Festus' keen eyes were able to follow the track until they cut thought a large field, "Matthew, I think we should split up and cross the field in smaller groups," The hill man said as he sat up in his saddle.

"What are we to look for, Festus?" Nathan Burke asked, as if he'd never been on a posse before.

Festus made a face and was about to answer when Matt spoke, "Tracks. I don't think this group is smart enough to separate. They are too loyal to Crawford," Matt stated. Burke made a face and pulled the reins of his horse to get it moving further along the field, "Is anyone joining me?" Burke asked as he waited. None of the other men volunteered.

"Newly, go with Burke. I'm sure you'll know what to look for," Matt asked.

If it wasn't such a serious situation, Newly would have laughed out loud, "Sure, marshal," he tried to hide his smirk as he nudged his horse forward toward Burke. The shipping clerk rolled his eyes - he knew he was made the fool again.

"Alright, let's get moving, we're wasting daylight," Matt said as he nudged Buck with his spurs. The posse moved out and fanned across the field with all eyes looking for signs of Crawford's gang. It was now almost two in the afternoon and the sun was high in the fall sky. The sun was warm, however, the air was cool.

Carefully the group moved through the field which seemed endless. The grass was almost as high as the bellies of the horses and it was dry making trails as the men worked their way though. They had to be careful not to be confused with other animal movement though the grass. Every now and then one man would stop and dismount to check a track and then get back up on his horse to continue on with the search.

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Doc opened his eyes and blinked. He drew a deep laboured breath before the searing jabbed him in the side. Crawford's bullet hit him in the right side near his lowset rib. Doc's eyes darted around as he tried to clear his head while assessing his situation. At the moment, he didn't think it was good.

Doc pushed himself over and rolled onto his back. He lifted his head and noted that his white shirt was stained with rich red blood. The bullet had gone deep, but he felt that no major organ was damaged - at least that's how he felt at the moment.

Doc struggled to sit and the pain intensified with every movement, yet he had no choice. He knew he had to get back to the road and make his way back to Dodge. The doctor swallowed as he looked around at the setting. His eyes caught the glimmer of the sun on his surgical tools. Doc bit his lower lip and tried to get to his feet, but the pain was too great - he collapsed to the ground again. "Well, this is just great," he muttered to himself. "The only thing that is going to find me are coyotes or buzzards," he starred up at the clouds while holding his side as tight as he could as he tried to fight of another wave of searing pain.

It then occurred to the doctor that the bullet hadn't passed through him; it was still inside him somewhere and perhaps his movements were making matters worse. Doc cursed under his breath and he lay in the grass near the grove of trees. Doc swallowed. It wasn't often that he feared death or other circumstances, but the thought of dying out in the middle of nowhere and being pulled apart by wild beasts made his skin crawl. "Dang," he said.

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The posse had almost completed the sweep of the field when Festus spotted more tracks, "They're a slippery bunch," he stated. "Matthew?! I found more tracks over here!" he yelled across the field.

Matt looked up from his own investigation and nudge Buck forward. Quickly the posse gathered near Festus.

"How do you know that horse belongs to them," Burke asked flatly.

Festus looked at him and scrunched up his left eye, "Because I know the kinds of shoes those horses are wearing, that's how," Festus said to Burke in a way that bit at the shipping clerk.

"I don't have to take this," Burke complained.

"Look, we're all hear because of Doc and if we get Crawford and his men that's a bonus," Matt reminded Burke and the others who seemed to settle down slightly.

"Festus lead the way," Matt urged.

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Wilbur Jonas walked from the Long Branch saloon to the front of his store.

With a heavy sigh he carefully made his way though the chard entrance to his store and down the steps inside. The heady smell of burnt wood and other materials lingered in the air. Everything seemed to shades of grey and black. Jonas twisted his mouth in thought.

As the store owner moved further into the room, he pushed burnt objects around on the floor with his right foot s he tried to clear a path to the back. Jonas pushed a few more items around on the floor when he spotted the glimmer of his eye glasses. Remarkably they weren't damaged at all.

Jonas bent down and pulled them from the ashes. A slight smile curled under his silver moustache. "Maybe the marshal is right. Maybe all is not lost," he drew a breath and looked around the room. The main beams in the walls and ceiling seemed sturdy enough and so did a good portion of the floor above the store. Jonas nodded, "Yes, I think it can be saved," he smiled with renewed hope.

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The posse made their way out to the road and followed the tacks for some distance. The sun was slowly setting and the air was getting cooler.

"We'll ride for another hour, but then we'll have to stop," Matt said to his deputy.

"I can follow the tracks a bit more, if you'd like, Matthew," Festus stated.

"We'll see. I don't want us to get caught in an ambush. Seem like the cowardly thing Crawford would do," Matt said. Festus nodded.

The posse rounded the bend when Festus put his arm in the air to stop the rest of the men from riding. He quickly stepped down from Ruth and looked around, "What do you make of this, Matthew?" he asked as Matt joined him.

Both law men looked around at the shuffled foot prints mixed with horse hooves, "Looks like they might have stopped here," Matt stated.

Festus moved a little further one when he spotted Doc medical bag and instruments, "Matthew!" the hill man cried.

Matt hurried over to the area where Festus stood, "What do yo make of this?" Festus asked.

Matt looked at the surgical tools and then his eyes lifted, "I don't know and I don't like it," his eyes scanned the horizon. "I hope Doc just dropped that," he looked back to Festus.