Chapter Eight

The stillness in the air was shattered by first one and then another gunshot. Ben put his heels into his horse’s flanks and felt, rather than saw, Hoss do the same. Suddenly another deeper shot sounded out and they both recognised it as a shotgun. As they barreled down the muddy road towards the sound of the shots, he knew that they were coming from the general area of the livery and his heart pounded wildly in his chest. That blacksmith had threatened his son once already with a shotgun and his mind was screaming possibilities at him that he barely managed to squash back down. As they turned the corner with their guns at the ready, the scene that confronted them was worse than anything he had imagined.

A wild looking man wearing a blacksmith’s leather apron was shouting at the rooftop and waving a shotgun towards something only he could see. For a brief moment, Ben thought the man had gunned down his son as Adam lay half sprawled in the mud and he was struggling to pull himself up off the ground. As both father and son flung themselves from still moving horses, the man fired off another shot into the air. Hoss turned to see what he was firing at and he saw a dark silhouette against the edge of the roof. Somebody clambered across from one roof to another and edged up against the taller one. The blacksmith threw his shotgun to the ground and glanced around before charging towards Adam. Hoss was about to lunge after him when he saw the man grab at Adam’s outstretched hand and pulled his revolver from his grasp. With an unexpected quickness of movement, he crouched to the ground and fired into the air again. A volley of shots carried across the space and suddenly a body tumbled from the rooftop.

As understanding forced its way into his thoughts, Hoss raced across to where the man had fallen and kicked at his hand to check he didn’t still hold a weapon. He was only a little surprised when he realised the man was one of the three brothers who had made such a nuisance of themselves back in Virginia City. He couldn’t recall which of the three he was, but at that moment he didn’t care. The man groaned in pain and tried to push himself back up off the ground before Hoss stomped a foot on his back. He held his gun trained on the man’s head and growled in anger as he tried to look back and see if Adam was on his feet yet. What he saw made his heart skip a beat.

Adam had almost pulled himself upright, but cradled up against his chest was their younger brother. Hoss hadn’t seen Joe when he first jumped from his horse, but the pieces were falling into place far too clearly. The man under his gun hand groaned again and Hoss turned back to glare at him. His hand wavered slightly as his finger itched against the trigger.

“Don’t you move unless you want a hole in ya head!”

The only response he got was another pain-filled groan and the man dropped his head back to the ground. Hoss took a glance over his shoulder to see his father grasping at Joe.

“Adam!”

His brother lifted his face towards the call and Hoss noted the anguish on his face. For a moment, he thought his little brother was dead already until he saw his father shaking his arm.

Ben grasped at Joe’s shoulder and arm and shook him, trying to provoke any kind of reaction. Blood dribbled down the length of his jacket and Adam’s hand was pressed firmly against the source. Red blood oozed out between his fingers and Adam suddenly gripped tighter. His face had drained of colour as he felt the warmth spreading and seemed helpless to stop it.

“Joseph! Open your eyes, Son.”

Hoss decided the man at his feet wasn’t worth wasting his time on when his brother needed him more and he quickly crouched down in the mud beside his father.

“You need ta bring him down to the hotel.”

Adam had his chin resting on the top of Joe’s head and he looked up to see the giant man he’d tangled with earlier.

“What?”

“The hotel. We need ta take him down there. I’ll find Sanders.”

“You take them to the hotel and I’ll find Sanders.”

Tiny swiveled back to see his wife standing behind him. Without needing to explain, he knew she would have heard the shots and assumed the worst. He nodded at her and watched as she gathered her skirts about her and ran off towards the hotel.

“The hotel. It’s just down there.” He pointed back the way they had just come and Ben nodded vaguely at him. He moved to lift Joe from Adam’s grasp, but Hoss beat him to it.

“Wait!” Adam pulled at his brother and Hoss leaned back. “You need to keep pressure on that wound.”

Ben tugged at his neckerchief and wadded it up against the still-oozing hole in Joe’s jacket. He held his hand firmly against it as Hoss gently lifted his brother into his arms. Throughout the entire thing, Joe hadn’t reacted and Hoss leaned his head down to check he was still breathing. As Tiny reached a hand out to pluck Adam from the mud, he barely noted as several men had appeared on the scene. He ignored them as he steered the small group towards the hotel, skirting around mud puddles as they went. He didn’t care what happened to the man they had left behind and it seemed that none of the trio had any interest either.

Annie had alerted the hotel clerk they were on their way and by the time they arrived at the hotel, he had a room open and he was standing ready for them. Somebody had headed to the kitchen and before long a woman appeared carrying water and towels and bandages.

Hoss leaned down and ever so gently laid his brother out on the bed. Joe still hadn’t reacted to anything until his father began to peel off his jacket. As he tugged his arms out of the sleeves, Joe began to stir and he groaned into the pillow. Ben dropped the jacket on the floor and slowly reached out again towards the blood-soaked shirt underneath it. He sucked in a sharp breath as he grasped at the shirt-tail and ripped upwards until it laid his son’s back bare. Blood still dribbled freely from the wound that was set high up underneath his shoulder blade. The deep hues of heavy bruising still reflected his son’s ill-treatment only a few days earlier and he swallowed down the anger that arose in his chest.

