Chapter 11

Jess was visibly quite upset. Once again Maude wondered if this man wasn't really Jess Harper; however, she knew that would be impossible. But he seemed to be so concerned about Slim, Jonesy, and Andy. How could that be? He was too young to have been the Jess Harper that knew them in the 1870s. But it was like he really had been around them before all the horrible things happened.

Finally, Jess found his voice again, "So Slim is still at this Mrs. Turner's boarding house?"

"Well, her daughter runs it now. Mrs. Turner passed a couple of years ago. But Betsy takes good care of Slim. Of course, she has other boarders also."

"Maude, I appreciate ya taking the time to talk to me. I hope I haven't messed up yer morning too much." Jess was sick at heart, but he knew he had to let Maude get back to work. "I hope you'll keep my real name between us. I don't think it would be wise to let that out around town."

"I won't say anything to anybody." Maude meant that. After all she had kept a lot of her own life secret all these years in Laramie. "But if ya don't mind me askin', what are ya planning on doin'?"

"I don't know yet. There's no point in trying to talk with Andy. I've already tried that. Like I told ya, he hates me."

"He hates you?" Now Maude was really curious.

Jess realized that he had made a serious mistake, but he recovered quickly, "He hates me because I remind him of Jess Harper."

Maude couldn't resist asking him another question, "So how are you related to Jess Harper? Are you his son? Ya sure are the spittin' image of 'im."

"I guess ya could say that," was all Jess could say. He stood up then, "How much do I owe ya fer breakfast?"

After he paid her for the meal and even added a little more to the bill for her kindness, he walked back out to the street. He appreciated Maude takin' the time to answer his questions, but he knew he couldn't make the mistake of revealing who he really was again. He was beating himself up for saying that Andy hated him. He walked toward the edge of town and stood for a few minutes looking at the boarding house. Would he have any better luck trying to talk with Slim? And what would that accomplish? He could return the $700 that he still had in the money belt, but what good would that do now? It wouldn't give Slim the use of his legs again, and it wouldn't give him his sight back. But for some reason Jess just had to see Slim for himself.

He walked across the street to the boarding house. He didn't know what he would say to Slim, but he knew he had to see him. When he knocked on the door, a woman who appeared to be in her late thirties came to the door.

"Mrs. Turner?" Jess said.

The woman smiled, "Well I used to be a Turner until I got married. My name is Betsy Davidson now."

"Oh, forgive me Mrs. Davidson. I heard that Slim Sherman is a boarder here."

"Yes, he is."

"I'd like to see him if that would be alright."

Betsy Davidson opened the door wider and motioned Jess inside, "That'll be fine. Who should I say is here to visit Slim?"

"I'm not sure that he would recognize my name." Jess didn't dare tell her to tell Slim that Jess Harper was here to see him.

"Oh," Mrs. Davidson now looked at Jess with suspicion, and it was obvious to Jess that she was wondering if she should let him see Slim.

"Ya see, Ma'am. Slim doesn't know me. I'm Johnny Hart. But a friend of Slim's asked me to visit him while I was in Laramie."

Betsy just stood there blocking Jess from entering further into the hallway.

Thinking quickly, Jess continued, "I understand why you're not shor that I should see Slim, but I talked with Andy last night over at his office, and he said I should come over here. He said that you were taking good care of Slim over here."

That seemed to satisfy her, and she said, "Slim's room is right down this hall. It's number 8 at the end of the hall on the right."

Jess walked down the hall, but he knew Betsy was following him. When he came to number 8, he knocked on the door, and he heard Slim say, "Come in."

As soon as he opened the door, he saw a much older Slim sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of the large room. He was facing the door, but Jess could tell by the way Slim's eyes looked that he couldn't see him standing in the doorway. The sight of Slim looking so frail with his eyes open but not focusing on anything tore at Jess's heart. Suddenly he lost his nerve completely. He whispered to Betsy Davidson, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize. Please tell him that I came here by mistake." With that Jess bolted back down the long hallway and out the door of the boarding house. He walked very quickly back to the hotel and went up to his room.

Jess didn't know what to do. Seeing Slim in that wheelchair was more than he could take. It was the way that Slim tilted his head toward the door, obviously listening for someone to say something without being able to see who was coming to his room. Jess put his head in his hands as he sat on the bed in the hotel room. How on earth could he ever fix this? Giving Slim the $700 now wouldn't fix anything. Slim would still be blind and crippled, Andy would still hate him, and Jonesy would still be dead. How could any of this even be happening? Nothing made any sense.

Just then Jess heard a horrible commotion outside in the street. He went to the window in time to see a very strange wagon in the middle of the street. There were two young men taunting the old man who was driving the strange wagon. He could barely make out what the young men were yelling, but he was curious enough to leave his room and go down to the hotel lobby.