********

Several hours on the trail filled the Seven with a sense of purpose, something that had been lacking in Four Corners of late. Buck and J.D. were arguing playfully. Vin and Chris were riding side by side not talking, while Josiah and Nathan were listening to Ezra explain his plans for Four Corners. A town he personally was going to turn into a commercial metropolis.

"Of course, the name will have to be changed," the gambler rationalized with authority.

"And what did you have in mind?" Josiah asked.

"Let me guess," Nathan interrupted. "Standishville or Ezraopolis?"

Ezra grinned. "Now, now, Mr Jackson. I hadn’t got as far as selecting a name, but I must say that those two do appeal to my modest self."

"You know something, Ezra, you’re full of shit."

"I resent that, Mr. Jackson. I am a business owner and as such, I have a say in the direction our fair town takes."

At this, Nathan and Josiah grinned. Ezra moved uncomfortably in his saddle.

"That’s right, Nathan. Don’t forget, Ezra owns half of the Clarion News. So why did you acquire such a lucrative business, Brother? I never did quite understand why someone like you would buy a business like that?"

The gambler snorted and reined his horse away from his sniggering friends. Despite his apparent disgust, Ezra was smiling as he reflected on the events that had lead to his sudden investment in the small business. There had been the fire of course. It had started in the front office of the Clarion and while the locals had rallied together and squashed the flames quickly, there had been considerable damage. Enough to put Mary out of business. It was then that Ezra had stepped forward and offered the young woman a loan. Devastated, Mary had declined. Even before the fire, she was making little enough to cover costs. There was no way she could pay back any loan. Before he knew it, Ezra had found himself offering to ‘invest’ in the enterprise. His business sense told him that he would take a considerable loss and if his mother ever found out, then the Lord protect him. But the Clarion was Mary’s whole life and Ezra wasn’t about to stand by and watch that taken from her. There had been a time when other’s suffering had not touched him. That was another time in his life. Hell, that had been some other Southern gentleman who simply shared the same impeccable dress sense. The truth of the matter was, three months earlier, Ezra had been nothing more than a self-centered, egocentric, two bit con man and card sharp. Actually, he’d been a very successful self-centered, egocentric, two-bit con man and card sharp, but success and fulfillment were two different things and it wasn’t until arriving in Four Corners that Ezra had learned the difference. Now, for the first time in his thirty something years, Ezra could actually say he was contented. Oh, he’d definitely been more prosperous in the past, but he’d never found a true sense of purpose until he had met and joined the six other lost souls that had wandered aimlessly into Four Corners looking for nothing more than a cot and a whisky. Somehow, the seven men had provided one another with a purpose for getting up each morning. Their lives had meaning, even if that simply meant grudgingly enjoying one another’s company.

Mary Travis had played an important part in Ezra’s change of direction. It had been at her invitation that Judge Travis had visited Four Corners. It had been her pressure that had forced the Judge to offer Ezra and his six new found friends the job of protecting the town for thirty days. While the thirty days had long since passed, they were still together and they were still performing the duty for which they had been hired. It was not exactly a lucrative job - a dollar a day plus room and board. Actually, it was laughable, and yet Ezra would not exchange it for all the tea in China. Not that he would ever admit that.

So when the gambler saw Mary about to lose just about everything she held dear, he felt the strong, but unfamiliar urge to step in, despite knowing that he was throwing his hard earned money away - for Ezra, that constituted a sin. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery and the one that Moses forgot... Thou shalt not waste one’s money on ventures of the heart or conscience. The gambler’s six companions had simply grinned at him, much to Ezra’s embarrassed irritation and congratulated him on doing something... now how had Vin Tanner expressed it? "...nicer than eatin’ fresh honey from the hive."

