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Arrowhead, the Last Apache


CardiMuscleman

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Chapter Thirty

The season of winter in the American plains was the most ruthless of all the seasons, indeed Arrowhead could remember the many times when the weather was so cold that he would have to spend weeks inside his adoptive father's tepee huddled from the cold. Perhaps that was the reason, as the first snow fell in the winter of 1873, that Arrowhead had the idea he had and after discussing it with the mayor of the town, who seemed overjoyed with the idea, and the colonel of Fort Revenge, the fort not that far from Powder Creek, who was equally delighted with the suggestion, the idea was put into motion so that by the time the sun set on December 23rd 1873, it found Arrowhead demonstrating his strength once again.

"Colonel, could you hold my leg still, please?"

As the colonel held Arrowhead's shoe, he stretched as far as possible and just managed to place a star on top of the Christmas tree that he had been decorating, and thanking the colonel explaining "It's always best to have a counter weight" descended the ladder and looked with pride at the completed tree.

"Colonel" he said, with a smile on his face, "I really cannot thank you enough I say. Giving a Christmas party for the children of Powder Creek as well as some of the native Americans in order to foster relations between them, It's..."

"Less of the false modesty!" interrupted the colonel, "this was your idea my lad and a better idea I cannot think of. After all, it's what Grant wants as well" and with that gestured Arrowhead to a window and pointed out to a storehouse at the other side of the fort saying "Ever since you suggested the idea, just after Thanksgiving, that storehouse has had regular supplies from Abilene and as of this moment is simply bulging from all the food, blankets and lamps to see the Indians through the winter" and with that chuckled adding "Now, what was this you asked me about a starring role at the end of the event?"

The discussions and preparations for the party well on well into the night and indeed it wasn't until Christmas Eve arrived that the last lights were turned out in the fort. As Arrowhead arrived back at his surgery, the moon covered by clouds indicating more snowfall was due he smiled and said "There shall be a wonderful party for the native children, Arrowhead has spoken" and chuckled as he went to bed.

That night a mighty blizzard blew up and the temperature plunged as Private Lancing could testament to, he was the unlucky soldier who had been given the early morning shift that Christmas Eve and despite being wrapped up in any number of layers, a number of bed warmers covered in cloth placed all over himself and the thickest gloves possible he was frozen which, considering that the thermometer on the walls of the fort, once cleared of snow, was showing an air temperature of ten below, the wind chill was making it feel more like twenty five below. But he was a member of the US cavalry, a band of brothers like no other and so blowing on his gloves and stamping his feet every so often continued on his patrol.

Suddenly he heard a noise and span around just in time to be knocked down by a war hatchet and as he crashed to the ground, a chuckle was heard.

***

"Doc, Doc, wake up, it's a disaster!"

Arrowhead had already been awake for half an hour doing his favourite exercise, pressing himself up and down by means of his arms. The reason why that to the outside world he was still asleep was because, even though it was fifteen below outside, inside his bedroom it was a glorious eighty five and he was performing the exercise completely naked, revelling in feeling his heart pumping and his cock hardening. Slipping on a dressing gown he opened the window, moaning gently as the cold air made his nipples go rock hard and caused him to cum, he spied Danny who exclaimed "Doc, get the fort as fast as you can, it's been robbed!"

Thirty minutes later both Arrowhead and Danny looked upon a scene of complete devastation. The storehouse was completely empty and Private Lancing was in the infirmary suffering from both a head injury and hypothermia. As they peered into the empty storehouse Arrowhead asked what had happened.

"We have no idea!" replied the colonel, "it was like this at reveille"

Just then two items of seemingly unrelated news happened at once. A private came dashing up to the colonel and declared "Sir. message from Abilene" and as he read the message Arrowhead's blood ran cold.

"To Colonel Johnson, stop, from Governor James, stop. Train carrying Strong Bear arrived as planned yesterday evening, stop, inside were two dead guards, stop, Strong Bear escaped, stop!"

This was followed seconds later by a patrol whose leader dismounted his horse and exclaimed "Colonel, bad news, the Comanche camp that we've been keeping under watch for the last few days has completely emptied. Twenty of the worst and murderous braves you can imagine have just vanished!"

As the colonel gave the order for the alarm to be raised, Danny smiled and said to Arrowhead "The good old American cavalry being drilled, doesn't it make your heart glad to be an American, eh, Doc?" but as he turned expecting Arrowhead to smile in agreement, Doctor Barnaby was noticeable by his absence with only a trail of bootprints leading away from the fort as a guide.

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Chapter Thirty One

"Doc, I don't know what you are playing at Doc, but I don't like being so far from Powder Creek!"

