Like An Eagle (by Barbara A. Taylor)

Summary:  Jess finds himself acting as a guide to an Eastern Professor and his daughter, but fate causes things to go drastically against plan. It needs an anxious, protective Slim to lead the rescue attempt.  A/N: Written over 20 years ago, and posted on a now defunct site, this story may be familiar to some readers. It is Laramie canon, set at the time of Daisy’s tenure at the ranch and is both an adventure and a H/C style.
Category:  Laramie
Genre:  Western
Rating:  PG (some violence and medical treatment)
Word Count:  62,139

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Chapter One

It was a day just like any other, one in a series of long hot summer days. Heat shimmered on the horizon and gentle winds stirred up dust devils on the road that led from Laramie to the Sherman Ranch. 

On the roof of the barn Jess Harper straightened up, a paint brush in his hand. He wiped the back of his hand across his forehead, and then used his bandana to wipe away the moisture that was trickling down the back of his neck.  He’d been up here with his partner Slim Sherman, for what seemed like days but in fact the position of the sun told him it was several hours yet till midday.  “Think we’ll get this done before noon, Slim?” 

“I sure hope so, Pard. It’s hotter than hell up here.” Slim replied as he carried on working. 

Jess stretched his aching back, then dropped down onto his haunches and hurried to complete their task before the midday sun made it impossible for them to continue. 

The two friends laboured on, a comfortable silence settling between them.  In many ways the two were in direct contrast to each other, both physically and in character, yet they had forged a friendship closer than if they had been brothers born and bred. 

Slim was blond whereas Jess’ hair was a rich dark brown. Both had blue eyes, Slim’s being paler than Jess’.  Slim was taller by several inches, however, Jess was leaner than Slim in his build, and it had been a common complaint from Slim that he couldn’t figure out how someone could eat as much as Jess, and still look half starved, and it was true, Jess carried no spare flesh on his muscular frame. 

Their first meeting had been confrontational.  Slim was firmly grounded to a steady home life, the ranch and his younger brother being the centre of his life since the death of their parents. 

Judging on first appearances, Jess had appeared to be the exact opposite. He was a drifter with a reputation for a quick temper and an even quicker draw and he appeared to care for nothing, least of all his own life. His carefree easygoing attitude and wariness of commitment had made him a hero to Slim’s younger brother Andy, and an instant threat to the elder sibling. 

Yet there had been something, an indefinable quality, which had prompted Slim to offer Jess a job, a decision that Slim would never have cause to regret. Over time Jess had settled down and Slim had come to know and trust the real person that hid behind the carefree face Jess Harper showed the world. 

Slowly, Slim had been allowed to see the world weary, hurt and lonely young man that was the real Jess Harper. He had come to learn of the hard lessons Jess had been forced to learn at an early age and the harsh existence that had led him to the life he had been forced to live before he met Slim. 

Despite everything, Jess was basically a good man, just needing a chance to prove it and a place to belong. Slim had given him both, and had been rewarded many times over for the trust he placed in Jess. 

Andy was in college now and the ranch had become the home to two more of life’s casualties. A young orphan boy, Mike, who had arrived at the ranch after the death of his parents in an Indian attack, which he had been witness to and the two friends, perhaps driven by the losses they too had themselves experienced, had taken him into their home and become surrogate fathers and brothers to him. Then there was Daisy Cooper, who had arrived on the stage one day looking for a store that her late husband had purchased in Sherman, Wyoming.  Once she realized that her husband had been swindled and that she was literally without funds or a home, she agreed at the boys’ request to stay on as housekeeper but had rapidly become a friend and mother to all three, filling a gap in their unusual yet unique family that they hadn’t even realised was there. 

Although both men were still opposites in many ways, time had worked its magic and Jess had, with Slim’s steadying influence, settled down into the family life he had craved without knowing it. While Slim, for his part, had begun to unwind and relax under the influence of the small mischievous child that still hid just below the surface of his friend and partner. 

It was that mischievous side that showed itself now. “Slim, we’ve almost finished. Couldn’t we maybe—?” 

“No, we couldn’t,” Slim interrupted, their closeness allowing him to read the younger man’s thoughts. “Daisy has been waiting on us painting the roof for weeks now. I reckon she’d skin us alive if she came back from town and it wasn’t finished.” 

Jess was hot, tired and growing more stubborn by the minute; he wasn’t about to give up that easily. “But, Slim, she ain’t due back till the evening stage couldn’t we maybe just—-.” 

Again his best friend interrupted him “No, we couldn’t. Daisy promised us apple pie if we got this done before she got back, and I have a hankering after a piece right now. I’m certainly not hankering after the sharp edge of her tongue.” 

Jess dropped his head and started back at the job of painting with a vengeance, all thought of a cool dip in the swimming pond forgotten. Slim squinted sideways at his sullen friend and smiled to himself. He knew just how Jess felt, but the job really had waited long enough and both of them knew it. After a few more minutes of painting with not a word passing between the two of them, he relented a little and spoke up, hoping to draw the other man out of the sullen silence he had slipped into. “If we get this done today, then I think tomorrow we should head out to the south pasture and check out the fences.”

This last statement drew Jess’ attention instantly. “Aw, Slim. It’s far too hot to be diggin’ post holes and stringing wire,” he complained, and then suddenly realization struck. “Hang on a minute; we replaced that stretch just a month ago.” His deep blue eyes flashed in anger as he challenged his friend. “Dog gone it, Slim it would be a waste of time to head on out there again.” 

The laughter in Slim’s eyes told Jess he’d been suckered in, and Slim confirmed it as he responded. “It’s been mighty hot, Jess. This kind of heat could drive a critter crazy.” 

 “I know how they feel,” Jess replied sarcastically, but he kept his head down, his eyes focused on the rough boards of the roof. 

Slim ignored him and continued on, keeping the laughter out of his voice.   “Crazy critters could have pulled the fence down in their rush to get at that lake. You know the one, Jess, always cold and deep, fed from those mountain streams. This sort of heat could be mighty tempting to them brainless beefs to take a long cool swim.” 

Now Slim allowed himself to smile freely and looked up at his partner to see Jess standing there, his mouth hanging open in surprise as it finally sank in what his friend was saying. An answering smile now spread across Jess’ face. 

 “Ya know, Slim, you just might have a point there. Daisy’s gotta agree we need to check those fences again and save any of them cattle from straying.”  

A few hours later, Jess stood up again and stretched cat like, endeavouring to ease the stiffness in his back. “Reckon that’s got it licked.  Just this last bit where we’re standing; and we needn’t worry about this again for quite a while.” 

 “I have a feeling Daisy will have us doing this all over again a lot sooner than you think, Jess.” Slim said as he stood up. He turned around surveying the fruits of their work. A puzzled frown formed on his tanned features. “Say, Pard, where’s the ladder?” 

Jess turned towards the far side of the barn roof. “It’s right over there, where we climbed up.”  Jess answered as he pointed over to the far corner. As comprehension dawned, Jess’ jaw twitched in disbelief. “Dad gum it, we’ve painted ourselves into a corner.”  Jess couldn’t help but smile. The whole ridiculous situation appealed to his sense of fun. 

With an exasperated sigh, Slim set his fists on his hips and turned slowly around, searching for a way to get off the roof without having to walk across the wet paint. He turned towards the edge they were backed up to and dropped to his knees again, peering cautiously over the edge. Unfortunately, this was the high side of the building, and it looked to be a long way down. Slim grunted his annoyance, finding nothing funny in the situation they found themselves in. “Jess, you’re a little lighter than me“ 

Jess snorted his amusement at this statement “A little–? You’ve been eating a few too many helpings of Daisy’s good cooking, Slim, cause you’ve sure outgrown your nickname.” 

Slim chose to respond to the insult with one of his own “Its good muscle built by plenty of hard work, but I guess that’s something you’d know little about. Now as I was saying before you started throwing the insults about, if we go real careful I can lower you down most of the way, then let you drop the rest.” 

Leaning over to inspect the drop for himself, Jess shook his head.” I dun no, Slim, it looks a long way down. It might be easier if’n one of us walked backward across the roof to the ladder, painting out the footprints as they go.” As he spoke a broad smile crept across his face, “Since you reckon you’re light on your feet, my vote goes to you.” Something then caught his attention and he kept his gaze fixed on the horizon, his deep blue eyes watching the approaching cloud of dust he had spotted. 

Still unaware of what was fascinating his friend Slim rose to the bait.  “That honor goes to you, Pard; you’re the one that looks like a puff of wind would blow you right off your feet.” As Slim looked at his friend, enjoying the verbal sparing and expecting a humorous retort, he finally noticed that Jess’ attention was elsewhere. He followed the line of sight his friend was using and saw the growing cloud of dust that could only come from horses.  “A mite too early for the stage,” he commented, “We expecting anyone?” 

“Nope, but I don’t think its trouble, they’re comin’ in slow and easy. Looks like it’s a wagon, but it’s too far away to make out how many’s with it.” Jess replied easily, but his right hand strayed nervously to his gun, which he carried with him most of the time. Old habits die hard, and Jess had learned early on that trouble could come a calling at any time.

Chapter Two 

The two men stood side by side, patiently watching the approaching wagon and team. As it pulled around the final bend in the road, Jess gave a small whoop of joy. “It’s, Daisy, Slim. I’d recognise that collection of feathers she calls a hat anywhere. Looks like Mike riding in the back too. Seems like we’re rescued, Pard, and not a moment too soon.”  Jess cast an accusatory look at the sun, as he squinted his eyes against its unforgiving glare. “I was beginning to understand what a roasting chicken must feel like. Much longer and I might have taken it into my head to grow wings and fly down.” 

A few minutes later and the wagon pulled to a halt in front of the ranch house. A middle-aged man dressed in a formal business suit climbed down from the driver’s seat and turned to help a waiting Daisy Cooper step down to the ground. Behind the seat Mike sat talking happily with a fair haired young girl, and the two children were so engrossed in each other that they had failed to notice they had come to a halt. 

“Come on now, Mike. I will need you to help me unload the wagon.” Daisy prompted, looking around, surprised that neither Slim nor Jess had appeared to greet them. 

“Sorry, Aunt Daisy but Marie Rose was just telling me about when she lived in India. Did you know that they have magic men that can make snakes dance to music?” 

 “Yes, dear, I’m sure that is all very interesting, but right now you need to go see if you can find Slim or Jess.” Daisy turned to her other companion. “I don’t know where those two could have got to. They were supposed to be painting the barn roof, but knowing them, they may well have slipped away for a dip in the swimming pond.” 

The two friends on the roof had been listening intently, and at hearing Daisy’s last remark, it was too much for an indignant Slim to bear. “So that’s what you think we get up to when you go off shopping. I’ll have you know we’ve been up here since you left this morning and the roof is all finished.” 

“Well thank you, Slim, so why are you still up there? Come on down and meet our guests.” Daisy was staring upwards, her gloved hand shading her eyes from the sun. She could make out the dark shapes of her two adopted sons silhouetted against the bright light. 

 “We’d love to, Daisy, but we seem to have gotten ourselves a little problem here. We could do with a bit of help,” Slim said sheepishly, not willing to admit to the tactical error, especially with strangers around. 

Jess was beginning to feel the need for a nice cool drink, not to mention another more urgent requirement of the human body. “Stop hedging around, Slim,” he ordered.  “Miss Daisy, we’ve gone and painted ourselves into a corner. The ladder is over on the north side could you and Mike bring it round here? Please.” That last word carried a world of appeal and need. 

Suppressing a very girlish giggle, Daisy turned to her new friend. “Doctor Sender, do you think you could help me rescue those two up there. I think they have got problems enough without the sun addling their brains still further.” 

Jess stopped himself from a sarcastic response. He didn’t want Daisy to retaliate by neglecting to bring the ladder round. He needed to get down and take care of a few things, and then he could worry about his injured pride. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Slim square up and start to rise to the teasing. “Save it for later, Pard. Let’s just get down from here, and think about that pie you’ve been waiting on.”  Jess’ remarks did the trick and Slim kept quiet. 

With the two children helping, the stranger retrieved the ladder and soon the two stranded friends found themselves with their feet firmly on the ground again. Jess excused himself briefly, saying he intended to put the ladder away and made a detour to the outhouse. By the time he got back, Daisy was herding everyone towards the house and was busy making the introductions. With a shy grin, Jess shook the strangers hand as Daisy introduced them. 

“Doctor Sender, this is Jess Harper, Slim’s partner.” Turning, Daisy smiled at Slim before continuing. “And of course, this is Slim Sherman. Both of you, I’d like you to meet Doctor Sender and his daughter, Marie Rose. They very kindly offered to give me a ride back here, when it looked like the stage was going to be late.” 

“You planning on moving out west, Doc? We could sure do with another Doctor setting up practice. Old Doc Michaels is finding it hard to keep up, the way Laramie is growing.” Jess stated as he made friendly conversation. 

“Ah, no. I’m not that sort of Doctor. I studied Physics at university. The title refers to my Doctorate. I’m afraid I would pass out at the mere sight of blood.” 

“So what brings you out west, Doc?” Slim asked as he redirected the conversation. 

“Please, the name is James. I would much prefer it if you called me that, Mister Sherman.” 

“Fine, but we’re just plain Slim and Jess.” Slim smiled warmly then stood back indicating that their guests should enter the ranch house first. 

Once inside, Daisy set about making a pot of coffee, always aware that Jess never seemed to function until he had at least one cup inside him. As she worked to pull together the rudiments of a meal, Daisy joined in the conversation from the kitchen. Mike had disappeared into his room, Marie Rose in tow, eager to show his new friend his pet squirrel. 

“So why are you this far west?” Slim prompted him again. “No offence, but you look like you’d be more at home in a classroom back East.” 

“None taken, Slim. I know I look like some dusty old Professor, but I have a dream, and that’s what brings me out west. I’m an inventor of sorts, and right now I’m working on something that is best tested out here. Lots of fresh air and space, you see.” 

Jess was sitting in the rocking chair, and had been gently rocking back and forth as he listened to the thread of the conversation. Now he sat forward and asked. “Mind if I ask what kinda inventions?” It was a hard life on a ranch, and although Laramie was a growing town, strangers offered a welcome diversion from the routine of daily ranch life. 

“No, not at all. I dabble in lots of things. The army has been interested in a few. That’s one of the reasons I’m out here, to field test one of them.” 

Slim and Jess exchanged worried glances. There had been problems in the past with Indians but things had settled down. There was a reservation relatively close and both men worried that this man might inadvertently cause problems, especially if he was testing a new sort of weapon. 

It was Slim that asked the question that was bothering them both. “It’s not something dangerous like a weapon is it? We‘ve got a lot of families in these parts with children. Wouldn’t like to think they could be put at risk.” 

James smiled an easy likable smile that re-assured Slim, as he replied. “No, nothing at all like that. I have my own daughter, Marie Rose to think of. I abhor weapons of destruction. No, I’m afraid I can’t tell you about it, as the government want to keep it quiet. I think they don’t want to be associated with it in case it fails.” He laughed ruefully, and then continued, “But I can assure you it isn’t a weapon.” 

The group went silent for a moment, Slim feeling a little embarrassed for having asked the question, but relieved nonetheless to have asked it and have received an honest answer. 

A soft female voice came from the kitchen, rescuing the situation. “Does Marie Rose’s mother mind you bringing her out here, James?”  

“My wife died when Marie Rose was very young. She has always been with me. I couldn’t bear to be separated from her. She is a very special young girl, so very like her mother in many ways.” 

Daisy popped her head around the door from the kitchen, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” she apologised. 

“Don’t apologise. It was along time ago, Marie Rose and I have had a good life together. Her mother was a student at the university where I taught. She was a very bright young woman and used to help me with my research after we married. Marie Rose is just like her. Sometimes she amazes even me, with her knowledge. One day she will be very famous I am sure, and in the mean time she is my right hand man and helper.” 

Taking off her apron, Daisy emerged from the kitchen. “Supper will be ready in a little while.” She turned to Slim and Jess. “James is looking for somewhere to stay while he conducts his research. Do you know of any where that’s available?” 

Jess shook his head, but Slim recalled a ranch about five miles away that had been left empty for the past year. 

“There is the old Rowland’s place. Its been up for sale since, Mrs. Rowland’s moved back east last year. I guess she could be persuaded to rent it for a while, since it hasn’t sold.” 

Now Jess felt obliged to speak up. “It would take months to fix it up and make it liveable, Slim. I rode past it a few months back on my way back from delivering those horses to the army. The winter storms must have hit it pretty bad. A large part of the roof is off, and the windows are mostly broken. You planning on staying around here long enough to make it worth while doing that sort of damage up?” he directed to their guest. 

James smiled as he replied. “I don’t know how long I will need to complete my tests, but I do know I won’t have the time to fix a place up, much less maintain it. No, I really need to find somewhere that we can pay for room and board, preferably out of town, as its out here I need to do my work.” 

Slim and Jess exchanged quick glances, but it was Daisy that spoke up. “Slim, we could make room here until James can find something else. Marie Rose can share my room and there is still a spare bed in Mike’s room that Andy uses when he stays.” 

“It will mean more work for you, Daisy,” Slim cautioned. 

“Oh I don’t mind. It would be nice to have another female around to talk to and Mike would enjoy having a playmate,” Daisy replied happily. 

The good Doctor laughed, “While staying here for awhile would be very welcome for me, I think you might find Marie Rose doesn’t quite fill the category of a playmate.” 

Slim considered things carefully before he spoke again. “Well, I guess we could do with the extra money right now. As long as Daisy is sure she can manage, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t stay here. Okay with you, Jess?” 

The dark head lifted from staring at the empty fireplace. Slim had always valued his friend’s opinion, but Jess still had trouble remembering he was now an equal partner in the ranch, and had the same rights as Slim in deciding such things. “I don’t see why not, Slim, but I got one concern. You recall when Mike slept in our room, he ain’t a peaceful sleeper, and those pets of his can make things kinda noisy. The Doc here might be sleepin’ a lot better if we move that bed into our room.” 

“Are you volunteering to share with Mike?” Slim smiled, teasing his friend. 

A horrified look crossed Jess’ handsome features. “Uh uh, Slim, I was figurin’ that’d be you.”

Jess’ lightening fast speed came into play and saved him from being hit by the napkin Slim threw across at him. “I think we may be able to make room for three beds in our room, don’t you, Jess?” 

“Yep, it might make things a mite more interesting around here with you stayin’ a while, Doc.” 

“That’s settled then. Jess and Slim will help you unload your wagon later.” Daisy finalised it all. 

Momentarily, Jess’ suspicions rose. “Doc, you never did say why you was headed out here this afternoon. Though it was mighty lucky for Daisy that you were.” 

Innocently, James replied, “That’s easy. I was in the general store asking if they would place an advert in their window about suitable accommodation. Daisy happened to be in there and she said she might know somewhere. We got to talking and when I realised Daisy was kind of stranded I offered to drive her out here and she could direct me on to my potential lodgings.” As he said it, James realised how he had been manoeuvred. The three men looked at each other as it dawned on them how neatly they had all been out manoeuvred by the older woman. 

“Daisy?”  Slim’s voice conveyed the question, “Did you plan all this?” 

Daisy had the good grace to look embarrassed, but she recovered quickly. “Now, boys, you said yourself the money would be useful, and besides, like I said, I think a little female company for me would be nice.” 

“Seeing as it all seems to be settled, if you don’t mind, I’ll tell Marie Rose.” James headed to Mikes bedroom door and called his daughter out. 

“Yes, Father,” she said as she came out. Although she spoke to her father, her eyes roamed the room, searching the faces there. Finally they settled on the dark haired young cowboy she had seen earlier and she smiled. 

“These kind folk have offered to let us stay here while we complete our research. What do you think of that?” her father asked. 

The young girl had been really excited at the idea of coming out west. She had been fascinated with the stories of handsome cowboy heroes, and the two men here on this ranch stirred her adolescent feelings. She was in serious danger of developing her first case of hero worship from the moment she had seen them, especially the dark haired one with mischief in his eyes. 

“That’s wonderful, Father. It’s so nice here, and I’ll have Mike for company.” Even as she spoke, her eyes never left Jess’ the lean figure, as he now lounged against the fireplace.   

All the while, the object of her thoughts was blissfully unaware of the adoring pair of eyes that were fixed on him. If he had been aware he may have felt a little less complacent about their guests and a little more wary over the days ahead. 

As it turned out, the next few weeks at the ranch were to prove a lot more interesting than any of them could have anticipated.

Chapter Three 

The two new visitors soon settled in. When Marie Rose wasn’t joining Mike in some wild escape, she was helping her father with some part of his research. 

Occasionally, when James needed to take his experiments further a field, either Slim or Jess would accompany him, ensuring he didn’t get lost or hurt. There hadn’t been any trouble with the Indians for a while, but it never did any harm to be cautious. 

On some evenings James would join Slim and Jess on the porch and they would spend a few pleasant hours talking about life, and the west. Occasionally James would tell them about his travels and some of his inventions and work. It made a welcome change from the routine of the ranch and even Daisy found time to join in the pleasant chats.  

None of the permanent residents of the ranch managed to get much information on James’ current invention. Even Mike had tried to get Marie Rose to give some sort of hint as to what it was all about, but had failed miserably. 

On one warm evening, while waiting for the Doctor and his daughter to return from town, the family compared notes. Jess observed that he had seen the Doctor stand at the top of one of the bluffs and release a feather, carefully noting the direction it floated, and the time it took to reach the ground. Slim added that he had watched the good Doctor noting down wind directions and temperatures at different times of the day. 

“Beats me what he learns from all that. I mean, one minute he’s busy folding bits of paper and throwing them in the air, the next he’s scribbling away. He produces pages and pages of paper with figures all over them, but it don’t make any sense to me,” Slim commented good-naturedly. 

“Same here, Pard.  I found him laying on his back and watching an eagle hunting the cliffs the other day. When I asked him what was going on, he just smiled and said he liked to dream he was up there with that eagle, seeing the world from its viewpoint. If you ask me, the army must be pretty desperate to think he can come up with something they’d want.  The other day he was over in the barn, cutting up wood and fixing it together. Darned if I could tell what he was making though.” 

“I like him,” Mike cut in. “He’s fun. He helped Marie Rose and me fly kites the other day. He even came out with one he’d made himself for Marie Rose and it flew real well.” 

 “Oh! He did, did he? No, Mike I like him too, it’s just that I can’t figure out what he’s up to.” Jess tousled Mike’s hair. “Whatever it is, its got me beat.” 

“That doesn’t say much, Pard; after all you ain’t exactly Harvard material.” Slim gave Jess a friendly slap on the back. 

It took Jess a moment to realise he was being insulted. “Hey, you!” He moved to catch Slim who was already retreating into the house. Unfortunately Daisy was heading outside balancing several plates of apple pie fresh from the oven at exactly the same time. Slim reached to steady Daisy, but one of the plates hit the ground none the less. 

“Slim, whatever are you doing?” Daisy exclaimed. 

Slim looked embarrassed. “Sorry, Daisy.  I suddenly remembered something.” 

“Yeah. He suddenly remembered how I can move faster than him.” Jess laughed as he picked up the pieces of broken pie and plate. He thrust the mess into the hands of a still surprised Slim. “Here, reckon this one’s yours, Slim.” Then, lightening fast he took one of the remaining intact pieces from Daisy. “Thanks, Daisy sure smells good.” He sniffed the air appreciatively. 

The scowl Slim threw at Jess’ retreating back was far from friendly, but it turned to a smile as Daisy patted his arm. “Never mind, dear, there’s plenty more inside. You get rid of that mess and I’ll bring you a fresh piece.” 

The three of them were soon sitting in amiable silence on the porch, savouring the flavour of the spicy apples. Jess was the first to clear his plate and looked hopefully at Daisy. Knowing her adopted sons well, Daisy smiled. “Don’t worry, there is plenty more, but you will have to wait till James and Marie Rose get back from town. You know, for a young lady, that girl has an appetite to rival Mike’s.” 

“Where is Mike by the way?” Jess enquired. 

“He’s eating his in his room. He’s trying to get all his schoolwork done before Marie Rose comes back. They have been cooking something up between them that they want to try out,” Daisy replied 

 “You know, I think that girl is a good influence on Mike. He seems to be reading a lot more; since she started lending him her books and helping him try out some of the things in them.” Slim commented philosophically, while giving Jess a sideways look, appraising his reaction. 

“Uh, uh! I thought Mike had no trouble getting into mischief, but that girl is a tornado of pure trouble. I need eyes in the back of my head when those two are around.” As he spoke, Jess casually rubbed his knee. It was still bruised from a few days earlier when he had gone sprawling into the horse trough. 

Mike had been telling Marie Rose about the racoons around the place. They seemed to have taken to raiding Daisy’s kitchen whenever the opportunity presented itself. The two children were currently engaged in finding some way to deter the little bandits. 

A noble occupation indeed, but unfortunately it always seemed to be Jess that became the unwilling victim to their experiments. On this last occasion it had been a trip wire designed to pull a cord attached to an array of cans. The noise was supposed to scare the critters off. Unfortunately, Jess had found the wire before the racoons, although his subsequent yell of pain and indignation certainly scared the animals away. 

Slim’s smile was big enough to split his face as he recalled the incident. Jess’ language had turned the air blue, until Daisy had appeared to see what all the noise was about and a shamefaced Jess had calmed down enough to apologise for his outburst.  

The two miscreants had disappeared, only to re-appear later when a somewhat drier and calmer Jess emerged from the ranch house. They had apologised very sincerely, and explained that they had only the best of intentions, so after a stern warning about safety, and keeping their efforts a safe distance from the ranch house, Jess had forgiven them. He even went so far as to help them in their efforts to fly the strange new kite James had given them. Slim had enjoyed watching the child in Jess run free for a while. From what he knew of Jess’ past, he had not had much of a childhood. 

Noticing Slim’s grin Jess sought to defend himself. “It weren’t that funny, Slim”. 

“It was from where I was sitting. It purely was a pleasure to see you on the receiving end of the practical jokes for a change.” Since Jess had come to the ranch, many things had changed, mostly for the better. But one thing had remained constant and that was Jess Harper’s tendency to join first Andy and then Mike, in setting up a variety of pranks, with Slim usually playing the target. 

As he re-called some of those pranks himself, Jess found himself smiling and then laughing, the laughter putting a softer edge to his raspy voice. “Yeah, reckon I have pulled a few pranks in my time. Now I know what it feels like, maybe I do owe you an apology for a few of them.” 

“A few of them?” Slim said indignantly. “I think there has been more than a few of them.” 

“Didn’t know you were counting. I ain’t caught you out in a while, Slim; reckon I’m getting too settled.” 

“Naw, your just losing your edge. I hear tell it happens as you get older.” Slim turned to Jess, waiting eagerly for his friend to come back with some witty response. Jess however failed to take the bait. He was staring at the wagon that had just turned onto the road to the ranch. 

“Daisy, I think our guests are coming back.” He turned to Slim as he continued.   

“I’m heading to the barn, Traveller needs a good rub down after the riding I did today. He’s dustier than I was before I took that bath earlier.” Then he was up and heading away before Slim could even object. 

“Well, that was a quick retreat. Why, he didn’t even stop to ask me to keep him another piece of pie.” Daisy said, puzzled by Jess’ sudden departure. “If I didn’t know better I’d say he was hiding out.” 

Slim laughed out loud. “He told me earlier that he’d heard Mike and Marie Rose discussing another sure fired way to scare them bandits away from the house, and he’s terrified he’ll get caught up in it, willing or not.” 

Laughter crinkled her face as Daisy watched Jess’ rapidly retreating back. “You know, Slim, Jess has admitted that one of his greatest fears is a decent woman, but I didn’t think that included little girls. I don’t think even Jess himself realised just how terrifying a little girl can be. That is until he met Marie Rose.” 

“You’ve got to admit, Daisy, she is one scary little girl. Whoever marries her when she grows up is going to have their hands full.” 

“But, Slim, didn’t you know, Marie Rose has announced to everyone that she fully intends to marry Jess, just as soon as she is old enough.” The older woman kept her face perfectly straight. 

Slim nearly choked on the coffee he’d been about to swallow as he erupted into peels of laughter. “No wonder he’s so all fired up to brush down his horse.  Daisy, you’re an angel. If I play this right I reckon I can get Jess to do all those chores away from the ranch that we’ve been putting off these past weeks.”  He reached forward and gave the chuckling woman a peck on the cheek. 

“Now, Slim, poor Jess is embarrassed enough without you pouring the grief on,” she admonished, the laughter still dancing in her eyes. 

Turning to look at the barn, Slim replied innocently “As if I would, Daisy. No I was just remembering you know the Doc wants to head out to the mountains next week, and I was going to escort him. If he takes that wagon along like he intends to, it could mean a two or three day trip each way.” 

“Yes I know, Slim, but we’ll manage. He would get lost out there and he fully intends to take Marie Rose with him.” Daisy’s voice was serious now. “One of you two needs to go with the poor man.” 

“I know, Daisy, but didn’t the stage line superintendent say that the company accountant is due through here before the end of the month.” 

“Yeees.” Daisy said, hesitantly, wondering where the conversation was leading. “But that could happen at any time in the next three weeks and you’ve already checked the books.” 

“Yeah, but there were some discrepancies in the figures, and he just might want to re-check them. You know how Jess is with figures. He’d do anything rather than wrestle with the books.” 

Catching on, Daisy nodded. “I suppose so. I even think he would agree to take the good Doctor out on that field trip instead of you. But then, given how he is about Marie Rose—” 

“Oh, he doesn’t need to know she is going along, now does he. After all it hasn’t been arranged for certain has it.?” Slim’s blue eyes narrowed as he calculated the risk of Jess’ revenge. He decided it would be worth it, just to see his best friend’s face when he realised he’d be on the trail for several days at the mercy of the wilful young girl. “Daisy, don’t you say a thing. Leave this to me.” 

Slim’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he headed to the barn.

Chapter Four 

It hadn’t been too difficult to convince Jess that he should be the one to guide the good Doctor into the mountains, especially after Slim had assured him it was unlikely that the mischievous young girl would go with them, as James would not want to subject his daughter to the rigors of several days on the trail. 

Jess hadn’t really questioned Slim’s suggestion too much, after all he liked to get out on the trail now and again, and his many years drifting around still called to his blood occasionally. That chance and the fact he truly did hate the paperwork made him practically bite Slim’s hand off as he took up the offer. 

There had been a brief hesitation as the younger man looked appraisingly at Slim, trying to decide what the catch was, but then Slim had pointed out that it would likely mean several days away from the attentions of an infatuated Marie Rose, and James did make for entertaining company with his stories about his travels. 

From the corner of his eye Slim had seen Marie Rose jump down from the wagon and head unerringly towards the barn where Jess had retreated. Slim had started to turn away, saying, “Well, if you’re not interested, I’m happy to—-.” 

As the young girl had rushed towards Jess, eager to tell him of her visit to town, a look of panic had crossed his handsome features. He grabbed hold of Slim’s sleeve.     “I’ll do it. No argument. Jest stall her long enough for me to disappear.” 

Keeping a sweetly innocent look on his face, Slim had raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Fine, but what—?” 

Before he could complete his question, Jess had leapt on Travellers broad bare back, and headed out the back door of the barn, riding true Indian fashion. Chuckling to himself, Slim turned to greet Marie Rose. “Why, hello there. Did you have a nice day in town?” 

“Yes thank you. Where’s Jess? I thought I saw him in here.” 

 “He was, but you’ve just missed him. He’s rode out to check on some stock.” 

 “Oh.” Slim could hear the disappointment in her voice as she turned to go. Slim thought to himself that he should feel hurt at the obvious disinterest Marie Rose had in him. But given that things seemed to happen to those whom Marie Rose took a close interest in, he maybe should think himself lucky that he wasn’t the object of her adolescent affections. 

As the time for the trip drew close Mike had been sworn to secrecy and had told no one that Jess was unaware that the young girl was intending to travel with her father. It was planned that they would head out at dawn the next the morning. Marie Rose had spent the day helping her father check and re-check the wood and cloth construction that was crucial to the experiment. If Jess had been around he may have become suspicious of Slim’s generosity as Marie Rose and her father packed the wagon with the essentials for the trip, including a bag with the girls clothes piled in. However, whether by design or chance, he had been away all day. 

Slim and Jess had been away from the ranch since early morning, taking this last opportunity to round up strays in the lower pastures before Jess set out with the Doc and Slim was effectively confined to the ranch seeing to the stage coaches and waiting for the auditor to check the books. 

As the tired but contented pair rode back to the ranch, the welcome smell of Daisy’s cooking greeted them. With the promise of a good meal the two men made short work of seeing to their horses and heading to the house, only to be greeted by Daisy who sent them straight back out to wash the trail dust off. A few minutes later, two somewhat cleaner ranchers sat down to enjoy the hearty meal. 

Wanting to pamper her sons and treat her guests before they set out, Daisy had once again made one of her famous apple pies. Everyone around the table appreciated this offering, but when Slim indicated second helpings would be welcome, Daisy admonished him, saying she had baked an extra one but it was still too hot from the oven, and besides, it was for James and Jess to take with them the next day. 

“Hey, that ain’t fair. I may be staying here but I’m gonna be doing double chores for the next few days. I’m going to need feeding up.” 

“Uh, huh, Slim. You get any more feeding up; and you’re likely to need a whole new rig out before long.” Jess laughed. 

Slim was tempted to argue more, but instead he kept his own council. So far Jess was still ignorant of the fact that Marie Rose was joining her father on the trip, and Slim would well and truly get his revenge when Jess realised he’d been had. 

Daisy was fairly sure poor Jess had been tricked into being the guide on the trip, but knew that the two young men often waged a war of good natured one up-man ship. It was one of the many facets of their relationship that had bound them together and ensured the strong friendship and brotherhood the two men enjoyed. She had long ago decided that it was better not to intervene when one of them was hatching a plot to ensnare or embarrass the other. 

“It’s alright, Slim once you’ve finished feeding the horses in the barn, I’ll have an extra piece of pie for you to. I did keep some back.” Daisy smiled benevolently at the two men as they left the table to go about the last of the chores before settling down for the evening. 

Mike and Marie Rose had disappeared the moment the meal was finished. The two youngsters were eager to try out the latest in a series of inventions aimed at discouraging the local racoon population from raiding Daisy’s kitchen. The only problem lately was that the only victim of the elaborate traps and alarms seemed to have been one unfortunate dark haired member of the household. 

For the most part, he had been good-natured about it, after the initial shock wore off. Though noted for having a quick temper, Jess was also very tolerant of children, the lost child in him making him feel both a strong kinship and a protectiveness towards them in general, and Mike in particular. 

When Jess had been little more than a child himself, he had seen his own brothers burned to death in a raid.  Since he had made his home at the Sherman ranch, Slim had become his older brother while Andy and later Mike, had become his younger siblings in his heart and life.  

Now Jess, having finished his chores, looked about anxiously for the two mischievous children. Seeing no sign of them, he visibly relaxed and headed to the barn where he had seen Slim heading to earlier. 

