The wind was blowing lightly from the north, as the
lone rider passed between the bluffs. She was an
unlikely figure to be found alone, wearing buckskin
pants and knee high moccasins. A leather jacket was
worn over top of her �shirt� which stopped between her
ribs and belly button. She rode quietly in the early morning, enjoying the
light frost that enveloped the trees, and soon decided
to stop her horse and take a rest. She had been
riding for days on end. She�d lost track, to be
honest. She rubbed her hands together and reached
down into her shirt to pull out a piece of paper,
which was worn from being folded and unfolded numerous
times. She gently unfolded it, knowing that she needed to be
careful, and read it through once more, before folding
it back up and replacing it in it�s hiding place. That piece of paper was what had driven her for the
past week or so. She began to lose herself in
thought, thinking about home, her family, and what
else she could be doing right now, but curiosity drove
her this far, and she wasn�t going to turn back now. �Only a few more days ride now, my friend� she said
to her horse. He was a beautiful strong paint, with
the type of spirit and fire she desired in a horse.
The young woman grabbed hold of the horses mane and
pulled herself up in one swift motion. �Let�s get
going,� She breathed to him. �The sooner we get
there, the sooner we can get home.� She turned her horse toward the west and was just
about to give him a kick when she heard an unfamiliar
voice call out: �Well, lookee here. What�s this? I
do say, this looks like a little squaw. Whatchu boys
think?� She turned around to see three scruffy
looking men sitting on three scruffier looking horses.
She was about to give the horse a kick again, when
she heard the voice continue, followed by the click
of a gun. �Hold it, sweetheart. Where do you think you�re
goin�?� �Yeah,� said one of the others, pointing the gun
toward her face. �Why don�t you jus� step down off
that pertty horse o� yours, and common� over here� He
motioned with his gun for her to get off. �Common�.
Step down nice and easy.� She slowly swung her leg over the side of the horse
and landed on the ground. The two men who had spoken
jumped off their horses, followed by the third. Two
of the men put their guns away and slowly walked over
to their presumably helpless victim. �What are you smilin� �bout there, little squaw?�
the first asked, as he got closer.Both men stood right by her, trying to decipher the odd �smile� on her face.
It was more of a �I know something you don�t know�
smirk. As if she�d just heard a joke that only she
would get. Before the men could react, and quicker than
lightning, she whipped out a knife that had been
concealed in her boot, and slashed the first man
across the face. He grabbed his cheek, where she had
slashed him, and started howling like a little child.
She then went for the next man. She shoved the blade
deep down into his thigh, and he jerked down to the
ground. The third man still stood there in shock,
unaware of what her should do. �Shoot the Bitch!� the man who�d been cut in the face
yelled. �Shoot her!� It then dawned on the third man
that perhaps he should shoot her, but he had no sooner
started to pull the trigger, when the girl pulled
another knife from a sheath in her belt behind her
back. She let it fly at him, and it hit him in the
arm. He dropped the gun and fell to his knees
cradling his arm. She grabbed the first man�s guns
and pulled the hammers back on them. �All right,� she said, still smiling her almost
devilish smile, �throw your guns down. Hurry it up.�
All of this had happened in a matter of seconds. The three men all looked up, somewhat shocked. She
looked at them, disgusted at what she saw. They
recovered from their shock and threw their weapons at
her feet. �You got any rope on your horse?� She said, looking
at the man with the knife in his thigh. �Yeah.� he
squeaked. �Good,� she said, walking over to him and
pulling out her knife, � Go and get it for me.� He
slowly got up and got the rope from his saddle bag.
Still holding the gun on them she cleaned her knife
off on her pants and put it back in the sheath in her
boot. She retreived her other knife and cleaned it
off the same way, all the while watching the men. He,
by now, had the rope and held it up weakly to her,
giving her a quizzical look. �Tie em� up.� she said and he began to tie them up.
She checked the rope after he was finished, to make
sure it was good and tight. �Good, now come here.� br>
He slowly walked over to her.
