The Monkees: Gold Rush

We Get the Funniest Looks...

Mike and Davy chatted excitedly. The gold they had found in the river had made them very wealthy. Mike was in a better mood about California.
Calphurnia was spending more and more time with Mike. Davy had found company with every dancing girl in the saloon. He liked them all a lot. Micky hadn't yet noticed that Mike and Calphurnia were spending so much time together. He was too busy with the store he ran.
Peter and Mike were working on the song Mike had started. Calphurnia was deeply impressed by the song so far. The other dancing girls were impressed by it as well, much to Peter's bashfulness.
The piano had become such an important part of the saloon. The miners would request Peter to play certain songs and he would play it for them. The saloon was bustling with activity, and it was the one place in town that was always happy.
One night, Peter and Mike and Davy were walking back to their wagon. There were four men on horses. They were running in circles around something. Peter wanted to go and watch because he thought it was a trick riding show. Davy and Mike were pretty certain what was going on wasn't a show, but they didn't have the heart to tell their friend. Their worries were found to be concrete when a woman's shriek pierced the night.
Peter grew pale as he ran towards the horses. Mike and Davy didn't know what to do. They both realized they had to stop Peter from getting himself hurt. Mike reached for the gun at his belt. He didn't have a lot of bullets, and he only really had the gun for shooting rattlers while they were panning. He never imagined he'd have to use it against people.
"Leave her alone!" Peter shouted at the men on horses.
They slowed their horses and turned them towards Peter. One of the men looked down at Peter.
"This doesn't concern you," The man said.
Peter broke out in a cold sweat. "It might not, but there ain't no reason for you to be hurting a lady," Peter said choking slightly.
The men on the horses laughed. "She ain't no lady," One of the men further in the back said.
"She ain't even a person," Another man chimed in.
Mike and Davy finally caught up. "Just leave her alone," Mike said raising up his gun.
The men all looked at Mike's gun. "Hey, we were just playin' around. You can't shoot us for messin' with a squaw," The first man exclaimed.
"I want you out of here at the count of three," Mike said threateningly. "One..."
The men were out of there before he even got to two. Peter approached the woman. She looked about his age. She had long black hair worn in a braid that had been messed up in the scuffle. Her eyes were dark, almost black, and her skin was light brown as it was normal of her people. She was beautiful in her own exotic way.
Peter held his hand out for her. She looked up at him. Peter smiled at her to show he wasn't going to hurt her. She took his hand wearily. He helped her up, but as soon as she was on her feet she fell into his arms with a painful groan. Her leg was twisted in an odd way.
"Guys, do you think we should take her to a doctor?" Peter asked.
Mike looked at her leg. He cringed slightly at the sight. "Yeah, that's definitely broken," He said.
Peter picked her up. The girl looked up at him. "My name's Peter," He said.
She stared at him. Peter sighed slightly. He began to walked back towards town.
The girl fell asleep in his arms. Her face was contorted in pain, but she was asleep, albeit a restless sleep. Peter tried to walk as softly as possible without losing speed. He didn't want to wake his sleeping beauty. He cringed at every twig that snapped under his feet. He was afraid that she would wake up.
Mike and Davy followed after him at a distance. They were both surprised at how easily the men on horses had complied to their suggestions. They didn't even argue once Mike had shown up with the gun.
Davy, Mike, and Peter heard hoof beats in the distance. They saw a man on horse riding up. At first they were nervous that it was one of the men that had been attacking the girl, but as the horse drew closer they saw that it was the deputy, Vincent. He stopped his horse in front of them. "Some men rode into town saying that three young men threatened them with guns," He said dismounting.
Peter stared at the older man. "Threatened them?" He said surprised.
Vincent held up his hand. "Calm down," He said. "I'd guess by the girl they were... messing with her."
Peter nodded.
"Well, I know you were trying to do good, but it's best to leave those types of things to me," Vincent said. "You'll just stir up more trouble intervening like that."
