The Way Home

The sunlight streaming through the hole in the wall is what woke me up. Well, that and the fact that my feet were cold as ice. I�d been in this hoosegow for three days now, and up till now, the weather had been mild. Hadn�t even noticed it till last night. Last night. Reminded me of my roomie. I turned over, stiff from being in one position all night, to check on him.

Yup, he was still there. In pretty much the same place I�d left him. The blanket was down below his shoulders, and he was still very much dead to the world. I reached through the bars and touched his shirt. Not wet, but cold and damp. Boy, if he didn�t get pneumonia, he was a better man than I.

In the daylight, I got a better look at him. A nice lookin� feller to be sure. The ladies probably went for that dark wavy hair, blue eyes and paint-brush eyelashes. Bet he was a ladykiller. Not literally, I hoped.

I rolled off my bunk and made use of the pot in the corner. Breakfast should be around just any time now. I�m beginning to get used to this shit hole. Damn, I gotta get some higher standards.

As I was shaking off and turned around, I heard the stranger start stirring around. I went and sat on my bunk and watched and waited. He wasn�t waking up though. He was having a nightmare I think. He started thrashing around and ended up kicking the hard-won blanket off onto the floor. Afraid he might fall off the bed himself, I reached over and shook him.

�Hey, mister. Mister! C�mon buddy, time to wake up.�

Those blue eyes opened, startled and he sat up so sudden I pulled my hand back and hit it on the cross bar.

�Shit! That hurt!�

He sat on the bunk and grabbed his head with both hands. His eyes were squeezed shut tight and he sorta rocked back and forth a little.

�You think you�ll live there, pard?�

�Uh uh.� He groaned and continued to rock.

Now that he was sitting up, I could see the right side of his head had a big black mass of dried blood stuck to his hair and ear. Probably from where that bastard Jake had hit him and he knocked against the bars. After he held his head for awhile, apparently it calmed down a bit and he wrapped his arms around his torso and winced. Hmmm, probably broken ribs too.

�Your sides hurt, mister?�

He looked at me and took a minute to focus. Finally he grunted, �Uh huh.�

I nodded knowingly, but said nothing. I figgered a man in his shape needs quiet and not a buncha small talk. Unless he wants to of course, then I�m always willing to listen.

After several minutes of silence, he again looked over at me. Pain was writ all over his face, but he attempted a smile. �Where am I?�

His voice was deep and resonant. Oh boy, some men have it all. Looks, voice, manners. Here I am a huge galloot who can�t get a date with a hooker on a Saturday night, and this here feller probably has to fight �em off with a stick. I tried to lower the volume of my usually booming voice in deference to his condition. �You�re in the Kane County jail. They drug you in last night. You remember?�

He shook his head, but thought better of it when he apparently rattled something, and he grabbed the side of his head again with one hand. Finally he said, �Part of it.� He paused and looked me up and down again. �My name�s Jess. What�s yours?�

See? Polite. I like that in a man. I consider myself a polite man, even if I am not well educated, and I like it in others too.

�Name�s Macy. Macy Poe. Mighty pleased you�re awake.� I thought for a second then added. �I won�t talk to you none if you don�t feel like it though.�

�No, it�s okay.� He leaned over on the bed and swung his legs around to the other side. He sat there for just a minute, then pushed himself up. I noticed he couldn�t help a groan as he stood.

Maybe I could distract him from his aches. �Why�d they arrest you, Jess? Did you do something?�

He walked slowly over to the pot in the corner and relieved himself. �Not that I remember. I was camped out on the trail with Abe. We just drove 30 head of stock down to Fort Clare and we were headed back for Laramie. Last thing I remember was two men came into camp and started shouting. I had just gone for firewood and I had my hands full so I couldn�t get to my gun. They were on me too quick.�

He finished up and started back to the bed. I could see he was a little unsteady on his feet. He sat down gently, reached for the blanket on the floor and wrapped himself in it. Then he resumed his tale. �Abe was already on the ground when I came up. His head was bleedin� real bad where he�d hit it on a rock. I don�t think he was breathing, but they wouldn�t let me go to him. They were saying something about a killin� and that my horse was the killer�s horse. I tried to help Abe, and to tell them who I was, but they pounced on me.� He dropped his head into his hands again as if he felt like he needed to hold it on. �I-I don�t remember much after that. I think they drug me behind my horse. I remember rocks and trees and a creek or something.� He ran his hand through his hair and his voice faded out.

I scooted closer to the bars. �Well, that sure fits. You was soakin� wet and covered with dirt and twigs an� stuff.�

He was silent for a few minutes. I thought he�d gone to sleep so I didn�t say nothin�.

Finally he spoke again. Real quiet like. �I didn�t kill anybody, Macy.�

�I believe you, Jess.� And I really did too. He seemed like a decent sort. I may lack a lot of social skills, but one thing I am is a quick and excellent judge of character. I liked Jess. More than that, I believed him. Once I was on a jury that wanted to convict a man of thievin�. I knew he wasn�t guilty. I just knew it deep in my bones, all evidence to the contrary. The rest of the jurymen hated me �cause I held up their suppers. It finally ended in a hung jury and they were going to re-try him. Turned out before they could, they found the real thief and they let that feller go. I was the only one right out of twelve men. I always have had faith in my character judgin� abilities. Mama said I was special that way.

He was shivering again and he had laid down on his side.

�I�d give you another blanket, but there ain�t none,� I said gently.

