THE AMNESTY
The blowing snow was blinding, dropping measurable visibility to a few feet beyond their horses. Heyes held tight to both sets of rains, keeping the Kid's horse as close as he dared to his own. They stayed just beyond the edge of the tree line at a higher elevation than Heyes would have preferred, but the fierce winds swirled and covered their tracks much more quickly and efficiently than the tree protected grounds of the woods. He hadn't seen any sign of the posse all morning, but with the wind and snow, he knew they could be very close and he wouldn't know it. Heyes had considered dropping to a lower elevation that morning when he sensed the winds picking up speed but there had been scant cloud coverage in those early morning hours so he had not considered blizzard conditions.
Heyes turned again in his saddle to be sure he could still see Kid's silhouette slumped against the horse's mane. The snow was too thick for Heyes to see the trail of blood that Kid's leg wound was leaving in the trodden snow beneath him. He pulled the horses to a stop and climbed out of the saddle and untied his bedroll. Then he trudged through the shin high snow to check on his friend.
"Why did you stop?" Kid asked without moving a muscle of his freezing body.
Heyes reached up and tossed the blanket over Kid's shoulders.
"Pull it over my head to keep the wind out of my face," Kid shouted, though Heyes barely heard him through the howling wind.
Heyes pulled the blanket over Kid's head. As he stepped back, he saw the blood pooling in the snow.
"Kid, you're still bleeding pretty bad. I'm going to take us down a few hundred feet and try to find us a sheltered spot to make camp. You think you can hold on?"
Heyes saw the blanket nodding up and down. He walked back to his own horse and mounted, wrapping Kid's reins tightly around his left hand. He gave his horse a slight spur kick and it started on it's way.
The ferocity of the wind eased the further they descended into the woods. Heyes found a small alcove that provided blockage from the wind on two sides and tress closely bordering a third side that he could secure a blanket to to provide some additional wind blockage. He dismounted, leaving Kid still in his saddle, and proceeded to clear away some snow inside the alcove. Then he unrolled Kid's bedroll and laid it on the spot he had cleared. He walked over to Kid and tugged on Kid's coat, pulling him from the saddle. Kid cried out when the foot of his injured leg did not slide out of the stirrup, forcing Heyes to pull Kid's foot free. Heyes pulled the blanket off of Kid's head. He slung Kid's arm around his shoulder and his own arm around Kid's back.
"Can you walk?" Heyes asked.
Kid nodded tentatively and with most of his weight on Heyes, hobbled to the spot Heyes had prepared. Heyes set Kid down and rested his back against the rocks. Kid was pale from blood loss and his breathing rapid and panting from the trudge to the spot where he now sat.
"I'll get a fire build, then tend to the horses. Then I have to take a look at that wound again."
Kid nodded his understanding and Heyes set to work. Half an hour later he had a good fire going and a blanket hung from two trees, leaving only one side exposed to the wind and snow. Heyes took the saddles off the horses and carried them into the makeshift lean-to where they would serve as pillows for them for the night. He removed the bits but left the harnesses in place and tethered the horses to trees close to the lean-to.
Heyes pulled a coffee pot and jerky from his saddle bag. He filled the coffee pot with packed snow and set it in the embers to melt the snow to water. Then he moved over to Kid to inspect, clean, and dress the wound. The outer left thigh of Kid's Levis was stiff with dried and frozen blood.
"In this weather, I don't want to cut your pants, Kid. Can you raise up enough to get them pulled down to your knees?"
Kid nodded and unbuttoned his pants. He dug his right boot heel into the ground for leverage and pushed to lift his butt off the ground. Heyes tugged at the pants and long johns until the wound was exposed.
The bullet wound was a through and through, meaning it had both an entry and an exit wound from which it bled. The good thing about such a wound was that there was not a bullet lodged in muscle or bone which would have required a surgical procedure. The bad thing was that there were two areas for infection to develop. Heyes removed his bandanna and poured some hot water on it and set to work washing both wet and dried blood from the wound sites. Kid winced and moaned but held his leg steady for Heyes to work on it. Heyes then tore the bandanna in half and applied pressure to both sites to try to stop any active bleeding.
