Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 07:16:06 -0500
From: carl5de@netscape.net
Subject: HIGH PLAINS DOCTOR - 4

HIGH PLAINS DOCTOR - 4

Copyright 2005 by Carl Mason and Ed Collins

All rights reserved.  Other than downloading one copy for strictly personal
enjoyment, no part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, except for reviews, without
the written permission of the authors.  However based on real events and
places, "High Plains Doctor" is strictly fictional.  Any resemblance to
actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.  As in real life, however, the sexual themes unfold
gradually.  If you would like to read other Mason-Collins stories, you
might turn to "Out of the Rubble," "Castle Margarethen," and "The Priest
and the Pauper" which are archived in Nifty's "Historical" section.
Comments on the story are appreciated and may be addressed to the authors
at carl5de@netscape.net

This story contains descriptions of sexual contact between males, both
adults and teenagers.  As such, it is homoerotic fiction designed for the
personal enjoyment of legal, hopefully mature, adults.  If you are not of
legal age to read such material, if those in power and/or those whom you
trust treat it as illegal, or if it would create unresolvable moral
dilemmas in your life, please leave.  Finally, remember that maturity
generally demands that anything other than safe sex is sheer insanity!


CHAPTER 4

(Revisiting Chapter 3)

When Ben arrived at the Post to pick up his wards, Sam commented that
Barry, Kyle, Jon, and Kelly had essentially become brothers.  The next age
group of troopers, i.e., those in their early 20s, were treating the four
of them as if they were the younger brothers they had left at home.
Several of the older men appeared to regard the four of them as young sons.
The point is that it had been a very emotional day - and the Post troopers
were a happier bunch tonight than they had been in many months.  Sam also
gave Ben a bottle of really nasty looking liniment that, he said, he kept
for occasions such as this.  "Before the night is out," he laughed, "you're
likely to need it!"  The three of them returned home, most of their
defenses down, their relationship ready to move on to the next step.

(Continuing Our Story - Aches and Pains)

Sam Culpepper was right about the need for liniment!  Supper wasn't over
before the boys began stiffening up and emitting pitiful moans and groans.
They even refused dessert - and that meant something really serious was
afoot!  Had Ben not remembered his first time on a horse, he would have
broken up when they stiffly helped each other to stand and stagger back
towards their room.

Ben was reading the latest copy of his medical journal when the wails
began, perhaps half an hour later.  "DOC!  DOC!  WE NEED YOU, DOC!"  "Damn!
I should have chosen three or four more while I was on that damned Train,"
Ben muttered as he put his journal on the table and headed back towards the
sounds of pain.  Once he saw their faces, of course, he immediately ceased
being the "harried foster newbie" and smoothly morphed into the "doctor."
"Ok, guys, Captain Culpepper said that you'd had a pretty strenuous workout
and sent something along that he thought might help.  Let's go downstairs
to our workroom.  Ben not only had to help the kids up off their bunks, but
he just about had to carry them down the stairs.  "Get rid of the clothes
and I'll see what I can do to make some of the pain go away."  The lads
were in such discomfort that they even forgot they were teenagers and
welcomed his help in stripping!  "Twice in the same day I get to see more
beauty than I saw in all the museums of Europe!" Ben chortled to himself.
"So...who's first?"  "Kell, may I please go first?  I'll owe you one," Jon
groaned.  Ben helped the hunky 16 year-old to climb onto his examination
table and grabbed the liniment bottle.  Removing the stopper, he paused for
a moment...as one of the most nauseating stenches he had ever smelled
seemed to fill the room.  Raising his head slightly from the table, Jon
exclaimed, "What in hell is that, Da?  It smells even worse than the sewer
we used to sleep in at Five Points!"  Ben looked over at Kelly whose face
had taken on a most unappetizing shade of green.  "There's no help for it,
my boy.  Now we know why it's called 'horse liniment'!"

As far as Ben was concerned, that unbelievably vile liquid had only one
advantage.  It took the kids' minds off the pain in their muscles.
Needless to say, they bitched all the way, even getting a little testy
towards the end of the vigorous rubdown.  "Don't get that stuff ANYWHERE
NEAR my balls!" Jon had growled.  Kelly muttered that he now knew how his
rotting corpse would smell.  For all of that, the liniment (and/or the
rubdown) did relieve the worst of the aches and pains.  When Ben had wiped
the excess from their bodies, he helped them upstairs, tucked them into
their bunks, and wearily returned to his journal.

