Evelyn

"Here are the bandages you asked for, ma'am!" Ivy said as she passed out supplies that were accrued recently by the small gang of teenage boys recruited for the task of gathering anything useful. By now nurses and doctors were arriving in the makeshift hospital to take over for the exhausted volunteers that had now been working around the clock for several hours. Most injuries were minor, just cuts and bruises, but there were several dozen people waiting to be shipped to area hospitals.

The road into the neighborhood had been cleared and now ambulances were finally getting through. Unfortunately, a couple of the more grievously injured were not able to hold out long enough and were now going to the morgue instead of the emergency room. The reinforcements brought with them a new energy and by the time Rocky carried Joeseph through the doors of the building the place was a hive of activity. Besides doctors and nurses running around to check on patients as quickly as possible, people were lining up for whatever food and supplies they could obtain from the growing pile and some volunteers had diverted some of the food to prepare an evening meal for all those who couldn't get anything hot for themselves.

"Ivy!" Rocky called out. "Where's Miss M?"

Passing out the last of her armload of supplies, Ivy trotted over to Rocky and immediately noticed his new friend. "Who's this?"

"His name is Joseph."

"Aww, poor thing! Joseph's your name?" Joe lifted his head from Rocky's shoulder and quietly nodded. "You've been through a lot today, haven't you? Well don't you worry, Joe, you're safe now. Come on, Rocky, let's find a nurse to check him over."

"Ethan and Freckle also need a doctor to help his mother out from under a building."

"A doctor? How would he be able to—"

Rocky then leaned in and whispered in her ear so that he wouldn't upset the kid. Ivy's eyes grew wide. "Oh no! So, unless her leg is—"

"Yeah, it's the only way."

"Okay, in that case you find Miss M. Last I saw, she was over that way. I'll get one of these doctors who just arrived."

"Thank you, Miss Pepper! I promised Margaret that I would watch Joeseph until she's freed."

Ivy then kissed the boy on the cheek. "You'll be okay, Joeseph. Rocky might be silly but you're in great hands. And there's no one better to rescue your mother than Ethan and my Calvin."

Leaving Rocky to find Mitzi and a nurse, Ivy quickly made her way to the ambulances. One doctor giving orders to the others and organizing the operation stood apart from the rest. His face was weathered, and his white coat was covered in mud and dirt. The fur of his muzzle was greying with age, though he was probably in his late fifties. He was probably the best doctor to perform an amputation in a tight space.

"Excuse me, Doctor!" Ivy waved him down before he could disappear into the field hospital. He turned around and saw a young woman running up to him.

"Yes, my dear?"

"Can you perform an amputation?" Ivy asked, huffing from the run.

"I've performed many amputations. Where is the patient?"

"About three blocks that way. She's trapped under a building. My boyfriend and our friend, Ethan, are trying to get to her."

"I had better get over there before we lose our remaining light. Let me grab my tools, then show me the way."

Mitzi sat on a makeshift cot holding a woman with a bad cut on her leg. Though far from being a nurse, Mitzi knew how to keep her people's injuries from getting infected. Lord knows Zib is still alive thanks to her "managing" his addictions. "I'm afraid this will sting, dear, but it will kill any infection." The iodine indeed stung and the woman whimpered, but after a couple of minutes of scrubbing Mitzi let up. "There, now all we have to wait for is someone more qualified to patch you up."

"Miss M? Miss M, are you back here?" Rocky called out as he stepped into the large room. Mitzi instantly took notice of what, or rather who, he was carrying.

"Honey, are you trying to find the little one's parents?"

"No. Joseph and his mother were stuck under a building. I got him out, but Ethan and Freckle are trying to clear a path to get to Margaret."

"Oh my word. Bring him over here, I'll get a nurse to look him over."

Rocky had to pry Joseph off him but sat close, hugging the child as he curled up next to him. This was all terrifying for the boy. Rocky could feel the fear in the poor kid. Everything he had known was just torn away from him and his mother's life was hanging by a thread. As good as Ethan and Freckle were, without a doctor there wasn't going to be much hope.

"Here they are." Mitzi said as she led a young nurse over to the pair. Rocky instantly noticed that she was about his own age. The nurse knelt to have a better look at the boy. "Are you going to help mom?" He asked.