"It don't look infected, but as pale as you look, I think you've lost a lot of blood."
"It feels like it," Kid replied
"Give me your bandanna," Heyes instructed and Kid untied his bandanna from around his neck and handed it to Heyes who used it as a makeshift dressing. Kid then dug his right boot heel into the ground again and raised himself up so Heyes could pull the long johns and Levis back into place.
Heyes poured them coffee and handed Kid some jerky. Kid drank the coffee but the warmth of the fire quickly lulled him to sleep
The next morning Heyes repeated the bandage changing ritual but had to use the same bandanna to redress the wound. The bleeding had stopped but Heyes noticed a little pinkness developing around the edges of both the wounds. Thy drank coffee and ate jerky before Heyes packed their things, saddled the horses, and doused the fire.
"Can you ride," Heyes asked
"I can sit a saddle. Anything else is questionable."
With some struggle he got Kid into his saddle. Heyes mounted his horse and took Kid's reins
"I think you should see a doctor, Kid."
"I don't need no doctor," Kid protested
Heyes didn't argue. He spurred his horse and the two men started the descent further down the mountain.
By noon, Kid was hugging the horse's mane once again. Heyes looked back on him every few minutes and eyed Kid's left thigh for signs of any fresh bleeding. They had reached the flat lands at the foot of the mountains and Heyes led them eastward toward the next mountain range that looked to be about a day's ride. Heyes hoped he find a town, or at least a ranch before reaching another mountain range to cross.
Late in the afternoon, Heyes did spy the silhouette of buildings that looked to be no more than five miles in the distance. He glanced back at Kid and noticed Kid had wrapped the horse's mane around each of his hands as he was too weak to hold a grip. He also noticed fresh blood on Kid's left pant leg.
"Can you hold on a little longer?" Heyes called back to his friend. He got no reply. Heyes pulled Kid's horse up next to his for a closer look at Kid. Kid's eyes were closed and Heyes guessed he was unconscious rather than asleep. He kept the horse beside him as they headed toward the town.
As they entered the one street town of River Bend, Wy, Heyes scanned the building signs until he spied one that read Dr. Morrison. He pulled the horses up to the hitching post, dismounted, checked to see that Kid was still secure in his saddle, and went inside.
"My friend is hurt, he's unconscious. I need help getting him off his horse and in here," Heyes explained.
The doctor opened the door at the back of his office that entered his house. "Jeremy, I need some help out here," he called to his son. A teenage boy appeared in the doorway. "We need to get a man off his horse and in here."
The three men went outside and and were able to pull Kid off the horse and carry him into the building.
"Let's get him into the spare bedroom. Doesn't look like he'll be going anywhere tonight."
They carried Kid into the bedroom and laid him down on the bed. Kid didn't so much as moan.
"What's wrong with him?" the doctor asked Heyes.
"Shot in the leg two days ago up in the mountains."
"Bleed much."
"A lot."
"Well lets get those clothes off him so I can examine the wound."
"There's two wounds," Heyes said. "A through and through."
The doctor nodded his understanding.
Together the three men freed Kid of his clothing and covered him with blankets.
"Feels feverish," the doctor said.
Heyes nodded nervously. "It's his left leg," Heyes said.
"I can see that by the blood. Jeremy, get me some soap, water and rags."
The boy disappeared into another room and returned minutes later with the water, soap, and cloths. The doctor set to work washing the Kid's left thigh. Streaks of red ran from each wound halfway to Kid's knee.
"Can't stitch these wounds closed until we get rid of the infection. We need the wounds open for the infection to drain out. I can put a drawing salve in the wounds and then pack them but it's going to hurt him, probably wake him up. You two may have to hold him down.
The doctor addressed the outside wound first. Kid moaned a few times but didn't offer much resistance.
"The inner thigh wound is the one that's going to hurt. That's the exit wound which means all the tissue was pulled in the direction of the bullet that passed through. As I pack the wound, I'll be pushing all that injured tissue in the opposite direction. You two hold him down tight. Sit on him if you have to, but keep that leg still."
