Trust
Part 2...
Ike awoke to a strange sound, he couldn’t figure out what it was. It wasn’t Buck, he was still laying near the fire where the girl had dumped him. That was of course when she finally let him out of the wagon.
He turned to the girl, but could not warn her as he saw a man come up behind her and hit her with a gun. He reached down to try to untie his ankles, finally he got them loose, the two men in the camp were not paying much attention to Ike. They were busy searching for something in the wagon.
He reached down and grabbed the girls gun which they had stupidly left behind. He pointed it up in the air and fired. The two startled men turned towards the sound. Ike immediately recognized them as the two men from the fire. Seeing him, they ducked behind the wagon and pulled their guns as well, they fired several shots before turning around and running for their horses.
Ike couldn’t follow them, Buck was still there and the girl was probably hurt so he let them go. He checked on Buck first.
“I’m fine,” he snapped, “check on her, see if she’s alive.”
Obviously she was alive, because when he set his gun down to check on her she awoke, kicked him in the stomach and grabbed the gun. “Freeze!”
“I guess I was wrong about you, you are dangerous,” she said.
He started to deny it, but she cut him off.
“You come up on me in the middle of the night, hit me and grab my gun. I catch you in the act of searching for your map, and you still expect me to believe you are not guilty. You must think I am pretty dumb.”
He didn’t know what to say, she was right there was absolutely no reason for her to believe them, except that they were telling the truth. This had been a terrible week.
“Over by the wagon now.” She took out the keys and unlocked one of his cuffs, she looped the cuffs around the spokes of the wheel. She then stumbled over to the river to wash the blood off the cut on her forehead. Buck could see that it was already turning purplish.
When she was done she went back over to her bedroll to lie down. He didn’t know why he was telling her this but, “You really shouldn’t go to sleep.”
“Oh, and why might that be ‘Buck’” she said his name with as much disdain as was possible, but at least she wasn’t calling him half-breed anymore. “Are you two planning something else tonight that I should know about?”
“No, because you could have a concussion.”
“Wouldn’t that please you?”
“In other circumstances maybe, but since me and Ike seemed to be a little tied up at the moment, I think it would better for us if you didn’t fall into a coma, seeing as you have the only key and the guns. I don’t really want to be still chained here when those outlaws come back.”
She glared at him, “I’ll be fine! Now shut up so I can sleep!” She rolled over and went back to sleep. Buck decided he should stay awake so he could warn her in case the two men came back. Ike turned to Buck, he was wondering at exactly what point Buck had woken up, could he have warned the girl? If so did he decide not to? He tried to sign to Buck, but between the darkness and his limited mobility Buck couldn’t understand what he was saying. He finally got frustrated and leaned back again the wheel to try to sleep.
In the morning, the girl was even more annoying than she had been before. She never said a word to either of them. She gave Ike both of their breakfasts and finally released him from the wheel.
Buck complained that his arms were sore from them being behind him so long, he had been forced to sleep on one or the other arms on both nights.
She ignored him and also ignored Ike who also trying to get her attention. She repacked the wagon and soon she was ready to depart again. She went to refill the canteens in the stream again and stepped over a rock to reach the water, suddenly she heard a distinctive rattle and a sharp pain in her ankle, she looked down and saw a huge rattler trying to get away. She screamed.
Ike heard her scream and came running she was panicking. He could tell that, but what had happened? He asked her but she just gave him a terrified look.
She bent down and grasped her ankle. “A rattler, it bit me.”
Oh great what else can happen, he thought. He tried to calm her down, but her heart was racing. =You have to calm down= he signed, =at this rate the poison will pump into your heart and you will die= she looked into his eyes, recognition finally showing. =Take some deep breaths, try to calm down=.
She nodded and sat down to try to calm down.
=Where are the keys?=
“What you want to escape now?”
=I have to carry you back to the wagon and I can’t exactly do that with my hands chained,= he seemed a little annoyed.
“No way! Next thing I suppose you will want my gun!”
