Summary:  Like the ever changing seasons, life blooms and dies on the Ponderosa.

Rating T  (140,000 words)

I grew up watching Bonanza in the first run. Around late 2000 I rediscovered watching the reruns and that there were websites dedicated to Bonanza. OH MY! There were very odd people who discussed every detail of every episode and all the stars just like Trekkies discussed Star Trek. Then I was just as odd…even more so! I made friends in these online communities, some even became friends in real life.  I discovered fan fic. In the summer of 2001, PAX announced that they were going to air a prequel of Bonanza that they were going to call “Ponderosa” … some online chatter followed about what ages the “boys” should be and how the prequel should be set up. That got me thinking and I started to write a fan fic. A few weeks later, the world took an abrupt jolt…it was 9/11. I live in a NYC suburb and we all were very impacted by that day for months and months. I cocooned into Bonanza, sort of like that childhood security blanket and would come home from work and immerse myself in writing “The Cherry Tree”. If my mind was focused on the Cartwrights and the Ponderosa and lines of dialogue and plots for stories and characters, I wasn’t quaking in my shoes or spinning in fear about what would become of us…. The outcome was “The Cherry Tree Saga”…. Some of the elements were based on those “false Bonanza memories” having not seen some of the episodes since the original first run during the Kennedy administration (hence my characterization of Captain Stoddard as a rich nasty man and other off canon bits and pieces). I really thought Roy Coffee had been married and had a daughter and that Hoss met his end in a bank robbery….) Sequels to “Cherry Tree” followed… so if you enjoy this, there is more to come.

So now fifteen years have passed since I first wrote Cherry Tree and I decided to polish it up and repost it for you all.

Robin

The Cherry Tree Saga

Introduction

Clouds were everywhere. Pink fluffy, fragrant clouds and he was completely surrounded by them. No, they weren’t pink clouds. They were blossoms, hundreds of pink cherry blossoms and he was reaching his hands up, up through the blossoms to the blue sky. Joe felt so happy he was laughing. He threw his curly head back and laughed and laughter enveloped him.

How did he get up so very high in the sky? Joe was so high up and so tall. He realized he was sitting on his father’s broad shoulders and Pa was lifting him higher up in the air to touch the pink cherry blossoms. He heard the tinkling laughter from somewhere far below him.

“Benjamin! Be careful with my baby!” Mama laughed.

“Higher Papa!” Little Joe squealed gleefully. He reached both arms over his head. “Pink snow! Higher! Higher!”

“Don’t worry Marie, Cartwright boys don’t break so easily,” his brother Adam said from somewhere far below, far away, far, far away. Joe squirmed in his father’s strong arms. In a vain attempt to see his Mama, Little Joe twisted and turned. He was trying to see her face and see Adam but he couldn’t see them no matter how hard he turned and twisted and squirmed.

His father smiled and lifted him up again. He was surrounded by the sweet smelling pink cherry blossoms.

“Higher Papa! Higher! Pink blossoms floated all about. One stray petal landed on his nose and tickled.

He tried to swat it away and it kept tickling him. It kept tickling him.

“Come on Joe, Pa said to come eat breakfast, “

“Breakfast?” Joe looked up and saw his brother Hoss standing over him. There were no blossoms, just his older brother’s face looking down on him. Hoss was dangling one of Little Joe’s dirty socks over the smaller boy’s nose, teasing him awake.

“Got to get dressed, Shorty.”

“Go way…” Joe growled trying to roll over and go back to his sweet dream of pink blossoms and happy times. He wanted to try and see his mother’s face one more time.

“Looks like something was making you smile, Little Brother.”

Joe tried to twist away from his grasp. But it was too late. He was awake and the dream was over.

But somehow, the sweet ring of his Mama’s laughter still echoed in his ears.

Part 1

Before

Chapter 1

“How could a day that started out so well end up so bad? “ Little Joe Cartwright thought as he shook out a cramp in his left hand. The knuckles were scraped and streaked with dried blood from the fight. His trousers were splashed with mud and there was a jagged tear in his favorite blue striped school shirt.

His Pa was not going to be pleased. No indeed, Pa was going to be mighty displeased with him. He didn’t hold his temper and once again Little Joe was in mighty big trouble.

Joe could hear his father’s voice in his head. “Joseph Francis Cartwright!” he would say. “Your brothers never got into this must trouble. Not even if I put all their misbehaving together in one sack it would never equal the sack of trouble you get into. What am I ever going to do with you, son?”

Joe figured that this time, he would be stacking fire wood and cleaning stalls clear until his big brother, Adam got back from college this summer… maybe longer, maybe forever.

Joe stood facing the black board in the Virginia City School house writing “I will not fight in school” for the seventy third time. The too warm air in the crowded classroom smelled from wet wool, long winter underwear and children that had not been washed frequently enough over the last few months. It was the first warm spring day after a long, snowy Nevada winter. The trapped students were restless as the afternoon wore on.

The schoolyard was filled with huge, deep puddles and plenty of boot sucking mud from the melting snow. Most of the children had not ventured out at recess time. This, combined with the crowded schoolroom had added to everyone’s short tempers as the day wore on.

Joe tried to catch the eye of his best pal Daniel Lowell sitting in his regular seat on the right side of the room but Daniel was industriously working on a page of sums and didn’t glance up. Joe assumed that his friend Daniel wouldn’t look at Joe for fear of angering Tucker Beck and Jack Fischer.

“What a pal! “ Joe grumbled to himself. “I get in all sorts of trouble for helping him and his little sister and he can’t even look at me.” He glanced down at his muddy trousers and filthy boots. Pa certainly would be displeased at Little Joe getting into trouble again. Pa was already right here in town doing business at the bank.  He would be waiting for him right outside the school house at dismissal time. There was no way Little Joe slide by this scrape without his father knowing all the details.

“Joseph!” Miss Lambert said softly but firmly. “Do not grumble to yourself. You are distracting the other students! And no one told you to stop writing. Continue until you reach exactly one hundred.” Brushing a loose wisp of blonde hair back off her warm forehead, the teacher turned her back to Joe and returned her attention to the three first graders. The sweaty little ones were crowded together on the bench in front of her desk attempting to make sense of the alphabet. The teacher was exhausted and looked forward to dismissal time. It had been a long day and she was trying extremely hard to keep the children focused on their studies.

Joe heard snickering from the far side of the schoolroom.  Out of the line of the young teacher’s vision, Tucker Becker and Jack Fischer were smirking at him. Tuck, the biggest boy in the school shook his fist in warning at Joe and mouthed “You are dead meat.”

Carly Lambert glanced back at Joe over her shoulder trying her best to look stern.” Joseph, back to work. I want you boys to remember that there is absolutely no fighting in this school — No fighting.” She mopped her warm forehead with the embroidered handkerchief she kept tucked in her sleeve. It was a gift from her beau.

The teacher reflected on the boy writing his punishments on the black board. Joe Cartwright was a handful. She hated when he disrupted the order of her classroom. Joe was a goodhearted, bright boy but he was impulsive and a daredevil and very outspoken. She knew he was basically a good fellow, but his hot temper got him into more than one fight. She found it challenging enough to teach all these children when everyone was obeying her, but as soon as fights broke out, the young teacher knew she could be totally overwhelmed. Some of those boys in her class were almost full-grown men and she was nervous as to how she could ever deal with things if the classroom got truly out of control.

Two years earlier, when the Virginia City school board hired her she was worried if she could manage. She truly loved the teaching, especially the smaller children and was anxious to earn her own way. Her enthusiasm for books and learning was contagious. At nineteen, Carly Lambert was not much older than her oldest students that term, but most of the children had been well mannered and helpful in keeping order. Joe’s older brother Hoss had broken up more than one fight among the students. Auburn haired Andrea Lowell, a store keeper’s daughter, was a big help too. Watching over the smaller children like a mother hen, she drilled them in their spelling or played games with them at recess.

By the end of that term, most of those older children graduated or had left school to work. One girl, Sally Beck had even gotten married to young logger. The next school year was harder for Carly without their help. Only husky, blue eyed Hoss Cartwright had remained of the older students but by early spring he had left school to work on the ranch and never returned to class as a student.

Joe continued to write his punishment. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Miss Lambert had her back to him as she read a story to the first graders. The story was something about a boy whose father gave him a little hatchet. Then the darn fool boy had chopped down his father’s favorite tree.

“Wish I had a hatchet’ Joe thought glumly. “Then I would show that Beck and Fischer who they could pick on.”

Trapped at the blackboard, his back to the class, Joe made a discovery. He realized if he took a half a step to the right and stood at a slight angle, he could see out the window that faced Main Street and still give the illusion that he was writing his punishment.  Beyond the puddle filled school yard, on the other side of muddy Main Street, he could see Mr. Lowell’s hardware store. In front of the store, his brother Hoss was hefting some nail kegs into the Cartwright buckboard. At sixteen, Hoss was as big as a grown man, even bigger than many. He was already eye-to-eye with his Pa, and Hoss was still growing.

Joe sincerely missed having Hoss in school with him.  No one ever started up with Little Joe when his big brother was around. Unfortunately for Joe, Hoss was done with school and worked full time on the ranch. The middle Cartwright brother was much happier working with their father and the ranch hands than squeezing his big frame into the small schoolhouse seats and struggling with sums and reading and writing.

Miss Lambert missed Hoss in her class almost as much as Little Joe did but neither of them knew how the other felt.

“One more year,” Carly thought. “Only one more year.” By the end of the year she would have saved the money she needed to help her beaux buy his herd and a piece of land. Then they could get married and start their own ranch.

Looking through the window again, Little Joe squinted his eyes and caught the flash of Andrea Lowell’s coppery hair through the stores front window. She worked as the clerk for her father in the store since she left school.

A wad of paper stung Little Joe’s left ear and he head Tucker Beck snicker again. Joe spun around and glared at his tormentor. He took three steps forward clenching his hand into an angry fist. Miss Lambert turned and shouted “Joseph, turn around and go back to your work. Immediately!”

As Joe lunged past his desk, Daniel had reached and grabbed the back of the other boy’s suspenders. “Joe, calm down, you are only gonna make it worse. Stay safe!” Daniel pleaded.

“Gee Miss Lambert, I can’t imagine what got into Little Joe today… It must be spring fever,” Fischer smirked from the back of his room. “I certainly didn’t do anything, Ma’m.”

Miss Lambert hadn’t quite seen what had just occurred but somehow suspected the older boy was provoking Joe.

“Joe, you have ten more to go. Finish up.”  She turned her attention back to the story she was reading.

The boy in the story had chopped down the tree and his father was asking who did the deed? Who did it? It was the father’s favorite tree, a beautiful cherry tree.

Joe angrily turned back to his writing. He discovered if he held the chalk at just the right angle, he could make an irritating squeak as he wrote. By the time was up to the last sentence and was able to get a loud irritating squeak on each letter. Soon the entire class noticed and stopped what they were doing to watch the show. A few of the younger boys were giggling at Joe’s musical talent and started to squeak like rusty hinges along with the sound Joe was creating.

“Everyone be quiet! Joseph. You are finished. Now go sit on the girl’s side until the end of the day,” Miss Lambert said firmly. She was trying hard to sound harsh but finding his antics quite comical. Little Joe really was a good boy, high spirited but basically kind and sincere. Maybe she could avoid the boys fighting if she separated them.  Either way, Joe just might be embarrassed enough to behave himself for a few days if he was seated in the girls section. The teacher just wanted this school day to end and be done with these sweaty, noisy fidgety children.  She struggled to finish reading the story to the class.

Joe glanced through the window again. Hoss was lugging a big lumpy burlap sack of something over one shoulder and he heaved it into the half-filled buckboard.

Little Joe saw his Pa ride up beside the wagon and tie his horse up at the hitching rail. Joe figured his father must have finished up his business at the bank. He sincerely hoped that Pa couldn’t see into the schoolhouse and see what was going on. Maybe he would never find out the trouble Joe was in that day. Joe tried to come up with a good story to explain his torn and muddy clothing but he was stumped. The room was stuffy and the boy was worn out.

“’Son,’ the father asked George, ‘who cut down my cherry tree?’” Miss Lambert read.

“No school work for me. Not today. Not ever,” Joe muttered as he sat down in the girl’s row between Nancy Coffee and Kate Wallace. From that location, Joe could still see out the window. He was furious at the trouble he was in and had absolutely no interest in doing any schoolwork.

“The stupid father asked the durn fool hatchet boy if he had chopped down the tree, the prized cherry tree, the darn fool, stupid cherry tree,” Joe grumbled in a soft whisper that only Kate and Nancy heard. Both girls were surprised at Little Joe’s cussing even though they thought their friend was pretty funny.

Nancy blushed and hid her face behind her slate.

Katie poked Joe in the ribs and said “Hush up Little Joe!”

Joe rubbed his side. He could just hear his own father say “Young man, did you chop down my tree?” If Joe had a hatchet he would know better than to chop down any cherry tree.

“‘Tell me the truth, son,’ said the father,” read Miss Lambert.

“Pa, I am a darn fool and I don’t know a cherry tree from dry fire wood or Mrs. Cow Manure’s wooden leg,” Joe muttered under his breath.  Kate giggled but prim Nancy Coffee gasped again at Joe’s extremely rude language. Miss Lambert glanced their way.

“Joseph Cartwright, you go stand in the corner. You are being disruptive and impertinent and vulgar.”

Little Joe slowly dragged himself up to the front corner and faced the wall. “How could a day that started out so well end up so bad? “ Little Joe Cartwright thought again. The room was even hotter and stuffier on this side. He was angry at Beck. He was angrier with Fischer. And he was the angriest at himself for losing his temper and messing up Adam’s battle plan

Hoss had told him to be patient and it would work.

“Pa is mighty patient. Be like Pa,” Hoss encouraged him each morning in front of the school house. “Be smart like Adam.  Use that head of yours for something other than a hat rack Short Shanks, be patient.  Be smart. Hold your temper.”

Joe let his hot temper get the best of him again. His mind wandered in the stuffy schoolroom. Joe wiped the sweat off his face with shirtsleeve. He swiped his forehead with the back of his hand pushing his thick curly hair off his forehead.

“A haircut, “Joe thought. Oh no! Pa was going to take him for a haircut after school. Joe hated getting a haircut his entire life. The day was only getting worse.

“’I cannot tell a lie,’ the boy said” Miss Lambert droned on.

 Chapter 2

The fight hadn’t been Joe’s fault.

Both Jack Fischer and Tucker Beck delighted in teasing the younger children and picking fights with the smaller boys. Most of the time Fischer was the ringleader but he rarely got into trouble. No adults ever caught on to what was going on when Jack was involved. Most folks in Virginia City thought of Jack Fischer as model student and a fine young gentleman. His father owned of one of the mines and was the employer of many of the men in town who sent their children to school with Jack.

Sandy haired and tall for his age, Jack was always dressed immaculately and in the finest clothes. His usual strategy was to get Tucker Beck or one of the other Town boys to do the fighting, while Jack feigned innocence and watched regally from the sidelines. His favorite sneaky trick was to extend his long legs into the aisle of the classroom and trip one of the other youngsters with his polished boots. He would apologize profusely and help the target to his feet, sometimes pinching the victim’s side or twisting his arm as he dusted him off with false courtesy.

Jack had an acute talent for finding out someone’s weakness and preying upon it. If it were big ears or freckles that bothered a fellow and made him feel awkward, Jack would tease him and call him jug head or polka dotty. He insulted sisters, mothers and girlfriends and snatched lunches, homework paper and mittens until his victim lost his temper and initiated a fight. He would needle a child until they lashed out in frustration and then Fischer acted as if he had no idea why the other student was hitting him. The badgered boy might start the fight, but Fischer, Beck or one of their cohorts would certainly finish it.

That is exactly what Jack did to Daniel and Little Joe that particular day. Prudence, the youngest red haired Lowell girl, the one who was called Puddin’, was wearing new hair bows. Jack Fischer knew that those hair bows could cause quite a ruckus if he tweaked things just right.

Daniel Lowell was Joe’s closest Town friend ever since the Lowell family had moved to Virginia City from Massachusetts five years earlier. The two boys had hit it off right away. They were the same age and height when they first met and had similar brown curly hair. That was where the resemblance ended.  Daniel was quiet, studious and shy. He was fearful of most new things. He was intrigued by Little Joe’s adventurous spirit and willingness to have fun and admired his endless courage. Joe taught Daniel to ride his pony and took him fishing with his brother Hoss.

The two friends balanced each other well. Daniel, as Ben Cartwright put it, gave Little Joe some ballast.

“That boy is like a clipper hauling full sails in a hurricane,” Ben once complained to Mr. Lowell. “Matter of fact that boy is a hurricane. Good thing your Daniel is so level headed he’s kept that youngest boy of mine from crashing into the rocks more than once.”

“Don’t be so hard on him, Ben. Little Joe’s heart is in the right place even if he tends to leap in with both feet before he looks. I’ve seen fellows with a hot temper and no heart and that is a dangerous combination. You have two good boys,” Lindell Lowell said admiringly. “ I have a brother and I know how important that is. Matter of fact, my brother loaned me the money to come west and start my store.”

“I have three boys. “ Ben corrected his friend. “And I’m sure they will always be there for each other for each other.”

“Three boys?” Lowell asked. “Now that is a blessing!”

“My oldest son, Adam, is back east in college. I guess I am pretty proud of all of them.”

”Really, now. That surely is something to boast about. My Missus would love for Daniel to go back East to study. But I told her, no going back for the Lowells. Virginia City is where we are and we are here to stay. All of us Lowells. “

Ben always thought it was serendipitous that his youngest boy should find a new friend from the east just has his beloved oldest brother had gone east to college. Little Joe was finally settling into living without his mother, when Adam went off and the little boy was a bit troubled by his brother’s departure.

Daniel’s studious composure reminded Ben of his oldest son at the same age. Both Daniel and Adam quietly examined everything around them and analyzed each decision before acting upon it. As Hop Sing bandaged up Little Joe after one of his most recent mishaps he said “Prudent man talks before he acts.” However, Little Joe paid little heed to that advice.

Ben thought Daniel’s personality seemed more like Adam’s than the personality of his own youngest brother. Unlike Joe, who jumped into life with both feet kicking and both arms swinging, the Lowell boy held back a bit on the edge and thought long and hard before he acted. He was a bit of a worrier and concerned for everyone’s wellbeing.

On the other hand Joe and Daniel looked more alike than Joe and any of his own brothers or Daniel with his own sisters. Both the Lowell girls, Andrea and Prudence, had soft coppery red hair and fair skin and were sturdily build. Daniel had the same brown curls and slender build as his friend Little Joe. The two boys had similar coloring and similar heights and weights.

More than once, the two friends were mistaken for each other or when they were together, folks assumed they were brothers. Little Joe and Daniel delighted in the error and had fun convincing a passing drummer or customer in the Lowell store that the two boys were twin brothers.

Shy Mrs. Lowell laughed at their antics until her coppery curls bounced. Little Joe was a good friend for her Daniel and she enjoyed having the lively, youngest Cartwright boy around. The second winter the Lowells were in Virginia City, a few nights a week, Joe even slept in their little home over the hardware store.

This was the first winter Little Joe was attending school without Hoss by his side. Ben had been deeply concerned about Little Joe making it back and forth to school in the cold. Ben’s dependable middle boy, Hoss could always be relied upon to protect his little brother from any harm. Previously, Hoss would have made sure they made it safely home before any winter storm hit. Hoss knew to assess the risk, to watch the clouds and sky, the wind and temperature. He would be sure to leave school early enough to make it home before any storm caught them.  Ben knew they could manage to get home even if it meant Hoss breaking through the drifts on foot leading Joe on their horse or even carrying his small brother on his back.

Left alone to his own judgement, Joe would never make it home safely. He would stay too late in Virginia City or ride carelessly, his coat wide open and get lost or fall head first in a snowdrift. He was far too small and lacked the strength and judgment to make his way safely on his own.

One afternoon as he helped repair the barn door, Little Joe said, “Pa, I have a good solution to getting me back and forth to school during the winter,” Little Joe was smiling devilishly.

“Hand me another nail son,” Ben said as he hammered the new board. “What’s your idea, son?”

Joe handed him a nail. “Why don’t I just quit school? Ain’t that a fine idea?”

”Isn’t Joseph, not ‘aint’. No son, it isn’t. I don’t think you will be quitting school for quite a while. Certainly not for years and years.”

”But Pa…” the little boy argued.

“This one is not negotiable boy, so don’t even try.” Ben gave the nail one last extra hard blow for emphasis.

The very next Sunday, after church Mr. and Mrs. Lowell came up to Ben and gave him a perfect suggestion. They acknowledged that the rancher couldn’t always spare a hand to ride into town to fetch his little boy or stop his own work on the ranch and that it really was too far a distance for the child to travel alone. The Lowells offered to keep Joe in their home on the nights his father could not see to his safe passage home.

Ben Cartwright accepted their generous offer. He knew this was perfect solution to his dilemma. Little Joe would share Daniel’s bed and go off to school with his buddy and his red haired sisters.

Even Joe was delighted with the prospect.  If he couldn’t quit school altogether, this would be a fine compromise. Daniel was his best friend in town and Mrs. Lowell made the best nut cakes and ginger cookies he had ever tasted.  She would even kiss him good night, just like she did Daniel when she tucked them into at night.

After she turned out the lamp, the two little boys giggled under the covers and told each other scary tales. Daniel was the better of the two at making up stories. Joe listened with rapt attention just like he listened to Adam’s tales. Joe was the only one who knew about shy, quiet Daniel’s remarkable ability to imitate any voice he heard. Many nights, in the dark, the two friends invented tales of outlaws and monsters and pirates and wild painted Indians until Andrea, Dan’s older sister, had to come in and tell the boys that they were keeping the whole household awake.

As soon as she left, the two friends would continue their fun until Mr. Lowell came in. ”If you two boys don’t quiet down right away, you’ll have to sleep in the outhouse,” he would tease them. The two curly heads would pull the covers over their faces and giggle even more.

Finally, Mrs. Lowell would come in and put an end to their fun with a firm “Good Night” and a final hug and one more kiss on a cheek that Daniel would rub off with the back of his hand but Joe would secretly savor. Joe had almost forgotten how nice it was to have a sweet soft-cheeked Mama tuck him in at bedtime.

Chapter 3

“Pa, why don’t I take Little Joe into town with me in the wagon this morning? I have to leave soon anyway to get those papers to Mr. Victor for you and pick up supplies. I can make sure Little Joe gets to school on time too.”

Joe had a horrendous record of lateness and truancy when left to his own judgment in getting to school. Many mornings, just as she was about to pull the rope on the school house bell, Miss Lambert spied Joe racing up the road full tilt on his pony A few times she even dawdled herself in pulling the bell rope so he could win his race and not be marked tardy. Joe always left home in plenty of time, Ben or Hop Sing always made sure of it but the boy always seemed to find something to side track him along the way from the ranch to town.

This particular morning, Joe would ride into town with Hoss in the wagon and for once, arrive on time. That is what Hoss had told their father. Hoss would take Little Joe with him on the wagon and make sure he got into school on time.

“I’ll watch out for him and get him there on time.” Hoss promised.

This was not completely true, but the two Cartwright brothers did not want to tell their father the entire story. The two boys figured Ben would either want to get involved himself or he would be angry at his sons. Neither boy wanted to risk having their father being aware of what they were doing. Neither told Ben that the idea was Adam’s battle strategy.

“Little Joe, if Pa knew Adam is in on this, he is going to be madder than a wet hen. He has enough on his mind now any way.” Hoss explained as he hitched the team to the wagon.

Hoss was dead wrong.

If their father was aware of Adam’s involvement, Ben Cartwright would have been thoroughly delighted that his three boys were so close and that Adam was still watching out for his younger brothers from thousands of miles away.

Chapter 4

Ben Cartwright relaxed in his chair at the head of his dining room table. Hop Sing brought him a second cup of coffee and cleared off the boy’s abandoned breakfast dishes.

As he enjoyed the steaming coffee, Ben smiled to himself at what a grand day this was starting out to be. The golden sun was shining. The knee he had hurt last winter was almost back to normal and he hadn’t felt the need to favor it for a few weeks.

The paper work for the lumber bid for Carl Havermeyer was finished and ready to submit. Ben had really sweated over that one.  Adam had encouraged his father to attempt the bid. The Virginia City silver mines needed lumber for bracing and the Ponderosa had plenty of fine trees. By expanding his mill and hiring on another timbering crew he could produce the required lumber.  It was one of the biggest jobs he had ever bid on but Cartwright had meticulously gone over every detail and was confident his crew could handle the job. If Carl Havermeyer accepted it, the profits could carry the Ponderosa through the next year and expand what he was building for the future of his boys.

The sun was shining. The cold gray winter was ending.

Joe was going to get to school on time. And the boy had a smile on his face too.

Cartwright was confident his bid was going to be accepted.

Most important, Adam was coming home, home to the Ponderosa.

My dearest Father and Brothers,

I made up my mind and want to tell you that I will be returning home to the Ponderosa at the end of the term this spring when I graduate. I miss you all very much. I wish I could be there sooner but there is much to do here before I can depart.

Boston does not truly hold what I thought it would offer and this is not where I want to remain any longer.

I beg your forgiveness for all the worry I caused you this winter.

I will always appreciate what Marie did for me and will be forever grateful to both of you.

Pa, it is impossible to tell you how thankful I was of support and encouragement you gave me all the years I was at college. I will try very hard the rest of my days make it up to you. Thank you for your patience in allowing me to make this decision as my own man.

My grandfather is disappointed in the decision I have made but despite his anger I know I have chosen correctly. If he remains mad at my honest decision, so be it.

You raised me and my brothers to always be truthful and become honorable men. Pa. I will never go against what my father taught me in his words and deeds. I know my brothers will do the same when the time comes for them to go out into the wider world because they are your sons.

I can now understand what you must have experienced with my grandfather

I know now that here are many things you never told me about him out of your respect for my mother and in your concern for me that will remain unsaid.

 I will be coming home to the Ponderosa and my beloved family. I am sure now the Ponderosa is where I belong.

I miss you all very much. And wish I could get there sooner.

Your faithful son and brother,

Adam

The letter which had arrived the previous day was the happiest news Ben and his boys had received in a long time. His oldest son was coming home. Only a few more months and Adam would finally be back home from college.

Ben was a bit confused about some of the things Adam alluded to in his letter. What did Little Joe’s mother have to do with any of this? She had died long before Adam left to go east.

Something severe must have happened between Adam and his grandfather Abel Stoddard. Something had happened to send Adam back home to the Ponderosa. Ben decided that whatever it was did not really matter. All that really mattered was the outcome that his son Adam was coming home.  Ben smiled to himself as he pictured Adam walking through the front door.

The previous evening, immediately after supper, Ben had sat at his desk and written to Adam. In his letter, Ben told his son how delighted he was about the decision he was making. He described all the updated plans he had for running the ranch with his help – the timber bid, the new machinery for the mill, the horses they could supply to the army. Each of the younger boys had included a brief message to their brother expressing their joy in his decision to come back to the Ponderosa and their affection for him.

Ben urged Hoss and Little Joe to finish their letters as rapidly as possible. He wanted Hoss to put the letters on the morning stage hoping that Adam would receive them before he left for home. He wanted his son to know how happy they were to welcome him back to the Ponderosa.

Little Joe and Hoss were so excited that neither of them could go to sleep until well past ten .The two younger boys danced all over the house whooping with joy. When Ben insisted they had to go to bed, Ben carried Joe up the stairs in a crazy jig, both boys singing at the top of their voices “Adam is coming home! Adam is coming home! ”

Ben had been waiting nervously since late fall for Adam to make his decision about returning to the Ponderosa. In November, Ben had received a long and carefully worded letter from Adam to his family. He wrote that his studies were going well, that he never had imagined how much there was to learn. He explained that each time he learned something, he discovered that there was still more to unearth on that subject and more areas of knowledge to investigate that he hadn’t even known existed. The libraries and the books and the museums were far beyond anything he imagined when he was a boy. Marie had told him he would love the studying back East. He would always be grateful to Marie for her encouragement and to his father for giving him this life changing opportunity.  And, he added, he was very much enjoying life in Boston. The concerts and restaurants and parties were more wonderful and enjoyable than he had imagined.

Then, at the end of the letter, the bombshell hit. Adam told them how his grandfather had offered him a junior partnership in his shipping firm, Stoddard and Bruce, but Adam was unsure if this was the best situation for him. His grandfather, Abel Stoddard, very much wanted him to stay in Boston when he graduated but Adam missed them, missed Nevada, missed the ranch and needed some time to make up his mind. He hoped they would understand. He had just met an extremely lovely young lady, Miss Liza Bruce, the daughter of Grandfather’s partner, Mr. Bruce. She was very lovely and the offer grandfather was making was very tempting, extremely tempting. He missed them all. He missed the Ponderosa. He truly loved standing on the deck of one of his grandfather’s ships with the wind in his face but he desperately missed riding the mountains and prairies of home. He missed his brothers and his father but Boston was so exciting. And, he added, Liza Bruce was very lovely.

Adam also wrote that he was unsure what he should do. He hoped that Ben understood that he needed time to weigh out his options, to think, make up his mind to make a good decision. He needed time. Adam was not sure what choice to make and he was positive that his Pa would know what that must be like for a young man. Please, Adam wrote, let his brothers know what was going on and that Adam was facing a dilemma .He knew the younger boys would be concerned about him but no matter what the outcome, Adam wanted them to know he loved them all very much but he needed time to make the right, logical, rational, best decision.

Please be patient with him he had begged. He loved them and he missed them but he wasn’t sure what he should do. He needed time to make up his mind. He hoped his father understood.

When he read what Adam wrote, Ben’s heart stopped. Time stood still. He stared at his son’s letter and his stomach churned.

Ben smoothed out the paper with both hands and slowly reread the letter. Abel Stoddard offered him a partnership. Abe Stoddard had introduced him to a lovely young lady.

” So lovely Pa” the letter read. “Extremely lovely.”

Adam said that he never saw such a lovely girl before. She had violet eyes and coal black hair that shined like a raven’s wing. Maybe he never would again find such a lovely girl. His grandfather, Abel Stoddard, had introduced them.

Ben had been assuming his oldest son would be returning home late in the spring and now that assumption was blurring into a gray mass of confusion.

He clenched his jaw and forced himself to read the letter again and again. Ben felt the hairs rise up the back of his neck as he reread the letter. For an instant, the black pen marks all blurred into a gray swirling mass in front of the rancher’s eyes.

Ben could surely understand what it was like to be a young man facing a hard decision about staying or going, to be facing life spread out to the horizon with endless choices and opportunities and not knowing what course to sail. Ben had also felt that sea spray in his face. He had ridden his horse across the mountains and prairies of the Ponderosa. Abel Stoddard had introduced him to a lovely, lovely girl, Abel’s own daughter Elizabeth, Adam’s mother.

Ben had also known what a clever and stiff-necked man his father-in-law could be when his mind was set on keeping a young man at his side. And how Abel Stoddard would use any means in keeping that young man tied there including finding that young man a wife. Abel Stoddard was a hungry shark. Ben knew that the anger Abel could create with that tight, self-serving control. That fury could fester and simmer and force that young man to not have any contact with Abel for decades.

Ben had learned more from Abel Stoddard than he could dare count – how to sail a damaged schooner through the roughest seas, to calm the most frightened crew during a dangerous voyage and lead them to work together in harmony, to manage a business ledger, how to meet the enemy head on and face death. He also learned how to make a young man despise you by hobbling him with too short a line so he can serve his master rather than make his own choices.

Once again, Abel Stoddard’s own selfish need for power and control was deceiving and devouring another young man. Ben knew the young man was his beloved son Adam and he was helplessly watching the retelling of a familiar story.

Ben knew that only Adam could make his own decision. He could badger his son or insist on Adam returning but Adam needed to make up his own mind. If not, both father and son would regret it for the rest of their days.

More than anything, Ben wanted to know his son was by his side by choice, not by being lassoed with a short rope and dragged behind his father.

Ben Cartwright was an exceptionally patient man. He had learned that patience from Captain Stoddard by watching the man for months on end during long sea voyages. He increased his perseverance travelling west to find his land. He built more endurance as he established the Ponderosa. He would need that patience now.

Ben Cartwright knew all he could do was wait; wait and pray that Adam made the decision Ben sought.

Chapter 5

The trap was baited.

Adam hurried through the door of the Stoddard and Bruce Shipping Company carrying a leather case filled with papers in one hand and a cylinder of rolled charts in the other. He had finally finished drafting plans for the docking area and was ready to show them to his grandfather. It was Adam’s best work. His drawings were flawless and his attention to detail was impeccable. He was sure his grandfather would agree that his proposal was perfect.

He hoped his friend Dennis was still at his worktable. Adam wanted to share his final draft with him before Dennis left for New York City.

Adam dashed noisily up the wooden stairs to the wood paneled workroom and called to Dennis O Mara. “Good, you’re still here!” Adam cleared a space on the long wooden table under the window and rolled out his drawings. He weighted down each curling corner with whatever was handy. He sat an inkwell on one corner, a heavy iron bolt on the other and a pair of binoculars held down the other side.

“You almost missed me. I’m leaving in tem minutes. Can’t miss that train and embarrass myself to the Captain before I even get started. “

Dennis was a few years older than Adam. He worked as the chief draftsman and had become Adam’s closest friend in Boston. He had unruly sandy hair and gray eyes. Dennis was just as tall as Adam but broader around the shoulders and chest. He was as jolly as Adam was reserved and together they made a fine team. Young O’Mara had attended Harvard for only one term. Sadly, his college days came to an abrupt end when his father, a captain on one of the Stoddard ships, the Sea Breeze, was lost in a North Atlantic storm. Adam’s grandfather offered him a job at the urging of his wife, Martha. Reluctantly Dennis left his studies forever and went to work to support his mother and younger sisters.

When Adam came east for college, Abel Stoddard had asked young O’Mara to watch out for his grandson, to take him under his wing. Initially, Dennis resented the assignment but feeling he had no other choice, obediently went along with the orders his employer had given him.

“Now I have to nursemaid the Old Man’s spoiled grandson,” he complained loudly to his mother and sisters at their Sunday dinner table.

Uncle Sean had counselled him. “The future is not set, Dennis. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. Just do what you are told and see how it all works out.”

“Perhaps the young man has a nicer disposition than the grandfather,” Mrs. O’Mara told her son.

Once he got to know the younger man, he saw his mother had been right.  Dennis was glad to spend time with Adam outside of the office and even made him welcome at the O’Mara home. Dennis was delighted to discover Abel Stoddard’s grandson was no “spoiled rich boy” but was level headed and dependable, just as his mother had hoped. What Dennis originally took for smugness or lack of concern was just Adam’s style of carefully thinking things out before he spoke or acted.

Dennis was delighted to show his new friend all the sights of Boston. He helped him select a wardrobe more appropriate to Harvard than to riding the range. He mentored his new friend through the etiquette of proper Beacon Hill dinner parties and how to deal with pompous professors in lecture halls and classrooms.

In return, Adam shared every textbook he read and snuck Dennis into many of his classes, especially the larger lectures. He told him all about his two brothers and his father and life out west. Dennis, living as the only male in a household of females reveled in the tales of the boisterous Cartwrights. At work Dennis enjoyed the congenial company of likeable young man close to his age in the office filled with stuffy older married men.

It was challenging for Adam to be so far away from his family. The first autumn, he was so busy with his studies and the excitement of being in a new city that he didn’t have much time to give in to homesickness. He wrote long letters home each week describing his incredible experiences far from home and waited for the letters his family sent him with news from home.

As the days got colder and darker and the end of the semester approached Adam realized how home sick he was becoming. Sensing how tough it was for young Cartwright to be so far from home, Dennis invited his new friend to come to the O’Mara’s home for a Christmas celebration.

“Thanks Dennis, but I really can’t. My grandparents expect me to be with them for church and Christmas dinner and all….  With Grandmother being so ill, it is going to be pretty quiet. “Adam looked forlorn. He really did want to be with Dennis and the O’Maras but his father had raised him to be respectful and responsible and to do the right thing. Adam felt spending Christmas with his elderly grandfather and ailing grandmother was what his father would have told him to do.

“I have an idea, College boy. I am sure your folks will be done with all of their celebrating by three or four on Christmas afternoon. The Stoddards surely will go to church in the morning and have a fine mid-day dinner.   Why don’t you come join my family on Christmas night for supper? My Ma always serves up all the leftovers and all the kids eat and we sing and some of my uncles come over for a few drinks and toasts. … Just come over. You’ll have a grand time and I am sure it will cheer you up. My father used to say “A Christmas wish — May you never forget what is worth remembering, or remember what is best forgotten.”

Adam’s first Christmas in Boston was difficult for him. On one hand, he was especially proud of his excellent grades his first term. Adam had proved to everyone, especially himself, that he could not only compete with any other student at Harvard but he could best many of them. Even the men who had come from fancy Eastern boarding schools couldn’t match academically with the young Cartwright. Before Adam had left home, Hank Wallace had told him not to worry about his mathematics skills and Hank had been right.

The education that Adam had received in his early years had been very scattered and patchy, cobbled together piecemeal. As he and his father had moved around so much it had been quite impossible for Adam to attend formal school for more than a couple of months at a stretch. Adam had a great desire to learn and be educated. When Ben could afford it, he would buy Adam books or remain a little longer in a town so the boy could finish a few more weeks of formal schooling.

Ben spent time at night teaching his young son all the math he had learned over the years, how to navigate by the stars as he had at sea and basic reading and writing. As they made their way west, if his father gave him a spare minute from chores or driving their team or tending to his younger brother, Adam would sit in the back of the wagon reading and writing

When the Cartwrights crossed paths with someone who had some sort of expertise or knowledge to share, Ben would negotiate for tutoring in exchange for some work by himself or his son. In this way, Adam learned a bit of Latin and Ancient Greek from a minister in Missouri, literature and classics from an Englishman who was headed west and geography and history from a pair of spinster school teachers near St. Louis.  Adam would get his father to buy him books and paper and was more than willing to wear worn out boots or make do with shabby trousers if given the choice.

By the time the Cartwrights were established on the Ponderosa and his two brothers were born, Adam’s education had pretty much surpassed the limited lessons offered in the newly established one room schoolhouse in Virginia City. He had been nervous about his educational limitations once he came to college but his success in his first term shattered any of these doubts.

In Boston, Adam was invited to many parties. Initially the invitations came out of politeness as he was the recently returned grandson of Captain and Mrs. Stoddard. Some people were fascinated to hear he was a real cowboy from the “Wild West” and would ask him to tell them about his life on the ranch. Eventually the likeable young man was always invited back as on his own merits as Adam Cartwright of the Ponderosa.

Despite all the busy days in class and working and studying and the cultural and social excitement, by December, Adam was painfully homesick for his father and brothers. Just few days before the holiday, he did a bit of soul searching trying to determine if he should remain in Boston or return home to the Ponderosa. Adam confided his homesickness to Dennis and told him he was thinking of going back home at the end of the semester.

“Don’t give up, Adam. At least tough it out until June and finish out the year. I am sure if you stay until June, you will manage to stay to graduate,” Dennis encouraged him.” I would have given anything to have been able to continue at college after my father was killed.”

Adam took his friend’s suggestion. He would try his darndest to hang in and wait until the end of the school year to make up his mind.

When he became particularly homesick, he would walk the streets until he came to a section high on a hill above the harbor that was less crowded than the rest of Boston. He found a stand of tall pine trees. He would hike up the hill and sit beneath the pines and be completely alone. The solitude and the fragrance of the pines reminded him of the Ponderosa and that was very comforting to him.

Christmas dinner at his Grandparents was served promptly at noon. It was a quiet meal served by the butler to Adam, and his grandparents after they attended church and quietly opened a few gifts in the parlor.  His grandmother, who had been in fragile health when her long lost grandson returned to Boston, grew weaker as the fall turned to winter.

“Adam,” Martha Stoddard said smiling at her grandson. “You don’t know how joyous it has made me having you back in this house. I never thought we would ever see you again. Having you here has made this a very happy Christmas for me.”

“And for me too,” said the Captain. He held up his glass and proposed a toast. “To my grandson Adam!”

“May we celebrate Christmas together years and years to come,” Adam added.

 

Chapter 6

Martha Stoddard’s health had precipitously declined. By spring, she had weakened terribly and took to her bed. Adam spent many afternoons at her bedside sharing conversation or reading to her or telling her about his life on the Ponderosa.

“I wish your mother could have seen you. She would have been so proud. Adam, promise me that you won’t give up on your studies. When things get difficult, don’t give up. I have faith in you, Dearest.”

Adam nodded and held her hand. She grew weaker day by day and died just before Easter.

Adam missed her greatly. He barely known Martha Stoddard from her rare letters to him when he was growing up on the Ponderosa but she clearly cared deeply for him. He was eternally grateful that he had come to Boston when he did and had the opportunity to spend any time with her no matter how brief it was. His grandmother told him about Elizabeth’s childhood and things that she had done as a young girl, how Adam had looked as a black haired baby and how much she missed him when Ben had snatched him away to go west. For some reason she always got a bit upset when he mentioned his father. Since Adam had no desire to disturb a sick, elderly woman he never had the courage to ask her what had happened between his father and Captain Stoddard. Once she was gone, Abel never offered to tell his grandson the story and Adam certainly never had the courage to ask his unapproachable grandfather.

Adam rushed between classes and studies and working at Stoddard and Bruce. Occasionally, he and Dennis O’Mara would share a round of beers at his uncle’s tavern, the Golden Shamrock, after work.

Slowly, Dennis came to know Adam as hard working and intelligent and was surprised that the “Old Man” had such an honorable grandson. He had already observed that Stoddard was often willing to bend the facts in his favor to strike a lucrative deal or step over anyone who got his way but Adam was nothing like him.

“Where I come from a man’s word is his bond, “Adam explained. “I’ve seen more than one fellow get shot or hung from a noose for shorting someone in a poker game or double-dealing a horse trade or taking inappropriate liberties with a lady. Besides, that is not how my Pa raised us. He would tan our hide if we lied to him. And trust me, Dennis; we were punished much more for the lie to slide out of a misdeed than for any bad conduct. With Ben Cartwright as your father, you learned to tell him the truth on the first go round rather than be found out later on.”

Dennis laughed at the thought of young Adam quaking in his boots giving his father a confession.

“And does that honesty always carry over to how you Cowboys treat their young ladies?” Dennis asked taking a swallow from his beer.

”Sure, don’t want to be facing the business end of some angry father’s shot gun or have some pistol packing brothers showing up one morning with the preacher.” Adam laughed. He signaled the barmaid to bring another pitcher of beer.

“And how honest are those young ladies?” Dennis asked him, his voice suddenly serious. “Ever been in love, Adam?”

Adam blushed and swallowed the last bit of beer in his glass mug, thinking of what to say to his older, more experienced friend. Dennis drained the last bit from his glass and signaled his uncle behind the bar for another beer.

“Ever been in love with an honest woman? Nothing will break a man like being in love with a dishonest woman.”

Adam raised an eyebrow quizzically. He refilled his mug and his friend’s from the pitcher the bar maid brought. Then he took a pull from his beer. “Are you that broken man, my friend?”

Dennis nodded. “To be sure, my boy. I was once in love with a raven-haired lass and she broke my heart. She told me that she loved me too. But to tell the honest truth, College Boy, it seems I was not rich enough for neither her nor her fancy pants, upper crust father. She sailed to Europe and never answered my letters. Not a one.”

He took another swallow of his drink and stared at his reflection in the mirror over the bar. Sean was at the other end of the bar swapping jokes with a few tipsy sailors as he wiped the top of the bar with a rag.

“So Adam, my boy, that is the sad tale of being in love with a dishonest woman and the story of my broken heart and shattered spirit. And let it be a lesson from me to you on something very important but right now I am too drunk to tell you what.” Dennis grinned drunkenly.

Adam smiled and nodded. “Well, I guess you could have wound up on the business end of a shot gun.” he teased. “That would be far worse.”

“That may have been easier.”

Chapter 7

“Dennis, what do you really think? Tell me the truth,” Adam said as he rolled out the sketches on the table. Cartwright was appreciative of all the help Dennis had given him the last four years and was happy to show him his latest work. He weighted down each curling corner with whatever was handy, an inkwell on one corner, a heavy iron bolt on the other. A pair of binoculars held down the other side.

“The front side will be faced in stone. And with the ramps on the east end, the ships can be offloaded right to the warehouse much more quickly. And I added the extra bracing to the pilings like you suggested.”

“Do you want the truth?” Dennis nodded as he examined the plans with his arm draped over Adam’s shoulders. “You did a grand job, my friend. You certainly did. I am really proud of you. ”

He shook Adam’s hand. “I won’t be back until after New Year’s. So write to me and tell me what your grandfather had to say.  I am sure it will take me at least that long to examine all those new Bruce properties in New York and write all the reports Captain Stoddard wants.”

He helped Adam to gather up the papers.  “The old man, er… Captain Stoddard wants to see you up in his office, Adam. Show him the plans. They are more than ready, Adam. He might not tell you but you did a very fine job.”

Dennis straightened out Adam’s lapels and patted him on the shoulder.

“Good job, son,“ he said in mock seriousness. ”Just don’t trip over those big cowboy feet as you walk down stairs, College Boy.”

Grinning, Adam stacked all the papers together. “Do you really think it is ok?”

”Just go talk to your grandfather and stop fishing for compliments.” Dennis said as he shoved his friend towards the stairs leading up to Abel Stoddard’s office.

Adam clattered up the stairs but paused halfway up and called over his shoulder, “Dennis!  Have a good trip!”

Adam hesitated for a moment at his grandfather’s office door and straightened his tie. He drew in a deep breath, stood for a moment, just holding the cool smoothness of the handle in his hand, looking at the rich polished grain of the dark wood. He knocked firmly on the oversized carved oak doors leading to the captain’s office.

“Adam? Come in, my boy! “

Cartwright opened the door and walked over to his grandfather’s desk.

“Good afternoon Grandfather, I brought these plans to show you and …Oh, I didn’t realize you weren’t alone. Excuse me, sir.”

”Adam, you know Mr. Bruce?”

Charles Bruce stood up from his straight back chair and shook Adam’s hand vigorously.

“And Miss Liza Bruce. May I present my grandson Adam Cartwright?”

Sitting to Mr. Bruce’s left was the loveliest woman Adam had ever seen in his entire life. She had black hair and an alabaster complexion. Her wide violet eyes looked straight into Adam’s eyes as she extended a gloved hand. “Mr. Cartwright. Your grandfather and my father have told me so much about you. I am so pleased to finally meet you.”

Adam clasped her tiny hand. She smiled at him.

”Liza has just returned from school in Switzerland. She was there the last few years.” Charles said. “We just came by to see if you and Abel would join us for dinner. It is time Liza met some suitable young gentlemen now that she is back in Boston.”

“Well Charles, I don’t know. Adam here may already have plans…” Abel instantly said giving Adam a polite excuse if he wasn’t interested in the dinner with the Bruces.

”Oh no, Grandfather. I have absolutely no plans. I would love to have dinner with Miss Bruce. “Adam smiled.” And Mr. And Mrs. Bruce too.” He added awkwardly. He certainly didn’t want to seem impolite.

I would cancel any plans I had and to spend time with this beautiful girl. I would swim across Boston Harbor towing an anchor in my teeth while sharks nibbled on my toes, Adam thought. “I have absolutely no plans, Sir.”

Adam realized he was still holding Liza’s hand and blushed as he reluctantly let it go. She smiled and her sparkling violet eyes looked straight into his. He boldly returned her gaze.

“Wonderful!  Abel, Adam. We will see you at eight o’clock” Bruce said walking to the door. ”Liza?”

“Goodbye Captain Stoddard, Mr. Cartwright. I will be looking forward to this evening.” Liza smiled coyly over her shoulder at Adam as she followed her father out of the office.

The trap was baited.

 

 

Part 2

Waiting

Chapter 1

For weeks Ben Cartwright had deliberated on the letter Adam had sent him from Boston saying he might not return to the Ponderosa after he graduated.

Ben had read the letter over and over in the next few weeks until he had memorized it. He knew every word in that letter by heart but he still kept reading it as if something might change. He would wake up late at night and wander the house sleeplessly trying to decide what he should write to his son. He wanted Adam to come home. He wanted his eldest son beside him to help build the ranch for all the boys. There were nights Ben wished he could saddle his horse and ride day and night to Adam in Boston, hog tie him and drag him back home.

Ben Cartwright needed to be a patient man, to bide his time. He knew in his heart that this was where Adam belonged, here on the Ponderosa. He wanted to write this to his son in no uncertain terms but he also knew the wrong words could work against him. The exact right words might bring his son home.

Ben Cartwright mentally wrote and rewrote the letter as he tended the cattle and fixed the fences. He thought about it as he watched his ranch hands bring the herd into the winter pastures. Ben sat at his desk and wrote letters to Adam over and over. Again and again he rejected each draft fighting with the words until the words became meaningless. His big hands were stained with ink and his head was pounding from frustration.

Ben hadn’t wanted to tell his two younger sons about the letter from Adam and what it implied but his boys clearly could see their father’s distress. He avoided their questions off but he never lied to them.

It all came to a head about three weeks after he received the letter. Ben had been up all night chewing out his dilemma, arguing with Adam in his dreams, tossing and turning and dreaming of the horrible dispute he had with Abel two decades before. In the nightmare, the fight got all twisted up. In the awful dream, Ben had his hands around his father-in- law’s throat and Ben was shouting at him. Adam was an infant and was crying relentlessly somewhere nearby. Ben searched franticly but couldn’t find his son in dark, cold Stoddard house, the same huge house Ben last saw close to twenty years earlier. Then he heard his other sons calling and pleading for him. He heard Hoss and Little Joe screaming “Pa! Pa! Help us!” and he couldn’t find them in the Stoddard House that suddenly exploded in flames around him.

Ben Cartwright sat bolt upright in his own bed in a cold sweat, his heart pounding. The blankets and sheet were knotted around his legs. His hands were clenched as if he were still trying to choke Stoddard. The ranch house was still and quiet around him. A full moon was shining brightly outside his window and he could see Lake Tahoe like as silver thread beyond the bare trees.

Climbing out of bed, Ben put on the robe that had been hanging on a brass hook by his door. He walked barefoot down the familiar moonlit hallway. His heart was still beating in his ears like a drum. The nightmare left with a dry mouth and a feeling of panic rising in his throat.

He missed his oldest son with all his heart.

He crept down the hall to check on his younger sons in their beds. Hoss was snoring loudly, sleeping on his back, his big feet sticking out the end of the quilt. He walked into Little Joe’s room. The small boy’s feet were at the top of the bed and his curly head was at the foot. His father gently rearranged the boy to have his head at the top of his bed and then covered him with his blankets. The house was getting cold.

Ben walked downstairs into the great room. Then he moved directly over to the sideboard and poured himself a full snifter of brandy from the cut glass decanter. He took a small swallow of the golden liquid. Then he took another and then a third. He felt the warmth trail down his throat into his belly.

He walked over to the large stone fireplace and looked into the hearth. Holding the snifter of brandy in his left hand the rancher, picked up the heavy, black iron poker in his right and prodded the banked fire back into life. Sparks shot up the chimney. He reached into the wood box and tossed some small logs into the hearth. Sitting in his red leather chair, Ben starred into the flames and drank his brandy.

“Abel, I did what you requested. I gave you a second chance with Adam.  I let him come to know you on his own… to make up for all the years that were lost to you… I let him go to your college, to see your world, to read all the books… I kept my part of the bargain…. You keep your part, Abel, you devious, underhanded covetous bastard. Don’t you dare steal my son.”

Chapter 2

“Adam, come in here, “ Captain Abel Stoddard’s commanding voice echoed down the long hall echoing off the paneled walls and marble floor. “I want to talk to you.”

Adam stopped his studying. He walked down the long paneled hallway from the front parlor to his grandfather’s book lined library in the rear of the house. Abel was seated at his desk facing Adam as he entered. Charles Bruce was sitting on the right side of the desk in a high backed chair.

“Son, I want to have a serious talk with you. Sit down.” Captain Stoddard pointed to a small, brocade-covered chair to the left of his massive desk. Stoddard stood up next to his seated grandson.

“You are a very capable young man. I have watched how well you are doing in college and am very pleased about everything I hear about you in the office. Mr. Bruce here has observed this as well.”

If they stood side by side, broad shouldered Adam was a head taller than his gray haired grandfather. Stoddard would never admit that he resented that his grandson had inherited his height from his father, Ben Cartwright. Captain Stoddard always arranged to have a larger man sit while he stood over him. He could look down at his adversary as they spoke forcing the other man to look up at him. It usually made him feel uncomfortable and intimidated by the Captain. In most situations, this strategy made Captain appear more formidable and dominant and would earn him a victory.

“Adam, “Abel continued.” I want to offer you a junior partnership in Stoddard and Bruce. I want you to remain right here in Boston and make this your home. “

Adam was taken aback. He loved Boston but had never really considered the possibility of not returning home to the Ponderosa. He had been corresponding with his father for many months about various projects they could work on once Adam returned home. They wrote about expanding the mill and providing lumber for the mines, improving the herds, things that Adam knew would be profitable for the Ponderosa. Adam was looking forward to implementing these innovations and working with his father and brothers.

“I… I don’t know what to say, Grandfather. I really hadn’t thought about this …staying here…I sort of was planning on going home after graduation. I am truly honored by your offer. Thank you, sir.”

“How can you refuse, boy?  Someday Stoddard and Bruce can belong to Adam Cartwright. I’m an old man. And Charles Bruce has no sons.”

“Let me think about this Grandfather. I need to weigh this out. I am not sure what I should do.” Polite, analytical Adam spoke carefully.

“Damn! “thought Stoddard. Any other young man would have leaped at this chance. Why did his grandson have to be so vexatious? I will just have to sweeten the pot.

Abel smiled benevolently at his grandson. “Certainly, son. Certainly. You have a few months until graduation and I am sure something will help you to make up your mind. Then you will see that my generous offer is an opportunity you cannot refuse. Sit there a minute. I want to show you something, Adam. I wasn’t really going to share this with you quite yet, but you forced my hand.”

Stoddard turned his back on Adam. He smiled at Charles Bruce as he strolled over to the wall safe and carefully opened it. He pulled out a black lacquered box that he had brought back from a long ago sea voyage. Inside was a purple velvet pouch, the exact same purple as Liza Bruce’s beautiful eyes.

Stoddard smiled thinking of his late wife and how he would use her memory to get exactly what he wanted from his grandson. She was the only one who ever could tell Abel Stoddard what to do or how to do it. “This belonged to your grandmother. She wanted you to have it when the time was right.”

“My grandmother?” When Adam came to Boston, his grandmother was ailing and quite fragile and had been so pleased to see the grandson she thought had been lost to her. Martha Stoddard had watched her husband Abel awkwardly attempt to make some sort of cordial relationship with the young man. She had shown Adam great deal of affection which her grandson returned with an open heart. She died the spring after Adam had arrived in Boston.

“Your grandmother wanted you to have this, when the time was right.” Abel repeated. He pulled a sparkling diamond ring from the pouch. The gem had been stored in his safe since Abel purchased it few months earlier from a competitor who was having financial problems. “This is for you to give to a lovely young lady.”

Adam smiled thinking of the lovely Liza Bruce.

“I don’t know what to say, Grandfather. I…I just don’t know what to say. Could you give me some time to think?”

”Don’t take too long, Adam. Such lovely girls are very rare and often have many other suitors. You don’t want to miss your opportunity.” The Captain carefully put the dazzling diamond away in the violet velvet sack. “Remember, you may never catch the wind if you don’t raise your main sail fast enough, young man.”

Chapter 3

It was midnight.

Adam Cartwright hurried home, to the Stoddard house through the quiet cobblestone streets of Boston. The sound of his footsteps echoed off the buildings. He turned up his collar against the icy gusts coming off the Charles River. A full moon lit the sky and the stars seemed brighter than he had ever seen in a Boston night sky.

It was a magical night. He couldn’t believe his good fortune these recent weeks. Within a few days he had earned the highest grades in his class on his exams, he had been offered a wonderful position in his Grandfather’s firm and most important, he had met the lovely raven haired Liza Bruce, the most fascinating woman he had ever known. How lucky can one man be?

During the last few weeks, Adam had been her constant escort to parties and dinners and even to the opera. He had held her in his arms and inhaled her intoxicating flowery perfume. He had kissed her cherry red lips and gazed into those incredible violet eyes until he thought he would explode.

How had he existed before he met Liza?

Tonight, he had escorted her to the Winter Ball at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Van Dyne. The son of the host was home from Yale on a visit and spent most of the dinner asking Adam about life in Nevada. Teddy Van Dyne enthusiastically asked to know everything about their horses and cattle and if Adam had ever shot a buffalo or seen an Indian. Liza sat by his side encouraging him to tell one story after another.

Adam Cartwright and Liza Bruce had taken the dance floor first, surrounded and admired by the other guests. They made a handsome couple, he in his silver waistcoat and mid night black suit, and she in her swirling, cobalt dress with jet beading. Her amethyst earrings glittered in the candlelight and she smiled up at him. He held her, gingerly at first, very much aware of all the eyes on them. That evening, Adam knew he was with the most exquisite woman at the party and the envy of every single man that evening.

As they danced, Adam ran his hands over her bare shoulder and down her back to her waist, feeling the warmth of her body through the blue satin of her dress. Her waist was so small he could span it with his hands. He felt the touch of her breath on his face and smelled the alluring sweetness of the perfume in her upswept hair.  He became very much aware of the closeness of her body as they danced. “I love you Liza,” he whispered in her ear. Then they melted into each other’s arms, drowning in each other’s eyes, and for all Adam knew, or cared, the rest of the world might have ceased to exist.

After dancing, she had led him into a dark corner of the hall and reached up pulling Adam’s face down to meet her face. Their lips met and she kissed him passionately. He drew her tightly to him and closed his mouth gently over hers in a long, and lingering kiss He wanted to hold her, to crush her to him. He had never met such a lovely woman. Not only was she was a lovely woman who permitted him to kiss her, but she encouraged it. Adam’s head spun and he couldn’t think clearly.

Indeed, Adam Cartwright was a very fortunate man.

Chapter 4

Ben awakened many mornings more tired than when he went to bed the night before. He had black circles under his eyes each morning and looked haggard. The sleepless night were starting to get the best of him.

Two nights before, he had awakened again from his nightmares about trying to find Adam. He got up and walked down stairs to drink brandy and stare into the flickering fire. Another sleepless night of worry about Adam’s decision. This was becoming a nightly routine. Nightmares, brandy, sitting downstairs until he fell asleep on the settee or in his red leather chair.

Just before dawn, Cartwright awoke sitting in his chair, the blue blanket from Hoss’s bed was covering him. Joe and Hoss were sleeping toe to toe on the settee covered with Ben’s coat from the hall rack.  His boys had come down to “guard him” in the night. They obviously were worried about their father.

“I can’t go on like this anymore,” Ben thought. “I am making these boys take care of me, a grown man. Instead of me protecting my boys, they are tending to me.” He gently picked up Joe and carried him back up to his own bed. He left Hoss on the settee and covered him with the blanket.

The next morning, after his sleepless night, Ben only the taste for a cup of coffee despite Hop Sing’s arguments. Hoss had noticed how worn and upset his Pa was and was doing his level best to shoulder more chores and lighten his father’s load. He had awakened at dawn and done most of the morning chores before coming to breakfast. “Maybe you should have Doc Martin check you out, Pa if’n you are still sick today.”

“I’m not sick, son,” Ben said. “What makes you think I’m sick?”

“Is that all you are eating? “Little Joe commented on his Pa’s lack of appetite and lack of conversation.

”I’m fine, son.”

“Pa, are you mad at me and Hoss?” his smallest son whispered in a cautious voice. Joe looked quite upset. His green eyes looked up at Ben at the head of the dining room table. The boy was trying not to cry. Hoss poked at the eggs on his plate, clearly too disturbed by his father’s behavior to be hungry.

Ben looked at each of his beloved son’s up turned faces and finally realized by saying nothing about Adam’s letter he was hurting the boys more than if he told them just what was happening. They were imagining far worse things than the reality. Ben realized that in his concern for one son, he was abandoning the other two  He had to explain what was going on to both of them even if he had no solution.

Ben cleared his throat. He took another sip from his coffee cup and put it down on the table.

“No boys, I am not sick and I’m not mad at you either. I just have a lot on my mind right now. Adam wrote me a letter a while back. He had wanted me to share some news with you so you wouldn’t worry. Your brother loves you both very much but I guess I didn’t trust his judgment about this. I figured incorrectly that not telling you boys what was going on between us would be better for you boys. But I was wrong. I am sorry for worrying you boys. I was wrong and Adam was right. I just didn’t want to worry you.”

Joe and Hoss looked at each other. Little Joe was pretty scared. What had his brother written? He didn’t recall his pa ever saying anything such a pained tone. “Is Adam sick, Pa?”

The tall grandfather clock ticked loudly in the silence of the ranch house.

Cartwright rose from the breakfast table, walked over to his desk and fetched Adam’s letter from the carved, mahogany box on top of the shelf near the window. Ben stared for a minute at the map of his beloved Ponderosa that was hanging on the wall behind his desk. He turned and walked back to the table. “Ok boys, here is what I have been keeping from you.”

He took another swallow from his coffee cup. He took a deep breath and started to read the words he could recite by heart.

Both young brothers listened earnestly as their father’s deep voice read the letter to them. Lovely girls, books, restaurants, parties and the offer by Adam’s grandfather. Half way through Little Joe got up from his seat and climbed into his Pa’s lap. He needed to be closer to his father and to see Adam’s words for himself. Ben pulled his smallest boy closer as he read his oldest son’s words. His left arm was wrapped around Little Joe in a tight hug and he held Adam’s letter in his right hand. Ben rested his unshaven cheek against Joe’s curly hair drawing comfort from the closeness of his youngest boy. Little Joe stared at the white paper in Pa’s big calloused hand struggling to make sense of the words Adam had written.

Hoss took a deep breath. He had to think about this, take in all of the words his father had read.

