Disclaimer: This story is the copyright of nesciri and are published for others to read. Any abuse or infringement of the author's rights will be goverened by Swedish law. The characters have been borrowed from the TV-drama "The Young Riders" . This has not been done in order to violate the copyright of the authors of that show, however, if an infringement has been done, please notifyand this page will be removed. Any drawings are the copyright of nesciri and may not be used without the written permission of
IV. Into the Fire
Epilogue
Chapter 4
....into the
Fire
The chilly night woke Buck up. He was cold and to make matters worse, he was soaking wet from the rain. Shivering, he tried to get his tender muscles to move but an acute pain in his right arm caused him to abandon that for a while.
The events of the evening slowly came back to him and he remembered that he had been pushed down a slope and hit his arm on a rock. He managed to turn around and get into a sitting position. Now he could get a better view of his situation. In the pale moonlight he examined his arm, that now was severely swollen, indicating a sprain or worse. Gritting his teeth, he tried to move the arm but to his dismay he soon realised that the arm probably was spraineded and dislocated. If he only could get the arm right, the sprain would probably heal OK, he thought. He was lucky it wasn't broken. Looking around him he found a small stick that could serve as support. He lacked bandages so he had to sacrifice his shirt to create one. When his arm had been taken care of, he felt slightly better and overlooked the landscape around him. The pale moon created shadows and made it hard to get an accurate view, but he forced himself to sit still and to concentrate and soon his eyes got accustomed to the scarce light.
He found himself on a small rock, protruding from a steep hill,about a hundred meters above a small gorge. It may once have been a river but now was dried out, or at least so he thought since he didn't hear the sound of water. The bottom of the gorge was pitch-dark, and he had no way of discovering what was down there. The sides were steep and perhaps a hundred meters apart. Buck assumed that the gorge would widen out to form a more shallow valley towards the town. Leaning back towards the slope he pondered his situation. He knew that his next move must be to get off that rock.
A closer examination of the slope above him told him that with only one arm he had no means of making it to the top. The slope was covered with loose stones and just one step on a loose rock would cause him to fall. No, the only way was down. He looked disgustingly down into the black hole beneath him. He was cold and tired, but he pushed all other thoughts out of his mind, concentrating on getting down. Slowly, carefully placing his feet in order to avoid loose stones, he began his descent. Even though he was very careful he managed on several occasions to send loose stones rattling down below him, almost causing him to lose his balance. However, he managed to stay on his feet, finally reaching the bottom. The effort of climbing down forced him to take rest upon a small rock before going on.
He still had no idea why he had been beaten and left to die, but he suspected that the answers could be found back in Litchfield. Besides, he had to get hold of Cody, who by this time must be worried about him. Had he known that Cody by this hour was sound asleep in a small room in the saloon, he might have been less concerned with what Cody might think about his disappearance. As he sat there in near-silence the sound of dripping water made him stand up. He was very thirsty and the possibility of getting something to drink made him strain his ears to discover where the sound came from.
After a few minutes he found a small stream of water running down the slope. It wasn't much but at least it slaked his thirst for the moment. He looked for something to carry some water in but didn't find anything. He had to manage without, he thought miserably. Now he had to get back to town and get hold of Cody. The sooner he started the sooner would he get there. With that plan, he turned his face towards the east, and started walking, keeping in the gorge for as long as it ran in the right direction, which seemed to be for some distance. It gave him an uncomfortable feeling to remember that in front of him lay a desolate country and he had neither food nor water. It was better, he told himself, not to think about that. He didn't allow himself to consider the fact that he himself was in a poor state, with bruises and a wounded arm. He was cold, too, and the night was chilly. With the stars as his guide he walked on.
*****
The moon climbed over its zenith, shedding an eerie light over the vastness around him, and still he walked, a tiny figure in the landscape. An hour passed an dstill he remained in the gorge. He was tired, but he dared not rest in case he would fall and freeze. Walking kept him a little warmers anyway. An eternity of time passed - or so it seemed. Sometimes his feet sank into soft sand, sometimes they rustled harshly on rough stones. Finally the gorge widened and he allowed himself some rest.
