The Race, or Adam Age 28

Chapter 1

Riding at breakneck speed, Little Joe on Cochise was just a head behind Adam on Sport. Cochise was striding faster but Sport had a longer stride, which made the two horses nearly equal in speed. The real difference was how the riders rode the race, and Adam had a slight edge. As they neared town, men were shooting pistols in the air and cheering for their favorite, the one on whom they had placed wagers to win. Suddenly Cochise made up the difference and then moved a length ahead of Sport. Adam had his head down on Sport’s neck and the horse was doing all it could to move back into first but it was futile. Cochise crossed the finish line to cheers and backslapping of all those who made money with that finish. Sport nearly collided with some of the merrymakers before Adam pulled him to a stop.

“There, Adam, I told you that Cochise was faster. Now you have to admit it.”

Sitting up then in the saddle, Adam looked at Little Joe and then slid from his saddle to the ground in a graceless collapse. Almost everyone stood frozen at the unusual turn of events except Hoss and Ben who ran to Adam who lay motionless on the ground. Rolling him over, Ben pulled his hand away and found it covered in blood. Hoss pulled Adam’s vest open to reveal a bullet wound in his brother’s side. By then, Little Joe was there too wondering what had happened.

“Somebody must have had a ricochet or something. That must be why Adam suddenly dropped behind me in the race. He was shot.”

Looking at Little Joe and then Ben, Hoss shook his head as he moved to pick up his older brother to take him to the doctor’s office. “Ain’t no ricochet. Bullet went in the back and out the front. Somebody shot him on purpose.”

“Somebody shot him on purpose? Why would anybody do that? It wasn’t so somebody could win a bet on the race, was it?” Joe was worried that somehow his being behind Adam in the race had led to this.

“Joe, we don’t know who so we don’t know why. Hoss and I have to get Adam over to the doctor. You go find Roy and tell him what happened. He can find us over at Doctor Martin’s.”

Once Hoss got Adam to Doctor Martin’s office, Ben pushed the door open and led the way inside. Paul wasn’t there but arrived shortly after they had laid Adam on a table in the doctor’s surgery. He made Ben and Hoss leave so he could get to work. His assistant had heard what had happened and was there a short time later. Joe got there soon after saying that Roy wanted to go interview people who might have seen something. They waited nearly an hour for Paul to come out to tell them about Adam.

“Paul, how is my son?”

“He lost a lot of blood, but the wound itself isn’t that serious. It was a large caliber so it tore a big hole, but mostly it hit muscle tissue and skin. I’ve cleaned the wound and irrigated it as much as I could. Then I stitched the entrance and exit wounds. He’s sedated, but resting fairly easily considering what happened.”

“When can we take him home?”

“I’d like to keep him here for a couple of days.”

“Paul, is my son going to be all right then? Is there a reason he needs to stay here?”

“Ben, you know there’s always the chance of infection. That’s the main reason I want to keep him here so I can monitor that. With all the blood, and the tissue damage, I could have missed some debris in the wound tunnel. Here I can see the signs of that quickly and do something about it.”

“When can we see him?”

“You can go in to see him now, but try to keep things quiet and calm so he can rest.”

Roy had entered just as Paul was answering Ben’s questions. He was very relieved. From what he had heard from witnesses and the version he got from a very frightened Little Joe had made him fear the worst. Now at least he was reassured that Adam wasn’t dying. He waited in the office to ask questions of the family. None of the people along the race route had seen anything out of the ordinary. He had nothing to go on. Asking the family some questions was about the only thing he could do.

Inside the surgery, Ben stood quietly at Adam’s side. He reached to his son’s forehead to brush back the curls that had fallen forward. He touched his cheek and found it very warm. He wasn’t surprised. Often men suffering these types of wounds had a light fever even when there was no infection. He knew well that the next twenty-four hours were crucial. He prayed that Paul had gotten all of the debris from the wound. He closed his eyes and dropped his head to say a prayer. He heard whispers from Little Joe at his side and knew he was praying too. Hoss had both of his hands resting on Adam’s arm on the opposite side from where thick wads of bandage were secured to his side and his back. He heard Hoss say only one word. “Please!” Paul came in then to tell them that Roy wanted to talk with them. He said he would sit at Adam’s side until one of them could return.

“We’re taking rooms in town tonight, Paul. I’m staying right at his side. I won’t be leaving until he opens his eyes.”

Paul nodded in understanding as Ben exited the surgery. Then he pulled up a stool to sit at Adam’s side. He checked his pulse and his breathing. Both were shallow but regular and showed no sign of undue stress. It would be a long wait until he woke up though. His assistant placed a brass urinal, and then pulled the blanket back up and over his waist.

“Thank you, Eva. If you could clean up a little in here, I think I can handle the rest.” After a short time, Eva was done. When she left, Paul could hear the faint conversation in his outer office.

“So you ain’t got any idea who want ta hurt Adam? He ain’t had no run-ins with nobody lately?”

“Roy, I’m telling you. Adam has been so busy lately, he’s hardly had time to get to town. This was supposed to be a day for him to enjoy himself and let off a little steam.”

“That’s right, Roy. Anytime Pa sent Adam to town in the last month and a half, I’ve gone with him. He ain’t had no trouble with nobody.”

“Well, the best that I can figure, someone knew he was in that race and set up a long way off and shot him with a rifle. Any large caliber gun fired that close to the race would have stood out. No one remembers hearing anything except pistol shots into the air. The only good things are whoever did it wasn’t all that skilled at long range shooting at a man riding that fast and the bullet did less damage because it had to travel so far. Up closer, it coulda been a lot worse. We need to find out who this is and soon.”

Chapter 2

“John. Pa. John.”

In the throes of a fever-induced nightmare, Adam tossed and turned groaning in pain at the stabbing agony from the wound in his side each time he moved. Paul did his best to calm him but found that only medication made him stop his harmful movements. Roy wanted very badly to speak with Adam, but the fever and the medication made that impossible. All he said was that name and asked for his father. Ben was at his side, but Adam never acknowledged that he knew that. He was completely unaware of those around him. Ben soaked cloths in icy water and bathed his son’s body to help cool him. At times, Adam would attempt to push the covers from him because he was so hot and a short time later would be shivering with the chills.

Ben had pledged not to leave his son’s side until he awakened, but Paul was becoming very concerned at the redness around the wounds Adam had. He suspected that there was an infection building inside those wounds and they needed to be opened and drained. Adam was so weak from blood loss that Paul hesitated until he knew it was the only option. Ben was told to leave, and Ava was summoned to help. As Ben sat in the outer office with Hoss asleep in one chair and Joe sprawled on the floor, he cringed each time he heard Adam call out. He knew the pain had to be severe for him to feel it even with the medication. A loud scream from Adam woke his younger brothers who sat up rubbing sleep from their eyes.

“Pa, what’s going on? How’s Adam?”

“Hoss, Paul had to go back in. He thinks that he missed some debris in the wounds and has to clean them out again.”

Little Joe shuddered in sympathy with his oldest brother. Both of them hated any kind of medical attention, and Adam was receiving the most painful and invasive procedures he could imagine. The three sat silently then listening with growing apprehension to the sounds from the surgery, and slumped in obvious relief when it was finally quiet except Ben worried about the quiet too and what it could mean. All three stood when Paul walked out.

“It was as bad as I suspected. I cleaned the area again and drained pus. Ben, I can’t know if I got it all. The wound area itself is clean, but he could have sepsis building inside his abdomen.”

“How will we know?”

“It will take some time. If the infection is spreading through tissues, we’ll know within a day or two. If an abscess is growing, we won’t know until it leaks or breaks open. That could take a week or more.”

Ben knew what that meant. He had seen it on board ships at sea and in men wounded out in the west. As the infection raged, the patient suffered excruciating pain that was only ended by death. He had never known of anyone who survived such an ordeal. Even the wound infection had cut Adam’s chance for survival in half, but fifty-fifty was much better than nothing. He looked at Paul hoping for some sign that Paul was at least optimistic about Adam’s prognosis. He received no such reassurance from his good friend. Slowly, he walked past Paul and back to his vigil at his son’s side. Hoss and Little Joe joined him there, and he wrapped an arm around each of them pulling them into an embrace as they looked down on Adam whose face was contorted in pain. After a moment, Ben moved to touch Adam and could feel the heat well before his hand made contact with the hot skin. He knew why Paul was so worried. He wondered at how much he should tell his younger sons about Adam’s prognosis. He decided to wait until the morning to tell them.

“Hoss, I want you and Little Joe to go to the hotel and get a room. Get some sleep.”

“Pa, you need to sleep too.”

“Hoss, I’m not leaving his side until he wakes. Now do as I say, please.”

Reluctantly, Hoss and Little Joe headed to the hotel. Across the street, a man waited in the alley. He had arrived in town in time to see Hoss carrying Adam to the doctor’s office. He stood there thinking and planning.

‘There’s my second target. That’s got to be the brother. He was big, even as a baby. Then when I get those two, I’ll go for the devil that spawned those two.’

Wondering why the young man who won the race was walking with the big one, he turned and walked down the alley heading to the cheap boarding house where he had taken a room a week before. He was doing odd jobs around town. A number of people were getting to know Sean Weatherford. He had borrowed his cousin’s last name. He kept the same first name. From experience, he had learned that worked best. Otherwise sometimes a man didn’t respond right away to the alias, and people got suspicious.