“Pa, what do we do? ‘Hoss asked. “Can’t you just tell him to come right back home? He has to listen to you.”

Joe nodded, his eye wide.

“No, Boys, we just have to wait and let Adam think this one out for himself.”

”No Pa, you go get him and bring him home to me. “Little Joe demanded. “Go now Pa! I miss him. He said he was coming back when he went away. He promised. He did Pa. He can’t stay with his Grandfather.” Joe started to weep. “He promised, Pa!”

Hoss looked stricken and stared down at the cold eggs on his plate and put down his fork. “Pa, Joe is right. Adam promised to come back. He has to keep his promise.”

”Boys, we have to be patient and wait this one out.” Ben pulled Joe to him and held him close. “Sometimes you just have to be patient and let things take their own course. Like waiting for the tide to rise or winter to end or a calf to be born.”

Hoss got up from the table and put his arms around his brother and his father. “Guess you know best Pa… but I wish there was more we could do.”

“All we can do it wait, son. Your brother has to make up his own mind. He is a grown man now.”

Joe was not good at waiting and he knew he needed to figure some way to convince his brother Adam to get home. Adam had promised him and Cartwrights keep their promises. Cartwright brothers stuck together. Little Joe knew he had to do something to bring Adam home.

Chapter 5

Three weeks after Ben received Adam’s letter, he and Hoss were riding up the slick, snowy trail to check on the stock in Long Meadow. Both were bundled up against the frigid gray day. Ben’s dark mood did little to make working with him easy or pleasant. Most of the hands were giving the boss wide berth. They stuck their noses into their chores and only spoke to boss when they had no other choice. That particular day, only easy going Hoss could stand being with him when they rode out to check how the herds and the fences were fairing after the latest snow. Ben was bone weary and there was plenty of work to do during the short hours of daylight. The dampness in the air and chill in the gusting wind told both riders that more snow was on the way.

Hoss studied the sky again, for the third time that morning. He had a bad feeling about the looming clouds and northern wind that was whipping off the lake. He was certain there was going to be another snowstorm, and soon. As he urged his horse along the bluff, he decided to tell Pa that they should finish up their chores and head back for home.

“Pa looks like we’re in for a big blow.”

Ben nodded grimly looking at the darkening sky. “I agree, Son.”

“Why don’t we head in?”

“Let’s finish what we started out to do. Take the right fork son.”

“Pa, you sure you want to go that way through the woods? It is pretty steep going…icy too. Maybe we should head around the south side. It may be a bit longer but it is flatter and less icy.”

”Just go.” Ben growled impatiently. The lack of sleep was definitely taking its toll on both his nerves and judgement. The midnight brandy and morning coffee was not helping resolve anything. Ben kicked his heels into the side of his horse and headed up the trail ahead of his son.

Tall in the saddle, Ben was lost in a fog of worry about Adam and not paying attention to the snowy trail or the low hanging pine limbs. Frosted with the weight of the damp snow, many of the boughs dangled low over the trail.

”Hustle up Hoss.” Ben snapped leading his son down the steep trail. “It is getting dark I want to be done checking that stock before nightfall.”

Carelessly, the rancher turned around in the saddle to look over his shoulder at his son without thinking about the low hanging tree limbs.

“Pa! Look out!” Hoss shouted.

Before he could avoid it, Ben’s head thudded into one of the sagging branches. His hat flew off and a shower of wet snow sprayed to the ground. Ben’s horse hit an icy patch, stumbled and pitched Ben headlong down the hill.

Hoss quickly pulled his mount to a halt. The sixteen year old leaped off his horse and half ran and half slid down the slope after his fallen father. Ben lay sprawled in a heap at the base of a drift.

“Pa! Are you ok! Pa!”

Ben looked up at his bellowing bearlike son lumbering down the hill. He didn’t feel any pain more than foolish hurt pride at the tumble he had taken. He was sat up and laughed at the sight of the Hoss barreling down the slope like a crazed grizzly.

By the time Hoss reached him, Ben was checking himself out for injuries.

“Pa are you ok?” The boy picked up his father’s hat from half way up the hill and dusted the snow from it.

There was a gash on Ben’s forehead from the branch and a few scrapes but he felt ok. “I’m fine son, guess all these heavy clothes and the snow kept me from getting hurt too bad. I have a pretty hard head.”

“Did you hurt anything?” the worried boy asked handing his father his hat.

”Just my pride. Give me my hat and a hand son. I feel like a gol dang fool”

Hoss extended a big paw to Ben and yanked his father upright.

”Ooof!” Ben grunted. “All excepting my left knee. Whew.” Ben let out a breath as he put his weight on his legs to stand up and his knee buckled. Help me up the hill, Boy.” He gritted his teeth and leaned against his husky son.

Ben rested his weight on the right leg and Hoss put his arm around him. “Lean on me Pa, I’ll bring you over to that rock and then I’ll go get your horse.”

Hoss helped his father over to a rocky out cropping and went back up the hill to lead his father’s horse over to him. With his son’s help, Ben grabbed the saddle and swung himself up on his horse, still feeling more foolish than injured.

By the time they reached the house, Ben’s knee had really started to swell and get hot and he started to feel even more annoyed with himself about his carelessness. Hoss helped him into the house and bandaged him up.

“Want me to ride into town for the Doc?”

”What for Son? To tell him your Pa has a hard head and less sense than the town drunk? No boy, you did just fine. Besides, a storm is on the way and there is no need for you or the doc to get caught in it.”

Ben realized he was lucky he wasn’t hurt more seriously. “Can’t believe what I did,” he said to Hoss. “Good thing you were there to give me a hand and get me back on my horse and home safe.”

“Glad to help, Pa,” Hoss said as he gathered up the mess from bandaging up his father.

“I really have to think about my other boys… if I break my fool neck and Adam stays in Boston…. What would become of Hoss and Little Joe?“ Ben thought. He knew he could not let this fog in his brain destroy what he did have. Nothing was more important to him than his sons and he had to start taking care of his boys like a father, not his boys taking care of some fool drunk riding around the Ponderosa crashing into trees with his head.

Ben spent the next few days resting on the settee with his leg propped upon a pillow. Hop Sing fussed over him and muttered in Chinese. Doc Martin had ridden out one afternoon to check on Ben after Little Joe had “accidentally” bumped into the physician after school and “accidentally” let it slip out that his Pa was laid out on the settee with a hurt leg and big lump on his head.

Ben eventually worked out what he would write to his son.  He limped over to his desk and put pen to paper.

Dear Adam,

I know how hard this must be for you, my son. I was once a young man not knowing whether to stay in the East or go west.  A man must pick his own path in life for himself, from his own heart and his own head.

Whatever decision you make, whether you chose to stay in Boston or return here to the ranch or take another course in life, the choice must be yours to make. I respect your ability to make this decision on your own and plot a true course on your own life.

Whatever the outcome, I am very proud of you and will always be proud of you, my son.

Adam I love you with all my heart.

I will be waiting patiently for you to decide what path to pick.

We all miss you very much.

Your father

Then it was a just a matter of waiting.

His mood turning grayer as the long winter days wore on but Ben Cartwright drew on a reserve of patience he never knew he had.

Chapter 6

“Little Joe, what’s wrong with you?” Kate Wallace plopped down next to her friend at recess. They sat in the shaded corner of the school house between the rickety back steps and the outhouse. It was far away from the playground where their classmates were enjoying the break from lessons. “Are you sick?”

Joe Cartwright was sitting very quietly, his back to the clapboard wall of the building. Usually he was at the epicenter of the running and jumping herd of all the little boys chasing each other around at recess time.

“Leave me alone.” Joe muttered. She realized he was crying and didn’t want anyone to see him. He wiped his nose on his sleeve.

“Are you sick? Did you get hurt?” Kate persisted. She was not known for backing down when she wanted to know something. Her mother said she was just like her Uncle Foster, the editor of the Territorial Enterprise, in this respect.

“No, I’m not sick.” he said forlornly.

“Then what’s wrong?” Kate asked.

“It’s something my Pa told Hoss and me yesterday. He said my brother Adam might not come back home.”

Katie vaguely remembered Adam Cartwright. He was older than Hoss, much older than she and Little Joe were. Long ago, Adam had often come to the Wallace house to visit with her father. He would bring Little Joe to play with Kate while he sat with her father at the kitchen table talking about becoming and engineer and studying mathematics. Hank Wallace helped the young man learn most of the more advanced mathematics he needed to pass the entrance exams for college. Even now, years later, there would be letters sent back and forth between Joe’s big brother and her father.

“Why is Adam doing that?” Kate asked. She slid down next to Joe and leaned against the school house wall unconcerned if her dress got dirty. “Why won’t he come home?”

“I don’t know.” Joe sniffed one last time and rubbed his the tears from his eyes with his dirty fist. Joe’s eyes were red and his dirty face tear streaked. He would be mortified that any of the boys should see him crying but he knew Kate wouldn’t tell anyone. They often trusted each other with secrets.

“My brother wrote a letter to my Pa and said there are all these things for him in Boston, like pretty ladies and fine places to eat.”

“I got to do something, Kate. Pa said we have to wait for him to make up his mind but that ain’t good enough for me. I can’t wait that long. Do you think I should go to Boston and bring him back home?”

”Gee Joe, Boston is awfully far away!  It would take you weeks and months to get there. ” Kate shook her head at Joe. She had never seen Joe so forlorn and she felt terribly for him even though her friend clearly had no idea how far away Boston was from Nevada Territory. Didn’t he ever do his geography homework or look at a map?

“Weeks and months?” Joe looked even more miserable.

“Maybe you could write to him and tell him that you want him home.”

”But he said there are special things for him in Boston. That’s what Pa read in the letter.

”So tell him there are special things here in Virginia City and then you can lure him back home. Just like when you go fishing and put a big fat juicy worm on your line.”

Joe laughed at her remark and he pictured himself baiting his fishing line with a fat worm, tossing it into the creek and pulling out his oldest brother all wet and dripping.  “Would you help me write the letter?”
”Sure I will.” Kate smiled; glad she could cheer him up. “What are friends for, Joe?”

Chapter 7

Adam looked at the envelope sitting on the marble topped table in the front foyer of the Stoddard home. Even without even picking it up he recognized Little Joe’s backward slanting handwriting. Adam picked up the envelope and slit it open with his pocketknife.  He pulled out two pieces of paper folded crookedly together. Adam carefully opened the letter and smoothed it out to read it.

One was a letter written on lined copy paper:

Dear Adam,

I hate school very much.

I hate it every day except on Saturday and Sunday.

I miss Hoss in my school. No bullies picked on me and my friends when he was in the school.

Please tell Pa that I should not go to school and I can work with Hoss on the ranch.

Pa hurt his nee.

I miss you very much.

Your brother,

Joseph Francis Cartwright

The second piece looked like a sheet of ledger paper that had been crookedly torn from one of Pa’s ledgers.  Adam smoothed that page out too. Written in a childish hand was a long list of names.

“What the heck is little Joe sending me?” Adam puzzled. He still wasn’t quite used to the idea that Joe was old enough to be reading and writing and in fourth grade. He still pictured his little brother at six, the age Little Joe was when Adam went east.

He looked down again at the ledger sheet and tried to make sense of it. Neatly printed but filled with misspellings was the title “Fine eating places in vir. City” with an alphabetical list starting with Buket of Blud and ending with Zelda’s café (reel good pie)

The next column on the ledger was label “Ladies” and had a list of female names accompanied by hair color and an occasional notation like “smells good in church”,” very pretty “ or  “has all her teeth” or “ dances in buket of blud”  “lovely and pretty and nice pie”

Adam tried to make heads or tails out of what was clearly a major effort for the little brother who hated school so much. He stood staring at the lists in front of him and scratched his head in confusion.

He heard soft footsteps behind him.

“Hello Adam”

”Liza!”

He turned to see Liza Bruce and enveloped her in his embrace. Tall. Adam lifted her off her feet with his enthusiasm and spun her around the hallway. “What a wonderful surprise! What are you doing here?”

”My father is meeting with Captain Stoddard and he suggested it would be just a lovely idea for me to come along with him just in case you showed up for dinner. I told him that you can’t study until midnight every night.”

Adam pulled her closer and looked down at her heart shaped face. Her violet eyes met his gaze.  “You are not only beautiful but you are a very smart woman. And that, my sweet Liza, is why I love you so very much.”

She looked up at Adam. No gentleman had ever called her a woman. Other men had professed their love to her but no one had called her a woman. Men usually called her “young lady”. There was something very appealing about Adam’s comment about being a woman. There was something about how he said the words that raised her temperature and made her heart beat more rapidly. In that instant Liza Bruce decided she was a woman, her father be damned. If she couldn’t have the husband she wanted, she would have what she wanted.

“What do you have there, Mr. Cartwright?” she put her hand on Adam’s sleeve and gently squeezed his arm. His heart skipped a beat.

”Ok, Miss Bruce. You are a very clever woman. Perhaps you can help me with this mystery. I just received this inscrutable letter from my baby brother Joe. Maybe you can figure out what business he is keeping records for. It certainly doesn’t look like anything my father raises on the ranch. ”

“Let me see, Mr. Cartwright.“ Liza smiled up at him coyly. She reached out for the papers. Her hand brushed his and her tongue flicked over her red lips. She was totally absorbed in deciphering Joe’s scrawl. As Liza read Little Joe’s letter Adam stood studying her. He was thankful that they were alone. Adam could stare at Liza without her being aware of his eyes on her. He drank every drop of her in like a thirsty man in the Death Valley would drink in cold water.

Liza’s shining black hair was smoothly piled high upon her head showing of the graceful curve of her neck. The tight bodice of her cobalt velvet gown was low cut revealing more cleavage than most proper young ladies in Boston would usually reveal. Adam towered above Liza and he totally enjoyed the view.

“Too bad Joe’s letter was so brief and Liza reads so quickly, “Adam thought. “She is going to catch me devouring her with my eyes.”

Liza felt his stare but continued to pretend to read the letter sent by an uneducated farm child. She was totally enjoying her power over Adam. She knew she was beautiful tonight and no man in Massachusetts could resist her charms. She made sure to appear not any brighter than her admirer nor unconcerned about his family.

Liza looked up. Her violet eyes met his downward gaze. She smiled at him catching what he was doing and moved closer thoroughly enjoying his lustful stares. The pair was so close that they were touching. Facing him, Liza rested her right hand on Adam’s chest.

“He seems so terribly unhappy, Adam, “she said tracing her finger on the front of his starched white shirt. “ Can’t you do something about his troubles? And your father is hurt? Did he injure his knee?”

“Is Pa hurt?” Distracted by Liza, Adam hadn’t even noticed that part of the letter. How did it happen he wondered. What else was going on back home that he doesn’t know about? How was Pa managing without him there to help out?

Liza’s flowery perfume filled his nostrils. She smelled like something familiar from long ago. Lilac? Roses? Like pink cherry blossoms.

“And Miss Bruce, please scrutinize the second document…” Liza held one side of the page and Adam the other. He pulled her closer still and took a few steps forward gently pushing her into the little alcove behind the staircase. “What do you think this thing is?”

“The paper? It looks like he spent a lot of time counting the citizens in your town.”

”Just the female citizens.” Adam added. “Females and restaurants…very mysterious.” He smiled and hoped he sounded casual and sophisticated. He couldn’t breathe for the nearness of her.

He inhaled the perfume of her raven hair. For an instant he thought “who cares what Little Joe wants as long as I can stand this close to Liza Bruce,” He felt the heat of her body next to him and he felt himself harden at her nearness.

He prayed that she couldn’t hear how loud his heart was beating as he ran his index finger slowly down the side of her face. He pulled her closer and closed his eyes. Nothing could be better than what he had in his arms here in Boston, nothing in the world.

Liza melted against him, returning his heat as he buried his face in her raven hair. He pressed himself against her. Liza sighed.

Quietly, Abel Stoddard and Charles Bruce stood in the shadow at the end of the hall. The two older men had just finished a meeting with their attorneys drawing up a contract to merge some of their most important assets. They could see the reflection of Adam and Liza in the tall hallway mirror opposite them. Captain Stoddard smiled as the two men surreptitiously watched the young couple embracing in the little alcove.

Adam and Liza and had absolutely no idea they were being observed and scrutinized. Certainly Adam would not be so boldly embracing Miss Bruce had he known both her father and his grandfather were so nearby spying on them.

Abel knew his grandson was a very handsome young man. The young man was strong and tall and quite intelligent. With his education and enterprise, with Abel Stoddard’s mentoring, Adam Cartwright had a bright future in front of him. Liza Bruce would make him a fine help mate and proper wife. It wouldn’t hurt one bit that she was the only heir to her father’s estate now that her brother was dead. Captain Stoddard could imagine the many handsome black haired sons Adam would give him to carry on the Stoddard Shipping Company. Everything Abel had planned for the boy in the last few years was coming into fruition just as he had hoped, just as he had arranged, just as he connived. Much like an easily won game of chess and he was ready to say “Check and mate” and savor his victory.

Stoddard had baited his trap, and waited patiently. Patience was always the key; patience and the correct motivation.

Adam would be the son he never had; the son Charles Bruce had lost when the Sea Breeze sank off of Nantucket. Adam would eventually take both their places as the head of Stoddard and Bruce.

And someday, a third of Ben Cartwright’s precious Ponderosa would be part of those holdings.

Captain Stoddard smiled at that thought of a third of Ben Cartwright’s precious Ponderosa ranch as part of Stoddard and Bruce. Nothing pleased Abel more than that marvelous bonus. Now all he had to do was out live Ben Cartwright.

Captain Stoddard and Charles Bruce inconspicuously turned and walked back into the book-lined study. Charles slowly, silently shut the door behind them while Abel reached for a bottle of fine French cognac on the polished sideboard. The bottle had arrived on one of his clipper ships the same week his grandson, Adam had arrived in Boston. Taking it as a sign for the future, Abel had set aside the cognac for just such a celebratory day. He slowly poured two generous portions into crystal glasses and offered one to Charles Bruce.

“To the merging of our holdings!” Captain Abel Stoddard toasted enthusiastically

“To the merging of our holdings.” Bruce repeated with a smile. “To the merger.”

Chapter 8

“Adam!” a voice cried out to him as he strode across snowy Boston Common.
Adam Cartwright turned to see who called have been calling him.

“Dennis!”

Dennis O’Mara loped down the path to his friend, his face split by a broad grin. His gray eyes were shining.

“Dennis! What are you doing here! I thought you would be gone well past New Year’s! How was New York City? What are you doing here so soon?” The words came tumbling happily out of Adam’s mouth.

The two friends grabbed each other around the shoulder and shook hands. Their breath made steamy clouds in the frigid air.

”New York was simply wonderful. Adam you would love it. Better than Boston. The people are much friendlier and less caught up in propriety and who they are and who they think their ancestors were.”

“How did the work go? Did you make the agreements?”

”The properties are more than even the Captain expected. I was able to negotiate them at a better price than your grandfather thought he would pay. This was really my chance to get a leg up and prove myself to The Old Man…. To prove myself to this entire damn city! Your grandfather sure put one over on Bruce. But then again, Adam, Charles Bruce deserves it…”

”Why would Dennis say that?” Adam thought. “What did Dennis have against Liza’s father?”

“I worked like a dog to impress your grandfather. I’m sure he never thought I could get everything done so quickly. You should have seen his face when I came into his office this morning. I thought he would swallow his pipe.”

Adam laughed at the thought of his Grandfather being astonished at anything.

“Was it lit?” Adam asked with mock seriousness.

“Was what lit?”

“The pipe Dennis. Did the Captain almost swallow a lit pipe?” Adam clasped his friends arm and looked him straight in the eye. ”Tell me the truth, my friend. Was the pipe lit or cold? Did he belch fire?”

Dennis smiled broadly at the picture.

“Thanks for watching out for my mother and the girls while I was gone. Adam. I really appreciated it.”

”Oh no thanks needed. It was my pleasure. You would have done the same for me, Dennis. It wouldn’t have been Christmas night without supper at the O’Maras and your Uncle Sean’s famous liquid refreshment. It’s a tradition now.”

“Sean said that you have been mooning over some lovely new lady. My youngest sister Peggy had really thought you would wait for her to grow up, but I guess now you would have to match her up with Little Joe. “

The two friends laughed at the thought of nine-year-old Peggy and nine year old Little Joe being betrothed.

“Who is this ravishing siren that has roped you, Cowboy?” Dennis teased. “She must be something quite special for you to give up on my darling sweet sister Peggy.”

The bells on the North Church chimed noon.

“Oh no. I’m going to be late for class. I’ve really got to go or the Professor will have my head.” Adam realized pulling away from his friend.

”But what about your lady friend?” Dennis teased.

“I have to get to class,” Adam took a step away from his friend. Then he had a good idea. “Dennis, what are you doing tomorrow night? Grandfather is having a splendid party. Now that you are back in Boston and so triumphant in New York, I am sure he would be glad for you to be there. Plenty of fine food. Music for dancing, too. The servants have been cooking and cleaning and setting up all week. I’m sure Grandfather will be glad to show you off and brag about the deal you made in New York. Come to the party tomorrow night and you can meet her. I can’t wait for you to meet each other.”

”Tomorrow? I’ll see you then. I can’t wait to meet the young lady that has my best friend so smitten.” Dennis laughed.

“Tomorrow!” Adam called over his shoulder as he ran off down the snowy path.

Chapter 9

 

Adam Cartwright, resplendent in a new black broadcloth suit, was standing in the foyer just outside the parlor door waiting for Liza to return from upstairs. He was done with socializing for the time being, and just watching the guests who milled about as they arrived.

Wilson, the butler greeted each guest and directed the other servants to take coats and hats or to bring refreshments. Long linen covered tables filled with refreshments lined the wide hallway from the front door to the back of the house. The Stoddard cook had out done herself preparing silver trays of sweet meats and petite fours and cookies, tea sandwiches and sweets, trays of sliced breads, cheeses and meats and towers of fruits and exotic shell fish. Huge punch bowls were filled with both sweet punches for the teetotalers or rum punches with fancy garnishes. Waiters walked among the guests carrying trays filled with fancy hors d’oevres and stemmed glasses of champagne.

Holding a tiny crystal cup of the rum punch in his hand, Adam planted himself where he could observe both the stairway as well as the arriving guests. He leaned on the doorframe enjoying the party. Adam couldn’t wait to introduce his best friend, Dennis to his beloved Liza. He was so taken with the wonderful Liza Bruce and he wanted to show her off to everyone, including his best friend, especially his best friend.

“Adam?” He heard her call him and his heart leaped in his chest. He looked up and saw Liza floating down the long staircase with some of the other female guests. She had never looked more beautiful. She was wearing an amethyst satin gown richly trim with sparkling beads and silken embroidery that contrasted with her pale complexion. Her shiny black hair was twisted in an elaborate up swept style and adorned with a jeweled silver comb.

Adam stared into her eyes as she approached. Their eyes met and Liza smiled. Her beautiful violet eyes framed with long black lashes as always drove him mad. Adam felt he could drown in their sparkling depths. He took a deep breath.

“Were you standing here long?”

”Does it matter?” he smiled, glad that she was standing near her.

”No, not really.”

He smiled appreciatively at his sweetheart as she took his arm.

She looked up at Adam and asked, “Has your friend arrived yet?”

“No, but he should be here soon. I can’t wait for him to meet you, Liza. And for you to meet Dennis.”

”Dennis? “ Liza took a sudden breath. Her eyes widened in surprise her smile disappeared. Adam had only told her that an old friend had unexpectedly arrived back in Boston and he had extended a last minute invitation to the fellow.  ”Adam, let’s dance. The music is so very lovely” she pulled at his hand trying to get him to move towards the party.

“In just a minute, we will dance the next one.” Adam stood his ground.

The front door opened again with a cold blast of night air for another group of elegant guests. The foyer quickly became very crowded. Liza was squeezed between Adam and the doorway to the dining room. Her view of the front door suddenly blocked by her escort’s broad shoulders.

“It’s very crowded, here. Let’s go dance.” She pulled his hand with increasing urgency. “I want to dance, right now.”

“Adam!” a friendly voice called. A hand waved above the guests’ heads.

“Dennis over here!” Adam waved above the throng of guests. He grabbed his friend’s arm as Dennis politely squeezed past a stout dowager in a green satin gown and her white haired husband. “Excuse me, Mrs. Van Dyne. Good evening Mr. Van Dyne.” He nodded.

Adam began the introductions. ”Liza Bruce, may I present….”

”Dennis? “Her face paled and her eyes widened with recognition.

”Liza?” Dennis was clearly stunned at seeing Liza Bruce standing next to Adam Cartwright in the front foyer of Captain Stoddard’s elegant home. His jaw dropped open and his face immediately flushed.

Adam looked back and forth to the shocked faces of his best friend and the beautiful raven-haired young woman who had stolen his heart. “What in the world was going on here?” He thought. His eyes went back and forth trying to figure out what had just occurred.

Just at that moment, one of his grandfather’s friends, Mr. Carroll pulled at his arm “Adam, come here a minute I want you to meet Mr. Pauling. He has been looking for you all evening.”

”Go Adam, I’ll wait for you here.” Liza directed sharply. She stared at Dennis.

“I’ll send Adam right back, Miss Bruce.” Mr. Carrol assured the young lady courteously. The gentleman was totally oblivious to the tense scene unfolding in the foyer.” We won’t be but a minute. Mr. Pauling wants to meet Adam and then I will bring him right back to you.”

Adam mindlessly followed Carrol through the crowd, still mystified over what had just occurred between Dennis and Liza. Did they know each other? What was going on? Adam was totally disoriented.

It took no more than five minutes for Carrol to introduce Cartwright to Mr. Pauling and for them to exchange courtesies. Unfortunately, by the time Adam wound his way back into the foyer, both Liza and Dennis had disappeared.

Adam spent the next half hour anxiously circulating through the crowded Stoddard house looking for them. He went upstairs and then down again. He squeezed past a knot of guests and went from the front parlor to the dining room. Then he made his way upstairs again. He even asked Mrs. Carroll to check if his young lady was in the rear bedroom that had been designated for the lady’s to primp. Perhaps Liza was in there fixing her hair. No one seemed to have seen either Liza Bruce or Dennis O’Mara. Both Adam’s best friend and his lady seemed to have evaporated.

As Adam walked down the stairs once again, he stood there for a minute high above the party and scanned the celebrating crowd trying to spot either Liza’s amethyst gown or Dennis’s sandy hair.

He saw his grandfather hastily pulling Charles Bruce by the arm down the crowded hall towards his study. Adam said to himself. He was totally bewildered by this time and hurriedly squeezed through the crowd trying to catch up with the two older men. Perhaps her father knew where Liza is?

As he pushed past guests, to make his way down the hall Adam muttered, ”Excuse me, excuse me,” The tables of elaborate refreshments were barely touched at this end of the house. The crowd thinned as he made his way from the front foyer to the back of the house. “Mr. Bruce, wait!” Adam called to Liza’s father.

He walked a few paces suddenly found a man and woman embracing in the alcove under the stairs. In a flash, Adam realized it was Dennis and Liza.

What was Dennis doing with Liza?

Adam was neither seeing, nor thinking, too clearly. All he could think was Dennis was kissing Liza. His best friend was kissing his girl.

Adam was enraged. Abruptly, Adam Cartwright took two swift steps towards Dennis, reached out and grabbed a handful of his coat yanking the man around to face him. O’Mara was caught completely off guard when Adam slammed a fist into his face. He grabbed Dennis by his left shoulder and spun him around. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Stop! Adam stop!“ Liza Bruce shrieked.

Adam buried a hard driven fist in the depths of Dennis’ belly. He quickly followed it up with a sharp upper cut to the jaw that jarred Dennis’ head back and knocked the larger man totally off balance. Dennis lost his footing and careened backward knocking over a table and sending overflowing platters crashing to the floor. Crystal and porcelain dishes shattered explosively on the marble floor of the hallway. Fancy pastries and cookies everywhere scattered everywhere. The contents of the crystal punch bowl splashed onto the wallpaper in a bloody red wave.

Everything around Adam was twisted and loud and out of focus. Blind rage blasted its way through Adam. His ears rang with the shrieks and shouts of dismayed guests caught in the middle of fisticuffs. The oak door of the study swung open and slammed into the wall of the hallway with a loud bang. Abel Stoddard and Charles Bruce ran out to see what the horrible commotion was all about.

The orchestra abruptly stopped playing. Shocked guests left the dance floor and pushed into the hallway to see what was going on in the hallway.

“Stop it this minute!” Abel demanded.” Adam!” He clutched his grandson’s arm in an ineffective attempt to break up the fight.

Adam yanked free from the older man’s grasp and moved aggressively closer to Dennis. His polished dress shoes crunched on broken dishes. “What the hell in going on Dennis! What the hell are you doing with my girl?” bellowed Adam Cartwright. His angry voice echoed off the paneled wall.

Someone stronger grabbed him and held him firmly from behind and another pair of hands pinned his arms. Adam would have jumped forward, to leap on top Dennis but for the rough hands that held him more or less upright.

One of the burly butlers, Wilson, held him in a tight grip, his forearm bent around Adam’s throat while two other men held tightly to Adam’s arms. Adam was rendered helpless and momentarily unable to continue fighting.

Somehow, amid the broken glass, squashed fruit and crushed pastries, Dennis O’Mara struggled up onto his hands and knees, clutching himself where it hurt most. Guests were reaching out hands helping him to right himself. Despite his shock and pain and embarrassment, Dennis’s instinct was to stand up.

“Hey, Adam! Adam. I’m sorry Adam.” Dennis stammered trying to make apologies to his friend.

“Adam! Stop, I love him!” Liza screamed clutching at Adam’s broad cloth coat. “I love Dennis, not you! I never loved you! Don’t you understand! I never loved you.”

The words hit him like a shotgun blast to his gut.

“I don’t love you. I never did,” Liza Bruce repeated.

Wilson held Adam tighter against his barrel chest as Cartwright attempted to break free. For an instant, hearing Liza’s words, Adam stopped struggling. Wilson caught off guard lost his grip. Like a trapped mustang, Adam heaved loose. He pushed past the shocked guests and bolted out of the front door of the Stoddard house and away into the night.

Chapter 10

Adam exploded through the front door and stumbled down the icy front steps. He almost knocked over two late arriving guests and he hurled himself away from his grandfather’s house. Darting across the street in a panic-stricken rage he barely avoided being run over by a handsome cab that was coming down the street.

Adam ran until his heart almost exploded in his chest and his lungs could not suck in enough air. When he could run no more, he walked aimlessly through the dark streets not knowing where he was headed or why.

His mind was racing as he walked the empty streets of Boston. What had just happened to him? What was his girl doing with his best friend? Liza said she never loved him. Never. Never. Never loved him. He was devastated and humiliated. How could she betray him like that? How could Dennis?

Adam walked dispiritedly through the frigid December night until he realized he was near the Charles River at the spot where he used to go to think and find solace under the fragrant pine trees on the hill. He couldn’t return to the Stoddard house; not now, not ever. He would kill that Dennis O’Mara with his bare hands if he saw him again.

Adam had never felt so confused or betrayed or alone in his entire life.

The cold wind off the river cut right through his suit. His neck and collar were wet and Adam realized tears were streaming down his face. His legs were cramped and his feet were cold and wet from tromping through the slushy streets in his dress shoes. He had to sit down. Adam ran his fingers through his black hair, then wiped his sleeve across his face. Just a few hours earlier he had thought his life was wonderfully perfect and in a brief instant it had all ended.

Sitting down under the cluster of pine trees Adam rested his back against the trunk of the tree. Shivering in the cold damp night air, Adam turned up the collar of his ruined dress suit. He stared sadly out at the blackness of the river. He rested his face against his raised knees and closed his eyes.

“AAADaM! Adam Cartwright! Adam!”

Startled, Adam opened his eyes and sat up. He heard someone calling his name. He must have fallen asleep as the next thing he realized the sky was getting light. He looked up and gazed through the fringe of the pine limbs. He saw a gray haired man striding towards him. For an instant, in his wretched confusion, he thought he saw his father, Ben Cartwright coming towards him. In that confused moment, he wondered how in the world could his Pa could be in Boston.

“Adam? Laddie we been looking all over for you, son.” Adam rubbed the crustiness out of his eyes and realized it was Sean O’Mara, Dennis’s uncle, approaching him. “Adam, are you ok?” Sean bent down to extend his hand to Adam.

“Leave me alone Sean” Adam growled pulling away from the older man.

”Adam, Dennis and I have been looking for you all night. He needs to set things straight with you. Son. Let him talk to you for just a few minutes.”

”Sean if he comes near me, I’ll kill him. What the hell was he doing kissing Liza?”

Over Sean’s shoulder, Adam could see Dennis limping up the path. His eye was swollen closed and his lip was split from the blows Adam had dealt him.  “Adam, let me explain.” Dennis pleaded. “Please, Adam.”

Sean grabbed the front of Adam’s coat and yanked him up from the ground. The husky gray haired bar keep pinned the cold, exhausted young man against the tree trunk. Adam tried to pull free, but years of keeping order at the Golden Shamrock had honed Sean’s skill at keeping the most enraged men under his control. Adam was cornered.

“Hold still boy and give Dennis five minutes to say his piece. If you still want to kill him, I’ll let you at him. Is that fair?” Sean said firmly.

Adam nodded.

“Adam, I’m sorry,” Dennis began.

”Dennis, once Sean lets me go, I am going to kill you with my bare hands.”

Sean yanked Adam’s arm behind his back and ordered once again” I told you, Adam, listen to him for five minutes and then, if you still want, I’ll let you have a go at him. Understand?”

Adam nodded and winced as Sean twisted his arm harder. “Ok, Sean.”

“Now remember, I told you to listen, boy.” Sean ordered.

” Adam, I’m truly sorry about last night.”

“Sorry! “ Adam growled. Dennis held his ground but Sean gripped Adam tighter just to be sure.

“Remember I told you about the woman I was in love with…” Dennis started again. “Adam, it was Liza. We were together five years before you even met her.  We were going to be married. When my father was alive, Charles Bruce felt I was a suitable son-in-law but as soon as my father was killed.” Dennis stopped for a minute and took a ragged breath. “As soon as my father went down with the Sea Breeze, I was no longer good enough for Mr. Bruce. We had no more money since all my father’s assets were tied up in that ship. Charlie Junior went down on that ship too. Do you think Liza’s father would let her marry the son of the Captain of the Sea Breeze? The son of the man who he felt was responsible for the loss of his own son? “

Adam froze for a minute. Sean eased up his grasp on his arm. “Liza was the one you were in love with? The one you said lied to you?”

Dennis nodded. “She didn’t lie. She still loves me. It was her father. He sent her away and made sure she didn’t get any of my letters. I wrote her every day for weeks, for months and he made sure she didn’t get a one. He told her I had married someone else. The son of a bitch told her all sorts of lies and that I even had two children with this woman. Bruce told her that.”

Dennis stopped for a minute. “Charles Bruce made sure Liza hated me. He even made up details of his lies about me, about the fictional wife and the children I had. He even named the children…Dennis Junior and Joseph Francis.”

“Joseph Francis?” That was his brother’s name. Adam shivered.

“Liza never loved you, Adam. I’m sorry.” Dennis said gently.

Sean released Adam from his grasp. The young man didn’t move. He had no fight left in him.

“She loved you not me?”

Dennis nodded. “I’m sorry Adam.’ He put his arm around his friend’s shoulder.

“Can I just ask you one question?” Adam whispered hoarsely.

“What is it?”

”Did my grandfather know about this?”

Dennis and Sean remained silent.

“Dennis, tell me. Did my grandfather know about this?” Adam bellowed.  “Did he? You have to answer this.”

Dennis nodded. “Yes. Captain Stoddard knew all about it. The entire scheme was his personal idea.”

Chapter 11

Later the next morning, a disbelieving Adam Cartwright stood on the icy marble steps of his Grandfather’s house. He hesitated for a moment before he hammered with both fists on the carved doors of the Stoddard house until one of the grim faced servants opened the door. He burst into the house demanding to see his grandfather.

Without saying a word, Wilson, the very  same burly butler who had pulled him off Dennis O’Mara the night before led Adam Cartwright down the hallway. They walked past house maids who were ambitiously sweeping up the shattered glass, mopping up puddles of spilled custards and scraping up trampled fruit. One was carefully scrubbing the blood red punch stains off the imported wallpaper. Wilson led the bedraggled young man past the alcove under the staircase to Captain Stoddard’s study and knocked on the door before he opened it.

Abel Stoddard was sitting at his desk. He shooed Wilson away and gestured for his grandson to sit in the straight back chair opposite him.

“So Grandson, where did you go last night? Is there is something you want to talk to me about? ” Abel Stoddard sat imposingly behind his massive desk.

Furious and filled with rage at the deception, Adam sat stiffly in the chair opposite his grandfather, his jaw clenched. He glared at Abel Stoddard and silently tried to maintain his self-control.

“Adam, I am speaking to you! Where were you last night? Answer me when I speak to you, young man!” Captain Stoddard roared standing in an aggressive stance.

“I …I needed to walk. To think about what was really happening and what Liza said… what she said last night. “Adam nervously started.

”Everything Liza Bruce said, she is wrong. Dennis is wrong as well…” the Captain started. “They are both liars.”

“Grandfather, Liza Bruce doesn’t love me. She said that she never loved me. She. She always loved Dennis, not me.” Adam struggled to say what he knew now was the truth. “Never me.”

Figuring that the best defense was an offense, Abel Stoddard desperately attacked his grandson. ”Adam, your behavior is completely and totally unacceptable!” Stoddard raged. “Fighting, brawling, and breaking up my house, embarrassing me in front of my guests. This is the Stoddard house not a cowboy saloon, young man! This is Boston not the wild west!”

“I’m going home after graduation. I…I can’t stay here. Dennis told me everything.”

“I don’t know how your father raised you”

“Stop!” Adam exploded. He stood up abruptly with such force the chair flipped over with a crash. . He leaned over the desk; his face in his grandfather’s face.

“Lower your voice, young man!” Stoddard bellowed. “How dare you speak to me in that tone!”

“How dare I? How dare you do the despicable things you do!”

“I did absolutely nothing wrong. I always knew your father was second rate and incapable and you, Adam, are just like him. He didn’t raise you properly. ”

“Shut your hateful, lying mouth, Old Man. And don’t you ever, ever say anything about my father and how he raised me you despicable manipulative son of a bitch. If I am just like my father, then I am very proud that you see the resemblance.” A day earlier Adam would never have believed he could ever raise his voice at his grandfather in anger, no less shout and curse.

Now Adam glared menacingly at his own grandfather. Abel Stoddard made a futile attempt to stare Adam Cartwright down, to dominate the younger man. The Captain couldn’t and finally, turned his head and looked away. He had met his match years earlier with his son-in-law, Ben Cartwright. The battle made Ben abruptly leave Boston taking, Abel’s only grandchild, motherless Adam away from him.  Now Stoddard was reliving that battle with his grandson and this time, he refused to lose at any cost.

“Now, I understand why he never had anything to do with you after my mother died. You must have treated him the same way you treated me! “

”No Adam, you are completely wrong! “Stoddard banged his fist on the desk. “Your father was a stubborn irresponsible fool. He rejected every opportunity I offered him and saw fit to take you away from your Grandmother and me. He took you to live in the wilderness, far away from civilization and decent people.”

Stoddard was willing to use any weapon he had. The Captain did not care what price any person paid as long as he won what he wanted. Now the Captain was willing to win at any cost. He reached for the final weapon.

“Adam, do you think your step mother wanted you around? Why do you think she wrote to me years ago? She wanted to get rid of you, Adam. That hussy wanted to get rid of my daughter’s son and have Ben Cartwright all to herself, to have Ben Cartwright acknowledge only her boy not you, Adam,” Stoddard repeated. “Only her boy not you.”

Adam was bewildered by everything Stoddard was saying. ”Marie? What does Marie have to do with all this? She’s been dead for years. “

“She wrote to me. Marie wanted to get rid of you and needed me to take you off her hands.”

By then, Adam had lost all trust in his grandfather. This was outrageous. The man had to be lying again.

Sure, Adam thought, when Pa first married Marie, Adam and his stepmother had not initially gotten along. He knew now the discord was almost entirely his doing. Marie had always loved him but young Adam refused to let her win his heart. Marie was the one who encouraged him to learn math and taught him music and drawing. She read poetry to them at night before he and Hoss fell asleep. She even encourage him to write to his grandparents back in Boston while his father ignored any connection to them. She loved Adam and Hoss just as if they were her own sons.

By the time Little Joe was born, Adam was as much Marie’s son as he was Ben’s.

No, Adam concluded, Marie would not have wanted to get rid of him any more than she would have wanted to get rid of Little Joe. His Grandfather was lying once again.

“How can you say that Abel?” Adam demanded abruptly. Suddenly, Adam couldn’t call the man “Grandfather” anymore. “You know that isn’t true.”

“I’ll show you! “ His grandfather opened a drawer and pulled out a bundle of letters neatly tied with a green ribbon. He slowly untied the ribbon, fanned out the envelopes and selected one. He thrust a letter into his grandson’s hand. “Look, read this!”

Seeing Marie’s precise, feminine handwriting after so many years after he lost her was completely startling to Adam. It was bewildering but in a strange way, it was also comforting. Marie may not have been the mother who gave birth to him, but to Adam, she was the mother of his heart.

“Read the letter, Adam. Marie certainly did not want you around. She wanted Ben Cartwright to favor her son and to get you out of the way.”

My Dear Captain and Mrs. Stoddard,

I beg your forgiveness on my impertinence in contacting you without being formally introduced but me feel that this is a matter of great importance .The welfare of your dear grandson is far more important than any breech of etiquette.

My name is Marie Cartwright. I recently married your former son-in-law Benjamin Cartwright. Young Adam is now my stepson.

He is a very dear boy and in good health. Adam is a very intelligent and almost eleven years old. His hair and eyes are dark. Benjamin tells me that the boy looks much like his mother. Adam reads and does mathematics extremely well. He is a very talented in music and a responsible and intelligent child.

I am writing on this sweet child’s behalf to see if there is any interest on your part in writing to him. I know you had a falling out with his father upon the tragic death of your daughter.  My dear husband refuses to elaborate to me the details of this rift and I respect his privacy.

 I beg you to not let Benjamin know that I am in contact with you. My love for my son is far more important than any unease this may cause in my dealings with my husband.

Adam has come to me with questions regarding his late mother’s family in Boston and why he no longer has contact with anyone from Elizabeth’s family.

I anxiously await your reply to me.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Benjamin Cartwright

Adam read the letter slowly.

“My love for my son is far more important than any unease this may cause in my dealings with my husband.”

Was she writing about Little Joe? Her son, Little Joe? Adam’s was weary mind was not making quick sense of Marie’s words.

He swallowed hard and took a deep breath trying to get his weary brain to focus more on the details. Then Adam read the letter again. There was absolutely nothing written in this letter indicating that Marie wanted to get rid of him. Marie didn’t request the Captain and his grandmother to take him away from her.  Adam was embarrassed at the love and pride she had expressed for him.

Marie wrote “He is a very dear boy and in good health. Adam is a very intelligent and almost eleven years old. His hair and eyes are dark. Benjamin tells me he looks much like his mother. Adam reads and does mathematics extremely well. He is a very talented in music and a responsible and intelligent child.”

Almost eleven years old?

Not her son, Little Joe, her son Adam.

Adam looked at the date on the letter. This written was during the time he was the most obnoxious, rude and completely despicable to his new stepmother. This letter said nothing to do with her wanting Joseph to be Pa’s son and banishing Adam. Joe hadn’t even been born yet. Reexamining the date of the letter, Marie she couldn’t even have been pregnant with Little Joe when she wrote to Abel. The letter was written purely out of love for Adam and to help him to connect with his lost grandparents. It was just like Marie to attempt to help him find something he didn’t even know he needed.

It was just like Abel Stoddard to distort the facts to suit his selfish purpose.

He remembered those years well. Whenever he would ask his father about his grandfather, Ben would say, “Your grandfather likes to believe his version of reality is the truth. He and I parted on bad terms, Son.” Ben refused to discuss it in more detail saying someday Adam would be old enough to understand.

Now, Adam understood.

He suddenly recalled the day that Marie surprised him with a letter from his grandparents. Adam had always assumed that Abel and Martha Stoddard had initiated contact with him. Now he knew otherwise.

Marie had made it happen out of her love for him.

After that first letter, Adam and his grandparents started to write to each other. They corresponded with each other for years. Even after Marie died, he continued writing to them. At some point, the Stoddards had invited him to come to Boston to study. It took a lot of work on Adam’s part, but eventually Adam convinced his father to let him go. Perhaps this was why Ben Cartwright had been so uneasy with Adam wanting to east? Ben must have distrusted any plans laid out for Adam by Captain Abel Stoddard.

“Adam, “Ben had said the night before his son went east “There are some people who think only with their heads and don’t let their hearts get involved with anything they do. They think people are just things to be moved around at their whim like so many chess pieces, like so much property rather than a living human soul. I raised you to use both your head and your heart, boy and be honorable no matter what. I would rather lose my land than my honor, Adam. Remember that no matter what happens.”

Marie didn’t arrange to send him away. She arranged for Adam’s grandparents to get to know their only grandchild. She probably even defied his father to help Adam accomplish this. Only Marie would dare defy Pa like that. Her intensions were loving and pure.

Pa had told him ““Your grandfather likes to believe his version of reality is the truth.”

The long ago conversation he had with Dennis swirled back into Adam’s consciousness. Adam had said “I’ve seen more than one fellow get shot or hung from a noose for short changing someone in a poker game or a horse trade. “ For a moment, Adam wished he had a gun or a length of rope to loop around his grandfather’s skinny neck.

“I’m going home after graduation. I’m leaving now. I can’t stay under your roof one minute longer.” Adam Cartwright turned his back to his grandfather to walk out of the house he had lived in the last four years of his life. “I’ll send someone for my things.”

Then he strode down the hall and out the front door without looking back.

After the door slammed, Abel Stoddard sat back heavily in his chair. His ungrateful grandson had walked out on him without a word of farewell, without a word of thanks. He had lost Adam for the second time. The first time was when Elizabeth died and Ben Cartwright carried the screaming baby out of this very house. Captain Stoddard did not want to accept defeat on a goal he had pursued with so much work for so long. He wanted Adam.

Stoddard looked at Marie Cartwright’s letter abandoned on his desk, the letter written by a woman who was long dead.

“I wonder how long it will be before Marie’s son is old enough to go to college?” he thought.

Part 3

Life Changes in the Blink of an Eye

Chapter 1

Adam was coming home from Boston.

His family had all waited for months for his decision. Now, Adam was finally coming home.

“Joseph, I’ve been telling you for over a week to get a haircut after school and you did not obey my request. You had your chance to be responsible on your own. You had a chance to go with Hoss and somehow squirmed out of that and this is it. Now it is an order and if you don’t obey me, you will face serious consequences. Today, I am going to meet you at the school house and take you directly to the barber I am tired of people looking at you in church like you are a shaggy sheep or a riverboat gambler.”

Last week Ben would have been shouting at the boy, but this morning he was in too good a mood to lose his temper.

”Pa, maybe we should get Little Joe some purty pink hair bows if he wants to keep all those purty curls.” Hoss teased, reaching past his brother for another helping of fried potatoes.

“Hair bows. Hair bows!” Joe shouted. “What the heck is wrong with you? I’m not a girl!”

”Gee Josephine… sure could fool me!”

Joe’s spoon flew across the table. Hoss ducked just in time and the utensil crashed into the wall over his head.

”Enough!” Ben bellowed immediately. He wanted to stop the teasing before Joe could throw any more silverware or reach for the crockery. Ben pointed his finger at his youngest boy.

“Haircut today. No arguing. I will be meeting you at the school house door and take you directly there myself. Today.” Ben said firmly.

Joe had looked up at him and seemed about to say something to protest when Hoss stood up, wiped his chin and said “Joe, let’s go.”

No fighting or griping or dawdling for once from either boy. The two brothers just immediately went off to work and school with absolutely no fuss. Ben couldn’t figure that one out but he was certainly not going to complain about it.

It was a grand, grand day and his son was coming home. Adam was coming home to the Ponderosa.

Chapter 2

Dear Hoss,

I need you to do some older brother work. I got some crazy letter from Little Joe today and the best I can figure out is that someone is bullying him at school. Don’t forget you promised to watch out for him while I was away.

 I wager, if you make a very noticeable presence in the schoolyard you will scare anybody likely to bother Little Brother without having to punch anyone in the nose or break any heads. I surely don’t want Roy Coffee putting you in jail for smashing some schoolyard ruffian nor do I want you to embarrass Joe by letting Pa get involved.

Just scare the beans out of whoever it is and call it a day.

I miss you all very much.

Affectionately,

Your older Brother,

Adam

PS try to get Joe to explain what the ledger list he sent me was all about. He listed all the restaurants and every female in Virginia City as if he is running a mail order bride business or soliciting visitors to Virginia City. I can’t believe that boy is old enough to be noticing girls but Joe has always been quite a handful.

A.

Each morning that week Hoss accompanied Joe to school. He had contrived reasons to be in town each day. Normally, his father would have seen through most of his boys’ deceptions, but he was weary and didn’t seem to be paying close attention to what was going on. It was easy for the two youngest Cartwrights to come up with reasons for Hoss to be in town early each morning. They also found some reason for him to still be around town to meet Little Joe at the end of the school day.

The two brothers rode into Virginia City in the buckboard. Hoss mentally went over the long list of chores his Pa had reviewed with him the night before. Hoss would deliver the papers his Pa had worked on for the lumber bid to Mr. Levi Victor at the lawyer’s office. Then he would bring the letters Ben and the boys had written Adam to the post office at the general store. Finally Hoss had to pick up the machine parts for the mill and supplies that Mr. Lowell had ordered for them.  The freight wagon was finally due into Virginia City this afternoon with the mill parts.

Pa could be finished with his morning chores while Mr. Victor would review the lumber bids. When Ben finished with all his work and the meeting with the lawyer, he would meet up with Hoss at the Lowell’s store and help finish loading up the wagon. At the end of school, they would be ready to take Joe to the barber and if all went well with the bids, Ben promised his boys a nice celebratory dinner at the hotel.

Hoss thought about dinner at the hotel. He hoped that chicken and dumplings or Mulligan stew were the specials of the evening. Both were his favorites.

As the buckboard bumped along the muddy road, Joe was unusually silent.  While Hoss contemplated the delicious prospect of chicken and dumplings, his younger brother was lost in thought about Adam’s battle plan. “Failure is not an option,” Adam had written to them. “Cartwright Brothers stick together.”

Each morning that week Joe and Hoss rode into town in the buckboard so that Joe would be at school on time. That is what Hoss had told their father. Ben was very proud that the responsible big brother was making sure his mischievous little brother was not tardy. That explanation was not totally true but the Cartwright brothers did not want to tell their father the entire story.

Neither Little Joe nor Hoss told their father that the idea was part of what the brothers had named “Adam’s Battle Strategy”. The two boys decided if they confided in their father, he would either want to get involved himself or he would be outraged at their shenanigans or worst yet, disappointed in his sons. “Little Joe, if Pa knew Adam was somehow behind this plan, he might get mad at all of us.” Hoss explained as they walked out to the wagon.  Hoss was dead wrong. If his Pa knew of Adam’s involvement, Ben would have been very proud and touched at the closeness of his three boys. He would be especially delighted that Adam was still watching out for his younger brothers from thousands of miles away.

Hoss and Joe had made meticulous plans. One night, before supper, as they cleaned out the stalls and tended to the horses, they had a serious brother-to-brother planning session.  Initially, Little Joe wanted Hoss to simply walk into the schoolyard and pound Fischer, Beck and the other bullies into bloody mush. He listed all the reasons his big brother would excel at such a task and how much of a community service this would be to all the small boys in Nevada territory. Joe told Hoss that he was mighty tired of getting picked on. He was also tired of getting punished for being in fights that he didn’t start but “certainly was going to finish“.

Hoss nodded sympathetically and put his arm around his small brother’s shoulder and told him “Look Joe, I ain’t a going to break no body’s arms or wring no one’s neck for any reason.” He then outlined Adam’s plan of “scaring the beans out of the bully”.  No one but Daniel Lowell, Joe’s best friend in school would be in on the plan.

”Joe, we got to do it the way Adam said. He knows better and we gotta follow his plan. He is real smart.”

For just an instant, Joe had trouble recalling what his oldest brother looked like. It scared him. He already had trouble picturing his mother’s face all the time and not being able to remember Adam was very disconcerting to the little boy. He didn’t want to lose another person.

Hoss said he would scare the big boys, not beat them and they would be so frightened that they would never dare bother him or any of the other kids again. Joe would be safe and the big boys would be scared off, instead of thrashed into submission.

That is what Adam had decided.

“You trust me Little Joe?” Hoss asked.

”Sure Hoss, I trust you. Always.”

”Trust Adam?”

Joe hesitated for an instant. The boy was still having trouble remembering exactly what Adam looked like. He closed his eyes tight and tried to picture his brother’s face. He tried to remember Adam’s voice. All of a sudden it all rushed back to him, Adam was carrying him up the stairs and putting him to bed after his Mama died. When Little Joe would wake up in the night with nightmares he would go into brother’s bed for comfort.  Joe remembered Adam playing his guitar on the porch and singing each evening in the moonlight and Adam teaching him to swim in Cherry Creek. Joe thought of his big brother Adam holding him on the saddle in front of him teaching him how to ride, telling him how well he was doing.

“Sure, Hoss, I trust Adam. Always.”

”Then this is what we will do. I’ll just be around the school yard and just let those fellers know that no one messes with the Cartwright boys.”

Chapter 3

Monday morning was the first day of the challenge. According to Adam this was the key to their plan.

“Remember what Adam said for us to do, Short Shanks. “ Hoss cautioned Joe. “Hold your temper.”

Hoss pulled the buckboard behind the schoolhouse and quietly walked behind Little Joe into the schoolyard. Quite a few of the students knew Hoss but many of them had moved into town after Joe’s husky brother was no longer attending school. .

“Who’s that big guy coming into the school yard with your pal, Joe Cartwright?” Jack Fischer asked Daniel Lowell. “His father?”

“No, it’s his big brother,” Daniel answered. “His Pa is way bigger and way meaner.” The idea had just popped into Daniels head. “Way, way, way bigger and way, way, way meaner. Real mean. Real big.”

“That guy looks pretty big,” one of the other boys commented.

“Don’t be a moron,” Fischer shoved his friend.

Jack Fischer surveyed the scene. The broad shouldered cowboy was taller than Jack’s father, the mine superintendent, wider too. Hoss glared at Jack, Tucker and some of the older boy with a fearsome look. Walking behind Little Joe, he had picked up a fallen branch from the ground. The branch was about as thick around as Jack’s wrist and the guy just looked at Jack and snapped it in two over his knee. It broke with the sound of a gunshot.

The boys looked at each other warily. “Bet that cowboy could snap a fellows arm like that,” Tuck said hoarsely.

Hoss glared at Jack. Jack turned his head.

“Who is that? Jack asked one of the smaller kids. “Who is that with Little Joe?”

“Gee that’s his brother, Hoss,” said Katie Wallace. “I wouldn’t mess with him if I was you. He used to go to school here. But not anymore.”

“Heard he kilt a man with his bare hands, “said a disembodied voice from the edge of the crowd of kids.

Tuck looked to see who had spoken last but couldn’t figure out who spoke the frightening tale.

Daniel stuck his head around the corner of the outhouse and snickered. He had to stuff his fist into his mouth to stifle his laughter.

Miss Lambert pulled the bell rope and another school day began. The smaller children filed noisily into the schoolhouse and the older boys followed. Hoss Cartwright leaned against the schoolhouse gate and glared as menacingly as he could.  Each morning that week, Hoss watched from the edge of the schoolyard until the students went inside. Each day the older boys speculated what the big fellow was doing loitering around and they all remained on their best behavior under the watchful eye of Hoss Cartwright.

“That big guy is watching out for his brother so watch out what you do,” cautioned Jack Fischer.

“Gee Jack, I heard that Joe’s brother Hoss killed a few guys before we came into Virginia City, “said one of the other boys.

“Snapped someone’s arm and leg off in a fight at the Bucket of Blood,” another voice added.

“No it was a guy’s arm in a fight in the Silver Dollar. Then Hoss hit him over the head with the guy’s own arm.” another added luridly. “He ripped off the arm and clubbed the guy with it! Hit him with his own ripped off arm!”

“Then why isn’t he in jail?” Fischer asked. ”Or hung?”

“Maybe he was in jail and busted out?”

”Maybe they couldn’t find a rope strong enough.”

”I don’t know about you boys, but I’m steering clear of him. Don’t want to rile his temper and get my arm broke. My Pa will break my neck if I get my arm broke.” Tuck added.

“Why don’t one of you boys ask Nancy Coffee about that Hoss Cartwright,” Fischer directed.” Her father is the sheriff and she would certainly know what’s what.”

That noon, Tucker Beck and one of his pals sidled up to the school girls who were sitting on the bench near the school house steps eating their lunches. They were glad to get out of the stuffy classroom and out in the fresh air. They had found one of the few dry spots in the muddy school yard and made sure they squeezed together on the bench side by side by side.

“Watch out girls, here comes trouble,” Kate warned seeing the big boys approach. “They probably want to steal our desserts or throw mud at us.” She had no desire to be harassed by the nasty older boys and was absolutely unwilling to let them steal her pie. She quickly hid the newsprint wrapped slice of pie from her lunch pail under her the edge full skirt.

“Nancy, “Tuck started. “I heard that big Hoss feller kilt a man. What do you have to say about that?”

Nancy took another bite of her ham sandwich and slowly chewed. What could Tuck be talking about? She knew the Cartwrights her entire life. Her Pa and Mr. Cartwright were very good friends. Secretly, she hoped to someday marry Little Joe, and Hoss was the sweetest boy she knew. The only thing she ever saw him kill was a platter of her mother’s fried chicken at the church potluck dinner last month. Hoss would have licked it clean if Mr. Cartwright hadn’t pulled the platter out of his hands. Whatever was Tuck talking about?

Bet he was just teasing her like those big boys always did lunchtime, teasing her just like Katie warned them that he would. Nancy thought nervously.

Well, she would show him. Nancy thought. She would tease him back, just like her best friend, Katie had told her she should do when the big boys teased her.

“Sure Tuck, Hoss once kilt a man…. And he ate him up like… like.. fried chicken.” Nancy was proud that she was holding her own with her tormenter.

“You better watch out for Hoss.” Kate added seriously. She moved her second piece of pie behind Nancy’s back. Mrs. Wallace often packed extra treats for her daughter’s friends.

The two boys skulked away to tell the rest of the group what Nancy had told them.

“The sheriff’s girl said that Hoss Cartwright killed some guy and et him and fed the bones to the chickens,” they breathlessly told the other boys.

By Wednesday night, the Virginia City School house was abuzz with exaggerated stories of mass murder and mayhem perpetuated by Hoss Cartwright throughout Nevada Territory. On Thursday, Jack Fischer came up with a brilliant idea. All this fearsome stuff about Hoss just did not sit well with him. If the husky young cowboy was really a murderer, why did Miss Lambert greet him each morning with such a warm smile and a hug when he walked up with Little Joe? And why didn’t Sheriff Coffee have him behind bars in a locked cell? Fischer was a bully but he was not stupid.

Fischer decided to learn more about this. That day, on his way home after school, Jack Fischer strolled politely into the Virginia City Sheriff’s office.

“Sheriff Coffee, sir” Jack walked up to the Sheriff’s desk and respectfully took off his fine new hat. Roy Coffee was occupied writing in his log book and glanced up at the boy.

Despite being a very competent sheriff, Roy was totally unaware of the gossip swirling around the schoolyard that week. Perhaps if the rumors were originating from one of the saloons or poker tables, the Sheriff’s sharp ears would have picked up on the latest update of the “Hoss is a cannibal and murderer saga” However, Sheriff Roy Coffee was not in the habit of lingering around the school yard to eavesdrop on brewing trouble amongst the youngest citizens of Virginia City.

“What can I do for you, Jack?” the sheriff asked. He assumed the lad was sent on an errand by his father or was going to ask him to buy a ticket for some school house function or to make a donation to the church fair.

”What do you know about Hoss Cartwright, sir?”

”Hoss? Well, son, Hoss is a fine feller. What do you want to know about him?”

“No particular reason. I…I just heard something about him some sort of trouble or something.”

”Not that I heard of… unless the dinner bell isn’t loud enough. No, young Mr. Fischer, Hoss Cartwright is mighty fine fellow.” Sheriff Coffee chuckled. “Anything else I can help you with, son?”

“No sir,” Fischer tipped his hat and politely thanked the Sheriff. Jack smiled to himself, proud at his cleverness.  By Friday morning, Fischer had decided that there was no reason to worry about Hoss and he could return to being the lead beast in the wolf pack roaming the edges of the schoolyard. They had wasted the entire week fearing some “nice feller” and they had to catch up on their “fun” before the end of school for the week. They had a whole week’s worth of teasing and fighting and ear tweaking to make up.

Chapter 4 

Little Joe inched his body away from the corner wall. If he took slow, tiny steps, maybe nobody in the school house would notice he was sliding his body out of the punishment corner and turning just enough to peak out the window.  Most of the children were hard at work in their copybooks or quietly listening to the story Miss Lambert was reading to the first graders.

“And the boy with the hatchet told his father the truth,” she read.

Joe glanced through the schoolhouse window again. His brother, Hoss was carrying a lumpy burlap sack of something over one shoulder and loaded that into the back of the half-filled buckboard outside Lowell’s store. Little Joe saw his Pa ride up beside the wagon and tie his horse up at the hitching rail near the wagon. Ben must have finished up his business at the bank. Joe prayed that Pa couldn’t see inside of the schoolhouse and discover what was going on with him.

