"Kid. Psst, Kid! Over here."
Kid followed the sound of the voice down the hall and into the kitchen. Peering down behind the stove he saw a strange sight. Mr. Holloway was crouched behind the stove supporting a young woman's head in his hands. The girl had thin, spidery lines that looked like scars running around both eyes, she also had a line of blood running down the side of her face. Her eyes were closed and she was very still. Holloway's long gray coat was draped across her.
"Is she, is she dead?" Kid asked stuttering.
"I don't think so. But she will be if they find her. I've got to get her somewhere other than here. Can you take her to the Station with you?" Mr. Holloway asked him hopefully.
"I'm real sorry, Mr. Holloway, but I can't. I've got to get to Sunset Creek. Teaspoon will have my head if I'm not out there and back in time for the next packet." Kid told him.
"There isn't a Sunset Creek for you to go to, Kid. All that's left now is a lot of ashes and dead people." Mr. Holloway said in a very solemn voice.
Kid stared at him in horror. "I'll explain it all to you later. Take her with you, Kid. Tell Teaspoon that her name is Colleen Callahan. He knows who she is. Now go!"
Kid took the young woman in his arms and laid her across his saddle. He sprang up, wrapped his arm around her waist, and spurred his horse in the direction of the Pony Express Station House.
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