Summary:  This is the second story in the Charity series and is a WHN for the Bitter Water episode.   A mysterious corporation threatens the Ponderosa and the other ranches in the Comstock area.  There are shootings, kidnappings, and threats from unknown assailants, and Lem Keith’s daughter’s anger at Adam for perceived wrongs make for a complicated scenario.

Rating = T and  WC = 23,448

Charity Series:

Fractured
Wounded Hearts
Trust Me
Let’s Do It!
Dreams and Challenges
Sticks and Stones

 

Charity Series #2 — Wounded Hearts

This story follows the Bitter Water episode of Bonanza. Here is a quick synopsis if you don’t remember the details:

A neighbor, Andy McCarren, is a good friend of Ben Cartwright, but his son, Todd, influenced by his future father-in-law Lem Keith, wants to sell their mineral rights to a mining operation. If that goes through, it will pollute the water that flows onto the Ponderosa violating the water rights agreement that Andy and Ben made years ago. Though Todd and Adam were once best friends, they have grown out of that phase in their lives and become more rivals than friends. Andy McCarren and Ben Cartwright have always been friends, but Andy is in poor health and thinks it’s time to hand the reins over to Todd. The problem is, Todd is easily manipulated and letting the wrong people influence him. He’s in love with a decent girl, Virginia Keith, who has a father who is willing to do anything to get money. Todd and Virginia plan to marry. Adam courted Virginia for nearly three years but that relationship ended. Meanwhile, Keith has brought diseased cattle from Texas and sees an opportunity to ruin the Ponderosa. He has his men plant the diseased cattle within the Ponderosa herds starting an epidemic there. Suspicious of Lem Keith and the men working for him, Adam goes to the Keith ranch to confront one of them. The man draws, Adam wounds him, but Lem Keith steps in to shoot and kill the man claiming he was defending Adam. Then his daughter knows too that her father is a killer. Once the Cartwrights see what is happening with their cattle, they know that desperate measures are needed, and Ben decides to put all their cattle through a sulfur dip. Meanwhile, Keith and Todd are trying to whip the other ranchers into a frenzy to attack the Ponderosa. At the confrontation, Virginia brings Andy, and the two of them confront Lem Keith and Todd. When the truth comes out, a furious Keith draws to fire on Adam who kills him. The truth does finally come out, Todd is sorry, and Ben offers to help all the other ranchers to run their cattle through sulfur dips too to kill the ticks that carry the disease. Todd and Virginia still plan to be married.

Chapter 1

On a bright warm day in June, Virginia Keith looked beautiful on her wedding day even if she was a trifle sad because she had no family there for the most important moment of her life. Her mother had died years earlier, and her sister Charity was living with their aunt in Philadelphia. Adam Cartwright had shot and killed their father, Lem Keith, which had led to significant financial difficulties for the two sisters. What it meant was that Charity couldn’t afford to move back home yet because she had to help her aunt and her family who had no means of support with Lem Keith dead. It also meant that Virginia had been forced to sell the ranch and pay all of their father’s debts that had turned out to be substantial. The cattle on the ranch were rustled so they were taken from her. She had been left with barely enough to support herself until her marriage to Todd McCarren. She knew she shouldn’t resent Adam Cartwright, but she found that she did. It was unfair because it wasn’t his fault, but every time she saw him, she was reminded of all the pain and the loss she had suffered. He must have sensed it because he seemed to avoid her too. Todd had confided in her that he had much the same feeling. He too knew that it was unfair to blame Adam, but each time he saw him, he was reminded of his losses.

As the wedding day progressed, that was apparent to Adam. He also heard several thinly veiled derogatory comments about the man who had killed the bride’s father not being welcome at the wedding. Ben tried to reassure Adam that he shouldn’t let the petty commentary affect him, but Ben knew too that it still bothered Adam that he had been forced to kill Lem. He didn’t mourn the man, but he was sad that he had taken the life of the father of two women for whom he did care, Virginia and Charity Keith. The only truly welcoming face that Adam saw that day was Andy McCarren, but all of the Cartwrights were shocked at Andy’s appearance. He had visibly deteriorated in only a few months. He was thin and pale. Andy needed help to move his wheelchair around the church and later at the social hall. It was fairly clear that he was not going to live much longer. He was in a good mood though.

“Now, Ben, don’t look so sad. We all have to go sometime, and I have the opportunity to know when it is so that I can prepare. So many men go suddenly and never get to say goodbye or make things right before they go. I’ve had the chance to take care of things. I’m ready now for the Good Lord to take me. Todd and Virginia are married. They have the ranch and a bright future. We’re hoping that soon Charity will have enough money to be able to come back home too.”

That grabbed Adam’s attention. “Enough money? Is there a problem?”

“Oh, I shouldn’t have said anything, I suppose. It’s a family matter, but she took a job in Philadelphia to help support her aunt’s family until they can get themselves settled somehow. They were living on money that Lem sent to them. Without his money, they lost everything. Now they have to get jobs and work. It’s been a shock to them.”

Ben nodded and smiled but without much sympathy. “I bet it has, but why does Charity feel that she has to help them if they’re capable of working?”

“She did live with them for a few months until the money ran out. She’s paying them back. That girl is very independent and doesn’t want to owe anyone anything. When she can afford it, she’ll be back here. I wish I could afford to send her the money to travel here.”

With a look from Adam, Ben made the offer to Andy. “I could give you the money for that. She certainly helped us out by giving us some information. No one need know where the money came from, Andy.”

“Ben, that would be wonderful. You are a great friend. Thank you.”

Carefully, Ben took money from his wallet and put it into his napkin. He placed the napkin in Andy’s wheelchair when he wheeled him toward the refreshment table so they could get a few more things to eat. Andy smiled and pocketed the cash. He planned to have Todd wire the money to Charity as soon as possible. He only had to come up with an explanation of where he came up with the extra cash.

Standing and watching Ben push Andy across the room, Adam was soon flanked by several men from town who repeated some of the same barbs that Adam had been hearing that day. Rather than risk the possibility of an altercation, he excused himself and told Hoss and Little Joe that he was leaving. Hoss knew why, said he understood, and would tell their father. Once outside, Adam could relax a little. He had felt tense even before he arrived at the church for the wedding knowing that he made people uncomfortable in this situation. He guessed that time would make things better, but at that moment, emotions were too raw yet. He entered the livery stable intent on getting Sport and riding home. He never expected trouble.

“You got a lot of nerve showing up at her wedding after killing her pa.”

Whirling around in surprise, Adam was confronted by several of the men who had apparently followed him from the social hall. It was clear that they didn’t intend that he would leave that livery stable unscathed. He didn’t. After a sound thrashing though, they left him. He pulled himself up and wrapped a handkerchief around his right hand to cover his bleeding knuckles because he never gave up without a fight. He looked down at his white shirt now stained with blood.

“I should have worn black. It fits my mood better, and Hop Sing wouldn’t get mad at me. Now I’ve ruined another shirt.”

Despite sore ribs and various other aches and pains, Adam managed to saddle Sport, mount up, and ride toward home. As he rode out of town, two well-dressed men stood at the doors of the International House.

“Good. It looks like the men followed their instructions to the letter.”

“Yes, he’ll stay away from the McCarrens now. Divide and conquer.”

“Indeed.”

“Now do we have the offers ready to give to them on Monday?”

“All set to be delivered to every rancher in the area. The terms are clearly spelled out and the price is stated as absolute. They will sign over their mineral rights and imperfect usufructuary rights at one dollar per acre and no more.”

“So they’ll say no.”

“Undoubtedly.”

“That’s when we apply the pressure.”

“Yes, that’s when some unfortunate Cartwright is going to get shot. If the Ponderosa bows down, all the other ranchers will bow down too.”

Chapter 2

With a shiver, Charity inched away from the man trying to talk to her. She didn’t want to talk to any man. She pushed herself as far to the side of the stagecoach seat as she could making it clear she didn’t appreciate his overtures. He got the message and gave her a sour look. She didn’t care what he thought of her as long as he left her alone. All she wanted to do was get to Virginia City and out to her sister’s ranch. It had been so long since she had been home. Her father had been killed. He was accused of terrible crimes and couldn’t defend himself of course. Virginia had not said much about it, but her aunt had been spewing vitriolic complaints against the man who had killed Lem Keith and the things that he had said about her father. She knew her father was greedy and manipulative but the things that had been claimed were so extreme that she couldn’t bring herself to believe them. She needed to hear what Virginia would say and perhaps what her husband Todd could add. She hoped that somehow she could make peace with what she learned because she had hatred in her heart, and it made her angry all the time. Adam Cartwright had encouraged her father to send her away, and then had killed her father and accused him of doing terrible things. She wanted to think that he wouldn’t do those things but couldn’t deny the facts. Lost in thought, she almost didn’t realize how close they were to the city until she heard the driver yell out to the passengers to hold on tight because he was going to have to slow down suddenly. The coach lurched then and she was thrown slightly forward. The man offered his hand to help her, but she refused assistance. The touch of any man was repugnant to her at this point. When the stage stopped, she was the first to escape its confines eager to breathe fresh air and be free of the enforced contact with others. Virginia wasn’t there waiting for her disappointing her tremendously.

“Well, howdy there, Miss Charity. I didn’t know you was heading back to these parts.”

Taking a deep breath, Charity turned slowly and greeted Hoss Cartwright grateful beyond measure that he appeared to be alone. “Hello, Hoss. Yes, I was expecting to see Virginia here. I expect that she and Todd will be here soon.”

Hoss got a sad look then. “Maybe they’re kinda tied up, Miss Charity. I hate to be the one to tell ya, but Todd’s pa, Andy McCarren died yesterday. He’d been sick for a long time, but from what I heard, he took a real bad turn for the worse real unexpected like and was gone before they could even get the doc out there. I only got the buckboard, but I could give you a ride out there ifn you didn’t mind riding with me.”

“But if they’re on the way in to meet me, then it would be for nothing.”

“Ifn they’re on the way in, we’d see ’em as we’re heading that way. There ain’t but one way from here to there lessen they plan to go in a circle.”

Reluctant to go with Hoss because she anticipated that he would talk about Adam but not seeing another alternative, Charity agreed. She knew that she was safe with Hoss, and she wasn’t sure if she would be safe in Virginia City. It was larger and more congested than she remembered, and she didn’t recognize most of the people she saw. Hoss smiled and picked up her two largest bags. She took the two smaller ones and followed him to a buckboard loaded with supplies that was a short distance down the street. He put her bags directly behind the seat and helped her up into the seat. He must have felt how stiff she got because he apologized for hurting her. She said it was all right as if he had but offered no explanation.

“Adam is gonna be tickled pink that you’re back. He felt so bad about you being sent away like you was.”

Surprised that Hoss would say it like that, Charity had to disagree. “I don’t know why he would. He told my father it was a good idea.”

Hoss looked down at her in surprise. “Nah, didn’t you get that letter he sent. He and Pa worked real hard to find your address so he could send you a letter. He said you had a right to know the truth, and Pa agreed. He wrote a real long letter. I never read it, but I seen him writing it. It was thick. He sent it off to you. I think he was hoping to get a letter back but never did. He tried to tell you that he never said nothing bout you being sent east. That was all your pa’s doing. Adam thought it was a darn shame sending you off like that when you didn’t want to go.”

“I never got a letter from Adam.”

“You didn’t? Well that’s a darn shame. Well, I guess it musta got lost. It did have an awful long way to go. That’s a real darn shame. Adam’s gonna be even more upset to hear you never got his letter explaining things.”

“It’s all right. Some things just can’t be explained away.”

“No, I suppose not, but some things are better explained than not explained.”

“Hoss, if you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about that. Now what happened to Andy. Virginia did write and she did tell me that he was ill. I knew that before I left, but what made it get so much worse so quickly?”

“No one seems to know that. He went downhill fast these past few months, and then with all the trouble over the mineral rights and such, well that pressure couldna helped none.”

“What trouble is that?”

“Some big ole company come in here and they’re trying to pressure all the ranchers into giving up their mineral rights and their timber rights for next to nothing. They expect us to sign away our rights on the Ponderosa for one hundred thousand dollars. Now that may seem like a lot of money but what they would do would ruin the land forever so it’s really not. They would do the same to every ranch here.”

“Well, if no one is giving in, then why are they even still here?”