He sat down on a large rock and looked around. Suddenly a light caught his eye. At first he thought he was mistaken, but then he saw it again. A fire! He sighed with relief. If there were people out here there would be food and water. If he was lucky he might even lborrow a horse to get back to Litchfield.
All thoughts of a rest abandoned, he started to walk towards the inviting fire. The fire was further away than he had expected and now and then he had to pause. The landscape had changed. The gorge had widened and the sides were no longer as steep. Bushes and small trees where more frequent. The fire where hidden behind some thick bushes and it was only because of his well-trained eyesight that he had spotted the light.
Coming closer he heard the sound of voices, but suddenly he stopped. He not only heard voices from the fire in front of him, he also thought he heard voices behind him. No, he definitely heard voices behind him. An uneasiness came over him and he decided to find a hiding place until he was sure there was no danger. He slowly moved towards the fire and crept behind some bushes. It was just in time, as a small group of four riders approached from the gorge, heading towards the fire. As they rode by him, the first man looked familiar. When the man turned to say something to his companion his face was caught in the moonlight and Buck gasped. It was the man responsible for him being assaulted. He had thought that the men had returned to town, but he must have been mistaken. Creeping closer into the bushes, he came nearer to the men around the campfire.
The newcomers were greeted , joining the men around the fire. It was obvious they knew each other and Buck was grateful that they had showed up before he had revealed himself. He was too close to move without risking discovery so he stayed where he was, hoping the men would leave. Cold, he sat there until one of the men mentioned a familiar name, Cody. He started to listen with more interest, wondering how Cody could be involved with these men.
*****
"You're sure that he will go?"
"He'll head west as if the devil was after him! The boss got him where he wants him." The man laughed coarsely. "I would have preferred the devil than the army! The boss really got them riled up!"
Another man interrupted. "Why are you here?"
"The boss told us to get rid of that half-breed. Then Jim here spotted a cougar and we thought we'd try and get a shot at it. Would have headed back for a drink, but Luke brought a bottle with him!"
"You shouldn't be here."
"You've got a problem with what we're doing? Why are you here, by the way? I thought the boss told you to stay at the hide-out!" The man had had too much to drink, it was obvious, but the other man was not to coerced into anything.
"Some of the cattle got scared and caused a stampede. We just managed to get the last of them. We're running out of fresh grass for them in the canyon and they are getting restless. I only hope the army moves out of our way. If there are any army men left along our path they will realise they're stolen cattle. The boss shouldn't have waited." The man sounded disappointed.
"What do you mean? Mr. Dodgson knows what he's doing. A herd that big will get a better price on the market."
"Sure, but it's hell of a bigger risk."
"What are you? A coward?"
A mumble started, probably trying to soothe the tension. The new-comers mounted their horses and headed back to town. The others stayed where they were. The sound of voices reached Buck where he was hiding but they had lowered their voices and he couldn't hear many of the words. From what they where talking about he could get a pretty good idea about what had happened. It was clear that the men where involved in a large cattle theft, or even several cattle thefts - he wasn't sure. Somehow they had been trapped with the cattle by the army and they were now trying to lure the army away, by making the army go after Cody. Who Mr. Dodgson was he didn't know.
One thing was certain though, Cody was in danger! The sound of voices were soon only a soft mumble, and then died out. The men must have gone to sleep. Now he had his chance - if he could get one of their horses he might have chance of intercepting Cody. According to the men he would be heading west. That meant that if he went back to town, keeping south from where he was now, he might have a chance of meeting Cody.
Slowly he rose and silently crept towards the fireplace where six men where sleeping. Moving slowly so as not to wake any of them up he made his way toward the horses that were tied together close by. He reached them without difficulty, and while he untied the knots to one of them he thought about stealing one of the rifles. The idea was tempting and he started to creep towards the nearest man - when one of the others moved and then sat up. Immediately Buck sank down to the ground without making any noise, holding his breath. The man looked around, but not seeing anything unusual he went back to sleep. Buck started to breathe again and decided that getting a gun was much too risky. He settled for a water bottle and went back to the horse, taking it by the reins and headed away from the camp. He would liked to have scared the other horses off to avoid being followed, but that would have woken the men up. It was better that he hid his tracks - they wouldn't be able to trace him that way. When he was safely away he sat up and headed south in hope of finding Cody.
