A Close Call (Just a "pass the time" story)
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Everything just happened so damn fast. I was sitting at a poker table and from my chair I could see the staircase the cowboys climbed with one of the whores in tow. I happened to glance up from my cards and I saw Kid coming down the stairs and glancing around the saloon, likely trying to locate me. Another man was heading up the stairs holding the wrist of one of the saloon girls. About half way down the stairs I saw Kid shift to his right to give the cowboy more room.
That's when I turned back to the cards in my hand. I didn't see what happened next. I heard one of the girl's scream and I turned and saw Kid doubling over, his arms flailing for the rail of the staircase but his hands couldn't grasp it and he went plummeting head over heals down the steps and landed with a loud thud on the floor kind of curled up and crumpled.
I folded my cards, tossed them on the table and rushed over to where Kid was laying. That's when I saw the blood on the left side of his shirt. I gave a quick glance up the stairs but the cowboy had disappeared. Somebody called for the Sheriff and the doctor, and I knelt down beside Kid, a pool of blood growing wider on the floor beneath him.
Another cowboy knelt down beside us and helped me turn Kid over. Kid's shirt had a ragged long slit where the blood was running and it appeared that Kid had been stabbed with a knife rather than shot. I held his head in my arms and told him he was going to be alright but I doubt he heard me. His mouth and his eyes were open, but the eyes weren't seeing nothing. His right hand held tight to the wound but it wasn't slowing the bleeding none. His jaw would move every once in a while as though he was trying to say something, but he didn't utter no words, not even any sounds.
"Anybody see or know the man who done this?" I called out. My eyes landed on the whore who had been going up the stairs.
"You, who was that man?" I asked her.
The whore just shook her head and sobbed. "I don't know. I don't know him mister. Honest."
"Anybody know him?" I pleaded but nobody answered me.
Kid started squirming a bit, his free hand moving about kind of slow as though he was trying to find me, and he shifted his legs, then drew them back up quick. I grabbed hold of his hand and just made quieting sounds and I saw his breathing picking up a bit.
"It's alright, Thaddeus. Doc's on his way," I told him, but I doubt he heard the words. Still, I thought maybe just the sound of my voice might be comforting.
The doctor and the Sheriff came bustling in together, spied the commotion on the floor and came rushing over. The doctor got down on his knees beside me and started unbuttoning the bottom of Kid's shirt, then splayed it open and pried Kid's hand away to see what was in store for him that night. He quickly reached into his bag and pulled out wads of bandages that he pressed against the wound, then buttoned Kid's shirt back up. Kid's hand found its way back to the wound and pressed down, holding the bandages in place.
"Gotta get this man to my office."
Me and the other fellow who was next to me got up and picked Kid up without worrying too much about comfort and carried him across the street, the doctor leading the way and Kid moaning now and again.
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"Alright, what happened, and no one leaves this saloon until I've got your name and whatever you can tell me," Sheriff Coleman said, giving a nod to the bartender to put a couple of men at the door. "And don't let anyone else in," he told the bartender.
The saloon girl who had been going up the stairs with the man slowly made her way through the crowd.
"Whoever he was, he ain't from around here, Sheriff. I've never seen him in here before," she said nervously.
Sheriff Coleman pulled a notepad and pencil from his pocket and sat down at the nearest empty table. He motioned to the girl to sit down.
"Alright, Sheila, what did he look like?"
"He was tall and lean, dark hair. Looked like he hadn't had a shave in a few days."
"You notice his gun?"
"We always notice the gun of anyone going upstairs. It had an ivory handle with a couple of chips along the edge. It looked worn, old."
"He give you a name?"
"Just Jim. He didn't give no last name. Of course, not too many of them do."
"Anything unusual about the way he spoke, what he was wearing?"
Sheila shook her head. "Oh, half the little finger of his right hand was missing."
"Still bandaged or an old injury?"
"Old. It was all healed up."
"Did he say anything to that fella that got hurt?"
Sheila shook her head. "But he, the one that got hurt, smiled at him kind of nervous , like maybe he knew him or was a bit surprised to see him. You know, like he seen a ghost or something."
"Anything else to tell me?"
Sheila shook her head. "Oh, he let go of me and ran up the stairs."
The Sheriff turned to Deputy Butler. "Go up there and look around. Don't touch nothing that might be used as evidence or clues, and be careful."
"Yes sir, Sheriff," Butler replied and, drawing his gun, made his way up the stairs.
"You think of anything more Sheila, you come and tell me."
Sheila nodded and pulled herself out of the chair.
"Who's next?" the Sheriff called out to the crowd, When no one responded, the Sheriff turned to the bartender. "Frank, you work close to the stairs, what did you see?"
The bartender put down the glass and towel that were in his hands. "Everything Sheila told you is true, except I can't vouch for the smile. I wasn't looking at the stairs when it happened. It was the sound of that fella falling that caught my attention."
Sheriff Coleman stood up and addressed the crowd.
"You all leave your name's with the bartender. Then, if you've got nothing to tell me now, you're free to go."
Sheriff Coleman then walked over to the foot of the stairs where the pool of blood was drying into the wood. He looked up the stairs and saw several large drops of blood going in both directions on the stairs.
"Sheila, where exactly this did happen?" the Sheriff called to the saloon girl. Sheila walked over to the foot of the stairs and rested one hand on the post. "We was three or four steps from the top when we was passing by the man coming down."
Coleman looked at the drops of blood on the top stairs. "So them drops near the top of the stairs must have dripped from the man's knife," he said and carefully made his way up the stairs, avoiding any contact with the blood.
Coleman followed the drops of blood to the top of the stairs and down the hall to a room with an open door. He drew his gun and slowly approached the door. The light from an oil lamp shown inside and Coleman carefully scanned the walls for any shadows cast by the lamp. Then he slowly stepped inside.
