Matt took several steps forward, "Newly?" The marshal was looking at the gunsmith's leg.

Newly looked at Mrs. Jonas and then back to Matt. "We found Harvey Miller in the livery stable. He was in bad shape so Jonas and I got him up to Doc's," Newly began.

"His hand?" Doc asked. Newly nodded. "Like Festus mentioned, he was supposed to see you about it two days ago," Newly continued. Doc drew his right hand across his moustache and then looked over to Matt.

"Ol' Mrs. Miller stopped me on my way back to Dodge and told me he'd cut his hand while hunting' or some such thang," Festus chimed in.

"How's Jonas work into this?" Matt asked.

Newly sighed, "He was with me in Doc's office as I tried to clean up Miller's hand. Then Miller came too and was acting irrational. He pulled my gun on me and shot me before he took off into the night. He was clearly insane," Newly added.

"How bad is your leg, Newly," Doc looked at the bandage.

"Thankfully Miller's shot was off and he only grazed me. Jonas stayed and help me with it," Newly added.

"When did all of this take place?" Matt asked.

"Oh, I'd say it was around midnight or there after," Newly thought.

"Why would Harvey Miller act that way?" Doc looked over to Matt.

"Maybe he was on a gambling and drinking binge," Matt shrugged. "He's done it before."

"Well he certainly had been drinking," Newly stated.

Doc paused, "Seems to me, I haven't seen him gambling for some time now," the doctor said as he seemed to look like he was getting deeper in thought.

"No, I can't say that I've seen him around town like that for a few months...maybe even a year," Matt added.

Clarence stepped forward, "Did he gamble at the same place?"

Matt shook his head no, "He like the low end saloons where the whiskey is cheap," Matt sighed.

"What about my Wilbur?!" Ellen Jonas asked. "All this talk is about Harvey Miller and not one word about Wilbur!" Ellen's eyes were filled with tears.

Newly's eyebrows knit together, "I told him to go home last night after he helped me. Did he not make it?"

Ellen shook her head no, and began to sob into her hands that held a handkerchief. Doc gently took Ellen by the shoulders and sat her in the chair at the table. "You take it easy, Ellen. Matt will find Jonas. I'm sure he's all right," Doc patted Ellen's shoulder to try to get her to stop crying. Doc looked up to Matt who was clearly unimpressed about how this day was starting.

"Did Miller gamble with the same crowd?" Clarence asked out of the blue.

"Mostly," Festus mused. "Bunch of dead beats, ifin you ask me," the deputy said as he took another sip from his coffee.

Doc looked up at Festus. He studied the hill man. "I think I know the answer..."

"To what?" Matt asked.

"What brought Cox here," Doc's eyes narrowed as he looked from Matt to the trapper. Cox looked at the marshal and shrugged before they both looked at the doctor. "Doc what are you talking about? How does this tie in with Jonas' disappearance?"

"That part I don't know. Just yet," Doc thought some more.

"Would you mind sharing what you do have?" Matt sounded impatient.

"Miller used to gamble at the Bull's Head with a fellow. And now that I think about it I can see why Clarence might have confused Festus with him," Doc looked at Matt. Matt looked at Festus who stood staring at the doctor.

Clarence froze as he looked at Festus, "Doc's right," he said. His mind raced and then he thought of the knife. The one Jonas had in his store. The one Festus found that now sat on the marshal's desk. Clarence walked swiftly forward and picked up the long hunting knife, "Festus? Where did you find this?"

Festus frowned at the trapper, "I don't have ta tell you nothin'," the deputy grunted and took another sip of coffee.

Matt looked at Cox. Something was going through the trapper's mind, "Festus. Where did you find the knife?" Matt asked.

"Wall, Matthew I didn't steal it, if that's what yer thinkin'," Festus said.

Matt shook his head, "No, Festus that isn't what I'm tinking," he said with growing angst in his tone.

"Festus, that knife belonged to my friend. The one I mistook you for. Doc even said you have a good resemblance, and if my hunch is right, Harvey Miller has a few questions that will need to be answered," Cox stated.

"And the location of the knife might be a clue as to where Jonas is," Matt said. Cox nodded. "Miller seems like the kind of guy who eliminates a problem rather than dealing with it," Clarence stated.

"He's been known to do that. He's also been known to hold cards close to his chest until he gets his way," Doc said as he recalled several times he tried to get money from Miller.

"Oh! Well foot!" Festus smiled. "I found that knife out by the old sliver mine," he thought as he recalled it laying on the ground outside the locked mine entrance. "I just guessed that some hunter lost it and I thought it seemed alike a fair piece so I bartered it with Jonas fer a few thangs," Festus said. Doc scowled at the hill man, "Just like you to do something like that," the physician grumbled.

"Where is this mine?" Cox asked impatiently.

"It's about an hour or so out of town," Matt said. He looked at Doc, "If Jonas is out there, he might need you." Doc nodded, "I'll get my medical bag. Festus, put some blankets in the wagon," Doc said as he quickly walked to the door. Doc paused and looked at Cox, "I hope your hunch is right. And I hope Jonas is all right."

Clarence nodded, "I sure hope he is too," the trapper sighed. He really was now at a loss for the right words or how to convince the marshal and his friends how sorry he was for his actions which seemed to have escalated out of control.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wilbur Jonas shivered uncontrollably as he watched the sunlight poke through the cracks in the door. His eyes drifted down to the lantern and the small flame that flicker with the chilly breeze that seemed to go through the door. Surely the cracks in the door weren't that wide to let such cold wind into the mine.

Jonas then looked over at the dead man and thought if he was soon to join him. He was very tired and fought to stay awake. Jonas picked up the lantern and gently shook it to see how much oil was left in the reservoir. He couldn't hear any sloshing so he sat the lamp down. He sighed heavily. Perhaps he would soon be joining his fellow prisoner in the deep long sleep of death.