The wind howled late into the night all across the Kansas prairie as Festus buried his head deeper into his coat and held onto his hat. Rounding the corner near Doc's office, he looked up the stairs to see if any lights were on which usually indicated the old physician was up. But the lights were out and just as he was about to continue his rounds, the door to the doctors office suddenly blew open. The hill man shook his head while quickly making his way up the stairs. He didn't want Doc to get up in the middle of the night to find his door wide open. Stepping onto the landing, he reached inside the office to grab the door knob but froze in his tracks when he saw the condition of the doctors office.
"Here's a new on," Matt said handing a poster to Newly. "I heard about these Turners but they've never come though Kansas until now."
The two lawmen were deeply engrossed in the middle of going though some mail and wanted posters when Festus nearly broke the door down.
"He's gone, Matthew!" And his office, looks like someone put up a terrible fight!"
"Who?" Matt said looking from Festus distressed look to Newly's bewildered one. "Festus, what are you talking about?"
"Doc!" Festus said flaying his arms. "The old scudder ain't no where ta be found!"
"Let's go," Matt said as Newly followed.
"Newly," Matt asked looking around at the ransacked office a short time later. "Can you tell if anything is missing?"
"You mean besides, Doc?" Newly said before looking around. "Only thing, I can truly recall having seen that I don't see now is his surgical instruments! The ones he uses to extract bullets, Marshal!"
Doc looked over at the man who rode beside him, pistol in hand. "Do you really think you need that all the way out here?"
"Don't need you taking off on me, old man."
"Where would I go?" Doc said looking around. "Were a good ten miles from Dodge by now! I just don't want that thing pointed at me anymore!"
"Fine," the man said holstering the gun before taking the reins of Doc's horse in his hand. "Is that better?"
"Much," Doc replied sarcastically.
Matt, Festus and Newly left Doc's office and quickly made their way down the stairs to the boardwalk below. Several of the townspeople had gathered to find out what the Marshal was going to do about the missing doctor.
"Festus, you go saddle up our horses," Matt ordered as the hill man nodded before heading to the stables. "Newly, I want you to stay here in town, keep an eye on things in case Doc should happen to return on his own."
"Sure, Marshal," Newly said as Kitty approached the two men.
"Matt," she said worriedly as Matt took her arm. "Do you know what happened?"
"No, Kitty," Matt said with concerned look. "We don't. But, we're going to find out!"
"Bring him back, cowboy," Kitty said quietly as her upper lip quivered with emotion.
Matt nodded as Festus brought his horse. "I will!"
Newly moved along side her as Matt and Festus rode out of town. "I don't think they'd hurt Doc," Newly said with a sigh. "Whoever took him needed him for a reason."
"I sure hope so, Newly," Kitty said turning back toward the saloon.
"Matthew," Festus said getting to his feet. "Sure havin a time trying ta figure out which set of these tracks might belong ta the one that took Doc!"
"I know," Matt said looking around. "I got a bad feeling that the Turner brothers are the ones that took Doc!"
They had been trying to track the kidnaper and Doc for hours. The river lay ahead of them now and it was the only option left to them.
"Up or down," Matt muttered as Festus turned around to look at the river.
"It ain't moving fast enough ta stop anyone from going up," Festus replied as Matt shook his head.
"But what if they went down?" The Marshal asked absently. "I think, we should split up. You go up stream and I'll go down! Send up a couple of shots if you find anything!"
"Will do, Matthew," the hill man replied taking Ruth by the reins. "You be careful now!"
"Yeah, same to you! Those Turner boys ain't nothing to mess with!"
"Well Doc! You gonna be able to help my brother or what!"
Doc looked up at the large man that loomed over him angrily. "What did you say, your name was?"
"Ben, and I asked you a question?"
"Your brother's a very sick man, Ben," Doc said shacking his head. "Honestly, I don't know if I can help him!"
"That ain't the answer I was looking for old man!" Ben yelled as Doc stood where he was. "I expected more from you!"
"I can only do my best," Doc replied looking around. "Your brother was shot days ago, bleeding half way across the prairie and now you've got him here out here in the cold! How much do you think, I can do for him!"
"I think," Ben said drawing his pistol from its holster and pointing it at Doc's head. "That if my brother cashes in, so do you!"