Artie followed Jim's horse though several trails until he was moving up a tight canyon. The horse slowed around a turn, and then stopped. He stood by the edge, shaking his mane and neighing. Artie came to a halt nearby, dismounted and walked over to West's horse. He pet the animal slowly.

It's okay boy, calm down.

Artie looked around, and down into the canyon, but he didn't see a thing.

Jim? Jim!

There was no answer. Based on the behavior of the gelding, Artie knew Jim was somewhere nearby. He called out to his partner several more times, but to no avail. Only a search would produce results. He pulled a long rope from Jim's saddle bag, and tied it to a Joshua tree that seemed fairly sturdy. Carefully, Artie scaled down the canyon wall, looking for Jim, but there was nothing for the first two hundred feet.

He swallowed hard: if Jim fell this far, he couldn't have survived. Artie looked up toward the sky, trying to hold back the tears that had quickly formed. He wouldn't stop looking until he found him, one way or another. He stopped momentarily on a ledge, and that's when he spotted the dark blue hat. As quickly as he could, Artie lowered himself to the hat, picking it up. He looked to his left, and on the next lowest ledge, was Jim. He scrambled as fast as his body would move.

When he reached West, he realized that Jim was in bad shape, and there was no time to waste getting him to a doctor. As gently as he could, he picked West up and placed him across his shoulders. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. With all of his strength and effort, Artemus pulled both of them back up the canyon wall. By the time he reached the top, he was panting and completely exhausted.

West never stirred, not even when Artie mounted his horse, pulling Jim in front of him in the saddle, cradling him closely. He grabbed the reins of the gelding, and as best he could, began the ride back to Paulden.

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