Bonnie gave Kid other tips that were very general and most he already knew. He could tell from the way she acted that she thought there was nothing that could be done for Ruth by them, but Kid was going to get a hold of brandy for Ruth's health if it was the last thing he ever did. And having to break into her crazy uncle's house to get it, it very well might be.
He didn't want to leave her. Just this morning, Ruth had vomited the little that was on her stomach, and he'd had to change her into a fresh linen chemise. He couldn't stand the idea of her laying in filth until he got back, and any number of other things could go wrong.
"Can you stay with her since you've already been around it?"
"Of course I can. The typhoid don't seem to be spreading too much though. Ruth's the only other one that's caught it. Sometimes I wonder if that germ theory thing is right. Where are you going?"
"To get brandy."
She shook her head in warning. "You'll get shot. "
He'd heard that before. "I'll do whatever it takes."
"Listen, he's my brother, and I love him, but even I wouldn't dare go anywhere near his cabin, much less in it, but I admire your love for her, and I'll be praying for you."
Bonnie lovingly wiped Ruth's long hair away from her sweaty face. He'd taken her bun out, so she could lay comfortably. He probably should have loosely tied it back, in case she got sick again. As she made a move to do just that, he knew he was leaving her in good hands.
He crawled out the window, to avoid spreading the disease as much as he could, and soon he stood in front of the cabin. He had no doubt that he could win if it came down to a shootout. He hadn't gained the title fastest draw in the west for nothing, but he didn't want to shoot Ruth's kin, even one that was cut off from the family. The problem was except for the once a year trip Ebenezer took for supplies, including brandy, he never left his self-induced solitary confinement.
He had to distract him, send him running out of his cabin. Ruth still carried a gravel flipper with her sometimes as she refused to carry a gun for self-protection. He wasn't as handy with it as her, but he was proficient enough. He'd brought it with him, and he chose a big rock and launched it as far as he could into a bush on the other side of the house. It was far enough away to draw Ebenezer outside to investigate, but it didn't give him much time.
Kid ran into the house as if a hellhound were nipping at his heels, but he couldn't move quickly once inside. It was more cluttered in there than he expected for a hermit's abode to be. The floor was littered with empty brandy bottles as if he were collecting them.
He scanned around the room for a full one, or at least a partially full one. His hand had no sooner slipped around the neck of the bottle than he was suddenly being hurled to the ground with brute force.
"Why are you trespassing?" His voice was rusty with disuse, but it didn't disguise the pure, raw anger there. He had him pinned down to the floor.
He'd heard it said that someone had "crazy" or "wild" eyes, but never had he seen it more accurately displayed than in this man above him. Whether his grief had driven him mad or whether all these years alone had, he had no doubt he would kill him for something as small as stealing a bottle of brandy.
"My wife, your niece, lays on the point of death. If she doesn't get brandy, she's going to die."
He had become so paranoid from living alone, he didn't trust a word he said. He had suspicion written all over his face. "Why break in here to get it?"
"Because you're the only one that has any; your sister is out. Another epidemic has come." Surely that would rouse some compassion out of him, but he kept his hardened look.
"Please, if you won't do it for her or me, think about our children. Do you want them to lose their mother because you couldn't spare her a little of your brandy? I'll replace it just as soon as she's on the mend, and I can travel."
"No one helped me when my family lay dying why should I help you?"
"More than half the valley was sick from what I hear with no treatment at anyone's disposal but waiting and prayer. You weren't the only one who lost loved ones during that time, but you still had people that love you. Your own brother, who is also dying I might add, can't die in peace until he knows you've been reconciled to God and man."
He said nothing but his grip on him had lessened.
Kid got ready to break free, in case his argument didn't work. "For heaven's sake, do it for your family's memory if nothing else. What would they want you to do?"
Ebenezer let go, and Kid rolled up off the floor with his hand ready by his holster as he awaited his response, but it was unnecessary. Kid was flooded with a sense of relief as the older man offered up the brandy.