It must have been midnight or, maybe, even one o'clock when Ben, who had
just dozed off, heard a scratching on his bedroom door.  "Yes?" he asked
quietly.  The door opened slightly to reveal a still naked Kelly.  "Yes,
Kell?" he murmured.  The boy took a few steps closer...stiffly,
painfully. "Da..." he began.  "Da, I'm SO sore.  It's back again.  I don't
think there's a muscle in my body that isn't killing me.  I'm sorry to
bother you, but is there any way that you could make some of the pain stop
again?"  Ben raised the sheet from his body, saying, "Come on over here,
youngster."

As he settled in next to Ben, Kelly let out a loud groan.  "Shush, Big Guy.
You left the door open; don't wake your brother."  "Yes, Da," Kelly
whispered.  "On your stomach...," Ben commanded, throwing the sheet back.
Slowly, skillfully, he began to massage some of the knots out of the boy's
triceps, neck, back, butt, and the rear of his thighs and calves.  Kelly
was behaving, but he was beginning to have a real problem with his own
feelings.  He WASN'T a predator, damn it!  Charles, his manservant in
Boston, had been...different.  His other encounters had all been with men.
The fact remained that he loved Kelly - and, to a great extent, Jon - as he
had loved no others in his life and longed to show them everything that he
felt.  Then, too, his passions were rising.  "Ready to turn over, monster?"
he joked.  The boy turned over, a bit more easily than he had gotten into
the bed.  At that moment, the moon came out from behind clouds and softly
illuminated the room.  The lad's body - no, Kelly himself...every aspect of
him - was breathtaking.  Not quite trusting himself, he began by working
the boy's heavy biceps and forearms.  "Oh, God, yes, Da!  I thought my arms
were going to fall off before I got down off that damned...female horse!"
"Shush, my son," Ben whispered.  "Just lie back and relax."  As he went to
massage the front of the youth's heavy neck, he noticed that the moonlight
was glinting off tears on his cheeks.  "Am I doing something that makes you
uncomfortable?" he whispered.  By way of answer, the boy lifted his torso
slightly and kissed him.  "You just called me your 'son,' Kelly stated with
utter simplicity.  Did you mean it?"  The young doctor's body shuddered as
he said, "Yes, Kelly, I did."  A couple of soft sobs escaped from the
youngster's lips before he regained control.  "Then I'm going to ask you to
do three things for me...because I am your son and you are the father I
love.  "Ask away...son," Ben whispered, on the verge of tears.

"First," Kelly growled playfully - completely changing the mood of the
moment - "PLEASE finish up and stop the pain!  I'm dying!"  Chuckling, Ben
proceeded to obey a command that for him was anything but painful!  His
skilled fingers dug deep into Kelly's pecs, into his stomach, and into his
lower torso.  Avoiding his dripping, rock-hard shaft, he moved to his
thighs and calves, working the muscles until he feared that he might do
some damage and let up.  "No!  No!  Da, that feels wonderful! Keep going!"
By the time Ben eventually reached the boy's ankles and feet, Kelly was
almost purring.  He stopped and awaited the second command.

The beautiful teen suddenly seemed to become uncomfortable, even shy.
"What is it, Kelly?  What's wrong?"  "It's just that it's so silly, Da.  I
feel stupid even asking."  "I shall never consider anything you say to me
tonight - or for the rest of our lives - to be 'stupid,' son.  What do you
want me to do?"  "Da, it's just that I wish I were about six years younger,
and I know that's not possible."  "Why would you like to be eight, Kell?"
"No one has ever held me in his arms and just loved me.  You know...no
sex...just...love," the lad responded.  "You don't have to be eight years
old to get that from me, my boy," Ben murmured.  With that, he blew lightly
on the boy's hair and kissed the brown curls that seemed almost auburn in
the moonlight.  Slowly, as a mother might, he kissed his son's cheek before
turning on his side, putting his arm under the youth's heavy torso, and
simply drawing him into his chest.  Lightly, he stroked the lad's back, his
hair, feeling his love envelop him, feeling his son's tears wetting his
shoulder and trickling down his back.  Abruptly, Kelly sniffled and
whispered, "Thanks, Dad.  Kyle told me that 'Dad' is the American word.
May I use it?"  "Yep," Ben replied, tightly holding onto his emotions, "and
your third wish?"