“They’re putting pressure on folks. Making threats and such. Nobody quite knows how far they’ll go. Pa and Adam been working with our lawyer trying to come up with a plan to make it harder for ’em, but, well, Todd ain’t exactly wanting to cooperate and some of the other ranchers are always suspicious thinking that we’re trying to pull something over on ’em. It ain’t going well. Andy was upset about it all. That probably made his heart work even harder until it give out.”

“His heart gave out?”

“I guess. They went in to wake him in the morning and couldn’t. He passed before they could get the doc there to try to do something for him.”

“And now I come home. I suppose they won’t be all that happy to see me either.”

“Oh, I think you’ll be a big help to ’em. They’re gonna need someone around to help ’em. You know their news now, dontcha?”

“News?”

“Well, we’re almost there now. They’ll be telling you all about the changes that are happening. Now ifn, you could hang on, I’ll make the turn here and we’ll head on up to their house.”

As Hoss drove up to the McCarren home, Todd was outside with some of his hands. Virginia came outside and then put a hand to her mouth when she saw Charity. It was clear that she was embarrassed to have forgotten that her sister was arriving. She moved as quickly as she could to the wagon and waited for Charity to climb down. The sisters embraced, and Charity could easily see what news Hoss had thought she knew.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“By the time I was sure, you were already planning to move back here. I thought my letter would only make you worry. I’m only now past the quickening. It’ll be another four months till I have the baby.”

“You and Todd must be so happy.”

“We were. But now with Andy dying and all the things going on, it seems to be one more worry among many. But now let’s go inside. You must be tired. Oh, Hoss, thank you for giving Charity a ride. Could I offer you a drink before you go?”

Hoss thanked her but declined saying he needed to get home. He had unloaded Charity’s bags and Todd directed one of the hands to bring them into the house, but then asked if Hoss could wait a moment.

“Hoss, Virginia and I have been talking. And with Charity back home especially, we think it best if Adam not come to the my father’s funeral tomorrow. It’s going to be hard enough for me. I don’t want my wife and her sister to have to face the man who killed their father on the same day. I hope you understand and I hope Adam doesn’t mind too much.”

“Todd, now that ain’t right, and you know it. Adam and Andy were friends. You and Adam were friends for a long time. I don’t know why you done turned your back on him cause he ain’t done nothing to deserve it. I’ll give him your message if you insist, but I think it’s a right awful thing to do.”

“He’s the one who walked out on our wedding early.”

“I don’t blame him none after the way you was treating him, and the things that people was saying to him. Some men followed him to the livery stable and give him a pounding just for being at your wedding. Did you know that? He managed to get home on his own, but when we got there, Hop Sing was doctoring him up. He was pissing blood for a couple of days cause of what your friends done.”

Shocked by that, Todd was apologetic. “Hoss, I didn’t know anything about that. I’m sorry about that. I had no idea anything like that had happened. Is that why Adam is hardly ever in town?”

“So you noticed that, didja. Yeah, that’s about it. He’s letting things cool down some. He don’t want no trouble.”

“I am sorry about all that, but Hoss, Virginia doesn’t want him here tomorrow, and I doubt that Charity would want him here either.”

“All right, I’ll tell him, but it’s gonna hurt him again. He’s been hurt a lot. I hate to do this. There needs to be an end to this.

“Hoss, once this has settled down some, I guess that Adam and I need to talk. Tell him that, would you?”

“Thanks, Todd, that’ll help some.”

With that concession made, Hoss headed for home. As he expected, the news bothered Adam although he did his best to act as if he expected it. What he had not expected was the news that Hoss had about Charity. That his letter had not reached her bothered him far more than anything else that had happened recently. He could imagine what she thought of him, and that hurt. Ben said that he, Hoss, and Little Joe would attend the funeral, and Ben said he would try to talk to Charity. Adam thanked him for that, and then said nothing more about it.

Chapter 3

The day after Andy McCarren’s funeral, Adam rode to town to meet again with the family lawyer to see if he had made any progress in coming up with a method of resisting the conglomerate that threatened to swallow the ranches in the area. Charity Keith was coming out of the general store when he rode by. She saw him and her insides clenched and her heart began to race. She had confronted Virginia about several things that she had been said about their father asking if they were true. For each one, Virginia refused to be forthright saying she couldn’t be sure because no one was sure and she wanted to think the best of their father not the worst.

“We were only trying to protect you.”

“There was no one trying to protect me in Philadelphia. I was alone.”

“I’m sorry about that, and I never wanted you sent there. That doesn’t change what father did here. He made mistakes.”

“Mistakes or crimes?”

Over and over, the two sisters had wrangled with the issues of what their father may or may not have done finally settling on not speaking of it again. Now seeing Adam though made all the turmoil boil up again in her thoughts. Charity dreaded the answers she might get yet wanted to know the truth. Her feelings of anger toward Adam and what she had thought he had done though colored her thinking and her emotions so much that as she approached him, she felt an illogical desire to strike out at him and hurt him. She used his absence at the funeral as a point of attack.

“Were you so afraid of seeing me and Virginia that you couldn’t show up and pay respects to your old friend Andy McCarren? Despite the things I have thought about you over the last months, I had never thought you were that much of a coward.” She watched as Adam’s expression that had seemed perhaps a bit friendly and hopeful if guarded turned to stone.

“I did not attend the funeral because Todd sent a message with Hoss that I was not welcome apparently at Virginia’s request for her benefit and for yours. Seeing the man who killed your father was apparently too much for the two of you to tolerate especially on the day Virginia saw her father-in-law buried. Out of respect, I stayed away. My father expressed my condolences for me. My brothers were there in my stead.”

“You always seem to have an explanation for everything. I suppose you have something just as smooth to explain to me why you killed my father. I never got to say goodbye. Now I have no family left except Virginia, and she has Todd and soon they’ll have a baby. They won’t want me around then. So I have you to thank for looking at a future all alone. What smooth line do you have to explain that away.”

“I can’t. All I can say is that Lem Keith pulled his pistol first. If I didn’t draw on him and shoot, I would likely be dead now. I was not willing to let him kill me. He would have gone to the gallows anyway if he simply shot me so it made no real difference in the long run except I’m alive which apparently you and your sister regret.”

“Why did you tell my father to send me away? I saw you shake hands with him, and then he came inside to tell me that you agreed that it was best for me to be sent east. How could you do that to me?”

“The issue was never brought up to me. I never would have recommended it if it had. He manipulated me into making it appear that I had done that in order to hurt you and hurt me in your eyes. He wanted to drive us apart, and apparently he succeeded very well in that. I sent you a letter, and I’m very sorry that it never reached you. I did try to explain some things to you. If ever you wish to speak with me civilly and talk about what really happened, I would be more than willing to talk. Right now, I have legal matters to discuss with our attorney, and I’m already late. I have to go.”

Everything Adam had said had been delivered in an almost emotionless voice and that expressionless face until that last plea. He looked open and vulnerable then before closing up once more. Charity didn’t know what to think. She didn’t get to say goodbye because he left too hurriedly dismissing her. She knew she had deserved that. In the previous year, she had been hurt by a number of things and by several people, and now she wondered who had hurt Adam and how much. She didn’t know about Regina and Ruth or about what had happened with Ross Marquette. Most people didn’t know. With the way she had approached Adam, she knew he wasn’t likely to open up to her anytime soon either because she assumed that she had ruined what little good feeling remained between them.

In Hiram’s office, Adam found that he couldn’t concentrate as well as he wanted. Hiram had to repeat things several times. Finally, Hiram concluded the meeting with a warning.

“Adam, doing what you want to do will work legally by entangling the rights so effectively that their lawyers would have a dickens of a time trying to sort it all out. It wouldn’t be profitable to them especially for the timber rights and the silver prices have been dropping too. It could delay this long enough for the whole thing to collapse.”

“So the only real danger would be to me if my name was on all of those options?”

“Yes, if you were the one holding the options, then you could be in great danger if these men are willing to use means other than legal means to achieve their goals. With the veiled threats that people have received already, I wouldn’t be surprised that there might be some heavy handed pressure applied soon.”

“Well, I’m not in any danger yet because you and I and my family are the only ones who know about us concocting this strategy.”

“Yes, I’ve even drawn up the documents myself instead of having my clerk work on it. It is our secret. I have taken the papers home with me at night. I don’t even trust the safe here in the office. It isn’t that good if these people have men who can open safes.”

“You think they are that well organized with those kind of resources?”

“Adam, don’t underestimate them. I think it is a pack of wolves, and we have seen one lone wolf checking out the territory. The others are there and are quite powerful.”

“I’ll be careful. I’ll let Pa know what you said, and we’ll start talking to the other ranchers. If we can convince a few to join us in a pool, then the others will join in. This corporation won’t be able to get us all if we band together.”

“No, I don’t think they will, so their strategy is going to be to try to keep all of you apart. My guess is that they will try to take the Ponderosa first too. If you bow down, the others will all give in to their demands.”

“We won’t.”

“Good luck, Adam, and take care.”

On the ride home, Adam tried to be vigilant, but his thoughts kept turning to Charity and what she had said. She had looked so forlorn that he had wanted to go to her to comfort her, but her words had put an effective barrier between them. He could tell that she was hurting emotionally, but he was still wounded too by all that had happened in the previous year. Todd’s spurning of their friendship had hurt too, but Hoss telling him that Todd wanted to talk had helped some. There was at least hope that their friendship could be salvaged although it would never be as close as it once was not after all that had happened. As he often did, he took a shortcut riding cross-country on the way home. He didn’t see the carriage leaving the Ponderosa, but he heard all about it when he got home. His father could not have been angrier.

“They dared to threaten me and my family. They said I had three sons, and if I wanted to keep them safe, I should consider their offer. They said one hundred thousand dollars would go a long way toward keeping my sons safe. You know what that means, don’t you. They threatened you and Hoss and Little Joe! How dare they! Right here in my own home!”

“I suppose they said it in a way that we can’t even go to Roy to file a complaint.”

Ben’s scowl was the answer to that. Hoss and Little Joe weren’t even home. “You should go get your brothers. We need to talk about this.”

“Pa, what did you say to them? What answer did you give them? You postponed your answer like we talked about, didn’t you?”

Somewhat chagrined, Ben blew air out and slumped in his desk chair. “No, they got me so mad. I told them it would be a cold day in hell before they ever got one piece of kindling or a pebble from the Ponderosa. I told them to leave before I had the hands string them up. They left in a hurry. I never got to amend my statements.” Adam dropped his head. “I know. I may have pushed them into taking the next step, whatever that is. That’s why you need to go get your brothers. We need to talk about this and work out what we can do now. Go ahead. They’re in the southeast pasture fixing fences near the road. You must have seen them on the way home, didn’t you?”

With a worried look, Adam grabbed his hat and rushed out the door, checking the saddle on Sport, and mounting up to ride away without another word. He hoped he would get to his brothers before those corporation men could decide to take their next step because he was scared about what it might be after what they had said to his father. He knew that he was placing himself in jeopardy by riding out, but his younger brothers were already possibly in grave danger and didn’t know it. He took the road this time as the fastest route to where his brothers were working. He heard shots before he got there and could only hope they were defending themselves and not being shot. He had some relief when he neared the location and saw Hoss firing up at men on the hillside who were hiding in the boulders. Adam quickly rode to the ridge higher than where those men were, dismounted, and pulled his rifle. It took two rapid shots to kill one, wound another, and send those ambushers into retreat. As soon as Adam saw those men fleeing, he mounted up again and rode to where he had seen Hoss. As he rode, he insides were clenched in fear for he had not seen Little Joe yet.

“They shot him, Adam. Shot him in the back. Help me with him, Adam. I got to stop the bleeding.”

Hoss was frantically pushing his handkerchief against a bloody wound in the upper right side of Little Joe’s back. Adam pushed Hoss’ hands away gently so that he could take a closer look at the wound.

“Don’t push too hard, Hoss. The bullet hit his shoulder blade. It’s bleeding so badly because the bullet shattered and made a mess. Let me get his shirt off and we’ll use that as a pad for a bandage. Give me your sleeves to tie it in place. Then we’ll get him home.”

“Why is he out cold then?”

Adam leaned down and looked closely at Little Joe’s face. “Was he working on that fence pole when he got hit?” Hoss nodded. “Looks like he got slammed into it by the bullet hitting him. He’s got a big egg on his forehead. Probably knocked him senseless. Good thing too. This probably hurts like hell. I think he’s going to be all right, Hoss, but we need to get him home and get this cleaned up.”