Just a few strides from the barn, something caught his eye to the right of the barn door. He veered off to investigate, a mischievous glint in his eyes.  Stopping directly in front of the object of his attention, he glanced quickly around to check no one was watching. ‘ Well, Slim I gotcha this time.  Fancy leavin’ your extra piece of apple pie out here in full view.  Never know when someone might be passin’ and take a fancy to another piece.’   Jess looked around again and seeing no one in sight, he reached forward to pick up the pie, a self-satisfied grin on his face. 

 His attention focused entirely on the pie and the thought of Slim’s face when he realised it was gone, Jess failed to notice the small arrangement of wood and cord that the plate rested on. If he had, he may have followed the lever and pulley system through to the far end of the construction and been a little more cautious in his actions. 

Poor Jess had only partially straightened up, his prize in hand, when WHUMP, he was hit squarely in the chest by a flying paper bag full of flour. Jess felt like he’d been punched hard in the ribs as the air was forced out of his lungs. To make matters worse, the missile burst on impact, and as Jess struggled to draw in air he found himself choking on flour as it billowed in a cloud about his head, filling his nose, mouth and lungs. 

The cussing that followed between bouts of coughing and gasping would have embarrassed a seasoned sailor. The air was positively blue.  “God damn varmints” ‘cough’. “Where the hell” ‘gasp’  “are they? I’m gonna—” 

“JESS!” Daisy’s voice commanded sternly. She had appeared as if by magic as Jess had literally exploded. It was taking all of her will power to keep from laughing out loud at the sight that greeted her. “You watch yourself, young man. You’re not so old that I can’t wash your mouth out with soap and water. I won’t have swearing, and you know it.” 

Blue eyes sparking with anger, Jess looked about to argue, but one look at Daisy’s stern features dissuaded him. “I’m sorry, Daisy, but you seen what happened. Those two are a menace. Someone needs to teach them how to behave.” 

The two terrors in question had appeared magically the moment the trap was triggered and then seeing that the victim was not the intended bandits but a very irate Jess, they had just as quickly disappeared, and were currently nowhere to be found.  

Slim had appeared at the door of the barn and was staring with undisguised mirth at his partner. Jess’ normally black hair was white enough to do justice to a grandfather, his face and clothes looked like he had just come in from a winter blizzard. 

“Now, Jess, I’m sure the children weren’t intending for their little trap to catch you. They are just trying to help save my pies from those awful racoons,” Daisy soothed. 

“I already told them not to set anymore traps near the house, Daisy. It seems they don’t listen so good.” Although still obviously angry, Jess seemed a little calmer now that he had stopped coughing and was able to breathe again. 

“Jess, that trap was over by the barn, it’s nowhere near the house.” Slim reasoned. “Besides, what were you doing’ walking straight into it like that?” 

   

“That ain’t fair, Slim and you know it.” Jess fidgeted uncomfortably, and then a wicked glint formed in his eyes as he turned to his partner. “Anyways, I hope you still feel all reasonable like when you know it was you’re piece of pie I was rescuing when I released the trap.” 

“MY PIE!” Slim bellowed. “How come you were picking up my pie?” 

Jess had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I figured you’d put it down and forgotten it. I was just gonna bring it to you.” 

“I just bet you were.” Slim stood with hands on hips trying to look intimidating, when all the while all he wanted to do was roll over and give in to a big belly laugh. Jess was a real sight. Just for one brief moment he felt sorry for his partner and was tempted to tell him that Marie Rose was accompanying her father on the trip. He was about to offer to be the guide instead. Then it dawned on him that his best friend had had every intention of eating his seconds of apple pie and Slim decided that Jess deserved everything that Marie Rose could dish out. 

Now it was Daisy’s turn to question Jess’s intention with the pie. “Jess you weren’t thinking of eating that pie were you? It’s a piece I dropped on the floor earlier, so I gave it to Mike to help in their test. Don’t you fret, Slim your piece is still in the kitchen, and there was another piece for you, Jess but I’m not so sure you deserve it after that language I’ve just heard.” 

“Aw, Miss Daisy,” Jess appealed contritely, his eyes fixed on the ground “I’m sorry. But you got to admit I had reason.” 

“There is never a reason to use bad language. However, if you get yourself cleaned up and promise to behave, I might be able to find you a piece.” 

“But I’ve had a bath twice this week already.” Jess protested. 

“No you ain’t,” Slim chimed in, enjoying watching his best friend’s discomfiture. “You had a bath on Saturday.”    

“I was countin’ that extra soak in the horse trough Mike and Marie Rose arranged.” Jess practically snarled at his friend. 

Now Slim’s face cracked in a wide smile, as he fought hard not to burst out laughing.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot that one. Well, partner, I reckon you’re going to have to go jump straight back into it again, or else Daisy isn’t going to be letting you back into the house.” 

As a dejected and defeated Jess went off to enjoy his third bath in what he was rapidly coming to think of as possibly the worst week of his life, Daisy and Slim gave in to laughter. 

Mike and Marie Rose re-appeared while Jess was cleaning himself up and the two children apologised to Daisy and Slim, explaining that they hadn’t intended to catch Jess. The trap had been set up so that the bag of flour would hit the side of the barn and bursting open, the cloud of flour would frighten the racoons off. They hadn’t counted on Jess being the one to spring the trap. 

“I know you didn’t intend to catch Jess.” Daisy stated as she wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. “And I’m sure Jess will realise that too once he calms down, but it is getting late and it might be better if you both went to bed now. By the morning, it will all be forgotten.” 

Both children knew that James intended to have an early start in the morning, and Mike wanted to be there to say goodbye to Marie Rose before she left on the field trip. He had tried appealing to Daisy to let him go too, but she had said he had school to attend, and anyway Jess would have enough to cope with without worrying about him as well. Obediently the two youngsters retreated to bed, agreeing with Daisy that it would probably be better to stay out of Jess’ way for now.

Chapter Five 

The Sherman household had risen with the dawn and Daisy, who had been up well before anyone, insisted they all have a full breakfast before they started their day.  Then while Jess and Slim groomed the horses and hitched up the team to the wagon, James and Marie Rose, with a little help from Mike, checked and re-checked the wagon’s cargo. 

Slim, encouraged by Jess, had tried taking a peek under the tarpaulin lashed across the back of the wagon, but the jumble of wood and material they could see meant little to either man. Slim slapped Jess gently on his shoulder. “Well, reckon you’ll find out what its all about soon enough, Pard.”  

As Jess returned from the barn with Traveller, Daisy appeared with a picnic basket packed to the brim with chicken and pies. James climbed up onto the wagon seat and reaching behind it he placed the basket securely under the seat. “Thank you, Daisy. That basket feels heavy. You must have baked enough to feed an army.” 

“It’s just a little food to help you out. Jess’ trail cooking doesn’t exactly count as appetising.” 

“Hey, Slim’s never complained about it.” Jess’ face wore a pained expression. 

“That’s cause I was still trying’ to chew my way through it,” laughed Slim. “I hope you’ve left some of that good cooking’ for Mike and me, Daisy.” 

“Now don’t you worry, Slim, there’s plenty left, and James, don’t you let Jess here eat all of that chicken. You make sure that you and Marie Rose get your fair share.” 

Jess, now mounted on Traveller, turned a shocked frown towards Slim, but before he could utter a word, Slim was helping the young girl onto the wagon seat. “There you go. Now you take care of Jess and your father for me won’t you?” 

Wheeling his horse back to face his partner, Jess kept his voice calm, even though the sparks in his eyes told Slim he was far from calm at that moment. The only thing Slim couldn’t figure out was whether Jess was angry or frightened or both. 

“Hang on, Slim I thought you said this trip was just James. It ain’t safe for a little girl out there,” Jess bluffed. 

James answered for Slim. “I’m afraid this is my decision, Jess. I need Marie Rose to help me with the field tests.” 

Jess’ blue eyes sparked fire as he looked from Slim to James and back again. His cheeks burned red with controlled anger. “It ain’t that long ago that we had Indians off the reservation raiding the ranches further out. We would be a prime target for them” he didn’t directly say that Marie Rose, as a young female could be taken for trade or worse, but Slim knew what he meant when his gaze flicked in her direction. 

“That was months ago, Jess. The ones concerned were rounded up and either sent back to the reservation or jailed at Fort Wellman. It’s about as safe out there as it’s ever going to get, and besides, I’ve been through this conversation several times already with the good Doctor here. He is adamant he needs Marie Rose along.” 

The glare the younger man threw at Slim spoke volumes. It was now obvious to him that Slim had neatly tricked him into this, and retribution would be swift and sure when he got back. 

Desperately, Jess tried one last gambit. “Look, I’m with you. I can help with these tests of yours. Just tell me what’s needed and I’ll do it. I may not be Marie Rose, but I ain’t stupid.” 

“I’m sure you would be more than capable, Jess, but you don’t understand. Some of the equipment has been constructed for someone of Marie Rose’s size and weight. There isn’t the time to redesign it now, and besides, she has trained and practised for a long time before coming here for this. While I have no doubt you could learn as well, it would take weeks. No, there is no choice. Marie Rose and I have talked this through, and she is happy to come. It’s our decision, so I’m sorry, while I appreciate your concern; Marie Rose is coming with us.” 

Jess set his jaw in what Slim recognised as his stubborn tilt and said tightly, “And what if I refuse to guide you. I’m not prepared to risk her even if you are.” 

“JESS!” Daisy’s anxiety showed in her voice, and then she controlled herself and spoke more quietly. “I don’t like this any more than you do, But James has the right to decide what his daughter should do.” Then she turned to James. “Are you absolutely certain about this?” 

 “Jess, Daisy, I love Marie Rose. I wouldn’t risk her unless she was vital to the completion of my work. I have no choice in setting the test up in the mountains and years of work have gone into this. If the test doesn’t take place, the army will withdraw their support. Besides, the General at the fort assures me the Indian uprising is settled and there is no risk now. Jess, I would be a lot happier if you came along, but make no mistake, with or without you, Marie Rose and I will be heading out.” 

With a look of appeal Jess glanced at his partner. Slim shook his head, “If I go, Jess you’ll have to deal with the stage line accountant. It’s up to you, but if you won’t act as guide, I will, cause I can’t let them go out there alone.” Despite now feeling somewhat guilty over tricking Jess into accepting the job, he recognised that is was too late to change the plans now. More quietly, he added for Jess’ ears alone, “Besides, Pard, if you do run in to any trouble out there, you’re the better man with the gun.” 

Fortunately, despite his own genuine anxieties and annoyance at being so neatly out manoeuvred, Jess realised this also. Biting his lower lip, he gave a sharp nod of acquiescence. “Alright I’ll do it, but don’t expect me to be happy about it. Let’s go,” he ordered more sharply than he intended. Reining his horse around he urged it forward into a gentle trot, not looking back to say his farewells or check if the loaded wagon was following.

Slim reached up and shook James’ hand, then he smiled at Marie Rose. “Don’t worry any, Jess has a quick temper, but he ain’t stupid and he doesn’t stay riled for long, you’ll see. Give him a couple of miles and he’ll be back to his usual friendly self.” 

“I’m sure everything will be fine. I don’t blame Jess, he does have a point, and I’m sure those times he has been caught up in some of Marie Rose’s escapades haven’t helped. Well, we’ll see you all in a week’s time, hopefully with some good news.” James smiled his farewell and, clicking the wagon’s reins, he urged the team forward to follow Jess, with Marie Rose waving enthusiastically at Slim, Daisy and Mike, until they were out of sight round the bend in the road. 

In fact, apart from issuing curt directions, Jess spoke barely more than ten words to James and his daughter all morning. Oh, he did his job, and did it well, leading them up towards the foothills and the mountain passes by the best and safest routes, but he stubbornly maintained his distance from them, and spoke only when the need arose. 

In truth, his temper did settle after only the first hour on the trail, as the peaceful countryside soothed his rattled nerves and allowed him to think more clearly. He accepted that he had allowed himself to be tricked into the job, but heck, he had done similar and worse to Slim on occasion. He also accepted that Slim was right about him being more adept with a six gun and therefore more able to protect the small party should the need arise, and if the army was to be believed there shouldn’t be a problem anyway. 

Yet still he felt uneasy about this trip. He knew part of his initial reaction was a dislike, or if he was totally honest, a fear, of being at the mercy of an infatuated Marie Rose for a week or more. He realised he had been out of order that morning and he should have apologised to James, but, embarrassed and more than a little bit stubborn, he steadfastly avoided both of them. 

As the sun past the high point of noon and began to slip into afternoon, James called out to Jess. “Mister Harper, don’t you think we should be stopping for a somewhat late midday break? I’m afraid we Easterners aren’t as robust as you.” 

Guiltily, Jess pulled his horse to a stop. He hadn’t meant to keep riding through the whole day, but he had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts he had indeed lost track of time. Pushing his hat back on his head, he squinted up at the sun, and then looked around. He recognised where they were and knew that just up ahead was a small watering hole, sheltered by some trees. Even in the hottest of summers the oasis had managed to retain some water. 

Hell, how could he be so thoughtless? He was feeling the stresses of the day himself, so how did James and Marie Rose feel. Jess nodded and clearing his throat, he finally broke his sullen silence. “Sorry,” he said, more gruffly than he intended. “There’s a waterhole up ahead. It’ll be a good place to stop. We’ve made good time; perhaps you’d like to make camp for the night.” He offered this by way of a gesture of apology. 

Leaning across to her father, Marie Rose spoke softly. Her father smiled and nodded his agreement. “Thank you for the offer, but just a half hour to stretch our legs and freshen up is all we need. We are as eager as you appear to be to get there, get the job done and get back.” 

‘Was his unease at the situation that obvious?’ Jess thought. Marie Rose may have caused him a few embarrassing moments, but nothing had been hurt except his pride and that only slightly. Heck, he’d been responsible for a lot worse pranks on Slim and Jonesy in the past. ‘Time to lighten up’ he told himself. From now on in he’d make an effort to be more sociable. He actually liked James and his daughter, so perhaps he had been allowing himself to get all worked up over nothing. 

Once they reached the watering hole Jess did his best to start patching up the hurt feelings of his two companions. He went out of his way to set up a comfy camp, boiling the water for coffee and cooking some beans to go with the fried chicken Daisy had packed in their ample supplies. As they ate, he made a point of indulging in easy conversation, but he noticed that Marie Rose was still quiet and far from her usual energetic self and refused to be drawn into the conversation. 

As they finished, James stood, ready to pack up and move on. Jess, recognising he was the main cause for the unease he could feel all around him, he swallowed his pride and spoke up. “Look, Doc, I reckon I was out of order back there. Ain’t any of my business what you and your daughter choose to do?” Jess kept his eyes fixed on the ground; his thick lashes veiling his eyes. “I’d understand if’n ya don’t cotton to me bein’ your guide, but as Slim said, there ain’t much option right now. I’m willin’ to try and make things a mite easier here, cause it’s obvious Marie Rose ain’t feelin’ too happy with this bad feelin’ in the air.” 

A hand was thrust into Jess’ line of vision. “All right, Jess. I guess I was being a little defensive too. Marie Rose is my life and I wouldn’t take risks with her unless there was no alternative. But you know she has put as much into this project as I have. She deserves to see it completed.” 

Lifting his head up, Jess found himself looking directly into James’ smiling face. He took the pro-offered hand and found his own grasped firmly and shook vigorously. James continued to speak. “Right, now that’s settled, I think we owe you an apology to.” 

“Huh?” Jess was confused, “How come?” 

“It must have been a little rough on you these past weeks. Marie Rose’s little experiments just seemed to seek you out. If the truth were known, I think some of those accidents were more than accidental.” 

“They were?” Jess asked, now beginning to feel a little vindicated in some of his anger. 

“Don’t worry. I’ve had a little talk with her. I think she has a little crush on you, and just wanted to gain your attention.” 

Jess felt his cheeks burning. This conversation was becoming a little embarrassing.

“It don’t matter none now, best forget it,” he managed to stammer out despite the way his mouth had gone dry. 

Unfortunately James seemed oblivious to Jess’ discomfort. “I promise you there will be no more little episodes, but I do think she should apologise for all the embarrassments she caused you.” 

‘Yeah, just like her father I guess’ thought Jess. “Look, I think she’s got the point. Maybe we should forget it now.” Jess stated hopefully. Unfortunately that was not to be. Almost as if on cue, Marie Rose joined them. 

“Are we packing to move on now?” she addressed her father, keeping her eyes averted from Jess. 

James shook his head, “Not yet,” he said, and then continued quickly before she could move off again. “I believe you had something to say to Jess here.” 

Marie Rose felt her cheeks begin to flush. At that moment Jess felt very sorry for the self-conscious girl. He knew exactly how she felt. “Look, it ain’t important. I’ve got to take–,” he was cut of before he could make his excuse for a quick get away. 

He fidgeted from foot to foot, fighting the urge to run. Right at that moment he wanted to strangle James for putting him in this situation. He loved kids, but Marie Rose, just at the start of becoming a woman was something Jess felt ill equipped to deal with. 

“I suppose so,” uttered the small quiet voice. She kept her head down, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground. “I’m sorry, Jess. I never meant to embarrass or hurt you. I’m sorry too for being an inconvenience on this trip.” A small catch could be heard in her soft voice. 

“I never said that,” Jess started to reply, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him right then and there. “I was just worried about you, that’s all.” 

“Then you don’t mind me being here with you?” The youngster still had her eyes fixed downwards but Jess was aware something had changed. He just wasn’t quite sure what. 

“Nope. I don’t mind one bit. But,” he tried to keep his voice stern, “no more experiments or tricks.” 

“I promise, Jess.” Then she lifted her face and he saw the laughter and mischief dancing in her eyes. “But only a few of them were meant to catch you out, most of them were just accidents. Though you did look really funny when the flour sack hit you, you know.” 

Briefly the anger rose again, and then a rumble of laughter started down in his chest, and Jess’ face broke into a big smile as his deep laughter filled the air. “Reckon I did look kinda funny at that. You sure Slim didn’t get you to set me up.”

Marie Rose looked momentarily startled, and then her own laughter mingled with Jess’. James looked on and felt the earlier tension drain away as the casual friendship re-established itself. 

The happier atmosphere allowed all of them to relax and when Jess again suggested that maybe they could set up camp for the night, this time James agreed readily. While the Doctor settled down to checking and re-checking the seemingly endless pages of drawings and calculations, Marie Rose tagged along with Jess watching him as he set up the rudiments of a safe night camp. 

She seemed interested and eager to learn just what was required to survive on the trail out West. Jess felt uncomfortable at first, remembering what her father had said about her having a crush on him, but as she asked more questions, he found himself able to regard her as another Mike. A young child eager to learn and help, instead of the two-headed monster he had brought to life in his harassed mind. 

By the time Jess was ready to prepare the evening meal she had proven herself to be a quick learner and a willing helper. She had even managed to teach Jess something new about surviving on the trail. They had come across a rotting log and Marie Rose had lifted it to find some fungus growing beneath it. 

She had exclaimed with delight and started picking some. “This will be wonderful in with the remains of the chicken Daisy sent with us.” 

“They’ll likely as not poison us, Marie Rose. Best leave them be.” Jess had prompted quickly, but the young girl had continued to pick them and hold them in the hollow of her skirt as she lifted the hem with her free hand. 

“It’s all right, Jess. When I used to wait for my father to finish work at the university, I started reading the books that were in the library. I read quite a few on Botany and Plants and Fungi. I sort of got real interested in them. These are Strop aria rugosoannulata. They are certainly not poisonous.” She looked expectantly at Jess, waiting for him to help. 

“They’re what?” he asked, not even attempting to get his tongue around the strange name she had used. Jess had eaten many strange things when forced to live off the land in difficult times, he’d even made a meal of rattlesnake on occasion, but he’d never resorted to fungus. Once when he was a child, he’d heard of a family that had been real sick, one of the young ones actually dying, and he’d heard his mother say to a neighbour that they’d eaten some type of fungus by mistake. The memory had stayed with him and he’d studiously avoided any sort of fungus as a food supply, no matter how hungry he was. 

“Oh, sorry. That’s their Latin name. You’d know them as wine cap edible mushrooms. Honestly, they are very tasty and very safe,” she tried to re-assure him. 

Still looking sceptical, Jess decided that he’d best try and help, since he was supposed to be making an effort to re-build the child’s confidence in him. “All right,” he bent to pull up the rest, “but let’s not put them straight in the pot, wait until I’ve checked that your father’s happy to eat them.” What he meant was that he wanted a second opinion before risking any of them eating, but Marie Rose seemed quiet happy with this. 

“That’s fine, Jess,” she smiled at him. “Father loves mushrooms.” 

Later, when they had returned to camp, Jess had told Marie Rose to go wash her find. Once she was out of earshot he produced one of the mushrooms for James to inspect. “Marie Rose picked these. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings again, but she’s planning on adding them to the chicken stew.” 

Smacking his lips in appreciation, James had said,” Oh, wonderful, they are quite rare, but very tasty.” 

“You mean we can eat them?” Jess sounded incredulous. 

“Oh, yes. We most certainly can. I think you’ll find them very tasty, especially with chicken. You look concerned, Jess. Why?” James waited patiently for a reply. 

“I always thought these things could kill you,” Jess finally stated. 

“You’re quite right. Some of the varieties are deadly. You have to be very careful which you eat and even when in their growth you eat them. If Marie Rose says they are edible, then they will be.” 

“I guess you’ve taught her a lot since her mother wasn’t around to raise her.” The young rancher still wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to risk any of them falling sick this far from town. 

“Quite the contrary,” James laughed. “Marie Rose is an accomplished mycologist. She has taught me what little I know.” 

Uncertain just what it was James had just called his daughter, but hoping that it meant she knew what she was talking about when it came mushrooms, Jess gave in. But he acknowledged to himself that Marie Rose was in some ways more mature than the average child and he would at least pay some attention to what she said in future. 

Dropping down next to James, Jess watched as the young girl prepared her find. James lapsed into silence and Jess leant back against the still warm rocks and idly chewed on a piece of long grass he’d plucked. After a few minutes Jess turned towards him, wondering just what plans he was mulling over now. 

Feeling the younger man’s eyes on him James spoke. “How long before we reach the high passes?” 

Jess squinted his eyes against the evening sun he followed the doctor’s gaze towards the distant peaks. High above him he could see the distant speck of an eagle as it swept majestically down towards the foothills searching for prey. 

“On horse back alone we could take the faster trail, but with the wagon I’m afraid we’ll have to take the longest route, through the passes and then crossing back and forth to climb up towards the peaks. It’s an old mining road and hasn’t been used regular for a year, but it was still passable by wagon a few months ago. Ain’t no reason to think otherwise now. We’ll need to go slow and careful towards the end though, so I reckon it’s gonna take us three maybe four days.” 

A soft sigh escaped James before he spoke again. After so many years of planning and developing he was eager now to reach his goal. “That long,” he said, as a statement rather than a question. Again his eyes followed the eagle as it swept lower towards them. Now they could make out the white tipped span of its wings as the large hunter rode the thermals in slow circles, its keen eyes scanning the lower cliffs and meadows.  

“I don’t suppose it would take that majestic creature more than a few hours to go from the highest mountain top down towards Laramie. I sometimes try to imagine what it would be like to see the world from an eagle’s vantage point” As he spoke, James waved his arm vaguely in the direction of the circling eagle. 

Jess’ life had been harsh, until he had met Slim. He had never allowed himself to dream, or indulge his imagination in flights of fancy and games of ‘what if’, so now he answered James in a serious manner, a simple statement of fact. “As the crow flies, it’s probably only three, four hours, but we ain’t crows so I guess we go the long route.” 

Not to have his musings so quickly dismissed, James threw Jess a sideways glance, taking in the relaxed features and closed eyes as Jess allowed himself to rest a minute and let go the tensions of the day. “Don’t you ever dream, Jess. Don’t you ever try to imagine what it would be like to be like that eagle? I do,” James stated simply. “I try to think how it must feel when the wind lifts and buffets you up there. An eagle seems to be able to see its prey from a great distance and from that high up it must see us as insignificant specs down in the dust. It doesn’t have to go days out of its way to avoid obstacles like rivers and mountains. It simply flies over them. Yes,” James concluded, “I often wonder what it would feel like to be like an eagle.” 

Sensing the enthusiasm in the doctor’s voice, Jess opened his eyes and looked across at him. A soft snort of laughter escaped him as he spoke. “Doc, I ain’t got much of an imagination I guess, or very little time to spare for day dreaming. But I do know this, if God had meant us to fly, he’d have given us wings. I reckon I’d rather keep my feet firmly on the ground, ‘ceptin when I’m riding on four legs of course.” 

James sat up and stared at Jess. “You know, life can get awful dull without a dream, a goal to aim for.” He said quietly, unable to comprehend the sort of life experiences a person must have had that would take away their ability to imagine and dream.  “Some of the greatest advances in history have happened because someone dared to imagine them possible.” 

Raising himself up on his elbows, Jess looked James squarely in the eyes.

“I didn’t say I don’t have my plans, my goals in life, Doc. But let’s just say mine are a little more realistic.”

Arching his eyebrows in question, James responded, “Like what?” 

Jess didn’t respond instantly, taking his time to find the words that would best express his feelings. When he finally did speak, James instantly picked up on the emotional charge in the young rancher’s voice.  “Reckon for a long time after I lost my family, I jest wanted to feel nothing’, to stop caring for anyone, so I wouldn’t have to feel that pain again.” 

Jess stopped then, hesitating to say more. He liked James, but Jess was a very private man when it came to his personal life. It had taken him a long time to open up to Slim, and then only slowly, letting his memories and pain out a drop at a time, like the life blood they were to him. 

Recognising this, James spoke again. “I guess I can relate to that. When my wife died, I fell apart, but I had a young daughter to care for, and no one else to do it. At first I was just going from day to day, not allowing myself to feel love or give it. But bit-by-bit, I started to live again. It’s kind of hard not to when a young child depends on you, and keeps loving you unconditionally.” What James really wanted to ask was how Jess’ family had died, and what had happened to him afterwards, but he decided not to push the subject. 

It was a good job he didn’t because Jess would have slammed the conversational doors shut right there and then. Even Slim, the man he regarded as a brother, had not been told the gruesome details of the young Jess’ life after his family had been burned to death. The hurt was still too near the surface and it would be a long time, if ever, before Jess would be able to talk about it. 

Swallowing hard, Jess continued, keeping his eyes fixed on the eagle far above.

“Anyways, I sort of drifted into Slim’s life and that’s when I started to allow myself to dream, to hope a little again. Guess the need, the dream had always been there. It took one Slim Sherman and his brother Andy to make me recognise it.” 

Again Jess’ voice trailed away into silence, but just as James thought that the conversation was ended Jess gave a soft sigh and spoke again. “I reckon my dream found me before I even realised I had one. I’ve a family and a home now, a place I belong and people who care about whether I come back or not. I have my dream, now all I gotta do now is hold onto it real tight.” 

“It’s a lucky man that recognises when he has the most important thing he could ever hope to have. I guess maybe you do have you’re dream, Jess and don’t you let no one take it from you.” James eyes turned to Marie Rose as she prepared the mushrooms. He understood just how important it was to have a home and someone who cared and he meant every word he had said to Jess. 

Jess gave a barely perceptible nod and stood to move away. James had to strain to hear the words Jess said as he walked of. “Reckon I’ve got everything I’ve ever dreamed of, and I’d die to protect it if I had to.”

Chapter Six      

The weather stayed with the trio as, over the next two days, they made their way up towards the higher peaks. An easy, confident friendship developed between the three as they learned to trust each other. 

Jess had been pleasantly surprised at the taste of the stew Marie Rose had produced, and even happier when his health had remained intact and his dinner had stayed in his stomach. He was impressed enough to compliment the young girl and to ask her to show him a little of her knowledge about the fungus in the area. 

Still caught up in her infatuation for the heroic figure she had developed in her mind, she spent more and more time riding with the handsome man close by. 

This time Jess didn’t find it objectionable, allowing himself to fall easily into the role of big brother, as he did with Mike. He spent their time together pointing out things of interest in the area, identifying animal tracks and the natural hazards that abounded and lay in wait for the tenderfoot. 

For her own part, Marie Rose reciprocated, telling Jess about her interest in fungi and weaving stories about her travels with her father. Jess didn’t mind, it helped to pass the time, and in fact he surprised himself, as he found himself actually interested and learning from what she had to say. Whenever the child identified a fungus they found, or pointed out places where they might grow, he found himself asking questions about them. Since tasting those Marie Rose had added to the stew, he found he actually liked them.    

Over the next few days they travelled on like this, relaxing in the beauty of their surroundings and the easy company. Every night once camp had been set up, James would pour over the figures he’d been busy scribbling down during the day, or working with the materials stored in the wagon bed. Marie Rose would share her time between helping her father with his work and helping Jess set up the camp. The rancher and the young girl seemed to get enjoyment from each other’s company now that they had an unspoken agreement about respecting each other’s feelings. 

The mounting excitement in James and his daughter was a palpable thing, as each day brought them closer to their destination. 

Back at the ranch, life was too busy for the occupants to sit and worry about how Jess and his charges were fairing. Slim was trying to prepare the books for the audit and to keep the routine jobs of the ranch under control. Mike did his best to help, but he was; after all, only a child and his schoolwork must take priority over ranch work. 

One of their neighbours dropped by to help with the stage when it arrived and was also keeping an eye on the Sherman cattle that were in the higher summer pastures, since his own were close by. Slim had had cause, more than once, to be grateful for the network of support the ranchers around Laramie gave to each other at such times. No money was ever exchanged, just an unwritten agreement that such favours would be returned when needed.Daisy missed the mischief and company of her wilder ‘son’, but she busied herself with the house and cooking, giving time to making preserves from the summer’s bounty that would help see them through the winter. It was obvious that Mike missed his playmate,  but it was even more obvious he missed his big brother, who in many ways was as big a child as Mike at times, and not adverse to joining Mike in some of his more mischievous adventures. 

But it was at night, Daisy had noted, that Slim seemed to miss his best friend and partner most of all. He was unable to settle after supper into his comfortable chair on the porch, unable to settle without the comforting presence of Jess in the chair next to him, missing their long relaxed chats that the end of the day brought. Keeping busy seemed the way they all had decided to cope with Jess’ absence. 

Still, as Daisy reminded, Mike and Slim and herself for that matter, Jess wasn’t off doing anything reckless. He would be perfectly safe and back in the loving bosom of his family within a week or so. That thought had settled their minds and they had carried on with their lives, knowing that soon the family would be complete again. 

That was until Mort had come by just two days after Jess had departed, accompanied by an army major. Slim had been mucking out the barn when he heard the sound of the horses coming into the yard. Careful as ever, he had strapped on his gun belt before he had gone out to greet the new arrivals. 

He was surprised to see it was the Sheriff, but even more surprised to see that he was accompanied by the military. “Howdy, Mort, Major.” Slim inclined his head slightly at the new man, recognising the insignia from his army days. “Something I can do for you?” 

Mort looked worried, and Slim felt a growing sense of unease, but he waited for Mort to speak. “Are the others around?” Mort eventually asked after he had dismounted. 

“Daisy and Mike are inside,” Slim answered easily, “Care to come in for some coffee?” he offered. 

“We’d like to, Slim but first I think we need to talk, and I don’t want to worry the others.” Corey turned to the man beside him. “This is Major Sterling from Fort Gentry. Major, this is Slim Sherman, he owns this ranch with his partner Jess Harper” The Sheriff looked around, “Say, where is Jess, off avoiding work as usual?” 

Despite his growing unease, Slim joined in the jest, “Yep, he got the easy job as usual. He’s escorting the Doctor and his daughter on a field trip. Though knowing Marie Rose, Jess may not agree he’s got off lightly.” 

Slim visibly flinched as he saw the worry flare in Mort’s eyes and observed the looks exchanged between the two men. 

“We need to talk, Slim. We’ve got trouble, and Jess may have more.” Mort sounded really worried now. 

“Spit it out, Mort. What’s going on?” Slim stepped toward them, barely able to control his concern. 

Uncomfortable with what he had to say next, Mort shifted from foot to foot before finally forcing out the bad news he wished he didn’t have to deliver. “Major Sterling is here to warn the ranchers. We got Indian trouble, Slim. Some of the young bucks got restless and jumped the reservation. The army thinks they are headed this way.” 

Slims eyebrows arched and he glanced hastily towards the house, his first concern being for Daisy and Mike. “They hit anywhere yet?” 

“A few spreads between here and the fort have had horses and cattle taken, but no-ones been hurt. It doesn’t seem like they’re out for blood, just horses and cattle for food.” This time it was the Major who spoke. “Seems that the Indian agent had been holding back on the good beef and lining his own pocket. We think they are heading across the foothills into the mountains. Probably trying to getting enough stock together to winter in the hills before moving farther west.” 

 “A few of the ranchers towards the foothills have moved their families into town, just in case,” Mort supplied. “But the army feels the renegades are probably already in the foothills by now.” 

Grateful for small mercies, Slim’s frown relaxed a little. “You reckon it’s safe for Daisy and Mike to stay here?” 

“Shouldn’t be a problem, Slim.  It was because I knew of the doctor’s intention to head up unto the hills that I came out mainly. Seems we’re too late.” That simple statement of fact caused the frown to harden onto Slim’s features again. 

“Maybe I should send them into town and then, with them safe, I can head up after Jess and the others.” Slim made to move towards the house, but Mort’s hand snatched at his sleeve, pulling him back. 

“You’ve got the ranch and the relay station to run, Slim. Besides, one man ain’t gonna be much use.” 

“I can’t abandon Jess and the others. They won’t have any idea of the danger,” Slim protested. 

“Whoa now, son,” Mort’s voice, though sounding concerned, was commanding.       “You won’t do them much good heading off half cocked. Besides you’ve got the ranch and the others to take care of before you can do anything. Those Indians may be well into the foothills by now, but there ain’t no guarantee they won’t double back.” 

Slim’s fingers moved agitatedly on the butt of his gun and his frown deepened. “You can’t expect me to wait here and do nothing. This is Jess’ life we’re talking about, not to mention James and his daughter.” 

 “You think I don’t know that. Simmer down and hear what the major has to say. After that, if you still want to head out, then I won’t try to stop you.”

Slim glowered at the two men in front of him, but stayed in control enough to say, “Go ahead, say what ya have to.” 

Appreciative of the concern the young rancher had for his friend, the major went on to describe the situation as briefly as possible. “So you see, Mister Sherman, as soon as I leave here I’ll rejoin my troops. We’ll be heading straight up towards the mountains. I’ve already got scouts out picking up their trail. We should find them and round them up long before they could come across your friend and his party.” 

Torn between the need to stay and protect Daisy and Mike, and wanting to find his friend, his best friend; and make sure he was safe, Slim looked from one to the other uncertain what his next move should be. 

The decision was taken from him. Unnoticed by the three men deep in discussion, Daisy had appeared on the porch just after she had heard Mort’s voice in the yard. She had stood quietly by all this time, absorbing the information. Now she decided it was time she made her views known. 

