It was Lom Trevors' day off, so he was not happy to be woken first thing by the sound of someone pounding on his front door. He was even less happy to see that it was his deputy.
"Wilkins, what do mean by waking me up like this?"
The man seemed out of breath. "Sorry, sir, but the papers just got in and… well, I thought you should see!"
He thrust a newspaper into Lom's hand. Puzzled, Lom looked down at the headline.
Fire strikes Wyoming Prison! Famous Outlaw Hannibal Heyes close to death after heroic rescue!
He sank into a chair and began to read.
Lom sat for a long time wondering whether he should contact the Kid. He didn't really know anything, not yet, and a big part of him wanted to wait until they knew something concrete. But if it was reported in the paper, then the Kid would know about it sooner rather than later. He said he'd been much better about following the news since he heard about Heyes' arrest.
Lom made his decision and walked over to the telegraph office. Throwing his money down on the counter, he began to dictate - 'To Jedediah Curry, Silver Dollar Ranch, Silvervale, Colorado. Morning paper reports fire at prison. Heyes hurt. Will try to get further news.'
Then he began to dictate his second telegram.
Jed and Mary were in town getting supplies when the telegraph arrived. The boy, seeing him just across the street, yelled, "Mr. Curry! Mr. Curry!", and waved the telegraph in front of him as he ran.
The Kid snatched it from him with a muttered, "Thanks" and quickly scanned it. He felt suddenly weak, as if his knees were going to collapse beneath him.
Mary leaned over curiously.
"What is it?"
"Heyes. There was a fire, he's been hurt."
To his disgust, she gave a little sniff as she read the telegram. "I'm sure he's fine."
He couldn't look at her, knowing his revulsion would show too clearly on his face. "I have to go and see Lom, find out what's going on."
She bristled. "That's ridiculous! Lom said he's waiting for further news. You should wait until then. Why go all that way and find out it's a wasted journey?"
Kid Curry gritted his teeth. "Because he's my family."
Lom wasn't entirely surprised to see Kid Curry riding into town that night.
"Kid."
"Lom, any news?"
"You alright, Kid? You look kinda rough."
"Just… you know. Things. Worryin' 'bout Heyes. Stuff like that."
Lom wondered what could be encompassed in the phrase 'stuff like that', but didn't press. Instead, he walked into his office and poured out two cups of coffee, one of which he handed to the Kid.
"Thanks. Heard anything?"
"Not yet, still waiting. I have a friend in the sheriff's office near there. I asked him to go and find out."
They sat and drank for a few minutes.
"I was thinkin' I should go out there, maybe they'll let me see him."
"They won't. That old warden is as tough as nails. He's never gonna let you see Heyes."
"But if Heyes is hurt..."
"Doesn't matter. You think Heyes is the first wounded prisoner they've ever had? You think that warden is gonna change his policies about prison visitors because it's Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry? He isn't. Only thing to do is sit here and wait and drink more of this damn coffee."
Curry digested this for a few moments. "You think he's hurt bad?"
Lom stared into his coffee cup for a long moment. "Don't think they woulda printed it if he wasn't."
He looked back at his friend. "So… what did you mean? 'Stuff like that'? What's eating you, Kid?"
Curry paused for a moment and thought. He didn't like talking about personal stuff, especially when there was a lady involved. The only person he'd feel comfortable talking to was the one person he couldn't talk to. He sighed and leaned back against the chair.
"It's this." He made a gesture with his hand. "All of it. Heyes… Mary."
Lom leaned back as well. He'd wondered.
"Every day I think I hate her just a little bit more. Heyes would never have gone to jail if it wasn't for her."
"She did it for you." Lom kept his voice neutral.
"Yeah, that's what she said. And I'd like to believe it, but she never liked Heyes. She was always jealous of him. If she did it out of love, then how could she stand to take the money like that? Makes me sick to my stomach, thinking that our bills are paid for with the money she got from selling out Heyes. Should've been thirty pieces of silver!"
"But you married her anyway..."
"Yes. She told me… she said..."
