Chapter Three

When Joshua awoke, he felt quite a bit better. The lump on his head was receding and along with it, the pain was getting more tolerable. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Kid Curry watching him from the chair across the room. He met his eyes and smiled. "Have you been sitting there staring at me the whole time I've been asleep?"

Kid looked a little embarrassed and turned away. "Course not," he said gruffly. "I've just been sitting here thinking." He stood up and motioned for Heyes to join him at the writing table near the window. He was holding a deck of cards. "Here," he said, handing the cards to Heyes. "One of Heyes' favorite tricks was getting someone to wager him that he wouldn't be able to make five pat hands out of any twenty five cards dealt to him. Works nine times out of ten." He looked at Heyes expectantly.

Joshua shook his head slightly, frowning, not comprehending what Kid wanted him to do.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Deal out twenty five and make five pat hands."

Joshua's expression lightened. "Ah. You want me to do something your friend Heyes would do. You still think I'm suddenly going to remember I'm really not Joshua Smith at all, but that I'm actually Hannibal Heyes." Joshua chuckled at the absurdity of the idea.

"No, Heyes. You ARE Joshua Smith. I never said you weren't. But you are also Hannibal Heyes."

"Uh, huh. Kid—and I don't mean any disrespect at all here you understand. But you are sounding crazier and crazier."

"Heyes, listen to me. Remember how you were surprised I knew Lom Trevors? Well, Lom is the person who gave us the names Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones. They're our aliases. Don't you remember?"

Joshua shook his head, smiling benignly. "My pa gave me the name Joshua Smith."

Kid shook his head violently, a fearsome scowl darkening his naturally boyish features, "No! Lom did. He's our friend. Not your friend who got you a job at the bank but OUR friend who is trying to help us get amnesty."

"Again with all due respect, but why would the governor even consider giving two notorious outlaws like Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry amnesty. I don't think you're thinking too clearly."

"I'm not thinking too clearly? I'M not thinking clearly! Are you trying to drive me crazy Heyes? What is it? You want me—" Kid was angry. His blue eyes flashed with fire born of frustration. Drawing a long, shuddering breathe, he counted to ten and started again.

"Deal the cards, Heyes."

"I'll deal them…but only to humor you. You need to learn to control that temper. It's gonna get you in trouble one of these days. Has anyone ever told you that before?"

"Yeah, Heyes. You have. Lots of times."

Joshua chuckled and dealt the cards. When he had a stack of twenty five, he laid them out on the desk in rows and studied them for a few seconds. Then he quickly started rearranging the cards. Before long, he had made five pat hands, just like Kid expected him to do. "How do you like that? It works," he said with just a touch of wonder.

"And…"

"…and I have to admit it felt mighty familiar…like I've done the same trick a dozen times before…but I don't have any specific recollection of it, if that's what you're hoping for."

Kid sighed deeply. "Well, that's a start maybe. Get your boots on, Heyes. We're gonna go get something to eat." He turned his back and started to walk away.

"Don't you ever think of anything else besides eating?" Joshua asked.

Kid stopped in his tracks and whirled around to face Heyes. "What did you say?"

"What? What did I say?" Joshua returned, eyes wide, startled.

"About eating? What did you say?"

"I just asked if you ever thought of anything else."

"Exactly! That's something Heyes would say. How would you know that I like to eat? Unless you really are Hannibal Heyes!"

"Well—I don't know. I guess I just figured…" Joshua's words trailed off. He wasn't sure what to say. "Surely you don't think that has any special significance, do you?" His eyes were clouded with doubt, suddenly unsure.

"Do you?" Kid countered.

"No. No I don't," he answered firmly and changed the subject. "Let's go get something to eat."

Joshua awoke with a jolt just after dawn, bathed in sweat. His hair lay damp against his neck and his breathing upon waking was slightly labored. He sat up and untangled his legs from the sheets that had ended up wound around him, the result of the confused conglomeration of dreams that even now were receding into his subconscious. He leaned forward with his head cradled in his hands and concentrated on bringing his breathing back under control.

Standing, he skinned off the henley that he had worn to bed and discarded it in the corner of the room after using it to wipe the perspiration from his neck and chest. Still uncomfortably warm, he slid the window open, trying not to wake Kid. The early morning breeze whispered across his bare chest. He shivered with a sudden chill but did not move away. Instead he closed his eyes, trying to clear the cobwebs from his brain. He just couldn't seem to shake the confusion of disjointed images that insisted on muddying his thoughts.

