I worried about Oscar having to manage leading both Poke and Dixie and also guide his own horse, but there wasn’t much I could do but keep from falling, like I’d promised.
The rest of the journey seemed to take forever, but I managed to stay conscious, though the pain was brutal.We rode into the town of Telegraph Creek as the sun was setting.There were only a handful of streets in the small village, and it didn’t take us long to find The Angel.In a world where most of the big cities had electricity, folks in towns like Port Essington and Telegraph Creek still lived the old way, without the new-fangled conveniences that still seemed like magic.The gas lamps shining in the building’s windows, and the shadows of people moving about inside were a salve to my fretting, and I knew we were finally safe.
We rode the horses directly to the stables behind the building.I caught a glimpse of William and tried to speak, but a jab of pain prevented it.
“William!Thank Christ!”Oscar said.“Can you grab these horses?I gotta help Jimmy.”
“Oscar!Where did you two come from?’Course I can.What happened to him?”
Strong hands grabbed my arm as I swayed and slid toward the ground.
“Easy, easy,” Oscar murmured as he helped me down as carefully as he could.I hissed as he put pressure on my injury, but there was no way he could avoid it.“Fell down a mountain, the git,” Oscar said with some irritation, and I was glad to hear it.If he could be mad at me, it probably meant I wasn’t dying.I tried to laugh but ended up groaning at the sudden increase of pain in my side.I couldn’t get to a soft bed soon enough.
“Sorry.It’s all right.We’re here now,” Oscar murmured in my ear as he held me.
I sank against him, clutching his narrow shoulders, glad he was stronger than he looked.At least the movement of the horse was gone, but I’d have to try to walk in a minute, and I wasn’t too sure I could do that.
“I’ll go get Miss June,” William said.“’Tis so good to see you!”
The thump of William’s boots up the wooden steps and the creak of the door as it opened, then the slam as it shut behind him sounded in the evening stillness.
“Oscar, I-I’m so sorry to be a burden.”
Oscar huffed and held me tighter.“Quiet now.You ain’t a burden to me, Jimmy,” he said.“I reckon I’m glad to have a chance to make up for all the times you’ve had to help me out.Can you walk, if I help?”
“Maybe?We can try.”
Oscar moved us forward, one slow step at a time, while I grimaced and hissed.
“How’s the bleedin’?The bandage feels wet.”
“It ain’t too bad.Anyway, Miss June will fix you up.”There was a vulnerable quiver to Oscar’s voice, and I wondered if he was being honest.The bandage felt cold and clammy against me under my jacket, and maybe he couldn’t see it all that well in the darkness.
The door banged open, and I heard a familiar voice, but ’twasn’t Miss June’s.
“Jimmy?Oscar!Oh fuck, itisyou!”
“Trick!”Oscar said, with so much relief I could feel it.
“What happened?”Trick said, concern in her voice.
In a moment, soft, strong hands grabbed my arm on the other side of where Oscar was holding me.
“Hello, darlin’,” I managed to grunt.
“He was in a rush and slid down the side of a mountain,” Oscar explained.
“Oh hell,” Trick said.“Miss June’s comin’.Don’t worry, Jimmy.We got you.”
With Trick’s help, I made it up the steps and inside the back door, where I heard a familiar voice through the haze of pain.
“Jimmy!Oscar!Good gracious, what on earth?”
“He’s got an awful gash in his side, Miss June,” Oscar said.“I reckon he’ll need stitches, and it seems to have started bleedin’ again.”
“All right.Trick, go get Gus.He can carry Jimmy upstairs.”
I tried to protest but Miss June and Trick shushed me.“Never mind.You let Gus carry you.You won’t be able to climb the stairs.”