About that time, Ben rode up with some hands. It had taken him that long to saddle Buck and catch up to Adam. He rushed to his sons and asked how Little Joe was, and then asked what had happened as they were lifting Little Joe and carrying him to the wagon that Hoss and Little Joe had driven out that morning. Supplies and tools were thrown to the ground so that Little Joe could be laid in the bed of the wagon. Ben climbed in first so that his youngest could rest in his arms for the ride home. Hoss climbed up to drive the wagon. Adam stayed behind to go collect the body in the boulders and go to town to talk to Roy. One of the hands had already been sent for the doctor. What Hiram had warned about had started to happen.

On the McCarren ranch and on other bigger ranches that day, the same two men delivered much the same kind of messages. Todd was given the message except his wife was threatened in the same way Ben’s sons had been. Each family had someone threatened. What the men expected was that the families would hear about what happened to the Cartwrights and would know that the threats were very serious. They thought that the first ranchers to bow down would be happening fairly soon.

Chapter 4

The men sent by the corporation to try to enforce their will on the ranchers in the Virginia City area ranchers were from San Francisco. They had thought that they were very clever and intimidating. Their ambush of the Cartwright sons was the key to making all the ranchers give in. It worked in the city making those they wanted to intimidate cower in fear. These ranchers though were not so easily intimidated. When they saw Adam Cartwright bring the body of one of their men to the Sheriff’s office they were surprised. When they found out that he was demanding an investigation, they were shocked. By being in town and demanding something like that, he was risking his life. They didn’t know if he was incredibly stupid and foolish or incredibly brave and daring them to come out to face him. For the time being, they assume it had to be the former and laughed at his foolhardiness. However because that first step of intimidation had not done what was intended, they proceeded to step two. Men were sent to lie in wait to kidnap Virginia Keith. The plan was to hold her until Todd signed over his rights. One way or another, these men wanted one rancher to sign over the rights and get the process started. However the men they were threatening were more likely to turn to one another than they were to give up without a fight. Todd McCarren rode to the Ponderosa knowing he had some apologies to give and knowing he had no right to ask for help, but at the same time knowing that Ben would expect him to ask and that help would be offered. He was surprised when he got there to find Doctor Paul Martin’s carriage in front of the house and the men standing guard. He almost turned to ride back home when he found out what had happened not wanting to burden the family with any more trouble until he heard Ben’s voice.

“Todd, what brings you here? I hope you haven’t had any trouble like this?”

“No, Ben, I haven’t, but I’ve been threatened, or I should say, they threatened Virginia. They said she could be gone for a while and how would I feel about that. Ben, they shot Joe. They would do it, wouldn’t they? Take Virginia, I mean.”

“They could try, Todd. You have our help. I assume they probably have threatened others. We’re going to set up guards for the family. I never should have let Adam go to town, but I’ve sent a couple of men to escort him back home. You need to do the same. Neither you nor Virginia should go anywhere especially alone. Do you have enough men to adequately guard your place?”

“I could use a few more, I guess, but I don’t have the money to hire any more right now.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll send a couple of men with you to make sure you get home safely, and they’ll stay there to protect you and Virginia. Now, how does that sound?”

“Ben, I’ve been such a jackass, and you’re being such a good friend. There isn’t an apology big enough to cover everything I need to say, but you need to know that I’ve got my head turned the right way again. I know now why my father was upset with me. He knew the value of a good friend, and it was worth so much more than a few quick dollars here and there. Now I’ve learned my lesson. It’ll stick this time.”

“Todd, everyone makes mistakes. It takes a big man to admit them and learn from them.”

“It takes a bigger man to accept an apology too. Please ask Adam to forgive me. I have wronged him more than anyone else. I guess I wanted someone to blame with the pain I was feeling, and unfortunately he was too easy a target. He was too good a friend to fight back. He let me strike out and didn’t strike back. Ben, I feel terrible about that. Virginia and I have been talking, and we know now how unfair we’re been. I guess we were both feeding the fires of anger in each other instead of doing the right thing. I do hope Adam can forgive us.”

“He will, Todd. He’s got a big heart. Many people don’t realize it, but he does.”

“I know that now. Charity told me what he said in town. He could have really laid it all on me, but he didn’t. He was a gentleman about the whole thing.”

“Todd, what about Charity. Did they make any threats against her?”

“No, they didn’t. I don’t think they even know about her. She wasn’t mentioned.”

“Oh, good, the less who are in danger, the better. Now, let’s get two men to help see you home. Once they get their gear packed up, you can be on your way, and make sure that Virginia stays safe.”

“Ben, you didn’t say. How is Little Joe?”

Shaking his head, Ben frowned. “I think it seemed better when he was out. It’s not a terrible wound except for the pain. Paul said that it’s going to be a very painful recovery with the damage to the muscle and bone. Any movement now causes terrible pain. He’s going to be in that bed for a long time, I’m afraid.”

“I’m sorry. For a man like Little Joe, that’s got to be very hard.”

“He’ll live though. For me, that’s the most important thing. I’m sure that the man who shot him thought that he was killing him. For that, they have created a mortal enemy. I won’t stop now until they’re destroyed.”

“I’ll help you, Ben, in any way that I can.”

As Todd was riding out, Hoss walked out to ask Ben what had happened. Ben explained about the threat and about the threats he presumed other ranchers had gotten.

“Todd’s back on the right trail. He apologized and asked me to please ask Adam to accept his apology. He said he had been a jackass, pardon the expression. He knows how wrong he was about everything. Sometimes it takes a crisis like this for a man to have to examine his conscience and to know who his true friends are. Todd at least was man enough now to do it when he had to do it.”

“Wish he woulda done it sooner. Adam’s had a tough year. Coulda been a mite easier if Todd and Virginia had been nicer about things.”

“Yes, it certainly could have.”

“Adam ain’t back yet?”

“No, but Hoss I sent men to ride with him. I’m sure he’s safe. Roy would know too by now the threat that hangs over all of us. By now he’s probably starting to work on who’s behind this. Adam was going to send a wire to the governor’s office too to alert them. This could lead to some major problems so they need to get involved too.”

“Pulling out all the stops?”

“Yes, the next step is to let the Army know that one of the best sources for horses for them is being threatened by some unscrupulous businessmen and that the man most responsible for bringing them those mounts that they want so badly is now upstairs in that bed unable to do any work for them probably for the next month or two because of those men.”

“Pa, I don’t think those yahoos knew what they was doing when they decided to make you mad.”

“Or you or Adam either. I think Hop Sing has put it best when he told Little Joe on more than one occasion that he ought not to poke a sleeping cougar when he was teasing Adam. Well there’s a bear and a bull here that woke up too.” That familiar Ben roar was in place.

“You sure you wouldn’t rather be a stallion, Pa?”

Startled a bit by the comment, Ben had to chuckle a little when he saw the sparkle in Hoss’ eyes. Like his older brother, Hoss could manage some humor even in the midst of a major crisis. Ben wasn’t sure how the two of them did it, but it definitely did him good to have the tension relieved at least a little. “Thank you, son. Now, let’s get inside and see how your little brother is doing.”

Doctor Martin’s evaluation was promising and yet promised a daunting recovery for Little Joe. “His right arm has to be immobilized for at least a month. First because any movement will tear the stitches I’ve put in his back. Then because movement will pull the muscles and that will interfere with the bone healing. There is no displacement which is a very good thing, but that could easily change if he doesn’t stay still. He’s wrapped very tightly now and he’s got quite a lot of pain that will keep him from moving too much. Within a week, the pain will lessen dramatically. That’s when we all know he’ll think he’s so much better that he can do more than I say he can. Your hard work will begin then keeping him from trying to do too much. Under no circumstances should he be on a horse in the next month or doing anything to jar that shoulder or his back.”

“How about the blood loss, Doc? It seemed like he lost so much blood.”

“Hoss, that was because of the nature of the wound, but overall, the wound was shallow because the bullet hit that bone at an angle and shattered. If the rifleman had been closer or if that bullet had hit on a straight line, I don’t think we would even be having this conversation now. Little Joe is lucky to be alive.”

Everything he said confirmed what Ben and Hoss had been thinking. The shooter had meant to kill Little Joe and probably Hoss too. If Adam had not arrived when he did, they would probably have killed both of them. Ben was berating himself for losing his temper with those two men, but if they were there at that moment, he might have killed them with his bare hands. He hoped that Adam would be home soon so they could talk about what they would do next.

In town, Adam had gone with Roy to visit the men who represented the corporation trying to get the timber and mining rights to all the ranches. The men were confident and seemingly cooperative claiming no knowledge of any illegal acts of course, but both Roy and Adam caught the little signs of surprise that registered when Roy informed them that a man had been killed trying to kill a Cartwright. It was fairly clear that they had never expected to hear that one of their men had been killed and that a Cartwright had not been killed. Both Roy and Adam schooled their looks to remain impassive but knew that those men had given themselves away clearly implicating themselves by their reactions in the assault on Hoss and Little Joe. As the two walked back to Roy’s office, two men from the Ponderosa rode in to tell Adam they were there to escort him home. He bristled at that, but Roy told him it was a good idea. He didn’t like it but had to admit it was a sensible precaution.

“Adam, ifn anything comes in from the governor’s office, I’ll be sure to let you know. Until then, you keep safe and make sure your family stays safe. Might not hurt to check out the other ranchers to see that everyone is taking precautions.”

“I’ll make sure of that, Roy. We’ll talk and get back to you if we come up with more of a plan than we already have.”

With that, Adam mounted up and rode for home with the two Ponderosa hands. They took the cross-country route thinking that the men who might set an ambush would have a difficult time anticipating where they might go if they did that. He arrived home safely and was relieved to find that Little Joe’s prognosis was fairly good even if the recuperation was going to be long and painful. His eyes glistened with tears as he stood at his brother’s bed and watched him grimace in pain simply with the movement required for breathing.

“Little Joe, we’ll get them. We’ll make them pay for what they did to you.”

Struggling to speak, Little Joe finally simply raised his left hand and gave a thumbs up before closing his eyes and succumbing to the pain and the medication. Ben turned to Adam and put a hand on his shoulder.

“He’ll be fine. Now, let’s go talk about what we’re going to do next. Hop Sing will sit with him for a little while.”

Chapter 5

On the McCarren ranch, Charity had confronted Todd and Virginia about the things that Adam had said. She wanted the truth about her father and wanted the truth about what Adam had done the day he shot and killed him. She knew a lot about Adam Cartwright. She knew he could be cynical and snide. He could be dangerous. He could be moody and dark. But one thing she knew above all the others was that everyone said he was honest to a fault and wouldn’t tell a lie to save anyone even himself. He might lie by omission but anything he said was the truth. Therefore she had to question if she had been told the whole truth about her father. When she challenged her sister and Todd, they finally confessed that they had colored the truth for their own benefit and blamed Adam because they had wanted someone to blame. In their grief, they had struck out and Adam had been an easy target because he had been the one to shoot Lem. After the two men visited with their threats and Todd returned from the Ponderosa with the news of Little Joe being shot, Charity left the house to take a walk. She wanted to think about everything she had heard that day. The men guarding Todd and Virginia told her to be careful and not to go too far. She said she wouldn’t. She only walked down to the corrals behind the stable where she leaned on one of the corral fences and watched the horses. The men who had been watching for Virginia as they had been instructed moved into position.

“This is a lot easier than I thought it would be.”

“Yeah, with those guards, I never thought they’d let her walk by herself. You got the gag ready?”

“Got it. We need to get up to her real quick and slap this across her face before she can make a sound. They can’t see her from up there, but they could hear her if she makes a sound.”

“She don’t look like she’s planning on moving for a bit. We’ll work our way as close as we can and then grab her.”

Charity was grabbed and clubbed roughly before being dragged to a horse and taken away. A message was tacked to the corral fence, but it was another hour before it was found by a ranch hand who brought it to Todd because his name was on the envelope. Todd tore it open and found a ransom note inside demanding that he sign and deliver the documents that had been left for his perusal or Virginia would not be released. At first, Todd thought it was a hoax because Virginia was standing at his side reading the note with him, but then both realized that Charity hadn’t been seen in hours.

“Todd, they must have taken Charity thinking it was me. Oh, my Lord, where could she be? What will they do with her especially when they find out it isn’t me?”

“Virginia, they can’t find that out. If they’re watching, you have to stay out of sight. Hopefully, Charity will play along and not let them know they made a mistake. I’ll send a man to the Ponderosa. We need their help to find her. I would go but that might be exactly what they want. I’ll talk to the men and see who’s willing to go.”