“Joseph, how many times have I warned you about fighting in school?” He could hear Pa’s voice inside his head.” How many times Joseph? You are still not too old for me to spank! ”

Joe squinted his eyes as he gazed out the dusty school house window. He had to see if his father had a smile on his face. That would be good. It would mean that Pa had won the bid he was submitting. Then Pa would be in a good mood and far less likely to punish Joe for getting in trouble in school once again. Joe would be delighted avoid one of Pa’s endless stern lectures or a trip to the wood shed or shoveling out stalls and chopping fire wood for a months or even years.

“I cannot tell a lie, Father. I chopped down your cherry tree with my little hatchet,” Miss Lambert droned on.

The afternoon dragged on.

Chapter 5

Prudence, the youngest red haired Lowell girl, the one that was called Puddin, and Little Joe Cartwright were especially attached to each other. Puddin’ Lowell proudly would tell anyone that Joe was her hero and follow him around like a puppy. Embarrassed by the little girl’s brazen admiration, Joe would deny this connection but in his heart he was flattered.

It was late in June two years after Adam had gone east. A number of families, including the Wallaces, the Cartwrights, the Newkirks and the Lowells decided to spend a pleasant Sunday afternoon picnicking on the outskirts of Virginia City. The day was sunny and warm and everyone came together in high spirits.

They devoured huge quantities of Mrs. Coffee’s fried chicken, Mrs. Wallace’s ham, and Hop Sing’s special potato salad until they all thought they would burst.  The children ran off to play leaving the women and older girls to gossip while they cleaned up the mess.

“Children don’t stray far,” warned Mim Wallace.

”And be sure to keep a close eye on the little ones,” Mrs. Newkirk added.

The men headed off towards the shady willow grove by the creek to fish and nap and share a bit of liquid refreshment from the jug that Hays Newkirk was carrying. Enos Millbank had promised Cora not to drink too much but if she didn’t see it, she would be none the wiser.

The ladies busied themselves putting up pots of coffee on the campfire and setting out the pies and cakes for desserts.  Cora Milbank uncovered two of her best cherry pies and set them beside the plate of spice cookies

Before Joe and Daniel had realized, Hoss and the other older boys had taken off up the trail following the men. Their short legs couldn’t keep up and they were left behind surrounded by a bevy of giggling little girls.

“I know, let’s play house! I’ll be the Mama and Daniel is my husband,” said Katie. “And Puddin’ is our baby. Come on Puddin’.” She affectionately put her arm around the little girl’s shoulders. Puddin’ smiled appreciatively, glad to be included.

“OK, and Little Joe is my husband,” said Nancy Coffee. She staked her claim by grabbing the sleeve of the boy’s brand new yellow plaid shirt, smiling triumphantly at her selection. “And we have ten children and live right here.” She laid out ten pinecones carefully wrapped in checkered napkins like swaddled infants. “Mrs. Little Joe” hung the matching tablecloth between two pine trees for a wall and started tracing the outlines of their dream cabin in the pine needles with the heel of her shoe.

Easy going, eight year old Daniel was used to being surrounded by his sisters and fell right into the imaginary household. Little Joe on the other hand was mortified and embarrassed. His face took on the look of a trapped stag caught by a pack of hungry she-wolves.

“I don’t want to play house!” Little Joe squealed. He wrenched himself out of Nancy’s grasp.

”Well, you have to Little Joe Cartwright!” Nancy demanded, her hands on her hips.

“Oh no I don’t!” the trapped boy backed away from her.

“Oh yes you do!” insisted Kate. Her pretend husband Daniel was already sitting at her pretend dinner table waiting for her to serve his pretend dinner.

”Sure Joe, play,” Daniel urged. “It’s not so bad. And then we can get to that cherry pie first before anyone else realized that dessert is set up since we are so close to the picnic tables.”

Joe thought for a second. Was an extra slice of pie worth utter humiliation at the hands of his “wife” and 10 pinecone babies? It was a difficult decision. Joe swiftly weighed his options and quickly decided to play his trump card, escape embarrassment and succeed in snagging that pie all in one fell swoop.

“Ok, “Joe smiled crookedly. “I’ll play. But I am the sheriff, just like your Pa, Nancy and I have to ride out with my posse to catch some vicious bandits who robbed the bank.” His hazel eyes twinkled.

”OK. “ Nancy nodded taking his hand. “Husband come inside and …”

”Oh no, Nancy, I have to ride out now with the posse. Sheriff Cartwright has to catch them awful varmints! “He easily squirmed from her grasp and galloped off toward the creek. “I’ll be back as soon as I round them up or for dessert.” Little Joe shouted over his shoulder.

“Husband, you forgot to kiss the babies!” Nancy shouted to his back as he escaped. Kate picked up one of the pinecone babies and hurled it at his head, “You come back here Joe Cartwright! Kiss your wife and babies!”

Joe ducked the pine cone which fell to the ground. He leaped over the log that formed the imaginary boundary of Daniel’s house and ran off as fast as his bare feet could carry him. He was halfway up the slope, surrounded by heavy greenery before he glanced over his shoulder to see if he was followed by his “wife” or any of the other girls. Once again, Little Joe had avoided capture. As the boy scrambled to the top of the steep trail he could hear the sound of rushing water and smell pipe smoke. Sheriff Joe Cartwright slowed down, got on all fours and crept to edge of the trail. He listened carefully to the men’s voices on the other side of the bushes.

“Hmm, looks like we found them bad guys! Joe told his imaginary deputies.  Joe picked up a thick L-shaped twig. “Got my trusty gun here and I can out draw any bandit west of … west of… west of… west of the east!“

Joe tucked the stick into his belt. “Boys, we can round them all up and get that cherry pie reward! Follow me!” Of course, the invisible posse agreed with Sheriff Cartwright’s brave plan. Little Joe laughed out loud thinking how well he had outwitted Nancy.

He dropped to his belly and snaked under some bushes to the edge of the willow grove. He could hear Mr. Hank Wallace strumming a lively tune on his guitar as his brother Mr. Foster Wallace, the editor of the Virginia City Enterprise told a wild tale about some crooked miner getting caught trying to cheat his partners by digging another entrance to the mine and digging out the silver at night.

“If your brother, your brother Hank here wasn’t such a good engineer I would never have figured out how that fellow was doing it! Judge convicted him and locked him up for a couple of years.” Sheriff Coffee declared. Modest Hank Wallace just continued playing his guitar.

A few minutes later someone told a foolish long winded story.

”And the other sailor said where’s my duck?” said a deep voice. His Pa! The other men roared with laughter at Ben’s joke.

”The fiendish bandits have kidnapped my Pa!” the brave young sheriff decided.  He slowly pushed aside the leaves with his left hand. He realized he could see his father and all the men sitting next to the creek but they didn’t even suspect that Little Joe was there hidden not more than a few yards away from them among the greenery.

“Just like being invisible”. Little Joe thought. All the men looked like they were having a mighty fine time. One had a fishing line in the water. Kate’s father was strumming a tune on a guitar and singing some song that seemed very familiar. Joe listened for a minute to the tune and remembered it was something Adam used to sing.

The men were passing around Mr. Newkirk’s jug. Each man, in turn took a long swallow, wiped off the top and passed it on to the next fellow. They were laughing and joking and had absolutely no idea that Sheriff Little Joe Cartwright and his invisible posse were lurking about.

“Hmm!” the brave sheriff said out loud to his invisible posse. “The outlaw gang thought they could outwit me but this lawman always gets his bandits and his pie too. “Joe stood up and brushed off his hands on the front of his new yellow shirt. He trotted a few yards down the trail, upstream from the men.

“Whoa pony,” the pretend sheriff told the pretend pinto he bravely rode. Joe pushed aside the shrubbery to take another peak. “Whoa pony, we got our selves the biggest bandit of them all.”

There, sprawled on the grassy bank, taking a nap with his head leaning against the trunk of a thick willow trunk was his brother Hoss. His fishing pole was stuck in the soft, sandy bank of the creek. Willows hung over the banks on either side, their branches a fragile tracery of bursting green in the bright spring sunshine.

Little Joe looked up at the tree. “I could climb that willow and capture that whole bunch of desperados. Wait here men,” he ordered the invisible posse.  Joe grabbed hold of one of the lower branches and swung himself up. His bare toes dug into the rough bark. Like a monkey, he agilely climbed up about fifteen feet. The he felt for the twig pistol stuck into his belt.

Beneath his perch, Hoss was snoring away at the foot of the tree.  From where he sat hidden up in the willow, Joe could see all around him. The men were talking and laughing. He could see the water of Cherry Creek far below him. The water was pretty high and fast from the last few weeks of rain and the snows melting up on the mountains. “That was why they told us to watch out for the little kids,” Joe thought as he watched the torrents of icy water rush downstream.

The previous summer, his brothers had taken him swimming at this very spot. The water was pretty deep over here, but by summer, not rushing nearly as fast. It had slowed to a pleasantly cool meandering stream. The boys had spent a hot afternoon leaping from the banks into the creek. One afternoon, Adam had climbed up a tree to show off. It was a sturdy willow tree, much like the one Little Joe stood in right now; maybe even this tree. Adam had called for his brothers to watch his trick and the he jumped in. The splash he made was explosively enormous. Little Joe was in complete awe of his grown brother’s amazing deed.

Adam told Joe that someday he would show him how to do that very jump, but right now Joe was too small to even attempt such a dangerous stunt. The trick, Adam told him was to push off hard and to hit the water not the bank otherwise you could break your neck.

From his perch on the tree, Joe could see Daniel and all the girls skirting the edge of the creek. They had obviously tired of their game near the picnic tables. The women had finished laying out the dessert and had sent the youngsters up the hill to call the men for coffee.

As they headed up the trail, a few were picking some of the wild flowers that grew along the edge of the creek. Both Molly Newkirk and Nancy Coffee were holding huge bunches of yellow centered daisies. Katie skipped along behind them holding a small bunch of purple asters that she was trying to knot together into a crown. Puddin trailed at the end of the line tossing pebbles into the rush of water. “Come have dessert!” Daniel shouted down stream to the men.

“Hmm, Pie!” thought the brave young sheriff. “Men, we had better round up these bandits and head back to Virginia City for our reward.”

Joseph looked down from his perch in the willow. Below him, Hoss was snoring loudly taking his nap. Little Joe couldn’t resist teasing him. He reached deep into his pocket and found a small ball of twine and unrolled it. Hanging onto the trunk of the tree with one hand, Joe lowered the end of the sting until it almost reached Hoss. It didn’t work right and kept getting snagged on the slender willow leaves or blown crookedly away from its target.  Joe reeled up the string and carefully tied his stick gun to the end of it. The twig gave the string just enough weight to do the job. He slowly lowered the weighted twine and maneuvered it through the leaves. It gently swung it back and forth until it tapped Hoss’s nose. Hoss swatted at it in his sleep. Joe swung it in a wider arc and it smacked his brother’s temple.

“Wasssat? “ Hoss jumped up rubbing his head and swatting at the annoyance. High above him Joe giggled loudly.

“I’ll get you, little brother! “ Hoss threatened angrily. He looked up at the young sheriff laughing hysterically perched above him in the willow tree.

Hoss angrily jumped up and started climbing up the tree to catch his tiny tormentor.

“I’ll get you, Little Joe!” Hoss threatened again.

”Oh no you won’t!” Joe quickly climbed even higher. He agilely scrambled to a higher limb over hanging the stream.

Down creek, the men heard the brothers’ ruckus and looked up to see the squabbling Cartwright boys.

Roy Coffee tugged on Ben’s arm and pointed up at a colorful spot in the willow. “Looks like we have some kind of exotic wild yellow bird up in that tree, Ben,” chuckled Roy. The crowd of men laughed at the scene up stream.

“And it looks like his brother is going to wring that bird’s neck if he catches him.” joked Hays Newkirk taking another pull from the bottle. He handed it back to Enos Millbank.

Ben jumped up and turned to watch Joe quickly scramble to higher perch. “Joseph! Hoss! Stop this minute!”

Suddenly, the warm air was split by a shrill female scream from up the creek followed by loud splash.

”Puddin’ fell in! “ Kate screamed.

“Help! Help!  Puddin’ fell in the creek!” the other children shrieked

The little girl had been reaching for a daisy on the bank of the creek, leaned over too far and lost her balance. She was quickly caught up in the rushing water and pulled under by her heavy shoes and tangled woolen skirts.

“Puddin’!” Nancy shouted.

“Help! Someone help my sister!” pleaded Daniel.

From his perch high on the tree, Joe could see it all. For an instant everyone was frozen in place. Mr. Lowell stood riveted to his spot next to his fishing pole, “Puddin’! “he gasped

Ben could see the little red head sucked below the rushing water as the little girl was swept downstream.

Little Joe hesitated for just an instant then leaped from the willow branch right into the creek.

“Push off, push off” he heard his Adam’s voice inside his head.

Hoss saw his little brother’s yellow shirt fly by his head. Joe’s slight form was arcing over the stream, his arms and legs whirligigging like four windmills as he tried to take flight away from the bank and hit the water.

“Joseph!” Ben bellowed.

The plummeting boy hit the water with an enormous splash. The momentum of his leap had carried Joe deep into the water. Down, down he went.

Joe remembered to hold his breath and he kept whirling his arms and kicking as he hit the bottom of the creek and pushed off. His lungs were bursting and his ears were filled with the rush of the stream as his head broke the surface. Joe took a good gulp of air when he popped up to the sunlight. The torrent pushed him down again and water filled his eyes. For an instant, the current spun around Joe head over heels and round and round and he panicked. Then, he saw a flash of red hair, as Puddin was swept past him. Miraculously, he stretched out his hand and grabbed hold of her collar and held tight.

Their heads broke the surface again as the current swept them down creek. Joe hung tight onto Puddin’s jacket as they bounced against some rocks and he pushed her up towards the surface of the rushing water.  He started to sink, water filled his nose and mouth. He wasn’t sure if he could hold his breath any longer and still hang on to the little girl.

Just as he was swallowing another mouthful of creek water, Little Joe felt something yank him to the surface. Large, strong hands grabbed onto Little Joe’s yellow shirt and hauled him to the side of the stream. Somehow, the boy managed to hold tight to Puddin’ as Ben and Mr. Lowell dragged their two drowning children to the grassy bank.

For an instant Joe was all spun around confused. Everyone was hollering and someone was pounding him on his back as he choked and spit tried to catch his breath. Joe was face down on some grass as his Pa was squeezing him and pounding on his back as creek water and most of his lunch was vomited onto the bank.

“Breathe boy, breathe.” he heard his father urging.

Somewhere he heard a small child crying and a lot of hollering. People were rushing all around him. Finally Joe stopped choking and caught his breath.  Sheriff Coffee wrapped the shivering boy in his coat. Little Joe was cold. His teeth were chattering and he wanted his Pa to take him home.

“Puddin’ ” Joe choked hoarsely. “Where is Puddin’?”

“The boy’s lips are turning blue,” one of the men declared.

Someone gave him a swallow from the jug of whiskey that burned like fire on the way down. “That will warm you up, Boy.” Hays assured him.

He started to choke and cough again. His mouth tasted of creek water, like mud and vomit and the fire water in the jug. He spit some dirty grit onto the ground and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of Sheriff Coffee’s jacket. Joe looked down at the jacket and saw the silver badge pinned on the front of the jacket and pressed his hand on it and closed his eyes. Was he still the sheriff?

“Where is Puddin’?”

He heard someone crying very loudly and attempted to see who it was but couldn’t move as he realized his Pa was cradling him on his lap. Ben was holding him so tight and so close Joe could hardly move. When he looked up, all Joe could see was a crowd of feet and legs.

“Puddin is fine, Joe, “reassured Sheriff Coffee. “You sure thought fast. She’s jest fine. You saved her, Boy.”

“Where is she?” Little Joe repeated, not quite believing what had just occurred.

Mr. Lowell came closer with his little daughter in his arms so Little Joe could see for himself. Mrs. Lowell was hanging onto her too. The cold little girl was bundled up in a blanket like one of Nancy’s pine cone babies and all Joe could see was her pale face and her round blue eyes and a damp lock of her red hair.

“Little Joe, I don’t know how to thank you for what you did,” Martin Lowell smiled. “You have a brave, brave boy, Ben, I told you his heart is in the right place even if he does tend to leap in with both feet before he looks, “

Chapter 6

Puddin’, the youngest red haired Lowell girl, came to school wearing brand new hair ribbons. The ribbon exactly matched the trim on her favorite cobalt and grass green plaid dress, and was tied in a big jaunty bow on top of her red hair.  Jack Fischer knew if he just tweaked things just right, those hair bows could cause quite a ruckus.

For the four days in a row Hoss Cartwright had hung around the schoolyard menacingly eyeing the older boys who had bullied Little Joe. He lingered in the shadows under the tree or near the steps until the students marched inside then departed.

At morning recess, Jack Fischer gathered his pals around him. He smiled and said “Well fellers, I think we can stir up a little fun this afternoon. That big old jail guard Hoss Cartwright seems to have taken leave of his post.” They all laughed and poked each other at the thought of making up for such a quiet week.

“Those kids need a bit of stirring up, especially that Little Joe. Just watch my lead. Let’s show everyone who is boss of this school,” Jack

The morning dragged on and by lunchtime the children were ready to burst out into the fresh air and enjoy their lunches outside, even though the school yard was muddy and full of puddles from the melting snow.

“Little Joe, sit over here by me and Kate,” Nancy Coffee called to him. The two girls were sitting on the wooden steps leading up to the school door.  “My Ma sent some special cookies just for you, Little Joe!”

Kate snickered at Nancy’s foolishly obvious attempt at flirting with Joe.

“Oh Joe, don’t you just love Mrs. Coffee’s baking. I know you tell me that all the time.  All the time! “Kate wiggled her freckled nose at her pal Joe who winked back at her.

“He does?” Nancy gasped.

“Sure, Nancy. Joe said just the other day, there is nothing he would rather have than Mrs. Coffee’s delicious cookies.”

“Oh good!” Nancy was so happy.

“You know, Nancy.” Katie continued with no hint of a joke in her voice. “Just the other day, Little Joe said that if your Ma wasn’t already married to your Pa he would seriously consider courting her just for all those delicious cookies she sends him. But if that should ever happen, it would make him your step father wouldn’t it, Nancy?” Kate made a silly lovesick face and Joe giggled.

No girl in town could make Joe laugh like his brown eyed friend Kate Wallace. They had a special friendship and often teased each other like only the closest of friends could. Kate was the only girl who didn’t get rattled when one of the boys tossed mud balls at her or put a frog in the girl’s lunch bucket. Joe was the only one who knew that Kate was the unidentified, mysterious rascal who hung a pair of long johns off the school flagpole the night before school opened. It was their secret.

Joe sat comfortably on the step below the girls and opened his lunch bucket. “OK, “he thought. I made it through a full week of school with no problems, no fights. Adam’s plan worked. He had done just like Hoss told him. “Be patient, Little Brother. Be patient like Pa and be smart like Adam. Hold your temper.” Hoss would be proud of his decision to sit on the steps and steer clear of any problems.

On the other side of the school yard Joe could see the big boys roaming around like a wolf pack surveying a flock of lambs. He took a bite from his sandwich and watched. Jack Fischer was pointing at someone or something and laughing. The wolf pack separated and moved in among the smaller boys and girls and started nipping their heels.

Joe was looking down into his lunch bucket to see what else he had to eat when a shriek filled the air.

“Give that back!” Puddin wailed at Tucker Beck as he snatched her hair ribbons.

“Leave my sister alone, “Daniel demanded. He chased her tormentor. Beck quickly took off with Puddin and Daniel in futile pursuit across the muddy yard. They ran at an angle toward the school house steps where Joe sat with the two girls.

Without thinking, Joe instantly leaped off his step and gave chase. He lowered his head and barreled into Tucker’s back. Despite being far smaller than his opponent, Joe aggressive charge caught him just right in the back of his knees and knocked him onto the mucky ground falling on top of him. Daniel tripped over the two and fell into the tangle of arms and legs.

Trapped between the two boys, Joe started punching Tucker Beck but since he was sandwiched between Daniel and his enemy, he couldn’t stand up quickly enough to get a good shot at him. Before he could extricate himself from the pile up, Fischer and one of the other older Town boys yanked Little Joe to his feet from the back. The other shoved Daniel backwards to the muddy ground.

“My, my what do we have here?” sneered Fischer as he and the other boy twisted Little Joe’s arms back. Tucker stood up slowly, brushed himself off as Daniel lay sprawled on the ground. Tucker swung his meaty fist and gave Joe a solid punch in his gut knocking the wind out of him.

“Stop!” screamed Kate. She grabbed Joe’s abandoned lunch bucket from the step and flung it as hard as she could at Fischer’s blond head. She barely missing him and the bucket crashed against a tree with a loud clatter.

“Back off you little mosquito” Jack growled at her.

Alerted by the screaming and the crash of the metal lunch bucket, Miss Lambert ran out of the schoolhouse door. “Stop! Stop right now! There is no fighting in this school. Who started this?”

”Gee Miss Lambert, Little Joe knocked Beck and Daniel into the mud for absolutely no reason. I just had to pull him off before someone got seriously hurt.” Fischer looked up at the teacher convincingly. He placed his boot on Daniel’s hand and stepped down slowly pinning the little boy’s hand into the mud.

“Isn’t that so, Daniel?” Fischer smiled. He pressed his foot harder on Daniel’s hand.” Tell the teacher that is so.”

Trapped and intimidated by Jack Fischer, Daniel nodded in agreement.

Joe was doubled over still trying to catch his breath and couldn’t speak up fast enough.

“Joseph Cartwright! You get inside this minute. You are in very serious trouble,” Miss Lambert ordered.

Joe dragged himself obediently into the school. His Pa was not going to be pleased. No indeed his pa was going to be mighty displeased with him. He didn’t hold his temper and once again was in serious trouble.

Chapter 7

The heavily laden freight wagon rumbled down the muddy street. It had been delayed half a day by the rutted roads, and the ineptitude of the inexperienced new helper, Cyrus Carnigan. The driver, Frank Stanley pulled up the team in front of Lowell’s hardware store.

“There‘s the school house.” Frank smiled as he looked across the street and smiled. He took off his hat and mopped his brow with his bandanna. He ran his fingers through his dark hair.

“There’s the schoolhouse where his pretty Carly Lambert was the school marm. Frank thought.  “Cy let’s get this delivery done!”

Cyrus Carnigan was in a rush to deliver this last and largest load and make his way over to the Bucket of Blood saloon. This was the worst job he ever had. He was sick of breaking his back heaving barrels and crates and putting up with merchants who got angry when he broke something. The idea quitting the freight job and of continuing out to California seemed mighty appealing.

“A beer would sure taste good” Cy said aloud.” Mighty good.”

“Just do your job first, “ordered Stanley. “ We got a lot to unload here and our horses to tend before you’ll be drinkin’ any beer. Did you check that axle like I told you?”

“Sure, sure,” Cyrus lied. “Get off my back.” Stanley was a worse nag than his last boss. Cy was glad to leave that guy with a broken nose when he quit.

Disgruntled Cy had haphazardly loaded the freight wagon far too high and it was poorly balanced and not tied down sufficiently. Much of the load had shifted on the rutted road between Carson and Virginia City. The crates of crockery and stout wooden barrels of pickles, heavy anvils and nail kegs and the cast iron machine parts for the Cartwright lumber mill were caught at an awkward angle between a jumble of trunks and boxes.

“Just check that axle again once we unload this freight Cy. I don’t like the way this wagon feels, not one bit. Don’t go running off until we are done.”

Ben Cartwright looked up at the freight driver silhouetted against the bright late afternoon sun. With his broad shoulders and black hair and the sun glaring behind him, for an instant, Ben could have sworn the driver was his oldest boy Adam.

“Afternoon Frank.” Ben smiled shading his eye with his hand.

“Afternoon Mr. Cartwright, Hoss.” Frank called. Frank climbed down from the high wagon seat and walked over to Ben. He pulled out some folded papers from his shirt pocket and carefully checked through the shipping manifest. “Looks like we have those crates you’ve been waiting on.”

“Glad those machine parts are finally here. My boys were coming into town every day this week waiting for you. Got Hoss here out of a lot of chores though.” Hoss overheard his father’s comment and grinned widely. He might have managed to avoid lots of chores but he also had a fine excuse to see pretty Andrea Lowell each day. Andrea was the nicest and sweetest girl in town and even prettier now than when they were in school together. Unfortunately, Hoss was far too shy to share how he felt about her with any one.

Ben suspected that something was going on with his two younger boys. He wasn’t completely fooled by the stories the two had confabulated to get Hoss into town with Little Joe. Ben might be tired out, and worried but he still knew every move his boys made.

“Where is Mr. Lowell? Have any idea where he wants us to unload this wagon?” Frank asked the Cartwrights.

Just then, Andrea walked out the front door of the store. Hoss grinned at her and she returned his smile and waved. He blushed beet red and wishing he could think of something clever to say to her but was at an awkward loss for words.

“My father said to bring that wagon in rear of the store, by way of the alley. He said to take it very slow. It’s a tight squeeze between the buildings. He’ll meet you round back.”

“Sure Honey, “Cyrus smirked rudely from his perch high on the seat in the freight wagon.” And where’d you get all that purty red hair you sweet thing? Want to go for a ride with me?”

Hoss was taken aback by Cy’s overt rudeness to Andrea. How could someone talk so disrespectfully to a nice young lady? Before the boy could say something to defend her, Frank, the dark haired freight driver spoke up. ”Keep a polite tongue in your mouth, Cyrus.” Frank reprimanded his helper with a firm shove. “I’m mighty sorry Miss Andrea. “

“Just pull the wagon around back,” Andrea said trying to sound like she was in charge, though Hoss sensed she was unnerved by Cyrus’s bold attention.

“See you round back, Miss Andrea,” Frank politely said with a quick tip of his hat. “Get moving, Cyrus!”

The driver tapped the reigns on the back of the tired team and carefully drove the unbalanced freight wagon down the tight alley way between the hardware store and the adjacent stable.

Ben and Hoss Cartwright watched the lumbering freight wagon start down the narrow alleyway. Ben stepped up to the back of his own buck board and started to shift some of the parcels that Hoss had already loaded.

“Hoss, lets rearrange this stuff so we can leave some room on that side of the buck board for the crates from the mill.” Ben directed his son. He reached over to shove a grain sack closer to the nail kegs. “Looks like we will be done here just in time for school to let out and I can drag Joe down for that haircut.”

“Just tell him if he gives you a hard time, we’ll tie him behind the wagon by his hair and make him run behind with his curls flowing in the breeze.” Hoss joked.

“Sounds like a plan!” his father agreed.

“Oh Josephine, run faster.”  Hoss squeaked in imitation of a little girl. “Run faster, sweetie pie!”

Ben laughed loudly at the silly high pitched voice coming from his burly son. He pulled off his own hat and swatted Hoss with it and both father and son dissolved in laughter. Through the front widow of the store, Ben could see Lindell Lowell and waved his hand in greeting.

“See you round back, Ben!” Lowell called to the Cartwrights.

Tragically, these were the last words Ben Cartwright ever heard his friend say to him.

Chapter 8

Ben and Hoss continued to rearrange the load in their wagon as Cy pulled the freight wagon down the narrow alley that would lead around the back of the Lowell’s store. Suddenly, they all heard an ear splitting crash and the sound of a horrifying scream and horses whinnying in fear. Andrea burst out the front of the store shouting “Help! Mr. Cartwright, Hoss, Help! Come quick!”

The Cartwrights ran down the alley as fast as they could. Crates, split casks and barrels as well as broken bits of wood spilled all over the alley and into the yard. At the end of the alley they saw the horrendous disaster. The freight wagon tilted at a crazy angle and rested wedged against the side wall of the Lowell’s store.  The poorly balanced load had split the wagon’s axle. The wheel broke off and splintered in pieces pinning Lindell Lowell beneath the collapsed freight wagon. The corner of the wagon rested on Lowell’s chest, crushing him into the dirt like a cracked egg. The contents of the freight wagon had tumbled out burying him beneath a heap of the heavy shipment.

Ben dropped to one knee in the dirt beside him. “Lindell, can you hear me? Lindell?”

Lindell’s head turned and his eyes opened for an instant but they had trouble focusing on Ben’s face.  All that came from his lips was a fearsome groan and his eyes fluttered shut.

Cyrus stood next to the wagon frozen at the scene his negligence had caused. He grabbed the bridle of the horse nearest him and tried to steady the panicked team.

Frank ran out of the back door of the store and took the steps two at a time. He screamed “Damn you Cy ! Unhitch the team before they spook more. Andrea, run for Doc Martin.”

Mrs. Lowell darted down the steps after Frank. Her face paled when she saw her beloved husband trapped beneath the wagon. “Lindell! Oh my goodness! Please help him.”

“Hoss, quick, Boy, Help me off load the wagon,” bellowed Ben taking charge of the situation. Hoss came running and single handedly grabbed a bulky wooden crate and heaved it as far as he could. It smashed open when it hit the ground spilling out a dozen iron frying pans and the straw it was packed in. Then he and Ben each rolled a barrel off the back of the wagon.

Ben pointed to a pile of lumber near the shed.  “Frank, get that long beam over there. Maybe we can lift the wagon up and pull Lindell out.”

Frank yanked a long length of wood from the pile of lumber and hoped to heaven that it was going to be as strong as they needed it to be. With much heaving and sweating, and a few choice cuss words, he and Ben wedged the beam up under the side of the wagon that was crushing Lindell.

In a desperate attempt to lighten the weight of the tipped freight wagon, Hoss hastily pulled crates and boxes from the wagon and flung them helter skelter.  Cyrus roused himself from his shock and started helping Hoss. He grabbed one end of a big trunk and Hoss the other and they heaved it to the ground.

“Mr. Cartwright this should do it,” Frank said pointing at the beam. “Stand clear boys and give me a hand.”

Hoss and Cy jumped clear of the wagon. Then each man took a place on the beam.

”Put your backs into it.” Ben directed. “All together on three. One, two, three.”

The three men pushed down on the board and the wagon creaked loudly, moving up a few inches. “Hold it for a minute,” Cartwright directed the others. “Don’t let it fall.” He had no desire to be crushed under the wagon if it dropped.

As quickly as he could, Ben pulled Lowell out from under the wagon by the armpits. By now, the injured man was only semi-conscious, but he still groaned in pain. His injuries were starting to bleed heavily. Ben had seen men crushed like that before when he was at sea and a mast fell on a mate during a storm. The rancher didn’t think there was very much chance of saving Lindell Lowell but no matter what, they had to try.

“Ok, we’re clear!” Ben shouted as he pulled the store owner completely free of the wagon’s crushing load. Blood gushed from Lowell’s chest drenching Ben’s hands and shirt as well as puddling on the dirt beneath him. Hoss, Frank, and Cy released their grip on the lever and the wagon crashed noisily down into the ground.

Andrea and Doctor Martin ran down the alley way followed by a crowd of curious onlookers. Ben and Frank carefully picked up Lindell and carried him inside followed by the doctor. Helplessly, Andrea and the victim’s silent, shaken wife trailed behind.

A few minutes later Frank stepped outside grim faced “I’m going to go get those Lowell kids from the school. If they want to see their Daddy alive one last time, I better hustle.”

Hoss stood silently, not knowing what he should do. He angrily turned kicked at the wagon.

Chapter 9

Joe glanced through the dusty school house window again. His brother, Hoss was carrying a lumpy burlap sack of something over one shoulder and loaded that into the back of the wagon.  Little Joe saw his Pa ride up beside the wagon and tie his horse up at the hitching rail in front of the Lowell’s store. Ben must have finished up his business at the bank. Joe hoped his Pa couldn’t see into the schoolhouse and see what was going on with him.

Joe glanced back to the classroom, lost in worry about how his father would punish him. The next time he glanced out of the window he saw the over flowing freight wagon pull up in front of the Lowell’s hardware store. The heavily loaded wagon started to move down the alley towards back. All of a sudden there was some sort of big noisy crash and then a commotion across the street.  Little Joe could see Frank bolt across the street and burst into the school. He walked briskly over to Miss Lambert’s desk and loudly said “Where is the Lowell kids? They got to go home quick. Right this minute.”

Totally confused and surprised to see her boyfriend Frank in her classroom, her eyes widened and Miss Lambert pointed out Daniel and Puddin’.  In an instant Frank scooped up Puddin in his arms and grabbed Daniel by the arm and strode quickly out of the school house. Puddin started to shriek as she had no idea what was going on or why a strange man was carrying her out of school.

“Hush up. Your ma needs you home, right now. No time to explain.”

Joe could see Frank urgently rush his two friends across the street into all the commotion.  In flash, Little Joe scooted out of the corner and dashed out the door to follow Daniel and Puddin’.

“Joseph Cartwright, you come back here right now!” Miss Lambert screamed as he ran out of the school. Joe ignored her demands and he rushed across the street. When he arrived at the hardware store, the first thing he saw his great big brother Hoss pale leaning against the wall, his head pillowed on his arms crying.

Part 4

No Fault of Their Own

Chapter 1

Tuesday Afternoon

”Did the saw blades I ordered come in yet, Andrea?” Ben Cartwright asked the red headed young woman working behind the counter. She opened up the oversized green ledger book behind the counter and ran her finger quickly down the inventory and delivery page.

“Yes, sir, Mr. Cartwright. It came in just yesterday on the freight wagon. I think Cyrus put them in the back when he unloaded. Let me check for you. “

“I’d appreciate that if you could. Adam and the crew are getting held up waiting to get those blades.” He smiled. Having his oldest boy home brought Ben more happiness than he could have imagined. His son had matured into a talented engineer and a dependable partner on the ranch. In the year that Adam had been back home, lumber production had almost doubled. The new mill would easily be able to supply everything that Adam had estimated, perhaps even more. Ben noticed a new shipment of hand tools on a chain that had been stretched over the counter. He reached up to examine a shiny handsaw.

“Excuse me Mr. Cartwright, may I pass?” said Mrs. Lowell entering the store with her arms full of small packages.  Daniel followed behind with another armload of merchandise. Keeping his eyes low, Danny silently placed all of it on a shelf near the entrance.

Ben swept his hat off, “Mrs. Lowell, could I help you with one of those boxes?” he offered.

Since her husband was killed, Mrs. Lowell had struggled to keep the store running. In the past, she had rarely waited on customers or had any dealings with the hardware store. She was terribly shy and reserved and usually had remained in their home above the hardware store tending to the cooking and cleaning and raising the children. Lindell Lowell’s sudden death had required her to step forward and attempt to run the store. She was barely managing. She was leaning too heavily on her children, who for the most part were too much too young to take on this responsibility.

“Mrs. Lowell, could I help you?” Ben courteously asked her again.

“Oh no thank you, Mr. Cartwright,” she shook her head.

As Ben moved forward to pick up some boxes, young Danny stepped towards him and blocked his way. Daniel hitched his box up on his hip” I’m strong enough to help my mom and my sister just fine”, he said defiantly. “We don’t need any help!”

Ben knelt to the boy’s level to talk to him. Daniel seemed thinner and paler than the last time he had seen him. He realized he hadn’t seen the boy out at the Ponderosa playing with Little Joe in months.

“I can see that, you take good care of things for your mother.”

“I sure do try Mr. Cartwright”, Daniel looked away. He had black circles under his eyes. “You just go and get your order and leave.”

Ben stood back up, ignoring the boy’s rudeness and faced his mother.  “Mrs. Lowell are you sure I can’t give you a hand, or help you out in any other way?”

“No, sir. My husband’s brother has joined us as you know, and he is taking care of everything.”

“As long as everything is all right,” Ben started to offer his help but he saw Andrea glance nervously behind her at her mother and then back at him.  Andrea met his eyes, and he didn’t say another word.  The girl knew that Mr. Cartwright suspected that something was amiss and she tried to keep her tongue. Her mother had told her not to tell anyone about family business. Mr. Cartwright was different, he wasn’t just anyone. He had been her father’s good friend. The rancher had specifically told her at her father’s funeral to come to him if she needed help.

“Really Mr. Cartwright we’re all very fine,” Mrs. Lowell lied.

“Mr. Cartwright? “Andrea was about to say something to Mr. Cartwright when she saw her uncle approaching from the rear of the store. She caught her breath and began to tremble.

“What?” Ben asked.

“Let me have the rest of the list and you can start loading up. Is your wagon out front?” Andrea quickly stammered.

Ben nodded and handed her the order he had made up. He placed his hat on the back of his head.

”I appreciate your offer but my brother–in-law Ramsey is taking fine care of everything,” Mrs. Lowell told him looking down at the floor.

“Then I had better start loading up my wagon.”  Ben hoisted one of the nail kegs onto his broad shoulder, turned and started out the door. “My boys are waiting these things back at the Ponderosa and it is getting late.”

“Andrea what are you doing?  I been waiting for ten minutes out back?” Ramsey Lowell bellowed and glared at Ben loading his wagon outside.

Mrs. Lowell paled and was suddenly silent. She looked away.  Andrea nudged Daniel and shook her head. “Now is not the time to talk to Mr. Cartwright,” she whispered. “Keep quiet.”

“Get in the storage room and go back to work before there is more trouble” he shouted, as he shoved Daniel back towards the door. The boy stumbled at the force of his uncle’s push.  Ramsey reached over and grabbed the boy by the scruff off his neck and lifted him off his feet. He was completely defenseless as he struggled to free himself from the man’s iron grip.

Andrea rushed toward them and grasped her uncle’s arm as he raised his arm to strike the boy. Daniel ducked his head.

“Uncle no! Leave him alone, please. Daniel, go in back. Go in back right now!” the red headed girl demanded but her uncle brushed her away.

“You got something to say to me?” he snarled, his face now inches from his frightened niece’s face.

Suddenly the Lowells heard a familiar deep voice thunder from the doorway.

“Let him go! You got no call to push the boy around like that,” Ben protested as he walked back inside.

The man turned on Ben in a flash. Realizing he was not alone in the store, Ramsey immediately transformed. He released his grasp on his terrified nephew and turned to face the gray haired rancher. Ben stood with both hands on his hips, his mouth set in an angry line.

”Daniel, are you all right? “ Ben asked as he took a step forward into the store.

Before the child could answer Ben heard Mrs. Lowell speak. ”Daniel go in back. Everything is just perfectly fine, Mr. Cartwright. It was only a little misunderstanding. You know how children are,” She smiled weakly, her eyes flitted back and forth between her daughter and brother-in-law.  “Andrea, go finish filling Mr. Cartwright’s order.”

“Mr. Cartwright?  I’m Ramsey Lowell.” The other man extended his hand in greeting. Ramsey Lowell looked like a larger, burly version of his late brother. There was a sour angry look in his eyes as he met Cartwright’s gaze. “Is there something I can do for you?”  His mouth was smiling but his blood shot eyes were angry.

Ben Cartwright glared at him. Something was very wrong here and he was going to find out about it.

Chapter 2

Wednesday Afternoon

Leaning over on his tiptoes, Joe reached into the grain bin in the tack room. He was able to just reach the loose panel with one hand and reach behind it for the oil-cloth wrapped package. He pulled it out and stood up facing his friend, “Look at this Daniel! Have you ever seen anything like this?”  Joe carried the shotgun, pointing at the barn floor. The barrel was sheathed in a scabbard of ornately tooled leather.

Daniel leaned over Little Joe’s shoulder, their two curly heads touching. As much the two boys looked outwardly very much alike, inwardly they were quite different. Energetic Little Joe was sociable and self-confident. Daniel Lowell was growing more withdrawn and anxious as the weeks went on.  The two friends still had a strong resemblance to each other but it was less strong as the years passed. Joe was still slim and wiry but was beginning to get more muscular and have broader shoulders like his father and older brothers. Daniel was narrower and thinner with dark circles under his eyes and few smiles since his father was killed fifteen months earlier.

Daniel seemed to carry a lot of worry in his heart and no matter how many times Joe tried to make him talk or laugh, he was usually unsuccessful. Since Mr. Lowell had died, Little Joe hadn’t spent as much time with his friend as he had in the past as Dan was usually helping Andrea and his mother in the store. On rare occasion, Dan came to visit at the Ponderosa. Just after Mr. Lowell was killed, the Cartwrights invited the Wallaces and the Lowell’s for Sunday dinner after church a few times a month. Somehow, on those Sundays, Hop Sing always made so much extra for the meal that Ben insisted the Lowells take home all the leftovers as the food would certainly go to waste if they didn’t do him that favor.

Ever since Ramsey Lowell had arrived, Joe saw Dan even less outside of school. Occasionally, Joe spent a few hours with his buddy helping him and Andrea out in the store just to be with Dan. He was never invited to join them for supper so he had to head back home before dark. Today, Dan showed up on the Ponderosa with two door knobs and some brass hinges nervously claiming that his sister had told him that Mr. Cartwright had ordered these items to be delivered to him.  Ben had never ordered them but paid the boy for them and then invited Daniel to visit for a while. He assumed the story about the delivery was a pretense for Dan had wrangled together to create an opportunity to visit with Little Joe for a few hours and enjoy himself for a few hours.

“Gee that’s a mighty fancy shot gun.” Daniel said examining the weapon.

”Adam brought it back from San Francisco last time he was there. He ordered it special from a gunsmith for Pa’s birthday, the best gunsmith west of the Mississippi. It cost quite a bit, but we all chipped in.  I gave him all the money I earned from working on the fences and selling that little bull calf I’ve been raising. Pa’s birthday won’t be for a long time but Adam said we better get it now and put it away in case he don’t get back to San Francisco in the next few months.”

Daniel examined the firearm silently.

“I was the one who figured out where to hide it.” Joe bragged. “Pa will never, ever find it here. Never! Look, the board at the back of the bin is loose and if you push it just so, you can slide anything in there and no one will see it.“

At his side and slightly behind, Daniel continued to study the rifle, tracing his finger almost absently over the smooth, highly polished stock. Inset into the stock was a decoration of a stampeding buffalo herd and as an engraved pattern on the barrel and scrollwork that matched on the leather scabbard. Both were adorned with the initials BC in the design.

“I’ve got to put it back.” Joe carefully wrapped it up and stowed it back behind the panel in the bin. “Adam will skin me alive if he knows I took it out.”

His friend reluctantly handed the shotgun back to Joe. Dan watched quietly as Joe returned the gift to its hiding place.

“Let’s go get something to eat.” Joe grinned to his friend. “You look like you can use a little meat on your bones. Hoss said you are looking peeked and I should make sure you stay for supper too.”

The two friends who at one time were exactly the same size and often were mistaken for each other, were now a few inches apart in height.  Joe wasn’t sure what to do about how quiet and frail his friend looked, but the idea of a sandwich before certainly appealed to both boys.

“I’ll race you inside.” Joe shouted as he took off for the kitchen. Joe beat the other boy by quite a bit. It was then that he decided that would have to remember to ask his Pa for some advice after Daniel went home.

Chapter 3

Thursday Morning

Joe had arrived at school that morning dreading one more day of misery with Mr. Ramsey Lowell.  In addition to running the Lowell’s floundering hardware store, Ramsey had been hired to teach in the Virginia City School when Miss Lambert left to marry Frank Stanley. Katie Wallace pulled Joe aside as he was tending to his horse, Lucky. It was the first day without rain all week. Lucky was a fat dependable mare that Ben insisted that Joe ride to school, despite his son wanting a faster, more spirited horse.

“Joe, don’t use the outhouse,” she warned mysteriously.

“What are you talking about, Kate? What am I supposed to do? Use my hat?” He teased.

”Joseph Cartwright! You are totally disgusting. “

“My boots?” he was determined to continue being rude. “My lunch bucket?”

”Joe, quit! Just don’t use the outhouse, not just yet.”

”What’s going on, Kate?”

”Just don’t ask me,” she giggled. “And did you know skunks just love cherry pie.” She turned to walk away and glanced back over her shoulder. Her brown eyes were twinkling with a look that said “Long johns on the flagpole.”

He noticed some brown crusty pie pieces set in a trail to the outhouse. Joe rolled his eyes and followed his mischievous pal into the schoolhouse. Katie was up to something and Little Joe was just going to watch where the chips fell.

Chapter 4

Thursday Afternoon

Ben Cartwright and his eldest son sat at the desk hard at work. They were struggling valiantly to organize the tasks that needed completion and schedule the men effectively. The Ponderosa had a big lumber contract to complete for Fischer’s mine, fences that needed repairing, stock that needed tending and far too few hands to deal with all of it. The miserable weather the last three weeks had thrown everything behind schedule. The rain had also caused the creeks to rise higher than anyone could remember and flood some of the best pasture on the Ponderosa.

Today was the first sunny day all week, but ominous gray clouds were forming to the west, promising more rain in the next day. The sodden ground could not absorb any more moisture and the creeks were full to flood level.  In addition to all the other difficulties, the temperature was dropping. It appeared that an early winter was closing in, demanding that they move most of the herds down to winter pasture before flooding or early snow trapped them on inaccessible higher meadows where they would be stranded for the winter.

“Pa, we are still missing dozens of head. I just hope we aren’t being rustled,” Adam said, adding to his father’s list of worries. The two men heard Hop Sing open the door for someone.

“Mr. Cartwright, sir.” Hays Newkirk, Ben’s foreman called as he walked over to them. He had his battered brown hat in his hands and was turning it nervously as he approached the boss. He had a bruise on the side of his face and a fat lip, obviously from a fight.

”What is it Hays? How was Carson City? Did you deliver the horses ok?”

“The horses went fine but we got another problem, boss.” He bent his hat brim back and forth between his hands nervously. “You know those six new hands you sent up with me to help with that string of horses? Well we kinda sorta got into a fight in the Lucky Bucket and caused quite a bit of damage. T’wasn’t our fault, Ben. Some fellers from one of the mines was picking on one of the bar girls and one of our boys stepped in and…. Well, it got out of hand. The Sheriff up there has our boys locked up in his jail.”

Ben shook his head at the latest complication. “I was counting on those boys to help me move those herds. You’ll have to ride back up there and bail them out. How much do you need? I have Hoss and Hop Sing loading the chuck wagon now.”

”I know you were, Ben. I saw on my way in here,” the foreman said.

“We were getting set to ride out as soon as they were finished. Weather is turning bad again.”

“That is not the only problem. You see, Judge Kane won’t allow the Sheriff to let those boys go just on bail. He’ll only release them to Mr. Ben Cartwright personally. That Judge said he was dang sick of those Ponderosa hands tearing up saloons and wants to talk to you personal, face to face.”

Ben slammed his fist into his paper-cluttered desk scattering the work schedules to the floor.

“He said he would only let those boys leave with Mr. Ben Cartwright of the Ponderosa Ranch and if he didn’t see your face in his courtroom the sheriff could let those boys cool their heels until he did. He said they could sit there until the moon turned blue if need be. “

“Pa, it looks like you’ll have to take a ride up there and get them out,” Adam observed.” We are too short handed as it is. If they leave right away they can catch up with us from that direction instead of coming back down this way to the Ponderosa.”
”What other choice do we have, Hays?  You go tell Hoss what’s going on and give him a hand with whatever hasn’t been finished.”

”Sorry for the trouble, Boss,” Hays said as he put his hat back on and walked out of the house.

“Guess these will have to be redone.” Adam kneeled down and started picking up the papers his father had knocked to the floor.

They made the necessary adjustments in the schedules. Just as the grandfather clock struck four, Ben and Adam heard the front door slam and the excited voices of two boys hollering, “We found them! We found them!”  The two boys took a second to toss their hats and their two blue jackets on the pegs near the door and ran towards them, their muddy boots clattering on the wide floor boards.  “Pa we found them!” Little Joe crowed proudly.

Chuckling and trying to catch their breaths, Joe and Danny Lowell ran through the room to where Ben and Adam sat at the desk. Joe barely managed not to knock over a chair. Adam looked at them with a raised eyebrow and a small crooked smile, but beyond him their fathers’ angry stony glare sobered them both quickly.

“Daniel, Joseph, where have you been?” Ben demanded. His son should have been back in the house hours earlier.

”Pa we found ‘em!” Little Joe boasted. “We found the lost cattle!”

”Mr. Cartwright we found them all!” Daniel added grinning broadly.

”They are up in a draw by Canyon Creek. They’re all there, Pa, but we couldn’t get them out. There was a rock slide from all the rain and they are penned in there.” Joe bragged. “We tried to move the rocks but it was too much for us and Daniel said we should go tell you and let you sort it out.”

”All of them? “ Adam asked. “You found all the missing cattle?”

”All of them. There must have been five dozen head up there all penned in by the slide.” Joe assured him.

”Good job, Little Brother. You used your head.” Adam said proudly moving out of his chair to pat his brother on the back. “I’m proud of you, both.”

Ben stood up from his desk and put his right arm around Joe’s shoulder. He attempted to put his other arm around Daniel but the curly haired boy flinched and pulled away. “Show me where you were on the map.”

Ben and Adam watched as Joe pointed out the location on the map of the Ponderosa hanging on the wall between the windows. “Right here” Joe pointed sliding his finger on the map. Daniel nodded in agreement.

“Are you sure?” His father asked.

“I’m positive,” Joe nodded confidently. “Right there, Pa.  At least five dozen as far as I could see. We really need to get them out. That creek looks awful high from all this rain.”

Ben turned toward his youngest son and gave Joe a serious look. “That is pretty far off track for you two to be. That would have taken you a lot more time to reach than say, an hour after school lets out and get back here at four o’clock. Is there something you are leaving out of the story?”

”Like what Pa?” Joe asked innocently. He was so caught up in the excitement of finding the cattle he had completely forgotten how the day had begun.

“Like how you might have been hunting for lost cattle when you should have been sitting in school this afternoon.” Adam said reading his father’s mind.

”Joseph, is there something you are omitting? Is this all of the story?” Ben asked seriously.

Before Joe could answer his father’s question, the front door slammed again and they heard Hoss hang up his hat and lay down his gun belt on the sideboard “Pa?” he called. “Pa, that wagon is almost loaded. Hop Sing said he would have supper ready for us as quick as he could. I sure am hungry! We still have enough daylight to get out of here and make some good time if the weather holds. Those men will have a hot breakfast tomorrow.”

“Hoss, Hoss! We found the cattle!” Joe interrupted.

” What are you talking about?” Hoss walked over excitedly to where the others were gathered near Ben’s desk.

”Joseph, I said, is there something you boys are leaving out of this story?” his father repeated firmly. “I want the truth.”

”Um they let us out of school before lunch time and er we decided to go for a ride?” Joe’s voice cracked nervously.

“Mr. Ramsey Lowell dismissed school for the day before lunch?” Adam laughed thinking that Joe surely couldn’t expect his father to believe the authoritarian school master would have given his charges a half day holiday.

“Let’s see how Pa’s baby son squirms out of this one, Hoss.” Adam chuckled. He crossed his arms and leaned back waiting to see how Joe tried to get out of this scrape.

Daniel noticeably winced at the mention of his uncle’s name but remained strangely silent. It was difficult enough to have his uncle invade the peace of his home and take over the household without having to see the man become the schoolmaster too.

“Well Pa,” Joe slowly began carefully picking his words. “This is what really what happened. Someone put a skunk in the outhouse and he stunk up the place so bad that we were let go early.”

Hoss started to laugh. “A skunk in the outhouse?”

”Lord! That boy will be the death of me yet!” Ben sighed wearily and put his hand to his forehead. He fought back a smile and tried his best to look sternly at the young rascal. “Joseph Francis Cartwright, look me right in the eye and tell me if you were the one who put the skunk in the outhouse. Truth now.” He glared down at the boy and place one of his hands on each of the boy’s shoulders. “

”Gee Pa, it wasn’t me. I sure didn’t do it.”

Tell me the truth, Son.”

”No sir, Mr. Cartwright, sir. It wasn’t Joe, “Daniel backed up his friend earnestly.” It was Ka…”

”It was someone else.” Joe elbowed the other boy and finished his sentence. There was no need for his father to know that Kate Wallace had lured the skunk into the outhouse with a trail of cherry pie morsels and created the best prank since she hoisted the long johns on the flag pole.

“Sure Pa, He ain’t lying,” Hoss laughed. ”If Little Joe did pull one on that Mr. Lowell, he would have put two skunks or three skunks in that guy’s desk not one lonely skunk in the outhouse.”

The Cartwrights all laughed at that picture. Daniel looked around the room nervously.

“Pa, that creek is the highest I ever remember it being. One more good rain and the strays are gonna drown in a flood,” Joe successfully changed the subject and distracted his father from even considering punishing him. “We can’t let that happen, Pa!”

Ben sighed loudly. One more crisis to juggle. How is he going to manage to get these cattle out with the short number of hands he had now? Most of his men were needed up north to move the herd to winter pasture before snowfall. Now he had to personally ride up to Carson City to get those six hands bailed from autocratic Judge Burt Kane’s court. Hoss and Hop Sing were ready to move the chuck wagon out to meet the cattle crew.

Ben’s head was pounding with the worst headache he ever had. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand trying to rearrange the limited number of men he had to do the job.

“Pa, why not let me take Slim and Les and that new fellow up to the rock slide at day break we could clear it all out and join Hoss up north by afternoon if we put our backs into it.” Adam suggested.

“Sure Pa, we could do that!” Joe agreed excitedly.

“We? Joseph you forgot one word.” Ben looked at his youngest boy.

“One word?” Joe asked trying to figure out what his father was referring to now.

”School!” his father answered firmly.

“No Pa! Oh come on now! I found them. Please Pa, Let me go with Adam and the crew. Please!” the boy pleaded.

”Joseph, you have to be in school tomorrow. Adam, you take those men up to clear the slide and when you are done, send them up to Hoss and the crew moving the herd. Then you come back here to the house and spend the night with Little Joe. You two are going to be the only one’s around here until I get back and someone has to tend to things here.” Ben decided. “This damn rain might just turn into snow before we get everything done.”

“But Pa…” Joe pleaded.

“No ‘but Pa’ Joseph. Just do what I told you to do and make sure you do it,” Ben bellowed. “We are too short handed to do this any other way and I still have to bail out those men PERSONALLY from Judge Kane. And you had better make sure you do everything I tell you to do just the way I tell you or there will be the devil to pay Joseph.”

“Pa, I really want to go with Adam and…”

“I said that’s enough!” Ben boomed, smashing his palms on the desk. Joe faced his father his mouth open about to say one more sentence.

Hoss looked at their father too. Ben looked like he was about to explode.

”Pa, calm down.” Hoss, always the peacemaker, put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “He’s just a kid.”

”Look, we have a lot to do the next few days and I need all of you boys to cooperate with me and follow orders not pull in a different direction.”

“But…” Joe was not quite ready to let his father have the last word.

“But nothing Joseph. Is that clear? You will be in school tomorrow and you will come directly home to this ranch as I am directing you and you will take care of things as I am telling you or there will be hell to pay.“ Ben stared at his youngest son. “Is that clear?”

“Yes sir.” Little Joe backed off with a frown.

Daniel nervously shrank away from the Cartwrights grouped around Mr. Cartwright’s desk.  Lately he had heard enough yelling at home and hearing more was rattling him. He had never heard Mr. Cartwright get so angry and shout so loud. Dan had wanted to talk to Joe’s father just like Andrea directed him to do. With Mr. Cartwright so angry, the boy was now far too terrified to say anything about his difficulties at home.

“Uh, Joe, I better be getting home.” Dan said in a panicked voice.

Joe glanced over at his friend and nodded. He had momentarily forgotten Daniel was even there.

“Pa, I want to go with Adam. Why can’t I?” Joe pouted.

Adam leaned over to his little brother and whispered in his ear. “Buddy, if you have any sense you will walk away from here and say good night to your friend before Pa shows you how you won’t be sitting for a month of Sundays. Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out. Just walk out of here ‘til Pa cools down.”

Joe started to open his mouth but Adam squeezed Little Joe’s shoulder firmly and the younger boy remained silent.

“Walk your friend to the door and say good bye,” Adam repeated in his brother’s ear.

Joe walked Daniel to the door. Dan had borrowed a horse from the livery in exchange for a pound of nails he had swiped from the store and Joe knew he was not a confident rider, especially when he was travelling alone all the way back to town.

“Good night Dan. See you tomorrow.”  He handed his friend his jacket and hat from the rack near the door.

“Wait a minute Joe, you’re giving me your coat, not mine.”

“Oh!” Joe looked at the blue jacket in his hands and realized how similar the two jackets were. They were made of the same blue fabric but Joe’s was a bit shorter and had horn buttons and his friend’s belted coat had brass buttons and wider lapels. He handed the right blue jacket to his friend.

“Stay safe, Daniel.” Joe said to the other boy as he plopped the other boy’s light brown hat on his head. His friend nodded and walked out the door without saying another word.

“Go get washed up for supper! All of you! We still have a lot to tend to tonight.” Ben shouted. He was still steaming at the boy and at all the other problems that were stacking up on his shoulders. His headache was pounding harder.

Joe stomped up the stairs, struggling not say anything just as Adam had instructed. Hoss headed outside to check one last time on how the hands were doing with loading the wagon and then he would wash up and join his family for supper.

“Pa, calm down, you know how Joe is. He just is going to pester you until he gets what he wants and you know you will give in to him,” Adam said.

“Adam, please don’t make excuses for your brother’s disobedience or sullen attitude. He is picking the wrong time to not follow my orders.” Ben’s head was throbbing and they needed to deal with a million details before any of them could go to bed.

“Sorry, Pa” Adam stated. He pulled a chair closer to the desk and sat down next to his father to double check the work list. He looked to his father, waiting for whatever Ben had in mind for him to handle. “If we finish one thing at a time, it all will work out as long as the weather holds. We can do it, Pa.”

“You’re right,” Ben took a deep breath. “I know I shouldn’t be unloading this on you alone, but you’re the oldest. I have to rely on you to handle things.”

“I know Pa. That’s ok. We can do this together. You do your part and Hoss and I will make sure the rest gets done. We have a good crew and they will get it all done.”

“Thanks, son. Together, we can do everything that needs to be done as long as the weather holds.”

Chapter 5

Daniel quietly walked out of the ranch house.  Hoss and clusters of hands were readying wagons and saddling horses in preparation of leaving. The men were so busy doing their work, none of them even saw the boy lurking about.

He had never seen Mr. Cartwright so enraged and it was terribly frightening to Daniel. He had wanted to talk to Little Joe’s father about the troubles at home but now he was too terrified to say anything. Ben Cartwright had been their last option.

Just after their father’s funeral, Mr. Cartwright had told Andrea and Danny if they needed anything, they should feel free to come to him. Mrs. Lowell contacted her brother in law Ramsey to tell him about her husband’s sudden death. Ramsey Lowell showed up and immediately took over his dead brother’s family and whatever money he had left behind saying there was still a large balance on the loan Ramsey had made to his brother.

Initially, the family thought that Ramsey’s presence would be the solution to their woes but they all quickly learned otherwise. Timid Mrs. Lowell withdrew, deferring to her brother in law’s demands and strict rules. She feared her brother in law’s insistence that he could have her declared unfit and take her children or that if he didn’t take over, they would wind up as beggars. The unhappy children had wanted to speak to Ben Cartwright many times but their mother had vehemently insisted that they keep their business at home and not air their dirty laundry as it might upset Ramsey even more. Andrea and Dan didn’t want to defy their grief stricken mother and were petrified to anger their uncle.

As time wore on, the situation got worse. Fragile Mrs. Lowell retreated into her fears and grief even more. There were days when she hardly left her bed and Andrea had to take over all the cooking and household chores and in addition to trying to run the store. Ramsey Lowell grew more demanding and harsh.

Now, with both his sisters crying all the time Danny had to tell someone about Uncle Ramsey and what was going on with Andrea. Andrea pleaded with her brother to go to Mr. Cartwright for help. One day, Andrea contrived that there was an important item that Daniel had to deliver to the Ponderosa so her brother could get Mr. Cartwrights help but Daniel find a way to speak to him alone.

Now, after witnessing Ben Cartwright bellowing at Little Joe, Daniel was far too scared to do approach the infuriated man. The boy knew he had to take things in his own hands. He had to protect his family on his own just like a man would. Daniel suddenly remembered the birthday shotgun Joe had shown him hidden in the tack room. Daniel Lowell immediately decided he was going to take care of his own family business on his own terms and he knew how he would do it.

Chapter 6

Friday Morning,

The two Cartwright brothers finished had finished their hasty breakfast and were in the kitchen washing their dishes. As he drained the dregs of coffee in his cup, Adam glanced out the window. He gestured skyward with his chin. “Rain for sure. Be sure you come directly home, Joe. Just like Pa told you to do.  And do all those chores.”

“Yes sir, I’ll come home directly after school. Little Joe squeezed in next to his brother and peeked out the window. Joe scrutinized the mottled gray bowl of a sky. “Do you really think it is really cold enough for snow?

“Not right now. But if the wind picks up, it might just get that cold by dark. I sure hope it isn’t snow for the sake of the crew moving the cattle. It’s going to be a hard enough job getting that herd down in the rain. Imagine how bad it will get if all this mud freezes up? “

“We’ll ride up and meet them tomorrow, like you said Adam,” Little Joe repeated for the tenth time since breakfast.

”Sure, Little Brother. You just keep your end of the bargain and I’ll do my part.”

”You can count on me, Adam!” Joe grinned. He couldn’t wait to see the surprised look on his father’s face when he and Adam rode up to meet them up at North Pasture.

“I’m sure it will take me the better part of the day clearing off the rock slide you and Daniel found so it will be after sundown by the time I get back to the house. You all right with that Joe? You are going to be the only one on the place.”

“Adam, I’m not a little kid.  I am almost twelve years old,” Joe responded indignantly.” I know you went over this. Pa went over it too. Hoss went over it. Then you went over it again. “

“Then tell me what you are supposed to do. Again.” Adam directed. Little Joe and Adam walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Adam pushed Joe’s crooked chair neatly under the table and they both walked to the front door.

“I come back to the Ponderosa directly after school. I do my chores and get our dinner on. Then, tomorrow, first thing we ride up to the crew. I can do it. Don’t worry Adam.” Joe couldn’t believe how many times Adam had made him swear to do what he was assigned to do.

