Vin cursed softly and raised his rifle again. He had to get the shot off this time. Seconds earlier, he had seen the threat to his team and leaped from his place of concealment, only to have a bullet graze the side of his head. Now, blood was pouring out of the wound and trickling into his eyes, obscuring his vision. His very blurred vision, he realized with horror. With determination, he tried to get to his feet, but an arm jerked him back to safety and sent his world spinning.

"Vin, get down. You’ll get shot again!!" J.D.’s high-pitched voice shrieked.

"Ain’t got any choice, pard. Gotta shoot that damn thing out. Now I’m gonna need you to hold me up. Don’t reckon I’ll be able to stand on my own."

J.D. stared at him horrified. How could Vin appear so calm? He’d just been shot for Christ’s sake. And the others! The others were dead unless Vin could shoot as straight and true as only he could. The youth swallowed and reflected on the events that had lead them to this point.

****

Six hours ago, he had been complaining because Chris had ordered him to stay in town with Vin, while the rest of the boys went out to investigate a local miner’s claim that someone was sabotaging his dig. Three hours ago, he had been dancing with excitement when Vin had suggested, ever so innocently, that they go for a ride.

"And you never know where we might end up, J.D. Maybe out near Skilton mine."

Half an hour ago, he had got somewhat concerned when his partner had abruptly ordered him out of the saddle and then physically dragged him down here among the rocks. Fifteen minutes ago, he had been startled to see Chris, Buck, Josiah, Ezra and Nathan being shepherded, at gunpoint, across the valley below. He had wanted to launch a rescue bid right then and there, but Vin had told him to stay put. The tracker had disappeared briefly, only to return with his face looking blanker than J.D had ever seen it. The young sheriff had been damned pleased to see him too. While Vin had been gone, there had been a couple of shots off to the right.

"Did you hear those shots?" the youth had inquired nervously.

"Yep. They’ve got the guys tied up about a third of the way up that hill over there," Vin informed his young friend, matter-of-factly. He and J.D. were crouched on the side of a steep incline. Below them was a deep ravine created by continued blasting. Every time a miner detonated in the area, the huge spilt in the earth’s crust grew longer, wider and deeper. Nature’s way of protesting against human meddling. As it was, the fissure was about twenty-five feet wide, fifty feet deep and ran for as long as the eye could see in either direction. On the other side of the gorge was an open plateau about ninety feet wide. This was where the miners had set up camp. Behind their camp, at the far edge of the plain, was another steep hill. It was a third of the way up that hill, and hidden in behind some rocks, that the rest of the Seven were bound and gagged.

"Well, let’s go get them!" J.D. had shrieked.

"Can’t. Not yet. We’ll have to wait til dark. They’ve got a couple of scouts planted along the ravine for about half a mile in each direction. And that gorge between us and the boys is gonna make it impossible for us to get over there, unless we go right around the outside."

"Well, come on. It’ll take us at least an hour."

"Hold your horses J.D." Again, that composed voice that reflected such self possession and control. Did anything ever rile, Vin Tanner? Of course it did, J.D. decided. But only when Vin knew he had the luxury of allowing himself to be nettled. "I want to know why they tied the others up and left them all alone over there. It don’t make sense. We’ll have a better chance of hearin’ what they’re sayin’ from here."

Three minutes ago, one of the scouts had spotted the pair hiding among the rocks and thus the firefight had started. The battle had been intense. Bullets whizzing from all directions. J.D. had just kept firing, not really aiming. He didn’t have time to aim. Vin, he noted, had already taken out several of the numerous claim jumpers.

One minute ago, one of the claim jumpers had yelled...

"How many of these bastards are there?! Let’s give’m something to think about. Light the fuse!"

J.D. decided that that was when any normal man would have started worrying. What fuse? Where?

Fifty seconds ago, Vin had muttered the word, ‘shit.’ A single word that had been more an expelled breath, than a voiced curse. Yep, the first overt sign that Vin was a touch concerned. Then again, you never could tell with Vin.

