Hold On Mr. Larabee
Disclaimer: The Magnificent Seven and characters are the property of MGM Television, The Mirsch Corporation, Trilogy Entertainment Group and CBS. No profit has been made off of this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 3
"We should take care of them tonight; I don't think we should drag this out. They'll be preoccupied with that stupid gunslinger." Frank Peters bit out as he put his spyglass away.
Dick snorted and turned his horse away from the farm, "I want them to suffer, I don't want them making it back to that fleabag town alive."
Remounting his horse he followed his brother, "Dick the longer we wait, the better chance they have of catching us. I'm not getting hanged for a stupid horse."
Pulling up his horse, Dick Peters turned in the saddle to glare at his younger brother, "It's the thrill of the chase; you always said you wanted to be famous. Well this is our shot, but we need witnesses. Someone needs to know that the Peters Brothers took on and bested the 'Magnificent Seven', that's the stuff legends are made of. We'll be rich."
Frank drew his horse up beside his brother, "But Dick, there's only four of them."
Dick reached over and punched Frank in the side of the head, "I know that you dunder head. You see we're going to get the other three to come after their friends, then it will be bye-bye Magnificent Seven."
"Well, I don't completely agree with how you're going about this whole fiasco, but if it makes us rich and famous. Who am I to argue?" Frank rubbed at his sore ear and followed behind his brother away from their prey.
~o~
Vin quickly knelt down beside the gunslinger, "We've got to get you out of those wet clothes, Cowboy. You're frozen clean through." Pulling a limp and exhausted Chris Larabee up into his arms, Vin helped Buck peal the duster off; followed by Chris's shirt and trousers.
"Here, I have a towel, blanket and an extra set of his clothes." Ezra gasped out as he dropped down next to the trio, noticing how unresponsive the gunslinger was. Looking behind him at the boarded up home the gambler made a suggestion, "I think if we can get a fire started we should stay the night, darkness is only a few hours off and I believe that Mr. Larabee would benefit from the rest."
"I think you've got a good idea there Ez, why don't you and Vin go check out the house, while I dry Chris off here." Buck replied as he used the towel to dry Chris's wheat blonde locks.
"I'll help Ez out; then we'll move Chris inside." Vin transferred his hold on his friend to Buck who wrapped him in the blanket Ezra had brought over.
Looking down at the lethargic man, Buck gently moved his hair away from the cut in his scalp to better assess the injury. Chris had scared the life from him, when one moment he'd been standing near the windmill and suddenly Chris had disappeared into nothingness. Buck's heart had jumped to his throat and his legs had not wanted to move with his brain's command.
Once they'd all arrived at the defunct well they'd been elated when they'd heard the splashing coming from the hole in the earth and the gunslinger yelling for assistance. Though Chris had gotten himself in a bad spot, he was at least still alive; and there was something they could do to save his skinny hide.
~o~
Reluctantly leaving the gunslinger and the ladies man behind, the tracker and gambler, cautiously traversed the open yard, to the small farm house with the faded, pealing paint and boarded up windows. Mounting the stairs, the tracker moved to the door and grasped the board preventing their entrance. Pulling for all he was worth Vin managed to remove the three boards that had been nailed to the doorframe.
Ezra gently pushed Vin away from the door and tried the knob, the door was locked. Reaching into his vest he pulled forth a tool, "Allow me, Mr. Tanner, I believe this part of the task requires my expertise." Flashing a grin that showed off his gold tooth Ezra went to work on the lock. The lock made a quiet click and Ezra pushed the door open a few seconds later, bowing and indicating that the tracker could precede him inside.
"Thanks, Ez. That's a lot easier than kicking the door in. You do come in handy to have around." Vin laughed as he entered the murky interior of the house, smells kinda musty in here, he thought to himself, at least it would keep them dry and out of the elements.
The parlor had a small fireplace against one wall, sheet covered furniture strategically placed around the room, and wall sconces covered in cobwebs. The dust hung heavy in the air and had settled sometime ago on every available surface. With two fingers, Ezra slowly lifted one of the dustcovers and found an opulently appointed chaise lounge covered in the softest blue damask he'd ever laid eyes on. "This is a beautiful piece of furniture, why would anyone want to leave this behind?"
"I've been wondering the same thing myself, whoever lived here sure did like the 'good life', there's even knick-knacks left on the mantle." Vin took in the room with a furrowed brow, it didn't make sense. Why would someone leave this all behind?
"Maybe they decided to move back where they'd come from?" the gambler suggested as he uncovered the other pieces of furniture, Vin leaned over and checked the chimney flue for blockages and nests.
"Mr. Tanner, if you will get the fire started I will assist Mr. Wilmington with Mr. Larabee. I believe it could turn quite cold this evening, but I think we should be quite comfortable as long as a supply of wood holds out." Ezra wiped his hands off on one of the dust covers that he'd piled in the corner.
The sharpshooter turned from the fireplace, he had found no evidence that would indicate that the chimney was blocked, "Sure Ez, I'll check for some kindling and wood, hopefully enough to get us through to the morning." Looking around at the room again he replied, "Could have found worse places to hole up, this ain't so bad."
"Most assuredly, Mr. Tanner, most assuredly;" Ezra pulled the front door open, "I will return with our companions." Stepping out onto the porch and looking out toward the well he could see Buck sitting on the ground with the gunslinger. As the gambler traversed the barren yard he could feel the cold bite in the air.
Buck looked up as Ezra drew up next to him, "Everything in the farm house okay?" At Ezra's nod he gently shook Chris awake. Chris blearily opened his eyes and Buck grinned, "Hey, Stud. We're gonna move inside before it gets too cold out here, we'll head out in the morning."
"Sure. Help me up, and we'll head in." Chris extracted a hand from the blanket and held it out for Ezra to take. Chris groaned as he felt what appeared to be every muscle protesting his movements, as he gained his feet he wavered where he stood; he'd have collapsed if Ezra hadn't reached out to support him.
"Careful Mr. Larabee, you don't want to land in the dirt so soon after getting your feet under you. There appears to be a rather comfortable chaise inside for you to use this evening. As we speak, Mr. Tanner is preparing a bone thawing fire." Ezra held Chris steady as Buck got up from where he had been sitting on the ground with the gunslinger.
"Come on, Stud. Let's get you inside." Buck wrapped the blanket tighter around Chris and lifted him into arms, at the gunslingers ineffective protests; Buck remarked, "You only have your long johns on and no shoes. You can't walk across the ground because there are too many rocks. Just relax and let me get you inside."
Ezra followed along behind Buck with the saddle bags he'd managed to grab up. Maybe they could actually scrounge up a halfway decent meal tonight; he was tiring of trail food. He watched Buck carry Chris to the house with little effort; he often forgot how slight the gunslinger was compared to Buck. Chris had a personality that was room filling, if he was around you could feel it.