Chapter 7
Matt and Doc returned to Dodge in silence, saddened to know Festus had contracted typhus and there was nothing they could do for him. Dodge City settled down and waited once more, hoping against hope that the epidemic would soon run its course and be done with once and for all. But as the days crept by with no word, hope began to slip away, filling those that waited with dread.
Winter was just beginning to slip into spring on the Plains when the first word from Bucklin since the telegraph operator got sick was received. The epidemic was over and no new cases had been reported. Relief met the words, and rejoicing was abundant till the cost of human life was conveyed to those who listened with heavy hearts. This outbreak had been particularly savage, ravaging the town of Bucklin mercilessly. Of the 300 souls in the town at the start, it was estimated that over 100 had died. Sorrow met the words of the wires that came and went as townsfolk searched for relatives among the dead and living.
Repeated telegrams to Bucklin produced no word on the health of one, Festus Haggen. No one in the town knew for sure if he had lived or died as no one could recall seeing him or knew where he was. Doctor Rand, a man Festus had worked closely with during the epidemic, had also died. Since then, no one had seen the deputy, raising the fear level once more for his friends.
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A week after the all clear from Bucklin, and one trip to the town to see for himself that Festus wasn't there, Doc sat in the Long Branch gazing morosely at a drink with Matt and Kitty staring at him in concern.
"You know, if you didn't want that beer you could have left it in the keg for those of us interested in drinking, not staring," Dillon said, sarcastically.
"Hmmm? What?" Doc asked, looking up when he realized he had been spoken to.
Kitty shook her head at Doc and laid a hand on his arm. "I know you're worried, Doc. We all are. We miss him. But, sitting here fretting isn't gonna help."
"I know that! I just wanna know where in tarnation he is! If he were…dead, someone would have known, wouldn't they? Someone would have had to take his…his…body to be buried. Wouldn't they?" He rubbed a hand over his face in an agitated manner and looked away.
The other two knew there was nothing they could say that hadn't already been said: Festus should have returned long ago.
Kitty looked away from Doc and stared in consternation at the noise in the saloon tonight. All around them were the sounds of men enjoying themselves. The upbeat music playing in the background was at war with the angst those at the table felt and Kitty frowned, feeling her sadness and worry increase.
It had been a long time since the Long Branch had seen as many customers as what was crowded into the saloon tonight and some found it hard to maneuver through the throng. The townsfolk that came in paused when they saw the crowd, some coming in and some walking away in disappointment.
The three friends sat quietly ignoring the noise about them as best as they could, lost in their own thoughts.
After a few minutes of silence between the friends, Doc sat up straight in his chair and leaned forward as if listening hard at something and staring at the saloon doors. "Did you hear that?"
"What?" Matt asked, looking about him. "Who can hear anything but that racket?"
"I…I thought I heard spurs jingling like…like…oh, well never mind," he said leaning back in his chair. "Just wishful thinking, I guess."
"Wishful thinkin' 'bout what ya old scutter?" asked a quiet voice behind him.
Doc turned in his seat and rose slowly, disbelief on his face as he took in the form of his friend. "What… where in tarnation have you been? Don't you know we've…we've been worried about you? Did you stop to go fishin' or somethin'? Don't you think about anyone but yourself?" he asked, wiping a hand across his face.
Festus shook his head, giving Doc time to control what he was feeling. Glancing to the other side of the table, he smiled as he watched the expression on Kitty's face turn from disbelief to joy. She rose slowly and walked to him, looking him over carefully. She placed her hand gently on his arm. "You're much too thin," she whispered before hugging him to her, tears in her eyes. Festus smiled as he wrapped his arms around her.
Stepping back he looked to Matt, who clapped him on the shoulder and stretched out his hand. Shaking his deputy's hand heartily, a smile lit his face. "It's good to see you, old friend. We were worried about you, you know. Are you all right?"
Festus dipped his head. "As right as I can be I reckon." He looked back to Doc who glared back at him with suspiciously moist eyes. "I hear I owe ya ten drinks. Ya want one now? Or later?"
"Well, I'll take one now and one later. How's that?"
Laughing softly, Festus laid a hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezed. "I heered tell ya come back to Bucklin again and was run off. I thought I tolt ya ta stay away?"
"Well, I never did like being told what to do," he said brusquely. "Now, sit down and tell us what happened. The quarantine was over a week ago. Where've you been?"
"Ya didn't git my wire? I sent a wire to y'all tellin' ya I was all right and would be back in a few days," Festus said as he sat slowly in the chair Doc pulled out for him.
"We didn't get any wire. We had no idea what had happened to you. We didn't know if you were alive or…or dead," Kitty said quietly, her eyes never leaving Festus' face.
"I shur am sorry 'bout that. They was so many people tryin' ta send wires, I reckon it got lost."