=You will die if I don’t get you some help=
She thought about it for a moment. “If I unchain you do you promise you wont escape?”
He considered this and nodded, he intended to take her to Sweetwater anyway so it didn’t really matter.
“You must also promise not to unchain Buck!”
This he could not promise. =Why?= he signed. =He is no threat to you, besides he knows a lot more medicine than I do, he could probably help you.=
“I don’t want him anywhere near me, and I would rather die from snakebite than be scalped by some savage!”
He didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t leave her to die, but he couldn’t bring himself to betray Buck either. He finally decided that Buck would just have to live with the treatment a bit longer. He wasn’t really in danger. They were going to Sweetwater, and Teaspoon would straighten everything out. Even if Buck hated him he had to risk that rather than risk Rick’s life. =I promise= he signed solemnly.
“Alright, give me your hands.” She pulled out the key and unlocked his cuffs. He quickly lifted her and carried her over to the wagon.
“What’s going on Ike” Buck called from the ground nearby.
Ike removed her boot and rolled her pants leg up higher. He could see the rattler’s mark but really had no idea what to do about it. He bent down to where Buck was propped against the wheel. =She’s been bit by a rattler, what do I do?=
“Unlock these”, he motioned toward his cuffs. “I’ll need a clean knife and something to tie around her leg”.
Ike hadn’t moved.
“What are you waiting for?”
Ike got to his feet and grabbed a spare bandanna out of his pocket he tied it as tightly as he could just below her knee. Then he grabbed Bucks knife out of her belt, he cleaned it off as best he could in the stream.
“Ike unchain me!” Buck shouted, “you have no idea what to do.”
Ike bent down to sign to him again, =I can’t I promised her I would not release you.=
“You promised….” He couldn’t believe it, “You! My best friend agreed to leave me handcuffed in exchange for what? The keys to your own cuffs?”
Ike looked pale =there isn’t time for this now, please tell me what to do!= He was pleading and his hands were shaking.
“Alright,” Buck’s voice was very cool but full of anger, “Cut away some of the skin around the bite.” Now try to squeeze out some of the blood on that area. Try to suck out as much of the poison as possible but don’t swallow it. You will to go get some herbs…..”
= Wait, I can’t leave you two here alone.=
“Why not, she is unconscious she wont even know you are gone?”
=What if those guys come back?=
“In that case you have two choices, 1 you unlock me and I go after the herbs, 2 you give me a gun and prop me up better next to this wagon, that way at least I can defend us….”
Ike didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t go back on his word, but he couldn’t leave Buck defenseless either. He finally retrieved the keys and unchained Bucks arms from behind him, then he locked one of the cuffs to the wheel as his had been the night before. He took out one of the guns, and looked into Bucks eyes. =Now you must promise me something= he signed. =You must promise not to shoot yourself loose unless you or Rick are in danger.=
Buck rolled his eyes.
=I gave her my word, please promise.=
“Alright, alright I promise, now here is what you need to find…”
With the help of Buck’s herbs, Rick was soon feeling much better. Ike tried to explain that Buck was responsible for her safety, but she refused to say anything about that. Buck gave the gun back to Ike when he returned, he had kept his word but refused to speak to Ike.
Ike decided it was better to leave Buck alone for a while to calm down. He climbed into the wagon and sat down next to the girl. =How are you feeling?=
“Better I guess, thanks to you.” Ike smiled sadly. “Why did you help me? You could have waited for me to die and you would still have gotten the keys.”
=I couldn’t let anyone die like that.=
She seemed satisfied with that answer but really she had hoped for something more, even she was not sure just what that would have be, but something. They talked for awhile about anything and nothing at all, she found herself laughing at his jokes, she loved the way he smiled when he ‘talked’. His whole face seemed to light up with that smile. She knew she could base her whole lifes happiness on that one face and her trust would never be betrayed.
=What’s your real name.=
“What ‘Rick’ isn’t real enough for you?” Ike didn’t answer that so she went on. “Actually Rick was the name my father made up for me. My real name is Marie. ‘Rick’ just makes things easier, I have no idea how anyone mistakes me for a boy anymore, from far away maybe, but I haven’t tried to hide in awhile. I’ll bet you two spotted me right away.”
