"Wonder who the money belongs to?" Chris stared at the suitcase full of cash.
"Guess we'll worry about that if we make it out of here," Vin replied. "Let me check out your guys' wounds, then we can start clearin' the tracks."
"You got yourself a pretty nice shiner there, Tanner," Chris grinned and pointed at the right-side of Vin's face.
"Hush up and pull up yer shirt, Larabee."
Vin re-cleaned and bandaged the wound on Ezra's face, and the bullet graze to Chris' side, and by then it was about mid-day. It was only early June, but the temperature was hovering at about 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius). The heat had zapped the men's energy before they even made it back to the train wreckage.
It took half of the day, but they managed to throw all of the loose train materials, wood, parts of seats, windows, off of the track. The metal under-carriage and wheels were still there and in-tact.
Ezra thought that he would surely die of heat stroke if he kept this up for another hour, and he had grown up in the south! Plus, with his injured limb, he was not able to do as much as his two companions. He could only imagine how hot they must be. Tanner had spent a lot of years in the heat of south Texas, and he was dressed in light-colored clothing. Ezra still figured the lanky man was about to drop. Chris had shed his jacket, as had Standish and Tanner, but his shirt and pants were black. Ezra did not know how the man wasn't literally cooking himself.
Ezra had just sat down for a short break to ponder these things when Chris, his blond hair soaked with sweat and plastered to his face, plopped down beside him.
"Vin, take a break," Chris yelled out. "Get your butt over here and drink some water with the rest of us lazy bastards."
Vin happily complied and lie down in the dirt next to Larabee. Damn how he wanted to dump his canteen over his head to try and cool himself down, but he knew they couldn't waste water. Who knew how many days they might be out here, and for now – they only had 6 canteens. They had found three canteens on the bodies of the train robbers and decided they would take their chances that the men didn't have any communicable diseases. Even if they were only out here for a few days, they were going to have to find a source of water or risk death by dehydration.
Chris attempted to get to his feet to make a plan for getting the bottom half of the train off the tracks, but he stumbled and sat back down.
"Stay put for a little while, Larabee," Vin instructed. "Yer face is redder than a 'possum's butt in pokeberry season; ya need to sit still and let yerself cool off a bit."
"We need to finish clearin' the tracks today," Chris laid back and stared up at the cloudless sky. "What if another train comes tonight or tomorrow mornin'?"
"Ain't gonna do us any good if we're dead and dried up," Vin laughed.
"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Mr. Larabee," Ezra interjected. "There could be another passenger train or even a freight train come through at any time."
"We ain't got no tools to take 'em apart, and them cars is gonna be real heavy." Vin hated to keep being the pessimist, but he just couldn't imagine how they were going to be able to move the remainder of the cars.
"Think we could tip 'em over and off the track?" Chris continued to think about options. "Maybe if we put dynamite in the right places, we could blow 'em off the track?"
"I'm not a hundred percent sure that we even need to move 'em," Vin answered. "The next train could likely just push 'em along or out of the way."
"Yeah, I thought about that; just don't want to cause some big accident," Chris looked over at Vin. "I guess we'll have to hope the train has a cow catcher, and it does its job."
"Agreed. I'm more worried about us findin' some water," Vin sat up and continued to ponder the worst-case scenarios, "especially if the next train don't come for a week."
"Indeed, Mr. Tanner. Like our dead friend over there remarked, they don't call this Death Valley without good reason," Ezra sighed.
"How many passengers do ya think the robbers killed?" Chris had been wondering about it since they had disconnected from the train.
"I dunno," answered Vin quietly, "at least one too many." Vin hoped that Elizabeth's sister and aunt were ok and would be able to take her home and bury her properly. Chris had already decided that he would write to her family in San Diego and tell them she died a hero.
"They will surely stop at the next station and send someone to get us, don't you think?" Ezra asked.
"I don't know if anyone knew about us, Ez," Vin had wondered that himself. "The passengers could just think that's how the bandits planned to get away, and they sure wouldn't be sendin' help back for them."
The men sat silent for another few minutes, and Vin continued, "you boys feel up to climbing that bluff over yonder? Would be easier to scan the area for water up there."
Chris shook his head, "yes," and Ezra followed that with, "lead the way, sir."
Vin rose first and steadied himself. Then he offered a hand to Ezra. Like himself and Larabee, Ezra was completely wet with sweat, but the gambler seemed fairly steady on his feet.