The room was empty. The window looking out over a back alley was open, the curtains moving gently in a soft breeze. A few smaller drops of blood stained the floor near the window, then splayed out along the baseboard. Coleman walked to the window and looked out, seeing hoof prints leading down the alley. Coleman pulled his head back in to the room and got down on his hands and knees to search the floor near the wall that was splattered with blood. He spied a bloodied serrated knife about six inches long and with a bone handle on the floor in the corner of the room. He picked it up and carried it out of the room. Deputy Butler joined him in the hallway and shook his head, then followed the Sheriff down the stairs. The bartender and several patrons watched him as he walked out of the saloon and across the street to his office.
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We got Kid up on the table and me and the other man got Kid's shirt off him while the doctor set up all the things he'd be needing. Kid wasn't fully unconscious but enough so that he moaned a few times but he didn't try to stop us from getting his shirt off.
Now I'm no doctor, but that wound looked bad, edges all ragged and nearly two inches long. It was still bleeding pretty bad but I kept my hand pressed against the bandages till the doctor was ready to work on it.
"We'll be alright from here," the doctor said when he stood over Kid. The other man nodded and I thanked him as he made his way out of the office, but I stayed put.
"I ain't leaving. He's kin," I explained and the doctor nodded.
"Then I'll be putting you to some use. Go over to the sink and wash your hands, and use the soap."
By the time I got back, the doctor had Kid's stomach cleaned off, though blood still oozed steadily from the wound. The doctor poured chloroform onto a cloth and held it against Kid's nose and mouth. After just a couple of breaths, Kid passed out cold.
The doctor worked on Kid for nearly an hour, muttering as he went along, but his hands were steady and his fingers nimble so I just let him ramble and I handed him the things that he asked for, describing them rather than calling by their name. When he was about done, he began snipping the jagged edges of skin away and kept me busy dabbing away the new little streams of blood. Doc said he could stitch Kid up better if all them little threads of skin were gone and he had smoother edges to work with. When he was done sewing Kid we both washed the blood from our hands and then I sat with Kid while the doctor cleaned all his tools.
Near supper time the chloroform started wearing off and Kid started to wake up slowly. It was about that time the Sheriff paid a visit to see what Kid could tell him. Now it was obvious Kid was hurting quite a bit, but Doc said he wanted to wait till the Sheriff was through before given Kid any pain medicine since it would likely make him sleep some more.
"Did you see the man that did this?" the Sheriff asked.
Kid was breathing kind of heavy and wincing a lot. I noticed his right hand moved across his stomach so his hand could lay tight against the bandage. He nodded to the Sheriff's question.
"You know him?"
Kid shook his head a little.
"Can you tell me what he looked like?"
Tall...dark hair...black hat...That's about it."
"He say anything to you?"
Kid thought a minute. "Don't think so."
"Any idea why he done it?"
"No."
"You see what he used?"
"I saw a flash of...silver. I think a knife."
"And he didn't say nothing?"
"No."
"Sheriff, could you finish this in the morning. He's hurting pretty bad," I asked.
I saw the Sheriff think about the request, then nod his head. "I'll be back in the morning," he said and left the office.
"I'll go get him something for the pain," the doctor said and walked out of the room.
"How you feeling, Kid?" I asked and pushed some hair back from Kid's face.
"Heyes..."
"You think you could..."
Kid grabbed my arm as tight as he could. "Heyes... It was Jim Creider."
"What? Kid, Jim Creider is dead."
"That's what I thought...too...He ain't."
"Are you sure?"
Kid's got a catch in his breath and he winced, then struggled not to moan. "I'm sure."
Jim Creider was an outlaw, at least that's what we both thought was the proper phrase, 'was' I mean. We both had heard he'd been killed in a fight in Tombstone a couple of years ago. When we knew him, or at least when Kid knew him, cause I only knew of him, his reputation was that of a killer, his preferred weapon was a hunting knife.
Kid had come across him just after Kid had joined up with the Devil's Hole gang. Some of the boys were going to town one night and me and Kid both thought it might be a good idea for him to go along as a way to get to know the boys better and have them come to think of Kid as one of our own. Well, Kid and Wheat lingered at the bar, but the rest of the boys got involved in a poker game with a few other fellas. After a while things got a little rowdy at the table, and one of the strangers, it turned out to be Jim Creider, accused Kyle of cheating. Wheat motioned to Kid to stay put and he walked over and intervened and actually got everyone settled without any gun play.
The game broke up shortly after that and Creider and his friends left. Not thinking anymore about the incident, Kid told Wheat he was going over to the Mercantile to get some gun oil and Preacher said he was going to the barber for a haircut and asked Kyle to come along. When Kid was on his way back to the saloon, he passed an alley and heard a ruckus. Kid stayed back in the shadows to see what was going on and discovered Creider and his men had Kyle and Preacher cornered and Creider said he was going to kill Kyle for cheating and then kill Preacher just for the fun of it.
Now Kyle is a real peaceable fellow and kind of simple minded and for Kyle, poker is hard enough without adding the burden of cheating to the game. Well, Kid saw Creider pull his knife and saw him take a step toward Kyle who Creider's friends were restraining. Kid pulled his gun and shot the knife right out of Creider's hand. In fact, it dislodged from his hand with such force, it broke Creider's thumb.
At that point Kid stepped into the lamp light where everyone could get a good look at him, his gun still drawn and aimed and he told them fellas to let Kyle and Preacher go. Then he told Creider and his friends to be on their way. They were willing to leave, but when Creider bent down to pick up his knife, Kid shot the knife a second time, sending it sliding down the alley.
Creider stood and glowered at Kid and told Kid he ain't seen the last of him, but he walked away leaving the knife laying in the dirt.
Well, despite Creider's warning, that was the last Kid had seen of him because a few years later we got word that Creider had been killed in a knife fight in Tombstone.