Of course, Ezra had argued black and blue that his offer had had nothing whatsoever to do with assisting a fellow human being in need and was purely and simply a result of the fact that he, unlike them, had vision. He could see that one day Four Corners would be an economic metropolis and that the owner of the local rag would be sitting on a veritable gold mine. Yes, and pigs might fly. Another of Vin’s expressions. I am definitely spending too much time in the company of illiterate heathens, Ezra thought darkly as the vulgar phrase crossed his well educated mind.

Ahead, Vin and Chris rode in relative silence. Every now and then, one of them would mutter a few syllables to which the other would grunt a response.

"Reckon we should stop for lunch," Chris finally stated.

Vin nodded. "I’ll scout ahead and see if can find somewhere in the shade." With that, he urged Peso on. Chris turned back to inform his other companions, none of whom were surprised to see the tracker leave the group. Vin was always scouting ahead or behind them for one reason or another.

An hour later, the group had eaten beside the river, packed up and headed back onto the trail. Much to everyone’s annoyance, Vin began murdering his harmonica. He didn’t actually play it, he just forced air though it. There were several requests for specific songs and while Vin was adamant that he was indeed playing each and every one of the melodies asked of him, no one else was able to identify the slightest similarity between what was coming out of Vin’s harmonica and any music they had ever heard before. Despite the number of threats to his health and one very rude promise to shove the harmonica up an uncomfortable part of the tracker’s anatomy, Vin continued to entertain himself with several pieces of his own composition.

By one o’clock, the heat had become ferocious. With annoyance, Ezra noted that neither Vin nor Chris appeared affected by the intensity of the midday sun. Both looked cool, calm and very collected.

"Well, maybe if you stopped blowing hot air, you might cool off," Vin chuckled.

Ezra’s eyebrows drew down. Yes, he had often heard Vin make short witty comments, but there was something different about the young man out here. Away from the confines of civilization, Vin Tanner had progressively become more talkative. Of course, another mouth was the last thing the group needed. J.D., who never shut up at the best of times, was in the middle of a running commentary which had started the moment the group had left Four Corners and had only eased momentarily when he was shoveling food into his mouth at lunch.

"Give it a rest, son," Buck grumbled, his normally easy-going nature sapped by the heat and J.D.’s persistent questions. Not to mention the fact that he was still getting over a recent stomach bug. A stomach bug that had run amuck in Four Corners. All but Vin, Josiah and a couple of the children had succumbed to it. Fever, vomiting and general feelings of being unwell. Buck had crawled from his bed only two days earlier and hadn’t realized he was still a little on the weak side until now.

Seeing that Buck wanted some quiet time, J.D. moved his horse up beside Vin. "Vin, how far you reckon we’ve traveled? I reckon a good couple of miles, hey?"

"Yep."

"How long before we’ll bed down for the night? A couple of hours?"

"Yep."

"What are we going to do for grub? I mean, we ate almost everything we bought with us at lunch. You fixing to catch us something?"

"Yep."

"Would you show me how?"

"Yep."

"Oh, good. ‘Cause I reckon that is the sort of thing that I still need to learn. I mean Buck has taught me a lot, but living off the trail, well that’s kinda new to me. You don’t mind teachin’ me do you?"

"Nope."

Buck rode up next to Chris and grinned. "How long before you think Vin’ll shoot him?" Larabee winked at his oldest friend. "Arr the enthusiasm of youth," Buck reflected.

Chris grunted and regarded the two youngest men in the Seven, who were now several feet in front of the group. Never could two men be more different. J.D. was a kid. Not just because of his age, but because of his lack of experience. Oh, the boy was reliable for his age and Chris was happy to ride with him. J.D.’s enthusiasm was usually welcome. He had good instincts and he was willing to learn. Hell, J.D. had provided Buck’s life with a purpose. The scoundrel had taken it upon himself to teach J.D. the facts of life. Or at least, the facts that would prolong the kid’s life in the West.