Ike nodded.
“How did you get mixed up with a man like ‘Buck.’”
Ike tried to ignore the disdain in her voice when she said his name. Now was not the time to bring this up, she was beginning to trust him and if he was going to get them all back to Sweetwater safe and sound they were going to need to trust each other. =We grew up together, we were in the same orphanage, we were both misfits, but I helped him and he helped me, we didn’t need anyone else. You wouldn’t understand.=
“How can you trust him though, I mean….” He cut her off.
=I guess I don’t see what everyone else sees. I see a friend who would help me even if it hurt him. He has always tried to protect me. I would trust him with my life. I have never understood people who could make decisions about him before they even met him.= He helped you, he thought, even though you hate him.
“Your right,” she replied, “I don’t understand.” She turned her back to him and shut her eyes.
“So, you two are getting pretty close huh?”
Ike was rather startled, he had been trying to talk to Buck for hours but he had yet to acknowledge him. He decided anything was better than the silent treatment. =What do you mean?=
“You two, alone in that wagon you were in there for over two hours. What did you talk about?”
=She told me about her name, her father.= Ike left it at that. He didn’t really want to tell Buck that the conversation had also involved him.
“Hmmm so what is the respectable amount of time to leave your best friend chained to a wheel.”
It wasn’t really a question, Ike could tell that. =I already explained to you I gave her my word.=
“That’s not good enough Ike, I’ve been nice to her, I helped her when she was hurt, I haven’t touched her once. She has me tried and convicted and would sooner see me hanging from the nearest tree than look at me.”
Ike didn’t know what to say =You don’t understand, she’s scared.=
“SHE’s scared, she’s got a pair of guns and my knife and I have nothing but a seemingly useless friend kissing up to my jailer. No your right I don’t understand”
Ike tried to sign something to Buck but he refused to look at him. He came closer so that he was almost in Bucks face, without hesitation Buck used his free hand to punch Ike right across the jaw. Ike fell back against the ground.
“Just stay the hell away from me!” Buck yelled.
=If that’s the way you want it fine,= Ike turned and stalked off to be by himself for awhile.
The girl came out of the wagon just in time to see Buck punch Ike in the face, when Ike walked away the girl came over with a gun and told Buck, “If you ever touch him again I don’t care if you’re his friend or not, I’ll stop you.” She recuffed his other hand to the wheel and went to follow Ike.
Buck didn’t even care anymore, he felt betrayal in the worst possible way. Ike, his very best friend was willing to give him up for the first pretty face that came along.
Rick found Ike perched on a rock not far away. He didn’t notice her approach, he seemed far away, lost in his own thoughts. She put her arm around his shoulder but he still didn’t appear to realize she was there. “Ike.” He still didn’t answer. “It’s beautiful isn’t it.”
=I’ve always loved watching the sun set, it doesn’t even look real sometimes.=
“I know what you mean, I always used to sit out at night staring until the sun just disappeared. My father always had to come get me or I’d have stayed out there all night….” She turned to find that Ike was no longer watching the sun, he was staring right into her eyes, he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. They kissed so long she was running out of air, but she didn’t care, she never wanted that kiss to end. When they finally pulled away they just leaned again the rock, their arms around each other watching the sun until it disappeared behind the hills.
“How are we going to get the map now, she got herself a protector?”
“I think they are going to be a little distracted for awhile don’t you? I saw her hide that map in the wagon before she left. We can go in there right now and grab it”
“What about the half breed?”
“What about him, he’s chained up, besides he’s not on their side anymore didn’t you here?”
“We could even take him with us! He’d probably be grateful us rescuing him and all.”
“Your right, they couldn’t follow us if we had someone to cover our tracks, I’ll bet he’s real good at that. That’s a good idea, your first one I’ll bet.”
“Yep.” He stated proudly, but then he got a confused look on his face. “How’d you know?”
