, how do you feel?" Felicity Altman asked from behind and slightly to the right of the Kid.

"Oh, hello Mrs. Altman. I'm okay."

"No, you're not," Kid said, trying to hide his irritation with his friend. "That's why Mrs. Altman sent for the nurse."

"The nurse is here, too, by the way," Frank Margaux said, finally seeing Heyes' perplexed look as he peeked between Kid and Mrs. Altman to get his first good look at who would be caring for him.

"She is?" Heyes asked. Frank smiled and stared, his right eyebrow raised, a silent suggestion that Heyes should try again. "Oh, I get it. You're my nurse?" he asked, turning to give his best friend the special Heyes 'look of death' – the one that had never once really worked with Jedediah Curry.

"It wasn't my idea, believe me. My name is Frank Margaux," the man said as he extended his hand. "As you can imagine, with my last name and Felicity's evil sense of humor, this sort of thing happens a lot around here."

"Joshua Smith," Heyes said, still trying to level the evil eye on his partner. Maybe he was just too tired for that to have any effect.

"Now, Joshua, you gotta admit that this was funny," Curry said, though the reply that he read on his partner's face told Kid that Heyes had not yet found the humor in the moment.

"Don't blame Thaddeus," Mrs. Altman said. "This was mostly my doing."

"Nurse Margaux," Heyes said out loud, as though saying the name and looking at the face of the owner of that name might get him to the funny part faster. "I suppose there is some humor in the circumstance." He smiled, but only briefly as he raised his hand to his head. "Finding the humor hasn't done much for my headache." Heyes looked pale as he took his hand away and laid it back on the bed.

"Felicity, why don't you take Thaddeus down for a cup of coffee while I check out Joshua here?" Frank suggested.

"I can stay," Kid said, not wanting to leave his friend alone. It had never worked to their advantage separating for too long.

"Nah, go ahead," Heyes insisted. "You'll just make Nurse Margaux nervous just hoverin' around like you do."

"Come with me, Thaddeus. I'll bet there's a fresh pot on for the early dinnertime crowd." Kid felt Felicity's hand take his arm and then she moved him toward the door.

"I'll be back," Kid called as Felicity closed the door.

"No kidding," Heyes said fondly. He knew the nurse had heard him. He looked at Margaux and added in explanation, "He's kind of overprotective."

"I know what you mean. I have a younger brother. And you can call me Frank, by the way. Nobody calls me Nurse Margaux except Felicity."

"And apparently my partner. How'd you know he was younger?" Heyes liked to think that the two of them came off as about the same age. It worked to their benefit if people thought that, especially considering that he was listed as older than the Kid on their wanted posters. A little misdirection never hurt anyone, that was Heyes' motto, especially sheriffs and posses, Bannermen or bounty hunters.

"I just know."

"We're not brothers," Heyes clarified tiredly.

"Maybe not by blood, but you've got a special relationship, there ain't no denyin' that."

Heyes closed his eyes and sighed. "I'd never do that."

Frank Margaux pulled up a chair and set his bag on the foot of the bed, within easy reach. "So, Joshua, tell me what's been goin' on with you."

As Hannibal Heyes was examined by his nurse, Kid curry sat worriedly and distractedly with Felicity Altman down in the restaurant.

"What are you worried about?" Felicity asked. The Kid looked at her over his coffee cup, knowing that he wasn't even making an effort to hide his concern. Heyes would surely give him a talking to for it if he ever found out about it.

"I'm not worried," he denied as he took another drink from his cup, stalling so that he could come up with the right thing to say. Heyes was so much better at it – stalling – at finding the right words at the spur of the moment to explain, misdirect, outright lie if needs be. His friend's silver tongue always easily steered the conversation away from dangerous topics that others seemed keen to dwell on; topics that could place them in great jeopardy if they were allowed to be further discussed. It always amazed and amused the Kid when he found himself walking away with his partner from a situation that just moments earlier, before Heyes had let loose with his clever way with words, could have had them arrested or running or otherwise unpleasantly engaged.

"You seem worried," Mrs. Altman challenged.

"Well, I guess I am a little worried. Hey…he," Kid continued, nearly saying his partner's real name, though he could tell from Mrs. Altman's reaction that it came across as just more worry. "Joshua fell a while back and landed hard and he hasn't had much time to recover." Curry left out the part about Heyes stepping in to help a storekeeper who was being roughed up by some thug and how he'd been blindsided by a cohort of the attacker. The punch sent him flying and his head landed hard on the edge of the boardwalk in front of the mercantile. Kid's fast draw was what stopped the scuffle, but Kid Curry was pretty sure that Felicity Altman wouldn't want to hear about that considering her reaction to her own up close and personal experience with Kid's amazing speed and skill with a revolver.

"He hit his head?"

"Yeah. Doc said concussion and to rest, but my partner is really bad at that."

"Bad at what? Concussion and rest?"

"No, ma'am, he's actually pretty good at gettin' concussions, or somethin' else to make me go gray before my time. He's just bad at the resting bit. His headaches were real bad for a while there, even though he'd try to hide it from me. I was real worried back then."

"I'd hate to think what you must have been like 'real' worried when you're only a 'little' worried now." Kid remained quiet in answer to her comment. It was a hard life for men like these two, going from one job to the next, drifting from town to town, not putting down roots. Not having a place to call home. Felicity wondered why these two had become drifters. Why had Jack never brought them to meet her? What would it be like for one if the other was no longer around as their partner? Their friend? Their brother? She understood now why Thaddeus would worry, even more than just a little.

"Thaddeus?" Kid's eyes were riveted to the dregs at the bottom of his coffee cup. "Thaddeus, dear?" Felicity asked again. Kid jumped, but only slightly – a practiced habit, Felicity wondered - and then looked up at his companion. "Frank's here," she said, cocking her head to the side to indicate that Kid should look behind him. He stood quickly and took the few steps that separated them.

"So? Is he okay?"

"Come and sit. Felicity, I could use a cup of your wonderful coffee. They make a nice cup of coffee here, don't they?" Frank asked the Kid. The blond reluctantly took his seat once more.

"He wouldn't have a clue, Frank." The Kid looked up, his eyes full of regret, his entire demeanor full of apology. "Don't worry about it, Thaddeus. You were distracted because you were a 'little' worried." The hotel owner winked fondly at the curly-headed blond as she went to get Frank his coffee.

"So?" Curry asked again.

"Well, let's start with his newest injury first. He's going to be sore, but if he rests – seriously rests – then he should be fine in two or three days."

"Two days?" Kid asked hopefully.

"Or three."

Kid Curry sighed. "What about his head?"

"Well, his head wound is healed. Most of his symptoms from the concussion seem to have resolved themselves. His headaches are going to continue to give him trouble until he finds the time to take it easy." Frank watched as Kid digested the news. "You need to keep him in that room for as much time as you can. He told me that you would be here for two days. I think you should make it three."

"He'll go mad up there. Did you tell him this?"

"I did. He took it about as bad as you are."

"I gotta live with him! He doesn't." Frank smiled. "You know what I mean."

Frank nodded. "I gave him some pills. Doc has been experimenting with some formulas to make dispensing easier. One is for the pain, one is to help him sleep. The one for pain should help both his head and his back. He needs rest, Mr. Jones. That's all that he needs. But he needs it in a real serious way."

Kid nodded, and then shook his head. "I know. He saw a doctor, but we just haven't been able…"

"You mean that you have chosen to disregard the advice."

"No, that's not what we did. Let's just say circumstances," and bounty hunters, and needing to make money in order to live, "prevented us from letting Joshua heal up proper," Kid defended, knowing that it still sounded like a pretty lame defense to Frank Margaux.

"He said that you two had a job lined up in Colorado Springs. I want to telegraph your employer. I'll vouch for you two fellas; I think Joshua needs to rest. He could hurt himself more if he falls off a horse after one of those bad episodes." Frank stared Kid straight in the eyes. "Three days," the nurse insisted. "Starting tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? What about today?"

"Today's shot, and you two were ridin' hard earlier. He told me that, too."

"He's got a big mouth." Frank continued to stare him down. It was rare that Kid Curry would lose one of these contests, but it was a smart man who could recognize when he'd been beat.

"Okay. We're supposed to meet up with Theodore Snowden."

"Good. I'll wire him. Now remember, the deal is rest for those three days. No walking around, no poker, no dancin' with pretty ladies. And for Land's sake, no horses. He can come down for meals starting tomorrow. He can have a bath when he wants. He should sleep as much as possible. No reading, but I think he knows to avoid that."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Oh, he was complaining that he'd not read a good book in far too long. I asked him if he felt up to it, and he quickly shot me down for the suggestion. Are we clear on the rules?"

"Did you leave the pills with him?" Kid asked.

"No." Margaux handed them to his patient's partner. "He took what I gave him and should sleep through dinner. I'm sure Felicity can have the kitchen prepare him something to eat for later."

"So I'm in charge of getting him to take this medicine?"

"I'm sure Felicity will do it if you don't feel up to the task." Frank Margaux seemed to have boundless faith in the innkeeper's willingness to help a stranger. "She seems to have taken quite a shine to you two."

"Nah, I'll do it. But she can ride shotgun for me. I think I may need the back-up."

Frank laughed as Felicity came in with his coffee. "Everything okay?" she asked as she saw Frank's smiling face and Kid's…not smiling one.

"Sure," Kid said, though he sounded anything but sure. "I'm gonna head up and look in on Joshua." Mrs. Altman gave him a look of motherly concern. It made him feel uncomfortable, he wasn't certain why. He turned to Margaux. "Thank you for checking on him. I really do appreciate it. What do I owe you?"

"You're welcome. Here's the bill. Pay up on your way out of town, which will be no sooner than three days from tomorrow afternoon. And get some rest yourself. You look exhausted."