*****
He didn't hurry. If he wasn't careful he might miss the trail out of town, and he was sure that the men wouldn't miss the horse until dawn. Now, with a horse and water, he begun to feel the tiredness and the bruises. His arm ached and he knew he should let a doctor take a look at it. The night wore on and the closer he came to what he supposed to be the trial without finding it, the more melancholy he felt. He begun to fear that he would miss Cody, or that Cody was deeper in trouble than he thought. Anything could have happened in town during the night, he reflected gloomily.
More time passed. The moon ran its course across the heavens, and sank into the distant world beyond the horizon. A period of darkness followed, and with and sheer weariness, he rested. But soon the first faint flush of dawn lightened the eastern sky. He mounted his horse again, and started his search for Cody's trail. Finally he found it, or what he thought was the right trail. Leading from east to west, he was confident it came from Litchfield. He didn't want to get too close to town, in case the men he had ran into last night would be around. All he could do now was to ride down to the trail and find a good place to wait for Cody.
He urged his horse forward, trying to find a good place to descend from the hill he was on. He was so busy looking at the slope that he failed to notice the rattlesnake laying curled up on his path, enjoying the first ray of sun. The horse came to close and the snake rose its head and rattled. The horse reacted immediately and rebelled. Unprepared, Buck lost his grip and fell headlong to the ground. For the second time in twenty-four hours he found himself rolling down a slope. This one wasn't very steep, and he soon stopped his fall, without hurting himself. But the horse were gone and with it the water bottle. He couldn't believe it. It was as if nothing went his way. When he met Cody again, he would tell him what he thought of his idea of staying out of trouble. Tenderly holding his arm he went down and found a suitable hiding place to wait for Cody. Sitting down, he let the sun warm him and soon the weariness took over and he fell asleep.
*****
Cody rode out of town in a hurry. He wasn't sure how he would find Buck, but he knew he had to try. When he was out of sight from the town he slowed down. He looked out over the landscape. It was covered with high hills and steep gorges. If they had dumped Buck in one of the gorges he could spend his whole life searching for him without finding anything, he thought miserably. He decided that he would head west, now and then making small detours to see if he could find any tracks or even Buck himself.
With this plan in mind he slowly rode along the track, detouring whenever he found likely places to search. He kept his eyes open for any sign of wagon trails, but the rain during the night had spoiled the tracks. The trail changed as he came into a more rocky landscape and it became more difficult for him to make detours. Deep in thought he rode into a small valley with slopes on both sides, and with dismay he realised that he wouldn't be able to up. The valley seemed to stretch further to the west, and the chance of making detours might be over. Sighing he decided to hurry and get to the other end of the valley. No use meddling here, where he wouldn't find Buck anyway. He was urging his horse forward when a small bird lifted hastily from a nearby bush, startling his horse. Calming the horse, he looked at the bush from whence the bird had made its sudden flight, when he thought he saw somebody laying behind it. He dismounted and picked up his gun. Slowly rounding the bush, he froze in his steps. For a moment he just stood there staring . Then he darted forward, all other thoughts forgotten.
"Buck!" he shouted, shaking his friend by the shoulder. "Buck, are you all right?"
To his intense joy Buck opened his eyes and drowsily looked at him. Then his vision cleared and he looked back at Cody.
"Didn't I tell you to stay out of trouble?" he mumbled sarcastically, and tried to rise to sit up.
Relieved that Buck seemed to be all right, Cody answered with a smile,"What do you mean trouble?" when Buck started coughing. Cody looked at him more thoroughly and realised that Buck wasn't all right at all. His shirt was tied around his right arm as a bandage, and he had bruises and small cuts all over him.
"You're all right?" he asked again.
Buck nodded.
"I'm OK. But you're in deep trouble."
"I know that. But we can worry about that later. Right now I want to know how you got like this. Then I suppose we should get back to town so you can see a doctor - you might not know it but you're not exactly looking your best right now."
"Thanks for telling me", Buck answered in a tired voice. "All I need is some rest and I'll be all right."
Cody rose and started to look around. First they better found a better place to rest so they could figure out what they were going to do next. Looking round, he noticed a small path going up a mountain not far from the track.