Once Sean got to his room, he did feel a bit guilty. That old devil wasn’t walking with his big son so the older one must still be alive. The big one had walked with his head down like his heart was hurting. He hadn’t wanted that. He had no desire to see the sons suffer. That’s why he had decided to kill them first. None of it had been their fault although they did benefit in the long run. Still he held no animosity toward them and felt badly that the oldest one was probably suffering a great deal. He decided he needed to think about all of that too. Perhaps his plan could include a stealthy approach and a quick demise for the wounded man before he went after the second target. Pulling out a bottle of whisky, he poured himself a big glass. He had learned a long time ago that whisky helped him formulate his deadly plans.

All alone in the world, Sean believed that only whisky was his friend, and by his way of thinking, that was all the fault of Ben Cartwright and that wagon master. Years earlier, he had found the wagon master. He had been easy to find and even easier to lure to his death with a promise of a job. The man had traveled with Sean for nearly two days chattering away about how good he was at his job. He never recognized the man he had devastated years before. Sean had staked him on the plains and watched him die. He never told him why even though the man begged to know why he had to die like that. It took nearly two days for the man to lose consciousness and another day before Sean had decided he would never wake up. Then his heart stopped with Sean’s knife through the center of it. He left the man there as carrion for the scavengers.

Ben Cartwright had been much more difficult to find until Sean had heard someone talking about an article in the paper. He had been sure that Ben had said he was going to California. Sean had searched every town there and never found him. Then by luck, he discovered that he had settled in Nevada. He had prospered so much that Sean’s anger had been reignited. He had given up ever finding him, but decided that it was fate that had made the man read that article out loud for everyone to hear. Ben Cartwright’s ranch was going to supply timbers for a large mining corporation. Such a lucrative deal made the paper. Knowing that Ben had survived and prospered had been too galling to accept. He had let his beard grow, adopted nondescript clothing, and practiced a limp. He had been sure that no one would recognize him until that oldest Cartwright had seen him in town the morning before. He had called him John but he had known who he was. That’s when Sean decided that it was time to execute step one of his plan. He had made the slit throat gesture at that Cartwright, and had seen the look of worry he had after that. He had to get rid of him before he could tell his devil of a father. The race had been about to begin, and Sean had planned to shoot the oldest one from a distance. From the way that oldest Cartwright son wore his gun, he knew how to use it. Sean never planned to let him defend himself. He had taken a clear shot but the damn fool had stood up in his stirrups just a bit as he rounded the corner in the road to enter town. He was a good horseman and Sean should have expected him to move. As a result, the shot hit him in the lower back instead of in the chest. As the whisky warmed him, he decided that he would find a way to finish the job on the oldest one the next day. Then he kicked off his boots, turned down the lamp, and slept soundly for the rest of the night.

Chapter 3

The next morning, Roy dropped in to talk to Ben before he went to his office. All Ben could tell him was that Adam said ‘John’ and ‘Pa’ quite often but had said nothing else. “Ben, do you think he means that the man who shot him was named John?”

“Roy, I don’t know. He keeps saying that name like it should mean something, but I don’t know any men named John except in passing. I had a brother John, but he died years ago and Adam never really knew him. I don’t know of any man named John who had any dealings with Adam. I don’t know how much stock we should put in what he says. He’s probably having nightmares with the fever and everything that’s happened to him.”

“Well, when the boys get here, I mean to ask them. Hoss especially might know more friends of Adam or anyone he mighta had a fight with lately.”

Sitting at Adam’s side, Ben knew Roy was correct especially about talking with Hoss, except Adam had rarely been to town for quite some time. Even though Adam confided in Hoss more than anyone, there was likely nothing recent that would help solve this mystery about why someone would want to murder his son. The other problem was that Ben could think of no one named John that Adam had even mentioned. He doubted that Hoss would know of anyone either. That was exactly as it worked out. Hoss and Little Joe arrived after having some breakfast. They brought a tray for their father. None of them had much of an appetite but knew from experience that the food had to be eaten so that they could keep going with all that they faced.

“Roy, Adam ain’t had no fights with nobody for a long time. You remember that last one with Slim. Adam and him had a fight, but then later, they was laughing about it and ended up in the saloon having a drink together. Adam bought the first round, and I think they had quite a few after that. Other than that, I can’t think of a single problem Adam has had with any man for quite some time.”

“How about any lady troubles? Sometimes men can get awfully protective of their womenfolk out here.”

“None that I know of except that fight with Slim, and that got all worked out. Slim is seeing that lady now, and as far as I know, there’s no hard feelings.”

After hearing all the conversation, Doctor Paul Martin came into the surgery. “Now, Roy, I know you need to investigate, but Adam needs quiet. He needs to rest.”

“Sorry, Doc. I didn’t think.”

“Well, he seems to be resting well enough so no harm done, but I want all of you to remember to take your conversations elsewhere. Now he seems quiet enough. Let’s try moving him to a bed. I don’t like to leave patients on that surgery table too long. The risk of a fall is always there, and now that the bleeding has stopped, we should move him. If you men could each grab a corner of this sheet, I’ll support the middle and we’ll carry him to the bed in the next room. Move slowly now. Being gentle is important and being fast isn’t.”

Very carefully, Adam was moved to a bed. It would be more comfortable for him and safer too as he would have little risk of falling out of it. Eva came in and replaced the urinal. Hoss and Little Joe were embarrassed for their brother.

“Boys, he will have no memory of me doing that for him. If you don’t say anything, he’ll never know. It’s my responsibility to keep him clean so it has to be done. It would be far worse if he should soil the bedding, and we would have to disturb him to change it, don’t you think?”

That helped Hoss and Joe accept the care the Adam had to receive. Eva went back into the surgery to clean up. She had just rolled all of the soiled sheets and blanket into a bundle when Hoss called her back into the room where Adam lay.

“He’s groaning in pain and wants to push them covers off. We weren’t sure what to do. Pa went to wash up some and talk with Sheriff Coffee.”

“Hoss, don’t you worry. You and Little Joe just take that basin of icy water and wet those cloths. Wipe across his face, neck, and chest. Try not to let any water run down onto the sheets. If he gets too wet, wipe softly with that cotton towel. Talk softly to him while you do it. It will cool him and calm him at the same time.”

“All right, ma’am.”

Anything more that Hoss was going to say was cut off by three pistol shots fired in rapid succession very near to where they were. Hoss drew his pistol and rushed toward where the shots were fired after telling Eva and Little Joe to stay with Adam. Ben and Roy came from the other direction.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, Pa. It sounded like shots fired in the surgery room.”

Very carefully, Roy pushed the door to the surgery open. The window was smashed, but there was no one there. Roy moved to the window and looked outside very carefully. There was no one outside the window. Ben took one look at the bundle of soiled bedding and cloths on the surgery table and ran out of the surgery and down to the room where Adam lay. When he got there, he went to the window immediately and drew the blinds and then closed the curtain. Hoss and Roy followed him in just a moment later. They too had seen the three neatly placed bullet holes in the bundled laundry that looked a lot like a man laying on the surgery table. Someone had tried to finish the job on Adam.

“I’m gonna get a deputy to watch outside that window. Then Clem and me are gonna start looking for anybody who saw anything. Somebody has got to have seen something. I’m thinking that they just don’t know that what they saw was important. You all gonna be all right until I get back?”

“Roy, just find out who is doing this and get him behind bars.”

“Ben, you know I’m a gonna do my best.”

Roy left then and Hoss positioned himself by the window. Ben handed his pistol to Little Joe and told him to watch the back door. Eva and Ben then began sponging Adam down to soothe him and try to control the fever. Whenever it seemed Adam was close to being conscious, Eva would put a spoonful of cool sugar water in his mouth. He swallowed every time.

Across the street, a bit winded from his exertions, Sean took a seat outside a general store and watched the doctor’s office. When the sheriff left and looked very upset, he felt a great sense of satisfaction, but that diminished completely when the sheriff returned with a deputy and set him as a guard on the side of the doctor’s office. There was no need to guard a dead man, so somehow he had once again failed to kill that oldest son. He didn’t understand how that could be. He had fired three shots into what looked like the man laying on that surgery table with blood leaking through and staining the sheets. He wondered how that hadn’t done the job. When the sheriff and his other deputy turned and perused the street, Sean got a bit nervous. That intensified when they looked at him, and the sheriff headed toward him.

“You’re fairly new in town, ain’t ya?”

“Yes. I’ve only been here a little over a week. Looking for any kind of odd jobs to pay for my meals and my room. I ain’t in any kind of trouble, am I?”

“Nah. How long you been setting here?”

“I got here a few minutes ago. You look to be real busy. I saw you go one way about the time I got here, and then you come back here again. Something happen?”

“Ya, but it sounds like you got here too late to be much help.” Roy turned to leave but then thought there was one more question he ought to ask on the off chance that this man was named John. “Would you mind giving me your name? I like to know who’s come into town recently.”

“Name’s Sean Weatherford.”

“Weatherford. Hmmm. I knew a man when I worked in Indian Territory for a time. His name was Weatherford. He was a Creek Indian.”

“Yup. Me too. I never lived in Indian Territory. I’m half white and father was the white half. My family had a farm and such. Still a problem for me being seen as an Indian though so I come west a long time ago cause here people are more willing to ignore that.”