"I am and I will, after I check on Joshua and get something to eat."

"Good deal," Frank said. "And good luck."

"I'm gonna need it."

Frank laughed and then guzzled his coffee. "Felicity, lovely to see you."

"Thank you, Frank. I'll see you Sunday night."

"Okay." A near blush came to Felicity Altman's cheeks during the exchange. She eyed Frank a little more seriously as the Kid hurried out of the dining room and scurried up the staircase to check on his partner.

"And thank you for coming so quickly. Joshua will be okay, won't he?"

"Sure. He just decided to ignore some serious symptoms of concussion. It's not a good habit, but it's something that the Doc and I see often in these young fellas who roam from job to job. These boys don't get regular pay. They're not even sure when their next job will be. Or where. Joshua was not happy when I told him what he needed to do. Rest for three days."

"But he's not stupid, Frank. I'm sure you explained the repercussions of not heeding your advice. He saw the light, I assume?"

"Reluctantly, and only reluctantly. But you are right, he's a smart young man. He recognized that he was about done in. But that don't mean that young Thaddeus isn't gonna have a helluva time of it the next few days."

"I'll help Thaddeus keep Joshua in line."

"I know you will, Felicity." Frank smiled at her once more, and she smiled back demurely. "I've got to go," he said regretfully.

"I know you do. Thank Doc Murphy for allowing me to borrow you."

"Will do."

Upstairs, Kid walked into the room and discovered his partner in the same position that he'd found him in earlier: on his side, facing the door. This time, though, when he got close enough for a good look, he was pleased to find Heyes' face calm and pain-free. He hadn't seen that look for quite some time. Neither of them were crazy about taking medicine, and if Bradshaw showed up right now they'd be in a heap of trouble trying to get out of town quickly with his partner knocked out like this. He took a seat in the chair. The furniture seemed to have it in for the blond half of the pair, though, as the chair creaked loudly and roused his sleeping best friend.

"Don't do that," Heyes said drowsily.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake ya," Kid spoke in a whisper.

"Not that. Don't just sit there. Go eat or somethin'."

"Go back to sleep," Kid instructed quietly.

"Only if you go relax. Have somethin' t'eat," the drugged one slurred, so tired but not too tired to forget that his partner would need sustenance, and soon.

"You sure you'll be okay?"

"Why're you whisper'n'?

"Because I didn't wanna wake you," Kid explained matter-of-factly.

"Too late. Go eat. Have a drink fer me," Heyes added, and then he was fast asleep once more.

Kid Curry grinned affectionately down at his sleeping partner and then went downstairs, where Felicity Altman waited for him.

"Join me for dinner?" she asked.

"Mrs. Altman, that's the best offer I've had in weeks, probably months. I'd be happy to dine with such a pretty lady." Kid's stomach growled loudly.

"Ha, ha, ha! We better get some food in you before you bring the roof down over our heads with that awful racket."

"I'm sorry, ma'am."

"Oh, don't be silly," Felicity said as she took his arm and they walked together to the dining room. "I'm sure you've worked up an appetite with all that worrying."

"Maybe, though I think I've been hungry for far longer than Joshua's been feelin' poorly."

"Ah-ha. Just like Jackson. He was always hungry all the time, too. It was easy to explain away all the food he ate when he was young, being a growing boy and all. But once he was an adult…"

"Joshua has threatened to have me checked for tapeworm." They reached their table. "And now we'll talk about more civilized things," Kid said with a laugh at his timing. He pulled a chair out for the hotel owner and then sat down himself. "So, what's good?"

Almost two hours later Kid and Felicity could be found still at their dining table enjoying some of the hotel owner's personal stash of brandy as a nightcap, with Kid yawning into his drink.

"You should get up to bed, Thaddeus."

"I guess I should," he admitted.

"Thank you. For talking with me, for the stories of your time with Jackson. It is…comforting to know that you were friendly with him. He was a good son…a good man. I knew that he would associate with other good men."

Kid kept his head down when he answered, "Well, I don't know about that."

"But I do."

"Well. I am tired. I think that nice single malt and the poker will have to wait for another day."

"That's a good idea," Felicity concurred. "I'm going to have a tray prepared for Joshua. I'll have it brought up in a little while."

"Thank you, Mrs. Altman. And thank you for the company. I enjoyed tonight, too. I'm so sorry about Jack."

"I know you are. Good night, dear."

"Good night."

Kid headed up the grand staircase once more. Talking about the old times with Felicity Altman about her son had been fun. They had been lucky to hook up with Jack Altman, even if they'd been unlucky in striking it rich. Mrs. Altman had raised a good man. Kid hoped she never had to learn the truth about him and Heyes. They had turned their lives around and were trying so hard to redeem themselves. Kid liked to think that Felicity Altman would understand that, but it was rare in their recent past that they received such a charitable reception once they revealed who they really were. Kid shook his head, trying not to think of that possibility. He had bigger worries ahead, like dealing with the proddy monster his friend would become in the next day or so.

Heyes was soundly asleep when Kid heard the quiet tap on the door. He opened it to find the bellhop Charlie with a tray laden with food and a large pitcher.

"Good evening, Mr. Jones," he whispered. "Mrs. Altman sent me up. She said I should be quiet in case Mr. Smith was still sleeping."

Kid smiled. The young man was true to his boss. He thought that boded well for their chances of staying here a couple of days without being found out.

"Thank you, Charlie. He is still asleep," Kid whispered in return. "Come on in and put it over there. I appreciate it."

"Anytime." Kid gave the boy a coin. "Thank you. Good night," Charlie whispered as he walked out of the room.

"Good night."

The Kid walked over to Heyes' bed. His friend looked truly and soundly down for the night. He hated to wake him, but he also knew that his partner hadn't eaten since breakfast, and he hadn't eaten much at that. Kid sat on the edge of the bed.

"Heyes." No answer. "Heyes," he tried again, and then he rubbed his friend's shoulder. Though it was rare that his partner slept soundly, when he did it was like waking a bear from hibernation. "Heyes, wake up a minute." What resembled a growl came from deep down, and then Heyes blinked several times. He smiled at the face of his best friend smiling down at him.

"Hey."

"Hey, sleepyhead. You hungry?"

"I could eat," Heyes replied tiredly.

"How do you feel?"

"Tired. Better." Heyes started to get up to head toward the food.

"I'll bring it to ya. Sit. Mrs. Altman sent up some sandwiches, a bowl of soup, some pie."

"Sounds nice. I guess I'll start with the soup."

"Want some milk?" Kid asked as he brought a sandwich on a plate and a napkin over to Heyes, along with the soup.

"Milk? What am I, seven years old?"

"Well, Heyes, your choices are nice, cold milk or some of that room-temperature water on the nightstand.

"Then milk it is."

"It's good for you. And the nurse doesn't want you drinkin' for the next couple of days, anyway."

"Three!" Heyes said loudly, almost defiantly, over a bite of his sandwich. "Three days," he grumbled, the sound muffled by the food in his mouth.

"I know, Heyes. We're just gonna have to make the best of it." Kid heard something like 'harumph' as Heyes continued at his dinner. By the time he finished his pie and a second glass of milk, the former leader of the Devil's Hole Gang looked ready for some more sleep.

"I'm plum tuckered out, Kid. Did you put somethin' in that milk?" He smiled when he said it; no accusation was evident in his tone.

"No I didn't, but I can't speak for Mrs. Altman. You should take some of these pills that Frank left for ya before you go back to bed."

"I think I will. This place seems safe enough. I'd like to rest up some."

"Wow. It's like a miracle just happened," Kid said smartly.

"No it's not. Not really," Heyes countered seriously and through a wide yawn. "It's not fair to you. I gotta get over this. Margaux was right. He's a plain talker; made a lot of sense." He yawned once more. "I guess I needed some objectivity to see it.

"Made you see the light?" Kid suggested.

"You might say so. I'm gonna go use the facilities."

"I'll join you. I'm plum tuckered out myself."

"I would think that you would be. Didn't you have supper downstairs? And then a sandwich and a piece of pie?" Heyes asked as he stood carefully and then headed for the door.

"What's your point?"

---

The next morning, Kid was woken by the bright sunshine. It was the latest he'd slept in a long, long time. Heyes had been sleeping so poorly, irregularly, since hitting his head, and his partner was never patient waiting around even when he was feeling good, that Kid had been woken early most mornings these last weeks, except for those rare, frightening mornings when Kid nearly couldn't wake Heyes at all. It felt good to lay there and stretch, knowing that they had no good reason to get up and out of bed at all.

Kid sat up and looked towards the other bed, not able to resist checking on his partner. Heyes was curled up on his side once more. His back must really be hurting him; Heyes tended to sleep most of the night on his back. But he looked comfortably asleep at present. Kid got his things and left the room for a quick trip to the water closet.

What a treat it was enjoying indoor plumbing again. Kid Curry could count on one hand the number of times they'd had the luxury of rest room facilities in their hotel. Though more and more public areas had them, the hotels seemed to be lagging behind in upgrading to the modern convenience. Kid shaved and freshened over the sink and then headed back to his room. He was met in the hallway by a distraught Felicity Altman.

"Oh, Thaddeus!"

"Mrs. Altman? What's wrong?"

"Oh, dear. There's, there's been a…" she paused, catching her breath from her run. Kid had only ever seen a calm, assured, fairly easy-going woman in Felicity Altman up until now. It was disconcerting indeed, downright fear-inducing seeing her like this.

Kid became anxious. She seemed to be coming from the direction of his and Heyes' room. He started jogging towards the room and asked, "Is something wrong with Joshua?"

"Oh. No, no. Oh, I am so sorry. No. I…no."

Kid walked up to Felicity and said, "Okay. Then why don't you calm down and tell me what's wrong."

