Amnesty, But First Penance

by Kattayl

This is a series of interwoven stories but many are also stand alone. Curry and Heyes receive their amnesty but it comes with a condition of penance.

18. Chapter 18

Of Prairie Dogs and Coyote Urine

Chapter 18 - Amnesty but First Penance

The sun had risen enough to take the bitter out of the cold morning as the four men broke camp and prepared to continue their journey.

"Lom, we're near Devil's Hole again," commented Heyes, trying to squeeze more information about this penance.

"Yup," answered Lom, as he packed his saddlebags.

Reverend Marshal Maderas was searching for information of his own. "How close are we to Devil's Hole?" he asked, trying to make it sound like idle conversation.

Knowing Maderas was anxious to learn where Devil's Hole actually was hidden, Heyes smiled when replying, "Near enough that we rode through here countless times."

Relaxing into his saddle, Curry smiled at this game Maderas and Heyes had been playing the last few days as they rode to and through Wyoming. Although Maderas knew that both Curry and Lom knew the way to Devil's Hole, he was determined to get Heyes to tell him.

"Which way, Lom?" Curry asked.

"North, then west today."

With Heyes spending the morning guessing their possible penances, Lom finally threw him an obscure piece of the puzzle when they stopped for trail lunch.

"We close, Lom?" Heyes queried.

"Closer than we were an hour ago."

Releasing his frustration in a sigh, Heyes tried to use his outlaw glare on Lom to no avail.

"Heyes, here's something for you to read and learn before we get there."

Anxiously grabbing the papers, Heyes began reading the article, but looked up with questions in his eyes. Reading the title out loud his voice was incredulous, "The Most Efficient Ways to Collect and Use Coyote Urine?"

Watching a sly smile cross Lom's face, Heyes confusion grew. "Our penance is collecting coyote urine?"

Making a face, Curry asked, "This article some kind of a joke, Lom?"

"No, you're going to need coyote urine for this job, a lot of it."

"Why would anyone need coyote urine?" Curry was disgusted. Turning to Heyes he asked, "We can't turn down a penance, right?"

"Right, Kid, we're bound to do them all," Heyes answered dismissively. "Never knew there were so many ways people use coyote urine," he mused as he read.

Curry shook his head, Heyes would read anything in his search for knowledge.

"It's used to scare away varmints, big and small. Some people think it has medicinal properties. Even the Indians used it to keep large predators from their camps."

"You mean quacks think it is medicine." Curry laughed, but Heyes had his head down concentrating on the article.

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Having consumed the article, Heyes was no quieter. As they rode, he was again peppering Lom with questions. Leaving the main road, finally, two hours before sunset, Maderas stopped his horse in the middle of grasslands.

"Look familiar?" he cut Heyes off in mid question causing him to look closer at their surroundings.

Smiling at a memory, Heyes answered, "Yeah, we used to ride through here testing the horses and going and coming to jobs."

"We could let the horses run full out for miles here." Curry relived the freeing feeling of riding on a racing horse without being chased by a posse. "It was fun testin' the new horses and headin; out for a job. Not so much fun when a posse was chasin' us."

Heyes snorted.

"We that near Devil's Hole?" asked Maderas.

Without thinking, Curry replied quickly, "Not really, but this side of the road was always a great place to run free. The other side of the road, though, was full of prairie dog tunnels; they're rough on a runnin' horse."

"But we did ride through those prairie dog towns more than once though, didn't we?" Lom's question sounded like an accusation to the cousins.

Silent communication passed between Heyes and Curry with a quick glance.

Heyes tried for innocence with his voice and smile. "We did walk the horses through there a time or two. Easy place to lose a posse if you have some time on them. Only fools ride horses through a prairie dog town and posses knew the Devil's Fool Gang aren't fools." The innocence was replaced by pride in his tone.

Not impressed, Lom just waited for Heyes to stop talking. When silence took over, he said, "You two ready to hear about your penance?" Seeing that he had their complete attention, Lom explained. "The Devil's Hole Gang brought their horses walking and running over that prairie dog town so often that some of their tunnels collapsed, the grasses they ate were trampled. They left."

"The prairie dogs left?" asked Curry. "Where'd they go?"

"Down the road about half a mile, right into the middle of the Carter's farm."

"And our penance is?" Heyes pushed.

"You're going to move the prairie dog town back here. We're going to meet the Carters and you'll learn more."

"Movin' a prairie dog town and dealin' with coyote urine… Something tells me this is goin' be hard on the back," groused Curry.

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Riding down the road toward the Carter farm, Heyes studied the empty prairie dog town, noting the pattern of the ground collapsed into the tunnels. Lost in thought, he rode into the back of Curry's horse when Maderas called a halt.

"Want to talk to you two before we get to the Carter's house." Maderas waited until his silence finally caused both former outlaws to pay attention. "Your penance is to move that prairie dog town back up here, probably to the other side of the road, but that's up to you. You will build walls and plant hedges so they are limited in how far they can see from their current town. That upsets their balance. Instinctively, they need to see at a distance for safety." Maderas' voice was informational but emotionless. Jed was getting to know this reverend and marshal and knew he was withholding something. Patiently, he waited for an uncomfortable revelation.

"With these barriers you will guide them to their new home." Maderas continued, taking the time to look both Heyes and Curry directly in the eyes. "Coyote urine will prevent them from going backwards and keep them where you want them. Soapy water will get them out of their tunnels. How you put all these pieces together will be up to you. I believe this challenge calls for a Hannibal Heyes well-timed plan."

Smiling, Heyes acknowledged the compliment, but his mind had already constructed the outline of a plan. He wondered how he and his cousin were going to get it done in two weeks, the maximum time for a penance.

"Well, Hannibal, can you do it?"

"Probably, all the pieces are there but there may not be enough time especially since we have to trap coyotes." As he spoke, Heyes' mind was distracted with the logistics of their penance.

Maderas rubbed his cheeks with his hands and then folded them in prayer for a moment before speaking. "You will have help. That's why I'm here."

"No offense, Reverend, but this ain't the kind of backbreakin' work I see you doin'," Curry said.

Almost smiling, Maderas answered, "I won't be doing the work, Jed. I'll be helping to oversee some of the work."

"Oversee?"

"Well, we hired two coyote hunters and they trapped four live coyotes. We have them in cages. They're being fed and given plenty of water and their urine is collected in trays underneath their cages."

"And you're needed to oversee this feedin'?" Jed found the word oversee threatening.

Maderas decided just to say what he needed to say and get it over with and then deal with their reactions.

"The rest of your help are convicts conscripted from the Wyoming Territorial Prison. I'm helping the guards to watch them. There are some rules you'll need to follow."

Shocked, Heyes and Curry had no words, waiting for Maderas to continue. When he didn't say anything, Heyes spoke, "We aren't always real good at following rules. Breaking that one that said 'Thou Shall Not Steal' is what got us in trouble in the first place."

Seeing Heyes starting to lose his calm, Lom intervened, "Heyes, this is all part of your penance. Your required penance," he said firmly.

Heyes' brown eyes met Curry's blue eyes uncomfortably resigned to acquiesce.

"What rules, Maderas?" Curry asked, trying to keep the growl out of his voice, not forgetting this man was a US Marshal.

