3. Chapter III. A Knife in the Camp's Heart
'Leon', the opium-fiend; invades the doctor's cabin in quest of laudanum; human life meaningless to one in the grip of craving,; innocent waif, sole survivor of the Spearfish massacre, again in peril; Dority's arrival on an errand, his quick action; craven death of the addict; the rescued child adopted by Mrs Alma Garret; an extract from Dr Cochran's eulogy by the late Rev Smith.

(from "Gold Dust and Muddy Coffee: Memories of the Early Days of Deadwood", A. W. Merrick, 1882)

Hammering, rattling on the cabin door - it's frantic, but strangely lacking in force. It doesn't sound like the sort of emissary Al would send. Easy there, old fellow - Al's not the only danger in camp. But when your cabin's the nearest thing there is to a hospital, you can hardly keep the door locked. Stand up; never mind that your leg's gone to sleep. Still got the pistol? Good. Slide the bolt and open the door, just a crack. It's the dope-fiend - what's his name? Scrawny fair-haired fellow.
"You gotta give me somethin' for these shakes, doc."
"I'm with a --" He doesn't need to know about your patient; he might yet be a spy. "Hang it, Leon, it's the drugs givin' you the DTs in the first place. You don't need more." Stubborn fool: having recalled his name, you couldn't just have given him the laudanum and sent him on his way, could you? Or shown him the pistol? Useless, purely useless.
"The devil take you, then." And he stabs you.
Leon may have the shakes, but the bastard's aim with a knife is dead perfect - or possibly your luck has finally run its course, for the blade slides in between your ribs, then out - strangely painless; but hot liquid quickly begins to soak your shirt. A dark and spreading stain across the left side of your vest. Press down on it before you lose consciousness; you won't last thirty seconds if you hit the floor, and then the kid'll be alone with one whose cravings for the drug have overridden any scrap of conscience or logic he might have had left.
He hasn't seen the little girl yet - too busy rummaging through the bottles on the shelves. Lurch toward the door; you can rest against the handle for a moment; not too long. Blood's starting to seep between your fingers now.
"I see you there, doc. I'm real sorry I had to knife yer, but my need was greater than yours. Don't you go tryin' to leave, though, or I'll have to see that you keep quiet." Who does he think he is? Hell's bells, all he can do is knife you again. Pull the latch and something like an icicle lodges between your shoulder blades, and you're falling through the doorway but you land against something solid and warm. A big hand takes hold of each of your arms as you squint up into Dan Dority's face. O no.
"Don't try to stop me - why're you bleeding?" The man's a mixed bag - comes here to kill your patient, but you'd swear as to the concern in his voice; his surprise is genuine, at any rate - wasn't expecting to find anyone here but you and the little girl. Leon's gibbering in terror by the table:
"I swear to God, Dan, I didn't mean to do it. I jes' wanted some dope, an' he wouldn't give it me." Pull at Dan's arm, not that you'd be able to halt him physically even if you weren't leaking arterial blood front and back; but it's Leon he's going for. The addict screams as the big man lands a probably-lethal blow, and you're on the floor now, and you can't see so good, but you can hear other voices at the door:
"What's the fuckin' row?!" "Doc's bleedin' on the floor." "Dan's got the dope-fiend - there's a little girl here." "Must be the one they saved the other night - get her out of here." They're fading too, now, and your vision's gone quite black. The last thing you hear is the cheers for Dan - your avenger, and rescuer of the child....