“Slim?” At the sound of her soft voice all three men turned towards her. 

The two visitors tipped their hats. “Ma’am,” said the Major, acknowledging her presence. 

“Miss Daisy.” Mort responded, aware of Daisy’s astute mind and how she felt about her three adopted sons. He knew Daisy for the practical, supportive, loving woman she was, and acknowledged that if she had chosen to speak she must have something valuable to say. 

Stepping forward, Daisy placed a comforting hand on Slim’s arm and acknowledged the other men with a warm smile and a dip of her head. 

“Daisy, the Major here was just—,” Slim started to explain, reluctant to blurt everything out for fear of worrying Daisy. 

He needn’t have worried. Daisy’s soft tones interrupted him. “It’s all right, Slim, I heard everything. I could take Mike into town within the hour. We would be safe there, and from what I’ve heard the stock should be fine unattended. Jim Mortimer could come over each day and see to the horses and the stage.” 

Slim looked gratefully at his saviour. “You’re way ahead of me as usual, Daisy. Major, I know these hills. Have you any objection to me riding with you?” 

“I’m grateful for any help I can get, if it gets those renegades back on the reservation with the minimum of bloodshed,” the major explained, “But I can’t delay my departure for long.” 

“Don’t worry; I’m as eager as you to get up there. Daisy, how long will it take you to get ready?” Just knowing that Jess was in danger, Slim was itching to get underway, but he that Jess would never forgive him if he didn’t make sure that the rest of the family were safely taken care off. 

“It won’t take long to pack a few things for Mike and myself, Slim, but that needn’t delay you.” Daisy turned her most radiant smile on Mort, despite the knot of worry in her stomach. “Mort, won’t you be heading back to town shortly?” 

“I sure will, Miss Daisy. Towns filling up with rancher’s families that would rather feel safe until we know the armies got this situation under control,” he replied 

“Well then, if Mort doesn’t mind waiting, Mike and I can load up the buggy and go back to town with him. Why, we can even call on Jim on the way. It wouldn’t take us far out of our way.” 

Apart from the fact that Mort had a taste for Daisy’s apple pies and liked to keep in her good books, the Sheriff could see the sense in what the woman was saying. He had a high regard for Slim and Jess had come to earn that same respect. He was worried about him too, but hadn’t been able to see a way to leave his duties to head into the hills to help. At least this way, Slim would be able to set out right now. 

“I can’t see a problem with that, Miss Daisy.” Mort turned to Slim, “Well, boy, what you waiting for, go get your horse saddled up and get out of here.” 

Gratefully, Slim gave Daisy a hug, and then headed to the barn. “Thanks, Daisy, don’t you worry none, I’ll bring him back safe and sound.” 

 “I know you will. Now hurry up and get going. Mort will help me get the house secure,” Daisy called after him. 

At this point Mike had come out of the house, wondering where everyone was. As he came to stand by Daisy, he asked “Where’s, Slim going, Miss Daisy?” 

Daisy draped her arm around his small shoulders. “He’s helping the major here, Mike. Slim’s going to guide him up into the hills and the sheriff is going to escort us into town.” 

“Ain’t that where Jess is?” asked Mike, completely ignoring the part about town. 

“The word is isn’t that where Jess is, Mike; and yes, it is. Slim just might meet up with him.” Daisy continued to look in the direction of the barn. 

“Why are we going into town, Miss Daisy?” he asked as the rest of what Daisy had said registered in his mind. 

It was against Daisy’s nature to lie, but she didn’t want to worry Mike more than she had to. “Slim is likely to be away for a few days, and I thought it would be nice to go visiting.” 

“Do you think the Indians will come here then?” the astute child asked. 

 “No, Mike I don’t, and just how do you know about the Indians,” Daisy asked softly 

The young boy had the good grace to look at his feet. “I’m sorry, Miss Daisy, but the door was open, and you all was talking kind of loud.” 

Fondly Daisy squeezed his shoulder. “I guess we were, Mike. Now run along and start getting your clothes together. I’ll be there in a minute.” 

The boy started to do as he was told, but turned back at the last minute. “Miss Daisy, will Jess and Marie Rose and her father be alright?” 

“I’m sure they will be fine, Mike. They have Jess to look after them.” Daisy said aloud, but to herself she added.  ‘What’s worrying me is who will look after Jess’ 

The smile returned to Mike’s face and he headed back to the house. Daisy remained outside, watching with the sheriff as Slim joined the major and they both headed away to join the troop. Daisy had said a little prayer to herself, for all her families’ safe return. Then she took Mort’s arm and headed to the house also, “Come on, Mort, we’ve got some packing to do.” She forced herself to sound relaxed, but Mort knew exactly where her thoughts were. 

“Don’t worry, Miss Daisy, Jess may be stubborn and ornery at times, but he won’t let anything happen to James and his daughter. He’d die before he’d let any harm come them.” 

“I know that’s exactly what I’m worried about.” Then Daisy turned her thoughts away from her fears and set about preparing to leave, acting as confident as she could for Mike’s sake.

Chapter Seven 

The last day of travel had been hard. Even taking the longer wagon route had brought them to the point where the road, such as it was, rose dangerously, with rockslides and land slips a constant threat. 

Jess had been a little withdrawn, not giving Marie Rose the interest he had previously shown. The child had been telling him about the healing properties of some of the fungus and herbs she had picked on route the day before. Finally exasperated by his lack of response she asked pointedly what was wrong. 

“Sorry, I know I ain’t paying attention, but the road’s getting kinda rough here. Why don’t you ride with your father on the wagon? I’ll tie your pony to the back. If I ride ahead I can signal your father if the road looks to be too tricky.” Jess spoke patiently not wanting to worry the girl too much. 

Smiling, Marie Rose had done as she was asked. “That’s fine, Jess, perhaps at camp tonight I will be able to tell you all about these. They really are a wonderful find.”

 As Jess started to ride ahead, James had asked if anything was wrong. 

“Nope, just taking precautions,” Jess replied before continuing ahead. He couldn’t explain to himself why he was ill at ease, but he had learned to trust his instincts a long time ago; and thus far they had never let him down. 

He knew there were risks on this stretch of the track, but the weather had been dry so the risks weren’t that bad. Yet he couldn’t feel easy. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up, a reflection of what he was experiencing. Jess knew it was nonsense and yet he felt they were being watched. 

His eyes had been constantly scanning the area around them, looking for anything out of place that might be the cause of his bad feeling. He hadn’t seen or heard anything that would explain it, but the feeling persisted, as did the young rancher’s vigilance. 

It was James who called a halt to the day’s journey. A twist in the steeply climbing road brought them out onto a plateau, overlooking the wooded foothills in the distance. “Jess, can we stop for awhile? There are some readings I’d like to take.” 

Though the feeling of being observed still persisted, Jess reined in his horse and looked back over his shoulder. “Reckon it’s as good a place as any, but stay well back from the cliff edge, it doesn’t look too safe.” He called as he eyed the crumbling overhanging rocks, a look of doubtfulness of their stability etched on his weather beaten features. 

Jess quickly got a small fire going and put a pot of coffee on to boil. His nerve ends continued to tingle a warning, but though he kept scanning the surrounding area, he saw nothing to account for his edginess, ‘Perhaps a good cup of coffee will settle me down,” he thought. While the coffee boiled he watered the horses from the barrel they carried on the wagon. It was getting low, since it was last filled two days ago, but Jess reasoned it would last them until tomorrow, and he seemed to recall a water course a few miles up ahead, that, as far as he knew, had never dried up, even in the hottest of summers. 

With the horses groomed, fed and watered, Jess settled down to enjoy his coffee and keep an eye on the beans he’d put up for their midday meal. He watched with detached interest as James, aided by his daughter, moved around the cliff top, taking various measurements and writing them down. A few times Jess had reminded them to be careful when, in their enthusiasm for what they were doing, they forgot themselves and went dangerously close to the crumbling cliff edge. 

The vague unease of feeling someone’s eyes on him, he put down to the fact he was worried about the others, and gradually Jess relaxed a little more. But he didn’t finally relax fully until James and Marie Rose came over to join him in their midday meal. 

Jess dished up the meagre offering of beans, and they ate in silence, James scribbling down notes and conferring with his daughter excitedly. When it finally looked like they had finished with their work, Jess decided he needed to make it clear he wasn’t too happy with the way the two of them ignored his warnings to stay clear of the edge. 

“I wish you’d keep away from the edge, it doesn’t look too solid,” Jess admonished them both. “You pretty near scared me to death a few times there.”  He softened the reprimand with a smile. 

“Don’t worry so much. I’m used to working in such conditions. Some parts are sound enough, we both know what we’re doing,” James responded. 

“Maybe so, but keeping an eye on you two is making me old before my time.” Jess rose to clear camp, throwing the remains of his coffee onto the fire to quell the flames. 

Suddenly realising that their guide meant for them to move on, taking them a few more miles before dusk, James spoke up. “Jess, I think we’d like to stay here for a while. I need to take some more readings in the late afternoon. If they confirm my calculations from midday, we may have reached our destination.” 

Turning, Jess’s eyebrows raised in question. “Just what are you two looking for?” he asked, not really expecting a reply, given the secrecy they had maintained thus far around their field test. 

This time he was surprised however when James did venture an explanation of sorts.  “We’ve been measuring the updrafts of air and the temperatures. I have a theory about the winds and temperature changes. I think that as the sun warms the air it starts to rise and the colder air from higher up starts to drop to replace it. Do you recall that eagle we were watching the other day, and the way it seemed to circle, its wings outstretched without moving. I think that it was being held there by the warm air as it rose upwards.” 

“So why here?” Jess pushed further, intrigued and wanting to know more. 

“The sheer cliffs, Jess, seem to make the perfect focus for those movements of air. I guess the high walls act like a channel for them.” James trailed off, having said all he was going to, and perhaps more than he’d intended. It probably didn’t matter about the secrecy now. There was no-one around to let the secret slip out to, but he strongly suspected that if Jess knew just what he and Marie Rose intended to do, he would fight tooth and claw to stop them, given how he felt about the cliff edge. 

Briefly James had wondered if Jess had a ‘thing’ about heights, but then dismissed it as he had watched the rancher negotiate them around narrow tracks and sheer drops that would have had many people’s hair on end. He decided that Jess was just being cautious. He would have a fit if he knew just what the field test would entail. 

“All right, you’re the boss. But I’m gonna tether the horses to a line back yonder. The grazing is better there and it’s out of the direct sun. Then I’m going to scout around.” Jess hoped his voice wasn’t betraying the nervousness he was still trying to quell. 

Luckily James was too distracted, checking and re-checking again those all-important figures, so he merely nodded. Jess glanced across at Marie Rose. She was busy looking at whatever was stored under the tarpaulin covering half the back of the wagon. Satisfied, Jess left to set up the makings of an overnight camp and to try and settle his jittery instincts. 

Two hours later, Jess returned to camp. Marie Rose had kept the fire going and she handed him a strong cup of coffee. The young girl had quickly learned that Jess favoured a cup of coffee, and was always open to the offer of one. 

“Everything satisfactory?” James asked, not for one minute doubting what the answer would be. 

“Yep, real quiet. Couldn’t even scare us up some game. Reckon its beans tonight.” In fact it was the absence of any wildlife that had further rattled Jess’ nerves. They may be high up into the mountains, but they weren’t above the tree line, so there should be some game around. He wondered if there was a mountain lion around, but had found no tracks, from either human or animal predator. No matter that Jess had found nothing to cause him alarm, he still decided that he would sleep with one eye open that night. 

The small group settled early, James insisting it was important that he was up just before dawn. He needed to do some final measurements before setting up for the test.

Marie Rose curled up under the shelter of the wagon, watching the flames of the fire dance in the cold night air. She watched her hero as he continued to walk the perimeter of the camp, stopping only briefly to put more wood on the fire. Soon though, her eyelids grew heavy and she pulled the blankets up higher and drifted off to sleep. 

A restful night’s sleep continued to elude Jess however. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones, but he couldn’t pin the uneasy feeling down. As James’ gentle snores reached his ears, he decided he should at least try to settle and allow his body to rest even if his mind wouldn’t. 

Moving quietly, so as not to disturb the others, Jess moved his bedroll up against some rocks. From this point his back was protected, but he could survey the whole camp. Cradling his rifle in his arms, Jess’ blue eyes flickered round the camp again. Satisfied nothing was out of place; he pulled his hat down over his eyes and tried to shut his mind down enough to sleep. 

He hadn’t found out much from James or his daughter about tomorrow’s activities, but he reckoned that he would likely be faced with a busy day. Eventually Jess did doze lightly, though ready to become instantly alert. A skill honed by hard lessons learned from his years on the drift. 

The chill of the night settled on the camp and the sleepers pulled their blankets up higher, aware of the cold, even in their sleep. In the darkest part of the wooded area, shadows began to move, separating themselves from the blacker shapes of the trees. They moved forward on silent feet, their goal, the horses tethered to the line on the far side of the trees. 

Throughout the heat of the day, two of the renegades had shadowed the small party of whites, patiently waiting for the right time to strike. When the unsuspecting trio had set up camp, one of the renegades had gone back to fetch a few of the others. 

Just a few years ago, they would have been great in number, and would have struck without caution, claiming both the girl and the horses. But now they were few, the rest of their once great tribe, now only pale shadows of their former glory, as they languished on the white man’s reservation. 

The renegades had split into smaller raiding parties, both to confuse the army that was on their trail, and to steal as many horses and guns as they could. Taking captives would cost them time, and a gun battle could cost them lives. They were armed with knives and hunting bows, and although deadly accurate with them, they were no match for guns. 

There were five of them now, and they had waited silently as the camp settled. They wanted to get in and away with the much-desired horses before the travellers even knew they had been there. For a while it seemed that they were not going to be able to get to the horses without being seen, but at last the one with the gun had settled, and the camp was now quiet. 

Two remained high in the rocks overlooking the camp bows ready should they be needed. Using sign language, the other three spread out, and worked their way slowly towards the line of horses, intending to free them and lead them quietly off before mounting and riding away, their prizes safely secured. 

The horses stamped their hooves a little, catching a strange scent on the shifting breeze, but the Indians stayed upwind as much as they could, hoping to keep the animals quiet until the last second. 

The sound of the animals moving a little more than usual penetrated Jess’

half-awake mind, and he tilted his head to look out from under his hat brim at the horses. The renegades froze, remaining in position, but ready to strike should it be necessary. 

The horses had settled quickly again and Jess could see nothing amiss, so he hunkered over on to his side and pulled the blankets up higher. Under the shade of his hat his eyes remained open, his mind alert and waiting for any sign that the danger he sensed was most definitely real. Under the blankets his hand reached down to feel the reassuring shapes of his six-shooter and rifle. 

The minutes passed and again, signalling to each other, the renegades moved forward. One slipped to each end of the line and the third retreated into the nearby rocks, protecting the two until they had released their prizes. 

The line was almost cut free; one of the Indians had mounted the farthest horse and had taken the leads on two of the remaining three. It was then it all started to go to wrong. The other end of the line finally came free, and the second Indian went to mount the last horse. 

But Traveller recognised only one master, and this stranger trying to get on his back was not Jess. The faithful horse stepped nervously sideways, and when the Indian reached to grab the halter, Traveller reared backwards snorting in alarm. 

Instantly alerted Jess moved, lightening fast, drawing his six-shooter even as he rose and focused on the shadowy forms outlined in the moonlight. He fired a shot, narrowly missing the Indian still trying to climb onto the fractious horse. The shot hit the ground close to the nervous horse’s hooves and Traveller reared again, pulling from the Indians hands.       

Jess ran across the clearing and was on the Indian before he could run to one of the other less difficult mounts. The force of his body slamming into the Indian sent them both to the ground, perilously close to Travellers flaying fore legs. The frightened animal could stand no more and he turned and bolted into the night. 

Locked in a life or death struggle, Jess had no time to worry about it. He had to stop these men escaping with the rest of their horses. Jess rolled the lean body under him, getting the advantage. The Indian’s hands were locked on Jess’s wrists trying to prevent him from bringing the gun to bear. 

Across the clearing James had woken to the bedlam and instantly recognised the perilous situation. His first priority was Marie Rose, and he had moved to her side to find her awake and trembling. Quickly he dragged her under the wagon and flung a blanket over her, telling her to stay still no matter what. 

He moved away from her, keeping to the shadows of the wagon, hoping to reach the rifle Jess had let fall as he lunged at the renegade. It took only seconds to reach it, but to the frightened Easterner it seemed an eternity. 

Raising it to his shoulder, he then dropped it again. James had never shot anything in his life. His skill with a gun was limited to the odd sideshow clay pipe booth, and even then he had never hit the target. How was he supposed to take out the Indian in the melee of horses and men that now struggled across the clearing from him? 

Fortunately it appeared Jess had the upper hand. While the Indian beneath him struggled to stop the gun from turning towards him, Jess pulled his left hand back and delivered a haymaker to the renegade’s head, knocking him out with one blow. The Indian’s grip on Jess’ gun arm went slack and Jess turned, aiming to take out the other mounted warrior. 

He managed to get off one shot, winging the Indian before the rearing horse spoiled his next shot. Then he felt himself hit from behind, his gun was sent spinning from his hand. The third renegade had joined the fray. The breath was forced out of him as he hit the ground, and Jess struggled to turn under the weight that pinned him down, He felt his hair grabbed and his head was forced back exposing his vulnerable throat. 

From the corner of his eye he saw the glint of cold steel as the knife flashed downwards. Jess lashed backwards twisting his body frantically as he did so. The shot rang across the clearing at the same time as Jess moved, though the shot went wide it was enough to distract the Indian and Jess’ frantic manoeuvre brought his body away from the downward killing sweep. The blade missed his chest but he felt the cold steel bite deep into his left thigh, and couldn’t prevent the scream of agony that escaped as it slashed downwards, tearing muscle and sinew and scraping the bone. 

Jess’ vision blurred and he fell back heavily, frantically clutching at his burning left thigh. The renegade, freed from needing to stop Jess, moved to his fallen comrade and hauled him to his feet, guiding him to a horse.

James had seen Marie Rose move from under the wagon as she saw her hero fall under the onslaught, and he was torn between going to the stricken man and stopping Marie Rose placing herself in danger. Inevitably, he chose his daughter, but the moment he had pushed her back under the wagon, he rose to point the rifle at the Indian now mounted on one of the remaining horses. 

He was about to shoot, when another body interposed itself. Jess knew that somehow he had to try and save at least one horse. Without it then most likely the Easterners would die out here. He forced himself through the haze of pain and blood loss, to rise to his feet. Though it seemed impossible, he managed to stumble forward, grabbing at the leg of the nearest mounted renegade. 

The mounted man swung downwards, using the hilt of his knife as a club against the side of Jess’ head. Seeing stars again, still Jess held on, even as the nervous horse wheeled away from him, dragging him forward on his now useless left leg. 

James could see the bright red stain spreading rapidly on the stubborn man’s blue pants. “Jess, let go,” he shouted. “I can’t get a clear shot. Let go.” 

The frantic shout, if not the meaning of the words, must have penetrated the fog and drew Jess away from his one thought to drag the renegade from the last horse. He turned towards the voice, his blurred eyes seeking to focus on the source of the sound. 

Marie Rose, frightened for herself but even more fearful for her father and Jess, had again emerged from under the wagon. Her heart racing she looked around frantically, searching for anything she could use to help. 

Something caught her eye, a movement up in the higher rocks. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the figure rise, silhouetted in the moonlight. She saw the arm pull back as the bow was drawn and even as her eyes followed the line of flight and she realised the target, she screamed her warning as the arrow took flight. 

The young girl’s scream filled the air and Jess released his hold, hearing her need and sensing she was in danger. He twisted towards the sound of her cry and it was that last attempt to go to her aid that saved his life. 

The arrow flew true; its target the middle of the white mans back, in perfect line to pierce his heart. But Jess had turned and as his weight went onto his left leg it gave under him and threw him to the side. 

The last thing Jess Harper heard was Marie Rose when she screamed again as she saw the arrow bury itself into the back of Jess’ right shoulder. Then pain assaulted his senses and the threatening blackness finally took him into its arms.

Chapter Eight 

Even as the Indians disappeared into the night with their prizes, James and Marie Rose ran to their stricken friend. The young girl went to move her hero, but her father held her back, “No, let me check him first.” James was no medical doctor but he was a man of science and had some understanding of the harm that could be done. 

Deftly he checked Jess’ inert form. Finding the two most obvious injuries, he turned his attention to the leg wound first, alarmed at the spreading pool of blood that was oozing into the dry dirt under the leg. 

A brief glance told him the arrow was buried deeply into his friend’s shoulder, but hadn’t gone through. Just what could be done about that James didn’t know, but right now, that could wait. The presence of the shaft seemed to be stopping most of the bleeding from the shoulder wound. 

Acutely aware that the most immediate danger to Jess’ life was shock and blood loss, James barked an order at Marie Rose. “Get one of your petticoats and tear it into strips,” he ordered. 

Instead of turning to obey, the practical side of the girl came into action. Amongst some of the books she had read while in the university library had been a few on basic medicines. While at first they had never grabbed her interest like those on fungus and herbs, she had read them a little; relating them to the medicinal uses of her other interest.  

Knowing how vital it was to stop the bleeding, she reached down and tore long strips from her undergarment, offering them willingly to her father. She watched wide-eyed as her father pressed the strips against the gaping wound. It took only seconds for the rags to become soaked in the bright red flow. 

The worried young girl tore off another strip of linen. “Here, let me.” She knelt next to her father, and he moved to one side to allow her closer. James had every faith in the skills of his bright young child, and knew she had spent time with some of the Medical Professors at the University. Indeed, one of them had even commented that he wished his proper students were just half as adapt as this young girl had proven to be. 

Marie Rose tied the strip around Jess’ upper thigh, and then placing a stick in the knot she began to twist it, causing the cloth binding to tighten. The pulsing flow of blood slowed and eventually stopped. Both surprised and pleased, James looked across at his daughter. “When did you learn how to do a tourniquet?” he asked. 

Looking sheepish, Marie Rose replied. “Old Doctor Marks let me watch him doing a few operations. I didn’t tell you because I knew you would be mad.” 

“You were right, but here and now, I’m grateful for anything you’ve learned,” he reassured her. “What do we need to do next?” 

“The tourniquet must be released every five minutes; otherwise the leg will turn bad if it gets no circulation. Somehow we have to clean that wound and stitch it up.” Marie Rose hesitated; unsure just how she was going to manage that.  

This time it was her father that came to the rescue. “There is a small bottle of whiskey Daisy packed, in case the nights got cold. Alcohol can act as a cleanser and you have that thread from stitching the materials for the kite. Its crude but it should do the job.” 

Nodding, Marie Rose moved off to gather what she would need. It wasn’t going to be easy, but Jess’ life depended on her and she was determined to keep him alive. 

Jess was cradled in velvety blackness, unaware of anything, until a burning pain in his leg intruded on his dark world. He tried to force his eyes open but it was hard to fight the smothering darkness. Then slowly he became more aware of his body. The burning in his leg spread until it felt like it was on fire and he tried, still semi-conscious, to move away from the flames. 

A low moan drew James attention back to the prone form at his side. As the feeble effort at movement was seen, James reached to hold Jess still, fearful of him causing further damage. 

“Easy now, Jess don’t try to move. It’s going to be alright.” James was certain things were far from likely to be all right, but he had to calm the rousing man. “Stay still, Jess, you’ve been hurt. We’ve got the bleeding stopped, but if you move around too much—”. James left the rest unsaid. 

His leg was on fire, his head throbbed and his shoulder felt like someone had stabbed it and the knife was still in there being twisted around. The blackness clawed at him, and it would be so easy to give in and escape the world of pain, but some small thought, a nagging worry, wouldn’t allow him to let go. 

James was unprepared for what happened next. Suddenly the nagging worry clarified and Jess’ eyes shot wide as he struggled to sit up. 

“Marie Rose–!” Jess exclaimed. “Aaah!” He clutched frantically at his shoulder as his sudden move upwards caused the arrow to move inside him. The brief burst of strength slipped from his grasp and his arms gave out together and Jess fell back. 

Fortunately James was quick enough to partially catch him and stop the arrow impacting on the ground and being driven further in. He lowered Jess carefully to his side, keeping the wounded shoulder clear of the ground. 

Still Jess struggled weakly against James’ restraining hands. “You must stay still, Jess. Marie Rose is fine. We both are. It’s you we need to see to.”  Seeing the confusion in Jess’ eyes he continued. “You’ve been hurt, Jess. Moving around is only making it worse.”

Stopping his weak struggles, Jess’ mind focused enough for him to recall the attack. He remembered the fight and the blinding pain as the knife struck his thigh. With a mind of its own his good hand reached downwards, only to be pushed gently away by James. 

“Leave it alone,” James instructed. “We got the bleeding stopped for now. Marie Rose is just getting some bandages and thread together.” 

Still Jess struggled, his mind filled with pictures of the renegades as they took the horses. “The—the Indians. I—I got to—” 

James interrupted him, pinning the weaker man’s shoulders easily. He locked eyes with Jess, willing him to listen. “YOU have got to do nothing. They have all gone. Only one hurt is you and if you’ll lie still, we’ll get you fixed up fine.” James fervently hoped that last was true. Jess was looking paler by the minute. 

“H—horses?” Jess persisted. 

James sighed in exasperation “Gone, but right now that isn’t important. Now stop fighting me. I’ve got to loosen this tourniquet for a minute.” He pushed Jess back towards the ground with more force than he intended.

Jess rolled with the push and the shaft of the arrow jammed into the ground, snapping in two half way down its length. A scream of agony ripped from Jess’ throat as the arrowhead was driven in still deeper. His eyes rolled back in his head and he blacked out. 

 “Oh God! Jess, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” James was distraught that he had inadvertently caused further hurt to his friend. He spoke aloud, fully aware that Jess was beyond hearing him, but needing to say sorry just the same. 

Marie Rose appeared at his side, her sewing kit, boiled water and fresh strips of petticoat in her hands. “What happened?” she asked, her heart still clenched by the awful cry she had heard.

“I tried to stop him moving around and causing any more damage. Unfortunately he was a lot weaker than I thought and when I pushed him back he went down hard and rolled onto his shoulder.” James’ misery and feelings of guilt echoed in his voice, but his daughter gave him a reassuring smile, conveying her understanding. 

“He may have done even more harm if he had succeeded in getting up only to fall straight back down again.” She turned worried eyes onto her father. “Do you think you can do this or shall I? I’ve boiled the needle and thread so they are clean.” The young girl was well aware of her father’s squeamishness’ under these circumstances, whereas she had no such problems at all. In fact, although she had yet to talk to her father about it, she had aspirations to be one of the first women to train as a doctor one day. 

She watched her father visibly blanch before he replied. “Perhaps it would be better if you did it.” 

This would be the first time the young girl had actually been faced with using the skills Doctor Marks had taught her on a living person. The university medical teacher had allowed her to practice on cadavers left after the students had finished, but obviously never on a living person. It couldn’t be that different she hoped. 

Hesitantly, Marie Rose glanced from her father down to Jess’ pale features. She didn’t have much choice really. She was better prepared for this than her father and she knew that left untreated the knife wound would prove fatal, either from the blood loss or infection. 

Acknowledging to herself that she was Jess’ best chance for survival, Marie Rose nodded her agreement and set about the gruesome task. 

The tourniquet was briefly released and both father and daughter released the breaths they had held when this time the blood flow was sluggish and not the pumping stream it had been previously. 

James cut Jess’ pants from the ankle to the hip, fully exposing the horrific wound. With one last look at the young man’s face, and muttering a quiet prayer, Marie Rose set about cleaning the fabric and dirt from the gaping wound and then carefully stitched the jagged edges of the flesh together. All the while being very grateful that her patient remained unconscious, with only the occasional soft moan indicating that at some level he was aware of the pain Marie Rose’s administering were causing. 

Tying off the last stitch, the girl stood up and stretched. James looked up at his daughter, his pride shining in his eyes. “You’ve done a good job,” he said. 

“I’ve not finished yet,” she responded and walked to the fire where she had left a small pot, close enough to keep it warm. When she returned she used her fingers to smear the tacky grey contents on the angry wound, before finally wrapping the whole of Jess’s thigh in the strips of petticoat. 

In answer to the questioning look her father gave her she explained, “One of the fungi I collected yesterday and two of the herbs I found have properties that are supposed to help reduce infection. It’s got to be worth a try.” 

Finally satisfied with her work herself Marie Rose sat back and sighed. While she had been working the sun had risen fully and now full daylight flooded the clearing, highlighting the true extent of the damage. 

James observed his daughter, studying her tense features. He hated having to put her through this, but he would be the first to admit her medical skills far outclassed his own. Finally he gathered up enough courage to ask the question that had been nagging at him throughout the time his child had been working. “What do we do about the arrow?” 

Marie Rose had been staring at Jess’ face, concerned at the paleness beneath the weather beaten tan. Startled, as much by the concern in her father’s voice as by the question, she looked up. “I don’t know. It wasn’t something that ever came up when I was reading the books back East.”James was thoughtful for a minute before he spoke again. “I don’t think we can pull it out. I seem to recall that the point on most arrows widens out. If we pull it back the way it entered it could cause worse damage. I think a doctor would need to remove it, Marie Rose. I can’t see any other way.” 

The young girl nodded slowly accepting what her father said, but feeling obliged to point out the obvious. “But, Father, there isn’t a doctor here.” 

“I know, child, I know.” James spoke wearily. “We’ll just have to make him as comfortable as we can and hope someone comes looking for us soon. At least it’s not bleeding a lot.” 

“If we leave it in too long, then infection is a very real danger. That much I do know, Father.” 

 “I don’t know what else we can do,” James stated. “Isn’t there anything you can think of?” he added desperately. 

Hesitating momentarily, Marie Rose replied. “I guess we could snap the shaft off closer to his shoulder so it doesn’t catch anything and move further and cause more harm. I could use some of my paste around the wound. It won’t stop infection setting in, but it may delay it enough that he will survive till a doctor gets here. What do you think?” 

“I think I am very lucky to have such a clever and resourceful daughter.” James gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, his smile conveying his love to her. 

Taking care not to knock Jess’ heavily bandaged leg, James pulled the still unconscious man towards him, placing him over almost onto his stomach. He saw the lump behind Jess’ ear where the renegade had clubbed him, and was relieved to see that at least it wasn’t bleeding. 

He studied the wound in Jess’ shoulder, trying to decide how best to set about breaking off the shaft of the arrow with out causing the embedded head to move. Finally James made up his mind. “Marie Rose, can you fetch me that knife I use for cutting the twine on our construction.” 

James continued to study the wound while Marie Rose hastened to obey her father. She was back at his side in seconds, knife in hand. 

‘It’s now or never’ he thought. Taking hold of the knife, he grasped the shaft of the arrow close to its entry point and started to cut away at the wood.  It proved harder than expected as the blade was dull from overuse and James had to push hard against the tough wood, causing it to move more than he would have liked. 

Burning! A fire starting in his shoulder and spreading through his entire body was the first true awareness of the world that Jess had. Something was moving in his shoulder, tearing and scraping at the flesh and bone. He pulled away from the pain, protesting his rude awakening with a cry.

In reality Jess moved feebly, and a low moan escaped his lips. His mind more aware now, he tried to remember where he was and what was happening. He tried to open his eyes but they felt weighted down. 

“Just stay still, Jess. We’re trying to help you. Don’t move anymore than you really have to.” The urgency in James’ voice penetrated Jess’ foggy mind and his eyes snapped open as he struggled upwards. 

There was danger, he realised that instantly. He needed to protect Marie Rose and her father. Jess pulled upwards against James’ restraining hands, causing the pain to sear through him again. 

“Hell,” with a curse Jess fell back, and James moved to prevent him rolling back onto the arrow shaft again. Taking slow deep breaths to steady himself against the pain washing through him, Jess forced himself to focus on James. 

James flinched as pain filled blue eyes locked with his, and Jess struggled to speak despite his dry throat, pressed on only by the urgency of the situation. “T–The ren-renegades, you’ve g–got t–to get to c-cover. G–get g-guns and g-get to t-trees.” 

“They’ve gone, Jess. The attack was over almost an hour ago.” James waited for Jess to register what he had said. 

“M–Marie Rose, and y-you–?” Jess was unable to complete his question and sank back against the ground, gasping for breath, but James knew what it was the injured man needed to know so badly. 

“We’re both fine. You’re the one we’ve got to worry about.” 

The fact that the agony that now assailed his body, after the feeble attempts at movement had caused, Jess made the final connection in his pain confused brain, and Jess asked about himself. 

“H–How bad?” he asked, already aware that the answer would not be good, but needing to ask anyway. 

James was unsure just how much detail he should give, but then he decided Jess Harper was a practical man and would prefer honesty. 

“You’ve an egg sized bump behind your ear but that doesn’t seem to be causing any problems. I’m afraid your leg’s been cut up pretty badly. Marie Rose got it cleaned out and stitched up, but you won’t be doing much walking on it for awhile.” 

Once more Jess realised how much he had underestimated the young girl and was grateful for her quick mind and skills. His eyes moved to look at his heavily bandaged thigh, and he tried to bend it up slightly. His effort was rewarded by a slight movement and a reawakening of the earlier fierce ravages of pain. 

“Marie Rose did this?” he asked; voice raspy and dry, already knowing the answer. 

As if on cue she appeared at his side, a cup of water in her hand. “Here, drink this. It will help.” She held the cup to his lips as James raised his head to allow him to drink 

Jess swallowed the liquid gratefully. He hadn’t realised he was so dry. When he had taken several mouthfuls, he turned his head away and James let him settle back before speaking again. 

“Amongst her many talents, my daughter has spent some time assisting Doctor Marks from my university. She also mixed up the poultice that’s smeared on your leg. She says it will help reduce infection.” 

Jess looked across at the young girl, truly amazed at the extent of her talents. “I’m beholden t–to you,” he stated simply, his eyes conveying the depth of his thanks. 

Marie Rose nodded her acceptance.  “I only wish I could do more.” 

Breaking eye contact with her, Jess turned back to James once more. The pain in his shoulder alone telling him there was more that needed to be said. 

Knowing Jess was waiting for him to reveal the rest, he continued. “You’ve taken an arrow in your right shoulder, from the back. It’s still in there, Jess, and it will need a doctor to get it out.” 

Although he nodded his head in acceptance of this statement, Jess knew that wasn’t going to happen. It would take a miracle to get him down from this mountain with the horses gone, and Jess knew it. 

“Have you ever had to get an arrow out of someone?” James blurted out awkwardly. 

Again Jess nodded yes. In fact he had done it twice. One man had survived; the other had not been so lucky, the blood loss and infection combined proved too much for the weakened victim. 

Seeing the positive response James probed further. “How did you do it?” 