"Why didn't you tell the Sheriff?" I asked.
"Tell him what, that a dead man stabbed me?" Kid replied, his breathing getting harder.
I looked toward the door wondering what was keeping the doctor.
"Heyes...He ain't left. He'll try to see this through."
I nodded, but we both got quiet when the doctor walked in carrying a glass of milky looking liquid with a thin glass, hollow tube in the glass.
"Here, suck on this to draw the liquid up," the doctor said, holding the glass tube next to Kid's mouth.
Kid did as the doctor said and was able to drink the medicine mixture without the effort of sitting up.
"Doc, I want you to lock the front door, and lock this door anytime Thaddeus is in here alone," I said.
"Why?"
"Because we think the man that stabbed my friend here just might come back to finish the job."
"What makes you think that?"
I looked at Thaddeus who by now had his eyes closed and was slowly drifting back to sleep.
"Just a hunch."
I stayed with Kid that night but I didn't sleep. If what he said was true, if that was Jim Creider, Kid was likely right that he wasn't leaving till he finished the job and obviously Kid was in no shape to stop Creider. I decided to send Lom a telegram to see if there was anything he might know contrary to what we had heard. I didn't want to mention Creider's name to this local Sheriff. That could just open a whole can of worms because he would want to know how we knew such a notorious killer.
Next morning the doctor was changing Kid's bandage when the Sheriff stopped in for another visit.
"Edges are looking a little red. That might just be from the trauma to the skin, being snipped and sewed, and that knife cut jagged edges all the way in. I'll keep a close eye on it. I suspect it's hurting?"
Kid nodded.
"Mind if I come in?" the Sheriff asked from the doorway.
"You can come in. I just finished," the doctor replied and headed out of the room.
"You think of anything else that might be important?" he asked Kid.
Kid shook his head. He looked pained and pale. "Ain't thought of anything," he said with some effort.
"I located the knife the man used. It's a a Swiss Army knife with a saw-tooth blade. You know of anyone that might carry such a knife?"
Kid shook his head.
"It's an expensive knife. Probably costs at least as much as a handgun. Not too many folks would likely own one."
"I can't help you on that, Sheriff... Don't know of no one," Kid said, breathing a bit heavy.
"Sheriff, it occurred to me last night that if that man intended to kill Thaddeus, he just might still be lurking around somewhere," I told the Sheriff
The Sheriff nodded and scratched the back of his neck. "I can put a man on watch here for a day or two. You might be better off resting up in the jail where we can protect you twenty-four hours a day."
"You ain't moving him nowhere for a few days, not till I'm sure I don't have to open that wound up again and drain it," the doctor said as he returned to the room with another glass of the milky liquid."
"Whatever you say, Doc," the Sheriff replied. "It just puzzles me why a perfect stranger would do such a thing."
"Puzzles me, too," Kid replied.
"Sheriff, mind letting me see the knife?" I asked.
"It's in my office. Stop by anytime. You think you might recognize it?"
"No. Just...curious." I replied and reached for the glass in the doctor's hand. "I'll give it to him."
After Sheriff Coleman left I gave Kid the water with the pain power mixed in and the doctor brought in some scrambled eggs but Kid refused any breakfast so I knew he was hurting pretty bad. Once he drifted back off to sleep, I decided to go out to take care of a few things. I went first to the telegraph office to send a telegram to Lom asking what he knew about Creider, in particular about whether Creider just might still be alive and if so, did Lom know anything about what kind of knife Creider was know to use. Then I set off for the Sheriff's office to get a look at the knife that was used on Kid.
The Sheriff's office was almost directly across from the Doctor's Office, so I stood over near the window so I could keep an eye out for anyone coming or going to see the doctor.
Sheriff Coleman pulled open a desk drawer and lifted the knife from the drawer. He had it wrapped in a white cloth and he set it on his desk and unfolded the cloth. Little flecks of dried blood stuck to the cloth as he unfolded it.
I was shocked at the size of the knife. Oh, it was the size of a typical hunting knife, but when I thought about that thing slicing into my partner it sickened me. I didn't make any attempt to pick it up so the Sheriff turned it over for me to see the other side.
"You know, any Sheriff worth his salt can read a person pretty good," Sheriff Coleman said. "I think there's something you haven't told me. Knowing what that is just might help."
"I didn't see Thaddeus get hurt, Sheriff. So there's really nothing I can tell you."
The Sheriff just looked at me like he knew I was lying, so I figured it was best to make a quick exit.
"But Mr. Jones there saw the man. Did he recognize him?" the Sheriff asked, causing me to pause at the door.
"He's says he didn't."
"I know what he told me. I'm asking what he told you."
"I wish I could help you, Sheriff. For my partner's sake, I really do. But at this point, I don't know any more than you do, probably not as much as you do. Now if you'll excuse me, I better get back to my partner.
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That pain medicine didn't seem to be holding Kid for very long and he was awake but pretty groggy within the hour. I had just gotten up to see if he needed anything when Sheriff Coleman walked in.
I looked over my shoulder at the Sheriff but turned my attention back to Thaddeus.
"I hear you sent a telegram this morning," the Sheriff said.
I kept my back to the Sheriff but gave him a nod. "I always thought a telegram was a private matter," I replied.
"Not when it involves questions about an attempted murder."
I pulled the blanket up to Kid's shoulders. He was looking at me with half glazed eyes but he shook his head slightly and I knew he didn't want me telling the Sheriff his suspicions.
"Look, Sheriff, I just asked a friend of ours if he knew anything about..."
"I know who you sent the telegram to," the Sheriff interrupted. "I happen to know Lom Trevors. Known him for maybe twenty years. In fact I rode with him for a spell."
