Chapter Twenty-Nine
"How is he?!" Doctor Ellis asked, as he and the Senator entered the little hide-away later that evening.
"Still burnin' up!" Nurse Edwards answered solemnly, "But he's breathin' a lot easier. Where have you been?! An' what on earth have you been doin'?!" she tacked on, seeing that the young doctor and the older gentleman accompanying him were completely covered with dirt.
"Believe me," Jarrod begged, dropping his medical bag and his exhausted self down onto the bed beside their propped up, peacefully sleeping patient, "you don't want to know!" The physician opened the satchel lying at his side and quickly snatched up his stethoscope, "He was having some difficulty breathing?" he inquired anxiously.
"There was some congestion," Katelyn confessed, "but I believe we caught it in time. I think he coughed most of it up..."
"You're right," the young doctor concurred, following a full minute of intense listening, "his lungs are relatively clear!" he confirmed and gave the 'legend's' very capable nurse another very impressed look. Which the modest woman again pretended not to notice. "How did you know to give him that?" Jarrod wondered, noticing the drug bottle on the dresser.
"I was married to a doctor," Katelyn replied, "I used to read all his medical journals. Still do, in fact. I found the article on codeine particularly interestin'," she added rather matter-of-factly.
So, Jarrod realized--finally--Katelyn Edwards wasn't just another 'pretty face', but a highly skilled professional. "I'm going over to the Inn," he announced, "I have another patient I want to look in on. I probably won't be back until sometime tomorrow morning. I'm confident that you can handle things here until then..." he concluded confidently. Then he and the very capable nurse exchanged warm smiles.
"Will you give the Marshal's friends a message for him?" Katelyn wondered.
The doctor nodded.
"Tell Francis an' Dulcey that he said ta lie low until Mareck leaves."
The doctor gave her another nod. Then he got to his feet, gathered his bag back up and turned to go, "You coming, Senator?" he asked, glancing back over his shoulder.
"I'll be along in a little while..." Dave Fisher informed him and just kept standing there...staring solemnly down at his sleeping friend.
Jarrod left him and went off to get changed and cleaned up. It wouldn't do for Dulcey to see him in his current, decrepit condition.
Katelyn studied the silent, solemn, 'staring' stranger for a few seconds and then cocked her pretty head to one side, "You're a Senator?!" she said, sounding somewhat amazed..
"From the great state a' Texas!" the stranger exclaimed. Then he tipped his hat to the pretty lady and quickly introduced himself, "David Samuel Fisher--at yore service, ma-am!" he gallantly declared.
"Katelyn Edwards," the lady informed him and extended her hand.
Dave took it and shook it, "You, uh, known Jim long?" he wondered curiously. His partner seemed ta have a knack for attractin' pretty ladies.
Katelyn pulled her hand free and turned to stare down at the peacefully sleeping lawman, "Two days...goin' on a lifetime," she confessed quietly, "How 'bout you?"
"A lifetime...goin' on two days," Dave determined, sounding sort of...sa-ad.
Katelyn turned to the lawman's life-long friend and cocked her head again, "Was he ever married?"
The Senator's eyebrows shot up in response to the lady's sudden--and surprising--question, "No. No-o, Jim never married. He had himself a good woman once...but he never did marry."
"Her name wouldn' happen ta a' been 'Corie Ann', would it?"
Dave Fisher's eyebrows shot up even higher, "Close enuff...He told you about her?"
"Sort a'...He's been half out a' his mind with fever...I heard 'im call her name out several times."
Dave watched as the woman wiped the perspiration from his peacefully sleeping partner. "Jim saved an old Indian Chief's life once...but got hurt pretty bad doin' it...so he had ta spend some time in a Comanche village...recuperatin'. It wasn' too far from here...jes' across the river a ways, in fact. Anyways, it seems the old Chief wanted ta thank Jim for savin' his life...so he gave Koree to 'im. At first, the girl hated Jim...with a PASSION! But Jim's charm an' 'is personality must a' won Koree over, 'cuz--by the time I got back there--the two of 'em had fallen, hopelessly, in love..."
Once again, the story-telling Senator found himself swamped with memories...some pleasant...some not so pleasant...
