Weird West 04 - The Doctor and the Dinosaurs Read Online Free PDF Page B

creatures live, and when? And given how powerful they were, what could possibly have killed them? I mean, a lion could do them about as much damage as a toothless puppy could do to you.”
    “You make it sound sort of interesting,” acknowledged Holliday. “And truth to tell, not a lot interests me these days. I'd like to live long enough to learn some of the answers to all those questions.”
    “So would I,” said Roosevelt, grabbing his binoculars to study a red-brown bird that was flying overhead.
    “It's just a bird.”
    “And Abraham Lincoln was just a man, and Hindoo is just a racehorse, and John L. Sullivan is just a boxer,” replied Roosevelt. “It's an endlessly fascinating world we live in,” he continued, watching the bird until it was out of sight, “and the dinosaurs are among the most fascinating things.”
    “In my world, it's the fascinating things that keep shooting at you,” said Holliday.
    “Still, whoever would have heard of Doc Holliday if you were just a dentist in Georgia?”
    “I could do with a little less notoriety,” remarked Holliday.
    “Nonsense,” protested Roosevelt. “You've made a mark on the mountain of history. People will be talking about those thirty seconds at the O.K. Corral for the next century or two.”
    “ Near the corral,” muttered Holliday irritably, so softly that Roosevelt didn't hear him.
    “By the way, we're being watched,” noted Roosevelt.
    “Off to the left,” said Holliday. “Yeah, I spotted them a couple of minutes ago.”
    “ Them? ”
    “Yeah, two of ’em.”
    “Damn!” said Roosevelt. “I only saw one.”
    “The other's not moving,” answered Holliday. “There! Now he is.”
    “Yes, I see him now. Comanche?”
    “I assume so,” said Holliday. “Just between you and me, I've never seen a Comanche before, but this is their territory.”
    “Are they just going to follow us?” asked Roosevelt.
    “Probably,” replied Holliday. “If they meant us any harm, they'd have done it by now.”
    “Good!” said Roosevelt. He pulled his horse to a halt, placed two fingers between his lips and whistled shrilly. The sound made both their horses uneasy, but while Roosevelt's was prancing nervously, he turned in his saddle, faced the two Comanche, and signaled them to join him and Holliday with a waving motion of his hand. The two Indians sat motionless, staring at him.
    “What the hell's got into you, Theodore?” demanded Holliday.
    “You say they don't want to kill us,” answered Roosevelt. “So why not have them take us to their medicine men and see if we can reach an accommodation?”
    “I said they probably don't want to kill us,” growled Holliday. “Andyou can't make any deals for Cope or Marsh until you talk to them and get them to okay it.”
    “Geronimo's not worried about Cope or Marsh,” said Roosevelt. “He's worried about the Comanche medicine men, so the sooner we find them and open a dialogue, the better.”
    “You've been out East too long, Theodore,” replied Holliday. “You've forgotten how things work out here.”
    “I'm more concerned with making sure they do work,” said Roosevelt. He peered off at the Indians, who had retreated behind some trees and shrubbery. “Ah, well, it was worth a try,” he added, his face reflecting his disappointment.
    “I've just been given a year,” said Holliday, urging his horse forward again. “I'd hate to lose the last fifty-one weeks of it.”
    “All right,” said Roosevelt. Then he shrugged. “They're gone anyway. We might as well keep going.”
    “In five minutes,” said Holliday, pulling his horse to a stop and dismounting. “The goddamned horse may not need a rest, but I do.” He reached for his flask, then shrugged and pulled his canteen off his saddle horn instead.
    “You do know where their camps are, right?”
    “I know the general area. I figure they'll keep moving around, but they're not hiding their presence, so we'll find enough signs to