My head perked up and I looked at Kid to see if he understood what the Sheriff had just said. I noticed Kid's breathing was suddenly a little faster
Lom Trevors has been the Sheriff of Porterville for about a dozen years. A few years before that he had spent time in the Wyoming Territorial Prison after getting caught when Tex Worthman's gang had robbed a bank in Casper. Lom had been a part of that gang for three or four years.
I gave Kid another glance and again he shook his head ever so slightly. I knew Kid wanted me to keep quiet. I also knew if I did, Sheriff Coleman would start looking into why I was keeping quiet. I looked at Kid again and gave my own head an almost imperceptible shake. Then I turned around to look at the Sheriff.
Just then the the telegrapher walked in holding a piece of paper. He stopped in the doorway, surprised to see the Sheriff standing there.
"It's alright, Tom. This fella knows you told me about the telegram."
The telegrapher still just stood there with the telegram dangling in his hand.
"You give it to the man it's addressed to," the Sheriff said.
The telegrapher stretched his arm out toward me and I snatched the telegram from him and quickly unfolded it while the telegrapher made a hasty exit.
I read the telegram, then sighed and looked at Kid and gave him a nod. Kid closed his eyes and turned his head away from us.
"You gonna tell me what's in that telegram or do I have to go have another chat with Tom?"
"It's a long story," I replied.
"And I'm listening."
"Well, long story short, a few years ago Thaddeus came upon a fight in an alley one night in a small town in western Wyoming. A man, Jim Creider was his name, had pulled a knife on a friend of ours. Thaddeus here shot the knife out of Creider's hand, broke his thumb in the process. It put an end to the fight but Creider swore revenge. Neither one of us had seen Creider since and we heard he'd been killed a few months ago in Tombstone. Thaddeus says Creider's the man who stabbed him."
I handed the telegram to the Sheriff to read.
"If you had told me this before I could have saved you the cost of a telegram. But, knowing Lom Trevors, I suspect you had your reasons. I happen to know for a fact that Creider ain't dead. He also isn't one to let a job go unfinished."
I saw Kid turn his head to look at the both of us, and I saw his hand reach down to the spot where he'd been stabbed. I knew he was hurting and this conversation wasn't helping matters for him.
"Since Creider, or whoever it was that did this, lost his knife, I'll wire all the neighboring towns and have the Sheriffs check around to see if anyone has come into any of the stores looking to buy a similar one.
"I don't mean to rush you Sheriff, but Thaddeus seems to be hurting a lot again. I think Doc needs some time to tend to him."
The Sheriff looked over at Kid and nodded. "Alright, Mr. Smith. I'll let you know if I get any information back about a knife...I expect you to keep me posted of any information you might gain as well."
"I will, Sheriff," I promised him.
When the Sheriff left, I turned my attention back to Kid. "I'll go get Doc, Kid," I told him.
"No, wait," Kid gasped.
I stopped and looked into Kid's eyes and could see the concern.
"We got to...lure him back here...Heyes," Kid said to me. "Put it on...our terms...not his."
"You're in no shape to take him on in any way, Kid."
Kid was panting, more from frustration than anything else. "Doc's gonna want to...open this again...I know it...It ain't getting no better...Heyes, I can't let him do that...not till this is...taken care of."
"Kid, you've got me, you've got the Sheriff, you've got his deputies. We can take care of this without your help," I tried to assure him.
"No... I have to do it."
"Why?"
Kid half laughed through his short gasps of air. "You ain't that good a shot," he said and tried pretty poorly to smile.
"We'll talk about this more later. Right now, we have to get you feeling better," I told him and went in search of the doctor.
The doctor poked and prodded Kid for the better part of half an hour before finally tying a new bandage over the wound and standing up straight again.
"Well, you're right son. It shouldn't be hurting as much as you say it still does. Pain's not something that goes away real fast but it does begin to ease up as the healing progresses. There's no indication that the wound is infected. It's not red, it's not seeping, it's not much warmer than the skin around it. The pain seems to be spreading out though, and that tells me that knife likely nicked your kidney. There may be a bit in internal bleeding. If that's the case, I will have to go back in and see what can be done to fix that. I don't think the damage, if any, is too bad cause you are peeing and it's not bloody.
"When do you plan on doing that?" I asked.
"Unless there is a sudden decline, not for a day or two. I want to give it time to resolve itself if it can. The body is pretty amazing. You'd be surprised how much it can do on it's own," the doctor replied.
The doctor increased Kid's pain medicine a bit and he fell back to sleep. I decided I had to take the risk of talking to the Sheriff more and figured if he was the same kind of man as Lom Trevors, then I could take a cautious bit of risk with doing that. So I told the doctor I was going out for a while and I watched him lock the door to Kid's room.
I debated whether to go directly to the Sheriff's office, or stop at the saloon for a beer and maybe a little information first. I decided on the latter.
It was mid afternoon by now and there were only a few men inside, most all of whom were sitting at one table or another. I was the only one standing at the bar.
"What'll you have?"
"A beer."
"How's your friend doing?" the bartender asked when he handed me my drink.
"He's got a ways to go yet, but he'll pull through. The man that stabbed Thaddeus, was that the first time he's ever been in here?"
"No, I seen him in here one night a few weeks ago. Played poker mostly. But you can tell a lot about a man just by watching him. My guess is that man is a loner. He ain't sociable."
"So, he wasn't with anybody?"
"Two men came in with him. They all seemed to have their own agendas. They didn't stay together. They did all leave together, though.
"Does he carry a knife so it's visible?"
The bartender snorted and shook his head. "Least not when he was in here. Sheriff figure out who he is?"
I shook my head, figuring it wasn't up to me to give out any information, just to get some if I could.
"You remember who he played poker with, I mean a few weeks back when he was here?"
"Oh, let's see now. Jim Fleming, I think, Teak Miller. I don't remember anybody else. Maybe one of them would remember though."
"Where would I find them?"
"They both have small ranches just west of here. Jim will likely stop by here tonight, it being Saturday and all."
