The Doctor and the Rough Rider by Mike Resnick

shade of that hut, and maybe relax with a drink from”—he padded his flask through
     his coat—“my special water supply.”
    “No,” said Geronimo.
    “No?” repeated Holliday, making no attempt to hide his annoyance. “I brought him.
     What more do you want?”
    “It is important that you listen too,” said Geronimo, “because when we are done, it
     will start a war such as you have never dreamed about.”
    Holliday stared at him for a moment, then pulled out his flask. “I think I'll have
     that drink right now,” he said.

��I T IS TIME ,” said Geronimo when he and Roosevelt were sitting cross-legged on the ground in
     the shade of Geronimo's hut, facing each other. Holliday, who had some trepidation
     about lowering himself to the ground gracefully and an absolute certainty that if
     he managed it he could never get up on his own power, remained on his feet a few feet
     away. “That is why I have sent for you.”
    “I appreciate that,” replied Roosevelt. “I have two questions.” Suddenly he grinned.
     “Well, two right now. A lot more later.”
    “You may ask.”
    “Why me?”
    “You are a man of honor.”
    “Thank you,” said Roosevelt. “But there are many men of honor.”
    “Not as many as you think,” said Geronimo. “And though you are a very young man, you
     are the best of them.”
    “I'm flattered that you should think so,” replied Roosevelt, “but there are many better
     men.”
    Geronimo stared at him for a long moment. “Do you truly believe that?” he said at
     last.
    Roosevelt stared back for just as long. “No,” he finally admitted. “No, I don't.”
    “Good. Because if you answered otherwise, I would not know that I can trust you.”
     He paused. “You had a second question?”
    Roosevelt nodded. “Why now?”
    “It is time.”
    “It is past time, but why have you decided to lift the spell now?”
    “Many reasons,” said Geronimo. “The man Edison will soon know how to negate much of
     our magic.”
    “We both know you could kill him before that happens,” offered Holliday from where
     he stood.
    “He has done me a service. I will not kill him while I am obligated to him.”
    “You paid it off,” said Holliday. “He found a way to remove the spell and the railroad
     from your burial ground, and you removed Billy the Kid's supernatural protection.”
    Geronimo shook his head. “I paid you , Holliday. You were the one who faced McCarty called the Kid. I did not pay Edison,
     and until I find a way, he is safe from me.” Another pause. “But he is not safe from
     the other tribes.”
    “You said many reasons,” said Roosevelt. “What are some others?”
    “There are too many White Eyes,” answered Geronimo. “Already many thousands of you
     have crossed the river. You have even built towns. We no longer have the power to
     stop you, only to hinder you. Eventually your nation will reach from one ocean to
     the other, and if we fight you every step of the way is it not beyond your people
     to wage a war of extermination, which we cannot win.”
    “I would fight against that,” said Roosevelt.
    “I know. That is another reason I have chosen you.”
    “After you, Hook Nose was the strongest of the medicine men,”said Holliday, “and you killed him almost two years ago. This should be a stroll in
     the park.”
    Geronimo frowned. “I do not understand.”
    “With no Hook Nose, there should be no meaningful opposition,” said Holliday.
    Geronimo shook his head. “How little you know.”
    “Enlighten us,” said Roosevelt.
    “The medicine men of the other Indian nations have always resented my power, and now
     they have a reason to openly oppose me. They have no intention of lifting the spell.”
    “If you're the strongest…” began Holliday.
    “I am stronger than any one of them,” explained Geronimo. “I am not stronger than
     most of them acting in concert.”
    “How many others are there?”
    “More than fifty.”
    “And