Judgment Day by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Published: 2007-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

13

At about five that afternoon, about the same time that Blake and his travelers were sitting down to stew and cornbread, Doc Morelli stopped by Cohen’s Hardware. He wanted to check on Rachael Cohen, and perhaps change her bandages if need be.

He found her—and her boys—still tucked into the store’s first-floor storage room. Saul, she told him, was somewhere up on the wall.

She was doing well, very well, in fact, for having just lost a baby after a difficult delivery. Perhaps it was her good spirits and her faith in her husband that kept her going. Surely the constant sounds of shouting and gunfire couldn’t be doing her any good.

With this in mind, he left her with a paper filled with sleeping powders. “Take half of this if you need it,” he said as he handed it to her. “And the other half’s for later. It’ll make you sleep.”

She took the paper, but set it on the bed stand without looking at it. “Thank you, Dr. Morelli, but I’d rather stay awake to worry about my husband. And watch these naughty boys of mine.” She smiled thinly.

“I just saw Saul,” said Morelli with a nod. “He’s a very brave man, Rachael.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. “I know.”

He stood up and lifted his medical bag. “If there’s nothing else then, I’m needed back at the hospital. The livery stables, I should say.” Casualties were growing by the hour, and he only took comfort in the fact that the afternoon was almost over and that night would soon be upon them.

“Thank you for stopping by,” Rachael said again. “My prayers are with the fighting men.”

“And I’m certain they’re appreciating them, ma’am,” he replied as he let himself out into the store.

Once he was outside, he was pleased to see that the gates still held, and also happy to hear that the incidence of gunfire seemed to have slackened off. As had the number of stray arrows and spears sailing over the stockade.

Were the Indians backing off for the day already? It seemed too early, but if they wanted to take the time off, he was more than happy to grant it to them.

Although his primary objective was the stable, he dropped his bag inside the door. Then he made his way around the building and up to the scaffolding on the interior of the stockade.

Carefully, he inched his way around the bodies of the men still fighting as he moved toward Saul Cohen.

“Dr. Morelli?” Saul said, surprised. “Is it my Rachael? Is something—”

“No, no, Saul, nothing’s wrong.”

Saul signaled to him, and they both crouched down below the jagged opening of hand-hewn spikes at the top of the stockade. “You’ve seen her then?” Saul asked.

“Yes, and she’s doing quite well. I left some sleeping powder with her, which she refused to take. I gather she’d rather worry about you.”

Saul ducked his head and chuckled.

“Tonight, you make sure she takes a dose, all right?” said Morelli. “She needs the sleep.”

Saul nodded in the affirmative. “I will be certain.

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