“Taking all day over your own pony won’t get you out of looking after the other stock or chopping wood so don’t try it,” Adam said sternly. He took his hat and coat off the hook near the front door and put it on. Then he handed his brother his hat.  “I’ve already looked after pitching some hay down for you from the loft but the rest of the chores are your responsibility and you’ve still got the wood boxes to fill before supper. I’m going to feed the pigs and collect the eggs before I leave so don’t take all night over it. All you have to do for supper is heat up that stew Hop Sing left and set the table.”

”I know, I know.” Joe said as he buttoned up his blue jacket.

”Ok Mr. “I Know I know”, get moving or you’re going to be late for school. And don’t forget, if the weather turns bad; get home before you get caught. The ground is pretty saturated and the creek is high.”

Chapter 7

Friday Afternoon

“I suppose putting skunks in the outhouse is your idea of a joke Joseph.” Ramsey Lowell said staring at Joe.

”Yes, sir… er no sir, I mean, it was funny but I didn’t do it.”

“You are lying Joseph Cartwright, “the teacher glared angrily at Little Joe. He was furious that a mere boy should first humiliate him with the skunk and then defy and contradict him when he was confronted. Lowell was holding his heavy wooden ruler in his hand and slapping his own meaty palm with it.

“No sir, I did not do it,” Little Joe knew there was no way he would ever turn over Katie to Ramsey Lowell and his fury. Not only did he have to protect her because was she a girl but Kate was his friend. There was no way he would ever betray a friend.

Joe squirmed nervously on the hard wooden bench. The boy wanted nothing more than to be heading back home. The rain was pouring down pretty hard and he still had a long list of chores to do. His oldest brother had secretly promised him if he followed their father’s orders thoroughly and completely, Adam would take Little Joe up to meet the crew on Saturday and they could sleep there and make their way back with the rest of the cowboys on Sunday.

”Liars get what they deserve, Joseph. Liars get severely punished.” He slapped his own hand with the ruler making a loud a smacking sound.

”But I… I didn’t do it sir, “Joe stammered. “I don’t lie.”

Joe could see the rain falling harder outside the school house. He knew he really had to get home before the roads got impassable. Pa had warned him many times and he didn’t want his father to be angry with him.

Before he rode out that morning, Ben had outlined all the chores he wanted Joe to do while the boy was alone. Adam had reviewed them a second time. Adam was going to get back for dinner, but Joe would be responsible for most of the evening barn chores and heating up the dinner before his brother got back. He really wanted to impress Adam with his responsibility for once and be sure he would be riding up to the North Pasture with him that weekend. Joe wanted his big brother to be proud of him and know how he appreciated his offer to accompany to meet the herd and make Pa proud of him.

“Mr. Lowell, sir, can’t I leave? The rain is really coming down. It’s starting to get very heavy and my Pa said I should be sure to get home before the road floods up and it gets dark and…,” Joe pulled his jacket from the back of the bench started to get up and leave.

“Sit back down!” Ramsey stood up towering ominously over Joe. “Are you defying me, young man?” His eyes were black under the dark ridge of his eyebrows. Joe thought that the teacher face looked like a rabid wild boar.

“I suppose we’ll have to show you what can happen when you disrupt school and don’t tell the truth,” said Ramsey with a frown. He grabbed Joe’s shoulder. The boy tried to pull away but he was no match for the teacher’s vicious grip on his blue jacket.

”Put out your hand, Boy.”

Joe hesitantly obeyed. Perhaps, the boy thought, if Ramsey gave him a few licks, the school master would just let him leave. He extended his right hand. Ramsey swung the ruler over his head and swatted the boy hard again and again.

Joe bit down hard on his lip, sensing if he flinched or hollered Ramsey would never quit. Ramsey kept hitting him and Joe realized that the stinging blows were now drawing blood.

“Hey!” he attempted to twist away but the teacher tightened his grip on Joe’s arm, trapping the boy’s extended hand as the target for his blows.

Joe tried to wrench free from the teachers grasp. He swung his other arm catching his fist in the teacher’s throat. He took the teacher by surprise. Ramsey Lowell lost his grip on Joe for an instant and dropped the ruler. Before Joe could defend himself, Ramsey hit him twice in the stomach and swung the boy around as he attempted to escape

“How dare you defy me!” Ramsey was in a frenzy. He no longer knew or cared what he was doing. He only knew that he had a helpless victim on whom he could pour out all his anger and frustration. He began beating Joe mercilessly, yanking Joe up off the ground by his jacket with one hand, and using the other hand to pound blow after blow on his victim.

As Joe bent forward, gasping, the furious schoolmaster laid a backhand across the boy’s face.  The blow snapped Joe’s head back, cracking it hard against the blackboard. The boy fell to the left, scraping the side of his face against a wooden bench. The bench and desk fell onto Little Joe with a loud clatter as he landed on the worn planked floor.

Joe’s ears were ringing with a roar. Blood ran down his forehead from where it had scraped the bench and he couldn’t see clearly. For an instant, Joe saw black but knew he could not let himself lose consciousness. If he did, Mr. Lowell might never stop hitting him and he had no chance of getting out of the schoolhouse.

The schoolmaster loomed over him; his hands balled into fists at his side, his brown vest bulging across his fat belly. Joe couldn’t see straight or catch his breath and for the minute was frozen, trapped under the desk. The injured boy reached up with the back of his left hand and tried to wipe the blood from his eyes. As he did, he realized that he was seeing double. There were two angry, ugly piggy Schoolmaster Lowells towering over him and bellowing angrily.

Lowell grabbed the long hickory pointer from the hook on the wall and strode towards the boy trapped under the desk. Joe blinked, trying to clear his eyesight and find a way to escape.

”We’re not finished yet, boy.” He lifted the overturned bench off Little Joe and viciously swung the pointer at him catching Joe across his shoulder. He was pinned between the wall and his attacker and had no place to escape Ramsey’s rage. Joe rolled over, trying to duck, putting his back to the blows. He pulled his arms up and tried to protect the back of his head with his hands.

Ramsey raised the pointer over his head and swung again and again hitting Joe hard across his shoulders and back. He was so enraged that at one moment, he missed Joe and caught the edge of the desk, shattering the pointer as it hit. The teacher paused and looked for another switch or stick.

Little Joe recognized this was his one chance to escape and made the most of it. He rolled over and kicked the bench as hard as he could. It spun across the floor and caught Ramsey in the gut.

Ramsey Lowell bellowed like a wounded bull. The wind was knocked out him and he doubled over giving Joe a second to get free from where he was cornered. Joe rolled away again and quickly scrambled to his feet. The half open schoolhouse door was a few steps away and knowing it was now or never, Joe dove at it.

Despite his wounds, he desperately raced down the stairs. Near the top, his booted feet hit the wet step and he slipped, tumbling head over heels down the six wooden steps.  Joe landed with a crash at the bottom of the staircase. This time he could not fight the blackness that filled his eyes and he fell face down in the mud. His ears were filled with an explosive roaring and everything turned red, then black.

When he opened his eyes again everything seemed strangely quiet. He was cold and wet and very confused. The darkening sky was grayish purple and the pale sun was going down behind the school house. For a minute he could not move. He blinked his eyes to try to see what was going and slowly rolled over. He realized he could only see with one eye and raised his filthy hand to rub his eyes. Every part of him hurt as he struggled to stand up in his wet blue jacket. He winced as he grabbed hold of the railing with his left hand and pulled himself up in the pouring rain. His ears were still ringing. Something inside of him told him to run, get away and get home.

“Get out of here!” Was that someone speaking or his own brain telling him what to do?

Suddenly he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. Was it the school master? Hands caught him below the arms and hauled him to his feet. He tried to wrench himself away.

”Get out of here, Little Joe “the voice repeated hoarsely in his ears. It wasn’t Ramsey Lowell’s voice.

His head was pounding. With his swollen eyes, Joe could barely see a figure in a black cloak. A hat was pulled down low, red hair framing the face but Joe was hurting too badly to think clearly or to recognize who it was. His head was throbbing and fire was radiating from his back. He just wanted to get away from the furious pig-faced schoolmaster as fast as he could.

Little Joe stood swaying; his stomach was in his throat as he fought down nausea.  Joe felt himself prodded towards Lucky. He was nudged forward until his hands collided with the wet leather of his saddle and somehow he wound up astride the mare. His foot was urged into the stirrup, and somehow with assistance, he managed to drag himself onto the horse’s back.

Joe blinked, trying to make sense of his distorted surroundings: He was astride Lucky, holding onto a saddle, the cold icy rain, hitting his bloody face. His right hand was raw and he couldn’t grasp the reins properly. Slumping forward, he pressed his cheek to Lucky’s coarse mane. He tried to wipe his eyes with his jacket sleeve but he was still seeing only from one eye. All he could hear was the buzzing of thousands of hornets in his ears and he was sure he was stung all over. Dizzily, he tried to figure out what to do next. He hurt all over and was more scared than he had ever been in his life.

“Get out of here, “the disembodied voice repeated. Joe heard a hand slap Lucky’s flank and he was vaguely aware of his horse moving forward. With the injured boy on her back Lucky rode off into the freezing rain towards home.

Joe looked up and found somehow they were right outside the Ponderosa barn. He managed to lean over, open the barn door and ride into the barn out of the freezing rain.  He slid off the back of the horse and fell onto the straw covered barn floor. Joe slowly inched himself into a sitting position in the corner near the door. Each movement caused another wave of pain. He was shivering, but didn’t know whether the cold, the pain, the fear or a terrifying combination of the three was causing it.

He finally managed to sit up but felt exhausted by the effort it took just to move that small bit. His right hand was cut and bleeding and he tried to tie his bandana around it.  He began to feel light headed, dizzy and nauseous. The boy leaned over and vomited against the board wall again and again until he had the dry heaves.  He had never felt so much pain in his life.  Joe closed his eyes and slumped back against the barn wall shivering, feeling very alone. Time ceased to have meaning.  He wished his Pa was there and started to cry.  He was uncertain about what to do next and hoped Adam would be home soon. Exhausted, he burrowed down into the hay and fell sound asleep.

Chapter 8

Adam rode into the yard. Rain was streaming down in cold sheets and he was bone weary. He tugged on the brim of his black hat in an attempt to keep the freezing rain out of his eyes but had little success as the wind gusted from the lake.  He had spent most of the day with some hands dismantling the rockslide and freeing the strays that Little Joe and Daniel had found the day before. As he had planned with his father the night before, the hands headed up to the north pasture to join the crew, and Adam went back to the house to spend the night with his young brother. Even though he would never admit it to Little Joe, he was very proud of how competent his kid brother was becoming at all the tasks a man needed to run a spread as big as the Ponderosa.

Adam pulled his collar up against the wetness thinking how good it was going to be to have some hot coffee, dry clothes and the supper Little Joe would prepare. Then he would contently put his feet up in front of the fire and rest his weary bones.

“Good thing we decided to move the herd to the winter pasture. This weather sure looks like we are in for an early snow.”

As he approached, Adam saw the house was dark, pitch dark.

Adam shook his head angrily “Dang, looks like Little Joe fouled up again. Why can’t he follow what Pa had told him to do? When is that kid going to realize his father meant business? When Pa told him to be home by nightfall he had good reason to say it. Now Adam was going to have to come down on the kid in their father’s absence, not his favorite chore. Certainly this was not going to make Joe happy with him.

Secretly, Adam had been looking forward to riding up with Joe to meet the crew and surprise their father. The conditions were that Joe would adhere to the responsibilities their father had laid out for him. That mandate included coming back to the Ponderosa immediately after school, finishing all his chores and being in the house by sundown preparing their supper.

If Joe had dodged that agreement, Adam was going to have to spend the next three days disciplining Little Joe rather than riding up to meet the crew as the boy had wanted. Penalizing a sulking Little Joe was definitely not the way Adam thought he would be spending the next few days. The consequences to Joe was probably going to be more punishing to Adam if mule-stubborn Joe had his way.

“Hope I don’t have to ride out and hunt that gol durn kid up in this foul weather.” Adam thought grimly. He dismounted and led his horse towards the barn. He sincerely hoped that Joe was just dawdling in there tending to Lucky and he wouldn’t have to look any further.

In the gathering darkness, Adam saw the barn door swinging half open in the rain. “Doesn’t that boy even have enough sense to shut the barn door?”

He led his horse inside the quiet barn. All the stalls were all empty as every available mount was up with the roundup crew moving the herd. It was strange to see the emptiness. Even more puzzling was seeing Joe’s horse, standing wet and still saddled in the middle of his stall. Ben had taught his sons to always tend their horses before they did anything else. That was always something Joe always did willingly and automatically. Joe would responsibly take care of the horses even before he ate dinner and frequently used doing a thorough job as an excuse for avoiding other tasks.

In the dimness, weary Adam tended to his horse first. Then he went over to remove Lucky’s saddle and put it away. Where was Joe? Could he have just gone inside and was coming right back to take care of the horse? But the house was dark and by now Joe would have come back out to the barn.

Adam looked at his hand after stowing Lucky’s saddle. It wasn’t just wet, there was blood on it. He looked again. There was blood on the saddle. Something was very wrong.  From the shadows near the door Adam heard a faint moan.  He turned to hear what it was and saw a pile of discarded rags or grain sacks in the pile of straw in the corner. Was someone calling his name?

“Joe? Is that you” Adam called walking towards the voice.

What Adam had assumed was just a discarded pile of trash in the shadowy corner of the barn was in reality his injured little brother. “Adam, help me.” Little Joe pleaded weakly. “Adam…”

Adam rushed over and bent down to examine his brother. The poor battered kid was covered with mud and blood. He was soaking wet and shivering and had burrowed under a pile of straw in a vain attempt to keep warm. At first, when Adam looked at the wounded boy, he assumed that Little Joe must have been tossed off his horse. His thin blue jacket was soaking wet and covered in blood and vomit. He smelled awful.

Adam looked for a lamp in the barn and couldn’t find one. One of the ranch hands must have loaded it in the wagon or moved it elsewhere. He finally managed to find one in the dark tack room. He set it on a hook above Joe. By the time Adam got the lamp lit, he saw Joe’s eyes were closed. Was his little brother dead?

Horrified, Adam knelt next to the injured boy. He saw his little brother’s chest moving up and down shallowly. His breathing sounded labored. Adam put his hand on the top of Joe’s head and gently stroked his brother’s hair. For a moment, there was still no reaction. “Joe?” he said softly. “Joe, can you hear me?”  He cautiously touched his brother’s shoulder and Joe pulled away with a whimper.

Joe’s left eye was already turning a deep blue and was swollen shut. Another large bruise covered Joe’s left cheekbone, and two smaller bruises were evident on Joe’s jaw. There were mats of dried blood and dirt in his wet, curly hair. The right side of his mouth was red and swollen. A wide gash ran across Joe’s forehead.

Finally Joe turned his head a bit. His eyes fluttered as if he were trying hard to open them. The boy he gave a weak moan and he turned slightly. His eyes flickered and then opened. Little Joe stared up at Adam in an unfocused gaze. He blinked his eyes slowly and looked up at his big brother. Adam had finally got home to him.  He wasn’t alone any more.

“Adam? I’m hurt real bad. Help me. Please.” the boy pleaded in a weak voice.

“Don’t worry little brother, I’ve got you. Put your arms around my neck.” Joe nodded weakly. Then he hung his left arm around his brother’s neck and held on for dear life. Adam picked up his bloody, shivering brother in his arms and carried him quickly through the freezing rain into the house. Joe closed his eyes and leaned his face into his brother’s shoulder.

Chapter 9

Adam quickly carried his injured brother inside and into the dark downstairs guest bedroom off the dining room. He settled him gently on the bed. He lit the lamp on the night stand and started to examine the injured boy. He took off Joe’s muddy boots and carefully removed his filthy blue jacket.

Adam had a horrible predicament. He knew Doc Martin really should see his brother but there was absolutely no way the injured boy could handle the ride into town in the cold downpour. There was no one around to send for help or tend to Joe while he fetched the doctor. He certainly couldn’t leave his brother alone for hours while he rode into Virginia City to hunt up the doctor and bring him back. There was no other option, Adam had to take care of him on his own.

“Lie still and I’ll be right back.” Adam directed. He quickly went into the kitchen and filled a basin with hot water from the large copper kettle on the back of the stove. From the pantry, he gathered up towels, bandages, and a bottle of liniment. He carried them into the room and placed them on the table near the bed. Then Adam went into the dining room and got a bottle of whiskey and a glass from the breakfront and brought them back into the guestroom.

“What happened to you, Buddy? Did you get thrown from your horse? “Adam asked as he returned to Joe’s bedside. He was still trying to figure how his brother got so badly injured.

“He whipped me.” Joe moaned.

“Who? Who beat you?” Adam was furious. He gently tried to peel his brother’s crusty, blood soaked shirt off him. As he did, he could see the deep wounds on his little brother’s shoulder and back and winced at the sight.

Who could have put such a beating to his brother? The kid was beaten raw with a stick or a strap. “Who did this? Joe? I’ll kill him.”

“Ramsey Lowell.”

“Wait until that son of a bitch sees what kind of beating I deal to him. No one does this to my brother and gets away with it.”

In his head, Adam could hear his father’s deep voice saying “Let the law handle it, son.” He’d let Roy Coffee handle what was left of the school master after he was finished.

“Stop Adam, you are hurting me. Wait until Pa gets back. He’ll do it. Please.” Joe wailed

”Joe, I got to get you cleaned up and bandaged now. Pa won’t be back for a long time, for days. I have to tend to you now. I know it hurts. Be brave and lie as still as you can.”

Adam washed out all the wounds with soap and water. He knew he had to finish it by washing the deep wounds with some alcohol or infection would set in. Joe was thrashing around from the pain and Adam was struggling to hold him down.

“Stop Adam,” the boy shrieked. “Please.” Tears streamed down Joe’s face. He tried to pull from Adam’s firm grasp and knocked the basin of water crashing to the floor.

Adam stepped back for a minute to catch his breath. He sincerely couldn’t stand inflicting any more pain on his brother but he knew he had to finish cleaning him up and bandage him or the wounds would fester with infection and probably kill Joe. His own hands were shaking.

Joe whimpered from the bed. “Leave me be.”

“Joe, I’m sorry but we have to finish. We are almost done. I promise you.”

“You promise?” Joe whispered.

“I promise we are almost done. I promise.” Adam picked up the bottle of whiskey and poured three inches of golden liquid into the glass. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Adam held Little Joe upright in his arms and put the glass to his split lips. “Drink this.”

Assuming it was water, Joe took a large gulp, and choked. He tried to spit it out but succeeded only in choking more and gagging on the whiskey. The exhausted child was trembling with pain and fear.

”Drink it!” Adam growled. “It will make you go to sleep.”

“Stop Adam,” Joe cried pitifully. ”I want my Pa. Adam leave me alone.” The injured little boy tried to pull out of his brother’s arms.

Adam turned away from the bed and stepped out into the dining room still holding the half-filled glass in his hand. The house was silent; the only noise he could hear was the faint tick of the grandfather clock near the front door. He frowned, feeling the silence in his familiar home was ominous for some reason.  He leaned his forehead against the cold wall and tried to collect himself. Little Joe’s sobs cut him to his heart. Adam had to regain his self-control or he would never get his brother calmed down and bandaged. If his brother knew how scared he was, the boy would panic even more.

“Pull yourself together and stop acting like some harebrained little girl,” he told himself.” Adam put the glass to his lips and drained it himself.

Adam shook himself back into action He walked back into the kitchen and filled a cup halfway with the remaining hot water from the kettle. He stirred in four heaping spoons of sugar until they dissolved and then added a few more. He topped that off with a good measure of the whiskey and stirred it thoroughly, hoping that Joe would be able to drink the sweet, hot drink.

Adam walked back into the room. He took a deep breath and said as calmly and as firmly as he could muster, “Joe, you have to do what I am telling you to do. Just like you would for Pa. Be brave. Please, Buddy boy.”

He quietly bent down on one knee beside his brother. Joe stared at Adam, his hazel eyes glassy and unfocused. One side of his battered face was even more swollen. He blinked his eyes twice, seeming to be struggling for consciousness.

Adam gently brushed back the curls from Joe’s bruised and damp forehead. “Could you do this for me, Little Brother?” he whispered softly. “This will warm you up. And you won’t be hurting so bad. It is just what Pa would do if he was here.”

Joe nodded. Adam lifted his head gently and Joe swallowed a little of the warm sweetened whiskey from the cup. It made a burning trail as it went down. And he took a second and then a third sip.

“More Joe, just a few more sips.” Joe drained the rest. “Good fella.”

Adam took a deep breath. He knew he had to wait a few minutes for the drink to take effect on the boy. Joe held tightly to his hand.

“We are almost finished, Buddy. Hang on tight… this is going to be the worst. Then we’ll be done. “

He gritted his teeth and poured whiskey right from the bottle into all the wounds. Little Joe involuntarily tried to pull his arm back as the alcohol burned the raw wound. “Keep still!” Adam admonished. A sharp intake of breath from his patient caused Adam to pause for an instant.

Joe’s screams filled the house. ”Stop Adam! It hurts!”

“I’m sorry, Little Joe, I’ve close to finished.”

Adam quickly finished bandaging his brother’s shoulder and back. In the guest room dresser he found one of his father’s old shirts that had been left there for mending. One last time he picked his shivering brother up in his arms and dressed him in Ben’s worn shirt. Finally, he took a towel and gently dried the boy’s wet hair.

Joe closed his eyes again and squeezed Adam’s hand waiting for the nausea to pass. The pain in his shoulder was getting worse and he felt himself losing consciousness from the sweetened whiskey Adam had made him drink.

“Where’s Pa?” he asked trying to remain awake. His mouth felt dry and he couldn’t seem to take a breath. “I’m really cold Adam.”

Adam gently tucked the blankets up around his brother. He arranged the pillows so that Joe was on his side and not resting on his wounded shoulder or back.

He felt the boy’s forehead for fever. It was a bit warm.  Adam picked up the rag, dipped it in the water basin and wrung it out. He washed off Little Joe’s tear streaked face and put the cool cloth on his forehead.

Adam listened to the icy rain beat on the windows and the wind rattle the shutters. “The roundup crew is really going to have a hard night in this weather.” Adam thought to himself.

A gust of wind blew a hard fist of freezing rain against the windows just as a crash of thunder shook the ranch house. “What is that?” Joe asked trying to sit up. He was petrified that someone, perhaps the vicious, pig-faced schoolmaster was breaking into their house.

“Don’t worry, it’s just the wind coming for a visit. Everything is fine. You are here at home. Just go back to sleep,” Adam said soothingly softly. He squeezed Joe’s hand and readjusted the blankets. “It’s just the rain. Lie back and rest. I’ll sit right here with you.”

“Adam, my head hurts real bad.” Rivulets of tears ran down Joe’s flushed and bruised face.

”Close your eyes and go to sleep, Buddy.” He turned down the kerosene lamp so it was a soft golden glow.

Half asleep, Joe shuddered at the howling of the wind and the creaking of the pines near the house and clutched his brother’ hand fearfully. Joe slowly closed his eyes. The whiskey and pain had finally done him in; Adam let go of his hand and tip toed out of the guest room.

For a moment, Adam paused by the bedroom door. He heard the sound of Joe’s steady soft breathing as he finally fell asleep from the pain and exhaustion.

Adam quietly walked over his father’s desk, and wearily sat down in the familiar green leather chair. He was dog-tired, and could barely keep his own eyes open. The creak of the chair springs seemed unnaturally loud to Adam in the dark, empty house.

Sitting numbly in his father’s chair, Adam slowly ran his fingers softly over the polished wood of the desk. There was something about sitting at his father’s desk that made him feel calmer and more able to deal with whatever he had to face. He felt less alone with the frightening responsibility of Joe’s welfare.

He moved the ledger over a few inches and picked up the mail his father had been reading and restacked it near the silver inkwell. There was no way anyone was coming back to the ranch this day and maybe not even the next. He would be totally responsible for his brother’s care until someone came back. He had no choice now. Joe’s life depended on him.

The grandfather clock near the front door chimed two. He had been up since dawn on Friday morning. Adam’s stomach growled and realized he hadn’t eaten since lunch at noon the day before, at least fourteen hours earlier.

First he checked on his sleeping brother one more time. Then he gathered up Little Joe’s soiled clothes and all the soiled linen and dumped it all in a heap to the washroom.  Adam dragged himself slowly upstairs where he took off his own filthy clothes, washed up as best as he could, and changed into fresh things. He collected some blankets and pillows, brought them downstairs and made himself a bed on the floor next to his brother.

Finally, Ada, went into the dark kitchen. He took a portion of the stew that Joe was supposed to heat up for their supper and ate it cold standing in near the kitchen listening for any sound from the boy.

He walked back into the room where Joe was sound asleep. Pulling off his boots, Adam lay down on the floor next to his brother and fell into an exhausted asleep. There was nothing more Adam could do now. It was now up to his brother to recover.

 

Chapter 10

Late Saturday

The trip back from Carson City that should have taken him only a couple of hours, three at worst but it was taking him all day. Ben had paid the fines to the court for his jailed men to be freed. Then, hat in hand, along with his hung over hands and his contrite foreman Hays Newkirk, the rancher was forced to listen to a demeaning half hour lecture by cantankerous, inflexible Judge Kane about the evils of liquor and the disreputable company of saloon girls. Finally, after sending Hays and the men off to the herd, Ben set out for the Ponderosa.

The rancher wasn’t even half way home when the steady rain became a raging storm. The rain was now falling harder than ever, and the ground was sodden and muddy. Ben couldn’t remember the last time it had rained this hard for so long.

He noticed that deep puddles were forming as the rain came down too intensely for the ground to absorb after the weeks of down pours. By the time he made his way to Cherry Creek, the stream was becoming swollen to flood levels. Anxious to get home, Ben was tempted to urge his horse to go faster and try to cross the creek but realized he was being foolish. Buck could slip and break a leg or he could get thrown off into the raging current.

As sunset approached, it was apparent that there was no way he was going to make it back home that night. A jagged bolt of lightning slashed across darkening the slate gray sky. He was filled with a sense of despair and frustration. This was flash flood country and he knew he better get to higher ground. The rancher had an uneasy feeling about this storm, and didn’t want to be trapped on the trail or risk injuring his mount or himself. Travelling the unfamiliar trail alone in the dark, he could wind up drowning in one of the overflowing creeks before he arrived home.

Pulling his hat down, Ben tried to decide what to do next. He was soaked clear to the skin and would have given any thing for a dry set of clothes and a cup of hot coffee. His horse was worn out and needed to rest.

Urging Buck onward, Ben decided he better find a dry place for the night and get a fresh start at daybreak. Ben decided he would head to higher ground towards one of the line shacks for the night. He start for home in the daylight confident that Adam and Little Joe would manage fine without him.

Chapter 11

Monday Morning

He had just put a pot of broth on the stove to heat for Joe when Adam heard the sound of a horse arriving in the yard. Adam was relieved to think that his father had finally returned. The weary young man frowned when he heard a loud knock on the front door. Pa certainly would not knock on his own front door. Disappointed that it clearly wasn’t his father, he walked forward, glancing again at the grandfather clock. Who would be calling so early in the morning? When he opened the door, Adam was surprised to find the sheriff on his doorstep.

“Morning Adam”

“Roy, I was hoping you were Pa,” Adam said “but I sure am glad to see you!”

”Is Little Joe around? “ Sheriff Coffee asked.

“He’s in bed. That’s why I’m so glad to see you…”

Roy interrupted him “Have either of you seen the Lowells the last couple of days?”

”The Lowells? No, we’ve been stuck here on the Ponderosa. Joe got hurt bad and everyone else is gone from the place. It’s been just the two of us since Friday night. Pa and Hays Newkirk went up to Carson City to bail out those hands and everyone else is up working the herd.”

“Guess you don’t know what all has gone on in Virginia City.”

“No, not really. Could you send the Doc up here? Please Roy” Adam asked finally relieved that someone would send his injured little brother some help.

“I will when I get back to town but right now I’m here on official business. Let me talk to Little Joe” he put his hand on Adam’s arm.  “The Lowells are missing. And Schoolmaster Ramsey Lowell is dead “

“Dead? Ramsey Lowell is dead? “The information too much for Adam’s exhausted mind to comprehend on Roy’s first recitation. “What are you talking about, Roy?”

“Well, Adam, this morning the kids went up to the school house like any other morning. When no one rang the bell for them to go in so one of them, Fischer’s boy Jack, you know that real polite blond one, walked in to find out what was goin’ on.  He found Ramsey dead. Looks like someone blowed his head off with a shot gun. Nancy and Katie Wallace came a runnin’ for me down by my office crying that the teacher was kilt. “

“Ramsey Lowell was shot?” Adam gasped.
“We sent them all home and closed down the school house for the next few days. Must have happened Friday from the way it looked,” Coffee added.

“And the Lowells?” Adam asked. “What about Mrs. Lowell and the children? How are they? They sure have been through a lot.”

”Well that part is pretty mysterious Adam.  When I went acrost the street to tell them about Ramsey and see why Danny and Puddin’ warnt in school, it looked like they all was cleared out of there with no notes or nothing. Gone without a trace. Now what were you sayin’ about your brother needing the Doc?”

“Take a look for yourself, Roy.” Adam took him to the doorway of the downstairs bedroom where Joe was still sleeping restlessly with his bandaged hand propped up on a pillow. The bruises on his face had turned a rainbow of blues and purples. One eye was still badly swollen. The boy was deathly pale and Roy could see all kinds of bandages on his shoulder.

“What the heck happened to him Adam? “ Roy was aghast at the obvious magnitude Little Joe’s injuries.

“Ramsey Lowell beat the tar out of him on Friday afternoon. I don’t know how Joe managed to ride home all this way so badly hurt, but I found him lying all bloody in the barn when I came in for supper.” Adam looked totally calm telling the story, but Roy saw that Adam’s hands were trembling and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

“You been tending your brother on your own all this time? Here?”

“Couldn’t leave him alone, not the way he was hurt and with it storming I couldn’t take him anywhere.” Adam nodded.

Roy put his arm around Adam’s shoulders.” Looks like both of you had a hard few days up here alone. I’ll make sure the Doc gets up here for you, Son.

“Thanks, Roy.”

“When are you expecting your Pa?”

”He was due back yesterday, but with the bad weather and all, who knows?” Adam moved into the room and tucked the blanket around Little Joe. “I suppose Pa could be back any time now.”

“I’ll go back to town and be send the Doc up here right quick.”

“I appreciate that, Roy.”

“And I’ll be back in a few days to check if Little Joe has any idea what happened to the Lowells. I’ll see myself out, Adam. You take good care of your brother now.”

Sheriff Coffee headed back to Virginia City at a gallop. He couldn’t get the image of poor hurt Little Joe out of his mind. This whole business with Ramsey Lowell shot dead and the rest of his family missing was bad enough and now with Ben’s youngest hurt, this was getting more unsettling. He had to get out some men to look for the Lowells and hoped nothing had happened to them.

As he came to the fork in the muddy road he saw his old friend Ben Cartwright approaching him on Buck.

”Roy what brings you out this way?” Ben smiled as he approached the sheriff but as soon as he saw the serious expression on his face he became alarmed.

”Ben, you better get home quick. Little Joe is in a bad way and Adam sent me for the Doc.”

Roy quickly told Ben about the murdered schoolmaster in town, the missing Lowells, and Joe’s injuries and then the two men galloped off in opposite directions.

“Have a few more bites. You need to eat to get better,” sitting on the edge of the bed, Adam fed his brother the last of a bowl of broth. Joe still looked awful and Adam was relieved that Roy would find the doctor for him. The fact that the man who beat up his brother was dead, was a disturbingly strange paradox. What happened to the Lowell family? He still hadn’t said anything to Joe about the Lowells being missing or Ramsey Lowell being shot dead. All he said was that the sheriff had come by while Joe was sleeping and that Roy would send the doctor out to the Ponderosa to check Little Joe.

“I’m full, Adam. It’s enough.” Joe pushed the spoon away with his uninjured hand. “Tell me one of your stories.”

Adam was exhausted but glad to see the improvement in his feisty little brother. This was the first time Joe did more than sleep or ask for their father or lie quietly in pain.

“What kind of story, Buddy?”

”One of those myth ones with Zeus and Atlas and the lightning fights and the feasts and all.”

”Bet you can’t wait for Hop Sing to be back and cook you something special.” Adam tried to cheer him up.

Joe nodded weakly. ”Don’t take this the wrong way, Adam. I ‘preciate your taking care of me, but your cooking really stinks.”

They both heard the sound of a horse outside riding up fast and the front door opening. “Adam? Joe? Where are you, boys? Roy told me what happened when we met up on the road.”

“Here Pa. We’re in here.”  Adam called across the house from the bedroom doorway. He was truly thankful that his father was finally there to take over. “Pa, we’re mighty glad you’re back home,”

Ben rushed into the room. Little Joe sat half way up at the sound of his father’s step. The boy reached his slender arms toward his father for comfort.  “Pa,” he whispered softly.

Ben frowned as he looked at his youngest boy’s battered condition. He felt Joe’s forehead. The boy felt warm and clammy.  “How are you feeling, son?” asked Ben.

The left side of Joe’s bruised mouth twitched upwards. He tried to smile bravely but his face was too sore and his eye too swollen. “Hi Pa,” said Joe in a barely audible whisper.

“Joseph! What happened?”

Then seeing his father’s alarm, the boy tried as best as he could to sound brave “I guess I forgot to duck.”

Ben leaned forward, engulfing the boy in his arms.  “Oh, Joe,” he cried, stroking the soft brown curls.

He started to cry with relief at finally seeing his father. “I missed you so much Pa. What took you so long?”

“It’s all right, I’m here now.” He gently pulled Joe toward him, and hugged his son to his chest. Ben closed his eyes and held Joe tight.

His Pa was back home. Adam breathed a sigh of relief.

Chapter 12

A few months later

Saturday morning the two older Cartwright brothers were on either end of a two-man saw, cutting logs into the proper length for the hearth. Little Joe’s task was to take the cut pieces and pile them neatly against the house. He was doing the job fastidiously, trying very hard to do it precisely as Hoss had instructed him. As he worked, the boy kept his eyes open for their father’s return. “Shouldn’t he be back soon?”

”Just pay attention to your job, Little Joe. Pa will be home soon,” Adam repeated for the third time in fifteen minutes.

All three of them were upset. Earlier in the week, Adam had gone to the hiding place to retrieve the shotgun they had bought for their father’s birthday and discovered it wasn’t where it should have been. He quickly went from Hoss to Joe and asked if they had moved the weapon or knew anything about it. Neither brother had seen it in months, not since before Little Joe got hurt. Matter of fact, all of them had been too preoccupied with Joe’s injuries, the murder of the schoolmaster and the mysterious disappearance of the entire Lowell family to even think about their father’s birthday. Now, months later, when Adam went to fetch the custom made shotgun, it had disappeared. The expensive shotgun with the decoration of a buffalo herd and their father’s initials highly polished stock inset was missing.

Too much time had elapsed since any of them had seen it and too many people had passed through the tack room and barn for them even to consider what might have happened.

Hoss swore his brothers to silence. “We’ll never get that shot gun back. Who knows who got it and how long it’s been missing? Why let Pa be disappointed. Let’s not even tell him about it.”

Adam nodded in agreement. “It sure was something special. No need for us to upset Pa.”

”Yeah Adam, I’m disappointed enough for all three of us.” Little Joe frowned. “I don’t even have any more money for another gift for Pa.”
”Don’t worry Little Joe, “Hoss put his arm around the younger boy’s thin shoulders. “Adam and I will take care of it. You’ll pay us back when you get back on your feet.”

“Now remember Joe, don’t ever tell Pa about that missing shot gun.” Adam reminded him.

“It sure was a beauty, Adam. You think we can ever find out who robbed it?”  Hoss looked at his brother.

“I’m positive it’s long gone.” Adam sighed.

“Yeow!” yelled Hoss, for one of the badly stacked logs had almost landed on his foot.  “Watch what you’re doin’. Or you’ll limping from my boot kicking your little rump across to Carson City.”

Joe picked up two more logs to carry to the woodpile, then dropped them to stare wide-eyed at the rider who’d just entered the Ponderosa yard. “Pa’s back!”

Ben dismounted from his horse and the boys called out a greeting as he climbed down.  Joe happily tossed the last log onto the pile and ran over to his father “Pa! Pa! Happy Birthday!”

All of them ran over to their father as he dismounted and greeted him with hugs and slaps on the back.  “Welcome home! Pa, we thought you’d have been back long ago.” Hoss said as Ben stretched out the kinks from his back.” Is everything ok?”

“Everything is fine. I’m just tired. It’s mighty good to be back home.” Ben smiled at the enthusiastic greeting his sons gave him.

“I’ll put up Buck, Pa.” Hoss took the reins of the large horse and headed to the barn.

Then with a ‘thank you’ to Hoss, Ben headed into the house to clean up and get a cold drink. ”I’m starving! Let’s go inside.”

“Happy Birthday Pa. We got you a gift too!”  Little Joe slipped his arm around his father back and walked with him, trying to match his stride to his father’s. Ben suddenly remembered something he wanted to tell his eldest son. “Adam, we need to get some of the cattle moved tomorrow. I noticed that the grazing was looking a bit thin in places up there.”

“Will do Pa. Are you coming along too or shall I take care of it?” asked Adam.

“You can take care of it for me. After all it’s my birthday and I would consider that a gift.”

“Look Pa, we got you a real gift! “ Little Joe didn’t want to hear about ranch business. He just wanted to celebrate his father’s birthday.
”Wait until Hoss is done, Joe,” Adam urged. They all walked up to the house. ”Hop Sing, Pa is back!”

”Dinner in one hour, Mistah Cartwright “the cook hollered from the kitchen. “Special dinner for your birthday!”
”I’m going to get washed up and by then Hoss will be inside and you boys can give me that gift at the table.”

A half hour later, the four Cartwrights sat at the dining room table waiting for Hop Sing to start serving.

“Well, here is your gift, Pa,” said Hoss.

Little Joe turned to his father and handed him a small package painstakingly wrapped in crisp white paper and neatly tied with a thin blue ribbon.

“It’s two gifts in one package, Pa,” Adam explained. “One inside the other.”

“Thanks boys,” Ben smiled. He carefully unwrapped the package to find a finely made wooden box with a hinged lid. Burned into the top of the lid was the pine tree brand of the Ponderosa.

“Adam figured out how we should make the box  and Hoss cut the wood and I sanded it and Hoss  stained it and Adam put it all together and Hoss put the brand on it  and… and …It’s just the size to hold important papers or valuable stuff by your desk and…and..” Little Joe excitedly explained. “Smell it! It smells really fine!”
“We all worked on it together, Pa,” Adam summarized. “The wood is from that big cedar we cut down last fall for that order for the new addition to Havermeyer’s house.”

Ben lifted the box to his nose and inhaled the fragrance. Then he ran his hand over the top of the box and admired the joinery in the corners.  “Beautiful job, boys. And you burned the Ponderosa brand right on the lid. Beautiful!”

“Look inside!” Hoss urged.

Ben lifted the lid on the box. Inside was a new pocketknife. It was a particularly fine one, with silver inlay on the handle and several blades that were suitable for a variety of uses. In the silver on the handle was engraved Ben’s initials, just as they had been on the missing shotgun.

“This is beautiful!”  Ben lifted it out of the box and examined all the blades.

“Look Pa, it has a little cigar cutter too in case you need to nip off the ends of a cigar, “Little Joe squeezed over to show him. “In case you ever smoke cigars.”

“This is quite a gift,” Ben smiled appreciatively at his sons. ”Even if I don’t ever smoke cigars. Thanks Boys.”

Adam, Hoss and Joe smiled but all three brothers they knew that the missing shotgun would have been a far more wonderful gift. Little Joe, always the optimist, wondered if they ever would see that gun again. “Maybe someday.” Joe thought to himself. ”Maybe someday.”

Part 5

Kate

Chapter 1

Virginia City 1854

Kate Wallace stood the railing on the back porch of the Grange Hall. It was the evening after her eighth grade graduation and the school board had hosted a dance for the entire community to honor the graduates.

This was also the worst night of her life. She stood with her back to the door of the hall with tears were rolling down her cheeks. She hoped no one saw her out on the porch by herself and that she could hide there until the dance ended. When her parents and Aunt Mim came looking for her she could finally go home.  She was totally and utterly miserable. In less than a month, she and her parents were moving to San Francisco. Her father had been offered a new position and her mother was delighted to take Kate to a more “civilized” place than Virginia City where her lovely, intelligent daughter could continue her education at a fine academy for young ladies. Kate hated to leave her Aunt Mim and her best friend Nancy Coffee. She also would miss the afternoons riding out on the Ponderosa with Little Joe Cartwright, Billy Felcher and Dean Newkirk, the son of the Ponderosa foreman.

Standing in the shadows, Adam Cartwright took notice of her. Who was this pretty young lady? As he looked closer, Adam realized it was Katie Wallace, the mischievous little girl who was always running around with his kid brother. Suddenly, she looked very grown up. He remembered little Katie playing under the dining room table with Joe while Hank Wallace, her father tutored Adam in mathematics before he went to college.  She was wearing a mossy green dress that showed off her tiny waist and flattered her coloring.  Instead of the usual braids the girl wore, her soft dark hair was twisted in a knot and pinned up on top of her head like a young lady. “I guess I must be getting pretty old when Little Joe’s classmates are turning into attractive young women.” Adam thought looking at lovely Kate.

“What are you doing out here by yourself Katie?” he asked her protectively. “You look very pretty tonight, very grown up.”

Hearing a man’s voice, Kate looked up at him, suddenly realized that Adam Cartwright was standing next to her. “No one asked me to dance. I’m not very good at it.”

“I’m sure you are a very fine dancer Miss Kate,” Adam said gallantly. ”Those yahoos and twits that my little brother pals around with are just not mature enough to appreciate your abilities. And they certainly are not worthy of your tears.” He pulled out his clean white handkerchief and handed it to her. She wiped her eyes and handed it back to him.

“Thank you, “she said in a wobbly voice. She was embarrassed to be caught crying out on the porch and even more embarrassed that she blurted out the business about not dancing to Adam Cartwright.

“May I have this dance, Miss?”

“I’m not a very good dancer,” she repeated apologetically. Adam bowed deeply and kissed her hand dramatically. She giggled at how foolishly Adam was acting.

He was pleased that he was able to make her smile. “Oh I am sure you dance very well. It’s just that the Virginia City school boys don’t know how to lead, especially the flock of cackling geese who just graduated with Little Joe. And a lady is only as good as her partner.”

Adam took her hands and started to dance to the waltz that the fiddler was playing inside. He was an excellent dancer and she was light in his arms. The music finished all too soon for Katie. She stood for longer than was necessary looking into Adam’s brown eyes.

Then Adam said quickly, “Thanks for the dance Miss Katie, I am sure my little brother and the other little boys were totally wrong about your talents and capabilities.” He emphasized the word “little”.

She blushed. Impulsively, Katie jumped up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek with her soft lips. Adam, embarrassed, moved back from her.

“Thank you, Adam.”

“Don’t worry, Katie-bird. You are going to have every boy in Virginia City asking you to the next dance. Mim will have to chase them of your front porch with a broom. And your father will be standing behind her making sure those boys act like gentlemen.” Adam grinned thinking he was giving the girl a terrific compliment.

“I don’t think so, Adam. We are moving to San Francisco soon. My father got a new job.”

”Then, you will be breaking the heart of every young fellow in San Francisco, Miss Kate.”

He never realized that it wasn’t every boy in Virginia City or San Francisco that she longed for but it was Adam Cartwright Kate wanted with all her heart.

Chapter 2

At some point, Nancy Coffee gave up her childhood dream of marrying Little Joe Cartwright. She left him to all the bubble headed blonde girls that Joe always pursued with such enthusiasm. Nancy took her mother’s advice and decided to find someone less wild and flirtatious. By the time she was sixteen, she had set her sights on finding a more suitable, responsible husband with both his feet planted firmly on the ground. She wanted a man who was cool headed and steady like her own father, Sheriff Roy Coffee.  She spent a few years dating Billy Felcher, the son of Reverend Felcher and other boys who were more “sensible” than Little Joe. Eventually she caught the fancy of Clem Foster, Roy’s deputy. After a few months of awkwardly eyeing each other Nancy asked her father what he thought of her going out with Clem.

“What took you so long to notice him, Nancy?” Roy laughed. “He asked me for permission to come calling on you two years ago and Clem was just too shy to tell you.”
Within a couple of months Nancy and Clem announced their engagement and were married by the next June.

Dear Nancy,

I got your letter today   and even though it is well past midnight I just had to sit down and write to you.

Of course I will come to the wedding and of course, you silly girl, I will be your maid of honor. I would never forgive you if you hadn’t asked me!
I can confess right now that Aunt Mim had told me what was going on between you and Clem and I had my fingers (and toes) crossed that you would finally see the light and accept his proposal.

Finally!

I even picked out your wedding gift already and arranged for it to be shipped so that I won’ have to carry it with me.

 You and Clem so well suited to each other. It is about time you gave up on the likes of Little Joe and all those fellows you used to pine for and realized that Clem will be a fine match for you.

I will be making my travel arrangements and write you with the details. My mother sends her regrets, as she doesn’t feel comfortable leaving my father for so long with him being so ill. Give my best to Clem and your parents. And to Little Joe who I am sure is glad you won’t be chasing after him any more ( ha ha) and all the other Cartwrights.

All my love,

Katie

***

Hollenberg, Levin, Belsky, and Mason Attorneys at Law

80 Boylston St,

Boston Massachusetts

Mr. Adam Cartwright

Ponderosa Ranch

Virginia City, Nevada

Dear Mr. Cartwright

We regret to inform you of the death of your grandfather, Captain Abel Stoddard on December 19th. According to his wishes you will receive one-fourth interest in Stoddard and Bruce Ltd, despite your estrangement. The remaining interests of the firm will be divided in the following manner: One half interest to Mr. Charles Bruce, your grandfather’s business partner, and the remaining one fourth interest to Mr. Dennis O’Mara both of this city.

We will be sending you copies of the legal papers to sign in care of your attorney, Mr. Levi Victor as Mr. O’Mara has directed. Please have him review them for you and sign as per instructions.

Sincerely,

1. C. Mason, Esquire

 

***

 

 

 

 

Dear Kate,

The news of your father’s death came to me in yesterday’s mail with a parcel of letters from my father and brothers. I am so sorry it has taken me so long to send my condolences but the mail followed me from Boston to London and back to Boston again. It finally reached me here in Santiago, Chile where I am working on a railroad tunnel project

I will always be grateful to your father for his inspiration to become an engineer and all the help he gave in tutoring me for college. The construction we are working on now is very much like the Fischer mine tunnels Hank designed years ago and I think of him often as I work.

Not a day goes by when I don’t think of you and your family. Please keep in touch.

Affectionately,

Adam Cartwright

***

Dearest Kate,
I am so sorry to hear about your mother. Mim told us in church yesterday about her passing. Her death coming so soon after your father’s is a shock to all of us. She was a wonderful woman. I still use her recipe for chocolate cake and think of her each time I make it.

Clem and my father send their regards. Please come and visit soon. ! I would love to see you but my circumstances prevent me from traveling in the near future.

Nancy Foster

PS Do you like the name Clem Foster Junior or Roy Foster if the baby is a boy?

PPS Are you still seeing that last handsome beau you wrote about?

***

Dear Katie

Congratulations on your wedding. I wish both of you the best. Tell Mr. Striker that I said he is a very lucky man. Wish I could have been there to kiss the bride.

Joe Cartwright

Chapter 3

August 2, 1864

Dear Pa, Joe and Hoss,

I will be stopping in San Francisco sometime after the fifteenth of October on my way back from Chile to Boston. Dennis and I will be there for about three weeks finishing some meetings with the investors for the South American project that I told you about in another letter. In addition we will meet a few people who are involved with construction for the railroads.

Pa, I think you may be interested in meeting Mr. Sloan as they are looking for some major suppliers of large quantities of lumber for the expansion of the rail roads. I am sure the Ponderosa can easily provide all the necessary timber and make a fine profit.

More importantly, I would love to see all of you if you could see it clear to make the trip. I hope the timing is good. As much as I am enjoying what I am doing, I sorely miss you all but don’t see any way that I will be getting out to the Ponderosa this trip.

Adam

***

After a lavish dinner, Ben and Mr. Sloan returned to Sloan’s suite in the hotel for another meeting with Sloan’s associates but the three Cartwright brothers decided to have an evening on the town. Joe and Hoss knew that Ben didn’t really approve of drinking to excess or overindulgence in gambling or saloon girls. Ben tolerated it, as long as it was kept within reasonable bounds. Joe proposed that what their father didn’t know, certainly wouldn’t hurt him. “I’m not saying we should lie to Pa…But how often do the three Cartwright brothers get together for a fine time? And we sure want Adam and his partner Dennis to have a fine time.”

“I’m not saying we should lie to Pa either,” Hoss agreed. “But if we show Adam a fine time, maybe he will come back more often and stay longer.”

“Sort of an investment in the future, Big Brother?” Joe’s eyes sparkled.

“Exactly!” Hoss agreed with a wide smile

Joe and Hoss then determined that they were going to enjoy this visit with Adam for as long as they could and have the best time possible. Both Hoss and Joe wanted their brother and his friend Dennis O’Mara to have the best time possible visiting San Francisco and perhaps consider opening an office there, far closer to the Ponderosa than Boston.

“How about we get all gussied up tonight and hit the town, proper. We haven’t had a night out the whole trip.”  Hoss suggested to Adam and Dennis.

“If I sit in one more boring meeting with you and Pa I think my head is going to fall off my shoulders. I don’t know how you do this all the time Dennis.” Joe complained.

“Day in, day out,” Dennis grinned. “Joe, maybe you and Adam have more in common than he lets on. I think your brother runs off to South America and spends time off at sea whenever I force him to sit in too many of the long drawn out business meetings in Boston.”

Joe looked at Adam with a curious look. He had never thought of his older brother that way. Adam was always the sensible one, the business head, the intellectual and scholar. Adam was the one who sat and listened and was patient in long meetings. When Reverend Felcher droned on in church with an endless sermon and Joe squirmed, folks would say “Look how still Adam sits. Can’t you be like him?”  Now he was hearing a whole other side of Adam from his business partner.

“Hey, let’s take Dennis and Adam up to that big place up on the hill, that big fancy place with the red velvet drapes and the purty dancing girls,” Hoss suggested.

” Sounds like you read my mind Hoss! “ Joe smiled devilishly.

A half-hour after dinner, the four men entered “The Palace” right on the edge of the Barberry coast. The four men stood watching as the crowds filed in and out. They saw obviously wealthy men who were dressed in fine silk suits entering and leaving as well as sailors and cowboys on the town.

“I don’t remember ever being in this part of San Francisco before, “said Dennis looking around.

One nattily attired man, sitting at the far side of the entrance on a high stool at a table appeared to be in charge. “That fellow might be the owner,” pointed out Adam. “From where he sits, he has a view of everything.”

The four men were soon directed inside and escorted through a number of narrow interconnected hallways decorated with crimson-flocked wallpaper to a larger and even more ornate room filled with throngs of happy revelers.

It was a high ceilinged room, full of poker players, gamblers and noisy men on the town. The air thick was thick with the clouds of cigar smoke and the scent of whiskey and cheap perfume. Drunks and revelers were out in full force. The huge space was brilliantly lit with flickering golden gas light from the dozens of glittering chandeliers all dripping with shiny prisms and gaudy crystal beads. Etched mirrors lined one wall making the room seem even larger and more dazzling and confusing. At least a dozen strikingly beautiful women served up silver trays of drinks. The women were laughing and pouring expensive champagne down their customer’s throats.

Over to the right, was a circular marble staircase, obviously leading to the private rooms above. This seemed to be an exclusive gathering place for very special, big spending customers.

“This place hasn’t changed over the years.” Adam smiled mysteriously as he looked around the room. It seemed exactly as he remembered it, full of mirrors and shadows and remarkably beautiful females.

“You’ve been in the Palace, Adam?” asked Joe. Hoss couldn’t recall Adam telling him about the Palace before.

“Leave it to my younger brothers to discover remarkable places and think they invented them,” Adam looked at his brothers and laughed.

“You came here before?” Hoss still couldn’t quite believe Adam had been in this remarkable place before and he knew nothing of it.

“Oh, I came here once, years ago, before either of you two were old enough to appreciate beer or women.” Adam smiled mysteriously at his brothers.

“Boy, I don’t remember back that far,” Joe joked. “Older Brother, was there ever a time when I didn’t appreciate beer or women?”

“Dennis, Little Joe here was the only seven year old in Virginia City that was chasing saloon girls and swilling beer.” Hoss joked.

”Sure Hoss. I remember your father used to write to Adam about it all the time when he was in college, “Dennis smacked Adam on the shoulder with one hand and tipped Joe’s hat over his eyes with the other. All four laughed at the image Dennis had painted.

The four men were soon seated at a round table and quickly ordered some liquid refreshment from an attractive dark hair waitress in a satin gown with lacy ruffles and sequined trim. “If my Uncle Sean ever saw a place like this he would have thought he died and gone to saloon keeper’s heaven.” Dennis stared up the vaulted ceiling that was decorated with gold framed satin panels and oversized paintings of voluptuous women in various states of undressed glory. The painted pictures were as risqué as any of them had ever seen. Ladies barely wearing brilliant colored dresses. Their luscious legs were showing from under their lace petticoats and their sweetly smiling faces lured in their painted suitors. Other panels held paintings of ladies wearing pieces of dresses or no dresses at all reclining amongst clouds and mountains and waterfalls with chubby cherubs flitting about and leering into the décolletage or feeding each other ripe grapes.

A group of well-dressed men were playing high stakes poker at a table near the Cartwright’s table. Piles of bills and chips were stacked on the green felt covered table. Each card player had a drink in front of him and a personal barmaid draped over his shoulders. The dealer was a heavy set man with sandy hair and piercing blue eyes.

At his right was a handsome young man with dark brown hair and a moustache. He was elegantly attired in a dark navy suit with a lavender brocade vest. The cards were falling his way, and he had a couple of hundred dollars on the table in front of him. One of the players lost the fourth hand in a row to him.  He threw his cards into the table and leapt to his feet.

“Ya gotta be cheatin’,” he bellowed at the man in the lavender vest. “No one’s that good at poker.

“Sit down and stop your complaining,” the dealer demanded.

Dennis and the Cartwright brothers sat laughing and talking at the next table and ordered another round of drinks. Hoss and Joe hadn’t seen Adam since Christmas two years earlier and they had not seen Dennis for years. “Adam, did tell your brothers about the time we were washed overboard off Cape May?”

“Are you joshing?” Hoss asked and Adam launched into another tale of his exciting adventures since he had left the Ponderosa.

Joe was distracted by a voluptuous red head in a low cut emerald green satin gown that came into the room on the arm of an affluent looking older man wearing a top hat. As she and her gentleman walked up the circular stairs, she looked over her shoulder and blew a kiss in the direction of Dennis and the Cartwright brothers.

“Oh brothers, I think I am in love. There goes the woman I have been waiting for my whole life.” Joe declared. He started to stand up and Hoss yanked him down by the back of his suit coat. ”Sit down, Brother!”

Adam laughed and turned to Dennis and said, “Some things never change.”

“And for the right price she can be in love with you too, Joseph,” Hoss observed philosophically.

Dennis poured them each another round and launched into another story of how some ship owner had tried to cheat Adam and him out of half their freight. “He claimed it had been hijacked!” Dennis said, but the two of them had out witted the crook and retrieved all their goods.

“He picked up a bailing hook and went after Dennis. You should have seen that guy’s face when Dennis showed him the manifest and grabbed him so hard by the throat his eyes bugged out!”

”Somehow Adam managed to catch the captain with a line like he was roping a bull and tossed him over the side until he cooled off a bit. By that time, we had gone home for dinner.”

The four men dissolved into gales of laughter. Hoss pounded Adam on the back and Joe laughed so hard that his sides hurt.

At the next table a disagreement had broken out over the card game.

Ya gotta be cheatin'” one man accused the other angrily. “No one’s that good unless they are a card shark, and Sir, I think you are!”
”Do you? Well maybe you are in on the cheat!” the other man shouted back. The man who lost the most money, on the other hand, was quite drunk and he took serious offence at this man’s remarks. The slandered player asked.  “Why would you accuse me of such a thing? “

The player with the lavender vest quickly picked up all the scattered cards and shuffled them back into the deck. Now no one could see what hand any player had at the table.   He leaned back in his chair and looked straight at the man. He pulled a cigar from his brocade vest and stuck it in his mouth. He lit it by flicking the match on his fingernail and then blew a cloud of smoke in the direction of the loosing player.

“No one cheats me!” the other man roared. He stood up and leaned across the table putting his face right into the other man’s face. “No one cheats me and then smokes a cigar and then blows smoke in my face.”

The cigar smoker straightened and responded with an arrogant stare and said “And what are you going to do about it?”  He stood up and glared at his accuser.

“You are a stinking cheat,” the accuser yelled. “You give me back my money, mister, before I fustigate you!” and he swung wildly at the man, but most unfortunately, his fist connected with the dealer rather than the cigar smoker. The injured dealer, naturally enough swung back. In an instant, the small disagreement over cards exploded into a brawl that spread through the room. Cards flew into the air. Chips and cash scattered. Chairs, bottles and fists were flying. Women shrieked and ran to the other side of the room.

One of the scuffling card player crashed across the Cartwright’s table and knocked over their drinks. Dennis quickly reached out and snagged the whiskey bottle before it overturned. “No sense wasting this! “he grinned as he jumped out of the way and tucked the bottle inside his coat pocket.

Adam tensed, but he didn’t say anything. He was drunk, but not so drunk that he couldn’t make a quick decision. “Let’s get out of here boys while the getting is good, before one of these guys decides lead is better than fists.” He had managed to stay safe in foreign ports by making quick decisions and avoiding confrontations with drunks that had nothing to do with him personally.

Knowing how much their younger brother loved to brawl, Hoss grabbed Little Joe’s arm just as he was about to swing a punch at a lanky sailor he never even met. “Sounds like a good idea to me, older brother.”

Together, they quickly retreated down the narrow hallways towards the front door. The four had just hit the street when a horse drawn police wagon pulled up in front of the establishment and a dozen of San Francisco’s finest police officers poured out swinging Billy clubs.

“I think we should head back to the hotel and call it a night.” Adam suggested. “Dennis is getting too old for this kind of excitement. And I promised Liza that I would keep a good eye on her husband.”

“Having five kids and another one on the way makes a man old, Adam,” Dennis quipped.” Let’s get back to the hotel.”

Chapter 4

Joe Cartwright stood in the lobby of the Cattleman Hotel in San Francisco, his eyes on the ornate clock on the wall. He was worn-out from last night’s celebration with Adam. They had finished the remnants of Dennis’s bottle passing it back and forth like truant school boys as they hiked back to the hotel singing bawdy tunes at the top of their lungs. Ben was sound asleep when the four of them made their way back into the suite.  By the time they settled in and fell asleep it had to be well after three and Ben had dragged them out of bed for breakfast at seven o’clock.

After breakfast Hoss left the hotel to arrange for shipping some upgraded machinery they had ordered for the saw mill. Dennis headed for the train station for the first leg of his trip back east leaving Adam to finalize their dealings in San Francisco. Ben and his oldest son spent the morning with Sloan of the Union Pacific in his office and had dragged Joe along despite his protestations.

Joe finally managed to escape the meeting by reminding his father that he was expecting a telegram from the Ponderosa foreman giving an update of work on the ranch. They made plans to meet up in the lobby for lunch.

Joe scooted back to the hotel and checked for the telegram and retired to the lobby. He figured he had at least an hour until his father and brothers would show up and debated going upstairs to the suite to catch a brief nap. Did he have enough time? He tried to figure if it would work out or just make more complications for him if he fell asleep too soundly and everyone was left waiting for him in the lobby.

Joe was fuzzy headed and suddenly felt something poking him in the ribs. ”Hey mister, I’m looking to buy a pinto horse. Know of any for sale?” a voice asked huskily.

Joe spun around to see who and what was going on. Behind him stood a very attractive young woman in a green plaid taffeta dress. Her light brown hair was upswept stylishly beneath a small green hat set at a coquettish angle. She smiled at him with an old familiar grin.

“Oh my goodness! Katie!” Joe hollered and grabbed his old friend in a bear hug lifting her off her feet. “What are you doing here?”

”Looking for you and the rest of your family.” She threw her arms around his neck kissing him. “Mim wrote me that you all would be in San Francisco and I was just dropping off an invitation to come by for Sunday dinner at my place.”

Joe put her down and held her at arm’s length. “My, my Kate. Don’t you look pretty!” and gave her another hug. “I’m so happy you came by!”

Just at that moment Ben and his other two sons arrived and spotted Joe on the other side of the lobby.

“Ain’t that Joe over there? “ Hoss asked. “Well leave it up to my little brother to be hugging a good looking gal in the lobby of a hotel. He ain’t been alone for more than an hour.”
Ben grinned despite himself and shook his head in disbelief. His youngest son always had the knack to find a pretty woman wherever they were. No wonder he was so anxious to hurry back to the hotel.

Adam stood for a minute chuckling next to his father when suddenly he too was dashing across the lobby hugging the young woman. “Pa, Hoss! It’s Kate! Come say hello.”

Chapter 5

“Pa there is just something I don’t like about that guy,” Hoss said quietly when they were walking into the hotel lobby late on Sunday night.

“Kate seems happy enough though.” Ben answered looking at Adam and Joe. “Too bad her husband had to run out after dessert for that appointment.”

“I wonder what kind of important business conference he had to attend to on a Sunday night,” Adam observed cynically.

“He sure rushed out of the flat like he had a band of Comanches were on his tail,” Joe said. They all chuckled at Joe’s joke.

“Or a hanging posse.” Hoss muttered to no one in particular.

”Guess he wasn’t so comfortable to have all of us for dinner guests talking about people he didn’t know back in Virginia City, “Ben tried to figure out what made Al Striker be so inhospitable. He had stormed out of the flat, cigar stuck in his mouth despite Kate’s urging him to stay.

“That little Sam is mighty cute,” Adam observed.

