Chapter Twenty-Three
Doctor Ellis stepped down from Katelyn's borrowed buckboard and up to the back door of Doctor Kilghren's. Using the key the Marshal had given him that morning, he opened the lock and then threw wide the door--before quickly backtracking to the wagon.
Katelyn had stepped down, too, and was standing at the back of the buckboard with the Marshal's hat in her hands and an anxious, worried look on her lovely face.
The doctor set his medical bag down on top of the manacles on the Marshal's chest and then grabbed the completely motionless man under the arms.
"Whose house is this?" the woman wondered as the young man carefully started tugging on her precious cargo.
"The town Doctor's."
"Then it's...yores."
"For now, anyway.. It goes with the job."
As the Marshal slid past her, Katelyn stashed the hat in her hands onto the back of his hanging head. Then she latched onto the lawman's legs and the two of them lugged their patient's completely limp body up onto the back porch...through the doctor's offices...up the stairs...down a long hallway...and into the...linen closet at the end of the ha-all?!
Katelyn stared in disbelief as the young doctor proceeded to set his end of their patient down on the floor--about three feet in front of the thing's door. "You're right!" she admitted sarcastically, "No one will 'ever' think ta look for 'im in the-ere!"
The doctor ignored the nurse's sarcastic comments--and turned his back on her as well--so that he could pull the closet's door open. Actually he pulled open more than just the door. The whole thing seemed to be on hinges.
Katelyn watched in amazement as the entire linen closet swung away from the wall to reveal a hidden entryway to a hidden room. She continued watching from the hallway as the doctor went inside.
"It seems that I've inherited one of the oldest houses in Cimarron," Jarrod said as he set about striking matches and lighting oil lamps. "According to Dulcey, the original occupant's wife was terrified of Indians. The man was a stagecoach driver and--since he had to leave his young, terrified bride alone a lot--he built her this little room, so that she could hide from the Indians--should they ever have decided to attack the town...which they never did. There were a lot of renegades and outlaws, however," he added, stepping back into the hall and stooping to pick his patient back up, "so the room has come in quite handy from time-to-time, over the years. Dulcey claims that she and Mrs. Kilghren hid in here once. When the Vardeman's were in town--gunning for the Marshal. Someone--it seems--is always 'gunning' for the Marshal!"
"It goes with the job," Katelyn pointed out rather sadly.
They stepped into the quite handy hidden room and the woman stared around in wide-eyed wonder. Though space was limited, it was also well-utilized and well-furnished. Everything was centered around a small cook stove--which had to be situated so that its smoke stack could tie into the home's main chimney. There was a well-stocked bookshelf and a pantry containing a wide variety of various canned goods. There were jars of water on the shelves--along with extra jugs of lamp oil. One of the room's far corners contained a small table--with chairs. And an unmade double bed occupied the other. Why, there was even a dresser. The room also contained an incredibly large supply of wood--ample fuel for both heating and cooking. And, while the hidden room had, of necessity, no windows, the freshness of the air proved that it was well-ventilated. The warm glow of the room's four oil lamps provided the finishing touch to an already comfortable, homey atmosphere.
"Get his gun belt!"
Katelyn frowned as the sound of the young doctor's sharp order broke the spell. They set their, by now, heavy burden down on the unmade bed. Then she unfastened the leather tie around the Marshal's right thigh before obediently unbuckling and removing his gun belt.
The doctor undid the cloth tie around the Marshal's neck before unbuttoning and opening his shirt to examine the bandages over the bullet holes, for any signs of excessive bleeding. "Goo-ood!" he commended Katelyn, "Now, his boots!"
The nurse hesitated an instant or two, but then she set the gun belt down and obligingly began tugging on the Marshal's left boot.
"Have you known the 'living legend' long?" Doctor Ellis wondered, rummaging through the medical bag lying at the 'legend's' side. Personally, he didn't care. But he figured Dulcey would probably be curious as to her answer.
The boot came off in Katelyn's hands, "Long enuff ta know that he's not gonna like any a' this!" she replied and dropped it onto the floor at the foot of the bed to start tugging on the remaining one. The right boot came off and she dropped it beside its mate on the floor.
