They arrived in Carson City in the early part of the afternoon and secured a hotel room. After unloading their gear and boarding their horses, they headed to the nearest saloon which was sparsely populated with customers that time of day. They ordered beers and stood at the bar.
"Hope it gets busier in the evening," Heyes said to the bartender when the beers were set down in front of them.
"A lot livelier after the sun goes down. You two just passing through?"
"Haven't decided yet. Heard there was some ranch work available in these parts."
The bartender nodded. "Most every ranch around is hiring summer workers. Branding should be starting up in a week or two."
"Who are the best ranchers to work for?" Kid asked
The bartender smiled. "Sorry fellows, I stay out of another man's business. Might talk to some of the regular hands that come in. They might be willing to tell you a thing or two."
Heyes took the last drink of his beer, gave Kid a slap on the back, and headed for the door. "You ready to go pay a visit to the doctor?"
Kid sighed, dropped his dime on the bar and followed Heyes out the door.
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"You say you've had these spells all your life?" Dr. Henderson asked as he pulled the stethoscope from his ears.
Kid nodded. "Since I was about five, maybe six."
"What's it feel like?"
"Like my chest is getting squeezed and my throat is getting tight."
"And it don't last very long?"
Kid shook his head.
"Well, your lungs sound fine now. You ever notice it happens after you've eaten something in particular like eggs or peanuts, or fish, or maybe after smelling some particular fragrance?"
Kid shook his head. "Mostly when the air is cold or damp."
"You had fish last night," Heyes said.
"But not yesterday morning."
"You had two spells yesterday?"
Kid nodded. "That don't happen very often. In fact, sometimes I go months without anything."
"Anything you've tried help improve it?"
"Whiskey. My folks tried coffee and tobacco, but tobacco made it worse."
"So did pouring whiskey down the throat of a six year old," Heyes added.
Dr. Henderson sighed. "Well, I doubt it's brought on by an allergy. The fact you've had this condition for so long, I think it's a good bet that you've got something called Asthma. Whiskey does seem to help that some. You ever tried opium?"
Kid shook his head. "Don't know as I want to, though. I've seen what Opium has done to a few men."
"What you've seen is what happens when someone abuses opium. It is addictive, I won't lie to you, but the little amount you'd be using, and how little of it you'd use, well, if you treat it with respect, it won't cause you no harm."
"Doc, what about living in a drier climate? Thaddeus says he thinks it's the cold and damp that bring these spells on, so wouldn't a drier climate be helpful?"
"Wouldn't know the answer to that until you tried it. For some, a dry climate makes the condition worse."
"How much opium are we talking?" Kid asked.
"Small dose for your needs. I could prescribe pills with just a small amount. Of course there's also powder and tincture forms. Now injections should only be administered by a physician."
"I think I'll pass on that, Doc. So far just a shot of whiskey seems to be taking care of it."
"Well if it ever don't, or of it ever feels worse than you're use to, you best get to a doctor quick"
Kid raised his eyes to his partner. It was seldom they were less than a half day's ride from a doctor.
"You hungry?" Heyes asked as they walked out of the doctor's office.
Kid nodded, but reached for Heyes' arm to stop him. "Heyes, don't go worrying about this Asthma. I've been living with it for over twenty years. It ain't killed me yet."
"I know, you're right. I'm just thinking about whether we ought to try a drier climate, that's all."
"Like Mexico?"
Heyes grinned slightly. "Maybe."
"You serious Heyes? About Mexico I mean," Kid asked as they ate supper in the cafe.
"Well, I've been thinking. I wondered if maybe we could reach a compromise."
"A compromise. You mean Texas?"
Heyes laughed. "No, I was thinking maybe spend some time here, earning some money and at the end of the season, then we could head to Mexico."
"Would we tell Lom?"
"I don't think we'd have to right away. We could go down there for a few weeks, maybe a couple of months, and see how we like it. Then, if we decide we want to stay, well there are telegraph offices in Mexico. We could let him know then."
Kid thought about Heyes' suggestion and finally decided he was agreeable. "Okay Heyes, we'll work, earn some money, and then head to Mexico."
They returned to the saloon for an evening of poker and conversation and learned of two highly thought of ranchers in the area, both of whom were hiring. One of the poker players that evening was a man by the name of Jim Wentworth. He was about the same age as Heyes, same build, and a good enough poker player to give Heyes a bit of a challenge. Heyes liked that. He liked Jim, a generally quiet fellow with a dry wit.
Jim worked at the Silver Horseshoe Ranch that was owned by Leland Billings, a man in his forties with a wife named Starr, and their three sons ranging in age from late teens to early twenties, all of whom worked right along side the hands and received no special treatment.
Kid and Heyes rode out to the Silver Horseshoe Ranch late the next morning and were hired on the spot. They returned to town to settle their bill at the hotel and moved into the bunkhouse that evening.
Each bunk had two shelves attached to the foot of the bed for the hands to store personal items. Most were stocked with razors, shaving cups, and aftershave solutions, a couple had small tintypes of a wife or girlfriend. When Kid pulled out the pint bottle of whiskey, one of the hands was quick to point out that Mr. Billimgs did not permit alcohol in the bunkhouse.
"He don't?" Kid replied as he turned to face the man who had spoken.
"That's a fact. He says the only alcohol consumption to be done will be done in town."
"Well, maybe that's something I should be taking up with the likes of Mr. Billings rather than the likes of you."
Heyes could see that Kid was not amused by what Kid considered to be an invasion of his privacy, so he quickly stepped in.
"Oh. I'm sure Thaddeus and Mr. Billings can have a conversation about that tomorrow. You see in Thaddeus' case, it's medicinal, prescribed by a doctor."
