A tear slid down Festus' cheek as Doc finished speaking and he raised his glass, swallowing the contents in one gulp. The old man pulled up a chair next to his friend and sat down and the deputy choked, "What made you think of that?"
Doc turned his glass around and around in his hands, then set it down. "I don't know. I was so worried about Matt when he said who you were and that you were riding with him, but he would have died if you hadn't been with him." Festus glanced at Doc and the old man smiled a little. "Maybe somewhere in the back of my mind was the thought nothing could really happen to me as long as you were there..."
"But I didn't do nothin', Doc! My head got all fogged up and...and I let you go..." Festus dropped his glass, sobbing openly, and Doc put an arm around the deputy's shoulders. They wept together, washing away the horror they had survived together, and Festus finally straightened up and pulled off his kerchief. He wiped his face, avoiding Doc's eyes, and the old man shook his head and went over to the door for a broom.
"It's bad enough you never pay your doctor bills, but when you start breaking things I know I'm headed for bankruptcy."
"Ornery old scutter." Festus put his kerchief back on. "You don't need my money...you already got half the money in Ford county."
He held a newspaper for Doc to sweep the broken glass onto and the old man snapped, "Don't do that!"
The deputy was startled. "Don't do what?"
"Don't take this month's issue of the New England Medical Journal! I haven't read it yet!"
"What do you need to read it for? You already know how to roll pills and the onliest thing you ever do diff'rent is changin' the color of the paper you send out yore bills on!"
"I'll have you know I'm constantly working to improve my mind!"
"When you gonna stop workin' on it and start showin' some improvement?"
Matt was asleep and Kitty was walking to the Longbranch when she heard the raised voices. She stopped and looked up at Doc's office. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but Festus and Doc's shadows were clear enough, gesticulating wildly at each other. She smiled and walked on, looking up at the sky and breathing a prayer of thankfulness that all was well in Dodge tonight.