At the other end of the spectrum, there was Vin. The tracker couldn’t be more than a couple of years older than J.D., Chris reasoned, but a hard life had matured him far beyond his short years. Life had not been kind to Vin Tanner, who was himself a kind and gentle man. But anyone who made the mistake of abusing his good nature very quickly discovered their error. The accomplished sharpshooter and tracker was as hard a man as any. He never backed down and always supported his actions and those of his friends and there was no question of his ability to do so. Chris’ eyes narrowed in concentration as he considered their strange meeting only three months earlier. He and Vin shared a friendship that transcended any other such relationship. In one look, mutual esteem had been established. A sense of trust and loyalty that neither could even begin to understand. But it was a lot more than that. Chris had had friends before. Men he had trusted. Hell, Buck’s loyalty had stood the test of time and it had weathered Chris’ wrath... more than once. But Vin was different. Buck would say his piece and then turn and leave Larabee to decide if he wanted to listen or not. Vin too would have his say, but he would stand there with resolute determination and demand that his words were not only noted, but heeded. In a lot of ways, Chris knew he and Vin were opposites and yet so much alike that it scared the hell out of the older man. Vin could read his very soul and that was very disconcerting. But then, there was a certain amount of security in it too.

"You staring at me again, Larabee?" Vin called back, without warning.

"Nope."

"Like hell."

**********

"There’s a good spot up ahead to make camp for the night," Vin informed his leader as he rode back toward the group.

"But we’ve still got at least another two hours of light," Chris argued.

"Up to you, but I can’t guarantee that there’ll be a sheltered spot further along the trail."

The Seven’s leader eyed his friend curiously. It didn’t look like rain. Why would they be needing shelter?

"Wind," Vin replied, answering the silent question. Still Chris looked puzzled. "The wind will pick up tonight."

The day was hot and still, but Larabee wasn’t about to question Vin on matters that concerned nature. "Alright."

The group followed their guide off the trail and sharply to the right toward the river. The vegetation thickened, making it rougher going on the horses, but the shade of the trees saw a welcome fall in temperature. Fifteen minutes later, the group found themselves in an open clearing with a diameter of about fifteen feet. The trees that surrounded them had laced their branches together to form a thin canopy roof that would provide some protection when the wind picked up.

"Nice spot, Brother Vin."

"Oh yes, it is just dandy," Ezra muttered, climbing out of his saddle. His rump was aching. He felt hot and sweaty. His throat was burning from the dust that had coated it after such a long day on the trail. He longed for a bath, a brandy and a soft comfortable bed.

"The river’s about ten minutes walk in that direction. Two of you should go and collect some water," Vin stated. He didn’t give orders in the true sense of the word. He left that to Chris. However, on the trial his ‘suggestions’ were heeded almost as readily. "J.D. and I are going off to catch us some grub. We shouldn’t be long. Probably be a good idea for someone to clear the ground. Make it more comfortable to bed down tonight. And we need to collect some firewood and get a fire going before dark. Come on, J.D."

Chris watched Vin stride off, J.D. at his shoulder, the younger man’s mouth in stampede mode once more. "Josiah, Buck, go get the water. Nathan, Ezra, some fire wood. I’ll clear the area of rocks." The others nodded and set about carrying out the tasks that had been allocated to them.

Some time later...

"What is it, Vin?" J.D. whispered, watching his friend crouch and examine the ground. Quickly the boy dropped down and stared at the leaves and mulch that had grabbed his experienced friend’s attention.

"What do you see, pard?"

"The leaves have been disturbed."

"Keep going," Vin urged.

"Some tracks. Big ones. A couple of large animals had a fight here," J.D. announced.

Vin picked up a handful of the leaves and lifted them to his nose. Then he passed them to his young companion. "What do you smell?"

"I don’t know. It’s kind of musty."

Vin nodded, rose to his feet and began scanning the area. Finally he spotted what he was looking for and lead J.D. over to a tree. Embedded in the bark were long claw marks.

"A cougar?" J.D. asked.

