Sensing his fellow riders' need for silence, Ike was only too willing to oblige. There wasn't anything he liked better on a long run than sitting still in the saddle and listening to the sounds of the horses hooves drumming a staccato in the soft earth mixing with the constant jangle of spurs jingling, reins jangling and leather rubbing against leather in an often sleep inducing melody. That night though, Ike's attention was focused on Buck. His best friend's ingrained Kiowa abilities never ceased to amaze him more than when used to locate one of their missing friends. It was almost as if Buck became one with what animal was nearby and used that animal's natural instincts to help him find what he was looking for. Tonight Ike felt certain it was a wolf that Buck had asked for help, seeing how Buck continued to pick out Lightning's tracks when he, Jimmy and Kid could no longer see past their horses' noses.
Jimmy's thoughts were focused on the far less admirable traits that he possessed: selfishness, anger, guilt and hurt. All four emotions swirled around inside of him until he felt almost physically ill from the intensity of them. He felt selfish for wanting Lou for himself and wondered what had ever led him to think that she would ever choose him over Kid. He was angry with himself for putting more pressure on her when Kid had already hurt her; angry at Kid for not seeing how truly wonderful Lou as and how deeply she cared for him and lastly he was angry with Lou for running off. Guilt he felt worse of all because he knew he would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to Lou because of him.
It would have surprised Jimmy and Kid both to know that their thoughts were running along the same line. Kid, too, was battling with a deep sense of self-loathing and guilt over the way he had treated Lou. Although he felt that Lou had had some part in the events that had separated them, Kid knew he was the one most responsible. Lou had given him as much of her heart and body as she could and instead of being happy with what she shared with him, he had pushed, prodded, and demanded so much more that he had cornered her into making a decision neither of them had wanted. He only hoped that he would have the chance to make things right between them
Kid was still lost in his thoughts when Buck's voice brought his attention back to the present.
"There's a stream up a head about a quarter of a mile where we can water the horses and stretch our legs a bit before we head on to Ft. Kearney."
"Sounds good to me," Jimmy said. " Just as long as it's short. I refuse to eat tough jerky or sleep on hard ground when I can eat a decent meal and get a good night's sleep on a soft bed at the hotel in Ft. Kearney."
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