Jimmy grabbed Nathan, and the gun fell to the ground. The gunman on the appaloosa galloped away unharmed. The riders ran out of the general store to investigate.

"Why Nathan!?" Jimmy shouted. "You could have killed someone!"

Nathan stared at the ground. Frightened by Jimmy’s anger, tears filled his eyes.

"Look at me!" Jimmy ordered. Pulling away from Jimmy’s grasp, Nathan ran to where Ike and Buck were standing.

"What possessed him to do that?" Teaspoon asked.

Jimmy bent down to pick up the gun, placing it back in his gun belt he said, "I don’t know. There was an appaloosa across the street. An appaloosa with four white half socks…"

*****************************************

The gunman on the appaloosa galloped into camp. Two men sat near a campfire smoking cigars.

"What the hell happened to you? You rode in here like the devil was after you," one of the men commented.

"A kid in Rock Creek took a shot at me!"

"A Kid?" The men laughed.

"Yeah a kid. He looked at me as if he knew me."

"Well did he?" The leader asked as he rode into the camp. "Answer me Joshua! Did he know who you were!?"

"No. I don’t think so…but I recognized him. He’s that mute boy."

The leader dismounted, and lead his horse to a nearby tree where he wrapped the reins around a low lying tree limb. He removed his hat, and slapped it against his dusty trousers. He sat near the campfire, and reached for the tin kettle which contained hot coffee. Looking at the three men, he said, "We have to get that boy! I knew we should have killed him and his ma!"

Joshua argued. "Why? He can’t talk. It’s not like he can describe us to the town Marshal."

"Joshua, who the hell is running this outfit? You or me?"

"Well, you Frank. We all know that."

"That’s right. I am! Now I know that boy can’t talk. He did take a shot at you didn’t he?"

"Yeah…"

"We have a boy to get! We will ride out in the morning." Frank threw the remaining coffee from his cup. "You call that coffee? It’s the worst I’ve ever tasted!"

*****************************************

"Jimmy?" Lou said. "Don’t you think you’re being a little hard on Nathan?"

"Lou…he could have killed someone. He needs to learn his lesson!" Jimmy said.

"I think he’s learned his lesson," Buck said. "He knows that what he did was wrong."

Cody looked up from his ten cent novel and said, "Doing your chores is punishment enough."

"All right! All right!" Jimmy walked out of the bunkhouse to the corral. Nathan was grooming Jimmy’s horse with a currycomb.

"Nathan," Jimmy said.

Nathan stopped and looked at Jimmy.

"Your doing a good job there. Listen Nathan, I’m sorry for being too hard on you. I just…I just don’t want you getting into any kind of trouble…with a gun. Once you start…there’s never any turning back to correct the wrong you did…"

"Supper’s ready!" Rachel shouted from the front porch.

"Well, go on and wash up for supper. I’ll take care of the rest of the chores." Jimmy grinned at Nathan. Nathan smiled and handed Jimmy the currycomb.

"I’ll be there in a bit Rachel. I’ve got some chores to finish up." Jimmy said.

*****************************************

"All right Frank, what’s the plan?" Joshua asked. He rolled up his bedroll, and secured it to the back of his saddle.

"Well for starters, you need to lie low for a while. That kid recognizes you. He might not know me or the others. "

As Frank and the other men were about to ride out, Joshua said, "If you find that boy-

"What do you mean if?" Frank asked

"Well…if you find the boy…your not gonna hurt him, are you?" Joshua’s expression showed concern.

Frank raised an eyebrow, and studied the timid sidekick. "Well…I don’t know what’s gonna happen until it happens."

Joshua watched the men ride off in the direction of Rock Creek. I hope they don’t hurt that boy…he thought.