Speed lay there a few moments, the pain searing through his shoulder. He had been hit hard and he knew that, how serious, he had no idea,  but it was painful and he needed to move, maybe get up, he saw Hannah, first then Quentin, and the shadow cast by Ty standing over him, gun in hand. He heard Addy shouting to Weedy to fetch Jonah Danforth.

"Ty, Hannah, Quentin, in the desk, badges." He gasped, "I'm deputizing you three." He paused. "I'm countin' on you three, but Ty, He fought for breath, the back of his head felt damp and hurt as well. It must have happened when he went down. "Ty, need you at the mine, take the boy if you want, he wants, Hannah." Again he paused, "you and Cantrell help Charlie out in town as you can." then he tried to raise, but just slumped back. "Dang! This hurts!"

Who shot him? That was the burning question, the why of it didn't come into play, there could be a hundred reasons, however, the shooter, was it someone local? Case Steelgrave had reason to do it or have it done. He was the most likely, but he really could not count out Elias either. or even someone out of his past. One thing was certain, he was out of play for a spell. another thought came to him, the coming election, that may well be out of the question as far as he was concerned, and what an odd thought to have passed through his mind as he lay there bleeding even though Hannah had a compress of sorts on the wound, he could feel the exit wound in his back.

He wanted to do something, but what was there to do but lay there and wait on the arrival of Danforth. Heck of a mess.

"Doctor Danforth!  Doctor Danforth!"

Words called in a way that made Jonah's blood run cold...the urgency meant that someone was in dire straits and likely in need of care that could very well be beyond his ability.  Still, he needed to keep up the ruse, so he trotted to the porch in time to see Weedy sliding his horse to a stop.

"Doctor Danforth!"  The boy sat easily on the paint horse that was nervously turning circles, breathing heavily but still excited from the mad dash.  "They need you in town, Marshal Guyer's been shot!"

There it was! 

Without a word, Jonah nodded and stepped back into the house that served as his clinic to grab his bag and let Mrs. Sullivan, who was in the early stages of labor, that he had to go, but he'd send someone from town to be with her as soon as he could.

Darting back outside, he hesitated...it would take some time to hitch his buggy, but Weedy seemed to realize that at the same time, and jumped off his horse. "Here, take Teme!"

Seriously?  The horse was still pacing anxiously, and was only half-trained, and while Jonah was a passable rider, trying to control a wild pony bareback while gripping onto his medical bag was just asking for disaster!

As he was pondering that, Addy Chappel, the boy's guardian, galloped into the yard on her sorrel mare, leaping to the ground before the horse even stopped.  "Here!" she called, "take Arabesque!"  The mare was well-trained and steadier than Teme.

"Thank you."  Jonah nodded, handing her his bag to hold while he mounted.  "I need you to stay here...Mrs. Sullivan is about to deliver."  Taking the bag back, he was gone before Addy could object that she didn't know nothing 'bout birthin' no babies!  And Weedy was already back on his horse, dashing after Jonah...

Quentin nodded at Guyer's words. "The badges can wait, Marshal. We're deputies, that's good enough for now..." Quentin turned and spared a glance at the shop where the bullet had come from. "Do you want us to go check that shop or stay here with you?" His eyes moved over to the man the Marshal had called "Ty". That man was also looking at the shop like Quentin had been. He recognized a kindred soul in the way he wanted to be doing something, anything, instead of just crouching at the door of the courthouse.

Cantrell looked at Guyer's face and noticed he seemed even more pale than when he had first arrived. His eyes were not closed but they were definitely losing their focus. Quentin holstered his pistol and lightly shook the Marshal's shoulder near the wound. "Hey, Marshal! Stay awake! Do not go to sleep!" Cantrell had seen too many men drift off like that and never wake up. He pulled his hand back from Guyer's shoulder and blinked as he saw his fingers were red and shiny.

