Doctor Bancroft's only recourse was to sedate the man on his examination table – the more he tried to clean the wound the more Bret Ashley rebelled. The smell of chloroform lingered in the air as sheriff Wells and Matt entered the doctor's office. Bancroft looked exhausted.
The doctor looked up quickly to see who was coming through the door, "Sheriff," he said acknowledging Wells - his eyes then shifted to the tall man with the badge next to the sheriff.
"This is Matt Dillon, the marshal from Dodge," Wells introduced the two men. "He's come to look at this man and his wound," he stated.
"Well, I've told you that it's a gun shot wound," Bancroft scoffed as he straightened his back looking at the marshal.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Matt said. "How long ago do you think he got it?" Matt asked as he stepped closer to the man on the examination table.
Bancroft shrugged, "Maybe a day or two. It's infected," he added. "He claims he caught it on barbed wire, but I've seen enough gin shot wounds to know what I'm dealing with," the older man pointed to the covered wound.
Matt nodded and then noticed Ashley's gun. He didn't say anything at first as he continued to study they younger man. "I need my men to have a look at him for identification," he stated. "I was lying on a doctor's table when all of this took place," he added while rubbing his shoulder.
"They shot you too?" Wells asked wonder just who this band of men Matt was looking for were.
Matt frowned, "I can't prove it, but I have a fairly good idea that they wanted me out of Dodge before they plan to rob it," he stated. "They left me for dead," he added.
Wells shook his head in disbelief. "Do you want me to hold him in the jail?" Wells asked.
Matt shook his head no, "I'm hoping that his friends pay a visit to get him," Matt said. "I'll need you to keep a deputy here with the doctor," Matt stated as he walked to the door. "I'll be back with some of my men, if I can find them," he mused, slightly.
"I think I heard one of them say something about the livery. It's just down the street," Wells offered, and pointed toward the left of the doctor's office.
Matt nodded and quickly left the in search of the livery stable.
"What do you suppose this is all about?" Bancroft asked the sheriff s he washed his instruments in a small white enamelled tin basin.
"If this fellow is one of the men that marshal Dillon is looking for, he's in one heap of trouble," Wells sighed as he placed his hands on his hips, staring down at the unconscious man. "I see that Thompson gets over here as soon as he'd done his rounds," the sheriff said. "In the meantime," he said as he pulled the gun from Ashley's holster, "Hang on to this," he said trusting the gun into reluctant physician's hands. Bancroft scowled back at the sheriff, "I hate guns," he protested.
Matt's long strides got him to the livery quickly to find his posse eating bread and cheese Newly had purchased from a merchant up the street, "Newly. Sam. I need you to look at a man over that the doctor's office. I want to know if he is one of Jared's men. He fits your description so I need to know for certain," he said thumbing over his shoulder.
Both Newly and Sam stood up and joined Matt was they walked back to Bancroft's office, "And if he is one of them?" Sam asked.
Matt stopped walking and looked at his two friends, "Then we're closer to getting Jared Baker," he growled before he continued to walk. Both Sam and Newly knew what Matt meant, and chose not to comment – they wanted this to end as
well. Without another word spoken between them, Matt, Newly and Sam reached the doctor's office. Wells waited inside and opened the door when he heard the men outside.
The three Dodge men stepped into the office and immediately Newly nodded, "He's one of the ones that robbed the bank. I couldn't get a shot off because there were too many people in the way," the young deputy explained in an excited yet concerned tone.
Matt drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "They're here then," he said looking over to Wells. "Cimarron is big enough for them to him in for a few days. We need to search every building until we find Jared Barker," he seethed.
"I can lock him up, if that helps,' Wells offered again.
"Please do," doctor Bancroft said from his chair at his desk on the far side of the room. He held the gunman's revolver by its grip with his index finger and thumb of his right hand.
Matt nodded, "Yes, I think that would be better," he agreed. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt," he huffed. "Sheriff, if you can arrange his transfer, I'll meet with my men and fan out through the town," he said.
"I'll help where I can, marshal," Wells stated.
"Good," Matt said before he motioned for Newly and Sam to join him back at the livery stable. As the men walked down the street they were extra vigilant for anyone that fit Jared Baker's description. They soon reached the livery where Matt pulled the men together over some cheese and bread to make plans, "The man in the doctor's office is the one that was shot by Festus, my deputy back in Dodge," he informed the soldiers.
"They seem to be a pretty tightly knit group," Sam added.
Matt nodded, "Good. Hopefully they will see the sheriff move that man to the jail and try to break him out," he said in a low calculated voice. "And we need to be ready," he added.
"We have plant a few men inside," private Batten suggested. "There's no need to bring the sheriff and his deputies into this needlessly."
Matt couldn't agree more.
"I'll do it," private Harper offered.
"Me too," Sheppard volunteered.
"Thank you both," Matt said. "Talk to sheriff Wells and ask him where the best place is for you to be," he cautioned the two men. "I want Jared Baker alive," he further warned, with a welling hate in his tone. Again, private Batten noted that there was something more personal about the marshal's quest than he had eluded too earlier.
Both Harper and Sheppard finished eating and left the stable to assist the sheriff with the transfer of Bret Ashley from the doctor's office to the jail house. From across the street, William Mathias watched the soldiers enter the doctor's office and he thought it was odd that soldiers were in Cimarron, enough so that he thought that Jared Baker needed to know. Mathias pushed himself off the post he was leaning on and casually walked up the street, tipping his soiled hat to the ladies as he walked along. He got a great chuckle out of the women that actually walked well out of their way to go around him. Little did he know that one of their own was in the doctor's office – everyone assumed that Charles Downie had hid Ashley out, leaving him to fend for himself.