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Dave Fisher came riding up to Jim Crown's camp along the Cimarron--bright and early on the twentieth morning of his forced absence from his injured friend's side--and breathed a long, welcome sigh of relief. For his partner appeared to be both alive a-and well...Well, it was sort a' hard to tell just how well Jim actually was, since he was still lying in a completely prone position. Well, not completely prone...a pretty girl had Jim propped up just a bit in her arms. Shock filled Dave's face as he recognized just who his friend's nurse was--she was the same girl who had shot daggers at Jim with her eyes--the same one who looked as though she would've liked ta carve his bleedin' heart out! The cowboy shot his prone partner a look of due admiration. He'd always said Jim Crown could charm the rattles off a snake...
At the sound of his approach, the couple glanced up.
Jim looked as happy to see Dave as Dave had been to see him. "You sure didn' waste any time gettin' back!" Crown declared with a grin.
"I only stayed in town long enough ta down one drink!" Dave admitted, as he slipped to the ground, "Mister Donnelly herded us all over ta the Long Branch an' we all downed one drink--ta yore health!" he added and beamed a broad grin back at his now apparently healthy companion.
Jim's grin broadened as well, "Amazin' ain't it," he commented, motioning to his all mended self, "the effect that one drink kin have on a man!" he added lightly, and the two friends grinned again. But then something suddenly occurred to Jim that caused his grin to fade, "Yah should a' stayed in Dodge a few days. You could a' had a little fun...an' a few more drinks!"
"Ain't no fun drinkin' alone," Dave calmly replied, stooping down to his suddenly sad partner's side, "Besides, I told yah I'd be right back, remember?"
"...yeah..." Jim muttered softly, "...I remember," he added and proudly proffered his right hand to his partner.
"Man!" Dave declared as he proudly locked onto it, "I thought for sure you were a gonner! I figured I was gonna come racin' back here an find you dead! Don' you ever do this ta me again...yah hear?!" he insisted, his shouted voice a mixture of rage and relief.
Jim gave his partner a strange stare and then nodded uncertainly.
Dave looked even more relieved, "Goo-ood! Now, James-me-bo-oy, what a' yah say we forget all about this bull fightin' business an' jes' get on back ta punchin' cows!"
James-me-boy's face broke into another broad grin and he managed another--this time very definite--nod.
Dave grinned and then glanced up at his partner's pretty nurse. The girl's face seemed full of apprehension. "Say, aren' you gonna introduce me ta yore friend here?" he teased, and tried flashing Jim's friend a reassuring smile.
"Koree-Ray-ohn...Dave Fisher. Dave...Koree..." Jim obligingly complied, "It means 'little fawn hidin' in the shadows'," he added and finally released the vice-like grip he'd been keeping on his partner's hand.
"A pleasure, mam..." Dave confessed, raising his released hand to tip his hat to the pretty girl, "You got a real pretty name..." he added and tried flashing her another warm, winning smile.
Koree acknowledged his greeting with a polite, but still very apprehensive nod.
"I guess this means you will be leaving us soon," John Two Rivers spoke up suddenly, with just a hint of sadness in his voice.
Both cowboys and the girl glanced up at him, looking rather startled. Obviously, no one had heard his approach.
"You were right about your rifle, Windrider," John continued, "it does pull a bit to the left..." he paused to toss two jack rabbits down beside their camp's fire, "...Or we'd be having antelope, instead. It was a clean miss..." he finished finally and flashed the completely prone cowboy a wry smile.
Jim returned the Indian's smile and then turned back to his white friend, "How soon will we be leavin'?" he wondered curiously, with just a hint of sadness in his voice.
Dave tipped his hat back up on his head a ways and then looked thoughtful, "Mr. Donnelly said he'd be along as soon as he found a buyer for the herd. Maybe tomorrow...the next day at the latest," he stopped talking to give his recently recuperated partner a concerned once over, "You gonna be able ta sit a horse?"
Jim looked equally thoughtful, "I guess we'll find out soon enough..."
"Ee-eeshay mo-oh-ketay shana-sey durahn," Koree-Ray-ohn suggested helpfully, accurately getting the 'gist' of things again.
Dave turned to Jim looking confused.
Jim gave the girl a startled glance and then turned to his interpreter.