Felicity took a deep breath and said, "There's been a cave-in. At the Harrison mine. Evan and Frank…oh, my…they both went to help, but…" Mrs. Altman stopped as she covered her mouth in horror and then leaned heavily against the wall just outside of the Kid's room.

"What?" Kid encouraged. He took her arm and walked her closer to the staircase, away from the door behind which he hoped his partner still slept.

"Some…some of the men have come back. They said that some of the rescuers have been trapped by another cave-in. I thought…well…the mine – it's in Victor. Evan said it was near the claim that Jackson worked there. You…you and Joshua worked that claim with Jackson and I thought…oh, I don't know what I thought. I guess that I thought, I hoped you might know some tunnels that might help in the rescue attempts. If you could go and look and see if you could help."

Kid Curry looked at the frightened and worried woman before him. She and Frank Margaux clearly had something brewing, the signs of early romancing were impossible to ignore the previous night. And the owner of the Irish saloon meant something to Felicity, that was clear. And there was no denying that if it was the same place that he and Heyes and Jack had worked, then he could possibly be a valuable resource in assisting in finding the trapped miners and their trapped rescuers, if rescue was still possible, though as circumstance had it, Heyes knew far more than he did about that topic.

"Mrs. Altman, calm down. I'd be happy to go out and see if it's the same place. If it is, maybe I can help." He spoke softly, hoping that Heyes was still asleep but, even if he wasn't, hoping that his hushed tones would not be heard through the solid oak doors.

"Oh, thank you, Thaddeus."

"I'm gonna need some help from you, though. You know Joshua is supposed to take it easy. There ain't no way he's gonna rest if he knows where I'm goin'. You're gonna hafta keep an eye on him. And you're gonna hafta lie to him." He looked into her eyes. "Can you do that?"

Felicity Altman looked devastated. It wasn't much of a choice that she'd been given. And it was written all over her face that she had no practice in deceit.

"I will watch him and I will take good care of him and I will try my best to keep your whereabouts from him. But are you sure this is the right thing to do?"

"Mrs. Altman, I've known Joshua since we were kids. If he knows I went to the mine, he will get up out of his sick bed, jump on a horse, and follow. I'd do the same thing. It's just…well, we watch out for each other." And it was a dangerous thing, being wanted and being separated from his partner; there was no way he could explain that part to her.

"I can see that, but you know, I'm not good at telling stories," Felicity admitted.

"Mrs. Altman? I need you to do this. You'll just have to be creative. Tell him I'm over playing poker, or out helping someone, or that I got a short paying job fixin' someone's porch. Ya just can't tell him the truth. And if you keep givin' him Frank's medicine, he'll be pretty out of it a lot of the time. It really packs a wallop. And then you can tell him I stopped by while he was sleeping."

Felicity blinked, and then tears came to her eyes. "You seem pretty good at lying, Thaddeus."

"Well, we've been in scrapes once or twice when we've had to be pretty clever to get out of them." The look on her face revealed that she wasn't happy with this news, but she was smart and quick and knew that she couldn't worry about that right then.

"All right. I'll do what you ask."

"It'll be okay," Kid assured her.

"Be careful. I really don't want to have to give Joshua any bad news about you."

"I'll be careful. If I give them information that helps, that oughta be enough."

"Okay."

Felicity Altman needed a hug real bad, Kid could tell, so he offered his arms to her. She fell into them and received the much needed embrace gratefully. "I'll be careful and I'll do what I can to bring Evan and Frank back. And if they aren't in trouble, I'll give them both a piece of your mind, how's that?"

"That would be appropriate," she agreed solemnly.

"Take care of Joshua." He looked at Felicity with a light smirk and said, "You realize that your job is gonna be way harder than mine, right?" He squeezed her hand and then hurried to his room and readied himself to leave.

As he entered the room he found his partner still asleep. Kid dressed, put on his gun belt and jacket and grabbed his hat. He stopped on the way to the door and turned back to his friend, dropping his hat on the dresser. "Sorry, Heyes," he said softly as he grabbed the pills and a glass of water. "Hey, partner, time for your medicine."

Heyes breathed deeply and started to stretch, but stopped quickly at the ache in his back.

"Already?" he asked, still more asleep than awake.

"Yep. Hard to believe." Kid felt guilty doing this to his partner. It was time for the pills, but he knew that his friend would be upset with him later when he found out about the underhanded manner that the Kid had used to get him to take them.

"It is." Heyes was still so tired that he obediently took the pills offered, drank the water and then lay back down, near sound asleep in an instant, the trust in his partner plain in his actions.

"See ya later," Kid said, the guilt burning painfully in his chest. His partner offered nothing in return save a slight snore.

Kid Curry joined two other men as they rode hard on horseback to Victor, Colorado. The cave-in had happened overnight and men had been making their way to the mine disaster, and back, for hours now. It was late morning in late summer in Colorado, and it had been a particularly dry time. Kid and his riding partners, and the horses, would be dusty and thirsty by the time they reached their destination.

As they rode, Kid tried to remember back to shortly after he and Heyes had worked out the amnesty deal with Lom and the governor. It had been just a few months before they'd met up with Jack Altman. The man had a passion for mining that was contagious; that enthusiasm was what convinced them, even after two miserable failed attempts already, to try mining for a third time. That it would be their final time they would not know until weeks later, but between the beginning and the end of this particular sojourn, they had enjoyed the companionship of the always positive outlook that Jack had brought to their mining venture.

During one day in the mine, Heyes had decided he'd had enough hacking at the hard walls and tossed his pick down, took a torch, and went exploring. Kid and Jack had stood up from their stooped positions, stretched and looked at one another. Jack asked, "Do you want to go after him?" Kid had declined, recognizing Heyes' need for some time away. Two hours later Kid began to worry, and fifteen minutes after that he'd decided to go hunt his stubborn partner down when there came Heyes – from the opposite direction…the main entrance. He'd managed to walk through narrow passages – forced to crawl in some spots – and had thread his lean frame through a crack that led to the side of the mountain, and then out. Several days later he'd had another frustrating day and took another hike, returning with news that there was no exit, but that the walls of that last tunnel had to be very close to what would be the western side of the mountain.

From that point on in their last mining adventure, Heyes would put his hours in, but began to spend more and more time exploring. It was as though he knew their venture was a bust, but that staying around his partners would do nothing good for their friendship. Hannibal Heyes really hated being forced to dwell on the negative. The cave exploring took his mind off his frustration in knowing they'd wasted weeks, once again, and would reap no rewards for it.

Kid had followed Heyes once through his first discovered tunnel, all the way to the opening on the side of the mountain. He'd barely made it through the tight crevasse that Heyes had seemed to easily shimmy through. And Heyes had dragged Kid and Jack with a little boy's enthusiasm to the west side to show where he thought the wall of the dead end tunnel might be. But after that, Curry lost interest and became irritable himself when he finally realized that Heyes had given up on the hope of ever finding gold many days before the Kid and Jack had. Most of the anger hadn't been fueled by not finding any gold; Kid was mostly mad at Heyes for making them continue to slave away in the dark and the dust, ultimately for nothing. Heyes had argued that they wouldn't have listened to him anyway, that both Kid and Jack would have complained that he was giving up. Kid guessed he was mostly mad that Heyes was right about that.

Curry hoped that one of these two options would help with the rescue. He tried to keep the other option – dragging Heyes out to Victor, since he'd done far more cave exploring than mining those last couple of days all those months ago – out of his thoughts.

The other riders and Kid Curry reached the area of the collapsed mine. Kid grabbed a drink for himself and for his horse and then found the person in charge.

"Sheriff Wendell Grubbs. Boy can we use a pair of fresh hands. Get Malcolm over there to assign you…"

Kid cut him off. "Excuse me, Sheriff. I think I might have some information that could be useful."

"Yeah? How's that?"

"Well, if the shaft that collapsed looks like it belongs in a series of caves we mined last year, then I know of a kind of hidden entry on the east side and I'm pretty sure of a thin wall on the west side. Maybe that could be blown with dynamite to make an opening."

"Well, thanks for the information, but we won't be blowin' anything with dynamite. Area's too unstable."

"Can you take me to the mine that collapsed? Maybe that hidden entry can help." The sheriff looked at the Kid skeptically. "Look, I don't even know if it's the same cave. There's lots of caves and old mines around here. I'm just tryin' to help."

The sheriff looked with a hard, assessing eye at Curry and said, "Yeah. Anything's worth a try right now," he noted. As he started to walk, the Kid followed. "Except dynamite." They walked in the exact direction of the mine that he, Heyes and Jack had worked. "Damned greedy bastard Harrison. Said he'd quit this mine before it got dangerous." The sheriff stopped and looked at Curry. "This the place?"

"Yep." Damn. "We'll wanna head up here to the right," Kid said as he walked ahead. "It's rocky for a while, then it levels off, and then there'll be a series of big boulders. Behind one of them is some dirt and tall grass. The opening is behind, or through, the grass."

"Can you fit through?"

"Barely. If ya got some thinner fellas, that'll be faster."

"I can round some up," the sheriff answered with the confidence of a man who was used to ordering people around.

"Sheriff, do you know if Evan Flannery or Frank Margaux were caught in that second collapse?"

"Oh. Yeah. Um, Evan's in there. Frank's workin' in a tent. You probably saw it on your way in."

"Could be, except that whole ride was kind of a blur. I'll go try to find Frank. Thanks."

"Hey," the sheriff said, grabbing Kid's arm. Before Kid Curry could feel too unsettled by the action, the sheriff added, "Thank you. Uh, Mrs. Altman sent you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did. Why?"

"We're pretty certain that Evan and the three others in there didn't make it. The whole area shook like crazy. When we looked inside before we started the rescue, you could tell the cavity had been cut too much, there was too much weight and not enough holdin' it up for that first crash. In hindsight, it was close to murder sending men in there a second time." The sheriff put his hand over his eyes, overcome by what he perceived as his own culpability in Evan Flannery's death, and the deaths of three other men. "Damn."