"Someone is helping her, sweetie. I'm here to make sure you aren't hurt. Now, can I look you over?"

"Umm…" Joseph hesitated. Rocky gently nudged him to consent. "It's okay, Joe. It's her job to make sure you don't have anything broken."

"Okay…" He said, scooting forward on the bed.

Starting from the head, the nurse checked the boy for any possible injury. Rocky observed that she was tender, yet methodical. Even so, there was no way she was an experienced nurse. "So, this must be quite the baptism for a newly ordained nurse?" he asked, rubbing Joe's back to let him know he was still in arm's reach.

The young lady smiled and let out a small laugh. "Oh no, I'm still not licensed. I'm in my last year of school at the university."

"Oh… You wouldn't happen to know an Ivy Pepper, would you?"

"No, but the campus is a big place. I take it you aren't studying there."

"I've never been the academic type. I have 'a condition', apparently. The nuns had enough of me in high school and I had enough of them."

"Well, that's too bad. You seem intelligent enough… and caring."

"Thanks!" Rocky beamed. It was rare to get a compliment at all, let alone from a girl who at least looked in his direction!

"Wait a second, did you know you're hurt?"

"Hurt, like emotionally? Metaphorically?"

"Literally. You're bleeding from the shoulder."

Rocky looked behind his left shoulder and saw crimson blood draining from a wound. In his haste to get out he must have cut himself. "Oh. No, I didn't notice."

"You were focused on getting this one and yourself out. It doesn't look serious, but let's get a bandage for that anyway."

She came back with fresh supplies. "Okay, I need you to undress."

"What?" Rocky asked, eyes growing wide, face blushing.

"Your shirt. I need it off so I can clean the wound."

"Oh. Oh yeah, right. The wound."

Rocky slipped his "work" jacket off, undid his signature tie, and unbuttoned his shirt. As he flexed his arm out of the shirt he felt pain from the wound for the first time. "Ow!" He said, gritting his teeth.

"Adrenaline finally wore off, did it?" She said, sitting next to Rocky. "Okay, this will sting a bit."

Rocky wanted to squirm away as the iodine-soaked rag covered the wound, but he held fast. Nina would pin him down regularly when dealing with such injuries. "You know, that gash is pretty deep. I'm amazed you didn't feel it."

"I guess I'm just used to being hurt." Rocky reasoned. "I once dislocated both of my arms."

"Really? What on Earth possessed you to do such a thing?"

"It was in the name of science! And I wasn't about to throw my little cousin off that tree. My aunt would have killed me."

"Please don't tell me this sweet angel is your cousin."

"Joseph? No, my cousin Calvin. He's a lot older now. He's the one we call "Freckle", but it's a whole different story."

"I see." The nurse said. This was partly to keep her patient distracted from the carnage around them, but she was also quite interested in learning more. "So what's your name?"

"Oh. My name is Rocky. Rocky Rickaby."

"Well Rocky, I'm Evelyn. And now you're all patched up!"

"Evelyn huh?" Rocky got butterflies in his stomach, but he calmed his nerves enough to ask one last question. "Before you go, where can I find you? You know, if the wound doesn't heal properly?"

"Well, I'm sure any doctor can fix that. But if you wanted to find me specifically, just ask around the university."

"Will do! Thank you, Miss Evelyn."

"I've got other people to help out, and it looks like your little buddy needs you too." She said, kneeling once more and kissing the child on the forehead. "Stay strong, Joseph. If Rocky's friends are anything like him, I'm sure your mom will be perfectly safe."

As she walked away, Rocky allowed Joe to crawl into his lap and hug him tight once more. He wasn't as scared now, but he still wanted to feel secure and Rocky was the closest thing he had to a friend right now. Mitzi, cigarette in hand, couldn't help but size the nursing student up as she walked away. "Well, that one is quite the catch, isn't she?" Mitzi commented.

"Yeah. But there's no way she would want me, Miss M."

"I wouldn't say that. Your exchange with her was a lot smoother than with Alena. If you're looking for someone, don't let that opportunity pass by."

"But what if she says 'no'?"

"Then she says no, hon. But we've got more pressing matters to attend to." Mitzi said as an audible grumble came from the child's stomach.

"Right! You must be starving for food. Let's go find us some dinner, Joe."

Setting the kid on the bed, Rocky held out his hand and led him away toward the smell of whatever stew was brewing in the makeshift kitchen.