“Well, welcome to Virginia City. We can always use more workers. Be seeing you around then.” Roy waved and walked away intending to question more people and hope to find someone who had seen something.

Sean relaxed. He had passed the first test. Obviously Adam had said nothing, and they didn’t know that Adam had always called him John because at five years old, he didn’t hear the difference in the names especially when said in a southern accent. Now he had to come up with a better plan to get rid of him.

Chapter 4

“Paul, is he worse? He’s sweating so much, he’s soaked the sheet.”

With the first hint of a smile since they had brought Adam to him, Doctor Martin looked at Ben. “No, in fact, I think he’s improving. The fever is breaking although we do need to get a lot more fluids into him.”

Hardly willing to believe that the news could be good only an hour after telling his two younger sons that Adam was gravely sick, Ben looked at Paul for more information.

“I don’t want to make any promises, but the intense sweating means his body is overcoming the fever. I don’t think that would happen if there is a sepsis building inside of him. I’ll know more when he wakes and I can find if his abdomen is tender. For now, let him sweat and get some fluid into him every chance you get. Eva is good at that so help her as much as possible.”

Almost on cue, Eva walked into the room with a cup of broth she had brewed. She looked at the men who were surprised at how she could know that was needed when only hours ago they were still trying to cool Adam’s raging fever. “I could tell he was beating it. I heard what you told your sons, but I never believed it. He’s a right strong one and wouldn’t go down without a mighty battle. Now help me slide him up onto those pillows a bit to see if he’ll take any of this broth.”

As Ben and Hoss shifted Adam higher with pillows to support him, he grimaced and then groaned. One eye opened a little and then the other followed. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath as they waited for Adam to fully open his eyes and focus on them. He blinked and took a shallow breath causing another grimace. Then his eyes roved across the faces coming to rest on his father’s hopeful look.

“Pa, what happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Adam’s blank look was all the answer that Ben needed. “You got shot. You were riding in the race, and someone shot you in the back.”

“The race?”

“You remember the race, don’t you? You and Joe were riding to see who could ride faster, and people found out about it, and wanted to wager on it, so the two of you set it up as a race from town out to the crossroad, and then back again. You were winning and then you got shot.”

“I don’t remember. I remember getting up early and saddling Sport because we were going to town. Then I woke up here.”

Doctor Martin stepped in then to assess Adam’s memory loss. He asked him to identify the people in the room and some questions about recent events. The memory was all there except for the race. He had been through this before with Adam but that time the memory loss had been extensive and compounded with emotional issues. This time was a fairly normal reaction to shock, trauma, and fever. He had lost his memory of the event that had caused him such pain. He told Ben and Roy the same.

“Adam, you been calling out the name John quite a bit. Does that ring a bell with you?”

“Roy, I don’t know anyone named John, at least not well.” Adam closed his eyes then and breathed in and our rather deliberately. He was getting dizzy with the minute exertion of talking. Eva moved to his side and offered him a drink. He gratefully accepted and kept his eyes closed. Eva nodded toward the door. Roy and the others got the hint. He was too tired to say any more. It was time for them to leave.

In the doctor’s outer office, Roy stopped to talk with Ben and his sons. “I think whoever done this and tried again this morning ain’t gonna quit until Adam is dead or we catch him.”

“I have that same fear, Roy, but what can we do? We have no clues, no witnesses, and no idea of who could be doing this.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment until Little Joe offered an idea. “We could make him think he was successful and get Adam home where he’s safer.” Everyone looked to Joe wondering what kind of hare-brained scheme he had cooked up. “We put Adam in a coffin and take him back to the ranch. I can cry anytime I want, and Pa and Hoss just have to look real sad. Paul and Eva would never tell anyone.”

Inclined at first to reject the idea completely, Ben thought about it and couldn’t come up with a valid objection. It did get Adam home to the Ponderosa where they would be better able to protect him. If the man thought he was dead, he would stop trying to kill him. Then Ben did think of something. “Can Adam take a wagon ride that far?”

Paul was ready for that one because he had been considering it since Little Joe had mentioned his idea. “If you went slowly and had plenty of padding in the wagon and the coffin. The coffin would keep him from rolling from side-to-side so that would actually be helpful.”

“Pa, wouldn’t all our friends and Adam’s friends be a mite upset especially when they find out later that he’s alive?”

“Hoss, our true friends will understand. If it’s what we need to do to keep Adam safe, then we should do it. Can you take Little Joe and get a wagon rented and then buy a coffin? Get a large blanket to cover it all. We’ll keep the coffin lid loose so we can move it when we get out of town. That way Adam will get air and not get too warm.”

“All right, Pa. C’mon Little Joe.”

“Just a minute.” Little Joe rubbed his eyes and got a real hang-dog look. Soon there were real tears rolling down his face. He rubbed his eyes a bit more, and then looked at the others for approval. They nodded because he did look like an emotional wreck. Hoss rubbed his eyes some until they reddened a little. Then he put on his hat and pulled it low over his eyes. As the two left the office, no one would have any trouble believing their story. Ben knew Little Joe could make that bottom lip quiver on command so he assumed he would be using that as well when they talked to people. He and Paul went back in to tell Eva and Adam what the plan was.

In about an hour, Hoss and Little Joe pulled a wagon up in front of the doctor’s office. There was a coffin in the back that Hoss and Little Joe easily carried into the building. Those two developments caused a crowd to begin gathering across the street. Sean joined them and listened. He learned then that the little one was also a Cartwright son, and once again, he had to make an adjustment to his plans. He began to wonder if his plan wasn’t getting too complicated because that could lead to his failure to finish it, and he most wanted to make sure he ended Ben Cartwright’s life. He decided that because it appeared that step one was done, he would work on step two before evaluating whether to go after the youngest son. After all, the little one hadn’t even been alive when those terrible events had robbed Sean of his future even if the young one would benefit from all of it. Sean could hardly stop a grin when he saw the coffin being carried from the office. Where it had been easy for two to carry it in, five of them struggled to carry it out. He had to give them credit for treating the coffin and its burden with the utmost respect and care. They placed it in the back of the wagon and threw a blanket over the top. The big one and the little one climbed up on the seat and slowly drove away with their horses on lead ropes trailing the wagon. He saw Ben standing then and staring after his three sons: two still living and one in the coffin. He enjoyed the look of devastation he saw on his face. He turned and exited the nearly silent crowd and walked to the livery stable. He planned to ride out to the Ponderosa and have a look around. He had a lot of experience scouting for the Army, hunting buffalo, and living with various native tribes. No one would see him as he began collecting information and formulating his plan for killing the second son.

On the road, the canvas tarp in the bottom of the wagon covered the bed of straw that Hoss had placed there. The liveryman had thought it unnecessary but Hoss said his brother’s coffin was not going to be bouncing and sliding around if he had anything to say about it. There were soft cotton blankets in the bottom of the coffin and lining the sides with a small towel folded as a pillow for Adam’s head. About a half hour from town, Hoss pulled the wagon to a stop and watched as Little Joe climbed into the back pulling back the blanket and the coffin lid even more.

“He’s sleeping, and he seems fine. Doc said to let him sleep if he was so I guess we should just keep going.

Little Joe pulled the coffin lid back until it was nearly closed and then covered it with the blanket. He looked back when he heard a horse and saw his father riding toward them. Hoss waited until Ben reached them.

“He’s fine, Pa. Maybe you could ride ahead and get things ready for us?”

“With all that’s happened, I’d like us all to stay together. Let’s just take it slow and easy the rest of the way.”

At the house, Hoss got Hop Sing to help them carry the coffin into the house. At one point, Little Joe slipped and Hoss had to grab the coffin nearly by himself. So as soon as they got it into the house, they set it on the floor at Ben’s instruction. A number of hands had seen them ride into the yard and carry the coffin into the house. They would have to finish the charade to make it work, but there was no need to keep Adam in that horrible box any longer. Carefully, they lifted him and carried him into the guest bedroom downstairs. By that time, he had awakened, and they could see that every movement was causing him pain. He sighed in relief to finally be able to rest on the bed.

“Are you thirsty?” When Adam nodded, Ben moved to sit on a chair at the side of the bed. He raised Adam’s head and held a glass of water to his lips. Adam took small sips breathing shallowly in between until he drained the glass. Then when Ben lowered his head, he closed his eyes. He had slept intermittently on the ride home. The jostling of the wagon ride though mild had caused him some discomfort and made it difficult to rest. All he wanted at that point was to sleep.

Leaving the door open, the men exited the room. Hoss slipped out the back door and brought in several large rocks that were placed in the coffin. Hop Sing had a sack of potatoes that had sprouted. He put those in there too. Ben asked two hands to go dig a grave in the copse of trees behind the house where Adam often went to sit alone and think. A short time later, Roy Coffee, Paul Martin, and Eva arrived with the minister who had been told what was happening. Carrying baskets of food, Eva went into the kitchen with Hop Sing. A small impromptu funeral ceremony was held in the late afternoon. Hands who were there attended as the minister said prayers and all in attendance dropped a clump of soil onto the coffin in the hole that several hands had dug in a grove of trees behind the house. A large rock was placed to mark the spot where a headstone would normally be placed. The hands who had earlier dug the grave, filled it in, and then the group trudged back to the house and bunkhouse.