"My last wish is another dream, Dad.  Since I first saw you on the Train,
I've dreamt that you would love me as I love you.  I want you to love me in
every way."  The young lad was crying as he choked out, "I want to be
yours."  Ben hesitated, but the time was long past for holding back the
feelings that seethed within him.  Beginning with his lips, the doctor
kissed his way down his son's body until he reached the shaft which by then
was reddened, swollen beyond belief, throbbing with the beat of his heart,
and wet with precum.  As his tongue swirled around the head, the tip
digging into the opened slit, a wild cry forced its way through Kelly's
clenched teeth.  "Dad," he gasped, "please come into me.  I want to feel
every part of you."  As the lad raised his legs and held them widespread,
Ben lathed his perineum and moved towards an anus that was already wide
open.  "Is my saliva going to be enough?" he breathed.  "No problem, Dad, I
found some lard out in the kitchen.  There's plenty for both of us."
Snickering just a bit to himself - for, not long before, the lad had been
so stiff and sore that he couldn't move - Ben extracted a bit of the lard
that Kelly had used to generously lubricate himself and slicked his rigid
pole.  Gently pressing into the boy, Ben entered upon one of the most vivid
sexual experiences of his life.  Yes, it had been good with Charles; it had
even been good with some of the men he had encountered.  Nothing, however,
had ever BEGUN to approach the velvet love in which his Kelly encased him.
His kisses, his writhing, his murmured words of adoration, his gasps of
passion kept the young doctor in a state of absolute delirium.  As Ben
kissed strands of soggy brown hair from the boy's forehead while they
relaxed following monumental orgasms, Kelly looked up at him and murmured,
"I'll love you to the day I die, Dad."

Jon quickly moved through the shadows that had concealed him as he watched
Kelly and Ben and silently reentered the brothers' bedroom.  "Damn it all
anyway, Kelly!  Why do you always get there first?"

(Morning Follows the Night)

Ben awoke to the smell of coffee.  Seconds later, two fully dressed,
smiling teenagers burst into his room, carrying a tray and a host of
breakfast extras.  As Kelly fluffed his pillows, Jon set the tray carefully
down over Ben and began pouring his morning coffee.  "I hope I made the
coffee ok......Dad," he exclaimed with a wide grin.  "At this hour, hot
dishwater will do," Ben mumbled and gratefully sipped a cup of very good,
and very hot, coffee.  As he lit into the plate of eggs easy over, hash
browns, and bacon," the boys stood by proudly.  When he had wiped his mouth
on the white linen napkin and grinned his appreciation, Kelly lifted the
tray from the bed, saying, "We'll take care of this stuff, Dad."  As they
turned to return to the kitchen, Ben stopped them, told Kelly to put the
tray down on the table, and then motioned for both boys to come closer.  As
they crawled up onto the bed, he finally managed to position Jon's head on
one of his shoulders and Kelly's on the other.  For several minutes he
simply held them, first kissing one and then the other.  Then, despicable
villain that he was, he attacked them cruelly, not stopping until the
tickling machine had reduced each of the boys to a giggling mess.  "I trust
that both my sons are now ready for a busy day," he remarked calmly.

Later that morning, Ben's two assistants stood by one of the cabinets
during a break between patients, examining a strange instrument.  "Got any
idea what it is?" Kelly asked.  "Nah," Jon answered, "that's really weird."
Kelly hefted the instrument, its polished shaft fitted into a beautifully
carved ebony handle.  On the end there were two oval blades, very sharp and
open in the middle.  A lever on the shaft allowed one blade to be drawn
across the other.  As Ben entered the workroom, Jon told him that they were
really stumped.  "Well, gentlemen, do you know what a 'guillotine' is?"
"Yeah," Kelly responded, "they used guillotines to cut off people's heads,
didn't they?"  "Good, Kelly, but this is too small to use on even the head
of a field mouse.  Got any idea about its possible use?  No?  Take a look
at this chart.  The tonsils are glands located on both sides of the back of
the mouth.  See...here and here.  We're not sure exactly what they do.  The
best rule is not to remove anything from the body unless it causes problems
for the patient.  Occasionally, however, the tonsils become infected and
swell.  The patient may commonly have sore throats and even have trouble
swallowing.  Then it may be time to use this little instrument and remove
them."  "Wow," said Jon, "remind me not to get a sore throat!"