“Too bad Kate’s parents didn’t live to see him.” Ben added thinking how the little fellow had taken a shine to him immediately. The boy looked just like his mother except he had a mop of soft brown curls rather than Kate’s straight hair. The three year old had spent most of the evening showing Mr. Cartwright all his toys and had fallen sound asleep in Ben’s lap.

Hoss looked as though he was searching through the thoughts in his head and he said “Pa have we met that Al before?  He seems sort of familiar.”

“You know, Hoss. Now that you mention it, he seemed familiar to me too. Like I seen him somewhere before. But I can’t put my finger on it.”

Adam added. “Maybe back East?  I don’t know. Too bad Dennis has already left. Maybe he would know.”

Ben said that he was sure he had not met Striker before.  But as he was answering his son, his own thoughts were the same.  Al Striker hadn’t seemed familiar to him but there was something unpleasant about him. Strange that Hoss would pick up on that too. No, not really, Ben reconsidered. After all, Hoss was the sensitive son and he had such a good heart.  If Hoss was being critical there had to be a good reason.

“I’m beat,” Joe yawned and added “Striker just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy I imagined Kate marrying.”

“What do you mean, Joe?” Adam questioned.

“I don’t know. Striker is kind of flashy and full of himself and a bit loud…and… and.. “Joe struggled for what he was trying to say without revealing secrets Kate had shared with him long ago.

“And what?” Ben asked.

“Just that I know Katie always liked quieter, smarter men who liked books and music and such. Men who were more honorable and sincere than showing off and bragging about how gol dang important they were,” Joe’s words got tangled on his tongue.

Adam looked at him quizzically. He was thinking about what a pretty woman Kate had become.

“Dinner was real good though,” Hoss grinned. “And Katie sure looked mighty fine. Joseph, you sure missed your chance when you let her slip through your fingers, Little Brother.”

“Hoss, how many times do I have to tell people Kate and I were never like that. She was like one of the boys.”

Adam laughed and shook his head “Joe, I am mighty disappointed in you, Little Brother. She always was one of the prettiest little girls you ever brought around and if you thought of her as one of the boys… I don’t know.  Pa, you better get Joe’s eyes checked if he thinks of her as one of the boys.”

“Looks like Al Striker had the good sense to notice that, Little Joe, “Ben teased his youngest son. Ben was always fond of Kate Wallace. He could never understand why his youngest boy was always attracted to the more fragile, flirtatious females who swooned on his arm than to a clever, pretty girl who could hold her own as the wife of a rancher.

“Ok, Ok, if you all are finished picking on me, I think I’ll call it a night.” Joe yawned and headed across the lobby toward the grand staircase of the posh Cattleman’s Hotel and head up toward their suite.  When he got halfway up the ornate staircase, Joe paused dramatically. In mock frustration, he proclaimed a bit too loudly in a voice that echoed through the lobby “Let me declare this for one last time. Kate is beautiful and a great cook and she and I were never, never, never sweethearts and Al Striker is a lucky man to have her for a wife!”

The few people in the lobby looked at the handsome young man shouting some sort of declaration as if he were completely insane. The desk clerk gasped and two bell hops jumped to their feet on the alert.

“And there is something about that Al Striker that makes my skin grow cold,” muttered Hoss. ”like someone walking acrost my grave.”

Only Ben heard what his middle son had murmured. He looked at the big man with his eyebrows raised. It certainly was an odd comment for Hoss to make and set his own teeth on edge.

Part 6

Tomorrow is Not Promised

Chapter 1

Al Striker had a remarkable talent for convincing people that not only was he always right but everyone else was usually wrong. He also could convince himself of the same misconception.  When Striker’s stories were questioned, he painted himself heroically and charmed any skeptics. He persuaded everyone that he was an ambitious, risk taking go-getter who triumphed over adversity to become successful. He made sure that everyone could see he was magnificently generous, and kind to women and to children. He made everyone believe that he was a man among men and a gentleman among gentlemen.

Kate Wallace was barely eighteen when she first met handsome Al Striker. After Kate’s father, Hank Wallace died and her mother had started to work at the fine private girl’s academy Kate attended to help pay the tuition for her last year.

Leah Wallace had seen Al Striker around their neighborhood and one rainy day, Al politely assisted Leah in carrying home her parcels. In return, Leah invited the gallant young man to join them for dinner. He and Katie hit it off and soon, Al was a regular visitor to their home.

“It good to know you won’t be alone when I am gone, Katie,” Leah said thinking of her own fragile health and solid, loving marriage to Hank Wallace. She urged her daughter to marry the pleasant young man who had spent so much time in their home. As Leah’s health seriously declined, Kate and Al Striker became betrothed. The young couple were quickly married in a small modest ceremony a few weeks before Leah died and Al moved into their flat from his modest rented room behind a saloon.

Kate eventually learned what she had naively thought was true and solid was only smoke and mirrors.

Four years later

It was six weeks since Al had angrily stormed out of their flat and had not returned. Initially, he had told Katie that he needed to go to Sacramento on business for a few weeks. Things had been tense between them for months and she was secretly relieved to have him away from her for a while and have a bit of peace. He was always snapping at their three-year-old son, Sam and yelling at her every time she questioned him about his job or money or all the gambling he was doing on the Barberry Coast or where he had been.

Al would smoke his cigar and give her a foul look anytime she questioned him about his moodiness or mysterious business dealings or how he never kept promises he had made to her.

Dinner times were impossible. Al was either late and would complain that the food that Kate had kept warm was dried out or that she seasoned things too much or too little. He was frequently annoyed with their small son for not being quiet enough or that Sam wasn’t being friendly and talkative when they were together. Money would be tight for weeks and bills left unpaid, the kitchen cupboard bare. Then suddenly Al would show up, all smiles and fancy gifts for Kate and the baby claiming he had “closed a lucrative deal” or someone had paid him back a loan.

Two weeks after he left San Francisco, Kate’s husband wired her saying he was delayed and needed a few more days. Finally one night, not long after she had put Sam to bed, he showed up at their flat unexpectedly. Al quickly packed up some of his things and told his wife that he may never come back.

Kate was shocked and asked her husband what was going on. Al told her that it was all her fault and he needed to be free.  She was ruining his life and she knew why.

“If you don’t know why, Katherine, it is because you are stupid. Perhaps,” he said, I might change my mind and come back but maybe not. He stood and looked at Sam sleeping in his crib for a brief minute and then slammed out of the flat leaving Kate alone, crying hysterically and wondering what had just happened.

For the next few days, Kate was completely shocked and had no idea what was going on. She missed her husband dreadfully and was so upset she couldn’t think clearly.

Two weeks after Al’s departure, a letter arrived from Kate’s Auntie Mim inviting her to visit back in Virginia City. Mim wrote that it had been over a year since she had seen Kate and little Sam and she missed them dreadfully. She would gladly come to San Francisco for a visit but there was no way she could pick up and spend that much time away from Virginia City and the Enterprise. Mim extended an invitation for her to come for a month or however long Kate wanted or needed. She was particularly worried about her as she hadn’t received a letter from Kate in over a month. Kate normally wrote to her at least once a week and Mim knew something was dreadfully wrong when the letters became so sporadic.

Kate decided that she would take her Aunt up on her invitation for a visit to her little house in Virginia City. There was really nothing keeping her in San Francisco and the lease on her little furnished flat expired at the end of the month and she really didn’t have enough money to move to another smaller place.  With Al nowhere to be found this would be the best option. Go home to Virginia City and visit with her Auntie until she decided what to do next. Her landlady was even willing to store whatever bits and pieces of property Kate wasn’t able to take with her. She promised to put whatever Kate left behind in the corner of the cellar.

The bank wouldn’t let her withdraw money from the account she had there without her husband’s signature and approval so Kate sold the land lady the candle sticks and the good dishes her mother had left her and a gaudy rhinestone pin that had been a gift from Al on their first anniversary. With that quick cash, she paid her overdue bill at the grocer, the last month’s rent and had just enough money to pay the one way fare to get to Virginia City with Sam.

When Kate arrived in Virginia City, uncomfortable with revealing the truth about the unsettled nature of her life, she lied to her Aunt Mim. She said that Al Striker was traveling on business and that her husband would join her and their son in Virginia City when he was finished. Kate said that she wasn’t quite sure when that would be. Mim nodded but she knew there was much more to Kate’s situation than she was letting on to her.

After arranging for Kate’s baggage to be delivered and they headed for Mim’s narrow little yellow house less than a mile up the hill from the stage depot and the Enterprise offices.  Her parents and aunt and uncle had always shared that little house and it was a great comfort to Kate, to be back in the familiar home with her beloved young son.

One night, about a week after their arrival, when Kate was tucking Sam into bed for the night, he asked “Mama, how many more days until my Daddy comes here to Auntie Mim’s? You said he would be here in a few weeks. Is it a few weeks yet?”

“Not quite, Sammy.”

”How many more days, Mama? I miss Daddy.”

”A few more days. Now go to sleep, Honey.” She smoothed the covers up over him and kissed his cheek. Her son looked so tiny covered over in the big white iron bed. She turned down the lamp and left the room. She walked out of the little bedroom into the tiny upstairs hallway.

Mim had just come up the steep, narrow staircase to get ready for bed herself and had overheard the exchange. She took her niece’s hands in hers and squeezed it. Mim looked straight into her eyes. “Kate, as hard as it may be, you had better tell Sam the truth. Can’t have that boy waiting around for a hound that has run off and won’t ever be coming back home.”

Mim knew the truth.

Kate was completely shocked. Her aunt had seen through her brave front and all the excuses she had made for Al. Kate realized that she had been foolish trying to fool her aunt. Mim was one of the few people who could always see right through Kate’s bravado.

“He wrote to me you know. Twice,” Mim said gently.

“Who wrote you?” Kate was too tired and confused to immediately comprehend Mim’s last remark.
“Al Striker. He wrote me. The first time he wrote was a few months ago. He asked me to loan him money. When I wrote him back for more details of what he needed and why, he never wrote back.”

“Then, the day before I invited you here, Al wrote again. He told me that he left you and hoped I would understand. ” Mim paused and waited for Kate to answer. “What is there to understand?”

Kate was flabbergasted. Al Striker had written to Aunt Mim? That was too bizarre for her to comprehend. Al had avoided his wife’s only relative and Mim rarely spent any time with him. Why would he ask Mim, of all people, for a loan and not tell her why? Why would he ask if she understood his behavior?

“At first I had a fleeting moment of pity on your husband, “Mim started. “However, my sympathy is rarely wasted on someone who persists in making their own troubles. Kate, the truth always come out, especially bad news. You know that, Katie. That boy will certainly find out what really happened. Your Sam is a very clever child, Katie. He is wise beyond his years, very much like you were at his age.“
”Mim, I can’t do it. “ Kate whispered. At some level, Kate was hoping against hope that magically Al Striker would see the light, repent overnight and be transformed into the fine man her late mother thought he was when she urged Kate to marry him . In that fantasy, Al would return with his hat in hand, beg forgiveness and be a wonderful husband and father until they were very, very old and died simultaneously so neither should ever miss the other. Kate knew her dream was naïve, childish and totally ridiculous but she wanted to cling to it a bit longer.

”Sam will hate you more for the lies you told him rather than hate that dirty dog of a father who ran off on the two of you.” Mim warned.

Kate knew her Aunt was absolutely right, as always, and she nodded in agreement.

“And you, my darling girl, it is ok for you to cry. You most certainly have earned it. You just have yourself a cry and let me hold you, Katie-bird.” She put her arms around her niece and hugged her to her.

“And when you’ve cried enough and cried a bit more, you pick up and get on with it. You have that dear little boy depending on you and you won’t have time to feel sorry for yourself for too long.” Mim said. “When your uncle Foster was killed, I truly wanted to crawl into that grave right next to him but I knew the paper had to go on. You have something more important than my old newspaper. You have your precious little son. Just remember, what doesn’t kill us makes us strong.”

”Aunt Mim, I am either going to be very dead or damn strong by the time this trouble is all over.” She sobbed as her Aunt held her in a tight hug.

A few minutes later Kate collected herself and pulled a hankie from her pocket and wiped her eyes.

“Thanks for the shoulder Auntie. Just don’t go anywhere to far, I just may need the other one.”

Mim gave her one last hug. “Now you come down stairs and we’ll have a nice cup of tea and you can help me write that editorial I need for tomorrow.”

Chapter 2

“And where is your husband now Katherine?” Mrs. Fischer called from her chair on the porch. Kate was helping Mim with the refreshment trays in the kitchen and pretended she had not heard the question.

“We can’t hear you, dear. We will be back in a just a minute. I want you to have some of my special butter cookies. I baked them especially for you,“ Mim lied to the women on her porch.

“Kate what do you want to do about this? There is no need to share your private business with anyone if you have no desire,” Mim asked.

“Stupid old biddy, “Kate thought aloud. “Mrs. Fischer should mind her own business.”
“Yes, she should,” Mim said calmly. “Mrs. Fischer should mind her own business.”

“But on the other hand, I can’t keep up this façade forever. If I am going to come back here to Virginia City to stay, now is as good a time as any to let the truth be known. Unless, of course you want to make it the headline story in the Enterprise Auntie? Philip Bartlett could set it in 20 point type that even Phil can read without his eyeglasses.”

Mim laughed at the image her niece had painted of nearsighted Phil Bartlett who had worked for the Enterprise since he was barely out of school and had been her right hand since she lost her husband. “Just remember, once you tell these gossips, there will be absolutely no going back and regaining your privacy. Divorce in Virginia City is certainly a scandalous situation, no matter if you had no choice in the matter,” Aunt Mim reminded her. “Many women would choose to live a lie and remain married to a bounder or a cad.”

“Especially if the bounder or cad is quite rich, like the husbands of Mrs. Fischer and Mrs. Butler?” Kate asked.

Mim placed some round, golden butter cookies on a fragile porcelain plate decorated with pink cherry blossoms. Kate had painted the plate for her as a Christmas gift the last year she lived in Virginia City. “Margaret Butler and Mary Fischer are the biggest gossips in Nevada Territory. On a hot day you can get a fine cooling breeze from the wagging of their tongues. Your uncle once said those two got the news out faster than we could print it.”

“Oh my goodness! Uncle Foster really said that?”

“He did. Is it gossiping that I am repeating it? Foster was a very fine man and always, always told the honest truth,” Mim smiled and rearranged the teacups. She added “I have absolutely no patience for shallow judgmental women.”

Mim looked at the pile of golden cookies on the plate and thought twice about serving the delicious treats to such unworthy guests. “No need to let them have so many of these. They are much too delicious for the likes them.” She removed half of them and put them aside for Sam to have after school. “Are there any of those stale old ginger snaps from the mercantile left in the pantry?”

Kate smiled. No one would ever call Mim Wallace subtle. “Auntie, I think this might just be the time to tell the town that I am here to stay.” She took a few more of the butter cookies off the serving dish. Then she picked up the tray of tea fixings and carried into the porch. She set it on the table and turned to Mrs. Fischer. “And what was it you were asking me before, Mrs. Fischer?”

”Tea?” Mim quickly interrupted.  She picked up the teapot and started to pour. She wanted to give her niece another few seconds to be sure of her decision. Once Kate revealed her situation, shared her news, there was no taking back her words. “Lemon or cream?”

“Yes dear. Lemon and sugar. I was just asking Katherine here where her handsome, charming husband was these days.”

Kate picked up her teacup and took a sip and jumped right in. “We are no longer married Mrs. Fischer. He left me and Sam last fall. We are now getting divorced. Levi Victor is filing the papers.”

”My goodness. How tragic!” Mrs. Butler responded. Her words were appropriately polite but her eyes were smiling at someone else’s misfortune. She quickly glanced at the gold watch pinned to her full bosom and mentally calculated how quickly she could finish her tea and stop off at the home of her friend and co-conspirator Mrs. Drury to share the news.

“I guess that makes your little Sam the man of the house now,” said Mrs. Butler to Kate as she put her bone china tea cup down in the saucer. She looked sideways at Kate, a disdainful look in her eyes.

”No” Kate snapped. ”Sam is a six year old child and he is the boy of the house. There is no “man of the house” in this house”.

They looked up to see Joe Cartwright ride up on the back of Cochise. Seated on the saddle in front of him was young Sam Striker. “Look at me, Mama! I got a ride home from school! “The boy shouted gleefully as Joe lowered him down to the ground. Noticing the ladies arrayed on the porch sipping tea, Joe tipped his hat and smiled cordially and dismounted. “Afternoon ladies.”

”Do join us, Little Joe. Can I offer you some tea or perhaps something cold?” Kate was relieved to have Joe show up and take some of the attention from her last pronouncement.

He eyed the plate of cookies that sat on the tea table. “Sam offered me some of Mim’s cookies in exchange for a ride so I let him twist my arm. Mim, don’t let Hop Sing know I like your baking better than his.” Joe grinned. Then, Joe swung Sam up on his shoulders and walked up the familiar path.

Sam snatched Joe’s hat from his head and put it on top of his own curly hair. “Look! I’m Joe Cartwright on Cochise! Giddyap horsie!”  Sam whooped yanked on Joe’s collar.

Joe whinnied loudly and galloped up the steps to the porch two at a time.

Mary Fischer stared at the two curly heads and the impish smiles of Kate’s son and smile of Joe Cartwright and exclaimed “My, my! If I didn’t know better … Don’t Joseph and Sam here certainly have a remarkable resemblance.”

Kate choked on her tea. Even Mim was speechless at the spiteful comment.

“My, my Mrs. Fischer you really should know better. Kate and I hadn’t even SPOKEN in the three years before Sam was born so it would be very nice if you kept your nasty remarks to your nasty self and paid attention to your own family’s nasty behavior.” Joe snapped at her abruptly. Most of Virginia City knew both her husband and her son Jack were philanderers of the highest order and lacked a moral compass when it came to their liaisons with women other than their wives.

Mary Fischer gasped at Little Joe’s boldness. She and Mrs. Butler immediately put down their tea cups and gathered up their things in a rush to leave Mim’s porch.

”Well I never!” Mrs. Butler abruptly turned to Aunt Mim.

“Well maybe that is the problem,” Mim said with a sly grin.

“I must be going Mim. It is clear you have your hands full here.”

Chapter 3

“What do you want Striker?” Ben demanded before the rider even had a chance to dismount outside Mim Wallace’s house.

Sensing impending danger, Sam slipped behind his mother and scurried into the house. Little Joe was sitting at the kitchen table finishing up his pie. “Joe! Joe, my father is here again.”

Joe quickly got up and took his gun belt from where it was hanging on the hook near the cellar door. He strapped on his gun belt and walked out the kitchen door. “Sammy you stay in the house.” Joe ordered. He quietly walked around the house to the front where Al was sitting astride a horse.

The little boy went back to the front room and stood hidden behind the half open door where he could keep an eye on things. Sam was horribly ambivalent. Part of him wanted to talk to his father but most of him was terrified. His mother had told him if Striker returned to immediately get Joe and to stay inside the house, no matter what. Sam was an obedient little boy and did exactly what he had been told to do.

“You know what I want Cartwright, I want my family back!” Al Striker said. He was still seated on a spirited black horse he had rented from the livery. Striker pushed back his coat to show he had a pearl handled revolver in his gun belt. He was smiling but put his hand threateningly on the handle of his pistol. “Now, Katherine, you go tell my boy to get out here and say hello to his father.”

“Get out of here Al.” Kate said firmly. “Get off my property! There is no place for you here.” She put her hands on her hips and stood her ground. Aunt Mim planted herself near the door, her full skirts blocking Sam from view.

“Gee, Katherine. You sound awfully mad. What are you hollering at me for?” He knew she hated it when he called her Katherine. ”I just want to have a little visit with you and my boy.” Striker smiled his phony grin at her. His eyes looked like shiny coal as he looked down at her. He reached into his vest pocket and took out a cigar and put it in his mouth. With a flick of a finger nail, he lit a match and ignited the cigar. He took a long drag on the smoke and glared menacingly at Kate.

“Get out!” Kate repeated.

“See what I had to put up with, Mr. Cartwright? Look what a temper she has. All I want is to see my son. Don’t I deserve that?” He puffed out a cloud of acrid smoke. “Let’s talk man to man and leave this hysterical female out of the discussion.”

”Al get out of here,” Kate said evenly. Her voice was low and calm, very far from hysterical.  “You’re on your own now so I suggest you hit the trail and make it as far away from this territory as that nasty black horse can carry you. “

“Gee did you see that ugly face? That look would clear rats from a flop house. And that reminds me of most of the places that I’ve been staying in. Not like this fine place here!” he said as he looked around at Mim’s well-tended yellow house.

“Get out of here Al, Kate said again firmly, calmly. Kate’s calmness irritated Al and he became more agitated.

“I’ll leave when I am good and ready. Where is my boy?” he bellowed.

”He’s not here.” she lied.

Striker began to swing his leg up off his horse, his hand still on the gun, when Ben’s warning stopped him. “Striker you move another inch off that horse and my son will blow you right out of your saddle. I suggest you ride out, now.”

Striker looked behind him and caught sight of Joe Cartwright sighting his pistol right at him, he settled himself back in the saddle.

“And if you ever come back on my place again you may have to be carried off across the back of your horse, now move on” Kate added.

“You can’t do this Kate, you got no right” he barked again. “And you Cartwrights better stay out of my business or I’ll…”
”Or you’ll do what Striker? “ Joe pulled back the hammer of his pistol. “I suggest you listen to what Kate has told you and get off her property.”

Ben gave Joe a glance and hoped he would not lose his temper and shoot Striker. He knew all too well that Joe’s hair trigger temper could get them all in trouble.

“My, my, my. Well, look at the riff raff that you associate with now, Katherine. Pulling guns on an innocent visitor who just came into town to see his boy.”

“Mr. Striker, we can do this the hard way or the easy way,” Ben warned ominously. He just stood his ground and glared at the man until Striker sharply turned his snorting horse and galloped off.

“I’m not finished with you!” he shouted over his shoulder.

Mim slipped inside to check on her little nephew who was cowering behind the door.

“Are you all right Katie?”  Joe asked.

She nodded silently. Her heart was pounding in her chest. All she could thing “Is he going to come back for Sam?”

“He’s gone.” Ben said, watching the yellow dust settle in the road.

Joe holstered his gun and walked around the back of the house to the barn.

“Mr. Cartwright, all of you can’t stay here forever. Al will be back, and he’ll continue to come back until he gets what he wants. You don’t know him. He wants his son and there is no way that I am going to let him have Sam. Not for a minute.” Kate said decisively.

“And Striker doesn’t know me or my boys. He is not only out matched by determination but he’s also out numbered. Kate, Al Striker is just a bully and blow hard. Eventually he is just going to tire out and move on somewhere else. By then the judge will rule on the papers Levi Victor filed for you.” Ben reassured her. “Everything will be just fine.”

“I certainly hope you are right, Ben.” Kate swallowed hard. She suddenly realized how much danger she had faced with her bravado and anger. Her hands started to shake. Ben moved to her side and put his arm around her protectively and pulled her against him.

“Katie, I know you most of your life. Your father and Uncle Foster were two of my closest friends. You are like my family, like my daughter. Do you think we ever would let anything happen to you? “

Kate shook her head. “No, sir,” She wasn’t positive but sincerely hoped Ben Cartwright was correct.

“Kate, he may indeed try again and again, but sooner or later he’ll wear down and move on. I promise you that. Hoss went down to tell Clem Foster about all this business. Let the law handle Striker. Judge Kane will rule soon and you can put this all to rest.”

Kate’s mind was in a turmoil, she was afraid for herself but far more apprehensive disturbed for her son’s wellbeing. She didn’t know what to do and she trembled.

“You’re safe here. You are both safe. I promise you, Striker will never hurt you again as long as I’m alive,” Ben promised her.

Chapter 4

Sam was picking black berries in the thicket he had discovered just beyond the school. The observant little boy had quietly snuck back there during recess and checked the hidden patch every day watching the fruit ripen. Today was the day they were ready for picking. His small tin lunch bucket was almost filled. His mama would be very happy with all these. Maybe she would even make some muffins for him or better yet some pies.”

Suddenly, a shadow crossed him and he felt a large hand on his shoulder.

“Hey Sportie, remember me?” Al Striker snarled tightening his grip on Sam’s red plaid shirt collar.

Sam dropped the bucket of berries and felt his stomach drop with them. His eyes went in the direction of the school yard, then the road. There was no one around.

“Don’t even think about yelling out kid, or I’ll silence you for good, got it” He puffed cigar smoke into the boy’s face.

Sam didn’t bother to answer him, but he flinched from the man’s voice. “Don’t you remember your own father?”

“Yes, sir,” Sam whispered. “I know who you are.”

“Relax kid, I don’t want to kill you, I just want to visit with you and have you to deliver a message to your mother for me.” Striker reached up and easily lifted the frightened little boy onto the saddle of a big black horse that was standing nearby. Then Striker climbed up in front of him.

“Let’s go, Son.” He kicked his heels into the side of the black and galloped off out of town towards the lake with the boy.

“No, I gotta go home.” Sam squirmed.” Lemme go! I gotta go back home.” The horse galloped up the slope faster and faster.

“Let me go!” Sam hollered punching at Al’s back with his small fists.

Striker twisted around in the saddle and held the six year old with his left hand and the reigns of the spirited black stallion with his right as he carried his son off. “You quit hollering or I’ll give you something to holler about.” he threatened.

As the horses galloped up the hill towards the lake, Al let go of the boy for an instant. Sam immediately slid backwards and dropped off the rear of the horse. He put out his arm to break his fall and hit the ground with a thud. Sam felt something snap in his arm but he knew he had to get away quickly before Al got him again.

The injured boy scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. One of his shoes fell off but he kept running. Before his father could turn the horse around, Sam quickly escaped into the thick underbrush. He ran like a rabbit and dove under some bramble bushes. Rolling underneath the brush, he burrowed down under some dry leaves and hid himself. His arm hurt very badly but he knew he had to be totally silent and not get caught.

”Get back here, Sam!” Striker bellowed ferociously. He pulled the black horse to an abrupt halt and leapt off to hunt for the boy. He had no idea how his son had escaped so quickly and stood in the middle of the trail looking around for any sign of the boy.

Striker saw a freight wagon and a rider approaching and decided he would be better off galloping away then drawing attention to himself. Right now no one knew he was in the area and he had no desire to have the sheriff or any of Kate’s friends in Virginia City be on the alert for Al Striker.

”To hell with this. Let Kate find Sam.” He thought angrily. He climbed back on the horse and rode off towards Carson City.

Chapter 5

“Joe where can he be? He should have been home from school long ago. Mim and I looked all over. You and Hoss looked all over. How far can a little boy get in an hour?” Remembering the long ago incident with Puddin’ Lowell, Kate asked Joe Cartwright franticly. “Do you think he fell in the creek?”

”We found his lunch bucket filled with berries bucket and one of his shoes, so we know he was over thata way, nowhere near the creek.” Hoss said gently. “He couldn’t go very far with only one shoe. We’ll find him.” The Cartwrights had dropped in to see Kate and Mim on their way home from Virginia City and found that Sam was missing. They had immediately had joined the search.

“Where can he be? It’s going to be dark soon. He’s only a little boy.” Kate was very frightened realizing the sun was beginning to set. How would her son manage in the dark and the cold?

Kate no sooner got the words out when they heard the sound of a horse approaching the house. Mim stood up to look out the window. Who’s that?” she said walking out on the porch to get a better look at the approaching dust cloud. Kate and the two Cartwright brothers followed closely at her heels. They all tried to get a better look at the rider entering the property from the west. Joe leaped from the porch towards the rider shouting, “It’s Pa and Sam! “

“Is it him?” Kate asked anxiously. “Does he have Sammy?”  She shaded her eyes with her hand against the glare of the setting sun. “Is he all right?”

“Yeah it’s him,” Hoss smiled. “Pa found Sam.”

Ben rode up to the front of Mim’s house holding Sam in front of him on His arms were wrapped protectively around the little boy. Sam had been trying to be very brave up until that time but as soon as he saw his mother, he burst into tears.

Kate ran out and Ben lowered the sobbing boy into the arms of his grateful mother. Kate hugged him close. The boy was filthy and his face and arms scratched up from hiding under the bramble bushes.

“Hoss, go fetch Doc Martin. Looks like his arm is broken.”

Chapter 6

Sam’s tiny room was at the top of the stairs. Years before, Kate had slept in this very same room in the same white iron framed bed. Her Aunt Mim and Uncle Foster, who owned the house, had slept in the larger room across the hall and her parents had used the down stairs bedroom off the dining room. All the upstairs room had low slanting ceilings and small dormered windows.

The Ben Cartwright ducked his head as he walked through the low doorframe into the boy’s bedroom. The memory of a little curly haired boy of his own as it flashed across his mind. A pale moonlight glow from the far window lit the room, but it was enough for Ben to see Sam. He lifted the rumpled bedcovers from the floor and smoothed them back over the sprawled shape on the bed. Sam stirred and pulled the yellow quilt under his chin, grateful for the warmth.  Doctor Martin had splinted his broken arm and Sam was having a hard time finding a comfortable place for himself.

”Mr. Cartwright? Could you stay here a while with me?” Since they met in San Francisco the first time when Sam was only about three, Sam had a special affection for Ben Cartwright.

“I’m honored to have the invitation Sam.” Ben said gently.

”You can sit over there” the boy pointed with his uninjured hand to a faded arm chair next to his bed. ”Do you have any little boys, Mr. Cartwright?”

“I did, but they are all grown up now. “

“Was Joe and Hoss your little boys?” Sam asked trying to sort out who belonged to whom in Virginia City. He was having a difficult time understanding that grown men could be someone’s child.

“That’s right, and I have another son, Adam.” Ben added. “He is in South American building a bridge right now. You met him once a long time ago.” The boy remained silent for moment. Then he yawned and shifted around to face Ben better.

“Mr. Cartwright, thanks for bring me home. I was real scared that I wouldn’t find my Mama.”

”I’m glad I could help you Sam. You were a pretty brave feller today. Why don’t you close your eyes now and go to sleep.”

”Could you stay here a bit more? Please.”

”Sure.” Ben sat down in the moonlight and watched over the boy until he fell back to sleep.

When Sam was finally sound asleep, Ben quietly stepped down the narrow staircase and strolled out onto the front porch.  A rectangle of golden lamp from the open doorway light fell across the wide painted boards. He took a long breath then glanced aside at his sons sitting protectively on either side of Kate. Hoss was seated on one of the heavy ladder back kitchen chairs that had been pulled outside. He had the chair tipped back on two legs, his boots up on the porch railing.  Joe was seated next to Kate on the white wicker settee with his arm slung protectively over her shoulders.

Kate looked up wearily “Thanks for taking care of him Ben. I just couldn’t get go there one more time.” She sagged visibly and yawned.

“There is still some pie and coffee left inside, Ben. Should I get you some?” Mim started to get up from her seat.

Ben shook his head and raised his hand indicating she should stay in her seat.

“That’s quite a boy you have there, Katie. It’s been a long time since I tucked a little boy in for the night. Thanks for sharing him with me.”

“It’s… been a long day and I just couldn’t face Sammy one more time. I’m thankful you all were here. I don’t know how I would have found my son had you not been around to help. “

“You’re doing a fine job with your boy. I know it hasn’t been easy.” Ben acknowledged.

Thanks, Ben,” her lips trembled and tears started to well up in her eyes. “I can’t believe Sam’s father would try to steal him away and then ride off leaving him hurt.”

Joe turned to his friend and pulled her close. He held her for a few minutes until she moved away from him. Joe turned to his father. “Pa, I think we should stay here tonight.”

Hoss added ”We can’t leave them here alone. What if that skunk Striker decides to come back? “

“I was thinking the same thing. I’ll ride back to the Ponderosa and you and Joe can keep Kate and Mim company tonight.”

“Thanks, “Kate whispered.

Mim nodded tiredly in agreement. She knew she had Foster’s rifle hanging on the dining room wall and both she and Katie knew how to use it, but having the Cartwrights around was far more reassuring.

“No need to thank us Katie Darlin” Hoss grinned.

Joe gave her another hug and pushed a loose strand of hair off her forehead. “Anyway Hoss figures his snoring will scare any troublemakers away.”

Chapter 7

“No!” Sam shrieked. He sat up with a jerk from his nightmare, heart thundering against his chest, breath rasping through his lungs.  In his dream, his father was chasing him on a flaming black horse with blood red eyes. Acrid smoke surrounded him like the sulfur smoke of hell. No matter how much he struggled his feet were stuck in sucking mud and thorny vines nipped at his flesh. Sam could not escape no matter how hard he struggled.

The little boy tried to sit up in his bed. The room was filled with daylight so it must be morning. His yellow checked quilt was twisted around his neck and shoulders.  As he leaned on his broken arm in the tangle of bed covers, Sam moaned from the pain spread from his injury. Groaning, he folded his arm over his belly and bent double “Mama?” he called out.

The room was empty, though there was evidence Kate had spent the night in the chair. A rumpled quilt from her bed plus a writing pad and pencil on the bedside table indicated his mom had probably only recently left looking for breakfast or checking the chickens.

He heard the clatter of pots and pans and voices from downstairs and tried to figure out who it was. He could clearly identify his mother’s voice but could not here what she was saying. There were deep voices of men too. Could it be Al Striker? Sam shivered for a second but then realized it was Hoss and Joe Cartwright. He smiled knowing that he and Kate were safe with the Cartwrights in the house.

He quickly climbed out of bed and carefully went down the narrow stairs feeling far better than he did the night before.

Chapter 8

“Adam, when are you leaving?” Phil Bartlett asked leaning back in his dining room chair. He pulled out his handkerchief, wiped his glasses carefully and put them back on his nose. Concerned for the safety of Katie and her son, since the recent incidents with Al Striker, Mim had enlisted Phil to be an additional protective man around her family. He had tagged along to Sunday dinner so Kate, Mim, and little Sam wouldn’t be driving the empty road back and forth the Ponderosa alone. Phillip was more than glad to join them and spend time with his boyhood pal Adam who was visiting.

“Well, I’ll be here on the Ponderosa a few weeks longer. I’m not going back to San Francisco for about another two weeks, maybe three. From there I am heading out to Portland to examine some ship yards that are for sale, then back to Boston.”

“So, we can count on seeing you for Sunday dinner next week, Adam?” Mim asked.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Adam smiled looking sideways at Kate.

“I really can’t stay for dessert, Ben. I need to be getting back to Virginia City before it gets late,“ Phil Bartlett said. “I want to check on the last press run for tomorrow. Perhaps we should be leaving soon.”

“How is that new press working, Phil? “ Hoss asked Mim’s right hand man as he did his best to delay their departure. Phil loved to talk about the inner workings of the Enterprise in excruciating detail if he had even a small audience.

“The press? It’s running perfectly! We should be able to keep up with the increase in circulation with no problem,” he answered getting up from the dining room table. “Thanks for a fine dinner, Ben. Katie do you need me to carry Sam out to the carriage? I’m really sorry to have to cut the evening short.”

Kate glanced at Adam, not knowing what else to say.

”Phil, why don’t you borrow a horse!  I’ll take every one else back to town in Mim’s carriage later on and come back home on that horse?” Adam quickly suggested.

Joe smiled to himself. Ben Cartwright sure didn’t have any slow witted sons when it came to quick thinking around a pretty woman. Adam didn’t want Kate to leave just yet. “Hoss do me a favor and saddle up a horse for Phil, here.”

“What an excellent idea!” Kate smiled at Adam. ”I’m sure Sam is just dying for some of the dessert Hop Sing prepared.”

They all turned to look at young Sam who was sitting half asleep in Ben’s lap. He was leaning back on Ben’s chest and struggling to keep his eyes open. Certainly he was not missing his pie as much as Kate was clearly hoping to delay their departure from the Ponderosa.

“Phil, let me get you a horse,” Joe quickly jumped up. He was going to do everything he could to help Kate and his brother spend as much time together as possible. “Hoss, why don’t you give me a hand.”

“Huh?” Hoss looked at him curiously. Why would Joe need his help to saddle a horse for Phil?

“Give me a hand way out in the barn saddling a horse for Phillip so that…. “

“So that Phil gets a horse to go back to town right now!” Hoss smiled broadly as he realized what his clever little brother was arranging. He quickly got up from the table.” Just don’t let Sam eat my dessert, Pa.”

“And Adam, why don’t you show Kate that whatchemacallit that you wanted to show her out back?” Joe urged.

Adam offered Kate his arm and she smiled up at him as they walked away from the dining room table and out into the moon light to check out the “whatchmacallit’ alone.

Sam was clearly fast asleep on Ben’s lap and totally oblivious to dessert or horses or anything else that was going on in the dining room of the Ponderosa. And Ben Cartwright was a close second in the contest.

Entirely confused, Ben looked up at his youngest son and raised his eye brow. What in the world was Joe talking about? What was a “whatchemacallit”? He would have to ask his son when he got back from the barn.

“Ben, did I tell you about the new presses?” Mim engaged him in conversation while all the others left the table. She smiled to herself. It had been many, many years since she had admired a “whatchemacallit” in the moonlight with a handsome young man.

Two hours later, all the Cartwrights walked their guests out to the yard.

”Good night Ben, thanks for a lovely evening. “ Mim said. “And Joseph, you think about what we discussed. Looks fade but smarts don’t. It’s about time you had your fill of all those feather brained blonde dunder heads and start looking for a woman who has her feet on the ground.“
”Gee Mim, if you were only twenty years younger.” Joe teased. He gave her a hand as she climbed into the rear seat of the buggy.

“I’ll take them back home don’t worry, Pa, “Adam promised. Ben nodded in agreement.

Ben carried the sleeping boy out to the buggy and gently placed him in Mim’s lap in the rear seat.  Adam took Kate’s hand and helped her climb into the front seat of the buggy. Without releasing her hand, Adam sat next to her and picked up the reigns.
“No Joseph. You have it wrong.”

“Wrong?” Joe raised an eyebrow. “How can a handsome fellow like me be wrong, Mim?”

“It is not if only I was twenty years younger. It’s if only you were thirty years older, Joe Cartwright! “She teased back.

“You got me, Mim!” Joe leaned over and gave her hug and a kiss on her cheek. “Now take good care of Katie for me.”

“You flirt!” she laughed and swatted him playfully on his cheek. “Adam let’s go and don’t hit any bumps on the way back to town. I have Sammy back here sleeping and this precious cargo doesn’t take kindly to being awakened.”

“Yes M’am!” Adam flicked the reigns and the team trotted off into the moonlit night.

Ben and his two younger sons stood for a minute and watched the departing buggy go down the road until it was lost in the darkness.

“I’ll be inside in a few minutes boys, I want to check on the stock before I turn in” Ben started toward the barn.

As Joe and Hoss walked back towards the house. Joe asked, “Hoss, do you reckon he is sweet on her?

“Pa and Mim?” Hoss scratched his head.

Joe laughed “No, you big moose. Adam and Kate. He sure lights up every time she is around.”

Hoss stopped and held Joe’s arm slightly. With a half-smile he said, “I don’t know for sure. But Joe, you know Adam, he does things slower and quieter than you do. He won’t talk much about what he is thinking about.”

Joe grinned wide and said “It certainly would be nice to see the two of them together. Maybe our older brother would be coming home to stay if he married Kate. Katie sure deserves someone to be good to her this time.”

Hoss nodded in agreement. “She sure does.”

Chapter 9

Mim Wallace died unexpectedly barely two months after that dinner at the Ponderosa.  She had commented to Kate how she was not feeling as well as usual. When Kate tried to get her to see Doctor Martin, Mim rebuffed her suggestion. “Kate, I am far too busy to have time to be sick. Any way I am just not as young as I used to be. It’s just the aches and pains of being old.”

“You aren’t old!” Kate protested.

“Indeed I am! I am an old woman and mighty proud of it. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting old when you think that the other option is dying young and too many folks I loved died far too young.” Mim said truthfully.
A few days later, when Phil Bartlett returned to the office from visiting with Sheriff Coffee and getting the details on a hold up in Carson City, he had found Mim resting face down at her desk. As soon as he touched her, Phillip knew the owner of the Enterprise was gone. He picked up the piece she had been writing when death took her. Mim Wallace had been polishing her latest editorial on the need for the citizens of to vote in favor of a bond issue to support the expansion of the Virginia City public schools. It was fitting that she died with her pen in her hand promoting a cause she knew would improve her beloved community.

Kate directed the staff to run the editorial centered on the front page of the Enterprise as memorial to her aunt. Mim Wallace had started the paper with her husband Foster. She kept the paper running it for over two decades despite threats, blizzards, mine disasters, droughts, broken presses, financial problems and the murder of her beloved husband.

A month after Mim’s funeral, Adam wrote Kate that he was coming back home for an extended visit.

Dearest Kate,

You’ll never know how much I miss you. I think of you all the time. I can’t get you out of my mind.

Love now and forever,

Adam

Part 7

Looking Forward, Not Back

Chapter 1

Mim’s house was a small, clapboard one-story house tucked away behind the newer, more imposing mansions, rising up the hill overlooking Virginia City. It was painted yellow and set on a two-acre parcel of property with a garden plot, a small barn, a hen house and a tool shed to the rear. The house was less than a mile walk down the hill to the schoolhouse and the offices of the Enterprise.

Adam was quite familiar with the little house having spent many hours there over the years. Hank Wallace had tutored him in mathematics at the Wallace dining room table before he went to college and the Cartwrights were often Mim’s welcome guests for Sunday dinners.

Adam had mixed feelings about his visiting Kate with no one else around, trying to push to the back of his mind his own nervousness and the potential problems that were looming around his growing relationship with Kate. His father and Little Joe both had written him in San Francisco about the difficulties she was having extricating herself from her marriage. Both had asked him to help her any way he could. Since all of Adam’s work was done in San Francisco, he decided to go home to the Ponderosa for a visit before returning to Boston.

Adam Cartwright realized his mind was on Kate Wallace all the time, even when he was strained to concentrate on his work. He wasn’t just thinking of her as Little Joe’s friend or Mim’s niece. He was seeing her in a totally different way. All of a sudden, traveling all over the world for Stoddard and Bruce suddenly seemed far less of an adventure but was now excruciatingly unappealing and completely burdensome.

Adam tried to appear nonchalant as he approached the house, but cast a wary glance around as he pushed open the Wallace’s gate, hoping there was no one around to remark on his visit. Adam had no desire to add to the gossip that was already beginning to circulate through the town. Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Fischer and their hen parties were still quite chatty about Joe’s “rudeness” months earlier. A divorced woman in Virginia City was scandalous enough and Adam certainly was not going to do anything to cause Kate to be a target of more nasty rumors.

Adam knew that he had to tell her what the lawyer, Levi Victor had discovered about Al Striker. He was not looking forward to giving her the bad news. Even more disconcerting to Adam, was that he was utterly bewildered about how he found himself constantly thinking about her. Being alone with Kate made it even more complicated.

Adam took a deep breath and dove right in. “You remember we introduced you to Levi Victor, Pa’s attorney? Levi said all the papers are filed with Judge Kane and hopefully your divorce will come through pretty soon.”

”How long is ‘pretty soon’ Adam? This is taking so long.” She poured steaming coffee into his cup and sat down next to him at her kitchen table.

”He said about another month or so.” Adam decided that he would start off with the good news first, then tell Kate the bad news. “This morning I also got some other information.”

“What sort of information?” Kate couldn’t imagine what Adam was implying.

“Information from our lawyer, about what he found in San Francisco.”

“What did he find?” Kate asked. She still had no idea what was going on.

“Levi said they checked out all those accounts you had in San Francisco…” Adam stopped for a minute. He was unsure how to proceed with the rest of the information Victor had sent. He spread out a folder of official looking papers across the kitchen table, banks statements, legal forms, and letters on cream colored linen stock written in a fine hand.

“I had asked him to check all those accounts with the money and stocks your father had left you. Katie. I don’t know how to tell you this but it is all gone. Striker emptied all of them before he left you. All the money is gone.”
Kate shook her head, her eyes wide in disbelief. She opened her mouth and no words came out. She shuffled the papers about as if she could find some error or dollar bills mixed among the various documents. She put her hand to her mouth and stared in horror at the papers.

“All gone? All of it Adam? There has to be some sort of mistake. There just has to be! That was all of the money my father had from working for the mining company for years. He worked his entire life and died from breathing in that damn dust. It’s all gone? The money from selling the house after my mother died….the account I had with Al?” her voice dropped off. “How could that happen?”

“Al was your husband and whatever you had, according to the law, was his. A husband owns whatever his wife has. Do you remember signing any papers for him?”

“I…I don’t know. Sometimes he asked me to sign papers. But he said they were just routine household things, the lease and such and he knew what he was doing. “

She could see Al’s icy black gaze in her mind’s eye even now and tried to scowl back at the image, as if this gesture would scare it away. Al Striker was like an evil dark cloud hanging over her.

“Adam, what are you saying?” Kate couldn’t comprehend the depth of her situation.
“I’m saying your husband had huge gambling debts and bad business ventures of his own that must have gone sour and he has used all your funds to keep going. There may even be more but we can’t tell right now.”

“More what?”
”More things that might not be anywhere close to being legal. Maybe some criminal charges against him, outstanding warrants and the like. Victor is looking into all of it, Kate. I’m sorry.”

Katie’s stomach felt like it was being ripped apart, and quietly she asked, “Criminal charges? Could he have gone to jail? What money do I have left? How am I going to manage?”

“Well, there isn’t much in San Francisco I am afraid to say. Most likely nothing at all. We arranged for the rest of your furniture and household goods to be shipped back here but there isn’t very much of anything else left. But you do have whatever Mim left for you here in Virginia City. The house and the paper, but not much more. She left a few hundred dollars to Sam, for his education. “

She silently stared at him trying to decide what to do next.
”You can sell the paper and that will give you some money.” Adam suggested. Kate ignored his recommendation.

“How could Al do this?” She stood up from the table and put the coffee pot back on the black cast iron cook stove.

An uncomfortable silence filled the little kitchen. Adam looked at her as she silently made himself busy at the stove. He neatly restacked all the papers and put them back into the folder.

Kate still had her back to him. He stood up and walked behind her. Adam reached out and gently holding her arm he turned her to him. Her hazel eyes were filled with ears and she was trying hard to control the disappointment she felt at being used and deceived. “How could he do this?”

Adam said thoughtfully, “I don’t know, sometimes people get into difficulty and they see an easy way out and they just don’t think about the consequences.”

She yanked her arm from his hand. ”Adam, don’t make excuses for that skunk.  How could he steal the money I needed to take care of his son?” she screamed with frustration. She slammed the half-filled blue enameled coffee pot down on the iron stove with a crash. The lid flew off and clattered to the floor. Coffee splashed on the stove and it hissed when it hit the hot iron.

“Damn him.” She hollered bagging the coffee pot again. “Damn that son of a bitch. It’s not enough that he walks out but he has to take everything with him and leave me with dusty mouse droppings.”

Adam stood up from the table and walked over to Kate. For a small woman who looked like she would be blown over by a stiff wind, she cursed like a sailor on the Barberry Coast.

Tears slowly made their way down her cheeks and he raised his hand to wipe them away with his thumb. He held out his other arm and she fell against his chest and sobbed until there was only a feeling of emptiness left.

Adam put his chin against her soft brown hair and said, “I’ll help you, you’re not alone.” She was very small and fragile in his arms. Adam remembered the time he consoled her at the dance when she was not more than thirteen or fourteen. She had wept in his arms over mean school boys who had broken her heart. For an instant, standing next to him, she didn’t look much older than she did that evening on the porch of the Grange crying that no one wanted to dance with her.

Her voice muffled against his black shirt he heard her ask, “Damn him, Adam. When is it going to quit? I made one rash judgment in falling in love with a handsome skunk and it looks like I am going to pay for this for the rest of my life. How could I have been so damn stupid?”

Adam pulled her close and stroked her honey brown hair.” Darlin’ you’re not stupid. You are one of the smartest people I know. Kate you made the best decision you could with the information you had at that time…you may never be able to forgive Striker but you have to forgive yourself. You just made a bad decision in marrying the guy but you didn’t know any of the other things that made him behave like he did. But don’t think he didn’t love you, because I’m sure he did. I saw you together that time in San Francisco when Sam was just a baby. I’m sure he loved you and Sam the best he was able. But it was just not the way you or your boy deserves to be loved. You deserve far more and far better than Al Striker. “
“Do you have a handkerchief? “ Kate asked him sniffling. “I got the front of your shirt all wet from my crying.”

Adam took his hand away from her hair and pulled a big white linen handkerchief from his pocket. She took it and said “You’re right, Adam.”

He nodded “Time you learned I always am.” He grinned at her.

“Little Joe always said you thought you were right all the time and it made him crazy. I can deal with crazy, Adam Cartwright.” She smiled up at him. “I think I may be halfway there already.”

Stepping closer Adam put his arms around her. She sighed and felt her relax against his chest He held her closer. “We’ll work this out, Katie, don’t you worry, I won’t let anything hurt you or Sam ever, I promise.” He whispered against her hair and kissed her head.

Quickly she brushed aside a stray tear as she tried even harder to reassure him with a smile. “I love you Adam Cartwright” she whispered. “But I won’t sell the paper. I need to be able to take care of Sam no matter what happens. And Mim didn’t work for twenty years holding the Enterprise together for me to sell it off. This house too, Adam. This is all I have and I am not giving it up. Not now, not ever.”

“You always were mule stubborn.”

 

Part 8

Steadfast Bonds

Chapter 1

Sitting on the edge of the stone hearth of the Cartwright house after dinner, Kate reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a white envelope. She handed it to Ben Cartwright.

”What do you think of this, Mr. Cartwright?” she asked. “I got it yesterday at the Enterprise office. Curious to see the letter, Joe stood up and looked over his father’s shoulder as Ben read it aloud.

Dear Mrs. Striker,

I regret to inform you that, on the fifteenth of last month, your husband, Al Striker was lost in the burning and sinking of the river boat “Natchez Queen” on which he was a member of the crew. He died along with six others. I have enclosed $500 for wages that were due to him as well as some additional funds on behalf of the firm.

Sincerely

Captain Pomeroy LaBelle

“Was the money in it?’ Ben asked as he refolded the letter and inserted it into the envelope. He handed it back to her.

Kate nodded “Yes, Ben. Ten fifty dollar bills.”

“That’s quite a large amount of money,” Ben observed. He knew that was far beyond any crewman would earn on any ship, especially a riverboat.

“I put is all in the bank for safe keeping until I know what I should do.”

“Did you tell this to Levi Victor?” Ben asked. “He could give you the legal side of all this in regard to the divorce and all.”

“No, he is back in San Francisco. I thought you could give me an idea about what to do and how to proceed.”

“So what is the problem? I mean, you and Sam certainly can use the money.” Hoss said from his seat on the settee.  “Does that make Katie a widow or a divorcee?”

“What difference should that make? Kate’s free of Al Striker either way and now she has five hundred dollars.” Joe laughed.

“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Hoss laughed too. Then he felt a cold draft on the back of his neck and stopped laughing. He got up and tossed a couple of logs on the fire to warm up the chill in the room.

“Kate, didn’t Levi say your divorce was as good as finalized? He ran all those legal notices in San Francisco and Striker never showed up or sent any word to the court to oppose the divorce. The judge ruled on the action and the decree was granted.

“Signed, sealed and delivered!” Hoss smiled as the fire blazed up and he warmed up. “Ifn’ he was dead, that’s a mighty good reason why he couldn’t show up in court.”

“Almost signed, sealed and delivered. All that was left was the clerk in San Francisco putting his seal on the court papers and filing them in the hall of records.” Ben said.

“What’s the problem now?” Joe asked. He expected Kate to be smiling and instead she was still frowning.

“How am I going to tell Sam what happened to his father? “

“You have to tell him. You can’t let the boy think that his father will show up one day, “Ben said gently.

“That last time he showed up a few months ago and tried to take him, Striker broke his arm. It scared the boy half to death, “Joe pointed out.
”He needs to know Katie,” Ben looked straight into her eyes. “Sam needs to know that all that is over and done and you both can breathe a sigh of relief. I want you both to be able to look forward and not backwards.”

“I don’t know if I can manage.” Kate said softly.

”Kate, it is going to be mighty hard but Pa taught us, the hurt you feel when you tell the truth is shorter than the hurt you feel when you don’t face things.” Hoss told her. Hoss always was able to find the right words at the right time. He warmed his hands in front of the fire and wondered if there was still some hot coffee left in the kitchen.

Ben nodded in agreement. “You have to do it Kate. I’m sure you can handle it very well.”

“Look, years ago you rode out to the here and bailed me out with Pa and faced him down with the truth. You couldn’t have been more that thirteen years old a little girl who couldn’t have weighed ninety pounds dripping wet and you faced down the mighty Ben Cartwright and freed his chained prisoner,” Joe smiled. If you can face my father when he is furious, Sam will be a piece of cake.”

Despite herself Kate laughed at the memory.

Hop Sing walked in with another pot of coffee on a tray. “More coffee?”  Hoss nodded and Hop Sing poured him another cup.

“Hop Sing! You read my mind!” Hoss also helped himself to a second slice of pie.

“I told your father and your mother that you would be the first female lawyer in the Nevada Territory after that one,” Ben chuckled shaking his head.

“Mim said that you could probably earn your entire living yanking Little Joe out of trouble, “Hoss added. Despite the blazing fire and a second steaming cup of coffee, Hoss still felt chilled. He wondered if he was coming down with something.

 

 

 

Chapter 2

June, 1856

The youngsters stood in a knot the church yard under the shade of the wild cherry tree on a sunny, Sunday morning. The congregation was walking out church when Nancy Coffee grabbed Little Joe’s elbow and pulled him aside.

“Billy Felcher is going to get in trouble big time if we don’t help him out. “ Nancy started. “We have to do something.”

“He has a bottle of whiskey and he is going to drink it behind the church this morning. His father is going to kill him dead if he catches him.” Katie added.

“Huh?”  Joe wondered. He completely missed the point the two girls were trying to make.

“Joe, you big fool, Reverend Felcher! Billy’s father, that Reverend Felcher who is thinks you burn in hell if you even glance at the sign on the saloon no less having his very own fourteen year old son hiding a bottle of whiskey in the church bell tower.” Nancy said.

“In the bell tower?” Joe yawned. He still wasn’t quite awake from the nap he took during the sermon. Somehow he misinterpreted what the girls were saying and started wondering if chubby Billy being in the church bell tower was of some concern. “The bell tower was built pretty sturdy. Billy will be just fine.”

“And Reverend Felcher said if he catches Billy misbehaving one more time, he is going to ship him back East to a very strict Mission boarding school. Billy doesn’t want to go back East or to a strict boarding school. We need to keep him from getting in trouble,“ Nancy continued her explanation.

“Little Joe, be a pal. You can’t let him get caught by his father.” Kate looked him in the eye. She was more than head shorter than he was but that never stopped her from giving him a piece of her mind. She stood with both her hands on her hips determined that soft hearted Billy should not get in trouble. Phil Bartlett who worked at the Enterprise once described her stance as “Katie’s Mule Stubborn look”. To Joe, that posture was the signal that Kate was not going to let up.

”Joe, you got to help us.” Nancy was wearing he best pink dress hoping to look appealing to Joe in case he just might notice. She had a lifelong crush on him and was always figuring how to get his attention. She felt he was the most gloriously handsome boy in the entire Territory. She was not going give up trying to win him despite the line of Virginia City girls who thought exactly same thing.

Probably the only girl in town who wasn’t obsessed with Little Joe was Nancy’s best girlfriend Kate Wallace. All the other girls chattered endlessly about how curly Joseph Cartwright’s  hair was or how long his eye lashes were or were his eyes hazel or green and how they sparkled or how well the boy rode a horse and danced or if he would steal a kiss if they were alone together, except Katie. The peculiar part was that Katie spent more time with Joe than any other boy or girl in the Territory. Since the Lowells had disappeared, the two seemed to spend even more of their time together.

When Nancy would ask if the two of them were sweet hearts, both of them would laugh hysterically and Joe would say “Are you ridiculous?”  Kate would wrinkle her freckled nose and tell her how Joe was always getting into trouble and certainly not mature nor responsible enough for her tastes in a beau. Joe would respond with some quick comment about liking girls who preferred dancing and perfume to climbing trees and riding horses. Then Kate would pinch him or stick out her tongue at him and tell him he was a jughead and he would pinch her or stick out his tongue and tell her that she was a bigger lunkhead than he was.

”And anyway, “Joe would add with a devilish wink “Katie knows too many of my tricks and I know too many of her secrets for us to ever be more than just friends.”

“Just two friends!” Kate would agree.

“Little Joe Cartwright! You must do what we are telling you!” Katie raged. She had her hands planted on her hips and she stood firm. “You can’t let Billy get into trouble with his father. If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t do this and we wouldn’t be butting in….”
”Sure you would Katie,” Joe grinned “You and Nancy just love to poke your noses in to everyone’s business. Katie would write about anything she sees in the Enterprise if her Aunt would print it. And she loves to nag at me too! “

“No, I don’t Joe Cartwright!”  Kate spit out. “I do not nag you!”

“Sure you do,” he continued. Joe was just teasing, much like he did with Adam and Hoss and the boys he palled around with like Dean and Billy. He didn’t mean any harm and really had no clue that Kate was hurt by his snappy comment. As much as she kept up with the boys, she still was a female who did not enjoy that type of good natured bantering that boys took for granted. His cutting remark hurt her far more than the good hearted boy had intended.

“Sure you do!” Joe went on. ”You nag me more than my Pa and Adam. Pick, pick, pick.”

Kate’s lip trembled. It was not easy being a thirteen year old girl. She spun around and took a few steps away from the others hoping that neither Nancy nor Little Joe would see how upset she really was. That would be even more embarrassing to her. For some reason, Joe’s comment cut her to the core and tears started welling up in her eyes.

“And, for your information, my pal Bill offered to share that bottle with me too. And what do you two have to say about that? I want to have some fun too,” Joe said defiantly to her back.

Suddenly, Joe sensed Kate was not enjoying this banter and she was really upset. He was a good hearted boy and realized his joshing had gone one step too far. Joe awkwardly took two steps closer to her and tried to figure what to say next to smooth over his barbs.

“Hey you guys! What are you doing?” smiling Billy Felcher strode up to the friends. “You’ll never guess what I have!”  He lifted the front of his tan woolen jacket to reveal a pint bottle stuck into the waist band of his good Sunday trousers. “Come on Joe,” he tugged on the slender boy’s arm.

“Oh goodness, “Joe thought. “I should have kept my big mouth shut.” He took a step closer to Kate and looked down at his boots trying to think of what he should say.

“Come on Joe, my father isn’t looking this way, have a sip.” Bill pulled the bottle out, took a pull and pushed it towards Little Joe. Joe took a step away from Billy and awkwardly moved even closer to Katie.

Not realizing Joe had moved so near to her, Kate quickly whirled around. She had her clenched hand raised as she was about to make a point in the discussion and in her haste spun right into Joe. She accidentally caught the point of his chin with her fist. In a quick motion that could not have been repeated if she tried a hundred more times, five foot tall Kate caught the youngest Cartwright on the point of his jaw with her petite fist and knocked him out cold.

Joe pitched forward. He would have hit the ground face first if Billy and Nancy hadn’t caught him. “Oh my goodness, Katie. What did you do that for?” Billy stammered. “You punched Little Joe in the mouth!”

“Jeez Louise, he’s out cold!” Nancy added.

Billy quickly grabbed his unconscious friend with one hand and jammed the pint bottle back into his coat pocket with the other.

“I- I didn’t mean to sock him! I just turned around and there he was! “Katie’s eyes were wide with amazement. She unclenched her unladylike fist and dropped her hand in shock.

”Joe quit making believe you are knocked out!” Nancy pleaded. “Stop playing!” She strained to hold him up.

Kate took his chin between her thumb and forefinger and turned the boy’s face to look at the violet bruise that was already appearing on his jaw.

“He’s not fooling” Billy said as he struggled with Joe’s dead weight.

“Do something quick!” Nancy growled at him. “I’m going to drop him!”

“The Reverend and Mr. Cartwright and my Aunt Mim are coming!” Kate declared grabbing Joe’s arm. ”Get in back of him Billy. Keep Joe standing. Hold him up! Hold him up!”

Balanced precariously between Nancy and Kate, Joe wobbled on rubber legs, his chin resting on his chest.  Each girl gripped him under an arm and struggled to keep their friend upright. Behind them, husky Billy grabbed Little Joe’s belt and hitched him upright as best he could. They hoped that the approaching adults would never guess that Little Joe had been knocked unconscious and being propped up by his friends.

“Hold him up!” Kate hissed. “Hold him up!”

“It’s Reverend Felcher, Aunt Mim and Mr. Cartwright” Nancy gasped.

“Jeez Louise” Billy muttered under his breath.” Katie you are in deep trouble. You kilt Joe! Oh dear God help us in our time of need.” Then Billy started to pray more fervently than he ever did in church.

“I didn’t kill him, Billy. He’s just knocked cold. Hold him up,” Katie ordered as Joe started to sway like a sapling in the wind. “Hold him up!”

“He’s tipping, Katie! I can’t hold him. He’s slipping over” Nancy gasped.

“Joe, stand up!” Katie pleaded.  “Please Joe.” She could see his hazel eyes opening a slit as the adults approached. “Stand up!” She pinched him hard hoping that might help but it did absolutely nothing.

“Wonderful inspiring sermon Reverend, “Katie offered smiling as angelically as she could. She yanked Joe’s arm up and over her own shoulder and squeezed in closer. Maybe they could hold Joe’s dead weight up a few more minutes until the adults passed by and went over to the refreshment table across the yard.

“It was very, very inspiring,” Nancy echoed hoping to distract them from Joe’s semiconscious condition. “Go have some punch….”

“Punch!” Katie gasped thinking of how she accidentally had just punched Little Joe into a coma.

“I mean go have some lemonade.” Nancy said.

Mim looked at the knot of nervous youngsters and was sure that something was amiss but could not quite figure what was happening. Kate rarely listened to the sermons and certainly would never have complimented this morning’s long winded, rambling, speech on hell fire and damnation and demon rum with any enthusiasm.