Jess’ mouth was dry, talking seemed to sap all his strength away, but he tried to reply as best he could. The first attempt sent him into dry coughs and heaves, each spasm sending fresh waves of pain radiating from his shoulder into his chest. Though Jess doubted the father and daughter could do what would be needed to remove the arrow, his pain racked body screamed at him to let them give it a try. 

“O-only w–way I know is t-to cut it s–short, t-then h-hit it h-hard—.” Jess gasped out each word, each breath taken to speak costing him dearly. “D-drive it s-straight through, o–out the f—front.” He stopped speaking then, watching the horror of what he was saying register on the father and daughters faces. 

It was Marie Rose, with her limited medical experience that replied. “But if we don’t hit it straight, Jess, it could do even more damage.” 

Jess didn’t elaborate further, seeing their understanding in their eyes. Instead he gave them the last part of the procedure. 

“After that you’ll h–have to p–pour g-gun powder into t–the w-wound, s-set it alight t–to c-cauterise it.” Once more he saw the look of horror exchanged between father and daughter. He doubted that either of them would be able to perform the procedure. Even if they were willing to try, it would need a lot of strength to hit the arrow shaft hard enough and straight enough to drive it through his shoulder. A moment’s hesitation, a glancing blow and it could kill him instantly. 

 “L–look, it would be b-better if y–you left m-me h-here. T-there’s a q-quicker t-trail w-without w-wagon. You t-two c-could m-make it in t-two d-days m-maybe t-three d-days. S-send h-help back.” Jess was gasping now, and fell back exhausted. Each word exacting a high price in pain and energy. 

“We can’t just leave you, Jess. Those savages might come back and you can’t manage on your own.” James was horrified at the very idea of abandoning Jess as much as he was at the idea of having to remove the arrow. 

“N-no choice. I c-can’t move, j-just s-slow you d-down. I-Indians l-long gone n-now with h-horses.  L-leave me c-canteen and g-gun. F-find help.” Jess paused, sucking in air and waiting for the waves of pain to settle again, before continuing. “S-send em b-back fer m-me. I-I’ll h-hold out,” he lied, hoping that they wouldn’t figure out that infection would most  likely set in and kill him long before help could get to him. 

James was not so easily fooled. “I don’t like that idea at all. One of us should stay with you,” he stated. 

Jess shook his head weakly. “Can’t s-send Marie R-Rose back alone and s-she can’t s-stay h-here. I-I couldn’t p-protect h-her.” The young rancher was well aware that he would be unconscious soon, unable to help. He needed to convince them to go soon. He was fighting hard to stay with them, until he’d told them what to do and seen them safely away. 

However James was not as naive as first impressions made him appear. He wasn’t going to meekly obey Jess, at least not in this. His scruples wouldn’t allow him to simply walk away and leave a friend or anyone else, to die alone. “No, Jess. We all go or we all stay.” 

Desperate now, Jess pleaded, “P–Please, you gotta go. I-I don’t w-want yer d-deaths on m-my conscience.” His blue eyes burned into James’ willing him to listen, but it was no use. 

Seeing the truth in Jess’ eyes, but being equally determined to stick to his own principles, James asked again. “There must be something we can try, anything? I’ll try to shorten the shaft and Marie Rose could pack some of her poultice around it. Maybe then we can try moving you.” 

Jess grasped James’ wrist stopping him from moving away, wanting, needing, to say more, but James pulled away.

“We’ll discuss it later. First let’s see to that arrow.” Gently James rolled Jess more onto his stomach as he spoke his thoughts aloud. “Wish I had a better knife. This one is blunted now, it’s likely to snag and pull the wood.” 

Jess heard him and recognising that with or without his co-operation, James was going to do what he felt was right, he gave in for now. “M-my right b-boot. G-good knife there,” he forced out through teeth clenched tight against the pain. Although James was trying to be gentle, each movement had sent fresh waves of agony coursing through his body. His strength was fading rapidly and Jess knew that for now it was useless to fight the inevitable. 

Marie Rose moved in front of him and knelt to hold his shoulder firmly but gently, steadying it against the movement of the knife and holding him as still as possible. If he moved while her father was cutting the wooden shaft he could do untold damage.

James swallowed hard and seeing that his daughter was in position, he took a firm grip on the shaft, close to Jess’s shoulder, and started to cut through the hard wood with the new knife. 

Jess’s knife was good and sharp and it made short work of cutting through, but even so, each pass of the knife sent vibrations through the wood into Jess’s shoulder. He bit down hard against the pain, trying not to scream as the arrowhead moved against the bone. The salty taste of his own blood told him he had bitten through his own lip without realising it. 

Finally the job was finished, but Jess knew more was needed and braced himself for the worst part. “T-take two b-bullets from b-belt, r-ready to use p-powder to c-cauterise the w-wound,” he instructed. Then his voice failed him, his mouth suddenly dry and his tongue feeling like cotton wool. 

Marie Rose held a cup of water to his lips, urging him to sip slowly. He managed to take about a quarter of the cup before his stomach threatened to rebel. Pushing the cup back at the concerned young girl, he drew as deep a breath as he could manage and plunged on. “N-Need t-to get f-flat s-stone. H-Hold it against s-shaft, use g-un b-butt. M-make s-sure h-hit—“Jess faltered at this point, needing to rest and regain his breath before he could speak again. ”H-hit it s-straight. U-use gun p-powder pour i-it in w-wound. S-set it alight.” 

Finishing his instructions Jess lay breathing shallowly, his eyes locked with James. He could read the indecision there and knew he had to push the issue.

“N-no other way,” he gasped. “Only c-chance to stop i-infection. Not g-gonna make it to D-doctor in t-time.” With the last of his strength, he forced the next words out clearly, needing them to listen and do as he asked. “Do it. Then go, I’ll likely p –pass out. Don’t stop. Leave a c–canteen by me. No t–time to wait. Go. Take left fork d—down trail and k–keep to it.” 

With nothing left to give, his head fell backwards, dark spots danced at the edge of his vision; he struggled to remain with them, needing to know they would do as he wished. Jess knew that at some point in the proceedings he would lose consciousness. He had to be sure the father and daughter knew exactly what was expected of them. They needed to be on the trail and heading to safety as soon as possible if they were to have a chance of surviving. Jess reasoned he was likely to be out of it for quite awhile before he came round after the proceedings, if he ever did. He waited to see the understanding and acceptance in their eyes. 

Instead, what he saw sent a tremor of fear through him, more so than any anticipation of the pain to come could have. He held little hope for his own survival, but the others stood a chance if they would just listen to him. It was seeing the look of defiance in James’ eyes that caused the tremor of fear that gripped him. 

James shook his head and looked from Jess to his daughter and back again. 

“There must be another way. Even if I can get the arrow out, I won’t leave you here,” he stated, and Jess saw from the determined set of his jaw that he meant every word. 

Marie Rose had remained silent throughout the past minutes. Although she was well aware of what was happening around her; she had been working through an idea in her mind. She agreed with everything her father had said and now she decided it was Jess’ only chance and she voiced her idea. 

“Maybe there is, Father. If I get some of my salve around the wound and bind it to hold the shaft securely, we should be able to control the infection long enough to get Jess to a doctor who could remove it safely.” Marie Rose spoke as if Jess wasn’t there and Jess couldn’t believe he was hearing this. Hadn’t they listened to him at all? 

“I ain’t g-gonna be able t-to w-walk, and w-we aint g-got h-horses, “he interrupted “I-I’ll s-slow you d-down. N-no choice, g-go and l-leave m-me here. S-Send help b-back.” He was fading fast now and this last effort took all he had left. Jess sank back, letting his eyes slide shut, perilously close to passing out. 

Marie Rose tilted her head at her father, indicating they should move away to where Jess wouldn’t hear them. Jess was aware of movement around him but his eyes were heavy and he was feeling unreasonable hot, given that it must only be mid-morning at the latest. 

Over by the wagon Marie Rose was talking earnestly to her father, who was responding with nods and shakes of his head. Finally he reached into the wagon and pulled out his papers and a pencil. He squatted down, leaning against the wagon wheel and started scribbling, pouring all his attention into his drawings and calculations. 

Leaving her father to his work, Marie Rose picked up the pot with her salve in from by the fire, and collecting some fresh water and more petticoat strips, she returned to Jess’ side. Her gentle touch on his shoulder as she carefully cut away the torn shirt roused him from the semi-conscious stupor he had slipped into. 

“Try and stay still, Jess,” she instructed. “I’m just going to clean the wound and apply some of my salve. I’ll try and be as gentle as I can.” 

Too weak now to protest further, Jess gave a low groan and submitted to her administering. He hadn’t expected them to remove the arrow, but he had hoped that they would heed him, and go, heading back to civilisation as quickly as possible. Fervently he hoped that once Marie Rose was done, the pair would collect together the supplies they would need and head out. 

At some point during the proceedings, Jess lost his fight and slipped into unconsciousness again. Marie Rose finished binding the wound tightly, effectively immobilising the arrow. It would need to be as stable as possible if Jess was to survive the plan Marie Rose had put to her father. 

Anxiously, she noted the beads of sweat on the young man’s forehead; infection had set in quickly, despite her herbal potion. Given the nature of the shoulder wound, Marie Rose was hardly surprised, but she could do no more about it under the current circumstances. From what she had learned of medicine, if the arrowhead wasn’t removed soon, the fever was likely to rise and unchecked would result in death. 

Leaving Jess for a few moments, she went to fetch more water. She noted how low the water barrel was, but it was her only means of attempting to keep Jess’ temperature down. Anyway, she reasoned, if her plan worked, they would be down off the mountain and near help by morning. 

Before returning to her patient, Marie Rose detoured to her father and asked him how the calculations looked. Distracted, his reply was a muffled, “Not sure yet, but it should be possible.”

She decided to leave him to it and returned to Jess, who, lost in delirium and mumbling incoherently, was oblivious to his surroundings. Using yet another strip of her dwindling supply of petticoat, the resourceful girl started to wipe down Jess’ face and neck, hoping to bring his temperature down and make him more comfortable. Until her father was ready, this was the most she could do to help.

Chapter Nine 

For Marie Rose the day became an endless rote of cooling Jess down, then forcing as much water into the semi-conscious man as possible. As the day wore on, she was also needed to help her father as he dismantled and rebuilt the invention he had kept under cover up until now. 

She had had to change the dressings several times as blood soaked through from the slowly oozing wounds. Each time the diligent young girl had re-applied her salve. The leg wound at least remained free from infection. She just wished she could say the same about the shoulder. As long as the arrow remained in there she knew infection would get a hold and ravage the young man’s body. It was at these times that Jess had roused enough to speak and each time he said the same thing. Why couldn’t he understand that she and her father would not abandon him to his fate? The idea was just unthinkable. 

Sighing she rose to get more of the dwindling water supply. Earlier in the afternoon she had told her father that their water supply was low, but he had told her to use what they had to help Jess. After all, if everything went to plan, they would soon be heading towards safety. 

“How is it going, Father?” she asked, looking at the construction. 

James had just made the last join on the now extended wooden framework. Originally, there had been two separate units, the smaller one being for Marie Rose herself. Now, by using the spare wood, nails and twine that they had brought with them in case of repairs, her father had joined the two units together and extended them to take a heavier load. According to all his calculations it should work, so long as it was strong enough to hold together. 

“It’s looking good, dear, but I’m afraid I’m going to need your help with the sewing. It’s a good job we brought extra canvas.” He looked searchingly at his daughter, concerned at how tired and worried she looked. “How are you managing?” 

 “I’m fine, Father. It’s Jess I’m worried about.” 

James glanced across at Jess’ still form, noting the fine sheen of perspiration covering him and soaking through his clothes. “Will he make it?” he asked, concern breaking into his voice. 

“His shoulder wound is looking very infected, and his temperature is going up. If the arrow is taken out soon, he has a good chance, but if not, it’s only a matter of time.” Marie Rose held back her tears, determined not to appear weak. 

Her father heard the slight catch in her voice. “You’re doing fine, Jess couldn’t have a better nurse,” he reassured her. 

“Perhaps we should try and remove the arrow head?” the young girl ventured. 

“Only if we have no other choice, dear.  One slight miss and the arrow could pierce his lung or a major vessel. How long do you think he can hold out?” James walked over to Jess’s prone form and touched his forehead. The skin was dry and burning hot, soft unintelligible mumblings were heard, as Jess struggled against imaginary demons in the fever-induced dreams. 

Marie Rose responded with a question of her own. “How long till your ready, Father?” 

“You’re going to have to sew the new canvas together tonight. So I guess that it will depend on how long that will take.” 

“I’ll start right now,” she said, gazing anxiously down at her hero, feeling as if his survival depended solely on her. 

James read his daughter’s concern. “We have time to get supper, and some rest. I’ll stay with Jess while you do the sewing. Anyway, we can’t leave till just after dawn, that’s when the winds will be most favourable.” 

“Can’t we go any earlier, Father? Jess is very ill, tomorrow may be too late.” Tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill down her cheeks. 

“I’m afraid that with the extra weight, it’s got to be then. That’s when the updrafts will be strongest. No, there is no other choice. Jess is young and strong. We’ll just have to help him as best we can and lend him our strength. We’ll help each other and we are all going to get out of this alive, I promise.” 

Regaining control of her emotions, the brave girl nodded to her father. “All right then, tomorrow morning it is. Father if you’re finished for now, could you stay with Jess? You just have to keep him cool and get some water down him if he rouses. I’ll make us all some food, maybe some broth for Jess to help keep his strength up. I think I may be able to make an herbal tea to help control his fever a little too. I saw some feverfew growing over by the trees. It won’t work forever but it might make the difference and hold him through till morning.” 

James sat down next to Jess, taking the damp cloth from her hand. As she let go, he held her hand a moment longer. “I’ll take good care of him for you,” he said simply. 

“I know you will,” she sent a weak smile back, and then before walking away she thought to add. “Oh, watch out for when he gets restless. He starts mumbling and crying out, and then he gets to moving around. You’ll have to hold him still and watch out he doesn’t knock that shoulder.” 

Throughout the evening Marie Rose and her father worked at their allotted tasks. They ate a meal of broth and hard biscuits left from what Daisy had packed. The broth was a rich stew of mushrooms, some meat and vegetables that again were found in Daisy’s supplies. It was basic but wholesome, and Marie Rose was pleased when Jess roused briefly and had managed to take half a cup of it, before losing consciousness again. 

Before she settled close to the fire, to use its light to help her sew, Marie Rose boiled the water and steeped the herbs she had collected to make the tea. With infinite patience, she and her father managed to dribble the medicinal mixture into Jess’ mouth, giving him time to swallow each teaspoonful by reflex as it touched his throat. It took almost half an hour but a good cupful was finally administered to their patient. 

Throughout the evening Marie Rose carefully stitched the extra canvas together, following the drawings and measurements that her father had given her. Periodically, she would look across at her father as he tended Jess, repeatedly sponging him down. Every now and again, when he seemed to rouse a little, she would join her father in forcing water and herbal tea into the semi conscious man. 

The stitching complete, the nearly exhausted pair stretched the material over the frame work and tied it firmly in place. 

“I think you should try and get some sleep now, dear,” James urged his daughter. He could see she was struggling to stay awake. 

“What about, Jess?” she questioned. 

James reached over and rested his hand briefly on Jess’ forehead. “He seems a little cooler, and he’s been more settled since that last dose of tea. I’ll stay close just in case, but he isn’t exactly going to get up and walk away,” James tried to inject a little humour to ease his daughter’s fears. 

Too tired to even register this, Marie Rose gave in. “All right, but if anything changes or he rouses, please wake me, and if you can, get some more water and tea into him.” She moved across to the wagon and settled there, pulling her blanket up close. She faced her father, feeling the need to keep the others in sight, but despite her best efforts to stay alert, she drifted of. Soon her deep regular breathing told her father she was finally asleep. 

Next to James, Jess tossed his head as another fevered dream troubled him. “Easy, Jess, rest easy. Don’t move too much.” Mindful of his daughter’s instructions, he eased Jess’ head upwards and dribbled first water and then the tea, into his mouth. It was a slow process, but when Jess had dutifully partaken of half a cup of each, James let him rest. 

He placed the cup down and turned back to pull the blanket up around Jess’ shoulders, aware that the night air carried a chill. He was surprised to find two clear blue eyes fixed on him. 

“J–James?” Jess’s voice was a dry whisper, but it was obvious he was aware of where he was. 

“Right here, Jess. Don’t talk yet. Here” James pressed a cup of water to Jess’ lips at the same time raising his head with his other hand. Obediently Jess drank. 

The water felt good, easing his roughened throat. He hadn’t realised he was so dry, for that matter Jess couldn’t figure out why he was lying on the ground, and simply swallowing required a superhuman effort.  He tried to focus on the previous day’s events and suddenly it all snapped back into place. He jerked upwards under James’ restraining hands, trying to sit upright. The anger was evident in his voice when he spoke and the adrenaline gave him unexpected strength. “What are you doing here? You should be long gone, you damn fool.” 

James remained calm under the verbal assault. “We talked it over, Jess. We aren’t   prepared to leave you here.” 

Jess pushed his hands away, and oblivious to the pain and the damage his sudden movements were doing to his body, he sat upright. He fixed the doctor with a steely glare. “It weren’t your decision to make. I t–told you t–to–.” 

The effort proved too much and Jess fell back. James was quick enough to prevent him falling again onto the protruding arrow shaft. Gasping to recover his breath, he was finally able to continue. “You’ve l–lost a day. It could c–cost you your l–lives. Go n–now, t–take all the w–water and g–go, y–you could s–still m–make it.” 

James had waited patiently for Jess to finish. Knowing that he wouldn’t listen until the adrenaline left him and weakness claimed his body again. Now he spoke again.         “Jess, we have minds of our own and are quite capable of making sensible decisions” he held up his hand to stop the protest he saw forming in Jess’ fiery eyes. “Just hear me out, first,” he instructed. “We couldn’t abandon you and live with ourselves, Jess. Besides we probably have as much chance here as we would on the trail. We haven’t got the survival skills you westerners have. Anyway, we can’t go now. There is no more water to take, excepting this.” James held up the half empty canteen that he had used to give Jess a drink. 

That last statement hit the injured man hard, shock registered on his face, and what little colour he had drained away. “T–There should’ve b-been enough—” Once more Jess struggled upwards, but this time James was prepared and held him firmly down. Recognising he had no strength left to fight with, Jess relaxed back down. “W–What happened t-to it?” 

“It was used up, for the best possible reasons,” James stated simply. 

For a second it looked as though Jess would argue, but he realised that it was pointless now. He felt guilty that they had used the precious water on him. As far as he was concerned they had wasted it on a dead man. Despair washed over him and his will to fight further drained away with his failing energy. 

“There’s no need for you to blame yourself. Like I said, it was our decision to make.” To emphasise his words James unstopped the canteen and once more moved to press it to Jess’ lips, encouraging him to drink. 

Weakly, Jess turned his head away and pushed at James’ hand to indicate he wanted no more. “S–save it f-for Marie R-Rose.” A coughing fit followed that left him gasping for air. 

Seeing that Jess was not going to give in on this, James picked up the herbal tea.

 “All right, but at least drink this. It’s no good for us. It’s an herbal tea Marie Rose brewed to help you.” 

For a brief moment it looked like Jess would refuse that also, as he considered his options. In the end he accepted the drink. As the medicinal brew warmed through him, he felt himself slipping back into oblivion. The last thing he heard James say was, “It doesn’t matter anyway, Jess. Come the dawn we are all getting off this mountain and we are getting you to a doctor. You can be sure of that.” 

Pulling the blankets up around Jess’ now unresponsive body, James settled himself back, intending to keep vigil for the rest of the night. Soon though, the rigors of the past twenty-four hours took its toll and he fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Ten 

Earlier that same evening, at the base of the mountain range, a very worried Slim Sherman had been in direct confrontation with Major Sterling. For their individual private reasons, each was tired and worried. 

The Major was feeling the weight of the responsibility of the doctor and his daughter. Before leaving Laramie he had sent one of his men to wire headquarters regarding the doctor, and the message the Private delivered when he caught up later that day was far from re-assuring. 

Apparently the eccentric Doctor of Physics was highly thought of in some circles and his safe return was of paramount importance. When he had read the telegram, the major had felt the weight of responsibility increase considerably. His mission was no longer a simple case of finding the renegades and returning them to the reservation with the minimum of damage. He now had a missing dignitary too find and protect. 

Sherman was also proving to be a thorn in his side. The tall blonde rancher, while having the best intentions, was concerned with finding his missing friend and his charges a soon as possible. The marauding renegades only figured in Slim’s plan as a possible threat to his missing partner. 

The major had found himself wanting to meet this Jess Harper. He figured he must be quite a man to inspire such loyalty in his friends. But he knew he must not let that cloud his judgement in any decisions he made. Unfortunately, Sherman did not recognise such limitations. 

The first real confrontation between the two was when the major had called a halt and ordered his men to set up the evening camp. Slim could see no reason for not continuing on another few miles. That extra ground covered would bring him closer to his friend and maybe make all the difference between finding him alive or dead. Slim couldn’t explain it, but he just had a gut feeling something was wrong, very wrong. 

“It’s another hour till dark, we could get a few more miles in easily,” Slim stated. 

“Sherman, you were an officer in the army weren’t you?” Major Sterling asked. 

“What’s that got to do with this?” Slim had snapped back, irritation evident in his tone. 

“Everything. You know how long it takes to get a secure camp set up with a troop this size, and mark my words it will need to be secure. There’s no telling where those renegades are.” 

“It doesn’t take that long,” Slim continued to argue. “We could still make the extra distance and get a camp set up before dark.” 

“I don’t doubt it, but this area is wide enough that we can set up a secure perimeter with clear views all round. The higher we get, the less likely it is that we will find suitable ground for a safe camp.” The officer felt he was being very tolerant under the circumstances. He didn’t have to explain himself to a civilian, but he could understand the man’s concern. “I’m sorry, but I’m not prepared to risk my men on a ‘feeling’. We will leave at dawn and be near the peaks by the evening.” 

Slim went to object but the major turned and walked away, successfully stopping any further discussion on the subject.  Taking several deep breaths to calm both his temper and his anxiety, Slim walked stiffly away. Woodenly he set about unsaddling his horse. Though his heart urged him to continue, logic told him the major was right. It would be risky to continue, and alone he would be next to useless against the renegades, even if he did catch up with Jess and the others.  

Camp was set up with the ease and precision one would expect from a well-oiled unit. Picking up the obligatory coffee and beans from the mess tent, Slim found himself recalling his days in the army. His memories of many such meals came back to him along with the knowledge that army routine, while tedious, was based on experience and served a purpose, mainly that of getting the job done with the minimum loss of life and limb. 

He sat alone by his bedroll, thinking on his partner and friend. Jess had let little bits of information drop about his past, and Slim knew that Jess had fought for the Confederacy and spent time in a Union prisoner of war camp. Jess had spoken very little about it, except to say it was an experience he would not like to repeat. 

Yet the younger man had survived it, and was very capable of looking after himself. That was just it. Slim knew Jess was a fighter and clever and would be very capable of defending the others. He was also stubborn and self-sacrificing and would lay down his life if need be to get the two easterners back safely. 

That was the thing that kept haunting Slim Sherman. He should have been the one escorting James and his daughter, not Jess. He would not be able to forgive himself if anything happened to his partner, and it was this that drove him on unceasingly. 

Making a decision, Slim stood and walked over to where the major and two of the sergeants sat. 

“Mind if I join you?” he asked. 

The major looked up and nodded. He understood and could sympathise with the worried rancher, but he had to consider all of his men. As an officer he couldn’t let his heart overrule his training. He could see from the less tense demeanour of the young man that Sherman had figured that out to, and was now prepared to reason things through. 

The men ate in silence for another few minutes, until Sterling, having emptied his plate, turned to Slim. “So what’s on your mind, son?” he asked. 

Slim swallowed down his last mouthful of beans, then swallowing his pride, he apologised for his earlier behaviour. 

“I guess I owe you an apology for my behaviour earlier,” Slim blurted out.

The major gave him an appraising look before he carefully replied, “Under the circumstances I think I can understand why you reacted the way you did, but you’ve got to understand, while I might be able to understand your actions, I won’t tolerate you placing my men at risk unnecessarily.” 

Making no further effort to explain himself, Slim asked, “When do you intend to move the company out?” 

“We’ll head up the mountain trail at first light. From what you’ve told us, your friend, the doctor and his daughter have a two-day start, but since they have a wagon, they’ll be taking the slower trail. If we go the faster route on horseback, we should catch up with them by tomorrow night.” 

“That will require some hard, fast riding, Major and that trail can be treacherous if you’re not careful.” Although Slim was desperate to find Jess, he had to be sure the major understood the risks involved in taking the route the major proposed. Slim Sherman had an inbuilt sense of fair play and wouldn’t have it otherwise. 

“Despite what you may think, Mister Sherman, I am just as eager to recover the three missing people, albeit for somewhat different reasons. Some mighty powerful people in the government hold Doctor Sender in high esteem.  If for some reason I fail to bring him back safely, I don’t think my career will go on to greater things.” 

Slim had no doubt of the sincerity of the major’s words. He’d been an officer in the union army and although he had been fair and straight with his men, he was well aware of the fate of those who challenged or failed some of the less than perfect representatives of the government. 

Re-assured that the major was as determined as himself to get to the missing group, Slim finished his coffee in silence. He finally stood and took his leave of the officers. “I reckon I’ll get some shut eye, with such an early start and a treacherous trail, we are all going to need to be alert and attentive.” 

“I think we can agree on that.” The major dismissed Slim and turned to address his sergeants. “Order the men to set up a perimeter guard with a three-hour change, and tell the rest to settle now. I want everyone ready to head out at first light.” 

 “Yes, Sir.” The two sergeants hastened away to follow orders and the major sat alone sipping the last of his now cooling coffee and wondering what ever possessed him to follow a career in the army. 

Slim had settled under his blanket, his head resting against his upturned saddle. He had sat and watched as the rest of the camp had turned in, until all was quiet except for the odd sound produced by the soldiers on patrol. 

He knew he needed to get as much sleep as he could. It was going to be a long hard ride tomorrow and he needed to be rested and alert, but his mind refused to shut down. 

He would drift off only to jerk awake from some dream he couldn’t recall. But each time he felt alarmed and disturbed. The cause was obviously his concern for his friend, his best friend, but some vague sense of unease also kept sleep at bay. Something was wrong he could feel it. He turned and looked around the camp again. Nothing was amiss or out of place. 

He was being stupid and knowing it made him annoyed with himself. He turned on his side and pulled the blanket higher still against the chill of the night air. ‘It must be cold up there’ he thought, bringing the high crest of the mountains to mind. ‘I hope Jess thought to pack extra blankets.’  Then he berated himself.  ‘Of course he would. He’s an experienced woodsman and nobodies fool.’ 

Closing his eyes again, he hoped that would encourage his mind to give in and allow his tired body to shut down. Unbidden, the next thought came to his mind.  ‘That’s if Jess is alright, of course. If they’ve run into those renegades and Jess is hurt, or maybe worse–. NO!’ Slim ordered himself not to think that way. He got up and went over to the campfire, pouring himself another cup of coffee from the ever-full pot kept warm for those soldiers on watch. 

One of the perimeter guards came over, taking his turn at getting a warm drink. The bitter coffee worked well at keeping you awake, which was not the best thing for Slim right then.  

Looking up from contemplating his coffee cup, Slim recognised one of the sergeants that had been sitting with the major at supper. It was the officer that spoke first. “It’s a cold night,” was his simple opening gambit. When Slim failed to pick up on it, the man continued, plunging straight in. “You can trust him you know.” 

“Who?” Slim asked, his wandering thoughts suddenly dragged back to reality and not quite focused yet. 

“The Major. He may seem all bluster and rank, but he’s a good soldier and he cares more for his men than he does his own career. If any one can get us to your friends and bring them back to town safely, then he will. He just ain’t gonna risk all of us needlessly to do it.” 

“I don’t doubt it,” Slim replied. “But my best friend is up there and I’m not risking him needlessly either. Whether the troops ready or not, I’m heading out at first light.” 

“We’ll be ready, Mister Sherman. Ain’t a man jack amongst us wouldn’t walk through hell if’n the Major asked us to.” The Sergeant turned, and tossing his coffee dregs into the fire, he returned to his lonely patrol. 

Slim lingered a minute more then headed back to his bedroll and tried once again to sleep. This time he did drift off, and although he tossed and turned, he slept. 

Slim came awake to the sound of a camp in turmoil. He opened his eyes to find it was still dark, but he could see shadowy figures moving about in the moonlight. Throwing back his blankets and pulling his gun, he stood and glanced quickly around. 

Seeing the major over by the mess tent, he went to join him. “What’s going on?” he asked tersely 

The reply was equally abrupt. “Sentry’s heard a rider coming in fast.” 

“Who?” Slim practically grabbed the major, as he was about to move away to join his men. 

“Don’t know yet. It was too dark for the men to see. You’d best come with me, if you are that determined to find out. We’ve got a little reception planned.” The major moved to the far side of the encampment, where his men had melted into the shadows ready to intercept the fast moving horse they had heard thundering down the rocky trail. 

Following immediately behind, Slim joined the officer behind some bushes beside the road. “Whoever it is, there a damn fool coming down that trail at that speed,” he commented to himself. 

Then there was no more time for thinking, just action. The dark bulky shape of a horse moving fast tore out of the darkness of the road, barrelling straight towards the mess tent. Several of the soldiers leapt forward, grabbing at the rope that was trailing behind the terrified animal. For a few seconds it was a melee of shouts, curses and flying hooves, then as the horse was brought under control a silence descended over the camp. 

The major was the first to speak, barking out orders as he looked at the horse. “There is no rider. Search the perimeter, see what you can find. Go up the trail a ways, but not too far. I want to know what a horse is doing out here, without a rider or saddle. “ 

He ran his hand down the animal’s heaving flanks. “He’s been running hard. Judging from the sweat, he’s been running for a while. Something sure spooked him.” Picking up the trailing rope he continued to speak his observations out loud.” Ropes have been cut by the looks of it. Seems like someone was out to steal him but he got away. What do you think Sherman?” 

Slim had been standing close by, his eyes fixed on the exhausted animal. His heart was racing, his stomach turning somersaults and his mouth was dry. Somehow his tongue seemed determined to tie itself in knots. Finally he managed to make enough saliva to get the words out. “That’s Traveller, Jess’ horse,” he stated flatly, not daring to allow the pain of his emotional turmoil show in his voice. “The renegades must have hit them. Major we’ve got to head up there, now.” 

Slim turned on his heels, heading towards his own horse. With a quick nod at two of his men, the major had them block Slim’s path. 

“Sherman, there’s no point going off unprepared. That horse had been running for hours, off and on, what ever happened, it’s a long ways off and a good few hours if not a day away from here. No matter how fast you ride, you won’t change that. If the renegades have hit them then they may well be dead by now.” Major Sterling kept his voice neutral, not wanting to aggravate a potentially explosive situation.

That’s my best friend and partner you’re talking about abandoning. Not to mention the doctor and his daughter. They may not be dead. They may have got away, just like the horse did. They could be hurt and needing our help.” Slim argued. 

“Yes, and they could be making their way down here right now by one of the back trails. Either way, if we rush off without planning and preparation, we could put them more at risk. We could miss them in the dark, or worse yet mistake them for the Indians and attack them before we realise who they are. How would you feel, Mister Sherman, if we led the renegades right back to them?” 

Cheeks burning red with anger and frustration, Slim struggled against his own instincts. He took a deep breath and released it slowly, attempting to let the tension drain away with the expelled air. It didn’t work.  “And what if they’re up there injured, an hour now could mean the difference between life and death?” 

Unnoticed by the worried rancher, two sergeants had returned and now one stood at his side and the other slightly behind him. At a nod from the major Slim was grabbed from behind and relieved of his gun before he could even register what was happening. 

“What in tar nation–?” Slim started to protest pulling forward and freeing himself from the restraining arms of the soldiers. He froze as he heard the sound of a gun being cocked. Ice-cold eyes sparked fury at the major who had his gun pointed directly at Slim’s chest. 

“Sherman. I am as anxious as you to recover the doctor and his daughter, and by association, your friend as well. But I’m not prepared to allow you to jeopardise what chance we have, by allowing you to go off on your own.” The major’s glare was as equally fierce as Slim’s as he continued. “I’ll have you handcuffed and under guard if that is the only way to make you stay put until morning.” 

Red spots of anger spread on Slim’s cheeks and his fists clenched and unclenched at his side, but he recognised that he was not going to win the war unless he conceded this battle. 

“All right, Major. I’ll back down this time. But I’m heading out as soon as it’s light enough, with or without you and your men.” 

“I believe you, Sherman, and we will be with you. Getting them all back alive is as important to me, as it is to you. I take pride in my job, and doing it well.” 

“I’ll be there.” Slim turned to the sergeant who had taken his gun. “I’ll have my property back now,” he said coldly. 

The sergeant looked across to the commanding officer, who shook his head. “The gun will be returned to you in the morning.” He turned to the sergeant then continued, “See that a guard is kept on Mister Sherman’s horse too. I think that should ensure his co-operation for now.” He stared impassively at a glowering Slim Sherman, who had been contemplating sneaking out of the camp as soon as it was settled again. “Oh, and taking army property, a horse for example, is a court martial offence.” Major Sterling hated having to take such drastic action, but he couldn’t afford to let Sherman’s determined resolve to help his friend place everyone else in jeopardy. Once again he wondered at how special a man must be to inspire such loyalty and friendship. 

“You can’t do that, I’m a civilian,” Slim blustered but knew from his own time in the army that during a battle situation it could be argued that a civilian did fall under army command under difficult circumstances.  

Standing at his full imposing height the major steadfastly refused. “Civilian or not, I’ll be within my authority to hold you prisoner if you go against me in this.” The officer’s voice had been cold and imperious; making it obvious no argument would be tolerated. 

Slim believed him, and he also acknowledged to himself that the major was probably right. He needed to calm down and think straight, but ever since a saddle bum called Jess Harper had come into his life, he had found it increasingly hard to stay calm if he felt Jess was under threat of any sort. The man had become more than his best friend, he was a brother with a bond deeper than the casual one of shared parents. He would give his life to save Jess if he had to, and he knew Jess would do the same for him. 

“All right, Sterling. You have my word I won’t try to leave till morning and I’ll co-operate with you and your men.” Slim hesitated and then thrust his hand out towards the Major. 

Major Sterling fixed Slim’s eyes with a piercing glare, searching for the truth of his words in his eyes. Finding what he wanted to see, he took hold of Slim’s hand and shook it firmly. “Your word is good enough for me, Sherman, and I’ll give you mine that I’ll do my utmost to get them back alive.  All of them” 

“Thank you, Sir. Now if you don’t mind I’ll be turning in. I intend to be as alert as possible in the morning.” Slim turned away to do precisely that and the major and his men followed suite. 