While he was tying them up, she had noticed how young
this guy seemed. Now that she thought about it, he
was probably younger than her. He came over to her,
very pale in the face. �Turn around� He looked
scared. �Does he think I�m going to shoot him in the
back?� He had fully turned, and she hit him on the
back of the head with the butt of the pistol. He fell
with a thud. The other two men looked at each other,
unsure of what she was going to do next.
�Ya know,� she said to the other two, �I really
think you should find yourselves a different
profession.� she paused for a moment. �Ya know what
else,� she waited to see if she�d get a response, but
got none. �I should probably kill you right here and
now considering what you were plannin� on doing to me,
but since I�m not like you, I�m just gonna to let you
sit here till he wakes up.� She walked over to her
horse and pulled herself on by the mane. She tossed
the gun she was holding to the ground, a safe distance
away from them. She opened her mouth to say
something, but then just closed it and shook her head
as she continued to the west. Sweetwater had begun to settle down again. It had
been a long day already. A man had ridden into town
telling everyone about this �big cat,� and how it had
gotten one of his head of cattle. Marshal �Spoon� had
settled the man down and went out with a party to get
the now �giant cat�. They�d had no luck after the
first part of the morning. It was decided that they
should wait and see if it strikes again before they
continue to track what might already be long gone. So with noon long gone, and being beat to a pulp,
Spoon went over to the saloon to have himself a sip of
some sarsaparilla. He�d been there for perhaps ten
minutes when he heard an increasing murmur of voices
out side. Glancing out the window, he saw a young
woman, a young Indian woman, walking straight toward
the saloon. �What the heck,� Teaspoon muttered to
himself. �Crazy girl. She�s going to get herself
shot if she ain�t careful. What kind a� fool would
walk into a town lookin� like that?� She walked her paint over to a post and tied him up,
completely ignoring the crowd that had gathered. She
walked past them and came into the saloon. All heads
turned to her. A few men shook their heads and went
back to their drinks or games. Others leaned
themselves back in their chair and smiled like idiots.The girl seemed a little lost at first, and she seemed to look each man over, as if she was looking for a familiar face. Teaspoon turned himself all of the way around to get a better look at her. Her eyes fell on him and then briefly lit up. She walked over to him. �What the heck now? I don�t know this girl.�
�S�cuse me.� she said to Teaspoon. �Yes, ma�am?� he said. �Are you the Marshal?� she asked. Teaspoon realized
that she hadn�t been looking for anyone familiar, only
for a badge. �Yes, I am. What do you need?� She sat down beside
him quietly and looked around her. The games had
continued, people had gone back to their drinks, every
one seemed to ignore her now. She breathed a little
easier. With a low soft voice she addressed Teaspoon. �I�m lookin� fer a man by the name of Nathaniel
Thomas.� �Thomas?� Teaspoon said, �I don�t recall hearing that
name �round here at all, but then again, I haven�t
been around fer most the day.� �No, he would have been in town some time ago. Maybe
two or even three weeks ago.� �Hmmm. Let me think.� he paused to consider, but he
just couldn�t recall hearing the name. �I�m sorry,
but I don�t think I�ve heard that name �round here.� She slumped down a little and thought for a second.
�Do you think that you could maybe ask around town
some for me. I figure you�ll have a little more luck,
since people seem to consider me hostile. I really
need to get a hold of him. It�s very important.� �Well, I�ll see what I can do. Where do you want me
to reach you at? The motel?� �No. I�ll be camped on the northwest side of town.� �All right,� Teaspoon said, �I�ll see what I can find
fer ya.� She gave him a nod and got up from herchair.
She walked out side to her horse where there was a
crowd of about twenty gathered. �Some one up there
help me.� She thought to herself, looking up, as she
calmly walked through the crowd to her horse. She was
one step away from being able to mount, when a man
stepped in her path. �We don�t take to well to injuns just ridin� in ta
town when they please.� he snarled at her. She
looked him up and down. His pants were dusty and old,
beginning to tear at the knees. He stood with most of
his weight on his right leg. Perhaps he had hurt his
left leg once, or maybe he thought he looked manly
standing like that. Either way, he would be moving
slower if he tried anything because of his stance. He
would also be off balance if she gave him a shove.
