Sam entered the doctor's office and closed the door behind him. He noted Doc's black felt hat and his beige suit coat still hanging on the rack behind the door. He shook his head in dispar and hoped that Doc would be unharmed. The barkeep quietly walked to the examination table where Kitty remain unconscious and checked her breathing by listening to her closely. Satisfied that she was breathing fairly regularly he walked over to the small wood stove near the door and quietly he opened the door setting a small log on the fire. Upon closing the stove door, the metal door grated on its hinges causing Kitty to stir ever so slightly, Doc?" she asked - her voice weak.

Sam moved to his boss' side and gently placed his hand on Kitty's shoulder, "Doc can't be here right now, Miss Kitty," his velvet baritone voice was soothing. "Sam?" Kitty recognized the familiar tone, "Where's Doc?"

Sam knelt down and faced Kitty, "It's a long story, Miss Kitty. I'll tell you when you feel stronger, now you just relax and get some more sleep..." he didn't even know if Kitty heard the last part of the sentence as she drifted back into unconsciousness. The tall barkeep stood and readjusted the sheet that covered Kitty. Sam felt a mixture of emotions that ranged from sadness for Kitty to outright anger toward those responsible for shooting his boss. Sam sighed as he walked over to Doc's swivel wooden chair and lowered himself into and noticed the old Colt Navy in the partly opened drawer that the marshal had told him about. Now Sam was wondering where Doc was and who forced him to leave Miss Kitty's side.

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All of Lute's men were asleep, except for Bo who was instructed to watch the doctor and prevent him from straying away into the night. Doc tried to sleep at the table with his head tucked into the fold of his arms which were crossed in front of him on the table. Through narrow eyelids, the doctor watched Bo sitting near the hearth and wondered if the young outlaw would give him a chance to escape now that his friend was patched up. The doctor could only think about Kitty Russell and how she needed him and how he needed to be with her.

Doc was about to make a move when Lute awoke and stood from where he slept. Doc muttered more curse words under his breath and decided to try and get a few moments of sleep before dawn came. As the weary town physician closed his eyes he hoped that Kitty was doing alright and that Matt and Festus had somehow managed to find the tacks what would lead to his rescue and he prayed that would happen sooner than later.

Lute pulled another stubby cigar from his vest pocket and stuck in between his teeth. He pulled a match from his pocket and with a quick flick of his thumb a small flame popped to life. As Lute puffed on the old cigar looked at this brother, "We're heading out at dawn. I figure by now the law will be out looking for the old pill pushed. We'll push our way south. Sooner or later, the Dodge Marshal will run out of his territory and his badge won't do him a lick of good." Both Lute and Bo laughed at the thought.

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Matt and Festus approached the stretch of road where the attempted hold up took place. The light from the moon was enough for Festus to determine where the riders came from and which direction they left the road. Matt was thankful that some of the tracks survived the rain they had earlier in the day.

Festus stepped down from Ruth and squatted near some of the horse tracks, "Looks like four of them, Matthew. The came down from that ridge just like the guard said and then they rode off through this here field. That will have to wait until dawn."

Matt said nothing at first as he surveyed the horizon, "Well, they couldn't have gotten too far if the guard was right and winged one of them."

Festus stood and walked to Matt's horse, "You think they came and took ol' Doc, don't you?"

"I do. No one else would have been so cowardly and Doc just wouldn't ry to pull a gun on just anyone." Matt reasoned.

"I suspect you're right about that..." Festus hung his head low and started to walk toward Ruth when his eyes caught the glint of something on the ground. The hill man walked to the items and picked hem up, "Matthew. Doc was right about the rifle too," he said as he walked the empty shell casings back to his boss and handed them over, "All in all, I'd say that Miss Kitty was pretty lucky to be only shot once." Festus dropped five empty brass casings into Matt big hand.

The marshal made a face and said nothing - the muscles in his jaw ached as he flexed them out of anger while looking at the empty shells. His hand slowly closed over the casings and almost crushed them before he shoved them into his pocket. He turned Buck toward the field and gave the large buckskin horse a quick jab of his spurs to continue the search for Doc.

The deputy climbed back on to his saddled and followed the marshal. Thankfully dawn was just a half hour away. Until then, the night sky remained as dark as Matt Dillon's mood.