"Doc," Festus said as the physician mounted the horse, Matt had brought for him. "You gonna tell us what all this is about!"
"You'll find out soon enough," Doc said shaking his head. "Please don't ask me any questions right now! We just got to get to them as quick as we can!"
"Alright then," Matt said spurring his horse forward. "Let's go and we'll talk about it later!"
Festus didn't like being left in the dark about what Matt had said Doc told him. A matter of life and death but who's life remained to be seen.
Robert rode next to Hal out of town and once they were a good distance away, he decided it was time to find out what the plan was.
"You going to tell me why you're doing this?"
"It's what my brother wants," Hal said keeping the pistol trained on Robert.
"You always do what your brother wants, Hal," Robert said evenly. "Don't you think it's time you did what you wanted!"
"Maybe," Hal said thoughtfully. "We'll see."
Robert shrugged his shoulders as they continued to ride but a short time later, he heard a sudden burst of several gunshots and wondered if it was Mark and Joe's doing.
"C'mon," Hal said taking the reins of Robert's horse. "We got ta hurry."
Matt and Festus took the point while Doc rode behind so that the Marshal and deputy could keep an eye on the tracks.
"I don't like this," Matt commented as they rode. "These tracks are following the exact path that prison wagon's taken."
"I saw that to, Matthew," Festus said grimly.
Matt stopped his horse suddenly as he and Festus heard several gunshots in the distance.
"Can't be very far ahead," Matt said looking back at Doc. "You can keep up, Doc?"
"Yes, keep going," Doc said eagerly trying to catch up.
Matt scanned the horizon as they rode and then sucked in a deep breath when he and Festus rounded a bend in the road.
"The prison wagon," Matt said stopping his horse and sliding off.
Festus followed as Matt checked the driver and the deputy but both were dead.
"Matthew," Festus said from the rear of the wagon. "That Cooper boy is in here and he's dead!"
"Looks like the deputy got in one good shot before they could get away," Matt said with a sigh as Doc rode up.
"Is Robert here?" he asked as Festus shook his head.
"Them two brothers and him are still runnin it looks like from the way these here tracks look!"
"Festus," Matt said after noticing the worry on Doc's face. "We'll bury these bodies later, let's try to find them boys and Robert first."
"Good idea, Matthew," Festus said in complete agreement. "Cause we ain't dealing with just a beatin no more, them boys done started killin!"
"Now what, Mark," Hal asked as he and Mark rode double.
"Now we get ourselves to Mexico," Mark replied looking at Robert. "Because I'm not serving time or letting them hang me! But we can't think bout doing that with him taggin along!"
"What you going to do, Mark?" Hal asked as his older brother stopped the horse and climbed down.
"Don't you worry bout that, Hal," Mark said pulling Robert, who's hands were tied in front of him, off his horse. "You just ride on up ahead and I'll catch up to you!"
"What's the matter, Mark," Robert said taking a step back. "You don't want your little brother to see what kind of coward you are. That you would kill an unarmed and tied up man."
"You ain't gonna kill him, are you Mark?" Hal said looking at his brother.
"What do you want me to do, Hal?" Mark yelled. "We got to get out of here and we don't need any witnesses! Now get like I told you!"
Hal looked from his brother to Robert as he fought with himself over whether to listen to Hal or not.
"I can't," Hal said sliding off his horse and going to Robert's side. "I won't let you kill him, Mark!"
"Get out of the way!" Mark yelled angrily.
"No," Hal said as Mark cocked the gun.
Stepping forward, Mark grabbed Hal's shirt and pulled him back as he brought the gun up but Hal twisted himself lose and shoved his brother causing the gun to go off.
"Hal," Mark yelled in anguish dropping to his knees as his younger brother fell backwards bleeding from his chest.
Robert knew that this could be the only chance he had to wrestle the gun away from Mark since the other man was distracted by his brother's wound.
Stepping forward, he raised his hands above Mark's head and brought both of them down hard on the back of the man's neck. But Mark was bigger and stronger than Robert and the blow only caused him to explode in a furious rage.
Getting to his feet, Mark grabbed Robert's arm and pulled the physician toward him.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Mark spat angrily as Robert kicked Mark's feet out from under him.
As Mark fell, the gun dislodged and both men went for it.
With Robert on top of him, Mark rolled to his side and reached for the weapon as Robert started to feel his chest tighten and his breath start to get short but he forced himself to continue to fight for control of the gun.
"They went this a way, Matthew," Festus said following the tracks the horses left behind.
"Alright," Matt said following Festus down a narrow path when they heard a single gunshot.
"This way!" Matt yelled before pushing his horse though the dense brush.
Cresting the top of the hill, Matt stopped his horse and slid off when he seen all three men on the ground just a few feet away.
"Doc," Matt said as Festus slid quickly off of Ruth before he ran to Robert's side.
"Son," Festus said dropping to his knees as Robert grabbed his shirt. "We're here!"
"Can't...breathe," Robert gasped painfully before losing consciousnesses as Festus looked for a wound but was mystified when he didn't find one.
"Let me in here," Doc said kneeling beside Festus.
Opening his bag, Doc reached inside and took out the vial of liquid and the syringe. Sliding the needle into the vial, Festus watched Doc draw a substantial amount of the fluid into the syringe before pushing up the sleeve of Robert's shirt and after finding the vein at the crock of his elbow, Doc inserted the needle and slowly pushed the plunger.
Tossing the empty syringe back into his bag, he took out his stethoscope.
"Doc," Festus said cradling Robert's head as the physician listened to his son's chest. "What's happened?"
Doc shook his head as he let the stethoscope hang from his neck. "Festus," Doc said meeting his friends eyes. "He didn't want me to tell you."
"Tell me what?" Festus asked slowly.
"Robert," Doc said swiping at his mustache. "Well, he's not well, not well at all."
"He's sick, Doc?" Festus asked looking down at his son as Doc nodded. "How sick?"
"He's dying, Festus," Doc said quietly before putting a hand on the hill man's shoulder.