The doctor pulled the stethoscope he had finally found and just finished using, from his ears and stashed it back into his medical bag. He tossed the satchel onto the dresser beside the bed and then picked the leg irons up from the bed beside his patient. "Ye-es. Well, I've known him long enough--to know that this is the only way we're going to keep him a 'living' legend!" he replied solemnly and proceeded to fasten the 'legendary lawman's' right ankle securely to one of the solid brass cornerposts at the foot of the bed.
Katelyn stared down at the rather daring young doctor in disbelief, "Jes' how lo-ong are you plannin' ta keep 'im here?"
The Marshal's hat had slid down over his face. The doctor took it and tossed it back onto the dresser as well, "'Til either he--or the odds against him--get a whole lot better. Slide his vest off for me, will you?" he added, latching onto the unconscious man's shirt collar and sitting him up slightly. "Careful with his right shoulder there..." he advised.
The nurse was.
And the doctor just as carefully lowered their patient back down onto the bed. "Mrs. Kilgren left some linens behind. But we're going to be needing some blankets," he realized aloud, "I'll have to try to remember to bring some over from the Inn."
Katelyn took the hint, handed the vest to the doctor and left to fetch a few sheets of the left behind linens.
Jarrod dug a key from one of the vest's front pockets and deposited it into his right coat pocket. He slid the tie from around the Marshal's neck and tossed it--and the vest--onto the dresser. Then he placed the back of his hand on his patient's forehead and frowned.
Katelyn returned just then with the linens, spotted the doctor's frown and quickly dropped her bundles onto the bed, "What is it?" she inquired, rushing to the Marshal's side and shooting the frowning young man standing over him an extremely anxious stare.
"Nothing really," the doctor assured the very concerned woman, "He just feels a little warm, is all. The germs got a five hour head start on me."
Katelyn breathed an audible sigh of relief and then studied the motionless, manacled Marshal for a few moments, "If you think he's warm no-ow, wait 'til he wakes up an' sees what we've done to 'im!"
"For him!" Jarrod corrected, "What we've done for him. Remember that, Nurse...?"
"Edwards," Katelyn filled in.
"Remember that, Nurse Edwards. And don't you worry. When he starts to come around, just let me know--and I'll take the heat. I can handle it. You see, 'living legends' don't intimidate me-e. I just spent the last four years working with one in France. They're all alike, pompous, pampered, overbearing, egotistical, domineering, dicta--."
"You actually got to work with Louis Pasteur?!" Katelyn exclaimed excitedly as the young doctor's words finally registered with her.
Jarrod nodded, "And he was hell to work with! Until I learned how to handle him," he added rather smugly, "A-And the same method'll work on the Marshal, here."
"An' what 'method' would that be, Doctor...?" Katelyn inquired, looking highly amused and equally skeptical.
"Ellis," Jarrod answered. "It's easy! You just have to act as pompous and pampered, and overbearing and egotistical, and domineering and dictatorial as they do! And you'll get along jes' fi-ine!"
Katelyn looked even more amused--and skeptical.
"It works!" Jarrod assured her, "Stick around long enough--and you'll see. They're all alike."
Katelyn watched as the young man snatched up the Marshal's gun belt and then carefully slid the lawman's Colt from its holster. He added the belt to the growing number of articles on the dresser. Then he sat down at the table and began monkeying with the Marshal's gun.
By the time he had removed the six .45 caliber cartridges, not only had the nurse fetched a bowl of water--but she had placed a cool, damp cloth on his patient's burning forehead...and she had the Marshal's bed half-made as well!
The doctor looked duly impressed. Nurse Edwards was obviously very efficient. He shot the efficient nurse his deeply impressed look.
But she pretended not to notice.
"Hold it!" he requested, just as she was about to cover the 'legend' with a nice, clean, crisp, white sheet.
Katelyn did as she was told--and placed herself on hold.
The doctor placed the empty Colt in Doc' Crown's gun hand and then closed the 'legend's' limp fingers around about its bone handle. "I'm just trying to make things as comfortable as possible for him," he explained rather innocently, seeing the nurse staring at him like he'd just lost his mind or something. "Considering the circumstances..." he added rather guiltily and gave his patient's leg iron a quick glance.
Katelyn stared rather dubiously down at the young doctor's idea of a pacifier for an imprisoned peace officer. "Yah know, when he wakes up...he jes' might decide ta throw that at you!" she warned and flashed the young physician a wry smile.
