It was getting late in the day when Mark rode back into North Fork and saw Micah in front of his office, beckoning to him. The boy was anxious to get back to his father but he went over to the marshal and tied up his horse. "I'm kinda in a hurry, Micah."

"I know." Micah said softly, "Doc Burrage told me."

Mark's face crumpled but he stood up as straight and tall as he could. "I'm taking Pa to a hospital in Denver."

The marshal nodded. "I made arrangements to go too so we could all be together as long as possible." Micah swiped at his eyes. "Mark, are you sure about that dog? Lucas said he was positive it had rabies but couldn't he have been wrong?"

"If you saw it you wouldn't even ask." The boy's eyes ranged the street. "It was crazy out of its mind…" His jaw dropped. "Micah, look!"

A small wagon was driving up the street, a young man at the reins with his wife next to him. Two children were in the back among a number of boxes and bundles, playing with a big shaggy black dog.

"What is it, Mark?" Micah was puzzled.

"That's the dog that bit Pa!" Mark ran out into the street and grabbed the reins of the near horse. "Shoot it, Micah!"

The driver raised a whip and the marshal drew his gun. "I wouldn't do that."

"What kind of a town is this?" The man dropped the whip. "First somebody shoots our dog, now we can't even drive down the street." His wife was hushing the frightened children in the back while the dog watched with interest as the scene unfolded.

"That dog has rabies!" shouted Mark. "My pa is dying because that dog bit him!"

"Rabies?" The young mother scrambled down and faced the furious boy. "Please let me explain. You see…"

Five minutes later Mark burst into Doc Burrage's back bedroom. Luke was laying on the bed staring at the ceiling and he didn't have time to react before his son was on him, grabbing his hands and pulling him up to a sitting position. "Easy, son!" The big man winced and held his injured arm. "What is it?"

"Pa, you're not gonna die!" Mark was almost dancing with excitement. "I just saw that dog in the street and it doesn't have rabies!" His father just looked at him. "It's so, Pa."

"Mark, slow down," said Luke, rubbing his forehead. "We both saw that dog. There was foam all over its mouth."

The boy nodded. "The people stopped at a little crik so the woman could wash their clothes. She said their dog is always eating things and it grabbed the bar of lye soap she was using and chewed it up before she could stop it. That's why it went after you. The soap burned its mouth and it was just hurting a lot when it went running down the road. She said usually it's very gentle but it must have been feeling awful mean just then."

Luke's voice shook. "Mark, are you sure? Really sure?'

"Well, of course, Pa! I told you I hit it, didn't I? The family was close enough that they heard the shot. It's not really hurt, just a graze down the side…" The boy threw his arms around his father, holding him tightly. "You're all right, Pa!" His voice broke and he whispered, "You're all right." And they wept.