John Two Rivers rested his borrowed rifle--and then himself--back up against the rock wall that ran along their camp's West boundary, and then sat there, grinning. Finally, the Indian figured he'd held his impatient patient in suspense long enough, and came forth with his translation, "She says that you will be able to sit a horse...because...SHE will be sitting right behind you..." the brave finished, but just barely.
It took a few moments for the girl's translated message to register with Jim. But when it finally did--he reacted quickly, "Unh-uh! No way! I gave her her FREEDOM! Didn' you tell her?" he inquired, shooting his interpreter an accusing glare.
"I did!" the brave vowed.
"Well, then maybe you'd better tell her again!" Jim strongly suggested.
John, who was having everything he could do to keep a straight face, nodded and readily complied with the young white's wishes...that is, at least he tried.
The girl completely ignored both the cowboy and the brave and made another briefer statement of her own--one that wouldn't take any translating! "CROWN'S wo-man!" she declared, sounding very determined.
Dave, who had been taking it all in with a suppressed grin and highly arched brows, arched his brows even higher and then turned to his partner' to witness his reaction to this latest development.
But Jim just laid there, staring up at the beautiful girl--in whose arms he'd grown so accustomed to lying, for nearly two whole weeks now--looking sort of sad.
It obviously wasn't the reaction Dave had been expecting to witness because he suddenly looked sort of stunned. He watched in stunned silence as his partner suddenly reached up and then began tenderly caressing the right side of the girl's face with the back of his left hand.
"Tell her that I am honored that she should feel this way," Jim requested, his words as tender as his caress, "But that she is not Crown's woman!" he stated, sounding even more determined, "It ain't right for any person ta ever OWN another person! A person is NOT a piece a' property ta be bought--or sold--or given away ta someone!"
Fawn listened patiently to John's interpretation but then her dark eyes flashed with renewed determination and she gave her pretty head an angry shake NO! "CROWN'S wo-man!" she repeated proudly.
"You are NOT my-y woman! You are Koree-Ray-ohn! You are yore own person! An' you are free ta do whatever you wish!" the now completely exasperated cowboy quickly corrected.
The girl then replied so rapidly that she interrupted his interpreter's interpretation.
John cleared his throat and stared down at Windrider with a highly amused look on his face, "In that case--she wishes to be with you. She will not mind if you do not care for her--she will care for you."
"Not care for her...not care for her?!" Jim Crown practically shouted, "...I think I've fallen' in love with her!!!" he added to everyone's surprise--including his own.
No doubt about it! It most definitely was NOT the reaction that Dave had been expecting, for the still stooping young cowboy was completely stunned off'n his feet. He fell back onto his butt and then sat there on the rock ledge beside his surprising partner, giving him a 'you mus' be CRAZY!' stare.
Which Jim did not notice, for all of his attention was now fully focused on Fawn.
Dave gave the lovely young lady who had her arms locked around his friend another glance. The girl was a real beauty all right! Why it made his eyes feel good jes' gazin' at her. He sat there for a few moments, imagining how wonderful it must make a man feel ta find himself wrapped in her arms. Maybe his partner' wasn't so crazy after all, Dave realized, smiling to himself.
John Two Rivers didn't say a word. He figured his friend was fully capable of interpreting his own feelings. Judging by the look in Jim Crown's eyes, the cowboy wouldn't be needing 'Comanche' to get his message across.
In fact, as everyone would accidentally discover the following afternoon, Jim Crown was never gonna need 'Comanche' to communicate with his 'woman' ever again.
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A dozen of the Double D's finest hands came riding up and joined Dave just in time to catch the tail end of a rather lengthy and elaborate send off for the Indian's very honored--and still very much alive--guest.
The Comanche's guest-of-honor was sitting cross-legged on the ground between a young brave and--judging by all the eagle feathers--their chief Chief.
Seated on the ground in circled rows right behind them was the rest of the village's Indian population.
Considering the seating arrangements, the cowboys decided to remain mounted. So, they sat there silently in their saddles and watched while the Comanche's main medicine man--and a few of his apprentices--put on a pretty good show.
When the show was over, Grey Dog stepped up to their seemingly fully recovered companion to shout out one last incantation and give Jim a final prod with his spirit stick.