As it turned out, the two men who decided to go didn’t have to go far. Ben had decided to send two more men after Adam got home and they had a chance to talk about things. The two men met them and one rode back to the Ponderosa while the other rode with the two back to the McCarren ranch to be sure nothing more happened there. Ben sent two riders to town to alert Roy to the new development, and Adam rode with a group of men over to the McCarren ranch with a plan to search for Charity in the morning as soon as they could. He dressed in nondescript clothing. Hoss had wanted to go but Adam had argued he couldn’t.

“Nothing you wear is going to disguise who you are. I can ride a different horse and wear different clothing. I can blend in with the men. You can’t. I know you’re a better tracker, but I’m almost as good, and these men we’re up against aren’t experienced out here. If they had been, you and Joe would both be dead. You know that as well as I do. Six of them against the two of you mending fences.” Hoss nodded. He knew Adam was correct on all counts but he hated not being able to help. “I should be able to follow their tracks. We’ll get Charity back. You make sure everyone stays safe here. We’ve still got a lot of work to do when I get back.”

“Yeah, and I’ll explain to Little Joe why you ain’t here. We’ll have to come up with a good excuse so he don’t worry about you. Maybe we’ll just say you’re over to the McCarren place to help protect Charity and Virginia. That’s pretty much the truth even if it leaves out a lot.”

“Yes, why don’t you talk that over with Pa. I think he’ll agree that’s a good way to explain it to Little Joe so he won’t worry. He’ll probably have all sorts of funny ideas about what’s going on to keep him occupied.”

“Yeah, he could use something to keep his mind off the pain. I can see he’s trying to be brave, but it must hurt him something awful and that’s with the laudanum.” Adam grimaced with the thought of taking the medication. “I know but he needs it at least for a couple of days to get him through the worst of it. You take care now.” That was the last that Hoss would see of Adam for a couple of days. He worried until he saw him again knowing how deadly their foes had proven to be.

To keep up the pretense that he was one of the hands, Adam stayed in the bunkhouse at the McCarren ranch and the next morning, moved out with them from the corral where the note was found. Quickly they realized there were two sets of tracks. One was a single horse so they assumed that was from the man who had left the note. The second set was for three horses. That was the set most of them followed with Adam tracking. Two of the men followed the single track to see where it led. Once it got to the road leading to town, they turned back to the McCarren ranch and resumed guard duties there. It didn’t take long for Adam and the searchers to find where the two men who had kidnapped Charity had gone. Unfortunately, the cabin they were using was exposed on all four sides. It couldn’t be approached in daylight. Adam was frustrated.

“Damn. We need to move back. If anyone is coming here to see them today, they could spot us. We have to pull as far back as possible. I’ll stay here on foot to watch. Take my horse and get back out of sight of anyone coming from Virginia City by any route. Watch though. If you see anyone coming close, someone can come back here after they go to the cabin.”

“Adam, you sure you want to stay here alone. Maybe one more man ought to stay with you. That way if you need to communicate, you have someone to send back to us.”

“That’s a good idea. Anyone want to volunteer?”

One of the men quickly volunteered. Once he and Adam had their rifles, canteens, and some food, the others pulled back with the horses. The two men concealed themselves and settled in to wait. They took turns sleeping knowing that they would have to rescue Charity that night. They would do better if they were rested and alert.

Inside the cabin, Charity was restless, exhausted, and in pain. She had panicked when the men grabbed her, and as a result, they had used more force than they intended. She had been stunned by the blows, gagged, and tied. Thrown over a saddle and tied roughly there, she had endured a painful ride to the cabin. When the men had gone to untie her to take her inside, and grabbed her arms, she had fought them again receiving a beating for that. Now she was tightly bound, gagged, and lying on the floor of the cabin. The men had been angry with her, but now both were thinking that they might be in trouble for their behavior with her.

“Maybe we ought to untie her now.”

“First we could untie her gag and see if she’ll agree not to fight. She can’t get anywhere from here without us catching her. She already knows what’ll happen if we hafta do that. Maybe she’ll be more agreeable now.”

“Why’d she have to fight so much? I never seen a woman fight so much before.”

“I know. It ain’t like we tried anything with her. Maybe ifn we did it would explain it, but we didn’t. You know, if she tells folks we tried something, they’re gonna get real mad. Folks out this way don’t take to anybody being mean to a woman. I heard they beat a man in Virginia City not long ago for using bad words with a woman, and she was a saloon gal. Some men didn’t take kindly to it, and give him a whupping for it.”

“Yeah, I can guess what they’d do ifn they thought we had our way with a man’s wife.”

“Well, we ain’t gonna do that.”

“Unless the boss tells us to kill her. If her husband won’t sign them papers, then she becomes the example to make the others sign. It won’t matter then cause they might like her roughed up before we finish her off. She is kinda pretty. I wouldn’t mind having her even if I had to hit her a few times to calm her down some.”

“You know, you keep talking like that and she ain’t never going to calm down. We’ll hafta keep her tied up like that the whole time.”

“Well, if the plan works, it won’t be more than a day or two anyway. Shouldn’t be much of a problem. She’ll have a few bruises and some sore wrists, but that’s about it. She’ll be thirsty and hungry, but she deserves it for what she done.”

Hearing their comments, Charity understood that they thought she was Virginia. That made her wonder what they would do to her if they knew that she wasn’t. She had to keep up the pretense because she was worried about what the alternative might be. Eventually the two men did relent and untied her gag giving her some water to drink and untying her ankles. They led her outside and let her use the necessary that was there. It only had three sides. Charity was almost afraid to use it, but the need was too great. She had to give up her fear and her modesty and use it while the two men stood only a few feet away making comments. With her hands tied, it took her longer than necessary and both men made crude comments about possibly having to come to her assistance. She pleaded with them not to do that which only brought raucous laughter. Finally they led her back inside and retied her ankles but not as tightly as before and let her sit on a chair at the rickety table. One of the men pushed a plate of beans and bread in front of her with a spoon. She was very hungry by then and managed to eat some of the bread and a bit of the beans before her stomach objected too much. Just before dark, she asked if she could please use the necessary again. This time only one of the men walked outside with her and there wasn’t the commentary that she had endured the previous time. They seemed to be more on edge and in less of a good humor. Apparently they were waiting for instructions and expected that someone would have arrived with them.

No one had come for several reasons. One was that Todd had not signed the papers and delivered them to town as he had been told to do. Another reason was that Roy had deputies watching everyone who left town traveling in the direction of the Ponderosa or the McCarren ranch. The third reason was that there were rumors that the governor had sent a message that he was sending some investigators to check into what was happening and they were expected to arrive with some federal marshals who had been dispatched as well to check on the situation. The corporation had men checking into that but until they were sure, they didn’t want to make an overt move.

Chapter 6

As darkness began to fall, Adam and the men began to move toward the cabin. They all got a big of a smile when they realized that the men in the cabin had the fireplace and at least one lantern lit. The cabin was acting as a beacon for them making their approach easier. It would also make it easier to work out an assault on the cabin because they would be able to see where everyone was in the cabin before they forced their way in. The plan they devised was to have two men at the lone window, and then several men bursting in the door at once with specific goals such as targeting one of the two men inside and Adam going directly to Charity. They based that on the assumption that she was likely to recognize him more quickly than any of the other men in the rescue party.

The plan worked to perfection except for one flaw. Charity began screaming with the shots that were fired and continued to scream and flail at Adam even as he did his best to calm her and to untie her hands. Once her hands were free, she was almost hysterical in her attack on him. Adam did his best to avoid the worst of her blows while saying her name and trying to get her to realize it was him. It took some time until she stopped almost in mid-swing and looked at him in shock.

“Adam?”

“Yes, you’re safe now. You don’t have to fight any more.”

With a sob, Charity collapsed against him then and cried into his chest. He had expected her to be happy and didn’t know how to react to this display. He simply asked the men to take the two kidnappers outside and give him some quiet time with her. They wouldn’t travel in the dark anyway. The men took the lantern, but the fireplace gave plenty of light for the small cabin. Adam tentatively began to rub Charity’s back. He felt her trembling and stayed as gentle and soothing as he knew how to be. Once her crying had diminished to whimpers, he asked if they could move to the wall so he could lean back against it. She was going to pull away from him then.

“No, I think you need to stay next to me. I’ll keep you safe, and I won’t do anything more than I’ve done already. Trust me?”

Nodding and grateful to let herself be led, Charity moved with Adam back to the wall of the cabin next to the fireplace. Adam tossed two more sticks of wood into the fireplace and then leaned back against the wall. He kept an arm around Charity while he did that and then hugged her close again and began to rub her back once more.

“We can sit her quietly, or we can talk. It’s us to you.”

There was no answer for a few minutes until in a halting voice, Charity asked if they could be quiet and sit for a while and talk later.

“That’s fine. We have all night. We can’t travel safely in the dark. There aren’t any roads or trails to follow so we’ll have to wait for dawn. We’ll get you back home then.”

One of the men cracked the door open then and asked if Adam wanted his canteen and a blanket. He did, and asked for his saddlebags too. Then he told the man that there were food supplies in the cabin that he and the other men might want. The exchange was made quickly. Rummaging in his saddlebags, Adam pulled out a gingham napkin and handed it to Charity.

“Hop Sing sent some of his biscuits with me. That’s the last one. It may be a day old, but I think you’ll still like it.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Try a few nibbles. You might find you’re hungrier than you think you are.”

That was how it worked too. After a few nibbles of the biscuit, Charity found that she wanted to eat the whole thing and did. Adam offered her the canteen and she had some water. Unfortunately then she needed to use the necessary again.

“But Adam, it only has three sides.”

“I’ll take care of that. Trust me?”

As they walked outside, Adam pulled the blanket from one of the two kidnappers. He looked at the men guarding them and said that the two could share a blanket because he needed a wall for the necessary. Charity smiled at that. It was the first smile she had since the whole ordeal had begun. Adam borrowed the lantern which wasn’t a problem because the men had started a cook-fire. He put the lantern inside the necessary and then once Charity stepped inside, he hung the blanket so that it was a solid fourth wall. He stepped away and called out to let her know he was away from the structure far enough to give her privacy but close enough to be there for protection. He told her to take all the time she needed. When she came out, she had a small smile for him, and when they walked back to where the men were, she had a small smile for them as well and thanked them apologizing for how she had reacted. They all said not to worry because they understood. Thankful for their understanding, she went back inside the cabin with Adam then.

“How do you want to do this? Do you want to sit away from me or do you want to sit like we were before?”

“I’d like you to hold me like you were if you don’t mind. I needed that, and I think I still need that. Inside, I’m still so scared.”

Rolling out his bedroll, Adam pushed it up against the wall. Then he sat and offered his hand to Charity who took it and dropped down beside him. He pulled her to him and wrapped an arm around her as she rested her head against his chest. He wrapped the blanket around the two of them.

“We can talk or you can try to sleep. It’s up to you.”

“I’d like to talk, but I don’t know what to say.”

After a moment, Adam decided to say what he had been thinking. “Maybe you could start by telling me who hurt you so badly that you’re so frightened of men.” He felt Charity tense up against him and knew he had hit the mark with that one. He guessed that she wondered how he knew, but he had known a few other women who had been assaulted. They had a look about them that was something sad but also defiant. Their spirits were wounded but not defeated. He wanted to help.

“I’d ask how you knew that, but I guess my reaction was strange enough to make you wonder. In Philadelphia, I had to take a job. Some men there seemed to think that a working woman was an easy woman. They tried to force me to do things I didn’t want to do. It was terrible. It made me feel dirty and at the same time it made me afraid.”

“I’m sorry. I so sorry you had to go through that. I’m sorry you had to be out east and not here with your family and your friends.”

“I know. Virginia finally told me the truth. It was very hard to hear. It was painful to know my father was that kind of man. It was also awful to know that I treated you so badly and hurt you for no reason. Todd and Virginia did too. The Keith family has been awful to you. It was things like that going through my mind when those two men grabbed me. I didn’t hear them come up on me because I was thinking.”

“Thinking about me?”

“Some of the time.”

“Are we friends again?”

“I don’t know. Were we friends before?”

“I don’t know. It was very strange before. It seems like it was so long ago. So much has happened since then. Are we friends now?”

“I’d like to think we are.”

“Good, let’s be friends then.”

“Yes, good friends.”