"Big bugger," Vin muttered, eyeing the height the claw marks reached. "And recently too." The sap bleeding from the weeping wounds was still wet.

"So two cougars had a fight," J.D summarized.

"Nope. Two cougars were mating."

"Oh. Is that important?"

"Yep."

"Why?" Vin glanced at the boy. J.D. smiled sheepishly. "Guess it’s good to know that they’re around. But why are they here? I didn’t think this was the sort of place you’d find a cougar."

"It’s not. But it’s been two months since we’ve had any rain. All of the smaller animals have moved down to this green corridor beside the river. Cougars have just followed their food supply."

"We better warn the others."

"Yep."

J.D. watched his companion’s eyes widen and then narrow. "Vin?"

"J.D., it’s real important that you stay completely still."

"Vin?" J.D. repeated, his eyes darting from side to side. Suddenly he felt something brush his foot. That was when Vin pounced. The tracker was on his feet again in a second. J.D. gaped. In Vin’s fist was a four foot rattler. In one sharp movement, Vin twisted the animal’s neck breaking it’s back. The snake fell limply in his hand.

"Don’t mind cooked rattler. You ever tasted it, J.D.?"

J.D. Dunne found his knees quaking, his mouth opening and closing stupidly and his eyes blinking in astonishment. "You killed it!" the boy finally got out.

"Didn’t have no choice. It was about to bite you. Besides, snakes is good eating."

J.D. swallowed and watched as Vin slipped a knife out of his boot and casually sliced the reptile’s head off.

"Well, that gets rid of the dangerous bit. Open the sack."

The dazed boy obeyed, opening the hessian bag that he had brought along to collect the night’s bounty. J.D. watched Vin drop the headless snake into it to join the three brush turkeys, four pheasants and one mammal like creature that the sheriff didn’t recognize.

"Reckon that should be enough. Come on."

J.D. watched his friend turn and head in the direction of the camp. Swallowing hard, the boy followed.

**********

"...and then he just twisted the head and... oh, Buck, it was amazing." The sun was just disappearing over the horizon as the men crowded around the blazing fire to eat their meal.

"Yeah, kid, I know. You’ve told us already," Buck laughed.

"Mr. Tanner would you do us all a favor. Next time a snake decides to sink it’s fangs into Mr. Dunne, please refrain from interfering."

"Shut up, Ezra," J.D. muttered. "You wasn’t there. It was...."

"...just amazing," Nathan, Josiah, Ezra and Buck quipped together.

"Gee, that wind really is picking up," Nathan muttered, pulling the blanket further around him.

"The hotter it is during the day, the colder it will be at night." Vin murmured. "Rapid change a causes the wind. Reckon the temperature will drop pretty low tonight."

"Oh, how wonderful," Ezra pronounced sarcastically. "Cooked during the day. Frozen at night. Bedding down on ground harder than rock. Eating... what the hell is this?"

Vin grinned. "You don’t want to know."

Ezra glowered at the young tracker who was obviously amused by his discomfort. "Oh, it is alright for you, Mr. Tanner. For some perverted reason, known only to you and fools, you are actually enjoying all of this. It may have escaped your notice, but we are likely to freeze to death tonight. The sun hasn’t even quite gone down and already the air is chilled." The other men grinned at the gambler.

"Yeah, but isn’t this better than sitting in the saloon, staring at the walls, waiting for something to happen?" Vin laughed.

"No, Mr. Tanner it is not. The idea of sitting in our dear little saloon, with a fire blazing in the hearth and a whisky sitting in front of me, is a vision that is almost too much for me to bare."

"So this place we’re going to pick up the prisoners. Chris says that you know it, Vin?" Buck asked.

"Yep."

"And?"

"Well, it isn’t quite Purgitory, but it’s damn near close." Purgitory. A hovel where every lowlife in the area took refuge from the law. The Seven had visited it a couple of times for different reasons, so all knew it well.

