CHAPTER THREE
A short time later they were on their way. Several hours down the road they came to the quiet little town of Paradox. Riding past the sheriff's office, they glanced at the name and exchanged a questioning look. Both men shook their heads; neither of them recognized it.
Next stop was the town's cafe. A large placard that hung outside proudly proclaimed, 'Mama's Kitchen,' to be the establishment's name, while the sign inside the window boasted that the menu was full of 'Food your mama would be proud to serve.'
The two men shared a grin.
"Sounds like our kind of place huh, Kid?"
"You took the words right outta my mouth. Sure hope this place lives up to its name; I'm so hungry I think I could eat a horse!"
With a tolerant grin, Heyes shook his head. It had only been a few hours since breakfast; where did his cousin put it all? Tethering their animals to the hitching post in front of the building, they made their way towards the cafe.
Heyes reached down to grab a newspaper someone had left laying on the bench before he walked inside.
Curry inhaled deeply. "Joshua," he announced, "I think I've jus' died an' gone to heaven!"
Heyes sniffed the air and had to agree. The smells of just-baked bread and savory stew, combined with the aroma of fresh coffee, did indeed smell heavenly.
After they had seated themselves, a young girl with rosy cheeks brought them some coffee. She smiled at each of the men in turn as she handed them menus.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Our special today is the venison stew with corn-bread – which everyone says is delicious, but you can check the menu to see if there's something else you'd rather have. I'll be back in just a few minutes to see what you've decided."
Heyes nodded and gave her a smile before he picked up the paper and started to scan the articles; he didn't need to read the menu.
After giving his friend a long-suffering look, Curry glanced around the busy cafe. Everyone looked like they were enjoying their food. Satisfied that no one seemed at all interested in either of the two strangers, he perused the menu intently and glanced up as the waitress returned.
"So, gentlemen, have you made up your minds yet?"
That was all the encouragement Curry needed. "That stew sounded mighty good; think I'll have a bowl of that – with some of the cornbread. How 'bout the fried chicken - what comes with that?"
"Mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, biscuits -"
"Okay, that'll be fine...an' how about pie? What kind do you have?"
"Let's see," she wrinkled her brow in thought, "today we have apple and peach... oh, and there's also some delicious cherry cobbler; it's still warm from the oven."
"I'll try the cobbler, I guess. Bet it's not as good as my ma used to make," he muttered under his breath.
The waitress turned to leave.
"Uh, ma'am, wait a minute - you didn't take his order," Curry gestured towards the man seated across from him.
"His order? You mean all that food – I'm sorry, I mean..." Embarrassment flooded her cheeks, causing them to flush an even rosier shade of pink. A stricken expression on her face, the flustered girl fell silent as she looked from one man to the other.
Taking pity on the poor waitress, Heyes lowered the paper and flashed his dimpled grin at her, "It's okay, ma'am, happens all the time. You see, Thaddeus here, why he's just a growing boy. I think I'll try the fresh fish and whatever comes with it."
The waitress sent Heyes a grateful look and turned to leave, only to be stopped once again by Curry's voice.
"Oh, an' could you bring a glass of milk with that cobbler? You can't have cobbler without milk now, can you?"
Heyes cast an amused glance towards his cousin, who was oblivious to the turmoil he was causing the young woman. She backed away slowly, then turned around and practically fled into the safety of the kitchen.
Heyes returned to his newspaper and as he skimmed the last page a headline caught his attention. 'Vaccine For Rabies Discovered.' As he read through the article, Heyes was transported halfway across the world to France and into the laboratory of Louis Pasteur. It was July 6, 1885, and Pasteur had just tested his pioneering rabies treatment on man for the first time. The outlaw paused. July 6th? That was just a few months ago!
He marveled at the brilliance of the man as he continued to read the rest of the article. After mastering his method of vaccination, Pasteur had also developed vaccines against chicken cholera, anthrax and swine…Heyes' brow furrowed as he sounded out the last word, e-ry-sip-e-las. The article went on to say it had something to do with pigs...whatever it was. This was an quite an important event in the medical world; something many people would benefit from, this man's discovery. Rabies would no longer be the death threat it now was.
"Hey- uh, Joshua! Are you listenin' to me?" Irritation evident in his tone, Curry reached across the table and pulled the newspaper down so he could see his partner's face.
