Tilly watched, with unapologetic pleasure, as Tonto yanked the arrow out of John's chest, waking him from his unconsciousness with a loud yell.
The trio were currently locked in a bone cage that wrapped around a large tree, while the Comanche danced and chanted around a flaming bonfire.
"Are they Comanche?" John asked, looking over at the dancing tribe.
"Mm-hmm." Tonto replied.
"Well, that's good, right?" He asked.
"Not so much." Tonto replied. "They are doing death dance."
"For us?" John asked.
"Yes." Tonto replied, holding up a rusty needle to sew shut the hole in John's chest.
"Is that thing sterile?" John asked.
"Yes. I make urine on it." Tonto replied as he drove the needle into John's chest making him yell out.
"Try to think of something pleasant." Tonto suggested. "Like...like, Tilly."
Tilly rolled her eyes and sat back against the tree, watching the Comanche.
"She is your wife, yes?" Tonto asked and Tilly raised her eyebrows.
"Uh, no." John replied, embarrassed.
"Well you argue like it." Tonto said. "Are you…?" He added, waggling his eyebrows at John.
"No. Not anymore. We're...friends." John replied.
"Then you are more stupid than I thought." Tonto decided and it was silent for a moment, apart from a few groans from John as the needle continued to cause him pain. Tilly continued to look away, but couldn't help overhear the next part of their conversation.
"So, you will fill her with child, no?" Tonto asked.
"What?" John cried in a hushed voice, so Tilly wouldn't hear, but oh, she most definitely heard.
"When you were on the other side, you spoke of her in your vision." Tonto continued, just as loudly as before.
"Well, lack of oxygen can cause the brain to hallucinate. Everybody knows that." John said, and Tilly chanced a glance at him. She wasn't sure whether to feel hurt about him trying to deny it, or angry that he brushed it off. Neither sat well with her, because it meant she cared. Which she didn't. Obviously.
"Yes, but you didn't speak of her as a friend. Hmm?" Tonto finished and John was silent after that.
The next morning, Tilly was woken by the sounds of yelping and whooping. She looked out of the cage to see the Comanche mounting their horses and racing away as fast as their steeds would take them as the sound of a trumpet somehow made it through the commotion.
"What's going on?" She asked, peering out from the cage.
"The Cavalry." Tonto replied, referring to the Mounted American Army.
"Oh, thank goodness! Civilisation." John sighed. "We'll just explain the situation and get this whole misunderstanding cleared up." He finished as the cavalry shot straight through the camp, yelling loudly in pursuit of the Indians, and not even glancing in our direction.
As the last horses disappeared and the dust settled I looked meaningfully at John.
"Perhaps they didn't see us." He suggested.
"Oh, no. They will be back any minute." Tonto said sarcastically, shaking his head.
Tilly walked over to the lock on the cage and pulled the only pin she had, out of her hair, and inserted it into the lock as her hair fell down her back. She twisted the pin around a few times before the lock clicked and she pushed the door open.
"Why didn't you do that earlier?" John asked.
"Because I didn't feel like being skewered." She replied. "Coming?" She added, climbing onto her horse.
"Where to?" John asked and Tilly leaned forward in the saddle, looking to Tonto.
"To where the river begins." He said.
…
The small band soon arrived at the beginning of the river. Chinamen waddeled back and forth under the weight of the buckets of silver, ready to be poured into huge train carriages. At the entrance, Cavendish's men watched over the progress as Butch himself inspected a large chunk of silver.
"How are we gonna get to Cavendish?" John asked.
"I have an idea." Tilly replied, and lead the others, past Butch's men and into the tunnel, where the train tracks had recently been laid.
She ducked into the shadows, and the others followed suit. When the time was right, Tilly nodded to Tonto who cupped his hands over his mouth and made an Indian bird call.
All the Chinamen in the tunnel stopped their work and listened intently, looking around for the source of the sound. Tonto called again, this time a little louder, and then again. This was enough to scare the Chinamen out of the tunnel, and go running to Cavendish, hopefully telling him that there were Indian Spirits inside. Soon, the sound of two pairs of boots came echoing through the tunnel, and when they reached the group, they were swiftly knocked out and hidden away, cutting down the number of men Butch had.
Tilly picked up a stick of dynamite from it's box and lit it, before tossing it into a mining cart and pushing it out towards Cavendish so it rolled to a stop in front of them. They watched, just in the shadows, as the men warily walked over to the cart. They carefully glanced down inside before turning quickly and sprinting in the opposite direction as the dynamite went off, throwing them forwards.
As the dust cleared, Tilly, John and Tonto walked out of the tunnel and over to the barely conscious Cavendish. He rolled over, onto his stomach and tried to reach for his gun, but John got there first and kicked it out of his reach.
"You're supposed to be dead." Cavendish said to him, looking up at his ranger badge. John grabbed him by his jacket, and slammed him against a mining cart.
"You're gonna pay for what you've done..." John hissed, pushing the barrel of his pistol in Butch's chest.
"...To the full extent of the law." Cavendish finished. "Well I'll be damned. A lawyer, a crazy Indian and a wench." He added looking at Tilly.
"How dare you." John growled at that last statement, and flipped the pistol over in his hand and clubbed Butch across the face with the handle.
"Is this love, Lawman?" Butch chuckled. "'Cause, uh, I doubt she proper."
"You're wrong." John said, feeling more confident than he ever had in his life. "I am far from deserving of her. Just as you will never be deserving of forgiveness." He finished, and Tilly felt her heart swell. But she didn't want it to. She didn't like him. Plain and simple.
"Time for justice." Tonto said, handing John a loaded pistol.
"No, this isn't justice. He's unarmed." He replied.
"Windigo cut out brother's heart. Where is brother's justice?" Tonto asked.
"No. I'm not a savage." John replied adamantly.
"Fine. I will do it." Tonto decided.
"Wait." Tilly said. "John's right."
Tonto couldn't believe that she was siding with the white man.
"Tonto, I want this too, but it's not right." Tilly tried.
"You will not keep me from my destiny." He replied and pushed past the pair to kneel down in front of Cavendish with a loaded gun.
Beside Tilly, John bent down and picked up a metal shovel and as Tonto went to pull the trigger, he swung it, clobbering the Indian in the side of the head and knocking him out cold.
"I knew I could count on you, Counsellor." Cavendish said, as Tilly knelt down to tie his hands together with rope. John took the end from her and mounted. Tilly mounted too, and though she felt guilty for leaving Tonto, she prided herself as an outlaw of justice. So, off the pair rode, dragging the infamous outlaw behind them, all the way back to Promontory Point.