"That I could probably duck. It's lea-ead I don't want him throwing at me. You see, I sort of reneged on a deal that we sort of had. So--lose these bullets!" he paused to pass the lady the ammunition, "And his gun belt! I'm going to go find someone to help me unload the wagon." And, with that, he walked out and closed the...closet.
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It was a full--peaceful--fifteen minutes before Doctor Ellis came back and began barking out orders again, "You'd better go lose that horse and wagon of yours. If you leave that rig sitting out there any longer, someone may get suspicious."
Katelyn shot the disturbing young man an irate glare, "If you're that worried about it, then I suggest that you take the horse and wagon on over ta the livery. Because I have no intentions a' leavin' here!"
Jarrod shot the mutinous woman an 'How dare you--a mere nurse--disobey the orders of a DOCTOR?!' look. But he didn't verbally debate the issue. The tone of the lady's voice told him that it would have been totally pointless to do so, "Very well then, Nurse. I was going to change the patient's dressings. But now I suppose they'll just have to keep until I get back..."
Katelyn stared at the impudent kid doctor in utter disbelief again. It was quite possible that she had 'forgotten' more about medicine than this young upstart physician currently 'thought' he knew, "I'll have you know, that I was changin' patient's dressings while you were still in diapers, Doctor!"
Jarrod looked surprised. Not because the woman had more medical experience than him--but because she didn't look that o-old. "I'll be back to check on him in a few hours," he informed the still-frowning female. Then he exchanged the fresh dressings and bandages in his hands for his medical bag and humbly took his leave. He knew when he wasn't needed. And he knew when and where he was!
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'Honey?! I'm ho-ome!' the young man silently shouted as he came stepping through the Inn's back door and into his 'honey's' empty kitchen.
Dulcey instantly appeared in the room's opposite doorway. A look of tremendous relief came over the girl as she recognized her guest--and she went rushing up to greet him. "Oh, Jarrod!" she joyfully exclaimed, "I'm so glad you're here! How's Ji-im?" she wondered, gripping the doctor's arms and giving them a slight squeeze.
Why, it was almost as if she had heard him! And her arm squeezing came awful close to a hug. And Dulcey did mention his name first, this time. "I'm glad to see you, too!" he told her truthfully. Then he set his medical bag down on the table so he could give her an almost a hug back. "And your Marshal is doing jes' fi-ine! I left him in the very capable hands of Nu-urse Katelyn Edwards..." he added informitively. "They must've been sort of married in the same manner that you and he are sort of related..." he reasoned soundly.
"Ye-es..." Dulcey muttered thoughtfully. That sounded reasonable to her. "Come!" she invited, "Sit down. You haven't eaten a thing all day. You must be starving!" she realized, "I'm going to fix you a delicious lunch. And I don't want you to leave here--again--until you've finished eating every last bit of it!" she insisted.
"I promise--I'll eat every bite!" he promised, "But only if you'll join me..."
"All ri-ight!" Dulcey muttered thoughtfully. That also sounded reasonable to her. The girl flashed her guest a warm smile and then quickly set about fixing them both a delicious lunch.
'Oh! Grea-eat!' Jarrod thought joyfully, 'Our first da-ate!' "Is there something that I can do to help?" he wondered before taking a seat.
"You can assist me best by doing what I did to assist you last night," Dulcey informed him with an amused gleam in her eyes.
Jarrod took the hint and sat down, choosing a chair that provided him with the best possible observation advantages. "Let me know when I'm supposed to burst into song..." he requested lightly.
Dulcey's look of amusement deepened. She glanced back over her shoulder and shot the doctor a 'Don't hold your breath!' look.
"Ah-ahh..." Jarrod said when he saw the look, "And I spent all that time in jail rehearsing, too-oo!" he announced even more lightly. And the two of them exchanged grins. "You sure you don't want to hear it?" the young man wondered as the young lady returned to her lunch fixing.
"Hear what?" she inquired rather disinterestedly.
"What I've been rehearsing!" the doctor replied impatiently.
"What have you been 'rehearsing'?" Dulcey inquired curiously.
