Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates were bringing Josh Randall in tow when they heard a gunshot come from the direction of the livery stable. Rowdy's immediate thought was Jess, and he broke into a run with the other two in close pursuit.

"Jess!" he called anxiously as he reached the doorway. There was no answer. A heavy foreboding hit him and he carefully picked his way to the stall he knew his friend was staying in. Jess's horse seemed spooked and shied as the three men drew closer. Peering into the stall, Rowdy saw the form of Jess lying in the back corner of the stall. A sharp pang ran through him and suddenly he was all action. Nearly tearing the stall door off of its hinges, he rushed into the stall as Josh grabbed the horse's halter and led him out of the stall. Gil knelt down beside Rowdy as he probed the wound in Jess's chest.

"How does it look?" Gil asked softly.

"Not good," returned Rowdy through clenched teeth. "He needs a doctor, now." Gil was already getting to his feet.

"I'll help you carry him." As they raised the wounded man off of the ground and carried him out of the stable, Josh led the now quieted horse back into the stall. Then he threw a glance at the three men and stealthily made his way in the opposite direction.

The two men watched from the window of the hotel as Gil Favor and his ramrod carried the wanted man down the street to the doctor's office.

"That's Jesse Jones, all right," said Bart to his brother.

"And those two thieves are going to steal my reward money!" Bret cried out angrily. They watched a few moments longer as the drovers carried their load into the doctor's office.

"They can't stay in that place forever. When they come out, we'll make our move and claim that reward." Bart nodded his head in agreement.

"Then we can pay that skunk that wants your head and get out of this mess." The brothers continued to keep watch on the doctor's office. After a long while, Bart became impatient.

"Say Bret, you don't think they went out a back way, do you? They've been in there a long time." Nodding his head, Bret answered,

"I was just thinking the same thing. Let's head over there and see if they're still inside." They left their hiding spot and began to make their way to the doctor's office. They were about to reach the door when it opened and the trail boss and his ramrod came out. Immediately the brothers halted and pretended to be chatting with each other nonchalantly.

"I can just bet that saloonkeeper couldn't tell us the time of day," Bart joked to his brother.

"Well any man who tells me I've been drinking too much surely doesn't rank high in my book," returned Bret. Gil and Rowdy looked at the two brothers curiously, but continued on their way. Bart and Bret waited for them to move out of sight, and therefore missed the exchange between them both. Rowdy had been so worried about Jess that he had failed to notice Josh Randall's disappearance. However, he noticed it now.

"Boss, where's Randall?" Gil noticed his absence now too, and he looked around.

"I don't know," he admitted. Rowdy's hands began to curl in on themselves and he said bitterly,

"I should have known that lowdown bounty hunter just wanted Jess's hide and the money it would bring. You think we need to stay inside with him, Boss?" He had started to take a step back towards the office, but Gil grabbed his arm.

"I don't think Randall is after your friend Harper, and anyways, that doctor won't let anyone get to him." Rowdy started to protest, but Gil pulled him towards the saloon, saying, "Besides, if we don't get something to eat we won't be any good to him ourselves." Rowdy threw a glance over his shoulder reluctantly but allowed himself to be steered into the saloon.

As soon as they disappeared inside the Maverick brothers made a quick move into the doctor's office. The door to his office was closed but he was cleaning his tools at the side table in the waiting parlor.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" he asked kindly. Bret quickly pulled his hat off and cleared his throat, summoning his most polite persona.

"Ah, yes sir, Doc, we heard that a good friend of ours got hurt pretty bad and we just wanted to check on him and see if he's okay." Bart caught on immediately and added,

"He's a friend we knew from back home, Doc, an old friend of ours, and it just breaks our hearts to hear that he's not doing well." They both wore their most bereaved expressions, but the doctor was no fool. He let a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth as he turned to put one of his tools back on the table.

"I'm sorry, boys, but the young man is in a very bad state. He should not see any company right now. Why don't you come check on him tomorrow?" The brothers exchanged knowing looks and Bret said with feigned concern,

"Oh, but Doc, you see we have to be moving on tonight, and I just couldn't bear the thought of leaving without at least seeing him." Bret had shifted his position as he talked, and unnoticed by the doctor Bart had moved around behind him.

"I'm sorry, men, but he simply cannot have any visitors," the doctor was saying when Bart took his pistol and brought it crashing down on the doctor's head. As the doctor crumpled Bart looked down at his handiwork with regret, saying,

"I never thought I'd have to do that to a doctor." Bret checked the doctor's pulse and responded,

"He's fine." Then, as he stood up, he added as an afterthought, "Just think: That could have been my head stoved in like that if we didn't get Jones."

Both men approached the door steadily, and Bret turned the knob to go inside. The door opened to reveal Jess Harper, who had awakened and heard the commotion outside, crawling painfully across the floor towards the pistol laying on the dresser. He looked up at the two men with a grimace as Bart said,

"Hold it there, Mister. I don't want to kill you. I just want to claim that reward money, so don't make it any harder than it has to be." Even as Jess accepted his fate and fell to the side in his pain, a tight voice came from behind the Maverick brothers.

