MISS SALLY HAS BEEN SHOT SHE IS AWFUL BAD HURT BUT DOCTOR SAYS THERE IS HOPE
CAL
“Smoke, what is it?” Pearlie asked.
Smoke handed the telegram to him and looked at Kyle. “When did you receive this?” he asked.
“It took me just under half an hour to ride out here,” Kyle said. “Mr. Winsted, he give it to me just as quick as it come in, and he wrote it down.”
Smoke started toward the barn. “Pearlie, fill my canteen, bring me my pistol and my other hat,” he called back over his shoulder.
“We’re goin’ over there?”
“Not we, I. I’m going,” Smoke said. “We’re still in the middle of a roundup. I need you to stay here and watch after things.”
“Smoke, come on. I can’t just sit here, wonderin’ what’s goin’ on,” Pearlie insisted.
“You aren’t going to have to wonder. I’ll keep you posted. I’ll send you a telegram every day.”
“You promise?”
“I promise. Now get my gear together while I’m saddling my horse. Oh, and give Kyle a dollar.”
“Wait there, Kyle,” Pearlie said as he hurried into the house to respond to Smoke’s requests.
“I will, thank you,” Kyle said. “I’m awful sorry I’m the one had to bring this message.”
CHAPTER TEN
Gothic
It took Smoke just over two hours to make the ride, which was about as fast as he could go without crippling his horse. As he rode into the town, he saw a man’s body in an open coffin, standing up in front of the feed and seed store. A sign was propped against him.
KILLED IN A BANK ROBBERY
Do you know this man?
So, there was a bank robbery. That has to be how Sally was hurt. But how did she get involved ?
“Smoke!” a familiar voice shouted.
Looking toward the hardware store, Smoke saw Cal come running toward him.
“I knew you would come!” Cal said. “I’ve been keepin’ an eye out for you ever since I sent the telegram.”
“How is she?” Smoke asked.
“It ain’t good.”
“Damn it, Cal, is she alive?” he literally shouted.
“Oh, yes, yes, she’s alive. I’m sorry, didn’t mean to scare you none.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s over here.” Cal pointed toward the hardware store.
“She’s in a hardware store?”
“What? Oh, no, no, I mean, she’s in the doctor’s office. His office is just over the hardware store. You get to it by goin’ up those steps on the side of the building there. He’s at ...”
Cal didn’t finish his sentence, because Smoke slapped his legs against the side of his horse, galloping the final fifty yards. Swinging down from his horse he made a quick tie of the reins to the hitching post, then clambered up the external stairway, taking the steps two at a time. When he reached the little stoop up top, he jerked the door open, then pushed inside without knocking. He saw Sally on the table, and the doctor and Tamara Gooding standing alongside, looking down at her.
“Hey! What do you mean barging in here like this?” Dr. Gunther scolded.
“He’s Sally’s husband,” Tamara said quickly.
“I’m Smoke Jensen. Sorry about breaking in like that.”
“No, no, that’s quite all right, Mr. Jensen,” Dr. Gunther said. “I’m sorry I spoke so harshly.”
“How is she?”
“I won’t lie to you, Mr. Jensen. She was shot through the lower abdomen, and the wound is quite serious.”
“Is the bullet still inside?”
“No, I got it out. As far as I can tell, it did not hit any of her vitals.”
“Can I talk to her?”
“She has been in and out of consciousness ever since she was shot,” Dr. Gunther said. “Even when she is conscious, she isn’t very communicative. I’m sorry.”
“Doctor, give it to me straight. Is she going to live?”
“I wish I could tell you with one hundred percent assurance that she is going to live. Unfortunately, I can’t promise you that. After I removed the bullet, I irrigated the abdomen with a saline solution until all the effluent was clear, then I made generous use of an antiseptic, in this case, iodine. If I were making a bet, I would say her chances are better than fifty-fifty that she is going to live.”
“Fifty-fifty? You can’t do any better than that?” Smoke asked.
“I’m sorry. I want to give you and Mrs. Jensen hope. I believe hope is an important part of the healing process. But I don’t want to give you false hope.”
“How many people have you seen who are gut-shot, and survive?” Smoke asked.
“Quite a few. Those that die, generally do so because of pathogenic infection, or a condition of shock.”
“She’s a fighter, Smoke. You know that better than anyone,” Cal said. “I’m bettin’ that if there is any chance at all, Miss Sally is going to come through this.”
Smoke had not heard Cal come up behind him, but he wasn’t surprised to see his young friend, at hand. Smoke nodded his head. “You’ve got that right, Cal. If ever there was a fighter, it would be Sally.”
Smoke turned back toward Dr. Gunther. “So, what do we do now? Can I take her home? I’ll hire the finest coach I can find.”
“No, no, not yet,” Dr. Gunther insisted. “Mrs. McKenzie has agreed to let your wife stay with her until it is safe enough for her to travel. In the meantime, she will be much better off here.”
Smoke turned to Tamara. “Thank you for agreeing to look after her.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, Smoke. Sally is a very dear friend. Of course I will look after her. Oh, just a minute, I have something for you.”
Tamara walked over to her handbag, opened it, and took out a packet of money. “This is the two thousand dollars Sally was going to invest in my restaurant.”
“You still plan to build the restaurant, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then keep the money. That is why Sally came over here in the first place.”
“I know, and I feel so guilty about that. If she hadn’t come over to see me, she wouldn’t have been in the bank to get shot.”
Smoke took Tamara’s hand in his. “These things happen. Don’t blame yourself. You had nothing to do with what happened.”
“I tell myself that,” Tamara replied. “But I’m having a hard time convincing myself.”
“Put it out of your mind.” Smoke sighed. “If I’m going to stay here for a while, I need to find a place to spend the night here in town.”
“I’m stayin’ over to the hotel,” Cal said. “Come on with me. I know there are some empty rooms there.”
“I don’t want to leave.”
“Trust me, Mr. Jensen. Right now, she doesn’t even know you are here,” Dr. Gunther said. “You will do neither yourself nor her any good by staying here. When she comes to, and if she is communicative, I will come get you.”
“By the way, Doc,” Cal said. “You don’t need to worry none about the outlaw that got shot. He’s dead. They’ve got him propped up in a coffin down at the feed store.”
“I’m sorry to say I had forgotten all about him,” Dr. Gunther said. “Was he killed instantly?”
“He probably was,” Cal said. “But the truth is, I would’ve told you that anyway just to make sure you was taking care of Miss Sally.”
“I would not have abandoned Mrs. Jensen to tend to the outlaw,” Dr. Gunther said. “But I am a doctor, and honor bound to treat everyone, even those who we might consider undesirable.”
“Yes, sir, I understand,” Cal said. “But when I shot the son of a bitch, I hit him right in the back of the head. Not that I am that good of a shot, mind you. It just so happens, that is where I hit him.”
“As I say, I am a doctor. But I also have a strong sense of justice. Those people killed three of our citizens and wounded Mrs. Jensen. I feel no sense of remorse that one of the outlaws was killed in the process.”