Ben's body quivered and quaked with unimaginable pain as the scalpel cut into the flesh of his face. His muscles corded and bulged against the straps that held him to the operating table, and they fought against the strong hands of Talbott, Tom Hawkins, and John Davis, who were holding him down with all their strength.
"Hold him still," Evan said sharply. "I must make this last incision very precisely." The operation had gone on for more than two hours with the shock to Ben's body building relentlessly. Evan must quickly finish before he killed Ben, as he had other men.
The operation had begun when the first sunlight had come streaming in the window and brightly illuminated the operating table within the office of Doctor Talbott in El Paso. The generous doctor had agreed to lend his office and surgical instruments to Evan for the operation. Also, he remained to observe and to help Evan when he could.
Prior to beginning the operation, Evan had heavily dosed Ben with laudanum and whiskey until he was stupefied and finally unconscious. Yet he knew the drugs were only partially effective in alleviating pain and that Ben would suffer horribly from the cutting of the scalpel. Ben had then been strapped to the operating table and the three strong men had taken hold of him. Evan had made his first incision.
Now and again the pain brought Ben up from the stupor caused by the drags, and his eyes would open and he would seem to be aware of what was happening, and would look at Evan as if trying to see him from some great distance. At those times, Evan spoke to Ben. "Hold on, my friend, for we are making good progress." And Ben's eyes would close. Each time this occurred, Evan gave thanks that Ben's expressive eyes hadn't been damaged by the cannonball that had struck him.
Evan had cut free, by sections, the flesh that had been damaged and had grown attached to the skull in the wrong place. Then, with his artistic surgeon's hands, he had stretched and shaped the flesh to its original form and sewn it back into place with small, neat stitches.
The operation was turning out more successfully than Evan had dared hope. He had found that some muscles and tendons of the mutilated face were still attached to their proper position on Ben's skull. However, most had been torn completely away from their anchor point. Some of those were ripped and shredded, making their reattachment very difficult.
Finishing the last stitch, Evan spoke to the men holding Ben. "You can release him now."
He turned to Maude, who had sat and watched the operation from the very beginning. He had heard her sob at times, when Ben cried out with pain, and at those times when Evan cut free a section of flesh and blood had poured out and run across the table.
"The operation is complete, Maude," Evan said.
"Thank God" Maude said looking at Evan through tears. "How is he?"
"This was a very major operation. However, Ben is a stout fellow and has come through it. His face will swell and he will be in great pain for days. Pray that there is no infection."
"Oh, I will pray every minute."
"Ben will need at least one more operation. Nothing nearly as long or as difficult as this one. Just a minor one to put a final smoothness on the scars that remain. In the end, you will have a handsome boyfriend."
"He has been a handsome man to me even during these past months. Now soon he will be my handsome husband."