The sleep Slim knew he needed still proved elusive. Tossing and turning he slept in fits and starts, his dreams haunted by vivid dreams of Jess and the others, in need of his help. Dawn seemed a long way off; the stars hardly seemed to move across the sky each time he woke up. As far as Slim Sherman was concerned, morning couldn’t come soon enough.

Chapter Eleven 

In the damp chill hour before dawn, James was woken by the sound of soft groans and incoherent mumblings. He turned sleep-clouded eyes towards Jess and was instantly awake when he saw the ailing young rancher restlessly thrashing about in his sleep. 

As Jess tossed around, his arms flayed wildly and James threw himself across the writhing body, frantically trying to stop him from causing further damage to himself. 

“Jess, No! Stay still!” he commanded but Jess was lost in fever induced dreams again; and struggled to escape the weight that pinned him down. James didn’t know where Jess’ mind was at that moment, but he realised he was not getting through to the fevered young man. He needed help so as he could get some more of the herbal tea into him and try and bring his temperature down. He needed Marie Rose. 

No sooner had the thought entered his mind, than she appeared at his side, the tea that had been left warming by the fire in her hand. She had been woken by the delirious ranting at the same time as her father and had moved to help immediately. 

“Here” she said “Raise his head, and I’ll try and get this into him.” 

It was a struggle to both stop Jess from causing himself further injury and get him to swallow the tea, but eventually they succeeded in getting a small amount into him. The rest spilled onto the ground as Jess repeatedly knocked their insistent hands away. 

“Will that be enough?” James asked his daughter. 

“It’s going to have to be,” she stated. “That was the last of it.”  She reached over and picked up the canteen, offering it to her father. 

Shaking his head in refusal James said, “That’s the last of that as well. You take a drink then use the rest to try and get Jess’ temperature down. We need him passive if we are going to get down off this mountain alive. Heaven knows what it would do to the controls if he started to fight us.” 

“No Father, I’ll only drink if you do. You’re the one who will be doing the steering; you need to be alert to.” 

Looking at his daughter’s face, he saw the determination therein and succumbed. He knew she was right. Taking the flask from her hand, he took a swallow of the refreshing water, and then watched as she did the same. 

Jess had calmed somewhat as the tea they had managed to get into him began to lower his temperature. Marie rose placed a gentle hand on his hot dry forehead. “He’s still very hot, Father. Dry too. That can be dangerous. It means his body has no fluid to spare to sweat out the fever.” 

James looked down at the now limp body he was still holding. “All right, let’s get some of the water in to him, and then use the last to try and cool him down.” 

With her father’s help they forced a few swallows of the precious water into Jess, and then laid him down gently on his side, propping him up slightly, to keep his shoulder off the ground. Pouring half of the remaining water onto a cloth the young girl proceeded to wipe down Jess’ face and neck, trying to reduce his fever. 

“You stay with him. See if you can get him to come round enough to co-operate. I’ll get everything ready,” James instructed. 

“Are you sure you can manage alone?” she enquired. 

“We did most of the work last night. I’ll need help though when we have to put him in the sling,” he said as he stood to move away. 

 “I’ve been thinking about that.” Marie Rose fixed her father with a serious look. “Even awake, I doubt Jess could walk to the sling. How about if we bring it over here and roll him onto it? We could use the straps and poles to drag it across to the edge, and then attach it to the main construction.” 

James looked thoughtful for a moment considering the options, and then a slow smile spread across his face. “It just might work. If we can keep Jess calm enough, I think we all might make it.” 

Patting his daughter on the shoulder, James moved off to assemble the last pieces of his machine, which he hoped would save all their lives. Marie Rose watched her father, holding the cool wet cloth on Jess’ forehead as her eyes followed the progress across the clearing. 

A low groan brought her attention back to the wounded man and she turned to see two clear blue eyes focused on her. If their clarity didn’t confirm Jess’ improvement, his next sounds did. She had to give him, that he was certainly tenacious about something once he’d decided that it was the best course of action. 

His eyes flickered around the clearing, at least as much as he could see of it from lying on his side. He caught a brief flicker of movement off to the side and behind him and realised it was James. 

“What—what you b–both doing here?”  His voice was barely a whisper through dry cracked lips, but the anger and concern could still be heard. 

Before she could answer, James was back at her side, having completed the assembly and moved the whole bird like structure close to the cliff edge. Kneeling down in front of Jess he smiled. “Well, I see you’re awake and back in your co-operative frame of mind.” James made light of the situation, needing to keep Jess as calm as possible for what lay ahead. 

“Y–you don’t listen v–very well” Jess forced out. 

“Neither do you,” James retorted. “We are not going to leave you here. When we go; it will be together.” Looking up at the warming rays of the sun as they chased the night back away from what promised to be a hot day, James nodded and continued, “And it looks like that will be in the next few minutes.” 

Taking the canteen from his daughter’s hands, he lifted Jess’ head and poured the last of the precious fluid into his mouth before he could protest. Jess swallowed from pure reflex, and then raised his hand to push the flask away. 

“You need–need it too.” His tongue felt thick and awkward as he forced the words out. 

“We’ve each had a drink, Jess. Stop fretting. Now I need you to try and help us with something. If Marie Rose and I help, do you think you can make it across to those blankets over there.” James tilted his head to the spot a few feet away where he had placed the blanket and strap construction he had assembled. 

Following the direction of James’ gaze, Jess stared at the blanket a few feet away. He could see no purpose to moving onto it, and was about to say so when Marie Rose cut him off. She was coming to recognise that her ‘hero’ did not take instruction kindly and could be really stubborn about some things. 

“Look, Jess you want us to head down off this mountain and I promise that is just what we will do, as soon as we see you settled over on that blanket,” she stated reasonably 

Jess’ brow furrowed in puzzlement. Admittedly he wasn’t thinking clearly right now. In fact, the thoughts in his mind felt like they were swimming through mud to get to the surface, but he couldn’t see any reason for struggling to move over that few feet. For that matter, as the last of the herbal tea began to take effect, his fever-clouded mind couldn’t think of any reason why not either. ‘ Mountain’  he thought ‘didn’t they say they would go off the mountain if he moved across’. He needed them off this mountain, needed them safe. He could do this. He swallowed hard, then grasping James pro-offered arm with his one good one, he tried to pull himself into a sitting position. 

The land seemed to tilt and sky and earth tried to flip over on each other as that simple movement sent waves of renewed pain through his tormented body and his stomach threatened to lose its contents. Both James and Marie Rose grabbed him as he threatened to fall back again. James held him against his chest, waiting for the ragged breathing to settle before trying to move Jess further. He began to think moving Jess this way was not such a good idea. 

At that point Jess would likely have agreed with him if he’d been asked. Slowly his ragged breathing came under control and the pain subsided again to a bearable level. Jess stared across at the blanket that was his goal. It was only a few feet away but to the weakened man it may as well have been a mile. 

“It’s all right, Jess. You lie back. We’ll find another way to move you,” James began to lay Jess down again. 

“No! I c–can do it.” Jess forced out through gritted teeth. His whole mind focused on the fact that James and his daughter had promised they would head down the mountain once he had been settled on the other blanket. He had to do this for their sake. Through a haze of pain, fever and drugged tea, Jess gathered the last of his dwindling strength and struggled upwards to his knees. 

Startled by this show of unexpected strength, James and Marie Rose offered what help they could, and finally they brought Jess on to his feet. His weight leaning heavily on them, and his left leg dragging uselessly behind, Jess staggered to the blanket and collapsed down onto it. 

 That last effort cost him dearly, and as wave after wave of white-hot agony threatened to plummet him into oblivion, he hardly noticed as James lowered him carefully down flat and rolled him over almost onto his stomach. Working quickly to complete the job before Jess could protest, Marie Rose placed the remainder of the blankets as tight rolls on either side of Jess.  Then the blanket was wrapped cocoon like around him and tied close by the straps and buckles that she had stitched in place last evening. 

Taking slow deep breaths, Jess managed to bring his body back under his control, and tried to roll more to his side. Only then did he realise he was effectively cocooned, trussed up like a thanksgiving turkey. For a few moments he struggled ineffectively to move his left arm, then recognising it was gaining him nothing but pain and exhaustion, he stopped. 

“Hey! W–what’s goin’ on?” he tried to shout, but the words came out as a breathy whisper. 

James and Marie Rose had moved away once they had secured Jess, but James heard the weak voice and was instantly alongside him again. 

“It’s just like we promised, Jess. We’re going home.” 

“Huh?” Confusion and fever slurred Jess’ speech. 

“We are all going home, Jess. If my calculations are correct, and I’ve no reason to believe they aren’t, we will be at the bottom of this mountain and near help within a few hours.” 

The confused look on Jess’ pale, pain lined face said it all. Hell, he was the one supposed to be out of his head with fever, not these two. 

Not waiting to hear if Jess replied, James and Marie Rose moved behind him, out of his line of sight. Straining to hear something, anything that would help him understand what was happening, he could only hear faint creaks and a sound that reminded him of wind catching and lifting the canvas cover on the wagon. 

Unable to turn or move more than a few inches, Jess felt the heat his fevered body was generating, and now wrapped like this and lying out unprotected under the now risen sun; he began to feel like he was on fire. He ran his tongue over dry lips and again tried to free himself from the restraints. He knew he was awake because of the pain that wracked his body, but the reality he was in, was like the product of a delirious mind. He felt his eyelids growing heavy and darkness clawing at him again as his body weakened under the twin assaults of pain and heat. 

A coolness of a sort came with the encroaching darkness and the glare of the sun behind his eyelids dulled then disappeared. Jess felt a cool cloth wiped across his face and Marie Rose spoke gently to him. 

“We’re almost there, Jess. Just hang on. Soon we will be home, and you’ll start feeling better.” 

He forced his eyes open and found that in fact he was now lying in a pool of dark shadow. Had he slipped into unconsciousness and been out of it a full day? He raised his head to peer directly in front of him and could see the full glare of the sun hitting the ground only a few feet away. Turning his head to the side he briefly caught a glimpse of wood and canvas stretching away to the side, and then Marie Rose moved again and her body blocked his view. Well, at least now he knew he had only slipped a way for a few brief minutes. It was still early morning and it was the canvas that was shading him. 

Perhaps they had rigged a tent to shade him before they went. That had to be it. He wished he could clear the clouds from his brain and think clearly. The tent seemed like a reasonable idea, but then why had they tied him up like this. Surely they didn’t think he was going to try and move around. Hell, he’d agree with anyone if they called him stubborn. He was the first to admit that sometimes he was too stubborn for his own good, as Slim would frequently remind him, but given his current condition, he wasn’t likely to be moving around much in the foreseeable future. 

His mind drifted to thoughts of family and home as he recalled the words Slim was frequently admonishing him with. It wasn’t like he set out to cause trouble. It just seemed to find him, and then, sure, he was too damn stubborn to back away from it. He tried to picture the faces of Mike, Daisy and Slim; certain he would not see them again. Jess loved them all like the family he had lost, and now he would not see them to tell them what they meant to him. He could only hope they would know. Again he thought of Slim and their angry parting. He didn’t blame Slim for any of this, but he hoped Slim would know that too. His friend was just too willing to take all the guilt onto his own shoulders. Jess just wished he could tell Slim that none of this was his fault. 

Not realising it, Jess spoke aloud, and Marie Rose returned to crouch at his side.

“What is it, Jess? Are you alright?” she asked. 

“Tell Slim—tell him, it—it ain’t h–his fault,” Jess forced out. 

Confused Marie Rose did her best to re-assure her feverish patient. “It’s all right, Jess. You’ll be able to tell him yourself soon.” 

A feeble shake of Jess’ head told her he didn’t understand as he continued to speak “T–Tell him, I–I’m s–sorry.”   

His mind drifted again and he felt a pang of fear that Slim might blame him for this. Well this time he wasn’t the one who’d drawn the trouble and he wasn’t the one being so stubborn and putting the Easterners lives in danger. It was they themselves. Why were they still here, they’d made him a shelter, why hadn’t they gone?  

Before he could pull himself together enough to voice the question out loud, he felt his upper body being raised, first on one side and then the other. Each jerk upwards sent sharp barbs of pain through his shoulder and leg. Unable to stop himself, he cried out as the next movement sent the pain escalating. 

“Easy, Jess, we’re almost done,” came James reassuring voice. When they were finally finished, Jess realised he was hanging in mid air, as if he was in a hammock although it felt far from the relaxed pleasure lying in a hammock would normally convey. 

Jess struggled within his bindings and managed to turn his head towards the sound of the voice. He could make no sense of what he could see. James was strapping himself into some sort of assembly of belts that hung from the wooden frame. Turning his head in the opposite direction he found Marie Rose doing the same. 

Father and daughter looked at each other over, the top of Jess’ head. “This is it. Are you sure about this, Marie Rose?” James asked. 

“Of course not, Father. I have absolute faith in you and your work.” Marie Rose’s face shone with adoration for her father. 

However, Jess had no such blind trust. Despite the pain and fever that assailed him he was able to concentrate enough to know that there was something very wrong with this whole situation. “W–What’s going on? “Jess forced out past dry lips. 

“We’re getting you to help, Jess.  We’re going home.” Marie Rose smiled down at him. She could see the fear and confusion in his eyes. “Jess, remember the mushrooms?” 

“Yeah—yeah, r–reckon I d-do,” he gasped, not seeing where this was leading. 

“You said you would have to learn to trust me more then, when I was right about the mushrooms.” He did remember that, but he couldn’t see the relevance to his current situation and was about to try and say so, when Marie Rose continued. “I’m asking you to trust me now, Jess.” 

That was it. That was all he was going to get by way of an explanation.  Then James simply said, “Now,” and then they were moving. James and Marie Rose ran with all the speed they could manage, straight towards the cliff edge. 

The jarring motion sent the pain tearing through his body, and Jess felt the bile rise in his throat. Forcing his head upward, he strained to see what was happening, and instantly wished he hadn’t bothered. The crumbling edge of the sheer cliff was rushing to meet them. 

“N0ooooo!” Jess’ cry of fear and protest was lost in the sound of rushing wind as they plunged downwards from the cliff top. 

His stomach rose up to his throat and plunged back down again, as Jess automatically closed his eyes tightly against the sight of the ground rushing up to meet him.  He felt the air rush past his face, and wondered briefly what it would feel like to die. 

The faces of those he loved came to him as he recalled the good times and allowed himself to bask in the warmth of their love. Very briefly, he regretted the way he had parted from Slim, Daisy and Mike, and hoped they would know how much he cared for them and would forgive him. Then he brought his mind back to those faces he held close to his heart, determined that his last moments alive would be with his family held close. 

The moment seemed to extend forever. There was no sickening thud as bodies impacted with the unforgiving ground. Instead there was the continued feel of wind against his face and a peculiar see-sawing motion that seem to repeatedly lift and drop his body. ‘Was this it? Had it all happened so quickly he hadn’t noticed?  How could you die and not notice?’ 

A soft laughter reached his ears. Marie Rose was here? Well she was certainly dead as well, so where else was she going to be? His fever driven mind answered its own question with another statement.’ Marie Rose was a good child, she would most definitely be destined for heaven, if you believed in such things. Did that mean he was in heaven also?’ Somehow Jess didn’t think so. 

“It’s beautiful, Jess. Open your eyes and look” The child’s voice was insistent. “Tell him, Father. Isn’t it everything we ever imagined?” This question was aimed at her father as he worked with her to guide the giant wing construction from updraft to updraft as they flew down the valley towards the distant foothills. 

Her laughter and the pure joy in her voice penetrated Jess’ pain-clouded mind and with a supreme effort he forced his eyes to open. The sight that greeted him caused him to draw in air in a gasp of surprise. His heart hammered in his chest and it took all of his determination to keep his eyes open to the vista unfolding below him. 

“Jess, take some slow deep breaths, it will help with the sick feeling in your stomach,” James instructed from beside him. 

“T–This ain’t happening,” Jess denied, turning towards James and was surprised by the peaceful look that was on his face. He practically glowed with happiness ‘He looks like a man that has found his dream’ Jess found himself thinking despite the absurdity of his situation, and with that thought came an acceptance, a calmness that blanketed his mind and soothed his damaged body. 

His mind clearer than it had been for the past day, Jess found himself looking around. Turning as much as the confines of his protective cocoon would allow, he took in the flimsy construction that had defied the laws of gravity and allowed them to fly. ‘So this was the invention that the doctor had been so secretive about,’ Jess thought. He could certainly see why the army would be interested. 

The air continued to blow against Jess’ face, brushing his hair back from his face as it dried the sweat from him. Beside him, Marie Rose kept excitedly pointing out the sights below, little cries of exclamation escaping her as each adjustment in the flight path brought fresh views to their eyes. Despite his earlier shock and fears Jess found himself caught up in the others joy. The slow circles that they moved in lulled him and he floated through the air currents, his mind lost to the majestic beauty unfolding before him.

Chapter Twelve 

Several thousand feet below, the army encampment was stirring and preparing to make an early departure. Slim struggled against heavy eyes and a bad night’s sleep as he downed his coffee, and chewed on the hard biscuit and beans that had been thrust into his hands. 

True to his word, Major Sterling had his men woken at first light and a well-drilled body of men efficiently set about breaking camp. Scouts had already been sent ahead to check the route, and as soon as they reported back, the troop would set out. It couldn’t happen soon enough for the very anxious young rancher. 

Walking over to his horse, Slim saddled up and stowed away his gear. As he prepared to mount he looked over to where the last of the scouts to return, was agitatedly talking to the major. He was gesturing wildly and even from this distance, Slim could see that the commanding officer was becoming exasperated. Fearing bad news and further delay, he guided his horse towards the conversing soldiers. 

Swallowing hard against his own fears, Slim forced himself to speak calmly. “Is there a problem?” His question was direct and to the point. Jess’ life was at stake and Slim wasn’t prepared to waste anymore time. 

Feeling far from tolerant, and not appreciating a civilian’s interference, Major Sterling still made an effort to respond reasonably. 

“There’s nothing to concern yourself with, Sherman. We’ll be heading out now.” The last was said with a glare at the scout who looked far from happy. The major, however turned his back on both of them and headed to his own horse. 

There was something about the look in the eyes of the scout that caused Slim to hesitate before he turned away as well. Behind him the scout mumbled angrily under his breath. “I ain’t no damn wet behind the ears recruit and I know what I saw, no matter what he says.” 

Something, some sixth sense perhaps, was telling Slim that he was missing something important. He spun on his heels and grabbed the scout by the shoulder spinning the man around to face him. 

“Hey! What ya playing at?” The scout was not feeling very amenable at the moment, and it showed. 

Slim took a step back and held his hands out away from his side. “Whoa. I’m looking for trouble. I just want to hear what it was you were trying to get the major to understand.” Slim kept his voice soft, wanting to convey his genuine interest. 

“What for? So you can think I’m imagining things too.” The slighted soldier was not going to be appeased that easily. 

“Look, I’m not the major and I’m sure that you must have seen something. I’m willing to listen to what you have to say,” Slim tried again.

For a second it looked like the scout was about to ignore him, but then he sighed and started to reply. “All right, I’ll tell you what I saw, but I doubt you will believe it.” 

“Try me,” Slim prompted further. 

“I was up the trail a ways, trying to search the cliff face. There was an eagle circling up near the heights. Nothing unusual in that, but there was something odd about it, I don’t know just what, but it wasn’t moving like any eagle I ever saw before.” The man hesitated, waiting for Slim to refute or criticize what he was saying. When no comment came, he continued. “Then I saw another bird, it swept in close to it then veered away in a hurry, but that’s where it was strange, cause compared to that second bird, the first one was a giant. I know distance can play tricks with size, but I’ve been in this game a long time, and I ain’t fooled easily. That first bird was as big as a wagon, if I compared em’ right. Look, if you strain yer eyes, you can still see it, right over there.” He pointed to the farthest edge of the steep cliffs towering above them.  “Do you see it?” 

Following the line of his arm, Slim could make out a distant black shape against the glare of the rising sun. Somehow the shape didn’t instantly remind you of a bird. The eyes kept trying to tell you it was a bird, because only a bird could be up there in mid air, but his mind kept refusing to accept it. The shape was wrong and the movement seemed far from birdlike. 

At first Slim didn’t respond. He couldn’t understand why this should be important to him, but his gut feeling was telling him it was. Finally Slim asked “Did you get a closer look with spyglasses?” 

“No, Sir, they ain’t standard army issue. Only the major and his second in command carry em.” Unsure just where this line of questioning was leading, the army scout was prompted to ask,” Just what are ya getting at, Mister? I don’t want no more trouble than I already got.” 

“I’ll do the talking. You just point out the major’s second in command and stay with me.” Slim needed to get to the bottom of this before the troop moved out. 

Hoping to prove he was right, the scout marched ahead of Slim, heading towards the group of men pulling down the mess tent. Nodding towards the man in the middle of the melee, the scout indicated the ranking officer. 

Slim made short work of pushing his way through the group until he was face to face with the man he needed. He had no time to waste and came straight to the point.

“I need to borrow your spyglasses, if you don’t mind.” 

As polite as the request was, the officer wasn’t about to just hand over military property without asking why. “You mind telling’ me just who you are and why I should do like your asking?” he said facing down the tall rancher. 

“Your scout here just returned from patrol. He saw something up against the high cliffs and we feel it should be checked out before the troop moves out.” Slim wasn’t exactly lying, just manipulating the truth a little.

For a few seconds it looked like the officer would refuse, but he stared hard at the scout and finally asked, “That right, you figure it could be something important?” 

The scout followed Slim’s lead “Yes, Sir. It could be something we need to be aware of before we head out, Sir.” 

Without further discussion the officer handed the scout the spyglasses he had in his saddlebag. “Can you still see it?” he asked impatiently. 

Sweeping the high cliffs to assure the officer he was checking out the bluffs, the scout then swung outwards to search for the erratically moving ‘bird’. Alerted by this change in the direction of observation, the officer went to take the spyglasses back. 

Slim moved quickly to intercept him. “Hold on, just give him a second.” 

Seeing the sincerity and concern shining in the young rancher’s face, the officer nodded and stepped back. The scout had finally managed to find the object he was searching for and he refocused the spyglasses. What he saw caused him to gasp and almost drop the valuable article. Then collecting himself, he thrust the glasses at the officer, “Sir, I think you had better see this.” He pointed at the black shape turning lazily in the sky as it dropped steadily lower. 

Not knowing why a somewhat awkwardly moving bird should be of interest, but deciding to trust the look of the scout, the officer did as he was asked. He looked at the dot, lowered the glasses and then raised them again to stare hard at what he saw. “My, Lord, is that for real? The major needs to see this.” 

Slim was practically ready to deck the young officer, he needed to know just what was causing the excitement, but it seemed like the officer, in his excitement, had forgotten he even existed. All Slim could do was trail behind the two men as they searched out the commanding officer, and hoped someone would tell him what he needed to know before he was forced to get violent. 

Slim was so close behind the officer that when the man stopped in front of the major, he went barrelling into him. The officer was so disturbed by what he had seen that apart from casting one quick glare at Slim, he totally ignored the incident and started to talk rapidly to the major. 

“Sir, I think you ought to see this,” the officer said pointing in the direction of the distant dark shape. 

Trusting his junior officers, this time the major did as requested, despite his doubts.  His reaction was almost an exact duplicate of his junior officer’s.  “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. That surely isn’t possible,” he commented aloud. He threw an apologetic glance at the scout, “Next time you’ve got something to say, make very sure I take notice.” 

Slim couldn’t hold back any longer. He needed to head out after Jess and the others, but he also needed to know just what it was that had them all so disbelieving.

He placed himself in front of the major with a stance that said he wasn’t moving till he got an answer.  “I’m about out of patience,” he snarled. “What is it that your scout has seen?” 

The major looked at Slim like he was seeing him for the first time. “Sherman, you know the Doctor and his daughter. Take a look and tell me what you see.” The clearly bemused man thrust the spyglasses towards the equally bemused Slim. 

Slim was familiar with their use from his time in the army, during the war. Within seconds he was focused on the object that was causing such consternation to the small group of men, and just as quickly he almost dropped the glasses with shock. “It’s them, but their hanging from some sort of kite. Just hanging there in the air,” he exclaimed. Suddenly it all fell into place. The drawings, kites and folded paper thrown into the air, coupled with the dropped feathers and other experiments he had witnessed the good doctor trying out. That unbelievable contraption that was currently defying the laws of gravity was the doctor’s big secret. 

Just as suddenly he was hit by another thought, one that was of a far more serious nature. Where was Jess? His heart beat so fiercely against his ribs, that he was sure everyone could hear it; Slim raised the glasses again, hoping but not expecting to see his best friend. 

He could clearly make out James as he moved his body weight to change the direction of the giant kite. Slim redirected his gaze to Marie Rose, not registering the blanket wrapped bundle hanging in the middle of the contraption. It was only when he saw the look of concern on the young girl’s face and followed the direction of her gaze that he refocused the glasses slightly and the true nature of the dark blanket shrouded shape became evident. 

For one dreadful moment that seemed to last for an eternity Slim thought he was seeing Jess’ lifeless body. Then his heart lurched into action again as the dark mop of hair that was just visible at the end of the blanket, turned to the side and Slim saw Jess’ face, pale and drawn but very much alive.  

“We’ve got to get to them, and fast,” he stated urgently. “I think Jess may be injured.” 

“I won’t give you an argument on that, Sherman,” the major replied. “But do you mind telling me just how we’re going to do that? They could stay up there for hours and travel miles from here. This isn’t exactly within my considerable experience you know.” 

 Before Slim could formulate a reply, the situation was taken out of their hands. The scout, whose perseverance had brought the situation to everyone’s attention, stepped between the two men. “Begging your pardon, Sir, Mister Sherman. But I think the question might be about to be answered for us.” He pointed towards the shape in the sky that was now looming closer. 

Even as they watched, the previously smoothly moving kite started to lurch, seeming to drop and then raise again in short jerking movements. To the watching men each drop brought their hearts to a lurching stop, as they thought the adventurers were about to encounter the ground in a less than ideal manner. Whatever was happening up there, it did not look good for the three people doing the seemingly impossible imitation of a bird. 

“Sir, it looks like they are going to go to ground somewhere close to that wooded slope to the west. We’ll need to get over there,” the scout stated, but Slim had already worked that out for himself and was headed for his horse. 

“Sherman, hold up a minute.”   

Reluctantly, Slim turned and glared at the major who had called him back. “That’s my partner up there and he needs help, this had better be good,” He snarled, angry at being further delayed. 

“If they hit the ground hard or worse, land in those trees, they’re going to need medical help,” the major stated. 

“Have you got a doctor with this troop?” Slim asked, knowing the major was right, but still not able to tolerate being further delayed. He also had to acknowledge to himself that from what he had seen of Jess, his best friend looked like he needed medical help. 

“No, but I do have an Orderly, a pretty good one at that. Just give him enough time to saddle up and he’ll go with you.” The major nodded in the direction of the men, and a man wearing a white arm band moved off to collect his medical supplies, and saddle up. 

Admitting that in this the major was right, Slim remained standing, impatiently waiting for the orderly to join him. Seeing the deep worry in Slim’s eyes, Major Sterling tried to offer some comfort. 

“You’ll get there faster with just two of you. I’ll send two men to town for the doctor and a wagon.” He saw the worry flare again in Slim’s eyes, and explained. “I doubt the good Doctor or his daughter would be comfortable riding horses all the way back to Laramie. I’ll follow with a small escort and meet you, once I’ve got things organised here.” 

Before Slim could reply, the orderly was back, mounted, his supplies in a gunnysack slung across the front of the saddle. Slim noted the bulging bag and hoped its contents wouldn’t be needed. He swallowed hard against his worry and said, more sharply than he intended, “Alright.” He turned to the orderly, “Let’s ride,” and with that, Slim mounted, kicked his heels against the horses flank and took off at full gallop, the determined orderly close behind.  

Behind him, the major started to issue orders to his troops, sending two of his men with the fastest horses back to Laramie, and picking those men that would ride with him after Slim. The rest would remain here until the major was fully acquainted with the new situation he was facing. 

Even as he rode, Slim kept his eyes fixed on the erratically moving object that carried his friends ever closer to the tree covered slopes ahead. It didn’t take a genius to tell that the giant kite that had previously been moving so gracefully through the skies, was now struggling badly. Slim dreaded to think what damage would be done to the three people riding the airborne contraption when it hit the ground. He dug his heels in and urged his horse forwards to where it looked like the giant kite would land.

Chapter Thirteen 

The three people, whose lives hung, quite literally, in the air, were also fully aware of what hitting the trees would mean. James struggled to guide the uncooperative contraption towards the only relatively smooth landing spot he could see, but each lurch and drop caused by the changing wind currents around the foot hills, seemed to throw them closer to the outward reaching branches of the pine woodland. 

Marie Rose’s earlier joy was lost to her concern for their safety, but most especially that of her hero. Physically, she and her father would probably be able to brace themselves against the imminent impact, but trussed up and sick as he was, she thought it unlikely Jess would survive the crash. 

“Father, can’t you do anything?” she shouted above the noise of the rushing air. 

“I’m trying to. I just didn’t account for the way the winds lower down would drag on the changed shape of this thing,” James glanced meaningfully at the blanket wrapped form of Jess as it swung erratically between them, at the mercy of the crosswinds. “How is he?” he asked. 

“Not good, I’m afraid. We’ve got to brace his body when we land, somehow. If that arrow shaft —, “The rest of what she had to say was lost to the wind as their small craft swung violently again and James attempted to correct it. 

Thankfully, Jess was oblivious to their conversation; he was locked in a private world of pain and misery. He felt like he was being shaken around like a rag doll in a malicious child’s hands, and his muddled mind refused to tell him why. Each lurch and swing sent stabs of pain from his leg and shoulder coursing through his abused body, to come together somewhere near his stomach. There they joined to send him into dry heaves as his stomach sort to empty itself of contents it didn’t have. If he wasn’t dead already he wished he were. His only regret was being unable to say sorry to Slim and the others for their poor parting.  A sharp cry briefly penetrated his muddled senses and he turned towards the sound. 

“This is it, brace yourself,” James yelled, and then the world seemed to explode around Jess. 

He felt his whole body hit by a massive force, red agony pulsed through him, and the last thing Jess saw before darkness ensnared him, was Slim’s face, looking at him with regret. 

In the end, there had been no time for discussion or manoeuvring. They had lost the updraft and a gust of wind had caught them and spun them around unmercifully. The left wing tip caught on an outstretched branch, the furthest out reach of the woodland. The force of that collision jarred their bodies and then they plummeted to the ground, barely missing the trees.  Then all was still and quiet. 

 James was the first to recover, barely dazed and only slightly bruised. He had been lucky enough to land feet first and was able to absorb the hard impact. Now he struggled to free himself from his harness, his first thoughts being for his daughter’s safety. He thought he had seen movement, men and horses, heading in their direction, just before the collision spun him round. He had been unable to see if it was friend or foe from that distance, but wasn’t inclined to hang around to see. 

Reaching the far side of the giant construction he saw a small hand sticking out from under the broken jumble of wood and canvas. As he struggled to throw the debris clear, he was relieved to hear a soft voice and see the hand move upwards seeking to lift the heavy canvas from Marie Rose’s trapped body. 

“F—father, is that you?” she called 

“Now who else would it be?” he cajoled, trying to re-assure her. “Stay still, I’ll soon have you free. Are you hurt anywhere?” 

“Only my pride, I think. I should have been able to compensate for that last spin.” 

“I doubt that we could have done anything to prevent it. The structure was just too awkward with the alterations I had to make. There!” he stated triumphantly as he threw the last piece of canvas clear of her legs. “Do you think you can stand?” 

In answer she slipped her small hand in his and slowly stood. Relief showed on her face as she felt no pain and a quick inspection of herself assured her no damage was done. She looked appraisingly at her father. 

“How are you, Father?” she asked, her voice edged with concern. 

“I feel like I’ve just fought off a wild bull, but everything is intact. We have been very lucky.” Suddenly, James’ face clouded with worry and both spoke together as their minds cleared of the initial shock and clarity returned. 

“JESS!” 

No reply could be heard in response to their outcry, and mirrored looks of concern and horror crossed their faces. 

“He must be under here, somewhere near the middle.” James spun on his heels and headed to the middle where the collection of debris was heaviest. Marie Rose followed close behind him, fighting against the tight knot of fear that threatened to close off her throat. 

Stopping where the main structure had been the sturdiest, using the heavier wooden struts and thicker canvas, James called out. “Jess! Jess can you hear me? Try and make some sort of noise so we know where to start,” he instructed, hoping against hope for a reply. 

When only a heavy silence surrounded them, the father and daughter looked resignedly at each other and moved, heavy hearted, towards the twisted wreckage under which they were certain their injured friend lay. 

A sudden thought flourished in James mind. “Good Lord, I almost forgot. I think I saw riders heading this way. We’ve got to be quick and get Jess free and to cover, in case it’s those renegades again.” James spoke aloud, while he thought ‘That’s if he is alive under all this.’ 

Saying nothing, Marie Rose attacked the debris with renewed vigour. She refused to think about the new threat or even that she might find Jess dead beneath the wreckage.

It seemed to take forever as the two struggled with the tangled wood and canvas. 

Finally they were rewarded by the sight of a booted leg jutting out from under a heavy wooden cross strut. Marie Rose eyes met her fathers across the wood and she saw the doubt there. 

“We can do it,” she stated simply, “For Jess’ sake.” 

The two bent together and grasped the rough wood firmly. Groaning with the strain they heaved and pulled, succeeding in moving the heavy strut a mere inch, before it slipped from their grasp to fall back across Jess’ wounded leg. 

A low whimper issued from under the largest part of the wreckage. Though it hurt them to think they had caused him further pain and injury, it was a sign that Jess was alive, at least for now. With renewed vigour they bent to their task again. 

The sweat trickled down his back as James put all his strength behind the lever he had pushed under the stubborn wooden strut. Marie Rose was at the other end, intending to try and slide Jess’ leg free the moment the wood lifted enough to allow it.

The thing wouldn’t budge, though in desperation he leaned fully on to the lever, his feet lifting clear of the ground. 

Then suddenly the strain was gone and the strut was starting to lift smoothly. James focused on the strong hands that had taken a firm grasp on the lever next to his, and then glanced up into the worried face of one Slim Sherman. Without taking his attention from the job in hand, he asked “How—?” 

“Tell you about it later. The army’s close by. They’ll be here soon.” Slim was still held by the icy hand of fear that had grasped his heart when he had seen the giant kite hit the trees and lurch heavily towards the ground. He saw it hit the ground hard and had been unable to stifle the cry of alarm that had forced its way out past the fear constricting his throat. 

“Jess may not have that much time,” James gasped out as he and Slim held the wooden strut up and Marie Rose was helped by the orderly to move Jess’ leg clear. 

Now that Jess’ leg was free the two men released the lever, allowing the strut to fall harmlessly to the ground. Even as the four of them continued to work feverishly at clearing the rubble and freeing the trapped man, Slim asked, “How is he?” 

