The sun had just barely started to make light in the shy when Festus stirred. He sat and rubbed his weary eyes with the palms of his hands hoping to help him wake up from the lousy night sleep he had. Matt woke to the slight noise Festus caused. He too didn't sleep well.

"Do ya want me ta make some coffee Matthew?" Festus asked as he stood up from his bed roll. "I don't think so Festus. We can get one at the stage stop. The sooner we get riding the sooner we'll find out what happened the Kitty and Doc."

Festus didn't need any encouragement. He quickly swooped up his bed and had it packed and tied to his saddle in a flash. Matt was a little slower; his back ached - most everything ached, but once he got moving, he was fine. The two men were ready to ride within a few minutes and their first stop would be several miles up the road at the stage stop.

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Kitty had been awake long before dawn. She quietly slid the shot gun from Doc's hands as he'd fallen asleep sometime earlier. Kitty watched him sleep and noted that even in his sleep he looked in pain. She shook her head in dispar as there wasn't anything she could do for him out in the woods. She was also thankful that Doc may have been wrong about the cougar. There was no sign of it, so she let Doc sleep a while longer and sat quietly next to him.

An hour had placed and Doc awoke. He scratched his growing whiskers and then ran his hand through his hair. The he remembered where he was and he sat with a start. "Oh, sorry Kitty. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

"That's all right Doc. You heeded it." Kitty set the shotgun down between them. "Looks like you might have been wrong about the cougar." she stated happily.

Doc rubbed his aching leg. "Well, I hope you're right about. Me being wrong, that is..." Painfully he pushed himself up to his feet and then stretched his back. The cool night gave him a bit of a chill after all. "I guess we should keep going and try and find Fitzgerald's place." he said while holding out his hand to Kitty to help her up. Reluctantly she picked up the gun and took his hand. Slowly they began their trek.

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Matt and Festus arrived at the stage stop. Matt handed his reigns to Festus and stepped down from the big buckskin horse. He surveyed the area and noted the lack of a stage coach. With a slight huff, he adjusted his hat and walked toward the office only to be greeted by the proprietor, Jim Benton. Matt extended his hand, "Hi Jim."

"Marshal. I can guess what's brought you out from Dodge." Jim look over to Festus, who remained on Ruth and gave him a wave of welcome.

"Oh?" Matt said.

"I bet you're wondering where the stage is." Jim turned and motioned for the marshal to follow. As they rounded the corner Matt saw the four horses in the corral. "They came in by themselves late yesterday afternoon. I went out looking for the coach but didn't see anything. It don't look go, do it?" wiped his brow with the cloth he took from his back pocket.

Matt tucked his thumbs into his belt. "How far back did you look?"

"Oh, I'd say ten miles or so. I got back here after dark myself." Jim said.

The look on Matt's face may have seem to be disappointment to Jim, but in reality it was fear for Kitty and Doc. "We'll be back later." He shook Jim's hand and hurried back to Festus and their mounts.