'I'm out of here,' the fourth outlaw yelled, running up to where Frank lay crouched behind the water trough.
Frank reached out and grabbed the man's ankle, spilling him onto the boardwalk. The man lost his pistol on his way down, banged his head on the rough boards, and knocked himself goofy for a few minutes.
Conrad fired again, the bullet knocking splinters into the face of the man who had lost his hat to Conrad's first shot.
'I yield!' the man yelled, throwing down his gun. 'Don't shoot no more.'
'Somebody get me a doctor!' shouted the man who thought he'd been violently deprived of his private parts as hot blood from the nick on his thigh ran down his leg. 'Oh, Lord, get me to a doctor.'
Frank then realized what the man was so upset about. He got to his boots, trying to keep from laughing at the total absurdity of the entire situation, and told the man who thought he'd been shot in the gonads, 'What do you think the doctor's going to do, you idiot, sew the sac back on?'
That really set the man off. He began wailing and moaning so loudly windows began glowing with lamplight all up and down the street.
Jiggs stepped out of the general store, his shotgun covering the two would-be kidnappers who were still standing and in one piece, more or less.
Jerry had showed up, and had talked Conrad into giving him his .45.
'Thank God,' Frank muttered.
Doc Bracken walked up. 'What in the world is going on here?'
'Here's the doctor, buddy,' Frank told the man who was making moaning sounds ... sort of like a train whistle with a stopped up valve.
'What's his problem?' Doc asked.
'He thinks his balls have been shot off.'
'Good Lord! That's terrible. Did you find them?' Doc asked, after glancing at the man's bloody britches. He began looking all around him on the boardwalk and in the street. 'I might be able to sew them back on. I've heard it's been done.'
'Do they stay on?' Frank asked.
'Not so far. Infection always sets in, and they rot off.'
That really got the mournful sounds cranked up from the would-be kidnapper who thought his cojones were gone forever, and they echoed around the mountain town. A dozen hound dogs joined in from various parts of town, and the noise brought a hundred or more people out of their homes and into the street.
Conrad was shaking so much Jerry had to lead him over to the boardwalk on the opposite side of the street and sit him down.
'Oh, my God,' Conrad said, his voice shrill from nervousness. 'Did I actually hit somebody?'
'Way I heard it, you shot a feller's balls off,' Jerry told him.
'Oh, my goodness!'
'That's him over yonder, wailing like a train whistle. I reckon he's a mite upset.' Jerry paused and reflected for a few seconds. 'I damn sure would be.'
'I think I'm going to be sick,' Conrad said, putting a hand to his mouth.
'Let me back up 'fore you puke,' Jerry said quickly. 'These are brand-new boots.'
Frank was trying to get matters settled. He finally told everyone not involved in the shooting to go home, clear the street. After a few minutes the crowd began to disperse.
Jerry told Conrad, 'You stay right here, boy, until you get to feelin' better. Then you come over and join Frank and me, OK?'
'Yes, sir,' Conrad said softly. 'This has really been a very traumatic experience for me.'
'I'm sure it has, son. Whatever that means. You stay put, now.' Jerry walked across the street and handed Conrad's gun to Frank, butt first. 'The boy's cannon. That's a hell of a pistol, Frank. Where'd he get it?'
'Bought it today, I think.' Frank smiled. 'But he sure played hell with these four rounders, didn't he?'
Jerry grinned. 'That he did. How about the feller with no balls? He quieted down in a hurry.'
'He's all right. The bullet nicked the fleshy part of his inner thigh just below his privates. Gave him a good scare, that's all.'
The four assailants were sitting on the edge of the boardwalk, guarded by several citizens with shotguns, while Doctor Bracken worked on them. All their wounds were very minor ones.
'These the four men who attacked you and Mrs. Browning?' Jerry asked.
'No. These men heard about the attempted kidnapping, and tried a copycat attempt. All they'll be getting out of it is long prison terms.'
Jerry took off his hat and wiped his brow with a bandanna. 'Stupid of them.'
'Very stupid. I'll send some wires in the morning, see if they're wanted anywhere else. But I doubt they are. How's Conrad?'
'Scared, shook up some, and sort of sick to his stomach. But he's not hurt. I told him to stay put over yonder until he got to feeling better.'