As Danny dismounted his horse next to a forest, he tried to figure out what was going on. Ever since finding James missing, he'd followed the prints as any good tracker would and found himself scratching his head at every turn. First, the prints led him back to the surgery, but when he entered to find James, he noticed the boots next to the back door, so went out the back door and found a trail of snowshoe prints. Those led him to the stable where Platinum was housed and allowed him to find no Platinum, but instead a series of hoofprints. Those had led him to where he was now and al the while he was getting worried. James had no reason to be here, so why was he here?.

He'd only taken a few steps into the forest when he heard a declaration in the distance.

"O spirits of the Apache nation, I, Arrowhead, have come again to take the warpath!"

"Oh, by Grant!" moaned Danny and had to support himself with a tree, "Arrowhead is here?" and with that moaned. After the colonel had told him that Arrowhead was the one responsible for Strong Bear's capture, he tried to find out more about this mysterious man and everything he had heard made him more and more eager to meet the man. He was said to be anything between seven and eight feet tall, weigh anything between four hundred and twenty pounds to five hundred and fifty pounds and by association be so strong that he only had to breathe to knock you over, could uproot the tallest tree without breaking into a sweat and wrestle steers until they succumbed. The more Danny thought about this monster of a man, the more his desires got the better of him and the more his desires got the better of him, the more he moaned in ecstasy about him ramming the giant with his own powerful cock and James sucking on the giant's cock pushing him to the limits of his physical endurance and getting him to scream his trade mark cry of "Hoka Hey YAH!" as he filled James with his power turning James into a literal beast of a man. Indeed, Danny as on the verge of cumming when he suddenly felt something in the small of his back.

"What paleface doing in Apache forest?"

Danny instantly raised his hands in the air and stammered "I'm sorry, Arrowhead, I...I'm looking for a friend of mine, a medicine man called James. I came here following his prints in the snow as I was worried about, please, don't hurt me!"

"Hurt the man I love, oh, now come on Danny, why would I ever do that?"

As Danny's eyes opened wide, he slowly turned around and gasped "James? You're Arrowhead?"

"Sure am!" came the reply, as James took off his war bonnet and chuckled "So how big am I?" and with that the two lovers hugged each other.

As James replaced his war bonnet leaving Danny in a state of shock he placed a friendly arm around Danny saying "I have a good idea where Strong Bear is camping. I reckon he's somewhere in the wilderness beyond the valley. You know the river that bears the name of my tribe? Yep, that's right, I'm an Apache! Well, I think there's a good chance he's camping on the ice at Singing Blue Water Lake, otherwise known as Caddo Lake to you!"

"But that's miles away!" exclaimed Danny, "it would take you most of the day to walk there!"

"Well, what a good thing I have one heck of a story to pass the time!" chuckled James and with that led Danny and in doing so told him everything from his childhood as an Apache brave, to the death of his adoptive father, being found and adopted by Tad, going off to college, discovering he was inverted, his relationship with Tom, how he'd become "the only man to survive being struck by artificial lightning", and everything that had happened since his arrival in Powder Creek and at every step Danny was in rapt attention. Sure enough as they reached Caddo Lake the sun was starting to set and as James said "There, see that glow in the distance, that's the Comanche camp. See, told you I had a heck of a story to pass the time!" and with that the two men approached the camp keeping out of sight the whole time.

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Chapter Thirty Two

As James and Danny approached the site of the camp, the glow from the fire gave away the camp's location and gesturing Danny to stay behind, which he did after begging for a "Good luck" kiss, Danny watched as James approached the camp. It was clear that James was making sure that no one had spotted him and was waiting fro just the right moment to announce his presence. As he did Danny watched him, his mind taking in the mass that was James. He knew how big he was, but with the flames from the camp fire reaching into the sky he looked like a literal giant and Danny moaned under his breath as he imagined James being really that tall, his powerful frame drawing everyone else who dared challenge him, even picking up Danny in his arms and with a chuckle say "Hello there, shorty, enjoying the view?"

These opinions were enhanced when James reached for his bow and as he pulled it back, the muscles in his back seemed to explode causing Danny to grit his teeth lest he cum and as James did he announced his presence with a firm "Strong Bear, I, Arrowhead, the true last Apache, to take the weapons of your followers and throw them onto the fire. If you make a sound, then I shall fire this bolt through your dark heart!". This statement had two actions. Firstly, Strong Bear did as he was told and Danny's mind went into overdrive as he imagined James standing over him, a good three feet taller than him and in the same firm voice commanded him to undress and worship James with Danny unwilling not to obey. As he watched Strong Bear throw the rifles onto the fire he knew that if Strong Bear was giving in that easily, it was possible that they would be back in time for sunrise and even have some time to get in a little appreciation of James's mass and power before having to attend the party.

