Free The Doctor and the Rough Rider by Mike Resnick Page A

said Holliday seriously.
    Suddenly the barber found his client less amusing, and went to work finishing his
     shave.
    “What do I owe you?” asked Holliday.
    “A nickel.”
    Holliday tossed him a dime. “When Behan comes back, tell him his shave's on me, and
     I just wish I was holding the razor.”
    Then he was out onto the arid Tombstone street. He wandered past a pair of restaurants,
     wishing he could work up an appetite, finally realized he was headed toward the Oriental
     and that he was going to drink his breakfast, as usual.
    As he crossed an alley, he saw a squirrel standing a few feet into it, just out of
     the glare of the sunlight. There weren't any squirrels in Tombstone.
    “ Goddammit! ” he muttered.
    He considered walking straight ahead, but the squirrel knew he'd seen it, and would
     just keep appearing in various guises until he stopped and found out what it wanted.
    He walked into the alley, and continued walking well past the squirrel until he was
     totally in the shade. At least it was minimally cooler here.
    The squirrel turned and walked after him, then came to a stop when it was five feet
     away and stared at him.
    “You'd better not be a goddamned real squirrel,” muttered Holliday.
    As the words left his mouth, the squirrel morphed into a tall, well-muscled Apache
     warrior.
    “What does he want this time?” said Holliday irritably.
    “He says if what he thinks will happen does happen, it is essential that you remain
     here.”
    “Here in the alley, or here in Tombstone?”
    “Here. Not in Leadville.”
    “You tell him that Mr. Roosevelt is singularly equipped to take care of himself, and
     is younger and healthier than I am.”
    The warrior closed his eyes for a moment, and Holliday got the distinct impression
     that he was speaking silently with Geronimo.
    “He says this has nothing to do with Roosevelt.”
    “Oh, shit,” said Holliday.
    But he found he was speaking only to a rapidly retreating squirrel.

H OLLIDAY WAS SITTING ALONE in the elegant bar of the Grand Hotel, drinking his lunch and playing a game of solitaire,
     when Masterson approached him.
    “Mind if I join you?” he asked.
    Holliday didn't look up from his card. “Have a seat.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Ask the bartender for a glass,” said Holliday. “Unless you want to drink from the
     bottle.”
    Masterson shook his head. “Too early in the day for me, Doc.”
    Holliday shrugged. “Good. There'll be more for me.”
    They sat in silence for a few minutes, Holliday continuing his solitaire game, Masterson
     looking more and more uncomfortable. Finally he cleared his throat and spoke up. “Doc,
     I have to talk to you.”
    “I'm right here,” said Holliday.
    “I'm thinking of going back to New York.”
    Now Holliday looked up. “Why?”
    “He doesn't need me. He's the most self-sufficient man I've evermet. He's always doing something. If he's not figuring out how Edison invents things, he's jogging around
     the city, or reading books, or sketching birds, or practicing with his pistol, or…hell,
     it makes me tired just describing it.”
    Holliday smiled. “Yeah, I've noticed that about him.”
    “He talks to me, because he's well mannered…but all he wants to talk about are sporting
     events I've seen and shootists I've known. I doubt that he thinks of me again the
     second I'm out of sight.” He sighed deeply. “He's got you riding shotgun for him now,
     and I've got a job back East. I gave all this up a couple of years ago.”
    “Geronimo's not going to turn you into a bat again,” said Holliday.
    “I know,” replied Masterson. “That's got nothing to do with it. I made a decision
     to walk out on this life, and I can feel myself getting sucked back in.”
    Suddenly Holliday grinned. “Now I understand.”
    “What's so funny?”
    “You heard him talking about War Bonnet,” said Holliday. “And you're afraid if you
     stick around a couple more days, your curiosity won't let you leave until