She brought her hand up and gently pushed him aside so
she could get on her horse. He side stepped to keep
from falling down, but he also took her action as a
threat, or maybe he just wanted a reason to take a
swing at her, because that�s exactly what he did. He gave her a hard punch with his right, knocking her
down to the ground. He had probably figured that
would take her out, but much to his surprise and
dismay, she popped right up from the ground and
proceeded to return the right hook he�d given her.
The blow went straight to his nose and phased him for
a second, most likely because he hadn�t expected her
to recover. He pulled himself together and tackled
her to the ground. They rolled over each other and
she broke the hold, jumped to her feet, and slammed
her left fist into his jaw to make sure he stayed
down. She wasn�t going to waste any time to see if he got
up again. She bounded over to her horse only to find
two more men waiting there for her. Rolling her eyes
back in disgust, she prepared to shove her way throw
them. She started to go when a hand grabbed her from
behind and swung her around 180 degrees. His fist
came flying at her head so she ducked, and he ended up
hitting one of the men who stood behind her. She
freed herself from the first mans grip and spun around
the second, right into the third man. He turned her
around, held her tight, and the first man came and
started punching her in the stomach. The whole while people had been yelling. Some yelled
for the men to stop, that they were going to start a
problem, but many more were cheering them on. The
voices started to become a big jumble of noise in her
head. She jerked and twisted trying to break free, but
couldn�t. Then, for no reason that she was aware of,
the man holding her let go. She dropped to the ground
and grabbed hold of his legs and pulled hard, causing
him to lose his balance and topple over backwards.
She jumped to her feet from there, and was going to
head once more for her horse, when a hand grabbed her
ankle and pulled her down. Then a gun shot rang out
and silence fell. �What is goin� on here?� Teaspoon said. He almost
sounded drunk, and she hoped like hell he wasn�t. He
had come out of the saloon and was standing on the
deck in front of it. �Nothin�, Teaspoon. These boys were just leavin�,
weren�t chya?� This was a voice she hadn�t heard
before. Looking up she saw two young men standing
over her, perspiring a little. �Yeah, we�re leavin�� the man who had started the
whole thing said. �Common, let�s go into the saloon.�
he said to his friends. They pushed their way past
Teaspoon and shot the girl a dirty look as they
disappeared into the saloon. One of the two young men offered her a hand, which
she took, and was pulled off the ground. He had dark
eyes, dark hair, a dark face. The other was wiping
his pants off. He wore a buckskin jacket and the
silliest grin she�d ever seen. He�d jumped into a
fight and he acted as though he just been out dancing
with a pretty girl. �Well that was fun,� The smiley looking one said.
The other just rolled his eyes and looked at her.
�You okay?� he asked. She had finally found her voice and the courage to
responded to him saying, �I�m fine. Thanks.� then
she walked, or more so ran to avoid any more trouble,
over to her horse, got on, and rode out of town. �Well,� Cody said. �That�s gratitude fer ya.� Buck
rolled his eyes again and both walked over to
Teaspoon, who still stood in front of the saloon to
make sure every one had dispersed. �You know who she
is, Teaspoon?� Cody asked. Teaspoon shook his head
slowly, �No, I don�t,� He started walking toward the
Marshals office, the boys walked with him. Buck and
Cody looked at each other. They had expected him to
say something more about her, but he didn�t. He
seemed to be lost deep in thought. They reached the
Marshals office when he turned to them. �I need you two to do me a favor. That girl came and
asked me if I�d heard of or seen a Nathaniel Thomas.
The more I think about it the more familiar that name
seems, but I just can�t figure out where I heard it.