"All orders to the prisoners are to go through me. I will meet with you to find out what you need done. I will let the guards know and they will oversee the convicts."

"How many men will be working?" asked Heyes.

Maderas fixed him with a stare. "There will be four convicts working here. It's a privilege for them to work outside the prison."

Hearing the emphasis on the word convict, Heyes fell into an uneasy quiet, missing the fleeting concern in Curry's eyes.

Maderas continued authoritatively, "You will not interact directly with the convicts. They are not allowed to talk to anyone or look anyone in the eyes. They will wear ankle shackles, but their hands will be free to work. Among their responsibilities is to feed and water the coyotes and empty the trays to collect the coyote urine. They will always be under guard. You will not carry any weapons except what is needed to do your job. Do you understand?"

"No guns?" Heyes asked before Curry could growl the question.

Staring at the two ex-outlaws, Maderas said a quick prayer to control his growing anger before saying without emotion. "No guns. Do you understand?"

Lom watched as the partners nodded their resigned agreement, wondering what thoughts were floating in their minds. Those thoughts remained unvocalized. "Let's go meet the Carters," he said.

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Meeting with Heyes and Curry after dinner, Lom let them know his plans. "Since everything looks safe for you here, I'll be leaving in the morning. Maderas is here if there's anything you need for your penance. We are paying the Carters well for your room and board for the next two weeks. I'll return then to escort you to your next assignment. It's also in Wyoming."

"Yeah, they have a nice guest room with two soft beds and Mrs. Carter sure can cook." Curry smiled at the delicious fried chicken they had for dinner.

"Where do the prisoners sleep, Lom?" Heyes hadn't been able to get them out of his thoughts. All he could think about was that if things had gone differently, that would have been him and the Kid.

"Heyes, leave the convicts to Maderas and their guards. Don't let your thoughts dwell there. They are not your concern."

"Dwell where, Lom? Dwell on the fact that the Kid and I may have been those men if the fates were different, locked up and shackled?" Heyes' tone carried sarcasm tempered with a note of fear. Curry studied the pattern he was tracing with his boot on the floor.

"You and Curry changed your fate, with hard work and faith. Leave it at that, Heyes, and get this project done. Have you planned out the logistics yet?"

"Mostly; gotta ride out and get a view of where the prairie dog town is now and where we want it to be and draw a map. Then we start stacking rocks and tree limbs into walls to block their view." Heyes enthusiastically reviewed his plan with Lom, but noticed that his question on where the prisoners slept had never been answered.

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"Heyes, what's botherin' you? Your thinkin' is keepin' me awake." Curry rolled over in his bed and propped his head up against the backboard.

"I've been quiet, Kid, not pacing. How am I keeping you awake?"

"You're thinkin' too loud...and I'm bothered about the same thing. Need to tell you something. After Lom left, I went for a walk. The prisoners are sleepin' in an old bunkhouse down the road. Looks like the wind will blow it over, there's so many missin' boards. Looked in the window; they're shackled one hand and one foot to their beds that are staked to the ground. They're wearin' prison uniforms and have one blanket each. A couple of those blankets are so threadbare wouldn't keep a mouse warm."

Hearing the angst in Curry's tone, Heyes answered, "We can't do anything about it, Kid. You heard Lom."

"Yet you have been awake all-night thinkin' about it, Heyes. Don't tell me you've slept."

Curry couldn't see the guilty smile Heyes sent his way in the dark, nevertheless, he sensed it. "Heyes, we leave them prisoners alone or we'll be in trouble." He tried to change the subject. "Tomorrow we gonna decide what path we want them dogs to take? Be easier if I just went out and shot them all, but Lom says they're needed near their old home. The home that we destroyed. Can't remember how many times we raced through that area prayin' our horses stepped on solid ground."

In the dark room, Heyes smiled. "Yeah, Kid, but this can't be solved with your gun and prairie dogs don't make good eating unless you're a golden eagle or a black-footed ferret, so we move their town."

"What's a black-footed ferret? Don't think I've seen one of them."

"Something that preys on prairie dogs."

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Before morning dawned, Heyes was up, dressed, and pacing. As the first ray of sunlight hit their window, he pulled the curtains open so the light flooded the room. Curry groaned and opened his eyes. "Mornin' already?"

"Yeah, come on and get dressed. I want to see the lay of the land and get my plan finalized."

"Not before breakfast."

"Breakfast is cooking. I can smell coffee, bacon and mush."

Surveying the area the prairie dogs had claimed for their new town, Heyes saw the destruction it had caused to the Carter's farmland. His heart grew heavy at another black mark against his Devil's Hole Gang. The destruction of a family farm much like he grew up on was another casual byproduct of his unthinking leadership.

Reluctant to burden Curry with this, he started to talk about his plan of action. "First, we build a wall in the back of the prairie town so they can't retreat farther that direction. We'll spread some of that coyote urine in front of the wall too."

"Heyes."

"Then we build side barriers using the rocks and brush. The side barriers will get closer until they are funneled to where we want them to settle. Maybe we use some dirt as a barrier there, too."

"Heyes!"

Wanting to avoid this conversation with Curry, but knowing that was impossible, he stopped and looked at his cousin. The look of sorrow crossing Curry's face told Heyes his cousin was sharing his regrets.

"Heyes, so many people we hurt and didn't even know it."

"Think that's what Maderas and these penances are trying to show us, Kid."

"Well, it's workin'; I feel guilty all the time."

"Nah, I think we're getting the chance to set things right instead of feeling guilty."

"Yeah, and I've learned to think deeper about things before I do them."

Heyes caught his cousin's blue eyes and winked. "Come one on, race you down the road so we can see where those tunnels collapsed."

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Having supper with the Carters and Marshal Maderes, Heyes reviewed his finalized plan. If all went according to schedule, they'd be done in nine days.

"And that's if everything goes on schedule. Something that may throw us off schedule is finding enough material to make the confining borders. They only need to be as high as a prairie dog standing on top of his burrow can see. They set sentries and if they can't check all around for predators, they move on."

"What do you want the prisoners to do?" asked Maderas.

Only Heyes saw Curry flinch at the word prisoners, and he missed a beat before answering.

"Well, have your men gather rocks and logs. Get a start on building the back wall where I marked. Can't be any holes the dogs can see through. Wouldn't hurt to have a straight line of coyote urine spread on that line too." Heyes thought for a second. "But we won't lay the urine until we're finished working that barrier. It really stinks."

Maderas answered with a challenge in his tone. "The prisoners will work where we need them regardless of smell. When would be the most advantageous time to lay down the urine?"

Not wanting to make the prisoners work with the smell of urine assaulting their senses, Heyes replied, "After that back barrier is completed," he said with more confidence that he felt. "I'll want to inspect it before we add the urine."

Looking closely at Heyes, Maderas reluctantly agreed. "Okay, when you approve, we lay down the coyote urine."

Smiling wide at Maderas, Heyes hid his discomfort with the treatment of the prisoners. "Okay, we start building that barrier at eight tomorrow morning."

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Curry was pacing before going to bed. "Heyes, what are they feedin' them men? Wasn't much left of that chicken after we all had dinner, not for four men anyway."

