Doc and Thomas Hayes where able to set the broke femur, much to Peer's discomfort; the young man eventually passed out from the pain. In a way it made Doc's job a little bit easier as he put wooden splints on the leg and bound them snugly. The doctor stood up from his work, and removed his glasses, placing them in the metal case he kept in his vest. He then pulled the blankets back up over the boy.
Without mincing words Doc spoke, "He's going to be in some pain for a while. And he's not out of the woods. The leg is set, and I hope that it's a good one, but if any infection sets into the bone," he said looking down at the restful face of Peter and blinked, "The leg might have to come off," he then looked at both Thomas and Martha as they supported each other in the doorway.
"Thank you for coming out here, Doc," Thomas finally spoke as he watched the doctor gather his things as he prepared to leave.
Doc nodded, "I'll come out again tomorrow," he said as he pulled on his suit coat. "But if the swelling gets worse, you come for me tonight," he spoke with reassurance. "I don't think that there will be anymore swelling, but you just never know," he tried to smiled. "Keep some cold water handy and place a damp cloth on his leg every half hour. That should help keep it under control. I'll have to readjust those straps in a few days too, once the welling is down," he added as he placed his black felt hat on top of his head. "I'll see you later," he sighed as he walked to the front door. "Oh, and just a few drops of laudanum every now and then for the fist few days and after that the pain ill be more of an ache," he added.
"Thanks again, Doc," Martha weakly smiled. Doc ticked his head in acknowledgement as he reached for the doorknob and opened it. The wind seemed a little stronger and the temperature a little cooler. This was a part of his job he disliked, but he had to do it. Doc walked to his buggy and lifted the weight and placed in on the floor of the buggy as he did with this medical bag. Slowly the doctor climbed up on to the seat and pulled the canopy up, hoping that it would cut down on the wind, and it seemed to help a little. Doc smiled at himself for his quick thought of ingenuity as he gathered the reins and released the brake. In his mind, he was savouring a drink at the Long Branch now, so much so, he could almost taste it. He estimated the time to be about three o'clock or there about, and a quick peek at his pocket watch confirmed that he was only fifteen minutes off. There was still plenty of daylight to get back to town.
After about twenty minutes, Doc remembered Wilbur Jonas' hand and he frowned; perhaps a bone was cracked he thought to himself. He really couldn't be certain without a way to look at the bones, without the skin, "Well, I'm certainly not cutting him open," he muttered to himself. "If there was only a way that a doctor could examine the human skeleton with a picture," he muttered to himself. "By golly, it would sure make a doctor's job easier. I mean the time I've spent sweating over Matt or Festus looking for bullet, when all I would have to do is take a photograph of them," he ticked his head. "That would be amazing; imagine seeing the human skeleton without the skin. I'd want a proper office and an nurse," he further dreamed. Then his mind came back to Jonas, "I feel badly for him" he ticked his head. "I bet his hand hurts more than he tells me," he frowned and ticked his head.
Doc's buggy rounded a curve in the road, that was lined with groves of trees on either side. There in the middle of the road was a saddled horse; just standing here. "Whoa," Doc said as he pulled gently on the reins to stop Popcorn.
Doc's eyes surveyed the area and couldn't see anything amiss nor did he see the horse's owner. He set the brake on the buggy and slowly climb down from the rig to look at the horse. "Hey there," he spoke calmly to the animal and was able to grab it's reins. He looked the horse over and noticed a great deal of blood on the saddle. It wasn't a horse he recognized from Dodge. Slowly he walked the animal back to the buggy and tied it to the back.
Doc then thought about the blood, "Someone's hurt bad," he muttered he walked to the edge of the road, and peered thought the trees trying to see if he could see the wounded owner of the horse. He didn't see anything on the left side and with a swipe of his moustache he turned to look over the right, but instead he turned with into the barrel of a gun. The doctor swallowed hard as he looked down at the blue steel and up at the man behind the gun.
It was later in the day, when Wilbur Jonas decided to check in with Doc. The store owner hadn't seen the doctor return, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't in his office. It had been a busy day in the store, so he might have just missed him. Jonas flipped the open sign to closed and pull the door closed before he made his way to the top of the stairs and to the office above the general store. He then gently rapped on the door, "Doc?" he called.
There was no answer. Jonas twisted his mouth in thought. ""Maybe he just didn't hear me," he shrugged and opened the door. The room was cool, as the little wood stove was not lit. Jonas checked the back room and there was no sign of the doctor. "Maybe he stopped at the Long Branch," he deduced and walked back to the door, closing behind him.
The store owner descended the stairs and almost bumped into the marshal, "Oh, hello Matt," Jonas smiled. Matt acknowledged the store owner and was about to continue on his way when Jonas asked him, "Have you seen Doc this afternoon?"
"No, why?" Matt asked. It wasn't like the store owner to keep track of people's whereabouts.
"He was going to look at my hand this morning, but get called out to the Hayes place near Wrigth," he indicated.
"What happened that they needed Doc?" Matt asked as he hooked his thumbs over his belt.
"Sounds like the boy broke his leg. Bad from what Thomas was saying," Jonas lamented. "I just thought that Doc would be back by now," he sighed.
Matt looked up to the sky, "There's still daylight left. Maybe they offered him a meal before he left," the marshal smiled. "I'm sure he'll beck in a while," he tried to reassure the store owner. "Put some ice on your hand in the mean time," he gently patted the older man on the shoulder.
Jonas smiled weakly, "Thanks, Matt," he said with a tinge of sarcasm. "I'll check the Long Branch. Maybe he's in there," Jonas mumbled as he stepped passed the marshal in search of the town doctor.