"I'm sure those men thought it was worth a try or they wouldn't have gone in there." The sheriff didn't reply. "That's why no dynamite," Kid added.

"Right." The sheriff quickly got himself back in control. "So we think if the miners are still alive, they would have taken a tunnel if they could."

"The path for this tunnel would be tricky to find, and only if they had some light," Kid explained.

"Can you lead them through?"

"Do you need me to?"

The sheriff stared back at Kid Curry. Though just providing the information of a possible escape route should have been enough to get Kid off the hook to lead anyone into the cave, he didn't know that the sheriff felt generous like that, not with the look on his face.

"Well, I guess not. You say that if they got light they'll see okay?"

"Yeah. That's how we made it through. Torches, and a lot of ducking and crawling."

"We?" Sheriff Grubbs asked.

"My partner when we worked this mine."

"And when was that exactly?" the sheriff asked as he wiped the sweat from his face and neck with a kerchief.

"November of last year."

"Damn that Harrison!" Grubbs yelled.

"Who is this Harrison?" Kid asked.

"The bastard who's been over-working these mines in this area. We've had a few too many accidents in these mines around Cripple Creek and here. Harrison owns a lot of these old claims now, and he's goin' way beyond what's safe digging into the earth. But he keeps comin' up clean because the mine shafts are all caved in and we can't get the proof."

"Maybe this'll change that."

"I hope so." The sheriff looked at the tall grass behind which stood their only hope, and then turned back to Curry. "Walk due south and you should come across a big tent. Frank's doin' his doctorin' there."

"You mean nursin'" Kid corrected.

"No, Mister…hey, I never got your name."

"Thaddeus Jones."

"Well, Mr. Jones, I mean doctorin'. He's about the best I've seen in the field. Does everything that needs to be done: pullin' out bullets, removin' arrows, amputations. Even saw him take out an appendix once."

"I was told he was just a nurse."

"Ain't no 'just' about it. He is a nurse, not a doctor, but he learned more in one of them field hospitals than most doctors learn in years of schoolin'."

"He worked in the war?"

"Near all the way through. He's about the truest, most decent man I know. Felicity Altman is a lucky lady," the sheriff said wistfully, something possibly unrequited left unsaid in the heartfelt comment.

"Yeah, she is. But I need to get back to my partner and tell Mrs. Altman about Evan and Frank."

"I don't envy you, Mr. Jones. Tell her that if we can get to his body, er, well, we'll bring it…um, him over to Doc Murphy's."

"I'll let her know. Sheriff, was Evan someone special to Mrs. Altman?"

"Well, he was Jackson's best friend. They were near inseparable as kids, and the same whenever Jackson was in Colorado City. Evan took over his Pa's saloon when he died last year. Mrs. Altman always said she'd know where to find Jackson if he decided to stay out overnight. Them boys sure did a lot of sleepovers."

Kid smiled and then nodded. People would say the same about him and Heyes, except Kid was pretty sure that Jack and Evan's closeness might have held maybe something a little different. Kid loved Heyes, fiercely, like a brother. Closer, if that was possible. He'd do anything for him. Their friendship meant everything to him. But from Kid's understanding, from his position on the outside looking in, was a relationship between Jack and Evan that was far outside the norm. It wasn't something that either he or his partner would be interested in, but it wasn't something that they would be comfortable criticizing, either. They lived in hard times…what did Heyes always say? He wouldn't deny anybody's right to comfort in whatever way they saw fit.

"Sheriff Grubbs, let me go see Frank and then I'll go give Mrs. Altman the, um, mixed news."

"Sure 'nough. Thanks again." Kid started to walk away. "Hey, Mr. Jones? Your partner? Would he know any other ways in?"

Shit. "Uh, he might. He's, um, resting at the Silver Star Hotel. He's been feelin' poorly."

"Oh. Well, we'll try not to bother him, then."

"Sheriff," Kid said as he stepped back toward the man in charge, "I'd like to say that he could come out here, but Frank has already given him pretty strict instructions to stay in bed for three days."

"I understand, Mr. Jones. But if this way doesn't work, and your friend has information that might help, then I'll be callin' on him to do just that."

"Well, he'd be the first to jump out of a sick bed to help, Sheriff. So don't be surprised if you see him. I was just hopin' that it wouldn't come to that."

"I hope it doesn't, too, Mr. Jones. Thanks for comin' out. And thanks for the information."

"You're welcome." The sheriff walked away and began yelling for men. Kid Curry walked toward where he would soon find Frank Margaux. The landscape here seemed drier, and far more dreary than he remembered. Maybe it was the circumstances that seemed to turn the place sour for him. Between Heyes trying to get well, Sheriff Grubbs lurking, waiting to yank his partner out of bed, and Kid having to bring the bad news about Evan to Felicity Altman, this had turned into anything but a pleasant, restful two days downtime.

He walked wearily up the plateau to the tent. "Frank!" he called over the din of injured and families of injured and the yelling going on at the disaster site, the voices ricocheting along the rock walls to confuse everyone about just where the sound was coming from.

"Mr. Jones? It's decent of ya to come out and help." He didn't bother extending his hand for a handshake…it was filthy with blood, and more.

"I had some information that might help get into the cave another way. I'm headin' back to Colorado City now."

"Oh. You are?" Frank asked nervously. "You gonna tell Felicity about Evan?"

"Do you think I shouldn't? The sheriff's pretty sure the four rescuers are dead."

Frank shook his head as he washed his hands. "I don't honestly see how any of them would have survived. The entire space they were working in is flooded in rock. It's impossible…" He stopped, his voice cracking with emotion.

"I'm sorry. The sheriff told me that Evan and Jack were…" Kid paused, just briefly, just enough to let on that he knew…something, "close."

"They were close. Very close. You understand what I'm sayin'?" Frank asked. Kid nodded that he did. "Felicity, well, I think she knew but didn't really ever admit it. They were good men, decent men. Brave men. And private men. People never talked because they were…discrete. And the memories of these men should remain memories about two kind and decent men."

"It will if I have anything to say about it."

"Good."

"I'm headin' out. Mrs. Altman wanted you to know that she's pretty angry that you didn't send word back that you were all right. It's known in town about the second cave-in. You know she's worrying about ya, right Frank?"

"I do, but I didn't really know how to break it to her about Evan. And I am needed here right now."

"I'll do my best to explain it to her, but I'm thinkin' you're gonna need a whole lotta flowers and candy and champagne at some point in the near future," Kid said wryly.

"I think I'll like having to work off that debt. Please tell her how sorry I am about Evan. For her, it'll be like losing two sons in just a few short months. She doesn't deserve that."

"No. Nobody does."

---

"Something's wrong."

"Joshua, aren't you making a rather large assumption? I told you that Thaddeus was out working."

"And I'm telling you, Mrs. Altman, that I don't believe you. Now you can either tell me what's going on, or I'll get up and find out for myself," Heyes demanded.

"You shouldn't do that. Frank said that you needed rest."

"This wouldn't be the first time I ignored a doctor's, or nurses's advice." Heyes started to sit up. Felicity went quickly to the bed and sat beside him.

"Please don't. I'm sure Thaddeus is fine."

Heyes looked at her, knowing that his well-honed skepticism probably wasn't fair to her, but he knew that something wasn't right. He could just about taste it. "Now why would you say that? I thought he was just out doin' a simple job. That's what you said, right? Why wouldn't he be fine?"

Felicity Altman's eyes scanned the room, her attempts to avoid Heyes' piercing stare terribly obvious.

"Oh…"

"Mrs. Altman," Heyes spoke gently to her but didn't lose any of his steely resolve. "You're terrible at lying, and I'll be talking to my partner about him forcing you to do this, once I get my hands on him." He paused as she finally found the nerve to look him in the face. "Where is he?"

"Oh, Joshua. Can't you just lay back and rest? You must be hungry. I can bring you up some lunch."

"Nope, that's not gonna work. I can tell that you're hiding something." Felicity remained seated next to Heyes, blocking his way. "Would you please move so I can get up?"

"No," Felicity replied hesitantly.

"Fine." Heyes stood, knocking his shoulder hard into Mrs. Altman's. He waivered a little as he dealt with the dizziness. He'd slept in his pants, never having made the time to change properly for bed; it hadn't been the first time. He walked to the chair where his shirt hung over the back. "Mrs. Altman, you can save me a lot of legwork if you'd just tell me what you know," he said as he buttoned his shirt. "I'll find out soon enough where he went anyway."

"Joshua, please don't do this," Felicity said as she rose and walked towards Heyes. She stopped just behind him. She felt uncomfortable talking to his back, but she continued on. "I'm sure that Thaddeus will be back soon." He'd been gone more than the near four hours it took to ride to Victor and back. She knew that the young man before her could read the uncertainty in her voice about whether she even believed what she'd just said.

Heyes turned quickly to face her. He closed his eyes and grabbed hold of the back of the chair. He breathed in and out carefully to quell the nausea. He opened his eyes and said plainly, "I don't believe you." Felicity lowered her eyes, unable to witness the truth of his statement.

She knew that she had no argument ready that would stop the ailing man from going after his friend. She looked up and said, "He rode to Victor a little over four hours ago. There was a cave-in. Frank and Evan…"

"Who's Evan?"

"Jackson's best friend. They went to help early this morning. Others came back, reporting that some rescuers had gotten trapped by a second collapse. But I hadn't heard from Frank or Evan. I…I asked Thaddeus to go see if they were all right, and see if he could help."

"Do you know which mine?" Heyes asked angrily.

"The Harrison mine."

"That doesn't help me. Did they say where in Victor?"