I raised my glass for the last gulp of my beer and my eyes caught the floor at the foot of the stairs. The blood had all been washed away, but the wood had a darker color to it where the pool of blood had been. I hadn't realized just how big that pool of blood had been. I set my glass down and headed over to the Sheriff's office.
"I just had an interesting conversation with the bartender, Sheriff"
"How interesting?" the Sheriff asked.
"Seems Jim Creider was in town a few weeks ago. Had two other fellows with him. Played poker with a couple of locals, a Jim Fleming and a Teak Miller."
"I know them both. Neither one of them was in the saloon when your friend got hurt."
"No, but the bartender said Jim is likely to be in town tonight. He might remember Creider. Might be able to describe the knife Creider carries, if he saw."
"I'll talk to him."
"My friend is quite certain that Creider will be back, that he'll want to finish what he started."
"Your friend is probably right. My men will keep a close eye out for Creider and anybody else that rides in to town with him."
"Thaddeus thinks perhaps it would be a good idea to somehow lure Creider back to town. According to Sheriff Trevors, Creider is still a wanted man."
The sheriff pulled the wanted poster of Creider from his top desk drawer. "According to this, he's wanted for murder as well as a few holdups. Now I'm not putting your friend at any more risk than I have to. If Creider plans to finish the job, he'll be back soon enough."
"I just thought if there was a way to get the word out that my friend was not seriously hurt, that might bring Creider back sooner rather than later."
"Don't know how I would get such information to an outlaw."
I smiled. "The saloon on a Saturday night might be a good place to start."
The Sheriff put the poster back in his drawer. "I'll give it some thought, Mr. Smith."
I headed to the cafe for some supper, then headed back to the doctor's office, figuring it being Saturday night, well, I wanted to stay with Kid in case anything were to happen.
Kid was still sleeping when the doctor unlocked the door for me. Doc made the most of his time and lifted the sheet to check Kid's bandages, then felt for a fever and listened to Kid's lungs.
"He looks pretty pale, don't you think, Doc?"
The doctor nodded. "I'll check on him before I retire and again sometime during the night."
"Why during the night?"
"As pale as he is, he's still losing blood. I want to keep a very close eye on on things."
"I'm keeping the door locked, Doc."
The doctor nodded. "I'll knock three times, no more, no less. If it's anything but three knocks, don't open the door," the doctor said and handed me the key.
"Alright."
"Let me know if he wakes. He needs to be drinking more and maybe he can take some food."
I nodded and settled into the chair next to Kid's bed. I turned up the lamp a little and pulled the book from the table. I tried to read, but my mind kept drifting off to Creider and what he might try. Even though I knew the door was locked, I still got up and moved a chair against the door and wedged the back of the chair against the knob of the door.
Around ten in the evening, I heard three knocks on the door, followed by the doctor's voice. I unlocked the door and let him in.
"He hasn't been awake?"
I shook my head
"If he does wake up, you come and get me. It's important."
"Alright," I promised. "Things in town pretty quiet?"
"If you're asking if that man is in town, no he is not."
"Okay. I'll wake you if... when Kid wakes up. Good night, Doc."
Kid continued to sleep. In fact he didn't stir in the least and his breathing, though easy, was pretty shallow. Fortunately sleep don't come real easy to me and I just held a bedside vigil. Doc came back in to check on Kid around two in the morning and I could tell by the look on his face he wasn't too pleased with what he saw. He felt Kid's forehead, something I'd been doing about every hour all night. Then he just told me he'd be back early in the morning and he went back to bed. I locked the door behind him.
Couldn't have been more than an hour later when Kid started stirring a little. I got up out of my chair and stood next to the bed and I saw Kid's eyes fluttering open a bit. That's when I got concerned. Those blue eyes looked pale and ordinarily that wouldn't have worried me, him being sick and all, but then I noticed just how white his face had become, like there weren't no color to him at all.
"Crei...Crei..." Kid whispered.
"He's not here, Kid. It's nice and quiet," I assured him.
Kid exhaled a couple of short, halted breaths and tried to swallow a deep moan as he winced and tried to curl himself up a bit.
"Doc! Doc!" I shouted and opened the door of the room "Doc! Come here, quick!"
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Look how white his face is. He's as white as that sheet!"
The doctor rushed to Kid's bedside and used his long tube to listen to Kid's lungs. Then he pulled back the sheet and even I could tell that wound was swelling up in the middle. Doc then looked at each of Kid's eyes.
"There's no time to waste. I have to open that wound and find out where he's bleeding. I'll need your help, Mr. Smith."
"Doc, I'm gonna run over and let the Sheriff know what we're doing so he'll have somebody guarding the place while we're busy."
Doc nodded. "Be quick about it. I'll have everything I need in here and ready when you get back."
"Lock the door behind me. I'll knock three times."
Twenty minutes later I was back at the doctor's office and doc had already gotten Kid on his back and had given him the chloroform so he was out cold again. Doc folded down the sheet and blanket to Kid's waist and pealed the bandage off the stab wound.
"There's likely a fair amount of blood just under the surface that's looking for an outlet. So, when I take the stitches out and separate the edges, you be ready to mop up whatever comes seeping out. I need a clear view to see exactly where the bleeding is coming from."
"Alright, I'm ready."
It took Doc a good five minutes just to remove the stitches and sure enough, a red, pus sort of liquid started oozing from the space where the skin hadn't closed together yet. I quickly dabbed at it and got it as clean and dry as I could.
"There'll be a lot more once I cut this open," the doctor warned as he lowered the scalpel then made a swift cut to reopen the wound.
Doc was right about the drainage and I sopped up the blood as quick as I could, but it still managed to flow down the side of Kid's belly and on to the sheet beneath him.
Three knocks on the front door brought brought Doc's and my eyes into a lock. Someone at the door at three in the morning couldn't be good.