Grinning at his eager medical students, Ben asked them if they were going
to have a second horsemanship lesson at the Post later in the day.  Their
enthusiasm left no doubt as to their answer.  "Are you willing to put up
with more of the agony you suffered last night?" Ben asked.  After glancing
at his brother with an especially guilty look, Jon admitted to Ben that
much of the fault had been his.  "Barry wanted to stop twice and Kell was
really hurting the second time.  I selfishly talked Barry into continuing.
That's one stupid mistake I won't make again.  I'm really sorry, Kell -
and, Dad, I'm just as sorry for all I put you through."  "Don't take all of
the blame, Jon," Kelly interjected.  "You didn't see me getting down off
that damned nag!"  "Ok," Ben said.  "If you don't stretch yourselves too
far, chances are that it's better for you to continue today than tomorrow.
Barry said he'd be free around 2:00 p.m.  Until then, we have work to do."

Arriving at the Post shortly before two o'clock, Ben stood talking with Sam
Culpepper for a moment.  Obviously, his two boys were taking a real razzing
from Barry and Kyle.  "I could have stopped them," Sam admitted, "but you
know, Ben.  At some point, teens just have to learn from their errors.  One
just hopes that the results aren't fatal."  Grinning wickedly at his
friend, Ben growled that last night had come close!  "Well," Sam continued
with an understanding smirk, "they're going to spend most of their time
today learning the right way to saddle and bridle a horse. Their ride will
continue to focus on improving their seat and their position on the
horse. It'll be shorter and a hell of a lot less strenuous than yesterday.
Tonight will be a little easier...on you," he grinned nastily.  Thinking
that LAST night "had its moments," Ben contented himself with asking if Jon
and Kelly were in any way interfering with his operation.  "Nope," Sam
replied.  "At this point, we're way ahead in the benefits contest."  "Ok,
Sam, I'm off," Ben murmured.  "As soon as I've seen the Blackwells and the
Shannons out in the Rijo Valley," I'll be back to pick up my crew."  With a
wave, he was on his way.

The lesson went well.  While Sam hadn't mentioned it to Ben, he had
instructed his First Sergeant to talk with Barry the night before about the
need to exert a little tighter control over "greenhorns."  It was part of
the young trooper's training as he prepared to become an NCO.  As a result,
today's lesson had pushed the boys without allowing them to get in trouble.
When Ben picked them up, they were in fine spirits.  Jon spoke privately
with Ben for a moment, asking if Kelly and he might invite Barry and Kyle
over to the house for dinner.  Given permission, the boys immediately
huddled with their instructors and, by now, good friends.  Loud whoops and
shoulder and back pounding that would have permanently disabled an adult
suggested that the invitation had been enthusiastically received.

Several nights later, two handsome young troopers dressed in their best
uniforms and thoroughly slicked up knocked on the outside door of the
apartment.  Well drilled, they ceremoniously presented Ben with a small
leather case that held a collection of Indian arrowheads.  The
golden-haired Kyle smirked at the boys and apologized for not bringing them
some flowers!  Fearing that a major riot might break out, Ben was relieved
when his pair merely collared their guests and dragged them back towards
their bedroom - stopping on the way, of course, to demonstrate the glories
of indoor plumbing!  (Sam told Ben later that his young troopers had been
unable to stop taking about the bathroom fixtures for some days after their
visit!)