"One of the men that Thaddeus rode out with knew the area. I don't know."

Heyes finished dressing, and then buckled his holster and tied it down. "I'm goin' out there." All the movement had left him sweaty and feeling pretty sick.

"But Joshua, it's so hot. You're ill."

"I'll survive."

"You keep saying that, but what about Thaddeus? What if you get hurt, fall off your horse?"

"You and Thaddeus and Frank…you all need to have a little more faith in my riding skills. I won't fall off my horse."

"You don't know that," Mrs. Altman said defiantly. "Frank thought you might. He knows what he's doing."

"I'm sure that he does, but I have to weigh that advice against what's really important. To me. Besides, I know a lot more about those tunnels out there than Thaddeus does."

"But Joshua, he's been gone for a while. I do believe that he will be back soon. Please wait," Felicity pleaded.

"I can't." Heyes saw the devastation in the woman's bearing, her face saying so much about how she'd failed to do what Kid had asked of her. Heyes stepped close and put his hands on her arms. "Thank you for your concern. And once I find Thaddeus, and do what I can to help in Victor, I'll be pleased to make use of this nice, comfortable bed once more."

"There's nothing I can do to talk you out of that?"

"No."

"Oh, Joshua," she said as she pulled him close and hugged him. "Be careful."

Heyes rolled his eyes skyward and then shook his head slightly. "I will."

Within just a few short moments he was out the door, leaving Felicity Altman behind, holding her tears back no more.

Heyes hurried as best he could, considering his still sore back and residual lethargy as he fought the medicine's lingering effects, to the livery stable at the edge of town. He and the Kid had made the ride to and from Victor many times with Jack Altman during that last try to strike it rich. They never varied in their route; Heyes knew he'd find the Kid along the way, so long as he was on the way and not still in Victor. Or so long as something hadn't happened to him between here and there. Any number of things could have befallen his friend out in the wilderness between Colorado City and Victor. Those drunks they'd met the previous day could still have it in for them, if they remembered anything after their night, and day, of drinking. And who knew where Bradshaw was. Kid had to know how dangerous it was to travel unaccompanied, anywhere, these days.

Heyes saddled up and headed out, thinking more on their time in the area nearly nine months ago. Though they had spent significant time with Jack at the mine, they had always parted ways on their weekends in town. Sometimes Heyes and Curry wouldn't bother heading into Colorado City. There were days when they were just too tired to make the ride, other times they didn't want the temptations on their remaining meager funds that the town dangled mercilessly and enticingly before them. Occasionally they even worked the mine on a Saturday or a Sunday. But Jack always made it to town every weekend. The outlaw pair had decided at the time that Jack had family that made the ride worth it for him. That effort to get to town every weekend now made perfect sense to Heyes, with Jack's mother and best friend both in town. Hannibal Heyes knew all about what it meant to have a best friend and be separated from him.

Heyes was several miles outside of town when he saw a rider up ahead, coming his way. He'd be able to recognize Jedediah Curry from farther away…he'd done it many times before; Kid always said Heyes had eyes like a hawk. They stopped their horses opposite one another on the hot and dusty and well-traveled road.

"Howdy," Heyes said pleasantly, nonchalantly.

"Heyes, what are you doin' out here?" Curry practically yelled at his partner.

"Ssssh, Kid," Heyes nearly whispered. "There could be people out here. I understand a rescue is underway."

"It is. Not a very successful one so far, or so it seems. What's that got to do with you? How'd you find out about that anyway?"

"You took advantage of me this morning, givin' me my medicine when I wasn't even awake," Heyes answered, ignoring the question, for now.

"That'd be quite a trick, dontcha think?" Kid asked, his attitude a combination of defensive and smart-aleck.

"You know what I mean."

"I'm sorry about that, Heyes, but I had to do what I felt was best for you."

"It wasn't nice of you, Kid, making Mrs. Altman lie for you like that. She's terrible at it, too. Besides, she wasn't likely gonna be able to resist my estimable charms."

"You mean your bullying."

"You say bullying, I say…"

"Nevermind what you say," Kid replied irritably as he cut his partner off. "Frank Margaux told you…"

"I know what the nurse said. Maybe you shoulda thought about that…" Heyes paused, seeming to change direction instantly. "You shoulda thought about what I might do when I woke up and found you missing."

"I wasn't missing."

"You were to me!" Heyes grimaced at his own raised voice and then rubbed his aching head. "I think you know where I stand when I go to sleep knowin' you're around and expectin' to see you when I get up. You know I gotta look for ya. How do I know you didn't get grabbed by someone lookin' to score a ten thousand dollar payday? Or by Alexander Bradshaw?"

"I wouldn't let that happen," Kid assured his friend.

"Uh-huh." Heyes started to urge his horse forward. Kid reached out his hand and grabbed Heyes' arm, forcing his partner to stop his forward movement.

"Where do you think you're goin'?

"Over to Victor."

"Why?"

"To help."

"By doin' what?" Kid asked, this time showing both irritation and frustration at his friend's actions.

"I assume you told them what you knew. Were they in the same series of caves?"

"Yeah."

"So, if they don't have any luck with those possibilities, I have a couple more that might interest them, even if they didn't interest you and Jack."

"Well, excuse me if crawlin' around in the dirt didn't fascinate me as much as it did you," Kid returned indignantly.

"You know, there were all kinds of neat carvings in the walls, lots to see. Old petroglyphs."

"Uh-huh," Kid replied, followed by a quizzical, "Petro-what?"

"You know. Carved pictures on the rock. Petroglyphs. They told stories, kind of like old Indian writing, or the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt."

"Now how do you know about petroglyphs, Heyes?"

"I read about 'em after I guided those archaeologists."

"Oh, yeah. I remember. That job that you never got paid for while I risked my life cartin' nitro across the mountains." Heyes blinked and then frowned, not really feeling up to the discussion at hand, especially if his partner was going to bring up old news like that.

"Kid, are ya comin' with me or not?" Heyes was beginning to feel the combined bad effects of this horseback ride, and he'd only been riding for a short while. His irritation with his friend was palpable, and there was no way Curry wasn't feeling it.

"I can't take this horse back again. She's near wore out."

"Okay. I'm going on ahead."

"Wait a minute. Why don't you just wait here…" Kid looked around. "Go sit under that tree 'til I get back with a fresh mount."

Heyes thought on it, but not for long. "No. That would mean wasting time that those folks in Victor might not have." Kid looked at his partner, eye to eye, and knew he was right. "I'm going ahead."

Kid nodded in reluctant acceptance. "Fine. But be careful."

"I will." Heyes smiled at his partner and then frowned. "Hey, Kid. What's the news on Frank and this Evan fella?"

Kid sighed. "Frank's fine. He's helpin' out. People were fallin' like flies from the heat. The families are all out waitin'. It's a mess, but Frank's okay."

"Good. And Evan?"

"Most likely dead."

"Damn."

"He was Jack's best friend."

"Mm-hmm."

"A very, very close friend. Very close," Kid added.

Heyes frowned again, wondering if maybe the heat hadn't gotten to his partner, too, or maybe he'd taken a dive from his horse and hit his head, but he suddenly realized that it wasn't Kid who was being a little slow. Still. He finally seemed to get what Kid was telling him.

"I guess that explains a lot, huh?"

"Why he headed back to Colorado City every weekend."

"Yup. Not that there's anything wrong with that. To each his own," Heyes noted.

"Yeah. Uh, Mrs. Altman, well, Frank thinks she'll be pretty devastated by the news. She thought of him as a son."

"Did she know, about Jack and Evan?"

"Maybe. Frank's not exactly sure."

"Well, we'll deal with that later," Heyes said as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"No. I need to go see her to let her know that Frank's okay. She's gonna ask about Evan. And I'm gonna hafta tell her."

"Yes, I reckon you will, Kid. I don't envy you that."

"Yeah. I'll see you in a little while," Kid said.

"Be careful."

"You, too."

Kid went straight to the livery stable for a new horse and then headed right over to see Felicity Altman. She was at the front desk when he walked in.

"Thaddeus?" she asked tentatively.

"Frank's fine. He's helping out at a sort of tent hospital. He's sorry he didn't send word."

"That fool man. What does he think? That I read minds?" Felicity paused, taking a deep, calming breath. "Thank God," she added.

"Yeah. Frank and I talked for a while. He's good. I also spoke with Sheriff Grubbs."

"Oh."

"He seems quite fond of you and Frank."

"That…well, that's nice to know."

"Mrs. Altman, Evan was one of a group trying to help the trapped miners when the second collapse happened. They're pretty sure all four of them are dead."

Felicity looked nothing short of stunned by the news. She put her hand to her mouth and blinked back tears. She called, "Charlie," but it came out rough and quiet. She cleared her throat and called out more stridently, "Charlie!"

"Mrs. Altman, can I do anything for you?" Kid asked.

"I, um, no. No. I need…I, oh, Charlie," she said as the young bellhop arrived. "Would you please watch the front desk?"

"Of course. Are you all right, Mrs. Altman?" Charlie asked worriedly.

"No. No, dear. I…I need some time." She started to walk away.

"Mrs. Altman," Kid called. Felicity stopped. "The sheriff said that he'd send Evan's bod…he said he would send Evan to Doc Murphy's if they found him."

"Oh. Thank you."

"Also, Joshua…"

"Oh, Thaddeus," she interrupted. "I am so sorry. I couldn't keep him here. He insisted on going after you."

"I know. I saw him heading out of town."

"I am sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I told you he was a handful," Kid said with a compassionate smile.

"Yes you did."

"Are you okay? I'd like to catch up to him."

"I'm…I'll…I don't…what did you say? Catch up to him?"

"Yes, ma'am. He insisted on going to Victor."

