OK Doc (p.12)

They entered the Last Chance Saloon to find a celebration in progress. Dirty miners lined the bar, swigging down free drinks and being slapped on the back.

Rose's eyebrows rose in surprise. "How did they get you out so fast?" Rose asked one of the miners as Reggie plopped a bottle of Sarsparilla down in front of her, grinning, then went on to help the rest of her happy customers.

"Joss got tired of how slow the digging was going, so he laid half a stick of dynamite down the hole and blew it wide open." One of the miners told her, leaning cheerfully on the bar, so coated with dirt that he looked like a furry bear. "Didn't take any time to hack our way out after that. Three cheers for Joss!" the miner yelled, raising his tankard.

"Hip, hip, Hooray! Hip, hip, Hooray! Hip, hip, Hooray!" the rescued miners all cheered. Joss, sitting at one of the tables nursing a whiskey, grinned bashfully, but raised his glass to them.

"It's a wonder you all weren't knocked out by the compression wave," the Doctor muttered under his breath.

The miner heard him. "Nah. Joss's a dab hand with stick of dynamite. And a few minutes of dizzy was worth getting out of that hole, we weren't looking forward to the air going stale, I can tell you." The miner took a healthy swallow of his drink in remembrance, then called for another one.

Wyatt Earp pushed halfway into the saloon doors and beckoned to the Doctor. "We got what you wanted, Doctor. Now what do you want us to do with it?"

"Excellent!" the Doctor leapt for the door and ran outside.

Billie was standing proudly beside a wood-sided wagon in the middle of the street. Three other men were sitting on the wooden sides, looking curiously at the Doctor as he rushed out to inspect his prize. The magnetite boulder was sitting in the bed of the wagon, sunlight glinting off its black facets.

"Good work!" The Doctor inspected the polyhedron briefly, it was all in one piece. "Now we need to set it down here in the road." He gestured down to his feet and the three men groaned, but jumped out of the wagon and started setting up a tripod of mine support beams and a block and tackle.

"What in the world do you want this thing for, Doctor? I ain't never seen anything like it before," Wyatt said as he stood back and let the men work.

The Doctor rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Mr. Wearp, this is the bait in the trap."

Earp looked at him strangely, the Doctor felt the weight of that stare. "What?"

"It's ... For a minute there you sounded like Doctor Calligari."

"Who's that?" Rose asked as she walked up behind them. Many of the miners had exited the saloon behind her, standing on the boardwalk watching the strange goings on.

"Never mind that," the Doctor said, waving away the reference to his former self. Everyone watched breathlessly as the crystaline boulder was carefully lowered into the street. They all breathed a sigh of relief when it touched down safely.

The Doctor turned to the deputy. "Acting Marshall Earp, you're about to see something here that you've never seen before. It's likely to frighten some people, so I'd appreciate it if you'd block off this street, and make sure everyone is unarmed. I don't want people to start shooting."

Earp frowned. "You said you were going to lure the culprit out so we can arrest him."

"I am. But unless you want a repeat of the corral, I suggest you take everyone's guns. "

Wyatt's hand fell to his revolver. "I can't very well expect my men to arrest a dangerous criminal while unarmed, Doctor."

"He won't have a gun. Please, trust me," the Doctor's voice was quiet, but powerful.

Wyatt looked from the Doctor, to Rose, who was radiating sincerity, to Reggie, who was leaning against the doorjamb to the saloon. She shrugged. "He seems to know what he's doing. Besides, he puts on a good show. Nobody's supposed to be armed in town anyway."

Wyatt clenched his jaw and looked back at the Doctor. "All right, Doctor. I'll trust you. But I'm keeping my gun."

The Doctor nodded. "All I ask is that you don't shoot unless there's trouble."

"Fair enough."