Still distracted, Heyes murmured, "Hmm? What was that, Thaddeus?"
Curry heaved a sigh. "Nothin', nothin' important, I guess."
Heyes glanced up. "Sorry, I was just reading this really interesting story about rabies -"
"That's nice, you read all the stories you want, here comes that waitress with our food - I'm gonna eat!" And true to his word, as soon as the plates were put in front of him, Kid tucked in with gusto, savoring each and every mouthful.
After a full moment of watching his cousin, Heyes laid down the paper, picked up his fork and began to eat his own food. It was the first meal they hadn't had to cook themselves in the past week. The trout, light and flaky, almost melted in the outlaw's mouth. The green beans and potatoes were seasoned just right and the golden cornbread completed the meal. He couldn't remember when a meal had tasted better.
Kid was enjoying his food just as much, if not more, than his partner. The venison stew hit the spot, warming his stomach. The fried chicken disappeared in the blink of an eye, as did the potatoes, green beans and cornbread. Picking up a biscuit, Curry smeared butter across it and took a huge bite. Looking up as he chewed, he made eye contact with Heyes, who had leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest.
"What?" Kid mouthed around the biscuit.
Heyes grinned. "Nothing...just relaxing and watching you. It sure does a body good to see how much you enjoy eating. It also makes me wonder where it all goes."
"Funny, Joshua, very funny!" Curry took another bite of the biscuit. "Sometimes I wonder at all the things you wonder about!"
"Well, one of us has to wonder. If one of wasn't wondering, then I'd wonder why we weren't wondering."
Curry pulled the cobbler in front of him and took a big mouthful before he replied. "You know, sometimes you don't make much sense."
"Yeah, it does kind of make you wonder…doesn't it?" Heyes grinned at the pained look he received. "C'mon, finish up that cobbler and let's get going while there's still some daylight left."
Curry drained the glass of milk. "I am done!" An' I was right, 'bout that cobbler, he added to himself, It didn't even come close to the ones my ma used to make! He stood up, put his hat on his head and looked down at his partner who was still seated at the table.
"Whatcha waitin' on, Joshua? C'mon, let's get goin'!"
Heyes shook his dark head and followed his cousin out the door. "Next stop, Medicine Bend."
The two men mounted up and were soon on their way. Their bellies full, each one was preoccupied with his own thoughts as they traveled once more along the rocky road.
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Later that afternoon, they entered the town of Medicine Bend. Heading straight for the office of Mr. Baker, they tethered their horses out front and made their way inside.
"Mr. Baker is expecting us, I believe," Heyes smiled at the receptionist as both men removed their hats.
"Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones?" she inquired after consulting a piece of paper on her desk.
"Yes, I'm Joshua Smith and this is my partner, Thaddeus Jones, ma'am."
"I'm Miss Johnson. If you gentlemen will wait here just a moment, I'll inform Mr. Baker that you have arrived."
Heyes nodded.
Kid walked over to a chair, eased himself down into it, then leaned back and closed his eyes.
Heyes turned to look at him. "You okay?"
"Yep," Curry replied with eyes still closed, "Guess I'm still a bit full from lunch."
"A bit?" Heyes rolled his eyes at the understatement but was saved from making any further comments by the return of Miss Johnson.
"Mr. Baker will see you now, if you'll come with me this way, gentlemen..."
Heyes turned to follow her.
A reluctant Curry heaved himself out of the chair and wiped a hand across his sweat-beaded brow. Upon joining his partner to stand in front of Mr. Baker's desk, he realized that the headache he'd been fighting all afternoon had not let up. When Heyes shot him a questioning look, his answer was a desultory shrug of his shoulders.
"Well, gentlemen, I must say, you've come highly recommended. Lom Trevors said I could rely on you for your complete...uh, your full discretion in this matter."
"Yes sir, you can definitely count on us for keeping this matter private. We've done many such jobs for Sheriff Trevors and we've never let him down yet."
"Well, that's wonderful to hear gentlemen; just wonderful. You see, I actually have two jobs instead of one and I was in hopes that you would be able to fulfill both obligations…that is, if you two would be willing to split up and go in opposite directions. Would that be a possibility, Mr. Smith? Mr. Jones?"