"I'll be right back", he said to Buck and started to follow the track. When he had climbed for a few minutes he he discovered quite a large cave hidden behind bushes. He entered and realised what a perfect hide-out the cave was. You could see for miles from the entrance and from the way he had entered the entrance was almost invisible. From the small plateau in front of the cave another slope lead down to a small grove where you easily could hide a horse. A more thorough examination revealed a small pool of water further in the cave. The water seemed to be dropping from the top of the mountain through a hole. Delighted, he returned to Buck, who by now was standing up wondering where he had gone.
Before Buck could protest Cody asked, "Can you ride?"
"Sure, I'm not that bad."
"Then get up."
"Where we going?" Buck wanted to know as he mounted Cody's horse. He would have objected but his arm was hurting again and he preferred to ride than walk.
"There's a cave behind the bushes over there. It's a perfect place to hide until we can figure out what we're going to do."
"A cave?" Buck shuddered. He remember how cold the night had been and in his experience a cave only meant a roof over your head and very rarely warmth. "Don't you think that might be a bit cold?"
"There's a hole that leads to the top of the mountain, so we can make a fire inside."
"A hole to the top? You're sure it's a cave?" Buck asked a bit sarcastic.
"Knock it off - I know a cave when I see one - you'll wait and see."
As they entered the cave, Cody said triumphantly,"There's water inside too. A few men could hold off an army from this cave."
"Let's hope we don't have to." Buck answered, looking inside.
"Here." Cody threw him the blanket and took off the saddlebags. "You'll try and make a fire while I hide my horse in the grove over there."
When Cody returned Buck had managed to get a small fire going. He was sitting next to the fire and had removed the temporary bandage from his arm, examining it.
"What's wrong?" Cody asked as he sat down next to it.
"I think it's sprained," was the reply. "It's definitely dislocated, so you have to help me to set it straight."
"I have to do what?"
"Set it straight."
"Shouldn't a doctor do that?"
"Do you see any doctor around here?"
"Can't it wait?" Cody never had been much for learning about and treating injuries. Injuries always made him a bit nervous.
"No. If we wait too long, the dislocation will be permanent. You'll have to set it straight." Buck looked at Cody beseechingly.
"OK, let's do it then," Cody said nervously. "What do I do?"
"You hold here", Buck instructed and placed Cody's hand on his upper arm. "Then you pull here, straight out, and when I tell you, you slowly let go."
"That's all? What if I just place it back as it is right now?"
"I'll see that you won't. Ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Cody muttered and took a firm grip around Buck's upper arm and just below the elbow. Buck clenched his teeth holding his right elbow carefully with his left hand.
"Pull," he said shortly between his teeth. His searching fingers soon found the edges of the bone, and he told Cody to let go. The joint slowly edged into it's normal place and with a sigh of relief and pain Buck sank down.
"Are you OK? Did it work?"
Buck raised his head.
"It's OK. You did great." He tried to move his arm but the pain remained although not as bad as before. He grimaced at the attempt, and Cody looked doubtfully at him.
"I hope I never have to do that again," he mumbled.
"Me too," Buck laughed at him, which caused him to start coughing. Cody looked at him. Despite Buck's light-hearted talk he didn't look well. He was pale and although he didn't say anything Cody suspected that he had a fever. No wonder, if he had spent the whole night outside. Buck started to bandage the arm again when Cody interrupted him.
"Wait, I got something better than that." He removed his bandanna and then took out another one of his saddlebags.
"I think these might do the trick."
Buck looked at him with amazement.
"Why do you have two bandannas?" he wanted to know.
Cody smiled sheepishly. "You know, one always gets dirty during the ride, and I like to look proper in larger towns."
"Your vanity will lead you in to trouble, my friend," Buck smiled back at him.
"Maybe. We need more wood. Why don't you fix that arm of yours while I gather some more. I suppose you haven't had anything to eat?"
"No. Do you have anything with you?"
"Afraid not." He reached for his gun. "Shouldn't be too hard finding anything, though."
Buck smiled at him."What do you think you'll get here? A lizard?"
Cody frowned."I'm sure there must be something else. How do you suggest we make it through the day otherwise?"
"Oh, I'll manage, I've been without food before. It's you I'm worried about." Buck said jokingly.
