Buck , angrily picked up his saddle bags and walked out of the bunkhouse. Before he had even reached the stairs, Jimmy and Kid were behind him strapping on their gun belts.
'Give us half an hour to get ready Buck. We're coming too. You don't think that we'd let you do this alone do you' Kid stated as he started down the steps
'This is my problem, I don't want you caught in the middle.' Buck answered shortly
'If it's your problem, it's ours too.' Kid answered still following Buck towards the stables.
'Kid, be sensible, you have a wife to care for.' Buck stated, not wanting to reveal Lou's secret
'C'mon Buck, you know as well as I do Lou can take care of herself just fine.' Jimmy answered.
'Besides, she's not going anywhere, she's going to look after the way station while we're gone.' Kid spoke
They saddled their horses in silence then led them back to the bunkhouse. Lou was waiting for them on the porch. Distraught and saddened by the events of the last day, her as yet unannounced pregnancy making her more emotional than usual she was unsure how to cope with Jenny's departure. One look at her teary face, and Buck knew that Lou was not coping with the days events, walked back on to the porch with his arms opened to her. She walked straight into his arms and buried her head against his chest.
'I'm sorry Buck, I didn't mean for any of this to happen.' she explained
'Lou, this is not your fault, this is the fault of the narrow minded bigots in town.' he hugged her back
'I shouldn't have interfered' she shook her head sadly. Buck tucked his hand under her chin and tilted her face towards his. His thumbs wiping futilely at the tracks of her tears. 'When we come back, Jenny and I will marry. I'm sure she would like me to ask you if you would stand up for her. She has no friends in town, I'm sure she would like for me to ask you' he smiled at her 'I could think of no one else she would want more at her wedding.' He kissed her forehead and released her. Lou followed him down the stairs and hugged Jimmy and then walking into her silent husbands embrace she hugged him tightly, kissing him deeply then ran back up onto the porch as they mounted up.
'Ride Safe Boys' she called as they rode out, sinking onto the top step, her long skirts fluttering gently around her feet as she hugged her knees. She watched her boys until they merged with the horizon, then went about doing her daily chores, all the time worried about her family, praying for Jenny's safe return.
The boys rode for what seemed like hours, checking first the area where Jenny had been found with the Lakota. She had covered her tracks well, traveling on a heavily traveled path, her tracks had been obliterated by the time that Tomkins had found her missing. The only clues to her whereabouts were the places that Buck knew she had liked to go for reflection when he had first found her all those years ago. Finding no trace of her, they seemed to travel aimlessly, the whole Indian territory seemed to have swallowed her up. Not wanting to discourage Buck, who seemed to be becoming more and more morose with each mile they traveled neither Kid nor Jimmy had the heart to tell him that perhaps their searching was futile. Both knew that the longer she as out on her own, the more danger she was in, and the less likely they were to see her return. 'Kid, Jimmy I want you two to go back.' Buck pulled his horse up and turned to look at his friends
'NO' Kid spoke for both of them .
'It's too dangerous for you two to be out here in the middle of hostile Sioux territory. I can't let you put yourself in that danger. Jenny wouldn't want you to either.'
'How many times have you risked your life for Lou and I?' Kid asked 'I can't remember the number of times you have helped to save us'
'You have saved me from my own foolish self more times than I can count' Jimmy explained self deprecatingly.
'If we can help you in this small way we will.' Jimmy answered, Kid nodding in agreement
Hearing gunshots in the distance, the three of them looked at each other and then rode hard toward the sound. Approaching warily, they found Cody and several soldiers on a small rocky outcrop, firing on an unseen assailant.
'Cody, what's up?' Jimmy asked as they crawled up the side of the incline to speak to him.
'Indian War Party. I don't know what they were up to, but we ran into them early this morning, just after they found Thomkins daughter. They haven't treated her very well. Worse than I have seen them treat a captive. Maybe because she's wearing Indian clothes. We have followed them this far but they turned and stood their ground again We think it's their camp'
'What have they done to her?' Buck asked frantically.
'Buck! how long have you been back?' Cody turned and saw his old friend
'A few days, what have they done to her?' Buck asked his mind whirling with the things they could have done to her.
Cody frowned at Buck's concern for Jenny Tomkins, looking over Bucks shoulder to Jimmy, who shook his head as Cody formed the question he longed to ask, but instead fell silent and looked back at Buck
'They beat her pretty badly, she stood up to them well. She's been unconscious for a while now though' Cody explained watching Buck's face with interest. 'We figured that they will... well you know' Cody spoke seriously, not willing to put into words the unthinkable things that could happen to her 'we know that we can't get her back. We don't want her to go through that. We wouldn't want any woman to go through that. When one of us can get a clear shot we're going to kill her' he stated flatly.