"Grey Dog has approached the spirits in your behalf," Mr. Two Rivers translated as he helped the hunched over cowboy straighten back up, "He says that they said that while your life will always be wrought with very grave danger..you will NOT die a violent death...so you needn't ever worry again...about being gored to death by a bull," John finished with a roll of his eyes.
"Sho-don-tay..." Jim Crown told the mean medicine man when he finally recovered, "...I'm sure I'll sleep a lot easier knowin' that..."
Chief Pero-ka-mas unclipped a rawhide necklace from around his neck and placed it around Windrider's.
"My Chief believes that the source of the eagle's power is in his talons," John Two Rivers translated, "Keep this with you always...and no harm will ever come to you."
The cowboy glanced down at the powerful eagle claw charm that would, supposedly, keep him from harm and then gave his very generous host a warm, grateful smile, "Sho-don-tay! Mahrah-ee-ay-ho...ay-fey-nahtu..lurey-me-i-shi-bar...an' for all a' yore other gifts, too..." he tacked on in English and turned to gaze directly at his 'Little Fawn'.
"He sa-ays..." Dave interpreted--for the sake of Jim's non-Indian audience, "...thank you very much--oh great and mighty Chief of the Comanche--for savin' my life...but especially for givin' me that incredibly beautiful girl over there..." he tacked on with a grin.
His fellow cowboys were astounded.
"I didn't know you spoke Comanche!" Mr. Donnelly declared.
"I don't!" Dave confessed, "I been listenin' ta him rehearse that speech all mornin'!"
"You sayin' the old Chief actually gave Jim a GI-IRL?!" another cowboy inquired disbelievingly.
"Not jes' any old girl!" Dave corrected, "Little Fawn is--possibly--the prettiest girl you'll ever lay eyes on!"
Jim Crown released his hold on the old Chief's wrist. Then he took hold of a young girl's hand and turned her around...and as his friends laid their eyes upon Fawn for the very first time, they all had to agree--the girl was a real looker, all right!
"Whoo-wee!" one of the cowboys shouted, "What do I gotta do ta get me one like that?!"
"Forget it!" another chimed in, "Dave's right! I doubt if you'll ever find another one like tha-at!"
Jim Crown bid John Two Rivers goodbye--again, and thanked him--again--for bein' such a goo-ood friend.
Wayo-wa-suyen thanked Windrider for giving him his rifle.
Jim shrugged and said he had to get himself a new one anyways. He just never seemed to get the knack of firin' his old one the way John had.
The Indian wished both Jim Crown and his woman every happiness and then told the odd couple--in Comanche--that he hoped everything would work out well for them...as it had for he and Beth.
"Alla Veremos!" Koree spoke up suddenly--in Spanish.
'Time will tell!' Jim Crown mentally translated and stared at his woman, looking astonished, "You speak SPANISH?!" he exclaimed, "Habla Espanol?!" he repeated, seeing the girl's confusion.
"Si-i..." the girl acknowledged with a slight nod.
Her ma-an looked deliriously happy...and then somewhat annoyed, "Por que me no se dise?!" he shouted, demanding to know why she hadn't told him so.
"Por que me no se poner?!" Koree shouted right back, wondering why she had never been asked.
Dave and Mr. Donnelly glanced at each other with arched eyebrows. It was amazing--the speed at which the two of them could speak Spanish! They--and the rest a' the boys--all agreed that the ride home was gonna be rea-eal interestin'...not ta mention entertainin'!
Following a fast and furious full five minutes of fluent--and non-stop--Spanish, the now able to freely communicate couple finally shut up and ended their rapid exchange of words with warm smiles and an even warmer embrace.
Jim Crown's companions exchanged cat-calls and grins. Then, as the cowboy escorted the pretty girl up to the group, they--being the gentlemen that they sometimes were--promptly whipped their hats off.
The group's sudden movement--though certainly not threatening--frightened Fawn so that she immediately took shelter behind her ma-an's back.
The group exchanged amazed and amused glances once again.
"She's a might skittish, ain't she..." one of the men commented lightly.
"Yeah...well..." Jim Crown pulled the pretty girl--who was still clinging to him--into his arms to reassure and comfort her, "...you might be a might skittish, too...if five BIG, bad-smellin', white buffalo hunters had raped an' tortured you...an' murdered yore mother..." the cowboy reasoned rather matter-of-factly.
