Scotsman Wore Spurs by Patricia; Potter

Kirby was standing at the back of the wagon. A small slight figure stood silently with him.
    â€œYou’d better get the wagon and horses across,” Drew said. “That creek’s rising fast.”
    â€œAs soon as we get you two patched up,” Kingsley said. “Jake and Shorty are already moving the horses.”
    â€œWe gonna talk all night?” The cook’s voice materialized out of nowhere.
    â€œAce’s leg is pretty well smashed,” Drew said.
    The slight figure next to Kirby, whom Drew identified as Gabe, seemed to stiffen but remained silent.
    Pepper’s voice broke in. “What about you, Scotty?”
    â€œIt’s not serious. Take Ace first.”
    Pepper and Kirby helped Ace down from the horse, then lowered him on an oilcloth that had already been spread.
    â€œBring the lantern here, Two-Bits,” Pepper commanded, and Drew watched the lad move quickly forward and shine the light down on the injured man.
    â€œDangnabit,” Pepper exclaimed as he cut away the trouser leg and saw the mangled leg. “I can’t do much. Needs a doctor. I can give him some whiskey for pain, bandage it, but he needs more help than I can give him …” The cook’s voice trailed off just as Ace moaned.
    â€œI can’t afford the time or the men,” Kingsley said in an emotionless voice. “Can’t you stitch him up until we reach the next town?”
    â€œOh, I could stitch him up all right, but all the jiggling and jostling would kill him for sure.”
    Kingsley swore.
    â€œI can take him on a travois,” Drew said. “I won’t be good for a week or more anyway. San Antonio isn’t that far. I can catch up with you later.”
    Pepper shook his head. “There’s a cattle town—Willow Springs—no more than fifteen miles east of here. Should have a doc.”
    â€œNow, wait a minute,” Kirby said. “Before anyone goes anywhere, Pepper, take a look at Drew’s arm.”
    Drew reluctantly shed his slicker and shirt, shivering in the icy rain as the cook tested and probed.
    â€œSprain,” Pepper pronounced. “He’s right. He won’t be able to herd for a week at least.”
    â€œHe can’t go alone, not with a wounded man and that arm,” Kingsley said, then his eyes lit on Two Bits. “You can do without the kid, can’t you, Pepper?”
    Drew heard a small protest escape the boy’s lips but apparently neither Kingsley nor Pepper heard it—or they chose to ignore it.
    â€œNever wanted him in the first place,” Pepper said.
    â€œYou can take one of the horses from the remuda,” Kingsley told the boy.
    â€œI’d rather take Billy.”
    Kingsley shrugged and turned back to Drew. “That all right with you?”
    Drew wasn’t sure whether the boy would be more hindrance than help, but he understood Kirby’s reasons for not thinking he could manage alone—and that Ace’s life might depend upon his having someone along with him. He also understood that his agreement to take Two-Bits would determine whether he was allowed to go at all.
    He nodded.
    â€œIt’s settled then,” Kingsley said. “Pepper, you fix Ace as best as you can, then get a sling on Cameron. The kid and I will make a travois. Come on, kid, let’s get started.”
    Drew watched as Kirby strode away, toward the hoodlum wagon. Two-Bits hesitated, giving him a wary look. Drew could feel the reluctance radiating from the lad’s eyes, eyes that, in the dim light, were almost black. He wanted to say something reassuring, but he was just too tired and discouraged to make an effort.
    Then, Kirby’s shout came slicing through the strained silence. “Two-Bits! Get over here.”
    The lad tore his gaze away and obeyed Kirby.
    Drew sighed, thinking it was going to be a long ride to Willow Springs. An instant later, though, he forgot Gabe Lewis when Ace