"So why didn't you come right back after the all clear? Where've ya been?" Doc asked leaning forward.
Sighing wearily and rubbing a shaky hand over his face Festus said, "I got ta thinkin' that mebbe I weren't completely over bein' sick, don'tcha see? So, I stayed out on the prairie fer a bit ta make sure I didn't bring no sickness back here with me." He looked up into the faces of his friends. "I'm still alive and feelin' better so I reckoned it'd be all right ta come on home."
"We've missed you," Kitty whispered, leaning towards him and kissing him softly on his whiskered cheek. "Welcome home."
"Well, some of us were enjoying the peace and quiet we had for…for…oh, for cryin' out loud," Doc said. "Welcome back you mule-headed… Kitty's right though, you're too thin. What you look like you need is a few good meals."
"How about starting right now?" Kitty asked, rising from her seat. "I'm going to run to Delmonico's before Pete closes up and get you something to eat. Matt, can you help me?" she said heading off, not waiting for Matt who rose slowly from his seat and started after her, looking back at Festus once with a big smile.
"I ain't real hungry, Miss Kitty!" he called after her to no avail. He looked back to his friend before him who stared at him with knowing eyes.
"So, tell me what it was like, Festus," Doc asked quietly, leaning forward in his chair.
Words seemed to get stuck in Festus' throat as he thought of the past weeks. The horrors he had seen and endured threatened to choke him but he swallowed hard and spoke softly. "Reckon ya know what it were like, Doc," he said as he stared at his hands as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world. "People died or waited to die. Some went easy and some not so easy. Children…children died and parents watched. Parents died and children watched. Some didn't have no one to watch them atall," he finished softly.
Doc nodded and looked at his friend's downcast face. "Was there someone there for you?" he asked, his voice filling with emotion as he wished he had been the one to help him through the sickness.
Festus nodded slowly. "Doc Rand was. I don't remember much once I come down with it. Reckon I was outta ma head some with fever. Then …then he died."
"I heard Caleb had died," Doc said quietly.
Nodding, Festus took a deep breath and went on, "I didn't know he'd come down with it. Don't reckon no one did. He jes…died."
"Sometimes the stress on the heart is what kills patients, Festus. Maybe his heart just couldn't take it."
"I reckon."
Festus swallowed hard and his mouth moved but nothing came out for a bit. "The …the worst was the kids. One night, a little girl crawled inta ma lap. I knowed her momma had died 'bout two years ago and her daddy died the night before. She was all alone and so sick and shakin', burnin' up with fever. She…she fell asleep in ma arms and when I woke up the next mornin'…" His voice broke as he remembered. "She…she was dead." He lowered his head as tears clouded his eyes.
Doc waited, knowing the horrors of the past weeks would stay with his friend for a long time. "I'm sure sorry you had to go through that, Festus."
"I ain't, Doc," he said looking up, tears in his eyes. "I…well I was the onliest one there fer her, don'tcha see? Everbody else were too busy dying or watching other folks die ta care 'bout her. I reckon I know why ya like bein' a doctor. It's a good feelin' when ya can help someone else, even if'n it is only ta help 'em die."
Tears in his eyes for his pain, Doc stared back at his friend and nodded slowly. "I sure do understand that, Festus. I also know the pain it causes. And I know it takes time to get over it. But I guarantee you, you will get over it. Maybe not quickly, but soon it will fade, especially now that you're back here with people who care about you. Oh, you won't forget, but it will hurt less. I promise ya." He placed a soft hand on his friend's arm and said nothing: the friends content for the time being to sit together in silence.
Not long after, Kitty and Matt returned with enough food to feed the whole town and sat down with the pair, anxiety on their faces as they sensed something amiss.
"Festus?" Kitty asked quietly as she tried to look into Festus' down turned eyes in concern. "Are you all right?"
Nodding slowly, Festus looked up, a half-hearted smile brightening his dark countenance. "I will be, Miss Kitty. I reckon I will be. Ain't that right, Doc?" he said quietly.
"That's right, Festus. That's right," he said, clasping a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Time and friends. That's all ya need."
Doc sat back in his chair and watched the three people that meant the most to him in the whole world talk quietly. He ticked his head and smiled as he watched Kitty try to convince Festus to eat, something that normally wasn't a hard thing to do.
Death's arms were empty tonight as the four had cheated him once more of his prey. Festus was back safe and sound and once again, they were a family.
The End
Typhus is an infectious disease that is spread by the bite of fleas, chiggers or lice. Throughout history, epidemics of typhus spread over the Plains and in major cities causing countless deaths.
In the 1870s, the mode of transmission was unknown but was cause for fear and quarantine. It wasn't until the early 1900s that it was discovered to be a vector-borne disease, (transmitted from person to person by spiders, ticks, fleas etc.), much as Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever is today, and a vaccine found.
