CHAPTER SEVEN

Heyes continued his one-sided conversation as the miles continued to mount up. Spying a road sign several hours later, he pulled the horses to a standstill and interrupted his monologue long enough to read it aloud.

"Paradox?" he muttered, with a shake of his dark head, "Who gets to name these towns, anyway?" He glanced back over his shoulder and down at his silent partner, "Bet you're wondering what a paradox is, right? Good, 'cos I'm going to tell you. A paradox is, well it's just a whole bunch of nonsense - just like what that fool of a doctor tried to make you believe. Kid, how many times have I told you that you can't believe everything you hear? I know, too many times! But this time I'm right - and in a little while you're going to see just how right that is!

"I bet this town has a real doctor - one that'll know what's really wrong with you, too - you just wait and see. In no time at all, you'll be back to your normal stubborn self, hungry all the time and wondering where our next meal's coming from when we haven't even finished the one we're eating…Why, I can just hear you now, grumbling about my coffee – which, by the way, is not as bad as you try to make it out to be...and you can't even begin to imagine how much I miss all that jabberin' you do. You know what, Kid? I never really realized how much you do talk until you're quiet..."

Heyes' expression turned serious. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that what I miss most is knowing that you're not beside me, backing me up. Anyway, just thought you should know – in case you're listening," he added quietly. "What it all boils down to is, that since I don't know whether or not you can hear me, I just wanted you to know I'll sure be glad when you're back where you belong." Heyes could see the town not too far ahead. "Well, we're almost there, Kid; it won't be long now." He fell silent as they covered the few remaining miles into the little town of Paradox.

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Heyes stopped the wagon once again, this time on the outskirts of town. He watched as another wagon ambled towards them and called out as the driver came within hailing distance.

"S'cuse me, sir, would you mind telling me where I might find the doctor?"

"No trouble at all, young fella. Head down the middle of town, it's on the left side of the street, next to the hotel - right across from the bank and the sheriff's office -ya can't miss it. Doc Chance is one of the best doctors around these here parts," he boasted with pride, "Why, he'll have ya fixed up in no time."

At the mention of the sheriff's office, Heyes directed a quick look towards the town. Returning his attention to the man, he nodded towards the back of the wagon. "It's my friend who needs the fixing up, but you've made me feel a whole lot better about bringing him here. Say, maybe you could tell me one more thing; what's the sheriff's name? I may need to see him on a little matter while I'm in town."

"Oh, we've got us a real good sheriff too; a real no-nonsense kind of man, iffin ya know what I mean." The man grinned and sent Heyes a wink.

Unable to summon an answering smile, Heyes nodded his head, wishing the stranger would spit out the lawman's name.

"Most folks 'round here just call him Sheriff John," the stranger continued. "The sign hangin' outside his door says, 'Sheriff John Marshal,' but it's all kinda confusin' to say Sheriff Marshall, so you can see why we jus' call him Sheriff John - can't ya?"

Heyes grinned as he nodded his head again, this time in relief. "Yes, I can certainly see how a name like Sheriff Marshall might be a bit too tricky for some folks." He didn't care what they called the lawman; the name didn't cause any warning bells to go off in his head, so at least that was one less problem to worry about. "Well, I'd best get my friend on down to that doctor."

A look of guilty remorse crossed the other man's face, "Here I am jawin' my mouth, talkin' your ears off when you could've already been down there by now..."

"No harm done, you've been very helpful, friend; saved me a lot of time." Urging the horses forward, Heyes tipped his hat in the man's direction.

The man did likewise, a relieved smile of his own upon his face.

"Well, Kid, at least the people seem friendly enough...and we don't have to worry about the sheriff, neither."

Moments later, Heyes pulled up in front of the building and, after giving Curry a quick check, he tied the reins securely to the hitching post and went inside. The tinkling of a bell overhead announced his arrival. Heyes removed his hat, wiped the sweat from his brow and pushed his hair out of his face as he waited, his patience almost at an end.

A door to his left opened and a man emerged, wiping his hands on a towel, followed by a woman holding onto a young boy's hand. The boy was holding his free hand up to his face, gazing with rapt interest at the bandage wrapped around it; his face bore traces of recent tears.

Turning around, the doctor knelt down to look the boy in the eyes with a smile, "Now remember, Luke, the fish hook is supposed to catch the fish, not your finger!" he chided in a gentle tone. Giving the boy a wink and ruffling his hair, the doctor stood up and addressed the woman.

"Try and keep the wound clean and the bandage on, wash it with soap and apply that salve twice a day. If it should start showing signs of infection, like redness or festering, if he starts running a high fever or a red line starts to run up his arm, you're to bring him back to me - muy pronto – right, Cassie?"

With a small sigh, she looked down at the boy and then back at the doctor. "I'll do my best, but you know how little boys are! Thank you, Doc Chance - I'll be sure to send some of those pies your way; come along, Luke." She tugged gently at the boy's hand to get his attention since he was still busy examining the bandage.