There wasn’t a need to say anything more. Exhausted physically and emotionally, Charity closed her eyes and soon was asleep. Adam heard her breathing change and felt her relax in his arms. He smiled. He felt more at ease than he had in a very long time even though there was still a major threat out there because he had good friends and a loving family. Resolving his differences with Charity had made him feel refreshed as a burden of guilt he had been carrying lifted. In the morning, she smiled when she awakened to Adam’s soft snoring and wondered what it would be like to wake to it every morning. Their relationship wasn’t that kind of relationship though so she banished that thought. As she stirred, Adam awakened and smiled at her. Then he noticed the abrasions at her wrists that he had not noticed the night before because of his attention to her emotional state. He took her hands in his and looked at her wrists.

“We need to do something about those. We’ll clean them up and bandage them.”

Seeing the bruises on her face and neck, he could only guess at the other bruises she must have. His anger rose, and she could see it in his expression.

“Adam, don’t do anything to those men for this. Let the law handle it.”

“I won’t because you asked me, but when those men out there see those bruises, I can’t speak for them, and you shouldn’t either. Let them do what they believe they should. The two men will get to jail alive. They won’t do anything more than what they deserve.” Charity looked reluctant. “You know that’s the way it is out here. Men don’t allow other men to treat women this way.”

Charity reached up to touch a bruise on Adam’s chin. “How about what a woman does to a man? I hurt you too.”

“You had cause to be upset. I understand. What they did to you had no cause. Now do you need me to walk you to the necessary, or do you think you can go on your own?” Charity wanted to say she could go on her own, but her look was all Adam needed to see. “Ah, heck, I have to go outside to shave anyway. I’ll walk you there. I can’t see well enough in here. Let me grab my saddlebags and we’ll go.”

As Charity walked past the men in the rescue party in the early morning light, Adam could see the looks they had when they saw the bruises. He guessed they were thinking about the same thoughts he had when he had seen the deep dark bruises knowing that they had hit her. Those weren’t bruises from a struggle. Those were bruises one got from being hit with a fist. By the time the horses were saddled and they were ready to mount up for the ride home, the two kidnappers were carrying a brand new set of bruises and each was bleeding from his nose and mouth as well. They had found that what they had heard about men in Nevada not tolerating anyone hitting women was correct.

The ride to the McCarren ranch was without incident. When they got there, Todd wanted to send the kidnappers to town to have them put in jail. Adam had a different idea.

“Let’s keep them here. Have Roy come out and question them here. Don’t let anyone in town know they’ve been caught. As far as they know, Virginia is still being held. We can have some men watch the cabin and wait for the messenger to go there.”

“That’s a good idea, Adam, except I don’t want them kept here for long. Once the word gets out, and it will, it could bring too much danger here. I don’t want to put Virginia and our baby, or Charity in that much jeopardy. Once Roy talks to them, I want them taken somewhere else.”

“We could take them back to the cabin where we captured them, or we could use a line cabin on the Ponderosa.”

“Either one of those is fine with me. You and Roy can work that out. I’m fine with whatever you decide on that. We’ll guard them until Roy can talk to them and then move them.”

“Todd, the next thing is you need to sign those papers and send them to town.”

“I won’t sign those papers, Adam.”

“I’ll tell you how to sign them so they aren’t legal, but those people won’t know it, at least not right away, but maybe it will be enough for them to show themselves. It would help for us to know who they are. So far we only know their representatives. Who are the men actually doing this?”

“You’re sure you’ve got a foolproof way of signing so the papers aren’t legal?”

“I do. Let’s go inside. We’ll take care of that, and then I want to get home to see how my little brother is doing.”

Chapter 7

Once Adam and Todd got papers signed the way Adam instructed Todd to sign, both Todd and Virginia were smiling. Charity stood behind them with a small smile too. When Adam was going to leave, she walked with him to the front door.

“Thank you. Despite everything we have said and how unfair we have been, you are still the best friend any of us could ever have.” Charity moved in quickly and kissed Adam lightly before stepping back before he could respond. Standing there then, she looked a little embarrassed.

Reaching out, Adam tucked an errant strand of hair back behind her ear. “Thank you for that. It makes it all worthwhile to have you safe and back to being yourself. I’ll be back when I know something more about what’s going on especially if I can get more of the ranchers to sign the papers just like this. You take care now, and no more walks outside without someone watching out for you.”

“I won’t. I’ll be careful, but you be careful too. You’re more of a target now than you were before especially when they find out about those papers.”

“I know. I hope to be safely on the Ponderosa when that happens. They’ll have to come for me there, and there’s a lot of firepower between them and me when I’m at home.”

“Please be careful. I want you to be safe. Now that you’re my friend especially, I would hate for anything to happen to you.”

“Thank you. Now, I’ve got to get going.”

With a protective urge still motivating him, Adam felt some reluctance at leaving, but knew he had to go. He remembered holding her and feeling her trembling in fear. He had asked her if the kidnappers had hurt her, and she had told him only with their fists, but he knew that she had feared they would do more. On the ride home, she had told him of the conversations she had overheard and how casually they had talked of what they would do to her. He was glad in some ways that she had not told him before they left the cabin. He wasn’t sure what he would have done to the two men if his anger had been unleashed. They were a sorry pair as it was with the pounding the other men had given them. Roy would tolerate that knowing what they had done to Charity, but he would not tolerate any more than that. If Adam was going to defeat these villains, he had to keep that temper tamped down. Charity must have seen the dark look he had.

“It’s over now. They didn’t hurt me too much. It was more my fear than anything. Adam, you saved me, and I’ll always be grateful to you for that. You were so much more gentle than I knew a man could be. You gave me what I needed, and you were so understanding of my needs. Now, you need to let the anger go and do what you’re best at doing.” Adam tilted his head at her wondering what she meant. “You go be my hero.” That got a smile which was exactly what she wanted.

Before he left, he made sure that Charity knew he would come back and talk about the few other topics she had brought up on the ride home including adding a room to the house here so that she could have privacy and so could Todd and Virginia. He planned to talk to Todd and Virginia about that as soon as he had a chance. First though he knew he was going to have a difficult discussion with his father. He had preempted his father’s decision making by going ahead with the paperwork with Todd before discussing it further with his father and brother. Knowing that his father had expressed serious reservations about his plan initially, he expected a significant negative response to his maneuver, but he didn’t want to waste time. With the two kidnappers secured in the McCarren stable, it was only a matter of time before someone leaked the news about their capture. Then the men who had hired them would worry about what they had told Roy and who knew what they might do then. Adam wanted to get them shaken out of their self-confidence and acting out of control so that they could be defeated more easily but also knew as his father had warned that it could get messy and dangerous doing it that way. He wasn’t surprised by his father’s reaction.

“Adam, I’m very glad that you were able to rescue Charity and that’s she’s home and safe. Your ploy to have Todd’s signature be done by one of the hands and with a different middle name was brilliant. Those men will have to step forward to accept the legal rights that they think they have received. However, having Todd actually sign the first option to those rights over to you was foolhardy. You must know that. Those men are going to be furious to know that they have been tricked and by such a simple ploy.”

“Todd is going to talk to Hiram. Within a day or two, we hope that a number of the ranchers will have signed over the first option to me. That way the pressure is off them.”

“Yes and the pressure will all be on you. Exposed by some ranchers that to whom they had given no respect is going to rankle. They will want to hit back and hard because otherwise their whole plan collapses. The only way they can salvage it is to kill you or get you to sign those options over to them.”

“Yes, so they will have to come here. I’m not going anywhere so they will have to come here to confront us. Pa, they shot Joe. They were going to come after us again anyway. Isn’t it better that we get them here where we can set the rules of engagement?”

“You’re talking about this like it’s a chess match.”

“Isn’t it? Chess is simply a civilized method of warfare. This is war. They declared it on us with that first salvo, and now we get to decide how to answer it. This makes them come out in the open battlefield. No more ambushes or kidnappings. They need to come out in the open to get me out of the way of their plan to grab the whole Comstock. We need to know who they are and then we can better move against them.”

“It’s a very dangerous game you’ve put us in.”

“I know. I’m going to be very careful. We need to find a way to communicate with Roy without any of us leaving here. I’m assuming that you have perimeter guards set?”

“I do, but Adam if they’ve learned from their mistakes, they may hire men who know the area better and know how to handle themselves out here. There are still many variables that we can’t control because we don’t know who the players are.”

“Yes, and until we do, we’re handicapped. Maybe Roy can get something out of the two men we have over at the McCarren ranch.”

“At the ranch? You didn’t take them to town to be put in jail for what they did?”

“No, we don’t want the men running this to know yet that the kidnapping failed.”

“Ah, yes, now it makes even more sense. That’s why Todd is bringing those papers to town. He’s acting as if he’s paying the ransom.”

“Yes, he’s going to talk to Hiram first to make sure that what we decided to do was what we thought it was. Those papers were never actually signed by Todd so if he never says he signed them, then he doesn’t validate the signature as his. Hiram and Roy can go with him as witnesses. He can simply hand over the papers and the men can assume what they will.”

“I hope this works the way you think it will.”

“I hope so too. Then Roy will ride back to the ranch with Todd and question those two men. After that, Todd doesn’t want them on his ranch. Can we put them in one of our line cabins?”

“I suppose. We could put them in our stable too. That way we aren’t spreading our resources out as much.”

“All right, we can do that. I assume Roy will bring them here. We can tell him that when he gets here with them.”

“I don’t think he’s going to be too happy with your overall plan either.”

“No, probably not.”

That was putting it mildly. Roy was incensed that Adam had in effect poured ‘coal oil on a raging fire’ as he put it. He had gotten some information from the two kidnappers. They didn’t know much, but they did know that their employers were English. That got the attention of Ben and his sons. The more that Roy explained, the more they had to wonder if they might know any of the investors with the connection that Ben had with some people in Britain. He had to hope that none of them would do anything so harmful as this but one could never be sure when money and greed was involved.

“Well, Adam, now that you started it, Todd and me gonna get going with the next step. He’s gonna come to town to say he was forced into handing over those papers, coerced by a kidnapping, and he’s gonna say he never signed those papers anyway. That should start things happening. One they are gonna try to fight it in court, and two, they’re bound to send someone out to that cabin to see about the kidnapping. I’ve got two deputies who are taking the kidnappers horses and riding out to that cabin to stay to be there when the messenger arrives. It will give us another man to question. You take charge of these two kidnappers and keep them hidden away until we want to show our hand.”

The expected furor lasted for several days as the two sides battled it out legally with Todd winning that first skirmish quite easily. The messenger headed out to the cabin and was taken but could offer no more than what the two kidnappers had already told Roy. He was put with the two kidnappers in the Ponderosa stable for safekeeping while Todd played the trump card to see what the corporation men would do.

“My wife is safe at home. You didn’t know that, did you? Your men took the wrong woman. They kidnapped my sister-in-law. It won’t do any good to threaten me or my wife anyway. I signed over the first option on mineral rights and imperfect usufructuary rights to Adam Cartwright. He has the first option on just about every ranch of any size in this area. He’s got you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t get what you want because he already had it. There now why don’t you leave here and let us alone?”

Todd repeated that verbatim to Ben and his older sons when he and Roy went out to the Ponderosa to tell them what had happened. Hiram was there too to offer legal advice if it was needed. Roy was concerned.

“Those two men who accepted the papers from Todd here and then argued against him in court, this Bryce Foster and a Jonathan Books, to tell ya the truth, they just aren’t that impressive. I mean they act all high and mighty and such like they got power and money, but it seems more an act than anything to me. I’m thinking there’s still at least one more behind the scenes that we ain’t seen yet. We ain’t smoked that one out yet.”

“It does feel like a puppeteer pulling the strings with these men. None of them seem to know that much.” Adam looked to his father. “Do you have any ideas as to whom it might be?”

“None. This seems to be as much about destroying us as it is about making money, but for the life of me, I can’t think of who would have the resources to do this and the hatred as motivation if that’s what it is. Perhaps it is greed, pure and simple.”

“Roy, can our three ‘guests’ name Foster and Books as the two men who ordered the kidnapping?”

“I think we got enough for that, Adam. I can arrest them for that. Maybe they’ll talk if they’re in a jail cell looking at hard time. All right, let’s take a walk out to that stable and see what the three of them got to say.”

Roy questioned the three men as Hiram listened. Roy turned to Hiram when he had finished. “Roy, if I was a judge and had those statements, I would issue an arrest warrant. To me, that was enough.”