A sad grin escaped Heyes that Curry's was worried over their food. "I was thinking on that yesterday. There's a pot always simmering on the back of Mrs. Carter's stove. I saw her throw our table scraps of chicken and potatoes in there. Bet that's for them; doesn't look too appetizing."

Having Curry's attention and imagination he added, "She made mush back there this morning."

"We had mush this morning." Curry seemed happy that the men had eaten a good breakfast."

"Not our mush, Kid. Remember I got up to serve myself seconds? Well, I scooped it from that batch. It was thin and runny, no body to it."

"Yeah, Mrs. Carter grabbed your bowl before you sat down," Kid remembered. "She seemed very flustered."

"And she gave me a new bowl from the other pan," Heyes finished.

Curry resumed pacing and Heyes realized how annoying it was to someone trying to fall asleep.

"Kid, go to bed."

As if he didn't hear, Curry started talking, "That's what we were headed toward, Heyes, twenty years in prison. We took a risk and changed because of a little piece of paper Miss Birdie gave me. Prison's a rough life." Curry hesitated, looked away and added, "Just look at them men."

"Kid, we were ready…."

Still not hearing Heyes, Curry kept pacing and talking. "We've changed. I think we 've changed for the better. Like we've said before, goin' straight is a new habit I don't want to change. But sometimes I feel we got off easy."

Not having the right words to answer his cousin, Heyes simply put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him toward his bed. "Get some sleep." Then, smiling, he added, "You'd never survive on prison food!"

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In dawn's cold chill, Heyes and Curry were woken by an ugly scream. Up, dressed and out quickly, they were met at the front door by Marshal Maderas shooing them back inside.

"It is just prisoner L1165; he was bitten by one of the coyotes. His hand has been taken care of and bandaged. We will watch him work today. If he can't keep up the pace, we'll send him back to prison and get a replacement." Maderas looked directly at Heyes as he spoke, waiting for an argument but none was forthcoming.

Heyes turned and walked to the dining table resolving to himself that the injured man would not return to the prison. He ate hurriedly, wanting to get a look at the coyote cages.

An hour later, Curry and Heyes were busy surveying the outskirts of the prairie dog town while the prisoners were starting on the back barrier. Dragging logs over to mark where future barriers would be built, Heyes' sharp eyes noticed the agitation in the colony. "Look at the way they chirp back and forth and pop in and out of them tunnels. They're upset about that back barrier. Can't check for danger."

"Cute little things; kinda nervous, though," said Curry. "Just a little over a foot or so tall." He reached over to try and grab one that had popped up nearby.

"Don't!" warned Heyes. "Those cute little things are fighters with sharp teeth and claws."

Dragging marking logs and rocks, Heyes and Curry used them to indicate an ever smaller egress pathway for the prairie dogs. When they had one side of the path to the new town delineated, Heyes called it quits.

"Something I want to see back at the house before it gets late. This side is completely marked."

"Okay, Heyes, tell me now before we get back."

"What, Kid?"

"Maderas and the guards might not know it, but you have been studyin' those prisoners all day. You were workin' with me but observin' them."

Startled, Heyes asked, "Was I that obvious?"

"Not to no one but me." Curry smiled as he saw his partner relax. "So, what did you see?"

Heyes sat down, leaning against the trunk of a fat tree. "Four defeated, shackled men; one obvious leader, one wanna be leader, and two followers. One of them doesn't really care about much at all, just does what he's told. He's the one with the bandage on his hand from the coyote bite this morning"

"Can't see that any of them is the leader. They're all doin' the same thing and those guards never take their eyes off of them." Curry wondered what his astute partner had picked up. "Hard to do anything bein' watched that closely."

"Think you'd learn to always be aware of their presence. Watch, the other three defer to one of them. He always leads them when they are walking."

"Don't care to watch them, Heyes. Starts me to thinkin' about men we knew who went to prison, like, er, Big Jim Santana. Think he was ever that submissive?"

"He survived, didn't he?"

Curry chose not to answer. Approaching the house, he was desperate to talk about something that would not give him nightmares. "What did you want to see here?"

"The coyote cages."

"No, Heyes, I ain't goin' near no caged coyotes, even if they're not hungry."

Walking a wide circle around the first caged animal, Heyes kept his eyes on the eyes of the confined animal attempting to stalk him. As Heyes circled each cage in a similar manner, Curry watched his expression change from perplexed, to pondering, to a jubilant dimpled smile as he exclaimed, "Got it figured out!"

"Got what figured out, Heyes?" Curry covered his nose with his bandana. "That coyote urine smells even worse than I thought."

Looking like he'd forgotten he wasn't alone, Heyes turned his smile on Curry. "You think it's bad, those prairie dogs' sense of smell is three hundred times more sensitive than ours," he laughed at the thought. "No, come on. See those extra cages there? We're going to build a better coyote cage."

When the new cage was finished, Heyes stepped back to admire their work. They'd taken two cages and made one long cage with a dividing door in the center. With an attached long handle, the door could be opened and closed from the outside quickly.

They carefully aligned the new cage next to one holding a coyote, Heyes opened the touching cage doors with a stick and a wire. The stalking animal moved to the new cage, enticed by a piece of meat Curry had dropped on the far end. Heyes quickly closed the center door, trapping the coyote down one end. He transferred the water dish into the new cage and locked the end door. Then he slid the center door open and allowed the coyote to roam both ends of the new cage.

"Heyes, you may just be that genius!"

Maderas strode up to the men. "Just what have you done!" he demanded.

"Built a better cage," announced Heyes smugly. "The coyote can be trapped in either end of the cage with this sliding door. Easier to feed and water the animal and easier to remove the tray beneath the cage that collects the urine."

"It was fine the way it was."

"Once I get these men trained how I want the barriers built, I don't want to have to waste time retraining a new man just because one of them got coyote bit." Heyes sounded indignant that his invention was not appreciated.

Taking a step back, Maderas circled the cage, much as Heyes had done initially. He slid the door in and out and smiled. "Okay, if it prevents coyote bites and all the wasted time changing prisoners, I'll approve it." Looking Heyes straight in the eyes, he added, "You might just be a bit of a genius like your dime novels claim."

Taken back by the praise that had been withheld initially, all Heyes could mumble was, "Thank you, sir."

"When the prisoners come back, I'll have them follow this one and construct three more. We brought some extra cages along as we didn't know how many animals the hunters would trap." Maderas realized that the smell of urine from the abandoned cage was growing overpowering and starting to collect flies. "Gonna see about getting that collected as soon as possible."

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Following Heyes' rough drawing, Heyes and Curry marked the other side of the barrier the next day. The prisoners labored at building up the barrier across from them.

"Them prairie dogs sure are gettin' excited," Curry said, watching them bob in and out of their holes. Think they know what's happenin'?"

"Well, a couple of them are down at that back barrier digging at it. I think it's time to put a stream of coyote urine just in front there." Heyes' tone was low, and Curry understood he was talking to himself and did not expect an answer.

Striding through the prairie dog town, lost in his plan, Heyes approached a guard and the nearest prisoner. "Need someone to put the coyote urine in front of that barrier," he said. At the annoyed look of the guard, he added, "Please."

