Festus handed Doc the shot gun and a fist full of shells that he had in his coat pocket. "What do you think it is?" Doc whispered to the deputy.
"I don't know, Doc. It's big though. Look at the snow falling from the trees," the hill man indicated. "You keep that gun good and handy," Festus warned as he inched his way to the woods.
"Are you sure you should go in there?" Doc asked with a hint of panic in his voice.
"I'd rather surprise it, than it surprise us," Festus stated as he continued to move through the knee-deep snow. He froze a loud grunting sound. The hill man looked back at the doctor who was now sitting on a log with the shot gun gripped in his hands. Festus we his lips and looked back to the woods and began walking again. Again there was a grunt; Festus bit his bottom lip and readjusted his grip on his gun as he moved closer to the source of the noise. The brush was thick as he pushed his way deeper in the woods.
The hill man paused and listened for some movement and then turned when he hear another low grunt. Carefully he moved in the direction of the sound.
Festus was now out of Doc's sight who was now on his feet, as best as he could with his numb leg and aching back. He craned his neck trying to see where the deputy was going, "Festus?" he called out.
Festus stopped by a large tree and poked his nose around it to see if the beast was there – whatever it may be. The hill man's shoulders sagged with relief, "Well, you ol scallywag!" he smiled broadly, "You got yer self tangled up good," he said as he approached Popcorn He shoved his gun back into the holster. The doctor's horse still had the harness and shaft from the buggy; not that it would do the men any good without a wheel.
The hill man set to untangling the reins and trace straps from the brush.
"Festus?" Doc yelled out again, only this time there was more panic in his tone. This time the deputy heard his friend, "It's all right Doc!" the deputy hollered back; there was excitement in his voice.
Doc frowned at the comment, "What's all right?"
Festus led the horse back to the camp, "Look what I found," the said as he walked the animal over to the doctor.
"What a welcome sight you are, Popcorn!" Doc smiled. Festus wasn't sure, but he swore he saw tears of joy in the doctor's eyes.
"Come on, let's get you back to town," Festus moved the horse next to Doc. Doc placed the shot gun down and with Festus' assistance; he was up onto the horse's back. The deputy handed the doctor the gun, retrieved the bottle with the remainder of the whiskey, sticking it into his coat pocket before he too climbed up onto the horse, behind Doc.
Festus turned the animal around and nudged him with his spurs. They were finally heading back to Dodge. "The road's back that way," Doc motioned.
"I know it is, but were taking a short cut that will bring us out at the fork. It'll get us to Dodge quicker," Festus stated. Doc was too tired and hungry to argue.
Matt had his saddle on Buck and led the horse out of the stable, just as Newly O'Brien arrived back in town, "I'm glad to see you," Matt nodded.
"Oh?" O'Brien questioned.
"Keep an eye on three buffalo hunters. They're staying at the boarding house at the end of town," Matt stated.
"The one near the Bull's Head?" Newly asked.
Matt nodded as he pulled himself up onto the tall buckskin horse. "I'm riding out to the Person place for Doc and Festus," he reported. "At least I hope they are," he added as he rode away.
Newly's eyebrows knit together in question as he walked his horse to the stable. He handed the animal off to Hank and walked back to the door. The young deputy looked across the street to the jailhouse, but knew Festus wasn't there. Perhaps, he thought, Kitty knew what Matt was talking about. O'Brien walked about the boardwalk and almost bumped into Jonas, "Newly! Please watch where you are going," the store owner grumbled.
Newly looked at Jonas, "Are you all right?" he pointed at his own mouth to make his point.
"It's nothing, Newly. Matt took care of those buffalo hunters. Hopefully they'll leave town today," Jonas huffed as he lightly rubbed his chin and lip, which were now shades of black and blue.
Newly shrugged as there was another layer of mystery. He continued on his way to the Long Branch, "Buffalo hunters?" he asked himself. "Geeze, leave for two days and everything falls apart around here," the young deputy snorted.
Matt felt like he was making good time, but even Buck was finding it hard to move through the deep snow that covered the road. The marshal had been on the road for almost an hour when he rounded the bend and spotted the over turned buggy. He nudged Buck to move a little quicker.
Once at the buggy, Matt instantly noticed the missing wheel as he tied Buck to the frame while he investigated further; even the canvas was gone. Matt crouched down and brushed his hand around the seat and noticed some blood; this wasn't the evidence the was looking for. He slowly stood and looked around. His keen eyes spotted what looked like a snow covered path into the woods.
Matt untied his horse from the buggy and the two of them followed the path, deeper and deeper into the forest. As the marshal forged his way further from the buggy, he began to get more whiffs of smoke. He pulled Buck to a stop, "Festus? Doc?" he called out, but got not response. The snow covered path was becoming harder to follow the more they walked. Matt tugged on his horse's reins and they continued.
After a few minutes, Matt wove through the trees and brush as he led his horse noting that it wasn't either a new path or one that wasn't well used; increasingly it became harder to track, however, the smell of smoke intensified, "Festus? Doc?" he shouted again; this time snow fell from the trees. Matt huffed, "Come on," the said looking at his horse, as he pulled on the reins.
With another few yards, and Matt found the little camp, and a slight smile curled his lips. The fire was still going slightly. The lean-to was still intact including the canvas from Doc's buggy. Slowly the smile faded as the marshal looked around and found no signs of blood there, which made him wonder even further what it was from; there was no signs of animal carcasses near the fire. As he surveyed the area he spotted the fresh tracks in the snow. "They're headed back to Dodge," he sighed as he climbed back up on to this horse to follow the trail.