this struck her as odd. "Who set the bone for you?"
"Long Belly, but I don't think that's the problem, That cow kicked a gouge out of my shin when she broke my leg, and right there is where it feels as if I met the business end of a branding iron. It might be a little infected."
Josie had hardly begun unwrapping the bindings that held the splint together before she knew without a doubt that Daniel had made a correct diagnosis. Blood and infected matter had seeped through the bandages, and she also picked up a slight whiff of decay.
"I'm going to have to clean this out," she said when she got down to the angry wound. "I'll be as careful as I can, but it's probably going to hurt some."
Daniel nodded, expecting this. "Whiskey's on the shelf above the stove along with anything else you might need. Would you be good enough to bring me the bottle? I think I'd like to get started on it before you get started on that leg."
After that, Daniel didn't say another word. He took a few deep pulls on the whiskey, then lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. By the time Josie had finished cleaning the wound and covered it with a warm poultice she'd made of flour, salt, and water, he was sound asleep. Or passed out. She didn't know which.
It was as she was returning the whiskey and other supplies to the shelf above the stove that Josie came across the gun she'd been unable to fire earlier that morning. Determined to learn how to use the weapon should a threatening occasion arise, she took it with her to the table by the cabin's only window. Dropping onto one of the chairs there, she began a search for the hammer Daniel told her about.
When she found the little lever that he must have been referring to, Josie pulled it back, pleased to see that at the same time, the trigger jumped to the center of the finger guard. Now it all made sense. Once, the gun was cocked, all she had to do was pull the trigger to fire a bullet. Only trouble was, Josie didn't know how to go about 'uncorking' the thing without shooting at something. She certainly couldn't fire the gun inside the cabin. If she went outside, Daniel would surely hear the explosion and wake up, probably mad. Touching the trigger seemed out of the question, which left only one other way she could think of to make the gun safe again. Since she'd pulled the hammer in order to make the gun functional, Josie reasoned, all she had to do was put the lever back in its original place to disable the weapon.
Following this rationale, she pushed the hammer forward. It wouldn't budge. Understanding that the hammer was connected to the trigger somehow, she decided to hold it in place with her thumb, while lightly pulling against the trigger. The hammer began to move forward and then, without warning, slipped out from under her thumb.
Much to Josie's surprise and horror, the Colt went off in her hand.
Chapter 5
Relatively pain-free for the first time in weeks, Daniel dozed peacefully with images of Josie's long auburn hair swirling around in his mind like ribbons of silk. Although she still had her tresses braided, and even then they were mussed, he had no trouble picturing what her hair must look like when she unwound and brushed it for the night. He boldly went on to imagine those luxurious locks pouring through his fingers, figuring they would feel like spring rain sliding between blades of sweet new grass. She would be kitten-soft to touch, he thought, recent memories egging him on, with just a dash of wildcat tossed in to make bedding her all the more interesting.
Mercy.
Daniel then found himself wondering what, short of paying her himself, he had to do in order to convince Josie she ought to share her favors with him. In fact, he was getting good and worked up over the idea, enjoying the surge of blood to his nether regions and trying to remember how long it'd been since he'd last felt such a rush of desire, when something hot and sharp, like a knife blade fresh from
"Long Belly, but I don't think that's the problem, That cow kicked a gouge out of my shin when she broke my leg, and right there is where it feels as if I met the business end of a branding iron. It might be a little infected."
Josie had hardly begun unwrapping the bindings that held the splint together before she knew without a doubt that Daniel had made a correct diagnosis. Blood and infected matter had seeped through the bandages, and she also picked up a slight whiff of decay.
"I'm going to have to clean this out," she said when she got down to the angry wound. "I'll be as careful as I can, but it's probably going to hurt some."
Daniel nodded, expecting this. "Whiskey's on the shelf above the stove along with anything else you might need. Would you be good enough to bring me the bottle? I think I'd like to get started on it before you get started on that leg."
After that, Daniel didn't say another word. He took a few deep pulls on the whiskey, then lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. By the time Josie had finished cleaning the wound and covered it with a warm poultice she'd made of flour, salt, and water, he was sound asleep. Or passed out. She didn't know which.
It was as she was returning the whiskey and other supplies to the shelf above the stove that Josie came across the gun she'd been unable to fire earlier that morning. Determined to learn how to use the weapon should a threatening occasion arise, she took it with her to the table by the cabin's only window. Dropping onto one of the chairs there, she began a search for the hammer Daniel told her about.
When she found the little lever that he must have been referring to, Josie pulled it back, pleased to see that at the same time, the trigger jumped to the center of the finger guard. Now it all made sense. Once, the gun was cocked, all she had to do was pull the trigger to fire a bullet. Only trouble was, Josie didn't know how to go about 'uncorking' the thing without shooting at something. She certainly couldn't fire the gun inside the cabin. If she went outside, Daniel would surely hear the explosion and wake up, probably mad. Touching the trigger seemed out of the question, which left only one other way she could think of to make the gun safe again. Since she'd pulled the hammer in order to make the gun functional, Josie reasoned, all she had to do was put the lever back in its original place to disable the weapon.
Following this rationale, she pushed the hammer forward. It wouldn't budge. Understanding that the hammer was connected to the trigger somehow, she decided to hold it in place with her thumb, while lightly pulling against the trigger. The hammer began to move forward and then, without warning, slipped out from under her thumb.
Much to Josie's surprise and horror, the Colt went off in her hand.
Chapter 5
Relatively pain-free for the first time in weeks, Daniel dozed peacefully with images of Josie's long auburn hair swirling around in his mind like ribbons of silk. Although she still had her tresses braided, and even then they were mussed, he had no trouble picturing what her hair must look like when she unwound and brushed it for the night. He boldly went on to imagine those luxurious locks pouring through his fingers, figuring they would feel like spring rain sliding between blades of sweet new grass. She would be kitten-soft to touch, he thought, recent memories egging him on, with just a dash of wildcat tossed in to make bedding her all the more interesting.
Mercy.
Daniel then found himself wondering what, short of paying her himself, he had to do in order to convince Josie she ought to share her favors with him. In fact, he was getting good and worked up over the idea, enjoying the surge of blood to his nether regions and trying to remember how long it'd been since he'd last felt such a rush of desire, when something hot and sharp, like a knife blade fresh from
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