Chapter Text
“Good morning sir. I'm Captain Homer Jackson. This little hellion is my niece, Peggy. Don't let her trick you into cards. She cheats. My sister, over there, with my boy.”
“A good day to you sir” the old man tipped his hat “Miss”
“We are on our way to family up state, but have a day or so to do some fishing”
The man smiled. “you'll be after some supplies. Maybe some short rods? Bait?”
“My agent here will deal with the details” Jackson had spotted some other things he wanted in the store.
Handing over two dollars, “Let me know when that runs dry.”
The day before....
“Give the Doctor a kick from your bed and send him out to see to my man”
“I told you, he ain't here. Never been in my bed either”
The man scoffed. “Where is he?” he watched as a light came on in an upstairs window.
“Saloon in town. Where he is every Sunday night” Sadie wrapped the dressing gown tighter. “I can't help you. Move on.”
“Go get him, my man needs a doctor”
Sadie looked back at the house. “Mister, you woke me and my girl in the middle of the night. Calling the law is about as good as it gets”
“I'm sorry” the voice from the cart came in a broken gasp. “Real sorry Mrs, I...”
The voice came from the back of the buggy. Sadie took a few steps closer and could see a young man in the back.
“I'm real sorry Mrs. Real sorry” the man had a rope around his leg, beneath a bullet had made a mess of his thigh.
“It's all right son. We are going to look after you”
“Real sorry. I won't do it again Boss. Real sorry”
“Shut up” he looked towards the house. “I'll get him up and in”
Sadie walked over to the front door. Opening it, she took at candle from a table drawer, put it in the holder on top. From a vesta next to it, she struck a match and lit it.
Without looking she said, “Maggie, get your boots on. You need to fetch the Doctor”
“Yes Mama” the voice came the downstairs.
“Wrap up twice as warm and take the buggy out the back road” Sadie watched as the man slung the wounded man over his shoulders, like a bag of coal. The man had passed out. Probably from the pain.
The sun would be up sooner than the day before.
“I'm sorry”
“Ah. It awakens” the doctor used some more gas. “Lets fix that” he watched as the man's eyes closed again.
He slurred “I'm sorry... Captain”
Matthew tried not to react, but he had recognised the stitching on the leg above where he was trying to sew the muscle together.
“Why he call you that?”
“I've had people call me all sorts on the gas. It makes their brains light in the logic department”
Sadie watched by the door. The bullet had been removed, repairs were slow and messy.
“Talking of logic, what caused this” he pointed down with his cheroot that hung from his lips.
“Gun”
“Should I ask who's gun?”
“Best not. I believe its a habit of the stupid to be magnetic around me” he took his hand off the leg and the blood started flowing quicker.
“Hand where it was Chuckaboo. You'll be wanted this one to make it through the night. You aimed to teach a lesson, I'm guessing, not swing for your efforts.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No Sir, we want, at this moment, the same thing. Less holes in him and our little meeting of the minds to be short”
“Small people should talk big things”
“That's a big thought for someone so small”
“Doctor Judge says, that if I ask big question now, then I can do big things”
“What big things would you like to do?”
The girl thought, “I don't know yet.”
Lucy smiled at Conner on the couch. She had tucked a blanket round him. His eyes were barely open as he snuggled down to sleep.
“I can make a suggestion, try lots of things. See what is big enough for you”
Peggy smiled. “Its my first day of school tomorrow”
“That sounds like a good first big thing” Lucy's face fell a little. An old sadness.
“My mother wants to take me. Do you think she will be here in the morning?”
“Tell you what, I'll take you and I'm sure you will have lots to tell her when she picks you up”