“We need a doctor.” Ben looked up to see if the blacksmith was still with them and he found the man standing behind Adam. Tiny nudged his way forward and shook his head.

“Ain’t no doc round here. Closest one’s over in Carson City. We do have Sanders though and my Annie’s gone to find him.”

“Sanders?”

“Best thing we got hereabouts. He was an army medic and he’s done most o’ the doctorin’ round here for years now.” Tiny tried to sound optimistic and he pointed back towards Joe. “Best keep the pressure on that ’til he gets here. My Annie won’t be long.”

Hoss had pulled a wad of bandages from the pile and he held a thick pad of material over the still-bleeding wound. Joe flinched as he leaned down on his back and Hoss ran his other hand across his brother’s head. “Easy now there, Joe. You’re gonna be good as new, real soon.”

“A’am?” Ben leaned down as Joe mumbled softly. He shifted against the pillow and tried again. “A’am?”

“Adam’s fine, Son. He’s right over there.” Ben looked up to see his eldest son leaning against the doorframe and he took a closer look when he seemed to sway slightly. A dark line dribbled down his hand from just below the cuff of his sleeve. He frowned as he stared a little more intently. “Adam?”

“Pa’s right, Joe. I’m just fine.” He shook his head at his father as he pulled his hand away from his arm and lifted it to show he was all right. It didn’t fool anybody, but his voice was enough to calm his brother and Joe seemed to sink back into the pillow again.

The sound of a commotion outside the door carried in from the passageway and Tiny hurried over towards the door before Adam could get through it. His wife stood outside the door with a firm grip on a man’s arm and a small medical bag that had seen better days. Tiny swore under his breath as he took in the man’s state. Adam quickly sized up the situation and concluded that the drunk man was the town’s resident army medic.

“He’s not touching my brother!” Adam held himself upright despite the way his stomach heaved against his ribs. “He’s drunk!”

“He’s hungover. Not the same thing.” Tiny grabbed at the man’s arm and shoved him up against the wall. He watched as the man gripped his head in his hand and he nodded towards his wife. “Coffee. Get him a pot of coffee up here and a shirt that don’t reek of cheap whiskey.”

As Annie disappeared off downstairs, Tiny held the man’s face between his two enormous hands. They seemed to swallow up most of his face, but two bleary eyes stared straight back at him. “Now you are gonna sober up and pull yourself together real quick. There’s a kid in there I promised was goin’ home and I ain’t no liar!”

Adam leaned back against the doorframe and shook his head in disgust. “I told you … he’s not touching my brother! I’ll ride for a doctor before I let him anywhere near Joe.”

Tiny turned back towards him without letting go of Sanders. “Dammit, that kid in there don’t have time for you to ride all the way to Carson City and back. That’s not even countin’ on the question of whether or not any doc’ll come back with ya! Not many folks here can pay for services and ya could spend a week just arguin’ the point! Now I know he don’t look like much, but right now, Sanders is the best hope Joe’s got. We just need ta get some coffee into him.”

As if on cue, Annie appeared with a pot of coffee and a large mug. She filled it and thrust it into Sanders’ hand. As Tiny glared at him, Sanders gulped down the thick black liquid and was barely done before Annie grabbed the mug and refilled it. Adam couldn’t decide who he was more angry at and was about to make another comment when he heard Joe cry out from the other room. He bolted back into the room and saw Hoss tossing aside another bloodied rag and pressing down on a fresh one.

“He’s bleeding out.” The frantic tone in Hoss’ voice was clear to them all and Adam felt himself shoved aside from behind. The man they were relying on pushed his way forward and Adam grabbed at his shoulder.

“You’re not touching my brother!”

“You’re right.” Sanders held up his hands and Adam stared at the tremor that shook through them. “I can’t help him. Not like this.”

Ben sprang up from the bed and grasped at Sanders’ arm. “Then tell me what to do!”

“Pa!” Adam began to object, but Ben held up his hand.

“Tell me what to do. My son is bleeding out and I won’t just sit here and watch him die!”

Annie watched the tense standoff and decided she’d had enough. She pushed her way into the middle of the group of men and began issuing orders. “You, get another mug of this coffee into you!” She pointed a finger into Sanders’ chest and he nodded mutely as she poured another mugful from the pot.

“You, get some more hot water up here.” Hoss edged for the door as she glared at him.

“You, sit down over there before you fall over. I’ll get to you shortly.” Adam almost smiled as the woman suddenly had a room full of men jumping to attention.

“You, get me some of that whiskey, if he hasn’t drunk it all.” Tiny moved towards the door and was soon heard stomping down the stairs to the bar below them.

“And you,” she patted Ben on the chest as she moved towards the bed, ” you come and help me keep this boy of yours alive.”