After hours of preparation by Ben and Kelly that had even involved Jon, the
dinner was as excellent as the conversation.  Barry and Kyle praised the
boys' developing horsemanship and predicted that it wouldn't be long before
they could take part in a trail ride.  Maybe, they could even ride up as
far as Scott's Bluffs on the North Platte near the Wyoming line.  The area
was filled with the history of the California Gold Rush as well as freight
traffic over Mitchell Pass, the Pony Express, and the transcontinental
telegraph.  "Yeah," added Kyle.  "We might even meet William Henry Jackson,
the great Western photographer!"  "I know Jackson's work," Ben commented.
"That WOULD be worthwhile!"  Fittingly, it ended when Barry leaned back in
his chair, ostentatiously let his belt out another notch, and refused a
third slice of apple pie a la mode made by Max at the Crystal Palace.
Groaning in mock agony, he commented that if the Army ever served such
chow, they wouldn't have to force the Indians onto reservations.  It would
be enough simply to let them smell the food!  After the boys had insisted
on taking care of the dishes, everyone gathered in the front parlor where
each person present had to tell a story.  When that game was completed,
Kyle volunteered to play the piano.  Jon and Kelly had never experienced
such an evening.  True, they didn't know the songs, but Ben and their
guests were patient and before the evening was over, they were singing
along with the others.  When the young soldiers left, there was sadness all
around, as well as the promise of future invitations.

(The White Man's Disease)

"Bear-Who-Walks-Upright is in the office and would like to speak with you,
Dad," Kelly announced as he found Ben back in the workroom, refilling some
of the glass bottles.  "Fine, Kell," the doctor replied.  "Please tell him
that I'll be right there."

"You're having a marked effect on my younger assistant," Doctor Cabot said
pleasantly to the old Indian as he entered the office.  The other night,
the boys invited a couple of their friends over for dinner.  Kelly told a
story of your youth when you went on the buffalo hunt and encountered
thousands of the beasts.  Given the slaughter, it's hard to imagine today
that the sun would have been dimmed by the dust kicked up by the herd."
"He's a fine boy, Doctor, a boy who would have worn many feathers in his
hair as a warrior," Bear-Who-Walks-Upright responded politely.
"Unfortunately, I come today with bad news."  Ben noticed his completely
atypical directness and surmised that the news was very serious indeed.

As was his wont, Bear-Who-Walks-Upright told the impatient American trio
another story.  Many moons ago, the traditional hunting grounds of his
people covered much of the land where Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming come
together.  History had not been kind to them.  Gradually, their braves had
fallen to the Pawnee, Lakota (Sioux), Cheyenne, and Arapaho.  Today, all
that was left was a good-sized band that lived some distance towards the
setting sun.  Now too small and weak to tempt their fellow Indian
oppressors who were increasingly occupied with each other and the whites,
they tried to live at peace with the increasing stream of settlers.  Trade
with wagon trains headed west, minor farming, and killing an occasional
buffalo allowed them to eke out a minimal livelihood.  Though it was
difficult for Ben to translate the old Indian's words into American time
units, it seems that his people had contact with a wagon train perhaps six
weeks ago, a wagon train that had several sick children.  Today, there is
great sickness in his village.  People have spots like evil spirits.  An
older brave and his squaw died when they stopped breathing.  Big fever,
sweating, craziness...  Could his friend cure this "white man's disease"?

A deep frown on his handsome face, Dr. Ben went to a bin in his library
wall and removed three rolled charts.  Spreading one in front of the old
Indian, he asked if the spots pictured were like the ones on the bodies of
his people.  No, most of them weren't that red; they were more like...skin
with water underneath.  "Ha!" exclaimed Ben and unrolled the second chart.
"And these?"  "Yes," exclaimed Bear-Who-Walks-Upright, "though the marks on
many of my people look much more angry."  "Jon, Kelly, come over here!" Ben
commanded.  "Have you guys had Chickenpox?"  Jon only took a brief look at
the chart before he said that both of them had it...  about four years ago.
"I just about scratched the skin off my chest," he admitted, "and I had to
wrap rags around Kelly's hands to keep him from taking his skin off!  I
pulled him through," he added proudly.  Kelly spoke up, saying that they
wanted to go with their father to help Bear's people.  "We'll take a chance
on getting it again," he said with a determined look on his face.  "No
problem there, Kell.  Once you've had Chickenpox, it seems that most people
can't get it again.  The problem is with people who have never been exposed
to the disease.  It's not the worst of the 'White Man's Diseases', but
really bad things can happen without care.  Well...what would I do without
my two assistants along?  You can come.  Get the wagon ready and arrange
for a second horse.  I'll gather food and medical supplies.  We'll leave
after lunch.  Will you guide us, Bear-Who-Walks-Upright?"  "It will be an
honor, my friends," the old Indian replied.