"A doctor prescribing alcohol?" the hand asked.
"It's done more often than you know, Skeet," Jim said, joining in to the conversation. "Now, why don't you and me just stay out of this man's business and let him take care of the matter himself."
"I didn't mean nothing by it mister," Skeet said. "I was just explaining one of the rules."
Kid looked at him and nodded, then turned his back on the young man and continued to unpack his things. When Skeet also walked away, Heyes turned to Jim and shot him a nod and an appreciative smile.
The next morning when Heyes and Curry were saddling their horses, Jim walked up to them holding the reins of his own horse.
"Why don't you two pair up with me today. It'll just be mending fences but it'll give me a chance to show you around the ranch."
"Mr. Billimgs won't mind?" Heyes asked.
Jim smiled. "I already cleared it with him. I a...I told him you were wanting to talk to him Thaddeus. I hope you don't mind."
Kid frowned and shook his head. "Guess now's as good a time as any."
"He's up at the house. He's expecting you."
Kid gave Heyes a quick glance, pulled the cinch tight, then lowered the stirrup and handed Heyes the rains. "Be back in a minute," Kid said.
"Ten minutes later, Kid returned to the barn and took the reins back from Heyes. "You two ready?" Kid asked.
"Everything go alright?" Heyes asked.
Kid nodded. "He's a reasonable man."
Heyes and Curry spent the next two weeks working along side Jim, but the third week was the beginning of the branding of calves and almost every other job on the ranch was put on hold. Branding was a hot and at times a very physically challenging job as all calves were branded and almost all the males were banded. Banding called for the male calf to be wrestled to the ground and pinned, a task usually requiring two men, while a third applied the band. Two to three weeks later the calf's testicles would literally fall off.
All the men returned to the bunkhouse each night, ate whatever the cook placed in front of him, and fell into bed. Conversation was minimal and self defined curfew was early.
One night near the end of the branding season, Heyes woke to the dreaded whistling breaths of his partner in the bunk below. Heyes leaned over his bunk and saw Kid in his usual posture, his upper body propped up on one elbow.
"Been going on long?" Heyes asked and Kid nodded but made no attempt to speak.
"What's that's noise?" one of the hands asked
"It's just Thaddeus. It'll be over soon," Heyes whispered loudly a he jumped down from his bunk and walked over to retrieve the whiskey bottle. He returned to Kid's bunk and stooped down, the bottle in his hand ready to be handed to his partner when the time was right.
After a few minutes Kid's hand reached out and Heyes uncorked the bottle and handed it to Kid. By this time Kid's breathing had wakened several of the hands and a couple of oil lamps had been lit.
Heyes handed Kid the bottle and Kid took a hefty swig. But to his dismay, the bottle contained nothing by tea. Kid's breathing tightened and worsened and he looked at Heyes with a bit of panic in his eyes as he thrust the bottle back into Heyes' hand.
The whistling intensified and Heyes was now growing worried. "What is it?" Heyes asked.
Kid struggled to utter a single word. "Water."
Heyes looked confused but Kid grasped the bottle and shook it in Heyes' hand.
Heyes took a swig. "It's tea! Somebody go get the doctor! Tell him Thaddeus is having an asthma attack, a bad one. Hurry!"
Jim threw on his boots and grabbed his shirt as he ran out the door to the barn. Minutes later the sound of hooves could be heard fading into the distance.
"Heyes looked up at the men standing around gawking. "Alright, we don't need no audience. You got something to do, go do it. Otherwise just go back to bed."
Kid continued to struggle to breathe, the whistling growing louder and his throat and chest growing tighter. He focused all his attention on breathing, closing his eyes to block out everything else.
"Hang on, Kid, the doctor will be here soon," Heyes said to his partner as he remained crouched next to Kid's bunk.
It seemed to Heyes like an eternity before Dr. Henderson burst through the door and knelt down beside Kid's bed.
"How long has this been going on?"
"Close to an hour," Heyes replied.
"No better."
"Worse if anything."
"Whiskey didn't help?"
"There weren't none. Somebody drank it."
Dr. Henderson sighed heavily and reached into his bag, drawing out a bottle and a syringe.
"What's that?" Heyes asked with great concern.
"It's opium. It'll settle him down quick."
Kid's breathing became more shallow and more rapid. He wanted to protest but simply couldn't.
Dr. Henderson drew up a very small amount of the liquid and injected it into Kid's upper arm. Almost immediately, Kid's breathing began to ease, and deepen and the whistling sounds soon stopped. Kid shifted his elbow and dropped down into the bed.
"Feeling better?"
Kid nodded. "Thanks."
"You sure you're alright now, Kid?" Heyes asked and Kid nodded.
Heyes stood up and faced the the other hands who were now all awake and watching the proceedings.
"I'm pretty confident nobody's gonna confess to drinking this whiskey, but we told you, Kid needs this for medicinal purposes. Now I'm going to be replacing this bottle, and I'm going to be checking it every night. If I ever see anyone one of you going anywhere near the bottle of whiskey, I promise you, you're gonna wish you hadn't."
"Joshua," Kid whispered
Heyes heard Kid but continued to stare down the group, emphasizing his sincerity.
"Joshua," Kid whispered a second time.
This time Heyes stooped down near his partner's head.
"What is it, Kid?"
"Let it go for now."
Heyes' anger wouldn't ebb, but he did as Kid asked. "Thanks, Doc."
"I'd like him to come in and see me this week. I think we should talk about the use of the opium again."
"I'll see that he does. Can't promise what he'll agree to though."
Dr. Henderson nodded. "I understand. A person's got a right to make their own decisions, wise or not."