Silence followed and Curry came to stand behind his cousin looking anywhere but at the prisoners. Finally, the guard spoke, lowly and slowly with animosity. "Look, mister high and mighty Hannibal Heyes, I know the marshal told you the rules. You request what you want the convicts to do from him the night before. He gives us our orders, not you."

Stopping work, the convicts watched the confrontation. The leader, especially, seemed to enjoy Heyes being put in what he considered his place.

Realizing that the moment had caused him to forget the rules, Heyes started to apologize while looking around for Maderas.

Stepping very close to him, the guard stopped the apology and spoke into his face, spitting the words. "Heyes, in my mind, you and your gunfighter partner are the same lowlifes as these here. Worse than most of them. You should be in prison uniforms with shackles on, not free men. Anything I can do to make that happen, I will," he threatened.

Shocked at the words, Heyes did not even wipe the spit from his face. Curry reached to loosen the restraint on the gun that wasn't on his hip.

Arriving during the guard's diatribe, Maderas stood behind him, arms crossed, listening until he was finished.

"Mr. La Forge," Maderas addressed the guard, who whirled around at the sound of the voice behind him. "Is there a problem here?"

Caught in his tirade against Heyes, La Forge hesitated before answering.

Heyes took that moment to intervene. "Maderas, this was my fault. I got an idea and asked this guard to have a man lay down coyote urine across that back barrier right away. The prairie dogs are trying to dig it down."

Maderas slowly looked from Heyes to La Forge to the watching convicts to the prairie dogs destroying the back barrier and back to La Forge.

Finding his voice, La Forge defended himself. "Followed your orders, Marshal. Told him our orders only come from you."

Quickly, Maderas evaluated the situation. La Forge was not a creative thinker. Given orders, they were followed to the letter. Heyes, though, was impulsive and creative. Still, La Forge had insulted Heyes and Heyes acknowledged his error anyway. Saying a silent prayer for guidance and tolerance, Maderas took charge.

"La Forge, assign two men to put the coyote urine down where Heyes thinks it will be most effective."

"Yes, sir, Marshal."

"Heyes, in the future, even if these ideas come up suddenly, remember you need to go through me"

"I will."

"And I'll remind him if he forgets." Curry grinned at his partner.

"Okay, get that urine in place before all of yesterday's work is destroyed," Maderas ordered. "And, Mr. La Forge, see me when your shift is over."

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Meeting with Maderas later that night, Heyes apologized again.

"Heyes, you're not even a prisoner and you get into it with a guard. If this penance teaches you anything, I hope it is to think before you act," Maderas scolded.

Feeling that he had earned the reprimand, Heyes nodded agreement.

"Maderas, we're learnin' a lot from this penance'" Curry spoke up.

Surprised that this quieter partner was taking the lead, Maderas answered, "What's that, Jed." Waiting for Curry's reply, Maderas took a second to study Heyes. He admired the man's character for accepting the scolding and the responsibility without argument for he knew Heyes was a master of the silver-tongued rebuttal.

"We learned just how thankful we are for this amnesty. It's precious. This farm is a lot like the ones our parents had in Kansas. The unintentional damage we caused here is inexcusable. We never thought about it. Our families were taken from us, so we were goin' to take from the banks and railroads. Only it wasn't just them we hurt, was it? Sometimes the guilt is...is…" Curry stopped to take a breath as emotions started to overwhelm him. "Our lives would be forfeited in prison to servitude, humiliation, cold, and terrible food."

Smiling to himself that he was right about the good in these bad men, Maderas answered, "Penance is for reflection and effecting change, not to induce guilt. Know that. Guilt accomplishes nothing but gives nightmares and stomach aches."

The three men laughed lightly.

"Now." Maderas brought the conversation back to the work at hand. "What are the plans for tomorrow and what will the convicts be doing."

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"That smelly urine seems to be doin' its job," said Curry, noticing that the prairie dogs were leaving the back barrier alone.

"Yeah, but when the wind blows it this way, it makes my eyes water."

As Heyes walked the length of the last barrier wall, he stopped suddenly. "I need to do this with Maderas."

"Do what with me?" Maderas voice boomed from behind them.

Startled, Heyes turned around but recovered quickly. "Review what still needs to be done on this wall; follow me."

Avoiding tunnel entrances while striding to the center of the prairie town, Heyes laid prone and motioned for Curry and Maderas to do the same. Hesitating, Curry shrugged his shoulders and followed Heyes' example.

"Is this truly necessary?" demanded Maderas.

"It is if we want to see what those little dogs see."

Joining them on the ground, Maderas mimicked their prone position and stared at the wall.

"See them low spots?" Heyes pointed to the wall.

Smiling, Maderas realized that he could only see them from this position. "Yeah, I see them. Looked different from next to the wall."

"Yeah, we needed this prairie dog view." Heyes looked around at the annoyed dogs watching the three humans laying across their tunnels.

"Okay, Heyes, I've seen enough," said Curry, rising. "You work this out with Maderas."

"Curry, send Mr. La Forge out here. He needs this view to tell the convicts where the barrier needs to be higher."

"Yes, sir," Curry answered, while noting the wide smile Heyes was trying to contain.

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The next few days fell into a routine. Rising just after sunrise, Heyes was grateful that, thanks to his reworked cages, they were no longer woken up by screams after coyote bites. Before the prisoners arrived to collect the urine, Heyes would sit under a tree and watch the coyotes pace. He felt their confinement as if it were his own. Making eye contact with him, they'd snarl lowly and prepare to attack only to be reminded of their prison. He'd be glad when they were freed.

After breakfast, everyone worked on the barrier. Heyes and Curry always worked separately from the convicts.

Each day the coyote urine along the back barrier was refreshed so the prairie dogs did not retreat in that direction. With a forced, uneasy truce, each evening, Heyes and La Forge would review the barrier in all directions, lying prone in the prairie dog colony.

Each night, Heyes and Curry had a drink with Maderas and discussed the next day's planned work.

"Heyes, you can fool others, but you ain't foolin' me," Curry said to his partner as they were preparing for bed. "I see you watchin' them prisoners still. Why?"

"Can't stop thinking that should have been our destiny." Heyes took his boot off then held it in his hand, staring at nothing on the wall. "Sure glad it ain't."

"That's why you been starin' at them? Ain't they got enough eyes on them already?"

"Yes...and no. That one keeps scowling at us when the guards aren't watching. I been trying to figure out if he knows us or just our reputation."

"Don't look familiar to me, but hard to tell with his hair shaved off like that." Curry's tone indicated that to him the discussion was over.

Heyes stood and blew out the light before answering, "I think he knows of us but not us. I remember faces and I don't remember his."

"Maybe he wants ya to break him out," laughed Curry.

Heyes' surprise at the statement turned to thoughtfulness. "Could be, Kid, but that just ain't what's going to happen."

Although the early morning injury screams had been eliminated, they had been replaced by the quieter screams and moans of Curry's nightmares. Heyes would rather have heard the screams from coyote bites as those were easily treatable. Curry's nightmares were not.

