Oh, you’re back with us,” came a soft, feminine voice. “I’ll go get the doctor.”
I heard footsteps leave the room. Then I tried to gather my senses. The last thing I remember was them saying that Molly was in another room.
In a few minutes I could hear the murmuring of voices seemingly outside my room. “Well, welcome back to the real world,” I recognized the voice of the doctor. “You needed to rest and sleep; you lost quite a bit of blood.”
“Where am I? How long have I been sleepin’? I need to see Molly,” and with that I tried to get up. The pain hit me; it seemed the wound had not healed.
I felt the hands of the doctor holding me down. “Easy, easy; one thing at a time. Nurse, help me. Let’s see if we can get him to sit up.”
The nurse came and held my shoulders and the doctor began to move my legs so I could better sit up. “Here,” he said to the nurse, “you swing his legs down while I push up on his shoulder. Now, this might hurt some.”
It did. I tried to help them as much as possible and finally they were able to get me into a sitting position with both of them holding me. Slowly they released me to see if I could sit by myself.
“Now, to answer the first question. You are in a small hospital in Taos; really a complex made into a hospital. There wasn’t any place to take care of you, Molly, and Mr. Billington. To your second question, you have been unconscious for most of three days.”
“Molly, the shipment…” I could feel myself beginning to go faint.
The doctor reached over to grasp me. “Nurse, some water, please.”
This time I was able to hold the glass and I drank it rapidly. I don’t know if water actually has a taste, but this tasted mighty good.
“A man from Wells Fargo stopped by. I was to tell you that they couldn’t hold up the train and that they had to continue.”
I nodded my head in understanding. “Molly?”
“Get him a robe, nurse.”
The doctor helped me to stand. My legs felt some wobbly, but they were able to hold me up. With their help I was able to don it. Each of them helped me to walk to the door and into the hallway. Passing the first room, the door was open so I peeked inside. Billington was laying on a bed. I paused at the doorway.
He must have noticed someone standing there for he turned his head. “Forrest!” he snarled. “This is your doing!”
I reached to take hold of the door frame. “Not mine, Billington. This is all your doin’. Havin’ someone bushwhack me and then you pullin’ a gun to finish me off. No, the blame is entirely yours.”
“Where’s my valise!” he shouted.
The doctor pulled me from the door and into the hallway. “I took the liberty of putting his valise in the bank for safe keeping. I didn’t count it, but there must be several thousand dollars in it.”
I looked his way with a shocked expression. “Molly, is she?…” My legs gave out and I almost fell. The nurse and doctor both grabbed me to keep me from hitting the floor.
“Think you can walk down to the next room?” he asked.
Moving one foot, I slowly headed that way. Both of them holding me and as I came to the room where she was, both of them grasped me firmly.
Looking in, I held my breath. I could see her, laying there. The room was without light, except for one lamp in the corner kept dim.
I struggled to loosen myself from their grasp. I needed to see this for myself. I could barely move but forced myself to take another step into the room where she was laying. The doctor came up behind me and firmly put his hands on my shoulders.
“She is…”
I pushed forward, “Molly!”