A Good Samaritan

"Hey, wake up buddy? You gotta leave. You're on private property, and you're trespassin."

Lying on the dusty canyon floor, an old, shrunken man uncurled from a fetal position and slowly rose to his feet with the help of weathered wooden crutch. He took in his questioner bit by bit, starting from the bottom before fixing on a pair of spoon-sized silver eyes that reflected part of the sky and surroundings. No answer.

"How long have you been livin out here, all alone like this?"

The old man staggered, nearly losing his balance when he stuck the crutch out to flick away a hairy scorpion that appeared to have been keeping him company. No answer.

"Where'd you get that wound? Looks infected."

The old man collapsed and fell backwards landing on his skinny bottom. Groaning, he pulled his legs closer and sat crossed-legged, then turned his attention to the blood stains on his upper right arm. No answer.

"Well, if you won't speak, Mister, I'm gonna call 9-1-1 and get an ambulance out here."

The old man's eyes opened wider as if in alarm but he still didn't answer.

"Yeah, operator this is Brent Hansen. Is this Wanda? Hey, Wanda. I'm over at the box canyon about 30 miles north of the county highway.... Yep, you're gonna need the chopper for sure.... There's an old man who's suffered overexposure. Looks like he's been out here by himself for several days..... Yeah, he's conscious.... No, he's not talkin. Don't know if he can't or won't... He's got an injury on his arm—nothin too serious. I can clean it up.... Yeah, I have some fresh water.... No, I know. Not too much and not too fast. Know the drill, Wanda.... Alright. Thanks, Wanda, and say hello to the sheriff next time you see him. Tell him I owe him one for the good word he put in for me with the governor.... Bye now.

"It'll probably take a while, so if your tongue loosens in the meantime, I'm not goin anywhere. Meantime, I got a first aid kit in the cab, and I'll fix you up for now....

"Everybody's got a story to tell, Mister, and you probably got a doozy, out here in the open sky 50 miles from where anybody ordinarily would pass.... Just hold still. This may sting a bit....

"Wouldn't have found you except for that wall there. Saw it from my airplane earlier this mornin and wondered what the devil that was all about....

"You're gonna be facin a lot of tough questionin real soon, but it's so goddamned hot out here, I'm gonna cut you some slack. Have some water. It's good, pure spring water, not that fluoride shit they drink in town."

He offered the old man a canteen, and the old man reached out and took it in both hands and started drinking.

"Take it easy. Don't wanna drink to fast or it'll be comin up and you don't look like your body can stand too much retchin....

"Got a tarp in my truck and I'll set up a bivouac to get us outta the sun while we wait. You stay put—guess that wasn't necessary, since you ain't goin nowhere fast....

"Here, lemme help you over to the truck. You don't need to be out in this sun no more. It can kill a man. Heat stroke can come up on you sudden like, and if there ain't no one around you can end up a bleached-white skeleton like that one over yonder."

The old man handed the canteen back ... empty.

"There's more if you want some, but I think you probably drank enough for now....

"It was about 20-25 minutes ago I called. They gotta be comin soon. You got a bad sunburn and are dehydrated, but you'll be fine in a couple a days. I've heard that folks who get dehydrated get kinda confused and even hallucinate, so I expect that could be why you ain't talkin....

"Don't know how much you been able to understand, but just hang in there. The paramedics'll be here shortly.... Shoulda been here by now for Christ's sake....

"I'm still wonderin what the hell you were up to with that wall. Was that some kinda hut you were makin? That wouldna made much sense if you knew what kinda creatures we have out here—snakes and scorpions like the one you that spent the night with you—and they'd have liked the cool, darkness as much as you and wouldna been the kinda company you'd wanna keep your back to. You were damn lucky last night....

"Chopper's comin. Bout damn time.... Hey, settle down. They're just paramedics. They'll take you back to the hospital so you can be treated proper. That wound. That's still got me puzzled. Looks like you were pickin at your flesh to dig somethin out. I didn't see no foreign objects in there. I dunno. These guys'll take care of you. They're good men. I know em both....

"Hey, Frank, Tom.... Yeah, he's stable. Got an arm injury of some sort, bad sunburn and he's still dehydrated and weak and seems confused."

Tom motions to keep their voices lower, and then whispers.

"You're shittin me. He's a what?" speaking more softly.

Tom repeats what he's just said.

"Damn. I guess I'm lucky as hell to be alive. Jesus Christ!"