"I'll need some help extracting the bullet," he told her, "I could use some of that hot water that you fetched for Marshal Guyer, but that's not possible right now."
Clara nodded but retorted, "That water would be quite cool by now." Said without a hint of a smile, just dry humor.
"Tell me what you want me to do," she started rolling up both sleeves, the cuffs were blood stained already.
She held Hector down though he did certainly seem unconscious, wouldn't want him waking now to this sort of pain. The doctor had an instrument to stick in the wound and probe for the bullet which he set to doing. She watched, grimly. Suddenly it brought back memories.
"I think he'll be fine," he murmured.
"Good, I have the utmost confidence in you, doctor," she nodded then had to add, "You know when I was thirteen I had an Indian arrow in my right breast. That doctor probed with a knife and cut it out. He told my father he was uncertain I would survive. My father said he smiled and told the man you do not know my daughter, she is too stubborn to die."
"Let us hope that Hector has some of that stubbornness in him."
Storyteller / Shared NPC
The Evergreen gunman:
That son of a bitch was shooting up the water trough! One bullet went straight thru and nicked his shoulder, nothing serious but it drew blood. His foot was still hurting something fierce too. He was pinned down and apparently so were his other Evergreen gunmen, some help they'd been, useless bastards! He then heard the commanding voice of the marshal telling them to give it up.
"You got two minutes!"
The man blasting away at him reinforced that with a demand of his own. He decided to play for time as he now reloaded his revolver round by round.
"HEY! It's my leg! I can't get up! Just stop yer shootin'! Let's be reasonable!!" he yelled out at the top of his lungs.
Morgan spared a glance down the street but couldn't tell much now that everyone was under cover. He heard the marshal demand their surrender then the one he had pinned asked for everyone to be reasonable. His eyes narrowed at the man's comment.
"You left reasonable behind when you shot that man down the street! Now you're down to walking to jail or being carried to the Undertaker. Only one of us is wearing a badge!...Choose carefully."
Anna nodded. "Clara is fine...I saw her with Doctor Danforth helping one of the men that had been shot."
While that sounded good, Constance wanted to see with her own eyes. There was still shooting going on out there. "I need to look out on the street!"
"Yes, we should look. Follow me. We can see most of the street from the front left window," Anna pointed out.
By the time the two ladies reached the window and risked looking, there was always the chance an errant bullet could shatter the view after all, Constance saw no sign of Clara, nor Doctor Danforth, or that other shot young man. They were off the street. Well, that had to be a good thing anyways.
"I don't see her....them. They must have went into an alley," Constance frowned.
"I should really go find Mrs. Lutz, make certain she is safe."
Now she heard shouts not just shots. There was yelling back and forth, something about giving up. And two minutes. Some more shouting. Was it maybe going to be over? Constance could only hope.
.
Jonah glanced at the young woman, impressed at her moxie, but then, from what he knew of her and her father, it was no surprise. "Well, if we give him a chance, I'm sure he'll find the strength."
Carefully, Jonah cleaned around the wound. "And if he's anything like his sister, he's as strong as an ox!" He chuckled. "All right, I'm going for the bullet...hold onto him, just in case."
If there was a shred of consciousness in the lad, this would bring it out! Fortunately, he found the bullet quickly, pulled it out, and bandaged the wound without a problem.
Sighing, he set aside his tools and looked from Clara to Addy. "Sounds quiet, is it done?" he asked.
"Mostly." Addy was squatting below a window, where she could hear what was going on outside. "Sounds like shouting now, so shouldn't be long. Might have ya more patients, though."
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Well now, we seem to have us a predicament here on Main Street. We have some folks with guns on both sides of the law ready, it would seem to keep shootin', 'cept the two men burrowed behind anything they can find are talkin' about givin' 'er up and takin' their chances. Could happen ya klnow.
Now the other fella, well, he's in a real pickle! This stranger, William Morgan, well he's got a bead on him and ain't afraid to put one in his head, was he to need to. What that man's thinkin'? No one knows. But he an' his partner kilt that other fella for no reason, an' doncha know, ol' Flamer Browne was unarmed. The court'll take a real dim view of that, should they get the chance.
So, here we are, waitin' an' wonderin'.
OOC: I posted my baddie but I was waiting on what the other two Evergreeners do, it's really their turn now. After all the Marshal did give them two minutes was it, to give up or else?
"I don't see her....them. They must have went into an alley," Constance frowned
"They might have," Anna replied, "No doubt, Doctor Danforth would have wanted to take the injured man to a safe place so that he could attend to the man's injuries."
"I should really go find Mrs. Lutz, make certain she is safe."
Looking out the window, Anna frowned, "Are you sure that's a good idea? It doesn't sound like it's going to end any time soon and who knows what direction those men will be going."
Anna smiled reassuringly at Constance, "I think Clara is in safe hands if she is with Doctor Danforth. We can both go looking for her as soon as the shooting stops."
@ [Wayfarer
Storyteller / Shared NPC
"Yeah, well I been there too, an' it's better'n dead." They both fell silent.
"I ain't got all day, boys!" Speed shouted at them.
Vincent suddenly threw out his guns, "I'm willing' ta risk it, Zeb. Better than cold an' dead on this dusty street."
Zeb Freeman looked after the two pistols out there and tossed his as well. "Maybe so, Zeb, maybe so."
Vincent squirmed out from behind their meager cover raising his hands as he got to his feet. "Don't shoot! We're comin' out!" Zeb was right on his heels, climbing up onto the boardwalk, one hand up, one resting on Vincent's shoulder to help him get upright.
The street was fairly wide as streets go, a bit of a walk, the marshal or the other fella never moved.
"C'mon! Give it up, they'll kill ya sure!" incent shouted at the other Evergreen man, unable to recall his name, him being new and all. This was a hell of a fix they were in, He had thought better of getting into this, but he did it anyway. And for what he asked himself, at that moment he spotted the other men coming out of the side street, McKinney and Santee. This really was not good. And Old Doc Gilcrest too.
Zeb was limping and still rested a hand on vincent's shoulder, the older man was not sure why that was, he didn't remember him being shot, maybe he had twisted his ankle or something. Suddenly, Zeb shoved Vincent to the ground, pulling a pistol he had picked up from Colbert, his thumb pulling the hammer back as he sidestepped, a bead on the Marshal.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Sounded like the remaining two Evergreen gunsels were going to give it up. It made sense, they hadn't killed no one yet. Why the bastards hadn't even hit anybody for all their shooting. Steelgrave was overpaying those polecats.
However the surviving of the two original gunmen was in a far worse situation. They'd killed one townsfolk for sure and maybe a second one too. The town already had it in for the Evergreen bunch. He was sure he was facing a hangman's noose for this if it came to a trial. And frankly he didn't trust Elias Steelgrave to even do squat to save him. There'd been orders to not cause an incident in town. How were they to know their spur of the moment bullying would turn into an all out gun battle? Damn townies rushing into something not even their affair!
He was pinned though by that damn rifle, in fact the powerful rounds were going right thru the horse trough. He'd already been hit twice, nothing life threatening but dammit, it hurt! Negotiating wasn't gonna work with this one. Maybe with any of em?
He had one last trick up his sleeve. Once more he called out.
"ALRIGHT! YOU GOT ME! I AM THROWIN' OUT MY PIECE!"
The revolver went out into the street.
"I'M GONNA STAND UP, NOW DON'T SHOOT ME!"
Slowly he got up, raising one hand, the other arm hurt from being shot so he didn't raise the second.