Peter looked down at the girl. "She needs to get to a doctor," He said.
Vincent looked down at the girl's leg. "I take her to the medicine man in the morning," He said.
"In the morning? She needs help now," Peter said.
Vincent looked at the leg again. "Doesn't matter if we got her to her tribe today or tomorrow, she's gonna be a cripple," Vincent said.
"Why does she have to go to her tribe?" Peter asked.
Vincent sighed. "For a guy who didn't say a thing the first time I met ya, you have a whole lotta questions..." He said. "No white skinned doctor would ever fix up a red skin. That's just how it is."
Peter stared at Vincent. "What's that supposed to mean?" He exclaimed.
Mike put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "There's nothin' you can do. Just give her to Vincent and let's git," He said.
Peter was beginning to tear up. "No, I'll help her myself if I have to," He said.
Davy looked at his blonde-haired friend. "Come on, Peter, let's take her to the wagon," He said.
Peter gave Davy a grateful smile. Vincent sighed. "Take my horse," He said. "I'll just walk back. It's a nice night anyways. You can bring the horse back to me tomorrow."
Peter looked at Vincent and smiled. "Thank you," He said.
Vincent shrugged. "I think I know a doctor who'll treat anyone, 'cept it'll be expensive," He said.
Peter looked over at his friends. Mike and Davy shrugged. "We can pay it," Peter said.
Vincent nodded. "Well get her up on the horse. You can ride her into town. His name is Richard Penniman," He said. "He doesn't have a degree or anything, but he's a good guy, a little strange, but a good guy. He's near the saloon, it's just a house with a sign on the door that's got his name on it, but if you knock on the door and say I sent you then he'll get the message."
Peter nodded. He found a little bit of a problem with getting the girl up on the horse. He handed her to Mike first then climbed onto the horse. Mike handed the girl back to Peter.
Peter was surprised at how light she was, like she was made of feathers. The girl had woken up during the game of hot potato between Peter and Mike. Peter helped her get comfortable on the saddle before riding forward towards town.
"I'm gonna get you to a doctor," Peter said.
The girl was silent.
"I guess you don't understand English..." Peter said slowly.
The girl was still silent.
"I guess talking to you is a little silly, but it makes me feel better. I can't understand your language and you can't understand mine. It's like a giant wall between us. Why am I still talking? You're easy to talk to."
"I can speak English."
Peter almost fell out of the saddle.
"You can?"
The squaw nodded. "I... am... sorry that I have just spoke, but I was... afraid," She said.
"How's your leg?" Peter asked.
"Was the man telling the truth when he said I would be cripple?" The squaw asked avoiding Peter's question.
Peter was taken aback. "I don't know. I'm not a doctor. We'll ask the Richard Penniman fellow," He said.
The squaw nodded. She was quiet for a little while. They reached town. It was after dark so no one but the occasional drunk was out. Peter dismounted in front of the saloon. He tied the horse and lifted the squaw off the horse.
"Thank you..." The squaw said quietly.
"For what?" Peter asked. He was sorta confused.
"For helping me..."
Peter smiled slightly. "It was no problem," He said.
"My is name Aponi."
"I'm Peter, nice to meet you," Peter said.
Aponi wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself. Peter tried not to notice how close she was to him. He tried not to blush. Peter found the door with Richard Penniman written on it. He was about to knock when the door swung open.
"Come in!" Came a booming voice.
Peter stopped for a moment. He was nervous, but he stepped in anyways. He gulped as the door shut behind him.

(So, third chapter! Yay! Richard Penniman is Little Richard, yeah, I snuck him in. The Native American girl's name is technically inaccurate... I'm sorry. I know most people wouldn't know the difference, but it's bugging me so I gotta clear this all up. Aponi means butterfly in some Native American language (I don't know which), Aponi is supposed to be Wintu, but I couldn't find a name that was Wintu. I'm sorry for my inaccuracies. I know, I'm a failure, don't stone me! Also, I'm gonna say sorry for calling Aponi a squaw, but I'm wasn't sure what to call her until I named her and the Native American girl was too much to type and I didn't want to keep calling her girl. I'm sorry, I'm a failure, don't stone me! Well, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter!
Peace and love! Don't rock too hard without me! ~ Adde Away!!!)