It was one of the fastest descents of the stairs that Jonas had ever made; and he did it without breaking his neck. Once across the little alley, the store owner practically burst through the doors of the Long Branch Saloon, causing Kitty and Matt to look up. They instantly knew there was something wrong, and they both hoped it had nothing to do with Jonas or his store.
"What on earth is wrong, Jonas?" Matt asked as he straighten from the bar he was leaning on.
"Matt. Miss Kitty. It's Doc. I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's awfully sick. He fell in this office," the store owner heaved as he pointed to the doors of the saloon.
Kitty and Matt exchanged looks and quickly pushed off from the bar to see what Jonas was talking about. Kitty was clearly worried as she closely followed the two men back up to Doc's office where they found him still on the floor.
"Oh, Doc," Kitty swiftly knelt down next to her dear friend and cupped his face in her hands. "You're burning up," she said as she looked up to Matt and Jonas. "We need to get him into bed," she stated.
"Please stop the room from spinning," Doc whispered to the marshal as Matt gently hoisted the doctor to his feet and assisted him to the bed in the other room. The doctor looked like he was on a week-long drinking binge as he couldn't even keep his head up as it rolled from side to side as Matt helped him.
"What can I do?" Jonas asked; watching apprehensively from the far side of the examination table.
"If he's going to be sick, maybe some ginger ale will help settle his stomach before it gets tot hat stage," Kitty shrugged with a worried looked on her face as she followed Matt and Doc into the room. Jonas nodded, "I'll be right back," the store owner dashed off to his store for several bottles of ginger ale.
The marshal eased Doc to the bed where he slowly laid back with a groan.
"What happened?" Matt asked Kitty as he watched her dab a damp cloth over the doctor's face.
"I let my guard down," Doc mumbled trying not to look like the centre of attention.
"I'm not sure what that means, but you are in a terrible state," Kitty replied as she looked the doctor in his blood-shot eyes.
"You don't need to tell me that," the doctor grumbled. "I'm half frozen here," he then added as he tried to pull a blanket over his chest.
"I can't imagine how you would be cold in here," Matt stated as he ran his forearm across his forehead to wipe the sweat away.
"Doc's got a bad fever," Kitty said as she looked over her shoulder. "We have to cool him down," she added while still dabbing the wet cloth across the doctor's forehead and cheeks. Doc had closed his eyes and had drifted off into a deep sleep.
"How can we cool him down?" Matt asked with concern.
"I can keep applying cold cloths, but I'm not sure how long that will take," the saloon owner looked back at the doctor. "We should get him out of his shirt. He's wringing wet," Kitty stated as she unbuttoned the doctor's shirt. Matt assisted in the removal of the garment. Kitty then patted the doctor's arms and torso dry with a towel before she continued on with the cold cloth.
Jonas had returned with the ginger ale, "Here you go Miss Kitty," the store owner handed over the two bottles. "I'll bring more if you need it," he tried to smile. "How's Doc?" he asked as he tried to get a look at his friend from the doorway.
"He's not good. Whatever he has, he's got a good dose of it," Kitty stated as she took the bottles from the store owner with thanks.
"It's not contagious, is it?" Matt then asked.
Kitty shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't heard of anyone else being this sick," she said as she pondered the question.
Matt pursed his lips, "Well, we haven't actually been looking either," he spoke in a manner that held a new found unease.
Jonas of course looked worried as if everyone in the room with the doctor would come down with the same illness. "I've got to get back to the store. Let me know if you need anything else, Miss Kitty. Matt," he said as he quickly left the office thinking about what Matt and Kitty were just talking about. The store owner paused at the base of the staircase and looked up at the door, "I sure hope it isn't contagious," he said to himself before he reentered his store.
"Well, Jonas looked fit to be tied," Kitty chuckled slightly while she rung the cloth out in the basin of water next to the bed.
"If Doc is as sick as we think he is, Jonas might have a reason to be," Matt pointed out. "Who knows if there are or aren't other cases like this," he added.
"I'm sure by now we would have heard something about an illness that's spreading," Kitty pointed out. "If I remember, Doc told me the other day that he wasn't feeling all that well," she sighed.
"Well, the old boy has been through a lot lately. I can't imagine camping in the woods during a freezing cold night with Festus did him any good," the marshal stated.
"From what Doc told me, it was Festus that kept them warm and alive," Kitty looked up at Matt.
"I believe it," the marshal smiled. "I'll be back in a while. I need to do a round," Matt smiled. "I'm sure Doc just over extended himself and his body is telling him to slow down."
"You're likely right, Matt. I'll see you later. Would you please let Sam know?" Kitty asked as she watched Matt leave the office and indicated that he would certainly tell the bar keep what was happening and that he would have to run the saloon by himself for a while.
The marshal reached the boardwalk below the doctor's office just as the General and his three sons pulled their horses and the buggy to a stop in front of the Dodge House. Randall stepped down from his horse and assisted his father. Matt could tell by the heavy navy blue coat that the older man had served on the Union side of the Civil War. Other than noticing them, the marshal paid not particular attention to the group of men as he walked to the saloon doors and stepped into the establishment.
Sam Noonan was busy wiping the top of the bar as he saw the marshal approach, "How's Doc?" he was quick to ask.
Matt adjusted his hat back on his head, "He's not that good. He's come down with something. Kitty's going to stay with him for a while," Matt stated.
"That fine," the bar keep smiled. "I hope Doc's going to be all right," he added as he continued wiping the bar top.
"I think he's just worn out and needs the rest," Matt said as he looked around the room; which wasn't busy. That fact seemed to please the marshal a little. He then looked back at Sam, "I'll be back later," he nodded sharply and then left the saloon.
"Come in for a beer," the bar keep smiled.
"I think I'll take you up on that offer, Sam," the marshal smiled as he left.
Now standing on the veranda in front of the saloon Matt watched as the younger men removed some baggage from the buggy and carried it into the hotel. He was happy to see people staying in Dodge, and left it at that.