Matt, Festus and Roy Crawford were about a mile out of Dodge. Crawford glared at the two lawmen, "My leg is killing me," he moaned.
"Guess you shoulda considered that before you robbed the bank," Festus shot back.
"Festus," Matt reprimanded his deputy. Festus made a face under his dripping wet hat.
Crawford tried to adjust himself in his saddle, but the pain in his leg was too great. Matt watched Crawford for a moment before he spoke, "We'll get you to Doc's as soon as we get to town," he stated. Crawford gripped his leg, "That's nice of you," he said sarcastically. Matt pursed his lips and chose not to respond – he did note the look on Festus' face, however.
The trio reached Front Street within a few minutes. Not only was it still raining, but it was cool and getting darker as dusk approached. Matt pulled his horse to a stop in front of the jail house and instructed Festus to ride over to Doc's with Roy Crawford.
Matt dismounted and walked across the street to help Crawford down from his horse. The out law groaned the whole time.
Wilbur Jonas stood on the boardwalk in front of his general store. He watched the two lawmen with the other man and noted his shackled wrists. Jonas shook his head in disgust. Crawford caught the look on the store owner's face and spat at Jonas' feet. The store owner stepped back and glared at the outlaw.
Matt gruffly moved Crawford toward the stairs that led up to Doc's office. The marshal looked back over his shoulder to see Jonas still glaring at the outlaw. Matt made a face, which the store owner noted as he quickly resumed what he was doing.
Doc wasn't in his office so Matt asked Festus to do a quick search for the physician, "I'll be right back with ol' Doc," the hill man trotted to the door and headed out. Matt gently pushed Crawford down into the chair next to the doctor's desk. Crawford rubbed his aching leg while looking around the room, "How long is this gonna take," his eyes shot back to Matt's.
"I guess it will depend on how deep the bullet is," Matt asked abruptly. Crawford scoffed at the marshal's comment.
Festus walked across the alley toward the Long Branch Saloon when he spotted the doctor leaving Del Monico's restaurant. As usual the doctor paused on the steps and picked at his teeth with the toothpick. His eyes then caught sight of the deputy who trudged across the muddy street. Doc could see by the deputy's face that his visit wasn't just a friendly hello.
"What's the matter, Festus?" Doc asked.
"Matthew and I have one of them back robbers up in yer office. He's got a bullet in his leg," The hill man stated as he thumbed over his shoulder toward the doctor's office.
Doc sighed, "Let's get back over there," he said as he carefully stepped down onto the muddy street. He was more careful about his footing than the hill man's as they crossed the street.
Festus followed Doc up the stairs and entered the office. Doc pulled his hat off and placed it on the rack behind the door. He said nothing while he took his suit coat off while watching the outlaw. Once his coat was also on the rack, the doctor drew his right hand across his moustache before he moved the small table over to the examination table.
"Hey, Doc. I'm in pain here," Crawford growled. "Can you maybe speed things up?"
Doc looked over his shoulder, "If you want that bullet out, I need to get my things organized," Doc said in a calm voice before he motioned for Matt and Festus to move the outlaw to the examination table. Crawford grumbled the whole time and tried to hide his pain. His eyes glared at each man as if they were hurting him on purpose.
Crawford sat on the edge of the examination table and Doc looked him in the eye before he removed the blood-soaked wrap. The outlaw bit his lower lip and tried not to yelp. He winced as he watched the doctor pull at his trouser leg in order to open the pant leg wide to see what he was doing. Again Crawford winced and he glared at the doctor.
Doc stepped back, "That bullet is in there pretty deep," he stated.
"So? Get it out," Crawford ordered.
Doc looked up at the man who sat in front of him, "I'll have to put you out," he said as he blinked his eyes out of concern.
"Oh, no you don't," Crawford protested.
Doc drew a deep breath, "It's your leg," he said as he opened this medical bag and began to pull the chrome-plated instruments out and placed them on a white cloth on the little table beside him.
Crawford was growing more impatient, "Look you old saw-bones, my leg hurts like hell. Will you hurry up?"
Doc stopped what he was doing and looked up at the man, "I guess you should have stayed on the right said of the law then," he didn't mince words.
"Oh, you are all a bunch of cutups. First whiskers over there and now you," Crawford growled. Matt grabbed Festus by the upper arm as the deputy took a defiant step forward in retaliation to Crawford's comment. Matt glared at the hill man. Festus made a face, which looked like he'd smooth Roy Crawford's face out with his fists if he was given half the chance.
Doc ordered the outlaw to lie down so that he could get a better look at the wound and the opening at the side of his leg, near the back of his thigh. Crawford moaned as laid back and rolled slightly sideways. Doc blotted the opening with some disinfectant to try and clean the area around the wound. The doctor shook his head in despair, as he knew full well that as soon as he began to work on the man's leg he was going to jump and fidget in pain.
Doc picked up the long metal probe and began to insert the instrument into the wound. He could feel Crawford tense up from the pain. Doc continued onward and hoped that, if anything, Crawford would soon lose consciousness from the pain.
The probe went deeper and Doc heard Crawford swallow back a yelp. The outlaw's body shook from shock and mercifully he finally blacked out. Doc looked up at Matt and Festus, "I'll let you know when he can be moved," the doctor said while looking over his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Alright, Doc," Matt nodded, "We'll grab a quick bite to eat over at Del Monico's. If you need us, that's where we'll be."
"I'm going to give him some laudanum. He won't be awake for some time, "Doc smiled.
"Good," Matt smiled back as he and Festus left the doctor's office.
Doc went straight back to work on Roy Crawford's leg.