“All right, then. I’ll take these three to town, and then I’ll see the judge about arresting those two. Maybe I can finally get some information about what’s going on. I thought that the governor might send an investigator or two to help, but no one has shown up yet. Don’t matter too much. If this works, we don’t need them.”

It worked and it didn’t. Roy was able to get the judge to agree and arrested Foster and Books before they were able to leave town that apparently they had been preparing to do before he arrived at their hotel suite. Once in jail however, the two were silent and their presence caused the other three to go silent as well. All he could assume was that they were less afraid of going to jail for a kidnapping than they were afraid of whatever would happen if they talked about the ‘puppeteer’ as Adam had referred to the mastermind behind this operation.

A trial was scheduled, and Charity was going to be the main witness, but Adam and others were going to be called as well until the five men agreed that they would plead guilty shocking everyone. When that news reached the Ponderosa, Ben talked with Adam and Hoss wondering why the five men would do that.

“Pa, my best guess is that someone was very afraid of what information might be revealed in a trial. A lawyer came in from San Francisco to represent those men. It would seem that whoever was behind this whole scheme sent instructions with the lawyer. They were told to shut up and plead guilty. Now they can’t be questioned in court and say anything on the record that might give anything more away.”

Hoss frowned and got to the heart of the matter. “But what could he promise them that would make going to prison worth it? Prison is an awful thing especially for them two fancy men. I can’t see them doing all right there. They’ll be lucky to live out the year.”

“Son, he must have offered something or he must feel he has something that he can get for them, but I don’t know what it could be.”

The mystery lasted only a few more days. Roy rode out with the news shocking all of them.

“Extradition? They’re being extradited to Canada? Roy, how could that be?”

“Ben, it seems that there are warrants for all of them for murder in Vancouver. Now our government don’t want no trouble with our neighbor or with the British. Murder is a more serious crime than kidnapping so the extradition is going through. There will be men at the prison within the week to take them to San Francisco, and from there, they’ll be put on a ship to be taken on up there.”

Adam shook his head. “They’ll walk away free as a bird as soon as they set foot outside this country. It’s all been arranged very neatly. No wonder they shut up and then pled guilty.”

“I hate to think that’s true, but Adam, this time, I think your thinking is right square on the center mark. It stinks and the smell goes all the way to the governor’s office and right on up the line. I think a lot of money probably changed hands over this one.”

Little Joe was out of bed and sitting on the settee. “Is it over then?”

“I’m afraid it is. I have to sign those first options back over to the other ranches but that’s about all that’s left to do. I’m sorry we didn’t find out who did this to you and bring him to justice.”

“It’s all right, older brother. I’m glad that no one else got hurt.”

Chapter 8

Sitting at the chessboard with Adam, Ben had a question. “When are you planning to start the legal process of turning those first options back to the other ranchers?”

“Soon, I hope. With all the work that we let lapse with all this trouble and with Joe laid up, there’s been a lot to do. These past two weeks, I’ve hardly had a chance to catch my breath much less think about taking time to go to town to work on legal documents with Hiram.”

“Adam, it needs to be done soon. Perhaps you can find the time tomorrow.”

Shifting his attention from the chessboard to his father, Adam leaned back in the red leather barrel chair and gazed quietly at his father for a moment. They had not had much time to talk, and he had not had much time to think about things either with the amount of work that had to be done. “Are you thinking that this crisis isn’t over yet?”

“It’s what I fear more than what I think. Ever since it was resolved so quickly and neatly, I’ve been thinking about it. It was too easy. Now playing chess with you, I’m more worried than ever.”

“Why would playing chess with me make you worry more?”

“Because you don’t use a simple king’s gambit or queen’s gambit which is what most who play the game use to begin. I’ve gotten used to your variations of the Spanish gambit, and then tonight you started with a move that I’ve never seen you make before to start a match. You’ll have me in check in less than five moves unless I can come up with something brilliant, and I’m afraid that I may not.” Ben shook his head at Adam’s small smile. His son was well aware that his surprise tactics had doomed his father almost from the first moves of this match. “What if our opponent is like you? What if he sacrificed those pawns in order to achieve a superior position as you did with your moves earlier against me?”

“But what superior position could he have achieved?”

“That’s what worries me most, and the only thing that I keep coming back to are those first options that are all still in your name. You still control a significant amount of the mineral and imperfect usufructuary rights in this region.”

Nodding because he could understand the logical progression of his father’s argument, Adam continued it. “And if someone was able to exert pressure on me to sign those over to him, then that person would have a significant amount of the mineral rights and imperfect usufructuary rights in the whole region. Pa, I’ll go to town tomorrow and take care of it. You’re right. It is a possibility that someone has maneuvered to be able to take advantage of that.”

Hoss and Little Joe had been listening. Little Joe especially had a question. “If they’re so all fired interested in Adam, why haven’t they done anything yet?”

“We were all on alert at first wondering if there was going to be any more trouble. We have gradually relaxed our vigilance because nothing has happened. They could be preparing to strike now because we’re not prepared to defend against it. If I was the one who was moving against us, that’s how I would do it. I would be quietly making preparations much as Adam was for this match. I can tell that he has been studying again. He didn’t invent those moves tonight. He came prepared. What if our opponent has been out there preparing his next moves. He has proven to be very resourceful.”

“And dadblamed dangerous too. I wouldn’t trust him to have backed down. Pa’s right.”

“We should probably think about keeping some guards around like we did before, don’t you think?”

“Little Joe, you may be right. I should probably have kept the men doing that. I relaxed as much as anyone.”

“Dadburnit, just when I thought things was getting back to normal too. Adam, I’ll ride to town with you tomorrow. We can have two or three of the men ride with us. They’ll enjoy a day in town too. After you get them papers taken care of, we’ll all have a beer or two to celebrate. Maybe we could have lunch too.”

“Why did I know that your volunteering would end up costing me beer and lunch before it was done?”

“Guess cause you know me so well, older brother. Now how about it? Is that a plan or what?”

“It’s a plan.”

That pleased Ben. Being checkmated in three moves did not. He declined another match. He wanted a chance to think about how to counter the moves his son had made against him before he tried another match with him. He was used to losing matches to his oldest son who was a brilliant strategist. He was not used to losing so ignominiously and wouldn’t again if he could help it. He did some reading as did Adam who had to endure some teasing from Little Joe who almost nightly teased Adam about Charity wondering when he was going to at least invite her for dinner or go see her again. As usual, Adam claimed to be working too hard to have time for social engagements. Ben suspected that he wasn’t sure of his feelings and wanted some time to sort them out. He liked Charity, but she was much younger than Adam so he wondered if perhaps that was part of the difficulty that Adam was having with the possibility of a relationship with the young woman. When Adam walked out on the porch, Ben followed. He found Adam staring at the stars.

“I’d say a penny for your thoughts, but I assume they are about things more valuable than that.”

“Yes, about very valuable things indeed.”

“Charity?”

“Among others.”

“Still thinking about traveling and about your dreams?”

“That too.”

“She’s young, but she’s smart and daring and curious about the world.”

“She’s very different than Virginia.”

“Yes, she is. She has shown a great interest in you, but are you interested in her?”

“Interested, yes. But interested enough? I don’t know, Pa. There are a lot of things to consider.”

“Don’t let her age be one of them. I know she is much younger than you, but I can tell you from experience, that should not be a consideration. She’s a woman, and she has a woman’s heart and a woman’s mind. That’s all that matters. When she was seventeen and you were twenty-eight, it was more of a factor.”

“Two or three years can made that much of a difference?”

“Yes, I think it can. She’s grown up a lot with all that’s happened. She’s a woman now.”

“I should probably go see her and talk with her.”

“That’s probably what you should do. Maybe tomorrow after you’re done in town.”

“You don’t mind that I won’t get any work done tomorrow?”

“Son, there are things that are more important than work. You have a couple of those on your plate right now. Take care of those first. The work will still be here when you get back.”

Smiling at the reminder, Adam nodded. Ben took his leave to get some sleep, but Adam wanted to stay outside and think for a while. Ben reminded him to lock up when he came inside. The next morning, Ben was surprised to find the front door unlocked. He was even more surprised to see that Adam’s bed was made because Hop Sing said that Adam had not come downstairs for coffee. It was unusual for Adam to head out to do chores without his coffee. In fact, it was unusual for Adam to get up before his father. Suddenly, Ben got scared and nearly ran to the stable. Adam wasn’t there. His hat was on the hat rack and his pistol and coat were still there too. It was a chilly morning. Adam would have taken his hat and coat if he had gone to the stable. Sport was in his stall. Ben checked and his feed trough and water buckets were empty. His stall had not been mucked out. If Adam had been there, he would have cared for Sport first. Ben ran back to the house and called for Hoss and Hop Sing quickly explaining to them what he had found.

“Pa, you think somebody took him?”

“Hoss, I don’t think there’s any other explanation.”

“I’ll go outside and look for tracks.”

From the top of the stairs, Little Joe heard the conversation. “I’ll get dressed and go with you to find Adam.”

“You will do nothing of the sort. You will stay here. You are not to ride for at least another week and a half. You would hold us up if you started to have trouble.” Ben could see Little Joe getting ready to respond. “Now don’t argue with me. It will only waste precious time that Adam may not have especially because they took him last night. They’ve had him for eight hours.”

Frustrated but unwilling to oppose his father because his argument was sound, Little Joe walked down the stairs in dejection. Ben tried to reassure him that they would do all they could to get Adam back safely, but that hope died when Hoss came in with the bad news later.

“Pa, there ain’t no tracks to follow. I can go out and look around in a bigger circle but I can all but guarantee they didn’t leave no tracks.”

“There have to be tracks, Hoss.”

“No, they wiped ’em out. I found the mark of one moccasin, and the two hoof marks of two unshod ponies. Whoever took him was Indian and they wiped out any tracks that there was. I can track, but ifn they’re wiping out the tracks and doing all they can not to leave any, we ain’t gonna be able to track ’em.”

“We have to try.”

“Like I said, I can go out an make a bigger circle looking, but Pa, I’m pretty sure I ain’t gonna find anything, but I’ll do my damndest.”

Dropping into a chair, Ben let his head fall into his hands. He felt helpless. Little Joe came and stood by his side putting a hand on his shoulder to try to offer comfort even though he felt awful as well. They had been joking the night before, but now the theory had become reality. Nothing was funny any more.

“Pa, I’ll go ask the men if anyone heard or saw anything.”

“I’ll go with you son. That’s a good idea.”

Fifteen miles away, Adam was tied to a chair and waking from a drugged stupor. He heard sounds first and then light made him blink his eyes. Very cold water was splashed in his face several times. He jerked away as much as he could with the shock each time and heard the laughter that elicited. He raised his head and blinked a few more times as the room and its occupants slowly came into focus. There was one white man and three Indians of indeterminate tribal origin. He guessed they were probably renegades, men banished from their tribes for egregious and unforgivable violations of their tribe’s laws. His eyes finally came to rest on the only white man in the room.

“Yes, I would guess that you would surmise me to be the one in charge of this motley crew. They are not my usual type of employees, but I pride myself on my ability to learn and to adapt. My original plan did not account for the propensity of small town ranchers banding together like a band of merry men nor did I realize that my employees needed to know backwoods skills to defeat uneducated cowboys who ride around chasing cows for a living. So I found men who have the skills I needed and are quite willing to do anything that I require.”

“And what is it that you require?”

“Quite obviously to have you removed from the safety of your ranch without your pesky family and employees any the wiser. They have no idea where you are nor will they.”

“Now I suppose you think I will sign over those options to you.”

“Oh, no, I think you won’t. I’ve done my homework. Adam Cartwright would rather die than to betray his family and his friends. No, I know that I could torture you and you wouldn’t sign. No, I have another plan. You’ll have to wait for it. The other pieces aren’t in place yet so I cannot yet proceed. It shouldn’t be long now. The other half of my immediate employees here are out procuring the other party that I need for this process to work. I’ll be back when they return.”

With that, the man left the room with two of the renegades leaving one to stand guard. Adam’s head ached, and he hurt in numerous places. He assumed that was the result of his being taken although he remembered little of it. His transportation to this place had likely been fairly rough as well. The man had let him see his face. That led Adam to only one conclusion. He wasn’t meant to leave this place alive. He wondered who the other party was who was being brought to this spot. He feared it was another member of his family. He could accept that he would die for this, but watching another member of his family die was going to be too much for him. He wondered what he could do if anything to prevent it.

