**Part 4
Buck stood in the back of the wagon taking inventory of the supplies. He looked up as Vin came out of the Mercantile with a bag of flour and sugar.
"That should about do it," Buck said as Vin placed the supplies inside the wagon.
"Should be enough to take care of 'em for awhile," Vin commented. The three remaining lawmen had busied themselves, getting ready for the ride out to the village. Each man hoped that the epidemic would be under control by the time they arrived. They were worried about the Indians and about their friends. Buck had remained tight-lipped about his fear for JD. He wished that JD had not volunteered to go with Josiah and Nathan but at the time no one knew how serious the illness was.
Vin leaned up against the wagon, removing his hat and wiping the sweat from his brow. It was still terribly hot. He looked out across the arid landscape. His brow furrowed into a frown as his gut tightened with a sudden knot of fear.
"What's wrong, Vin?" Buck asked as he jumped down from the wagon.
"Don't know. Something..." Vin shook his head, trying to dislodge the dark feeling. "We need to git going." Vin turned and headed toward the jailhouse to get Chris.
Buck looked out over the desert. He didn't have the intuition that Vin had, but even he got a bad feeling. He wanted to believe that Ezra would get the medicine to the village. He truly liked the acerbic gambler, but…if he was honest the incident with the Colonel still colored his thoughts.
tbc