Kid couldn't tell if it was Jimmy that had taken the plunge, or if it had been one of the other men. There was no way for him to get over there and find out either. Kid was feeling very helpless right now and looking over to see Lou lying on the ground groaning occasionally, did nothing for his conscience.

"Teaspoon, how far away would you guess they are?" Buck asked after they had finally found a pause in the non-stop rain.

"Not sure, Buck, we're just going to have to hope that someone in the next town has seen signs of at least one of them."

He nodded in agreement. "That should be in a couple of hours."

"I got a letter!" Jesse came running into the bunkhouse exclaiming. He flashed a piece of paper in front of the three onlookers.

"You'd think that he'd won a prize or something." Noah laughed.

Rachel put her towel down and sat next to Cody and Ike. "Well, what's it say?"

Jesse leaned against the table, not bothering to take his hat off. He unfolded it hastily and studied it for a moment. "It's from my Uncle Jacob." Jesse read down through the letter. "He says he's traveling through the Dakota Territory and will stop by and see me when he passes through." The young boy looked around at those who had been listening so intently. He was surprised to see that nobody really had any reaction, nor any signs of excitement.

Rachel finally realized that their silence was quite obvious. Truthfully though, after Frank, she didn't think that she trusted any of the 'James' family. "Oh, well, that's great Jesse."

"He's a really great guy. You'll love him, Rachel." She couldn't help but smile at the excitement in his voice. Well, I suppose he couldn't be THAT bad. Maybe he's a great uncle. Rachel thought to herself. But then, only time and being introduced to him would tell.

"Lou, come on, I have to move you back here further." Kid gently cradled her head in his arms. He tried to lift her off of the ground, but she was resisting with every effort that he made. Kid knew that she wasn't doing it on purpose. It was a result of whatever illness had taken over her control. Still, that didn't make it any easier, and he had to fight off becoming very frustrated. "Lou, you've gotta help me, please." He groaned as he was finally able to lift her up and rise to his feet.

She opened her eyes slightly and looked into his face. "What's happening?" Lou asked softly.

"I'm just moving you back a little bit further." Was his solemn reply.

Even though Lou was facing semi-consciousness, she could still tell when Kid wasn't being totally honest. She was too weak to argue the point or even find out what was going on, so she just gently held on to him and faded back into sleep.

He set her down in the darkness and went back to fetch her blankets and other few things. Kid knew that if something happened to him as he went out to find Jimmy, she probably wouldn't survive. But will she survive anyway? He asked himself, not wanting an answer.

"I'm just askin' if you've seen any men that matched that description." Teaspoon didn't hide the irritation in his voice. It was quite obvious that these men were daily players at the saloon's poker table, and so if any of his riders had come through, they'd have seen them for sure.

"Look marshal, if I'd seen any of those men, don't you think I'd tell you?" The bearded man replied with a cigar tucked to the side of his mouth.

Buck stepped out from behind Teaspoon. "No, I don't think you would."

One of the other men, considerably younger, glanced at Buck quickly, before turning to the others at the table and laughing. "I thought Indians only walked around with feathers sticking out of their heads."

It was total control that kept Buck from wanting to swing a punch at the man........of course Teaspoon grabbing his arm and pulling on it to keep him steady did help a little.

"Come on Buck, let's get out of this place." Teaspoon turned to leave and Buck shot one last glance at the men before turning to follow him.

As they headed out the door, Teaspoon felt a light tug on his coat. He turned to see an elegantly dressed saloon girl smile timidly. "I....I saw one of those boys you were talking about." She glanced around to make sure she wasn't being watched.

Teaspoon looked at her gratefully. "Do you know where he went?"

"I don't know, he said he was looking for some friends. Wasn't sure where they went, but just that they were supposed to be in the Dakota Territory." She paused.

"Must be the Kid." Buck added.

"I don't know what his name was. I just know those creeps at that table weren't help." She turned her attention back to Teaspoon. "I've got to go before they catch me talking to you. I hope you find your friends." The young woman swung around and headed up the stairs, not waiting for them to thank her.

"Well, it ain't much, but it's a start." Teaspoon stated. "Buck, I suggest we get going."

Jimmy felt pain shooting through his head. He remembered hearing a gunshot, but he didn't feel a stab anywhere in his body, so he must not have been struck by a bullet. As he tried to pull himself up, he felt the rocky ground beneath him and knew that that's probably why his head hurt when he fell. He failed miserably the first time he tried to rise to his feet, and was glad that he had once he heard the conversation that was happening a few feet from him.

"What do we do with him?" One of them asked.

The eldest of the men, obviously the leader, replied. "Well, I don't see much use for him. It might be a good idea to figure out why he was all the way out here."

A third man now entered the conversation. "What if there's more men with him? We can't get caught!"

"Then we won't." He replied matter-of-factly.

The young man's voice became panicked. "Look, I don't know what you've gotten us into, but mark my words, I ain't going back to that prison cell. Not for nobody and for no reason. You got that straight, Jacob James?"

On to Chapter Seven