The sound of the cawing roster caused Doc to stir. He groaned slightly remembering he'd spent yet another night on an uncomfortable surface. He ran his hand over his face and then rubbed his finger and thumb past his nose into the corners of his eyes, hoping to clear his head. The drifting scent of bacon and eggs certainly caught his attention. With a stretch of his back and shoulders he stood and scratched his whiskered jowl. "I say, somethin' smell pretty darn good over there." He smiled at Molly Williams whom he could see in the kitchen at the back of the stage stop. He looped his suspenders over his shoulders before putting on his vest. He quickly took a peek at his watch - it was just after 6 in the morning.
Mrs Williams smiled back. "Hope you finally got some sleep after that storm last night."
"Oh, sure did. Thank you." Doc ran his hand over his wavy hair trying to make it stay in place. The sauntered back to the summer kitchen and looked around.
Mrs Williams noticed and motioned to the door. "Harold set up a wash basin and towel fer ya. When yer finished washin' come and eat. That driver of your's wants to get a move on."
Doc nodded and pushed through the door. The late summer sun was warm, even for that time of the morning. Doc rolled his sleeves up and pat his hands in the cold water before running them over his whiskered face. He watched the stage driver backing the horses into their hitch and fasten the rigging and straps. After wiping his face dry and placing the cloth on the table he reentered the house.
Kitty was happily helping with the breakfast spread. "Mornin' Doc!" She chirped. "Eat up. Mrs Williams made a load of food."
"Good thing. I could eat a whole hog myself, I'm so hungry! By golly, I might even out eat Festus today!" Doc mused as he took a seat at the table.
"We'll be ready to roll by 8 folks." Walter hollered through the window.
Doc assisted Kitty with her bags out to the stage and handed them off to Walter. He quickly and carefully packed them in the storage area at the back of the coach. Once all the luggage was stowed away he pulled the large canvas tarp down over them and secured it with rope. "Everyone aboard?" He said aloud as he climbed up to his driver's seat.
Doc patted the side of the coach. "We're go to go..." And with that, Walter snapped the reigns and the horses lunged forward toward Dodge. Doc sighed. He was happy to see the end of the stage ride and only had 6 or more hours to go.
The stage was into it's third hour and the road was getting more and more rough. Little did the driver know that the pin that held the hitch to the coach was wearing thin and each jolting bump caused it to bob up out of the hole.
"You think he'd slow down a tad..." Doc said aloud.
Kitty held the window opening for some stability. "Yeah. I'm not sure if I'll have any inners left after this!"
Doc chuckled and was about to say something to the driver before there was a sickening jar. The coach quickly listed sideways and rolled over as the team of horses bolted. Walter tried to jump free but his foot got caught in the metal seat support. The coach rolled and tumble several times before sliding to a stop at the bottom of the hill and almost out of sight.