On the McCarren ranch that morning, Todd and Virginia were talking about how nice it was now that there was no more trouble. They were looking forward to the birth of their first child, and wondering if Adam Cartwright would help them add on to their house. They already had agreed to add a room for Charity, but they thought an additional bedroom would be nice on the other end of the house so that they could have a larger bedroom with their current adjoining bedroom turned into a nursery. Charity volunteered to ride over to the Ponderosa to talk to Adam to ask if he would be able to come talk to them about those projects. Todd and Virginia could only smile. Charity seemed to find any number of reasons to bring Adam up in conversations so the offer to ride over there was not a surprise. They had decided that it was probably a good match if the two decided to become a couple, but that Charity and Adam had become friends had already been a pleasant and welcome surprise too.

“I’ll ride over there and be back before lunch unless Hop Sing invites me to stay there for lunch. Don’t worry about me unless it’s getting dark and I’m not back.”

With a big smile, Charity headed to the stable to saddle her horse for the ride. Late that afternoon, Todd and Virginia did start to worry. Todd, at his wife’s urging, took a ride toward the Ponderosa expecting to meet Charity along the way. He didn’t, and when he got to the Ponderosa, he was shocked to find that she had never been there and that Adam was missing too. Suddenly to all of them, the whole scenario became all too clear.

Chapter 9

Blindfolded and with her hands bound behind her, Charity was shoved into a room and held between two men. She heard Adam’s voice and was going to respond, but a rough hand was placed over her mouth silencing her.

“There now the rest of what I need has arrived. Now, Mister Cartwright, will you sign those documents or will you see your good friend here go through more of what she cannot tolerate. I won’t kill her, you see. I’ll let her live with the memories. She’ll die every day for the rest of her life if I let these men do what they wish with her.”

The man nodded and one of the men slid his hand suggestively down Charity’s body lingering over several spots causing Charity to tremble and then jerk in the grasp of the men holding her. Even with the hand over her mouth, the whimpers of emotional pain were audible. The man behind Charity pressed his body up against hers and used his arm around her waist to pull her tightly against him. If she could have screamed in terror, she would have. She began to shake uncontrollably with the fear reaction. She wanted to fight but couldn’t. She wanted to run but couldn’t. She wanted to scream but couldn’t. Adam felt about the same way but didn’t have three men holding him and forcing him to do things he didn’t want to do. He remembered what she had told him. She must have been feeling that she was reliving the nightmare from Philadelphia. He couldn’t let it happen. His rage had not outlet nor could he protect her except by one action.

“All right, I’ll sign your damn papers. Let her go.”

“Oh, no, it’s not nearly so simple as that.”

The man did nod again at the three men who looked reluctant to give up their game but did stop tormenting Charity. At first she sagged in their grasp, but as she listened to the conversation, she stood taller and stronger. The men didn’t seem to notice. Adam did. She had found her inner courage. She was ready to fight them. However he was signing papers that doomed the whole region unless they could somehow come up with a way out of this terrible mess. As far as he could tell, they did plan to let Charity live for she was still blindfolded and could not identity this villain who used people’s lives like pawns in a chess match. If she could testify to how he was forced to sign under duress, then these documents could be challenged in court. It was the only hope he had at this point that his death would have any salvation. When he finished signing, the man picked up the documents and handed them to one of the men who put them in a leather satchel.

“Now we will have the young woman deliver them to Virginia City where they will be properly filed. Your signature will of course have to be verified. I’m sure that your family lawyer will be able to do that. The young lady will be miraculously delivered unharmed into the bosom of her family and friends to hand over these documents. If your signature is found to be legitimate, all will be well. She can come back here to let me know that she has been successful and get you.” Then the man’s voice took on a dangerous tone. “But if you have in any way done anything to make these documents invalid, then you will die here from a most painful wound with infection coursing through your body that no doctor could possibly correct.”

With that, the man nodded to one of the men who had been holding Charity. He moved to Adam and pulled his arms roughly behind the chair again tying them to the chair. He stood and took the gun that the man had held on Adam guarding him while his hands had been untied so he could sign the papers. Very deliberately the man walked to the side of the room where Charity stood and pulled a long knife from the belt of one of the men holding her. He trailed the knife along her neck making her flinch.

“It is a very long sharp knife, miss, isn’t it.”

Then he walked across the room in two strides and slammed the knife into Adam’s thigh eliciting a yell and then groans from Adam who had not anticipated that action. As he struggled to regain his composure amidst the pain and shock, the man spoke calmly.

“Miss, he now has a very deep wound in his leg. He will bleed rather much from it, I’m afraid, but that won’t kill him. It will make him weaker. If however, you do not return with the verification I requested, then infection is likely to set in, and perhaps he will receive a wound to the other leg, and that most certainly will guarantee that he will die.”

Unable to speak because of the pain radiating from his leg, Adam heard Charity ask a question.

“How will I get back here? I’m blindfolded. I won’t be able to find my way back.”

“These men will be sure to bring you back.”

Gasping for breath to speak, Adam choked out only a few words because he knew what would happen if she came back. “Don’t come back here, please.” Those words earned him a stinging backhand that toppled him and the chair onto the floor. The pain in his leg seemed to explode with that and for a moment dazed him. When he regained his senses, he was alone in the room. There was no other sound. His plaintive whisper was the only sound. “No, Charity, no.”

At some point that day, he heard the man’s voice instruct the men to untie him from the chair and tie him only his wrists and ankles as he lay on the floor. He told them that he didn’t want their ‘guest’ to die too soon because he might need him again if anything was wrong with those papers. It only verified what he had already thought. He was never meant to survive this encounter. If Charity came back, she was going to be killed too. He didn’t know why, but there was no other reason to have her return. By late afternoon, it was clear that the man was getting anxious about his plan working. He came back to the room purportedly to taunt Adam, but Adam had the feeling that he was trying to reassure himself that he had done everything he could to ensure that his plan would work.

“She should be on her way back by now. I have men, shall we say, in my employ even in your lawyer’s office and working for that silly backwoods judge. I’ll know if anything wasn’t done the way it should have been. I warned her before she left that she was being watched. She wouldn’t dare defy me. I saw how scared she was in here. She hasn’t got the backbone to defy me. She’ll be back here soon with the papers I need to take over this whole region. I’ll be the wealthiest man in the whole of Nevada. I’ll own your Ponderosa and every other ranch here by the end of the year.”

Saying nothing and showing no emotion, Adam was elated. If the man had been foolish enough to warn Charity, then he was sure she was smart enough to think of a way to get a warning to his family somehow or to Hiram which was just as good. They would rescue her somehow. Roy would never let her leave his sight once he had her in town safe and sound. This man had no idea how people in Virginia City could band together in the face of a threat. The man was so overconfident now that he had created the fatal flaw they needed. Adam’s regret was that he wasn’t likely to see the man’s downfall, but at least he knew now that it would happen. He felt very warm and suspected that his leg wound was already infected. He was weak from blood loss but had expected that. He supposed that the weakness was increasing his susceptibility to the infection. He hoped that he would survive long enough to see this man apprehended. He smiled a little at that thought. The man saw that and kicked him in his wounded leg causing unimaginable agony until he passed out again. He awoke to near darkness and a soft voice in his ear. It was Charity. She was back after a very adventurous day that had started with a kidnapping and terror and had proceeded with her conquering her fears and devising a plan. Adam had rescued her and she had found a way she thought to rescue him.

At the edge of town, she had been released and went directly to Hiram’s office as she had been instructed. He was surprised to see her because he had of course heard that she was missing as was Adam.

“I’ve got some papers from Adam. He wants you to verify his signature and then to see that they’re filed with the judge. Please don’t ask any questions and do as Adam requested. You are his lawyer and you’re bound to follow his instructions, aren’t you?” Out of sight of Hiram’s clerk, she had mouthed a ‘Please?’ and moved her eyes to indicate the clerk. She didn’t trust the man. The evil man holding Adam had instructed her and told her she would be watched closely to be sure she followed all instructions exactly. As she rode to town, she had guessed that the only way he could be sure of that was to have paid or blackmailed the clerk in Hiram’s office and probably the judge’s clerk as well. She didn’t know if any of Roy’s deputies were working for the man but thought it possible. She couldn’t trust anyone she didn’t know well. Hiram picked up on her signal. He took the papers and looked them over.

“Yes, this appears to be Adam’s legal signature.”

“Don’t you need me to sign papers as a witness to his signing those documents.”

“Yes, yes, of course, that would certainly be a good step and help with the filing. Let me get some paper and we can do that at my desk.” Hiram shielded Charity from view as much as he could as she wrote what he told her to write. Then she signed the document, handed it to Hiram, and sat with her hands folded at Hiram’s desk. Hiram asked his clerk to blot the document to make sure that it was dry. He looked quickly at what Charity had written on the blotter before moving a sheet of paper over it. Then he offered his arm to her and suggested they move to the judge’s chambers to file the papers. He locked his office telling his clerk he would be back much later. As the two reached the judge’s chambers, they surreptitiously looked back to see the clerk slip away from the office.

“Damn him. He’s working for the other side. I’ll fire him and turn him over to Roy as soon as I can.”

“Not too soon. Let’s step inside and get the rest of this done. I can see all sorts of people pointing. Word is out that I’m back. I’m sure that we’re going to have a lot of visitors soon.”

“Yes, I saw Ben and Hoss ride in earlier. I’m sure they’re meeting with Roy. I would expect them here soon.”

By the time Hiram and Charity had proffered the documents for the judge, Roy was there with Ben and Hoss. Once notified of what was transpiring, Ben wanted to object but Hiram asked him not to do anything for the time being. Then it was done and Hiram and Charity turned to Roy and the Cartwrights who had many questions, but Charity answered none. She moved to Roy.

“Oh, Sheriff, it’s wonderful. I was lost, but now am found.”

With a hug, Charity left the judge’s office and mounted up on her horse to ride out of town. Hiram again advised the others not to do anything as he stepped up behind Roy and Ben and talked very softly so he could not be overheard.

“She wrote this on my ink blotter. ‘Follow me. Adam is hurt.’ My clerk must be working for the other side. She didn’t let him see anything she wrote and made sure that each time she signed a paper and handed it to him, she covered what she was writing on the ink blotter. He left my office after we did. I’m sure he went to tell his other employer that things went as expected. We think the judge’s clerk is also working for the other side. I could see the marks on her wrists where she must have been tied.”

Ben nodded although he was quite worried. “That makes sense. She quoted from a hymn just now. The next line would be ‘Was blind but now can see.’ She must have been blindfolded so she doesn’t know where she was held. She wants us to follow so that she can lead us back to where Adam is, and he’s hurt. There must be men working with whoever has Adam, and they’re taking her back. Hoss, follow and leave us a track. Roy and I will get men together and be right behind you.”

“Well, now, that hug makes even more sense. She done took my pistol when she hugged me.” Roy showed them his empty holster then. “She musta stuck it inside her skirt and under that little jacket she’s wearing. I couldn’t see it when she mounted up on her horse. I figured she had to have a good reason, but I was just standing here trying to figure it out.”

Hoss was already heading out of town, and Ben and Roy were moving to their horses and hoping to get men to ride with them but mindful of the warning Hiram had given them.

“Don’t take anyone with you that you don’t know well. That man has paid off or blackmailed a lot of men into helping him.”

With a wave, Ben acknowledged the warning, and Hiram waited in the vestibule of the courtroom until he was sure that the clerk had left. He walked to the judge’s chambers and knocked on the door. He and the judge had a lot to talk about starting with firing a clerk as well as tearing up some papers that had been signed under duress. Hopefully it could be worked out quickly. Then the arrest warrants for a couple of errant clerks could be issued. Roy could use those to try to get information from those two men when they could be found. Although Adam was in grave danger, the whole conspiracy was finally tumbling down although the man at the center of it didn’t know it yet.

Chapter 10

“I have a gun, but they don’t know it. It’s only got five shots. I checked as soon as they threw me in here. They locked the door thinking that I would try to get out, but I used the chair to block the door. It won’t hold them for long if they try to get in here. I think they will too when they realize I’ve been followed. I hope to God I’ve been followed. I did everything I could except draw them a map and beg them to follow me.”

Trying to make sense of what Charity was saying was beyond Adam at that moment. He was weak from the shock, pain, and blood loss but especially because an infection was already starting to affect him. Without water or food for twenty-four hours now, he was much weaker because of that as well. Charity reached for his forehead and realized how hot he was.