However, what happened next put Danny's plans on hold as Strong Bear suddenly threw a blazing rifle at James who ducked and threw himself at Strong Bear, both of them landing on the shore of the lake where they spent the next few moments wrestling with each other. As James picked up Strong Bear and threw him onto the ice, there was an almighty crack and Strong Bear disappeared beneath the ice screaming as he did. Danny nodded with a smile but before he had a chance to say "Good riddance to bad rubbish", his world turned upside down as James dived in after him.

"ARROWHEAD!" screamed Danny and rushed to the edge of the lake, where he plunged his hand in and then quickly withdrew it as the water was too cold for him. By now the rest of Strong Bear's followers had gathered around Danny and like him were watching as the last of the bubbles popped on the surface and as Danny slumped to his knees he wailed "They're dead. They're both dead!"

"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Here endeth the lesson"

As Danny closed the Bible, he looked down at the coffin being lowered into the ground and with tears in his eyes looked up at the gathered townsfolk and said "I may have only known Doctor Barnaby Junior for a few months, but our time together as sheriff and deputy were months that I shall never forget. When I first met him when he came into my office, it was I who had to tell him that Doctor Barnaby Senior, the man who raised him as a grandson, had died, however that man, that dear friend, forgave me completely and now, now he is dead. And yet, the way he died was so like him, forsaking his own life for others. We just happened to be hiking when we heard the alarm raised that a small boy had fallen into the lake and that man, that powerful, brave, Godfearing man, dived in and rescued him, but at the cost of his own life"

Several members of the congregation started to weep as did Danny and as he took off his hat he wailed "Oh, James, it should have been me. Oh, James, please, please don't go!"

"Go? Where do you want me to go?"

As Danny looked up he gasped in amazement, there was James, carrying the inert figure of Strong Bear in his arms, water dripping off his muscular chest despite icicles having formed on his nipples.

"You're alive!" exclaimed Danny and jumped up

"Of course I'm alive!" chuckled James as he placed Strong Bear on the lakeside, "Come the wintertime I love the sensation of cold water against my skin" and whispered "And I think I might have given the lake a bit of a population boost as well!" and with that turned to the Comanche gathered around Strong Bear and declared in a loud voice "Now, load the provision that you stole under this man's command, for I, Arrowhead, the true last Apache have spoken". As the warriors did so one replied "We will obey, for you are a mighty and strong warrior!"

"They've got that one right!" smiled Danny

Just then Strong Bear jumped up and made a bolt up the hill. James picked up his bow and pulling it declared "Come back, or I will shoot!"

"You are a soft Apache dog, you would never shoot an unarmed man!"

As James lowered the bow nodding, Danny pulled out his gun and replied "But I would..." but was stopped by James who said "He is right, we cannot shoot an unarmed man, but I am confident that he will never bother us again!" and with that commanded "Return the provisions to Fort Revenge" and as the warriors started to haul the provisions back to the fort, James placed an arm around Danny's shoulder and said "Now, how does this sound?" and as they followed the warriors planned the story to explain their disappearance for almost a full day.

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Chapter Thirty Three

At half past two in the afternoon of Christmas Day, Danny closed the door of the sheriff's office behind him, put up a sign "Closed until December 26th, please report any crimes via the telegraph system" and after nodding his head to the local town gossip, walked across the street to the surgery where he knocked on the door three times. Taking a couple of steps back, he smiled as the window opened and there appeared James who said with a yawn "Oh, hello there, did I oversleep last night?"

"You sure did, doc!" smiled Danny as they acted out the routine they had planned whilst walking back

"Yes, sorry about that" replied James, "Guess I must have been working too hard" and with that sneezed adding "Oh, darn, now I've got a cold as well!"

"Never mind, doc" smiled Danny, "you wrap up nice and warm and I'll see how you are this evening?"

"Thank you, sheriff" smiled James, "although we have yet to produce a cure for the common cold, a nice hot toddy should do the trick. I'll have one waiting for you!" and with that closed the window.

As Danny made his way to the fort he smiled from ear to ear. Thanks to their routine no one had a clue that they had allowed the party to go ahead. Indeed when Danny arrived at the fort he found his hand being shaken so hard by the colonel he said "Woah there, Colonel, you're going to shake my hand off!"

"But, Sheriff, you're the only person who has ever met Arrowhead, without him I dread to find what would have happened. Please, when you see him next, tell him how thankful we are!"

Danny nodded and smiled and with that entered the drill hall where the party was being held and was instantly struck by how much jollity there was. Every single child from the town as there, as were their parents, along with a large number of Indian children and, just as James had hoped, the two sets of children were playing together without a care in the world forcing the adults to talk to each other, albeit in very small words, thus breaking down the hostility there had been in the past. As Danny watched he thought "The moment they make a medal of honour for the marshals of this land, James is getting one" and with that enjoyed the party.