It took the men more than twice as long as it would have in cooler weather to reach their destination, and it was dark by the time they arrived at the top of the bluff. They had planned on getting food on the train or along the way, so they hadn't packed any rations. Vin had some old jerky in his bag, and Ezra had a bottle of whiskey. They would try to make do with just water tonight and save the jerky in case they were stranded here for days. They didn't have bedrolls or blankets either, for the same reasons. The men would be sleeping on the dirt, with the bugs and scorpions, tonight.
Chris was surprised at how much the heat was affecting him as he climbed the last half mile up the bluff. He was accustomed to working outdoors and working hard – cutting wood, mending fences, repairing his cabin, but today he was clearly lagging behind the other two men. Larabee's temple was pounding, and he felt light-headed. He was determined to keep going though; just another fifteen minutes, and he could sit down.
Once the three men made it to the highest point, Vin and Ezra plopped to the ground, drank some water and discussed the next day's plans. Larabee sat a few feet away. Chris laid his head back on a rock, and closed his eyes.
It finally dawned on the two younger men after about 20 minutes that their companion was being suspiciously quiet, and Ezra said loudly, "Mr. Larabee, what do you think?"
Chris had not being paying attention to the other men's conversation. He was hot, tired, and quite frankly still felt like crap, despite sitting down. "Chris?" Vin didn't wait for an answer; he hauled his own tired body off of the ground and approached the darkly-dressed man. He never even received so much as a glance from Larabee.
"Chris!" Vin yelled louder than he meant to, this time standing right over the gunslinger.
Larabee opened his eyes, and sat up slowly. "Yeah," he finally answered.
"You're awful quiet, Chris," Vin smirked, "even for you. You all right?"
"Just tired."
Ezra scooted closer to the two men, so he could better ascertain what was going on. There was nearly a full moon, and the skies were clear. He picked up Chris' canteen to offer him a drink and noticed it still had over half of the water in it.
He handed it to Vin instead, saying, "I do not believe that our esteemed leader has been drinking enough water."
Vin was enraged, "what the hell, Chris? You tryin' to kill yourself? Why ain't you drinkin'? Mine and Ezra's canteens are completely empty, and I'm guessin' we're still half-dehydrated."
"Just trying to conserve," Chris answered in a slightly-slurred voice. "What if we don't find water tomorrow?"
"Then we'll die in a few days," Vin answered matter-of-factly, "but that ain't no reason to try and hurry it along tonight. Here," Vin said as he handed the canteen to Larabee, "drink it – all of it, then try to get some rest."
"Stomach ain't feelin' real steady right now. Hate to waste our water by upchuckin' it back up on the dirt," Chris looked up at Vin.
Vin brushed Larabee's beet-red cheek and said, "Jesus Chris, you're burning up. Take off yer shirt."
"What?"
"Ya heard me," Vin grabbed a cloth from his bag and wet it with a bit of water from one of the extra canteens. "Take off your clothes, Larabee…..NOW! Help him, Ezra."
Standish was confused as to what precisely was going on, but he wasn't about to argue with Vin right now. He too could feel the extreme heat emanating from their friend. Chris removed his hat, and Ezra proceeded to help remove his shirt.
Vin approached with the cloth and started wetting Chris' bare chest, arms, and face. "We gotta get you cooled down, Cowboy. Ezra, hold his canteen and get him to drink a few sips of water. I ran into this a few times bounty huntin' in Texas. You messed up yer body temperature lettin' yerself get as dehydrated as you did….you dern fool."
After about an hour, Tanner and Standish were finally able to get Larabee's temperature out of the sky high range. Chris' color was returning to normal, and their patient seemed more coherent. They sat Larabee up and put his shirt back on.
Vin then threw the canteen, hitting Chris square in the chest, saying again, "finish it, Larabee…then go to sleep." Vin lay down a couple of feet away and tried to find a semi-comfortable position to ride out the night.
Ezra sat up for a while next to Chris. He understood why Vin was angry, but he also knew the great responsibility that Larabee felt to his men. Ezra figured that Chris thought he was tougher than the other two and could make do with less water. The fool gunslinger was likely trying to save some of his canteen to share with Standish and Tanner over the upcoming days.
Chris felt like an idiot. He had managed to drink most of the remaining water in his canteen, and he was starting to feel better….although the headache remained. Chris always prided himself on being as tough and resilient as any man, but today he felt like the weak link – like he was slowing the other two men down. Maybe his body was just getting too old for this stuff.
Larabee saw Ezra looking at him and said, "I'm fine, Ez. Go get some rest."
