The Promise

28. What are you doing?

Rango moved his head when he woke up from his sleep slowly.
He looked ahead when he perceived a movement in Bill's bed.
With weak eyes, Rango looked over to him.
"Say, that everything was just a dream."
Bill looked at him also with tired eyes. He was a little sleep-addled because of painkillers, which Doc gave him after the treatment. "Wish I could say the same."
"Something happened?" Rango asked.
Bill shook his head. "Nothing. The town remains silent like a grave."
"Rango?"
Rango moved his head to the window. A little head became visible with big yellow eyes.
"Rango?"
The chameleon eyes grew wide. "Little sister, what are you doing here?"
"Stupid child," Bill muttered. "Are you allowed to leave your house?"
"Rango, I think something happens," Priscilla said without to answer Bill's question.
"What?" Rango asked.
"Jake, Beans and two divers are standing on the street where the hole is in the ground," Priscilla said excited.
Rango lifted his head in surprise. "What... what are they doing?"
"I guess to find the gold."
Rango sat up and moved his feet over the bed edge.
"What are you doing?" Bill asked with big eyes.
"I have to see it," Rango answered and shivered when his tiptoes touched the wooden floor.
"Out of question!" Bill protested. "You could fall above something and could break your neck and I'm in dirt like hell if you die."
"Try to stop me," Rango spat and held himself on the bedpost when he went his first footsteps.
Bill pressed his teeth together, than he shouted: "DOCTOR!"
Seconds later, the door slammed up and Doc ran inside, wildly looking around. "Good Lord, what happened?"
Bill pointed at Rango, who stood beside his bed.
"Dear heavens," Doc said. "What are you doing? You have to stay in bed."
Before Doc could reach the chameleon, Rango moved a few steps backwards. "Don't come closer! I have to go outside."
"Why Mister Rango?" Doc asked in surprise.
"I have to see it," Rango replied.
"What do you have to see? I don't understand."
"How they take the gold."
"How did you..."
"So, I see it's true," Rango interrupted him and tried to pass the doctor. But Doc gripped his arm.
"Mister Rango! It will be the best, you stay in bed."
Rango break free from Doc. "Let me go. Doc, I'm fine again. I have to take a walk outside. Please, let me out."
Bill crossed his arms and growled: "We really need a nurse here."
Doc ruffled with his hand through his hair nervously. After a while, he agreed. "Alright, Mister Rango."
Maybe it was the best to give him more freedom before he became crazy again.
"Alright. But you stay in my near."
Rango agreed with that and together they went through the door.
Bill moved his feet out of his bed. "Wait! I want to come with you, too."
"No Bill," Doc said. "You stay in bed. Your stitches are still too fresh to move a lot."
The door closed and a clicking sound let Bill freeze. "Damn! I can't believe it. He locked the door! That's unlawful detention, Dr. Frankenstein!"