The first act was Happy who was quite the dab hand at the banjo and spent a good half hour singing songs that he had heard during his career in the Civil War from "All Quiet along the Potomac Tonight" to "Carry me back to old Virginny" and even "Turkey in the Straw" but the one that got everyone singing along was that old favourite "De Camptown Races" and even Danny found himself singing along with the chorus

Next was the Colonel who promised to vow everyone with "the finest demonstration of prestidigitation..." and paused for everyone to go "ooooh" before continuing "...this side of the Grand Canynon" and instantly demonstrated how to make a rabbit not appear from a top hat but disappear and as he showed the empty hat to an Indian child, Danny had to try very hard not to laugh as he saw the Colonel hiding it behind his back.

But the real highlight came at just after three o'clock when with a mighty "Ho Ho Ho!" a cry of "SANYA" erupted and as Father Christmas entered he declared, in a deep booming voice "Hello there everyone, am I at Fort Revenge? If so, then I have a delivery of toys left over from last night" and with that started handing out presents to all the children naming every child there by name which not only brought a smile to Danny but a tear as he knew that James would have loved to have seen this, but as per his instruction he had to stay in the surgery to ensure their deception worked.

"There you are Happy Dove" said Santa as he pulled a doll out of his bag, "just for you!" and with that declared "And with that the bag is empty" and turned the sack upside down where a box fell out. Santa picked it up and asked "Is there a Danny here?" and looked around, but all the children had a toy and so looking around asked "I'm looking for a Danny"

"Excuse me, sir, I'm Danny!"

As Santa approached Danny he looked him up and down and asked "And have you been a good boy this year?"

"I would like to hope so, sir!"

"I am joking my lad" chuckled Santa, "we all know what a marvellous job you are doing keeping this community safe, and that's why this is for you, son!" and with that handed the box over but added "It's a joint present for you and your marshal to be enjoyed together later on!" and with that he winked at Danny before declaring "Well, it's been a very long day don't you know, I'll see you all next year!" and with that Santa walked out with a mighty "Ho Ho Ho!" as he left.

***

That evening Danny knocked on the surgery door and as he was greeted with a friendly "Come in, I've a couple of hot toddies for us!" Danny smiled and walked in. Taking the hot toddy and declaring "Cheers!" James noted the box he was carrying and as he explained it was a present from Santa, James gestured for him to open it. Inside was something that he had never seen before and asked James what it was.

"Oh, it's a stethoscope!" exclaimed James adding "Wonderful story about how it was invented. René Laennec at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris had a problem, he wasn't comfortable placing his ear directly onto a woman's chest to listen to her heart so therefore came up with something like an ear trumpet. That's one of the very latest versions you've got there!"

"But why did Santa give it to me?" asked Danny, "you're the doctor!"

"Oh, I'm sure he must have had his reasons!" smiled James and with that downed his toddy exclaiming "Oh, hot, hot, hot!"

Danny froze and as James looked up he saw Danny point a finger at him.

"Yes?" asked James with a chuckle

"It was you, you were Santa!"

James nodded and as Danny hugged him he replied "And why would I give you a stethoscope? So you can listen to my strong, powerful, pumping heart as we celebrate Christmas by you pushing me to the limits!" and with that produced four pairs of handcuffs and a bottle saying "Remember this? Now, who do you want me to be?"

"Strongman" moaned Danny, "and make that heart of yours pound as fast and as powerfully as you can!"

"For you Danny, anything!" and with that both men made their way into the bedroom where, an hour later, a cry of "I AM STRONGMAN!" resonated through the surgery followed by the sounds of Danny moaning in ecstasy.

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Chapter Thirty Four

As the sun rose over the mountains on the first day of 1874, it discovered Danny and James leaning against the outhouse outside the surgery watching the sun rise and as it did so James smiled and said "Happy New Year, Danny" to which Danny replied "And Happy New Year to you too, Doc" before drinking the last of his whisky and saying "Well, I'm as warm as I am ever going to be, shall we?" and with that James nodded, opened the back door to the surgery and gestured Danny into his bedroom. Once there, he closed and locked the door and then pulling a tape measure from his pocket smiled, "Let's see how much all that turkey over Christmas added shall we?" and within moments both men were completely naked.

"Me first, doc!" smiled Danny, "I need to know if I need to exercise more!" and with that stood against the bedroom wall as Danny let the measure drop to the floor. Noting that the measure only ended up as far as Danny's knees, he crouched down and measured the missing part declared "Wow, six foot three inches tall, someone's been eating their bison!" and with that wrote the measurement down, then he stood against the wall and as Danny measured James he whistled with appreciation "and you've had more than me, doc" as the measurement came back as six foot seven inches.

