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Lee continued to try to hold his own with Tor, but another bullet sung out and hit him in the leg. He buckled from the pain, blood splattered.
Tor jumped on top of him, pounding him with his fist. Blood went everywhere.
“So long, neighbor…” Frank said as he put his smoking gun up and laughed.
“Search him,” Frank demanded.
Tor ripped his shirt, trying to check his pockets. His hands were everywhere but Lee could barely stand to move. Tor stepped on his leg and twisted his boot, then laughed. “Try to stand on that, will ya.”
Inside, Lee was laughing because he’d hid the money so well, they’d never find it. But Tor delighted in knocking him down every time he moved.
Lee struggled, trying to tie his leg up so the bleeding would stop. With one arm and badly injured shoulder, it was near impossible.
His shoulder was killing him, but he needed to fight Tor off of him. It was a losing battle and finally blackness surrounded him.
“What we gonna do…we didn’t find nothing…” The voices swirled in his head as he felt the blackness surrounding him.
“Maybe he ain’t got any money after all…” Frank laughed. “Leave him be. He’ll bleed to death…Serves him right.”
They rode off laughing.
Lee felt himself falling down into a hole and never reaching a bottom. The black void seemed to stop all his movements. His mind registered that he needed to tie himself up, but the void sucked him in.
It was dark before he heard or saw anything again. The sun had gone down, and he wondered if anyone was looking for him yet.
His wounds kept him from getting up, he was weak and getting up didn’t seem an option. But if he didn’t, he’d die, he told himself. Just like he’d told himself many times during the war. If he lay there, he’d bleed to death and he knew it.
The crickets and locust were making a noise; he thought he heard a coyote but he couldn’t be for sure. His eyes opened and Joe stood over him swearing up a storm.
“Joe…is that you…” Lee cried out, hardly able to open his black eye. He reached out and found Joe’s arm, and grabbed hold of it tightly.
“It’s me, boy. Come on, I gots to get you to the doctor…”
“No…wait…put me down. I got to tell you something.”
“But you is bleedin’ to death, Mr. Lee…” Joe protested.
Joe laid him down once more and stared down at him as he tied the leg as best he could.
“I want you to do something for me, Joe. I didn’t make it to town. But I still got the money. So I want you to just throw me on my horse and send me home…they didn’t get the money, Joe. I hid it.”
Joe stared at him as he started to lift him.
“Where’d you hide it?” Joe asked, lifting Lee to his shoulder.
“Under my saddle between the saddle and blanket, wrapped into the blanket so if they moved it, it still wouldn’t be obvious. Now listen to me, Joe. Take the money and get into town…”
“Now? But Mr. Lee, you’re hurt. You don’t know how bad. I ain’t gonna leave you stranded out here in the middle of nowhere. Bleedin’ like you are.”
“Please Joe, listen. I want you to go see Mr. Weatherby, the bank manager. Pay him and get back here with the doc.”
“But I needs to take care of you first…”
> “No…listen to me, Joe. You’ve got to get to town and pay the taxes. They won’t be expecting this and now is the time to move. Get them paid, it’s important. Then get the doc to come out with you. No one will expect anything if they see you comin’ back with the doc.”
“But Mr. Lee, you is hurt…”
“I’ll be okay…just do it…please…” Lee begged. “I can make it back to the farm. And I can’t make it into town. Not like this. Besides, they might have someone watchin’ in town. If you go, they’ll just think you’re getting the doc or something.”