“William, go help out at the refreshment tables, “Reverend Felcher said grabbed his son’s arm, not realizing the husky lad was propping up Little Joe Cartwright up from the rear. As Billy lost his grasp on the other boy’s belt; Joe’s dead weight wobbled and then pitched backwards. He knocked into his three friends who fell into a tangled heap at the foot of the cherry tree. The bottle that had been in Billy’s pocket crashed to the rocky ground and shattered loudly. The whiskey splattered on the boys and seeped into the grass around the cherry tree’s roots.

” Joseph!” his father bellowed “What is going on here? “

”Hi Pa.”  Joe grinned groggily at the first person he saw as he looked up from the tangle of arms and legs and pink dresses with crinolines. The warm air had heighted the color in his cheeks, making the quick flash of his smile all the more brilliant for its contrast. The smell of cheap whiskey perfumed the air.

“Inside Joseph!” Ben growled hauling his youngest boy up by the scruff of his neck with one strong hand and pointing to the church with the other. “Inside NOW!”

Chapter 3

Adam and Hoss were standing together in front of the barn when they noticed one horse with two riders approaching from Virginia City. Hoss had just returned from riding fences and was putting up his horse and Adam was supposed to supervising Joe. The day was hot and dry and they were both thirsty.

“Who do you suppose that is?” They tried to see through the yellow dust the horse was kicking up.
Hoss shaded his eyes against the sun and squinted down the ranch road past the corral.” Looks like two little gals on Roy Coffee’s old nag, Daisy.”

”Ahhah, the broken hearted ladies are coming to check on the captive Prince of the Ponderosa,” Adam chuckled pointing his thumb at Joe who was industriously but sullenly chopping wood at the side of the barn.

Hoss laughed heartily. “That rascal. Drunk in church. What is Pa going to do with him?”

“You know how Pa always said that this last one was three times as much trouble as his first two sons put together.” Both brothers had a hearty laugh at Joe’s expense on Adam’s droll comment.

As the horse got closer they could see Nancy riding behind Katie Wallace. Nancy was dressed in a blue flowered dress with a matching bonnet neatly tied under her chin. Katie, as usual, had her bonnet flapping around her shoulders and her braids were blowing in the breeze. Her brown hair had blonde streaks in it from the time she had spent hatless that summer despite her mother’s constant reminders.

The two girls trotted up to the corral on the back of Daisy. Ben Cartwright was checking the tally on the horses that he had purchased the week before at auction.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Cartwright, sir, “the girls chorused politely in unison. They slid to the ground and walked over to the corral. Kate efficiently tied the reins onto the fence.

Ben Cartwright looked up from the ledger and said “Afternoon ladies. What brings you out this way? You do know that Joseph is being punished and isn’t allowed to have any visitors “Ben closed the ledger, over his finger to hold his place and waited for the girls to respond.

“Yes sir, Mr. Cartwright. We know that Joe is being punished but Kate needed to speak with you.” Nancy answered politely.

“We rode out to see you, Mr. Cartwright; not Little Joe. I know he is in extremely big trouble from what happened in church and all but I need to speak with you, Mr. Cartwright.” Kate looked very serious and nervous as she boldly walked up to Ben.
Ben handed his ledger to Hays Newkirk and directed him to finish the last few entries. The girls were somehow wanting to discuss their little brother’s behavior with their father. Even though Adam and Hoss strained to hear the conversation but could only make out bits and pieces from where they stood.

”Adam, what do you think is going on? Do you think Joe’s been messin’ around with one of those little gals?” Hoss asked.

Adam shook his head “Hoss, I think Joe may have big dreams about that sort of thing but I think we don’t have too much to worry about that. So far at least. Anyway if he was being disrespectful to either of those pretty young ladies we would be seeing Ray Coffee and Hank Wallace riding out here with a shotgun to talk to Pa and Joe.” he stepped closer to the big man and then clapped him on the back. The two brothers laughed loudly at the image Adam had painted.

“You know Adam, if we sort of go into the barn and stand by the window on the far side we just may be able to hear.”
”Good idea, brother.” Adam grinned mischievously. “After you, sir,” Adam extended his arm as if he was the maître d’ in the fanciest restaurant in San Francisco. He bowed deeply and pushed open the barn door for Hoss. They both slipped into the dark barn to find a better eavesdropping location.

“Mr. Cartwright, sir, I want to tell you Joe is totally innocent and you have made a.. a… grave and serious mistake.” Kate tried to remember the speech she had written in her room last night and practiced with Nancy all the way out to the Ponderosa. “A grave and serious mistake and a serious miscarriage of justice.”

“Yes sir, Joseph is totally, and completely innocent.” Nancy nodded. She tried to catch Joe’s eye as he continued to stack firewood near the side of the barn, twenty yards away. Joe, on the other hand was trying his darndest to not acknowledge either of the girls as he was furious at both them. First Kate knocks his lights out and embarrasses him in front of Billy and whomever else might have seen the incident in the church yard. Then she gets him in trouble for drinking when he didn’t even have one sip. Now the two girls show up to annoy his father who certainly will take it out on him and give him more punishments.

He was doomed.

With both hands Joe picked up the closest chunk of firewood and pitched overhand into the stack with all his strength. It made a satisfying thud as it hit the pile. A few other logs escaped from the neat stack and clattered noisily to the ground

“Mr. Cartwright, sir, Joe was wrongly accused and he is totally innocent. I’m not going to say you were wrong in what you did, sir,  but…” Kate hesitated looking at Ben’s scowling face and gave him her sweetest, most appealing smile. “You are a fine father and certainly know how to punish your son when he did something wrong. But Joe didn’t do anything wrong.”

He frowned at her and she smiled back like Joe did when he was trying to get out of something. Had Joe contrived some sort of deception with Kate Wallace? Not likely unless they had somehow gotten together without him knowing and that was unlikely. Not only was he watching Joe with an eagle eye, but so were his other sons. Even Hays Newkirk had taken a turn supervising Joe. Hop Sing had the boy scrubbing pans and peeling potatoes and washing floors. They all were keeping the boy so busy with punishment chores that there was no way he had snuck away from the house or gone far from the yard. The previous night the boy had fallen asleep at the dinner table and almost let his face fall into the mashed potatoes before Hoss hollered at him from the other side of the table. And anyway, Kate was too “Joe savvy” as Mim Wallace labeled it to be taken in by him. Nancy might have fallen for one of Joe’s schemes but not Kate.

“Mr. Cartwright, sir, er could I just explain what happened at church last week ? Joe wasn’t drunk at all, sir. Not one tiny bit,” she started nervously. “It was someone else’s whiskey and we were trying not to let that person get into trouble with that person’s father.”
Ben raised his eyebrow. Was the little girl telling him that she or Nancy walked into church with a pint bottle of cheap rot gut?  Sheriff Ray Coffee’s sweet thirteen year old daughter? He took a look at Nancy who was still try to get Joe to notice her. Ben shook his head. Joseph was going to be more of a handful than his other boys put together.

On the other side of the yard, Little Joe picked up another split log and pitched it angrily into the pile. The wood bounced off at an angle and clattered against the barn wall. The barn door swung open and his brother Hoss strode out with a pitchfork in his hand.

”What the heck do you think you are doing Joe? “ Hoss roared. “You are supposed to stack the wood real neat not play games with it. Now do the job right and restack the pile properly before you break the siding of the barn. Then you go get a hammer and some nails and fix that siding that you just busted.”

Joe glared at the girls on the other side of the yard. “Joseph!” Hoss’s voice brought him back to the task at hand. “You finished lolly-gagging so’s you can help me with this fire wood or are you too busy eyeing those little gals?”

“What are they doing out here? Can’t Kate Wallace just keep her nose out of my business?” he raged and unconsciously put his hand on his bruised chin.

“Just get back to work, Boy before Pa decides to tan your hide,” Adam angrily ordered Joe from the doorway of the barn.

“Don’t you think you are in enough trouble already?” Hoss added. “And stop pitching wood at the barn. You are getting all the horses riled up.”

“Hey Romeo, stop looking daggers at the ladies and get back to work,” Adam ordered. He leaned against the door frame and watched his little brother squirm. Then he smiled at the sweet little girl conversing so earnestly with his father.

”Not an easy task to stand toe to toe with Pa especially if you are barely five feet tall,” Adam laughed.

“That Kate Wallace is sure a piece of work” Hoss remarked.

“She’s going to be a pretty woman when she is done. More than pretty, beautiful,” Adam pointed out to no one in particular.

Joe wasn’t the only one on the Ponderosa squirming. Kate caught Adam looking straight at her and she turned beet red. “Mr. Cartwright, could we speak to you in private?” There was no way that she was going to complete her errand standing in the barn yard with Adam so near and him  looking at her  while Nancy made ridiculous stupid cow eyes at Joe.

“Come inside, ladies I think I can get Hop Sing to give us some refreshments,” Ben Cartwright was now intrigued with this turn of events. What tale could Kate contrive to bail out Joe?

“Adam, take care of this horse.” Ben ordered as he led Kate and Nancy toward the porch.

“Hoss, take care of the horse,” Adam quickly said.

“Hop Sing, we have company!” Ben called to the cook “Please bring out some refreshments for these young ladies.”
The two girls took seats side by side on the porch bench and Mr. Cartwright sat on the arm of a wooden chair. “OK Kate, what were you trying to tell me?”
”On Sunday, Joe didn’t get drunk.”

“Not one bit!” Nancy added.

”Really? Then why was he stumbling all over the church yard reeking of whiskey and falling over in a heap on the ground?”

Kate silently looked down at her toes.

“Katie tell him, I didn’t ride all this way out here for you to examine your shoes! Tell him” Nancy urged. Nancy just wanted a chance to set Joe free and then he would be so happy and beholding to her that he would be forever grateful and fall in love with her. Then Joe would be hers alone. Nancy sighed to herself at the fantasy. She could be Mrs. Little Joe Cartwright and live happily ever after.

“I hit Joe and knocked him out cold.” Kate admitted honestly.
Ben Cartwright threw his head back and laughed so loudly that Hop Sing almost dropped the plate of cookies he was carrying.

“Honey, how could you knock Joe unconscious? And why?”

Then Katie and Nancy pieced together the saga of Billy and the whiskey and Kate’s once in a lifetime sucker punch. Ben laughed so hard tears started pouring out of his eyes.

“We’re not lying, sir.” Kate pleaded. “It is really not Joe’s fault one bit. I take all the blame. It was really an accident. Really. Joe is my good friend and I certainly don’t want to hurt him.”
Ben poured each girl a cold glass of lemonade and offered them the plate of cookies.  “Hop Sing, please go tell Little Joe that he should finish up with the fire wood and come see me.  His punishment is finished. His attorney has bailed him out and this jailer is setting him free.

Chapter 4

Adam couldn’t stop thinking about Kate. Now all he wanted was to marry Kate and make his life beside her. He left Boston telling his business partner Dennis O’Mara that he had found the woman he wanted to marry but had not yet told Kate his plan.

There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to marry her. He had spent the last few years traveling and visiting exotic places and remaining unattached to any person or place. Adam had been with beautiful and talented women all over the world but had never had any desire in making any long-term arrangements with any of them. He certainly never entertained the idea of marrying any of the ladies despite some of their attempts to convince him otherwise.

“Perhaps, after we are married, Kate would even be interested in travelling around the world with me,” Adam thought to himself. Then he could write to Dennis and tell him that he would take on the London project or some of the other projects company had offered. He wasn’t brave enough to take the risk of proposing to her quite yet. The logical engineer in him needed more data before he could develop his complete plan. His fear of embarrassing himself by failing in another romance was an even bigger barrier. He couldn’t stand another heart break. He had to build a firm foundation before taking a risk. Perhaps he was stacking the deck in his own favor but his intentions were honorable.

One night after dinner in Katie’s house, while they were sitting on the porch in the moonlight, Adam tried to sound her out. He wanted to find out if Kate would be interested in going east with him and living in Boston but wasn’t able to ask her directly and risk being refused. He patiently waited until Sam had gone into the other room to play with the parquetry blocks and soldiers Adam had brought him from Boston.

“Katie did you ever think about living somewhere besides here in Virginia City?” Adam started slowly, cautiously. “Perhaps traveling the world with Sam and seeing all the places you read about? “
” Yes, but that is not for me right now. Maybe when Sammy is grown.” Kate answered directly and honestly.
”But that’s a long time from now.” Adam hesitated.

“I suppose so,” Kate nodded. “Adam I am really quite content to be here in Virginia City and be at one address for the rest of my life. The last few years have been one problem after another and one change after another, I am so glad to have one thing remain constant.  I’m very happy running the paper and being right.”

“Really?” Adam nodded, hoping she would say more.

“Do you realize that the only real home I ever knew was Mim’s house?” she continued. ”Before we lived in Virginia City, my father moved us every few months from one mining town to another. My mother said that the first few years of my life I slept in either a laundry basket or a dresser drawer or in between them in their bed or on the floor on a sofa cushion. We even lived in a tent! Then when we left here, I moved, let me see.” She counted on her fingers. “Oh ten or eleven times more between my parents moving around Northern California and my being married to Al Striker. I think even more.”

Adam laughed. “I guess you were pretty foot loose.”

“Foot loose sounds so very care free. If only it was that delightful. Sammy wound up sleeping in a dresser drawer or my laundry basket too many times and we were in situations I would be embarrassed to tell you about, Adam. There were many nights when Al had gone off somewhere for weeks when I shoved the furniture up against the door and slept with my father’s pistol under the pillow.” Kate stopped speaking and looked up at the starry sky trying to collect herself.

“It must have been awful,” Adam held her hand in his. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

“And you moved around a lot too Adam,” He nodded thinking of how long and far he and Hoss had travelled with their father until they reached the Ponderosa Ranch and got settled. Then Adam had rambled about more, living in Boston with his grandfather in college and the numerous ports of call he had seen in the last few years.

”But you always wind up back here too at the Ponderosa with Ben and Hoss and Little Joe. The Ponderosa your home and your family is always there for you when you return. It’s your safe harbor no matter where you roam. The Ponderosa is there. Your family is there.”

He had never really thought of that until she pointed it out. The Ponderosa and his family always brought him home.

Now, all Adam wanted to do was come back to Virginia City and be with Kate for the rest of his life. Adam Cartwright also knew that if he didn’t take this chance now, he would probably never do it and would spend the rest of his life regretting it. He did not want to think of Kate in his old age as “the one who got away”.

The next morning, Adam stood near the barn watching his brother Hoss replacing a wagon wheel. “I may have to leave soon. Dennis sent me some projects in London and another one near Denver.” He realized he was beginning to get very scared of proposing.

Hoss looked at his brother and shook his head.” Sounds like you ain’t that interested in either one, Adam.”

“I’m not sure. They are both great opportunities for the company.”

”For the company? Adam, what about opportunities for you?” Hoss looked at him again. “You sound like you are invited to be the guest of honor at a hanging party more than to some great opportunity.” Hoss pulled the wheel off the axle then looked up at Adam. “You sure look nervous these last few days about leaving.”

“How so, Hoss?”

“You can travel all over the world, Big Brother, but you still take yourself with you.” Hoss had pointed out to him. “Hand me that wrench, Adam.”

Adam raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?” He passed the tool to his brother.

“You tried to be the wild adventurer, but you still are the feller you are, Adam. You like to put your feet up on the hearth and strum your dang guitar or read one of those Shakespeare books. You know the Ponderosa Ranch is where you belong. Every few years you think you need to run away from home. But once you get that out of your system you always wind up back here. Kind of like a crazy fever.” Hoss turned back to repairing the wagon. “Guess you spent too much time growing up being the sensible one and needed to get some of that running around out of your system now.”

Adam had never thought of that. As the oldest he had always been the responsible, dependable son from the time he could remember. He was his father’s right hand and watched out for his younger brothers.

Adam just knew he dreaded leaving Kate. Time was passing and he needed to ask her about getting married. Should he bring her roses and read her a sonnet? What about dinner in the finest restaurant in Virginia City with sparkling champagne and dancing in his arms? He tried to think of one prefect romantic scene after another and rejected each one in turn as not being flawless.

Adam had only one more week before he was scheduled to leave the Ponderosa and go back east to continue his work for Stoddard and Bruce. He had to decide if he was going to work on the projects or to tell Dennis to assign them to someone else. Dennis had sent him the specifics on two pending situations. One called for him to design another railroad trestle for the expanding Union Pacific Rail Road while the other would take him to London to arrange a new docking facility for their ships. Adam despised both choices. A year earlier, he would have been trying to arrange working on both projects.

The next night, after dinner he sat staring at the fireplace trying to figure out what to do next. His brothers had gone into town for the evening and the house was quiet.

”Son, are you all right? Do you want to talk about something?”  Ben asked. He had sat down in his chair to read and Adam was so preoccupied that he hadn’t even realized his father had come into the room.

“I’m not sure what to do, Pa. But I need to figure out this one on my own.”
Ben stood up and put his hand on his oldest son’s shoulder. He could see that Adam was lost in thought.

“Are you sure? His oldest son nodded. He realized that this was something he had mull out by himself.

Adam remembered the words his father had said years before “No one has anything to fear when they are doing the right thing and telling the truth.”

Adam knew he could not put it off any more. He wanted to marry Kate. He loved her with all his heart and knew she loved him. He had to do what he had to do or it would never happen. He had tried to figure out all sorts of elaborate and romantic ways of asking Kate to marry him and none of them were quite right. Finally, with time running out, Adam decided to just be direct.

He decided that proposing marriage to Kate was just like diving into Cherry Creek from one of the overhanging willow trees. He had to just jump in but remember to push off or he could crash headlong into the bank of the creek and break his neck. Adam decided he should just jump in. He sincerely prayed that he would not break his neck, or his heart.

Adam decided to get up before anyone awoke on the Ponderosa Ranch and ride in to Virginia City. He would be at Kate’s front door just after Sam left for school. Then he would propose. It sounded so simple but he far was more nervous than he had ever been in his life.

Adam tied his horse to Katie’s fence and quickly climbed the porch steps. He was suddenly pale and sweaty. He took a breath and pushed off. He anxiously knocked at her front door. Adam Cartwright had faced armed bandits, stampeding cattle, gunslingers, prairie fires, hurricanes at sea and bands of marauding Paiute but he was now facing a far more frightening situation than he had ever faced. He opened his dry mouth and for a second the eloquent Cartwright was speechless.

“Adam, what are you doing here so early?” She reached up and kissed him. She couldn’t imagine what brought him to her door so early looking so scared. Kate was alarmed that he looked so distressed. “Adam, is everything all right? Come inside. I’ll make you a cup of coffee”

He swallowed hard, took a breath and blurted out what he wanted to say. Unfortunately it came out in a muddled jumble rather than how he hoped. “Kate I love you more than I can ever say. Would you marry me?” He stammered.” I need to go back east, to Boston and take care of finishing off some things there and then I’ll come back… Do you mind?”
She stood for an instant looking up at him in total shock. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement. ”No” Kate answered.

His heart dropped into his boots. “No?” Adam repeated hoarsely. She said “no”. He was clearly upset by her negative response. “No?” Adam turned red. “I uh I.” He was at total loss for words. He had never thought that Kate would refuse him. He had only worried about how he would ask for her hand. Now he stood there, stammering like a callow schoolboy feeling like a foolish failure.

Kate looked at his distress and suddenly realized what he had said and how she had answered she had said and what he had misunderstood about her response.

“Adam,” She grabbed both of his hands. “No, I don’t mind you going back to Boston for a while… YES, I will marry you. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! “She threw herself into his waiting arms. She drew his head down so that, standing on tiptoe, she could kiss him. “Adam Cartwright, I love you. I always have and always will! Yes! I will marry you! Yes!”

They would marry as soon as he got back home, home to Kate.

 

Chapter 5

Adam Cartwright was finally done with settling all his business responsibilities in Boston. His bags were packed and he was ready to go home to Virginia City. He had arranged for a number of trunks and crates to be shipped to the Ponderosa as well as some special gifts for Kate and Sam to be sent directly to their home.

Adam and Dennis stood at the rail station in the rain saying their good byes. Adam had hoped to say their farewells at the offices of Stoddard and Bruce as he was not comfortable with a public display of emotion but Dennis insisted on accompanying his friend and business partner to the train in a hack.

“Don’t get me wrong Adam. Both Liza and I are sincerely happy for you. Your Kate must be truly wonderful for you to be so happy and finally, finally settle down.” Dennis was thrilled for Adam that he finally had found the woman that he wanted to marry. ”But I really hate to have you leave Boston. I know this time you won’t be coming back again. Don’t you think you can convince her to move here?”

“Would your wife move to Virginia City? Is that somewhere Liza would want to live?” Adam smiled. He knew the answer as well as he knew his own name.

Dennis shook his head and grinned knowing his wife thought anything west of Boston was the Wild West. “Are you positive Kate won’t move here?”

” No, Dennis. She owns the Enterprise and won’t budge. She loves Virginia City and I love her. I miss my family and the ranch…there’s no doubt in my mind that I am doing the right thing. More than any decision I ever made in my life. I know this is the right thing.”

Dennis and Adam had known each other for many years, ever since Adam had been in college and living with his grandfather Abel Stoddard. Dennis had worked for Stoddard and Bruce and the two young men became close and loyal friends. Their relationship had survived despite Abel Stoddard’s vicious deception and Adam leaving Boston.

Dennis had married Liza Bruce, the daughter of Abel’s partner Charles Bruce and grew to a valued member of the firm while Adam spent the next years on the Ponderosa. Each year, Dennis would write and try to get Adam to come back east and work for Stoddard and Bruce. Adam wouldn’t even consider it. He was content in Nevada and would never trust his grandfather as long as he lived.

After Adam’s grandfather died, both he and Dennis inherited a share of Stoddard and Bruce and the two men became business partners. With the death his father-in-law, Charles Bruce, the following year, Dennis had the major interest in the firm based on Liza’s inheritance but still looked at Adam as a trusted equal partner and the brother he never had.

Eventually the siren call of adventure won out. The lifelong dream of seeing distant corners of the world became too strong for Adam to resist and he left the Ponderosa. For many years, Adam worked for the firm and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the far corners of the world. He savored never being in one place for very long. The more exotic and remote a location was, the more he sought it out. When he had his fill of taking risks and living dangerously, he would spend time in the cultural capitals. While working on projects for his firm, Adam stayed in elegant hotels and dined with clients in their tasteful homes or the most sophisticated restaurants. Adam visited every museum and art gallery he had ever read about, enjoyed concerts and plays, and heard lectures from the finest minds in that area of the world. He spent close to a year in South America supervising the building of railroad tunnels through the mountains and sailed to Europe more times than he could count and spent enough time in New York, Philadelphia and Boston to have favorite hotels and restaurants in each city .

But then Kate came back into his life and totally changed his mind. All the traveling and strange ports and dangerous locations suddenly became an unappealing, undesirable obligation. All he wanted was to be with Kate in Virginia City. He was counting the days until he was by her side.

At first, Adam offered to sell his share of Stoddard and Bruce to his partner but Dennis refused to consider that option. “It’s not the same without you, Cowboy!” Dennis argued. “I can hand you the cash for your share in the blink of an eye but I don’t want to let you go so easily. There has to be another way to keep you as part of Stoddard and Bruce but let you follow you heart.”

The two partners finally decided that by expanding the direction of some of their shipping business and the construction company, Stoddard and Bruce could continue expanding into the western United State. The west was booming and there were fortunes waiting to be made, especially with the growth of the railroads and more towns springing up every day. Adam could supervise those areas from Virginia City and San Francisco.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work, Adam but I think it will be well worth the effort in the long run. I can’t think of someone I would trust more to do this than you, Cowboy.” Dennis clapped Adam on the back.

“I’ll miss you Dennis, and I miss Boston and I miss traveling all over the world but I have to go back home. It’s the right thing for me.”

“No need to make apologies to me, Adam. I hope you and your Kate are half as happy as Liza and I have been over the years.” He pulled his friend over and the two friends hugged. “You better go Adam, the train will leave without you.

Almost two weeks later, Hoss and Joe met Adam’s stage in Virginia City just as he had requested. They had brought along the surrey but had decided to include Cochise and Chubb tied on to the back.

The three Cartwright brothers had purposely been very vague about exactly what day Adam would arrive so that they could surprise both Kate and their father. That morning, at breakfast, they told Ben they were meeting with Jack Fischer about a new lumber deal and picking up a delivery on the afternoon stage as an excuse to get into town. Earlier in the week, Hoss had invited Kate and Sam to join them for lunch at the International Hotel.

“Want to make sure she is gussied up, Joe. Don’t want Adam to see her for the first time in months when she ain’t the purtiest she can be.” Hoss pointed out. Joe readily agreed, impressed by his brother’s wise decision.

After greeting him when he got off the stage, Joe and Hoss drove their brother directly to the little yellow house Kate had inherited from her aunt Mim.

“Adam! Adam! You are home!” Sam ran out of the front door. The boy leaped off the porch landing with both feet near the path. He barely missing the crimson geraniums Kate had planted there. Adam reached down and scooped up the boy, swung him up in the air and hugged him.
”Sammy! Look how tall you got. I brought you something,” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a flat package wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string.

“Gee thanks, Adam. What is it?”  Sam quickly tore open the paper to find a polished wooden box holding a set of dominos. “Gee I can use these tonight after dinner.”

”Where is your mama?”

Before Sam could answer him, Kate appeared in the open doorway looking more beautiful than Adam remembered. As she stepped over the threshold, Adam smiled up at Kate.

Surprised to see who was in her front yard, she ran across the porch to the steps. “Adam!” Kate shrieked with delight. “You are home! Oh my! Adam! You are home!”

“Come here.” He swung her down from the top step to the ground next to him and she immediately threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She gave him a tight hug and when he released her, she beamed up at him. “You look wonderful!”

Joe was pleased as punch at her sincere surprise. For years, he had schemed and plotted and connived to bring together two people he loved. He was delighted to see it had finally come together. He went over to untie Cochise from the back of the surrey.

“Looks like we surprised her, Little Cupid.” Hoss smiled proudly at a job well done as he climbed on his horse.

“Looks like we did, Big Cupid,” Joe grinned. “I do love when a plan comes together!”

“Well, Virginia City is nothing like Boston or San Francisco or Paris…” Kate said hesitantly. “All those exotic places you have been to…”

“Virginia City is better, far better. You weren’t in Boston or San Francisco or Paris or any of the other places I went. You were here and that is what matters most to me.”

“And now you are here too! Welcome back home, Adam!” she had imagined Adam’s return for months and now he was finally standing in her front yard. She didn’t even care one bit that they had an audience watching.

Laughing at her enthusiasm he grabbed her around her waist and kissed her again. “I really missed you Katie. I thought I would never get back” Holding out his arms, she melted into the warmth of him and he held her close.

Hoss pulled Adam’s bags out of the back of the carriage. He set a tan leather case on the ground and piled some other bags next to it. “Sammy how about you come on out with us right now and Hop Sing will get you some lunch and Hoss will take you fishing before dinner? Go get your things and let’s get moving,” Joe invited.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sam ran inside for his jacket and was back before Adam’s baggage was unloaded from the surrey.

”Hey what are you two doing?” Adam looked up at his brothers.
Joe grinned impishly “Gee Adam, we figured you and Katie could use a few hours of getting reacquainted after all that time you were apart. We’ll take Sam back home with us and you two can ride out to the Ponderosa in the surrey later on for dinner.” He handed Sam up to Hoss on Chubb and vaulted up on Cochise.  “See you at supper!”

Kate blushed. Adam started to laugh and said “Tell Pa that we’ll see him later.”

Kate opened the door quickly, ushering Adam inside. He tossed his hat onto the nearest chair, and swept her into his arms.

He kissed her again on the lips. She smiled as she pulled away from him, and stared up at the dark-eyed handsome man. “Adam Cartwright I have to own up to something.”

Adam was taken aback. He couldn’t imagine what Kate was confessing. He knew no matter what it was, he would still love her. “Tell me.”

“I always, always, loved you and always will. I don’t think I remember a time I wasn’t in love with you, Adam.”

Chapter 6

The Ponderosa 1852

Adam Cartwright pulled his horse up at the barn and tied it at the rail.  The yard was filled with horses tied up at the hitching rail. Buggies and wagons sat parked near the barn and scattered in the field behind the barn. He was arriving later than he had planned and would have to walk directly into the Cattleman’s Association meeting without changing his clothes.

Adam walked briskly across the yard. He set his black hat on the fence post and walked over to the pump. He wet his bandana did his best to wipe some of the trail dust off his face and hands. Then he headed toward the front door and planned to enter the house as quietly as he could.

It was the first meeting that was held since he got back home from college in Boston three months earlier. His father had asked him to attend the meeting to present vital facts to support Ben’s side in a disagreement over water rights on Cherry Creek. Some of the newer ranchers were in favor of damming the creek but Ben and some other more established ranchers felt that in the future this plan would create more problems with run off and the flooding that would eventually be disastrous to the ranches downstream. These ranches would be destroyed if Cherry Creek was dammed. Fearing that tensions would be running pretty high, Ben wanted his oldest boy by his side to keep tempers in check with a calm presentation of accurate facts.

As he stepped onto the porch Adam heard a small voice from off to the side.” They’re all inside, Mister.”

Adam looked around to see who was speaking. Seated on the floor behind the big wooden planter was a small girl with straight brown hair. The child was wearing a cherry sprigged calico dress and she was drawing on a large pad of paper with her head bent over her picture. Her straight brown hair fanned out as she leaned over. Her feet were bare and stuck between her toes were two spare pencils. Her shoes and stockings were neatly lined up next to her on the edge of the porch.

“Go right inside, Mister. My uncle is in there too. He owns the Enterprise.” She was so engrossed in her task that she didn’t even bother to look up at him.

“Um, are you sure it’s ok?”  Adam teased her looking down at her artwork. She was drawing a detailed sketch of the Cartwright barn and the corral opposite her.”

“That’s pretty good,” Adam said admiring her skill.

“Thanks, Mister. I can get the horses but I can’t get that barn quite right.” Concentrating on her drawing, she still hadn’t turned towards him.

Adam kneeled down next to her and for the first time Kate looked up at the darkly handsome young man who was talking to her. “See, the roof just doesn’t look right? It looks all crookedy. It looks like it’s going to fall off.” She pointed with her finger at her drawing indicating where she was struggling.

”The horses are very well drawn. They look very real. Want some help with the barn?” At first he thought the small girl couldn’t be more than seven or eight but as soon as he looked at her drawing and listened to how well she conversed, he realized she was probably about his brother Joe’s age, ten. Like Joe, she was probably small for her age and looked even younger than she was.

“May I?” Adam asked politely as he selected one of the pencils from between her toes. He took out his pocketknife and sharpened the pencil to a needle like point. Kate’s eyes were on his strong hands, impressed with his easy skill. She always admired people who did things adeptly.

Adam flipped her pad to a fresh page. He quickly sketched the roofline of the barn and the angles of the corral. “You have to show that part on a diagonal over here and straight off this way and it will more what you are looking for. It’s called perspective.”

Kate watched carefully “Oh, I see what to do. Gee you are pretty good, Mister. I don’t know your name.”

”Adam Cartwright,” he offered his hand. “And you are?”

”Katherine Wallace, but I really prefer Kate. Gee, I’m sorry I didn’t realize you lived here. This is your house.”

Adam smiled and nodded. ”And you’re Hank Wallace’s daughter? “

” Yes, Hank is my father and Foster is my uncle. I’m Katie Wallace. How do you do?” Kate politely put down her pencil and extended her hand to Adam and they shook hands.

“And you’re the very same Katie that Little Joe is always telling us about?”

”Guess so. Little Joe is my very good friend. We go to school together.” She put her attention back to her drawing. “You’re his big brother Adam?”

”One and the same.”

“You draw really well. Is that what you learned in college? My mother said you were really smart. My Aunt Mim said you were back east in college for a real long time and now you are back home. You are both smart and educated. That’s what she said.”

“I suppose so,” Adam nodded watching how adept her drawing was. “Your aunt used to write to me all the time and send me copies of your uncle’s editorials.”

“My father is really quite good at math. Excellent really. He’s an engineer for Mr. Fischer at the mines.” She looked up and examined Adam’s face. She remembered him from when she was younger.

“Didn’t you used to come to our house and sit in the dining room and study with him? And bring Little Joe with you? I remember that.”

“Yes Miss Kate. And your father used to help me with mathematics when I was growing up and it helped me get into college to study engineering.”

“And you and Little Joe would stay for supper too!”

“Your mother served the best dinners.”

“She still does. We had fried chicken last week and we are having a leg of lamb this week. If you want to come for dinner, ask my uncle. He’s inside. My mother is always glad to have guests for dinner.”

“Maybe I will. That’s really a good drawing. “

”Thanks. My uncle said someday maybe I could be an artist or maybe write for the Enterprise or even both. He is teaching me to be very observant and remember the details of whatever I see and whatever hear. That’s really important for a writer,” Kate stopped for a minute and turned bright red. She had never told anyone about wanting to work at the Enterprise fearing they would laugh at her aspirations. Why was she telling her private business to Little Joe’s grownup older brother? She paused, waiting for him to laugh at her or tell her that what she planned was a foolish idea for such a sweet little girl or pat her on her head and tell her she was so cute and shouldn’t walk around bare footed as it was unladylike.

“Well, Miss Kate. It really looks like you certainly have the talent for being an artist or a writer or even both.” Adam nodded respectfully.

She shyly smiled at the compliment. “My uncle is inside at the meeting. He brought Philip Bartlett with him. He’s going to write about the meeting for the paper. My uncle said that some of the men are pretty angry about the water.”

“It’s a very important meeting.”

Kate looked up at him. He wasn’t laughing at her. Adam Cartwright was looking really serious, she concluded. No grown up other than her Aunt Mim and once in a very long while her father had ever treated her so seriously. He was talking to her like another adult, not in that phony cloying way that other adults talked to her. Kate turned her head to take pay more attention to Adam and try to memorize his voice and the specific details of how he looked.

Through the open windows they could hear loud, angry voices arguing heatedly in the meeting.

“You don’t know what you are talking about!” someone shouted.

“Who do you think you are making those accusations?” Another loud voice answered.

The chairman’s gavel pounded loudly. “Gentleman, Gentlemen!” Ben Cartwright deep voice pleaded for order.

Angry male voices spilled out from the meeting. “Are you calling me a liar? Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I refuse to let my place be flooded so you newcomers can have your ease!”

“I better get into that meeting, Miss Kate. It’s has been a pleasure,” Adam tapped the brim of his black hat at her and strode into the front door of his house.

Kate flipped over to a fresh page and started a new picture of the horse corral. Centered in the middle of the page, on a rearing horse was a handsome, black haired cowboy that looked very much like Adam Cartwright with his hand tapping the wide brim of his black hat. With her freshly sharpened pencil, she drew a frame around the page filled with garlands of hearts and flowers and doves.

Philip Bartlett was finally working full time for the Enterprise and had come to the meeting in that capacity. Foster Wallace had even printed him business cards that said “Philip Bartlett, journalist”. He was a couple of years younger than Adam Cartwright and they would often spend evenings together discussing books or debating politics over beers in the Silver Dollar. In addition to his journalistic duties, Phil still operated the printing presses and kept them running as he had been doing for a few years. Phil was teaching Kate how to set type and she was becoming pretty adept at the task. Kate helped at the Enterprise after school by folding paper or sweeping up under Phil’s supervision.

At the Cattlemen’s Association meeting on the Ponderosa, sitting on the Cartwright’s settee beside his boss, Foster Wallace, Philip took copious notes for the article that he would write. Every once in a while, Little Joe saw Foster lean over and point to something on the page or whisper a question in Phil’s ear.

From his perch on the top of the stairs, Little Joe watched his brothers with great respect and admiration. Hoss stood on the sidelines listening quietly. Probably the biggest man in the room, he leaned casually against the stone fireplace. The chairs had been arranged to face Ben seated at his desk making the hearth the rear of the meeting room. Each time a newcomer entered, Hoss walked over and made sure the man removed his gun belt and it was deposited on the rack or in a big wooden crate by the door.

“We don’t want trouble with hot heads.” Ben had told the boys. “Let them shoot off their mouths all they want but I want everyone unarmed.” Joe knew that the other ranchers were counting on Ben Cartwright to keep order and unanimously elected him chairman of the meeting.

In Adam, Joe saw a close physical resemblance to their father. He had the same broad shoulders and height as well as dark eyes. Joe saw that his oldest brother had Ben’s patience and persistence. Like their father, Adam’s intense will would not bend. The men at the meeting could never match his education, or tenacity or skill in presenting the truth. He hoped that someday, he could be like Adam.

Joe was in total awe of his oldest brother, as he stood tall at the front of the meeting. Adam made his points about the water rights and the serious problems the damming of Cherry Creek would create in the future. He emphasized that it was the future of their community that mattered not a short-term, quick fix solution to any water problem.
”Gentlemen, we have to make this decision based on the long term impact on the territory not something that will help a few to prosper while hurting many of our neighbors.” Adam had explained. “If we dam Cherry Creek, it will change the drainage and run off for most of the area and even impact on the water table for the entire region. Without water, what will happen to the grasslands, the cattle and the farm crops downstream?”

Whenever Adam glanced his way, Joe nodded his agreement in support and encouragement. What impressed Joe most was at the end of the meeting when the men left their house, Adam put his arm around Joe’s shoulder’s and said, “We did it, buddy. There is no way they can get that law changed, now.” Joe hadn’t done anything but watch the meeting but Adam said “We did it!” as if his younger brother had been an important help to him. That made Joe feel even more gratified.

“Adam, I am so proud of you son,” Ben threw his arm over his son’s shoulder. “Foster Wallace has been writing articles and editorials against the dam for a few weeks now and is going to use some quotes of the information you presented, Adam,”

“Pa, there is absolutely no way the vote will go against us with Adam’s explanation.” Hoss declared.

“Absolutely no way!” Little Joe agreed.

“Give me a hand with this Little Joe.” Hoss requested as he started to move the furniture back into the proper place.  Little Joe grabbed the other end of the settee and helped his brother turn it to face the fireplace.

“Remember, Pa said that one has anything to fear when they are doing the right thing and telling the truth.” Adam pointed out.

“We may be doing the right thing but just you watch yourself the next few weeks, boys. There were a lot of angry men in this room who have a different point of view than we do. Some have a big financial stake in how this goes,” Ben cautioned. “The voting won’t be until the end of the month. A lot can happen between then and now. Just watch yourselves when you go into town.”

Chapter 7

1854 Virginia City

Almost two years after Adam had returned from college in Boston, the group in favor of the Cherry Creek dam finally managed to get the issue on the ballot on Election Day. It had taken two long acrimonious years rife with debate at almost every Cattleman’s Association Meeting.

Eloquent editorials by Foster Wallace in the Enterprise raged against the project saying “We cannot allow what nature has created be changed with such a vile plan. We will endanger all those who are downstream to benefit a few ranchers upstream. I urge all citizens to speak out against this selfish, impractical plan that will flood some fields and create lakes from fine pastureland and while removing the source of water from others and making their ranches into arid wasteland.”

The morning after the editorial appeared, Foster Wallace received a number of threatening letters. One note was wrapped around a brick and thrown through the window of the newspaper office. A frightened Phil Bartlett told his friend Adam Cartwright that even though the Enterprise had been threatened on other editorials, this time it seemed completely different. Phil said they were far more ominous and unnerving.

The two sides grew increasingly more hostile to each other. Sheriff Coffee filled the jail every Saturday night with men who had pounded each bloody other during heated barroom debates. One Sunday a brawl broke out right in front of Reverend Felcher’s church between the two sides whose argument started just before the sermon. The following morning at school, Little Joe told Dean Newkirk and Billy Felcher that perhaps was really because the men didn’t want to listen to Billy’s father’s long sermon and preferred Sheriff Coffee’s jail to sitting on the hard church pews one minute longer. Nancy Coffee and Melissa Peters both told Joe that he was being terribly rude but Billy insisted that Little Joe was probably right. He wished that he could run out before his father’s sermons too.

As Election Day approached, some of the ranchers in favor of the dam had hired new hands that looked more like armed Pinkerton detectives, thugs and gunslingers than cowhands and ranchers. Ben continually warned the boys to be cautious and watch their step when they left the Ponderosa Ranch. He especially worried about Little Joe who often spoke his mind without thinking and spent time with Kate at the Enterprise after school.

“Joe walk slower, your legs are longer than mine and I can’t keep up,” Kate complained as she and Little Joe walked down the hill towards the Enterprise office from the Wallace house. In the last year, Joe had filled out some and gotten taller. It was apparent that he was not going to be a big as his father and brothers but he was now far taller than Kate. “And I have my uncle’s dinner pail to carry and this soup is pretty heavy.”

“Give me that soup pot Kate and let me carry it. When they all left for that concert my Pa said that I should be a gentleman.”

“I can manage. Just walk a little slower.”

The pair left the side of the dirt road that led out to the Wallace house and stepped up onto the wooden side walk that marked the beginning of the Virginia City business district. The two youngsters turned to the right and walked down the dark empty street.

“Your Pa meant that you shouldn’t be flirting with every girl in town and trying to mess up my work at the Enterprise with your dang fool “Attention Girls of Virginia City! Joe Cartwright is the best kisser” inserts when you are helping me set type.”

Little Joe tried to melt Kate’s anger with his best wink and most charming smile but quickly gave up when he realized these tactics never worked on her. As Philip Bartlett had pointed out to him earlier that day, unlike most of the girls in Virginia City, Kate was totally and completely immune to Joe’s numerous charms. “You can’t pull the wool over Katie’s eyes, Little Joe so just quit trying to spin your yarns.”

”It sure was funny wasn’t it?” he asked.

“No it was not funny! And don’t you ever remember you have to spell things backwards when you set type, you big dunce? You wrote that Joe Cartwright is the best “ressik “in town. Girls really look for a good “ressik” in a beau. Now I have to go back and redo all those pages instead of going with everyone else to that concert. I’m going to have to reset all that type about the voting on the Cherry Creek dam thing. “

”Dam thing? Dam thing?” Joe grinned impishly.” Gee Kate stop your cussing. Don’t you know dam is a bad word?” Without missing a step, he spun around and walked backwards so he was facing her. The sound of their footsteps echoed loudly of the darkened store fronts. Most of the businesses and shops along this side of the street was dark and shuttered for the evening. On the other hand, if the pair had walked in the opposite direction, the saloons and dance halls, cafes and restaurants were brightly lit and crowded with customers.

”Joseph Francis Cartwright! I was not cussing. I’m talking about the Cherry Creek vote on the building of a dam. D-A-M! Not D-A-M-N! If you want to hear me cuss I can use more cuss words than you know or will ever know and not just in English!” she hollered. “I know cuss words in at least three languages.”

“Gee, I was just joking,” Joe answered.

“Well, if you don’t quit joking you are going to be wearing the contents of this dinner pail on your head. How do you think Miss Miranda or Miss Emily would like to see “Kissing Joe” with soup and noodles poured over his handsome curly hair?”

“Emily? Miranda? Gee Kate did you get to talk to them?” Joe’s eyes widened. He stopped dead on the boardwalk and managed to rest the soup pot from her grasp. “Which girl should I ask to the dance? Tell me. Tell me right now!”

”Neither one Mr. Kissing Joe,” she continued walking briskly toward the Enterprise office. Their footfalls on the wooden sidewalk echoed in the darkness.
”Neither? Hey! You said if I let you ride Cochise you would tell me which girl would be the best one to ask.” Joe slowed down for a minute. Even though no one rode Cochise but Little Joe. Kate had made a deal with her friend. She would get the scoop on the romantic interests of all the pretty girls in town on behalf of Little Joe in exchange for the use of his horse for an hour.
”Well Mr. “Kissing Joe”, the one you should ask to the dance is neither.”

The pair paused between the darkened brick building housing the office of Levi Victor the lawyer and the bank. ”Neither?”

”Yes, my friend. Neither! The girl who will be the most delighted by your romantic attentions is Miss Melissa Peters. She thinks you are just so, so, soooooo very handsome and just can’t wait to bat her eyelashes at you and dance in your arms. She loves your darling curly hair and thinks you look particularly handsome in that new jacket of yours. And she said if she was going to let any boy walk her home in the moonlight it would be that handsome, wonderful Joe Cartwright.” She then sacked her lips and made some exaggerated smoochie kissing noises.  ‘Oo la la “Kissing Joe’ And now, my job is complete.”

“Melissa Peters!” Joe sighed appreciatively. He would never have thought to ask the beautiful new girl to the dance had Kate not done the spying for him.

“Just watch out, Little Joe. I heard from an excellent source that her father makes sure he checks both the back porch as well as the front porch for good night kisses, Mr.” Kissing Joe Cartwright.”

”Melissa? Wow Katie! Thanks for spying. I owe you two rides this time. What a pal.” Joe was in heaven.

“I wasn’t spying! I just was interviewing the girls like any good journalist. Why are you so sweet on such dunder headed vapid girls?” Kate repeated Aunt Mim’s favorite phrase for the spoiled, shallow but pretty daughters of the successful mine owners and ranchers.

“Huh? What did you say?” Joe was daydreaming about pretty Melissa Peters and her lovely lips and wasn’t even quite sure what vapid meant. He just assumed it meant something about a girl having vapors and swooning at his good looks which was perfectly fine to him.

“Never mind. Joe, a promise is a promise and we shook on it. I get to ride Cochise and you get to be “Kissing Joe”’ she giggled. Her mother would be furious if she found out that Kate was galloping around the Ponderosa Ranch astride Cochise but it didn’t matter one bit to Katie.

Lost in his daydreams about Melissa, Joe paused for a moment outside the closed feed store.

“Come on Joe. It’s your fault that I don’t get to go to the concert tonight too. Hustle your bustle!” Kate urged.
”Gee Kate since when do you like opera?” Joe sped up and then slowed to match his pace with her as they neared the corner. “You don’t like that type of music?” He started to sing in a high-pitched howl like he imagined an operatic soprano sounded. “ YAHHHAAH Ooooo! Kate, only Phil Bartlett and my brother Adam likes that kind of awful music.”

Kate’s cheeks turned bright red at the mention of Joe’s oldest brother. She had absolutely no interest in opera but wanted desperately to attend the concert. Her uncle Foster had given Adam his ticket when Foster realized he had to work late at the newspaper. Katie imagined if she scooted in line just the right way when the group got to their seats in Piper’s Opera House, she could manage to sit right next to Adam all evening. The girl’s dream was to sit next to handsome Adam Cartwright just as if he were her escort. Nancy Coffee offered to do up her hair and lend her the almost real emerald hair clips that her parents had given her for Christmas.

“Katie-bird why are you blushing? Saying that Adam likes opera makes you blush?”

“Quit it Joe!” Kate protested. She poked him in the ribs.

Suddenly Joe realized why Kate wanted to go the opera and was so furious that she had to go to the Enterprise office and correct his silly “Kissing Joe” prank.

“Are you sweet on my brother, Kate?” Joe stopped short in the middle of the wooden sidewalk. He put the dinner bucket down on the ground and stared disbelievingly at his friend. Even in the dark, he could see that his friend was blushing uncontrollably. Joe started to laugh like a cackling blue jay. “You like Adam? Adam Cartwright? My oldest brother Adam?”

Kate giggled foolishly and looked away in embarrassment. Joe had figured her secret out. She had always thought that Adam Cartwright was the handsomest and smartest man and most wonderful man in the entire territory but was mortified that Joe might spill her confidential business. “Please, don’t tell anyone, Little Joe. Please, please!” She pleaded with her hands clasped together as if she was praying.

”Sure, Kate. You secret is completely safe with me.” Joe he picked up the dinner pail and put his free hand on her shoulder. “You are my friend, just because don’t realize that “Kissing Joe” is really the handsomest Cartwright brother.”

“Joe it’s getting late and we have to get this dinner to my uncle before it gets cold.” She was thoroughly mortified and certainly didn’t want to continue discussing how she was smitten on Adam Cartwright. She also mentally calculated that if she and Joe finished the work quickly, she might still have a chance to get home just as the concert ended. Then she could have some after concert refreshments with Mim, her parents and the Cartwrights. She could see Adam that way.
Kate followed Joe down the dark, narrow alleyway that led to the back of the Enterprise office and the loading dock. As the came inside, Kate and Joe could hear the loud kerclunk thunk of the presses. Phil must still be working on the printing of the last edition.

“Hi Phil!” Joe hollered over the noise of the presses. Philip turned, startled to see them. He stopped the noisy machinery and asked, “What are you two doing here so late at night?”
”We brought Mr. Wallace’s dinner ‘round.” Joe set the soup pot on the battered work table in the back and pulled off his coat. Through the glass panel in the office door, Joe could see that Foster Wallace was in his office with two burly cowboys. Both men were leaning angrily over his desk and arguing with him.

“And I had to fix that mess that Little Joe made with the center page.” Kate scowled at her friend.

“Oh I hadn’t really noticed any problems and I ran all of it Kate.” Nearsighted Phil calmly took off his glasses and wiped them with his shirttail. He had a big black ink smudge on his cheek.

“Oh no! “ Kate’s face fell. “You didn’t?” Her uncle would never allow her back in the office if his Cherry Creek editorial went out with advertisements for Little Joe Cartwright’s kisses inserted smack dab in the middle.

Phil started to chuckle at her panic. He shook his head at how she fell for his joke. ”I’m just pulling your leg, Kate. Hey “Kissing Joe”, be a good fellow and give her a hand. The pages are set up at the back table Kate. It shouldn’t take you more than a half hour to fix ‘em up if Little Joe doesn’t fool around. Then I can run them for real we’ll be done before you know it.” Phil turned his back on them and the rhythmic thud and thunk of the machinery filled the storefront again.

The two youngsters walked around the open wooden shelves that divided the press area from the work area. The battered shelves reached almost to the ceiling and were open from both sides allowing access from both the press area and the worktable side. The shelves were crammed with all sorts of items. Trays of type and assorted pots of glue and bottles of ink as well as sample books for print jobs were stored there. Joe sat down beside Kate at the work table and they made an exceptionally valiant attempt to remove all of the mess he had made in the page.

“We are going to need another tray of type.” Kate realized as she worked. She pulled over a chair and started to climb up one of the lower shelves.  She balanced her foot on the corner of the desk and started to reach up for the case she wanted. The entire set of shelves swayed slightly.

“Wait Katie, I’ll reach it for you. Those shelves are wobbly and you shouldn’t climb up like that.” Joe stood up and reached to put his arms around her waist.

The storefront was suddenly silent as Philip Bartlett turned off the presses. “I’ll be ready for your page as soon as you two are done. Maybe we can get out of here at a reasonable hour tonight.”

Suddenly a shot rang out. Through the space in the shelves, both Joe and Kate could see Foster Wallace collapse across his desk. The two men bolted out of his office and headed towards the front of the Enterprise Office towards door to the street.

“Hey you! Stop!” Phil ran towards them and the second man turned and pegged a wild shot in his direction. Phil ducked behind the press and bellowed “Kate, Joe get down.”

Still hanging on to the open shelves, horrified Katie could see the entire scene. Just as the first man rushed past her perch, she gave the shelves a mighty shove and the entire contents tumbled on top of him burying him in an avalanche of wood, shattered glass and trays of type. Kate tumbled backwards into Joe’s arms knocking the two youngsters over. They both crashed into the worktable and tumbled into the floor in a tangle of arms and legs and spilled soup.

The man who shot Foster was bleeding from the head. He was clearly unconscious having been hit by a piece of a heavy shelf. The broken shelves and the front counter blocked the second man’s exit. He pulled his gun from his holster and bolted for the rear door just as Sheriff Roy Coffee came running up the back alley. The Sheriff had heard the gunshot as he was checking the doors of the building next door and he had raced over to investigate the trouble.

“Hold it!” Roy hollered as he came through the alley door. The two armed men faced each other. “Drop your gun and raise your hands.”
The man looked furiously at Roy Coffee. “No way Sheriff. “ He cocked his pistol. The Sheriff faced the trapped man’s gun barrel. They stood for a very long minute staring at each other in a standoff.

Who would fire first?

From his hiding place behind the press, Phil realized the gravity of the situation. He was unarmed but knew he had to do something immediately. Little Joe Cartwright and Kate Wallace were inches from the two angry armed men and directly in the line of fire. The man who was buried under the shelves was armed and appeared to regaining consciousness. Phil grabbed the heavy ink pot that was sitting next to him and cautiously raised up. He pitched the hefty container as hard as he could aiming at the glass partition around Foster’s office. The window exploded with an unexpectedly loud crash.

The man facing Roy whirled around at the bewildering sound and fired toward the front of the store. He shot out the newly replaced front window which shattered into sharp shards. Roy grabbed his adversary from behind and wrested his pistol from his grasp. The sheriff shoved his own Colt into the man’s ribs. “Don’t you move?”

Joe untangled himself from Katie, jumped up and ran over to the semi-conscious man under the broken shelves. The frightened boy grabbed the man’s pistol from his holster and stood wide-eyed. He aimed directly at the man on the floor. “Don’t you dare move, Mister.” Joe swallowed hard. His Pa had said never to aim a gun at a man unless you intended to fire and never fire unless you intended to kill him. Joe prayed he would not have to shoot.

Phil scrambled over the counter and took the gun out of the boy’s hand. Pointing it at the trapped murderer he directed “Go get the doc, Joe. Foster’s hurt real bad.” Stepping over the shattered glass, Joe threw open the front door and dashed down the street to Doctor Martin’s office.

Kate raced into her uncle’s office. He was sprawled halfway across his desk. Blood was pouring from a bullet hole in his chest. She had never seen a dead person but she immediately knew her uncle was dead. There was nothing any doctor was going to be able to do for him.

Chapter 8

Philip and Mim made sure the next edition of the Enterprise was printed with Foster’s last editorial against the damming of Cherry Creek bordered in black. The citizens of Virginia City were so outraged by the murder that the dam proposition was soundly defeated by a huge margin.

At the funeral, Hank Wallace eulogized his murdered brother. “It won’t bring my brother back, but at least he didn’t die in vain. His legacy will live on in the Enterprise and in this communities stewardship of God’s natural creations and for a community working together for the betterment of all those who live there. “

Seated between her sister in law Leah and her niece Kate, Mim Wallace held Kate’s hand in hers. The Cartwrights sat together in the pew behind them. Joe stared straight ahead. Next to his friend Adam Cartwright, Philip Bartlett sat with tears streaming down his face grieving for the man who had first recognized his ability to write. He leaned forward and squeezed Mim’s shoulder.

Two weeks later, when the circuit judge came to Virginia City, Kate, Joe and Philip Bartlett were called upon to testify at the murder trial. Adam and Sheriff Coffee spend hours reviewing what they should say and making the two youngsters comfortable with what would happen in the courtroom.

The night before Kate and Little Joe were scheduled to give testimony, they were both scared to death. Ben sat with them in the parlor of Mim’s house and told them “No one has anything to fear when they are doing the right thing and telling the truth.”

Joe nodded. He was ready to face any challenge with his father’s encouragement, but Kate was far more frightened. The image of her beloved uncle lying dead in a spreading pool of his own blood haunted her. They needed her as the key witness as only she knew which of the men had shot her uncle. Both of the defendants had accused each other of the murder and both of their guns had been fired.

Mr. Cartwright was right. The truth had to be told even though Kate was forced to relive the most gruesome tragedy of her young life on the witness stand. Kate knew she had to testify to help her Aunt Mim as best she could. Most important, Kate had to get justice for Uncle Foster.

After the clear, detailed testimony of the eye witnesses, conviction of the outlaws was easy. The Sheriff had caught both men right at the scene and there was no question about them being at the Enterprise when the murder occurred. The jury convicted both men and sentenced the murderer to hang. His companion got twenty years at hard labor to be served in the Territorial Penitentiary

By the time the trial was finally over, Kate’s terrified parents knew they wanted to leave Virginia City. “I am not going to live where my darling daughter can get killed in the middle of a shootout and then have to recount it all in court!” Leah Wallace told her husband. Mrs. Wallace had also discovered that Kate had been riding Cochise when she was with Joe Cartwright and was furious at both of them. “It’s time you become a fine young lady instead of running wild, Kate!”

When Hank Wallace got an offer of a job near San Francisco, and his wife, insisted that they leave Nevada Territory in June when Kate graduated the eighth grade in the Virginia City School.

Kate was devastated. She loved living in Virginia City and had no interest in becoming a “fine young lady”. The only way her parents got her to stop threatening to run away was by promising she could visit Mim for a few weeks with each summer if she got good grades in the Academy for Young Ladies, that her parents insisted she attend. Katie tearfully conceded.

Just before they left, Hank Wallace sat down with Joe Cartwright. Kate’s father told him in no uncertain terms that he would personally hang the boy by his thumbs if he found out that Kate was riding Cochise or behaving in any unseemly fashion in the future when she came to visit. Then Hank stood up and wrapped his arms around Little Joe and hugged him close.” I don’t know how to thank you for watching out for my Kate when Foster was shot. Katie and I hate to leave here but you know her mother is right.”

Joe nodded. He hardly remembered a time when Katie was not his friend. He hated for her to go to San Francisco. Joe promised that he would write but in her heart Kate knew the boy wouldn’t with any regularity. He was still Little Joe and she knew he would pay more attention to his horse and all the pretty girls in town instead of putting pen to paper.

And most of all, Kate Wallace knew would miss Adam Cartwright.

***

Part 9

Lured Back

Chapter 1

The February thaw had started and there was a hint of an early spring in the air. Everyone knew they could have another big blizzard before the true spring began but it was a great relief to see that the worst of the long winter was really fading away.

“Well Big Brother, looks like you came to visit us here at the Ponderosa but are spending an awful lot of time visiting neighbors.” Joe teased as he sat down on the low table in front of the settee. Leaning over his shoulder, Joe Cartwright looked at his older brother. Adam was standing quietly a few feet away against the fireplace.

“Hush up, Joseph,” Hoss waved his hand trying to keep his eager younger brother in check a bit longer. “Let him have his say in his own time.”

Joe knew his own impatience could likely get the better of him but he couldn’t resist teasing his brother. “Brother, Adam thinks he is being so discrete but he is as transparent as a piece of glass.” Joe whispered to Hoss.

Adam continued to remain totally silent.

“Hoss, what do you think about our brother going gallivanting around the territory instead of keeping us company?” Joe persisted. He pulled the checkerboard closer and started to arrange the red pieces. “His own flesh and blood! His beloved kin are being abandoned by him.”

“Gee, looks a lot like that to me too!” Hoss grinned. He started setting up the black checkers. “I don’t know if we should be insulted by all this lack of brotherly interest or even worse. Here he stays away from home for months and months on end and when he comes back for a visit he hardly spends an evening with us.”

“Gee Adam, we really are hurt by your …your…” Joe struggled for a word.

“Impoliteness?” Hoss suggested. He moved his first checker into the middle of the board.

“Snootiness? Lack of affection?” Joe added looking at his next move.

“Down right gol durn poor behavior and ,,, and.” Hoss couldn’t think of another word to use.

“Pomposity!” Joe declared dramatically. He swung his arms wide knocking half the checkers on to the floor.

Walking in from the dining room, Ben looked at his two younger sons just as the checkers skittered noisily across the floor. He raised his eyebrows. ”Don’t tell me they are going to start a fight?” he thought nervously. Ben was just thankful to see Adam at all so soon after his last visit and did not want anything to put a damper on the evening. “Is everything all right here?”

“Is there something wrong, Adam? Aren’t we hospitable enough for you? Or is there someone you like visiting more than your own dear family? Someone you like more than your brothers? ” Joe grinned impishly. He picked up a couple of the remaining checkers from the board and juggled them from hand to hand. “And someone you like more than your Pa?”

“Boys, I think you need to lay off Adam for a bit,” Ben cautioned.

“Pa, we was just fooling around,” Hoss said laughing from his seat on the settee.

“Maybe you were just fooling, Hoss. But I sure wasn’t. Adam why don’t you tell us what you’ve been up to all these weeks?” Joe smiled at Adam daring his brother to speak up.

“Speak up, Adam. What’s the matter Older Brother? Cat got your tongue?” Hoss chimed in.

“What is that big purple bruise on your forehead? Looked like you forgot to duck somewhere.” Joe knew very well how low the ceilings were on the second floor in Kate’s house. He tossed a checker at his brother’s shoulder.

Hoss gave Joe a warning look. “Don’t push him too far, Joseph. You might regret stirring up his anger.” But Joe persisted in harassing Adam. Making his oldest brother sweat was too much fun. Adam had kept Pa in the dark much too long and he deserved to be needled until he fessed up. Their father would be overjoyed with the news.

Joe tossed a second checker at Adam. It hit him hard in the middle of his chest.

“Just what do you think you’re doing young man?” Ben scowled at Joe. “Is there something going on here that I don’t know about? Hoss? Adam? Joseph?

Hoss couldn’t resist. “Adam, Pa asked if there is something going on that he doesn’t know about? “

Joe tossed another checker. This time, Joe threw the checker harder. Adam casually reached out his hand and caught the checker in midair and threw it hard at Joe’s head. Joe ducked and the checker clattered to the floor and skidded under the settee. Hoss leaned over and put the red checker back on the edge of the table.

Adam raised one eyebrow and looked at Joe. He knew his brothers were likely looking for an opening to discuss Kate but wasn’t certain he wanted to broach the subject quite yet. He wasn’t ready to make any official announcements but it was obvious that Little Joe and Hoss had made the decision for him.

Ben sat down on his leather chair near the fireplace. What in heaven’s name were his two younger sons doing? He wished they would just quit pestering Adam like two horse flies buzzing around nipping at every living thing. There was no need for any of this during Adams short stopover and it made Ben nervous to think they were spoiling the visit.

Trying to look nonchalant, Adam leaned against the stone fireplace wall. He crossed his arms on his chest and then he uncrossed them. He decided to jump right in. He stood up straight and swallowing hard, Why not announce his plans to his family? He was absolutely sure of his decision, probably more sure than anything he had ever done before. There was no real need to be secretive about his romance with Kate anymore. Her marriage with Al Striker was over. There was no more motivation to protect her reputation from the wagging tongues of Virginia City gossips. There was no reason to save himself from the embarrassment of failing at another romance.

