CHAPTER 15 – ANOTHER FIRST TIME

Up ahead I saw Chavez throw himself into a gully, a soldier riding in his direction. Chavez suddenly jumped up, grabbed the horse and unsettled it, causing the animal to fall onto its side, ditching its rider. He sprang into the saddle as the horse scrambled up, but the soldier on the ground raised his gun and fired. The horse collapsed to its knees. There was another shot and Chavez yelled in pain, rolling clear of the dying animal. I felt as if I'd been punched in the stomach and for a second I thought I may throw up. How bad was he shot? I reached them seconds later and the first thing I did was put a bullet in the soldier's head and then a couple in his body for good measure. Then I slid off the horse and went to Chavez. He was on his feet now, leaning against a large boulder clutching his side, blood seeping through his fingers. I took another look around to make sure there were no more men about to shoot us, then turned back to him.

"Let me see that," I said.

"It's fine, leave it," Chavez said through his teeth. I ignored him and grasped his wrist, pulling his hand away from the wound. The blood was oozing rather than running. I pulled his shirt loose and rolled it up. The wound was at a slight angle just above his waist and I noticed an exit hole, a little bigger, a couple of inches away from the first.

"It's gone right through," I said in relief. "You'll be alright." I turned back to the horse which was carrying a bed roll and saddle bags, searching through them until I came upon a clean shirt. Tearing it, I made pads to cover the wounds and tied them in place around Chavez's waist. He groaned when I pulled them tight and closed his eyes for a second. His legs buckled and his head dropped forward.

"Hey!" I caught hold of him and held him upright. He opened his eyes slowly after a moment, looking puzzled, his face grey and covered in a sheen of sweat.

"Come on, let's get out of here." I helped him onto the horse and he slumped weakly in the saddle. I climbed up behind, slid my arm around him on the opposite side to the wound and gripped the horse's reins. Chavez leaned back until he rested against my chest and closed his eyes again.

I hesitated for a couple of minutes, wondering which direction to take. The border was close, but I thought it better to head for some kind of settlement on the New Mexico side to get Chavez's wound tended to properly. At least I had a rough idea where to find civilization.

Garrett and his men were still surrounding the fort, Billy being the only one left inside. I knew they wouldn't kill him – they wanted to try him in court and hang him. There was no point going back; I would only get myself and Chavez captured as well, or killed. I turned the horse west and we set off slowly. No one came after us.

"Where are we going?" Chavez asked after a few minutes.

"To find some place to get your wound cleaned up," I said. "Maybe rest up for the night."

"We heading west?"

"Yeah."

"There's a saloon about ten miles on in the valley," Chavez told me.

"How's it feel?" I asked, meaning the wound.

"I've had worse."

We rode on in silence. Chavez continued to rest his weight on me, his head rolling back against my shoulder. I'd never worried about anyone before, but I worried now. I was concerned that the gunshot might be worse than it looked, that he might be losing more blood, and I knew he was crushed over the deaths of Doc and Hendry too. However, when we finally reached the small, dusty town in the valley, he straightened up suddenly.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I halted the horse in front of the rough looking saloon, jumped down and tied it to the hitching post. Chavez slid to the ground more carefully, clutching his side with one hand. We went in and spoke to the owner who was leaning on the bar drinking his own whiskey. He shouted for his wife and she ushered Chavez through the back to clean him up and put on a fresh bandage. Meanwhile I went back to the horse and took it around to the stables, then returned to the bar and ordered myself a drink.

Chavez appeared a few minutes later looking exhausted and miserable. He paused at the bar, helped himself to my whiskey and drained it in one gulp.

"You want another?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I'm gonna get some food too," I said.

"I'm not hungry." He left me at the bar and went to a small table in a dark corner where he sat down alone. I ordered myself a meal and another drink and then went to find a place to sit. I left Chavez alone and sat in another corner. It was obvious he didn't want company.

Much to my surprise, as I was finishing my food less than an hour later, Billy arrived. He glanced around the room and came over to me.

"Howdy, Dave," he said as if nothing had happened.

"You got away?" I said.

"Of course I got away," he said, sitting down. "Garrett and his gang are no match for me. They'll be looking for me before long, though, I expect. I'll tell you about it later. Let's liven this place up a little first; where are all the girls?"

I pointed to a group of giggling Mexican girls at the other end of the room. They were whispering to each other and pointing at us. Billy got up and went over to them and I saw him pulling money out of his pocket and handing it around. Moments later one of the girls came to me and another went to Chavez. Billy took a third and found somewhere to sit, drawing the girl down onto his lap and squeezing her until she squealed.

I found I couldn't concentrate on my girl. She was nice enough, I supposed. I suddenly seemed to have got over my dislike of Mexicans and she was a pretty thing, but all I could think about was that the last thing Chavez probably wanted was a whore disturbing him. I kept glancing over at him and noticed her leaning across the table whispering to him. She reached out and stroked her hand up and down his arm and he pulled back, dropping his head into his hand. A moment later the girl got up and came over to me. She said something in Spanish to her friend at my side and then perched on the spare stool across the table and looked at me. She put some coins on the table and pushed them towards me. I briefly wondered why she hadn't gone to Billy, but he was already pretty occupied with his girl.

"Your friend, he very sad, I no take his money," the girl said.

I turned again and looked over at the corner where Chavez sat with his head in his hands, hair trailing over the table. Then I looked back at the girls, an idea popping into my head.

"Do you rent rooms here? I mean just the room, for the night?"

"Si," one of them said. "For whole night, same price as one hour with girl."

"Is there one free?" I asked.

"Si."

I pushed the money back across the table towards her. "Will you get me the key, please?"

She nodded, took the money and went over to the bar. She was back in a moment with a key.

"Second room on right upstairs," she told me.

"You two girls busy?" I asked them both and they shook their heads.

"You play poker?" I had an idea for some fun, which could be achieved with just the few coins I had left in my pocket.

"Si, Senor!" they both replied.

"One minute." I got up and walked over to Chavez. He didn't even notice me and I sat down opposite him. He turned his head away from me and a tear dripped onto the table. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but didn't quite dare in such a public place. Instead I put the key on the table and slid it towards him.

"Here, it's the second room on the right upstairs," I said. "It's paid for until tomorrow. No one will bother you."

He turned to look at me in surprise, quickly brushing a hand across his eyes.

"Thanks," he said softly, picking up the key. Then he got up and walked out of the bar. I went back to my table and the two whores, feeling unusually happy. It was the first time I'd ever done something for another person without expecting anything in return and I was amazed at how good it felt. It dawned on me that I was the most selfish person I knew and it was about time I made another change. I needed to be somebody that Chavez might want to continue to be around.