The boys were really curious when Ben drove the team around to the "feed"
section at the back of the Emporium, purchased a full sack of oats, and had
the miller grind the oats to a fairly fine consistency.  "Are there that
many horses to take care of?" Kelly asked.  "Not that I know of," his dad
responded, "but oat mush helps control the itching."  "Wish I'd known
that," Jon mumbled.  "I'd have asked a dray horse to share some of his
oats!"  Ben playfully whacked him on the side of the head as they moved
along at a good pace, Bear-Who-Walks-Upright leading the way on his pony.

For two long days, the party headed west by southwest.  The land was dry
and rough and bluffs were seen on every side.  They were definitely on the
high plains, the "white world" seemingly left far behind. Well into the
third day, directed by their guide, they entered a small valley that they
would otherwise have surely missed.  The scene that met their eyes was
anything but promising.  There were few children about and fewer signs of
life.  Even the Indian dogs seemed dispirited.  Many tepees were simply
deserted, their flaps open.  >From others, sounds of wailing were heard,
occasionally punctuated by barking coughs.  A naked old woman suddenly
broke from one tepee only to run aimlessly from tent to tent, screaming in
fear and confusion.

Bear-Who-Walks-Upright's pony stopped by a large tepee.  His face grim and
taut with tension, Ben pulled the wagon up nearby.  "Boys," he commanded
quietly in his most serious voice, "you will stick close to me while we are
here.  We don't know how friendly the People will be; there is sickness
here that is far more dangerous than Chickenpox.  Touch nothing without
washing your hands as quickly as possible.  I'll give you something to wear
over your noses.  Try to keep your hands away from your lips.  I love you.
My life would end if I lost you.  Do you understand?"  "Yes, Dad," Jon and
Kelly responded as one.

Bidding his friends to wait, the old Indian entered the tepee.  Several
minutes later, he returned, gesturing for the doctor and the boys to join
him.  Scared, but wide-eyed with excitement, the boys looked at each other
as they bent down and followed the adults inside.  This was real - the Wild
West that they had heard about back home in the alleys of Lower Manhattan!
Four Indians, one quite old, one middle-aged, and two braves in their prime
were seated around a small fire.  They noticed immediately that
Bear-Who-Walks-Upright was treated with immense respect - no less respect
than the older man, "Ten Wolves", who was introduced to them as the Chief,
or the middle-aged Indian, "Snow Bird", who was evidently a religious
leader or medicine man.  (Their guide's translation was not all that easy
to follow.)  The braves were "Many Horses" and "Kills Sioux" - or something
like that.  After introducing Dr. Cabot, Bear introduced Jon and Kelly as
his sons and assistants.  Both boys stood tall, nearly dying with pride.

Given leave to speak, Snow Bird rose and faced their guests.  "Our brother,
Bear-Who-Walks- Upright, tells us that you are good people and that you
have powerful medicine.  Many have died; others are sick...inside," he
said, pointing to his chest; "others tear their skin...some until their
bones show.  We welcome your help and will do everything possible to assist
you."  Wasting no time, Ben asked that each of them be assigned a young
teen as an assistant and that the sick be divided into three groups - those
"sick...inside" (i.e., those he suspected had developed pneumonia), the
babies and very young who had spots, and the spotted others.  If each group
couldn't fit in one tepee, they should be divided into tepees that were
close together.  At the wagon, he gave each boy a mask for his nose, a
supply of the finely ground oats, several towels, a small glass bottle that
held a colorless liquid (a couple of drops of which were to be added to
each basin of hot water), and a bar of soap.  When the teen assistants
joined them, he found that Kelly's assistant, "Running Deer," spoke broken
but reasonably adequate English.  Ben had him tell the others that they
would be responsible for bringing and replenishing basins of hot water,
finding containers to make the oat mush, locating clean blankets and rags,
and having all used towels and rags washed in hot, boiling water.  Finally,
he told Jon and Kelly to clean their patients, make them as comfortable as
possible, and cover their blisters with a thin coating of oat mush.  If
that didn't stop them from scratching, they were to wrap their hands in
clean rags.  Those who appeared to be developing something worse than
Chickenpox were to be reported to him...quickly.  "Remember, boys, let your
patients know you like them, show them respect, and don't get bossy.  We're
here for them, not the other way around!  Ready to go?"  "Yes, sir!" they
shouted.  When Running Deer translated, the 13 and 14 year-old Indian teens
shouted something in their own language and grinned proudly.