Nobody was on the street, but Jake, Beans and the two divers, who were doing to remove the wooden beams from the street, which had covered the hole.
Jake lifted his head when Rango came closer with Doc at his side.
Rango stopped. "Do you allow me to watch it?"
Jake snorted mockingly. "As you wish, little man."
Rango nodded thankfully. He gave Beans a little look. Jake kept a watching eye on her.
All eyes wandered to the earth hole when the two divers removed the last wooden beam.
"Alright," the first diver said. "Let's take a look at it."
They went on their knees and looked into the water to scan the ground.
Jake gave Rango a mischievously side look. "The same trap which you gave me."
Rango sighed without to see in his face.
"Alright," diver one said. "Very dark, but no problem. So what shall we do now?"
"Well," Beans began. "Maybe you could first explore the area, so that we could draw a map of the tunnel system. Then we could see whether something in conformity with these symbols."
She took out the paper with the strange symbols and furrowed her brow. "As far as we could do it."
She looked at Rango, very carefully because of Jake.
"What do you think about it?"
First, Rango was silent, and then he shook his head. "Well, I think... that's a good idea. Can I take a look at it again?"
"Of course you can," Beans agreed hurriedly and handed the paper at him. Rango took it quickly. When they held the paper together, they stopped in their movements.
Jake narrowed his eyes tighter when he realized their hesitation.
Beans loosened her fingers on the paper and Rango took it alone. For three seconds, they held their eye contact, then Rango's eyes wandered at the paper sadly.
"And for what should we're looking for?" diver two asked.
"Swim through the tunnels and look whether you can see something strange," Beans said.
"Like what?" diver one asked.
"Just do it!" Jake interrupted their question line.
The two divers nodded hastily and took some things out of their diver's bag.
"Good thing that we have our water lamps. It's very dark down there."
"Where you got them?" Rango asked.
"From my friend in Hollywood," diver two explained. They climbed into the hole and disappeared in the dark water. For a moment, they saw the lights of lamps, then they went out of visible view.
"I hope it doesn't take so long," Rango said to say something.
"Indeed," Beans said monotonously.
Jake, who stood between them, gave one after one a side look.
"I hope it will be over soon," he thought. He grinned. "And for you."
Beans had pleaded him to say nothing Rango about their new deal. But they knew, the time will come, sooner or later.
"Excuse me, what are you doing?"
All turned around.
"What...?" Rango grew pale. "Mister Owlden?!"
Beans lost her balance for a second, but she could recover herself before she could fall backwards. "What... how... I thought..."
Rango came before her question. "We thought you were killed."
The old owl moved her winged hand. "That's what all people are thinking maybe. But I could free myself with a pepper spray and escape with a roadrunner, where I..."
He stopped when all looked at him with unbelieving eyes.
"Nobody believes me, do you? That's what I thought. Never mind."
"What did you say before?" Beans asked.
"Never mind."
"No the first sentence," Rango corrected him.
"What you are doing there? Yes, what are you doing there?"
"We are looking for the gold," Beans answered.
"Why there?" the old owl asked and pointed at the water hole.
"Because we guess that the gold could be there under the town," Rango continued.
"Who did that talk to you?"
"Bad Bill," Beans and Rango said together.
Mister Owlden scratched his head. "How did he know that?"
"From Mayor John," Jake said just to have a word too.
"Mayor John?" Mister Owlden asked again. "How..."
He wrapped his hands over his head. "Can you believe that?"
He held his belly and laugh. "Ha, ha, ha. Oh dear. Mayor John really has a kind of humor or someone else."
Jake narrowed his eyes. He didn't like that someone laugh like that. "What are you talking about?"
Mister Owlden cleaned his throat. "Dear, Mayor John knew as one of the best and this joke is very good. People, guys, ladies. The gold has never been under the town."
Rango opened his mouth wide while the others kept silent until Jake interrupted the silence.
"What did you say?"
Mister Owlden raised his hands. "Dear, the gold isn't under the town, the gold is..."
Suddenly there were several gunshots in the air.
Intuitively, everyone threw himself on the ground.
"YEAHHH!" Someone yelled and fired more gunshots in the air.
Not far away there were two coyotes on their roadrunners. Everyone had a second coyote on his saddle.
Jake clapped his gun on his head. "Damn! I had forgotten these two bastards in the jail."
All have been so concentrated to the tunnel expedition that nobody, even not Jake has recognized that two coyotes had reached the city and released their two companions out of the prison.
"Get down!"
Rango wanted to bring Beans in safety, but Jake was faster, wrapped her with his body in his coils, and jumped behind a house. Rango landed on the ground and looked after them with unbelieving eyes.
Someone screamed. The coyotes rode in high speed over the street, directly at Mister Owlden. But before they could reach the old owl, a volley of bullets was fired at them. One of them yelled in pain. The riders turned back the runners and rode back the street.
Rango had still pressed on the ground. When the shot became less, he crawled behind the next house. A sighed in relief and hide himself behind a wooden box. He heard how the coyotes discussed wildly. They shot last bullets over the street with rage.
Jake reacted with a firing answer and shot like crazy with his gun.
Rango was ready to watch it, but suddenly he recognized a moving shadow from the corner of his eye. He turned around and saw how Bill disappeared around a corner. The chameleon narrowed his eyes with anger and ran forward.
At this moment, the coyotes realized that they had no chance against a trigger-happy rattlesnake. With loud protest and shots in the air, they disappeared into the desert.
Filled with proud, Jake blew over the barrel of his gun. "They are gone."
He looked around. Some city people had opened the windows and doors to see who had made such a noise. Mister Owlden sat himself up. He had covered with dust and dirt, but he was fine. Beans lifted her head and looked around hastily. "Where is Rango?"

Bill rode on his roadrunner as fast as he could. But when he passed the hills he got terrible side stitches.
"Damn!" he cursed, but he needed a rest.
Exhausted and out of breath, he stopped his roadrunner and climbed down. With pain on his face, he held his belly. It was a mistake to ride with his wounds.
"You only need a break, just a little break," he gasped.
He looked back. The town wasn't visible anymore.
He wiped over his forehead and sighed in relief. "Free again."
Suddenly a stone hit his head. He twisted around and freeze when he saw a familiar figure.
No! Not him again!
"How did you... What do you want again? You are worse than a bur."
The chameleon narrowed his eyes, which had filled with hate.
Bill looked at him unsurely. "Something wrong?"
Rango took a deep breath before he yelled: "YOU LIED!"