After ordering a bottle from the bar tender, Sloane slowly followed Winslow up the stairs. He wet his lips in thought as Winslow unlocked the door and stepped into the dark room. Sloane quietly stepped in and closed the door behind him. With the light of the moon, Sloane could see the little table next to one of the beds. Without a word, he walked over and placed the bottle down. He then turned and faced Winslow who was taking off his coat. Sloane walked over to his partner and balled up his fist, striking him hard in the abdomen. Winslow doubled over and folded his arms over his gut and groaned, slowly dropping to his knees. He wheezed for a breath, "What the hell was that for," he gasped.
"You ever pull something smart like that again, it will be the last thing you do," Sloane warned as he grabbed Winslow's hair jerking his head up so that he could see his face.
"You were going to lose us another room," Winslow grunted causing Sloane to gruffly let goof Winslow's hair. He knew he was right, but Sloane would never admit it. He calmly walked back to the table and the bottle and sat on the edge of the bed, looking out the window.
Winslow held his stomach as he slowly got to his feet wondering to himself how much more of this he was going to take. The drinks he had swirled in his belly and mind; all he wanted at the moment was a decent light sleep – something he hadn't had in well over a fortnight. Rick eased himself up to the edge of his own bed and rolled over.
Sloane watched him, "I didn't hit you that hard," he slurred. "Good lord, you look like a dying slug," he laughed and drank back more whiskey.
Winslow wriggled into place and barely pulled a blanket over his shoulder before he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Sloane's eyes narrowed at Winslow, "He always was the weak one," he gulped back one more swallow, placed the bottle down before he too rolled over and fell asleep.
Wilbur Jonas had no idea when Doc last ate, but figured that as soon as he was able too, he'd need something other than whiskey in his stomach. While the others slept, Jonas put to use his Civil War survival skills and made a simple broth with the fresh water and some of the beef jerky he had brought for the lawmen to chew on.
Patently Jonas added the dried beef to the water over the fire in the hearth as he kept watch on the doctor. He added the last piece and stirred it in when he heard Doc moan.
Quickly the store owner moved to his friend's side, "Doc?" he looked down and smiled and blinked in a nervous way.
Doc squinted and looked around as the tried to remember what had happened. Slowly he smiled, "Well this is a change of rolls," he tried not to laugh. It was the most coherent thing the doctor had said in hours.
"I suppose it is," Jonas smiled down. "Are you hungry?" has asked.
Doc pondered the question and blinked, "Just a little," he sighed.
Jonas nodded and gently patted Doc on the shoulder before he went for the broth. The movement in the room woke Matt, who watched for a moment from here he lay on the cabin floor. Jonas carefully ladled some of the broth into a clean enamelled basin from the doctor's bag. He also found a spoon in there.
"It's hot," Jonas warned as he supported Doc to sit a little as he spooned the liquid into his mouth. Doc took four spoon fulls and motioned he had enough for now. Truth of the matter is, his side and back hurt too much in the position, causing him to feel dizzy. "Thanks, Jonas," he groaned as the store owner eased the doctor's head and shoulders back to the table.
By now, Matt was on his feet and over to where Doc lay, "How you feeling Doc?" he asked.
Doc slowly rolled his head to face Matt, "Like hell," he stated in a hushed voice.
"I can imagine. Newly did get the bullet out, so come sun up, maybe we can get you back to town," the marshal said, but then realized that the doctor had lost consciousness again.
"I don't think he's in any condition to move yet, Matt," the store owner nervously stated. He didn't want to over step his boundary.
"You might be right Jonas. If Doc couldn't stand just the little movement for some soup, I don't think he'd fair well in the back of your wagon, even with that mattress," Matt agreed. "You get some sleep. I'll watch over Doc, now," he smiled at Jonas.
"Sure, Matt," Jonas nodded and pick up his coat and a blanket and found himself a place near the fire. Before he turned in for what he suspected to be an uncomfortable sleep, he placed another log on the fire. Once the log caught, Jonas sat down rolled his coat up to form pillow, laid back then pulled the dark grey wool blanket up over himself. He was right; the floor was cold and hard.
Matt sat down on the chair and folded his arms across his chest. He was mentally calculating where the bank robbers might be. One place he hoped they weren't was Dodge. Although Sam Noonan wasn't one to push around, there was only one of him. Matt decided that he'd leave Festus, Newly, and Jonas with Doc in the morning and head back to town to check on things. If all was well, he'd come back out and by then he figured Doc could be transported back to town. At least that was his current plan.
Doc stirred again, but not to full consciousness. Newly was now up and walked over to Matt and the doctor. "Did he wake up at all?" Newly asked with concern.
"Yeah, a while ago. Jonas managed to get him to drink some broth he made. I don't think Doc could stomach it just yet," Matt noted.
Newly touched Doc's forehead, "He's pretty warm," he stated as he retrieved a cloth and soaked it in the cold water, before placing it gently onto the doctor's forehead. "I hope he doesn't develop a fever," Newly sighed.
"I've decided to leave you, Festus and Jonas here in the morning, so I can check on things in town. I don't like the idea of murdering bank robbers running free in Dodge," Matt said in a hushed voice. "Hopefully everything is fine and hopefully by the time I get back here, Doc can be moved."
"Don't you think was can move him in the morning?" Newly asked.
"Jonas had him up a bit to feed him, but the pain was too much for him and he passed out again," Matt informed the young deputy. Newly made a face, "I sure hope I didn't do any further damage," he lamented.
"Newly, you know as well as I do, that bullet had to come out. It's up to Doc now," Matt stated. His word only slightly helped how Newly was feeling.