"Ginny! Doralice!" Bret yelled from the back of his horse. In mere seconds both women came running out of the house. "Ginny, go find Tim and have him saddle up and go for Simon. Doralice, help me get him down."
"He's alive?" Doralice asked in a trembling voice.
"He's alive!"
Doralice held onto Bart while Bret slid down to the ground, then between the two of them they got the injured man off the horse. "Where's his roan?" she asked.
"I don't know. Whoever did this must have taken her."
Doralice helped Bret carry Bart into the house, as Ginny came running back. "He's on his way," she informed them as she ran in the house. "Put him in our room," was an afterthought, as Ginny went to collect water and towels.
"Where did you find him?"
"Right before the fork in the road."
"Has he been awake at all?"
"Not since I found him. Help me get his coat off." Bret and Doralice, working together, got him out of his coat, then his shirt. Bret touched the ribs on the right side, and Bart flinched.
"Do you think they're broken?" his wife asked.
"Yeah, I'd say so. Ginny, come up here with that water. Let's see if we can get him cleaned up."
It didn't matter who held the towel and tried to clean off some of the dirt and blood, all three were grateful for the fact that Bart remained unconscious. By the time they finished, Simon Petry had arrived. "I think his jaw may be broken, too," Bret observed just as Simon came through the door. As soon as he saw the doctor, he asked, "Where's Tim?"
"He stayed to tell Parker," Simon explained as he got a good look at the injured man. "Good Lord, what happened?"
"We don't know. He was late comin' home and I went out to look for him. I found him right before the fork in the road."
"Has he been conscious?"
"No."
"Any reaction at all from him?"
Simon knew the answer to the question by the silence that greeted him. "Not even a moan?"
Bret shook his head. "How bad is his jaw?"
Simon looked up and confirmed Bret's worst fears. "It's broken."
"And his ribs?"
"At least two, maybe three broken on the left side. What worries me . . . " Doralice and Bret waited, holding their breath. " . . . is the fact that he hasn't woken up yet."
"It doesn't surprise me," Bret remarked. "Whoever did this beat him around the face and head . . . just like they did in Montana."
"That's not what worries me. Remember what I told you when he had amnesia?"
All too well, Bret thought. 'If he's injured like this again, it could kill him.' "I remember."
Simon set about the task at hand, doing a complete examination and then beginning the task of stitching the facial cuts that were too big to heal all by themselves. Doralice attempted to stay in the bedroom but Simon wouldn't let her, so Ginny and Bret took her to the kitchen, where Ginny made breakfast and insisted she eat something. Surprisingly, she was hungry. They stayed at the kitchen table and talked about the beating and its reasons over coffee.
"You think this is related to his support for the train depot?" Doralice questioned her brother-in-law.
"I don't know. The others have been murders. Why would whoever's responsible change their pattern?"
There was a knock on the door; Ginny answered it and found Dave Parker. Dave hurried in and the first words out of his mouth were, "How is he?"
Before anyone else could answer, Simon came out of the bedroom. "You can go in now, Doralice, but he's still unconscious. Hello, Dave. And in answer to your question, Bret, I won't know anything further until he wakes up." He looked around the room to make sure that Doralice was out of hearing range. "If he wakes up."
The sheriff appeared startled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I told Doralice and Bret, when Bart got hit over the head and had amnesia . . . he's in danger of not waking up, the next time it happens."
"Just how bad was he hurt, Dr. Petry?" Dave had shifted into sheriff mode.
"Broken jaw, cuts and contusions, three broken ribs, and his face is black and blue. He's gonna be down for a while."
"Can I see him?"
"Sure. Bret, you might as well go on in there, too. Ginny, do you have any . . ." Simon stopped talking as soon as Ginny handed him a cup of coffee. "Thanks."
Bret followed right on Dave Parker's heels. Bart didn't look any better than he had when Bret found him, just cleaner. His jaw was swollen and turning purple, and there were bruises and cuts all over his face. Doralice was sitting next to the bed, stroking his hair.
"Any response?" Bret inquired.
Doralice gave him a shake of the head, but nothing more. Dave and Bret pulled up chairs next to the bed, and sat down . . . to wait.