Kate said she loved him! She had accepted his proposal!

Adam turned away for a minute stifling a smile and trying his best to maintain his serious façade. Powerless to hide his joy, he turned around to his family with a huge smile spread across his face.

“Kate said she would marry me,” he said as matter-of-factly as he could muster. Then he said it again, louder. “Kate and I are getting married.” His face broke into a huge grin. He loved how the words sounded coming out of his mouth and had to repeat his wonderful news. “Kate and I are getting married.”

Hoss’ face broke into a wide grin.” I told ya Joe! I told you there was something goin’ on between them. I told ya!” He jumped up and grabbed his older brother in a huge bear hug.

Joe leaped up and slapped his brother on the back. “Congratulations! That is the best news I have ever heard, Adam!”

“Congratulations, Son!”  Ben finally comprehended what was going on between the boys and was embarrassed that he hadn’t picked up on what was going on.

“She is a fine woman son. You made a grand choice.” He told his oldest son joyfully hugging him again. Usually uncomfortable with all this affection, this time Adam hugged his father back.

”And just you watch out Big Brother, she has a mean left hook!” Joe teased rubbing his own jaw in mock pain.

“Hey, that’s how Kate got him to propose!” Hoss laughed slapping Adam on the back.

Chapter 2

The next morning, Adam decided he needed to start on drawing up some plans and sketches for Dennis. If he could get a leg up on the work before he went back to Boston, he could finish things up much more quickly when he was back east. Then he would be able to return home to Katie all the sooner. Adam checked around in his old bedroom for his drafting tools but they were nowhere to be seen.

Ben was working at his desk when his oldest son came down the stairs. “Pa, do you have any idea where my old set of drafting tools could be?” Adam asked his father.

“Aren’t they upstairs in your room?”

Adam shook his head. “No, I already looked there. You know which ones I mean. The set you bought me for my birthday just before I went to college. The ones in the purple velvet box. I thought I could start on some work before I went back to Boston.”

Ben scratched his head. “There’s a lot of those boxes you shipped home over the years in the attic over the tack room. Maybe your trunk from college is in there too. Why don’t you check?

“Good idea.” Adam headed out to look.

Adam climbed a ladder up to the little storage attic under the eaves of the tack room. He started to rummage through the boxes and trunks that had been arranged up there over the years. There were was a round top trunk that Marie had brought from New Orleans that held some of her things that Ben had put aside after she died. In the corner where the pitch of the roof was the lowest, was Joe’s old cradle and a broken rocking chair tipped over on its side and a narrow wooden chest that Adam knew contained Hoss’ boyhood collection of bird’s eggs and pressed flowers. There were also numerous wooden crates and trunks marked with his name on the shipping labels. Many contained artwork he had purchased in Europe and had shipped to the Ponderosa. Other crates contained pieces of furniture and other souvenirs from his travels. Someday they would all find a place in the new home he would design for Kate.  Very little light came in through the small dusty window on one end of the attic and Adam quickly realized that he would really need to get a lantern from the barn if he was going to ever find the drafting set.

He climbed back down the ladder went into the barn just as Joe came in the planked door. Joseph was carrying two cups of coffee. “Pa said you were in here poking around. I brought you some coffee.”

Adam smiled and reached out for a cup. “Thanks, Little Brother. What brings you out here so early?”

”I just wanted to tell you how glad I am you are coming back and to tell you how happy I am for you and Katie.”

”Thanks Joe. I appreciate your good wishes. How about giving me a hand looking for my drafting tools in that jumble up there?” The two brothers climbed back up into the storeroom. Adam lit the lantern and looked about the dusty room. He ran his hand through his hair trying to logically calculate where to look first.

“Let’s start over there.” He pointed to some trunks in the corner. One was labeled with his grandfather’s address and looked like the trunk he originally had taken when he left the Ponderosa for college. “Help me pull this one out, Buddy.”

Joe grabbed one end of the battered trunk and Adam the other and tugged the heavy trunk to the center of the room. “What do you have in here? Assay samples of ore? Lead weights?” Joe grunted. “A dead horse?”

“Let’s find out,” Adam unlatched the lid and looked inside. The trunk was filled to the brim with neatly organized school papers, stacks of letters bound with ribbons, a pair of boots that must have fit Adam when he first went to college but were soon outgrown, a silver trophy Adam had won playing billiards and other long forgotten souvenirs of college life in Boston. Nestled to one side was a small plush box.

”Just what I was looking for. I can’t believe we found it on the first go around.” Adam smiled at his good fortune.

”Guess this is just all round your lucky week.” Joe reminded him.

Adam smiled thinking of Kate. ”It certainly is my lucky week.”

“Just what I was looking for.” Adam said as he lifted the set of drafting tools out of the trunk. He smoothed his hand over the case remembering how proud he was when his father had presented them to him. The gift was his father’s sincere acknowledgement of all his dreams to study engineering that Adam had been too reticent to share with his father. He had since used more elaborate and finer sets of drafting tools but none was more important than the first set his father had brought him from San Francisco.

“What are all those letters?” Joe curiously pulling out a neatly bound bundle.
”Looks like they are all the letters I got while I was away in college. You don’t know how much I looked forward to getting them.” He took a bundle from Joseph’s hand and untied the red ribbon that held them in a neat stack.

He pulled one out.” Here’s one from Pa.” Adam looked at the date and read “Dear Adam, The herd looks very good this fall and Hoss will be accompanying me on the drive. Little Joe put up quite a fuss but there is no way he can go with us and will stay with Mrs. Newkirk while we are gone.”

Joe shook his head, “I was awful angry at Pa for leaving me behind. I really thought I could ride herd with Hoss and they had to just about tie me up by Newkirks so I wouldn’t try to catch up with Pa. Dean wasn’t even old enough to go to school yet and I tried to get him to run off with me.”

“Here’s another one. It’s from Pa. ‘I think Hoss has an eye on Andrea the daughter of the Lowells.  She is a very pretty girl with red hair and a patient nature. They are the family who moved to town just about a month after you left for college. Little Joe plays with their young son Daniel and often sleeps there when the weather is threatening.
How did you do on your exams? I am sure you are studying hard.’ “
”Ever wonder what became of the Lowells, Adam?” Joe asked.

Adam shrugged “Lord knows. They all left town when the uncle got shot.  I am sure Ramsey Lowell must have had more than his share of angry enemies if what he did to you was any indication of the kind of man he was.”

”What’s this?” Joe said pulling a larger envelope from the stack. It was in his boyhood back slanting handwriting.

”Gee little brother, it doesn’t look like your handwriting is any much better now than when you were ten years old.” Adam pointed to the envelope. He pulled out two pieces of paper folded crookedly together. Adam carefully unfolded the letter and smoothed it out to read it aloud. He shook his head when he realized what he was opening.

One piece of paper was a letter written on lined copy paper. Adam read it aloud,

“Dear Adam,

I hate skool very much. I hate it every day except on Saturday and Sunday.

I miss Hoss in my skool. No bullez pickt on me and my frends when he was in the skool.

Pleese tell Pa that I should not go to skool and I can work with Hoss on the ranch.

Pa hurt his nee.

I miss you very much.

Your brother,

Joseph Francis Cartwright” 

“I guess, there was no doubt that I had no serious interest in following you to college.”

Adam smiled “I suppose so.”
The second piece looked like a sheet of ledger paper that had been ripped from one of Ben’s ledgers.  Adam smoothed that page out too. Written in the same childish hand was a long list of names.

“Joe, do you know what this is? Do you remember what all this was about?”

The two brothers looked down again at the torn ledger sheet and tried to make sense of it. Neatly printed but filled with misspellings was the title “eating places in vir. City” with an alphabetical list starting with  Buket of Blud and ending with Zelda’s café (reel good pie)

The next column on the ledger was label “Ladies” and had a list of female names accompanied by hair color and an occasional notation like “smells good in church”,” very pretty “ or  “has all her teeth” or “ dances in buket of blud”  “lovely and pretty nice pie”

“What the heck did you send me?” Adam puzzled. He handed his brother the sheet of ledger paper.

In the dim light of the attic, Joe held the paper in his hand and examined it. All the emotions that he had felt at the moment he wrote the list, came flooding back to him. He remembered all the anguish and fear of losing his beloved big brother. “It was my attempt to create some bait to lure you back home. You had written Pa that you were thinking of staying in Boston and not coming back home. I didn’t know what your grandfather was doing to you, Adam.” Abel Stoddard’s deception never failed to amaze the Cartwrights even years later.

Adam nodded silently. He thought he had put his grandfather’s dishonesty behind him but he realized how much it had colored his ability to trust his own judgement in women for years. Finally, this time, Adam was absolutely positive that Kate was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, here in Virginia City.

“Somehow, I got it in my childish mind that your wanting to stay in Boston had something to do with all the pretty girls and restaurants there. I was just a little kid.” He looked at the list again “Dances in the Bucket of Blood. Wonder if Pa knew that I was eyeing dance hall girls?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Adam teased. “I’m sure he would be overjoyed to know about your past shenanigans.”

“By the way, did you know your bride was the one who helped me assemble all this information?” Joe asked.

”Kate? What did Kate have to do with this… this peculiar inventory?”

”Do you think I was smart enough to figure how to write this list on my own? I was so upset that you weren’t coming back home she told me to lure you back with this amazing masterpiece.”

Adam laughed harder than he had in months. “Kate? Luring your brother back home? Sounds like this bait worked twice in my lifetime.”

“Maybe we should add Katie’s name to the bottom of the list?”

”In great big red letter, Buddy. Big, gigantic letters!”

Chapter 3

To Kate, the weeks Adam would be back east seemed like the longest piece of time in the universe. Every time she thought about him leaving tears came to her eyes. She completely understood that responsible Adam had to go back to Boston to finish off things with Stoddard and Bruce and make arrangements with Dennis to develop the San Francisco office. She knew he had to be done but it didn’t mean that Kate had to like it.  Kate also knew she would miss him desperately.

Adam had told her that he would be home when the fruit trees in her front yard were in bloom. He would return to her when the cherry tree was billowing pink but before the spindly lilac with the heart shaped leaves would put out its few fragrant purple flowers. She consoled herself with the image of Adam walking up her front walk with the cherry tree blooming overhead. This time, he would be home to stay with her for good.

Together, they had immediately told Sam the wonderful news that they would be getting married when Adam returned. The little boy adored Adam Cartwright and was completely delighted. Without a moment’s hesitation he decided that he would prefer to be called Sam Cartwright and that they should have a big chocolate cake at the wedding party.

When Kate told her childhood friend, Nancy Foster about the impending nuptials. Nancy sat down and started making lists and planning the wedding. “You should meet with Reverend Felcher before Adam leaves so you can reserve a date and all.”

The only time Adam and Kate had available to see the minister was the Sunday before Adam left. Kate arranged for Sam to spend the afternoon with Nancy and her boys after church while she and Adam met with the Reverend in his parlor. Mrs. Felcher invited them for dinner but Katie politely declined. She wanted to have be alone with Adam in her own house over their own Sunday dinner as she knew it would be a very long time until he returned. He had booked passage on the Tuesday noon train and they had only a few days left together before he was gone.

Kate walked over to the kitchen table with two pieces of blueberry pie for dessert. Kate stopped and placed a hand on Adam’s muscled forearm. He reached up and turned her to face him. Her chin was quivering noticeably and he placed a gentle finger against it. “I’ll miss you, Adam,” she said sadly.

“I’ll write you every day, Katie.”

“I will too. But it’s not the same as having you here.

“No, it isn’t. I’ll miss you more than I can tell you, Kate.”

“Sam said he wanted to write to you too.”

”I showed him Boston on the map, the other night when I put him to bed.” Adam rubbed the bruise on his forehead that he got banging his head into the narrow doorframe in Sam’s little room. He continued to forget to duck his head in her small, low ceiling upstairs rooms. The only tall person who ever lived in the house was Kate’s father, Hank and now Adam understood why Hank and Leah used the downstairs bedroom while Kate and her aunt and uncle slept upstairs. ”Sam sort of thought Boston was near San Francisco. I showed him how to measure the mileage between places too.”

“Where did you get the map?” She asked as she refilled his coffee cup.

“We found an atlas in Mim’s book shelf the other night when you were finishing up at the Enterprise. We had pulled out some of the books to make part of a bridge for his blocks.”

Kate laughed picturing the two of them, head to head, sitting in the parlor constructing an intricate building project. Certainly this was something Adam had initiated as Sammy’s inventions tended to be more in the realm of silly puppet shows or battles between squadrons of tin soldiers fighting the wooden Noah’s ark animals. Sam called it the Monkey Wars. She was delighted that the two of them were getting on so well.

“Look what was wedged in the back of the book shelf behind everything.” He walked over to the shelf near the fireplace where he had neatly put back all the books that he and Sammy had pulled out. Adam came back with a big drawing pad and presented it to Kate.

She stood up to move the dishes over and make space for the pad on the kitchen table.

“Oh my goodness! It’s my drawings from when I lived here as a little girl. My uncle made me this pad from the ends of newsprint from the Enterprise. Mim must have saved it.” She took it from Adam and flipping through the pages. There were pen and ink pictures of crooked fruit bowls and a watercolor sunset over the mountains, pencil drawings of Foster and Mim, a few portraits of her parents and lots of pictures of horses. The last few pages showed a few attempts at what was clearly the barn on the Ponderosa.

“That’s the barn on the Ponderosa.” she pointed out.

Adam smiled as she recognized the picture. ”Keep going,” he directed his soon to be wife.

Kate flipped over to the next page and stared at a picture of the Ponderosa horse corral. Centered in the middle of the page on a rearing horse was a handsome, black haired cowboy that looked very much like Adam Cartwright, his hand tapping the brim of his hat. It was framed with garlands of hearts and flowers and doves. She stared at the picture remembering the day she drew it and how Adam had always made her feel. “It was always you, Adam Cartwright. Always. And it always will be you.” She smiled and stood up from the table.

He rounded the table and took her hand. The drawing pad fell to the floor, abandoned.

He tried to ignore the excitement coursing through his veins.  He touched her arm with just the tips of his fingers, and, when she didn’t draw away, slipped his hand slowly up to her shoulder. She shivered, and moved closer to him, into the circle of his arms. He drew her in to his chest, and she could feel the steady beat of his heart. He let his fingers trace lightly down the lines of her back to rest at her waist. Kate didn’t pull away.

Kate reached up, putting her arms around Adam’s neck. She drew his head down so that, standing on tiptoe, she could kiss him. “Adam Cartwright, I love you. I always have,” she whispered huskily.

Adam half closed his eyes and breathed in her perfume. He wanted this woman. In fact, he wanted her very badly for a very long time. “Kate, you’ll never know how much I love you.” He leaned down; his mouth hovered close to hers.

He could finally admit to himself how much he was hungering for her. Perhaps it was time for this to happen for both of them. He kissed her with more passion than he had ever kissed any woman before.

“Kate I love you,” said Adam as he kissed her with more heat.

“Don’t stop,” she moaned pulling him closer. Adam groaned as his hard body tensed with the effort of restraint. He wouldn’t make love to her unless she was willing. He finally broke from her, and smiled as he heard the small whimper of protest from her lips.

“Don’t stop,” she pleaded. Kate’s heart raced. She closed her eyes and tried to think clearly. All that was in her mind was what Adam was doing right that instant. Nothing else in the world mattered at all but the intense fire between them.

“I want you, Kate,” he whispered. He held off for a minute, allowing her time to think. Adam knew exactly what he wanted but this had to be Kate’s decision, not his.

Kate could hear his heart pounding as she rested her head on his chest. She opened her eyes, their depths showing no confusion. She knew he was allowing her the choice. There was absolutely no indecision in her heart or in her mind.

She wanted him. She wanted him to kiss her, and touch her. Finally, when neither could resist one minute more, she seized his hand and led him down the hallway. Adam followed, becoming increasingly excited. She knew what was coming, and he wanted her very badly.

“I want you, too, Adam, “she looked deeply into his dark eyes.
Kate took him by the hand and led him into the back bedroom.

Part 10

Hoss and the Widow

Chapter 1

“I need one of you boys to go up to deliver those horses to Otis Massey’s widow”, Ben announced at the breakfast table two days after Adam had left for Boston. There was a lot of work to be done.

“Gee, Pa, I would just love to go up to Elm Grove, the armpit of Nevada Territory, but I would rather have a lunch date with a rattle snake in my bare feet.” Joe smirked.

“Sounds like fun, Joe! Guess you really want to go to Elm Grove so I’ll guess I’ll jest let you, “Hoss laughed. He passed the platter of eggs to his father.

“Me? Want to go to Elm Grove? No sir!  I went last time. It’s not my turn to go to that stink hole.” Joe shook his head. He poured syrup over his flapjacks.

“Are you sure, Joe? Hoss?” Ben looked at both of his sons. “Joe went the last time?”

Hoss nodded sadly confirming that his brother was telling the truth. “Joe went up there a couple of months ago when Otis got that little herd of cattle he wanted for breeding. Remember he went with that feller who came from down near Tucson. Tom was his name. Otis died not long after.”

”That’s right, Joe went to Elm Grove last time.” Ben agreed. No one wanted to go to Elm Grove no matter what time of the year it was. It was smack in the middle of the desert and a miserable trip.

”Sorry Big Brother, guess it is your turn.” Even though there was still a bit of flapjacks left on his plate, Joe put down his napkin and quickly stood up from the table before his father changed his mind. Joe was clearly relieved that he didn’t have to make the long ride up to Elm Grove. ”Got to get going, Pa. I want to see how Hays is doing with those horses if Hoss is going to be delivering them this week.”

“Pa, are you sure the widow still wants those horses now that Otis is gone?” Hoss put a second helping of ham and eggs on his plate.

“I wrote and asked her. She said that she did. Otis had a foreman running the place for him the last year or so and Mrs. Massey said she is keeping the fellow on.  And she wants the horses as soon as we think we can get them up there.”

By the beginning of the next week Hoss and two hands had brought the string of horses up to the Massey Ranch. It was an arduous ride through hot, rocky, dry dessert until they reached the canyon where the Massey spread was located. Otis had the only spring for miles around and the ranch was a green oasis in the middle of dusty tan scrub and dry rocky outcroppings.

“Mr. Cartwright, “the foreman said as he checked out the horses, “Mrs. Massey said for you to come up to the house for dinner when you are done. She wants to go over the bill of sale and all the papers. Your men can join the hands at the bunkhouse if they want. We got a good cook down here and some poker games going on.”
Hoss was tempted to join the other men, but felt that out of respect for his father’s old friend Otis, he should have dinner with Widow Massey. “Sure, tell her I’ll be up right quick.” Hoss went over to the pump and tried to clean himself up a bit before he walked up to the main house.

“Oh don’t bother with that, Mr. Cartwright. Mrs. Massey said that you should ride right up there and the housekeeper would set you up with some hot water and all.” Hoss smiled thinking that some hot water and a good dinner would make up for the two day desert ride and a respectful visit to an old widow.

“Just ride up the road to the right, Mr. Cartwright. You’ll see the house as soon as you get over the rise. You can’t miss it! I’ll make sure your men gets dinner and a bunk down here and someone will go up and tend to your horse.”

Hoss had never seen anything like the Massey mansion anywhere. It looked like a flamboyant cross between a fancy wedding cake and a sumptuous fairy tale castle. Otis had spared no money in building his elaborately, gaudy painted house. There were dozens of colorful stained glass windows shining in the sun, opulent turrets, and purple and pink ginger bread trim rising over multi-tiered porches and iron railed balconies.

He tied Chubb on an ornate iron hitching post. Then he ambled through a tall gate in the lacy iron fence in front of the house. As he eyed everything around him, he slowly walked up the polished pink marble steps to the massive turquoise painted front door. The golden door knocker was in the shape of the head of a beautiful woman. On either side of the door, huge cast iron urns overflowed with scarlet, burgundy and cherry blossom pink geraniums and orange nasturtiums.

Before Hoss could knock, the housekeeper in a black uniform with a starched white apron opened the door wide. She took his hat and cordially invited him inside. “We saw you ride up, Mr. Cartwright. Mrs. Massey said that she would be in to join you very shortly. Would you like to wash up, sir?”

”Thank you kindly, that would be mighty appreciated.” Hoss slung his saddlebags over his shoulder and followed the housekeeper to a lavish bedroom. She had laid out fresh, monogramed white towels and fancy milled yellow soap that smelled like lemon custard. “There is plenty of hot water. Just call me if there is anything I can get you, sir. I’ll bring you cold drinks in a few minutes. Dinner will be in an hour.”

Hoss thanked her. He washed up and pulled a fresh shirt out of his saddlebag. Checking his reflection in the mirror, he ran a comb through his hair and decided he was sufficiently cleaned up for Widow Massey and dinner.

Hoss made his way down the lavish hallway to the parlor. The walls were paneled with polished mahogany two thirds of the way up and the upper third was wallpapered with crimson flocked silk. Large and small paintings adorned every available space and statuary was mounted on pedestals or in niches in the walls.  Hoss stood with his hand on his chin looking at the various ornately framed paintings and marble and gilt statues of nymphs and goddesses. Just as he was trying to decide if he preferred the painting of a voluptuous woman reclining on a cottony cloud over the painting of the bare breasted mermaids bathing in an iridescent turquoise sea, he heard someone enter the foyer behind him.

“Mr. Cartwright, welcome to my home,” a soft female voice called out melodiously. Hoss turned to greet Widow Massey. He was expecting to see an elderly widow and was shocked to see a tall voluptuous red headed woman standing in the doorway. She was dressed in a ruffled leafy green satin gown. Diamonds and emeralds sparkled in her ears and at her throat.

For a moment, Hoss was tongue tied. He had assumed Otis Massey’s wife was an old woman. Here was one of the most beautiful young women he had ever seen in his life.

”Mr. Cartwright?” she repeated. Hoss nodded. “I hope my housekeeper gave you everything you needed.”

”Yes M’am. Everything was just fine.”

”How was the trip from the Ponderosa?”

“Fine, M’am. I left my wranglers down with your foreman at the corral. He took care of the horses we brought.” Hoss usually was not good at meeting strangers but somehow this was not the case. He stared at Otis Massey’s widow trying to figure out why he felt so comfortable with someone he just met.

Mrs. Massey nodded and smiled. “My foreman is an extremely capable man and he told me the horses will work out quite well, Mr. Cartwright.”

“Jest call me Hoss, M’am. Mr. Cartwright is my Pa.”

She extended her delicate white hand to him. “Then you should call me Andrea, Hoss. You might be more comfortable with just calling me Andrea. You always did when we were in school together.”

Chapter 2

By the second or third trip out to Elm Grove the relationship between Hoss and the widow Massey had become much more personal and intimate. He could not believe his remarkable good fortune every time he woke up and saw her sleeping next to him. He would sit up in bed, propped on one elbow, and watch his sweet Andrea sleep, her coppery hair fanned out on the satin pillowcase.

Each trip became longer and longer and he ran out of excuses to tell the family why he was so interested in traveling to Elm Grove. At one point he almost told Joe. They were putting up their horses in the barn many months after that first trip.

“Joe, did you ever want to marry a gal?”

”Sure but the next morning when I took a good look at her in the day light, I changed my mind.” Joe laughed and continued rubbing down Cochise.

Hoss turned bright red. Joe quickly realized that his brother was not just making idle conversation or asking about when Joe was going final settle down and stop chasing every pretty girl who crossed his path even if she had a boyfriend. His brother had something about himself on his mind. “Sure Hoss, you know that but somehow it never quite worked out for me. Maybe someday, it will.”

Just at the moment, as Hoss was about to say something about finding Andrea Lowell, one of the hands came in to the barn to check if he could get an advance on his pay and Hoss got cold feet.

The very last time he visited Andrea; they were sitting on the front porch watching the orange sun go down behind the hills. Hoss was comfortably sitting on a wide wooden porch swing with Andrea close beside him. He was trying to think of the words to say to share what was in his heart but could not. It could wait until later or tomorrow, he thought contentedly as he stroked her gingery hair.

Andrea turned and looked deeply into his blue eyes “Hoss, there is something I need to talk to you about. About my life and what happened to me in the past.”

Hoss looked at her anxious face. At some level he was completely aware that many things must have happened to her between their school days, and her marrying old Otis and when they found each other again, but he didn’t really want to know them. Hoss never wanted make her upset by asking about those lost years.

After a few visits, he had finally recognized why so many of the art works in the Massey home looked familiar to him. He had remembered the long ago evening when he and his brothers and Dennis O’Mara enjoyed the Palace in San Francisco. Hoss was certain that he did not want to know more than he already knew. Andrea loved him and he was completely and totally in love with her. He was happier with her than he had ever been in his entire life.

“Andrea, there ain’t no need to tell me anything. Our life together started when I brought those horses up here that time. That’s enough for me to know.”

“No Hoss, you have to know this, all of it. It’s about Little Joe and why we left Virginia City.”

”Little Joe?” Hoss could not imagine what his baby brother had to do with any of this. “What about Joe?” Hoss asked gently taking her soft hand in his.

“Remember when you first came here and I asked about your brothers?”

Hoss nodded. Andrea had asked how his family was and seemed surprised each time he said anything about two brothers.

“I thought he might be dead.”

”Dead? Joe is just fine. Why would you think he is dead, Andrea?”

She looked down at her smooth white hands. ”I just imagined he might be… the last time I saw him he was so badly hurt.”

Hoss was confused. He could comprehend what she was saying. Andrea sighed. “Hoss, I need to tell you this, even if you don’t want to know any more about me. I need to tell you this part.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “This part you need to know. The last time I saw Little Joe was the night my mother shot my uncle, Ramsey Lowell.”

Hoss opened his mouth but no words came out.

“My mother shot Ramsey with the shot gun my brother Danny brought home with him from the Ponderosa. It was a fancy one that he still carries to this day. “

”A fancy shot gun? A gun he got from the Ponderosa?” Hoss drew in a breath. Daniel had stolen Pa’s birthday rifle.

After all these years, he had finally discovered what had become of the wonderful, ornate shot gun the boys had purchased for Ben Cartwright’s birthday years before. Now Hoss knew who took the gun that was hidden in the tack room.

“Danny stole the shot gun and brought it home. He had some sort of idea that he was going to defend us. He thought he could use the gun to protect my ma and Puddin’ and me. But Uncle Ramsey found it and took it away from him. He put it in the stock room of the store and gave Daniel a whipping. A bad whipping.”

She looked right at Hoss.

“Then he had his way with all of us.”

Hoss shivered thinking of the horror that must have been going on in that house behind the hardware store. “Andrea, why didn’t you tell anyone Sheriff Coffee or Pa… or me.”

”Mama told us not to air our dirty linen. She was fearful. Uncle Ramsey had already taken all of what Papa had left. She feared he would throw us out and that she would not be able to feed us. Or that Ramsey would even take custody of us. He told her that he could. She was very scared, Hoss. Panicked. She had always depended on my father to take care of everything and she didn’t know what to do.”

Hoss nodded but he could not really comprehend Mrs. Lowell’s situation. His father would never have let anyone harm his children, or any other children for that matter. “Why didn’t you tell my Pa? He told you to come to him anytime…I remember he told you that at your Pa’s funeral?” he put his arms protectively around her.

“I know he did. He even came around to the store a few times to check up on things. Adam did too but Mama …she was too scared or too proud or too foolish. I don’t know what. Fear clouds how you make decisions. I finally got Danny to go tell your Pa and get us some help but for some reason he got scared and stole that shot gun instead of asking for assistance. He was only a frightened little boy, Hoss.”

“Then what happened, Andrea? What does this have to do with Little Joe?”

”They looked so much alike, Daniel and Little Joe. “

“They sure did, same hair and coloring and all. Joe looked more like your brother Daniel, than he looked like me and Adam. Remember how strangers would think they were brothers?” Hoss nodded.

”Mama saw Ramsey beating a boy in the schoolhouse. It was your brother but Mama thought it was Daniel.”

Hoss began to comprehend what must have occurred and his stomach turned. “The time, Joe got so bad hurt? I was out with the hands on the round up and Joe beat up real bad. Adam tended to him all alone until Pa got back.” Hoss remembered that it was a long stretch until his poor brother was recovered and back on his feet from what Ramsey Lowell had done to the boy.

Hoss looked at her sitting so calmly telling the story as if she was telling an account about someone else who no longer existed or a scary tale in a book.

Andrea continued on. It was almost as if she didn’t hear one word he had said and just needed to finish telling Hoss her dreadful story before she lost her own courage. ”Mama saw Ramsey beating Little Joe and thought he was beating her own son. Mama thought Ramsey was killing Danny. She had enough. She went back into the storeroom and got the shotgun, the one Danny had stolen from the Ponderosa. She killed Ramsey to protect Danny… but it was Little Joe he was maiming. Danny was in our house but she didn’t know it. She came home and told me that she had killed my uncle. And when I ran across and saw…” she stopped suddenly.

“You don’t have to tell me more,” Hoss said protectively.

”No, Hoss, you need to hear the entire thing. I need to tell you the entire story. “

He pressed his lips in a straight line and resolved to listen without interrupting, no matter how painful. His heart cried out for her distress.

“I saw, she had killed my uncle and I was so happy he was dead. I’m sorry that I was happy about someone being dead, Hoss, but I was happy Ramsey Lowell was dead. Joe was lying all hurt in the mud, in the rain. I think he must have hit his head falling down the stairs or something. And I put him on his horse and sent him home. Hoss, I should have brought him to Doc Martin. I’m so sorry.”

“He’s fine Andrea. He is just fine. What happened next?”

”Cy saw it all and he told us we had better get out of town or they would hang Mama, and maybe even me for killing Ramsey and maybe we would get accused of killing Little Joe Cartwright. It was storming bad that night, the whole week.”

”Cy? Who is Cy?” Hoss asked.

”Remember the redheaded freight driver? Cyrus? Cyrus Carnigan? He used to hang around the store. He was always trying to flirt with me, Hoss. He drove us all out of Virginia City that night in the freight wagon and brought us up to Carson City.”

Hoss was silent. He remembered Cy and what kind of fellow he was. Now he knew what had happened so long, long ago. But it still didn’t matter one bit. Nothing mattered enough to change what he felt for this woman. He wanted to marry her more than ever. He just felt terribly sorrowful for all the tragedy and pain that Andrea Lowell had to endure and no one ever knew.

“Ramsey deserved what he got.” Gentle Hoss was surprised to hear his own voice say such a vengeful thing. “Ramsey Lowell was pure evil and he deserved everything he got, maybe even more. What happened to your Mama and Puddin’?”

”They’re both gone, Hoss. My mother and Puddin’ both died from the fever that first winter. Ma never spoke after that night. She sort of just closed up like a withered flower and faded away. It was up to me and Daniel to provide whatever way we could.”

The two sat silently for a moment then in a low voice she confessed her deepest fear, “Cy said no one would want me but him. No good man would want me.”

Hoss took both of his hands in hers, “I’m a good man, Andrea and I want you.”
She looked at Hoss and smiled.

“You should have written to us. We would have taken care of you at the Ponderosa. I would have come and got you no matter where you were or how far. I would have come to get you anywhere you were.”

”We couldn’t Hoss, Cy told us that we would hang for Ramsey’s death and by the time I realized it was all a disgusting self-serving lie, it was much too late to go back. Much too late.”

Chapter 3

The oppressive heat had gone on for over a week and everyone in Virginia City was completely worn out by it. It was a blazing hot day and Joe had just spent the last hour loading the wagon in front of the Mercantile with Hays Newkirk and the Ponderosa foreman’s twelve-year-old son Casey.

“We’ll see you back at the Ponderosa, Joe.” Hay’s Newkirk shouted. He was going to stop off at the sheriff’s office to leave one of his wife’s cherry pies for their son, Deputy Dean Newkirk who had recently started to work for Clem Foster.

“Tell my pal Dean to come by the Silver Dollar if he has the time. I’ll buy him a beer!” Joe called. He missed his spending time with his boyhood friend since he had moved out of the foreman’s house on the Ponderosa to get married and work in Virginia City.

“I’ll tell my brother! “ Young Casey waved as they set off in the loaded buckboard.

Joe still had to kill a few hours until the next stage arrived and he could get the shipment of some manuscripts from San Francisco that were arriving for Kate. Phil Bartlett was sending her some of his friend John Muir’s latest writings and hoped that Kate would edit some of chapters of his newest book and use his commentaries in the Enterprise. Adam agreed with some of Muir’s ideas but felt he was sometimes too extreme with his beliefs. He was concerned about Kate printing something that might start another Cherry Creek controversy like the one years earlier that got her Uncle Foster Wallace killed. She firmly insisted that Adam should mind his own business. There was no way she was going to let her husband or anyone else dictate editorial policy in the Enterprise. Adam insisted, just as firmly, that Katie should just proceed cautiously in something that could possibly endanger her.

Later Joe planned to have dinner with his father and Adam at the International Hotel and to carry the manuscript parcel with him. By the time Joe had finished, with the wagon, it was a little past three o’clock in the afternoon. He strolled over to the Silver Dollar for a beer and to see if any of his friends were around. Hopefully Hays would pass on his invitation to his son and Dean would come by. Since Dean got married and became a deputy, Joe hardly got to see him. It was still too early for the night crowd and Joe found himself one of the few customers in the dimly lit saloon.

“Where is everyone, Cosmo?”  Joe asked accepting his mug of beer from the bar tender. He took the first icy sip of his beer and then slowly took a second.

“Been this quiet all day, Joe.  It’ll pick up soon though. The early shift miners will get here pretty soon and then it will be nonstop for me.”

Cosmo started mopping up the floor. Joe took his beer over to the far side of the long bar to get out of his way. He pushed his hat to the back of his head and wearily leaned on the bar. He had the disconcerting experience of seeing his own reflection doubled in the mirror behind the bar. For an instant, Joe thought he saw his own face reflected twice, once in his own true reflection: a handsome man in a tan shirt, his hat pushed back on his curly brown hair drinking a beer at the bar. The other image was a curly haired man with similar features wearing in blue checked shirt sitting alone on the other side of the saloon drinking whiskey at a table. The two men made brief eye contact in the mirror and then went back to their individual business.

As Joe nursed his single beer the saloon started to fill up. A noisy crowd of dusty hands from the Bar H walked in and took over the tables in the rear for a rowdy poker game. The early shift of miners started filing in many of the other seats. The bar girls in glittery finery started to emerge from their upstairs quarters like tawdry butterflies emerging from a tarnished cocoon. Before he ordered his third beer Joe realized an hour and a half had passed and Dean Newkirk never took him up on his invitation for a beer. Joe decided that his friend must have been too busy or Clem was just being a slave driver and not permitting the new deputy to take a break.

It was just about time for the stage to arrive so Joe decided to head over to the stage depot. Joe tossed some coins on the bar for Cosmo and was about to head out when the bar keep nervously called him over to the end of the bar.

“Gee Joe, did you see that feller in here before? If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn he was you. He looked more like your brother than your own brothers do.”

His comment about someone looking more like your brother than your brothers had vaguely familiar sound to Joe Cartwright. When had he last heard that comment?

”Did you talk to him?” Joe asked. He was curious to find out who the guy was.

”Yeah, when he first came in, just like I said. It was just for a minute. I thought he was you and said ‘Hi Joe’ but realized it wasn’t you as soon as he got closer. The fella said he used to live here abouts when he was a kid and came into town with some associates to do some business at the bank.”

”Catch his name?” Joe wondered if the guy was anyone he knew, especially if he grew up around Virginia City.

”Think he said it was Davy… No, Denny or Danny. One of the beer kegs started to leak just about then and I had to go straighten out the mess. The fellow moved over to that table in the back.” Cosmo pointed to a round table near the battered upright piano. No one was seated there anymore. Cosmo shrugged his beefy shoulders. “Guess he left. Said he would be back next week.”

Joe nodded. “Maybe I’ll run into him another time.”

“Maybe. And he asked about the Enterprise too.”

”The Enterprise?”

”Yeah, said his business associate was looking to talk to the editor about something. Must want to run an ad or something.

“Or maybe they are looking to buy land or hire some men,” Joe guessed.

”That’s what I figured so I told him Kate Cartwright is the owner and his friend should talk to her.”

“It’s too hot for me to do much hard thinking. I’ll see you!”

Joe made his way over to the depot for Kate’s delivery and then to meet up with Adam and his father for dinner at the International Hotel. In the year that Adam and Kate had been married, this had almost become a routine. Whichever of the Cartwright men were available on Tuesday night, met up for dinner in the hotel. Sometimes, Adam even brought his stepson Sam along. The men usually tried to sort out the next week’s work schedule and catch up on things before Adam went home to his wife in the little yellow house and the rest of the family rode out to the Ponderosa.

The men often met on a night when Kate was putting the latest edition of the Enterprise to bed. She would take Sam with her and he would put the used type back in place for her, empty the trash, refill the paste pots and sweep up the floor at the end of the evening. Adam was very proud of how industrious the boy was becoming.

“Adam, do you have those contracts for Fischer ready? I want to get the men started on the cutting if it is all completed.” Ben asked as the waiter brought their dinner.

Adam nodded. “I finished them this afternoon. I’m all set to meet with Jack Fischer tomorrow afternoon to get his signature.”

“Tell Jack that I send his lovely, sweet mother my fondest regards.” Joe teased remembering the distasteful confrontation with pretentious Mrs. Fischer when Joe had defended Kate against her gossip. Joe had never forgiven Mrs. Fischer’s insults against his sister-in-law even after Kate had laughed it all off.

“Let bygones be bygones, Joseph,” Ben shook his head. “No sense carrying grudges against a sour gossip when Kate has put it all behind her.”

“What else is going on? What’s Hoss doing this week?” Adam asked about his absent brother.

“You know how Hoss used to hate those rides to Elm Grove? Heck he’d rather do just about anything than be in that dusty hell hole. Yet he just jumped at the chance last night didn’t he? I say it’s more than business that takes him back to that part of the desert.” Joe added as he put down his fork.

“Maybe he is helping out at the mission the Catholic nuns started up near there? They are helping out the Paiutes and take in some of the orphans from that area instead of bringing them all the way down to the crowded orphanage here in town.” Adam suggested. He wiped his mouth with the white linen napkin.

Ben shook his head. “Hoss would have told us if he was helping the nuns and the orphans. It’s been going on a long time, now.”

“How long?” Adam asked.

“It’s been going on since last year when he brought those horses up to Otis Massey’s widow,” Ben pointed out as leaned back in his chair. “At least a year.”

“Otis died?” Adam asked. He took the last bite of his steak and signaled the waitress to bring their coffee.

“Sure, Adam, Otis Massey died. That’s why he has a widow. She couldn’t be a widow if he wasn’t dead.” They all laughed at Joe’s absurd comment.

“Otis died quite a while ago. It must have been just before you got married,” Ben declared.

“I guess your mind was on other things when it happened.” Joe winked at his father and Ben chuckled. “Right, Adam?”

“So maybe he is helping the old lady out with the ranch. You know how kindhearted Hoss is with old folks, “Adam hypothesized.

Ben stared silently into the last remains of his coffee – but said nothing. He smiled as he had his suspicions but was not about to say anything to his other boys. Hoss was always looking for reasons to travel up in that area and whenever he came back he strolled around smiling for days. Then he would cook up another reason to head up that way. It had been going on for quite a while but Ben would respect his son’s privacy. Ben would let Hoss share whatever he wanted to share in his own good time. If Adam and Hoss wanted to cross examine their brother, he wasn’t getting involved.

“Why don’t you, boys ask your brother when he comes back? He should be back from Elm Grove by Thursday night, “Ben instructed. Then he changed the subject. “Joe, I’ll need you to go up to the lumber mill and check on the work there. If Adam is finalizing the order for Fischer’s mine, we need to make sure we have enough men working up there for that timber and the order for the place Havermeyer is building as a wedding gift for his daughter. You can leave tomorrow and be back in a day or so.”

“Sounds fine to me. I won’t mind going up and getting away from this heat. And don’t forget, Big Brother that Sammy is coming out to the Ponderosa on Friday night. And make sure he packs enough drawers this time or we may have to borrow some of Hoss’s for him.” Joe remarked. He pushed his empty plate back and wiped his mouth on his napkin.

“Semper Ubi, sub ubi” Adam recited in Latin.

“Ok, Professor, what does that mean?” Joe challenged leaning back and staring at Adam.

“Always wear underwear.”

Ben laughed heartily. “Just send Sam out with his gear and we’ll be just fine. I didn’t raise up the three of you not to know what to do with one little boy for a couple of days.”

“I’m meeting Hoss in town on Friday and we can straighten out the deposits and paper work he brings back from Elm Grove. Then I’ll send Sam home with him. Thanks for taking him. Kate and I really appreciate it.”

“We are always glad to have your boy on the Ponderosa,” Ben smiled. He knew what it was like to be a newlywed with little boys running under foot and try to find time alone with his wife.

“We love having him around. We’ll bring him home for Sunday dinner,” Joe added.

“And Joe, remember what Kate said about teaching him to play poker.”

“Yes sir, Adam sir. We wouldn’t want Kate to be mad at me. Not one bit. Any way that kid always wins, Adam. Last time he wanted me to bet Cochise against that silly little box of dominos you gave him.”

For an instant Adam almost believed his brother. Then he realized that Joe was just teasing him.” And you backed out? I’m surprised Joe, I thought you liked dominos.”

“Your brother likes dominos, but he loves Cochise,” Ben said. “Enjoy your time with your wife, Adam.”

PART 11

Hell Fire

Chapter 1

Friday

The heat of the day had just about reached its peak as the Cartwrights walked out of the Mercantile into the quiet street. Few people were out on the street. Most had taken shelter from the glaring sun inside. The sun burned white-hot overhead in a totally cloudless blue sky.

The air itself was almost too hot to breathe, like standing too close to the black smith’s forge or opening up a gateway to Hades and inhaling the blast of hell fire. The reflected sunlight coming up off Main Street was dazzling as it shimmered off the hot dry dirt. Sweat broke instantly from their skins, and they all put their hats on to shade their eyes against the shimmering glare.

Sam was carrying a small white paper that had been twisted into a cone and filled with lemon drops, hoar hound drops, peppermints and rock candy. He thoughtfully selected a piece and passed the paper to tall man standing next to him.

“Thanks Papa,” the boy said smiling broadly at Adam.

Adam returned his grin and said “My pleasure, Son.” Sam had only recently been able feel comfortable calling him “Pa” rather than “Adam” as he had when he first married Kate. He was totally enjoying the feeling that it gave him. His little family had settled into a comfortable routine, living for the time being in Mim’s old house while Adam drew up detailed plans for a sizeable expansion in the fall.

“What kind do you want Uncle?” Sam said turning to Hoss. “Lemon, peppermint, hoar hound, rock candy or this red stuff?”

“Or one of each?” Hoss grinned. “Don’t know which is best. I’ll have to test out them all.”

“You bought ‘em. Have as many as you want.” Sam grinned widely. His candy filled cheeks were puffed round like a squirrel’s.

“Sure is hot,” Hoss said. He took off his white hat and fanned himself with it for minute. “Glad we are almost done with all these chores.”

“Joe sure is the lucky one going up to the mill. Bet it’s much cooler up by the lake.” Adam decided.

“That lucky devil sure lucked out this time,” Hoss observed. “I sure wish Little Joe was here.” The others assumed that Hoss wanted to share their suffering on the hellishly hot day with Joe but Hoss had another reason. He hoped to share some good news with his family when they were all together. He decided to wait until Joe got back and tell them everything all at once when they were at dinner.
“What’s left Uncle Hoss?” Sam asked looking up at him as the big man was lost in thought.

“Um…Huh?” Hoss quickly made believe he was double checking the list he was holding in his hand.

“Don’t forget it is pay day, Sam.” Adam reminded him. He drew a roll of bills out of his pocket. “Working men get wages. It’s time you started.”

Sam’s face lit up. ”Really! I get money? Me?”

”Well, son, “Adam rubbed his jaw. “I was about your age when Grandpa Ben started me on salary. Did you finish all those chores for your Ma every single day?”

Sam nodded.

“And Joe said you did a fine job helping with those fence lines and helping Casey clean up the tack room. And your ma said you swept up at the Enterprise office for Phil.”

”And don’t forget, he takes care of the chickens back at your house, too, Adam,” Hoss added.

“Yes, Papa. I tend to the chickens too and gather the eggs,” Sam added.

“Just subtract that dozen eggs he dropped that day he decided to learn how to juggle.” Hoss laughed.

“How would this be for the first month?” He pulled a dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to the wide-eyed boy. “Now remember, you need to save half of it, and put some in the collection plate. But the rest is yours.”

Sam grinned proudly and nodded still looking at the dollar clutched in his sticky hand.
”Now don’t spend all your money in one place.” his father warned, patting him on his head. “And don’t let Uncle Joe scam you out of it playing poker tonight. You know your Ma doesn’t want you gambling at cards.”

“No sir. I won’t.” Sam had never been prouder of himself before. He was now on the payroll just like all the other Cartwright men.

“Hoss, what’s left on the list,” Adam returned to errands. His throat was getting dry and scratchy.

“Just the feed store bill, the bank and a nice cold drink, Little Buddy.” Hoss patted his nephew on his head. “Wanna go with me or go with your Pa to settle up at the feed store.”

”The bank… It’s cooler in there than in the feed store,” Sam quickly decided. “And I can open up an account for my salary. You said I need to save half, Papa.”

“Goodness gracious, Adam. This boy is getting more and more like you every day. He’s squirrelling away his acorns for winter jest like you. I’ll help him open up an account while we are at the bank and save you the chore.”

”Thanks!” Adam agreed. “Take care of the banking and then we all will meet down at Daisy’s Cafe for a nice cool drink and lunch too.”

“I’ll buy the first round,” Sam grinned. “I just got paid!”

Both men laughed at the little boy’s enthusiastic imitation of what his father and uncles often said.

“Sounds good to me!” Adam took his black hat off and wiped his forehead with his bandana. He suddenly felt the weight of the sheaf of papers in his back pocket.  He pulled it out and cursed under his breath. For some peculiar reason, Jack Fischer, the mine owner’s son who was now running the company always avoided dealings with Hoss or Little Joe. When he thought about it, Jack seemed to be incongruously afraid of Hoss and would grow pale when the larger man had anything to do with him. It was something Adam could never understand as Jack had grown up with his younger brothers. Fischer would discuss business with only Adam or Ben Cartwright.

“Dang, Hoss, I still need to go up see your old pal Jack Fischer about those lumber contracts for the mine. Could you also get that stuff that Kate left for the seamstress at Lily’s? She’ll have my head if I don’t bring it home for her.” Adam requested.

“I sure wouldn’t want that to happen, Older Brother!” Hoss winked at his brother thinking how Kate could rage when pushed to her limits by his forgetfulness. “And I sure you and Pa don’t want that devil Jack Fischer to wet his fancy britches by little old me bringing them papers over to his office.”

Adam couldn’t help but laugh at the picture Hoss presented.

“Why don’t we all meet in an hour? It should take you that long walking up the hill to Fischer’s office and wait for him to read all those papers and then get back.” Hoss proposed.

“See you then!” Adam stood on the boardwalk watching his son and his brother walk away. The boy was excitedly discussing his plans for his regular Friday night visit with Hoss and Ben on the ranch. “Could we play checkers after dinner Uncle Hoss?”

”Anything you want Doc.”

“Uncle Joe is going to play with me too!”

”Don’t beat him too bad, you know how put off that hombre can get when he loses. Don’t want him sulking all weekend. ” Hoss teased. Sam giggled and put his small hand in his uncle’s large one.

Adam smiled as he watched them walk away thinking of the lovely evening alone he would enjoy with his wife while their son enjoyed his overnight visit with his grandfather and uncles. Since they had married last year, Sam was a welcome weekend guest at the Ponderosa every few weeks. Adam and Kate enjoyed a little privacy and time alone in their little yellow house that had been Mim’s.

Just as Adam rounded the corner of A Street, he crossed paths with Jack Fischer walking out of the barbershop. The mine owner was freshly shaved. Five feet away Adam could smell the odiferous lilac water that Jack had been doused with by the barber.

”Adam Cartwright, just who I was hoping to see!”  The two men cordially shook hands.

“Jack, you saved me a trip in this heat to the other side of town. I have these papers for you to examine. “Adam pulled the bedraggled envelope out of his pocket.

“Think this weather will break?” Fischer wiped his neck with an expensive white linen handkerchief. “What do you say we meander across the street and get a cold one or two and take a glance at this paper work?”

Adam agreed with Jack’s suggestion. His throat was parched and a cold beer or even two sounded like an excellent choice. “Fine with me.”

“You buy the first round.” Fischer said implying that they would not be quick to finish their meeting.

They headed down the broiling wooden sidewalk, passed the quiet mercantile and the scorched brick building housing the offices of Fischer mining. The two men crossed the hot, dusty street headed for the saloon opposite the bank. Then, the two overheated men strode through the swinging doors of the Silver Dollar and into the cool, shadowy darkness and took an empty table in a quiet corner. Adam spread the papers across the table.

“Hot enough for you? What can I do for you two handsome fellows?” the perspiring bar maid asked with a wide smile to Jack. He rested his hand on her rear end as she waited for the order.

“Two nice cold beers,” Adam ordered. He leaned back in the heavy wooden chair and watched as Jack quickly perused the papers. By the time the beers came to the table, Jack had finished and pronounced himself satisfied.

“That was pretty fast, Fischer,” Adam pronounced taking a long swallow of his icy beer. He felt it cool his parched throat all the way down his gullet. “I don’t want to rush you. Are you sure everything is in order?”

“It’s too hot to be working very hard. I’m the owner, not a damn fool miner digging in a hole. I’m sure everything is just fine, Adam. The Ponderosa has been supplying our lumber for years with no problems. No need to worry. All we need is the down payment and I’ll send that out to you after the weekend. “Fischer pulled out his ornate gold pocket watch and checked the time. “Look, I have time for one more beer and then I have to meet my lady friend.”

“I certainly don’t want to delay you.” Adam shook his head. Adam took another sip of his beer looking at him over the rim of the mug. Jack Fischer was married and had a couple of kids and saw absolutely nothing wrong with to telling folks about his numerous lady friends. Jack always believed in flirting with trouble and had absolutely no respect for women, especially his wife. No wonder Hoss and Joe had little use for him.

All of a sudden, there was a flurry of excitement across the street down by the bank. The door of the bank flew open and slammed back against the wall. The etched glass panel shattered in an explosion of pointed shards.

Five gun toting men tumbled out of the doorway. Their hats were pulled well down over their eyes, and their neckerchiefs covered up their faces. Two of them held canvas bank bags in their hands. One of them fired off his gun, aiming back into the bank. The retort echoed loudly off the buildings as they ran into the street.

Deputy Dean Newkirk came pounding back up the boardwalk his gun drawn. “Stop!” he ordered.

“Let’s get out of here, boys!” barked the dark man in the pale purple vest. The men rushed for the horses tied at the rail.  The red headed outlaw tossed the canvas bag over his saddle and swung onto his horse, and took off down street at a furious gallop.

Morgan Chase, manager of the bank, stumbled to the bank door, clutching at his belly. Blood poured out between his fingers. He hollered, “Stop them! They robbed the bank! They’ve robbed the bank! Stop them!” Then, Chase collapsed in a limp heap, blood puddling around him on the sun baked wooden sidewalk.

The few people out on the hot street scrambled for cover. Deputy Newkirk pegged a shot at one of the outlaws. The wounded man fell in a heap and was trampled under the hooves of the bay his companion was riding.

The third outlaw, the red shirted man on the bay, swung his mount round again in a tight circle. He aimed his gun at an unarmed passerby in front of the Silver Dollar. He shot twice, hitting the bystander in the back. Their pistols blazing, the Carson City Gang thundered down the street. They rode out of town in a cloud of yellow dust.

The whole thing, from beginning to end, was over in just a few minutes.

Chapter 4

Ben Cartwright cringed inwardly as he remembered Billy Felcher, the reverend’s grown son riding the lathered horse up to the ranch house door, frantically calling for him.  Ben could remember the clutch of fear that had gripped him as the young man had gasped out the message sent from Virginia City that Hoss had been shot in a bank robbery.

“Doc said come quick Mr. Cartwright. It doesn’t look good.” He stammered. Bill’s mind shuddered at the vision of Hoss lying bloody and wounded at Doctor Martin’s office.

One of the hands quickly saddled Buck and gave Bill a fresh horse.  Ben galloped into Virginia City at a break neck speed that even Joe could not have matched on Cochise.

Ben pulled up in front of Doc Martin’s office first, his horse snorting and tossing his head. Billy Felcher joined him soon after, coming to a slower stop. They had sent Bill out to the Ponderosa to fetch Ben Cartwright and tell him what had happened to his son at the bank. Then Bill had to ride all the way back with Ben to Virginia City.

Roy Coffee stood there waiting for him. Something was obviously wrong, Ben could tell by the ashen appearance of his friend’s face

“Where are my sons? Where’s Sam, Roy?” Ben shouted as he leaped off Buck.

“I’m sorry Ben.” Roy started putting his hand out helplessly “Hoss is dead. I’m mighty sorry.””

“Dead?” Ben stood dumbfounded. “He can’t be dead.”

The retired sheriff repeated softly “I’m so sorry, Ben.”

“And Adam and Sammy Where are they?”

“They’re fine Ben.  Sam is shook up real bad.  Ben, but there ain’t a scratch on him. Katie is in there with him now, cleaning him up. Adam wasn’t even at the bank. He was at the Silver Dollar when it all happened …and Sam…  Sam said Hoss pushed him down when the shooting started. Hoss got shot protecting the child.”

Roy led the men inside where Doctor Martin was sitting waiting for them. He stood up and put his arm around Ben Cartwright and led him to a chair.

“Ben, I’ m so sorry.” Paul Martin sighed.

“Paul, I need to know what happened to my son.” Ben asked fighting to control himself. “What happened?”

“Hoss lost an awful lot of blood Ben, I couldn’t repair the damage, and I did everything I could. “ Doctor Martin put his hand on Ben’s arm gently guiding him to a chair. He had to be honest. “Hoss was gone when they carried him in here”

Paul Martin stopped now and looked at Ben. The doctor would have given ten years off his own life to be able to save Hoss Cartwright. The physician desperately wanted to tell his friend that his son would recover, but that was completely impossible. The bank robbers had shot him dead in cold blood along with the bank manager, Morgan Chase, the young teller and a cowhand who was just standing in front of the Silver Dollar Saloon. The outlaws shot them all down in cold blood.

”Thank God Sam is ok.” Paul offered. It wasn’t enough. Concern for his oldest friend overrode his own sorrow at the loss of one of Ben Cartwright’s sons. ”I’m so sorry, Ben,” he repeated helplessly.

Tears streaming down his face, Ben nodded.

“Clem already rode out with a posse, Ben.” Doc said.

Ben didn’t hear a word Paul Martin said to him. The warm room spun around him.  His heart was beating madly in his chest. Hoss was dead, that was all that he could think about. His son was dead.

“Can I see him now?” he asked with a sense of despair. “Paul, I need to see Hoss”

“Certainly, but he’s not here. He’s over by the undertaker, “Doc Martin looked at Ben wishing there was something more he could do for the man.

Ben said softly “Take me to my son, Roy.”

Roy nodded.” The boys took him down to Kotkin’s. Ben. Bill, go get Adam down at the undertakers and tell him his Pa is here. I’ll go over there with you.”

The heat had dissipated after the sun had gone down. A cool breeze was blowing in from the mountains in the north. Roy gently put his arm around his friend and slowly walked diagonally across the dark, dusty, empty street to the undertaker. Adam waited for his father to arrive on Kotkin’s shadowy porch.

Reverend Felcher and Bill were standing beside Adam. Adam wrapped his arms around his father and the two men embraced tearfully.

“I’m sorry Pa.” Adam whispered. “I’m so sorry!”

They sat hip to hip on the porch rail talking to each other for a few minutes in the shadows while the other men moved away to give the Cartwrights a bit of privacy. Time stood still.  Roy Coffee stood hesitantly on the porch step for a long moment. The man really didn’t like leaving them alone like this, but he knew they needed their privacy.

Eventually, Roy walked over to the bereaved father and son. “We’ve gotta go get a casket, let people know what happened, plan a funeral.” Roy paused, not quite knowing whether to continue. “I sent some men out to find Little Joe.”

He drew a breath and repeated for a second time. “Clem’s got a posse out looking for those guys and we’ll find them.

Mr. Kotkin, in his severe black suit came out of the undertaker’s establishment and he and Reverend Felcher approached the two heartbroken men sitting on the porch railing. “My condolences, Ben. I’m sorry to see you under these circumstances. You know how fond all of us were of Hoss,” said Felcher.

“Thank you,” Ben said. The words, caught in his throat like dry sand.

“Have you decided about the funeral yet?” the undertaker said gently.

Ben looked surprised at the question. The events of the last hours still hadn’t quite registered in his mind.  “Adam?” he looked towards his eldest son.

“Yeah, I guess we have. I spoke to the undertaker while I was waiting for you to get to town, Pa. I… I … had to do something, “Adam said quietly. “I hope this is ok with you, Pa…” He was exhausted and at a complete loss for word and turned to Mr. Kotkin for assistance.

The undertaker elaborated the plans Adam had made as delicately as possibly. He had dealt with this task countless times over the course of his career. It was never easy but it was especially difficult the arrangements were for a friend. “Hoss is going to be laid out tomorrow and the next day. Then we’ll bury him late the day after. It will give your men time to find Joe and time to get him back here for sure and time for everyone who wants to come by and pay their respects before we bury him. That’s what Adam suggested. Is that all right with you Ben?”

“We’ll bury him, “Ben’s voice caught, “we’ll bury him up on the hill near Marie.”

“Yes, well, we’ll see you tomorrow,” the undertaker solemnly shook Ben’s hand, then Adam’s. “You know most of Virginia City will be there by later on in afternoon.”

The undertaker still had to see to the arrangements for the funerals of the three other fine Virginia City men who were murdered in cold blood that day by the Carson City Gang; Tom Hood, the young bank teller, Morgan Chase, the bank manager, and Calvin Warner, the poor unlucky fellow who was just standing in front of the saloon. Virginia City was a town filled with mourners.

And Kotkin also had to arrange for the boot hill burial of the nameless devil who was trampled by his own vile crony’s horse in their getaway. No one mourned for him.

“If there’s anything more we can do, Ben? Adam?” Reverend Felcher asked.

“No, nothing. Thank you but we’d all really rather be alone right now.”

“The whole territory will be wanting to pay their respects to Hoss and see that you all are gonna make it,” Roy desperately wanted Adam to head for home. He had been sitting stoically for hours waiting for Ben.

“Just remember, folks mean well, even if you’d like to be more alone than they’ll let you over the next few days,” Billy Felcher added. The chubby, introspective son of the minister had grown up with Joe. He always had great affection for Hoss and a unique admiration for Adam.

Adam swallowed hard and nodded wearily. Ben’s shoulders sagged and his head dropped onto his chest. Roy Coffee looked at the men before him with sympathy.

“I’ll be in touch about…about…the posse and all.” He handed Ben a gun belt and his white hat.” Here is Hoss’s things, Ben.” Ben clutched his son’s property woodenly.

“Adam, you take care of you father now.” Roy said. “Go on home now. Kate has Sammy in the buggy waiting for you. Don’t keep them too long. She and Nancy cleaned him up the best they could, but that little boy is in a bad way. He is pretty shook up. Doc Martin gave him something to make him sleep but Kate could sure use your help, Adam.”

“Thanks Roy, “Adam said shaking his hand.

He and Roy lead Ben out of the funeral parlor and helped him into the buggy as if he had aged two decades in one day. The town was strangely quiet and everything had an unreal air to it as they started the long journey back to the Ponderosa.

“You shouldn’t have to bury your own child, “Billy Felcher declared as the Cartwrights rode off in the darkness. He decided to tell his father that he would take charge of Hoss’ funeral service. It was the least he could do for his friends and in his heart he knew his father’s hell fire and damnation sermons were not what gentle Hoss Cartwright would have wanted nor what he deserved.

“It jest ain’t natural” Roy Coffee added.

Chapter 5

The Ponderosa

Hours later, Sam was asleep in his grandfather’s big bed on the Ponderosa. Kate sat silently in a chair beside him watching him sleep. Occasionally he would whimper in his sleep and she would sit down on the edge of the bed and rub his back until he fell back to a restless sleep.

Kate heard a clatter of hooves down in the yard. Looking from the window, she saw Little Joe arrive on Cochise with a pair of cowhands. The men must have found him up at the mill and brought him home.

The endlessly dark night had just begun for the rest of them. While Adam went outside to tell the rest of the hands what had happened. Ben and Joe moved silently upstairs and dug out Hoss’s blue suit to bring back to the funeral parlor back in town. Ben was grim faced and silent and Joe was afraid to leave his side for even a minute.

“I can’t believe it Joseph.” Ben choked on his words and tears streamed down his face. “I just can’t believe it.”

Joe shook his head picturing where he was when everything changed forever. “I was up at the mill sitting in a cool breeze eating my lunch when my brother got shot down in cold blood. God, I wish this day were over with.”

Chapter 6

The next day

Adam brought Sam into the great room from upstairs.  Uncle Joe was out in the barn doing chores and his grandfather was sitting alone outside on the porch. Kate was finally getting a little much deserved sleep in the downstairs bedroom where she and Adam slept when they stayed on the Ponderosa. Sam felt sad and frightened and wasn’t quite sure what was happening.

He saw the sheriff standing waiting for them in the living room. To Sam, Clem Foster was an imposing figure standing beside the fireplace. For an instant, when the child saw Clem, he was reminded of his father, Al Striker. An intense panic enveloped him. Sam started to shiver, but his step father, Adam Cartwright, drew him close.

The sheriff needed to get a description of what had happened in the bank. Sam was the only witness left alive. He whispered a word of encouragement in the trembling child’s ear. “It’ll be all right, son; I’m here.”