“He made a small sound a few minutes ago, but otherwise he hasn’t responded. I’m sorry to say. He wasn’t too good before we took to the air.” James looked at the fear on Slim’s face and realized for the first time just how important Jess was to him. “We did our best for him. When the Indians attacked, Jess tried to save at least one of the horses. That’s how he got hurt. He wanted us to leave him there and get ourselves down to safety.” James gave a weak smile as he recalled how angry Jess had been when he and Marie Rose had refused to do as he wished. “Hurt as he was, he found enough strength to lay into us for not abandoning him. I kept telling him he shouldn’t expect that of us, but he just kept on.” All the while he was speaking; James was working feverishly to free the trapped man. 

“Jess sure can be a stubborn cuss,” Slim supplied, fondly recalling the times he had berated his friend for his blockheadedness. “But it’s that stubborn streak of his that keeps him alive against all the odds.”  As he used his not inconsiderable strength to shift the heavy debris, Slim sought solace in a prayerful thought, ‘Dear Lord, please let his stubborn nature make him hold on.” 

As they worked closer to the centre of the pile, the girl and the orderly moved back, to allow the stronger men to work in the smaller space, unhindered. Over to the side, Marie Rose looked anxiously on. She had kept out of the way once Jess’ leg was freed, recognising that the two men would work better unhindered by her presence. 

Close to her, the orderly was unpacking his medical supplies and starting a small fire, making good use of the discarded wood and canvas. Having seen the way the flying contraption had hit the ground; he had expected to be burying the three people that had come to earth with it. Instead, two of the riders were amazingly healthy, and glancing at the now almost freed body of the third, he looked for signs of life that would tell him the third rider would need his skills. 

“How badly was he injured?” the orderly asked, needing to ensure he had the necessary things ready to do the job. 

Surprisingly, it was Marie Rose that turned to answer him. “A minor bump to the head that may have given him a mild concussion,” she started on the least worrying injury first, gathering her strength to break the bad news to Slim, who she knew was listening, even though he appeared focused on his work. “One of the Indians had a knife, and he tried to stab Jess. He missed anything vital but as Jess twisted away the knife sliced his leg open down the length of his thigh. It was down to the bone in parts but I have a little medical knowledge and we cleaned it and stopped the bleeding. I used an herbal paste to keep infection out, and that seemed to work.” 

Interrupting her, the army medic asked, “How long ago was he hurt?” He was very aware of the threat to life infection could be. 

Her carefully constructed train of thought interrupted, Marie Rose hesitated. So much had happened in such a short time; she was uncertain how long ago it was since she had so carefully stitched up the horrific wound. 

James supplied the answer. “It must be at least over thirty six hours ago.” 

The cold fear that had been eating at Slim bit deep at the words. Anyone could tell you that was far too long. Without good medical attention, infection followed by gangrene would set in, and take the life of even the strongest of men.  Slim heaved at the last piece of canvas that was draped over Jess’ upper body. Before Marie Rose could continue with her catalogue of injuries, Slim saw the worse for himself, grimacing at the sight that met his eyes. The broken arrow shaft protruding from Jess’ back seemed to pierce through Slim’s own heart. 

Slim moved forward quickly, stepping to the far side of his friend.  He started unfastening the buckles and ties that held Jess’ unmoving form encased in the blanket shroud. James dropped down on the other side of their inert friend as two pairs of concerned eyes met. 

“We had to try and prevent him moving too much. Jess told us how to take the arrow out, but we couldn’t do it. I—It was just too much of a risk.” 

Nodding in sympathy, Slim continued to work to free his partner. He himself had only ever had to remove an arrow from someone once before, when he was in the army. The experience had upset him so much he had sworn to himself he would never repeat it. Now it looked like he was going to have to repeat the harrowing experience with his best friend on the receiving end. 

Then the last tie was released and the blanket fell free. Gently but firmly Slim rolled Jess’ still form over onto the side, watching for any faint chest movement that would tell him Jess was still breathing. Instead his gentle ministrations were rewarded by a low moan from the unconscious man. 

“Easy there, Pard, easy,” Slim soothed, the relief evident in his voice. 

That child was back again, shaking his rag doll body around and awakening the pain in each jangled nerve in his beaten body. Jess tried to move away from it, but only succeeded in increasing its driving intensity. He groaned his protest, as hands seemed to move and pull at him. 

But something was different. The touch of these hands was gentle and somehow familiar. A warm familiar voice, full of concern, penetrated the pain clouding his mind and he forced his eyes open to find a beloved face close to his, concern and tenderness written there for all to see. 

“S—Slimmm–?” Jess forced out passed dry cracked lips, knowing he must be dreaming, knowing that his partner could not be there, and was only a product of his fever.  

“I’m right here, Pard. Just lie still and let us help you.” Slim reached out and brushed the damp dark locks from Jess forehead noting with concern the fresh deep gash that was there, an obvious legacy from the crash. 

Jess felt the familiar soothing touch and struggled to clear his eyes and his vision. He tried to speak again and coughed harshly against the dryness in his mouth. 

Slim took the canteen the orderly held out to him, and raising Jess’ head gently, he pressed the open rim to Jess’ parched lips. The cool water felt good as it trickled down his throat and Jess gulped greedily at it. Fearing that Jess would make himself sick by drinking too quickly Slim pulled the canteen back. 

“Take it slow, Jess. There’s plenty to go round. I’ll give you some more in a minute. Right now I think my friend here needs to take a look at you.” Slim gently lowered Jess’ head to the ground and went to move back to allow the orderly to get close, but Jess raised a shaking hand and grabbed at Slim’s sleeve. 

His need giving him surprising strength, Jess spoke again. “Sss–Slim? Y–You really here?” 

A warm smile spread across Slim’s features, lighting his eyes with brotherly love.

“I’m here, old friend, and I’m staying right here till you’re all fixed up.” 

Still, Jess fought against the weakness overtaking him again. He had something to say to Slim before it was too late. “N–need to say s–sorry, Slim, to y–you, D–Daisy and, M–Mike.” 

Puzzled by this statement but recognising it was important to Jess, Slim waited to hear the rest. 

Jess took several deep breaths then continued. “Sh–shouldn’t have s–set off on y–you all l–like I d–did w–when I l–left.” Jess’ strength left him now that he had said what he had so desperately needed to get off his chest. Whatever happened to him now, he had made his peace with his best friend and family, and he could rest. 

Understanding suddenly came to Slim. It was just like Jess to take the guilt and blame on himself, and let it eat at him. “You’ve done nothing to be sorry for. Hell, it’s me that set you up, and although I would wish it otherwise, it looks to me like you were right to worry about taking, Marie Rose.” 

Jess’ cheek twitched and a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth, chasing away the pain lines for a brief moment. “N–no I w–was wrong. M-Marie R–Rose saved m–my life. S–She was m–more than capable t–to m–make t–the t–trip.”  

Slim gave Jess’ good leg a gentle pat, “I reckon we’ve both made a few mistakes, but we’ll have all the time in the world to apologise to each other once we’ve got you fixed up. Now lie still and let my friend here get a good look at the damage.” This time, when Slim moved back slightly, Jess made no move to stop him. 

Once again the army orderly moved close to Jess. He tried to make the injured man relax, knowing that he was going to cause him pain simple by trying to examine him. He introduced himself, speaking in a soothing voice. “All right, Jess, ain’t it? Most of the men in the troop call me Mac, that is when they ain’t cussin’ me for doing’ my job.” All the while he talked he was slowly unwrapping the dressing from Jess’ leg. 

There was fresh blood on the top of it, and as Mac gently tried to soak the bandage free from the sticky wound, Jess growled his discomfiture. “Yeah, I–I can s–sure see why t–that’d be the c–case.” He gave a wry smile then clamped his jaw shut against the pain as the last of the bandage came free.

A low whistle of appreciation escaped Mac’s lips, and Slim, who had been looking intensely over his shoulder, leaned in closer. “What’s wrong?” he demanded the worry evident in his voice. 

 “There ain’t nothin’ wrong here. You’re a lucky man, Jess. The crash busted a few stitches open, but otherwise it looks real neat, and no sign of infection. Whoever doctored you up sure knew what they were doing.” Mac turned to his supplies as Jess’ eyes roamed around the group till he found Marie Rose. 

The smile that lit up his handsome face would have melted the iciest of hearts. Marie Rose went red with embarrassment, casting her eyes to the ground.  Jess’ raspy voice reached her. “Thanks,” was all he said, but it was enough. She felt the warmth flood her face. 

Jess refocused on the orderly as he spoke again, “This is gonna hurt a mite, but I got to replace those busted stitches.” 

Jess tried to relax but the first push of the needle into his bruised flesh made him cry out. Slim reached out and took hold of Mac’s hand before he could use the needle again. “Ain’t they’re something you can give him for the pain?” he asked, ill at ease with Jess being caused even more distress. 

“Sorry, I daren’t use too much Laudanum on account of that knock on the head he’s got. Can’t risk a concussion being made worse,” Mac locked his sympathetic eyes with Jess, “I’ll be as gentle an’ as quick as I can.” 

Slim moved in close on Jess’ other side, offering his support by placing a steadying hand on Jess’ back. He could felt Jess’ back muscles tense each time the needle bit into his skin, but thankfully it was soon over. None of the men relaxed however, they all knew, Jess included, that the worse was yet to come. 

Mac knew full well the problem the arrow was going to be, he also knew that it had to come out, and soon. As much as he would like to wait for the doctor to arrive, he recognised that wasn’t going to happen. He put a false lightness into his voice. “All right, Jess, that’s the hard part over, let’s get a look at your shoulder now.” 

With Slim’s help he rolled Jess over almost onto his stomach, using the blankets from their bedrolls to support him. Using copious amounts of water, and with infinite care, Mac worked on the bandage around Jess’ shoulder. To Jess it seemed to take forever, but eventually it came free and both Mac and Slim sucked in their breath sharply against the sight that met them 

“H–How’s it l–look?” Jess asked, not really wanting to know the answer but recognising that he couldn’t avoid it. 

Slim reluctantly answered him, “It isn’t good, Pard, but all things considered, I reckon it isn’t as bad as I expected, given that its been untreated for almost two days.” 

“N–No. It has b–been treated. T–Thank Marie R—Rose and her h–herbs again.” Jess gasped out as the pain subsided from the arrow being disturbed.

Now Mac spoke up. “It is a hell of a lot better than I expected, but there is still some signs of infection. Look,” he indicated to Slim. “The raised red skin around the wound and the red lines that are starting to run outward from it show that there is infection. I don’t suppose you’ve got more of that poultice of yours, Miss?” Mac asked Marie Rose hopefully. 

She shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, and the herbs I need to make more are too far away from here.” 

“Figured as much,” Mac said, “Nothing’s ever easy. Guess this is going to have to be the hard way then.” 

Slim looked up sharply, “Can’t we wait till the doctor gets here?” concern making his voice sound harsh. 

Mac’s face showed how hard this decision was for him. “I wish we could, Slim, but waiting could cost him the use of his arm, or worse.”  As the colour drained from Slim’s face, Mac knew he didn’t have to labour the point. “Best get started then.”  He stood up and started issuing instructions. “Miss, can you take these blankets and lay them out by the fire, not so close that we can’t move around, but close enough that we can keep Jess warm. His body temperature is likely to drop if he losses much more blood. Keeping’ him warm will help prevent shock setting in. Slim, Doctor Sender, think you can help lift him over. Take it real slow and easy though.” 

Jess could hear voices buzzing around him, but the darkness was beckoning to him again, as the adrenalin rush of the flight and finding Slim finally left him. His eyes that had slid slowly shut, snapped wide again as he felt hands taking hold of his body. He tensed against the fresh assault of pain as he felt himself being lifted and moved away from the debris. He couldn’t stop the soft groan that was pulled from him as the movement re-awakened the fire in his shoulder. 

“Try and relax, Jess. It’ll be easier on you that way,” Slim admonished, wishing he could spare his friend from the ordeal to come. 

Despite the pain, Jess gave a small laugh. “Since when h–have I e–ever b–been easy o–on anyone.” As he was lowered to the blanket bed, Jess tried to slow his breathing, willing himself to relax and let go of the pain.     

Slim crouched down next to his friend and placed the remaining blankets to support him on his side. He kept glancing at Mac as he worriedly watched the medic set surgical knives and other instruments in a pan of water, then placed it on the fire to boil. This done Mac laid out a cloth and placed bandages and a bottle of carbolic on it. Then he came over and joined Slim. 

“Jess, I’m just gonna have a closer look at this little splinter you’ve got. Try and stay still, okay,” he instructed, giving Slim a warning glance. “Think you can keep him still?” 

Slim nodded, then looking down he gave a wry smile at his partner. “Mind you keep those fists of yours under control, I know what a punch you can deliver,” he tried to ease the tension with a joke. 

“H—Heck, Slim, that w–was just about t–the only t–thing I was looking f–forward to. It c—could have made all t—this w–worthwhile,” Though Jess tried to reciprocate the humour, bit his eyes couldn’t hide his pain, and Slim easily read that his partner knew what was to come would not be easy. 

Jess tensed as he felt Mac’s fingers probing around his shoulder wound. He hissed as a particularly painful spot was prodded, and he felt Slim’s hand on his arm tighten in sympathy. “W—Well, Doc? You g–gonna g–get this d–done. J–Just m–make sure y–you hit it s–straight,” Jess instructed, his eyes remained locked with Slim’s drawing strength from his friend for the ordeal ahead. 

Rocking back on his heels, Mac took his time finding his words. Normally in the field, he would have done precisely what Jess seemed to be expecting, hitting the shaft hard enough to drive it out the other side of the shoulder, but this time he didn’t think that was an option. Slim watched the emotions play across the man’s face, desperate to know what was on his mind but knowing better than to push a man with such a big decision to make. Finally the orderly made up his mind. 

“Ain’t going to be doing that,” he said softly. “I’m going to do it the easy way,” he lied. Then he got up and moved over to the fire to check on the instruments. 

Slim threw a puzzled glance at the man’s retreating back, and then went to stand. But Jess’ searching hand caught him before he could move away. Slim easily read the question in Jess’ eyes. It was the same one he wanted answering himself. “Just stay put, Jess, I’m going to find out what he means.” 

“H–Hell, I ain’t exactly g–gonna r–run off,” The chuckle that tried to escape ended up in a coughing fit that brought James and Marie Rose to his side. 

“It’s all right, Slim, you go find out what’s happening, and we’ll stay with him.” Then James turned his attention to Jess, “Would you like some water?” he offered. At the answering dip of Jess’ head, he and Marie Rose helped Jess to take a drink, effectively distracting him from the discussion that was taking place a few feet away.  

“What do you mean, the easy way?” Slim confronted the orderly, his fear for his friend’s life filling his voice with anger. The resignation and sadness that he could see in the face that lifted to meet his, made his throat constrict with dread. “What’s wrong?” 

With a sigh, Mac forced himself to relax. “I can’t hit that arrow through to the other side. I’ve no choice but to try and remove it from the same direction it went in.” Mac turned back to the now boiled instruments and started to remove them from the water to cool. 

Placing his hand firmly on Mac’s shoulder, Slim spun him round to face him again. “That needs a skilled surgeon. I thought you said we couldn’t wait for the doctor to arrive?” 

 “We can’t, infection has already set in, but the angle the arrow is set at will cause it to drive through his lung, and probably sever a major vessel. He’d bleed to death before I could stop it. I ain’t a doctor, but I’ve assisted the army surgeon and I’ve had some practice in the field.” Mac shook his head, resignedly. “I ain’t happy about it, but right now I’m the best chance he has.” 

Slim glanced across to where Marie Rose was wiping the beads of perspiration from Jess’ pale face. “What do you want us to do?” he asked. 

“I’m about ready now. If you can roll him over on to his stomach and try and keep him calm. I can’t risk the laudanum because of that head wound, so your going to have to hold his shoulders as still as possible. If Doctor Sender and his daughter can hold his legs still, it will be a help. Any sudden movement could kill him. This isn’t gonna be easy on him.” Mac collected the rest of his supplies and crossed to where Jess lay, breathing heavily against the nausea the water had caused. 

Slim took up his position at Jess’ head. “Okay, Pard, I’m going to roll you onto your belly. You’re one lucky man; Mac here says he can take the arrow out from the back. All you got to do is try and stay real still.” 

“Y–Yeah. I f–feel real l–lucky. L–lets g–get this d–done.” Jess tried to help as Slim gently eased him over. The look in Jess’ eyes told Slim he knew exactly what he was about to face, but he was going to see it through. 

“You lie still. Let us do the work. James, Marie Rose, can you hold his legs? And watch out, old Jess here can deliver quite a kick when he’s a mind to.” Slim had now eased Jess onto his stomach. He placed a small strip of leather close to Jess mouth. “You might want to bite down on this,” he said quietly. 

He got his answer when Jess opened his mouth and allowed Slim to place the hard leather between his teeth. Slim noted that Jess was now taking slow deep breaths, trying to prepare himself for the ordeal to come. He patted his good shoulder gently offering what comfort he could. 

“We’re all set here, anything else we can do?” James asked. 

Mac looked up from where he was setting out his instruments. “If you’ve got any connections up there, you could try praying.” Then Mac turned his attention to saving Jess’ life. 

Knowing what was to come, Jess tried to prepare himself, deliberately trying to relax, recalling when Slim or Daisy had dug a bullet out of his thick hide. But nothing could have prepared him for what happened next. As the knife went into his reddened flesh, cutting the newly healing skin and scabs away from the wooden shaft, he bucked against the restraining hands, despite his resolution not to. Someone was driving a white-hot blade through his shoulder and he fought to get away from it.

 “Easy. Easy, Jess. Try not to move.” Slim’s gentle voice broke through the blazing agony that grabbed at his reason and stopped him thinking with any clarity. 

His breaths were coming fast and shallow, but Jess forced himself to slow them down. Unable to turn his eyes to meet Slim’s, he sought to draw strength and comfort from the firmness of his partner’s hands on his shoulders and the caring tone in Slim’s voice. 

Jess was aware that James and Marie Rose were there as well, helping to hold him steady. From somewhere deep inside himself, he drew on reserves he didn’t know he had, determined not to distress the young girl. He willed his body to relax and stay still. 

The moment Jess’ struggles had threatened to cause the knife to slip, Mac had withdrawn it. He saw the reaction Slim’s words seemed to have and looked across at the young rancher. “Keep talking to him, Slim, it seems to help him.” 

Slim hated this. He was amazed at the strength that Jess had found to fight them, but he knew that his weakened friend couldn’t take much more before he gave in and stopped fighting, letting himself slip way. “All right, but this isn’t easy. God damn you, there must be something you can give him to help get him through this.” 

“T—Take it easy, P–Pard.” Slim startled at the weak sound from Jess. It was so soft that he had to bend low over Jess, their heads almost touching, in order to hear what was said. “ A–Ain’t h–his f–fault. S–sides’ y–your su–supposed t–to k–keep m–me calm.” Jess’ voice petered out, his little remaining strength focused totally on taking the next breath. 

Slim squeezed Jess good shoulder gently; all the while his eyes fixed to Mac’s face, hoping for an answer he knew the man couldn’t give. 

“I’m sorry. I wish it could be different,” was all the answer Mac could give. “Jess, forgive me, but it’s got to be done. I’ll try and be as quick as I can, but I’ve got to be careful.” 

“I–I know. J–Just do it,” came Jess’ raspy voice, as Slim replaced the leather between Jess’ teeth. As the knife dug into his abused flesh again, he did his best not to move or show his distress to the others. As the knife bit deeper, each twist sent white-hot barbs shooting through him. He bit down hard on the leather strip between his teeth, stifling the screams that tried to force themselves past his constricted throat, but he couldn’t stop the soft grunts and sobs that did escape. 

Each soft sound of pain ripped through Slim, as he felt his best friend’s body tense and tremble beneath his restraining hands.  Unable to look away, he watched horrified at the fresh blood that was pouring from the re-opened wound. He would give anything if only he could spare Jess this torture. As the tremors wracked his partner’s lean frame, he raised his face to Mac. 

“How much longer? He can’t take much more of this.”

“Almost there. Just need to get the knife under the point.” His hands moved skilfully, manipulating the knifepoint beneath the arrowhead, trying to avoid the major vessels and nerve bundles that lay close by.  “Just–just one last—-” His hand pushed the knife deeper, cutting the muscle beneath the arrowhead and releasing the embedded point. 

With this last assault, worse than anything so far endured, Jess screamed and bucked upward so strongly he escaped the hands seeking to keep a hold on him, and pulled back almost impaling him self on the blade, before falling back to the ground as the merciful darkness finally claimed him. 

Mac pulled away hastily, narrowly avoiding causing further injury to the weakening man. “Got it,” he exclaimed triumphantly, exhibiting both knife and arrowhead. 

Slim was oblivious to everything else except the body now lying deathly still beneath his hands. “Mac?” he questioned fearfully. 

Mac put the knife and arrow down and placed trembling fingers on Jess’ neck, searching for a pulse. To Slim, who was anxiously waiting, it seemed to take an eternity till Mac looked up, relief written on his features. “He’s alive. His pulse is weak and erratic, but it’s there. He’s finally passed out, thank God. Let’s get this done before he comes round again” 

“Yeah, he’s always been stubborn, damn him. He couldn’t just give in and pass out at the start like any other dad blamed fool. Oh! No not Jess.” Relief flooded through Slim and he let it go in this outburst. He looked up to see James and Marie Rose looking at him, both relieved and amused at his outburst. “Sorry,” he apologised, embarrassed by his outburst. 

“It’s his stubbornness’ that’s kept him going so far. Lets just hope he has a lot more of it,” Mac spoke aloud as he poured carbolic into the gaping wound and pressed a large wad of bandage against it, holding it firmly to try and stem the fresh bleeding. A sigh of relief escaped him when the blood flow finally slowed and then stopped. “Good, I don’t think he can afford to loose much more.” 

“Aren’t you going to sew him up,” Slim asked concerned. 

“Maybe in a day or two, once I know all the infection is out,” came Mac’s business like reply. 

Taking a fresh pad and more bandages he wrapped up the gaping wound, binding it firmly. He finally finished up by asking Slim to hold Jess upright while he bound Jess’ arm tightly against his chest, effectively immobilising it and preventing further injury. 

Slim had been holding Jess against him as Mac bound his arm and now he was alarmed to feel the slender body start to tremble, the intensity quickening until Jess was shaking violently against him. 

Mac heard Jess’ teeth chattering and realised what was happening immediately. “He’s going into shock. We’ve got to get him warmed up quickly.” 

He started using the blankets that had been supporting Jess to wrap the now shivering body. Instinctively Slim held Jess’ body close against him, trying both to warm him with his own body heat, and to stop Jess’ hurting himself further as his body shook violently in reaction to the combined effects of pain, infection and blood loss. 

“Doctor Sender, can you build that fire up, and Miss, do you think you could get some fresh water boiling.  We’ve got to get him warm, and a hot drink will help as well as broth for nutrition. 

As father and daughter quickly moved to comply, Slim started to lower Jess down gently. He stopped as he heard a soft groan escape. 

“It’s all over, Jess, just try and relax, let yourself sleep,” Slim instructed, once more holding his friend’s trembling body against him. 

“C–Can’t. T–Too c–cold,” Jess forced out through chattering teeth. 

“I know, Pard. Just hang on. We’re getting the fire built up, and then we will have a hot drink for you,” Slim pulled the trembling body further up against his chest and wrapped his arms protectively around his shivering friend. 

Despite the violent tremors moving through him, Jess felt the darkness reaching for him again. He fought against it, holding on long enough to sip half a cup of hot broth that Marie Rose had quickly made up. As the warm glow seeped through him, temporarily easing his trembling, he finally gave up the fight to stay awake, and with a sigh slipped back to the welcoming dark. 

Slim felt Jess’ body relax, as the weight of it increased against him. Waiting till the regular but still shallow breathing of his friend re-assured him he was still alive, Slim gently lowered him back onto the blankets that had been carefully positioned to support him.  

Standing and stretching his now aching back, Slim stared fondly down at his best friend, unwilling to move away, uncertain that Jess would still be breathing when he returned. 

Mac came and stood beside him, his eyes also taking in the deathly pale man whose life still hung in the balance. “I’ll stay with him, if you need a break. I’ll call you if anything changes.” 

Slim looked deeply into the eyes of the orderly that had just fought hard to give Jess a chance at life, and saw the compassion there. He knew he could trust this man, but still he was reluctant to leave Jess’ side. “Guess I’d better see to our horses. Poor beasts are still saddled.” 

“Tell you what, you go see to our mounts, then get yourself a hot coffee. Come back when you’re ready and sit with him.” Mac had easily sized up the bond of brotherhood that existed between the two men. Even before he had seen Slim’s gentleness in dealing with his gravely injured friend, most of the men in the camp had observed how Sherman had been willing to take on the Devil himself if it meant saving his partner. 

Nodding gratefully, Slim went to move away. He had only taken a few steps when he turned and his gazed fixed on the blanket wrapped form of his best friend. Without looking away, he addressed Mac. “He is going to be alright, isn’t he?” 

“I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, Slim. He’s young and strong, but he’s lost a lot of blood, and given how long that arrow was in him, infection is still a real risk.” Mac saw his words weren’t exactly helping the worried man. And he attempted to console him further. “Look, if we can keep him warm against the shock, keep the fever down when it starts, and get plenty of fluids and broth in him, he has a chance.” 

The fact that Mac had said when the fever starts, rather than if, was not lost on Slim. He supposed, given the circumstances it was inevitable, but he was a determined man and could be as stubborn as Jess if the situation called for it. He was going to use all of his not inconsiderable strength and stubbornness to help Jess win this fight for his life. 

“All right, if that’s all we’ve got, then that will have to do. If you can think of anything that will help anything at all, you tell me. I’ll do what ever it takes to keep him with us.” Then Slim turned and headed away to the nearest stand of trees, where they had left their horses and began to remove their gear.  All the while keeping watch on Jess out of the corner of his eye. 

Behind him, Mac dropped down beside Jess, preparing to get comfortable for the long vigil ahead. Softly, to himself and any being that might be listening, he said, “Well, Lord, if you’ve any miracles to give out at the moment, I reckon we could use one down here right about now.”

Chapter Fourteen 

It had been three days of living hell for Slim, James and Marie Rose, and each minute of those days and nights had seemed to stretch into eternity. Slim had refused to leave Jess’ side for anything but the basic necessities of life and now he sat on a small canvas stool next to the camp bed that the major had offered, along with the tent, to keep Jess off the damp ground and protected from the elements. 

Major Sterling had finally arrived at the small camp that had been set up around Jess a few hours after the surgery had been completed. Slim had barely registered his presence as he focused his whole being into willing his best friend to fight for his life. He nodded and grunted short replies to whatever the major was saying, but it was only later, when the battle to keep Jess warm and breathing had reached a moment of respite, and shock was no longer an immediate threat to his life, did he give any thought to what had really been said. James had brought him another cup of coffee and had just helped him pour some warm broth into Jess’ mouth, past the slack lips that made no move to drink of their own accord. 

“He’s strong, Slim, and he’s a fighter,” James offered by way of comfort, though it made little difference to Slim’s dark mood. 

“He’s been through more than most men would survive. I’d like to think he is strong enough to fight this, but I don’t know.” Slim had sipped his coffee, his eyes travelling the length of the body now heaped in even more blankets since half the troop had arrived with the major. ‘At least he’s not shaking himself apart now’ he’d noted to himself. Then he forced himself to look away and asked, “Did I hear the Major say he’d sent half his men on into the mountains to try and corral those Indians? 

“Yes. Though he doesn’t hold much hope. He thinks they are most likely clear into the next state by now, but he intends to make sure they are no longer a threat to us.” A low moan came from the still pale form on the cot. James had looked toward the man who had been willing to give his life to save his daughter and himself, and realised that that may still be the case. “He has also sent two men to fetch the doctor and a wagon from Laramie, Slim, so Jess can travel back home in comfort.” 

“Let’s hope he gets here in time to be of use.” Slim snapped, letting his worry and tiredness show in his sharp reply.  

“Mac’s done all he can, Slim. I don’t think a fully qualified doctor could have done more,” James admonished. 

Slim had to admit that was true. Mac had done everything humanly possible to help pull Jess through, and Slim knew if it hadn’t been for Mac he would have lost his best friend in the first hours after the crash. 

“I–I’m sorry, James I’m just so worried about him. I–I shouldn’t take it out on all of you.”  Slim turned towards the cot again, as Jess began to move restlessly and soft cry’s forced themselves from his cracked lips. Both men moved together to reach the cot, fearful in case Jess caused himself further injury.

“Easy, Jess. Try not to move around to much.” Slim held Jess’ shoulders as he spoke to him, but Jess was lost in another place and was unaware of the concerned faces that gazed at him. 

James reached to pull the blankets that Jess had thrown off, back up over the struggling man. “What’s wrong with him?” he asked, concern edging his voice. 

Slim looked at Jess’ pale face, and noticed the fever flush that was colouring his cheeks. Reaching up he brushed back the heavy dark waves of hair that had fallen into Jess’ eyes and was alarmed to feel the heat radiating from the sweat-dampened forehead. 

“Ask Mac to come in here, and bring as much cold water and cloths as you can back in with you, and hurry. We needn’t worry about keeping Jess warm anymore; he’s in the grip of a raging fever.” Slim kept his voice level and quiet, not daring to let his true emotions gain control. He knew he would need to channel all his fear and anger into the battle to come. The battle to save his partner from the raging infection and fever that now threatened to take him from them. 

The next few days were filled with endless hours of sponging down Jess’ burning skin to try and keep the raging fever down. There was always someone with Slim now, helping to hold down the thrashing man as he fought unseen enemies in his fever driven dreams, or spooning cool water or warm broth into him as Slim supported the weak body against his chest. 

 Despite repeated requests from James and his daughter to rest and entrust Jess to their care, Slim had refused to leave his side.  In the end Mac had virtually dragged Slim from the small tent with the help of the major, and ordered him to sleep, even spiking the coffee he had thrust into Slim’s hands with a sleeping draught disguised by a shot of whiskey. 

Slim had found himself drifting off and had fought off the effects just long enough to elicit a promise from Mac that he would come and fetch him if anything changed with Jess. With Slim finally getting some sort of rest, Mac and James took over the seemingly endless vigil with Jess. 

 It was while Slim had finally succumbed to his exhausted body’s demand for rest, during the late afternoon of the second day, that Doctor Michaels rode in from Laramie, escorted by one of the soldiers that the major had sent for help. He had brought a wide selection of medical supplies with him, as the soldiers had been unable to tell him just what he would have to deal with when he got here. 

Once Major Sterling had explained that there was only one patient, and the doctor had realised it was Jess Harper, who he both knew and liked, he had insisted on being taken to him immediately, despite the long hard ride he had just completed. It had taken him only a brief glance to recognise the man was deathly ill, and he set to work immediately.      

Jess’ unresisting body was stripped and a relay of troopers brought buckets of cold water to fill a deep hammock made of salvaged canvas from the giant kite. While this was being done, the doctor carefully removed the heavy bandages from Jess’ leg and shoulder.  It was only when he had to soak the bandages away from Jess’ shoulder where they had adhered to the raw skin around the still open wound that Jess roused at all. Then he struggled feebly to escape the pain that was penetrating the cocoon of blackness he had retreated to. 

“It’s all right, Jess, its only me, Doc Michaels. I just need to check these wounds. I’ll be as gentle and as quick as I can, son.” The doctor doubted that Jess could hear him, but he continued to talk as he worked, hoping that his voice would sooth the young man. 

He glanced at James who had remained with him to help undress Jess. “His leg wound looks good and clean, but the strength of this fever says different. I’m guessing it’s this arrow wound that’s the source of infection. Can you give me a hand to roll him a bit more onto his side?” 

James moved to help, automatically speaking to Jess as he did so. “I’m just going to move you onto your side a little more, Jess,” he said. 

No one could have been more surprised than he was when he got a reply. “J—James?” Jess voice was so quiet it would have been missed had not James head been close to him when he spoke. 

“Jess, you’re awake?” he responded somewhat lamely, then recovering he added, “Doctor Michaels is here. He needs to take a look at that shoulder wound.” 

There was only one clear thought in Jess’ fever clouded mind, “S—Slim h–here?” He could recall Slim helping him. Wasn’t it just before, after he had fallen, fallen from the sky? He couldn’t make his disjointed memories make sense and now Doc Michaels was here? Where was here anyway? Again he asked for the one steadfast thing in his life he could cling onto. “S–Slim?” he asked again. 

“He’s close by. We made him take a break, he was exhausted.”  James supplied, not understanding Jess’ confusion. 

Somehow, in a moment of clarity, Jess made the connection. If the Doc was here and Slim was resting, just how long had he been out?  Once more he forced his reluctant mouth to work “H–How l–long?” 

His eyes moved around the tent. If he tried to move anything else the pain threatened to plunge him back into oblivion. He felt like he was on fire and wondered just how close they had him to the blaze. The way he felt, they must have had him roasting over it. He could hear James talking again and tried to make sense of the words as his mind drifted. 

“We’re just going to check your shoulder again, Jess. Try and stay still.” 

 Okay, he got that part. Stay still. He could do that, hell that was the easy part. It only got difficult if he tried to move. Then his world exploded into white-hot agony again as hands probed and pushed at the angry looking wound. He cried out in protest then went limp as again he succumbed to the relief of unconsciousness. 

Doctor Michaels looked up at James. “Its all right, he’s just passed out again. It’s probably for the better.” 

Before he could say more they were both startled by a very angry Slim, who tore into the tent. “What the hell is going on? I heard him cry out.” Slim suddenly stopped, realising that someone new was there. “Doc? When did you get here? What’s wrong with Jess? I heard him scream. Is he all right?” Then he broke off, embarrassed at the way his fear for his partner was making him act. 

The doctor had known the two ranchers for quite awhile now, he knew how close they were, brothers in everything but name. Nodding indulgently he started to answer Slim. “I arrived a few hours ago, Slim, and I’ve been catching up on the situation with Jess ever since.” 

 Slim threw an angry glare at James, “I told you to wake me if there was any change.” 

At least the accused man had the good grace to look guilty. “Slim, the doctor was just checking him over. You were exhausted and you needed to sleep. There was no need to wake you till there was something to tell you.” 

“I heard him cry out,” Slim insisted. 

Now Doctor Michaels took up the tale. “I had just checked his leg and was about to take a look at his shoulder when he came around, probably due to all the moving about.  He was confused, Slim, asking for you but not really aware of where he was at first. I was going to fetch you after I had finished as I might have had more to tell you then. It was as I was examining the wound that Jess reacted badly. Looking at his shoulder now, I am not surprised.” 

Slim felt the anger drain from him, only to be replaced by the numbing fear for his friend. The matching look of concern on the doctor’s face only fuelled his anxiety. “Give it to me straight, Doc. How is he?” 