Earp sent two of his deputies to block off the ends of the road, one taking the cart with him to serve as a barricade. He and the other man started gathering up sidarms from the crowd lining the street. People seemed happy to hand them over, for the chance to see the show. Most of them didn't realize that the Doctor was attempting to lure out the criminal who had been killing their babies and causing the town's troubles.

The Doctor paced off the distance from the boardwalk to the black pyramid, took a few measurements, then nodded to himself and returned to the Saloon where the deputy was locking the accumulated guns in Reggie's safe behind the bar.

"Doctor," Rose whispered urgently, tugging him into the lee of the stairs, "I know you're trying to stop Kokopelli from repairing that ring in the mines, but what are we going to do with him once we've got him?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Dunno."

She glared at him.

"One thing at a time, Rose. First let's make sure we're not about to be innundated with a harey problem." She grimaced at the pun. "We can only hope the regeneration of the ring isn't an automatic process, otherwise it won't matter if we're keeping him busy here."

"You're not building my confidence," she protested.

"Well, it's likely not automatic. Intrastructural engineering is a tricky process. Needs brains. We stop him fixing the ring, we stop the invasion."

"I got that bit, but what are we going to do with him?"

He shrugged and grinned. "Improvise."

She rolled her eyes.

Billie ran over and jerked on the Doctor's sleeve. He'd somehow insinuated himself into the saloon crowd. "Are you really gonna have a showdown with my rabbit?" he asked in breathless tones, eyes large. "Can I have his skin when you shoot him?"

"Billie!" Rose protested.

"I'm not going to shoot him, Billie Jo," the Doctor said.

"Yeah," Billie nodded sagely, "Ya ain't got a gun. You could borrow the Marshall's." he said in sudden inspiration, brightening.

"I don't need a gun. I've got this." The Doctor flourished his sonic screwdriver.

Billie's face scrunched up. "Your dowsing rod?"

Reggie and Earp joined them by the stairs, listening to the conversation.

"Well, all he's got is a flute," the Doctor pointed out.

"But how are you gonna quick draw if you got it in your pocket? You need a holster!" Brightening, the boy ran over to the bar where a pile of holsters sat on the bar above the safe. He grabbed up a flashy black, silver-studded one and ran back, brandishing it in triumph like a flag. "Here ya go. Now you're ready for a proper showdown."

The Doctor looked at the excited boy, looked at the holster and suddenly grinned a huge grin. "You're right, Billie. As an old enemy of mine once said, It's best to dress for the occasion."

Rose stared at the Doctor, recognizing that little boy enthusiasm that took him over from time to time. She watched as he strapped on the holster. For a man who didn't like guns, he seemed to have a disturbing familiarity with how to tie on a gunbelt. She watched him prop his boot on one of the chairs and tie the string around his long thigh.

He stood up with a grin, twirled his sonic screwdriver and holstered it with a flourish.

"Yeah!" Billie punched the air then ran outside to get a good seat.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Earp and Rose said at the same time.

Reggie shoved a glass of sarsparilla in his hand and watched him gulp it down in one swig. She took the glass back. "Let's get this show on the road," she said.

————

Outside, the street was lined with people who'd come out of the shops and businesses. The atmosphere was tense, less circus-like than before. Word had spread that this was an attempt to capture the person who had been causing the babies dying, the feuds, and the mine collapse.

Groups of men had gathered at the entrances of all the side streets, others leaned warily on the boardwalk pillars, alert. No one had had time to go home for their guns. But a few of the men were fingering lasso's.

Even the Doctor looked a bit taken aback by the turnout.

"This could get dicey," Rose said.

The Doctor nodded. He reached into his duster and pulled out the triangular device he'd taken from the Tardis. Lights twinkled on the surface. He handed it to her. "Take this and attach it to the base of the pyramid, press this button, then back off. But keep close. Have you got your earplugs?"

Rose nodded. He handed her the device and waved her toward the pyramid. He strode out to the center of the street, several yards away, and turned to face the black boulder. He swept his duster back behind his sonic holster.

The crowd hushed.