Watching from just a short distance away, Sean thought he would feel more satisfaction from what he had accomplished. Instead, he felt empty. Deciding to ignore that, he began to plot his next move. He followed the group to the house and hid just a short distance away. He could hear conversation as the sheriff and doctor left. Sean assumed the woman had gone with them. He settled in to listen and watch. What he heard next almost made him abandon his plans but he hardened his heart to the sorrow he heard and resolved to continue. It was all he had left in this life as far as he was concerned.

Chapter 5

Sean watched as Ben exited the house and headed to the stable. He had seen the big one go there earlier. Suspicious as to what they might be doing, Sean worked his way around the buildings until he was next to an open window in the back of the stable.

Bent over a bench in the tack room, Hoss wiped tears from his eyes. He had an awl in his hands and a piece of wood in front of him, but the thought behind what he was doing caused tears to blind him every time he tried to lift his hand and carve into the wood. Ben looked for him when he was gone from the house for so long. What had happened to Adam made him feel even more protective of his other sons. He found Hoss hunched over the work bench in the tack room.

“Pa, I know you said I should carve a marker cause people would be expecting to see one. Pa, I just can’t. Every time I try, my eyes get so filled up, I can’t see. I know you think I ought to, but, Pa, I can’t.”

“It’s all right, Hoss. Adam would understand. We’ll wait. The stone will be enough of a marker. No one will be concerned about that. They know how upset we all are. It’s all right. Come with me to the house.”

“I was gonna load up that wagon with what I need to mend that fence line tomorrow. Adam was gonna help me, you know.”

“I know. It can wait until tomorrow. The toolbox is sitting right by the stable next to the barbed wire and the posts. You can load the wagon tomorrow if you still want to do that job. Under the circumstance, it could wait too.”

“No, Pa, I gotta keep busy. All of this has got my mind all twisting around with all sorts of ideas. I need to do some work to help things sort out in my head.”

From his hiding spot, Sean heard the conversation. He suddenly had an inspiration for how to accomplish his next goal. He slipped away from the house and headed toward where he had stashed his horse. The next few hours he planned to spend scouring the rocks around the hills until he found what he wanted.

In the house, Adam woke up. He could hear his family talking softly in the other room. He wanted to call out to them, but his throat was so dry and he was so weak, he couldn’t summon the voice to do it. He looked around the room and realized he was in the downstairs guest room. That made sense. It would be easier to care for him and easier to hide him from any prying eyes. He saw that the window had been boarded up. A number of boards had been tacked over the heavy drapes and he assumed the blinds had been drawn first. No one would know that a lamp burned low in the room. He saw a glass of water on the table next to him and reached for it. He was too weak and clumsy though knocking the glass to the floor instead of getting a drink. It did summon his family though as all three rushed into the room looking decidedly scared. He smiled a sheepish little smile.

“Adam, you’re awake.” Now that was from Little Joe and didn’t deserve a response.

His father asked if he was thirsty, and he used what energy he had to croak out an answer. “Very thirsty.” His father went to get another glass as Hoss cleaned up the broken one. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about, older brother. We just got to talking out there. Someone should have been in here with you. We knew you were bound to wake up soon.” Hoss reached out to touch Adam’s cheek and then his chest. “A little warm, but Doc said that was what he thought would happen with us taking you on the road and all. Now all you have to do is relax and get better.”

Returning with a glass and a pitcher of cool water, Ben pulled a chair close to the bed. Hoss reached behind Adam’s shoulders and slowly lifted him up as Little Joe rearranged the pillows and added one so that Adam could be more upright. They all saw Adam close his eyes and grimace at the slight movement. Once Hoss settled him back against the pillows, they all waited silently for Adam’s pain to diminish so he would open his eyes again. When he did, Ben gave him a glass of water. He wanted more but his father told him that Hop Sing would be in soon with some soup. “I don’t want you filling up with water. After the soup, if you’re still thirsty, I’ll help you drink more.”

After the water and the soup, Adam’s thirst was satisfied. He wanted to know more then about what had happened. Ben told the story with occasional help from Hoss and Little Joe.

“I don’t understand it. I don’t recall ever having an altercation with any John. I hardly even know many people with that name. He must want me dead very badly to shoot through the window of the surgery in daylight. He could have been seen so easily.”

“Whoever it is, he plans very well. No one saw him shoot you, and no one saw him next to Doctor Martin’s office.” Ben was still worried and his expression communicated that very well.

“We think we fooled him into thinking you’re dead, older brother, but we ain’t taking no chances. You can see the window is blocked. We’ll keep the door to this room open so it don’t get too stifling in here, and one of us or Hop Sing will be with you all the time.” Hoss wanted to reassure Adam so that he would relax and rest. Doctor Martin had impressed upon all of them that Adam wasn’t entirely out of the woods yet and a relapse into fever and infection was possible unless he got excellent care. Hoss meant to make sure that was the case. He had thought he might have lost his brother when he carried him to the doctor’s office. He never wanted to have that feeling again. It was too awful to contemplate.

After Little Joe and Hoss headed to bed, Ben sat with Adam. When he asked Adam what he wanted, he asked his father to read to him. Ben liked that idea because he was tired, and it would help him stay awake too. He read from the book that Adam had begun a few days earlier and had left laying beside the blue chair on the day of that fateful race. Ben watched amused as Adam fought going to sleep but his eyes drooped lower and lower until he couldn’t fight it any more. Ben thought it best to leave his son propped up on the pillows. It would be easier to give him water to drink, and he looked comfortable in that position. Hoss took his spot at midnight, and about three in the morning, Hop Sing was there. They kept the lamp burning low but it didn’t seem to bother Adam at all. All of them knew that he sometimes fell asleep reading with his lamp burning bright so had gotten used to sleeping with light in his bedroom. About five in the morning, Little Joe took Hop Sing’s spot as he went to the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast.

Around the breakfast table, Ben and his two younger sons were tired and still a bit on edge. They didn’t want to get overconfident about Adam being safe. Adam had awakened earlier and Ben had fed him some think beef broth and cool water. Then he had fallen back asleep. Doctor Martin didn’t want Adam eating any solid food until the tenderness in his abdomen diminished. Adam was getting better but was still weak and pale. He had fallen back asleep because of the limited exertion of drinking spoonfuls of thick broth and a glass of water. Ben was still worried about him which anyone could tell seeing the frown wrinkles in his forehead that seemed fixed in place for the last two days. Hoss asked if his father thought he ought to take Little Joe with him when he went to fix the fence.

“Hoss, I’ve been thinking that you shouldn’t go. We only have the four of us here to protect and care for Adam. If that killer is still out there, who knows what he might try to do.”

“Pa, the best way to protect Adam is for us to do what we gotta do to make it look like that funeral yesterday was for real. If we all stay in the house like we’re protecting someone, then he might get suspicious and want to come in here and see for himself what’s going on.”

With a deep sigh and a nod, Ben agreed. Little Joe would find work around the stable to do so they would still have him there to help, but he was only sixteen. Ben worried that his help might not be enough. “Hoss, I’ve been wondering if there are any of the hands that we could tell about what we’re doing. A couple of extra guns and a couple of extra sets of eyes watching couldn’t hurt.”

“Pa, I was thinking the same thing. I know Hank would never give it away, and we can trust him with our lives. I think Shorty might be another good one to tell. His poker face is as good or better than Hank’s.”

“Would you go call Hank and ask him to come in to have a cup of coffee with us. Tell him I want to talk about work assignments.”

Hank was shocked by the news, but no one would have been able to tell by his reaction. He simply asked why they had resorted to such subterfuge, but it came out a bit more raw with his vocabulary. He agreed with their assessment though and said he would tell Shorty. The two of them would help as much as they could. Ben surprised everyone with his next observation though.

“Hank, I want you to put two of your more reliable men working with Hoss. We still have no idea why anyone wanted Adam dead, so it could be a plot against the whole family and Adam was the first target.”

“Pa, you think somebody might try to kill me and Hoss?”

“I don’t want to rule out any possibilities at this point. I want us all to be very careful.”

“He could be gunning for you too, Pa.”

“Hoss, I know that. We all need to be careful and watchful. He has to make a mistake sooner or later. I hope he does before we do.”

“I’ll make sure we watch out for your boys and you, Mr. Cartwright. I’ll go set the work assignments now. It makes sense to send someone with Hoss anyway seeing as how Adam was going to help him with that job. I’ll send two. That way, it’ll look like an ordinary crew. I’ll tell Shorty to stay here to work with Joe on the forge. Adam made most of our horseshoes so now it would make sense to train Little Joe to do it, and Shorty could do that. That gives you an extra gun here too ifn you need it.”

“Thank you, Hank. I knew we could count on you for help.”

“That’s what you pay me for, Mr. Cartwright, and I gotta tell you, I’m happy as could be to know Adam’s alive. I always liked him, and I know how important he is to this family.” Again, the words were delivered calmly and without any show of emotion, but all three Cartwrights there knew how sincere he was. Hank took another look in the guest room and saw that Adam had awakened. He assured him that he would do all he could to help. Adam croaked out his soft thanks before Hank left to do as he said he would.