There was no easy way to do this, no way to spare this caring man from what he had to say, so Doc Michaels took a deep breath and jumped straight in. “ Mac has done a good job, Slim. The leg wound is clean, neat and healing well. No small thanks, I am told, to the skill of one clever young lady.” The doctor smiled at James before continuing, “But Jess has a fever that is getting steadily worse. I’ve been using rubbing alcohol in the water we’re sponging him down with, but his temperature just keeps rising. That isn’t good. If it gets too high there is a risk of fits and possibly brain damage.” 

The hand round Slim’s heart clenched tighter. “There must be something more we can try.” 

Doc Michaels glanced over his shoulder at the makeshift canvas bath filled with cold water. “There is, but before we try it, I need to try and figure out the source of the infection. I believe Mac dug the arrow out and, from what I have been told he did a good job. From what I can see, if he’d done it the other way, he’d most likely have killed Jess outright.” 

 “Then why’s he not getting better?” Slim insisted. 

 “Look at this,” the Doctor moved back so that Slim could see the ugly angry red flesh around the gaping wound. A sickly yellow fluid seeped slowly from it. Tentatively Slim reached out and touched the angry flesh. It was burning hot and, unconscious as he was; Jess flinched away from the pain even that light touch caused. 

“I helped Mac clean it up. He did a good job, Doc. It shouldn’t be like this,” 

“I know it shouldn’t, Slim, but it is. From what I understand the broken arrow was in his shoulder for quite awhile and the way Jess was thrown around, some of it could have broken off inside. My guess is that there is still something foreign in there, something that is causing this infection. Jess’ only chance is for me to open up that wound again, clean it out and see if I can find the culprit. It isn’t going to be easy, least of all for Jess. At least he is unconscious again.” 

Slim let the implications of what the doctor had said sink in. He looked down at the pale sweating features of his best friend, and knew that no matter how much he would wish it otherwise, there was no other choice. “When do you want to do it, Doc?” 

“There is no point in waiting Slim, it won’t get any easier,” Doctor Michael’s didn’t mince his words, “We’ll need some help. James, do you think–?” 

 “I owe Jess my life; I’ll do whatever it takes to help him.” James spoke up, “and I’ll get Mac.” 

“Good, and get one of the men to get some water boiling, I’ll need to get my instruments sterilised.” The doctor started to get things ready, as the other two men set about their respective jobs. 

Two long hours later, Doctor Michaels stood up and stretched his aching back. Exhausted as he was from his recent efforts, a satisfied smile spread across his tired features. It had been far harder than even the experienced doctor had anticipated, but the job was finally done. He held up the inch long slither of wood that had been buried in the muscle tissue deep in the wound. “For such a little thing it caused a lot of trouble,” he stated. 

“Will he be all right now, Doc?” Slim asked, clearly still concerned for Jess’ recovery. 

The doctor hesitated for a moment. Not wanting to give the deeply worried man any more cause for his fear, but also knowing Slim would want and expect the truth he picked his words carefully. “I’ve cleaned the wound out thoroughly. Now that the cause of the infection is out, it should all settle down. He was lucky, any longer and it could have cost him his arm at best or his life at worse. Now, if we can get this fever to break, he has a chance.”

As he spoke, Doc Michaels pressed a carbolic soaked dressing to the wound and bound Jess’ shoulder up tightly again. The second lot of surgery had caused Jess to lose more blood, and he now was so pale as to look translucent, his breathing, rapid and shallow. He had remained unresponsive throughout the whole ordeal, and though Slim was grateful for that for his friend’s sake, it was also worrying. He knew the battle was far from won, but pushed his fears aside in favour of practical action. 

“Shall I start to sponge him down again?” Slim spoke as he picked up the cloth from the bowl of clean water close by. 

Pressing his hand to Jess’ moisture covered brow, Doctor Michaels shook his head. “I think its time we made use of that cold bath. If we are careful and keep his leg and shoulder clear of the water, it will be our best chance to break this fever.” 

It had proven no easy task, but between them, the four men managed to carry Jess’ limp body to the makeshift bath and place him securely in the cooling water. Mac held Jess bandaged leg clear of the water, James made sure the bandaged shoulder was kept clear and Slim supported his friends head safely above the water. All the while Doc Michaels poured the cold water over the unresponsive man’s head and uninjured shoulder. 

The heat radiating from the ailing man was strong enough to cause the water to warm and three times the devoted carers lifted Jess from the water while troopers emptied the tepid water away and replaced it with fresh cold water. 

While this was going on, Slim carefully supported his partner’s head, and covered his body with a blanket for modesty sake. Given the circumstances, he knew such modesty was silly, but he also knew Jess, and knew with a certainty that his best friend would be mortified at the thought of all these strangers seeing him in an undressed state. For a brief moment, Slim allowed himself to imagine the fun he would have teasing Jess about him being seen in public with his bare butt hanging out. He looked down at his Pard’s pale features and uttered a silent prayer that he would get the chance. 

It was on the fourth such submersion that Jess began to shiver, the tremors becoming so strong that his whole body shook. Slim, fearing that his friend was succumbing to the ravages of the fever and was suffering a fit, looked up at the doctor, his eyes clearly saying what his voice wasn’t. “Doc?” 

The Doctor placed a hand on Jess’ forehead and slowly a smile spread over his tired features. “It’s all right, Slim, the fevers subsiding. He’s just shivering with the cold, is all.” 

“Then let’s get him out.” Slim had said, lifting his partner’s shoulders as he spoke. Suddenly his weariness was gone. Finally, they had some good news. It had worried Slim no end that Jess had not exhibited any of the restlessness of fever driven delirium since before the doctor had removed the splinter. The doctor had explained that the serious blood loss and the duration of the fever had left Jess too weak to show any response. Shivering may not be good, but it was at least a reaction to the world around him, and it was the first response Jess had shown in hours.

 Jess’ shivering form was dried and wrapped in warm blankets, and eventually the shivering stopped, his breathing slowed and became slightly deeper. 

“He appears to be in a normal sleep now, Slim, and it will probably be quite awhile till he rouses. I suggest we all should get some rest. I’m sure one of the troopers could stay with Jess and call us if we are needed.” 

Shaking his head, Slim had insisted that he stay close to his friend, but finally had agreed to rest on a second cot that was brought into the tent once the canvas bath was removed. 

“I didn’t think you would be persuaded to leave him, Slim. When he wakes, send for me, and try and get some water into him, he’ll be dehydrated from the fever.” 

When the others had left, Marie Rose had appeared briefly. Her father had told her that Jess was better, but she had insisted she see for herself. She had brought a plate of food and a cup of strong coffee for Slim. 

“How is he?” she asked, her eyes fixed on the pale features of her hero. 

Slim noted that the young girl’s eyes were reddened, as if she had been crying. He reached across and patted her hand. “Don’t worry, he’s turned the corner,” he said, trying to sound more convincing than he felt. “I’ve been told that you helped save his life. Thank you,” he offered his heart felt thanks. Taking a sip of the hot coffee he smiled at her. “Thank you for this too.” 

“You care a lot about him, don’t you?” Marie Rose asked, tilting her chin at Jess. 

Slim looked down at his coffee, swirling the cup in small circles. “Yes, I do. He rode into my life a few years ago and somehow, though neither of us planned it that way, he stayed. He’s become my best friend, my partner, confident and a brother closer to me than most brothers of the blood are. I’m not going to let him slip away, not now, he’s too much a part of my life.” 

That reassuring conviction was all Marie Rose needed to hear. Her hero was in safe hands. Standing, she graced Slim with a warm smile. “Call me if you need anything,” she instructed as she left. 

Slim actually found he was hungrier than he had thought, and he cleared his plate. Draining his cup as well, he had settled onto the cot, facing towards Jess’ sleeping form. He hadn’t intended to sleep, but exhaustion claimed him and despite his continuing concern he had drifted off into a deep slumber. 

It was daylight the following morning when Slim finally woke. Although he didn’t know it, James, Marie Rose and the doctor had come in several times to check on the two sleeping friends. Slim had not stirred as the visitors helped the still semi-conscious Jess to drink water and take a few swallows of broth. Although he roused enough to swallow whatever they poured into his mouth, he seemed to remain oblivious to anyone or anything around him. 

Some indefinable something, a soft sound and a low moan, coupled with the creak of wood and canvas as a body turned on the cot, penetrated Slim’s awakening mind. He had turned in his sleep so that he opened his eyes to the dirty grey of the tent wall. He waited; trying to focus his mind on whatever had awoken him. Another low groan came from behind him, and Slim’s mind became instantly alert and clear, the events of the past few days snapping back into place. 

He turned quickly to find Jess, and was startled to see two clear blue eyes struggling to focus on him. He was off his cot and on his knees beside his partner within seconds. 

“Jess? Jess, are you with us” Slim’s voice sounded sharp, even to himself. 

Jess ran his tongue around his dry lips “S–”. His voice failed him, but Slim was there, lifting his head and placing a cup of cool water to his parched lips. 

“Here you go, Pard. Don’t take it too quickly,” Slim instructed. 

The cool water felt good as it slid down his dry throat. Jess managed to get a half-cup down before he pushed his friend’s hand away. This time, when he spoke, his voice, though quiet, was audible. 

“S–Slim, y–you really here, P–Pard?” 

 “You bet I am. You didn’t think I was going to let you have all the fun while I got to do all the chores, did you?” 

Slim’s gentle humour was greeted by a smile tugging at the corners of Jess’ mouth. The small chuckle that tried to escape resulted in awakening the pain in his shoulder. Jess’ breath hissed out between clenched teeth. After a second he recovered enough to rasp out. “D-damnation, p–partner, re–remind me n–not to laugh,” 

“Take it easy, Jess, and don’t move around too much. We’ve only just managed to put you back together.” Slim instructed, patting Jess’ back in an unconscious gesture of comfort. 

“W–What h–happened? F–Feels like I t–tangled with a w–whole war p–party.” Jess had recovered enough to speak again. He was trying to bring his jumbled memories together but everything was hazy and uncertain. 

 “Truth be told, that’s pretty well what you did. That and your trying to do an imitation of a sick eagle.” Slim noticed the puzzled frown that formed on Jess pale features. “I guess the couple of knocks you gave that hard head of yours scrambled what little brain you got. Don’t worry about it now. You’re safe now and getting better, thank God. The rest will come later.”  

Jess nodded, feeling himself begin to weaken. Slim noticed his partner’s eyes sliding shut again.  “Its okay, Pard. You get some more sleep. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” 

Just as it seemed Jess would settle again, his eyes suddenly shot open and he struggled to sit up. Instantly, Slim’s hands were upon him, supporting him and trying to ease him back down to the bed. 

“M–Marie Rose a–and James–?” Jess’ voice petered out leaving the question incomplete, as he gasped against the pain his sudden movements had caused. 

“They’re both fine, Jess. You did a real good job. Next time you wake up, I’ll send them in to see you. I doubt I could keep them away.” 

Hearing nothing passed Slim’s reassurance that the two Easterners were alive and well, Jess slipped back into the arms of a merciful healing sleep, knowing that his best friend was close by, and would remain so until he was well enough to take care of himself again.

Chapter Fifteen 

It was two more days before Doctor Michaels would allow Jess to be moved, and then the decision was forced on him by the weather. Dark clouds could be seen massing over the mountains, and it was obvious that a storm front was heading in to break up the humid hot days that had seemed to last for ever. 

Slim agreed with the doctor’s advice that Jess needed to be somewhere warm and dry before the storm hit.  So preparations were made to move him back home. The very idea of getting home and seeing Daisy and Mike again seemed to lift Jess’ spirits, giving him renewed strength to heal his damaged body. 

The wagon had arrived the day after the doctor, being forced to take a more circuitous route. Further delay was caused by the trooper detouring to tell Sheriff Corey that the missing party had been found, and the renegades appeared to have retreated over the mountains. 

Daisy Cooper had seen the trooper as he prepared to head out again with the wagon and accosted him for news of her boys. When it had quickly become apparent, that the man could tell her little more than the fact that the party had been found and he had been sent to fetch a wagon and a doctor, she let him go.  Though worry for her family still plagued her. 

Not so very long afterwards, she had gathered together her belongings and with a constantly questioning Mike in tow, she had headed back to the ranch. Daisy knew the ranch was on the way back to town from the mountains, and besides, no matter what, Slim and Jess would head for home if it were humanly possible.  Daisy was determined that she would be there, waiting for them with a welcoming smile and the warmth of a mother. There she could care for her family, if, heaven forbid; one or both of them should need her nursing skills. Besides, getting the house clean and ready for the homecoming would keep her mind occupied and hopefully keep her fears at bay. 

On the appointed morning, Jess was carefully lifted onto the wagon bed that had been prepared for him with layers of blankets. Once he was settled as comfortably as possible, Slim climbed up beside his partner and sat behind him. Reaching across Jess’ upper chest, he gently eased his friend back against his legs, lifting Jess’ dark head onto his lap. 

“H–Hey! There ain’t n–no need for treating me like a b–baby.” Jess protested, his recovery showing in the protests he was now putting up against what he considered being treated like a helpless child. 

“You haven’t got the strength to hold yourself still against the jogging of this wagon once we get underway, and I’m not risking you tearing open that shoulder wound. Not after all the time and effort some folks have put into getting it to heal.” Slim admonished fiercely, but he wasn’t really angry. In fact he was relieved to see some of his friend’s stubborn nature coming back. It all attested to Jess’ recovering stamina.  

Jess opened his mouth to give a snappy reply, but as he looked up into Slim’s face and saw the look of caring concern, he stopped, and allowed himself to settle back into the safety and security of Slim’s total friendship. He reckoned he would never understand what he had done to deserve the loyalty and friendship of such a man as good as Slim. 

James and Marie Rose climbed up onto the wagon seat. James was going to drive, protesting that neither he nor his daughter would enjoy riding in a saddle for long. The reality, everyone knew, was that both of them wanted to stay close to Jess, to do whatever they could to keep him safe and comfortable on the journey home. 

Once James had made it clear that he would not head back to the fort with the major until he was sure Jess was well on the way to recovery, the major had sent a small escort of men back towards Laramie with the wagon. He himself led the rest of the remaining troop back into the hills to join the others; to make absolutely certain the renegades were heading away from the territory, and no longer posed a threat. 

The troop had set out at dawn and the small group that would escort the wagon set out soon after, once the occupants of the wagon signalled that they were as ready as they would ever be to begin the journey home. 

With the thought of heading home to buoy him up, Jess started the journey in good spirits, but soon the constant jostling caused by the movement of the wagon awoke the aches and pains in his bruised and battered body. Riding alongside, Doctor Michaels saw the pain lines across the drawn features and called the group to a halt. Searching in his saddlebags he found what he was looking for. 

“Here, Slim; make sure he takes a swallow of this.” The doctor tossed a small bottle of brown liquid toward him. 

Catching it deftly, Slim looked at the label and nodded. Unscrewing the top, he pressed the mouth of the bottle to Jess’ lips. 

Never a willing or easy patient, Jess pushed the bottle away. “What is it?” he queried. 

“Laudanum,” Slim replied, in a voice that said he would accept no argument. “We’ve a long way to go, Jess. Why make it hard on yourself. Doc’s likely to call a halt if he thinks you’re not doing so well, and I don’t know about you, Pard, but I’ve got a mighty deep need to see home again.”  Slim knew exactly what he was doing. He used the one word that would get Jess’ attention and compliance. 

‘Home’ Jess thought, Lord, how he wanted to be there. A few years back it was a word he ignored, associating it with memories that brought pain and loss. He could never hope to find a home, a place to belong again, to be unconditionally accepted for who he was. So he told himself it was something he didn’t want, something to be avoided at all costs.  

Since meeting Slim he had come to learn differently. Now all he wanted was to be home in his own bed, surrounded by the love of those who had become his family. He recalled his conversation with James, an eternity ago now, that fateful evening before the attack. Jess had his dream, and the reality was better than he could ever have imagined. He would never do anything to jeopardise that. With a soft sigh of acceptance he allowed his friend to give him the bitter tasting medicine. 

“That’s better,” then Slim looked hard at his ailing partner. “Jess, you handling this all right?” He was alarmed by how easily the younger man had given in. Jess normally fought like a demon against taking any medicinal concoction Slim tried to ply him with. 

A weak smile tugged at the corners of Jess’ mouth. “Just this once, Pard, I’ll give in gracefully, but you tell anyone and I’ll make your life hell once I’m up and about again.” 

“Behave yourself the rest of this journey and you’ve got yourself a deal. But you give me any trouble and I’ll regale Daisy with the details of how we got your fever down,” Slim threatened. While Jess had been fighting for his life, Slim had not once brought the embarrassing subject up, but now that Jess had turned the corner, he reckoned it was fair game to bait him occasionally. 

Under the influence of the drug Jess’ eyes grew heavy, but he forced them open briefly. He had only very vague recollections of that time, but he did seem to recall being naked in a wonderfully cool pool of water. He had asked Slim about it during one of his lucid moments, and received a brief explanation of what had been done to save his life. He felt the flush of embarrassment rise to his face as he spoke. “You w–wouldn’t dare. Would you?” 

“Care to try me, Pard. Behave and do as you’re told, and I may consider keeping quiet.” Slim smiled down at his red-faced friend. 

“Awww, you don’t p–play fair—-S—Slim—-” Jess’ heavy eyes closed and he lost his battle against the powerful opiate. 

Slim rubbed his good shoulder affectionately, “That’s better, Pard. You sleep. We’ll get you home faster this way.” 

With Jess sleeping peacefully and mercifully free from pain, the party set out again, this time travelling a little faster. By the time night was falling they were two thirds of the way home. Jess was starting to rouse again as the laudanum wore off. 

Noticing this, the doctor drew his horse closer to the wagon. “I don’t want to push our luck, Slim. He’s done well so far. I’m going to tell the sergeant to stop for the night. I think we’ve outrun the rain clouds.” 

Glancing back at the low grey clouds covering the mountains, Slim agreed. “Yes, I think your right. I don’t envy the major and his men if they’re caught out in that. It’s a good thing you had us leave when we did.” He lightly brushed the back of his hand across Jess’ forehead and found it slightly warm. The doctor had warned him not to let Jess push himself too hard too soon, or else the fever might return. “He’s feeling a little warm, Doc. Do you want to check him out?” 

“I’m sure with some rest tonight his temperature will settle, but I do need to change those dressings.” The doctor moved forward and informed the sergeant of their intention to stop for the night, when a suitable campsite could be found. 

A few minutes later the small group of travellers came to a halt by a stream, and the sergeant ordered his men to go about the basics of setting up camp. By the time the tent and cot had been assembled to take Jess, he was fully awake and hurting again. 

James climbed down and came to join Slim at the back of the wagon, where he was having little success in persuading Jess to take another dose of the strong painkiller. 

“Jess, don’t make me force you to take it. And you know I can,” Slim admonished. 

“No, Slim. Between the pain, the fever and now this, I ain’t been able to keep a clear thought in my head. We’re gonna be home tomorrow, and I want to be clear headed when we ride in. I want to be able to appreciate every little detail. I f–feel like I’ve b–been away forever.” The battle of wills had sapped what little strength he had left, but his need was heard clearly by his partner. Jess needed this small victory, just as much as he needed to be home. 

Slim nodded slowly, “All right, Pard, I hear you. But you get to hurting more, or if your fever goes up again, then you’re taking it.  Even if I have to get James to pour it down your throat while I sit on you.” 

The soft light in Slim’s eyes re-assured Jess that, as always, Slim acted out of concern for him, and he gave a small nod of acceptance back. “T–Thanks, Slim. Don’t worry I’ll behave. If I get to need it, you’ll be the first to know.” 

Jess eased himself up on his good arm, and started to pull himself forward to the edge of the wagon bed. Slim vaulted back up and was instantly at his best friend’s side. “Don’t, Jess. You’re not strong enough yet, James and I will lift you.” 

Jess batted Slim’s hands away. “I need to do this for my–myself, Slim,” he said through gritted teeth. Slim stood back, seeing Jess’ need to prove to himself that he wasn’t totally dependent, but ready, should the need arise, to step in and help. 

Slowly, mustering every bit of strength he had, Jess made it to the edge of the wagon bed, and slowly eased himself down. Moisture formed on his forehead and ran down his face, as Jess, his teeth clenched tightly against the pain, finally stood on his own feet for the first time in almost a week. This was all he had needed, to give himself this small measure of independence, to prove to himself he was on the road to recovery. Now he was ready to give in and accept the help Slim was desperate to give. 

Two pairs of blue eyes met briefly, Jess’ giving permission for Slim to step forward, just before his wobbly knees gave way and he started to sink towards the ground. Before Jess’ body could hit the ground he was caught and held steadfastly by his partner, as James too stepped forward to help. 

The doctor had arrived just in time to catch the finish of the show. “Slim, what’s wrong?” 

“Nothing to worry about, Doc. Just old Jess here, proving to himself he’s still got his ornery streak. Come on, James let’s get this stubborn fool to his bed, then the Doc here can check him out.” 

Between them the two men practically carried a now exhausted Jess to the tent where he sank back onto the bed gratefully. 

“I’ll finish off here, James. You go get something to eat and some rest. You’ve been driving that wagon all day. You must be pretty near played out.” 

Giving Jess one last appraising glance, James nodded. “I’ll have Marie Rose bring you both something to eat and drink later. Are you sure you can manage?” 

“Yeah, I can handle this on my own,” Slim heard the tent flap close behind James’ retreating back, and turned back to his friend. 

He shook his head slowly as he bent to start to remove Jess’ boots. “Sometimes, Jess, I find it real hard to be patient with you. What were you trying to prove?” 

Jess knew he had pushed himself and Slim too far. “S–Sorry, S–Slim. I-I needed-” 

Slim cut him off. “I know what you needed, Jess. I know what you’ve been through. I was there too, remember. It wasn’t a picnic for me either.” He saw the pain written on Jess’ fine features and realised that Jess was well aware he’d overdone it. Relenting a little he patted Jess’ good leg. “It’s done with now, let’s forget it. But from now on, you don’t do anything unless the Doc or I say you can. Agreed?” 

If nothing else, Jess knew when it was time to give in. Besides, he was hurting so much now, even he had to recognise the need to rest and do as he was told. “Agreed, at least till we get home.” 

That was good enough for Slim. He knew that once they were back at the ranch, he could send for Daisy to come back from the town.  Daisy had the measure of both Slim and Jess, and neither of them risked annoying her by disobeying her instructions. She would make Jess behave and recuperate properly. 

Gently, Slim set about undressing his exhausted partner. Though Jess started to protest, Slim told him firmly that the doctor was going to check his wounds and change the dressings, so Jess was just going to have to put up with it. 

Later, after the doctor had checked Jess over and declared, despite the earlier incident, that everything was doing well considering, the two friends sat and enjoyed the meal that Marie Rose had brought in.  Jess was propped up by several blankets, and although he was aching and sore, he had managed to eat at least half of the plate of stew he had been given. It was the first solid food he had eaten since the attack, and he was pleasantly surprised when it stayed down. 

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you, Slim,” he said softly, his strength rapidly depleting.

“There you go again, taking all the blame on yourself. Next, you’ll be telling me you planned to run into those renegades and you shot yourself with that arrow. Lets just concentrate on getting you well again, and stop trying to lay the blame at your own doorstep.” Slim took Jess’ plate from his lap and placed it on the floor. 

“Thanks Slim, for everything,” Jess replied, fighting to stay awake. 

Slim had noticed Jess’ eyes slowly closing and eased the blankets that had been propping him up while he ate from behind his best friends head, easing him gently down. 

“You’re more than welcome, Pard. You had me real scared for a while back there, I don’t want to ever feel that way again.” Embarrassed at his own show of emotion, Slim rapidly changed the subject.  “Now that’s out of the way, lets get you settled. Here.” Slim thrust the open bottle of laudanum towards Jess. 

For a second it looked like Jess would refuse it again, then he saw the very genuine concern in Slim’s eyes and gave in. He allowed Slim to deliver another dose, and then he stopped fighting the inevitable and fell into the arms of sleep.  Content, with the thought that tomorrow he would be home, his home that he shared with a wonderful family and a friend that would stand beside him no matter what. 

The following morning the sun rose on a camp that was almost packed and ready to move. There was a chill dampness in the air that forewarned of a rainy day ahead and every one wanted to be safely ensconced under a dry roof and by a warm fire. 

Slim had woken relatively early, eager to get underway, the lure of home calling strongly to him. Jess still appeared to be under the influence of the opiate he had taken the night before.  So they had carried him to the wagon before he could rouse and protest such molly coddling, as he would have called it. 

It had bothered Slim at first that his ailing friend was so uncharacteristically co-operative, but the doctor had checked Jess over and was pleased with how his patient was coping with the journey. It was only when Slim had moved to take up his previous day’s position supporting Jess’ head and shoulders that Jess had finally objected. 

“No. I ain’t a baby, Slim. Just prop me up against the side.” 

“Oh, sure I will, just like I’ll take all the blame from the doctor when all the jogging and bouncing around busts open that shoulder wound. No, Sir. You’re going to just have to put up with me acting as your pillow for a little while longer, Pard.” Slim proceeded to lift a still protesting Jess up against him. 

“Slim, I don’t want to turn up looking worse than I feel. It’d only go worrying Daisy unnecessarily,” Jess protested, trying another form of persuasion. 

“I sent Daisy and Mike into town before I lit out after you. She won’t be at the ranch when we get there.” Slim dismissed Jess’ concern easily 

“Awww, Slim. You heard what that trooper said last night about Daisy cross-examining him when he got into town. She’s bound to have figured out we’d be headin’ home soon and the ranch is on the way back into Laramie. She’ll be there, I jut know it.  And if she sees me like this, she ain’t gonna give me a minutes peace,” Jess fixed Slim with his most appealing look. It was a look that melted the hearts of most women, but Slim wasn’t a woman and he was pretty well immune to Jess’ manipulations, as was Daisy. 

“You heard that? We all thought you we’re asleep.” Slim was trying to remember what else was discussed, especially pertaining to Jess’ current state of health. 

“I reckon I pretty near was, but I heard Daisy’s name and that kinda grabbed my attention,” Jess admitted. 

Smiling, Slim patted Jess’ shoulder. Daisy meant a lot to all of them, but Jess had a real soft spot for her. Slim reasoned it was because Jess had lost his own mother at an early age, and Daisy had filled a big hole in Jess’ life, when she had come to live at the ranch, even if he hadn’t figured that out yet. Heck, she had filled the void in his own life for that matter. 

“All right, Jess. Here’s what we are going do. You’re going to behave and let me hold you steady, and when we get to that rise just before we head down to the ranch, I’ll move back and prop you up against the wagon. Okay?” 

Jess looked like he was about to object, as a familiar stubborn glare crept across his pale features. 

“Take it or leave it, Jess. It’s the best deal you’re going to get,” Slim warned. 

“You drive a hard bargain, Slim,” Jess complained, but settled unresisting against Slim’s supporting chest. 

Before they finally did set out on the last leg of their journey, Jess did win one last battle however, by steadfastly refusing to take any more painkillers. He wanted to be clear headed today, trusting in the warmth and comfort of going home to carry him past any pain he might otherwise experience. The very idea that he would feel this way about any place was a unique feeling to him, after he had  spent most of his life alone and drifting from place to place. He was going home today and he wanted to savour every wonderful, joyous moment of it. 

Just as Jess had predicted, Daisy was indeed at the ranch awaiting their return. In fact, she had been there for several days now, more than long enough to have the place spotlessly clean and ready to receive her special family back. 

However, it was Mike that spotted the small company of men as they topped the last rise before the road led down to the cosy ranch house. He watched as the accompanying troopers split off from the wagon and continued on towards Laramie. It was only when the wagon turned down the road that led to the ranch that Mike let loose with a wild whoop and ran into the house shouting for Daisy.

Barely seconds later, Daisy emerged on to the porch, wiping her flour covered hands on her apron. Mike ran past her again, to stand by the corral fence waiting to greet the wagon and its occupants. 

As she strained to see who was riding in the wagon, Daisy’s hands betrayed her anxiety as they repeatedly grasped and released her apron. 

“Aunt Daisy, its Marie Rose and her father, and I can see Slim sitting in the back.” Mike supplied excitedly. 

Daisy could see this for herself, just as she could also recognise Doctor Michaels as he rode alongside the wagon. It was what or rather whom, she couldn’t see, that had Daisy so fraught. ‘Dear Lord, please let Jess be alright’ she thought. 

James and his daughter were riding on the wagon seat looking none the worse for their adventure. Her eyes searched the wagon and found Slim who was sitting up in the back. He looked tired but in no way did he look like he warranted the doctor’s presence. That left only Jess, and logic said he must be lying in the back of the wagon, and something must have happened to cause the doctor to accompany the party of weary travellers all the way back to the ranch. 

As the wagon finally drew to a stop in front of the porch she rushed round to the back to find Jess. Her hand flew to her mouth and a soft gasp escaped her as she spied her middle son lying propped up on blankets and looking translucently pale. 

“Oh, Jess!” she exclaimed and tried to climb into the wagon alongside him. 

Slim put out his arm to stop her. “Let us get him inside, Daisy and then I promise you can fuss over him all you want.” 

Jess had fought hard to stay awake, but on this very last stretch his weakness had betrayed him. Slim had kept his promise and stopped supporting him as they had reached the rise, and had indeed propped Jess up on the blankets, despite being concerned at how exhausted Jess was. 

“What happened to him, Slim?” Daisy’s voice edged higher with concern. 

“I’ll fill you in later, Daisy, but right now Jess needs his bed.” 

The new voice in his world of pain pierced the fatigue haze in Jess’ mind. The soft feminine tones tugged at his heart and he opened his eyes to see the face of one who had come to mean so much to him. 

“I’m fine, Daisy, honestly. A good night’s sleep and I’ll be as good as new,” Jess tried to re-assure her. 

Not easily fooled, Daisy looked towards the doctor and saw the slight shake of his head. She turned her attention back to her injured child and became instantly the efficient nurse. “I’ll be the judge of whether you’re fine or not, young man. Mike, run inside and get Jess’ bed turned down for him, then put the kettle back on the stove to heat up again, please. Marie Rose, perhaps you could help him. Slim, do you think you and James could carry Jess inside to his bed and get those dusty clothes off him, while I talk to the Doctor here.” 

Jess started to protest. “Daisy, I can walk–,” He never got any further. 

Daisy had seen the frown that had formed on Slim’s features at Jess’ protest and immediately intervened. “You’ll do no such thing. Sometimes I swear you haven’t got the sense you were born with.” 

Poor Jess had never managed to win an argument with the determined little woman when he was in good health. He knew he didn’t stand a snowballs chance in hell of winning this one, especially when he had to admit to himself he would probably fall flat on his face if he did try to stand. Still he had his pride, and he had to try. He had known he would lose the argument even before he had opened his mouth. Jess clamped his mouth shut and suffered the indignity of being carried like a baby cradled in Slim’s strong arms. 

Daisy marshalled her troops with all the efficiency of a general sending them into battle. Soon she was fully updated on Jess’ condition, and aware of what had happened to the group. Admittedly, she as curious about the flying contraption that had been mentioned, but details could wait till later. Right now she had an injured son to care for. 

By late afternoon, Daisy had assisted the doctor in changing Jess’ dressings and bathing the sweat and dirt from the protesting man’s body. Daisy had relented a little when she had seen the mortified look on Jess’ handsome features when she had started to pull the blankets back to wash his lower body. He had clutched frantically at the blanket with his one good arm, a blush creeping up his face and accentuating his wide blue eyes. 

“All right, Jess. I’ll ask Slim to come in and finish up,” she smiled ruefully. 

Jess kept his eyes cast down, but managed to mumble his thanks. He was feeling extremely tired now and he ached all over, but he was home and safe at last. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful, but right now he just wanted to sleep. 

Daisy saw all this in his pinched features. She patted his good leg affectionately.  “I’ll send him right in, Jess, then you can settle down and sleep, I promise.” 

This time his response was more positive, “Thanks, Daisy.” 

While Slim finished up with Jess, the inexhaustible Daisy prepared a hot meal for every one, re-assured Mike that Jess would be all right, and took careful note of Doctor Michaels’ instructions for nursing Jess back to health. 

When Slim re-emerged to join them all, he reported that Jess was finally sleeping peacefully. Doctor Michaels nodded approvingly. “Best thing for him right now. When he wakes up he’ll need plenty of food and lots of fluids to help build his strength.”

After dinner, the doctor announced that he should head back to his duties in town.  Saying, he had neglected the rest of his patients long enough. But promising to call back to check on Jess in a few days’ time, and leaving strict instructions that Jess was not to be allowed out of his bed for at least ten days. 

Not long afterward, the rest of the exhausted group excused themselves for an early night. Mike had been fairly quiet since their return and Slim knew the boy was fretting and would likely not settle till he had seen Jess for himself, and was assured he would be okay.  So Slim took him with him when he went to check on the still sleeping Jess. 

“He will be all right, won’t he, Slim?” he asked in a whisper so as not to wake Jess. 

Slim tousled his hair with his hand. “Yes, Mike, he will be fine, but it’s up to us to make sure he behaves and does just what the doctor says. Come on now, Mike; let’s get you settled in bed.” And he ushered Mike quietly from the room in the direction of the youngster’s bedroom

It had been decided earlier that it would be better if James slept in Mike’s room with him, so as to avoid anyone disturbing Jess. As Slim and Jess shared a room, Slim would be close by if Jess should need anything. 

Slim had just returned to their room when the sound of the door opening behind him heralded Daisy’s entry into the living room. “I was wondering if I should bring him some supper?” she ventured, looking at the sleeping form. 

“Right now, I think an earthquake wouldn’t wake him, Daisy.” Slim replied. I doubt he’ll wake till morning, but if he does I’ll get him something.” 

“I don’t mind if you wake me, Slim. I like taking care of you all,” she responded. 

“You should have heard him, Daisy. We came so close to losing him this time, and when he came round, all the darned fool could think of was saying sorry to us for the argument we had on the day he left.” 

Daisy didn’t say anything. She moved quietly over to stand beside Jess’ bed. Gently she brushed the heavy dark strands of hair back from his eyes. 

“He thinks he’s got us fooled with his independent tough guy act, but he needs us as much as we need him, maybe more,” she said softly. 

“He thought he had me fooled, Daisy, but I could see right through him. Despite how sick he was, once the doctor said we could safely move him, he couldn’t wait to come home. Funny, at one time he’d deny home was important to him, saying he didn’t need a home.  But now, after these past years together working here with me, that’s how he thinks of the ranch.” Slim smiled warmly at the man now resting peacefully in his bed. 

“I’ve always known that, Slim. There was never any question about where he belonged. I could see how close you two were from the first time I set eyes on you both” She ran her hand through Jess’ thick waves one last time before turning to leave. “Wake me if he rouses or you need help, Slim.” 

“I will, Daisy, Sleep well.” 

She walked towards the open door and after taking one last look over her shoulder at the sleeping young man who was so precious to her; she softly shut the bedroom door behind her, leaving the two friends to their rest.