Heyes nodded his understanding and looked at the boy for assurance that he knew what was expected. The boy nodded. "I've done this before," he assured Heyes.
"You two ready?" the doctor asked.
"Ready," they both replied.
As the doctor began pushing the salve into the wound, Kid cried out and began to thrash. Jeremy climbed onto Kid's stomach and pushed all his weight against Kid's protesting arms. Heyes wrapped his left arm under Kid's right knee and shoved both his hands hard against Kid's left knee, locking it in place as the doctor shoved gauze into the wound. Kid continued to struggle and fight against the restraints..
When the doctor finished he took a quick step back. Heyes looked at Jeremy who nodded and they both released their holds and stepped back as well. Kid collapsed on the bed panting, exhausted from the struggle. His eyes were open but fixed on the ceiling. Heyes approached the bed and sat down. He touched Kid's right shoulder and spoke to him soothingly.
"It's okay, Thaddeus. It's over now. The doctor's going to get you feeling better. "
Slowly Kid's blue eyes moved in the direction of the voice."Is that you Hey..."he panted.
"Hey, yeah, it's me, Thaddeus. It's Joshua," Heyes quickly interrupted.
Kid's panting slowed. "It hurts bad," he whispered.
"I can give him something for the pain," Dr. Morrison said and retreated to his office. He returned with a bottle of liquid and a spoon. He poured the liquid into the spoon and Heyes lifted Kid's head so the doctor could spoon the medicine into Kid's mouth. Kid swallowed and the burning in his throat made him cough. Heyes laid Kid's head back down on the pillow. Kid drifted back to sleep.
"He'll sleep through the night," Dr. Morrison told Heyes. "You should do the same."
"What about the fever?" Heyes asked.
"I'll work on that tonight," the doctor assured Heyes.
"Is there a hotel in this town?" Heyes asked.
"There's a boarding house. I'll have Jeremy take you there and explain things to Mrs. Carson."
"Thank you, Doctor," Heyes replied.
"I open my office at nine. You can come in anytime after that."
Heyes nodded his understanding. He looked at Kid and brushed the curls back from his forehead. "I'll see you in the morning, Kid," Heyes said to his sleeping friend.
The next morning when Heyes arrived at the doctor's office, Kid was sitting up in bed eating some breakfast.
"Feeling better?" Heyes asked
Kid smiled. "Better than yesterday, yes."
The doctor entered the room. "He's still got some wound fever, but it's down some. It does mean we're going to have to do the same thing to the would that we did last night, clean it, salve it, pack it."
Kid dropped his fork on his plate. "I ain't hungry no more," he said, remembering how painful the treatment was last night.
"Well then, drop your pants and lomg johns, son. Might as well get this over with," the doctor said.
Kid sighed and handed Heyes his breakfast tray Then he set to work getting his pants and long johns down to his knees.
"I can give you chloroform to knock you out for this and will..."
"No, don't want that," Kid said emphatically.
The doctor looked at Heyes for some assistance convincing Kid, but Heyes just frowned and shrugged his shoulders.
The doctor handed Kid a tightly rolled piece of leather. "Here, bite down on this if you need to. Grip the bed post if you need to. Just don't move while I working." the doctor turned to Heyes. "You keep that leg steady."
The doctor removed the bandages from Kid's wounds. The nearer he got to the wounds, the more drainage was present on the bandages. Once the dressings were removed, the doctor used cotton balls dipped in alcohol to clean the wounds. Kid arched and bit down on the leather but held the leg steady for the him. Finally the doctor was ready to repack and redress the wounds.
"How soon will Thaddeus be able to travel?" Heyes asked as the doctor gathered up the dressings and Kid got his long johns and pants back on.
"If there is not much drainage tomorrow I should be able to stitch the wounds closed. After that, he can go when he wants to."
"I think I'll send Lom a telegram this morning," Heyes said to Kid.
"What for?"
"Just to check on the status of things. It's been a long time since we've heard from him. If there is any news, he probably don't know where to reach us."