“Oh shut up will ya!”
He could hear them approaching in the bushes. Two of them, probably the same ones from the other night. One ran up to him and put his hand over Buck’s mouth.
“Were going to get the map and get out of here, do you want to come with us or don’t ya.” Thoughts quickly spun through Buck’s head before he finally nodded.
The man grabbed the keys from the wagon and unlocked the cuffs attaching his left hand to the wheel, he was reaching for the ones attaching his right hand when Buck grabbed the man’s hand gun from its holster. The man backed up when he heard the gun cock.
“Hold it!” The second man made a move for his gun and Buck fired a shot, grazing his thigh. The first man took this opportunity to make a run for his horse. Buck fired a couple of shots after them, but both managed to get safely to their horses.
Upon hearing the first shot Rick and Ike were on there feet running for the clearing. They got to the wagon about the time the two horses and their riders, one a half blood, disappeared into the trees.
The girl moved towards Buck, he pointed his gun in the air in surrender and held the gun, butt first towards her.
She did not take it though. She shook her head, “keep it.” She kneeled down next to Buck on the ground. “I don’t understand, why didn’t you leave with them, he could have gotten away, you probably would have gotten some of the gold.”
Buck smiled, “Now what would I do with gold?”
The girl didn’t know how to answer that, she stood up and walked over to get the keys from where the bandits had dropped them, “Here Ike, do what’s right.”
Ike smiled then quickly came over to help Buck, his left hand had been released but his right was still chained to the wheel and so were his ankles.
He reached for the right cuff, but Buck caught his hand. “Ike,” he started.
Ike cut him off a very serious expression on his usually gentle face. =Wait Buck, I know you don’t want to see me any more, just let me get the girl back to Sweetwater safe and sound and then I’m gone ok?=
“Ike that’s not what I was going to say, I was going to say I am sorry about what I said before, it took me awhile but I see why you did what you did. I can’t say that I would have done any differently in your place. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”
Ike smiled, =I’m sorry too, I wish you hadn’t had to go through all this, and I shouldn’t have left you alone here when I knew there were bandits around.=
In an overly exaggerated high pitched voice Buck quoted Lou in saying “I can take care of myself Ike.”
Ike chuckled. He reached out again and released Buck’s right hand and the chain around his ankles.
Buck smiled rubbing his wrists. He stood unassisted for the first time in days. “Ahh freedom at least.”
The girl turned away, she was embarrassed at what she had done to the both of them. Now she was certain that she had been wrong. Yet they were still helping her. She loved Ike yet she had hurt him and his best friend, and she was still lying to them.
Buck saw the discomfort in her face as she turned away. He walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “You did what you thought was right. Even if it did turn out you had the wrong guys, you had plenty of evidence against us. Besides, we need to go get them stupid bandits, and were going to need your help.”
The girl turned to Buck with a still unsure smile on her face, “Ok, so what are we going to do?”. Ike came up and gave her a big hug.
“You are going to have a big change of heart.”
“What do you mean?” Rick replied.
“Remember, these guys are dangerous, but they are also stupid. We will be arriving in Sweetwater sometime tomorrow. You will take us in just as if you still considered us your prisoners. You take us to Teaspoon at the jail, and he locks us up just for show. When those two are certain you are alone with no one left to help you, they will try to get that map again. The two of us will be waiting for them.”
=If we ride into that town chained up and captured by a girl, we will never hear the end of it, you realize that don’t you?=
Buck smiled, “Oh come on Ike, I swallowed my pride, now it’s your turn.”
“I can’t, I can’t do this,” Rick cut them off. “You two have done so much for me, I can’t let you risk your lives again. It’s my job, I will catch them.” She turned and ran back off into the trees.
Ike moved to follow her, but Buck stopped him. “Let me talk to her for a minute.” Ike nodded.
“Rick.” The girl did not look up, “Rick.” Still she did not answer. “Marie?”
The girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you two keep protecting me? I don’t understand. Why are you putting your lives on the line for someone you barely know. Why does Ike open his heart to me when I have already hurt him?”