The suddenly solemn, sad and deeply sympathetic looking group exchanged thoughtful glances this time, and no one said another word about Crown's woman bein' shy.
From that moment on, the white men moved real slowly around the beautiful girl and obligingly--and understandingly--gave her a wide berth. And soon, Fawn felt completely at ease among her man's very kind--and very considerate companions.
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"What's the matter with you?" Dave Fisher asked his rather glum looking partner on the afternoon of their second day back at the Double D, "For a fellah who's gettin' hitched tamorrow you don' appear ta me ta be too happy about it..."
Jim Crown's frustrated fingers tapped the top corral rail upon which he was seated, "I left Koree with Maria when I went out ta check on that piece a' property yore father's givin' us for a weddin' present..." the soon-to-be groom reluctantly and rather grumpily replied.
"Yea-eah..." Dave acknowledged, climbing up onto the rail beside his friend, "...so?"
"Maria speaks Spanish," Jim reminded him.
"Maria's half-Mexican. She's s'posed ta speak Spanish!" he reminded Jim, "...so?"
"So-o the two of 'em must a' spent the entire mornin' talkin' about white man's weddin' customs!"
"Yea-eah..." Dave nonchalantly acknowledged, "...so?"
"So now she wants a weddin' dress!"
"Yea-eah..." Dave repeated, remaining confused, "So buy her one!"
Jim pounded the rail with his fist and gasped in frustration, "But she only wants the dress because she thinks it'll please me! I told her I'd be pleased with her no matter what she wore ta our weddin'! I told her it ain't what you wear, but who you are that makes you beautiful! An' that it ain't what's on the outside that counts, but what's on the inside! I told her she don' have ta CHANGE a thing ta please me! But she won't listen!"
There was a rather long silence.
Finally, Dave turned to his frustrated friend and placed a supportive hand on his slumped shoulder, "Maybe it's knowin' that she don' have ta do it that makes her want ta do it..." he suggested, "Yah know what I'd do if I were you? I'd ride in ta town right now...an' buy her that dress!"
Jim thought his very helpful friend's seemingly sound advice over for a few moments, "Yore father told Koree where we went this mornin'...an' now she wants ta see where we're gonna live."
"No problem!" Dave assured his partner, "I kin take Koree out ta yore place...an' you kin meet us out there...on yore way back from town...with the dress!" he reminded Jim.
"You could palaver a jaguar inta partin' with his spots!" Jim Crown reminded him.
"So-o..." Dave continued, ignoring his partner's grateful grin and accurate comment, "...she only wants the dress ta please YOU..an you're only buyin' the thing ta please HER...I tell yah what, James," he calmly announced, and casually rested his elbow upon Jim Crown's shoulder, "if the two a' you kin jes' keep that up...I guarantee you're gonna get along jes' fi-ine!"
The now blushing slightly--understandably on edge--bachelor brushed his buddy's elbow off of him and began climbing down from the corral rail, "Make sure yah take Maria with you!" the cowboy strongly advised as he went striding off in the direction of his horse.
"What--?" Dave Fisher found his friend's shouted suggestion somewhat confusing, "Is it me, or my Spanish, that you don' trust?!"
"Yore Spanish!" the cowboy called back, clasping onto his saddle and climbing aboard, "If I didn' trust you, believe me--you wouldn' be takin' my bride-ta-be for no buggy ride!" James concluded rather logically. Then, with a grin and a gallop, the groom-ta-be was gone.
Dave grinned and headed off to start hitching up the buggy.
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The next time Dave saw Jim, the cowboy had so many brown paper packages tied up with strings strung from his saddle that there was hardly no room for him!
There was only one building--to speak of--on Jim Crown's spread...and that was an old line shack in which the Double D's boys sometimes bivouacked when they were workin' in that neck of the DD's woods.
Jim pulled his pony up in front of the line shack's little porch--upon which his partner was seated--and began passing parcels down to him, "The girls inside?"
Dave--who was, apparently, too dumbstruck to speak--blinked his eyes in disbelief and nodded.