Forty nine seconds ago, Vin had broken cover abruptly, stood up in full view of the dozen shooters below and sighted his rifle directly across the ravine. J.D. had thought that he was seeing things. Why on earth would Vin do a fool thing like that? And then J.D. saw what Vin had noted two seconds earlier. The lit fuse snaking across the ground and disappearing up the hill on the other side of the plateau. No prizes for **whom** the dynamite was attached to. The moment he had realized, J.D. had leaped up to provide Vin with as much cover as possible, but he was too late. A split second before his partner was able to get the shot off that would have snuffed out the fuse and saved his companions, Vin was struck by one of the myriad of bullets that had exploded from the claim jumpers’ roaring rifles.

Forty seconds ago, J.D. had dragged his wounded colleague back behind the rocks that were being peppered with bullets. Vin’s eyes were closed, his face covered with the blood that was escaping from the deep gash on the side of his head. But he was breathing. **Thank God, he’s breathing.** Stuck in an emotional no man’s land, J.D. had panicked. Should he return fire? Tend to Vin? Go after the fuse?

Below, a gruff voice rang out. "Alright, let’s get out of here. That dynamite will take the whole side of that hill when it goes!"

"Well that answers why the boys are over there," a soft voice had announced.

Relieved, J.D. had turned to find Vin awake and attempting to climb to his feet. It had been then that young sheriff had dragged his wounded friend back down behind the protection of the rocks. There was no telling whether all of the claim jumpers were actually going or not.

"Vin, get down. You’ll get shot again!!"

"Ain’t got any choice, pard. Gotta shoot that damn thing out. Now I’m gonna need you to hold me up. Don’t reckon I’ll be able to stand on my own."

*****

His reflection over, J.D. shook his head.

"Ain’t gonna do the boys any good if you get killed."

At this, Vin grunted and persisted to struggle to his feet. Against his better judgement, J.D. looped his hands under his companion’s arms and pulled him upright. For a second, Vin wobbled, but then appeared to regain his equilibrium. The claim jumpers were high tailing it out of the valley across from them, taking their wounded and dead with them. When that dynamite went off, they didn’t want to be anywhere near here. According to their powder man, the entire hill would disappear in one spectacular explosion that should reveal all of the goodies that lay beneath. And destroy all trace of the five peace keepers from Four Corners.

J.D. swallowed. At least we don’t have to worry about being shot at anymore. But the fuse! The guys! How much time is left?

The small glowing spark had already started travelling up the hill opposite them. The distance was impossible, the fuse a speck. But that was okay, because J.D. knew he was standing with a man who could shoot the fuse out, despite the odds. Not many men could make a shot like that, but Four Corners’ young sheriff had complete faith in Vin Tanner. Yesterday, he’d seen Vin shoot the Macray Brothers from a quarter of a mile away. It had been the most amazing....what word had Ezra used?....thaumaturgical. It had been the most thaumaturgical thing that he had ever seen in his short twenty-one years of life. Theoretically then, shooting this fuse out should be a piece of cake for the sharpshooter, J.D. decided confidently.

Without a word, Vin lifted his rifle and tried to find the fuse again, but his vision was so blurred, he was flat out making out the hill, let alone the small piece of rope.

"J.D. can you see the fuse?" the sharpshooter asked, his calm voice edged with what could have been anger. The boy squinted across the ravine and plateau that separated them from their team mates.

"Yep."

"Good, cuz you’re gonna have to make the shot."

"WHAT!"

"I ....can’t see it,... pard." As the words came out, Vin’s legs buckled. His startled companion caught the slight tracker before he fell.