Do No Harm

"That's the last one, Ethan!" Freckle called down as he lowered the final jack to me. The debris was less stable than I had hoped. Five jacks placed in key areas seemed to be taking most of the weight off the disintegrating timbers that once held up the ground level floor. Tons of bricks were slowly causing the ceiling to sink lower and lower. The jacks could only buy us time and I was concerned that they wouldn't hold out long enough for a doctor. Not that I was going to announce that to Margaret or Freckle. I needed the woman to stay focused on being alive and Freckle was my lifeline.

"Ivy's bringing a doctor!" Freckle shouted down, much to my relief. I had been holding the line for the better part of a half hour. In all my years mining a mile underground, not much scared me more than the situation we were in now. At least it was so different from the war that I wasn't having flashbacks or panic attacks down here. It was just a hole in the ground. One that threatened to become a tomb for both Margaret and me, but a hole, nonetheless.

A man in a stained coat climbed down before motioning for Freckle to drop down his medical bag. "Ah, and you must be Ethan." he said, extending a hand while sitting down next to me with an audible groan. "These knees aren't what they used to be."

"It's a tight fit back there, doc. But I've done what I can to keep the load above us steady."

The groaning and creaking above us didn't exactly fill him with confidence. "I'm sure you've done your best, now I need to do mine. Where is the patient?"

"That way." I said, pointing down the small dark tunnel I had managed to clear out.

The doctor gulped and looked pale. "That looks like something the Germans would have dug to mine our trench back in the war."

"In the way, huh? I don't suppose you learned how to chop a limb off in France, did you?"

He nodded to confirm it. "It can be done quickly, or it can be done neatly. This, I'm afraid, is going to be dirty and messy. God, I wish I had a cigarette right now!"

"And I'm sure Margaret would love morphine, but I'm guessing you didn't pack that in such a small bag."

"No, I grabbed what I could before your friend led me over here. Well, let's get on with it, shall we?"

"Good luck. Tie this around her when you get Margaret free. I can pull her right to me and then I'm going to need you to hold her upright while Freckle and I pull her out."

Cautious as can be, the doctor moved forward, crawling on his hands and knees. Making it past the first two jacks, all was going smoothly. Then he heard the dreaded sound of snapping timber. In the dim light he could just make out the issue. The third jack had dug itself all the way through the disintegrating timber, and now it was threatening to collapse. In fact, it was collapsing right before his very eyes. Moving quickly, the doctor retreated as the timber gave way and settled two feet lower along with a pile of bricks. Dust filled the air and obscured my vision as the doctor backpedaled right into me. I heard a scream on the other side and prayed that the whole thing had not just collapsed.

"Margaret? Margaret! Are you alright!" I called.

After a few tense seconds, I could hear coughing on the other side. "I-I'm okay. The stairs shielded me. What happened?"

"One of the jacks gave out, just hang in there, we'll find a way!" I yelled back.

The doctor then informed me of the issue. "I can't get to her, son. This old body is in no shape to squeeze through the hole. We had better discuss this up top.'

Back on the surface, our options were limited. "What if we started pulling out all the debris?" Freckle suggested.

"That would take all night, and probably most of tomorrow. She'll be dead from blood loss and dehydration by then." I spoke.

"Pulling the wrong piece out might cause the whole thing to collapse completely." The doctor added.

"I can bring in more jacks." Wick offered, having shown up after combing through the last of the buildings before the sun went down.

"The whole structure is unstable." I spoke. "It's a few broken beams of wood holding up tons of concrete and brick. The more I jack it up, the more unstable it gets."

"I'll do it." Ivy insisted.

"What? No, Ivy, it's far too dangerous." Freckle protested. "Your father would certainly disapprove of that, Miss Pepper." Wick added.

"Doc, you said the opening is too small for most people to crawl through, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"Is there anyone else that you know of who can get to Joe's mother?" Ivy asked.

"…no. I'm afraid there's not. But going in there is suicide, young lady. I feel for that woman, but I took an oath to do no harm, and I can't possibly justify sending anyone in there unless the structure can be stabilized." The doctor said.

I hated to turn my back on someone in need, but I wasn't about to gamble with my own family when the woman herself would rather we focus on keeping her son safe.

