Chapter 6

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Inside, mother had retreated to her favorite part of the house, the kitchen. And refused to speak to anyone. "what was that all about?" Frank asked innocently, sitting on the couch and giving Eleanor a slightly scared look when she came back in. The young woman opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't know where to start. "progress, Frank.. the railroad" Butch spoke from a corner of the small livingroom. He was peering through the curtains, following the men as they rode off into the distance. "they want the ranch, damn sharks" Eleanor finally said. "Take the money and go" Butch said, turning to give the girl a quick look. "ah know for a fact that the man holding the reins in the railroad business don't bend for anyone" he continued. "he aint very patient either"

Eleanor frowned. "Mister Cole? What has he got to do with this? Elton is the real problem here. I'm pretty sure mister Cole wouldn't allow these methods if he knew about it" she said. The sick criminal huffed. "if you say so, little miss shark" he said and retreated back to his bedroom to lay down. "does anyone want pumpkin soup?!" mother said, holding up a large, steaming pan. Her eyes red and puffy from crying, tears still rolling down her face. "I made it this morning. We should eat.. we should live. Life goes on, that's what pa always said to us. Life goes on" the woman rattled on, grabbing bowls left and right to serve everybody a bowl of soup. "mother, please. Sit down. Everything will be alright" Eleanor reached out to take the woman's arm, trying to get her to sit at the dinnertable, but she was shrugged off once again. "and skip supper?! Oh no! not for the life of me! I won't live any other way just because some men in tall hats tell me I should! Come here, boy!" Frank was at her side in a second and two bowls of soup were forced in his hands. "take this to your friend, off you go! And tell him I don't wash half empty plates!" The young outlaw nodded frantically and hurried off as fast as he could without spilling his soup.

"mother" Eleanor tried. "we will find a way to keep the ranch. I promise you. Even if we have to fight them off, we will! Grandpa can shoot.. God knows I can. Father taught me, remember?" the older woman finally sat down and started crying silently in her handkerchief. Eleanor hated to see her mother cry. There was no evil in this woman, she didn't deserve any of this. Nor Elton's treatment, nor caring for two criminals. "that is not what I raised a daughter for! Shooting at the government!" her mother sobbed.

Inside Butch' bedroom, Frank watched his leader spoon down his soup while staring at the wall in front of him. The young outlaw found it hard to swallow anything at the moment, since there were two crying women in the adjoining room. "ah find it mighty sad for miss and mrs. Hartley they gon' lose the ranch, Butch" he said. His leader gave him a quick look from the corner of his eyes and grunted. "where are they supposed to go?" Frank continued. Butch shrugged, shoving another spoonful of soup into his mouth. No one seemed to notice he was eating it without threatening to shoot someone first, that seemed to have been a big deal only yesterday. Today other problems had surfaced. "can't we go kill this man Elton?" the young criminal finally asked. Now Butch lowered his spoon and turned his head to meet Frank's hopeful gaze. "I ain't killin' anyone for no one, ye got that, Frank?" Frank nodded frantically. "ah can do it, Butch! Ye don't have te do anythin'!" he offered. "now listen here, boy. Ye go and kill a railroad man and I swear I'll shoot ye myself" Butch replied, giving him a stern gaze. Frank frowned in confusion. "but why, Butch? We don't like them railroad men.. do we?" But his gang leader was done with the conversation and refused to say no more.

Later that afternoon, Eleanor decided to check up on the two criminals. It seemed Butch had dozed off after his lunch once more, and Frank was trying to read to him, sitting in a chair next to the bed. "how is he?" she asked. Frank looked up and smiled at her before peering at his sleeping chief. "ah think he's doin' much better than yesterday, miss Eleanor" he said. "get this idiot out of my bedroom" grumbled Butch, clearly not asleep at all. "he's reading to me while holding that damn book upside down, so it don't make no sense what he's saying" Eleanor couldn't help but laugh watching Frank turn the book around quickly. "ah was thinkin'.. this is a strange story myself but.. ah don't read very well so" the young criminal said. "I'm sorry, Butch"

"put down that book and git out" Butch growled, turning his back toward the crowd. Frank stumbled over his feet while trying to leave the room as fast as he could, but Eleanor staid. "How are you feeling?" she asked softly and sat down in the chair. "None of yer goddamn business" was his gruff reply. "well, I think it is, since I am the one taking care of you. How is your stomach?" she asked.

"still there.."

"you kept your soup inside, that's a good thing. I think it's making progress" the young woman said, trying to smile.

"uhu"

His replies were too short and not hostile enough to be normal, and she started worrying. She got up and walked around the bed so she could see his face. "Mr. Cavendish, please talk to me. I know something is going on. I can't help you if you won't tell me" she said, kneeling down beside the bed to look him in the eyes. They were red and hazy, like he was getting overheated. She reached out to touch his forehead to check for fever, but he recoiled and growled, moving away from her hand.