"Round one to me!" smiled James, "next weight" and with that pulled out a set of scales from under the bed saying "I know that people go on about the Pony Express being on the way out, but look at this. Ordered it on December 15th from St. Louis, arrived yesterday, and that with snowdrifts the likes of which you would not believe on the way" and with that set about weighing Danny and coming back a few moments later with a measurement of "Two hundred pounds, spot on" which made Danny grit his teeth as he puffed out his chest. Of course as James got on, the scale needed readjusting and even Danny had to make sure he had not made a mistake as he stammered, "Dang, doc, three hundred and ten pounds, no wonder I can't pin you when we wrestle, Round two to you as well!"

As James flexed his bicep with a smile, Danny instantly wrapped the tape around it and moaned "Twenty five inches, doc, how, how do you do it?"

"Good food, good exercise sessions and a lover who loves seeing muscle up close!" came the smiled reply as every measurement came out the same. James was taller, heavier, bigger and "more of a man than any man alive today!" as Danny steeped back in admiration.

"Maybe" replied James, "but know this Danny, I would never ever, ever, trade you in for another man, even if they were as big as me. We're partners, you're the sheriff, I'm your deputy and that is the way it shall be forever and a day!"

As Danny kissed James on the lips, James could feel himself starting to get excitement and moaned "Danny, do you want to be my weight for this morning's session? I fancy overhead pressing two hundred pounds as many times as I can and think that you would be the perfect motivational tool!"

Danny nodded and within moments, he had been lifted twenty times, each lift accompanied by a grunt of effort from James and a moan from Danny. After forty reps, it was clear that both men were reaching their limits and as James grunted "50" both men came with such violence that James staggered forward dropping Danny onto the bed and then slumping next to him. As they recovered, moaning as the orgasm hit James and Danny moaning "Power" they turned to each other, kissed and promised that from that moment nothing in the world would stop them both being sheriff and deputy or the world's most powerful men. It would be a commitment that would be tested sooner than either man thought.

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Chapter Thirty Five

"Dang, James, if you eat any more bananas you're going to turn into a gorilla!"

As James peeled the banana, his sixth since breakfast, he chuckled "And would that be such a bad thing?" before chomping into it and adding "Bananas are very good for you, lots of potassium in them" and with that leaned into Danny and whispered "there's four one thousandths of a gram of potassium every time I cum, need to replace it you know!"

Just then the sound of gunfire filled the air and a man ran over exclaiming that the bank was being robbed.

"Again?" exclaimed James as he finished off his banana, however as Danny stood up and James discarded the banana skin, tragedy struck as Danny slipped on the banana skin and collided with a wooden post and collapsed to the ground. James immediately came to his aim and gasped in horror, Danny had been knocked out cold by the impact and that meant that he, as deputy marshal, had to deal with the robbery. There was no time to become Arrowhead and this meant trouble. He'd never used a gun before, preferring his bow, but there was no other option and so rushed to the bank, where two robbers, all dressed in white dashed out.

"STOP" shouted James, in his most defiant voice, "Stop or I'll fire!"

"Keep running" shouted one of the robbers and so James had no option. Closing his eyes and putting a finger in his ear he fired, and missed completely, shooting instead the bank sign which landed on top of the baker who was talking to the pianist from the saloon, who instantly dived for cover in the first thing he could find, a barrel, which was full of tar. James knew he had to stop the robbers so fired again, this time hitting the town's flagpole which broke at the point of impact and would have knocked James out if he hadn't have caught it at the last second. But the damage was done, the robbers had escaped, James was in disgrace and as he treated the baker and Danny, he got a severe rebuke from Danny.

"James" he said through gritted teeth having been appraised of what had happened "you are a menace with a gun!"

"But Danny" he said, just as the baker left the surgery, "you know I am better off with a  bow. Please, let me be Arrowhead and I'll..."

"I realise that you have done a lot to foster good relations between the townspeople and the Indians, James, but think about it. If I came strolling into town with a couple of bad un's followed by an Indian brave, the town would panic. There would be an inquiry, there would be discussions, our secret could be found out. I'm sorry James, but there is no other way" and with that stuck out his hand and said "James, give me your badge!"

"No, please, Danny don't, without this badge, I'll...

"Look, I know, but I promise you, give me your badge and I'll arrange for you to have gun handling lessons. The problem is that the best gun handler I know is in California and well, it would take him at least three weeks to get here. I'm sorry, but for those three weeks, we can no longer be lovers, now, the badge James!"