The "field hospital" operated for nearly two weeks.  Kelly had two tents,
but he also had an assistant who could speak some English - and who was
both intelligent and markedly cooperative.  He also liked the young ones
who reacted as positively to him as to Kelly.  Sleep became something that
just happened when the body could go on no longer and one's eyelids closed
for a few minutes.  Food became something that was forced into one's mouth,
chewed, and swallowed without tasting.  (Perhaps that we just as well, for
after the meat that was on hand ran out, they ate dog on at last three
occasions.  Though he said nothing to Kelly, Running Deer looked at a long,
thin, hairless tail that turned up in one of his meals with grave
suspicion!)  Nevertheless, they brought the epidemic to a halt.  During the
second week, for instance, not one of Jon or Kelly's patients had to be
referred to Ben.  The good doctor's problems, of course, were more serious.
He lost patients, especially during the first week.  Other than keeping the
others warm, clean, and hydrated, there was so little that he could do
other than pray that their weakened bodies would strengthen with rest and
measured nutrition and throw off the sickness.

In all this, Snow Bird and Bear-Who-Walks-Upright were pillars of strength.
What had to be arranged in their village was arranged.  Several great pots
of boiling water were bubbling constantly, for instance, to wash used
towels and cloths.  Special broths requested by Ben for recovering patients
took precedence over all other cooking.  Occasionally, one or the other
leader came into a hospital tepee and commanded an Indian who was
determined to leave to stay and get well.  Towards the end of the second
week, they finally came to Ben, thanked him profusely for his and his sons'
assistance, told him that they were now, and would always be, brothers, and
said that the members of their band could now care for the increasingly
small number of patients.

On the final afternoon, Ben, Jon, and Kelly left their hospital tepees and
stumbled into the sunlight.  It had been some time.  "Want to go up on that
bluff and simply relax and talk for a bit?" Ben mumbled to the boys.  "Dad,
if you and Jon will forgive me, I need to speak with Running Deer.  He has
some things he wants to tell me, and he wants me to meet his parents."  "No
problem, son," Ben responded.  As Kelly raced off, Ben and Jon climbed the
bluff overlooking the village and settled down.

"I never thought I would be as happy - or as tired - as I am at this
minute, Dad," Jon mumbled, grinning at his panting father.  "You can't
believe what life was like in Five Points," he continued, "no hope, living
like rats in the sewers, hated by everybody.  I never had a father, you
know.  I was told that some floozie - not even my mother - just dumped me
at the orphanage door along with Kelly who was only a few days old.  Even
though he's a pain in the ass at times, he's really the only reason I've
kept on trying.  Otherwise, I would have jumped off a pier into the East
River like a lot of my friends did.  Do you have any idea at all how much I
love you?"

