Stunned when Festus let go, Thad reacted instantaneously and tightened his grip before his friend's limp hand had slipped more than an inch. "FESTUS! Don't you go give up! I ain't never letting go, and neither is the Marshal! Hang on to me! Hold your breath!" When Festus' hand still did not grip, the young man yelled as loudly as he could before the rising water reached his own mouth, "MARSHAL! PULL! FESTUS CAN'T BREATHE!"
Thad's words pierced Matt's heart like a red-hot bullet as he realized even his best efforts were not enough. He felt something begin to give in his left shoulder as he tried to do the impossible. His vision was blurring and he feared collapse was near, despite desperately fighting it off. Just as he started to fall into blackness, the impossible weight suddenly lightened so much that he feared the two men on the end of the rope had somehow both been lost.
"Hold on thar, Marshal! Me and Pearly Day will help git them two outta thar!" Hog Leg Haggen yelled. He grimaced as his ropey forearms bulged with the effort of pulling back on the taut rope in front of Matt. "Come ON, Pearly Day! Put yer back inta it! That thar is a Haggen down thar!"
"Yee HAW, Hog Leg! This ain't no work a-tall!" The younger Haggen pulled harder on the rope and began walking backwards, bumping into his brother, who then bumped into Matt. When they had arrived, Hog Leg had picked up Kitty around her waist, turned and gently deposited her out of the way. Tipping his shabby hat, he had grinned, strode back and grabbed the rope stretched between his brother and the Marshal.
Matt's vision and brain had cleared, and he looked at Festus' cousins in deep gratitude. "Thanks, Men," was all he could say as he readjusted and tightened his grip.
"Matt! LOOK!" Kitty called, pointing at the hole where Thad's boots were emerging and water was beginning to pour out. Scrambling to her feet, she ran over, wrapped her arms around the long legs and pulled. The rope pulled by the three men now steadily extracted the lanky young man from the watery tomb, and then Festus emerged, head lolling and one arm hanging loose. Water ran from his slack mouth, and his whiskery face was pale and blue-tinged. Thad freed himself from the rope, and then pulled Festus about fifteen feet from the unstable ground by the hole.
"Oh, Festus…" Kitty softly said, going over and wrapping her arms around him, struggling to hold up his torso until Hog Leg ran over, grabbed him, and began pounding his cousin vigorously on the back.
"Come on, ya ol' scudder! Cough it out!" Hog Leg shouted, slapping Festus' back even harder.
Matt had collapsed flat on his back, gasping in pain and exhaustion. As he managed to roll over onto one elbow, he saw Thad push Hog Leg away from Festus.
"I saw Doc help someone pulled from the river, and we need to put him flat on his stomach! Hurry up!" Hog Leg looked at Thad, recognized a man certain of himself, and helped him lower Festus to the ground as ordered.
Kitty had gone over to Matt, and now crouched down next to him, her arms clutching the one he was leaning on. The two Haggen brothers stood back, glancing at each other as they watched the determined young man.
"Festus! You heard the man! Cough it up!" Thad demanded in a firm, angry voice as he repetitively and rhythmically pushed firmly down and up on his friend's back. He had stretched out Festus' arms forward and flat on the ground, turned his head to the side, and was keeping a sharp eye on the pale face.
Only the distant sounds of birds, and the snuffling and nickering of the horses could be heard as Thad worked. After a seemingly eternity, when hopeless, sad resignation could be felt like a heaviness in the air, the quiet was disrupted by Festus' racking coughs, sputters, and gasps. Torrents of water spewed from his mouth, and Thad pulled him to a sitting position, tears running down his cheeks as he wrapped his long arms around his friend.
"That's…that's…more…water…than…I ever swallered 'fore in my life!" Festus gasped out between coughs. "Leggo o' me Thad! Yer durn squashin' me!" But he reached up and ruffled the wet blond hair. "I'm athankin' ya fer my life." Looking around, his eyes met the Marshal's. "I'm athankin' you too, Matthew. I knows what ya did," he said in a gruff voice, swiping a hand over his eyes. Then he saw his cousins standing a few feet away, calmly sharing a plug of tobacco that Pearly Day had pulled from his overalls and torn in half. "And I reckon you Haggens musta had a hand in this! I owes ya some drinks back in Dodge, cousins!"
Kitty let out the breath she had been holding with a gulping sob, and Matt now sat up and his big left arm squeezed her shoulders against him. They both got up, arms around each other's waist, and walked over to their two soaked friends who were now standing up and laughing in relief.
"Oh Festus! Thank God you're all right!" Kitty put her hands on each side of his stubbly face, pulled his head down and kissed him on the lips. Motioning for Thad to bend over, she did the same to him, and laughed when both men blushed beet red.
"How 'bout US, pretty lady?!" Pearly Day called. He and Hog Leg stood back watching, each with an arm slung over the other's shoulder, grinning widely.
Now it was Kitty's turn to blush, but she also smiled and laughed, so grateful that the two strong Haggens had come to the rescue in the nick of time.
"You two can drink your fill of good, cold beer when we get back to town!" Looking back at Festus licking his lips, she added, "You TOO, Festus!" She knew she would never forget the sight of his blue-tinged, lifeless face, and had to suppress the tears welling up in her eyes.
Matt had clapped a big hand on the bacsk of Thad and Festus, grinning broadly, before walking over to the Haggen cousins. "Hog Leg. Pearly Day. I'd be proud to shake your hands," he said, sticking out his ravaged, big right hand. "You two saved us all."
The two scruffy men looked at each other in surprise, then stuck out their own right hands and shook the hand of the big U.S. Marshal. "Never done that afore, Marshal Dillon," Hog Leg said with a chuckle, "but I'm proud ta do it! Heck, we figured it were cousin Festus down in that thar hole when we didn't see him."
The happy, exhausted group made their way down the hill to where the horses and mule waited. Pearly Day had thought to bring Ruth along, and the loyal animal pricked up his long ears as Festus approached. After the Marshal mounted Buck, Thad lifted Kitty up by her waist and she settled in front of Matt, who put his left arm protectively around her. The remaining men got on their mounts, and Thad led the way towards town, followed by Festus, his two cousins, and Matt and Kitty bringing up the rear.
Kitty snuggled back against Matt's broad chest, and he leaned down with his mouth near her right ear. "Darlin', please promise me something," he said in a warm, seductive voice that made her skin tingle.
Reaching up her right hand, she gently stroked the golden stubble on his cheek. "What is it, Cowboy?" she asked curiously.
"No more holes in the ground. No more caves. No more mines. And especially…no more GOLD MINES!"
The four men in front of them turned their heads back at the glorious sound of Kitty's and Matt's mingled rich, deep, and boisterous laughter. Grinning, they turned their heads back to look ahead up the path to Dodge.
End.