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes. But don't worry. Frank's there, and I'm gonna make sure Frank sees a lot of my partner while he's there." Felicity tried to offer a smile at the blond's over-protective nature, but the smile was a half one, at best, and so very sad. "I've gotta go."

"Of course."

Kid Curry left and Felicity Altman headed to her private quarters to deal with her private misery.

Before he left the hotel, Kid stopped to ask Charlie if he could get the kitchen to wrap up a couple of sandwiches. He knew his partner well, and there was little doubt that Heyes had left without bothering with a meal. Charlie, who Kid was coming to believe had a bigger hand in keeping the hotel functioning than even Felicity Altman knew, had the sandwiches ready for Kid and his partner in less than five minutes.

"You're a good man, Charlie," Kid said as he handed the young man a tip.

"Mrs. Altman is a special lady. I'd do anything for her. She asked me to do whatever you needed done, Mr. Jones."

"Thanks, Charlie. Hopefully between you, me and Mrs. Altman, we can all figure out a way to keep Joshua in his room and resting when we get back."

"I'd like to help. He didn't look so hot when he left earlier."

"No. And he didn't look so hot when I saw him a little while ago, either. See ya later, Charlie."

"So long."

Kid Curry only made it several miles farther than the spot where he'd left his partner when a shot rang out from a rocky ledge just ahead, at the bend in the road. The area was a whole lot like the ambush when The Preacher saved their lives during that whole Harlingen affair. Kid's new horse reared, but the blond managed to stay in his saddle, though he held on for dear life. He finally jumped from the horse and pulled it and himself into a small outcrop of boulders.

"Forget it, Curry! You can come on out! Ain't no place to go!"

Bradshaw. Kid recognized the voice, and he knew the shot was meant as a warning; Alexander Bradshaw was too good with a rifle and never missed an intended target.

"I don't think so, Bradshaw! You got a reputation that says I gotta at least try to get away!" Kid had been riding his horse hard, too hard for the weather and terrain, but he'd wanted to catch up to his partner. He knew that Heyes wasn't going to be able to move too fast in his current condition, though he knew that Heyes would try. He hoped that his friend hadn't been caught, an option he hated to think about.

"I ain't gonna kill ya, Curry! I want you and your partner! Twenty thousand's better'n ten!"

"I didn't hear ya say you wouldn't shoot me! Shootin' can be just the same as killin' out here, especially at this distance!" Kid lifted his head to peer over one of the boulders. No gunshot told him he was still hidden enough. "How'd you find me?"

"That ain't important! Where's your partner?"

"I dunno, Bradshaw! We're liable to be out here a while! You might as well tell me how you found me!"

"Where's your partner?"

"He's back in Colorado City! He ain't been feelin' too good!"

"No he ain't!"

"Well, it is true! He ain't been feelin' very good!" Kid Curry wasn't sure that playing games with the murderous bounty hunter was his best play, but he needed to buy some time. Where was Bradshaw getting his information? And was he just bluffing about Heyes? It could be that he had Heyes already. And he could have shot him. Or worse. Curry knew that he wouldn't get any of the answers he needed sitting in the Colorado summer heat. The afternoon was growing old, but the heat still pounded in these desert rocks. His only chance was to try to get back on his horse and reverse course, head back towards Colorado City. Bradshaw would follow, but that would put him farther away from Kid's partner, assuming Heyes wasn't lying on the desert floor next to Bradshaw, or slung over a horse.

Kid mounted his horse and spurred him into a gallop at lightning speed. He stayed down in the saddle, as low as he could. A shot ricocheted off a rock to his left, and then another. Another shot kicked up dirt near the horse's hindquarters. And then Kid heard a gunshot from behind, but the sound was different, and that bullet hadn't used his body as a target. He pulled up and turned around and saw his partner sitting on his horse, waving his black hat, inviting him to come back. Kid took the chestnut at an easy canter back toward his partner.

"Howdy," Heyes said when Kid arrived.

"Hello." Kid looked to his right and up in the direction that he was sure Bradshaw had positioned himself. The bounty hunter lay dead, his head nearly molded to a rock now drenched in his blood. "Nice shooting."

"I fired a shot. He fell. I'm pretty sure it was the fall that killed him."

"How do you know?"

"Because I missed, but he still went down. Must have tripped. Guess he wasn't expectin' anyone to surprise him from behind."

"That's pretty bad planning on his part. Why'd ya miss?" Kid asked.

"Um, that's not important."

"Uh-huh," Kid said, not convinced.

"Can we get to Victor now? If we lose much more daylight, they're gonna expect us to stay overnight, and I may just have to shoot someone if that happens," Heyes said as he turned his horse in the direction of Curry's.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Heyes. Frank's got a nice little hospital set up out there. I'm sure he'd find a bed for ya. In fact, I'd insist on it." Kid looked carefully at the pale and sweaty man riding beside him. "You look like you're ready to fall offa your horse."

"Careful, Kid, or the person I end up shootin' may be you."

"I'm worried," Kid Curry said, looking cool as a cucumber. Heyes turned to catch the look.

"Shut up," Heyes replied. It was said with no malice, just acceptance that Kid was right not to be worried, at least not about that.

In a more serious tone, Kid said, "We gonna leave Bradshaw layin' there like that? Someone's bound to see him, and someone's bound to remember we came by."

"It'll be dark soon enough, and he's not shot. It'll just look like he fell." Heyes swayed in his saddle.

"You all right?"

"Sure."

---

Hannibal Heyes felt someone shaking his arm, and then he heard a voice, annoying in its timing though, in truth, its sound always a welcome one. He reckoned he ought to wake up and see what his pest of a partner wanted, but for some reason his eyes seemed to have a mind of their own…his eyelids inclined to act like a lead barrier to the rest of the world.

"Joshua!" That did the trick. Heyes opened his eyes, just enough, and cast an annoyed glance at his best friend.

"What?" he asked, followed by, "Ow."

"How ya feelin'?"

"That's why you woke me? To ask how I'm feelin'?"

"Not exactly. Frank."

"Stop yellin'," Heyes pleaded. "Where's my gun?"

"It's safe," Kid answered.

"I'm right here. You don't have to yell."

"Well, Mr. Smith. Glad to see you're awake," Frank Margaux observed.

"Why is everyone yellin'?" Curry snorted lightly. Heyes glared at his friend, lightly, as the action only enhanced the renewed pain in his head.

"We're not. It just sounds like it to you," Frank noted. "That's not surprising, but it's nothing to worry about now that you're awake and lucid."

"That's a matter of opinion," Kid commented, referring specifically to the 'lucid' part.

Heyes ignored the jibe. He looked around him. He couldn't figure where he was, what time it was. He groaned at the new pain in his head and asked, "Where am I? And why do I feel like someone bought me drinks all night?"

"It wasn't anything that pleasurable, Joshua. You fell off your horse. Hit your head. Again," Kid explained.

"I didn't," Heyes denied, though his hand went straight for the new large lump above his left eye; he knew exactly where the site of the new ache was.

"You did. Just as we got here. Frank stepped outta the tent and you crashed to the ground. You're lucky your head only hit the seat of a saddle someone had thrown near the entry and not the hard ground."

"You were indeed very lucky, Mr. Smith."

"I feel very lucky," Heyes said with mildly tempered sarcasm. "Why exactly am I awake?"

"Oh, sorry. Sheriff?"

"Hello, Mr. Smith. I'm Sheriff Grubbs. I appreciate you comin' out. Sorry you got hurt, um, more. It was good of ya to make the trip, but might I suggest a coach or wagon when you're ready to head back?"

"Nice to meet you, Sheriff. And thanks for the advice." Heyes yawned. "What can I do for you?" The sheriff looked to Frank and then the Kid. Heyes saw the confusion on the sheriff's face and the worry evident on those of the nurse and Kid. And then he remembered. "Oh, the alternate ways into the mine. Sorry," he said as he pointed to his head. "I'm still not managin' a full gallop just yet."

"That's okay, son. Sounds like you've had a bit of a time of it lately. Unfortunately, that entry that Mr. Jones showed me must have caved in. Don't know if it happened recently or not. Do you have any other suggestions for us?"

"Sure." Heyes started to rise from his prone position on the cot. Both Margaux and the Kid put a hand on a shoulder to stop him.

"Just lie still. You can answer the question layin' down," Kid suggested.

"'S'pose so." Heyes rubbed his eyes. "I'll need to get up to help find the other two ways in, though." He looked around. "Time izzit?"

"It's gettin' dark It's near eight o'clock," the sheriff offered.

"Eight o'clock? At night? That…that means that I've been out…"

"Goin' on three hours. And ya ain't been out," the Kid clarified. "You've been in and out. You just don't remember." Heyes leaned back heavily into the pillow.

"Explains why I feel so lousy."

"Joshua, why don't you explain to the sheriff where these entrances are?" Frank suggested. "They can try as best they can to work in the dark. You aren't goin' anywhere 'til I say so."

"Frank," Heyes began, trying to explain why he needed to get up and help.

"No. Just tell Wendell what you know." Heyes looked to his partner for some help and support, but all he got from Kid was a shrug.

"Fine. Sheriff, both of these are long tunnels; the openings are way out. The exit for one is way back, it almost seems like you're crossing desert to get to it. But then you'll see a red rock boulder, sort of lookin' to the northwest, that's shaped sorta like a heart. You'll need to walk at least three hundred yards, maybe longer, before you see the heart-shaped rock." Heyes closed his eyes and massaged the new lump on this head, and then rubbed his eyes again.

"I've got something for you to take for your headache," Frank said. Kid helped his partner sit up, and Heyes took the pills and water willingly. He sighed when he lay back down.

"What about the other way in?" the sheriff asked.

"That one's on the west side. Also, pretty far north from the main entrance. Landmark is hard to spot, it'll be almost impossible in the dark."

"Can you describe it anyway?"