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As he listened to the exchange, Heyes felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. At least this man sounded like a real doctor; one who knew what he was doing and who genuinely seemed to care about his patients.

As the pair left the office, the doctor turned his attention to Heyes. "And what can I do for you, young man? You don't look too bad off; you even have a grin on your face."

"What?" Lost in thought, Heyes shook his head. "Oh, I was just remembering another little boy I knew a long, long time ago...he and I kept our doctor pretty busy back then, too, as I recall."

"Yes, young Luke is a regular customer and a favorite one of mine. Seems as if trouble comes looking for him sometimes."

"Some things never change, Doc." As he looked into the twinkling eyes of the physician, Heyes became serious, "My name is Smith - Joshua Smith - and I've got my partner outside in a wagon; he's the one who needs your help."

"Well, let's get him inside and I'll see what I can do to get him back beside you."

Heyes halted in mid-step and gave the man a curious look. "What made you say that, Doc?"

"Your smile - it doesn't quite reach your eyes. And there's a look on your face, like you've had about all you can take. I've been a doctor long enough, I've seen that look many times before. The expression is one that a patient's family and friends wear as they go through the waiting period, hoping to hear the good news that their loved one is going to make it."

"You're right, Doc, Thaddeus is more than just a partner, he's my best friend. We have been through a lot together and we've been friends for as long as I can remember."

The doctor placed a hand on Heyes' shoulder. "I'll do the best I can. Now if you'll just grab that travois over there in the corner, it'll make it a whole lot easier for us to get your friend inside. Don't worry, Mr. Smith, together we'll make sure your friend has the best chance possible to beat this."

"You can call me Joshua." Heyes smiled his thanks at the man's encouraging words, and then as he picked up the travois, his curiosity got the better of him. "Doc, if you don't mind my asking, how'd you come by this?"

"I don't mind; in fact, I'm getting kinda used to it. I had an opportunity recently to help out a wounded Indian Chief. His people were so pleased with the treatment he received that they presented me with this as part of their payment. I did a bit of research and discovered that it's sometimes referred to as a 'drag sled'.

"The way it's fashioned, it can either be hooked up behind an animal or pulled by a single man. Or, like now, since there are two of us, we'll both work together and carry it between us. Although simple, it's value to me is priceless; I can't even begin to tell you how much of a help it's been."

Having reached the wagon, they both fell silent as they eased the unconscious man down onto the stretcher. Grabbing the poles and each lifting an end, they made their way back inside the office and placed Curry on the exam table.

"Doc, this is Thaddeus..." After a brief hesitation, he added, "Jones."

The physician looked down at the man who lay silent and motionless.

Heyes cleared his throat. "Uh, doc, I think maybe I'd better explain a few things -"

"If you'll just give me a few minutes with my patient, we can talk all you want, okay?"

Nodding his assent, Heyes stepped back to lean against the wall to watch the man work. As the doctor carried out his examination, the outlaw tried to discern from the man's expression what he might be thinking, but soon gave up with an exasperated sigh. The doc would have made an excellent poker player; his face didn't give out any clues. Even when he discovered the raccoon bite and saw the infection that had set in, his face remained impassive.

Removing the stethoscope from his ears, the doctor turned to Heyes.

"Well, I can tell you this much, your friend is an extremely ill man; I won't lie to you. If you hadn't brought him here when you did, he wouldn't have stood a ghost of a chance. As it is - "

"It's all that crazy old coot's fault," Heyes broke in angrily, "the one over in Rocky Ridge that calls himself a doctor – he's the one who told Thaddeus a whole parcel full of lies and made him think he was dying! I tried to tell him he was wrong!"

"Rocky Ridge, you say?" The doctor gave a roll of his eyes skyward, and shook his head. "He went to see Jerome Coffin?" At Heyes' nod of assent, he gave a snort of derision and continued, "Why, that man couldn't find fleas on a dog, let alone put a bandage on a cut finger - even if you stood right there beside him and gave him step-by-step directions! He gives the whole profession of doctoring a bad name! If it were within my power to stop him from practicing!" The physician took a deep breath before he added in a calmer tone, "I'm real sorry your friend's path had to cross his."

"Yeah, me too, Doc. He convinced Thaddeus that he was dying from rabies...but he's not...is he?" Heyes fell silent and waited for the other man's reply.

"I did see the bite mark during my examination, but that's only a part of the problem. Can you tell me what you know about what happened, maybe fill in a few of the missing gaps?"

"I'll do my best, doc. What do you need to know?"

"I'm trying to establish a timeline; it'll allow me to rule out certain things. Do you have any idea when Thaddeus was bitten and by what kind of animal?"