As James unpinned the badge from his jacket, he looked at it forlornly before handing it over and then with tears in his eyes said "Excuse me, Danny, I need to take a walk" and with that left the surgery and headed out into the plains.

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Chapter Thirty Six

As James slumped against the tree that housed his war bonnet and bow, he held his head in his hands and wailed "I can't be Arrowhead and a deputy at the same time!" and with that started to sob uncontrollably

"And who says that you cannot be, my son?"

As James looked up he gasped "Father" and jumped up and hugged the naked warrior, his and his father's muscles bulging as they did.

"Oh, father" whimpered James, "what am I to do?"

"Come, walk" replied Grey Cloud and with that the two walked into the plains and as they did James explained what had happened, how he had to intervene, how he was more used to a bow than a gun, how he'd created more trouble than it was worth, how...

"You are the last of the Apache" said Grey Cloud, stopping James mid sentence, "you have the mind of an Apache and a paleface, the body of an Apache and a paleface, combine them, my son, and prove to the world that they can exist in peace together. Now, go, my son!" and with that Grey Cloud clicked his fingers

As James snorted awake, he had to blink in order to get used to his surroundings, he was still slumped against the tree containing his war bonnet and bow. As he stood up, the words of Grey Cloud drifted to him in his mind "combine them, my son". As James nodded his understanding, he reached in and took out the bow before bowing to the tree and with that headed back to Powder Creek.

***

"Hello there, Johnny, how's the archery going?"

Johnny Harper was the youngest son of Tim Harper and his wife, one of the first easterners to arrive following the recently laid railroad and little Johnny was getting into the hang of the plains like no one's business, indeed James had decided to involve Johnny's interest in all things western to help with his medical appointments, his last one, being a test to ensure he was hearing all right being "Now, Johnny, when you hear the train whistle, raise your hand"

"Hands up, lest Johnny Wigwam scalps you!"

James instantly raised his hands and then laughed as Johnny said "Hey, Doc, like the headband!"

"I think it suits you. Listen, I've got a bow myself, recently arrived from New York, but, well I don't really know how to use it!"

Johnny leapt at the chance and with a "Johnny Wigwam teach" James's plan was set into action. His first attempt with a piece of wood was terrible, only travelling a few inches, but as Johnny explained how to use a bow, James smiled as each attempt went a little further and further and further. Pleased with the progress of his pupil, Johnny placed a target on the side of the barber shop some twenty feet away and said "Okay, doc, there's your target". As James pulled back the bow, loaded with another piece of wood, he could feel the muscles in his chest and back bulge and became lost in the feeling. He could feel his heart pumping, his loins girding and it wasn't until Johnny said "Doc, let go!" that James did. The piece of wood shot straight through the target, narrowly missed three people having a shave in the barbers, through the grocery store, where as James and Johnny ran alongside saw a shopper getting doused with castor oil from a hole that the piece of wood had created and into the Moose Hotel.

Inside the hotel Danny's investigations seemed to have come full circle. The robbers clearly had to be locals as the trail led right back to the town, but not only was there no sign of the robbers but the loot had gone missing as well. Just then, James's arrow entered the room and shot right through the moose's head, which gave the hotel its name, and it crashed through the other wall, Danny found himself being covered in notes and coins. Something that two people sitting at a table took extreme interest in, and with that stood up and punched the sheriff to the ground and escaped grabbing as much of the money as they could in a wagon. As Danny crawled out of the hotel, he spied James and exclaimed "James, get after them, and held out a deputy's badge.

James ran past, grabbed the badge, pinned it on his jacket, jumped on Platinum hitched outside the surgery and gave chase. Half an hour later, James knew he was in trouble. They were heading rapidly for the border and if they crossed it the robbers would be scott free. Taking his adoptive father's words to heart, he jumped down as Platinum passed an old dead tree that was as tall as he was and uprooting it, cracked it across his knee, placed it in his bow and aimed for the floor of the stolen wagon as it passed. The moment it came into sight, he fired and as he hoped the tree embedded itself into the trail causing the wagon to flip over spilling the robbers and the loot onto the trail. One quick pick up later with one of them saying "Sorry, Doc, we didn't mean too!" and an hour later James arrived back in Powder Creek pulling the wagon with the robbers, loot and even Platinum sitting the back enjoying the ride for once.

That evening as Danny and James sat outside the sheriff's office with the robbers peering through the window Danny apologised to James. He now accepted that James could use his bow instead of a gun where needed and as James devoured another banana he chuckled "You won't be saying that this evening!"

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Chapter Thirty Seven

"Doc, you're not going to believe this but...three hundred and thirty pounds...and just look at you, nothing but hard muscle!"