"Git away from me!"

"You're burning up! Your fever has spiked! Mother!" the girl got to her feet and ran out, leaving the outlaw to flinch at her loud voice. His head was killing him, but he wouldn't tell them that. Maybe he should tell Frank, so the kid could get him some laudanum. Maybe that would be a good idea. But before he had the chance to muster the strength to call for Frank, Eleanor had returned with her unamused mother.

"there is no peace in this house as long as you two refuse to communicate!" Mrs. Hartley spoke, pulling the blankets off Butch roughly. "get up, you lazy dog! In the tub with you before you lose your wits! Frying your brain like that won't make you look any tougher, it just makes you look stupid!" the older woman had proven once again she didn't fear the devil himself. And right now, he was too sick to argue and got to his feet shakenly. "where's Frank?" he mumbled, as the room turned before his eyes. "Making himself useful in the stables. You don't think I let him lie in bed all day like I do with you? There's nothing wrong with him! Now off you go" Mother said, her sharp voice cutting through his painful head. He had to hold on to the walls to not fall down, and when his legs finally gave out completely, Eleanor grabbed him around his thin waist and held him up. If he had felt any better, he would have pushed her away, but right now he had to admit he was grateful of her help.

Mother had already half-filled the old, rusty tub with cold water when they arrived in the bathroom. "Take off your shirt and pants" the older woman said without looking at him. Butch raised an eyebrow and looked at the young girl, her arms still wrapped around his waist in support. "well, little miss shark, yer welcome to stay of course" he mumbled, trying to sound as sly as possible in his current state. She let go of him so abruptly, he had to cling on to the doorpost to not collapse right there. "Eleanor Christina Angela Hartley! That is not how you treat a sick person!" her mother said, causing Eleanor to open her mouth to protest, but one look of her mother rendered her quiet and she left with stamping feet. Butch chuckled as she passed by, reaching up to unbutton his shirt.

"ah must say, ma. You do one hell of a job raising that there little hellcat. Ye sure ye can handle me too?" he spoke softly, placing his shirt on a chair. "I've washed the farm dog before, I don't think you'll be much different" was her reply. He huffed in agitation and almost fell over twice getting out of his dusty pants. "now get into that tub and don't let me hear any of that complaining about cold water, mister outlaw. I'll get that fever out of you, even if I have to keep you in that tub all night long" she continued.

When Frank returned from the stables, he found Eleanor sitting on the couch with her arms crossed across her chest. "did he say sumthin' mean to you, miss Eleanor?" he asked. "he don't like bein' sick, ah think" she shook her head and gave him a slight smile. "he's not doing very well, Frank. He's got a serious fever. Mother took over, she's better at fighting fevers than me" she said. The young man frowned and sat down next to her. "ah thinks yer a very good nurse, miss Eleanor. Butch is just a grumpy old man sometimes. Ah knows he's grateful for all you and ma did for him. ah knows ah am" he tried to cheer her up. He would have said more if a clap of thunder hadn't startled them both. Outside the dog started barking and grandfather started yelling incoherent words again.

"there's a storm coming. Grandpa thinks it's going to rain all night" Eleanor spoke bluntly, getting a surprised look from Frank. "is that what he said?" he asked. She nodded and sighed, like it was the most normal thing in the world to understand the gibberish of an old man. "ah don't like storms" Frank said, looking at the window worriedly. "If I have to sleep outside during a storm, I wouldn't like them either. When I'm inside I like the sound of the pouring rain on the roof" she said.

"we sleep under our horses when it rains. But horses tend to move around when they stand, so ye git wet no matter what" Frank said, causing Eleanor to giggle at the thought of a few outlaws moving around to the position of their horses to shelter from the rain. "ye think mother would let me see Butch?" he asked. "I don't think she'd try to stop you. I doubt he's in an amiable mood knowing he's in a tub of cold water, though" Eleanor chuckled. At that moment, mother entered the living room and went straight to the kitchen. Frank got up to his feet and followed her around while she grabbed a pan and put it on the stove. "How is he? Is he really cold?" the older woman manoeuvred herself around the curious young criminal and pointed at the top shelf. "get me that one, you beanstake" she said. He looked up at a row of liquor bottles. "ah don't think his belly would be really happy with that right now, ma" he said, rubbing his chin. "what are you talking about?! I'm not going to serve him a drink! Now get me that bottle of rum over there!" he quickly did as he was told, standing on the tips of his toes to reach the shelf. "ah don't think alcohol is the answer, ma'm. ah know Butch can be a real handful but ah don't think he's causing you te drink, does he?" he asked, handing her the bottle of rum.