"Ivy, as hard as it is, the doctor is right. I've already lost two brothers to a collapsed mine, and Rocky could have easily killed himself pulling that stunt."

"But…"

"It was a gamble that paid off for him." Freckle said. "But only him. He's done stupid and dangerous things his whole life."

Ivy looked down, defeated. "Alright, but what are we going to tell her?"

"I'll go down there myself in a few minutes. Let's just… I'm sorry, I need a minute." My mind turned to that poor kid that Rocky managed to rescue. I'm sure Margaret would understand, but her little boy was going to be distraught. And Rocky? After going through all that I can't imagine he would be pleased with us. As I sat down, I felt the doctor's hand on my shoulder.

"You did all you could, son. When that young lady said your name, I figured you must be the one who got this rescue operation organized for the neighborhood."

"Somebody had to step up." I said, looking out across the ruined neighborhood.

"Yes, somebody did. But losing people is a regular occurrence in my trade. We can't save everyone, Ethan. Keeping your own family safe is the right call, trust me on this."

"Besides, Ethan, look at all the good you've done today." Wick said, leaning on his shovel. "I haven't worked this hard since studying geology in college, but you gave orders and I happily complied. If not for you there would be a lot more people dead from this disaster, I can guarantee it."

Ivy looked down into the hole while Freckle's mind moved on to a more pressing matter. "Oh my God, I need to make sure mom is alright!" He exclaimed.

"I'm sure she's fine, Freckle. Tomorrow we'll…" Ivy then spotted the doctor's bag down below. She looked over at Ethan and the doctor facing away from her. "Hey Freckle?"

"Yeah—" He said, turning around just in time for a kiss on the lips. "Hold this for a minute."

In one smooth motion, Ivy leapt from the foundation, sliding down a big piece of concrete and landing in the hole next to the doctor's bag. "Ivy, what are you doing!" He yelled.

Ivy said nothing though as she grabbed the doctor's tools and crawled into the dark hole. She understood why Ethan and Freckle wouldn't let her go in there but the look on that boy's face… she couldn't just walk away. Not when she knew she could get through.

"Ethan!" Freckle shouted desperately. I spun around to see him panicked and pointing down in the hole we had carved out. "Ivy just went in!"

"She what?" The doctor exclaimed. "Shit… dammit Ivy!" I muttered under my breath.

"Doctor, she grabbed your tools and crawled in!"

"And you just stood there and let it happen?" I asked.

"She kissed me and just… she jumped down. I didn't think she'd."

"I know, I didn't think she'd do something that stupid either. I'm going down too, maybe I can talk her out of it."

Down in the pit, I crawled through the small tunnel. At least the other jacks were holding steady. "Ivy! Hold up, at least be careful."

"I am being careful; you boys just need to trust me." Ivy called back as she just managed to squeeze under the fallen timber. Truth be told, her heart was pounding in fear. But she had to push ahead before more rational thoughts prevailed.

Margaret was resting as best she could when a light shone in her eyes. "Ethan, is that you?"

"No, it's Ivy."

"Who?" She asked.

"You must be Margaret. I'm, uh, going to be your doctor today."

"You? But you don't look like a doctor."

"I know, but I'm the only one who can fit through the hole."

"Oh Lord, I'm going to die, aren't I?" She whimpered.

"No, of course not! I'm going to remove your leg and then Ethan's going to pull you out with this rope."

"That wasn't the plan, Ivy!" I shouted. "Now come out before anything else happens."

"No, Ethan! I'm with her now, so either we both leave or neither of us leave."

"Ivy, don't do this. If I'm bound to die down here don't trap yourself with me."

"It's just a bluff, ma'am. We'll be fine… I think. Now, there should be a saw in here somewhere…" Ivy then stumbled on the biggest hole in her plan, she didn't know how to cut off a leg… or if she could stomach it.

She called up through the rubble hoping that the doctor could hear her. "How do you cut off a leg?"

"Jesus Christ…" I muttered. "You didn't think that was important when you crawled in there?!" I shouted.

"I can do it, but someone needs to give me instructions!" Ivy yelled back.

The doctor didn't know what to think. "Well, if she's already in there with the patient then I suppose we may as well try." He said to Freckle. Following where the voices were coming from, the doctor took a seat at the corner of the building. "Ivy, are you able to hear me?"

"Yes!"