"You hold it right there, both of you, unless you want a shotgun slug in your back." Immediately the brothers' hands reached for the sky. "Now drop your guns and turn around," the voice continued. They did as they were told and turned to face the interrupter. It was Josh Randall. Motioning to the guns they had dropped, the blonde bounty hunter commanded, "Now kick them over this way." Once this was done he gathered them up, then stepping to the side he motioned with his gun to the open door. "Now get, and don't look back until you're on your horses and riding out of town, or it'll be the last thing you ever do." Bret and Bart both nodded with wide eyes and walked out the door, down the street, and untied their waiting horses. Josh watched until they spurred them into a gallop, and only then did he turn to look at Jess. The wanted man was just pulling himself up to reach for the pistol on the dresser when the bounty hunter saw him, and a quick, quiet, "That's far enough, Harper," was all it took to freeze him. In his hunched position Jess looked up at him with haunted eyes.

"Do you want my reward too, Mister?" he rasped. "You better get in line and watch your back." A sharp stab of pain from his wound shot through him and he let out a cry, falling against the dresser as he did so. Josh quickly holstered his sawed off shotgun and approached the wounded man cautiously. Seeing that he was in too much pain to be a threat, he knelt down to help. Jess reluctantly put his arm around the bounty hunter's shoulder and allowed himself to be helped back to the bed. Once he had collapsed with a groan onto the doctor's bed, he tried to steady his heavy breathing. However, even in the midst of his pain, a realization hit him.

"You called me Harper," he wheezed. "Where'd you pick up that name?" Josh opened his mouth to reply, but even as he did so Rowdy Yates and his trail boss rushed through the open door. Spying the downed doctor and the bounty hunter beside Jess's bedside, Rowdy let out a furious,

"Let him be, Randall!" and rushed towards the blonde man, letting his fists speak for him. One right punch made a solid connection and Josh fell back, but he recovered in time to dodge the next blow and send one himself. It hit home and Rowdy staggered back, holding his jaw. His surprise was quickly replaced with anger, and he began to charge towards Josh. However, Gil intervened at that moment and attempted to hold his ramrod back, saying,

"Hold it, Rowdy! Easy, Boy!" It took a great deal of strength to hold Rowdy's arms back, but the boss was a match for his headstrong young ramrod. Once he was sure Rowdy had settled, he let the boy shrug his arms away. Rowdy wiped his mouth and continued to stare menacingly at Josh. Gil had drawn his gun by this time and was pointing it steadily at Josh.

"Were you trying to turn Rowdy's friend in while we were gone?" Staring at the gun pointed his way, Josh answered briskly,

"No, Sir, I wasn't." Gil tossed his head in the direction of the unconscious doctor.

"So this man just fell down on his own?" Josh shook his head.

"No, Sir, it must have been those two fellas that were tryin' to get Harper here who did that." Gil let out a humorless chuckle.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"It's the truth," came a surprising voice, the unsteady voice of Jess Harper, who until this point had not made a move. Rowdy's anger melted into concern as he looked down at his friend.

"You all right, Jess?" Jess nodded feebly, then continued.

"I don't know if this man was planning to help me or turn me in, but he's right about those two men that were in here." Both Gil and Rowdy turned to look expectantly at the bounty hunter.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Gil asked rationally, while Rowdy added with much more passion,

"If you were planning to turn my friend in you won't be leaving this town alive." Looking down at the ground, Josh answered,

"I've tracked down enough wanted men to know that they usually have more than one person following them. Your friend Harper here probably has more than most with the reward he'd bring. I stayed behind to make sure no one tried to take him, and it looks like I was right." Gil contemplated a moment more, then holstered his pistol. Rowdy looked aside at him in disbelief.

"Boss, you don't actually believe him! He's just lying to protect his own skin!" Looking at his ramrod, then looking back at the bounty hunter, Gil was clearly conflicted, but he knew he had to make a decision one way or the other. More than any fact or event that had transpired, his gut told him that Josh was the honest type, not one to play a part.

"Maybe he is, Rowdy, but he did protect Harper from those other two men who tried to take him. That's the only thing we know for sure, so let's give him the benefit of the doubt." It was clear that Rowdy wanted to say something, but before he could the doctor entered the room, holding a wet cloth to his head. Gil moved toward him.

"You all right, Doc?" Nodding wearily, the doctor said,

"Yes, yes, I'm all right. Those two men caught me off guard, even though I knew they were trying to get at my patient. I just wasn't expecting them to give me a crack like that." As he rubbed his aching skull, Gil threw a significant look at Rowdy because of the information that corroborated Josh's story. Rowdy was not pleased and simply looked away petulantly. Heaving a sigh, Gil stated,

"Well, looks like we better stay the night here so we can keep an eye on your friend Harper." Both he and Rowdy looked down at the wanted man who had lapsed back into unconsciousness. Rowdy nodded in agreement while Gil added, "And you stay here too, Randall, so we can keep an eye on you as well." Rowdy glared at the bounty hunter who looked back at him. They maintained eye contact for several moments before Gil poked his ramrod in the arm and muttered, "Let it go, Rowdy." Rowdy turned away sullenly, and an uneasy silence enveloped the room.