Mother only huffed and mumbled something about young men not receiving the proper raising they need. She poured the rum in a pan to heat it up and stirred in it contently. Frank peered in the pan, his brain working overtime to figure out what the older woman was planning on. "is this goin' te make him better?" he asked. "He'll be sweating out the fever tonight, that's for darn sure" mother replied. "just ask Eleanor herself. She was only a wee little thing when she got the bad cough that strikes these parts every winter. Put a pan of hot rum under her bed and wrapped her in blankets I did, and she was right as rain in the morning" Frank's jaw had dropped at the story. "no more coughing?" he peeped. Mother shook her head and smiled at him. "not one little huff"

It seemed like someone had just unravelled a magic trick in front of Frank's eyes, the look of amazement on his face was almost comical and certainly endearing. "so we're goin' to wrap Butch in blankets now?" he went on. "are you volunteering?" mother joked, laughing as she watched him shake his head quickly, his eyes turning to saucers. "he aint the cuddlin' type, ah tried" he said. "you don't need to cuddle him, you silly boy! Eleanor, go check on his fever. He shouldn't be in that tub for too long or we'll kill him with a lung infection. Very effective against outlaws" mother spoke, giving Frank a stern look, who in turn paled.

Eleanor was less than thrilled with her chore, but she couldn't leave everything to her mother. She peered around the doorway into the bathroom and saw Butch shivering in the tub, his knees up to his chin and his arms wrapped around his legs. He looked perfectly miserable with his long, greying hair in wet strands covering most of his face. She decided to try and handle this like her mother would do. "alright, time to get out of that water. We don't want you to catch cold" she said, walking into the bathroom and grabbing a towel from the chair. He looked up at her slowly, shivering like a wet kitten, but his eyes ever warning his surroundings to not come any closer. "and here ah was thinkin' ah had seen the last of little miss shark" he spoke with a trembling voice. "no you have not, unfortunately" she replied, her gaze going over the many scars covering his body. His back looking like he had been lashed with a whip, or a belt.

"ah suppose our lady over here never saw a man in his drawers before, ahm ah right?" he asked, giving her a sly grin. "all these scars.." she mumbled, unaware she was talking out loud. He raised his eyebrows and rested his chin on his knees, still peering up at her. "aint polite to stare, little miss shark. Ahm sure yer momma told ye that. Let's talk about them scars some other time, when ahm not freezing mah nuts off" he said, waking her from her trance. "yes, of course.. my apologies" she said and handed him the towel. Very gingerly he raised himself up and wrapped the towel around his body tightly.

Mother came in when he was buttoning up the clean shirt Eleanor had handed to him, one that had belonged to her father. "how's your head, mister outlaw?" she asked and walked up to him to feel his forehead. "still warm, but no longer spiking. Off to bed with you" he seemed too tired to argue or sneer, for he just nodded and slowly made his way back to his bedroom where he practically collapsed onto the bed. "Get the winter furs, Elly" Mother instructed her daughter. Eleanor opened the large wooden chest in a corner of the room and revealed some finely prepared buffalo furs. "Now these belonged to my dear father in law, mister outlaw. So you know how privileged you are that I allow you to use them for tonight" Mother spoke sternly, placing the furs on Butch' bed.

Frank had been silently watching from the doorway how the two women tried to aid his ailing leader as much as they could. Once again, the young outlaw was torn between enjoying the company of the gang, and the voice in the back of his head telling him what they did was wrong. He had been nothing but an abandoned child before he met Butch, and so he basically owed his life to the vicious leader of the "Hole in the wall" gang. There were hardly any paternal feelings to be found in Butch, but Frank knew the others had been ordered to keep an eye on the youngest member. Ray had taught him how to handle a gun. Jesus had taught him how to ride a horse and Butch had taught him to shut up and do as he was told.

He was shaken from his thoughts when mother pushed him aside. "Move yourself out of the doorway, boy! You're in my way!" she said, and returned with a steaming pan of rum moments later. The pan was placed underneath Butch' bed, who eyed it all suspiciously. "smells nice, can ah drink it?" he chuckled softly. Mother rounded on him. "you let that pan sit there and do its work, did I make myself clear, mister outlaw?! If you're well enough to drink, you're well enough to be on your feet and out of this house, let that be understood!" she turned to Eleanor and Frank. "you two can take turns on watching him tonight. I want to know his temperature every hour. I have to bring grandpa his dinner" she bustled out of the bedroom.

Another clap of thunder cracked through the sky, making the horses neigh in the stables. Frank rushed over to the bedside and shoved the chair as close to the bed as possible. "ah'll do it first, miss Eleanor. Ye did enough, ah think" he said, looking absolutely terrified. "knucklehead is scared o' thunder" Butch grumbled, rolling onto his back and stretching lazily. "whenever ah find him next te me in the mornin' ah know what the weather was like during the night" he chuckled. "not true!" Frank protested. Eleanor laughed and decided to leave the two to eachother's company and try to get some sleep.

NFTA (note from the author): Butch Cassidy's gang was called "the hole in the wall gang" and the rum method was actually used during these times.