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for him to hear the dentist struggling to get up in the cell next to him. Holliday’s movements sounded as if they were coming from one of the oafs who passed out nightly at the Busted Flush. There was a lot of scraping of limbs against the cot’s edges, followed by the drop of heavy feet against the floor.
    “That was the best sleep Ah’ve had in weeks,” Holliday said in a voice that barely seemed human. His words were still thick with his southern drawl but now were rougher than tree bark and punctuated with a rasping cough that hurt just to hear it.
    The guard winced at the sound of Holliday’s desperate hacking. That expression changed considerably after the dentist spat a juicy wad onto the floor. “Jesus Christ, are you all right?”
    “Ah’m fine and dandy,” Holliday replied in a drawl that was thicker than ever. “Now what time is it?”
    “Just past ten in the morning.”
    “And you’re here to tuhn me loose?”
    The guard nodded. “Yes, sir.”
    “And why is that?”
    “Ben talked to some folks at that saloon who said you were defending yourself when that other fellow tried to shoot you.”
    “You mean Virgil?”
    Shrugging, the guard replied, “I don’t recall the name, but he was a known card cheat, and there were witnesses who said you were justified in that shooting. Since Dr. Seegar spoke up for you as well, Ben said there was no harm in letting you out. Just be sure to stay around so’s we can find you if we need to ask anything else about the shooting.”
    Holliday’s feet shuffled against the floor, and he pulled in a few tired breaths. “What about my friend in the next cell?” he asked. “When is he to be released?”
    His eyes nervously twitching in Caleb’s direction, the guard shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t say. That’s Ben’s call.”
    Caleb felt a groan work its way up into the back of his throat, but he was too tired to push it any farther than that. His eyes had come open a bit more, which allowed him to get a good look at Holliday the moment the dentist stepped into view.
    Wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, Holliday looked into Caleb’s cell just long enough to meet the other man’s wary stare. No matter how badly Caleb had been feeling before, he felt better when he got a look at Holliday’s waxy, blood-smeared face.
    The dentist’s blond hair was a tussled mess, and there were dark circles under his eyes, which were still an odd mix of gray and blue. Of course, that could have simply been the sunlight reflecting from his pale skin. Looking away from Caleb, Holliday pulled himself upright and choked back another series of coughs that threatened to overtake him.
    Turning to face the guard once more, Holliday leaned against the bars of Caleb’s cell for support. In that instant, from his spot behind the dentist, Caleb thought he was going to see the dentist keel over completely. Despite the pain in his own body, Caleb jumped to his feet and reached out to slip an arm through the bars and hold Doc upright before he crumpled to the floor.
    To Caleb’s surprise, Holliday wasn’t about to let himself drop. He also wasn’t about to accept any help from anyone else. Twisting away from the support Caleb offered, Holliday took a few steps down the hall. Unfortunately, that allowed the guard a real good look at Caleb reaching out from his cell.
    “Get away from there!” the guard shouted as he swung at Caleb’s arm. “I said you’re not to be released, and I meant it!”
    The guard’s club slammed against the bars, crushing Caleb’s elbow in the process. Even as Caleb pulled his arm back in, the guard was reaching for the gun holstered at his hip. In the same instant the young man’s hand found the pistol’s grip, he realized that he couldn’t move his arm enough to get that weapon out of its leather resting place.
    Even though Caleb had been right there the whole time, he hadn’t spotted Holliday’s movement as the gaunt dentist had reached