I�ve got to go see someone in Blue Creek before the
night�s through. I�ll ask around there. You two
think you could do some askin� �round here?�
�Sure, Teaspoon.� Buck said, before Cody had time to
say a thing. �Good. She said she was campin� just out of town, so
if ya find out where he is, or if you find him, you
can go tell her.� Cody raised his eyebrows and decided that if he was
going to be volunteered for this he�d have to get
something out of it, �And what is the little girlie's
name, again?� �Come to think of it, she never said. Find that out,
if anything. I got a feeling somethin' ain�t right
here.� The boys gave him a nod. Teaspoon had the reins of his horse in hand now and
was jumping on while he finished talking. He gave
them a nod also, �I�ll see you boys when I get back,�
and headed out of town to Blue Creek. �Where do you think we should begin, then� Cody
said, putting as much emphasis on the word �we� as he
could. Buck ignored him and looked around. �Well,�
he said, sucking in a deep breath of air and letting
it out again, �I guess the best place to start�s the
saloon.� The twosome headed over to the saloon. After they
passed the alley by the Marshals office a man, who
went by the name of Jonah, stepped out and watched
them go. �Just out a� town, huh?� he turned around
to the man beside him. �Why don�t you go get the
horses, Sam. We gotta leave town early. Gotta make a
quick stop before we get back.� The boys walked into the saloon and over to the bar.
�Hi, Cody, Buck, you two want the usual?� the
bartender asked. �No, thanks,� Buck said, �We were wonderin� if you
could maybe help us.� �Shoot,� the bartender said. Cody opened his mouth,
when the bartender interrupted, �Never mind, Cody.
You do enough shootin� in here as it is.� Buck smiled, �We were wonderin�,� he lowered his
voice some and leaned in, �If you�ve talked to or
heard anything about a man named Nathaniel Thomas.� �Now, it�s funny you ask,� he said, �That guy seems
to be real popular round here. A couple of guys came
in here last week askin� me if I�d seem hide or hair
of that same man, but I ain�t never even heard of �im
till they spoke of �im. And that�s what I told em,
and they told me if I do I should tell them right
away. They been hangin� around the whole while since,
pesterin� me. They�re even offerin� money.� Buck and Cody looked at each other, not sure what to
make of this information. �Have you seen him since
then?� Buck asked him. The bartender shook his head. �Thanks,� Buck and Cody both said and they got up to
leave. Cody looked over at Buck when they reached the
door, �If those other two are lookin� for the same guy
and haven�t found him, how, exactly, are we supposed
to?� �I don�t know, Cody. What do you think we should
do?� Buck said, raising his eyebrows. Cody shrugged
as they stepped out side. �I figure,� Cody said, �The
best thing to do, is find him first.� �That makes sense, Cody. I knew I volunteered the
right man.� Buck replied. Cody smiled and kind of
hung his head all bashful like. �It was nothin�. I
just...Hey!� He shot his head up and followed Buck
over to the Livery. �What you mean you volunteered
me! I�m doing this willingly. With out me you�d be
so lost and confused......� Buck just smiled, opened the stable door for Cody,
and followed him in. Out on the northwest side of town the girl had
started a fire and and pulled her blanket tightly
around her shoulders. The sun had almost settled
itself on the horizon. Dark clouds were gathering
from the west. It looked as though they might get
some rain. She pulled her long dark brown hair out of
it�s braid and let it hang loose. Taking in a deep
breath and letting it out again, she settled herself
into the back of a log by the fire and let herself go
for the first time since her journey began. She would
deal with the rain if it came. For now, she was just
going to relax. Not too far off, concealed by the brush the two men,
Sam and Jonah, watched her begin to settle herself
down. �Common,� Jonah whispered as softly as he could
to Sam, �It��s now or never.� Jonah slowly began to
maneuver around the bushes to his unsuspecting prey. �Ya know what Buck.� �What, Cody?� �I�m gettin� sick and tired of this. We haven�t got
anything useful at all, from anyone, except the
bartender. This is pointless. Let�s go back to the
station and get some supper. I�ll betchya Rachel had
somethin� real good fer us ta eat.� Buck continued
walking. Cody ran up beside him and whispered in his
ear. �Wouldn�t some food taste good right now, huh?