'No' Buck cried in horror, his black eyes liquid, momentarily losing his control. He cast his eyes over the camp, knowing what he would have to do. He couldn't expect any of his friends to help him.
'Cody can you keep them occupied?' Buck asked once again quiet and in control.
'Sure, what are you going to do?' Cody realized that Buck had already formulated a plan to save Jenny
'If you can keep them busy, I'll circle around the back of the camp and bring he back here.' Buck spoke, his eyes never leaving the camp. He waited for a few seconds then slid down the incline again, standing at a safe distance and returning to his horse, closely followed by Kid.
'What are you doing?' Kid whispered angrily, grabbing Buck by the shoulder and spinning him around to face him.
'I can' t leave her there, you know what they'll do to her.' his threatening tears overflowed 'I can't just sit here and wait for that to happen, I have to try to help her.' he scrubbed angrily at the sign of his own weakness on his cheeks.
'For God's sake Buck. This is suicide. Just wait until we sort out another plan.' Kid own eyes glazed over as he saw, himself and Lou in the same place, knowing that he would do exactly the same thing, realizing then that he would not be able to talk Buck out of his plan.
'Do you want me to come with you?' Kid asked prepared to help his friend in whatever way he could.
Buck handed Kid the rifle that had been slung across the back of Buck's horse.
'No, you have a family now, I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you. I know I can trust you not to stay calm, if anything happens to me and I don't get her out of there, can you take care of her please?' Buck asked knowing exactly what he was asking.
Kid understood the task that was being asked of him and nodded, hugging his friend tightly. 'Good luck Buck' he stated and watched as his friend crept away. Waiting until Buck was out of sight, he crawled back up the incline to where Cody, Jimmy and the handful of soldiers were firing sporadically at the Indians.
Buck crept quietly around the base of the hillside, the Sioux had erected their camp in the small valley between two rocky hillsides, a gentle stream running through the edge of the camp. Circling around so that the War Party was between him and his friends, he began to creep down the hillside. From his vantage point he could see the group of five warriors who were returning the soldiers fire. One painted warrior was defending his position from beside the unconscious Jenny, obviously left to guard the prisoner should she awake. He continued to creep quietly down the incline until he was close enough to safely throw his big Indian knife. Landing with silent but deadly precision between the hapless and unsuspecting warrior's shoulder blades.
Reaching the warriors body, he extracted his knife and wiping it across the dead Indians clothes to clean it, he resheathed it and turned to Jenny's side, his eyes filling with fresh tears as he saw her badly beaten face, her torn clothes and closed eyes. Torn between taking his future wife to safety and helping his friends, he turned and lifting Jenny in his arms he began the ascent up the hillside. Knowing that at any moment the remaining Indians could find their captive missing and seek her out, he chose not to leave the way he had arrived and made good their escape running quietly along the stream. the stream partially obscured from the Indians by the shrubbery they were taking cover in, he was not seen by Jenny's captors until he reached the mouth of the valley and although being fired on with some success, he continued to run until he had rounded a large rocky outcropping. The Indians were unable to follow him, pinned down by heavy fire from the soldiers.
Pausing for breath he was relieved to see Kid standing in front of him, holding the reins to Katie and his horse.
'I thought you could use some help.' Kid spoke quietly, gently taking the limp Jenny from Buck's arms.
For the first time since his escape, Buck felt a burning pain in the back of his thigh. Realizing he had been shot, he looked at his leg and saw that the bullet had passed right through his leg, the thigh of his chamois leather trousers already soaked with blood. Pulling a bandanna from his pocket, he tied a tight tourniquet around the top of his thigh and then mounted his horse, gesturing for Kid to pass him Jenny. After they were both mounted.
'Jimmy, Cody and the soldiers are going to keep them pinned down for a while, to give us time to get away. they'll meet us back at the station later.' Kid explained
'Thank you for doing this Kid' Buck thanked his good friend, his head already starting to feel a little woozy.
They spurred their horses into action, both relieved to be returning without the loss of life. Riding hard and fast they arrived back on the outskirts of town almost two hours later. Buck, weak and dizzy from his continuing loss of blood, was hanging on to consciousness by a thread when they rode into the Waystation in the late afternoon.
As they rode in, Kid flung himself from Katy's back, almost stumbling in his haste to help Buck. screaming for Lou, who was just emerging from the house at the sound of their approach, he lifted Jenny from Buck's arms and could do little more than watch as Buck slid bonelessly from his horse. His iron will finally giving out, now that he knew his beloved was safe. Carrying Jenny into the bunkhouse and laying her on Lou's old bunk, he returned to find Lou desperately trying to lift Buck from the ground.
'Leave him Lou, I'll get him, Go get Doc Barnes' he lifted him and carried him in laying him on his bunk. Lou immediately lifted her skirts and ran to the Doctors surgery in town.
On to Chapter Nine