LIFE'S
HEADACHESLIFE'S
HEADACHES© Andy
"Cody what the devil did you get us into?" Buck yelled as he, Lou and Cody fled from Cutter's Cove, Nebraska.
"Nothing Buck, just a minor misunderstanding," Cody yelled back.
"Misunderstanding my…," Buck started but stopped when he heard a piercing whine of a bullet whiz by his ear.
"Cody, when we get back to the station you are going to pay for this. Let's head for those rocks. Maybe we will be able to lose them," Lou screamed and veered off toward rocky terrain to the left. The boys followed her climbing the rocky embankment.
Looking behind, Buck noticed that their pursuers were closing in on them.
"You two go ahead. I'll try and throw Cody's friends off our tails," Buck stated as he whirled his horse back the way they had just come not giving the other two time to protest. As he turned a bullet caught him in the shoulder causing him to fall off his horse, his head hitting a rock.
"Oh God. What have I got us into," Cody wailed pulling up his horse to check on his friend. "Lou you go ahead and get help."
"No way. You're going to need my gun if you want to hold those men off. I'll cover you while you drag Buck over to the ledge. We'll be able to hold off your friends from that location at least until our ammunition runs out."
Cody nodded. He grabbed Buck under the arms and around his chest and began dragging him upward toward the ledge. Lou cautiously fired at their pursuers. Trying to both conserve the ammunition and keep their pursuers back. There appeared to be five men hiding at the base of the rocks. After allowing Cody enough time to get Buck to safety she followed.
"How is he?" Lou asked from the front of the ledge carefully keeping an eye on those below. Having asked the question, she was not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.
"The bullet went clear through his arm and I've stopped the bleeding with my bandana so that shouldn't be too big a problem. His head has a large gash and won't stop bleeding. I don't know what else to do," Cody responded, his voice slightly trembling.
Taking charge Lou said, "See if you can locate any water. We'll also need fire wood. It's going to get dark soon and Buck will need the warmth if he goes into shock."
Cody scurried off to do as Lou instructed. It took every ounce of self-control not to run to Buck's side to check his condition. But she knew that keeping the men at bay was more important at this minute. She periodically fired as their pursuers attempted to climb the rocks toward their position.
"Buck. Buck wake up," she pleaded from her position. Unfortunately, she received no response from the inert form lying on the ground.
A half-hour later Cody returned with some branches and the location of a small stream between some rocks. " Any change?" he asked.
"Not that I can see. You take care of these guys while I check on Buck," said Lou. She bent over and checked Buck's condition. She carefully washed out his shoulder confirming Cody's assessment that the wound would be ok. The three-inch gash on back of his scull caused some major concern. She attempted to apply pressure to the wound but only managed to slow the bleeding. As she worked on Buck, he would occasionally flinch or groan. In addition, Buck began to shiver.
Lou looked up to the sky watching the sun begin to dip. It would only be another hour and the last of the sun would have disappeared along with it warmth. She went over to each of their horses, taking the bedrolls and covered the young man. She then went over to Cody and asked, "Do they show any signs of giving up?"
"No such luck," Cody replied intently watching the people below. He was dreading the question he knew would soon be on Lou's lips.
"Cody," said Lou sternly.
"What?" he replied innocently.
"Cody?" she repeated.
"Alright, alright. Well, you know after dinner last night, I wasn't tired so after you and Buck went to bed, I thought I would go exploring. I went to the saloon."
"The saloon?" Lou said shaking her head.
"Don't look at me like that. I feel bad enough as it is."
"Ok, what happen next?" Lou sighed.
" When I got to the saloon there was all sorts games going on. Gambling of all kinds and some very … well …. mature women."
Once again Lou shook her head. " Go on."
"I had no intention of joining the games… but this lady came up to me and we began to talk and…. Well maybe I led her to believe that I was well…..," his voice trailed off. He clearly was embarrassed about his previous day's activities.
"Spill it," Lou commanded.
"I gave her the impression that I had been around; that I had money and knew how to gamble. She asked me to buy her a drink. When she ordered a whiskey, I couldn't order a sarsaparilla, could I? What would she think?"