"Hannah! He's bleeding in the back!" Cantrell reached and lightly lifted the Marshal and saw the pool of red under him...dimly he also registered the sound of thundering hoofbeats approaching

Tags Flip, Bongo, Stormwolfe, Open

Speed stirred. "I'm awake." He mumbled, which was barely true, his strength was ebbing away.  There was a hubbub as Doc Danforth pushed through the crowd, he tried to smile, and maybe he had, he could not be sure. They had lifted him, so the bullet had gone clean through, he knew that he had to stay awake, he knew that there was not much else he could do. Quentin was asking questions that he couldn't quite fathom for the moment.

Hannah was still there and it felt as if another compress was held to his back, which e thought was good. He knew that he was bleeding, and he knew there was only so much blood in a body, and when it was gone, so was he.

Quentin nodded at Hannah. "Back in a minute!" Quentin got to his feet and looked at Ty and the stranger. "If you gentlemen want something extra in case the shooter is still around, you're welcome to come with me..." He then turned and ran into the courthouse.

Cantrell ran into Guyer's office and looked around. He moved to the desk and opened the drawers, rummaging around until he found a key to the gun rack on the wall. He moved around to it and unlocked it, running his eyes along the handful of long guns and grabbing out a Winchester '73...his eyes ran across the shelf next to the rack and he grabbed a box of shells. He snagged a handful from the box and thumbed them into the rifle, then worked the lever and lowered the hammer. Quentin then gave another look across the rack as he stuck the box of shells in his right hand coat pocket. Quentin then picked up a twelve gauge coach gun and a box of shells. He loaded the shotgun and made sure the hammers were down, then dumped the rest of the shells into his left hand coat pocket. He grabbed both long arms and turned back for the office door.

(Optional for Ty or Cabot to grab long guns)

Quentin ran out the front door of the courthouse, handing the rifle to the waiting Hannah, seeing the relief on her face as she finally had a weapon of her own. He fished out the box of rifle shells from his pocket and handed them to her, then he turned to his two sudden companions. "Shall we go check out that shop?"

Tag for Stormie, Wayfie, Bongo, Flip and Open.

Jonah was more than happy to be off the horse, although Addy had been right, her mare was well-trained and steady, and had done her best to get him here quickly, and without death!  Even after he jumped off, she just stopped and stood in the middle of the road, breathing heavily.

"What happened?" Jonah asked as he knelt by Speed's side.  There was a lot of activity going on, but he concentrated on the patient, relieved that the man was breathing and still had some color in his cheeks.  The wound was easy to find, Hannah had done a fine job of staying the bleeding, and after a quick glance at the actual wounds, he stood.  "Let's get him inside where I can get a better look."  And more privacy.

In the street, Weedy, who had been close on his heels, took control of Addy's horse, and was standing, watching, wide-eyed.

Speed tried to be comfortable on the plank floor, highly polished as it was, it was just not worth the effort, and effort was becoming more difficult. The Doc was there, and that meant that he would do what he could, if, there was anything to do.

"Let's get him inside where I can get a better look." He heard Danforth say, and there would need to be help because he knew he couldn't move on his own volition, it was just too hard to attempt. And Alice? What of Alice? Where was she? Then he recalled she had gone to the other mine, the Raven. This just was not right.

Tags.

Quentin looked at Doc Danforth as he spoke. "You got it....give me a hand, fellas..." He moved around and curled his arms around Speed's legs as he saw Ty and the stranger grab the Marshal's arms. The group lifted him as easily but as quickly as they could. They moved him into the courthouse and to the nearest spot they could see, which was a table long enough to hold him. They sat him down and stepped back as Danforth moved in to get to work. As the doctor busied himself, Quentin finally turned around, seeing Hannah standing there with her rifle and bloodstained dress, then the two strangers. He switched the shotgun to his left hand and extended his right to Ty first. "I don't think the three of us have met...Quentin Cantrell...."

Tags to Whoever