"Coffin said Thaddeus told him it was a raccoon, and if it was, I guess it would have been about four weeks ago by now. Although I'm not sure why - for some crazy reason Thaddeus must've decided to keep it to himself - about getting bit, I mean." Giving Curry a long look, Heyes added, "When he's well enough, I aim to discuss that little matter with him."

Doc Chance bit back a smile. "Well, Joshua, I hope that you'll be able to discuss whatever you want to with Thaddeus, but I need to know a few more things before I can make my final diagnosis. Do you recall what his symptoms were and when they first appeared? What would be the most helpful to me is if you remember what you two were doing right before you noticed something was wrong with him."

Heyes closed his eyes as he took a moment to think. "Well, he had a really bad headache, that's what I remember him complaining about the most." Heyes opened his eyes and snapped his fingers, "Wait, there was something else! He wasn't eating much - which if you know Thaddeus at all, is really strange! He doesn't usually pass on anything to eat, but that quack said Thaddeus told him he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for several days."

Heyes frowned and continued, "I know he didn't eat hardly anything before he left Rocky Ridge, at least not while I was around him. In fact, the last real meal I can remember him eating was the one he had back when we stopped in Medicine Bend. It wasn't too long after that when he began having that headache and quit eating."

"Do you happen to remember what Thaddeus had to eat that day?"

Heyes grinned, "Doc, it would be easier to tell you what he didn'thave. You might not believe this, but he had venison stew, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread, biscuits, cherry cobbler and then washed it all down with coffee and milk...I'm pretty sure that's all."

Doc Chance pursed his lips thoughtfully. "And you say that is wasn't too long after this that he started to feel sick?"

"Sick? Well, no, I wouldn't exactly call it sick, I mean, he did have that headache..." Heyes' voice trailed off. "Just a minute, Doc - Coffin said Thaddeus told him he had some other things wrong. That's when he told me they were all signs that Thaddeus was definitely in the last stages of rabies!"

"This is important, can you remember what any of those other signs were?"

"I'm sure I can; let's see...Coffin said something about him having a sore throat, some dizziness, a bellyache and retching...then he told me something else, that at the time, I thought was pretty strange. He said that Thaddeus told him that sunlight hurt his head and that water - "

"Yes, go on," Doc Chance prompted.

"I know this is going to sound kinda weird, I mean it sure doesn't make much sense to me," Heyes fell silent while he struggled to find the right words to explain, "He told me that Thaddeus was scared of water - have you ever heard of anything so loco?"

"Yes, unfortunately, I have."

Heyes' look of mocking skepticism disappeared in a flash to be replaced by one of surprise as he listened to the rest of the physician's explanation.

"What you're describing is called 'hydrophobia', a big, fancy word which simply means 'a fear of water.' It's one of the worst symptoms of rabies, causing it's victim to become severely dehydrated and - "

"So, Ki - uh, Thaddeus, really doeshave rabies?" The whispered words and the horrified expression on Heyes' face caused the doctor to amend his words in a flash.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you, but you didn't let me finish, Joshua. While Thaddeus is dehydrated - among several other things - I don't believe it's from rabies."

"I don't understand, Doc, if it's not rabies, then what is it?" Although the doctor's words of assurance had allowed Heyes to relax somewhat, he still held himself rigid, his hands clenched into tense fists at his sides. "Why's Thaddeus so sick? How serious is it?"

"From all that you've just shared with me, and from what I was able to learn from my examination earlier, I believe that your friend is suffering from a severe case of food poisoning and that raccoon bite on his wrist is full of infection."

"Poisoned?" Heyes sputtered, "How could he be poisoned? I was with him most of the time – and if he is, how in the hell could that quack in Rocky Ridge be so wrong?"

"Not poisoned, Joshua - food poisoning," the doctor explained patiently. "Thaddeus most likely got hold of some rancid meat that day in Medicine Bend; either the chicken or the venison - maybe both. And, as for Coffin and his misdiagnosis, besides not knowing anything about being a doctor in the first place - I'm sorry to have to admit this - he wouldn't have been able to recognize those symptoms as being the same signs of food poisoning. He had already made up his mind that his patient had rabies and that was that."

"So what does all that mean, Doc? Can you help him?"

"I won't lie to you. Your friend's not out of the woods yet, although I'm pretty sure we can help him make it through the food poisoning. It's going to be extremely close these next few days. In fact, the next few hours will tell the tale, but..."

"But what? What aren't you telling me, Doc?"

"It's that bite that concerns me the most; the infection is spreading rapidly and putting Thaddeus' life at great risk. As I said, the next few hours will tell me which path we'll need to take to do our best to keep him alive."

Heyes walked over to stand next to Curry. Reaching down, he laid a hand on his cousin's arm. "Do whatever it takes, Doc. I...I can't lose him now!"

"We'll talk about what needs to be done when the times comes. Until then, we'll work together, Joshua." He grinned and added, "Trust me; Thaddeus couldn't be in better hands."

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