His partner parted with over half of his packages before attempting to dismount. Having failed in his first attempt, his friend began fumbling with the bundles which were fastened to the back half of his saddle. "I got ta thinkin'..." Jim said, seeing the strange stare his half-buried buddy was shooting up at him, "...an'...well...if a woman only has one dress, what's she s'posed ta wear when it's in the wash? An' then a' course there's...petti-coats an'...other...personal...'thi-ings'..." the blushing cowboy's voice died right about then--of embarrassment.
Dave suppressed a grin and shot his friend an' 'a' course' look, "That was good thinkin', James!" he commended, but then his grin escaped, "personally, I would'n know about such...'thi-ings'..." he added innocently. Then he ducked as his teasing prompted James to whip one of his packages at him. Dave's grin took a direct hit--but, instead of disappearing, it broadened!
"Neither do I!" James declared, jumping from his horse onto his porch, "Which is why I had Mrs. Teale pick 'em out!" he explained and whacked his now chuckling companion over the head with the package in his right hand. But, instead of stopping, his partner proceeded to laugh all the harder. So Jim grinned and whacked him again...for good measure.
The sounds of boot heels contacting boards and soft laughter at last succeeded in drawing the ladies over to the door.
The rusty-hinged portal opened and, as Koree appeared, Dave saw his partner's handsome face light up.
The girl, whose face was also aglow at the sight of her man, rushed into the cowboy's open arms.
Jim dropped his packages, picked the pretty girl up off the porch and swirled her gracefully around a few times before carefully setting her back down.
Sixteen year old Maria stared disbelievingly down at the pile of packages beneath which Dave was half-buried, "I figured you'd gone off to find her a wedding dress..." she confessed rather glumly--in English--mistaking the abundant supply of brown bundles for common household provisions.
"He did!" Dave assured Mr. Donnelly's youngest daughter, "Bu-ut, then he got ta thinkin'..." he tacked on and watched the now delighted girl's expression return to one of deep depression.
Jim shot his heartless friend an 'oh brother' glance and then put poor Maria out of her misery, "I brought back every pretty dress I could find!" he assured the upset girl--in plain English. Then he turned back to his beautiful bride and whispered softly to her in Spanish, "Yore people are my people an' my people are yore people--right?"
The fair young maiden (Koree had only seen seventeen summers, herself.) thought the handsome young man's statement over for a few moments and then nodded solemnly.
"So-o then," the cowboy continued on in Spanish, "When we are among the Comanche, we will abide by their customs...an' when we are among whites, we will live accordin' ta their ways...."
Once again, the girl looked thoughtful and once again, she nodded her solemn agreement.
"Goo-ood!" Jim exclaimed and seemed relieved that all that was settled, "Now, about that weddin' dress custom you're so keen on...Did Maria, here, happen ta mention that it is customary among my--OUR people for the woman ta decide on the dress that she will wear ta her weddin'?" By the glances the two girls exchanged, Jim judged that Maria did not. "Well it i-is!" he assured them both, "Only--on account a' how we're kind a' sort a' runnin' short on time--I took the liberty this afternoon a' lookin' at every dress--in every shop in town, an pickin' out the prettiest ones for you. So, now, all you got ta do is ta try 'em on...an' then pick out the one you want ta get married in..." the helpful young fellah finished with a wry-y, shy-y smile.
Then Dave watched in amazement while the couple continued to converse with one another--using only eye contact.
Maria looked more than a little amazed herself, "You mean..." she stammered, "...that all these...are for HER?!"
"Well...no," Jim Crown corrected, calmly stooping to retrieve the brown bundles lying at his feet, "these two...are for YOU. It seems it's also customary for the maid-a'-honor ta choose which dress she's gonna wear ta the weddin',too..." the cowboy explained, seeing the look of complete confusion on the pretty senorita's face, "I'm su'prised you didn' know that," he teased, "What with you bein' such a weddin' expert an' all..." he added, giving the girl an annoyed glare...along with another even wryer smile.
Maria boldly beamed a broad smile back at the benevolent bachelor and, following a brief bear hug, snatched the packages from him, "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she exclaimed.
Jim winced and whipped his hands free as the sudden tug on the strings nearly sliced his fingers off! "You're welcome! You're welcome! You're welcome!" he assured the girl and then watched as she gathered up his woman--and the rest of the bundles--and then disappeared back inside. The cowboy shot his uncovered comrade a quick glance and then stared at the closed door in astonishment, "How did she latch on ta all those with only ten fingers?" he wondered softly.