"Look in my bag. The first thing you are going to need is a tourniquet. It looks like a big leather strap."

Ivy dug around in the bag, torch bouncing light off the collapsed ceiling. "Found it!" She said, pulling out the device.

"Secure the tourniquet to the injured leg. Just wrap it around above the knee then cinch it tight. As tight as you can manage."

"This is going to hurt… probably. Most definitely." Ivy said to the woman.

"This is suicide, dear. Just leave me here."

"That boy needs his mother. We owe it to little Joseph to try, right?"

Margaret relented. Yes, she would love to see her little Joseph if possible. "I… I guess. Okay, go for it."

Ivy wrapped the device around the trapped leg just above the knee. With one good pull she tightened it as much as possible, leading to an intense scream of pain from Margaret. Listening to it from the other side was unsettling. My mind thought we were France once again, but I was able to shake myself free of another memory. Still, the scream sent shivers down my spine.

With one more pull, Ivy had the strap down so tight that the skin was discoloring. "Okay, it's on!" she called up.

"Good. How is the patient?" The doctor called down.

"Margaret?"

"I-I'm okay."

"She's alright!"

"Excellent. Now comes the painful part!"

"What?" Margaret asked.

"Ivy, normally you would cut the skin and peel it back then carve away muscle before sawing through the bone. We don't have time for that method, so you're going to perform a guillotine amputation like I used to in the field. It takes two minutes and it's messy, but if we can get her to a hospital other doctors can clean up the wound before infection sets in."

"What do I do?"

"You'll need two things. My scalpel and the bone saw. It's pretty simple. Cut the skin and muscle down to the bone as far down the leg as possible, then saw the bones in half. There is two of them."

"…okay. Are you ready, Margaret?"

"There's one trick I do know. You have some bandages in there?"

"Yes." She said, feeling around in the bag.

"Give me one." Margaret then put one roll of bandages in her mouth before nodding to confirm that she was ready.

Ivy's hands were shaking almost uncontrollably when she put the knife to the skin. Pausing, Ivy backed off and tried to steady her nerves. "You can do this, Ivy! No different from carving a ham, just be clean about it." I shouted.

"Okay, I can do this. I can do this." Ivy inhaled deeply and readied herself.

A loud, feral scream echoed through the neighborhood.

When it finally stopped, the doctor prayed that the girl hadn't just killed the woman by accident. "Is it done?" He shouted down the hole.

"…It's free!" Ivy called up.

The doctor sat back on his haunches, rubbing his bad knees and shaking his head in amazement.

"Now it's your turn, Ethan!" The doctor called over to me.

"Right. Ivy, do you have the rope?"

"I have the end of it right here with me."

"Get Margaret spun around so her head is facing toward me then tie the rope around her torso. I'll pull her through the hole and I want you right behind her, got it?"

"Yep!"

Thirty seconds later I felt two tugs on the rope. "She's ready!"

I slid myself out of the tunnel and braced my legs against two pieces of concrete that flanked the sides of the hole. I pulled the slack out of the rope before giving it a long, slow heave. Adjusting my grip, I tried again, and again. It was like rowing a boat. Soon a face came into view, followed by the rest of the body. With the last pull, I landed the woman's head right in my lap.

"Well, that was a hell of a day." I said. "Looks like you've got a guardian angel, Miss Margaret."

"So it would seem." She said, weakly.

"Now let's get you to a hospital… and your son."

Moving her around, I called up to Freckle and Wick. "Okay, now it's our turn. You ready?"

"I guess." Freckle said.

"Together then. One… two… three!"

I lifted the woman, who was thankfully quite petite, up above my head. Freckle pulled back and stepped backward while the doctor caught Margaret under the arms and helped set her down on the ground.

"No time to waste, lad, we need to get a stretcher!" The doctor said as he and Freckle ran back to the field hospital to get one, or perhaps an ambulance.

A Job Well Done

Ivy tapped on my leg to get me to move over, and I bent down to help her up. "Ivy, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, just a little dirty. If I ever do something like that again, just hit me… hard."

"I ought to slap you for that!" I exclaimed. Ivy looked down and away like a child scolded by her parents. "You and Rocky are going to scare me into an early grave doing stuff like that! But…" I hugged her tightly. "…You did a good thing." I could feel her settle into my chest as tears formed in my eyes. "Just don't do that again. I love you all too much to bear losing any of you. And I know Freckle can't bear to lose you either. We're in a dangerous enough business as it is, no one can afford to do stupid things on top of that."