I can just hear it callin� to ya. �Buck, Buck, go
home and eat me. Take Cody with you.� You hear it
Buck?� �Common, Cody. Where�s your...what�s the
word....resistance?......no resilience.� �Buck, we have not stopped talking to people since
Teaspoon left. That was at five o�clock. It is seven
thirty. We were supposed to be home to eat at quarter
after six. My stomach is on a strict schedule.� �Let�s just talk to one more person. One more and
then we�ll go back. �Kay?� �Hmmmm. Let�s say I agree. Who are you going to
talk to. We�ve spoken to the bartender, that kid that
works at the stable, the blacksmith, and you made me
go talk to that little lady who�s always pokin� her
nose into everybody's business, and she told me that
I�ve got a big mouth so she wouldn�t talk to me.� �Imagine that,� Buck said trying to hide his grin. �We�ve also talked to......� Cody rambled on in the
background as Buck headed for the boarding house where
the doctor lived. Cody stopped talking for a minute
when he realized that Buck wasn�t listening. �Where
are you going now?� �We haven�t talked to the doctor. If that guy is
popular the way we�re thinkin� he might be, he may of
had need to see a doctor. Get what I mean?� Buck
said. �Yeah, well, let�s just be quick.� Jonah could feel in his bones that something was
wrong. She hadn�t moved much the whole time he crept
up on her. He had gotten a lot closer than he ever
would have though he could. Sweat was all over his
face, drenching him, from trying to be quiet. He
looked back at Sam, who was not too far behind him,
ready as a backup plan, in case she got away from
Jonah. Sam�d just have to put a bullet in her. �I�m
not sure about this,� Jonah thought, �This seems way
too easy.� He was nearly right on top of her by now. He brought
the butt of his gun up, planning on hitting her on the
back of her head before she had a chance to pull out
either of her two knives. He had seen her in her
fight earlier that day and knew that she was quick and
armed. She had taken on all three of those men by
herself, and eventually might have beat them anyway.
He brought his hand down hard and barely missed her,
hitting the log as she rolled to the side. She came
up on her knees, grabbing the arm that held the gun.
He had been ready for it, but she had still surprised
him. She swung his arm away from her and then jerked
it back, which sent the gun flying from his hand. He
jerked himself away and started scrambling toward the
gun when he saw her reach for the blade behind her
back. She pulled the knife out and back, preparing to
throw it at him. All of this happened in one swift
motion, but before she could let it fly, a shot rang
out. Buck knocked at the door gently. �I�m coming,� came
a voice from inside. The little man who was the towns
doctor opened the door, took one look at Buck and Cody
and turned around. �I�ll get my bag, boys,� he called
over his shoulder, �Which one of you got hit this
time?� Cody laughed. �No, doc. No ones hurt,� he
turned to Buck, �Can you believe this guy?� The
doctor turned around. �Oh. Well, in that case, come
in.� The boys walked in. Cody looked around and took in a
deep breath. �Is that pork chops and beans I smell?�
he said with a grin. The doctor was about to answer
when Buck intervened. �Doc, we were wonderin� if you treated or even met a
man by the name of Nathaniel Thomas within the last
three weeks er so?� �Hmm. Let me think boys, let me think,� he said as
he sat back. He rubbed his hand across the gray
stubble on his chin. �You know what? I did treat a
man named Thomas. But his name was Danny Thomas.
Could that be the man you�re lookin� for?� �Maybe,� Buck said. �When did you treat �im?� Cody asked. �I�d say it was about two weeks ago, maybe three. He
had taken a beating. He said he�d been robbed.
He...� �Where can we find him?� Cody interrupted. �Hold your horses, boy, I�m getting there. He hired
himself on with that feller who�s got that big cattle
ranch before you hit Blue Creek.� He said, �You know
where it is?� �Yeah,� Buck said, �I know where it is. Thanks for
your help, Doc.� Buck got up and grabbed hold of Cody
pulling him along. He had caught sight of the doctors
late supper cooling on the stove, and had his eyes
fixed to it. �Common, Cody. Lets get back to the
station.� Buck had to practically drag Cody, and
himself, away from the food. Though he wouldn�t admit
it, he was as hungry as Cody. The doctor followed
them to the door. �You boys stay out of trouble, now. I�m getting sick
of pulling bullets out of you. It�s guys like you and
Hunter that are going to lead me to an early
retirement.� the doc said to them as they got on their
horses. �Bye, Doc,� Cody said as they turned the horses to
head back to the station. �We�re goin� back now,
right?� he said to Buck. �Yeah, we�re goin� back, now.� The knife clattered as it hit a stone. Grabbing her
arm with one hand, the knife with the other, the girl
leaped to her feet and jumped behind the log she�d
been resting against earlier. Along with the thunder
off to the distance, the gun shots spooked her horse
and he started to run off. She whistled shrilly and
he stopped, looking around, confused. The men were shooting at the log, trying to spook her
out. �Common out. We won�t shoot you if you just
give it up.� �I don�t give up that easy,� she
thought to herself. She noticed some pebbles by her
feet. She scooped some up and threw them into the
bushes by the two men. �Jonah, what was that?� she
heard one say. �What was what?� he answered. �Give me a break. I
can�t believe they�re that stupid,� she thought as she
chucked some more over. �That!� the man shouted as the pebbles hit the
leaves the second time. �I don�t....Hey! She�s gettin� away!� the other
called out. Right after she had let the pebbles go
she made a mad dash for her horse, hurling herself
onto his back, gave him a kick and rode off. The two
men ran out of the bushes firing their guns at her.