"Vin!!" J.D. had thought that he was worried before. Now...well now he was paralyzed with fear. For three long seconds he supported his limp team mate and then, whatever experience he had gained in his brief two months in the West, kicked in. Quickly, the youth lowered his injured team mate to the ground and uselessly began trying to wipe the blood off his face. Vin’s eyes were closed again. "Oh God." Thoughts and emotions crowded J.D.’s racing mind. Vin was hurt. He was hurt bad. A lot worse than he had made out. And Buck and the others were about to be blown up. God, what if Vin was more than just hurt? What if he were dying?! How could J.D. tell Chris? What would his leader say? Probably nothing, because Chris was about to be obliterated by the dynamite. If Vin didn’t wake up and shoot the fuse out....then Chris, Ezra, Josiah, Nathan and.....and Buck. No, not Buck. "Ohhhh God. Vin, don’t die on me! Please wake up."

At the sound of J.D.’s impassioned plea, Vin’s eyes snapped open. "I ain't dying, J.D., just restin’." A half grin splashed across Vin’s now pale face. "Besides, it’s just a scratch. But cuz it’s my head, it’s rattled what little brains I got." The tracker’s voice sounded weaker than it had only moments before, but it was still clear and resolute. "Now prop me up against that boulder and I’ll show you what to do."

J.D. stared at his older friend, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. "Vin, I ain’t a sharpshooter."

"You are today," Vin stated firmly as the youth carefully dragged and leaned him against one of the rocks that afforded the wounded man a blurry view of the situation across from them.

"But Vin....."

"There ain’t no buts J.D. If you don’t shoot that fuse out, the others will be killed. I can’t do it. I can barely make you out and you’re standin’ right in front of me." The bullet had only grazed his skull, but it had been enough to cause one hell of a concussion. Not to mention the blood loss. More blood loss than his young companion could begin to understand. Shortly, shock would set in and then Vin knew that he would be no earthly good to anyone. As it was, all the wounded sharpshooter could see were fuzzy, indistinct outlines and that scared the hell out of him. Still, he had to hold it together for J.D. The boy was the only chance Chris and the others had.

Dazed, J.D. gazed at Vin’s glazed eyes and at the blood that was now covering his entire left side. For the first time, the boy considered the fact that they really should be trying to stop the bleeding. Before he could suggest such an action, Vin’s firm, but still supportive voice ordered, "Get your rifle J.D."

"But Vin, the fuse is only a quarter of an inch wide."

"No, pard, it’s a whole quarter of an inch wide."

"Same thing!"

"No, it ain’t." Vin thrust the boy’s rifle at him. "Pull it in tight to your shoulder. That will stop the jerk that throws your aim slightly off. "

J.D. swallowed and began searching for the trifling piece of cord, that was clawing it’s way up the hill toward the men that constituted his entire world. After what seemed an eternity, the nervous youth spotted the glowing spark. It was now a good quarter of the way up the incline. He only had minutes. No, correction. Buck and the others only had minutes.

"You find it?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Now aim just above it. And remember to pull the rifle into your shoulder when you fire."

"Any other advice?" J.D. begged breathlessly.

"Yeah, try not to miss. I just noticed that you only got three bullets left."

The terrified sheriff glanced across at the wily tracker and found his pale friend smiling. The boy couldn’t tell if Vin was kidding or not. Surely he had more than three bullets. But then, this excursion had started as a quiet ride in the afternoon. A full rifle and two extra rounds should have been more than enough to see him home safely. Not in his wildest dreams had he thought that he would need an arsenal to defend himself. Vin had an arsenal. Vin always carried an arsenal. But his partner used a different type of rifle that required a distinct type of bullets. If he had to, J.D. knew that he could probably try to use his friend’s unfamiliar weapon, but it stood to reason that if he couldn’t shoot the fuse out with a gun he knew like his smell, then he didn’t have a chance in hell with one he’d never held before.

"Tight to your shoulder.... and aim just above the part .....that’s lit. And J.D........relax."

"Relax. Yeah right!"

"You got a whole quarter of an inch to hit, pard." Vin’s voice was becoming slurred and winded. "You got a whole threee... goess at it. And you got a whole twoo... minutess.. to do it in. Easierr than....... skinnin’.... a rattler."

"Yeah. One’s that’s still alive." There was a low chuckle from beside J.D. that normally would have made him relax. Oh God. God help me shoot real straight. I’m beggin’ you to help me save Buck and the others. J.D. drew in a long, deep, gasping breath, blinked twice and then fired. The bullet ripped up the earth about a foot way from the fuse.