Chapter Sixteen 

Two weeks had passed since Slim and Jess had returned home.  Despite repeated requests for Doctor Sender and his daughter to come into Laramie and be escorted back to Washington as soon as possible, the good doctor had steadfastly refused, saying he was going to stay on at the ranch and help out, until Slim could arrange extra help while Jess was recuperating. 

James convinced the last government representative that he needed the extra time to re-configure his calculations before presenting them to the Scientific Commission. The real reason was that neither of the Easterners wanted to leave until they were absolutely certain Jess was well on the road to a full recovery.  Slim understood this, and in fact James did prove to be a considerable help to him. 

Amazingly, James quickly learned how to change the teams of horses for the stage, and this allowed Slim to spend more time out on the range, checking on the herd and mending fences and generally catching up on the back log of work. There was a lot to catch up on since both men had been away from the ranch for several days, and at first, Slim had continued to stay close to Jess in the first few days after their return. It had taken a great deal of threats and persuasion on the part of Daisy to finally pry Slim away from Jess’ side. He only gave in when she had threatened to ban him from the sick room permanently if he didn’t get out from under her feet for a while. 

Marie Rose spent her time helping Daisy run the household and look after Jess. She also proved to be a distracting playmate for Mike, who in the early days of Jess’ recovery, worried and fretted about his ‘big brother’. When Mike went missing, it soon became apparent that he would easily be found in Jess room, either helping Jess in some small way if he was awake, or sitting close by  as Jess slept, watching each rise and fall of his chest, as if thinking Jess would stop breathing if he so much as glanced away. 

As for Jess himself, he slept most of the first week away, only rousing for brief periods of time to drink, eat or take care of other natural needs. Doctor Michaels had attended regularly, and he had re-assured a worried Slim that Jess’ exhaustion was only natural given what he had suffered. Sure enough, as they entered the second week, Jess spent longer periods awake, and his stubborn self-reliant nature once more began to show, replacing the compliant, obedient patient of the previous week. 

It was towards the end of the second week of his confinement to bed that a harassed Daisy was heard to say “Jess Harper, sometimes I swear life was easier around here when you were as weak as a kitten and didn’t have the strength to argue back.” 

“You don’t mean that, Daisy,” Jess retorted, “You know you don’t.” He turned his little boy lost look onto her with full force. “I only want to sit out for a while, Daisy. I’ve been in this bed so long I swear my feet have forgotten what they’re for.” 

“Now you just stop that right now, Jess.” Daisy rejoined, her concern for her young patient making her immune to his wiles. “The doctor only took your stitches out yesterday, and he said you weren’t to do anything too strenuous yet in case you tear yourself up inside.”

“Aww, Daisy, there are parts of me I can’t name, that are going so numb I think I’ll never feel them ever again,” Jess pleaded trying another tactic. 

At that point, Slim appeared in the doorway, having heard his friend’s irritated voice as he came through the back door. 

“What parts are those, Jess? They wouldn’t be the ones we all got to see when—” 

Jess interrupted quickly, as his cheeks flamed red. “Haven’t you got things to do today, Slim?” 

“Nope, thanks to James the works all up to date.” Slim responded, then with a twinkle in his eye he spoke to Daisy again. “Say, Daisy, did I finish telling you how we got Jess’ fever to break?” 

He didn’t have to say any more. Jess gave a very exaggerated yawn and said, “I’m feeling mighty tired right now, do you two think you could leave a sick man alone to sleep awhile?” 

“Oh, Jess. What’s wrong? Just a minute ago you said you felt well enough to get up. Have you overdone it?” Unknown to Jess, Daisy gave a sly wink to Slim. 

Beaten into submission and not liking it, Jess slid down into the bed, pulling the blankets up higher. “Reckon I overestimated myself. Maybe tomorrow, huh?” and he turned his back pointedly on his two smirking nursemaids. 

As the two conspirators left the room, they swore they heard Jess mumble something that sounded like, “You darned well don’t play fair, Slim.” 

Barely able to contain their laughter, both too happy to see Jess’ old ornery self re-appearing, they retreated out of earshot before giving in to giggles and guffaws. 

“Oh my, Slim, you really shouldn’t tease him like that.” Daisy had been told the details of Jess’ treatment by the doctor, just in case the fever returned and the treatment needed to be repeated.  She knew how shy Jess could be about such things, so she had never let on that she knew. However, as she thought of the shocked embarrassment in those wide blue eyes, and the pink flush that had risen so quickly to Jess’ handsome face at Slim’s words, she couldn’t help but smile. For a man that could look death in the face and grin back, he sure embarrassed easily. 

“It worked didn’t it?” Slim managed to gasp out between bouts of laughter. “Don’t worry, Daisy, I’ll make it up to him tomorrow. The Doc said he could start to get up then. Nothing too much and not for very long, but I reckon he’ll mellow a lot if he gets to sit on the couch in the living room for half an hour or so.” 

“Yes, that should make him a lot easier to live with,” Daisy agreed, “but pretty soon it isn’t going to be so easy to make him behave and take it easy.” 

“We’ll cross that bridge when we have to, Daisy. I’ll tie him down if he gets too ornery, and be thanking God the whole time that he is still with us to argue the toss.”

Daisy leant in towards Slim and patted his hand gently. “It is good to see him getting better, isn’t it? The good Lord answered my prayers and brought you both home safe.” 

Before more could be said, the kitchen door burst open and Mike tumbled in, followed closely by Marie Rose, both anxiously asking how Jess was. 

“He’s sleeping right now, so don’t you two go making too much noise. Supper will be ready in a few minutes, and if you behave then the two of you can take his supper into him later on.” 

That did the trick and the two children settled down quickly and set about helping Daisy finish preparing supper, While Slim went out to help James finish up the chores before the family settled down to eat and discuss the day’s events. 

Over the next two days, Jess was left with more time to himself as the family began to relax, safe in the knowledge that his life was no longer under threat. As he healed though, he was awake for longer periods of time, and very quickly became bored and fractious as the four walls of the room closed in. 

Wisely, Slim and Daisy anticipated the effect this would have on their normally active patient. They offered a deal that Jess couldn’t refuse. If he did as he was told, then Slim and James would help him to get up and sit in the living room when the family gathered for the evening.  With that small reward to look forward to, Jess behaved himself. He ate what he was given, took the pain medicine that the doctor had left, and even submitted to Slim shaving him, after only a slight protest about his not being a baby. 

As soon as everyone was clean and ready for supper, Slim and James entered the bedroom and gently helped Jess to sit up and dress. Though Jess would never admit it, he was both wanting and dreading this moment. It would be the first time since he had tried to get off the wagon that he would really be on his feet.  

For the past week, Slim and Daisy had followed the doctor’s instructions faithfully, helping Jess to move his shoulder and leg through a series of exercises to help get them loosened up. It hadn’t been an easy task for any of them. At first it had been agony for Jess to stretch the still healing scars, and emotionally it was just as painful for Slim and Daisy to push him through the rigorous routine, but after a few days it had become steadily easier, until finally both his arm and leg were almost as free as they had ever been.  

They were still very weak however, and Jess knew there would be weeks of hard work ahead until he was back to normal. Doctor Michaels had warned it would be at least two months before he would consider allowing Jess to ride again. Jess had decided he was going to prove them all wrong, but now that the moment to take his first steps had come, he was having his own doubts. 

“Okay, Jess. This is what you’ve been waiting for.” Slim stated as he stepped in closer. 

Jess glanced up at his friend, “All right. What’s the all fired hurry? Give a man a chance to ready himself.” 

Laughing, and fully understanding Jess’ concern, Slim replied. ” Just an hour ago you were threatening to get out of bed yourself, now I’m practically having to pull you out.” 

Jess wasn’t afraid of the pain of standing on his injured leg, but he was afraid of trying and failing. He had been told how badly torn his muscle had been in places, and the doctor had warned him it might take a very long time to heal.  Now the moment of truth was here, his heart was racing and he was in a cold sweat at the very idea that his leg might be crippled. His fear came out as he snapped angrily back at Slim. 

“Give a man room to move. I’m getting to it.” 

Dropping down in front of Jess, Slim met his downcast eyes. “It’ll be fine, Jess, you’ll see. Trust me,” he said softly. “You and that stubborn nature of yours, this thing won’t beat you.” Then he gave Jess’ good leg a gentle pat and stood back up. 

Jess drew strength from Slim’s words, and with a quick, “Sorry, Slim,” he began to stand. 

With Slim and James supporting him on either side Jess stood up slowly. The world seemed to try to tilt on its side, and his legs turned to jelly, but with Slim’s steadying arm round his waist and his other hand at his elbow, Jess stayed upright. Once he nodded that he was ready, James moved in close to his other side and then with slow steps, Jess limped into the living room. 

Slim had placed Jess’ favoured rocking chair near the fire, and it was to this he guided his friend. Daisy was there instantly, placing pillows behind him and placing his injured leg up on a small stool.  Once Jess was settled the group stepped back and allowed Jess his first look about the living room since he had been carried through it two weeks ago. His eyes roamed the room, and warmth lit from within them as he let the reassuring familiarity seep through him. 

Jess looked at each dear face and realised how close he had been to loosing his home and family. He glanced at James, who was standing with his arm around Marie Rose’s shoulders. His mind slipped back to another peaceful time, when he and James had sat talking up in the mountains. A smile spread across his face as he remembered talking about a man needing his dreams. His mind recalled the look of pure joy on James’ face as they had flown through the air. For a brief moment, before reality set in, Jess had shared the wonder of that moment too. He had actually found out what it felt like to fly like an eagle. It was an experience he had never dreamt of having and certainly one he would remember for the rest of his life. 

Then there was no more time to think. Daisy was serving up supper and Mike was by his side with a cup of coffee, accompanied by Marie Rose carrying a tray laden with food. Accepting the tray, Jess looked across at Daisy. 

“You fattening me up for the kill?” he commented on the heaped plate in front of him.

Daisy finished putting a plate in front of Slim. “You need some weight on you; you lost so much while you’ve been ill. Doctor Michaels says if you don’t eat more, it will impede your recovery and you’ll heal slower, and I won’t have that. You’ll ruin my reputation as a cook.” 

She laughed lightly. But in fact Daisy had been worried about the small amount of food Jess had been eating. So much so she had mentioned it to the doctor on his last visit to check on his patient. The doctor had reassured her that once Jess was up and moving about more, his normally veracious appetite would gradually return. 

The table was arranged so that the rest of them could sit and eat but still face Jess so as to include him in the family occasion. In the relaxed atmosphere, Jess basked in the feeling of belonging that surrounded him. Daisy noted that he only picked at his food, but she was prepared to let it go this time, since it was such a special occasion. When she served her apple pie for desert, she was relieved to see that her ailing son cleared his plate. She smiled gently, pleased to see that his favourite dish had tempted him, just as she had intended. 

After supper the two children settled at Jess’ feet chatting happily to him about their day. Once the dishes were cleared away, Daisy and Slim joined the group and James gave in to their persuasion to tell them a story of his travels in India.  

Soon, the warmth of the fire coupled with the smoothness of James’ rich voice began to lull an exhausted Jess. Though he desperately wanted to stay with them, his lack of stamina betrayed him, and his eyes grew heavy, finally sliding shut and his chin dropped to his chest. 

Daisy nudged Slim, who looked across at his dozing partner. He smiled as he stood and went over to him. Gently he shook his arm. “Come on, Pard. I think that’s it for today. Let’s get you to bed.” 

Jess opened blurry eyes and managed a weak “Yeah.” 

As the two men helped him to stand, he apologised to the others “Sorry everyone, I reckon I ain’t that strong yet.” 

“Glad to see you recognise it, come on now, bed for you.” Slim hooked Jess’ good arm around his shoulders and with James’ help soon got the tired but contented man settled in his bed. 

 As Slim left the room, he heard a deep soft. “Thanks, Pard.”  

“You’re welcome, Pard.” Then Slim was gone, leaving Jess to his healing sleep. 

Over the next few days, this small treat was repeated until Jess was able to stay awake for up to two hours at a time, sitting in the living room. He was getting snappy again and wanted to push himself further, constantly nagging Slim to help him outside. This request was met by an equally consistent refusal. The weather was turning chilly and rain had been a frequent companion to the cold wind. Daisy had told Slim that if he gave in to Jess, he would have to account to her if Jess’ recovery was set back. There was no way Slim was going to annoy her so Jess found his attempts at persuasion falling on deaf ears, no matter which tactic he used. 

It was during one of Jess’ afternoon periods of sitting in the living room, chatting to Daisy as she prepared supper that Sheriff Corey arrived. Slim escorted him in, and then went to fetch James as the sheriff had requested his presence. 

“How are you feeling, Jess?” Mort asked. He hadn’t had a chance to speak to his friend since he had returned from the mountains. Mort had called in to check on him the first day Jess was home, but Jess had been sleeping most of the time, and hadn’t registered his presence. Since then Mort had been busy dealing with the overcrowded town. Now, with the news that had come in yesterday, people were starting to move back out to their ranches and farms. The pressure of the job was easing again, well for the time being anyhow. 

“I’m fine. I’d be even better if Daisy and Slim would stop molly coddling me and let me be.” Jess replied sounding more than a little peeved. 

“Now, Jess. I saw how bad off you were when you came home. The fact that you’re well enough now to be sitting there complaining, is a testimony to the good care you’ve been receiving.” 

“Thanks, Mort. Left to himself, this damn stubborn fool would be in his grave by now. Not that I haven’t been tempted to finish the job myself occasionally,” Slim commented as he returned with James and Marie Rose in tow. 

“Awww, Slim, you don’t mean that.” Jess had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I know you and Daisy mean well but I can’t take being this confined, and you know being fussed over just gets me feeling smothered.” 

“Yes, you make it very difficult to ignore how you are feeling with all the griping you’ve been doing,” Daisy admonished as she came in from the kitchen. 

Jess knew when he was beaten, “I’m sorry, Daisy, Slim. I guess I have been a bit of a pain,” 

“A bit!”  Slim exclaimed. 

“Okay. I’ve been a lot more than a bit. But if you’d just let me walk outside—” 

“Jess Harper!” Daisy exclaimed. 

“You just try it, mister. I’m sure Mort would like to hear about that fever you had up in the mountains. And about how we had to treat it.” Slim glowered at his friend, as he tried to subdue a smirk. 

Jess shut his mouth firmly as the red flush crept up his cheeks. His eyes glared defiantly at Slim, but he kept quiet under the veiled threat. 

“So, Mort, other than checking on your stubborn friend here, just what brings you out this way? There isn’t anything wrong is there?” Daisy asked. 

“No, nothings wrong, but I do have a message for the doctor and I’m afraid I’m a day late in delivering it.” Mort explained to the group. “Major Sterling wired yesterday asking me to get a message to you, Doctor Sender. He is sending an escort tomorrow to accompany you and your daughter to Cheyenne. You’ve tickets booked to take you back East. It seems like certain government officials have run out of patience and want to meet with you as soon as possible.” 

James’ mouth dropped open and he looked like he was about to object, when Slim spoke up. “James, you’ve been a great help these past two weeks. To be honest, I don’t know how we would have coped without you, but we’ve caught up on the work and I don’t want you sacrificing your own plans for us.” 

“I stayed because I wanted to, Slim. Marie Rose and I owe our lives to Jess, and we are only too happy to help out while Jess is healing.” James explained. 

“Now hold on there, James if anyone owes anything around here, it’d be me. You and Marie Rose saved my life up on that mountain. I wouldn’t be sitting here now if it weren’t for you two.” Jess interrupted, uncomfortable with the idea that James was risking his own future for him. 

Marie Rose came closer to her father. “Up on that mountain, Jess, you were willing to give up your life for us, you were a real hero. We owe you a lot more than a few weeks of our time.” 

As the heat again crept up his cheeks Jess found himself stammering, “H–Heck, it–it weren’t nothing b–but bein’ a feared o—of losing’ m–my h-horse.” As all eyes turned on him, Jess found himself wishing the ground would open up and swallow him. Although able to hold his own in a fight or when having a night out in town, when put in a situation like this one, he was desperately shy. 

Loving how appealing the red flush made him look, Daisy added fuel to the fire. “Oh, now come on, Jess, don’t be so modest. That isn’t what we heard, is it, Slim?” 

If Jess could have walked by himself at that moment, he’d have beaten a hasty retreat from the room; unfortunately he couldn’t move an inch without enlisting the help of the two men who were part of the group currently enjoying teasing him. Jess pulled himself together. 

“You two don’t owe me a thing. I was just doing my job. Look, I’ll be fine in a day or so, James. I’ll be able to help old Slim here take care of the place. You’ve given years to this dream of yours, James. Don’t risk losing it, not now,” Jess appealed. 

As what Jess had just proposed sank in, everyone started speaking at once. Mike was busy insisting he could easily do a man’s work, Slim, James and Daisy we’re all voicing loudly, in one way or another, that Jess was not going to be doing work of any sort for a good few more weeks at the very least. As for Marie Rose, much to Jess’ further mortification, she was busy expressing how brave and selfless she thought he was. 

It was Mort that shouted them all down and brought back some semblance of order to the group. 

“Now wait a minute all of you. You’re missing the point. I kinda got the message that Doctor Sender doesn’t have a choice. This is official government business and he’s been summoned to Washington.” 

Before anything more could be said, Slim settled the matter. “Mort, you said most folk have moved back out to their ranches now. Does that include the Morgan family?” 

“They moved back out a few days ago, Slim. Matt said to tell you if you need any help with Jess being laid up, that you only have to ask. He still owes you from when you helped take his herd to market earlier this year.” 

“We were only being neighbourly. I figured he and his brother would be ready to pitch in. That settles it then. James, you and Marie Rose have some packing to do. Mort, would you mind stopping by at the Morgan’s on your way back to town and tell them I’ll take them up on that offer of help.” 

“I figured as much, Slim. I spoke to them on my way out. They’ll be here day after tomorrow.” Mort replied easily. 

“Thanks Mort. Now as for you, Jess, I figure it’s about time you were settled back in bed, and if you so much as mention getting back to work again, bed is where you’ll be staying for at least another week. Seems to me, if we give you an inch, you’ll end up try taking a mile.” 

“Now, Slim, I ain’t an inva—” Jess started to protest, but was cut off by Slim’s comment as he bent and whispered in his partners ear. 

All thought of further protest was instantly silenced, and Jess gave in meekly as Slim and James helped the sulking man back to his bed. 

Later, after Mort had enjoyed a coffee accompanied by a slice of Daisy’s famous apple pie before returning to town, the friends started to retire to their beds, knowing that the morning was going to be a busy one. 

Daisy called Slim back for a minute, she just had to know what Slim had said to get Jess to behave so easily. “Well,” she prompted,” Just how did you get him to behave?” 

“That was easy, Daisy,” Slim laughed, as he headed to the room he shared with Jess.  “I just suggested that maybe we should all retire and leave him to spend some time alone to say goodbye to Marie Rose, seeing as it was her last night with us.” 

Daisy’s soft laughter floated behind her as she headed for her room. “Slim, that was cruel.” She admonished, then as an after thought. “Have you ever considered a career in politics?”

Chapter Seventeen 

The next morning saw the household burst into a hive of activity. Daisy was in the kitchen preparing a packed meal for the two travellers, not trusting that they would have time to eat in Cheyenne. James and Marie Rose were busy packing and ensuring none of the notes and scientific journals James had written were forgotten. Mike was enlisted to help Slim with some mysterious job in the barn. 

It was late morning when Jess woke up. He had slept deeply after the excitement of the previous night. As he lay in bed he could hear a great deal of hustle and bustle, but no one appeared to lend him the hand he needed to take care of his morning ablutions. Being the man he was; he took the opportunity it offered to make a bid for a little independence. 

Gingerly he levered himself upright and slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed. His shoulder and leg protested vigorously, and he broke out into a cold sweat, but the fact that he had sat himself up without any help was all the incentive he needed. 

Looking around the room he saw his clothes draped, where Slim had put them the night before, over a chair against the far wall. It was less than five feet from the bed, but it seemed like a million miles to the tiring man. With a sigh, he gathered his strength and pushed himself upwards from the bed. 

“Jess Harper! What do you think you’re doing?” Daisy said sternly as she appeared in the doorway with Jess’ obligatory morning coffee, Marie Rose at her side. 

Poor Jess was so surprised he practically fell over as he sat back down heavily and hastily pulled the covers over himself. 

“Daisy, what –what in tar nation are you doing here?” he stammered. 

“Arriving just in time to stop you from hurting yourself, it would appear,” she scolded, then relented as Jess turned his best innocent look on her. 

“Aww, Daisy, everyone was so busy, I just thought—” Jess tried to redeem himself. 

“I know what you thought, and you can just think again. Here” Daisy offered the coffee as compensation. 

“Thanks, Daisy. What would I do without you?” Jess asked. 

“Probably have gotten yourself dead and buried a long time ago,” Slim added to the conversation as he too came into the room, adding, “Bout time you woke up, Pard.” 

“Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” Jess admonished. 

“You looked kind of tired last night, Pard. Besides, I thought you’d want to be rested for the busy day you’ve got ahead of you.” 

“Yeah, I reckon I’m going to be real busy laying in bed all day, except for the hour that my jailers let me up for,” Jess said sulkily. 

Slim refused to be baited. “Finish up your coffee, Jess and I think Marie Rose has your breakfast. I’ll be back in twenty minutes to help you get dressed.” Then Slim was gone before Jess could ask him anything more. 

Jess wondered why Slim seemed to be so anxious to get Jess ready. He knew his friend well enough to sense he had something up his sleeve. As Marie Rose appeared with his breakfast, Jess tried to get a little more information. 

“What’s, Slim been up to this morning?” he questioned. 

“I have no idea, Jess,” she answered truthfully. “I’ve been helping father pack all morning.” 

As Jess took his first mouthful of food, he was caught off guard when the young girl suddenly flung her arms around him and hugged him close. 

“I’m going to miss you so much, Jess,” she said, her eyes moist with tears. 

Both flustered and embarrassed by her show of affection Jess was unsure quite what to say. Finally he managed a weak reply. “I’ll miss you too, Marie Rose, but your father needs to go back to Washington.” 

“But I don’t want to go,” she insisted. “I like it here with you.” 

“I owe you my life. You and your father and while I’d like you to stay, I wouldn’t want you wasting your life here. You’re very intelligent. Back east you could go to college and maybe even learn doctoring for real.” He tried to let her down gently. 

“You’ve been speaking to my father,” she pouted. “He keeps saying that he’ll speak to his professor friends in the university. He say’s if they accept me to study I could be one of the first women to qualify as a doctor.” 

“I thought you wanted that.” Jess responded. 

“I do. But I also want to be with you. You want me to stay don’t you?” 

The conversation was getting a little uncomfortable as far as Jess was concerned. He managed to stammer out, “By the time you finish college, you’ll have met so many fine young men, you won’t want to know a broken down ol’ cowpoke like me.”  

“You’re not old!” Marie Rose protested. “You’re the most wonderful man I’ve ever met.” 

Poor Jess! This situation wasn’t getting any easier, and he wasn’t exactly in a position where he could get up and simply walk away. Luckily for Jess, Mike walked in at that moment. 

“Jess, ain’t you finished breakfast yet, Slim will be back any minute to help get you get cleaned up,” the boy informed him impatiently. 

Saved from a situation that was becoming more and more embarrassing, Jess made a ploy to distract his adoring companion. 

“I’m almost finished. Say, Mike why don’t you take Marie Rose outside to say goodbye to that family of racoons you two have been trying to terrorise for so long.” 

Mike’s face lit up. He was going to miss his playmate, and a few more minutes enjoying another adventure with her before she went was appealing. “Good idea, Jess. Come on, Marie Rose.” Mike grabbed her hand and dragged her after him. Unable to find a reason to stay, she threw a regretful look over her shoulder at her hero. 

 “I’ll be back to check on you later, Jess,” she promised, although to the embarrassed man currently trapped in the bed, it felt more like a threat. 

As soon as she was gone, Jess ate as fast as he could. By the time Slim re-appeared his plate was empty. Jess figured whatever Slim had planned, if it got him out of this bed and into company so that he couldn’t be cornered again by the love struck child, it was fine by him. 

“Hey, you’re finally getting that insatiable appetite back again,” Slim commented of the clean plate. 

“Stop jawing, and let’s get this done with.” Jess responded. 

“What’s up? For someone that’s slept half the morning away, your suddenly in a hurry.” Slim spoke as he helped Jess to sit up on the edge of the bed. As he helped Jess wash and shave, he continued, “Didn’t I see Marie Rose getting dragged out of here by Mike?” 

When Jess didn’t reply, Slim realised just what had happened. “Oh, I understand your hurry now. What’s wrong, Pard, frightened she’ll corner you again?” 

“Slim, look, It-it ain’t like I ain’t grateful, b–but you know how she is. I–I don’t want to hurt her, but, well, she just won’t, well, she can’t. That is I mean—. Aw, heck, Slim. She’s a little girl, for heavens sake.” Jess finally blurted out, his cheeks flaming red again. 

Laughing affectionately at his best friend’s discomfort, Slim squeezed Jess’ good shoulder. “It’s all right, Pard. Although for the life of me I can’t see what she sees in a broken down cow-hand like you, I’ll make sure you’re not left alone with her from now on. They’ll be leaving soon anyway.” 

Soon, Jess was washed, shaved and dressed, but was still non-the wiser as to what Slim was planning. As he sat on the edge of the bed, he wondered where James was. It usually took the support of the two men to get him to the living room. Then another thought hit Jess like a sledgehammer.

“Slim, with James gone, how are you gonna get me on my feet each day?” though Jess desperately wanted his independence back, his earlier attempt to stand unaided had shown him he was not as able as he thought. 

Instead of answering, Slim moved away to the doorway. He reached round and then turned to Jess, hiding something behind his back, just out of Jess’ line of sight. 

“Just what are you up to?” Jess tried to twist so he could see behind Slim’s back. 

By way of an answer, Slim pulled his hands forward and proudly displayed the item that had kept him busy in the barn most of the morning. 

Jess eyes grew wide as he looked at the carefully constructed crutch. The wood had been smoothed so as not to have any rough areas to tear at his skin, and Slim had padded the top where it would fit at Jess’s shoulder. 

“Think you can handle this?” Slim enquired innocently, enjoying the look of pleasure that was forming on his friend’s still pale features. 

“You bet I can. Thanks, Slim.” As Jess made to stand and reached for the coveted instrument of freedom, Slim pulled it back. 

“I want a promise, Jess. You don’t use this unless I’m around to help, AND,” Slim placed a heavy emphasis on the and. “You don’t over do it. When Daisy or I say you’re to rest, then you rest, and no arguments.” 

“You got it, Slim,” Jess agreed far too readily. 

Slim still withheld the coveted crutch. “I mean it, Jess. You’ve still got a lot of healing to do, and I ain’t gonna let you undo everyone’s good work.” 

This time Jess looked directly at Slim, his blue eyes locked on Slim’s. “I’ve been that difficult, huh? I know I’m not the easiest of patients. I’m sorry, Pard. I kinda got used to looking after myself while I was on the drift.  But I’m learning what it means to have a family and friends that care around.   I’ll behave, I give you my word.” 

He said it so sincerely that Slim could see his best friend meant every word. He relented and handed over the walking aid. “All right, Jess. I’ll get on you’re other side. If I support you round your waist I won’t hurt your shoulder, and you can use the crutch to support you’re other side. Here we go.” 

It wasn’t easy, but Jess made it to the living room. He made to head for the rocking chair but found it to be missing from its usual spot beside the fireplace. Turning to look enquiringly at Slim, he found his friend smiling at him. 

“Just keep walking, Jess,” Slim prompted. 

“Where to?” Jess queried the panic rising slightly in his voice as he began to feel the strain.

“To the porch, if you think you can make it.” Slim noticed the strain on Jess’ features and worried that he’d pushed him too far. He needn’t have concerned himself; just the idea of getting outside at last seemed to infuse Jess with new energy. With Slim’s help he hobbled out onto the porch and sank gratefully into the rocking chair Slim had placed there for him. 

For a few seconds Jess simply sat, his eyes closed against the brightness of the midday sun, enjoying its warmth on his face and the feel of the wind ruffling his hair. He worked to steady his breathing after the exertion of the walk. It had been painful, but as far as he was concerned it had been well worth it. 

When, thoroughly contented, Jess opened his eyes to find himself the centre of attention. Everyone had gathered on the porch to see him and to say his or her final farewell. 

“What’s everyone looking at? Ain’t you ever seen a man enjoying a little rest in the sun,” he said, finding the attention embarrassing. 

“It’s good to see you outside, Jess. I’ll leave feeling easier now, knowing that you can get about a little more.” James commented. 

It was then that Jess noticed the wagon drawn up outside the house and the soldiers sitting patiently on their horses over by the corral. He hadn’t realised that it was almost noon. 

Daisy pressed a parcel of food into James’ hands. “For the journey” she said, and then added conspiratorially, “I’ve put a couple of slices of apple pie in for you.” 

“Thank you, Daisy,” James leant forward and gave the smiling woman a light kiss on the cheek. 

Daisy turned next to Marie Rose. “I’ll miss you, young lady. You be sure to write and tell me all about your trip to Washington.” Then Daisy hugged the young girl to her. 

Next Mike solemnly shook hands with James, and asked if one day he would send him the plans for the ‘kite’ that he’d been told about that had saved their lives. “I’d really like to see that, Sir,” he said, “Maybe Jess would show me how it worked.” 

“Sorry, Mike, that was a once in a life time experience that I don’t intend to repeat. No offence, Doc,” Jess added hastily. 

“None taken, Jess. Not everyone is insane enough to want to jump off a cliff into open sky.” 

Slim looked at his friend. “That must have taken some doing, Jess.” 

“It ain’t like I had any choice, Slim. If’n I’d realised what they intended, I’d have been fighting them fiercer than when I fought the renegades.” Jess made light of the experience.

Marie Rose gave Mike a hug, causing the young boy to blush. “Bye, Mike,” she said. “Oh, and don’t forget what I said about the tension on the rope when you try that new racoon scare trap.” 

Next was Slim. He shook James’ hand, thanking him for all he had done for Jess and for helping with the ranch over the past couple of weeks. 

“No, Slim, I should be thanking you for all the help and support you’ve all given me.” James pumped Slim’s hand up and down. When he finally released Slim’s hand, Slim turned to Marie Rose. Slim shook her hand also. “Thank you too, Miss. Your medical knowledge went along way to saving Jess’ life. According to Doctor Michaels, you could make a wonderful doctor one day. Maybe we’ll read all about one Marie Rose Sender being one of the first women doctors to graduate. I’ll be mighty proud to say I met her.” 

James turned then to say his final goodbyes to the one remaining member of the group who had sat quietly watching the proceedings. He thrust his hand out towards Jess.   

“Jess, I don’t quite know how to say this. I’m forever in your debt. You put your own life at risk to save Marie Rose and me. That was quiet something. Promise me, you’ll look us up if you ever come east.” 

 “Seems to me, it’s the other way around James. If’n you hadn’t been so determined to stay with me, I’d be dead and buried by now. You and Marie Rose saved my life.” Jess rejoined, truly feeling indebted. 

“Least we could do, given that you were hurt trying to defend us. Besides, if I am being totally truthful, there was no way I could see us making it off that mountain without you to guide us, so we didn’t have much choice.” James made light of the incident. 

“I don’t believe that for one minute, and neither do you, James.” Jess smiled, and then continued quietly. “But I do want to thank you for sharing your dream with me. You taught me just how important having a dream can be to a man. I guess I’d forgotten that for a long time. I might not care to repeat the experience, but for a short while I sure found out what it felt like to fly like an eagle. I’ll have a few free Saturday nights in town on that story for quiet awhile.” Taking James’ pro-offered hand at last, Jess shook it firmly. 

With a final farewell to everyone, James left the porch and climbed up onto the buckboard. He turned to see where his daughter was. Before anyone could react, least of all Jess, Marie Rose had flung her arms around him and planted a kiss fully on his lips. As she pulled away leaving a totally red and somewhat flustered Jess in her wake, she said quickly, “I’ll miss you, Jess. Wait for me.” 

Then she was gone from the porch and sitting by her father on the buckboard. 

Mike turned to Jess “Why she want to go and do that for, Jess?” he asked. 

Seeing the shock and embarrassment written all over poor Jess, Daisy answered for him. “I guess she will just miss us all, and after what Jess went through up on the mountain with them, she feels responsible.” Daisy reasoned it was far easier to say this than try to explain the young girls crush on Jess although she was having difficulty suppressing her own urge to laugh as she looked at Jess as he flushed red and squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. 

“Oh! Do you think she will come back?” he asked innocently. 

“Maybe, dear. But I suspect with her father’s work and her education to see to, it won’t be for a very long time.” 

Mike and Daisy didn’t hear the mumbled comment from Jess, which was maybe just as well. “The first hint of her coming back to visit, and I’m likely to be moving on.” He spoke to the ground, keeping his eyes downward, too embarrassed to meet anyone’s stare. 

Slim’s keen ears picked up the comment though, and he leaned in close to his partner. “Don’t fret, Pard. The first sign of her coming to visit and I’m sure we can find lots of fences out on the far range that will need your attention.” 

Jess could see the laughter in his friend’s eyes. “Oh sure you will. Just like you kept her away from me just now!” he retorted. 

Chuckling, Slim turned to join the others as they watched the wagon join the waiting troopers and head up the road from the ranch, with Marie Rose waving exuberantly at everybody and blowing kisses in the general direction of Jess. 

 As he watched the party disappear around the bend, Jess’ thoughts drew him back once again to his conversation with James on that peaceful evening before the trip turned into a nightmare. 

James had done him the honour of telling him his dream, intimating to Jess that everyone should have a dream. When fate had tossed their lives into the wind and they had plunged headlong from the cliff top, Jess had been able to see the reality of one mans dream coming true. He had witnessed it first hand, and he would never forget the look of pure joy that had shone on the father and daughter’s faces, as they sailed through the air. James had pursued and found his dream, and had shared it with Jess. He had truly found out what it felt to fly like an eagle. 

Jess turned his thoughts inward; aware of the change in himself the whole adventure had wrought. He had finally come to recognise that he too had a dream. He had never realised it until that evening on the mountain, and even then he hadn’t really accepted it. But now, as he looked at Slim and the others, he basked in the love that surrounded him, and a glow was born deep within him that warmed his entire being. He had indeed found his dream, long before he even realised it was his dream. 

He had a friend who cared so deeply for him that he considered him a brother and would go to the ends of the earth for him. There was a woman who cared for him as any mother would a son and a little brother who hero-worshipped him. 

To be part of, and to have a real home and a real family, that was HIS dream. 

He was smiling to himself as Slim stepped back onto the porch and stood beside him. 

“Everything okay, Pard?” he asked, concerned that Jess might have overdone things and be getting tired. 

Jess’ smiling face looked up reassuringly at his partner.  “Everything’s fine, Slim, everything’s just fine.” 

The End

 

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