Hoss and two hands loaded up the wagon with the toolbox, some posts, and reels of barbed wire. They took almost an hour to get to the break in the fence that needed to be fixed. Hoss tossed the posts from the wagon and the two hands lugged them to the spots where they were needed. Next Hoss dropped the barbed wire on the ground next to the wagon, and then moved to open the toolbox to get wire cutters, gloves, and other tools they would need to finish the job. His quick reflexes saved his life. Six rattlers were disturbed by the wagon ride and coiled to strike when the cover to their dark environs was lifted. Hoss jumped back as fast as anyone could but not before he got a glancing strike from one of the snakes. He stepped to the seat of the wagon and leaned there cradling his arm. The snakes crawled from the tool box and began to slither to the back end of the wagon. The two hands rushed back to the wagon firing as they got there dispatching all six snakes but startling the wagon horses who jumped forward toppling Hoss into the bed of the wagon. Both hands raced for their horses then and raced after the departing wagon. They got the horses stopped and then they rushed to the back of the wagon.

“Boys, it’s only one that got me, but it hurts like the dickens. I’m feeling a mite sick too. Could one of you drive me back home?”

Tying his horse to the back of the wagon, one of the hands climbed into the wagon gathering the reins and snapping them to get the wagon headed back home with Hoss laying in the back trying his best to stay calm. The other hand turned and rode for town. From where they were, town and the house were about the same distance apart. Hoss pulled his belt loose and tied it tightly around his upper arm. Then he lowered that arm to his side and hoped not too much of the poison was in his system already. He was sweating profusely but didn’t know if it was the result of the snakebite or his fear. He assumed it was probably a bit of both.

Ben was outside talking with Little Joe when the wagon came tearing into the yard. It was Ben’s nightmare come true as he saw Hoss prone in the back of the wagon. He rushed there with Little Joe. “He’s snakebit, Mr. Cartwright. Somebody done put six rattlers in the tool box. When he opened it, one of em got him.”

Climbing into the bed of the wagon, Ben knelt by Hoss’ side. His large son opened his eyes then. “It ain’t too bad, Pa, but it sure hurts like the dickens.”

With Ben and the hand, Hoss was helped to the house. The hand was surprised they didn’t put Hoss in the downstairs guest room but instead struggled to get him up the stairs to his room. When he left the family members to tend to Hoss, he walked down the stairs meeting Hop Sing who was on the way up with the things they would need to care for Hoss. The hand peeked in the door to the guest room to see Adam sleeping in the bed. Because he was warm, Adam had pushed his blankets down to his hips and exposed the large white bandage around his middle. The hand shook his head wondering what this was all about. When he got outside, he wasn’t sure what to do so he waited. The other hand who had been working with him and Hoss rode in later just before the doctor arrived in his carriage.

“I seen the darndest thing in the house before. Did you know Adam is alive? He’s in the downstairs guest room. He ain’t dead at all.”

“Really? Wow, wonder why they wanted us to think he was dead.”

“Well, somebody just tried to kill Hoss. Maybe they think somebody wants em all dead.”

In town, Sean saw the cowboy ride in and then he and the doctor rode out in a hurry. The sheriff had talked to them briefly before they left. Sitting as he often did outside the mercantile, Sean asked the sheriff what all the commotion was. Roy answered that someone had tried to kill one of the Cartwrights. Sean asked the sheriff if Hoss’ wound was serious. Roy said he didn’t know but was riding out to the Ponderosa to find out. Sean left to go back to his boarding house. Roy began wondering about him as he walked to the livery stable to get his horse. He wondered how the man had known that Hoss was wounded and not sick or injured some other way. He wondered most about how he had known it was Hoss and not Ben or Little Joe.

Chapter 6

“Ben, I got a question to ask ya that might seem a bit odd. You know anyone by the name of Sean Weatherford?”

“No, but the name does seem vaguely familiar. Why?”

“Well, he’s new in town. Been here just over a week. He’s been doing odd jobs in town. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Lots of men drift through here. But one real peculiar thing happened today. He asked me if Hoss’ wound was serious. Now Ben, everybody knows about Adam, but only me and Doc knew about Hoss. How did he know to ask that question? All he coulda based it on was me and Paul riding outta town this morning after a hand come to get us. Maybe the hand said something that was overheard, but it still seems odd that a stranger wandering around the country seems to have taken such an interest in your family.”

Ben thought about that for a time and suddenly blanched. “Oh, Lord, no. I hope it’s not that.”

“Ben, what’d you remember?”

“There was a Weatherford on the wagon train coming west. Patrick Weatherford, and he had a cousin, Sean McGillivray. They each had a Creek mother and a white father. Patrick was killed in the same attack that took Inger from us.”

“But that don’t help us know who this Sean Weatherford is now, does it?”

“Adam called Sean ‘John’ because at five years old, he couldn’t hear the difference in the names especially with the strong southern accents the men had.”

“And Adam kept saying ‘John’ when he was having those fever nightmares.”

“That has to be it, Roy. Sean Weatherford is Sean McGillivray. He’s using his cousin’s last name. He was a broken man after that attack. Patrick and his wife and daughter were killed. Sean turned to drink and lost everything else he had. His wife left him because his son had been paralyzed from the waist down from an arrow he got in the back during the attack, and Sean said it would be better to put a bullet in his head than to let him live like that. After a few weeks, the wagon master helped Sean’s wife get passage with another family who had lost the mother. Sean had left with his horse and his rifle. I never saw him again.”

“Do you know what happened to her?”

“What I heard was that she married the man who had offered her refuge. It was a marriage of convenience. She needed someone to support her and her son, and he needed a mother to the two young children he had. He headed up toward the Oregon Trail then, and we stuck to the California Trail.”

“But why would he come after you, and especially after all these years?”

“He blamed me and the wagon master for his losses. He said it was all our fault, and we would face justice some day.”

“How could an Injun attack be your fault? That’s just crazy.”

“We let a man join the wagon train. He was the one the Indians wanted. We refused to turn him over. That’s why they attacked the wagon train.”

“Why wait all these years?”

“Maybe he couldn’t find us. I had told everyone we were headed for California. He may have looked there and couldn’t find us. Now with roads being built and newspapers all over, it’s a lot easier to travel and to find someone.”

“Why go after your sons if you’re the one he wants to punish?” But Roy knew the answer even as he asked the question. “He wants you to suffer the same kind of losses before he kills you. Ben, we need to make sure that you and Little Joe stay here. I’ll get some men, and we’ll go arrest this Sean Weatherford or McGillivray or whatever name he chooses to use.”

“Watch out, Roy. He’s a driven man. The quest for revenge can make a man a very dangerous adversary.”

Their conversation was halted when they saw Doctor Martin walking down the steps. He didn’t look too somber so Ben was hopeful. Little Joe had been sitting and listening but jumped up then to stand at his father’s side. “He’s going to be fine, Ben. That arm is swollen and painful and isn’t going to be much good to him for some time, and he’s going to be sick for a few days as the snake venom is gradually eliminated from his body. That tourniquet on his arm should be tight but not too tight. I want the blood to keep circulating so his arm doesn’t swell too much more. Every ten minutes, have him loosen it. The pain will likely increase every time he does that, and then diminish when he tightens it again. The tendency is to tighten it too much at that point. Make sure he doesn’t. Keep him still and resting. His diet should be about the same as Adam’s. While I’m here, I’ll look in on Adam to see how he’s doing. You didn’t call for me so I’m thinking his recuperation is proceeding as expected.”

“I certainly think so. He started complaining earlier about broth and tea and something about swimming in it.”

“Has he been out of bed yet?”

“Only to do what’s necessary. I helped him clean up today and then he shaved. It took over an hour. We had just finished a short time before the wagon came in with Hoss.”

Roy suddenly had another insight. “Ben, how did this Sean know that Hoss would open that toolbox and not some other man?”

“Well, Hoss was in charge of the fence repairs so he would have been the one making sure the men had what they needed.”

“Yes, but how did he know that Hoss was going to be the one in charge?”

That was all Ben needed to draw the same conclusion that Roy had. “He’s been here. He’s watching us.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. You need to set some guards. Now I’m going back, and hopefully I’ll catch him before he can hurt anybody else, but you need to be ready for him to come here.”

Walking outside with Roy, Ben called Shorty over and told him to ride out to tell Hank to get some of the hands who could be trusted as guards and set up a perimeter around the house. Then he went back inside to tell Little Joe to close and secure all the shutters on the windows and to make sure all the doors were locked. Ben strapped on his holster and told Little Joe to do the same. He knew his youngest son had never fired his pistol at a person, but he might have to do just that. Ben grabbed a shotgun and some shells from the gun cabinet and brought them upstairs to Hoss’ room setting them in the corner for easy access. Hoss was resting with his eyes closed but opened them when he heard his father in the room. Ben could see the pain in the grimace Hoss had even though he tried to hide it as much as he could.

“Paul said you would be fine but have pain. I’m so sorry about that.”

“Ain’t your fault, Pa.”

“Maybe it is.” And Ben told the whole story to Hoss.

“Have you told Adam?”

“No, Paul is with him now. I’ll see how well he’s doing after that. I don’t want to do anything to push back his recovery. He seemed a bit stronger this morning. He cleaned himself up and shaved. Took an hour to do it though.”

“I wish I could see him, but Doc said I need to stay still so the venom doesn’t move too fast through my system. He told me to loosen that tourniquet every ten minutes or so for the next couple of hours. By then, it should be all right to take it off. He said I’m going to be sick, but I don’t feel too bad yet.” He had his left arm resting on a pillow next to him, and it was swollen and purplish near where the fangs had hit.