“He trusts you.”
“Why?”
“Because he loves you.”
Her tears shut off and her mask slipped back into place. “I didn’t ask him to love me.”
Buck smiled, “It’s not something you can ask for, and it’s certainly not something he can help.”
“I don’t want him to love me.” These were her words, but Buck could hear the lies behind them. So he stayed quiet until she turned back to face him. “I wont let him get hurt, I am leaving tonight. I will take this map to stone creek and give it to the marshal there.”
“If you leave tonight you will hurt him worse than if you shot him.” She didn’t answer she turned so he could no longer see her face. But he continued.
“He loves you, that means he would get more joy out of protecting you than watching a thousand sunsets, and besides that you love him.”
She turned back to face him, tears were streaming down her cheeks. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
Buck smiled, “I know that, that’s why I trust you.”
The girl ran to him and threw her arms around his shoulders sobbing.
When her tears were under control, Buck helped her back to the camp. As soon as Ike saw her he rushed to her, Rick collapsed in his arms, she felt safe and loved for the first time in a long time.
“I’m going to go see if I can find any signs of the bandits, I want to make sure they don’t find out about our plans for tomorrow.” Buck smiled when he realized that neither one of them was listening to him. He grabbed his guns out of the wagon and as an afterthought picked up his bedroll. They deserve some privacy, he thought, as he headed off into the trees.
Ike wasn’t sure what had caused the change in her but whatever it was that Buck had said, he was glad. She seemed even closer to him than when they were watching the sunset, not physically closer, but she was finally letting him close. The funny thing was, he hadn’t even realized she had been distant. She looked up at him with eyes full of love and trust. No one had ever looked at him that way before. His eyes glowed back at her with the same emotion echoing a thousand times off their hearts.
Not surprisingly, neither of them noticed that Buck was gone until they awoke the next morning. About the time they were starting to get worried, Buck came back with the message that he had breakfast ready if they wanted to join him. He didn’t appear to be the least bit upset that they had forgotten all about him the night before, if fact he seemed to find it all very amusing.
While they were eating, Buck told them that he had found the men’s camp a mile or so away. “They are planning to get the map from you in Sweetwater, this works fine with our plans.”
=About those plans, I have no problem with them, except one slight change.=
“What might that be Ike?” Buck replied.
=I think I should stay with Rick, them some time after you sneak out of the jail, I will come up with some excuse to leave her alone and we will wait for the men to make their move. This way she will be protected until we are ready for them.=
“You just don’t want your friends to think I caught you.” Rick teased.
Ike turned red with embarrassment, and quickly denied it. =No, I want to protect you.=
The girl smiled and they kissed again.
Buck cleared his throat, “All right, I’m on my own then, you two just be careful. Now we’ve got to set up a time and place for this to come together and I think we might need some of the other riders to help…..”
When all the plans were finished, they packed up the gear from the two camps and were ready to leave. Buck placed his gun and knife into his saddlebag, and picked up the chains from the back of the wagon. He turned to Ike and smiled, “Want to do the honors?”
Rick seemed startled, “Is this really necessary?” she paused, “I mean, they might be no where near us the whole trip.”
“True, but they could also be watching us and its safer this way. I trust you,” Buck replied.
Ike gave a sinister smile and bent down to shackle Bucks ankles. Buck noticed this, “See Ike doesn’t mind.”
“I think this is just Ike’s way of saying thank you for that bruise you gave him the other day.” Rick told him with a teasing grin.
Ike stood and placed the chains on Bucks wrist, =Too tight?= he signed.
Buck grumbled but gave Ike a smile to show he was kidding him.
Ike helped Buck into the back of the wagon and they were ready to go.
The two men high up on the hill saw the wagon approach with the still chained Buck in the back.
“My goodness, that girl will never trust that half breed will she.”
“This could be very good for us, she still only has one protector, and it will be easier to catch her when she drops her guard in Sweetwater.”
“Yep, then we can get the map and get that money.”