Standish picked up the canteen to determine how much Chris had drank.
"Go to sleep, Standish," Chris repeated as he snatched the canteen out of Ezra's hand.
The Texan was lying with his back to the two men, but he was still awake. Vin sighed in relief when he overheard the conversation and Larabee sounding like his old, cantankerous self. Like Ezra, Vin knew exactly why Chris had rationed his water so strictly. It frustrated him that the man thought it was ok to risk his own life to save that of his men. Of course they all did it if one of them was in a situation with immediate risk to life or limb, but he and Ezra were fine. Chris was taking stupid risks to prevent a danger than might or might not happen three days from now. "Damn, hard-headed fool," Vin thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.
M7M7M7M7M7M7M7
It would have been a beautiful day, if the three men were anywhere else. The sky was bright blue, the sun was shining, and the temperatures were still relatively cool…but Vin Tanner, Ezra Standish, and Chris Larabee were unable to appreciate these things. The men stood staring out into the vast desert landscape before them, and there was no sign of a water source anywhere. There wasn't a stream bed, a sign of animal tracks, nor a single patch of green grass to be seen.
"We gotta find water, and we gotta find it today," Vin huffed in frustration. He wondered why there would even be such a place on earth, with no water for miles.
"There's a ridge of bluffs that follow the train tracks," Chris pointed out. "We could cover more ground if we split up, and we'll still be close enough to see if a train is comin'."
"I think you should take it easy today, Chris. Ezra and I can scout for water," Vin broached the subject as non-confrontationally as he could. Larabee had clearly been suffering from some sort of heat-related illness the day before, and Tanner was afraid that would make him more susceptible to problems today.
"Don't worry, Tanner. I promise to drink plenty of water," Chris smirked.
"It ain't just that, Chris. I've spent a lot more time in this sort of heat than you. A person can't know how their body's gonna handle it…."
"I can't just sit here on my ass while you and Ezra do all the work."
Vin sighed, realizing he was fighting a losing battle, "I'll head west. You and Ezra go east, and you two keep an eye on each other. Take breaks, drink plenty of water, and fire a shot if you run into trouble or find water."
"Alright, Vin, same for you," Chris hated to send his young friend off into the unknown by himself, "watch your back."
The parties split up and spent the entire day looking for trains, water, and any other signs of life.
The two-man team of Larabee and Standish arrived back at the original bluff just after dark. Chris and Ezra had exhausted themselves but had nothing to show for it. Tanner had yet to return. The day hadn't been quite as hot as yesterday. Still, the men were soaked with sweat, and their limbs were shaking from exertion and lack of food.
Vin arrived about 45 minutes later. He plopped down a handful of peeled cactus and some of the jerky from his pack…supper.
"Damn man don't even hardly look tired," Chris thought to himself then said out loud, "I take it you didn't find any water, either."
"Not a drop. Cactus leaves and fruit have a fair amount of water in it," Vin said. "Guess we'll have to make do with that for now."
Ezra couldn't remember ever being so sweaty and dirty in his life. The area around his sling was maddeningly itchy, and everything – the sling, the splint, even his face – was brown in color. They hadn't eaten in days, but the heat zapped the men's appetites. Standish knew he needed nourishment, and Vin's blue eyes were about to bore a hole through his head, so he slowly chewed a piece of cactus as he watched the moon rise up in the sky.
Chris' hands were shaking as he attempted to pick up the food. Like Ezra, he knew his body was starved, but he sure didn't feel like it. He had been so tempted to take off his shirt during their travels today, but the hot, powerful sun would burn a man's skin badly in just a couple of hours. Even with their hats on at all times, the men's faces were red from looking around and the sun reflecting off of the sand.
"I guess we pray for a train to come through tomorrow morning?" Chris questioned. "It don't look like we're gonna find any water."
"Honestly, Chris, I don't know what we're gonna do," Vin sighed as he too chewed on the hard jerky. "We might have to go further into the desert."
"But then we would miss the train if one were to pass by," Ezra did not want to risk that.
"I know, Ez, but we ain't gonna survive more than a few days out here without water," Vin hated to have to keep pointing that out to the men, but there was no arguing with that fact.
"Alright, we're all tired and grumpy," Chris mediated. "Let's try to get some sleep, and we'll come up with a plan in the mornin'.
M7M7M7M7M7M7M7
"Ah hell," Vin remarked as he looked out over the morning desert valley. "Could things really get any worse?" he thought. The tracker watched a band of about 12 Indians riding their way.