"I've come up with another verse for your so-ong! You know, the one about 'The Stranger and the Lady'. It ties in right after the part where she tells him that he could win her love if he gave her his heart. And it goe-oes: 'Then would you ta-ake my heart if I gave it to you?' asked the Stranger of the Lady. 'I promise my hea-eart will always be true,' said the Stranger to the Lady." The young man paused and studied the back of the young lady--who seemed to be frozen in mid-fix--carefully. He was waiting for her to critique his little composition. But a full sixty seconds passed and still the girl kept silent. "Is something wro-ong?" Jarrod wondered anxiously, "I-I hope you don't mind my messing with your so-ong. It's just that I was bored--and didn't have anything better to do!"
"'How could I tru-ust a hea-eart so easily won?' asked the Lady of the Stranger. 'It could be another's before day is done,' said the Lady to the Stranger." Dulcey allowed her voice to trail off and herself to turn around. She was extremely anxious to witness his reaction to HER little composition.
Jarrod was experiencing mixed reactions. He was amazed, over-whelmed and impressed beyond belief--all at the same time! "Bo-oy!" he gasped, "You really are good at this 'song writing' business, a-aren't you?!"
"Like I said," she said, turning her back to hide her smug smile, "I get an awful lot of practice."
"And the 'Lady' puts forth a very good question!" Jarrod freely admitted. "I can see where this 'Stranger' will have to do an awful lot of thinking to come up with an answer to that one!" he realized rather glumly.
And Dulcey's hidden, smug smile broadened into a hidden, smug grin.
"So-o...has Francis found out about what happened, yet?" the doctor wondered, sounding anxious to cha-ange the subject.
The new topic of conversation caused the girl's smug grin to vanish. Why did he have to bring up what had happened? She had been enjoying a nice, pleasant, guilt-free visit up 'til the-en! She glanced at her aggravating guest and gave him a glum, reluctant nod. "I've never seen him more furious. I was afraid he was going to fling something at me..." she confessed--even more glumly.
"Where is he now?" Jarrod inquired, anxious as to his furious friend's fate.
"He's gone off to drag Mr. Ruckle's out of retirement. It seems that Jim had several telegrams that he wanted him to send for him."
"What about the Senator?" the doctor asked, sounding equally anxious, "What's he up to?"
"He and Francis held a secret conference in Jim's office. And--between the two of them--they came up with what they called an absolutely brilliant idea. That was about fifteen minutes ago. And I haven't seen hide-nor-hair of him, since--" She stopped suddenly and spun around to stare off in the direction of some very loud gunfire! She and Jarrod exchanged some very grave glances--before racing out of the room to investigate the sound's source.
They reached the boardwalk in front of the Inn and stood there--in stunned silence--listening to the gunshots, which were still coming from a spot just down the street from them.
Dulcey watched in wide-eyed amazement as the mounted gunman finished shooting out the final panes of glass--in the former Cimarron Hotel's front windows--and then went galloping off down Main Street, leaving a large cloud of dust...and a lot of people--with their mouths agape. Dulcey was one of them. She had recognized that gunman. Everyone recognized hi-im! There was no mistaking the Marshal's very distinctive wardrobe--! An even stranger look came over Dulcey as something suddenly dawned on her--the gunman's true identity. She stood there for a few seconds, staring off down the street and smiling to herself. Senator Fisher and Francis were absolutely right! Their idea was absolutely brilliant! Absolutely! She glanced in Jarrod's direction and found that he, too, seemed to be grinning inwardly.
"He sits a horse rather well, don't you think?" the young man observed rather lightly, "I mean--for a Senator."
"O-Oh, absolutely!" Dulcey heartily agreed, "And his shooting's not bad, either--for a Senator..." she repeated.
And the two of them exchanged grins.
"Do you think there's any chance that they'll catch up to him?" Jarrod wondered as they watched a group of about a dozen angry gunmen go riding off in the same direction the 'not the original' original gunman had gone galloping off in.
"None whatsoever!" the girl replied confidently. She had recognized the gunman's mount as well. "He happens to be riding the fastest horse in the whole entire Strip! Maybe even the Territory!"
Jarrod was relieved to hear her answer. He drew his broad shoulders back and waved an arm in the Inn's direction, "Shall we go in? I know the Innkeeper, personally. And, from what I hear, she's a pretty fair cook--for a songwriter!" he added lightly.
And they exchanged grins again. Then the couple locked arms and Jarrod escorted Dulcey back into the Inn--where they enjoyed a truly delicious lunch...and each other's company--for the rest of, what turned out to be, a wonderful afternoon.