Lom nodded. It wasn't hard to imagine what a woman like that would say to get a man to marry her.
"After we got married, well, she..." He wasn't ready to share that part of the story yet so he skipped over it. Lom could join the dots; he was a sheriff, for heaven's sake. "Anyway, it was too late by then, we were married. If I leave her, then my name is mud and I can never marry a decent woman 'cause I'll always be tied to her. There's nothing I can do but live side by side with that woman 'til the day I die. I'm in as much of a prison as Heyes!"
Lom felt sorry for his friend, but couldn't let that pass.
"Think Heyes might disagree with you on that score. I've seen him there. I think when it comes to punishment, he has the edge."
Curry looked up, shocked. "I didn't mean... I know he has it far worse than I could imagine, didn't mean to say he didn't. God, Lom…
Lom softened. "I know, Kid. Sorry. Guess we're all angry and upset about this."
They heard footsteps running outside and stood simultaneously.
A boy Lom didn't know put his head around the door. "Sheriff Trevors?"
"That's me."
"Letter for you. Guy paid me to bring it all the way back from Wyoming on the train! Fella said you'd find me somewhere to sleep and give me money to get back in the morning."
Lom nodded and reached for his pocket. He pulled out a handful of coins and handed a couple to the boy.
"Did you see that little yellow and white house next to the train station? The one with all the birdhouses?"
The boy nodded.
"Mrs. Wainwright lives there and takes overnight boarders. Tell her I'm sorry to disturb her this late and say I sent you. Ask her to give you something to eat. She'll take care of you. Train leaves in the morning at nine sharp, so you best be ready early if you want some breakfast first, okay?"
"Yes, sir!" The boy took the coins and ran off.
Through the whole exchange, Curry had been barely concealing his impatience. Now he reached for the letter. Lom pushed his hand away.
"It's my letter, Kid, and addressed to me!"
"Then read it!"
"I will, but I needed to take care of the boy first, as you damn well know!"
Curry flushed, but waited as Lom tore open the letter. Curry leaned in next to him and they read.
Sheriff Trevors -
Forgive me for keeping you waiting and sending a letter rather than a telegram, but there was more to say than a telegram would have been able to convey.
Mr. Heyes has been badly injured and is currently in a critical condition. The doctor is not hopeful of his chances.
Lom heard Curry gasp and lean back against the desk. Lom swallowed and then continued to read.
Here is the story as far as I can ascertain it.
Heyes has been proving himself to be an exemplary prisoner and was appointed to work on the prison accounts in the small accounting office near the warden's house. He was being escorted back from his shift when a fire broke out in the prison.
It transpired that a group of prisoners tried to set a fire in their cellblock, hoping to use the ensuing confusion to make their escape. They had been gathering everything they could find that would burn and made a fire in the hallway outside some of the cells. Alas, they badly miscalculated. The sheets they gathered took up the flame immediately and they had positioned it underneath one of the skylight windows. Instead of creating a small fire that could be quickly contained after they had been removed from their cells, the fire quickly took to the roof. You will perhaps have heard that we have suffered an exceptionally dry season and there was an immediate conflagration.
With the roof ablaze, the cell block quickly burned from the top down, dropping burning debris into the cells below. Far from creating enough confusion to escape, they prisoners quickly found themselves trapped in the fire they had started.
The bell was rung and the guards rushed to help contain both the fire and the prisoners, as panic quickly spread throughout the building.
Before the guard watching Heyes was able to decide on any course of action, embers from the burning roof blew on a cruel wind to the warden's house, where they immediately set the little wooden structure ablaze.
The warden's wife had been entertaining guests, the governor's wife and her children. When they heard the bell, the two ladies ran out of the house to see what was the matter. They were quickly joined by the few servants that were working in the house that day, all eager to see what was amiss.
As the flames began to engulf the house, the women began to rush towards the building, screaming for their children. The guard acted immediately and held them back, the women fighting with unnatural strength to save their little ones. Indeed, one guard described them to me as 'fighting like mad women'.