"When we leave here, let's head south," Kid suggested. "I hate Wyoming winters. Hell. I hate being in Wyoming any time."
Heyes smiled. "I know you do, Kid. A warmer climate does sound like a good idea."
Heyes left the doctor's office and, pulling the collar of his coat up around his ears, he walked across the street through eight inches of snow to the telegraph office. And sent the following message:
We're in River Bend. Stop. Governor made a decision yet. Stop. Smith and Jones. Stop.
"That will be forty cents,"
Heyes dug deep into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change. With palm open he sorted through the coins and placed forty cents on the counter.
"I'll stop back later to see if there's a reply," Heyes said and walked of the telegraph office. The. boardwalks on each side of the street had been cleared by merchants, but the snow remained deep and untrodden in the street itself. The wind had stopped, so blowing was not a problem. The sky above was a beautiful blue with just a smattering of white, puffy clouds and the morning sun felt warm on his face.
Staying on the boardwalk, Heyes walked down past three shops and went in the general store. He bought two cents worth of peppermints and tucked the bag of candy in his coat pocket. It was almost eleven in the morning and he had time to kill, so he trudged through the snow again and crossed the street to the saloon.
Heyes walked through the batwing doors and approached the bar and ordered a beer.
"Not many people out today," Heyes said when the bartender handed him the mug of beer.
"I get a lot of days like this in the winter. Too much snow to risk venturing far from home."
Heyes nodded. "Yea, spring's a long time coming at this elevation."
"You just passing through?"
Heyes smiled. "Yep. My friend got injured in a hunting accident," he lied. "Just waiting for him to heal up before we move on."
"Doc said a fella got shot in the leg. "
"A ricochet. He's not too good with a rifle." Heyes said nervously.
"Guess not. You want another beer?"
"No thanks, too early. Might be back later though.
Heyes pushed himself away from the bar and left the saloon. He pulled the collar of his coat up around his ears again and returned to the telegraph office.
"Get a reply yet?" he asked.
The clerk nodded and handed Heyes a piece of paper. Heyes stepped away from the counter and unfolded the paper. A puzzled expression formed on his face. He tucked the paper into his pocket and returned to the doctor's office..
Kid was asleep in the bed. Heyes stroked his chin, deciding whether to wake Kid. He finally decided against it. He sat down in a chair and pulled the telegram from his pocket and carefully reread it several times. Feeling frustrated, he put the telegram back in his pocket, leaned back in his chair and waited impatiently for Kid to wake up.
Kid woke mid afternoon.
"How you feeling?" Heyes asked
Kid turned his head to look at Heyes and immediately sat up. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Heyes gave a quick shake of his head, "Nothing" he said, forcing a smile.
Heyes reached into his jacket and pulled out the brown paper bag. "Here, I bought you something," he said, tossing the bag at Kid.
Kid caught the bag in both hands and peered inside. "Peppermints. Thank you. Now tell me what's wrong."
Heyes pulled the telegram from his pocket and handed the folded paper to Kid.
Kid looked perplexed. Lines formed on his forehead as he unfolded the paper and read it out loud. "Good news for one. Stop. Come to Porterville. "
Kid looked at Heyes again. The lines on his forehead deepened, "What does this mean, Heyes?" Kid asked.
Heyes pursed his lips and shrugged. "Sounds like one of us might have gotten amnesty."
"One of us?" Kid asked.
"What it sounds like."
"What about the other one."
Heyes shook his head. "I don't know."
"We going to Porterville?"
"What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. If we go to Porterville and only one of us gets amnesty, what do they have planned for the other one?"
"That was my first thought to," Heyes replied.
"Heyes," Kid said slowly, quietly. "Would they give one of us amnesty and the other twenty years?"
Heyes sighed. "That was my second thought, Kid"
"I don't think we should go, Heyes."
"Kid, I told Lom where we are. He had to know where to send the telegram."
Kid closed his eyes in defeat. "We've got to leave now, Heyes. The Sheriff might have a telegram in his hands right now telling him to arrest one of us."