"Cody, you know the rules. If we get out of this, you could be fired for drinking," Lou reminded him.
"It gets worse. After the first couple of drinks, I began to believe the stories I was telling and joined one of the games. I lost all the money I had and then some. I kept thinking that the next hand would be the one and I would make back all the money I had lost."
"How can you lose money that you don't have?" Lou questioned.
"Well, you remember those stories I had told. I indicated that I had money in the bank. And that once the bank opened, I would be able to make good on my markers. I had lost about $150 dollars… when..."
"$150 dollars. Cody how could you?" Lou exclaimed as she took a shot at one of the men below who had started to climb toward their position.
Ignoring her comment, Cody continued, "...one of the other players discovered that the house was cheating. He called them on it and there was a shoot out. The dealer was killed and the game broke up. After the commotion ended, the house demanded payment. I refused. The other player had proved that the house had cheated and that's why I had lost. I refused to pay and ran from the saloon. That's when I came for you and Buck telling you that we had to get out of town quick."
"Cody, you can manage to get into more trouble than and ten people combined," she replied. "I'm going to check on Buck."
Lou felt Buck head and discovered that he had developed a slight temperature despite the fact that he was shivering. She soaked a cloth in water and bathed his face.
"How is he?" questioned Cody.
"He's got a fever and I believe he's gone into shock. We got to get him out of here as soon as possible," Lou replied.
"Dam. We can't make a run for it with Buck unconscious, those men would catch us for sure. Lou, leave me your gun go back to the station for help. I'll stay with Buck and hold the men off." Cody stated.
"I guess we don't have any other options." Lou admitted and started saddling her horse. Before leaving she lightly kissed Buck on the forehead and then slowly picked her way through the rocks.
The night and the next day passed slowly. Cody forced himself to stay awake. There was no way he was going to let Buck down again. His stupidity may have already cost Buck his life, he was not about to let anything else happen to him if he could possibly prevent it. The hours passed fitfully for Buck. First, he would be hot then he would start to shiver with cold. As his temperature would rise he would call out for some unknown person and ramble in Kiowa. From his place at the lip of the ledge, Cody would softly talk to Buck, trying to comfort him. He apologized for getting him in this mess and told him how he would make up for putting him in such danger. "I will cover your rides you can't make."
"I'll make sure to tell Buck about that promise," came a voice from behind Buck.
"Teaspoon," Cody yelped. "you scared me. Where's Lou?"
"She is coming with a wagon, the others are sneaking around the other side of those men below. Once we start firing from up here they will attack from behind. How's Buck?" Teaspoon responded checking Buck's condition.
"He's getting worse. He's burning up and he has been having hallucinations. He's been talking Kiowa, so I can't understand what he's saying. I'm worried Teaspoon," Cody confessed.
"Well, lets take care of the men below and then get Buck to a doctor. Then, son we're going to have a serious talk," Teaspoon said seriously. "Start firing."
After Cody and Teaspoon started firing the other riders closed in from the rear. With surprise and numbers on their size the riders were able to round up the men who were chasing Cody. Two of the men were killed, two wounded and the final gunman surrendered.
"Jimmy, you, Kid and Noah take these guys back to town. As soon as Lou arrives the rest of us will take Buck back to the station," Teaspoon ordered. The three nodded and began preparing the prisoners for transportation. Teaspoon and Cody went back to Buck to see if there was anything they could do to make the boy more comfortable.
Teaspoon bathed Buck's forehead with cold water in attempt to bring down his temperature. All of a sudden, Buck's eyes popped open and he reached up and grabbed Teaspoon by the shirt and began to talk to him urgently in Kiowa. "I can't understand you son, please talk in English," Teaspoon pleaded as Buck slumped back into unconsciousness.
"Where's Lou? Shouldn't she be here by now?" sighed Cody as he paced back and forth.
"Would you lighten up? You're making me nervous," said a frustrated Teaspoon. "She'll be hear as soon as she can." As if on cue, they heard a rumble of a wagon. "Thank God."
Teaspoon and Cody lifted Buck's body onto the bed of the wagon. Teaspoon tied his and Buck's horse to the wagon as Lou climbed into the back of the wagon to be with Buck. As they headed toward the station she swabbed his brow with cool water and spoke to him softly in an attempt to comfort him.