Ben grasped at her hand and squeezed it before settling on the far side of the bed. When Tiny returned with the bottle, she watched as Sanders followed it across the room. Annie reached up and slapped him across the face as he leaned closer and he recoiled from her.

“Don’t even think about it! Now, tell me, what do we need to do?”

Sanders held a hand to his face and tried to keep his composure, acutely aware that Annie wouldn’t hesitate to slap him again. Ben gripped at Joe’s arm as the man sat down on the other side of the bed and lifted the wad of bandages from his back. The thick trail of blood was beginning to congeal, but it still seeped enough that they knew they needed to hurry.

“I don’t have no ether. He’s out now, but he’s gonna wake up. You’re gonna need to hold him down when he does.”

Adam began to stand up, but Annie just glared at him. “You! Sit yourself back down. You’re no good to him if you can’t hold him still.” Adam looked like a beaten dog as he fell back into the chair. He couldn’t deny how light-headed he felt and Annie was right, although he wouldn’t admit that to anyone in the room.

Sanders began to outline what needed to be done and Ben and Annie listened intently as Hoss and Tiny moved to the head of the bed. The two men eyed each other off and knew that they’d be more than capable of holding Joe down.

“You need to keep from pushing that bullet any further into the wound. It’s already too close to his lung for my liking and I don’t want it to push on through.”

Ben sucked in a slow breath before blowing it back out again in a huff. He whispered a prayer, asking that his hand hold steady and his son survive his clumsy surgery. Sanders pointed to the top of the wound and imitated how he wanted Ben to proceed.

“God help me.” Ben drew a stroke with the blade and almost pulled back as Joe bucked under his hand. Tiny and Hoss gripped at his shoulders while Annie leaned against his legs. Blood welled up from the opened wound and Ben almost stopped breathing. As he poked into the wound, trying to find the wayward bullet, Ben could feel Joe stirring under his hand. The ragged scream that suddenly cut the air would haunt him for many years to come.

“Forgive me, Joe.”

“Don’t stop! You gotta get that thing outta him.” Sanders gripped his hands together in a desperate attempt to stop them from shaking, but he wasn’t fooling anybody.

Joe screamed again and tried to fight off the hands that held him.

“Easy there, little brother.” Hoss leaned down to speak into his ear, but Joe seemed oblivious to his presence. Joe arched his back against the torment and he tried to twist sideways. As he cried out one more time, he finally sagged back against the pillow and stopped moving.

“Alright, Pa, he’s out cold. Get it done before he wakes up again.”

Ben rubbed the back of his hand across his face as tears streaked his cheeks. He stared at his son’s blood across his fingers before Sanders snapped his fingers impatiently in front of him.

“You gotta keep going! He’s gonna bleed right out if you stop now!”

Ben stared at the man’s dirty stubbly face and wondered when the last time was he’d had a shave. The bizarre thought jolted him back to the reality of what he was doing and he probed into the wound once again. As more blood spilled out, he almost cried with relief as he felt the solid metal of a bullet.

“All right, now you need to get the edge of that probe under the rim of the bullet. Can’t pull it out if you don’t.”

With infinite care, Ben began to edge the bullet upwards. At one point he lost his grip on it and he muttered something under his breath.

“Easy now. Don’t go pushing it back down again.”

It would be another minute or so before he felt the flesh give way and the bullet slide out into his hand. The victory of getting it out was quickly squashed by the realisation that even more blood was following it.

“Get a bandage on that wound. Need to get pressure on it and stop the bleeding.”

Ben poured a good wash of whiskey over the wound before allowing Hoss to press a thick wad of clean fabric down onto the bloodied mess. He lifted his brother into his arms as Sanders wrapped a length of bandage tightly around his chest. Instead of laying him back down, Hoss seemed reluctant to let him go.

“Lay him down on his back. The pressure’ll help stop the bleeding.” Sanders prodded Hoss’ arm as he spoke and he was about to speak again when Hoss finally complied. As he laid his brother back against the pillow, Hoss slowly stood up and stepped back. His father looked exhausted and he clamped a firm hand on his shoulder.

“You did good, Pa.”

Ben dropped his head and stared at the blood that stained his hands. “Let’s hope it was good enough.”

Annie shifted away from their first patient and turned her attention to the second one. Adam was still seated where he’d been put, but he leaned up against the wall and had his eyes closed. As she moved closer, he jolted upright and she reached out a hand to calm him.

“I need to take a look at that arm. See if the bullet’s still in there.”

“It’s not.”

“And who made you a doctor?”

Adam almost smiled at her tone. “Don’t need to be a doctor to know that two holes means a bullet went straight through.”

Annie tore the sleeve open and inspected the two holes he was describing. “Well, Doctor, you might just be right!”

“He usually is.” Adam had no idea how he suddenly got there, but Hoss was standing over him, staring at the twin holes in his arm. As Adam allowed the two of them to clean and patch up his arm, he could not take his eyes off his brother. The bullet hole in his brother’s back should have been in his chest.