'No, Lom wouldn't have told us both to come if he was going to tell the sheriff to arrest one of us... We can wait till morning and get you stitched up, then we'll leave."
"For where?"
\
Let's head toward Porterville. We can give it more thought and decide on the way."
Kid nodded. He was worried, but he trusted Heyes.
The next morning the doctor removed the bandages on Kid's leg. The wound looked good so the doctor stitched the wounds closed and applied clean bandages.
"So, can I go?" Kid asked.
The doctor nodded. "But go easy on that leg for a few days."
Kid nodded his understanding.
"What do we owe you, doctor?" Heyes asked.
"Three dollars."
Heyes paid the doctor and told Kid to stay there and he would fetch the horses. A half an hour later they were traveling east through the snow toward Porterville.
"Which one of us do you think got amnesty?" Kid asked
"I don't know, Kid," Heyes lied.
"I do. You ain't never killed anyone," Kid said, putting to words what they both thought.
"But that was self defense, Kid. They can't hold that against you," Heyes said, trying to ease Kid's worries.
"Yes they can," Kid said quietly.
Heyes looked at Kid and sighed. "I wish Lom had told us more in the telegram."
"Maybe send him another telegram and ask him?" Kid suggested.
Heyes shook his head. "I don't want them to know exactly where we are. I don't want them to be able to track us."
"Heyes... I ain't going to prison." Kid said
"Me either," Heyes replied.
"I'd rather go out in a blaze of glory."
"I don't really want to do that either, Kid."
"I know... Me either."
"We've got to think of a way to talk to Lom alone."
"We can bust into his office at night. We did that before,." Kid suggested.
"That's exactly why we can't to that. They're probably expecting us to do that.'
"How about his house?"
"They're probably expecting that, too."
They traveled for three days before coming within a half day's ride of Porterville. They had basically the same conversation every day for those three days and had yet to come up with a reasonable decision. Despite it being only mid afternoon, they decided to make camp .
"How's you leg, Kid?" Heyes asked as they sat around the fire that night drinking coffee. "You don't seem to be limping much."
"It's fine. Don't hurt."
"Good. Both of us need to be able to ride fast and hard tomorrow if we have to. Kid are you agreeable to us telling Lom we either both get amnesty or neither of us takes amnesty?"
"No, Heyes. I'm not agreeable to that. You deserve amnesty. I'm not going to be the one to keep you from getting that."
"Kid," Heyes protested.
"No. There's no more discussion."
Heyes looked across the fire at Kid. As the firelight flickered in Kid's eyes, Heyes could see the resolution and determination of kid's decision.
"I think only one of us should go into town tomorrow to talk to Lom," Heyes said quietly.
"Flip a coin?" Kid asked.
Heyes shook his head. "No. I'll go.. If I'm not back by sundown, it means I've been arrested and you're a free man. Tomorrow you can ride into Porterville and claim amnesty."
"Unless they hold you, knowing it will lure me in," Kid said.
Heyes nodded. "But at some point, we just have to trust Lom. He's been fair to us all these years. I just have to believe that Lom wouldn't set us up.."
Kid scratched the back of his neck. "If Lom don't let you go tomorrow, Heyes... I'm going to be wanted for another killing."
"Oh no you ain't, Kid.! You promise me you won't do anything stupid like that. Lom has been a good friend over the years. If he locks me up, it's not because he wants to, it's because he has to.. You don't try to interfere with that."
"I ain't going to let you go to prison, Heyes."
"I mean it, Kid. You promise me you won't do anything to Lom. Promise!"
Their eyes locked. Heyes saw the anguish in Kid's eyes. Kid saw the determination on Heyes' eyes.
Finally Kid caved and looked down at the ground. "I promise," he whispered. But he knew it was a promise he couldn't keep.
Neither slept that night. At daybreak they saddled their horses and doused the fire. Kid had decided to ride with Heyes to a point twenty miles outside of town.
"Remember Kid, if I'm not back tonight, you head in to Porterville tomorrow and claim your amnesty."
Kid nodded his understanding, though he had another plan if Heyes did not return.