They ran after her for a few seconds hitting nothing
but the air, then stopped, knowing that they wouldn�t
get her before she got to Sweetwater. �I don�t care what Rachel says about us bein� late.
I�m gonna have her cook me up a large pile of food.
I�m gonna eat as much as I want.� Cody said with a
satisfied smile. They hadn�t even left town yet and
Cody was already making his plans. �You can�t have all you want, Cody. There�d be
nothin� left for the rest of us,� Buck said to him. �Ha, Ha....wait,� he said in all seriousness. Cody
had put his hand up and quickly jumped off his horse.
Buck got down, too. He wasn�t sure what Cody had seen
yet, but he knew it had to be something if he it had
made him stopped thinking about his stomach. They had stopped by the Marshal�s office. Over, on
the other side of the building, Cody and Buck could
see a horse standing off to the side. Inside they
could see a shadow moving in the moonlight that
filtered through the windows. Both threw the reins of
their horses over one of the posts and slowly crept
over to the door. Cody got on one side, Buck on the
other. They pulled out their guns and Cody held up
three fingers. They nodded and together mouthed the
words �One...Two....Three,� and kick the door to the
office in. Over by the marshal�s desk a figure jumped. Both
boys recognized her immediately as the girl from
earlier that day, so they put their guns in their
respectable places and hurried over to her. Her face was as white as a sheet, and their was blood
all over the blanket she had begun ripping up in the
corner. �I�m sorry,� she mumbled, �I didn�t know where else
to go. I thought the marshal might be here, and I
needed to stop the bleeding.� �What happened?� Buck asked, while Cody gently
pulled the blanket away to get a look at the gun shot
wound in her left arm. �They jumped me� she said. �The bullet went threw,� Cody said, looking up at
Buck. �She�s lost a lot of blood, but I think she�ll
be all right. We should get her back to the station,
though. We need to cauterize the wound.��Can you move?� Buck asked her.
�You got a lot of will power,� he said. �But we need
to get back sometime tonight.� They got outside and Buck got the girl�s horse for
her. He set her up on top of it, and then jumped on
his own horse, which Cody had brought over to him.
�You gonna be okay?� Buck asked her. �How far out is it?� she asked. �Not too far.� �Can we go back to my camp and get my things?� She
asked. Buck turned to Cody and opened his mouth but
Cody had already turned off. �I�ll see you back at the station,� he said. �Well,� Buck thought, �Looks like Cody going to have
to wait a little longer for that meal he wants.� They arrived at the station a few minutes later.
Buck jumped off his horse and went over to help her
down, but she was already off. Lou and the Kid came
out of the house. �What�s goin� on, Buck?� Lou
asked. �I�ll explain later. Get Jimmy. She got hit,� Buck
said. Lou went running to the bunkhouse and the Kid
came over to looked at the girl Buck was carrying. �And who is �she�, Buck?� Kid asked, looking very
skeptical. Buck looked at her and raised his eyebrows
in question. �Well?� he said to her. �It�s Kass,� she said. �Kass?� the Kid said. �Short for Kasidy,� she said to him, looking a little
annoyed. Buck pushed his way past the Kid and took
her into the bunkhouse.