“Adam, you hang on. You have to hang on. Soon, help will be here. Now if we had some light, I could try to bandage your leg but at this point, it would likely do more harm than good for me to try to do anything in the dark. Please, try to understand me. Adam, can you understand me?”

“Charity?”

“Yes, yes, it’s me.”

“You shouldn’t have come back. He’ll kill you.”

“No, your father and Hoss should be here soon. Sheriff Coffee should be with them.”

“Pa and Hoss?”

“Yes, they should be here soon.”

“I’m so tired.”

“I know. You’ll get to rest soon. Now we have to stay low and out of sight. If they come through that door, I’m going to shoot. You stay down and don’t move. All right.”

There was no answer, and Charity realized Adam had lost consciousness. She had wedged a chair under the door handle as soon as she could before going to Adam and untying him. He had stirred then and looked at her. She could see that much in the dim light, but her hopes that he was all right were fading fast. He was dazed, confused, and weak. If anyone came through that door, she knew she had to defend the two of them because he could do nothing to protect himself. She listened and prayed that help arrived soon. She jumped in fright when she heard a thump in the hallway outside the door. She aimed her pistol at the door prepared to shoot, but sighed in relief when she heard a familiar voice.

“Miss Charity, are you in there? Adam, you in there?” Hoss had slipped in the back door of the house after knocking out the guard he found there. He went up the back stairs as Ben and Roy moved through the downstairs. He had seen a guard sitting on a chair by a room. The man was sleeping so it had been easy to knock him out too.

Charity rushed to the door and opened it for Hoss who quickly stepped inside looking for his brother. “He’s there. He’s hurt badly, and he has a fever. Maybe now that you’re here we can find a lamp or a lantern so we can look at his leg. I know the man said he was stabbed but I never saw it.”

Suddenly there was gunfire downstairs and then the sound of footsteps up the stairs. Hoss whirled to face the door pushing Charity behind him. The man who had orchestrated the whole scheme burst into the room thinking he would have two hostages but found himself facing a giant of a man with a pistol. Shocked, he raised his pistol to fire. It was the last thing he ever did. Just after he fell to the floor, Ben and Roy arrived.

“Pa, we gotta find a lamp or a lantern. Adam’s in here.”

With a hint of urgency in his voice but remaining as calm as he could, Ben issued instructions. “Bring him down the stairs, Hoss. There are plenty of lamps down there.” He moved into the hall then where there was a lamp burning so that Hoss could see better. Within a minute, Hoss had maneuvered out the door and was carrying Adam down the front stairs as directed by his father. Hoss was shocked by his older brother’s pale countenance as well as the fire red circles on his cheeks indicating fever. But it was his limp form and his pants leg soaked in blood that made all of them scared. Ben couldn’t reconcile this wan unconscious form with the vibrant man who had beaten him at chess the night before. Hoss used a knife and cut the bloody cloth away from the leg and found the thigh swollen and discolored.

“Pa, we gotta open this wound, drain it, and clean it out right away. We can’t wait till we get to town or get him home. I need some alcohol, a sharper knife than what I got, and some clean cloth for bandages once I get it done. He’s gonna need some leather to bite down on too cause he may be senseless right now, but when I start poking in that wound, he’s gonna wake right up, I guarantee it.”

Once Ben and Roy had collected the items Hoss requested, Hoss probed at the wound. Charity had been holding Adam’s hand and trying to coax him to drink a little water without success. When Hoss probed the wound enough to open it, Adam reacted strongly. Charity gripped his hand and placed her other hand on his chest as she talked softly but firmly to him explaining what Hoss was doing. Then she took the piece of leather that Hoss handed to her and placed it between Adam’s lips and told him to bite down. He clearly didn’t completely understand everything she was saying but responded to the quiet authority of her voice. He grimaced in pain and bit down on the leather grasping her hand to the point of causing her pain as Hoss opened the wound. It began to drain which Hoss encouraged by gently pressing on each side of the wound. When he thought that he had as much drained as he could, he picked up the bottle of whisky his father had found for him.

“This is gonna hurt something fierce, but it’s gotta be done. Charity, he’s like to buck like a wild horse on it’s first ride in the breaking corrals. You need to do all you can to keep him down. Put yourself against his shoulder ready to push down. Pa and Roy, you could grab his ankles please. Hold on tight. He’s gonna kick something fierce when this alcohol hits this open wound but it’s gotta be done.” Leaning his weight on Adam’s hip, Hoss moved the bottle of whisky to the wound and looked around at the others. “Ready?”

As Hoss poured the alcohol in the wound, the reaction was as bad or worse than he had predicted. When he finished, Adam’s reaction slowly subsided until he was softly moaning with the pain. He still had a strong grip on Charity’s hand. She grimaced somewhat with it but the pressure slowly lessened. With his father’s help, Hoss placed a bandage on the wound in Adam’s leg. The men who had come with Ben and Roy had slowly gathered in or near the house. Roy went to talk with them and came back to talk to Ben and Hoss.

“Two of them renegades got away. Two are dead, the one from in back and the one from upstairs are tied up and being guarded. It’s over. We’ll collect that man’s body and head out.”

“Thank you, Roy. We’ll find a wagon and get Adam home.”

“Pa, town is closer and he ought to see the doctor.”

“Ben, there’s a carriage out there. I could have the boys hitch that up for you.”

Within a half hour, the caravan was ready to head to town. Adam had refused to relinquish his hold on Charity’s hand. He wasn’t in a conscious state, and in his semi-conscious state, it was impossible to reason with him. It was easier to let her be with him. Ben felt a bit of a loss not being able to be the one at his injured son’s side to offer him comfort, but he felt good that his son was getting that from someone at least. He could see that Charity’s soft words and gentle touch did seem to soothe Adam as he lay back on the rear seat of the carriage propped against one side with his leg up on the seat. Adam had a blanket wrapped around him. Charity knelt beside him and kept him from falling but also talked to him softly and touched his arm and face to reassure him and soothe him. Ben and Hoss knew he had to be in pain, but her presence seemed to help him cope with it well. Once Adam was in Doctor Paul Martin’s office, Paul had Hoss and Ben put Adam in the surgery. He wanted all of them to leave but Adam called for Charity. Ben explained.

“She seems to have a calming effect on him. He’s been holding her hand through most of this. He’s half out of his head, but he knows she’s here. I think being in the same predicaments has created a bond between them.”

Doctor Martin looked at Charity who appeared to be near exhaustion and was grimy after her experiences. “Do you want to stay and help even though it’s going to be difficult and, um, revealing?” She nodded. “Then you do need to wash, and you can put on that apron that’s hanging behind the door. I’ll wait a moment here with Adam. Ben, why don’t you talk to him while she’s getting ready to assist me. I’m going to slip his boots off and then the rest of his pants.”

Once Charity was ready to assist, Doctor Martin removed the bandage around the wound, cleaned the thigh area, cleaned the wound again, and then bandaged it again. All of that sounded very simple, but required a great deal of effort as Adam struggled against their efforts initially because of the pain, but Charity was able to administer some anesthesia with Paul’s instructions. Finally, Paul went to get Hoss and Ben to help move Adam to a bed. Using a sheet, the four of them were able to move him. It was only then that he gave up his hold on Charity’s hand. She sat on a chair and stared at Adam lying in the bed. Ben stood beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t know how I can ever thank you enough. You saved my son.”

“He saved me and more than once. This was as much about saving me as it was about saving Adam. It taught me a lot about courage and facing fear, but it’s exhausting. I don’t think I can even manage to ride home.”

“You don’t have to do that. Todd and Virginia arrived while you were in the surgery. They’re waiting for you outside. They’ll take good care of you.”

“But I don’t want to leave Adam.”

“He’s in good hands. You get some rest, and come back when you’re feeling better. He’s going to sleep now anyway. It’s very late. Hoss and I will take turns sitting with him.”

That sounded so simple and optimistic. Reality was that Adam suffered through two days of fever and pain before the doctor was able to pull him out of it. He was very weak, and Paul didn’t want him to travel so he was a patient in Paul’s office for over a week. Charity became his day nurse helping him with everything except his most personal needs. He refused to let her assist him with anything like that. She didn’t mind. It was a level of intimacy she would rather think about in a different context and Adam wasn’t offering that. He did praise her for her bravery in the face of great danger.

“I was glad they didn’t give me anything to drink or I would have had an embarrassing accident. In fact, if I had had anything to eat, that would have ended up all over someone’s shoes. I don’t know how you do it. You were so brave. I was scared to death.”

“I was as scared as you were. You did what I did. Sometimes all you can do is what you do. Once you decide there are no other options, it seems easier to do what has to be done.”

“Yes, that was it. I was more afraid when I didn’t know what was happening. When I did know and began to see what I had to do, I wasn’t as afraid. I knew what I had to do or they would kill you. I didn’t want that to happen.”

“I can never thank you enough for what you did nor can I ever tell you enough how foolish that was.”

“You could have stopped with the first part.”

“I thought you wanted honesty from me.”

“I do, but you could keep some things from me. That would have been one of those.”

“You’re never going to change, are you?”

“You don’t really want me to change, do you?”

That got a smile as she knew it would. There were more smiles as the week went on. Adam asked if Charity could play chess. She said she could because her father had taught her. Adam offered to teach her more after they played a few times and she lost although he played gently so he played more aggressively and took the next five very quickly. It was about that time that Ben and Hoss arrived with Little Joe who was making his first ride since he had been shot. The three of them stood by the door of Adam’s room and grinned at the two bickering inside over whether Adam was mean to play like that or whether Charity was stubborn because she refused his teaching. Ben finally decided to interrupt their squabbling.

“Hiram wanted to know if you were ready to sign all those documents. From this, I can assume that I should tell him you’re ready for that. He’ll be by later today to meet with you. Now, Joe would like to say hello. He’s been freed from the restrictions against riding as long as he doesn’t try to do too much.”

“Good luck with that, Pa. Good to see you, Joe. Now, any word on who that man was who did all this damage?”

“Roy said that they are having a heck of a time trying to track down his identity through all of the aliases he’s used. He seems to be English and has many connections in Canada, but even there they don’t seem to have a good idea of who he actually is. There’s some suspicion that records have been altered because of his connections to prominent people. We may never know. The charter for his corporation here has been rescinded so that’s over. The men who did some of the work for him have been arrested. Most will receive light sentences because evidence of any major crimes other than kidnapping Charity is lacking.”

“And the kidnappers got away with what they did although I suppose they won’t be back because they face prison time here if they ever return.”

“Yes, as we suspected, they never arrived in Vancouver. But if they come back here, they’re facing twenty years at hard labor. Wanted posters have been circulated so they won’t likely be back.”

“So it’s all over.”

“It will be as soon as Hiram gets you to sign those documents and Paul releases you to go home.”

“I’ll release him today, if you’ll take him home in a carriage and not on a horse. He’s strong enough now, the wound is beginning to heal rather nicely, and he hasn’t had any fever in two days. He’s ready to be released. I think he may want to take his nurse with him though.”

Paul grinned as he left the room and Adam scowled as his family laughed. Charity was a little embarrassed, but Ben told her not to be.

“You’re welcome to visit the Ponderosa as often as you wish. You can keep Adam company while he recuperates. He can be like a caged cougar when he’s cooped up at home. You would be doing us a great favor by coming over and engaging him in conversation and perhaps chess.” Charity was about to launch into that chess argument with Adam again and he was ready to respond, but Ben held up a finger. “No, enough. You can hold those thoughts until Charity visits. Perhaps you’ll think better of what you were going to say, and be more civil to one another.”

A week later, Joe walked out to the stable with a grin making Hoss wonder why. He had to explain. “Adam and Charity are playing chess in there. He is trying to teach her moves to make and she’s complaining that he doesn’t have to make snide comments while he’s doing it, and he’s saying she could simply do what he says instead of arguing about it.”

“Why’s that funny, Joe?”

“Because the whole time, they’re holding hands too. He’s got his left hand across the table holding her right hand. It’s like the two of them don’t even notice they’re doing it any more. They hold hands all the time when they’re together.”

“I wish he’d just kiss her and get it over with.”

“Get what over with?”

“He’s falling in love with her, but he don’t want to admit it, and I don’t think she wants to admit it either. They want to act like they’re just friends. They both got wounded hearts and they’re afraid to open up all the way to each other.”

“It’s getting closer though, isn’t it.”

“It’s getting closer, yeah, it’s getting closer.”

Tags:  Adam Cartwright, Ben Cartwright, Family, Hoss Cartwright, Joe / Little Joe Cartwright