Buck dozed off for a few hours and awoke to the early morning sun streaming through the window. The day outside looked better than yesterday, but things had not improved for his companion. The Texan's fever raged, his lean body shook with chills, and he had developed a deep, hacking cough.
Wilmington sat Vin up and got him to drink some more water. Afterwards, he laid the tracker back on the bed and went to find the town's telegraph office.
Chris greeted the sunrise with an auburn-colored head on his shoulder. The rain stopped sometime in the night, and the gambler's aching head finally allowed him to fall asleep. His body drifted over onto the gunslinger not long afterwards. Their captors were getting quite a kick out of it this morning, so Larabee decided it was probably time to wake Standish.
Ezra awoke to hear one of the men saying, "What the hell was Mr. Storm talkin' about when he sent us to rescue Russell? These guys don't look very tough to me. Just look at fancy pants there all curled up with Larabee."
Standish mumbled a sleepy apology to the gunslinger and sat upright, but the prodding continued from the captors. Two of the men readied the horses, but Russell and the large brute who knocked Ezra out came closer and kicked at the two peacekeepers going on about how "they don't look like much, do they?" The large man then approached Ezra, grabbed a hand full of hair, and stepped down hard on his left knee.
Even with hands and feet bound, Larabee lashed out, jumping and ramming his elbow into the large man's protruding belly. Storm grabbed onto the blond man until his buddy could get back to his feet and catch his breath. The behemoth then proceeded to punch Larabee with all his might. The blow struck on the left side of Chris' face above his eye. The leader of the seven remained conscious but crumpled to the ground. It was obvious that neither he nor Ezra were going to be able to win a fist fight with this man; he stood a few inches taller than Larabee and outweighed them both by at least 50 pounds.
The four Storm men quickly ate breakfast, offering none to their captives, and then mounted everyone up and headed out. Chris and Ezra's hands were tied in front of them and their legs tied to the stirrups. It was an awkward and uncomfortable way to ride, but at least they had their own mounts. The riders and horses rode hard all day.
The two peacekeepers were only allowed to dismount once before evening to relieve themselves and have a drink of water. The men stopped a couple more times, to eat lunch and stretch their legs, but Ezra and Chris sat on their horses and waited. The horses were tied up each time, so the two prisoners didn't get any ideas about taking off.
That evening, when they stopped for the night, Larabee watched and waited for an opening to try and escape. They camped in an area with a fair amount of trees, so if he and Ezra could make it into the forest they might be able to find a place to hide. With no horses and no weapons though, it would be a long shot. These men would not likely give up searching for them.
It was as if his captors read his mind, and soon afterwards came over and tied Chris' and Ezra's hands behind a large tree. They were offered a few drinks of water but still no food. Ezra's stomach grumbled loudly when the posse began to heat up their own dinner over the campfire.
"I don't suppose you gentlemen would consider sharing your lovely feast with us this evening?" Ezra asked.
One of the men threw a couple of biscuits their way, but they landed on the ground about six feet in front of Standish…..just out of reach of his legs. The four men got a good laugh out of the peacekeepers' predicament, and Ezra sighed as he watched a bird fly down and begin to eat his biscuit.
The gambler smiled when he heard Larabee's stomach growl as well, and then asked "where do you think our friends are taking us?"
"I have no idea," Chris replied and turned his head as much as he could to look at Ezra. "Old man Storm lives somewhere in Texas. If they're taking us there, then we've got at least another few days of riding."
JD barreled out of the telegraph office, and almost ran right into Mary Travis. "Where are you off too in such a hurry, JD?"
"Just got a wire from Buck. He and Vin are in a little town called Johnson's Bluff, and Vin took sick," JD replied as he kept walking towards the livery. "I need to ride out and find Nathan, but I'll try to be back as quick as I can."
"Did they find the boy?" Mary asked.
"Not yet, but they found a trail," JD answered as he saddled his mount.
Mary yelled after him, "Let me know if there is anything I can do. I hope Vin's ok." As much as she hated to admit it, trouble really did seem to follow these men.
Josiah greeted JD as he rode his horse full speed into the Indian village, "Where's the fire, son?"
"Where's Nathan?" asked JD. "Vin and Buck are in a boarding house a day's ride from here, and Vin's come down with a cough and high fever. Chris and Ezra are on the road taking the Storm fellow to Yuma, so I'm the only one left in town."
Just then, the handsome former slave stepped out of a tent and walked over to greet his two friends.
"Sounds like Vin may have caught this same fever," Josiah informed Nathan. "Where's he at?" Nathan questioned. "Can you bring him here?"
"Sorry, Nate. He and Buck are in a town called Johnson's Bluff at least a day's ride away," answered JD.
"I've watched what you've done here, brother Nathan," Josiah interjected. "I could continue with the treatments if you need to go tend Vin. There's only a few folks who are still bad off."
"Yeah, alright Josiah. Let me walk back up there to show you what I've got, then I'll pack a bag with enough for Vin, and be on my way."
"I gotta be gettin' back to town," JD said. "Let us know how Vin is doing when you get there Nathan. I'll send a wire to let Buck know you're on your way."
The telegraph operator knocked on the door of boarding house room 4, and the tired, dark blue-eyed man thanked him. Buck felt relieved to know that Nathan was on his way, but he also knew it would be at least a day before he got here. He bathed Vin's face and neck day and night, but the fever would not relent. Vin talked out of his head at times, but then other times carried on a normal conversation.
Now was one of the latter times, and Buck told the tracker that Nathan would be here soon. Vin nodded his head and said weakly, "'ll be alright."
Buck was not able to get any real food into his patient, but he hoped the broth and water would be enough. Vin's lean body was so exhausted from fighting the fever; he didn't have the energy to eat.
There was an old copy of the Bible in the room that Buck read out loud to pass the time. Buck had a nice voice, and even though Vin didn't understand a lot of what he heard, it calmed him to hear the big man talk. Next to Nathan, Buck was the best caregiver of the seven. He had a huge heart and a big-brother mentality that naturally made him want to look out for his friends.
Although Buck worked hard and did all he could, Vin counted the minutes until the healer arrived. He didn't want to worry his companion, but he honestly couldn't remember feeling this poorly in a long time. He started to doze off once again when a torturous series of coughs overtook him. Buck helped him sit up and ride it out, but the fit seemed to go on for hours. Vin didn't know how much more he could take.