"DAMN!!"

"Damn don’t...sound good."

"I missed. God, Vin, I ain’t good enough!" The boy began shaking his head vigorously, trying to get his older friend to understand.

"J.D," again the voice was firm, but supportive. "You did good. You still got two bullets."

"But..."

"NO. No, you got to try again." The boy stared into Vin’s dilated eyes and noted that his wounded partner’s pupils were so distended, that his eyes appeared black, not blue. "I wish I could take the shot for you, pard, but ......" It was painfully clear that Vin was now indeed struggling to remain conscious.

"It’s okay, Vin. I can do it." Dragging his tortured eyes away from his flailing friend, J.D. again sighted the fuse.

"A friend of .....mine oncce told me that he....tried to feel like the gun wass....a part of him. That the barrel wass.. actually his eye and.....that the bullet was hiss ssight. Reckoned he could....actually see his bullet right till it sstruck.....the target. Like it was his eye bein’….shot out of the rifle."

"That what you do?" J.D. asked, swallowing as he squinted at the small ember travelling up the hill so far away.

"Nope. I just pick the rifle up and shoot. Never believed a word of that shit," Vin chuckled.

J.D. felt a smile cross his face. Yep, that sounded like Vin. Nothing was ever complicated. Focusing on the fuse, J.D. again prayed for the ability to save his friends. He hadn’t prayed like this since his mother had got sick. The promises and pleas echoed in his racing mind. With determination, he pushed them aside. He stared at the bright light edging up the hill. Oh God, Buck. Buck I can’t let you down. For a moment, he could see his best friend’s roguish face in his mind’s eye. Buck. The fuse. His rifle. The fuse. J.D. squeezed the trigger. A puff of dust, only two inches from the wick, advertised his second failure.

"&*%@ing hell. I missed again, Vin." When there was no reply, J.D. turned. Vin was blinking steadily; fighting off the darkness that was washing over him and trying to drag him down. Hell, I should have stopped the bleeding. Sorry Vin. I’m real sorry.

"J.D.?"

"Yeah, Vin. I’m still here."

"You got one bullet left. Can’t see the fuse, but I reckon that it will disappear behind them rocks over there in the next minute." Vin paused and then reached out his hand and squeezed the boy’s calf. It was the only part of his standing companion he could reach. "If you miss, you tried your best. That’ss all a man... can do. Thiss time when you sshoot.....don’t think about what’ss... going on. Don’t think about Buck. It’ss..... just a sshot. Nothin’ more. Nothin’......lesss." J.D. felt the hand drop away as Vin tried to stifle a groan.

"One bullet. I can do it." I can do it. Gotta clear my mind.....Oh Buck. And then Vin’s advice echoed in his ears, clear and strong. it’s just a shot. Nothin’ more. Nothin’ less. Carefully J.D. aimed the rifle…. and then he thought about Vin. About the way that the experienced sharpshooter shot at anything. It was always quick. Usually, in one movement he’d snap the rifle up and pull the trigger. The young sheriff let the weapon drop a full inch, drew in his breath and then snapped the gun up, sighted the fuse and yanked the trigger…..letting fly with an accompanying explosion of language that Chris Larabee would be hard pressed to match. Later, sitting around a table in the saloon, J.D. would swear that he had actually watched the bullet itself fly across the distance. And he would claim that he had actually seen the bullet sever the fuse a half inch above the lit section. But at the moment that it happened.....the moment that he saw the fuse extinguished... the only thing J.D. could do was squeeze his eyes shut and offer his thanks to Josiah’s God.

"I did it, Vin. It’s out. The fuse is out." It didn’t sound much like the victory cry that the tracker had expected should the boy be successful, but that didn’t matter. The words themselves were all that was important.

"I wassn’t worried... not for a moment, pard." J.D. dropped down beside his friend, whose head was listing to one side. There was a tightness about Vin’s face that revealed the pain that was screaming through his skull.