"I give up." Kid threw his hands in the air as though to punctuate his resignation. He'd spent a good part of the day trying to jog Heyes' memory and although he could see an occasional glimmer of recognition in his friend's eyes, Heyes just didn't seem to be making much progress. And he was starting to get the feeling that Heyes might decide to pick up and leave at the first opportunity, as if he had somewhere to leave to. That scared Kid more than anything else because if Heyes left, there was just no telling what trouble he would land in, considering his mental state. At least if they were together, Kid could make sure he was safe until his memory came back. "Let's get out of here. I need some air."

The two men made their way down the crowded avenues until they came to one of several saloons scattered about the town. "Poker?" Joshua suggested, his eyes sparking with newfound interest.

Kid studied Heyes before replying. Hearing him utter that one word "poker" sent a shock wave through his body. He sounded and looked more like the Heyes he knew than he had since Kid had rescued him from his sickroom prison. Kid started to hope that this might be just the thing Heyes needed to start getting his memory back. "Might as well," Kid agreed, nonchalantly, as they walked through the swinging doors.

The saloon was crowded and most of the seats around the scattered poker tables were already filled. As much as Kid would have preferred to keep Heyes close to him, they had to settle for spots at adjacent tables.

Kid's mind wasn't really on the game. He was too busy watching Heyes to concentrate on what was happening at his table. He was heartened to see how Heyes-like his friend had become since sitting down at the poker table. All the little mannerisms and nuances of Heyes' personality had re-emerged like magic. Kid was sure that this was a good step in the right direction towards getting Heyes back to normal.

Joshua felt, rather than saw, Kid Curry studying him from the next table. It was both comforting and disconcerting to know that someone like Kid had such an interest in him. He felt a certain kinship with the outlaw even though he wasn't at all sure why. Maybe it was just because of the time they had spent together these last two days. He was almost starting to believe that there was some deeper connection between the two of them, ridiculous as it had first seemed.

But Joshua didn't want to think about that right now. Right now, all he wanted to do was play poker. There was something so natural about the game; he knew he must have played it a lot and played it well, even though his memories of it were hazy now. He felt comfortable here, with a deck of cards in his hands and a pile of cash in front of him. And he seemed to know instinctively what the other players were thinking. The feeling was exhilarating.

They hadn't been playing very long when the trouble started. Joshua watched as two men watched Kid. He wasn't sure what they intended but from the shifty, whispery glances they kept casting at the blond man, he was pretty sure it wasn't good. Joshua knew that Kid Curry wasn't aware of the interest he was generating between the pair of tough-looking men at the bar.

Before he could warn Kid, one of the men made his move. Curry heard the ominous click of a handgun being cocked behind him. He felt the hot, sour breath of the man on the back of his neck as he whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened in surprise as he listened. Then he looked past the man standing at his shoulder until he located Heyes sitting at the next table. Their eyes locked for a long moment. Joshua broke the connection and slowly stood up. He glanced once more at Kid before turning his back and walking out of the saloon alone.

Kid heart sank as he watched him leave, this man who had been his friend and partner for most of his life; who had somehow become a stranger to him even though he was still so familiar. He wanted to stand up and shout his name, make him come to his senses somehow. He didn't want to believe that after all the things they had been through together, after all the times they had watched each other's backs that it had come to this. Heyes was walking away from him when he needed him.

Kid felt the barrel of the gun pressed against his shoulder blade. "Let's go," the man holding the weapon hissed. Kid looked around the saloon. Not surprisingly, the exchange between him and the bounty hunter drew little more than cursory attention in the barroom filled with miners and gamblers and he didn't expect any of the men around him to offer him assistance. With grim determination, he quickly weighed his options. He could refuse to go peacefully and the bounty hunter would probably shoot him right here; or he could cooperate and hope he got a chance to escape later. He chose the latter.

He led the way out of the saloon with the other man following close behind. He half-expected Heyes to be waiting outside for them somewhere in the shadows; but he was no where to be found. Kid's heart was heavy when he finally realized that this might be the end of 'Heyes and Curry' or even 'Smith and Jones.'

"You mind if I ask where you're taking me?" Kid asked the bounty hunter after they left town and had ridden a few hours.

"That should be obvious, even to a dumb outlaw like yourself. I'm gonna turn you in for the re-ward," he answered, shoving a large wad of chewing tobacco to one side of his jaw.

"I figured that much. Why not just turn me in back there?"

"Back in Pike? Why, the sheriff back there is no better than the pack of ruffians that roam that town. He'd just as soon kill me and take the reward for himself, I figure. Nope, it's safer for us to take you on down the mountain and turn you in somewhere civilized."

Kid smiled darkly. He had no intention of letting anyone turn him in. Losing Heyes made at least one thing clear. The two of them were never going to get the amnesty that they had worked so hard to earn so if he found the chance—any chance—to get away from this bounty hunter, he would take it; no matter what the cost.