James turned to face Danny and in doing so took a deep breath in revealing his ten hard abdominal muscles and side muscles that Danny compared to "cobbles in the road made of steel" and chuckled saying "Perhaps you should start eating bananas as well?" and with that picked up Danny and kissed him on both cheeks.

"Six months" moaned Danny, "six months since we met and you've packed on nearly thirty pounds of mass!"

"And a good forty pounds of muscle as well" added James as he put Danny down and got dressed again. As he did so he noted that it was getting more and more difficult to do up his top button on the shirt with Danny chuckling "Don't, you're the only one here who does" and gave him a bandana saying "Here, place this around your neck and you'll look a real cowpoke in no time!"

James did and as he did asked "So what's with these posters you wanted me to put up?"

"Luke Lafferty" he replied, "he robbed the bank in Pine City and was last seen heading in this direction. Would you put them up for me please? I'm expecting a telegraph from Pine City with some more information on him".

"Anything for my lover!" replied James and kissing him again, carried the pile of posters and set about pinning them up. The most obvious place to start was the general store, nearly everyone went there and would read the posters as they did their shopping and so speaking to the owner, Sam Smart, permission was given to place a poster on the uprights supporting the store's roof. Sam, always willing to help, offered James a hammer, but James just smiled and said "Watch this!" and placing the poster onto the upright and then placing a nail on the paper. pulled back his hand and hammered it in. Or rather broke the upright. Sam, realising what was going to happen dived into a barrel full of treacle, as a bath fell on the head of a customer coming out of the store and seconds later the roof followed. As James helped Sam out of the barrel, he roared "GIT!" and James walked away his head in shame.

As he carried on walking he looked at his bulging arm, it had to be at least twenty seven inches and Danny loved hanging off it especially when James flexed it as hard as he could, but perhaps he was getting too big and too strong for his own good, so when he found a deserted shack just outside Powder Creek he thought that he could put a poster there and no one would mind if things came tumbling down and so repeated the process. However, the shack wasn't as empty as James had thought and the next thing he knew he found a very angry looking man in a mirror frame demanding to know what was going on. James apologised and removed the mirror and as he did, the remarkable happened. The man's beard came clean away without any howls of pain from the man.

James looked at the man and thought "Hang on, that face looks familiar" and looked at the posters he was carrying, then at the man and then at the posters. He had done it once again, this time without really trying, he'd found Luke, however before he could say "Luke Lafferty, I am arresting you..." Luke was off.

It appeared that luck was on Luke's side as he came across two horses having a drink at a nearby drinking trough and leaping onto one, geed it to escape from James.

As Hank, the lad who had brought them there complained bitterly, James declared "I'm a US marshal and I need to commandeer that horse" and even though he was some twenty feet from the horse, jumped, somersaulted with the intention of landing on the other horse's back and tearing off in hot pursuit. And he would have done as well, if the horse hadn't suddenly dropped his head to have a drink sending James into the trough. As he clambered out, he saw Luke escaping and so returned to the sheriff's office and told Danny what had happened. Immediately they both returned to the shack and within a few moments had found a bag full of money. Danny was confident that Luke would return and so they decided to keep watch with James taking the first shift and as Danny left him he chuckled "Just because there's no one here, I don't expect to come back and find you doing pushups naked, although if I do, permission to clamber on?"

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Chapter Thirty Eight

For the next few hours, James mused on his position. He loved being big, strong, powerful and being perhaps the only man in the town who had the power to turn both men's and ladies' heads in his direction. But that said he was always very polite doffing his hat to the ladies, nodding his head to the men, just as Tad had taught him. During that time he wondered what he would be like if he had deliberately failed The Test and imagined himself as scrawny man, no bigger than some of the other cowpokes, perhaps that would have been his calling ranching cattle from east to west, enduring days in the saddle, nights on the open plains and all those beans.

As he thought about the lack of food his stomach rumbled and as it did he smiled. Being big had another advantage, he was constantly eating and that was a good thing. The fact that he paid the food store owner twice over (once for his own food and twice so that the owner could order twice the supplies every time) meant that that food store was the most profitable in the whole nation, and besides he liked being big. After all, how many men his age could claim to be able to lift the same amount of weight as a full grown steer over their heads. As he wondered if he could lift a real life steer, he started to look in the cupboards of the shack and was surprised to find a very large jar of honey and some slices of bread. James loved honey, whenever he was feeling tired or a little run down, out would come the honey jar and a few moments later he'd fee like he could perform thousands of pushups without really trying and remembering his promise to Danny, poured a good half jar onto several slices of bread.