After exchanging a quick look with his partner, Heyes smiled. "It could be a possibility - if the price were right, Mr. Baker."
"Oh, but of course. How about $500 each, after you have returned to Medicine Bend with the receipts? Would that meet with your approval?"
"Would you mind if I discuss this with my partner in private? We just need to clear up a few small details before we accept your generous offer."
"Perfectly understandable; no problem at all. You can use the empty office just down the hall a few doors, if you'd like. I'll be right here waiting for your answer."
Heyes left the office with his cousin trailing behind slowly.
Kid pulled the door shut behind him as he entered, then turned and locked it before walking over to stand by the window. He stared at the street outside. "I don't like it, Heyes." He rubbed absently at his left wrist with his thumb as he spoke.
"You never do. How many times -"
"Every time we split up, something bad happens!" Curry snapped.
"Not every time, just some of the time. Even you and I can only beat the odds so long."
Curry reached up to rub the back of his neck. "So, guess that means we're gonna take the jobs," he muttered with resignation. "Split up an' meet back here say, in what, two weeks?"
Heyes grinned. I won that round pretty easy. "Well now, that all depends."
"On what?" Curry turned around to face him.
"On the two places we're going to be delivering those papers; might take more than two weeks. We'll know for sure when Mr. Baker tells us, but first we need to tell him that we've agreed to take both jobs."
"Fine, Heyes, you tell him. Let's jus' get this over an' done with - an' don't even try to convince me of anythin' else, I'm not in the mood for listenin'!" Curry unlocked the door, gave it an impatient jerk to pull it open and then exited without a backward glance, leaving his partner to stare after him with a troubled expression on his face.
A moment later, Heyes walked back into Mr. Baker's office and, after getting all the instructions, went in search of his partner. It didn't take him long. Kid was sitting on a bench right outside the office door, arms folded, glaring at the ground in front of him.
"You want to tell me what's wrong?"
"I shouldn't have to. It's the same argument I have every time...nothin's changed, you're still not gonna listen, so why bother?"
Heyes sat down beside his partner. "I am listening," he said patiently, "but so far I haven't heard anything to keep us from doubling our money by doing the two jobs. You have any ideas on how to earn $500 in a week or two for doing nothing more than delivering papers? If you do, you just let me know right now and I'll go right back in there and tell Mr. Baker you've got another job."
Curry remained silent for a few moments, all the while wishing his head didn't throb so much and that he could make the other bad feeling disappear. The feeling that kept telling him that something was definitely going to go wrong if they split up; it always did, despite Heyes' optimistic attitude. He straightened up and spoke without looking at his partner.
"You know I don't, so why bother askin'?" he grumbled and heaved another resigned sigh. "So where do we have to deliver these important papers to?" Mentally crossing his fingers in the hope that, for a change, it wouldn't be too far.
"Well, once again, that depends," Heyes said cheerfully.
Casting his friend a sideways glance, Curry eyed him with suspicion. "Depends on what?"
"Well, it all depends on who goes where...I think we should flip a coin. One trip will take maybe a week, the other about a week and a half to two weeks." Heyes produced a coin out of his pocket and tossed it into the air. "You call it."
"Heads…I guess. Doesn't really matter, I never -"
Deftly catching the coin and covering it with his hand, Heyes paused for a dramatic moment before raising his hand to reveal it.
"Heads? Curry stared at the coin laying on the back of his cousin's hand in disbelief. "I won? I don't believe it - you mean I actually won a coin toss?"
"Well, one day it was bound to happen; guess that means you get the shorter trip, Kid."
His mood improving a bit, Curry grinned. "It's about time! An' it's a sure bet I'm gonna chose that shorter trip. I'll be waitin' on youfor a change an' I know jus' how I'm gonna spend that time waitin', too - sleepin', eatin', poker an' a pretty face!"
Heyes returned his partner's grin as he pocketed the two-headed coin. Kid deserves a break and it wouldn't hurt to let him think he won fair and square. "So we'll get us some food, stock up for the trips and get started early in the morning, right?"
"Yep, sounds like a plan. How about if you take care of the horses an' I'll get our room?"
"Fine with me," Heyes nodded. "Come on down afterwards and we'll head on over to the diner."
The two men separated to take care of their respective jobs.
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