Straw Men by J. R. Roberts Read Free Book Online Page B

his first fight, he looked more like a boy than a soldier.
    Davis knelt down beside the wounded man and peeled open his jacket. Underneath the standard issue clothing there was a bullet hole through the man’s ribs and a whole lot of blood. “You won’t be getting a ticket out of this outfit just yet,” Davis said. “But we’ll need to get you to a doctor. Do you know where we could find a doctor nearby, Adams?”
    Before Clint could say a word, Abigail said, “There’s one in the town we just came from. I saw the office across the street from that fancy hotel.”
    Clint nodded. “It’s the Turquoise Hotel,” he said. “You can’t miss it.”
    â€œRight across from that hotel. I saw the doctor plain as day,” Abigail said. “That’s the only one I know but there could be more.”
    Davis and the younger soldier were already pressing wadded material against the wounded man’s side and lifting him up. “That’ll do just fine, ma’am. We should be able to find it.”
    â€œDo you need any help getting him there?” Clint asked.
    â€œNo. You’ve done more than enough already. We can handle the rest.”
    Clint stepped forward and spoke to Davis in a quick whisper. “I’m not blind. Your men are hurt and you’ve got a wagon being pulled by a dead horse. I’m not trying to tell you how to run your unit, but at least take the help we’re offering.”
    It was clear that Davis meant to refuse Clint again outright. But then the sergeant took a moment and nodded. “The driver can get that carcass from the rig and be on his way, but they’ll be too busy to watch for any Indians that decide to circle back.”
    â€œI can help with the work and Abigail can keep watch,” Clint offered.
    â€œIf you see anything, fire into the air and we’ll come back,” Davis insisted.
    Clint nodded quickly. “Fine. Great. Now get moving before you lose another man today.”
    â€œAre you a military man, Adams?”
    â€œNo, sir.”
    â€œWell, you could’ve fooled me.” Judging by the look in Davis’s eyes and the tone in his voice, he couldn’t have paid Clint a bigger compliment. He turned around and helped the wounded man along, leaving Clint with the wagon. “You get rolling as soon as you can, Mackie,” he shouted.
    The driver was busy trying to pry the dead horse from the rig, so he simply waved and hollered, “Will do.”
    Abigail looked back and forth between Clint and Davis so many times, it seemed she might have gotten dizzy. “So what do we do now?” she asked.
    Clint rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the wagon. “I’m going to try to move that dead horse. You watch for any Indians that try to kill me while I’m at it.”

TWELVE
    With the wagon driver, shotgunner, and Clint working at it, the dead horse was eventually removed from the rig. The remaining horse seemed so grateful to be able to stand up straight again that it didn’t mind pulling the wagon on its own. Fortunately, the wagon was light enough to make its way without the other horse for a while.
    Climbing back into his own saddle, Clint asked the driver, “You sure you’re going to be all right?”
    â€œYeah.” The driver sighed. “We’ll have to go a bit slower than before, but Sergeant Davis won’t let us go too long on our own. I think them Injuns were mainly after them Army fellas anyways.”
    â€œWhat makes you say that?”
    â€œWe traveled a long way on our own before meeting up with that armed escort. We even passed some Injuns a few times and they didn’t do anything but watch us pass. Soon as them Army fellas joined us, the redskins sat up and took notice.”
    â€œIs that so?”
    The driver wiped some sweat from his brow and cast his eyes along the horizon. “Truth be told, I didn’t