Matt tied a bandana around Brown's upper arm where Festus' bullet hit him. Brown groaned the whole time and it gave Matt a small measure of pleasure to make it hurt that much more. The cattle baron glared at the marshal. "You're doing that on purpose..."
"Maybe...guess you'll never know."
"Good think you aren't a sawbones..."
Matt smiled slightly. "You might wish I was, once ol' Doc Adams gets to you..."
Brown squirmed. "What do you mean by that!"
Matt stepped through the iron door and looked it behind him. "Guess you'll have to wait and see." Then Matt disappeared through to the office and closed the connecting door.
Festus stood at the coffee pot. "That sure was a close one, Matthew..."
Matt could only agree as he settled in behind his desk.
The door of the jail house opened and Kitty stepped through. "I heard there was a fight..." Her blue eyes examined the bruises on the marshal's handsomely rough features. "Who won?" She then asked sarcastically.
"Me...just." Matt said as he dabbed a clean cloth on the corner of his mouth. "He pulled a knife on me and one of Johnson's men called out. Festus winged him.
Kitty could only shake her head in amazement. "Can I buy you boys a drink?"
Matt stood. "I can't leave here with Brown in there..." Matt thumbed over his shoulder.
"Ah, fiddlesticks, Matthew, I'll keep an eyeball out fer you. You look like you could use a drink, anyhow!" Festus was truly like a mother hen. "And ifin I see ol' Doc, I'll have him come over to look at that mangy polecat in thar..."
Matt and Kitty smiled at the weathered faced deputy. "Okay. Sure. Thanks Festus." Matt said as he reached for his hat on the peg for the door. "Now if there's any trouble, come an get me right away."
"I'll do er, Matthew." He ticked his head to the pair sa they left the jail house. Festus was extremely proud of the badge he wore and the people it helped to protect.
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Jed and Pip leaned on the wooden plank that served as the bar in the Bull's Head Saloon. Jed quickly finished his drink and set his glass down hard. "Hit me again, barkeep." Jed's eyes then shifted to Pip who seemed less rattled by the night's events. "We gotta get the boss out of there."
Pip looked at his trail friend with arched eyebrows. "And just how ya planning to do that?"
"Dunno..." was the only word out of Jed's mouth. "But I do know one thing...I'm gonna teach that big mouth Randy Brant a lesson he wont forget..." Jed drank down the full contents of the glass in one gulp.
"I wouldn't if I were you. That marshal seems to have friends everywhere you look." Pip suggested.
"Then I'll go it where he ain't lookin'." Jed's eyes narrowed and were filled with hate. "You comin'?"
Pip swallowed his last gulp and followed his friend out into the night. "I'm only gonna watch."
"Sure. It otta be a quick show."
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Doc had just pulled his buggy into the livery when Festus spotted him through the window. The deputy opened the jail house door and preceded across the street to meet his friend. "Doc?"
"Oh, hi Festus. What's up?" Doc lifted his medical bag off the seat.
"Oh there's been a ruckus and that Templeton Brown pulled a knife on Matthew..."
"Matt! Is he all right?" Doc asked quickly.
"Wall sure he is..." Festus tried to continue his story.
"You should be ashamed of yourself! You almost gave me heart failure!" Doc barked and tried to push his way past Festus and out to the street.
"Wall if ya let me finish...old Mr Brown needs to see ya cause I shot him in the arm." Festus scrunched up his left eye.
"Oh..." Was the only thing the doctor could say. "Well, come on. Let's go look at him."
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Jed waited for Randy Brant to walk by on his way back to his outfit. Brant was sort of a loner and his friend Ross had already headed back. Brant sauntered down Front Street and past the livery where Jed grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him into the building. Jed was far bigger and before Randy had the first swing at him, he was seeing double. Jed didn't let up. A fury unleashed and he kept pounding on the man and even at the insistence of Pip to stop, he just kept going. Pip cut and ran. He didn't need to see any more.
Doc had finished bandaging Browns arm and bid his good byes to Festus for the night. As he opened the door of the jail, the light cast a glow across the street and ever so lightly shone in the face of Jed. Then an unmistakable sound was heard. That of bones being broken. Jed's eyes looked up into the light like a wild animal.
"Hey! What's going on there?" Doc started across the street. He's voice attracted Festus' attention.
Jed looked down at the limp man and pushed him to the ground before he bolted down the street into the night.
Festus was now next to Doc. "Doc? What happened?"
Doc looked up to Festus. "This man was just murdered."
"Did ja see who done it?" Festus helped Doc to his feet.
"I sure did. He went that way. It was one of Brown's men. I've seen him before." Doc scratched the top of his ear.
"Which one?" Festus looked down the street.
"I don't know his name but I sure could point him out to you..." Doc started to walk down the street toward the Bull's Head and Festus quickly followed.