“Gee, I never thought of that.” He replied sarchastically, slapping his friend on the back of the head. “How’d you get to be so stupid.”
“Just lucky I guess” he replied with a smile.
The trip back to Sweetwater was uneventful until they got to the edge of town. When the townspeople spotted Buck in the back of the wagon there was a mixed reaction. Some seemed angry, some confused, some seemed relieved, some seemed happy. Jimmy and Cody spotted them as they got near the jail.
Oh great, Buck thought, Cody saw this. Now I’ll never hear the end of it. Ike glanced over his shoulder with a very apologetic look.
“Teaspoon,” Cody shouted, “you better get out here now!”
Jimmy was giving Rick a very hard look, his fingers resting on the edge of his belt, a little too close to his colts for comfort. Ike stepped down from the wagon as Teaspoon came out of his office.
“Ok Cody what is it this….” His words were cut short as he saw Buck in the back of the wagon. “Ummm Ike, would you care to explain why you have Buck chained up?”
Ike shook his head and motioned toward Rick.
Rick, for her part played her act very well, she reverted back to her initial reaction to the two men and told Teaspoon how she suspected Buck had killed her father. She produced her evidence, being careful to point out that she was keeping the map safely stowed in her shirt pocket. She loudly told Teaspoon that she wanted Buck locked up until his trial. Cody and Jimmy could not believe their ears, they kept looking at Ike waiting for him to come to Buck’s defense.
Teaspoon was equally confused. He started to defend Buck but Ike quickly signed, =Let’s take this inside.=
Jimmy went around and helped Buck out of the back of the wagon. With some difficulty Buck managed to make it inside the jailhouse. Rick made a big show out of shoving Buck into a cell and removing the chains before shutting the door heavily.
The riders were so busy watching this show with pure hatred for the girl’s callousness, they hadn’t even realized that Ike was missing until he came back inside and signed to Rick, =They went into the saloon.=
“Good,” she replied with a sigh of relief.
Buck, who until that moment had been silent and sullen, came up to the front of the cell with a smile on his face.
Teaspoon was even more confused, “Ok you three, one of you better tell me what is going on around here.”
Surprisingly it was Buck who spoke up first. He leaned against the bars and said, “this is a trick, she doesn’t really think I killed her father anymore.”
“Well gee, that clears everything up doesn’t it Cody, lets just head back to the station now,” Jimmy said sarcastically.
The girl broke in then and explained the whole situation. She started with what happened to her father and how she had tracked the killers only to run across Buck and Ike at the end of the tracks. She told them all how they had the map and note and how she had arrested them.
She started to confess how cruel she had been to both Buck and Ike, but Ike cut her off to finish the story. He told them about the real killers and how they had already been attacked more than once. He signed =The real killers don’t know that Rick knows that Buck didn’t do it=.
Then Buck cut him off to explain the plans for the night. “My plan is for you, Teaspoon, to keep me locked up here. Ike and Rick will go over to the saloon for a while, then at a planned time when the street is nearly deserted, they will leave together. Ike will pretend he forgot something and go back inside, this will leave Rick alone outside. The bandits will try to get their map back and Cody and Jimmy will be hiding nearby waiting for them to make their move.”
“Who’s Rick?” Cody demanded as if this was the only flaw in Buck’s plan.
“I’m Rick, Rick Carson.”
“Rick? What’s that short for Rickelle?”
She was startled that this dense man had noticed so quickly that she was a girl. She supposed that her emotional outburst had made that obvious. She only slightly realized just how feminine she had become since the last time she had posed as a boy. She was also confused as to why he thought Rick had to be short for something. “Ummm it’s not short for anything, my real name is Marie, but I am deputy Rick Carson”
“Carson….Carson, as in Mitch Carson?” Teaspoon questioned.
“Yes, he was my father.” Rick replied, a note of sadness in her voice this lie just kept growing.
“He was a good man,” Teaspoon shook his head sadly, “I assume he was the one who deputized you.”
She simply nodded.