Heyes sighed again. "This would be easier to just show you." Grubbs, Margaux and Kid just stared at him, none of them budging. Heyes continued. "There's a small notch, probably at least fine hundred yards north. When you climb over it you'll see a stand of Prickly Pear. The cactus will make this way tricky."

"You never told me that," Kid challenged. Heyes gave his friend a glare. "Then again, I wasn't interested much back when you found these tunnels." Kid looked at Heyes, who seemed to have a strange, faraway look of pain on this face. "Did you get stuck by the cactus spines?"

"That ain't important now," Heyes answered irritably, his non-answer making it clear he'd been stuck but had kept that bit of information from his partner. And a stick from Prickly Pear would have been miserable. Damned stubborn fool. Heyes turned to the sheriff. "Try the first way in, but if ya got to go the Prickly Pear route, just be careful. And remember, both of these," he said, followed by another yawn, "are gonna have long, dark tunnels. Most of the way is pretty low clearance, too."

"Okay. You rest up, Mr. Smith. You did your job. We'll take it from here. Thank you."

"If you don't have luck finding these entries, just let me know. I can show ya…"

"No you can't," Kid said.

"Well, I can, Thaddeus."

"Have ya tried to get up?" Heyes' partner challenged.

"Well, not since you and Frank held me down. I can try now."

"Mr. Smith," Sheriff Grubbs started. He didn't need to finish as it was obvious to everyone around the makeshift hospital bed that Heyes lacked the equilibrium to make it out of the bed, let alone onto his feet.

"Never mind," Heyes said as he lay back down, a renewed sheen of cold sweat covering him suddenly, his face nearly as white as the surprisingly clean sheets nestled beneath him.

"Just rest," Frank said sympathetically. He left Kid to watch over his friend as he walked the sheriff out of the tent.

"Stubborn," Sheriff Grubbs commented.

"Yep. They're good men. The one seems as stubborn as the other, though."

"That Jones fella must have to be considering the trouble, or bad luck, his partner seems to get into. They're near strangers here but they still came out to help, and one of 'em's sick. I think it's pretty obvious that you pegged them right: good and stubborn men."

"We could use some more like 'em here, permanent-like," Margaux countered.

"Yep. See ya later, Frank. I'll keep ya posted on progress."

"Thanks, Wendell." Frank headed back to his last remaining patient. He found him with his eyes open. "So, how're you doin'?"

"Sick of hearin' that question," Heyes replied tiredly.

"Maybe if you'd listen for a change you might not have to hear it too much more," Kid returned testily.

"Thaddeus, I'm really not in the mood…"

"That's enough, boys. Thaddeus, I'm afraid Joshua here is going to be spending the night."

"No, I'm…" Heyes stopped as he watched the two men stare him down. The looks on their faces said that they would tie him down if he gave them too much trouble.

"You know, it's a nice night here, Thaddeus." Heyes looked to Margaux. "Aren't you worried about coyotes and other wildlife?"

"We got plenty of men out here to keep watch. Food wagon'll be working well into the night. We'll be safe."

"Speakin' of food…" Kid started. He pulled the two sandwiches from hours ago from his saddlebags. "That's not very appetizing." He looked to his partner. "You hungry?"

"A little."

"Go ahead and fetch some food for you and Joshua. I'll keep an eye on him while I do some straightenin' up." Frank turned to Heyes. "Rest."

"That was my plan earlier," Heyes answered restively.

Kid returned with plates of stew and a chunk of bread for each of them. He set them down and then woke his friend, who had fallen into a light doze.

"Ready for some food?" the blond asked.

"Yeah. Help me up." Kid helped Heyes sit up, grabbing his saddlebag and positioning it behind his friend to help him sit up better in the cot. "Thanks."

"Stew looks pretty good. I'm starved."

"I'll bet," Heyes answered with a knowing grin.

"Ha-ha. If you promise not to shoot anyone, I'll set your gun next to you while you sleep."

"Funny. I wasn't gonna shoot anyone. Though now that we're stayin' out here it might be best to have it near. Coyotes, rattlers. You never know what you'll come across out here in the near-wilderness."

"Remember when Jack came runnin' into the mine that time? Said there was somethin' out there, we needed to kill it?" Kid said with a laugh.

"And it turned out to be a jack rabbit."

"A giant jack rabbit," Heyes reminded. "Neither of us blamed Jack for runnin' away from it."

"You both made me go kill it."

"You're the best shot."

"That ain't true. I'm the fastest draw, and the best shot at drawin' fast. You're as good a shot as me, when you're not dizzy." Kid looked up, an expression of concentration evident on his face. "'Course, I'd be hard pressed to remember what that was like, you not bein' dizzy."

"Oh, you're quite the funny man, Kid." Heyes looked down at his plate. "I think I'm done."

"You are. That's good."

"Yeah."

"What's the matter?"

"Nothin'."

"Why do you think you can lie to me. You can't, ya know."

Heyes breathed in deeply and then out. "How is it that we can't even catch a break when all we really wanted to do was rest up? Is that really asking so much?"

"I've been thinking similar thoughts. Think maybe we're getting soft, that stayin' away from bank and train robbin' is making us, I don't know, weak?" Kid had been thinking about this some.

"No," Heyes answered. "No, I don't think it's that. I think that our good sides are just getting a chance to, well, do good. I think the more we do it, the more we want to. And sometimes that means lettin' our guard down, and in our current situation, that can be dangerous."

"Sometimes just as dangerous as robbin' banks and trains."

"Sometimes." Heyes yawned. "You done there?"

"Yeah."

"I assume Frank has set up…facilities? I need to pee before I go to bed."

"Me, too."

"Good for you. My point is that even though I ate fine, I'm still feelin' lightheaded. Help me over?"

"Oh. Sure. Sorry. Let me take these plates back to the wagon. Don't want to attract coyotes."

"Or giant jack rabbits."

"Definitely not that," Kid laughed. "Only need to see one of them in my life." Kid faked a shiver, which made Heyes laugh.

"Something funny?" Frank Margaux asked as he stepped into the tent.

"Just reminiscing about our time mining with Jack," Kid explained. "Came face-to-face with the biggest jack rabbit you ever saw."

"Made for pretty good eatin', I'll bet."

"Huh. You know, it was a damn good meal."

"It helped that Jack came back with potatoes and carrots and some herbs from Colorado City," Heyes reminded his friend.

"That was about our best meal we had out here," Kid mused.

"Sounds pretty good to me," Frank said. "I'm gonna go get myself something to eat." He turned to Heyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Thaddeus is gonna help me to the privy and then I'm plannin' to sleep."

"I'm right behind ya, Joshua," Kid agreed companionably.

"Good. Then I'll say good night to you."

"Good night."

"Good night, Frank. And thanks," Heyes added.

Heyes and Curry were woken from a surprisingly deep sleep by loud cheering and hollering.

"What?" Heyes asked as he threw his feet over the side of his cot. "Oh," he moaned as he put his hand to his head. He felt himself tipping forward and knew he was heading for the ground. A familiar hand caught him on his chest, another laying a calming presence on his back and helped lean him safely back to the bed. "What's goin' on, Kid?"

"I dunno, but it sounds pretty good." Kid looked at his partner. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just forgot, 's all."

"Why don't you lay back down and I'll see what's goin' on?"

"No, Kid. I think I'll get up. If the news is as good as it sounds, maybe we can head on back to town. Frank runs a nice place here, but I sure would like to get back to that nice bed that Mrs. Altman's keepin' ready for me."

"Can't blame ya for that. We'll have to ask around for a carriage, though."

"I can ride my horse," Heyes countered, not really feeling up to even trying to hide his irritation with Kid's suggestion.

"Ya fell off your horse last time you tried that."

"I don't know that as absolute fact, Kid. I'm takin' your word and Frank's word that it actually happened."

"Uh-huh. Let's get out there and see what all the fuss is. You figure they got through…"

"Joshua! Thaddeus! You won't believe it! They found em! Alive! They're bringin' 'em out right now."

"That's great news, Frank," Kid said with a big smile. The news was truly great, because it meant that Kid really could get his partner back to the hotel and resting soon.

"It's as near a miracle as I've seen in a long time," Frank marveled. "You don't mind givin' up your bed do you, Thaddeus?" he asked. Frank turned to Heyes. "And what are you doin' up?"

"We heard the whoopin' and the hollerin'. Thought it was prob'ly good news. We were gonna head back to town."

"I'd rather you not, Joshua," Frank said, suddenly serious.

"I know that, Frank. No offense, but I'm gonna ignore your advice just this one last time. Then I'm gonna spend two or three whole days in bed. It may cost us that job in the Springs, but I owe it to myself and my partner to get better."

"I'm glad to hear ya say that. And I'll send Snowden another telegram. In fact, I'll get the mayor and the sheriff to do the same."

"No, I don't think that's necessary. Yours'll do just fine."

"You aren't plannin' to get back on a horse today, are ya?"

"I am."

"Uh-huh."

"Forget it, Frank. We already lost that argument," Kid told the resident nurse. "We need to be satisfied with what Joshua has already agreed to."

"Well, I ain't satisfied with it." Frank paused and then added, "but you know him best."

"Mr. Jones! Mr. Smith!" Sheriff Wendell Grubbs called. "We've got 'em! By God, all three of 'em. Alive! Damned unbelievable."

"It's good news, Sheriff," Kid noted. "We're glad to hear it. We thought we'd head back to town." More cheering could be heard, and it was getting louder as the crowd surged toward the tent. Heyes looked tiredly to his partner, his entire demeanor hoping for a quick exit.

"Ya can't leave yet. I'm sure these fellas'll want to thank you. Mr. Smith, you're the only reason we'd ever have gotten to them in time."

"Sheriff, my partner is really not up to…"

"Which one of you is Smith?" a man said as he stormed into the tent.

