The final days of the Pony Express are at hand as mysteries come to light and secrets are revealed as raiders from the south cause new friendships to be questioned and old ones to resurface. by: B L Durnell Copyright © 1999, BJK Enterprises Disclaimer The Young Riders is a creation of Ed Spielman and is an Ogiens/Kane Production in conjunction with MGM/UA for ABC Television. No copyright infringement is intended. The characters have merely been borrowed for the act of creating a fan based fictional story for the enjoyment of other fans. This work is in no way an official story and as such can not be used as a basis for other stories without the authors permission. "Permission Granted" <grin> |
Chapter 5When Teaspoon, Buck, and Jimmy returned late that night, they rode by the station on their way to the Marshal's office. Teaspoon was lost in thought as they made their way up to the bunkhouse. Going inside, they saw that no one was there. Looking around, Buck decided to check out the main house and went back out. He returned a few minutes later. "There's no one here Teaspoon. Even Kid is gone." Teaspoon looked at him in surprise, "You think he woke up and they went to town?" Buck shook his head, "Not according to the tracks outside. I think the doctor cleared him to be moved to town." Nodding his head in thought, Teaspoon was slow to respond. "Then let's get to town boys.. We'll probably find everyone at the Doctor's office." Just looking at the others, Jimmy walked outside to where his horse was tied up. Mounting quickly, he turned his mount and headed towards the center of town without ever speaking a word. "What's going on Teaspoon?" Buck demanded, as they followed in Jimmy's footsteps. "You've been lost in thought, and Jimmy hasn't spoken since I found that drawing, whatever it is." "I ain't got a clue as to what is buggin' Jimmy, Buck. I just know what that drawing means to me. It means that an old score may soon be able to be settled. That's all." "What old score?" "A good friend of mine was killed by that gang. And I aim to find out who and pay `em back." As he finished speaking, Teaspoon turned his horse to follow after Jimmy at a run. Buck was left to stand there beside his horse in shock. Surprised at the bloodlust that was in Teaspoon's voice, and still not knowing what was eating at Jimmy, he just knew he was going to have to watch out for them all.
Morning came quickly and found Lou sitting beside Kid's bed asleep in her chair. Rachel came in to wake her up and tell her that Teaspoon and the boys had returned, when a low moan coming from beside her made her stop in her tracks. "Kid? Lou wake up. I think Kid is comin' around." The tone that was in Rachel's voice caused Lou to wake up rather suddenly. Turning to face Kid, she saw his eyes flutter open as he let out a low groan and Rachel rushed around to the other side of the bed. "Kid. Wake up, Kid. C'mon, I can't keep going like this without you." Kid's low voice responded, "Lou? What happened? Where am I?" "You were shot in the back Kid. You're at the doctor's office right now. You'll be alright." Lou's eyes filled slowly with tears of joy as she realized that the man she loved would be alright. Kid took a deep breath before trying to talk, "What's been happening?" "Teaspoon, Buck, and Jimmy went out to see if they could find out anything about the men that shot you." "I came across an encampment, looked like a small army was out there. Did they find anything?" "Actually, we did." The voice was harder than they had ever heard. As Kid and Lou looked over towards the doorway, they saw Teaspoon standing there with a look that spoke volumes in regards to the hardness that was in his voice. Stepping forward towards the bed, he softened a little as the other riders filtered in. "Buck found this drawing while we were out there. It's called a flour-de-lice. The gang that uses it are some hard people. Kill first, don't bother with questions." Kid looked at the piece of paper that Teaspoon handed and paled slightly as he stared at it. "Fleur-de-lis." "What? What was that?" "It's pronounced fleur-de-lis. It's French." All the riders were looking at Kid with questions in their eyes. Teaspoon and Jimmy voiced theirs. The shock that accompanied the question was plain to hear in Teaspoons voice, "I know it's French, how did you know it's French?" Buck was amazed, Jimmy hadn't spoken since the day before and now when he did, his voice was filled with venom, "How do you know how it's pronounced?" Buck wasn't the only one that heard the venom, as both Lou and Kid jerked like they had been stung. Kid chose his words carefully before answering. "I heard it pronounced a few years ago. I was down in New Orleans. Saw the design, and asked what it was. Got told a little bit about it and how it was pronounced. That's all." Teaspoon and Jimmy both nodded their heads at his explanation, before Teaspoon continued. "Well, while you rest, we are going to head over to the Marshal's Office to wait for Sam to show up." "Sam's on his way here?" "Yep, seems he knows a little bit about this here gang that we have on our doorstep. But don't you worry none, you just get some rest." Kid nodded his head and lay back taking Lou's hand in his. Jimmy followed as the others filed out past Teaspoon. He still wasn't sure what to make of Kid's explanation, he just had a hunch that Kid knew more than he was letting on. And he trusted his hunches, they were usually right. |
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