“Alright,” Teaspoon started, “If he thought you were up to being a deputy who am I to argue. Now I have no problem with your plans, but you sure you’re alright with this Buck, if those bandits don’t turn up tonight you could have a long wait in that cell.”
“I understand that Teaspoon it was my idea.”
“Oh,” Teaspoon seemed startled.
At the side of the jailhouse Jimmy was smiling and Cody was trying to stifle a laugh as they both seemed to realize what this meant at the same time.
Ike sent them a glaring look, =what’s with you two?” he signed.
“The two of you,” Jimmy started. “You got yourselves captured by a girl.”
“She came up on us in the dark, we were asleep,” Buck defended.
=Besides, she not only a girl, she’s a deputy what did you want us to do shoot her?=
Cody could not hold it in any longer, and let out a loud gaffaw, only to find the barrel of a colt held tightly under his chin. He immediately cut off his laugh.
Rick had a serious look in her eye, “I don’t know just who you think you are, but these two men are the most noble and kind men I have ever met. They are also two of the bravest. If you think I am going to let you laugh at them for something stupid that I did you are sadly mistaken. How dare you call yourself a friend, one of them is locked up for heaven’s sake. I am going to put my gun away now, but if you ever mention this to either one of them again, you will have to explain to everyone just how you ended up with a bullet in your big toe. Got it?”
“Umm got it sir…..I mean….. Maam” Cody stammered.
Both Jimmy and Teaspoon were stunned with the girl’s actions. This time it was Ike and Buck’s turn to laugh.
“My names James Hickok,” Jimmy started, “but everyone calls me Jimmy. You’re pretty fast with that gun.”
“I have to be,” Rick smiled and shook Jimmy’s out stretched hand.
Cody was still standing shocked where the girl had left him so Ike introduced him. =That there is William F. Cody, speechless for the first time in his life.= Ike was positively beaming.
“Nice to meet you maam,” Cody said after finally finding his voice he made no move to shake her hand, he was still keeping what he felt was a safe distance from her colt.
“You already know Teaspoon,” Buck said as he continued the introductions from his cell.
“Well I haven’t met you officially, I saw you last a couple years ago when my father sent me with a message for you. You didn’t hardly look at me twice though,” she stuck out her hand and Teaspoon responded with a hearty handshake.
“I’m sure I would have remembered if I’d met you before.”
“Well I’ve grown up a bit since then, my boy cover doesn’t work as well as it used to it seems.”
“It certainly doesn’t,” Jimmy stated without thinking, when he realized what he said he blushed a light pink, and gave a small embarrassed smile.
Ike stepped forward and put a defensive arm over Rick’s shoulders as if to say ‘back off Jimmy’.
Rick smiled up at Ike and said, “Now that we are all acquainted, Ike and I should be getting over to that saloon to make our presence known.”
After the planning session was completed, Ike and Rick left for the saloon. Unfortunately, they were so absorbed in each other’s company that they didn’t notice the man who had been standing outside the jailhouse just a little too long.
“Swift, Swift, you were right, they are planning something. They are going to ambush us when we try and get that map back tonight, they were setting us up!!!”
“Quiet down now, so they have an ambush set up around the girl huh? Well then we will get everyone but the girl.”
“Everyone?”
“No, of course I don’t mean everyone, but we can get Buck. He will be a sitting duck alone in that jail. Once we get him, we can use him to get Ike, between the two of them we should have enough leverage to get that map back.”
“When do we leave?”
“Now.”
One at a time, Cody and Jimmy left the jailhouse. Jimmy found a hiding place around the alley near the saloon. Cody climbed up onto a rooftop across the street with his rifle. Buck was adament that Teaspoon go with them, so he finally left and found a nice spot on the opposite side of the alley from Jimmy. The three all had their eyes on the saloon so none of them noticed two shadowy figures slip back into the jailhouse.
Buck was reclining on the bunk his hat over his eyes. He was trying to remain calm. There was nothing he could do right now but wait to hear what happened. Then he heard a voice that chilled his heart.
“I knew we’d meet again Buck Cross.”
Continued 
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