Heyes, on seeing their distress, and with no thought for his own safety, rushed inside.
The children say he used a cane to push away the burning timbers from the hallway so that he could get inside. Once there, he quickly determined the best way to escape and used a bedsheet as a rope so the children could climb into a nearby tree, where one of the guards could help them down.
He managed to save all the children but one, the baby. The eldest girl believes that he was planning to carry the baby across himself, since none of the other children would have been able to bear the weight as they climbed, but at that moment a beam fell from above and blocked the window. She saw him turn for the door and run through the flames with the baby clasped to his chest.
We, of course, have no way of knowing how badly the house was burning at that point, but we can imagine the flames were fierce. He seemed to be hoping that speed and fleetness of foot would save him, and he very nearly made it.
It was when he ran back through the front door, within sight of escape, that the doorframe collapsed and the lintel above the door fell across him, pinning him to the ground.
By now, more guards had appeared and were trying to control the blaze. When the lintel fell, they quickly set to work dousing the beam and freeing him.
The baby was, unfortunately, killed by the blow and Mr. Heyes has been insensible ever since. He has burns over most of his body, but most of them are minor.
It is the damage done to his legs and back which give the doctor cause for concern. He believes that if - and he feels that it is unlikely - Mr. Heyes should live, then it is unlikely that he will ever recover fully. The extent of the damage to his back from the fallen beam is, of course, not yet known, and his leg was also broken at that time, although again, I'm not certain as to the extent of the injury. In addition, the damage to his body from the burns is considerable.
I was able to persuade one of the guards - a former colleague - to let me see Mr. Heyes and I must say that I am in agreement with the doctor. Mr. Heyes lies very close to death. It seems to me that the question is when, not if.
However, the governor's wife and the warden's wife, feeling they owe him an immense debt of gratitude, are laboring long and hard at his bedside to try to revive him. They feel that with God's grace, they may yet prevail.
Despite the implorings of his wife and her friend, the warden still insists that he will not be shaken from his rule of no visitors. He believes that God has given Mr. Heyes an opportunity to redeem himself from a life of greed, larceny and deceit, and that it is up to God to decide upon his fate. He feels that he if he showed mercy at this point, he would be undermining the judgement that God has seen fit to bestow.
However, in answer to the pleas of his wife and children, he has allowed himself to be swayed to the extent of allowing Mr. Heyes to receive a letter which can be read to him. Only God knows whether he will ever hear the words, but it may offer some comfort to his friends and family at this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Tom Miller.
Lom lowered the letter and sank into the seat beside him. He saw Curry beside him, ashen faced and shocked.
Lom laid a hand on the Kid's back. "I think we need a drink."
Lom took a bottle of whiskey from the bottom drawer of his desk. Emptying the dregs from their coffee mugs, he poured a generous portion of whiskey into each.
They drank silently for a while until they started to recover from the shock.
Curry gripped his mug tightly. "If I'd just listened to him and gone away with him when he asked, none of this would've happened!"
"No, maybe it wouldn't. But you didn't know what would happen and neither did Heyes. You can't blame yourself; it wasn't your fault."
"No, that honor goes to my lovely wife, who's ten thousand dollars richer because of it!"
"Kid, Heyes doesn't blame you. He told me he wanted you to be happy. It's a shame it didn't work out the way he wanted, but he was happy that you're free. And Heyes knew he wasn't likely to survive a twenty year sentence. What's more, he wouldn't have wanted to. Twenty years in that place would have killed him anyway, slowly and miserably. This way, he gets to go out the way he would've wanted to. Like a hero, literally in a blaze of glory."
"I don't know how I can go on without him. He's looked after me since we were children."
"I know. But we're assuming the doctor is right! You know Heyes. He may pull through yet, especially with two lovely ladies looking after him!"
Lom thought it unlikely, but he hated to see the Kid like this. A little hope might make the eventual loss easier to bear.
Kid Curry sat up straighter, with a determined look in his eyes.
"You're right. Heyes never gave up anything in life without a fight. I'm gonna write that letter!"