"No, no, no, not again." For the fourth straight night, Curry rolled in bed from side to side holding his hands in front of him as if shackled. Heyes gently touched his shoulder to wake him, but Curry stayed in his nightmare. "No, not my fault. Not the cat of nine tails. No, no no."

Heyes shook him harder. "Kid, wake up, it's a dream."

Curry's response was to bring his imagined shackled hands over his head protectively. Thinking his cousin was caught in a nightmare from Valparaiso, Heyes tried again.

"Jed, it's Heyes; you're okay. We're not in Valparaiso anymore."

Curry was quiet for a moment in voice and body. Then he said, "No, Not Jed. It's Scott. Brian Scott," screamed Curry.

Heyes stepped back from the bed to think for a moment. He'd never heard the Kid use that alias.

"Wake up!" he yelled louder with hands shaking both of Curry's shoulders. He felt Curry's body relax from its protective stance. Heyes repeated, "Kid, wake up. It's a dream, a bad dream."

Cautiously, Curry opened his eyes. Without moving his head, he looked around their bedroom, ending with the look on his cousin's face.

While taking a deep breath, he stretched his arms over his head. Watching, Heyes knew he was finally awake.

"That must have been some nightmare, Kid." Heyes sat on the side of Curry's bed, rubbing his arm to reassure him as he had done when they were lost boys at the Home. "Who's Brian Scott? I know the Scotts down the road when we were in Kansas had a lot of boys, but I don't remember a Brian."

With blue eyes widening but mind still blurry from sleep, Curry looked questioningly at his cousin. "How'd you know about Brian Scott?"

Watching Curry carefully, Heyes answered a question with a question. "What do I need to know about Brian Scott? Never heard you use that alias."

Flopping his head hard back against the pillow, Curry turned away from Heyes. "Just let it lie, Heyes."

"Well, if that's what you want," Heyes said unconvincingly.

"You are just goin' to bother me until you know, ain't you, Heyes?"

"Not saying another word about Brian Scott."

"Ain't your words, Heyes, it's the look in your eyes, like I betrayed you or something."

"You got a guilty conscience?"

Curry kept looking toward the wall. "Something I never told you about the time we were apart."

"Brian Scott was the alias you used? All the newspaper stories I read of you said Jed 'Kid' Curry."

Needing to see Heyes' reaction to his words, Curry turned around and caught his gaze. Always wanting, no needing, his older cousin's approval he had kept parts of his life without him separate.

"Heyes, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"When we got back together, there were things I kept back, never wanted you to know."

"Brian Scott?"

"When I was seventeen, I killed a man in a gunfight. I was in Nevada, no one knew Kid Curry there, but I didn't want the reputation I was getting to follow me." Curry sat on the side of his bed, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. Running his right hand through his unruly hair, he knew he had hurt his cousin by not telling him this before.

"So, Danny Bilson wasn't the first?"

"No, Heyes, and there have been others. Nothing I ever started, though."

"So, you killed Brian Scott?"

Curry steeled himself to tell Heyes the truth. "I was seventeen working hard on a ranch near Mesquite. One night in town one of the cowboys that I was friendly with was playing poker. The other man was cheating. Heyes, you taught me how to spot a cheat and he wasn't even hiding it well. Well, the cheater accused my friend of cheating. I walked over and stood behind him."

Curry looked to the ceiling and when he looked back, Heyes saw the tight, calm control of the gunfighter take over his eyes.

"He started to draw. I was faster. He moved as he was pullin' his gun. I didn't have the control then I have now. Learned it later. My bullet caught him in the throat. He died later that night."

Concerned, Heyes watched as Curry was relating the story with no emotion, as if it had happened to someone else.

"I stood trial the next day with a jury of the dead man's family and friends."

Heyes' mind was spinning, his cousin standing trial and he had never known. "Kid, you never told me…never told nobody?"

Ignoring the pleading guilt he heard in Heyes' voice, Curry continued.

"Small town and the judge was related to the dead man, so instead of self-defense I was convicted of voluntary manslaughter." Curry heard the sharp intake of Heyes' breath. "Served seventeen months in the Nevada State Prison near Carson City under the name Brian Scott."

Looking away from the look of betrayal on Heyes' face, Curry continued, "Soon as I got out, left the name Brian Scott there and Jed Curry went looking for the one person in the world I thought would forgive me, welcome me; you, Han."

Curry waited for Heyes to say something, anything either forgiving or damning. Anything was better than the complete silence in the room as if he didn't exist. It was why he had never told Heyes the truth and what had brought him nightmares before, Heyes being so disappointed in him, so disgusted with him that he would disavow him.

Heyes turned to look at him. Curry, who knew his expressions so well, watched his face. Starting as the expressionless poker face, Curry watched Heyes' face morph from anger, to disappointment, then hurt. And the hurt wounded Curry more than the anger or the disappointment.

But the hurt morphed into concern, sadness and then acceptance. "Kid, Jed, you should have told me."

"What, that your nineteen-year-old cousin was a convicted felon, Heyes, just like those men out there. I've been shackled, whipped, and spent time in solitary. I worked in the foundry, the dirtiest, most backbreaking job there. I just wanted to forget it, just leave it all behind."

Heyes spoke softly. "Brian Scott was a convicted felon, Jed, not you."

"Han?"

"Those nightmares I always thought were about Valparaiso..." Heyes stopped speaking. Curry felt his mind thinking. "I understand more now about the calm restraint you've always shown during a gunfight. Never thought you were a coward, but at times you've willingly turned the other cheek." Heyes put his hands on his cousin's shoulders.

"Han."

"That conviction is that what led you to become even better with that gun? So, you could shoot a gun out of your opponent's hand? Shoot a holster off? Hit a shooting arm without killing a man? Avoid killing? When you found me, you had changed from the impulsive boy I knew to a man with precise control of his gun and his emotions."

"My first choice now is to disarm, not kill. Always use my words to try and make it real clear that it is self-defense."

"Kid, I'm sorry," Heyes said sincerely.

"Heyes, you ain't done nothing. This is on me."

"I'm sorry that you didn't think you could tell me. Guess I was arrogant enough to believe you always told me everything. That the change in you was maturity." The defeated sadness in Heyes' voice cut at Curry.

"Heyes, didn't tell you because I wasn't proud of what I had done, of the time I had served... never wanted you to be ashamed of me. Han, forgive me?"

"Nothing to forgive, Kid." Heyes' chocolate brown eyes and Curry's blue eyes held each other in silent reaffirmation. Heyes finished the conversation with a determined voice. "We leave Brian Scott in Nevada."

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

Curry slept soundly the rest of the night, but sleep refused to come to Heyes. He rested on his bed with eyes closed and repeated the conversation with Curry over and over in his thoughts. They had never talked much about their time apart. Curry had needed to break away from the dominance of his older cousin and Heyes had let him go. When he came back they were equal partners. Nothing good happened when they separated.

Up before the sun graced the sky, Heyes watched the men collect the coyote urine and head back to their bunkhouse for breakfast. The smell made him lose all inclination for breakfast.

"Heyes, the barriers are just about done," Curry said joining Heyes outside, a piece of half-eaten toast in his hand.

