Matt rode along the road, and as he went, it seemed as if the temperature was dropping. The drizzle was turning into light snow, causing the marshal to curse aloud. He nudged the horse to move a little quicker. The last thing he wanted to do was bring the doctor home in a snowstorm. As he rounded the bend in the road, Matt halted his horse as he watch the group of horsemen approach; it was the posse.
"We meet again, Matt," Chip smiled. "Have you seen any sigh of those men?"
"I have a feeling that Doc might have tangled with them," Matt stated.
"How so?" Chip asked.
"The Hayes' told us Doc never made it back to their place, so Festus and I back tracked and found him shot. He's in the old cabin just up aways," Matt motioned. "There was a dead man with him, but whether he's was one of the bank robbers, I don't know, yet," he indicated. "We need Doc to come to so we can find out more about that," he added. "Festus and I found quite a bit of blood near a tree a lot further up the road but we weren't sure from whom, that's when we found the cabin and Doc," Matt stated.
"How badly was the doctor hurt?" Chip asked.
"Bad enough. He might not be able to walk. The bullet was up against his spine," Matt sighed. "It certainly wasn't a wound in self-defense, either. Doc doesn't carry a gun on him."
Chip looked at the man to his right, "Sounds like something that weasel Sloane would do," he sneered. The man nodded.
"Is he one of the wanted men?" Matt asked.
"You might say he's the ring leader of the bunch. A nasty fellow, indeed," Chip growled. "He'd shoot you as quick to look at you without a care in the world."
Matt adjusted himself in the saddle, "Let's go see if Doc's up to talking," he said taping his spurs on the horse's flanks. The little group turned and followed Matt up the road and then to the lane toward the cabin. Once there, they dismounted.
Festus heard the horses outside and pulled his gun, thinking it might be the bank robbers looking for a warm place to hide. Newly motioned for Jonas to join Doc over at the table as he too pulled his gun and waited for the door to open; the store owner scrambled over to where Doc lay.
Matt opened the door, "Expecting company, Festus?" he smiled at this deputies as he brushed the snow from his coat and entered the cabin with the posse behind him. The last man through the door closed it.
"You might have been them bank robbers," Festus stated as he holstered his gun. "I see the posse's back. Didja find them yahoos?" he asked Chip.
Chip shook his head no, "We lost their tracks so we back tracked," he stated. "If it keeps snowing we'll lose the tracks all together." Matt and Chip moved a little further into the room, "How's Doc?" Matt asked.
Newly's face said it all, "We won't know until we get him home where he can be treated and rest properly," he looked over his shoulder to see Jonas chatting with the doctor.
"Well, if we're going to move Doc, I suggest we do it sooner than later," Matt pointed to the window where the snow was starting to fall a little more.
"We can't put him in the uncovered wagon," Newly stated.
Jonas overheard the conversation and stepped forward after excusing himself from the doctor, "I have a big tarp. If we got some saplings we could make a type of covered wagon," he said knowingly.
"That's a good idea, Mister Jonas," Newly smiled. "Festus, could you help Jonas get the wagon ready?"
"Sure thang Newly," the hill man nodded. All of the men, except Chip of the men from the posse also offered their assistance. Festus and Jonas gathered their coats and went with the men to ready the wagon for Doc's journey back to Dodge.
Matt, Newly and Chip approached the prone doctor, "How are you feeling Doc?" Matt asked with gentle concern.
"Like hell, if you must know," Doc growled. He blinked and fussed as pain kept coming.
"I brought this for you to look at," Matt said as he pulled the wanted poster from his pocket and unfolded it before handing it to the doctor.
Doc adjusted the page back and forth until he could see the image well enough without this glasses, he grunted and pointed to the man on the left, "That's bastard that shot me," he stated looking up at the three lawmen.
"I was afraid you'd say that Doc," Matt frowned as he took the paper back and stuffed it back into his pocket. "They're still in the area," he looked over to Chip and Newly.
"That's not good," Newly said looking down at the doctor as he realized that Doc could identify the robbers, placing him in a risky position. Matt understood what the young deputy was thinking and it was a good thing that Doc has drifted into unconsciousness again.
"I'll get my men mounted as soon as they're through with the wagon. We'll scour the area," Chip said firmly. "I'm not letting that son of a bitch go. I got word that the sheriff died yesterday," he looked at Matt and then Newly.
"We'll get them," Matt said with confidence, but at what price he didn't know nor did he want to think about as his eyes drifted down to his friend on the table.
Sloane swiftly entered the stable and looked for the horse that the marshal had dropped off. It was in the last stall so slowly he moved through the building until he reached it. Sloane placed his hand on the animal's rump so not to startle it as he rounded the corner into the stall, "Easy now," he talked quietly to the horse as he looked it over and sure enough it was Jeb's. Sloane thought to a moment about what to do next, but all he could think about was the redhead at the saloon.
Sloane joined up with Winslow who waited at the front door of the livery stable, "So, is it Jeb's?" Rick asked.
"It is. That means they found that quack. I just hope he was dead when they did," Sloane grunted. His eyes slid right toward the saloon as he licked his lips, "I'd like a drink," he leered.
Winslow shrugged, "If the saloon's open, why not?"
"I don't care if the saloon's open or not. I want a drink," Sloane stated and with a backhanded cuff across Winslow's shoulder, he walked toward the Long Branch Saloon. Winslow slowly followed along behind, he was now just waiting until Frankie Sloane made a mistake.