"Okay…" She replied, muffled by my shirt.

Finally able to leave the ruined neighborhood behind us, we walked out following two strong nurses with a stretcher. Freckle wouldn't let Ivy go, and she was hanging off his neck.

"Good work today, Mr. Sable. Your tools were most invaluable."

"Indeed. Almost as invaluable as your leadership." Wick said as we both shook hands for a job well done.

"Mom!" Joeseph yelled as Rocky carried him out. He was horrified to see that she was missing a limb. "They took your leg?"

"I'm afraid so, but we're both alive and that's what matters."

"Thank you for saving her, doc." Rocky said, heart swelling to see mother and son united.

"Don't thank me. Your friend, Ivy, did the work. And she had the gumption to go in when we couldn't."

"Really?" Freckle asked, confused.

"Yep, turns out I'm almost as crazy as you, Rocky!" Ivy teased, still hanging from Freckle's neck.

"That reminds me. I'm not sure what you are pursuing in school, Ivy, but if you ever decided to enter medical school, I'd be more than happy to provide a recommendation."

"Really?" She asked.

"I'm serious. The name is Dr. Francis Polk. The last time I saw anyone with that much courage we were in the trenches of France. Come find me at the medical center in the University if you are so inclined and we can talk."

With Margaret loaded up into the ambulance, she grabbed one nurse by the arm. "Please, can my son come with me? He has no place else to stay."

"Certainly, miss. He'll need someone to watch him though, tonight is going to be all hands on deck in the hospital." The young man said.

Rocky didn't even hesitate. Spending a night at the hospital wasn't going to be fun, but he's a feline of his word. "Looks like this is my train, friends!" Rocky said as he climbed in, allowing the child to sit next to him.

"You're going to spend the night in a hospital?" I asked before the doors closed.

"I can't just leave the boy to wander around by himself! Besides…" Rocky gestured to the kid who was still clinging to him. "I don't think I could tear him off me even if I wanted to."

"Okay then… Call us when you are able to leave him in better hands."

"Will do, general!" Rocky saluted as the doors closed and the ambulance pulled away.

"So, what now?" Freckle asked.

"I don't know. You said the road was blocked to the farm, right?"

"Yeah, the only way around would take half the night."

"I guess we'll have to stay in the speakeasy." I reasoned. "Although I do need to check in with Isabella and Riley."

"I suppose you boys need a place to stay?" Wick asked as he came up behind us with Mitzi in tow. "The estate has plenty of room for everyone."

"Now that the professionals are finally here, I think we can all retire for the evening." Mitzi said.

"Thank you, Mr. Sable." Freckle said.

"I'll need to pick up Riley on the way over. Hopefully the sedan is still in working condition."

"Bix should be here shortly to get the rest of us. I'll see you there, Ethan." Wick said as I bid them goodbye.

Isabella was combing through her homework while Riley was settled against her side, reading a book. They had come to really enjoy each other's company. Riley was starved for other girls and women to hang out with, especially now that she was living with three men on a farm. Isabella for her part was always happy to be around Riley, whether it be helping her with studies or teaching the girl about all the things Ethan knew nothing about.

A knock on the front door interrupted them both. "That's probably Ethan." Isabella said as she moved Riley off her and stood up. Opening the door, she was greeted by his familiar face, though he was covered head to toe in dirt and mud.

"Well, you've certainly been working hard, haven't you?"

I couldn't contain myself. Immediately cradling her head as I kissed her, not even registering that Riley was right there in the parlor.

"Eww!" Riley said as she shielded herself with her book.

"Oh please, you'll be doing the same thing in a few years." I shot back. "Now, I'm in need of a shower."

"Or a bath in the wooden tub out back. Seriously, have you been crawling through a sewer?"

"I like to think that was just mud, but don't worry. I'm not planning to use the facilities here."

"What, you aren't staying here?"

"How would you like to spend a night in a proper mansion, courtesy of Wick Sable?"

Her ears perked up at the name. "Sable? He would let that circus you work for stay in his house?"

"What can I say? The man is surprisingly generous considering he's loaded to the gills with money. Now let's saddle up!"