25

Pain. Sharp, blinding, throbbing, burning. He felt like his head had been stomped repeatedly by an angry mule. He was on a horse, lying forward along its neck. He sat up and wished he hadn’t. The world swam in fluid like a mucky creek. He tried to raise his hands but discovered they were tied to the saddle horn. Another rope was tied around the saddle horn and his waist. The sway of the horse intensified the pain. Bitter acid rose in his throat.

Gradually, he remembered. The stagecoach, the way station. The woman in his room. The knife and the slap, followed by the gun crashing against his head.

The sun hovered on the horizon in front of him. Ahead of him rode a man, a dark silhouette. Through Sam’s pain-blurred vision, he looked like the man who had been with the woman. What was his name? And where was his wife? Sam tried to speak, but incoherent babbling came out of his mouth. Thirst burned in his mouth and throat. He tried to swallow, but a fresh wave of nausea roiled his stomach. He leaned to the side. The motion made him dizzy, and he felt himself falling. Only his hands tied to the saddle kept him from tumbling to the dry, rocky ground.

He heard a rider approach from his left rear. He turned to look. New pain streaked through his skull, down his neck, and into his spine. He gasped at the unexpected force and grabbed frantically at the saddle horn to control the vertigo.

“So you’re a little more awake. That’s good. We’ve got a long ways to go.”

Through the haze, the voice sounded muffled and indistinct, like someone talking with a mouth full of cotton. It belonged to the woman. He couldn’t remember her name either. Why had she attacked him with such viciousness? New pain assailed him as he probed his memory. Scattered images. Envelopes and notes. What did it all mean?

He tried to speak, but only gibberish came out.

“Hold your questions. You’ll get the answers soon enough. Besides, I don’t feel like listening to you. Come on. We’ve got to get a move on.”

She took her reins and slapped Sam’s horse hard across the rump. The horse broke into a rapid trot that had him swaying back and forth out of control. He grasped the saddle horn and tightened his knees against the horse’s sides. Her laugh penetrated the thick gauze that encased his brain.