The Fire Within a Ninjago Cowboy

Chapter 18 - Monday Afternoon

Chapter 18 - Monday Afternoon

Morro and Sam ran over to where Bansha lay on the floor, unconscious. Archer and other saloon patrons gathered around the scene.

"We had talked a little and she finished her soup and all of a sudden she fell off her chair," Kai explained, gesturing with his cuffed hands.

"All right, stand back, everyone, and give her some air," Morro commanded the crowd.

Sam noticed that Bansha's eyelids started to flutter.

The old woman's snippiness with Sam earlier that day in the jail cell was forgotten by the younger woman as she knelt down beside the stricken Bansha and took her hand. "Bansha, can you hear me?"

Bansha looked at her with dull eyes. "I hear ya," she answered weakly.

Sam's mind was instantly transported to a point in time just over a year ago. At that time, the stricken one was her daddy. He had looked as weak as Bansha did now. He never fully recovered.

Morro knelt down on the other side of Bansha.

"You're gonna be all right, Bansha," he assured her.

"Oh, Morro, I gotta git back home to Ninjago Town. I don't wanna die anywhere else but there," Bansha said in a groggy voice.

"Who's talking about dying, Bansha? You just need to rest," Morro admonished her.

Morro called out to the crowd, "If there's a doctor in the house, we could use one now!"

The barkeeper came over. "Sorry, pardner, but our town doctor's not here this week. But you can put her in that room over there."

Morro carefully picked up the old woman off the floor, bridal style, and carried her into the room indicated by the barkeeper. It was a room used to tend to injuries of saloon patrons involved in bar fights. Since it was small, only two people at a time, besides the patient, could occupy it comfortably.

Morro laid Bansha down on the available cot, then stepped back out where Archer, Sam, and Kai had gathered around the door.

He ran his fingers through his hair in an agitated fashion.

"All right, this is what's gonna happen. Cowboy, you're going back to jail for the afternoon. Archer, bring him over there while we wait here for you. Then come back here to watch over Bansha while Sam and I go back to the telegraph office."

Knowing what she now knew about Morro, Sam was a bit alarmed to let Kai out of her sight, but she quickly reasoned that Bansha's condition was currently now Morro's highest priority.

"All right, cowboy, let's go," Archer said to Kai as he drew his gun and jammed it between the shoulder blades of the ranch hand's back, guiding him out the saloon door.

Morro motioned for Sam to enter Bansha's room. Before he himself entered, he called out to the barkeeper to bring a glass of water and a cloth.

A small table and two chairs were also located in the room next to the cot, so Sam sat in one chair. Morro remained standing, waiting for the water to be delivered. The old woman stared at the ceiling, blinking.

The barkeeper brought the cloth, a glass, and a pitcher of water, setting them on the small table before he left. Morro closed the door after him.

"Bansha, how about some water?" Morro asked as he filled the glass.

She indicated she wanted some, so Sam carefully raised her head while Morro lifted the glass to her lips. After a few seconds, Bansha was done, so Sam lowered her head to the cot's pillow, and Morro dabbed her mouth with the cloth before setting it down on the small table.