“Yes, Paul said we should check and make sure you loosen that tourniquet every ten minutes and not to have too tight at any time. He wants it to slow the circulation but not stop it. One of us will be with you. Do you want anything to drink?”

“My stomach is a mite under the weather at the moment. Maybe something to sip so I don’t get too thirsty.”

Almost as if by magic, Hop Sing appeared with a tray of tea and some crackers. He set it on the table next to Hoss’ bed. “Good to sip. Good for stomach. Too hungry, eat cracker until stomach ready for other food.”

“Thank you, Hop Sing. Is Doctor Martin still with Adam?”

“Yes, he talk Mistah Adam. Good news. He say Mistah Adam eat food now. I make dinner for him soon when honorable doctor finish talk.”

Both Ben and Hoss smiled at that news. If Adam could eat, then the infection had not spread to his abdomen. He would likely have a long recuperation but no lasting damage. Little Joe came into the room then saying that the doctor wanted to speak with Ben before leaving. Outside, Clem and Rance were talking with Shorty who continued to work at the forge after returning from telling Hank that they needed to set some perimeter guards.

“Clem saw Adam was alive. Now why’d they want ta trick us like that? Don’t they trust us? I mean we don’t want nothing bad to happen to any of em. This is the best job I’ve ever had.”

“You boys are trusted. Do you think Mr. Cartwright would have sent you out there with Hoss if he didn’t? Now the problem is, we don’t know if we can trust everybody here. Some of the men are only here for the season, and we don’t know em hardly at all. You can see how worried that would make a man especially after somebody tried to kill Adam twice, and now tried to kill Hoss. You two keep your mouths shut and your eyes open.”

“We’ll do whatever we can to help. You know that, Shorty. Me and Rance will head on out and work on that fence line for a bit.”

“Too late today to get much done, but why don’t you take the wagon out there and pick up the barbed wire and the tools that got dumped out so you could haul Hoss back here in the wagon. I’ll tell Mr. Cartwright all about this and what I sent you to do. Just remember. Somebody might be watching the place. Keep your eyes open and tell me if you see anything.”

In the house, Adam was getting his first solid food since being shot. It was a small amount of soft cooked potatoes with some gravy, but to him it tasted like ambrosia. Doctor Martin had said if he tolerated that well, in a few hours, he could have some applesauce and a biscuit with preserves. It was a bland soft menu, but was so much more delicious than the tea and broth that Adam was very content. He found he couldn’t eat much, but it still felt good to chew at least a little. When he finished eating, he asked if he could go see Hoss.

“You can’t walk up the stairs in your condition. You could hardly take care of cleaning yourself up this morning.”

“With your help, I could do it. It would be good for Hoss and good for me, don’t you think? Maybe I could even sleep in my own bed tonight. That way I only have to do the stairs once today.”

“You don’t have to do the stairs at all.”

“Pa, you’re wearing your pistol in the house. I saw Little Joe had his on too. Wouldn’t it be easier if we were all closer together?”

“Sometimes you’re too darn smart for your own good.” But Ben had to smile. Adam knew just the things to say to get his way. It would be easier to protect Hoss and Adam if they were closer together, and Hoss wanted to see Adam too. He went into the kitchen to tell Hop Sing he was taking Adam upstairs. Then he made sure there was nothing in the way before calling up to Little Joe to have a chair at the top of the stairs. He moved the blue chair to the base of the stairs and decided things were as ready as they could be. It took some time, and Adam did have to use the chairs to rest, but eventually Ben helped Adam into Hoss’ room and got him in the chair by Hoss’ bed.

“You’re looking purty good for a dead man, older brother.”

“Let’s not talk about that. Hit too close to know he tried to kill you too. Now maybe Pa will tell us what he knows about who’s doing this.”

Surprised, Ben realized he shouldn’t have been. In that downstairs room, Adam had probably heard enough to know at least part of the story. Ben sat down and told his three sons the rest of the story. When he finished, all three were surprised that a man would want such deadly revenge for what had happened.

“No way you coulda known what was gonna happen, and we lost my Ma too. Don’t he see that we paid a price already?”

“He thinks he lost more, or at least that was the way he talked about it then. I can’t believe that he’s come to a more logical conclusion since then. He tended to drink too much, and sometimes, it was probably affecting his thinking too.”

Adam was listing to one side, and Ben moved to support him. “We need to get you to your bed.”

“Let me sit here just a little longer, please. And Pa, do you think Little Joe is his next target or you?”

“No way of telling with a man like that. I set guards out, but I remember going hunting with him on the wagon train. He was very skilled. It makes me very worried. Adam, he shot you from a distance when you were racing. I think the only thing that saved your life is that he couldn’t anticipate your movements, and you went up when he expected you to go down. We all need to be very careful. Little Joe, Hop Sing, and I will take turns keeping watch tonight.”

“Pa, I want my pistol too.” Then Hoss echoed Adam’s statement. Ben was reluctant, but knew that in a similar situation, he would want his. He sent Little Joe down the stairs to get them.

Nothing happened over the next two weeks. Hoss and Adam recuperated and chafed at Ben’s restrictions that they were not to leave the house. Little Joe was equally adamant that he ought to be allowed to at least go to the stable, but Ben was insistent. Nothing happened, but several times, Hank brought news that they had found evidence of someone getting in close to watch the house. Roy had ridden out the day after he said he would arrest Sean to say he had disappeared from town and no one had seen him. Everyone knew that he was still in the area and looking for a weak spot in their defenses. Then as they sat at dinner one even with the shutters closed tightly and the curtains closed over them, Adam said they needed their own plan because none of them liked living under siege.

Chapter 7

“I don’t like this plan to have my sons go out to look for the man who wants them dead. You could be falling right into what he wants you to do. Adam hasn’t fully regained his strength, and he’ll be out there against a madman.”

“Pa, we’ll have men ready to go as soon as there’s a shot. Adam might be alone for a bit, but it won’t be long. We’ll all be there to help him right quick.” Adam waited to see what his father would say to Hoss’ statement. It was a good plan that he and Hoss had concocted. It did put him at risk, but he was at risk anyway with Sean trying to kill him and his family.

“We’ve underestimated him too many times already. Roy was going to arrest him. Our men were going to catch him sneaking in here. It hasn’t worked. He’s already outwitted us.” Ben looked directly at Adam for the next objection. “You want to put yourself in harm’s way again? After all the suffering we went through a few weeks ago when we thought you might die, you would risk your life?”

“Pa, don’t you think he’s been planning too. By now he might be working on a plan to kill all of us. Our hands risk their lives every day and every night trying to protect us. Isn’t it fair that we try to do something to help protect them from Sean too?”

“Pa, why don’t we at least discuss what Adam and Hoss have in mind?”

A simple request from perhaps the least logical of the four of them made Ben halt. He should listen at least, so he nodded. “All right. So you’ve concocted this plan based on hunting crows?”

“Yeah, Pa. An old hunter told me about hunting crows when he was still back east of the Mississippi. He said crows can count a bit, so ifn you go in the woods with four hunters and come out with three, they know there’s still one in there. So what you do is go in with like ten hunters and come out with nine. It’s so many, they don’t know there’s one missing cause it just looks like a big bunch. They fly back to their favorite spots, and then the hunter you left behind gets em by surprise.”

Reluctantly, Ben agreed to the plan. An elaborate dummy of him was set at the dining table with a pipe in hand and some strings through a ring on one of the ceiling joists to make the dummy move a hand, an arm, or the head. Dressed in Ben’s clothing, from a distance in the dark, it should look like he was sitting at the table. They had opened all the shutters on the house late that afternoon after the ‘bunch’ of hunters scoured the areas around the house leaving Adam hiding in the trees under a blanket festooned with twigs and brush. He had gone out in a barn coat that was worn by one of the other hands who also wore his distinctive black hat when they left the trees and headed back. Now he was concealed near where a man would likely set up a shot through the dining room window. Hands were ready to move out as soon as a shot was fired. Lanterns were filled and ready. Pistols and rifles were in hand. And nothing happened.

By morning, Adam was sore, tired, stiff, and frustrated. They used an elaborate ruse of pulling a wagon to the trees to load up with branches to be cut for firewood and headed back to the house. Sean watched them go and chuckled. He had suspected a scheme when he saw all those men searching such a small area the day before. Once Adam rose from the ground and climbed into the wagon, Sean knew what they had meant to do and applauded their plan, but also congratulated himself on being smarter than they were. But he was so intent watching the men taking Adam back to the house that he never heard the men fanning out behind him. It was the second part of Adam’s plan. They had found his horse, and one man had muzzled him and then led him away. The others had continued their pursuit. Once the man with Sean’s horse reached Roy and the posse waiting a short distance away, the third part of the plan, the posse moved in a large half circle to cut off any chance of flight. At the house, the men moved into defensive positions. Sean had never played chess with Adam Cartwright. If he had, he likely would have given up his quest for vengeance in the interest of self-preservation.

It should have been a moment of satisfaction knowing that Sean was trapped with nowhere to go, but he was like a cornered rat, and cornered rats were unpredictable and dangerous. Everyone waited to see what his last desperate move would be. When it came, it shocked them. Sean walked out from cover and dropped his rifle. Armed men converged on Sean. Ben walked toward him with his sons. Roy rode in with the posse from the other side.