Dave noticed his friend sounded as astounded as he looked, "Women kin be real 'handy' ta have around," he philosophically surmised, "sometimes." Then he stared up at his generous friend, feigning a look of bitter disappointment, "I send yah ta town for one measly little dress, an' what da you do? You practic'ly buy out the stores! You keep this up, James, an' you'll have Koree spoiled rotten! An'--not only that--you'll be in debt so deep that you'll have ta quit cowboyin' an' go git yoreself a REAL job!" The two 'cowboys' exchanged grins. Then Dave ducked as James took another playful swipe at him with his hat. "Oh, an' speakin' a' takin' liberties..." the cowboy's best friend continued, straightening himself back up into a sitting position on the porch, "...since we were headin' this way in a buggy...an' bein' as how you had everything all packed up an' ready ta go...I brought you out yore things..." he paused and pointed to his partner's belongings, resting on the floor in the rear of the buggy.
James, who had been staring blankly down at the brand on the side of his saddle, glanced over, "Thanks!" he acknowledged politely and flashed his thoughtful friend a grateful--though somewhat forced--smile.
"Eh," Dave continued, giving his shoulder a shrug, "I believe it's customary for the best man ta be as helpful as he kin--" he halted his lighthearted comment to shoot his troubled partner a concerned glance, "Somethin' botherin' you, James?"
James, who had gone back to staring at the brand, glanced over again and gave the astute Dave another grateful--and still somewhat forced--smile, "...some one's more like it..." he admitted solemnly and returned his troubled gaze to the emblem emblazoned on his stirrup leathers, "I ran inta a fellah in town taday who said he once worked for a spread that used a brand jes' like this...He asked me all sorts a' questions...mostly about how I come ta own this saddle..."
"Did yah tell him it was yore father's?" Dave wondered curiously.
"I didn' tell him anything!" Thomas Crown's boy declared adamantly, "I didn' like the looks of 'im. He didn' look ta me like he'd ever done a day's work in his life!" he explained, and then added, "Least ways, not an HONEST one's..."
"You sayin' the fellah was an OUTLAW?!" his incredulous partner pondered.
"The man lied an' asked me an awful lot a' questions that left me with an awful bad feelin'..." the cowboy confessed, "...Which leads me ta believe he may make his livin' on the wrong side a' the law...yes!" he finally concluded and turned his troubled gaze towards town.
"Well, yah didn' go gettin' 'im mad at yah?!" his alarmed friend asked hopefully.
"No-o...we parted on friendly enuff terms..." the cowboy quietly assured him and kept right on staring--troubled like--off in a easterly direction, "...I jes' cain't seem ta shake this ba-ad feelin'..."
"Why a' course you cain't!" Dave exclaimed rather matter-of-factly, and hauled himself up onto his feet, "That's 'cuz it's also customary for the groom ta come down with a bad case a' nerves jes' before his weddin'...So, yah see, it's perfectly natural for you ta be feelin' a little jittery along about now, James!" he reassured the glum-looking groom, and then he grinned as his light-hearted comments caused Jim Crown to take his eyes off of town--and his mind off of his troubles...for the moment anyways. "C'mon!" Dave urged, latching onto his partner's left arm and pulling him from the porch, "I hauled 'em all the way out here, so, now, the least you kin do is ta help me lug 'em inside!" And he proceeded to drag the now grateful-looking, grinning groom clear over to the back of the buggy. "What da yah got in here?!" Dave wondered annoyedly as the two of them latched onto and then began lifting a trunk, "Bri-icks?!"
"This is where I keep my rock collection," his partner replied, with a perfectly straight face.
Dave grinned and then began snickering. He'd known Jim Crown for over seven years now..which was a lo-ong time...a long enough time for him to know--for a certainty--that the cowboy didn't have any 'rock collection'.
They reached the porch and were just about to start up the steps, when the door suddenly swung open and the girls reappeared. Actually, being bedecked as they were in their gorgeous new gowns, the two men weren't sure if the apparitions up on the porch were 'girls'...or 'goddesses'! For the moment, the two gentlemen's opinions leaned towards the latter.