"Here we go," Heyes commented softly to his partner.

"It was your idea to be the hero," Kid returned with only a slight hint of sympathy.

"Don't remind me."

"Martin? What're you doin' here? This is all your fault! And now we got proof," the sheriff said as he stepped between Heyes and Curry and this 'Martin' person.

"Get outta my way, Wendell," the man bellowed as he pushed Grubbs to the side. "Which one is Smith?"

"Harrison, get the hell out of here," Frank warned. "We got wounded men comin' in here."

"Harrison?" Kid questioned under his breath. Curry was on immediate alert at the sound of that name. He watched as Harrison pulled his gun and aimed it at Frank Margaux.

"Which one is Smith, Frank?" Martin Harrison, the mine owner, asked.

"I'm Smith," Heyes said. Harrison twirled around and pointed his gun at his target.

"Put your gun down," Kid directed as he held his gun pointed at Harrison's chest.

"No!" Harrison yelled. "He's the reason I'm…I'm ruined. Ruined! Nobody would've known. And that stupid bounty hunter was supposed to take care of them, because they're…"

"Mr. Harrison," Hannibal Heyes said, knowing that the man knew who he and Kid were; he wouldn't have needed someone like Bradshaw if he didn't. "You knew that what you were doing with those mines was dangerous. Deadly."

"That's my business, not yours! You…you…" Harrison stopped talking and pulled the trigger. Kid saw it before it happened, his entire being totally in touch with one and only one thing: saving his partner. His ability to read people and anticipate outcomes of any number of situations had saved his own life, the life of his best friend, and countless others over the years. And it worked again this day. Kid quickly changed his aim and shot the man with the gun trained on his partner. He caught him in the arm – the bullet seemed to travel through Harrison's wrist like nothing - except the splash of red and the snapping of bone told a far different story. The force of the bullet was enough to mess with Harrison's aim. His gun went off, and the bullet went awry, up through the tent's top. The sheriff took his chance and knocked the mine owner to the ground.

"Everybody okay?" Frank Margaux asked.

"Ya all right?" Kid asked his friend quietly.

"Whoa. Yes, I think so. Thank you."

The sheriff passed his prisoner off to several men and then turned to Kid.

"That was some pretty impressive shootin'."

"Well, he was gonna shoot my partner. I had…"

"Calm down, Mr. Jones. I got no problem with what you did. You did what you had to do, and you made sure no one got killed. I saw what you did. Plus," Grubbs said, cocking his head toward Heyes, "Harrison convicted himself with what Mr. Smith was able to get him to say." He turned to Heyes now. "I'm sorry you almost got shot for your efforts. The day's hero shouldn't have to be in the line of fire like that."

"No harm done, Sheriff. And I'm no hero."

"I had no idea Harrison even knew about you. I guess with all these people around, it was bound to get out who came up with the idea to search these other tunnels."

"Please, Sheriff, don't worry about it." Kid noticed how all the activity had brought on another headache. Heyes' eyes showed his pain, at least to the Kid, even when he managed to put on a show for everybody else.

"You've been so helpful to us, and then this happens. And you are a hero, no matter what you think. I wish there was something I could do to make it up to you."

"Actually, there is. I'd like to head to town without any fanfare. I'm glad things turned out the way they did. That's thanks enough for me."

"Well, I suppose that's the least we could do," Sheriff Grubbs agreed reluctantly.

"That's a good call, Wendell," Frank said. "He's not really supposed to be out of bed at all. Stubborn fool."

"Thanks, Frank," Heyes said with a crooked grin.

"Go on ahead, then," the sheriff said. He offered his hand to Heyes. "Thank you." Heyes shook his hand and then left the tent with this partner. Frank Margaux followed.

"You sure you're okay to get on a horse?"

"Frank," Heyes said, frustrated.

"Sorry. I can't help it."

"I'll keep an eye on him, Frank," Kid said. "And we'll take it easy. We're not in any rush."

"Speak for yourself. I got a date with a nice, soft bed."

Frank smiled. "Okay. I'll see you two in town later." Frank looked to Heyes. "We're all real thankful for your help."

"I'm glad I was able to. I guess mining for gold finally did pay off."

---

"So you're heading to Colorado Springs today," Frank said as he nursed his third cup of coffee after enjoying a leisurely breakfast with Heyes, Kid and Felicity.

"Yep. Finally."

"Now, Joshua. You have to admit that taking it easy these last few days was a good idea."

"Absolutely, Mrs. Altman. You and Charlie and Frank and my partner here all spoiled me. I feel like a new man."

"You almost look like one," Frank commented. "You had me concerned a number of times this last week."

"He had you concerned?" Kid asked.

"Thaddeus, I'm sure Joshua is sorry to have caused you all this grief and concern." Heyes frowned at the comment.

"I wasn't concerned," Kid denied. Felicity and Frank laughed. Heyes' frown changed to a scowl. "And he gives me grief all the time. That's nothin' new." Heyes' scowl changed to an affectionate grin as he listened to the amazing baloney that Kid was dishing out at the breakfast table.

"You know, Martin Harrison had been screaming to Wendell about how you boys aren't who you say you are," Frank said as he looked at his watch. "I've gotta go to work. Have a good trip. Come back and visit us. Don't be strangers."

"Good-bye Frank," Heyes said. "Thanks again."

"Good-bye," Kid said, though he gave Heyes a worried look about what Frank had just told them.

"So," Felicity said.

"So," Heyes mimicked uncomfortably.

"You know, Jackson never brought you boys to visit. I always wondered about that."

"Well, ma'am, we didn't actually come into town all that often," Kid explained. Felicity just stared at him; it was clear to the Kid and to Heyes that she didn't believe him.

"He told me that you boys preferred to keep to yourselves." A euphemism for laying low he'd never heard better.

"Mrs. Altman," Heyes started.

"You don't seem at all like that to me."

"Well," Heyes tried again.

"Based on the descriptions and the accounts I've read, you boys could easily be Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry." She turned her attention from Heyes to the Kid. "I've seen you at work with that gun. So did Frank, in the tent the other night."

"Mrs. Altman," Heyes tried once more.

"No, Joshua. Please. I am honestly quite comfortable with you two as Joshua and Thaddeus. And Frank told me what you said, Thaddeus, about Jackson and Evan." Heyes and Curry both looked down, uncomfortable, just a little, with knowing for sure now that Felicity Altman knew about her son and his friend. "You will never be strangers to me, no matter what your real names are. You two will always have a special place in my heart, for the kindness and friendship you showed to my son, and for what you did to find Frank and Evan, and those other miners." The partners looked up, still not as comfortable as they'd seemed earlier in their stay at the Silver Star Hotel. "Please don't be strangers. I know you won't be able to come back regularly, but an occasional telegram would be nice, just so that I know that you're both okay."

Heyes smiled, as did his partner. Oh, such beautiful smiles.

"That's a hard promise for us to keep, Mrs. Altman, considering how we don't stay in one place too long. Finding work keeps us moving about quite a lot."

"But you'll try?"

"We'll try."

"Good."

"I guess we should get going, then," Heyes said.

"One moment, Joshua." Mrs. Altman looked toward the kitchen. "Ah, here he comes." Charlie walked up with a sack in his hand.

"Your lunch, Mr. Smith. Mr. Jones. Compliments of the Silver Star."

"Thanks, Charlie," Heyes said to the eager young man.

"You're welcome. Have a safe trip." Charlie hustled off to his next task at hand.

"He's pretty special," Heyes told the hotel owner.

"I know. And I know how lucky I am to have him, and Frank, in my life. And now I have you two. I am a lucky woman." Heyes noticed how she no longer kept her handkerchief with her, as though a lifeline, any longer. It seemed that she'd found some kind of peace, with Frank, with her place in Colorado City. And she'd managed to find some comfort in her belief that Jack and Evan were now together, again.

"Good-bye, Mrs. Altman." Heyes stood and helped Felicity to her feet. He hugged her and kissed her on her cheek. Kid did the same.

"Good-bye, boys."

"Good-bye," Kid said. Felicity watched as they headed out of the dining room, picked up their gear in the foyer, and then left the hotel.

Heyes and Kid walked toward the livery stable, quietly. Heyes finally said, "We can probably never come back here, at least not until we get the amnesty."

"I know," Kid agreed.

"The sheriff's lettin' us go this time. It's not likely to happen a second time."

"That's true."

"Telegrams would be risky, too. It'd be too easy to track."

"Yeah."

"Damn, Kid. We gotta get that amnesty. A normal life. I really want that."

"Me, too. We'll get it."

"I hope you're right, Kid." They were just shy of the livery when Heyes stopped and put his hand to Kid's chest to stop him as well. "You know, Jack and Evan had a more normal life than we do."

"Yeah, they did."

"I really want that," Heyes said, but then frowned at what he'd said. "Well, not that."

"I understand, Heyes."

"Good. Didn't want to give you any ideas." They started walking again when they suddenly stopped, at the same time and turned to look at each other.

"You don't suppose Mrs. Altman thinks that you and me…"

"Nah, Kid. I'm sure…hm…"

"So, you think she might?" Kid asked worriedly.

"Nah." Heyes started walking again. "And even if she did, what difference does it make?"

"What difference does it make? Whaddya mean? I'm not sayin' that it was wrong for Jack and Evan…"

"Because it wasn't."

"Right."

"But, I'm not sure I'm crazy about Mrs. Altman thinking that we…"

"Sssh. Livery," Heyes said as they walked in to claim their gear and select their horses for their ride to Colorado Springs.

"This conversation is not over," Kid said as he waited for Heyes to pay so they could saddle their horses and get moving.

"Probably a conversation best left for the open road." Heyes snorted a laugh as he watched his partner step through, in his head, his ideas for that debate.

The End.