As the sun began to rise in the sky, the wagon rumbled into the station. Rachel quickly rose from the porch swing were she apparently had been waiting all night.
"Boys," she called. As they exited the bunkhouse she ordered, "Jimmy, go get the doctor. Noah and Kid help me get Buck into the house. Lou you and Cody get some sleep". Before Lou and Cody could protest she continued, "You two must be exhausted. Get some sleep and then you can sit with him." Lou patted Buck on the shoulder and then she and Cody headed for the bunkhouse. While the others followed their instructions, Rachel boiled water.
The doctor soon arrived ordering everyone but Rachel out of the house so that he could conduct his examination. The doctor cleaned Buck's wounds. Throughout the process Buck moaned but did not wake up. Rachel asked, "Is he going to be alright?"
"The shoulder will be sore for a while but there should be no lasting effect. The head wound, well, I have no way of knowing for sure. He is in a coma. We'll have to wait and pray that he wakes up. The longer he remains in the coma the higher the chances are that he will never wake up". The doctor said shaking his head.
"Never wake up?" Rachel gasped.
"Comas are strange affliction, we have very little information regarding them. I suggest that you keep him warm and make sure he takes in a lot of fluids. It's also recommended that you talk to him. The theory is that the patient can hear you on some level and familiar voices can help a person choose to live. It's just a theory but it can't hurt either."
"Thank you doctor." Rachel said as she walked the doctor to the door. As soon as the door opened the riders, who had been sitting on the porch steps, rose and looked questioning at the doctor.
"Well?" questioned Jimmy.
"He's in a coma." Rachel replied. "I'll explain it all to you, but lets talk in the bunkhouse while I start on breakfast. "Noah, will you stay with Buck? I'll bring you breakfast and explain everything to you later. Call me if there is any change."
Noah nodded as the others headed over to the bunkhouse. Rachel went about making breakfast and explaining Buck's condition and the doctor's recommendations.
Teaspoon nodded saying, "Ok, now Buck needs us. I say we try the doctor's suggestion 'bout talkin' to him. Rachel, will you make a schedule so that there's someone staying with Buck and talking to him."
Rachel and the others nodded. "I'll take the first shift," volunteered Cody from his bunk.
"You get some sleep and then we have some serious talkin' to do," Teaspoon said sternly.
"But Teaspoon, this is all my fault. If I hadn't gotten into trouble, this never would have happened," Cody pleaded.
"I know you feel bad but you won't do him any good falling asleep when you supposed to be talking to him," Teaspoon said softening his voice realizing how much the typically cocky young man was hurting. "You boys eat your breakfast and start on your chores. I'll sit with Buck."
When they started to protest, Teaspoon silenced them with a single look. As he walked across the dry ground to main house he thought about the past year being a surrogate father to the riders in his charge. He hadn't intended on becoming so attached to the boys but somehow each one in his (or her) own way had wormed their way into his heart. Too lose any one of them would be akin to losing a beloved child.
Taking a deep breath, Teaspoon opened the door to the house. "Noah, how is he?"
"Not good, he looks so pale and his skin is so cold."
"Son, you go back to the Bunkhouse and get some breakfast, I'll stay with Buck."
Reluctantly, Noah left Buck's side. "Don't worry, he's strong. He is going to pull through this. Mark my words," Teaspoon said with more confidence that the felt.
Once Noah left Teaspoon started to speak to Buck willing him to wake up. "Come on son, wake up," pleaded Teaspoon. "You have no idea how much you mean to all of us… to me. We need you so much. You are the only one who can make Jimmy see reason, calm Lou down or put Cody in his place. Remember when you had Cody convinced that the only way to rid himself of bad spirits was to dump lard all over his body and dance around in his underwear." With tears in his eyes and a smile on his lips, Teaspoon spent the next few hours reminiscing about their past adventures.
Rachel came over to Teaspoon and laid a hand on the older man's shoulder. "We've had some good times haven't we?" she said with a sad smile.
"And we'll have many more in the future, all of us," Teaspoon responded placing his hand over Rachel's.