"Come over here," Ben commanded gruffly.  When the handsome, sandy-haired
16 year-old slid over, he reached out his arm and drew him even closer.
Bending his face down, he nibbled on the top of the nearest ear.  "Only a
few years ago," he murmured, "a wonderful English poetess wrote, 'How do I
love thee?  Let me count the ways.'  If I started counting, Jon, we'd never
get back to Shiloh!"  "But, Dad, do you REALLY love me - like you love
Kelly?"  Knowing now that which he had only suspected earlier, namely, that
Jon had indeed watched from the shadows the other night, Ben gave the only
answer that he could give...the only answer that was true.  "Yes, Jon, I
love you just the way I love Kelly...just the way YOU love Kelly.  You are
my reason for living.  If I lost you, I wouldn't want to go on."  Letting
his breath out in one great gasp, the boy lifted up and kissed Ben
passionately, breaking the kiss only when forced to by lack of oxygen. "I
never let myself believe that anyone could love me that way, Dad."  Ben
looked down to see a tremendous bulge in the young man's pants.  Slowly, he
unbuttoned Jon's shirt, repeatedly kissed his chest, and nibbled on a nub.
As the lad's breath almost whined in agony, he unfastened his belt and
slowly undid the fly buttons.  Reaching down into the opening, he freed the
boy's cock which then rose hard and straight as an arrow.  "Do you need all
those clothes?" Ben asked gently.  Jon was out of them almost before Ben
could begin to remove his.  When he went to continue undressing, the boy
yelled, "No!  That's my job, Dad!"  With that, he slowly undressed his
hero, the man who had lifted him out of Hell itself, kissing, licking, and
nibbling incessantly.  Both men were on fire.  There was nothing gentle
about their lovemaking that day.  On top of the bluff, two naked muscular
figures outlined against a High Plains sky twisted and wrestled in the
sunlight.  Hard bodies came together with audible impact, lips ground
against each other, rock-hard cocks fought for supremacy, large, powerful
hands clutched and squeezed without mercy.  Finally, they took each other -
and it was good.

Afterwards, they climbed down the bluff, their arms around each other's
waist, Jon's head occasionally rolling over onto Ben's chest.  When they
reached their tepee, the flap was closed.  "You in there, Kelly?" Ben
asked.  "Yep, just give me a minute, guys."  (Pause.)  "Ok, you can come in
now."  A young Indian lad dressed in ceremonial regalia met their eyes - a
relatively narrow breechclout with an eagle in red beads decorating the
front panel, a heavy grizzly bear- claw necklace, a handsome breastplate
that hung around his neck and down his chest - the panels of small, matched
buffalo bones strung together with colorful beads, a furred bracelet, and
ornamented moccasins.  "Do you know who Running Deer's father is?" Kelly
gasped breathlessly.  When both Ben and Jon shook their heads, he burst
out, "Snow Bird!"  "They adopted him!  And, guys, Running Deer is GAY, but
his tribe doesn't treat him like a girl.  Unlike some tribes, it's ok with
everybody!  Only one thing," he babbled on, "getting the clothing was
kinda...embarrassing.  In this tribe, the mother dresses her son for
important ceremonies.  I don't have a mother, so Running Deer's mother had
to do it.  Maybe that's ok for 8 year-olds, but...  Oh, man!"  Remembering
the breechclout, the first article to be put on his naked body, he came to
a dead stop, a truly red man!  Suddenly, a young voice, the voice of
Running Deer, called, "Jon, are you inside?  You have visitors!"  Poking
his head outside the tepee, Jon saw Little Wolf, his teenaged assistant,
together with two adults whom Running Deer identified as the boy's father
and mother.  His mother carried an armful of clothing.  "Um-m, guys," Jon
mumbled, turning to Ben and Kelly in growing embarrassment.  "Get lost for
a little while, ok?"

When they returned, the Indians had left.  Jon was spectacular!  His
clothing was quite similar to Kelly's, though the accent color was yellow
rather than red.  "Oh, yeah," he said, recovering quickly. "We've got to
wear this stuff to the ceremony tonight."  With that, Kelly and he looked
at each other and spontaneously broke into their version of an Indian dance
around the tepee floor - complete, of course, with blood curdling yells and
chants that, to Ben's ear, sounded far more like something out of Lower
Manhattan than something indigenous to the High Plains.

At the ceremony that night around a great fire, Ben, Jon, and Kelly were
inducted into the tribe.  Along with their assistants, each was given an
eagle feather to wear in his hair.  They were also given their tribal names
- for Ben, "Medicine Friend"; for Jon, "Man-with-Sand-in-Hair"; and for
Kelly, "Red Eagle."  At the close of the ceremony, Ben's teenaged
assistant, Sharp Knife, came forward.  Embarrassed, he presented Ben with
an object wrapped in rich furs, saying (as translated by Running Deer) that
this prized possession of the People was their gift to Medicine Friend.

After the wonderful band of true human beings had danced for long hours in
the flaring light and shadows of the fire, the men and boys teaching Jon
and Kelly the steps, their departure the next morning was anticlimactic.
In truth, they were still walking on air, and the long trip back to Shiloh
seemed to pass as if it were but across Main Street.


(To Be Continued)