"You know somethin’ Vin. You lie almost as bad as Buck." Briskly, J.D eased the injured man away from the boulder and lowered him to the ground. Taking his bandanna, he pressed it against his partner’s head wound. The sharpshooter winced. "Sorry, Vin. But we got to stop the bleedin’."

"Give it to me. I can hold it. You got to get over there and see to the guys."

"They can wait. They’re safe for the moment." Vin began shaking his head as he roughly pushed J.D. back.

"When I got a look at them....I didn’t see none of them... move much......They might be hurt." Vin had made the decision not to voice his concern earlier. There hadn’t been need to worry his young companion any more than necessary.

"You, mean, they could be dead?!!"

"No. They wass alive. We ssaw them walk over there....and there weren’t no shotss when them bastardss....left them there....but they might’ve roughed them up a bit. Besides, the way they was trussed up, they’d make a nice dinner for any stray wolves in the area. Now, you go on and... check on them." J.D. stared down at Vin’s colorless face. A face that was framed horribly by the bright red fluid that had spilled from his body.

"I can’t leave you, Vin. You’ve lost a lot of blood."

"Yep, reckon I have. Which means... there ain’t nothin’ much you can do for me at the moment so....."

"I can try and stop that bleedin’ and keep you awake. Nathan told me that you have to keep a person with a head wound awake."

"Yep, he did. And there’s nothin’ …I’d like better than to sit…here and exchange stories with ya…but the guyss... aren’t going to be able to free themselvess.....now don’t get me wrong...but I think Nathan might be a mite better than you at ssstoppin’ the pounding in my head. Only way he’ss... gonna get here...iss.. if you go and untie him. Hell, pard, I’d go mysself... but I get the feelin’ that I may have to crawl all the way over there on me belly. Gettin’ shot iss... bad enough without having to worry about gravel rash on my damn stomach." J.D. shook his head, a smile lighting up his face, despite the no win situation he’d been put in. He had to leave Vin to get Nathan. But he knew that if he did leave, it would be at least two hours before he and the others would return and there was no way that Vin would remain conscious for that long. Not on his own. And if there was one thing that Nathan had impressed upon him about head wounds, it was the importance of keeping the person awake for at least eight hours.

Vin, despite the fact that he could no longer make out J.D.’s face, appeared to be able to sense his companion’s distress. "J.D. I ain’t dyin’. Been hurt worse than this."

"Vin, you’ve lost so much blood. I didn’t know a man’s head could bleed so much. I should have tried to stop it earlier."

"We was a might busy then......now stop your fussing and go. You’re almost as bad as Nathan. The sooner you leave,....the sooner you’ll get back." J.D. reached for Vin’s hand and squeezed it in an offer of friendship. He hoped that some of his strength might siphon out of him and into Vin via their clasped wrists.

"I’m gonna be real disappointed in you if you go and die on me before I get back with Nathan."

"I reckon I’ll be a might pissed myself."

J.D. smirked at his injured companion. "You’re a mad bastard, Vin, you know that."

A half grin slipped onto the tracker’s ashen face. "Go on. I’m just gonna... lie myself out here and enjoy the.. ssun."

J.D. squeezed Vin’s hand again and rose to his feet. "I’ll be as quick as I can."

"Nah. Take your time, I ain’t goin’ no where." Quickly J.D. turned and picked up his rifle. "Hey, sheriff. You did real good, pard. Real good. Buck and Chriss... are gonna be real proud of you."

The thought of his older friends’ praise brought a smile to J.D.’s sweat streaked face. This disappeared abruptly as he glanced back at Vin and actually saw him for the first time. He was so pale. The tracker’s eyes were now blinking almost continuously as he waged a war against the unconsciousness that was threatening to consume him. And he looked like he was in pain, but then, Vin would deny that if the boy asked.

My God, he’s lost a lot of blood. "Hold on Vin. I’ll be back with Nathan before you can count to twenty."

"I don’t know, J.D. I can count real quick. One. Two. Three. You left yet?"