Heyes spurred his horse forward and headed toward Porterville. Kid watched him till he was out of sight.
The hours moved slowly for Kid and he came to terms with what he would do if Heyes did not return. Two hours after dark, there was no sign of Heyes. Kid doused the fire and mounted his horse and headed toward Poirterville. Kid couldn't figure out why he would be granted amnesty and Heyes wouldn't. It made no sense. But he did know two things. The first was that he would not accept amnesty without Heyes. The second was that he would free Heyes from jail even if he or others died in the process..
The door to the sheriff's opened opened slowly. Lom looked up and saw Kid scanning the room.
Kid, come in," Lom said. "Been waiting for you."
Not until Kid stepped inside did Lom see the drawn and cocked gun in Kid's hand, pointing directly at him.
"What are you doing, Kid. Put that away."
But Kid held his gun steady. He looked in the two cells and found them both empty.
"What did you do with Heyes?" Kid demanded.
"He's probably at the saloon."
"So he got amnesty?"
"Of course. What did you think?"
Kid nodded toward the cells. "I'm not going in there, Lom," Kid said threateningly.
"Why would you?"
"What?" Kid asked.
Kid suddenly stiffened when he felt the barrel of a colt pressed into his back.
"Put the gun away, Kid," Heyes said softly.
Confused, Kid uncocked his gun and holstered it.
"Now, step inside and sit down in the chair in front of Lom's desk."
Slowly Kid walked to the chair and sat down.
"What are you doing to me, Heyes?" Kid asked.
Heyes walked past Kid and stood beside Lom. He holstered his gun and smiled at Kid. He reached into his pocket and tossed the telegram at Kid.
"Read it, Kid."
"I already did."
"No, again, out loud."
"Good news for one. Come to Porterville," Kid said.
"I seems there was a mistake in the what the clerk wrote," Heyes explained.
"What kind of a mistake?" Kid asked skeptically.
"He left out a letter. He left out the letter "C."
"I still don't understand," Kid said.
"The word "one" He left out the letter "C." It should read "Good news for once."
Kid looked at Lom who was nodding his head. He looked at Heyes who was smiling broadly. "We both got amnesty, Kid.!" Heyes explained. "We're free to come and go as we please, anytime, anywhere. We did it, Kid!"
A smile slowly spread across Kid's face as the realization struck him. "Amnesty?" he gasped.
Heyes nodded. "Amnesty!"
The smile suddenly disappeared from Kid's face. "You knew about amnesty this afternoon and you let me go on thinking you had been arrested, Heyes? I was ready to come in here and bust you out, maybe kill Lom in the process! That ain't funny, Heyes!"
"Kid, I didn't mean no harm. Just having a little fun, that's all," Heyes said sheepishly.
"A little fun? You call that fun?" Kid turned to Lom. "Lom. I'm sorry I came in with my gun drawn."
"You really would have shot me, Kid?' Lom asked
Kid didn't know what to say. He looked at Heyes, dumbfounded that Heyes would do such a mean practical joke. "Honestly Heyes, how could you do that?"
Heyes stopped smiling. "I'm sorry, Kid. I see now that it was not the right thing to do. I put you through a lot of anguish this afternoon. I'm sorry."
Kid looked away and shook his head.
"Lom, any kind of charges I can press against him?" Kid asked.
Lom scratched the side of his neck. "Well, let me think, Kid. I bet I can come up with something."
"Good. I want to press whatever charges you can come up with."
"What!" Heyes exclaimed.
"Heyes, I'm afraid you're going to have to hand over your gun," Lom said and held out his hand palm out, waiting for Heyes to hand him his gun."
"Are you serious?" Heyes asked
"I am," Lom replied.
Kid grinned."Two can play at that game, Heyes," Kid said laughing.
Heyes smile slowly returned.
"Why don't the three of us head over to the saloon for a congratulatory beer. My treat," Heyes said..
The three men headed to the saloon and lined up at the bar for a beer.
Kid held his glass in the air. "To Smith and Jones," he said.
The three glasses clinked together.
"They had a good run," Heyes added.