�Thanks. I�m okay.�

�No you�re not. You�re still wet and you�re probably hungry and I bet you got some broken ribs.�

�Not broke, just bruised. Head hurts though.� After a moment he added, �Who�s the law in this town?�

�The two that brought you in are the deputies. A meaner pair of snakes you�ll never lay eyes on. The sheriff is Cal Mantle. He�s been out of town for a few days, but he�s due back today. I been in here �cause Jake and Early don�t like me none, but ol� Cal will let me out when he comes in.�

�Cal? I think we ran into him on the trail, just before we made camp. I don�t remember, but I think he said his name was Cal.� He looked like he was struggling to remember. �What�d they put you in here for?�

�Drunk and disorderly. They said I busted up the saloon and then didn�t have no money to pay for it.�

�Is that true?�

�Truly? Well, I don�t rightly remember, Jess. The drunk part was true fer sure. Also the no money part is true fer sure. I don�t rightly know about the disorderly part �cause I was too drunk to remember.� I smiled.

Jess looked over at me and grinned. I felt further explanation was warranted. �I�m not generally a drinkin� man, Jess. I just want you to know that. This was an unusual circumstance fer me.�

�What happened?�

I was embarrassed to tell him what with all his pain and problems right now. He didn�t really need to know my troubles, did he? Still, he really seemed interested. �Uh, well�my dog died. I know it sounds��

�No, no,� he interrupted. �It�s not��

��silly. Well, we were very close.� I could feel my throat start to tighten up so I figgered I better stop talking about Mike. I looked at Jess and his face told me he understood without me explainin�. �You met Cal?�

�I-I think so.� He was holding his head with both hands now.

There was a long moment of silence. I didn�t really know what to say. �Sides, it�s hard to talk with yer throat constricted up. Then the wood door to the outer office banged open, and in came Jake.

�Aw, geez,� came out involuntarily as I rolled off the bunk to my feet. I noticed Jess stayed where he was. He was looking awful pale. Maybe he just needed to eat.

Jake was holding a tray covered with a red and white checked cloth. Only one tray, I noticed. He came to my cell and slid it under the door without a word. I bent down and pulled the cloth off. One plate.

�Where�s his?� I gestured over to Jess.

�Shut up, Macy. His is comin� later.�

With that, he turned and started to walk. Jess musta mustered some energy �cause he got up and walked over to the bars.

�Why are you holding me here?�

Jake didn�t turn or say anything.

�Where�s the boy who was with me?� Jess grabbed hard onto the bars and shouted, �What happened to him?�

Jake stopped, turned to him and very quietly said, �You shut up, too.�

�I gotta right to know what I�m under arrest for!� He grabbed the bars with both hands and looked like he wanted to shake �em.

Jake moved close to the bars and got right in Jess� face. �You back up and shut up before I come in there and knock you into next week.�

They both stood their ground. Jess glared, but didn�t move or say a word. Jake faltered first. He spat on the ground, splatting on Jess� boots, then turned and walked out, slamming the heavy door behind him.

I knew without a doubt that in normal circumstances, Jess woulda welcomed the chance to get Jake in that cell. He looks like a man who can hold his own in a fight. But he�s also smart. Just then, he was in mighty poor shape to be takin� on a brute like Jake.

Jess� head dropped, his forehead resting on the bars. Looked like his knees was sagging a bit too.

�Jess, get back over here and sit down before you fall down.�

He raised his head, straightened up and moved slowly back over to the bunk. He sat down carefully and scooted �til his back was against the bars.

I picked up the tray and brought it over to the bunk. There was a pretty sickly looking piece of meat, some eggs, two pieces of toast and some cold coffee. Typical. They�d probably let it set out there for an hour before they took notice and brung it in.

I couldn�t pass the plate through the bars, so I tapped Jess on the shoulder. He turned around and I offered it up to him. He shook his head. �No, you go ahead and eat it. I�m not hungry. Thanks though.�

�Now Jess, do I look like I�ve missed many meals? You better eat this and don�t give me no lip. You need it a might worse than I do.�

He grinned and after a moment reached through the bars and took the fork. I set the plate down on the bunk and sat back and watched him eat ever� bite. I knew he was really hungry. He probably didn�t get a supper last night �cause he said he had just been getting� the firewood.

When he finished, he took the napkin and wiped his mouth then looked up at me. �What do you think they�re up to, Macy?�

�I dunno, Jess. They�re too stupid to have some complicated plan and have it work. I just don�t get it.�

He laid back down in the bed and stared at the ceiling with his hands holding his ribs. He didn�t look like he was feeling too talky, so I continued. �I sure hope Cal comes back today. He�ll straighten ever�thing out. Despite his bad taste in deputies, he�s a pretty decent sheriff.�

Jess closed his eyes, �You always lived here, Macy?�

�Naw. I drifted in about a year and a half ago. I ended up staying �cause I found a woman who didn�t run from me. She�s gone now, but I�m still here. Where you from, Jess?�

�Came up from Texas by way of the war. Now I live on a ranch just outside of Laramie. Work for the stage line too.�

�Ah, nice area. I was in Laramie once,� I said, remembering a pleasant enough little town that I think might have been Laramie, Wyoming. �You got family there that might be wonderin� where you got to?�

Jess perked up and raised up on his elbow. �Yeah. Well, not family, but�sorta.� He hunched over closer to the bars. �Macy, when they let you out of here, would you go send a telegram for me?�

�You bet, Jess. Glad to. What you want me to say?�

�It needs to go to Slim Sherman. They�ll know how to get it to him. Just say where I am and I need help.�

�I�ll do it, Jess. Just as soon as I get outta here.�

He closed his eyes and dropped back to the bunk. �Thanks, Macy.� He didn�t say anymore, and by his breathing, I could tell he�d fallen asleep. I reached through the bars and felt of his head. He was hot. I�m no doctor, but I don�t think it�s normal to be that hot, �specially on a cold mornin�. I pulled the blanket out from under his legs and pulled it up over him, then laid down to wait.