"Yes, La Forge will see that they are finished quickly. Then the coyote urine will be spread all along the inside of the walls. That should take less than two hours but that's all we'll be doing today. I want to see if that starts the migration. They are cut off from their food sources. Don't really want to use the soapy water if we don't have to."

Liking that approach, Curry asked, "And what will you and I be doin'?"

Giving his cousin a warm smile, Heyes replied, "Partner, you and I are going to be making a map of each entrance to the prairie dog tunnels inside our barriers. I think there are more than twenty tunnels out there, most with multiple entrances. Can't tell what's underground. Book I read said some of those tunnels are twelve or more feet down and six to fifteen feet horizontally. This ground is hard so they are probably at most six feet down. Either way that'd be a lot of soapy water."

Smiling, Curry agreed. "But this farm ain't goin' to be much good with all them holes."

"Wagons are bringing dirt, good fertile dirt, at the state's expense. Final few days will be trying to collapse those tunnels and fill in with dirt."

"Hard on the back," Curry noted.

Abruptly, Heyes turned, remembering what Curry had told him about the foundry. "Kid, you don't have to do that part, if you don't want to."

"Heyes thought that conversation was behind us. Stop trying to protect me. If you're shovelin' dirt, I'm shovelin' dirt."

"Guess we're both working on collapsing the tunnels, partner. The other men will shovel dirt."

Walking back into the house, Heyes decided on the cup of coffee he had declined earlier. "Shoot, forgot to tell Maderas something," Heyes announced and walked back out the door.

Rushing to keep up, Curry asked, "What? I saw him leave half an hour ago with the pot of mush for the prisoners."

"Good, let's catch him."

"Heyes, we've been told to keep away from them."

Single-minded in his purpose, Heyes hurried toward the prisoners' bunkhouse.

As he approached, La Forge cut him off. "Heyes, stop right there."

Giving him a practiced smile and spreading his hands wide, Heyes answered, "Learned my lesson, La Forge. I know the rules. Just need to speak to Maderas."

"Mr. La Forge," came the curt reply. "And it's Mr. Maderas or Marshal Maderas."

"Okay, Mr. La Forge, I need to talk to Reverend Maderas before the men start to work today."

"Convicts, not men." he corrected. "Reverend Maderas?" La Forge motioned to one of the other guards. "Ask Marshal Maderas to come out here."

Stepping away, the guard was back quickly. "He's leading a prayer service for the men, sir. He'll be out when he's finished."

La Forge turned to Heyes. "He really a Reverend?"

"Yes, Mr. La Forge, I am a Reverend and a US Marshal." Maderas' loud voice again surprised him, coming from behind.

"Maderas, forgot to tell you something about what we got to do today." Heyes spoke quickly, "We also need to lay some coyote urine at the other far end in a wide circle beyond where we want them to settle so they won't go too far. And some six feet in from the back line. Do that before they finish the sides."

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

As dusk started to descend, Heyes, Curry and Maderas watched the slow migration of the prairie dogs to their new home. Nervously roaming along the barrier from the old town to the new area, Heyes tried to count the animals.

"Not enough, not enough by half," he mumbled to himself as the other men were out of earshot.

Curry and Maderas were staring at the old town, trying to see which tunnel the fleeing prairie dogs exited. Using the map Curry and Heyes drew earlier, they marked an X on tunnels dogs had left.

"Think we're missin' some leavin'," Curry noted. "Getting' dark and it's hard to watch the whole field at the same time."

Maderas marked an X on the map. "We'll just do our best," he answered philosophically.

After dinner, the table was cleared, and the map was laid in the center with a map of the old and new prairie towns beside it. The three men were silent, each reviewing the maps and lost in their own thoughts and calculations.

Finally, Heyes leaned back in his chair. Maderas poured each of the men a drink.

"Disappointing, I figure only about half the prairie dogs migrated," Heyes started.

"Will they keep moving during the night?"

"No, but they will in the morning. I want another thick round of coyote urine laid down. And we better find some barrels to hold soapy water," Heyes said, resigned to use the water.

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

Heyes sighed heavily as he watched the prisoners lay down the morning layer of coyote urine. More prairie dogs were making the trek out of their tunnels to their new home. Curry was trying to mark the tunnels on the map that the dogs came out of.

"Stupid idiot, you're missing spots! Spread that urine thicker!" one of the guards yelled at a convict as he hit the man just below the left knee. The prisoner fell over into the coyote urine. "You're worthless. Stand up and finish the job!"

Without looking up, the man stood up and reached for the bottle of urine, but the smell of the urine saturating his clothes made him retch. Laughing, the guard slammed his club into the convict's back. "Work faster and stay downwind of me, Stinky. Stinky Lobowski – that's your new name."

Turning away, Heyes saw Curry, standing as still as a statue, his eyes fixed on the fallen convict, his face void of expression.

At a loss how to help his partner, he asked, "Kid? You okay?"

His revelry broken; Curry faced his partner. "Some memories never fade, you know." Squinting, he studied the field in front of him. "Well, look at that. That's the first one from that tunnel to leave," he said, pointing to a little brown and white prairie dog scurrying out of a nearby tunnel.

Getting the message that Curry wasn't going to talk about prison anymore, Heyes let him change the subject and they got back to the work of moving prairie dogs.

Striding down to the field that was to be the new home of the prairie dogs, Heyes was amazed at the industriousness of the animals. Burrows were being dug, sentries were posted, and they were chirping loudly among themselves. Walking back to Curry, he silently looked over his shoulder at the map.

"Geez, Heyes, don't startle me like that. Been waitin' for you to come back."

Reaching out, Heyes took the map and studied it quietly for a minute. "Still some burrows we haven't caught anyone coming out of, though they may have left through another exit."

"Heyes, before Maderas comes, I want to talk to you. You listenin' or you thinkin' about prairie dogs?" Curry had lowered his voice when speaking.

Looking up from the map, Heyes smiled. "What's up, Kid?"

"That prisoner earlier, the one that fell, the guard called him Stinky Lobowitz."

Lowering his voice to match Curry's hushed tones, Heyes said, "Sorry, Kid, that must have been hard for you to watch."

Ignoring Heyes' comment, Curry answered, "Thinkin' about Lobowitz. Didn't Lobo have a brother in jail for murder? When he was drunk, he'd cry about his baby brother servin' a life sentence."

"You're right, maybe that's why he keeps looking at us; knows Lobo ran with our Devil's Hole Gang." Map forgotten, Heyes looked pensive.

Curry grabbed the map back and marked two more Xs.

"Going to talk to Maderas tonight. I'd like to talk to Stinky, even just for a minute. Prisoners can have visitors, can't they, if I go through the proper channels?"

"Doubt they'd allow that here. Visitors are only on Sunday." Curry stuck his pencil behind his ear and ran his hand through his hair. He broke the awkward silence. "Geez, Heyes, if we hadn't had that conversation last night, you wouldn't think nothin' of me knowin' when prisoners can have visitors and you wouldn't be lookin' at me like that."

Taken aback, Heyes asked, "Like what?"

"I know every expression you got, cousin. The ones you put on and the ones that are natural. That's pity and I don't like it."

"No, it was good that we talked. You're right. I was just wondering if you had any visitors at all." Sadness filled Heyes' eyes.