Maria's dress was a beautiful, bright, turquoise blue--which happened to compliment her honey-colored skin and long, wavy black locks perfectly!
Koree's dress also fit her to perfection! Both in style and in color! The blushing, soon-to-be bride had on an off-white, empire-waisted, full-length gown entirely overlaid with the sheerest--and most intricately fashioned--white lace imaginable! Slender strands of satin ribbon had been woven into the lace so that the dress' tall collar--along with the cuffs of its long sleeves and the bottom of it's soft, billowing skirt--were all encircled with alternating bands of the loveliest shades of lavender and pastel pink.
There was no doubt about it! With the exception of the person wearing it, Dave decided that that dress was the PRETTIEST 'thi-ing' he had ever seen! He turned to the garment's purchaser, looking duly impressed, "Do you think I could maybe talk Maggie into lettin' you pick out her dress?" he teased.
"Kin I tell Maggie you said that?" Jim Crown innocently inquired, never once taking his eyes off the copper-skinned beauty with the waist-length, raven-black hair.
"Don't you da-are!" his suddenly panic-stricken partner pleaded--er, threatened, and nudged his now wryly smiling friend with the trunk for added emphasis.
The bump knocked the cowboy off balance and caused him to lose his footing on the porch's bottom step.
The two girls gasped as the two boys--and the trunk--took a tumble into the dust beneath Jim's horse. They then shrieked as both young men were nearly trampled under the shying animal's flying feet.
The startled pony backed off a ways and stood there, snorting his disgust and pawing his displeasure.
The fancy-dressed females flew down the stairs and were at the cowboys' sides even before the dust had settled.
Both gentlemen were quite obviously unhurt, because--when they opened their eyes and looked at each other--they commenced laughing.
Their continued laughter proved to be infectious, for the frightened, flustered females' frowns slowly faded until--at last--they,too, began to laugh...and laugh...and lau-augh!
"Is that the one?" Jim wondered, when the laughter at last died down.
Koree glanced down at her gown...and then gave her man a smile and a nod.
The cowboy propped himself up on his elbows and smiled approvingly back at her, "I was kind a' partial ta that particular dress, myself..." he quietly confessed and kept right on smiling...approvingly.
Dave noticed that that particular knowledge brought a tremendous amount of delight to Crown's woman. It seemed to him that the couple's sole purpose in life was to bring each other happiness. It also seemed to him that the two of them were off to a real goo-ood start! He waited for his partner to pick himself up off the ground and then hopefully held out his hand.
The cowboy shot him an 'oh brother' look, but then latched on to it and pulled him to his feet.
Dave then returned the favor by helping his friend 'whack' the dust off'n his back.
James might have considered the gesture a friendly one--if only he hadn't 'whacked' him quite so hard! There followed a brief--but heated--hat fight. Which was, when the dust finally settled, finally settled with a draw. Then, seeing as how all that hat whacking had completely cleaned off his clothes, Jim proceeded to draw his disbelieving and unbelievably beautiful bride-to-be up into his arms, "...I love you, Koree..." he whispered softly. Then he shut his eyes and held her close.
Dave managed a wry smile of satisfaction. Between he and Koree--the two of them should be able to keep the understandably on edge bachelor busy--and distracted--for the remainder of the day.
And, speaking of being distracted...
Dave was completely unaware of the 'bad case a' nerves' that was creeping up behind him--and he remained unaware--that is, until the creep brought the raised rifle butt in his hands down hard on the back of Dave's head...but, by then, it was too late!
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Senator Fisher snapped back to reality and instinctively reached for the back of his head. His recollection had been so real that he could almost feel a 'welt' beginning to rise. Dave shot his unconscious friend a concerned glance and then decided--right then and there--that he wasn't going to just stand around and wait! There was something that he could do to help Jim Crown--and he was determined to do it--BEFORE it was too late!
"Whatever became of the girl?" Katelyn wondered, following a long pause.
But the story's teller did not answer.
So Nurse Edwards turned in Dave's direction...the narrator was nowheres in sight! The Senator had slipped silently out of the little room. The lady turned back to the peacefully sleeping lawman, looking more curious than ever. Perhaps 'Taming the Territory' might tell her. She pulled the borrowed book from the pocket of her dress, flipped it open to page forty-three and recommenced her reading.