“Sean, why did you have to do this? It was all so long ago. I lost Inger, and you lost your brother and his family. We all were hurt.”

“But you still had two healthy sons to help you build something out here. Mine was a cripple, and my brother was gone too. I was all alone.”

“Your wife and son were alive. You could have made a life with them.”

“It ain’t much of a life living with a cripple and the woman who blamed me for not protecting him. Your Inger protected Adam and put her body in the way of anyone aiming at him. He should have been the one who took that arrow that killed her. You think my wife didn’t bring that up to me. She asked me why a woman would protect her sons, but a man wouldn’t protect his.”

“Sean, I’m sure that was her grief talking.”

As Ben was talking, Sean walked closer to him. Tears were streaming down his face. When Sean neared Ben, he reached into his coat. As he did so, Adam drew and shot him. Sean fell on his back dead from the bullet that had pierced his heart. He was wearing no holster that anyone could see.

“Adam, you shot an unarmed man!” Ben was shocked by his son’s action, and Roy dismounted and walked toward them not at all sure of what he should do.

“Pa, he was going to kill you.”

“How? He had thrown down his rifle. He had no pistol.”

“Look at his left side.” Adam was as sure of it as he could be. He had seen what he thought was Sean reaching for a pistol.

Roy knelt by the body and pulled Sean’s coat back. “Son, there’s no pistol holster under his coat either. I rightly don’t know what to do here. You say you thought he was drawing, but he had no gun.”

Hoss walked to where Roy was kneeling and knelt beside him rolling Sean’s body over and pulling his coat off of the body. There tucked in the waistband of his pants was a small caliber revolver. As Hoss stood with the coat, it felt heavy to him. He squeezed it and then opened it to find an inside pocket on the left side of the coat. In it, he found a pocket pistol. He handed that to Roy. “I think that covers the situation right well. He was armed and going for a weapon as Pa walked toward him. Throwing down the rifle was to get us to relax. I’m glad Adam didn’t fall for it.”

“Good enough for me. Anybody here got any question about whether this here Sean fella was armed and like as not was gonna draw one of those weapons to shoot Ben Cartwright?” Everyone agreed that was the logical conclusion. “All right, then. Ben, I’ll take the body to town and get him buried. I’m guessing you don’t want him buried on the Ponderosa.” At Ben’s nod, Roy told some of the men to take the body and strap it to Sean’s horse. “I’ll sell his horse and gear to pay for his burial. You got any objection to that?” Again Ben nodded. Soon after, Roy and the posse left. Gradually the hands took their horses and weapons and headed back to the stable and bunkhouse leaving Ben and his three sons standing together silently.

“Adam, I’m sorry I questioned you. It all happened so suddenly. Hoss is right. If you had been fooled by him, I’d be dead now. Thank you.”

Hardly reacting, Adam stood with that stone faced look he had when he was thinking things and feeling things he didn’t want to share. Ben put a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s all go to the house now. It’s finally over.”

Except for Adam, it wasn’t over. He heard those words of Sean’s again and again. Inger had died so that he could live. He had the horrible impression that he had cost Hoss his mother. He didn’t know what to say about that. When they reached the house, Adam turned to the stable. “I want to go for a ride. I’ve been cooped up too long.”

Hoss turned to follow him. “I’ll ride with ya.”

“I was planning to go alone. I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“I don’t have to talk. I can be quiet, but I’m going with ya.”

There wasn’t much that Adam could do about that so he nodded. The two brothers were silent as they saddled up their horses. Ben had ushered Little Joe into the house. He had an idea about what was bothering Adam and thought Hoss was the best to handle it. Joe wondered why Adam was so somber. He thought it had something to do with killing Sean and couldn’t understand it.

“Pa, he only did what he had to do. Sean would have killed you otherwise.”

“Yes, but Adam was forced to take a life.”

“How does a man handle that? I mean, I had my pistol and would have shot Sean if he threatened anyone. How would I feel afterward if I did something like that?”

“You would feel justified and proud that you had protected your family, but at night, the face would be in your dreams.”

“Does that happen to you, Pa?”

“Yes, and to anyone else with a conscience. It’s not an easy thing to reconcile with your Christian beliefs. I hope you never have to do it.”

Joe nodded, but secretly, he wished he had been the one to shoot Sean and protect his father. He didn’t understand yet how he would feel after taking a life. Adam knew, but also carried an additional burden of thinking he was the reason that Inger was dead. Hoss suspected as much. He and Adam rode for almost an hour. When it was time to give the horses a breather, Hoss stood on the hilltop looking out over the Ponderosa as Adam sat on a rock and stared at the ground.

“It ain’t your fault, you know. Ma made her choice. Pa told me that when he went to her, she was dead, and all he could do was to get the two of us to safety. He said you had yourself wrapped all around me trying to protect me because you said you would.”

“I said I didn’t want to talk.”

“You don’t have to do no talking. You just have to listen while I talk. It’s about time that happened, I think.” Adam made no more objections, so Hoss continued. “I think Ma made her choice, and I bet she’s happy how it turned out. She gave her life so the two of us could live.” Adam looked incredulous at that last part. “If I recall correctly, you was a skinny kid. You musta been skinny when you was five too. If an arrow got shot at you, it woulda gone right through you and into me. Pa woulda lost both his boys that day. Ma saved us. Now I wish she coulda saved herself too, but I still think if she had to balance the scales with giving up her life to save her two sons, she would think that they balanced just fine.” Again Adam looked skeptical. “Now don’t you look like that. You were her son as much as me. You knew her. I didn’t. I like it when you talk about her. Makes her seem real to me.”

“You don’t blame me even after what you heard Sean say?”

“You didn’t do nothing wrong, didja? I mean, didn’t you promise to protect me, and then ya done it?” Adam shrugged. “Well, I know ya did. So, no, I don’t blame ya. I thank ya, and Pa thanks ya too. Now how about we start riding home so he don’t worry about us no more than he already has?”

Adam stood, walked to Hoss’ side, and looked out over the Ponderosa. “Let’s go home.”

Chapter 8

“Yes, Pa, we have everything we need. We’ll be gone about six weeks.”

“Now remember, a lot of that country isn’t mapped well so you need to send out a scout every day.”

“Pa, it’s not like we haven’t done this before.”

Taking a deep breath, Ben agreed. He knew he was being overprotective especially of his adult sons, but their recent experiences with Sean McGillivray had left him with unease about his sons. He had faced the possibility of losing one or two of them, and it had unnerved him a bit. Now with all three heading north on a drive to John Day, Oregon, he was more worried than he had ever been before a drive. What made it so much worse of course was that he had fallen while helping with the branding. His left ankle was wrapped in bandages so thick, he couldn’t put on his boot. Doctor Martin had said no riding for two weeks. Adam had to boss the drive with Hoss as ramrod. Little Joe was going along to help. They were traveling to Oregon’s cattle country to deliver about one hundred head to a ranch owned by a Davis Tucker who had heard about the hardy Ponderosa cattle and wanted some for his ranch. Cattle broker William Talbot had arranged the deal. They had never dealt with him before, but he had a good reputation.

Before his sons left, Ben had a talk with Little Joe. It was the first time he would be on a drive without his father. “Now, you need to do whatever Adam tells you to do and not complain.”

“But he’s so bossy. He never listens to me.”

“He’s trail boss. It’s his job, and it’s not part of his job to listen to everyone who thinks they have a better idea than he does. Bossing a drive is not done by a committee.”

“But on the last drive, you listened to Adam’s ideas.”

“That’s because he was ramrod. Hoss is ramrod so he will be offering his advice to Adam as part of his job. There will be a scout too who will have input. Your job is to handle the remuda and keep the drag crew doing their job. We contracted to sell one hundred head so we can’t lose too many on the way. Adam has gathered up ten extra and that should cover any losses.”

“What if we don’t get one hundred there?”

“There’s a penalty in the contract of one dollar a head less for each one under one hundred. So you see, Adam has given you an important job.”

“All right. I’ll follow orders.”

“And?”

“And I won’t complain.” Ben smiled and Little Joe grinned. Both knew that no matter how hard he tried, it wasn’t likely that he could do it perfectly, but at least it would be minimal. At least Ben hoped so.

The following morning, Ben’s sons rode out for the drive. As Ben leaned on a cane and watched them ride out, he looked up to heaven. “Please, ladies, watch out for our boys.” Then he limped back into the house to do the only kind of work he could do at the moment. Sometimes he wished they had hired an accountant. Then he remembered that Adam could do the books as well as he could, but he was more important to the ranch in a more active role. So Ben sighed deeply and sat at his desk to tackle the stacks of paperwork that had to be completed.

The drive through unfamiliar country did present more problems than the usual, but nothing that they didn’t expect. A few times, they had to backtrack and try a different route. They also had to wait for a two days at a stream swollen with rainwater to diminish enough to cross. Overall, the problems were less serious than some drives. They lost no cattle so as they rode near John Day, Adam and Hoss prepared to go into town to find out where to take the cattle. Little Joe asked why he wasn’t going with them.

“You’re a Cartwright.”
“Yes, and that’s why I ought to go into town with you.”

“But we need a Cartwright here.”