"Yes, Heyes, I had visitors. Two of the fellows at the ranch and two real sweet ladies from the saloon. Okay? Subject closed? Forever!"

Curry slammed the map into Heyes hands and headed toward the other side of the field. Thinking of something, he walked back to Heyes and whispered, "You won't be able to talk to him, but you may be able to get him a message through Maderas. Tell him last we knew, his brother was okay. Worth a try…if you can manage to ask nicely."

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

Meeting with Maderas after lunch, Heyes and Curry reviewed the map with him.

Heyes was waving his hand over the map. "I figure about two thirds of the animals up and moved, but that still leaves a lot of them here." Watching Maderas' face for a second, Heyes studied the man. He looked tired but determined. "Now, we start with the soapy water."

La Forge had set out two large barrels for the water near the coyote cages. Bars of soap sat nearby.

Able to tell at first glance that the set-up was all wrong, Heyes bit his tongue and went to find Maderas.

"Heyes, we'll have these barrels filled with water by the time you get back," La Forge yelled at his back.

Turning on his heels, Heyes took a deep breath, and changed his annoyed facial expression to that of feigned friendship. "Mr. La Forge, please refrain from having the men fill the barrels yet as I have to speak to Marshal Maderas first. This may wait for the morning."

Without waiting for an answer, Heyes went in search of the Marshal.

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

In their room that night, Heyes filled Curry in on the plans for the next day. As planned, Curry had missed their meeting so Heyes could speak to Maderas one on one.

"In the morning, we move the empty barrels into the old prairie dog town. We will start a bucket brigade to fill them with water from the creek. We'll add the soap there. It'll take two men to carry the barrel closer to the burrow and a third one to help direct the water into the hole. It needs to be poured in quickly, so the force of the water takes it deep into the burrow. The second barrel needs to follow it immediately.

"We'll start at the back of the field and move forward."

"Sounds like you have everything worked out, Heyes. The wagons with the dirt arrive tomorrow night," Curry noted. "You talk to Maderas about the message?"

"Yeah, he said a positive message like that he would deliver."

Curry laid down facing the wall and listened to Heyes prepare for bed. When the lamp was out, Curry spoke, "Heyes, I'm sorry I'm so touchy. Been thinkin' about it. For me, it happened over ten years ago. It's old news stored away with other bad memories I don't want to dredge up. For you, it was yesterday. I know you need time to get your head around it, but I need it to stay in the past. Okay?"

"Sure, Kid. Done. Good night," Heyes said, resolving to try and do just that, but fearing he couldn't.

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

As Heyes and Curry tipped a barrel full of soapy water into the first burrow, a prisoner started to guide them with his hands to the entrance. Heyes found it hard as the man would not look at them.

"La Forge...ah, Mr. La Forge, I need the Kid and this man to change places. Too hard to do if he can't look at us or won't speak."

La Forge took a moment to think, then waved for the men to change places.

'Thanks." A quick genuine smile skimmed Heyes' countenance. "You men with the second barrel, be prepared to dump it as soon as we move out of the way. Kid, you stay there and direct the second one, too."

Heyes flinched, realizing he had just given an order directly to prisoners. La Forge just waved him to continue.

The first barrel swished into the burrow and the second followed seconds later. Heyes jumped as a family of prairie dogs rushed out of a hole in back of him chirping angrily. Following the barriers, they raced to their new home. Unexpectedly, two more wet prairie dogs popped near La Forge, forcing him to jump back and fall on his bottom to get out of their way on their run to freedom.

Laughter broke out. It only took La Forge and the other guard seconds to advance toward the laughing convicts, clubs raised.

Quiet ensued. Curry stared into the hole without moving. La Forge growled, but said nothing, backing away. When he turned so only Heyes and Curry could see his face, they saw a small grin.

Although not quick, Heyes had the steps well planned and the prairie dog town was cleared by late afternoon. The prisoners built a barrier at the close end of the barrier and laid down a line of coyote urine on the old town side.

Finding it harder work than they thought, Heyes and Curry started tearing down the sides of the old barrier so the wagons could roll through the next morning.

Dark came quickly, and they headed in for supper, dirty and tired. Afterwards, the two ex-outlaws met with Maderas.

"Tomorrow and the next, the wagons come with the new soil. We have to make sure all the exits from the burrows are blocked. It is a bit of guesswork, but I have made a rough map of where I think the tunnels lay. The weight of the shoveled dirt should start the collapse of the tunnels. If we wet the dirt at night, that will add more weight and quicken the collapse.

"Kid and I will supervise where the dirt should be shoveled, if that's alright with you. We may have to direct the men ourselves as the situation develops."

Maderas cocked his head, thinking before replying, "Can't be helped so approved, but no conversations. Keep directions to a minimum. You understand, Heyes? No tricks!"

Hearing the marshal in Maderas' tone, Heyes quickly agreed. "No tricks. And I think it is time to let two of those coyotes free. Don't need as much urine."

"Free them?" Maderas had assumed they would be killed when they were finished with them.

"Yeah." Heyes threw his head back to get his long bangs out of his face and followed with a hand to keep them back. "Thought we could load two of them, cages and all, on one of them dirt wagons when they're leaving. Release them up in the mountains where they're getting that soil. Nobody's settled in that area."

"I'll take it under consideration. Now, Heyes, about what you asked me earlier." Maderas looked from Heyes to Curry and back to Heyes, silently asking if it was alright to talk in front of Curry.

"We are anxious to know if you delivered the message," Heyes replied with an emphasis on the we.

Maderas understood Curry was included. "Lobowitz was very appreciative of the message. He knew his brother ran with your gang and wondered if he was even still alive."

Declining to mention that Lobowitz had been staring at him, Heyes just said, "Glad, then, we asked you to deliver the message."

"You still see Lobo?"

Curry and Heyes exchanged a quick glance. "When would we see an outlaw, Marshal?"

"Don't want to know the answer to that," Maderas answered with a sly look in his eye. "But if you see him or can get a message to him, tell him that Jonathon's sentence was reduced to eighteen years."

"From life? That's something." Thinking of the long eighteen years in prison still seemed like a lifetime to Heyes.

"It's still a very long time," Maderas replied. "And one other thing, he said to tell Lobo their mother passed two years ago. I prayed with him for her."

Heyes hung his head. "Sorry to hear that. IF we can get a message to him, we'll let him know."

Walking to their room, Curry whispered to his cousin, "You have any idea where Lobo is, Heyes?"

'No, but I might know someone who does."

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

The wagons of dirt just kept coming. At first, Heyes had them emptied in the center of the former prairie dog town. After the first few tunnel collapses knocked the prisoners and guards off their feet, he changed tactics and started working from the back of the town forward. They poured dirt down the hole entrances until they wouldn't take any more. Then they piled it high over where Heyes thought the tunnel might exist.

Shoveling the dirt off the never-ending stream of wagons was dirty, backbreaking work. While the prisoners handled that, Curry and Heyes carefully walked over the mounds of dirt until that one step produced the start of a cave in. Then they attempted to jump out of the way. Before the day ended, Heyes, Curry, and every prisoner and guard had been caught in at least one tunnel collapse. They suffered a few bumps and bruises, but nothing serious.