"If it has a similar population to Purgitory, then it is a strange place to be holding prisoners," Ezra stated thoughfully. It certainly didn't sound like law and order were well developed in Milton.

Vin nodded. "The sheriff there ain’t ever arrested anyone as far as I know. Ain’t healthy. Every second man in Milton has a bounty on his head, but you won’t find a single wanted poster on any of the walls there. And bounty hunters keep a real low profile, if they’re even game to step foot in the place."

Chris considered Vin’s words carefully. "So why has the army got orders to collect three prisoners from there?"

"I reckon I’d like to know that myself," Vin muttered.

"Why didn't you say something about this sooner?"

"What and spoil our chance to be on the trail and enjoy some good wholesome food and air?" Vin grinned.

Chris eyed him carefully. "Vin?"

"If these prisoners are are important... got friends likely to cause trouble or people wanting to lynch them, then I reckon Milton would be a good place to hide them."

"So you think that our prisoners are likely to be troublesome?" Buck muttered.

"I reckon it's a sure bet."

"Mr. Tanner, I assure you, that there is no such thing as a sure bet."

An hour later, the meal was finished and the men were all huddled as close to the fire as they dared, their blankets drawn around them in a futile effort to keep the biting wind out. Vin had taken out his harmonica again, much to duress of his companions.

"Are you honestly telling us, that that was supposed to have been Dixie Melody."

"Yep."

Ezra rolled his eyes. "Mr. Tanner, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you have about as much talent for playing that instrument, as pigs have in the flying department."

Unperturbed by the insults that continued to be directed at him, Vin proceeded to while away the hours puffing into the small piece of metal that he always carried in his pocket. Without warning, the ‘noise’, for it wasn’t music, the ‘noise’ stopped. The group watched Vin’s head slowly turn to the left. J.D. started to open his mouth, but Buck reached out and clamped his hand over it. For several seconds the men sat in total silence, their fingers resting on their holsters.

"Vin?" Chris asked.

"Nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yep." But the young man climbed to his feet and picked up his rifle.

"Where are you going?" Nathan asked.

"Just to have a look around."

"I’ll come." J.D. cried, leaping to his feet.

"Not this time, pard," Vin stated simply.

"You just said there ain’t nothing out there, Vin."

"Not on two legs."

"Oh great!" Ezra burst out throwing his arms in the air. Without a word, Vin moved to the edge of the clearing and melted into the darkness. "He’s off out there hunting God knows what, probably because he heard it, or smelt it, or worse."

The rest of the men watched the gambler set about laying out his bedroll near fire, muttering continuously about wild animals, soft beds and comforts that any normal human being should have. To their astonishment, the well-dressed gentleman then collected Vin’s bedroll and prepared it only two foot from his own.

"If any one of you open your mouth, I will ventilate your skulls with a myriad of bullet holes that will not only improve your appearance, but wipe those obnoxious grins off your heinous faces!" Ezra claimed, glaring at the looks of amusement that the others shared.

"That’s okay, Ez. We always knew you was fond of Vin," Buck chuckled.

"Such a thought is sickening, Mr. Wilmington. I merely prepared his bed for him, out of concern for my need for uninterrupted slumber. God only knows how long he will be out there ferreting in the wilds and I do not wish my repose to be disturbed when he returns and ultimately has to prepare his bed."

"Yep, we believe you Ezra," Nathan agreed.

"We know it don’t have anything to do with the fact that Vin is likely to hear all them wild animals out there before anyone else," J.D. added smirking.

"Mr. Dunne, don’t push me."

"Oh, I’m inclined to agree with Brother Ezra. We don’t know what’s out there. It pays to take precautions. When I was a boy, my father and I were camped out one night. It was real dark. No moon that I can remember...but I was only a kid so there may have been a moon. I don’t really recall."

"Please, Mr. Sanchez, if you have something to say, say it."