Thinking for just a moment, Little Joe yelled. “You mean I’m in charge while you two are gone?”

“Yep, little brother. Me and Adam are trusting you with the herd. Now don’t move em anywhere and don’t lose any while we’re gone.”

“I can do it, Hoss. Adam, you can trust me. I’ll take good care of the herd.”

Hank and Shorty were standing directly behind Little Joe. Adam looked directly at them as he answered. “I know you’ll take care of the herd right here and not lose any while we’re gone. We should be back in a couple of hours.” The two hands got the message. They would work with Little Joe and make sure he did well. As Adam and Hoss rode to town, Hoss had a question about Adam’s instructions.

“You think you had to tell Hank and Shorty to do what we said Little Joe ought to do?”

“You know our little brother. Don’t you think that by now, he’s thinking he should move the herd one valley over for fresh grass or closer to the river for easier access to the water?”

“Would either of those be so awful to do?”

“No, but the grass and water are fine where they are and the men deserve a break from working so hard. It’s a test too.”

“You want to see if Little Joe can take orders and carry em out. Why?”

“If he wants more responsibility on a drive, he has to show that he can do that. Otherwise, he’ll be supervised by someone else until he can.”

“You think we’ll be doing more drives without Pa?”

“Wouldn’t surprise me at all especially when we bring home the profits from this one.”

Soon the brothers were in town and asked where they could find William Talbot. They were directed to a small ramshackle restaurant that proclaimed that elk was on the menu that day. Adam pushed the door open and took a moment to get used to the dim interior. What he saw made him stop and nearly get knocked over by Hoss who banged into him because of the sudden stop. Sitting before them was a well-dressed gentleman about Adam’s age. He was in a wheelchair but looked very healthy otherwise.

“Billy?”

“Addie?”

The two old friends soon were hugging and laughing. Both proclaimed that they had never thought to see one another again. Hoss stood by wondering who this man was.

“William Talbot. I never would have guessed. You have made quite a name for yourself out here.”

“Yes, and I guess if I had remembered that your family name was Cartwright, I would have thought you and your family did quite well out here too. This isn’t that roly poly little brother of yours now is it?”

“Well, not so little anymore. Yes, this is Hoss. Hoss, this is Billy. He was on the wagon train with us heading west until he and his family headed north to Oregon. So, Billy, you and your ma didn’t leave with a Talbot.”

“No, we left with Benton Davis. He married Ma, but he and one of my sisters died our first year here. Daniel Talbot lost most of his family in the same outbreak. He asked Ma to marry him, so that’s how my sister and I ended up being Talbots. A long way from McGillivray.”

Suddenly Hoss knew who the young man was. This was Sean’s son who had been wounded and disabled in the same Indian attack that had claimed his mother. Adam pulled out a chair and sat next to Billy.

“Billy, I have to tell you something. Sean McGillivray is dead. I shot him.”

Not looking as surprised as they thought he might, Billy asked for the rest of the story. Adam told him everything he knew. Billy shook his head. “I tried to find him a few times. Every time I did, I learned something else about him that I didn’t really want to know. I’m sorry he’s dead, but I’m not sad. He was headed for that ever since we began moving west and he started drinking so much. Ma told me a lot about him including the bad. It wasn’t that Indian attack that made him leave. He had threatened to leave her a number of times before. It was just his excuse. I’m sorry too that he did harm to your family, but I guess justice prevailed.”

“Is your Ma still alive?”

“Oh yes, and she presides over our ragtag family like a general commanding the troops. She’s the one who insisted I go to college. I have a law degree as well as a business degree. I handle almost all the legal work in town, and I broker all the cattle deals. Tucker is going to be very pleased with the cattle, I’m sure. Did you get one hundred here?”

“We brought ten more than that. Thought we could sell them here if Tucker didn’t want them.”

“Oh, Tucker may want them, but I’ll pay you five dollars more per head to take those ten to my Pa. They’ll be good to crossbreed with the cattle he already has.”

“Tucker might be willing to pay more.”

“All right. How about ten dollars more per head for those ten. For an old friend?”

“Deal, then, for an old friend if you’ll throw in an elk steak or two for me and for Hoss there. I think he might start drooling soon if I don’t order something to eat soon.”

“Done. Once you get the cattle delivered, I want you to come out to see Ma. She’ll be thrilled to see you.”

After lunch, Billy wheeled himself outside to a wagon. He stood next to it by pulling himself up by the arms. He had a small rope attached to the back of the wheelchair. After he pulled himself up onto the wagon seat, he used the rope to pull the wheelchair up after him and then set it in the bed of the wagon tying the rope to the back of the bench seat before picking up the reins. “We’ll go down to the end of town and I’ll show you where to put the one hundred. The ten I’ll have you drive out to my folks’ place. It’s close to where you have the herd south of town. Both ranches are on this side of the river so I’ll let Tucker know and he can come get his cattle as soon as he has the money in hand to pay you.”

Adam and Hoss returned to the herd and cut out ten of the best cows. Then they instructed Little Joe to drive the rest into town and told him where they were to be kept until Tucker got there with the money. Little Joe had not moved the herd, but Hank felt he had to be honest when Adam asked and said that in fact Little Joe had thought to move the herd a short distance only to be reminded of the trail boss orders he had received. Adam shook his head and looked at Hoss who shrugged. Little Joe had made his own bed and would have to sleep in it. If he couldn’t take a simple order, he wouldn’t be trusted with more responsibility on the next drive. Adam thanked Hank before he and Hoss headed out with the ten cows following the directions they had been given.

When they reached the Talbot Ranch, there was a corral open for them and Billy was sitting there waiting for them. After the cattle were in the corral, a big man walked toward them and Billy introduced the man as his pa. Then his mother came out and rushed to Adam giving him a big hug and then she hugged Hoss.

“It’s so good to know you boys survived and did well. I felt bad about leaving the two of you in your Pa’s care. It had to be terribly difficult for him to take care of a baby and a young boy and still manage to get his work done.”

“Adam took care of me so Pa could work.”

Looking appraisingly at Adam, Mrs. Talbot nodded. “Yes, I suppose he would have. Well you boys come on inside for some pie. We got some apples from up north just a few days ago, and I’ve been baking and canning ever since with my daughters and Billy’s wife.”

Hoss almost ran Adam over again as he stopped and looked at Billy. “You’re married?”

“Oh, yes. Aren’t you?”

“Ah, not yet. Haven’t found the right one.”

“Nah, they chase after him, but he don’t let none of em catch him.”

“Well, I highly recommend it. It has made my life so much more rewarding. I met her when I was going to school. She was the only woman who saw me as a man and not a cripple.” Billy’s wife walked out at that point. She was thick with child. “We’re going to have a baby soon.” The pride in Billy’s voice was strong. “So Adam, did you go to college? You always seemed so smart, I was sure you would somehow.”

For the next few minutes, Adam explained what he had done and that he was still working on the Ponderosa. The whole conversation seemed to be making Adam more serious by the moment. Hoss saw it, and Billy did as well so he changed the subject. With about an hour of light left, Adam and Hoss said their goodbyes and headed back to town. Little Joe met them with a big grin. He handed Adam the money for the cattle wrapped in canvas.

“It’s all there. I counted it, and don’t think that Tucker was offended. He told me to count it and wanted Hank and Shorty to be there too. It’s all there right to the penny.”

“Good job, Little Joe. Now let’s go to the saloon. It’s the trail boss’ job to buy the first round.”

“I get to go?”

“You can have a beer. Nothing more.”

“All right!”

The next day, gear was packed into the wagon, and the group headed for home. Over a week later and after some hard riding, they were about a mile from the Ponderosa when Little Joe proposed a race.

“We never did find out who was faster. You got shot before the end of the race. How about racing to the house?”

Adam looked over at Hoss who nodded and began counting down from ten. Both horses took off toward the yard at a breakneck pace. About a hundred yards from their goal, the two horses were neck-and-neck when Adam grabbed his side and leaned down over Sport’s neck. Little Joe looked on with worry, and Adam won the race by a length.

“You all right, Adam?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

“I saw you grab your side. I thought you were hurt again.”

“Well it does pain me from time to time. I guess it was just one of those times.”

“All right, then we should have a rematch sometime for a best of three.”

“Sure. Anytime.”

By then, Hoss and the others had arrived. Hoss dismounted and walked to where Adam was rubbing down Sport with a wet cloth to cool him down. “I saw you grab your side. You hurting?”

“No more than usual. Doc says the scar tissue there has to be stretched, and it hurts a little when I do that.”

Realizing what his brother had done, Hoss shook his head. “You are sneaky, Adam, sneaky.”

“In a race, you use whatever you have.” Hoss started laughing then and Adam grinned. Ben came outside with Little Joe who had run inside to tell him all the good news about the drive and finding Billy and his mother. It would be quite a while before Little Joe found out about how Adam had tricked him. He tried to get even, but Hoss always told him the same thing.

“Older brother don’t ever let you get even. The more you do, the more he does, and he’s sneakier than you.”

“Someday, I’ll beat him. Someday, I’ll best him at everything.”

Hoss shook his head. He knew that nothing good was going to come from that attitude, but at least for the time being, life was good, and they were all together. But Hoss had seen what it had cost Adam to admit he wasn’t married and that he wasn’t using his college education. He worried more about what that might mean in the future.