"I'll go check Doc. You lock this door behind me."
The doctor nodded and when I walked out of the room I shut the door and waited till I heard the locking of the door behind me.
I walked into the front room but I didn't bother lighting a lamp. I didn't want to give someone an easy target.
"Who is it?" I shouted
"Deputy Owen. The Sheriff sent me over here," came the reply. "Come on, Doc, let me in."
I stepped back into the darkest of the shadows in the room and drew my gun. Any deputy in this little town would know he wasn't talking to the doctor.
"Go tell the Sheriff I want to talk to him because that's not the plan he told me," I called to the stranger outside.
"He's off doing rounds. Gonna take me a while to find him. He says you need someone to guard some patient you have in there."
"I ain't got no patient. Least not one that needs protecting. Got one that died an hour ago."
"He's dead?"
"That's what I said."
It got quiet outside and then I heard footsteps, but they was approaching, not walking away. Then I heard some real low mumbling, like a conversation was taking place out there on the walk. I quickly made my way to the back of the building to check that the back door was locked.
"Smith, I need you in here," the doctor called from inside the locked room.
I looked toward the door where the doctor was working on Kid, then to the front of the office. I thought about firing a shot to alert the Sheriff, but that would likely just start a gun battle and I sure didn't want that to commence. So I quickly went down the hall and knocked three times on the door.
Doc was quick to let me in and I locked the door behind me.
"Get to mopping that blood. His kidney's bleeding out into his abdomen. I have to get that stopped and patched up, but I can't see where to work with all this blood."
I holstered my gun and picked up a handful of cloths to begin wiping Kid's skin clean.
"Who's out there?" the doctor asked.
"I think it's the one who's out to get Thaddeus. I don't think the Sheriff sent a deputy over yet, unless they already got to him."
"There it is," the doctor announced when he spotted the lacerated edge of the kidney. "Not a big area. I should be able to patch that pretty quick."
Suddenly we both heard the back door being forced open. I quickly grabbed the chair and propped it against the locked door where the doctor and me were working on Kid.
The doctor continued to focus all his attention on Kid and I returned to Kid's bedside and mopped up more the the seeping blood.
We heard the knob of the door turn. Doc and me looked up at each other and he gave me a nod. I quickly moved to the side of the door, my gun drawn.
Then came three knocks and Doc and me both looked up with some surprise.
"Doc, you in there?" We both heard the familiar voice of the Sheriff. "We got the fellow that was sneaking around here."
I reached for my key and unlocked the door, but quickly moved back to where I had been behind the door, just in case the Sheriff was being forced to lie to gain entry.
The Sheriff turned the door knob and walked in alone. "Everybody alright?"
"What happened?" I asked, shoving the door closed and holstering my gun before walking over to help Doc again.
"I think this Creider fellow sent someone to town to check things out. We caught him breaking in the back door.
"There. Kidney is patched up. Now I just got to stitch up the outside again."
"Where's the fellow now?" I asked.
"Jail. Won't tell us what he was doing or who he is working for. I'm putting a deputy inside here for the rest of the night, maybe every night till this man is back on his feet again. Oh and I talked to Jim Fleming tonight. He remembered Creider but never saw a knife.""
"Smith, I've got the stitching done, if you wouldn't mind cleaning your friend up here, I'll get my instruments cleaned."
0-0-0-0-0-0
I got Kid cleaned up and he slept till well after noon. He was still pale when he woke up and he still hurt after being operated on again, but even Kid said it was a different kind of hurting, though when he said it he was still pretty thick tongued and groggy. He was able to drink a full glass of water though before drifting back off to sleep.
Doc came in and checked on Kid every couple of hours. By late afternoon, Kid was finally waking up and Doc had some chicken broth brought over from the cafe for Kid to eat for supper. The color was slowly returning to Kid's face and there was a bit of sharpness to his eyes now.
"Creider sent someone into town to check things out last night. At least that's what we think. The man's in jail but he's not talking," I told Kid.
"Where was he caught?"
"Right here, trying to break in through the back door."
Kid was quiet for a while and I could see he was trying to decide what we should do.
"We could just wait a couple of days, then when you're able to travel, we could take the stage to the nearest town with a train, get out of the area pretty quick that way," I suggested, though I knew as well as Kid that wouldn't really solve the problem.
Kid shook his head. "No. We gotta lure him out into the open somehow."
"Kid, you're in no shape to take him on in a gunfight."
"Wasn't thinking a gunfight, more of a trap."
"And what, use you as the bait?"
"Heyes, I already am the bait."
"You do realize that this fella sitting in the jail very likely knows who you are. All it takes is a conversation with the Sheriff and he's a very rich man."
Kid shook his head. "Creider wouldn't have sent him into town if he couldn't trust him. He ain't gonna say nothing.
"That's a pretty big risk you're willing to take."
"Heyes, Creider wants the satisfaction of killing me. He ain't gonna risk one of his men telling the Sheriff who I am. The question is, can we convince the Sheriff to let this fella take a message to Creider."
"You mean let him go? Sheriff ain't gonna just let him walk outta that jail. He tried to kill a man."
"Yeah, me. And I ain't pressing no charges."
"What about the doctor? He can press charges for breaking and entering?"
"Then I guess we're gonna have to convince him not to, aren't we... partner?"
I smiled. "You mean I'm gonna have to convince him?"
This time Kid smiled. "Well, you are the one with the silver tongue."
"We, Kid. We will talk to Doc in the morning."
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Doc," I said as the doctor stood beside Kid's bed and examined his surgical work. "Thaddeus and I have come up with a plan. We don't have all the wrinkles ironed out yet, but the plan requires a bit of help from you."
"Me? What do you want from me?"
I gave Kid a cautious look but Kid's brow wrinkled and he nodded, urging me to continue.