Looking at the progress and the time, Heyes was just about to call it quits for the day. Estimating they had about seventy percent of the field finished, he took pride in his organization and leadership. Heading toward Maderas to discuss his decision, he stopped short hearing Curry yelp. Turning about to see the end of an awkward fall as Curry tumbled into a burrow in an unexpected place.

Rushing to Curry, Heyes knelt down beside him trying to see where he was hurt but only saw him laying in the hole his body twisted awkwardly.

"Kid!" Kneeling next to him, Heyes felt the dirt giving way under him. Sitting down, he fell almost two feet further into the hole. With a groan, Curry landed in his lap.

"My back and my head," moaned Curry. "Hurt my ankle."

"You're twisted on your side. Can you roll over and lay flat on your back?" Heyes asked, concern for his partner the only thing on his mind.

"Yeah, if you get your legs out from under me." Curry attempted to roll to his back. Grabbing his back he said, "No, think I'll just stay here for a minute until the pain in my head passes."

Trying not to disturb Curry, Heyes worked his legs from beneath his partner and again knelt next to him. "That better? Want to try to lay on your back again?"

"Okay. Help me?" Curry's eyes had faded to the blue of an early morning sky. Heyes knew the effort it was taking him not to moan from pain.

By the time Curry was laying flat, Maderas had carefully directed an empty wagon near him. "Can you stand up, Curry?"

"Don't think I even want to try to stand on my ankle."

Spreading two blankets, one on top of the other, next to the injured man, Maderas turned to the guards. "Going to need one of you to help Heyes and me lift and slide him into the back of the wagon."

With three of them lifting the blanket, Curry let himself fall into the blanket.

"Gently, gently, don't put him down until the wagon bed is under him." Heyes ordered.

Once Jed was in the wagon, Heyes climbed in the back with him and Maderas drove it to the house. "Easy, Kid, easy. You're going be just fine, you'll see."

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

Heyes stopped pacing when the doctor came out of their bedroom. "Doctor, how is he?"

"If you're Heyes, he wants to see you."

"How is he?"

"Back was twisted a bit, but it's better now. I did a spinal manipulation. His ankle is sprained. The bump on his head is making him sick to his stomach but it's not a concussion. He's in a lot of pain, mostly from that ankle, but wants whiskey not laudanum. That's okay with me. And water, lots of water. That ankle is going to hurt for a few days then be very tender for a while. No lifting, no riding. Keep that foot elevated until I come back tomorrow. He gets up only to use the privy and I want two people helping him when he does."

Relieved that it was nothing worse, Heyes worried about Curry's pain and recovery. "What about a chair on the porch?"

"I guess that's okay as long as that foot is elevated. Now go visit your friend," the doctor finished.

Pushing the bedroom door open slightly, Heyes looked around. "Hey, Kid, how you doing?"

"You know how I'm doin'. Heard you talkin' to the doctor."

Propped up against the pillows, Curry sat on his bed. His sprained ankle was supported by more pillows.

Standing in the doorway, a concerned Mrs. Carter asked, "What can I get you to eat, Mr. Curry?"

Curry smiled what Heyes recognized as a polite, forced smile. "Nothing to eat for now. Thank you for askin', ma'am. Would like some whiskey to kill the pain, though."

"Doctor said it was okay," Heyes assured the lady. "No food, Kid? How ARE you feeling?"

"Beat up and stupid for fallin' in that hole."

ASJ-ASJ-ASJ-ASJ

By noon the next day, the work was done. Sitting on the back porch of the Carter's home, drinking lemonade, Heyes and Curry watched as the coyotes in their cages were loaded onto empty wagons and driven away. Curry's foot was elevated on numerous pillows, and he leaned back in his chair. His lemonade had been spiked with whiskey and he was feeling little pain at the moment.

"Happy Heyes?" Maderas came out the back door. "They're being relocated to the mountains. So much fuss over coyotes."

Curry laughed, "Fuzzy coyotes!"

"What can I say, I felt sorry for them pacing in those cages for days." A sly grin escaped Heyes. He saved a full smile for his drunken cousin.

"Well, those fellows from the government say the prairie dogs have settled real quick into their new home. They've removed the last barriers and told us there is no longer a need for coyote urine or the prisoners. They'll be transported back to the prison later today." Maderas sat down between the cousins and poured himself a cup of lemonade. "The prison wagon pulled up half an hour ago."

Curry fixed his eyes on the coyotes being loaded.

Heyes shivered and fixed his eyes down the road watching as the prisoners exited the bunkhouse. Shackled both hands and feet, they were forced into the prison wagon. With effort, he took a deep breath as he made his expression blank thinking of a young Kid in their place.

Heyes' somber thoughts were broken when he saw Lom riding down the road leading two horses.

"Hi, boys! Heard everything's going well with the prairie dogs."

"Yeah, we did it, Lom, and a day ahead of schedule." The pride in Heyes' voice was evident.

Not hearing him, Lom focused on Curry's raised foot. "What happened to that foot, Kid?"

"Ankle, Lom. Well...er...I...er... fell in a hole." His words were slightly slurred from the continuous flow of whiskey he'd been using to dull the pain in his body.

"You what? A hole?"

Heyes took pity on his partner and explained, "One of the tunnels collapsed underneath him. He's lucky it's only his ankle hurting now. Could have been a lot worse."

Dismounting, Lom joined the men on the porch. "Can you ride?"

Heyes kept talking, "Doctor said he can ride some tomorrow."

"Mmm." Lom looked concerned.

"Lom, you said the next penance is also in Wyoming. Is it far away?"

"Little more than a day's ride but sounds like Kid's not up to that."

Shaking his head slowly, Curry said, "No, not up to that yet. Have some lemonade, Lom, it's real good." Laying his glass on the table next to him, Curry leaned back and closed his eyes. Within a minute, he was snoring.

Lom poured himself a lemonade. Then looking at Curry's cup, he picked it up and smelled it. "Whoa! Any lemonade in there?" he laughed with Heyes and Maderas.

"Kills his pain and makes him sleep. That's what he needs right now." Heyes held the whiskey bottle out to Lom. "Want some?"

"No, too early for me." He turned and looked at Maderas. "How we going to get them to their next penance?"

"Maybe if you tell me where we're going, I can help you figure it out." With his most charming smile, Heyes tried to get information on their next penance.

Maderas smiled widely. "Got it covered, Heyes. I've checked the schedule. You three can ride the horses to town and catch the stage the day after tomorrow. You'll actually get there a day early. Might need to do a role reversal?"

Looking thoughtful, Lom smiled. "Just might. Just might"

"Role reversal?" questioned Heyes.

Lom and Maderas smiled conspiratorially at each other.

Turning serious, Maderas gave credit where it was due. "This was a good job and a worthwhile penance. I think you've both grown. And now it's on to the next step."

The next step? I thought we were done."

"You are done. The Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy is going to release a colony of black-footed ferrets in the hills overlooking the prairie dog town."

Heyes heart jumped a beat. "But the black-footed ferret is a predator of the prairie dog!" he sputtered.

"And has become more endangered than the prairie dog. This way both species should grow."

Accepting the solution, Heyes had something else on his mind. "Just what is this role reversal you're talking about?"