However just as he was about to bite into the mess, he heard a noise. It was a creaking noise and peering around the corner he could make out a figure climbing in through the window. It had to be Luke and this time James had the element of surprise, so stuffing the mess into his mouth he followed the shadowy figure as it clambered through the window and started to investigate. James adjusted his badge and with a silent count of "One, Two, Three" launched himself at the figure, wrestled it to the ground and as it clambered back up delivered a powerful right hook knocking it out cold. James heaved the figure over his shoulder and thrust it into a wardrobe and as he turned the key to lock it chuckled to himself "Yeah, being scrawny is all right, but dang, what I would miss the most would be all the roughhousing!" and with that went to wake Danny.

Danny shot up in bed as James explained what had happened and naturally overjoyed got dressed immediately and within moments Danny had his gun trained at the cupboard and as James unlocked it he declared "Come out Luke with your hands up, there's a gun trained at your head!" and with that James threw open the cupboard door and gasped in amazement. Inside the cupboard was not Luke, out cold, but a brown bear out cold. As Danny lowered his gun he stammered "Did you...?" to which James nodded sadly leaving Danny to stammer "but they weigh some eight hundred pounds and you knocked him out cold with a single punch? Dang, you've even stronger than you think you are!" and with that Danny holstered his gun and wrapped his hands around James's bicep and moaned "Flex, you have nothing on Heracles!"

However, whilst Danny was worshipping James, unseen by all Luke clambered in through the window and seeing the two sheriffs looking at the bear took advantage and swiped the bag of loot that he'd been forced to leave behind. A theft that wasn't discovered for several moments when Danny moaned "James, we are so going to arm wrestle!" and with that turned around and exclaimed "The loot, it's gone!" but it was then that James's other muscular body part came into play.

"Hey, look at this" he declared and pointed to a footprint in some spilled honey, "The only person who knew that the loot was here would be Luke, therefore that must be a print of his boot" and as the bear came around, the bear sniffed the air and then started to eat the honey, "which means that we have ourselves a bloodhound" and pointed to the bear explaining that there was a very strong chance that Luke had some honey on his boots, therefore the bear could be used to follow the trail and find out where Luke was hiding.

"James" smiled Danny as James heaved the bear out of the window, "forget arm wrestling Heracles, next fantasy session, I'm having your brain!"

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Chapter Thirty Nine

"If anyone had told me, when I first became a sheriff, that I would be following a bear that thinks it's a bloodhound, at half past three in the morning, that was being walked like a dog, by a man so tall, powerful and strong that he could make Heracles look like a beanpole, and that that man was my lover, I'd never have believed them in a million years!"

"Well" chuckled James as the bear continued his sniffing, "what a good thing no one did!"

For the remainder of the night the bear stuck doggedly to its task and just as the sun started to rise, the trail led them to a collection of rocks. James and Danny were just about to start a through investigation when the bear suddenly roared and out of the corner of his eye, James spotted three horses bolting away from the rocks. Instantly James made for the rocks with the bear now following suit and a few moments later they found Luke, as well as two fellow robbers, up in the branches of a tree.  James handed the rope around the bear to Danny and about to declare "Luke, you're under arrest" when the bear suddenly stood on its hind legs and started to paw at the tree.

As he did James's face lit into a smile and he whispered to Danny "If myself and old bruin there can uproot that tree, and note, it is still alive, if you want my brain in our next fantasy session, can it be in Heracles's body?"

Danny instantly nodded and with a clap of his hands, James went to the other side of the tree and winked at the bear who seemed to wink back. Both bear and James placed their hands and paws on the tree and with a mighty roar from James and a growl from the bear, the tree was uprooted and the robbers all fell out. As Luke recovered from his fall, he gasped "Get that monster away from me!" as the bear sniffed his boots.

"The bear?" asked Danny with a smile, "or my deputy!"

"BOTH!" Luke screamed as the bear began to lick the honey.

***

When Danny telegraphed to Pine City that all three robbers had been caught, the telegraph that came back of "What? Stop. All three? Stop" showed how magnificent this arrest was, indeed, when the local newspaper heard about it, they telegraphed a request to interview all the arresting officers to which the reply was sent "Two of the officers are willing to make a statement, the third does not wish to!" which was a shame as Danny admitted "James, can we keep him?"

"The bear?" exclaimed James, "What for?"

"He's twice as heavy as you are and yet you're as strong as he is. Oh, to watch you two roughhousing, it would make my dreams come true!"

"Sorry, he's a wild animal, the plains are his home, but we can do something" and so a few moments later Janes presented a jar of honey to the bear "as an appreciation of services rendered" to which the bear thanked both of them by giving them a massive lick and trundling off, the jar in its mouth, content with the situation.

"So" said Danny, "how does the mind of James Barnaby, get into the body of Heracles?"

"By means of the latest in scientific innovations" replied James with a smile, "along with eight sturdy handcuffs and a heck of a lot of imagination to boot!"

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