"Well, Thaddeus and I think this Creider isn't going to stop till he gets what he wants, or gets stopped either by Thaddeus and me or the law. We want to bring this to a head, deal with Creider, and be done with it."
"That makes sense, I'll agree. Still doesn't tell me what you want from me, though."
"This fella that the Sheriff arrested last night. We're gonna ask the Sheriff to let him go. But the Sheriff ain't gonna do that if the man's wanted for anything or..."
"Or if I press charges?"
I nodded. "You pay for the parts, Thaddeus and me will fix any damage he done."
The doctor stood straight and looked at me and Kid. "You talk to the sheriff. If he's agreeable, then I won't press charges. But you two fix the damage to the back door."
I smiled. "Done."
Early in the afternoon, the Sheriff stopped by to check on Kid and update us to what little new information he had.
"Fellow in jail is Brian Henderson. He denies even knowing Creider, but I expected him to say as much."
"Any warrants out on him, wanted posters?" Kid asked.
Sheriff shook his head. "I've gone through all my wanted posters. He ain't among em."
"In that case, Sheriff, Thaddeus and I have a plan," I said with a smile.
The Sheriff folded his arms across his chest and shifted one leg slightly in front of the other. "I'm listening."
Half an hour later the Sheriff still held his arms folded across his chest. I had finished explaining our plan and now the Sheriff paced slowly past the foot of Kid's bed. Turning, he stopped at the foot of the bed and took a long, hard look at Kid, then did the same with me. He sighed heavily and dropped his arms to his sides.
"I wasn't born yesterday and I've got a pretty good hunch that I should put them wanted posters back in my desk draw and lock it, till the two of you are out of town. But I've heard about Creider for a long time, and I know he's a very dangerous man, maybe even a lunatic, and I can't think of any other way to lure him outta hiding," the Sheriff said, taking a long pause before continuing. "So I'm gonna release Henderson in the morning, and hope the two of you are right about him."
"One more thing, Sheriff. If you don't mind, I'd like to be there when you release Henderson," I said.
"Why?"
"Just to make sure he gets the message straight."
"You mean you plan to tell him to take a message to Creider?"
"Oh no. But I do want him to have the right information, assuming he will take Creider the message."
The Sheriff nodded. "Alright. But I got a message for the two of you, too. As soon as this is over and you Mr. Jones are able to travel, I think it would be best for all if the two of you left town. That is, before I start going through them posters again."
"You got yourself a deal, Sheriff," Kid said quickly.
0-0-0-0-0-0
The next morning I walked in to the Sheriff's office and gave the cells a quick glance. Henderson was sitting on his cot eating his breakfast. I headed over to the Sheriff's desk.
"Doc says my friend is doing much better and he thinks Thaddeus will be able to travel tomorrow. Just thought you ought to know, we'll be taking the afternoon stage tomorrow afternoon," I told the Sheriff.
"Tomorrow afternoon?" The Sheriff asked and I nodded quite eagerly.
"We're not ones to stay around any one place for too long. My friend ain't strong enough for horseback yet but, well we're both just thinking a change of scenery might be a good thing"
The Sheriff glanced over at the cell where Henderson sat, still eating and seemingly paying no attention to the conversation. Heyes knew better, as did the Sheriff.
"I hear Doc's planning to head out to the Miller ranch this afternoon to check on Mrs. Miller. I hear that baby's due anytime. Miller ranch is a good twenty-five miles from here. Doc could be gone all night."
I nodded. "He's showed me what pain medicine to give and it's doing the trick. Last night you couldn't have woke Thaddeus with a herd of longhorns running through the place. We'll be fine for a night."
You might as well know, Doc ain't pressing charges on that fella. Gotta let him go this morning."
From the corner of my eye I saw Henderson perk up a bit, just enough to assure me that Henderson was listening intently to the conversation. I gave Henderson a mock glance of concern.
"Can't you wait till we're outta town?" I asked
Sheriff Shook his head. "Sorry. Law says I can't keep him locked up if he ain't charged with nothing.
"Well, we'll be careful, Sheriff," I said with just a touch of concern in my voice. "I better get back to my friend. S'pect he'll be waking up pretty soon."
"I got a bit of paperwork to finish on you, Henderson. Then you're free to go," I heard the Sheriff say as he walked out of the jail and back to the Doctor's office.
"Okay, the dirty deed's been done," I announced to Kid and the doctor.
Kid was feeling well enough to sit up, his back heavily propped with pillows.
"So now we wait," Kid replied.
"Doc, we think it's best if you don't stay here the night. Don't want you in the line of fire" I told the doctor.
"You two think you can handle this all alone, with the shape he's in? That's just a plain foolhardy notion," the doctor argued.
I quickly shook my head. "Sheriff will be in here with us I assured the doctor.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Late in the afternoon the doctor climbed into his carriage and rode out to the Miller farm, leaving me and Kid alone in the doctor's office. After dark, before the street lamps were lit, the Sheriff and two deputies made their way down the alley to the back of the doctor's office and knocked three times on the door.
"It's Coleman Sheriff and my deputies."
I opened the door and the three men slipped inside. Then I locked the door behind them.
"Doc left a suit coat and pants for one of the deputies," I told them. "We figure he ought to look the part."
The Sheriff turned to Deputy Butler. "Better go get changed. You're the town doctor for tonight. Best hope nobody gets hurt."
"Joshua," Kid called from one of the rooms.
I went to the room where Kid was sitting in the bed, propped up by pillows.
"I'm gonna need a chair behind that door. Once the fireworks start I can managed to stand, but I don't think I'm up to doing that all night. Gonna need some help getting dressed, too."
"Kid are you sure you're up to this? We can get you hidden away safe somewhere."
Kid shook his head. "Creider started this, Heyes. I'm gonna finish it."
So I helped Kid get dressed and get his gun belt buckled but eased Kid back into the bed.