Cody looked at him with dismay and then left without saying a word, the rifle slung over his shoulder. Buck reached for the blanket and wrapped it around him. He laid down by the fire, trying to catch some rest until Cody returned. Despite what he had said he felt a good deal worse than he had led Cody to believe.
*****
Cody returned from an unsuccessful hunt. He had finally given up and collected the wood instead. Already his stomach was rumbling and he wished he hadn't been in such a hurry to get out of town. It had been midday when he left Litchfield, afternoon when he found Buck and now evening was approaching and all he had eaten was a small breakfast. When he returned Buck was sitting by the fire, still with the blanket around him.
"Any luck?"
"Not even Teaspoon could find anything to shoot here. What kind of country is this?"
"Well, you could always go out and see if you can find a lizard."
"Eat a lizard?"
"They say they taste like chicken."
"Have you tried it?"
"Nope. But doesn't mean there hasn't been times when I would have - if I had found one."
Cody sat down next to him, curious to what life could have been for Buck before he left the Kiowa, when Buck interrupted his thoughts. "What I want to know is how you got into this mess and how you found me?"
Cody looked embarrassed. "I suppose that question had to come sooner or later," he sighed and started to tell Buck what had happened the night before. When he was finished, he looked defiantly at Buck. "I'm not saying that I'm blameless but from what Esaias said they must have put something in my first drink, maybe in the others too, I'm not sure."
"How many did you have?"
"I've said I'm sorry, Buck. No need to rub it in."
"Sorry. At least it fits with what I heard."
"You heard? When?"
Buck told Cody briefly what had happened to him and when he had finished, Cody angrily placed another piece of wood on the fire.
"I should have known Dodgson was no good. How could I've been so stupid? Did they say why the army would be after me?"
"No."
"Hey, wait a moment. Dodgson gave me a parcel for me to deliver. I didn't think to much about but I placed in one of the saddlebags." He reach for the bags and pick out the small parcel. Quickly he unwrapped the paper and opened the box.
"It's just paper," he said unfolding them and showing them to Buck.
"Not just any papers, I think." Buck handed some of them back to Cody who read them.
"If you'd been caught with these documents on you, you would have been shot at first sight."
Cody look in disbelief at the documents. They were detailed maps, information about army supplies, documents indicating trade of guns and whiskey to Indians and more. As Buck had pointed out, the army wouldn't even give him a trial before shooting him.
"Great", he said finally. "How am I gonna to explain this to the army? From what you heard they're already on the lookout for me."
Outside the evening slowly replaced the daylight and the light spread a comfortable light and gave some warmth. They sat in silence for a while pondering their situation, when the sound of voices reach edup to them.
"Quick, put out the fire!" Buck whispered to Cody as he slowly crept towards the entrance of the cave. Cody followed close behind him after throwing some sand over the fire. Both of them carefully peeped down the slope towards the grove. Below them where eight or ten men making a camp for the night. They looked at each other in disbelief and then slowly returned into the cave.
"I can't believe it. Why do they had to choose here of all places?" Buck muttered.
"Did you recognise any of them?"
"One of them at least was at the other camp yesterday. It's Dodgson's men, no doubt about it."
"But what are they doing here?"
"Maybe they're looking for the one that stole their horse."
"I thought you said you covered your tracks?"
"I did. Or maybe they're here to make sure you don't return."
Cody leaned back towards the cave wall. "Well, here they are. What are we gonna do now?"
"There's nothing we can do. If we're lucky, they'll leave in the morning. If not," Buck shrugged, "Then maybe we will found out if this cave really can hold off an army."
"You're encouraging."
"Do you have any better ideas?"
"For the moment, no."
"Then we better take turn keeping watch. With only one blanket, it's gonna be a cold night."
"You get some rest. You look as if you could need it."
"Wake me up when it's my turn." Cody nodded, not intending to do so. Buck looked weary, and it was clear that he was in a bad state. He should get to a doctor, he mused, blaming himself for landing them in this situation. The darkness slowly set over the cave, and with a glance at the now sleeping Buck, he picked up his rifle and positioned himself close to the edge, keeping a watchful eye on the men below.
What would Teaspoon had done in this situation? he thought morosely.