"Soon as we know they're out there, I'll help you back behind the door."
Kid nodded in agreement.
Near midnight there came a loud banging on the front door of the doctor's office. The Sheriff and I quickly moved to Kid's room where I helped Kid out of the bed and over to the chair behind the door, while the Sheriff stuffed rolled blankets into the bed where Kid had been resting, and covered the blankets with a couple of sheets so as to make the bed look like someone was sleeping in it.
The banging at the door continued. "I got a wounded man out here. I need help," came an unfamiliar voice.
The Sheriff gave Deputy Butler a nod and slipped back inside Kid's room and shut the door while the second deputy hid in a supply closet in the examination room.
Deputy Butler then lit a lamp in the front room and unlocked the door. The Deputy recognized the injured man as Henderson but was careful not to let that recognition show.
"What's the trouble?" the Deputy asked as he held the door open and Henderson hobbled in, followed by another man.
"Twisted my ankle bad. Can't hardly put no weight on it."
"Bring him into the exam room," the Deputy told the other man.
Henderson sat down on the exam table while the other man shut the door and locked it. Then he pulled his gun on the deputy.
"Sorry Doc, but I got business with your other patient." Creider said with his gun pointed directly at the deputy. "Now tie him up," he told Henderson.
Once the Deputy was tied in a chair, Creider shook his head approvingly. "You two should be just fine in here. You lock the door behind me," he told Henderson.
Creider slipped out into the hallway. All the doors to the rooms were closed, so he went to the back of the hall and began slowly, cautiously opening each door. When he found a room to be empty, he moved on to the next room.
Inside Kid's room, we could hear the footsteps in the hall. Slowly Kid stood from the chair and unfastened the safety loop on his holster. A single low lit lamp cast a dull shadow in the room, but our eyes had all adjusted to the dim light and Kid could see that both me and the Sheriff were tucked in corners not immediately visible when the door opened.
The door creaked as Creider slowly opened it and observed the body lying in the bed. No one saw the sinister smile that spread across Creider's face as he moved the gun to his left hand and pulled the hunting knife from it's sheath with his right. Creider raised the knife and approached the bed.
With the knife high above his head, Creider heard the door suddenly slammed shut.
"I don't think so, Creider," Kid said in a low but commanding voice.
Creider expertly flipped the knife in his hand and threw it in Kid's direction but Kid simply dropped into the chair and the knife embedded into the wall. Creider then in an instant shifted his gun to his right hand but Kid fired and the gun flew out of Creider's hand as Creider grabbed and cradled his right wrist in his left hand.
Both the deputies stormed into the room and one of the deputies grabbed Creider and pulled his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.
"Henderson's tied up in the other room.," Deputy Butler explained to the Sheriff.
"Lets get them both across the street and into cells," the Sheriff said. "You two going to be alright?" he asked me and Kid.
"Sheriff," Kid said, then hesitated and looked at me. "Creider is likely going to be making some pretty wild accusations..."
"Yep, I suppose he is. And as an officer of the law, I'm expected to check out those accusations. It's gonna take me a while to get these two prisoners processed and in the morning I'll be by to get your statement Mr. Jones. So I doubt I'll be looking into Creider's claims till sometime tomorrow evening. There's a stage that leaves here at two tomorrow afternoon."
"I believe Thaddeus and I will be on that stage, Sheriff," I told him.
0-0-0-0-0-0
The following morning Sheriff Coleman stopped by the doctor's office and got a statement from Thaddeus Jones, and that afternoon Kid and me stood outside the stage depot waiting to board when the Sheriff arrived.
"You know, there's some men in the west who are, well I don't know as notorious is the word, but maybe infamous. Why just the mention of a first or a last name would put a Sheriff on a very high alert, maybe send him searching through the wanted posters in his office if a couple of fellows sporting them names was to come into town."
"That might make the men with them names a might nervous," Kid replied.
"Yeah, Suppose it might. S'pose it might make em nervous enough to hightail it outta town say, on the next stage. Especially if them name was, like I said, well known like...Oh say Heyes or Curry. Of course it wouldn't be them. I hear tell those two are trying to go straight."
"You know, we've heard that same rumor.," I replied.
"In fact, I've heard Lom Trevors might even be helping them two go straight."
"Wouldn't know about that, Sheriff," Kid said nervously.
"Tell you what, Sheriff, if we hear them names on the stage, we'll send you a wire from the next town." I promised.
"That'll be fine boys. Oh, and the next time you see Lom Trevors, you give him my regards."
I smiled. "We'll do just that, Sheriff. We surely will"
Well Kid and me did take that stage out of town and we did catch a night train going eat that same night. All the bouncing on the stage had work Kid out and he settled into a seat on the train and pulled his hat down over his eyes and slept most of the night. I managed to sleep a good part of it too. Knowing that Sheriff Coleman was a friend of Lom Trevors, I was confident that he would keep his word and not come looking for us.
We stayed on the train all the way to Cheyenne, then caught a train for Porterville.
"So Creider is alive?" Trevors asked.
I nodded. "And locked up and facing prison. I suspect he won't be bothering Kid or me for quite some time."
"And sheriff Coleman just up and let the two of you leave town?"
"Well, we suspect you had something to do with that Lom,"Kid said knowingly.
Lom shook his head. "Wasn't me. That's part of your amnesty agreement. I can't intervene if the two of you get into any trouble."
Kid and me looked at each other feeling a bit confused.
"You don't suppose..." Kid began.
"The Governor himself?" I asked. "Lom?"
Lom shook his head. "The Governor don't inform me of every decision he makes or every act he takes. Besides, it wouldn't be ethical for him to throw his weight around for a couple of outlaws."
Kid and me looked at each other again. The Governor surely wouldn't make such a risky move for us... Would he?" I said
"Wouldn't he?" Kid asked.