The boy reached out to Adam and clutched his big hand. As close as his mother was to Aunt Nancy, her husband Clem was a more distant and serious figure in Sammy’s life. Sam reminded himself that the man beside the fireplace was the sheriff of Virginia City, not Al Striker.

The youngster snuggled against his father’s arm, casting anxious glances between the faces of Adam and the sheriff.  “Sam, the sheriff needs to ask you a few questions,” Adam explained, “and I want you to answer them as accurately as you can. Take your time.”

Little Sam nodded, then fearfully pressed his face to his father’s side.  Adam stroked the boy’s curly hair soothingly.  “Sam, you need to give the sheriff as much information as you can.  Don’t be afraid.  No one will ever hurt you. Never.”

Nibbling his lower lip, Sam nodded and looked up, fearful, but trusting.  He knew Adam and his mother would never, ever let Al Striker hurt him. Uncle Joe and his grandfather wouldn’t allow it either.

Seeming to sense his stepson’s distress, Adam softly laid an arm across Sam’s shoulder and gently led him to the settee. Adam sat down and swung Sam onto the seat beside him. Trembling with the memory of the previous day’s horrible violence, Sam’s response was to lean into Adam’s starched white dress shirt as if drawing strength from the man who was now his father and protector. This was sufficient answer for Adam to know he was doing the right thing. The sheriff pulled the large, red leather chair around until it was facing the two at the boy’s eye level.

“Son,” Clem began quietly, “I know this is difficult, but I’ve got to know what happened yesterday.”

Sam looked at Adam who nodded his encouragement.

The boy swallowed hard. ”Ok, I can tell you.”

Slowly and painfully, the boy told them exactly what had happened. He described how he and Uncle Hoss had left Adam at the entrance of the Mercantile and walked down the street to the bank, how his Uncle Hoss had let him carry the envelope with all the papers in it, how the blinds were drawn on the bank windows but the door wasn’t locked. The boy had inherited his mother’s journalistic eye for details and left absolutely nothing out.

He described walking into the holdup and seeing the five men, how he saw one shoot the teller when he didn’t fill the bags fast enough, and then another shot the manager. The outlaws turned and saw him and Hoss in the doorway and the words they used. “They cussed bad when we came inside,” Sam said to his father and Clem.

The boy told the sheriff how the outlaws turned to face them and aimed their guns at them and how Hoss had pushed him down on the floor and threw his body over him to protect him. And Sam described how his he felt his Uncle die on top of him as the bank robbers ran out the front door. The boy paused and wiped his damp hands on his navy blue Sunday trousers.

“Sam, can you give me a description of the men?” the sheriff asked.

”The one who hit the teller had red hair and was freckly…like bright orange hair and freckles on his arms and face. And there was one who was real big with a red checkered shirt and a vest. And a brown hat too. Like as tall as you are, Sheriff Foster and big like you. The other one, he was kind of fat, like a big round stomach more than fat all over.” Sam paused for a minute. His eyes lost their focus as he tried to remember the rest of the details.

He looked down at his bare feet. “Could I stop now Pa?” he whispered to Adam. “I don’t want to say any more.”

“You’re doing fine, son” Adam said gently trying to encourage him to remember the rest.

“What else did you see, Sam?” Clem Foster asked.

“The one who was in the back by the desks, the one with a rifle… it was a shotgun, not a pistol. He sort of looked like Uncle Joe. He was about the same size and had brown hair like he has…but his face was different. He had a mean ratty face not Uncle Joe’s face. “

“Ok, you told us about four of them. You said there were five men. What about the last one” Clem asked him.

The boy was visibly trembling and hid his pale face in Adam’s chest. Adam pulled him close and rubbed his shoulder. “Just a little more, buddy. It will be a big help. I know this is really hard.”

”The other man was Al Striker, “the boy whispered hoarsely. The last guy was Al”

”You mean the robber looked like Al. Like one of them fellers looked like Joe but wasn’t Joe?”  Clem probed.

“No, Sir,” said Sam turning to look directly at Clem. He stared the Sheriff straight in the eye. “It was my father Al Striker who shot Uncle Hoss.”

 

Part 12  

Futility

Chapter 1

Joe Cartwright halted his horse at the crest of the rocky ridge and took a quick look over his shoulder at the line of men and horses behind him. He gasped in dismay at the sight of his father struggling to get his horse up the steep hill. Ben Cartwright urged his borrowed chestnut onward until the trail reached the top of the canyon. The ground leveled out as the trail ran parallel to the canyon. As each rider in turn struggled up the steep incline the posse slowly surged forward down the rocky trail.  The grieving rancher was anxious to continue the search and wasn’t thinking clearly or logically. He was going to pay dearly for this faulty decision.

Ben had been too busy urging his horse up to the trail to survey perilous the terrain carefully. He was determined to catch up with the bank robbers, and hadn’t let this weary borrowed horse rest sufficiently. His own horse, Buck would have easily climbed the hill but this horse did not have Buck’s strength or spirit. All Ben wanted was to keep up with the chase and catch the Carson City Gang, the men who murdered Hoss.  With another kick, Ben Cartwright urged the animal toward the precipitous slope. The chestnut crossed the rocky ground and started up the steep trail. The exhausted horse dug its hooves into the uneven ground and started to climb. Its front legs slipped on the loose gravel and shale but the gray haired rancher urged him on.

The horse dug his forelegs into the slope until her hooves pressed through the pebbles into solid ground, but horse was unable to steady herself. With a few more wavering steps, the horse slipped and tumbled sideways off the narrow trail throwing Ben down the slope and into the rocks and underbrush below.

The line of men and horses scrambled to a halt as Billy Felcher leaped off his horse and scrambled down the hill with Deputy Newkirk at his heels. The two men ran over to Ben Cartwright. As he ran, Bill whispered a silent prayer that Hoss’s father was not badly injured.

The men laid Ben down gently on a bedroll under the shade of a poplar. The heat was unbearable. Sheriff Clem Foster and Bill Felcher kneeled down next to him and checked him out. They decided that he had broken a few ribs and bruised himself up pretty badly. Ben winced as they touched his leg but he still struggled to get up.

“Lay still Mr. Cartwright. You’re pretty banged up.” Bill urged. Roy Coffee stood quietly watching. Clem was doing a fine job as Sheriff with the search for the gang but Roy couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Roy’s mind was on Hoss Cartwright, the son of his best friend. He had watched that boy grow up and now they had buried him.” It was a damnable shame, “Roy thought to himself and spit on the ground. The rest of the posse stood off to the side, watching the scene before them.

”I’ve got to get back up.” Ben argued as he struggled to sit up. He had to continue the search for the gang who murdered his son.

Roy Coffee crouched down beside his old friend. The older man put his hand on Ben’s chest and pushed him back onto the ground “Lay still, you old fool. You’re not going anywhere, Ben,” he said firmly.

“I want to catch those men and kill them with my bare hands!” Ben growled. Only Roy heard the words his friend had uttered and he was shocked.

“Ben, I know how you feel about these fellas we are chasing. You know how I feel about Hoss. How we all feel about him…But going outside the law isn’t going to help nothin’, and it will only makes bad things worse for you. I’ll make sure we all do right by your boy, Ben. You getting yourself kilt ain’t gonna do a bit of good for no one.”

“Let me take you home, Mr. Cartwright,” Billy offered. He had never ridden with a posse before and was fearful of what he would do if he had to face killing one of the outlaws. How could he take a human life, even the life of a robbing, murdering devil who belonged in hell? Bill figured that he could avoid this conflict of conscience as well as doing a kindness for poor Mr. Cartwright by taking him back to the Ponderosa.

“Bring me another mount and I’ll be just fine,” the injured man demanded unreasonably.

Roy Coffee eased Ben back down on the blankets and handed him his canteen. “Be still. You ain’t making one bit of sense. Ben, we got to do this all legal and you are hurt too bad to be of any good to anyone hurt the way you are.”

Joe and Adam galloped up and leaped off their horses. The two brothers ran over to where their father was stretched out on the ground.

“Pa!” Joe shouted.

“Looks like he broke some ribs and twisted his ankle when that horse pitched him off,” Billy explained to Ben’s sons. “But I really think Doc Martin should check him out.”

“Talk some sense into him, boys he thinks he is going to ride out with us. Bill and I will get him home.” Roy said.

Joe kneeled down and leaned over his father as he lay on the ground. “Pa you gotta go home. You’re hurt too bad to go on with us.” Joe put his hand on his father’s arm and squeezed. “You always took care of us Pa and now it’s our turn to take care of you.” He handed his father the canteen again and helped him to take a sip. Ben’s face was pale and haggard. It was apparent to Joe that his father was worn to the nub and in pain.

Adam leaned his face up against the stout trunk of a tall pine about fifty feet from the group surrounding his father. All of the others were either focused on assessing on Ben’s situation or watering their horses or taking a bit of break for themselves before the posse started out again. Adam took his black hat off and rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand. The weary man stood with his back to the other men for a minute, his shoulders shaking. From where his was laying, Ben could see that his oldest son had been crying – this was just getting worse, he thought, he had never known Adam to cry, not even when Inger and Marie had died.

Adam collected himself and slowly walked over to the men gathered around Ben.

His father heard Adam barely whisper, “We’ll get them Pa, I promise you.” Their dark eyes met. Ben saw so much of himself in those determined and hurt eyes that he said quietly, “Be careful, son.”

Adam swallowed hard and nodded.

Joe and Deputy Dean Newkirk helped Ben up on his horse and the posse watched Roy Coffee, Ben and Billy slowly ride back towards the Ponderosa.

Chapter 2

Three days later.

The sky was beginning to darken when the dirty, exhausted posse rode into the yard in front of the ranch house.  Ben Cartwright limped out of the barn with his grandson Sammy trailing a few steps behind him. The silver haired man leaned heavily against a cane that Doctor Paul Martin had left for him a few days earlier. Paul had ordered the injured rancher to keep off his feet completely but knew Cartwright would never listen. The doctor wisely took Sam aside and told the boy to keep a keen eye on his grandfather. The frightened boy needed something to keep his mind occupied and Ben Cartwright needed an attentive watchdog. He instructed the boy to a stick by his grandfather’s side whenever he went out. “You can be my helper here on the Ponderosa.”

“Like a doctor?” the boy asked intrigued by the responsibility.

“Like a doctor. I’ll even call you Doc if you do a good job and stick like glue to your grandfather and help him with all his chores and make sure he uses that cane,” Paul Martin smiled. No one wanted Sam, the only witness to the murderous bank robbery, wandering off alone while the Carson City Gang was still unaccounted for and in the area.

Sam called a greeting to the posse and the pair walked carefully toward the riders

“Did you men have any luck?” Ben asked.  Adam and Joe came riding up to their father. He looked expectantly at them. His shoulders sagged when he saw the discouragement on their faces before they even spoke. Their father was hoping he would see some gang members’ bodies tied across saddles but all he saw were the weary, discouraged riders.

Clem Foster shook his head. “I’m mighty sorry, Ben. Same as before. We found the tracks of five men riding horses and leading another. We followed them for a while but they disappeared. We headed in the same direction up the draw to the high country, but the ground got hard and rocky. No way to follow much after that.”

“Pa, we couldn’t find them. It was like they just disappeared into thin air,” as soon as the words left his mouth Joe wished he had said nothing. He felt like he was making a foolish excuse that would only disappoint his father.

“You must find them,” Ben said firmly. Sammy hung tightly to Ben, clearly distressed by the bad news.

Joe looked away. He couldn’t bear seeing the agony in his father’s eyes and the terror in his nephew’s face one more time. He had failed on the most important mission of his life.

“Looks like they headed up through the dense woods up thata way.” Clem said. “At least some of them. Maybe they split up.”

“Maybe they split up? Did they or didn’t they?” Ben demanded.

“T’ain’t no sign of them.” Roy added. “Ben, I wish there was more I could do. Hoss was like my own son…” Roy hadn’t been Sheriff for over five years but had come out to help lead the posse because of his long-standing relationship with the Cartwrights. He knew what he said was of no help. Hoss might have been “like his son” but he wasn’t his son. He was Ben’s son and he was gone forever.

“You didn’t find any more signs of them? Anything?” asked Ben, his frustration growing. He rubbed his hand on his injured leg and shifted his weight to his cane.

Joe shook his head. “Nothing,” he said.  “Pa, the floor of those woods is covered with pine needles and leaves. Nothing that would pick up a horse’s tracks. Or a man’s foot prints neither. Adam and some of his men poked around for a while, then we figured we’d better head back here.”

“Nothing,” Ben said in a dull voice. “You found nothing?”

“We found where they made a fire and then some tracks going east, but then the tracks just stopped,” added Adam. “They left an empty canvas bank bag there too.”

“Uncle Hoss would have been able to follow those tracks. He was the best tracker of all,” Sam whispered dejectedly. His grandfather put his arm protectively around the frightened little boy and hugged him to his side. The other men either didn’t hear what the child had said or simply just ignored the remark.

“Pa, we searched every inch of this mountain and all down the trails.” said Adam in frustration. His voice grew louder. “I’m real sorry, Pa.”

“Grandpa Ben, he is gonna come back and get me. He’s gonna steal me like he did last time.” Sam whispered hiding his face in Ben’s leather vest.

Ben patted his curly brown hair. “Not if I’m here boy.”

Joe climbed down off of Cochise and led his horse over to the water trough to drink. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He could still sense the memories tucked in a shadowy corner of his mind when he saw his home. He missed Hoss more than he could believe possible. The pain of his loss was more than he could bear any more. Sighing, Joe braced his arms against his saddle, dropping his head to rest his chin on his chest. Men were talking but he wasn’t listening.

Joe’s back ached and he wished he had a cold beer. “No, he thought, a bottle of whiskey would be far better. Yup, a bottle of whiskey would be much, much better, that and a bath and a soft bed and to go to sleep for few months. His brother Hoss would never wake him up again. He would never joke around and pour water on him or flip the mattress over or drag him out of bed calling him lazy or all the other things that Joe would get furious about. He would give anything to have Hoss wake him up and find out the last week had been just a nightmare that never happened. He dipped his blue bandana in the cold water and wiped it on his dusty face and neck. He hoped Hop Sing had already started heating some water for a bath.

“I want to take some of the men back up to Cherry Creek and have Clem take them on another sweep downstream,” said Roy. The long, hot days in the saddle had clearly taken a toll on the retired Sheriff but there was nothing else he could think of doing to assuage his own grief at the murder of Hoss Cartwright. His son- in- law Clem, appreciated having Roy along, as he was able to smooth over disagreements among the men and keep everyone, even the Cartwrights in line. Tempers were short and men easily angered as the hot days wore on with no real results. Both Clem and Roy agreed that they were going to keep the posse in line and find the Carson City gang and bring them in to stand trial. They had to work hard to prevent a hanging posse.

The former sheriff glanced sideways at Ben, hating to say what needed to be said. Roy hesitated and cleared his throat before he spoke. “And I want all you men to get some food and a good night’s sleep. Now it’s getting pretty dark and we don’t want anyone else getting hurt. “

Roy Coffee and Ben Cartwright had been friends since he came to Virginia City and his Nancy and Joe weren’t even old enough to go to school. Roy had even acted as the father of the bride for Katie when she married Adam Cartwright about a year earlier.

“How’s that leg doing Ben?” he asked gently.

Ben shrugged. There was nothing he could will himself to say. His son was dead and nothing would ever be the same for him. The pain in his heart far outweighed any physical ache in his leg or a hundred broken ribs.

“Ben, I’m going to see if I can round up some more men to replace some of these,” said Roy. “We’ll get a fresh posse and start looking again in the morning.”

“In the morning? All right, Roy, I completely understand, “Ben lied. He didn’t understand one bit of this incomprehensible tragedy. He rubbed his forehead and looked down at the dirt. He felt totally helpless but was comforted that the law and Roy were doing all they could do for his family.

“I don’t know what good it will do, but we can try.” Roy glanced at Adam, who just shrugged. Roy mopped his brow.

“Roy I think we should just get fresh mounts and go out again now. We have a corral full of horses and we still have a little daylight left.” Adam unhooked his canteen and pulled off the cork. “Hays can have them saddled up and the men can go out again.”

“No, Adam, Everyone is done in and the sun is going down. We won’t be able to see the trail and will just disturb any marks left. I’m not going to let another man get hurt. And besides, your wife and that boy need you around here for a bit before you ride out again. Your Pa too.” Roy said calmly.

Little Joe walked over to Sport and reached up to put his hand on his brother’s leg “Adam, Roy is right. It will be dark before we get very far. Besides, we can’t let Pa and Sam and Kate be alone again one more night. We can’t do any more today.”
”We need to find the men who shot our brother.” Adam answered tersely pulling away from Joe. Disgusted, Adam took a swallow of tepid water then recorked the canteen.  It gave an unsettled gurgle as he let it slide back against his saddle.  “Come on, Sport.”  Adam tugged on the reins, prepared to pull the horse around to the hitching rail in front of the house.

“We can’t do anything useful in the dark with tired men. Adam, when it is light, we can see better and maybe we can pick up the trail south of the Lake and then the area near Cherry Creek. This time, I want them to keep an eye out for anything we missed the last time we passed through. It’s late, let’s go inside. There’s nothing more we can do today.” Joe said to Adam’s retreating back. That bottle of whiskey in his mind’s eye looked mighty appealing to Joe after the three days on the trail.

“Don’t go, Papa!” Sam begged. “Please!”

Realizing how irrationally he was behaving, Adam dismounted and went over the frightened boy and scooped him up in his arms. The boy hugged Adam tightly.

“Now you look son, we are not going to let anything happen to you. Never. You have my word, Sam. And Cartwrights always keep their word,” Adam said firmly.

“Cartwrights always keep their word,” Sam smiled weakly.

“Now you just go right into the house and tell your Mama to come out and say hello. It’s been a long time since I saw her.” Adam gently put his son down on the ground and patted his head.

The little boy looked a bit calmer knowing Adam was around to watch out for him. Even so, he hesitated to leave Adam’s side.

”Go on now. “ Adam gave the boy a little push towards the house.

Sam ran across the yard to the kitchen door shouting for Kate, “Mama, Mama! Adam is back.”

Looping his horse’s reins over the rail, Adam walked up the steps to the front porch.  He was almost to the door when it opened and Kate stepped briskly over the threshold. Wiping her hands on her apron, she ran over to Adam and threw her arms around him.

She had been afraid she never would see him again.

Chapter 3

The next morning

Adam and Joe both looked weary despite the few hours of sleep they had the night before. They had been up before dawn, gulped down some coffee and rode out with the posse. Kate had tried to get them to eat some breakfast but both brothers refused and had joined the rest of the posse before first light. It was going to be a hot one

As he rode out, Adam had seen his son anxiously peeping out from behind the curtains in his bedroom.

By midmorning the sun was blazing white-hot.

Realizing the gang may have split up, Clem divided the posse into three groups and sent each group in different directions with instructions to meet in two hours near High Point Ridge. Deputy Dean Newkirk took one group, Clem the second and Roy the third group. The retired sheriff made sure he kept Adam and Joe Cartwright in his group fearing that the brothers might over ride young Newkirk if he gave the men directions or they would balk when Clem gave them orders. Roy knew there was no way he would let the Cartwright boys stray from his leadership.

Hours later, the men stopped searching and met at the prearranged spot.

“Did you find anything?” Adam asked Clem as the Sheriff rode up. Joe was feeling the morning after effects of the quart of whiskey that put him to sleep the night before and sat silently on Cochise. His mouth had a sour metallic taste and his tongue was gritty. He rubbed his sweaty neck with his dirty neckerchief.

Joe pointed into the woods. “Looks like they rode off in that direction.” He pointed to a trail leading into the hills. He spit on the ground trying to get rid of the nasty taste in his mouth and took a swallow from his almost empty canteen.

Clem nodded. “Found some tracks through here last time,” he said. “Looks like someone tried to brush them out, but he missed the ones in the mud. Not only that, but the men doubled back.”

“Doubled back? That looks like they know the area pretty well. Maybe one of them is from around these parts? ” the deputy suggested. Dean’s lake blue eyes stared at the trail.

“You might just have something there, Dean,” the Sheriff agreed. The young fellow was pretty clever and might just shape up to be a fine deputy with a few more years under his belt.

“Sheriff Foster, I’ve been thinking,” Deputy Newkirk said. “Maybe we should try the other side of the ridge. There’s some places there were five or six men could hold up without being seen. We ought to check those out.”

“Good idea,” said Clem nodding.

“Clem, why don’t you have Deputy Newkirk led the way? “ Roy suggested. The retired sheriff was also quite impressed at how well the young fellow was handling his job.

“Maybe he would be ready to take one of the Cartwright boys with him the next time we split the posse up? “ Clem said softly to the retired sheriff.

“Might just be.” Roy said. He knew Clem was wearying of riding herd on the two Cartwrights. “Let Little Joe ride with Dean. Adam can stay with me.”

“Sounds like a good plan, Roy.” Clem swung back on his horse and called out to the posse. “Let’s move out!”

Dean Newkirk pulled his dapple gray into the lead of the line of discouraged men and headed them to the left.

A few minutes later, Joe and Dean were slowly guiding the horses down the back slope of the ridge to the left. Adam, Roy and three other men took the trail to the right. This trail curved through large, jagged tan rocks and dense, parched underbrush. The never ending afternoon heat shimmered off the boulders.

The ridge masked the posse riders from anyone’s view. The trail led to a flat stretch of shale and hardscrabble ground that wound through the taller rocks and dry brush. Canyons, gullies and ravines were carved into the thick rock on either side of the flat ground. Not many people traveled this rough country; as there were easier trails to almost anywhere except Hades. It seemed the perfect place for the Carson City Gang to be hiding.

Joe studied the hillside above them. It was heavily covered with stubby gray brush and clumps of rocks. A man could climb up the hill without being seen. “Let’s see if anyone is still here. “ He pointed toward the hills.

Dean Newkirk turned in his saddle to face Joe and grinned triumphantly. His water blue eyes flashed and his white blonde hair curled around his ears. The bright sunlight glinted off the young deputy’s still new tin star.  “Maybe we got ‘em now. Let’s go, Joe!”

Suddenly, a single rifle shot rang out from the hill above the .The crack of the report echoed off the rocks around them. The well-aimed shot caught the deputy in the throat. Dean raised his hands to his neck and gasped. Blood poured down his dusty plaid shirt. The deputy fell to the rocky ground, dead before he hit the ground.

The posse leaped off their horses and dove for cover. They scrambled behind trees and boulders. They wildly returned fire to the hill above them. After days on the trail the posse has finally found their prey, but not before the fox found the hounds.

“Hold your fire men!” Sheriff Clem Foster ordered. They all realized that they were surrounded by silence. No more shots were being returned from the ridge above them. Either he had taken off or maybe someone in the posse had managed to hit him. Joe stared silently at Dean’s crumpled, bloody body on the ground at his feet. They had been friends since they were not yet old enough to go to school. Little Joe had been the best man at Dean’s wedding.

“You four, go over to the left and follow that gully and swing around behind where the shots were coming from, “Clem directed. “And you four, swing over the other way.”

The rest of the men waited down below. Still no more shots were heard. The midday heat baked down on them and shimmered off the hard ground. Billy Felcher and Adam Cartwright waited behind an outcropping of sandstone, guns drawn. Clem was hunkered down about ten yards away from them.

“We can’t leave Dean laying out there in the sun like that, Clem, “Billy said in a pained voice. He had read somewhere that fearless was when someone recognized why they should be scared of things, but do them anyway. It was at that moment, Billy knew he would never, ever be fearless and he closed his eyes and pressed himself against the sandstone rock so hard that his face and chest was bruised.

“He’s dead, Bill and I’m not going to lose another man going out after him. Just wait until we are sure and no one else will get hurt. We lost enough men already to these bastards,” Clem said.

They heard a shout from high on the ridge. “All clear up here. We got one dead fella and the rest got away.”

“Billy, give me a hand with Dean, “Adam Cartwright stood up and walked out to the dead deputy. Adam bent down and gently closed Newkirk’s sightless blue eyes. Adam had known Dean Newkirk since he was born in the foreman’s house on the Ponderosa. Now the ambitious deputy was dead.

One more murdered man left behind by the gang. What was one more murder to the desperados? All of them were facing a hangman’s noose and nothing much mattered to them anymore.

“At least we got one, “Clem told the other men.

“Yeah, but we still got four more from the bank to find, “Adam took a swig of water from his canteen, swishing it around the inside of his mouth before spitting it on the ground. He passed the water to his brother who took the canteen gratefully. His throat was drier than the dust that crusted his boots.

Adam Cartwright glanced briefly towards the horizon, then turned his attention back to finding the men who murdered his brother, Hoss.

Chapter 4

For two more blazing hot days and nights the posse struggled to find the bank robbers. Time passed and there was not a single solitary sign of the four outlaws who had escaped. It was almost as if they had evaporated into thin air.

Finally, the posse gave up all expectation of finding the criminals. Sheriff Clem Foster decided they had to quit and let all men in the posse go home before tempers flared and they started fighting with each other. The posse had been away from their families and neglected their ranches and jobs in town for too long without bringing the Carson City gang to justice. All they had to show for their efforts was one dead outlaw at the cost of a fine young deputy who was shot down in front of them all.

“These guys could be in Mexico by now for all we know, Clem,” Pierce Winslow grumbled. Sheriff Foster had no response, as he knew Winslow could be right. They headed for home.

The sound of horses and riders awakened Sam from where he dozed on the porch settee with his head in his mother’s lap. Ben sat nearby on a wooden chair with his injured leg propped up on another chair. The night was so hot that they had been sitting there since dinner trying to catch a cool breeze.

Hop Sing had brought out some lemonade and cookies that sat untouched on the table. They all looked toward the road leading up to the ranch house. A dozen men were riding toward the house, led by Clem Foster. Ben recognized Joe and Adam instantly and breathed a sigh of relief at his two sons’ safe return home.

“They’re back!” Kate said thankfully.

Two of the riders were leading horses. A large bundle wrapped in a dusty blanket was slung over the saddle of each of the rider less horses.

“You fellas go home,” Clem told the Cartwright brothers firmly as they pulled into the yard.  “We’ll take care of the rest in town. We’ll bring Dean into the undertakers. Tell your Pa I’m real sorry we couldn’t finish off the rest of this business for him.”

”Thanks, Clem.” Adam said wearily.” I’m sorry too.” He reached over to shake the Sheriff’s hand.

Joe climbed down from Cochise and walked over to the horse carrying Dean Newkirk’s body tied across the saddle. “He was a good man, Clem. I’ll go tell his folks as soon as I clean up a bit. Pa and I’ll bring Hays and Bonnie in to make the arrangements in the morning.”

“Tell them all that I’m really sorry.” Clem murmured. “He had the makings of a fine deputy.”

Joe Cartwright lifted the edge of the blanket covering his friend’s body and took a final look. Their fathers had worked side by side for year and Hays Newkirk had become the foreman of the Ponderosa before Joe was born. Dean’s wife, Bonnie was expecting their second child in the fall.

“I’ll take your horse, Adam. Go see how everyone is in the house,” Joe offered. He knew his brother was anxious to see his wife and check on Sam. More importantly, Joe dreaded walking up on the porch, seeing his father and telling him that the trail of the killers was ice cold. He dreaded admitting to his father that he had failed miserably. Most of all, Joe hated the idea of walking in the house and seeing that Hoss would not be sitting in his usual spot by the fireplace. He would do anything right now not to face the rest of the family or walk into the ranch house.

Kate gently moved Sam from her lap, stepped down from the porch and ran across the yard to her husband.

“Adam!”

”It’s me all right.” Adam answered. Adam reached a hand down to Kate’s face and stroked her cheek with his rough, dirty hand. He loved her more today than he had ever thought possible. She was the center of his life.

Kate looked up. His dark whiskered face was gaunt and his dark eyes red rimmed. Adam was filthy and caked with the dust of the days out with the posse. He reeked from campfire smoke and sweat and horses. Her husband badly needed a bath, a shave and fresh clothes but Kate saw none of that as she looked up at him. All she saw was the man she had loved most of her life was finally back home.

She quickly stood on tiptoes up and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh Adam, I missed you so.” The waiting had been excruciating. She had secretly feared that something could happen to Adam or to Little Joe and one of them would be carried home across his saddle like poor Dean Newkirk. She was relieved to have him and Joe home safe.

Adam knew that his wife wanted him home more than anything. As determined, as he was to avenge the murder of his brother Hoss, Adam knew he had to let go of the search and stay with her on the Ponderosa for a while before setting out again.

The minutes ticked by without a word. Kate reached her hand up to his filthy cheek and looked up into his dark brown eyes, “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly fearing more bad news.

He smiled down at her and said, “Nothing, Katie. Nothing is wrong that you don’t already know. I thought I had a hard decision to make, but now I realize there is no decision at all, not for now.”

 

Chapter 5

Two days after Sheriff Foster dispersed his posse, horse thieves stole a half dozen prime horses in the middle of the night. Everyone was sleeping and it was assumed that the Carson City Gang had struck again.

A few days later the rogue band struck again in Mesa Verde on a hot afternoon stealing the payroll at one of Carl Havermeyer’s biggest mines. Before they galloped off, they shot the paymaster dead even after he had turned over all the cash. They were charged with killing a rancher a few miles away and stealing fresh mounts from his corral.

A few weeks later a stage to Placerville was stopped and the cash box taken. No witnesses were left to identify the perpetrators but the tracks indicated four riders had ridden off into the hills. Folks had started calling them the Devil’s Brigade or the Angels of Death as no one who saw them up close was left alive. The only exception was little Sam Cartwright. The boy was the only survivor of the hold up in the Virginia City bank and the only witness to of any of the crimes of the Carson City Gang.

A few days later, they struck at one of Tom Slayden’s freight wagon. The driver, Frank Stanley was shot twice and left for dead bleeding in the dusty road. Frank was only recently working as a freight driver again after homesteading for years north of Cherry Creek with his wife Carly. Most of their herd was destroyed one bitter cold winter. After years of struggle, Carly and Frank had finally sold out. Frank had gone back to work as a driver and Carly returned to teaching school in Placerville. Fortunately for him, not long after he was attacked, a passing peddler, Jacob J. Dorman, found Frank near death and brought him into Virginia City. While Doc Martin patched him up, the driver described his assailants to Sheriff Foster who then wired the descriptions throughout the area.

Frank claimed there had been four men. One was a heavy set, sandy haired man on a bay. The second, who seemed like the leader, was tall with dark brown straight hair, a black hat and a beard. The next seemed quieter and was slighter and had curly brown hair and green eyes. Most important of all, Frank was sure that the last gang member was red headed Cyrus Carnigan who had been his helper years before when he first drove a freight wagon in the area. Carnigan was the one who shot Frank Stanley at point blank range, hoping no witness could identify him.

Despite Frank’s description, there was little progress in catching the vicious men who killed Hoss Cartwright and now numerous others. The deputy was dead and the trail was going cold. The Carson City Gang had disappeared without a trace- again like the evil supernatural demons people claimed that they were.

 

***

Part 13

Life Shatters Into Pieces

Chapter 1

It had been six weeks now. Ben Cartwright was hardly getting used to seeing only two of sons walk into the barn in the morning or sit at the table at dinner. He often found himself thinking he needed to talk to Hoss about some livestock problem or tell him some funny thing that Sam had said or to depend on his calm strength when sorting out a conflict with some fight among the ranch hands. Each time Ben heard the sound of horses approach the house he would think, just for a brief instant that Hoss must be back from the range. Then it would all rush back to him that Hoss was gone forever and was never, ever coming home.

As the summer passed, Ben’s broken ribs healed and his injured ankle slowly got better. The limp was almost gone. Sam still followed him around like a watchdog and Ben was more than glad to have the company of the boy. Each time Doc Martin came by to check Ben’s progress, the boy carried in Paul’s bag for him and sat attentively as he checked Ben out.

“Maybe I’ll be a doctor someday, Grandpa. A rancher and a doctor both.”

“You could do that,” Ben said watching Paul Martin pack up his instruments.

“Then I would take care of people and horses too. And cattle. And folks will call me Doc.”

“People and cattle you say?” the doctor said taking his stethoscope out of Sam’s curious hands. The boy was listening to his own heartbeat.

“And I can take care of monkeys too.” Sammy added.

Paul Martin chuckled at the boy’s imagination. “Monkeys you say? We don’t get too many monkeys around Virginia City.”

“But then I will be ready if we do. Like from a circus that came to town. Once Mama took me to a circus when we lived in San Francisco and they had lots of monkeys.”

“We can use some more doctors here in Virginia City, Sam,” Doc Martin smiled.” Just you Cartwrights alone keep me pretty busy. But I don’t think we have a whole lot of monkeys in these parts. Just people and cattle and horses.”

Paul smiled and looked at Ben Cartwright who shrugged, shaking his head at the unique direction Sam’s imagination always took. The little boy was a source of constant amusement to all the adults on Ponderosa.

“How’s our patient, Doctor Martin?” Sam said handing the doctor his bag.

“How’s our patient?” Paul smiled at Sam’s serious concern. “Well, “Doc”, it looks like you did a fine job tending to your grandfather and he’s coming along very well. Keep up the fine job you are doing.”

“And if any sick monkey comes into town, Paul, feel free to refer them to Sam’s care,” Ben teased.

“Or monkeys with injuries, like broken ribs or hurt ankles! I can teach them to use a little cane the way I got Grandpa to use a cane.”

“Absolutely! If you can train Ben Cartwright, an injured monkey will be quite easy!” Paul Martin handed Sam his bag to carry out to his buggy.

Both Joe and Adam were laboring very hard keeping up with the work on the ranch. Between Ben’s injury and Hoss’s death, they had to shoulder a huge load. Adam still had to keep track of his own Stoddard and Bruce projects and rarely had a spare minute. He wanted the San Francisco office to be opened on schedule just as he and Dennis planned.

Hays Newkirk, the foreman tried hard to help out but he too was grieving the loss of his son, Dean as well as taking care of his pregnant daughter in law, Bonnie. His wife Rebecca and younger son, Casey were bearing up as best they could.

At Kate’s insistence, she and Adam and their son had moved from Mim’s little yellow house in town into the downstairs bedroom on the Ponderosa for the time being. Sam slept upstairs in one of the small bedrooms. She felt that they all needed to be together and that Ben would not allow his ankle to heal up if she were not there to keep track of him on a day-to-day basis. She was also worried about Sam’s safety if they remained in town where people came and went all day and night. On the Ponderosa, any stranger would be quickly noticed.

She gave some of her staff more responsibility at the Enterprise and was able to do some of her writing from Ben’s desk on the Ponderosa Ranch. Once or twice a week, she went into Virginia City and checked on the paper and had a quiet lunch with Nancy Foster. She could leave Sam playing with the Foster children and do other chores with a clear mind that he was safe and well cared for by Nancy. No bank robbers would dare look for the lone witness playing at the sheriff’s house. Her son needed to spend some time with other children his age and get away from the all the mournful adults on the ranch.

Kate’s afternoon was spent alone at Mim’s empty house. Kate would unroll Adam’s plans on the kitchen table and examine them over and over again. Occasionally she would sketch out some details or make a list of corrections or questions for him. Kate would silently walk around the place and imagine their new house in her mind’s eye. She needed to have something happy to look forward to or she would have lost her mind. By dinner time she and Sam would return back to the Ponderosa Ranch and try to sort out of what was going on while she was gone.

Sam was extremely content to be at the Ponderosa and stayed glued to his grandfather. Ben enjoyed having a second generation of small boys on the ranch and Sam gladly spent time with him. Ben taught Sam many of the chores around the place that he had taught his own sons and even started calling the boy “Doc” because he had taken such good care of him when he was injured.

Adam had found Sam a sassy gray pony, Katarina, to ride. From some back corner of the tack room, Joe dug out the old boy’s sized saddle and bridle that he had used for Lucky and cleaned it up for his nephew. One afternoon Ben decided he was feeling well enough to ride his horse a bit. He took Sam out and showed him how to check the fence lines on the south meadow.

As Ben pounded some new posts into the ground, Sam stood waiting to help. “Sam, hand me some more nails.” Ben asked as he started to string the wire.

“Grandpa, I miss Uncle Hoss, awful bad.”

I know it’s hard, son,” Ben said. He put the sledgehammer down on the ground and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder comfortingly. “We’re all struggling to get used to him not being here.  I’m afraid, Sammy, that you have had more than your share difficult times in your short life.”

“I just miss Uncle Hoss so much, Grandpa” Sammy said fighting back his tears. “It hearts me all over.”

“We all do.” Ben swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat. He closed his eyes as he hugged Sammy tightly and took a deep breath. Tears filled his eyes thinking of his dead son and of the unremitting pain his young grandson must be feeling. “But I remember that as long as you remember someone in your heart, a piece of that person stays alive. The person might be gone but your love for them lasts forever. Do you think you can do that Doc?”
The boy nodded. He wiped his tears on his shirtsleeve. “Yes sir. I will always remember Uncle Hoss as long as I live. And always love him too.”

Ben pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his own eyes. Kneeling down facing his grandson he said to his him “Now blow.” The boy let his grandfather wipe his nose and eyes. Ben stuck the handkerchief in the boy’s pocket.

“I love you, Grandpa.” Sam put his arms around Ben and they hugged each other close. Having Sam to care for seemed to help Ben deal with his own grief. He felt he had a purpose. Day by day Sam and his grandfather grew closer as the rest of Ben’s family pulled asunder

Chapter 2

For Ben Cartwright, far worse than the pain of losing Hoss, was having to watch his two remaining sons wrestle each day with the burden of grief they carried. With Hoss gone Joe and Adam squared off eye to eye with no other brother left to calm the storms of their rage or yank them apart when they started chewing on each other. The two brothers, the oldest and youngest of his boys, pulled in their own separate directions.

Ben could imagine what Adam and Joe were going through and this upset him even more. Hays Newkirk, his foreman, had been on the Ponderosa for years. His oldest son, Deputy Dean Newkirk, had been shot down leading the posse two weeks after they killed Hoss.

One night, the two men sat quietly side by side on the porch in the dark. “Benjamin, I never thought we would be sitting here, two old men burying our own boys.” He rubbed his chin and stared at the night sky.

Ben looked at his hands “Guess we have no choice. You play the hand you are dealt no matter how good, no matter how bad it may be. It is the only hand you get.”

Hays sighed and nodded his head. “Dean’s wife should be having that baby any day now. Bonnie wants to take the children and go back to her people in Kansas when the new baby is able to make the trip. I hate to see her go. My Rebecca it taking this pretty hard but won’t let on in front of anyone that she wants Bonnie and those babies to stay right here with us.”
”Grandchildren are a comfort when you are sorrowful. They make you think of the future, not the bad days that passed. Maybe Bonnie will change her mind.”

“It used to be my table was pretty crowded. Dean and Bonnie and the baby, the missus, our girls and their husbands and little Casey. Soon all it will be is Casey and the missus and me. Won’t need much of a table no more, Benjamin. It’s those empty chairs at dinner.”

Ben nodded. ”I guess it is the measure of a man how he takes such a loss. It can make you bitter and crooked like Abel Stoddard. Look how vengeful he became because my Elisabeth died.  Or you can pick up as best you can and go on living.”

“From what you said, Stoddard wasn’t never much of a man, even before Elizabeth died, Benjamin. He was a miserable bastard. You can’t rise to the occasion when you are a low down louse.”

Chapter 3

Ben sat himself down at the head of the dinner table, and the others took their accustomed places around him, Joe on his right and Adam next to his brother. Kate sat on Adam’s’ other hand at the foot of the long dining room table facing her father-in-law. Sam was next to her, facing Adam.

On Ben’s left side was an empty chair. It was the seat Hoss had occupied for all the years they had lived in this home. As a boy, Hoss had selected that particular seat. His stepmother Marie was still alive and was trying to tame this all male household a bit by making sure they sat down to the table with clean shirts and engaged in polite behavior and used proper table manners. Ben smiled remembering his middle son telling him that by sitting in that particular seat, he got the first view of the food platters being carried in from the kitchen and wouldn’t get caught in between Adam and Little Joe poking at each other.

Now all Joe could see opposite him, as a constant reminder at each meal was his dead brother’s empty chair.

Adam, seated next to his younger brother noticed how Joseph was twisted in his seat and had pulled his chair at an angle to the table. He kept his eyes on his dinner plate. He wrongly attributed his brother’s silence to the late nights Joe had been keeping or some unspoken anger to Adam.  Most meals, if Joe did join them, were silent affairs with only little Sam and Ben at opposite ends of the table attempting to keep up a conversation.

“Grandpa, could we go fishing soon?”
”That sounds good; my leg is feeling much better from your tending, Doc.”

“And I am sure we would all enjoy some fine fresh fish for dinner,” Kate said looking around the table at her silent family. “Wouldn’t some fish be a nice change?”

“Very nice! Real nice! I love fish. Wouldn’t it be nice Papa? Uncle Joe? ” Sam chattered with false cheer.

Kate cringed as she watched how hard Sam was struggling to raise the spirits of everyone in the house. She remembered doing the same thing when she was a girl living with her parents and aunt and uncle when they were worrying about things. Kate knew she was a good witness. She recalled over hearing her Mim telling her mother how children make unusually accurate witnesses, especially only children living in a houseful of adults.  Mim had said. “Children really remember when your parents and the ones you love are happy, and you really, really remember when your parents are anxious and sad.”

”How about tomorrow? Uncle Joe do you want to go fishing? Pa? “Sam smiled hopefully as he struggled to pull everyone into the discussion. Unfortunately, the boy was fighting a losing battle with both his step father and his uncle.

Joe didn’t even look up. He silently poked at his roast beef with his fork. He was tired and aching from breaking horses all day. His shoulder hurt from hitting the corral fence when he was thrown. Joe had lain in the dirt for a long while but refused to listen to Hays when he told him to quit for the day. He worked for another few hours and was now feeling the pain of all his bruises.

“Papa, come fishing!” Sam repeated. “Please.”

“No, son, I have to check up on the North pasture if the water is holding for the herds up there. “ Adam answered. “I would hate to have that cattle die from thirst in this hot weather. And I have some matters to attend to for Dennis.”

Adam looked next to him at Kate. His wife, he noticed looked tired and pale.

Kate was trying to watch Little Joe without him noticing her scrutiny. She had known her brother-in –law since they were not even old enough for school but had never experienced him behaving as he had since Hoss was killed.

Joe Cartwright had always been the center of all the jokes and socializing in the family and amongst his friends. Even when things were difficult, he tended to want to be around people, almost to a fault when he was younger. He was known to sneak out through his bedroom window to visit in Virginia City rather than obey his father’s punishments. Joe would never give up a party or dance and usually could string along a few different pretty girls at the same time if he wasn’t courting a special one. As much as he liked to spend evenings in town at the Silver Dollar or Bucket of Blood playing poker or having a few beers it was always the company of other people that he enjoyed more than the gambling or the drinking. He rarely if ever drank alone or drank to such excess as he had been since his brother was murdered. Joe withdrew from people more and more each day.

Kate felt like someone had kidnapped her Little Joe Cartwright, the one she knew and loved and replaced him with a sour spirited look alike-bedeviled twin. It was like the scary story her mother used to tell her about the horribly monstrous changeling child who was left behind by the devilish trolls.

Joe squirmed painfully in his seat. His head was down and he silently poked a fork at the food on his plate, pushing it around and not eating it.

“Pa, I’m done. Excuse me. I have some things to attend to tonight in town. “Without waiting for a response he pushed back his chair and left the table and quickly walked to the front door. Sam jumped up from the table and ran after him.

”Could I go too Uncle Joe?” Sam asked hopefully.

“No.” Joe snapped at him bluntly. They heard the front door open quickly and slam shut as he left.

“Sam, get back to the table. You didn’t finish,” Kate called to her son. The boy rushed back into the dining room.

“Guess he wasn’t hungry, Mama.”  Sam tried to make an excuse for his beloved uncle’s abrupt departure. In his own innocent attempt at cheering her, he took a big forkful of mashed potatoes and shoveled them into his mouth. No one at the table even noticed or made mention of his bad table manners or of the gravy on his chin that dripped onto his shirt.

Adam silently shrugged his shoulders. Ben’s dark eyes met Kate’s at the opposite end of the table. Something was terribly wrong in their home and they needed to straighten it out. Unless they could figure out what it was, Kate and her father in law were both helpless to remedy anything.

Chapter 4

Adam compulsively followed any news about the Carson City Gang. He meticulously plotted out where they were seen or committed a crime on a hand drawn map of the territory.  Disturbed by this obsession, Kate had forbidden him from hanging the map in the house so he silently brought it outside and nailed it on the north wall of the tack room.

He withdrew into hard work and kept the ranch running. Many nights were spent reviewing Stoddard and Bruce reports and drafting letters with his responses. He ate less and less each day despite Kate’s arguments and Hop Sing trying to tempt him with his favorite dishes.

Kate walked half way down the stairs to the main room and paused to take stock of her surroundings. She had just finished putting Sam to bed. Joe still was not home and Ben had fallen asleep in his chair by the stone fireplace while reading a book. The book was open across his chest and his head was thrown back. The last few months had aged him dreadfully and his hair was totally silver. He looked like a very old, worn out man.

Kate Cartwright heard the front door opens slowly and saw her husband drag himself into the house. Adam took off his hat on the rack by the door. Hoss’s big white hat sat on the rack as it had since the night they brought his gear back from the sheriff’s office. Then he unbuckled his gun belt, sighed deeply as he neatly coiled it up and placed it on its customary spot on the sideboard near the door. Two other gun belts lay there, the one belonging to Hoss and Ben’s weapon. The absence of Joe’s gear indicated to Adam that his brother still was not home.

He looked through a pile of mail that one of the hands had brought back from town and noticed three pieces of mail from the offices of Stoddard and Bruce, a letter from Dennis and a thick envelope from the cavalry with bid information on horses. He pushed them aside and decided to look at them in the morning. There was no way he could pay them proper attention to any of these things tonight. He was far too weary.

Kate watched as Adam headed for their bedroom. His face was unshaven for days and his shoulders were slumped.

“Night,” he mumbled when he noticed her on the other side of the room.

“Adam…please, …you need to eat something,” his wife pleaded softly.

“No I don’t need to eat anything,” he replied rubbing his stiff shoulders and yawning. He ran his fingers through his filthy black hair.

“Let me make you something.” she paused, struggling to select what she would say and how she could say it.

“Don’t bother. I’m tired, Kate. I’m so damned tired I just want to go to bed and never wake up again,” he begged, “just…let me go to bed.” He walked into their bedroom and slowly shut the door. Kate never felt more abandoned watching all the people she loved retreat further and further into their grief and leave her standing completely alone.

Chapter 5

The sound of the sharp axe splitting the log was one that seemed
fitting to Adam Cartwright’s continuous rage. He was enraged. Venting his fury on the pile of firewood in front of him seemed to help. With each blow he imagined he was decapitating one of the Carson City gang. Unlike the long days he spent with the posse that had lead nowhere, at least by hacking into the wood he could see some tangible results from what his efforts.

“Papa?

Adam looked up to see Sammy standing nearby “Mama said to come in for dinner. It is steak and mashed potatoes just the way you like it. And two desserts. Blueberry pie and cherry cobbler.”

”Ok, help me carry some of this fire wood, Sam.”

The boy reached out helpfully and let his father pile some kindling into his slender arms. Adam picked up a larger load and together they walked inside through the front door.

“Soon we’ll have to start cutting and stacking wood for the winter, Sam,” Adam explained. “Snow will be here before you know it.”

Ben was working at the desk examining the ledgers and sorting through some of the stack of letter and paper work that had piled up the last few months since Hoss had died. In the weeks after Hoss died, Ben had difficulty staying focused on things this summer. Adam, who normally helped his father stay ahead of the paperwork, was frequently pulled away to supervise other work on the Ponderosa. Now Ben was determined to plow through the back log and clear off his desk.

“The army wants another string of horses in two weeks. “Ben remarked reading one of the letters.

Joe stood next to his father reading over his shoulder. “That won’t be a problem. We can deliver just what they need.”

”Joe, that’s pretty short order for the number of mounts they want and how wild that bunch in the corral look.”

”They’ll be fine I’ll take care of them myself.” Joe said with a hard edge.

Sam and Adam noisily filled the brown wood box next to the fireplace.

“Now go wash up, Sammy,” Ben said automatically without even looking up from his paperwork. After all the years of raising boys the words just rolled out of his mouth without the rancher even thinking about them.

Adam nudged Sam on the shoulder and sent him upstairs. Then he turned to his brother. “Joe, Pa is right, it’s an awfully short time to break all those horses.”

“I said don’t worry about it!  It’ll get done on time.” He angrily walked over to the sideboard and poured himself a drink from the decanter. “Don’t butt in Adam. The horses are my business, not yours.”

“I’m not butting in, Joe. You are just totally wrong about this.”

Ben looked at Joe but decided that saying anything more about the horses tonight was not going to improve his youngest son’s temper or decrease the amount of whiskey he was drinking.

“Any news from Clem Foster when you went into town this afternoon?” Ben asked trying to distract his sons and change the subject before another battle started. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he realized he had selected the wrong topic and regretted bringing up the topic.

”What do you mean?” Joe bristled.

“Any more news from the Sheriff about the Carson City Gang? Or are you did you spend the afternoon at the Silver Dollar like you spend all your evenings?” Adam blasted back with both barrels.

“Adam, we can’t do anything more. It’s done. Forget about it. The trail is cold and we are not going to find them.” Joe poured some more whisky into his glass and downed it in a gulp.

Adam slammed his fist into the wood box up ending it with a loud crash. The split logs clattered noisily to the floor. He stared at Joe with frightening rage. Adam shouted, “Shut up Joe!”

Adam’s glare was furious. Ben felt that had his eldest son been within reaching distance, he would have grabbed his brother and heaved Joe across the room by the scruff of his neck.

The explosion of noise and shouting sent Kate running into from the kitchen where she and Hop Sing had been putting the last touches on dinner “Adam! Joe! Stop please stop.” she pleaded.

“Look, I’m sick of you telling me what to do, Adam.” Joe roared. He tossed back the rest his drink and walked towards the front door. He reached for his gun belt from where it lay coiled up on the sideboard next to his brother’s. For an instant he froze, seeing Hoss’s holster and gun belt sitting there and pulled back his hand as if he had touched a hot cook stove. He snatched his hat from the rack and grabbed his gun belt and stormed out the door. “Don’t wait up for me.” He shouted angrily and slammed the door behind him.

“Joseph!” Ben called. He rushed away from his desk but it was too late. They heard Joe thunder off on Cochise a few minutes later.

“Adam, I can’t endure any more of this battling between you two. What is wrong with you? ” Ben bellowed at his oldest son standing toe to toe with him. Adam took a step backwards. His father was eye to eye with him.

”Pa, Joe wants to give up on finding the men who killed Hoss. I can’t let that happen. Not yet. I won’t give it up.”

”If you and your brother keep on this way it won’t matter what you do or if you find those outlaws. Look at you two! Look at you two!” Ben raised his voice.

Adam froze as his father’s voice thundered throughout the house as it hadn’t in years.

”Adam, you’re are going to kill yourself with over work and lack of sleep and your brother is going to drink himself to death or break his neck riding his horse like a lunatic!” Ben roared.

Kate ran over to her husband standing next to the fireplace and put her hand on his forearm. Her face was as pale as the white eyelet blouse she was wearing. “Adam, please,” she started.

He pulled away furiously and pushed past her. Adam stormed out the front door just as his brother had done only moments earlier. The front door slammed closed behind him with such force that the painting above the sideboard fell to the floor with a crash cracking the ornate frame.

The pain from Hoss’s sudden death had left its mark on all of them; each in their own way. Ben stared at Kate in despair. “Kate, what are we going to do? I’m lost for what to do for them. I’ve already buried one son; he thought in agony, I can’t let anything happen to the others.”

”Ben we can’t give up now. “ She walked over to where he was standing and put her arms around him. She had known her father-in-law most of her life and would have done anything to help him. The only family she had now was the Cartwrights and Sam and there was no way that Kate would let them flounder and sink.

When her uncle was shot to death over the editorials he was publishing in the Enterprise about water rights, it was Ben Cartwright who had helped bring the murderer to justice and Ben who made sure that Mim kept the newspaper running. Kate remembered what Mim had said to her at that time about keeping things together when it seems the hardest.

I have to be strong . . . Kate thought, trying to calm her emotions, that’s the only way I can help them all. I don’t have the luxury of being weak right now. Despite her best intent to not cry again, tears rolled down her cheeks. She was worn out from tending to Sam’s nightmares, refereeing fights between Joe and Adam and the grief she too was feeling from the loss of her beloved brother-in-law. Now Ben was asking for her support too.

Kate desperately missed being in her own house. Winter was fast approaching and not one bit of work had begun on the house she and Adam had planned together the previous spring.

Kate took a deep breath and decided it was time to take hold of the situation before it got worse. “Together, we’ll find a way to get through this, Ben. It might take some time, but things won’t always be the way they are now.”

Ben nodded. He reached down and wiped the tears from her face with his hand. “You’re right, Katie. We have to do this together.”

“The two of us will find a way through your two pig headed sons. Even if I have to grab them by the scruff of their necks and knock their foolish heads together” She tried to smile at her father-in-law.

“You just do that, Katie,” He chuckled. Ben couldn’t resist her attempt at humor and laughed at the thought of petite Katie pounding his two tall, muscular sons. Ben wrapped his arms around her and held her protectively in his embrace, taking charge once again just as he always had.

“Thanks, Ben.”

“Let’s get Sam down here for dinner. Your little boy must be mighty hungry even if my big boys aren’t.

Chapter 6

Kate took a deep breath and opened the barn door. In the dim yellow flickering light of the kerosene lantern she could see her husband. His back was to the door, and Adam was tossing bedding into the stalls. He was working with such angry ferocity that he didn’t even realize his wife was near. There was absolutely no need for him to be doing this. The Cartwrights had a bunkhouse full of hands to do this sort of labor.

“Come inside Adam. You’ve been out here for over two hours.” She spoke to him as calmly as she could. “You have to eat some dinner. Sam is already in bed. He fell asleep waiting for you to say goodnight.  He wanted to show you a map he copied from the atlas.”

He continued to silently toss straw into the next stall. Even with his back to his wife and she could see by the way his trousers and shirt loosely fit that he had lost a lot of weight in the last few weeks.

“We all can’t go on like this Adam.”

“Go back in the house Kate. I’ll be in later, when I’m done,” he answered firmly. He didn’t look up but just kept raking out the stall.

“You can’t bring your brother Hoss back by running away from everything. “ She tried to keep her voice even and calm. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She had too much frustration bottled up inside and she wasn’t used to confronting Adam. The only real disagreement they had ever had was when she insisted that none of the Cartwright brothers could teach Sam how to play poker or any other game that involved gambling. It reminded her all too painfully of Al Striker, Sam’s father.

“You can’t bring your brother back by working yourself to death, Adam Cartwright. Hoss is gone and he will never be back!” Kate screamed. Despite her resolve, she felt herself lose all her self-control. Everything she had bottled up in her for the last months exploded furiously in a burst of words that erupted from her broken heart like a tidal wave.

“You can never run so fast or so far to escape the awful thing that happened.  So just sit down and be still and face the truth of it. Your brother is dead. But you are not dead and I am not dead and we need each other now more than ever. Me, and your father, Little Joe, and Sam. We all need each other.” She balled up her fists and stood with both hands on her hips.

Her husband had seen Kate take that angry “hands on hips’ stance over the years but never directed at him. She had never taken that posture towards him as long as he knew her

“Killing yourself isn’t going to accomplish a damn thing, Adam!  It won’t ever bring Hoss back! “she raged.

“You taught me that we all makes the best decision at the time that we are able. Remember that?  And you said that you can’t be angry with yourself for making whatever decision you made. That is what you told me one time and you know for sure that you were right. You’re a very smart man, Adam, and gave me good advice when I needed it most.”

”Why can’t you follow your own advice? Were you lying to me Adam Cartwright?” She hated lies more than anything in the world and he knew it.

He shook his head. He leaned the pitch fork against the wall and stood facing her, his arms crossed against his chest.

”Do you think you are always right and never make a mistake Adam Cartwright? Are you that perfect? No one is perfect, even you!” She raged. She moved over closer to where he was standing and grabbed a handful of his shirt with yank so he didn’t dare move away.

Adam looked down at her, his brown eyes almost black in the dim light of the barn. He looked pained and startled to hear her direct words smash into his face.

“I.. I don’t know,” Adam said with a sigh.  One thing about his wife that hadn’t ever changed was her persistence in getting to the truth, even when the truth was painful.

“What don’t you know? Tell me the truth,” Kate glared at him.

Adam felt a cold shiver cross his body.  She was nailing him with the truth. He drew a breath and started to say what he could not say to anyone, the secret he kept in his gut. “The truth is that I should have been there. I should have been at the bank with Hoss. I – I went for a beer at the Silver Dollar. I dawdled over two cold beers with Jack Fischer. I let my brother and my child walk into an armed bank robbery while I sat and drank a cold beer with a man who stank of cheap lilac water in the Silver Dollar Saloon.”

The only sound in the shadowy barn was the stomping of Sam’s pony in the far stall.

Adam’s voice crackled with pain. Tears started rolling down his weary face. “I drank a cold beer while my brother was getting shot.”

“Do you think you should have been in the bank with Hoss? You were thirsty and you decided to have a beer.  You decided to have a beer, Adam. You didn’t kill your brother. The bank robbers did. Hoss and Sammy walked into the bank at the wrong moment.” Kate continued. The words bubbled out of her and she couldn’t control herself anymore.

“He saved Sam, Adam. Hoss saved my son. Our son. Do you honestly think you could have saved Hoss if you were in the bank with them? Maybe you could have. Maybe. But maybe you would have been shot too, Adam. Did you ever think of that possibility?  Did you ever think that you would have been killed too! Then your father would have lost two sons not just one. Joe would have lost two brothers, not just one. Sam would have no father.  And,” she sobbed, “I would have lost the love of my life. And I could not have forgiven you ever if you did. Never Adam!” She sobbed, choking on her words. Hot tears burned in her eyes.

Adam was speechless at her despair.

“Adam, the truth is that you didn’t kill Hoss…. Al Striker did.” she whispered.

She was shocked to hear her own words in the dark barn. It was almost like someone else had said them. She had never, ever said it aloud. Every time Sam had said he saw his dead father she had told him that it was totally impossible. Striker was long gone. He had died in the sinking of the riverboat. In her dresser drawer she had a letter from Pomeroy Labelle, the ship’s Captain saying that Al Striker had died. Something unspoken nagged at her in a dark corner of her consciousness.

“What are you talking about?” Adam demanded. He grasped both of her hands in his and pulled her closer to him. Shocked, he stared down into her flushed, tear streaked face. “Katie, what did you just say?”

His brown black eyes were wide with shock.

”Sam said he saw Al… and I am beginning to believe him. That is why they shot Mr. Chase and they shot the teller and they shot Hoss… but not Sam. Adam, it was Al. Al would never kill his own son. He is not really dead.”

 Chapter 7

Joe Cartwright turned the beer mug round and round in his hand, leaving a wet ring on the polished wood top of the bar.  The circle of moisture grew in an ever increasing arc as he inched the glass slowly to in a circle.  He twirled the heavy glass so that the dregs of beer in the bottom swirled up the sides. Anything was preferable to going back home and being reminded that his brother was not there.

“Go home Joe, I want to close up,” Cosmo, the bartender told him. “Even the girls are done for the night.”

Joe nodded swallowed the last of his beer and staggered out through the swinging doors. He untied the reins from the hitching rail and swung into Cochise’s saddle and headed back to the Ponderosa.

As he slowly rode up to the house in the moon light, Joe hoped everyone was already in bed and would stay asleep and so he wouldn’t have to look at his broken hearted father sitting mournfully by the fire nor see Adam stewing in his own juices, picking at him, itching for a fight with him. Joe had no desire to hear terrified nightmare screams from his sleeping nephew. The only face he could deal with was Katie’s and he certainly didn’t want to add his troubles to her already full plate. The least Joe could do for her and stay clear of the house as much as he could.

Joe could see a lamp still lit in the window and someone walking around in the kitchen. He quickly changed his mind about going into the house and pulled up Cochise and rode out from the house. He kicked his heels into Cochise and galloped down through the pasture behind the barn. He rode full out for a while up the hill to the little family grave yard.

In the moonlight, Joe slid off Cochise and tied the horse to a low tree limb. He quietly made his way up to the graves, Hoss, his brother and Marie, his mother and Dean Newkirk, his friend. He stood staring at the graves for a long time and then sat down exhausted on the ground. He leaned his weary back on the trunk of cherry tree the boys had planted after Marie died and closed his eyes.

Hours later, Joe woke up and for a moment had no idea where he was. He was damp and chilled from the cold night air and the dew that covered the grass. The sky was already glowing bright overhead. He stiffly got up from where he had fallen asleep leaning on the cherry tree. Rubbing his shoulder, he remembered that he had ridden out to the graves and fallen slept under the tree all night. By the angle of the sun overhead, he realized it was midmorning and he needed to head home.

He stumbled to his feet and looked again at the graves. On Hoss’ grave was a huge bunch of yellow daisies.

“Damn, I better get back to the house and get some dry clothes and some food.” He rubbed his aching shoulder and stretched his cramped legs. Hearing the sound of a wagon behind him he looked down the hill and saw a buggy riding away from him toward Virginia City. The driver was a very attractive auburn haired woman.

Chapter 8

Kate’s fears about a disturbed night proved to be justified. She tucked Sam into bed shortly after dinner and went downstairs. As she finished up writing some articles for the next issue of the Enterprise at the dining room table, Ben and Adam had sat at the desk finishing off some paper work for the ranch.

“Pa, this dry spell is causing some problems, better give that South Pasture a breather and move the herd a few miles east.”

“I suppose Joe can do that with Hays and some hands tomorrow or later in the week. I’ll tell him”.  Ben knew Joe would take orders from his father more cooperatively than if Adam spoke to him. No sense stirring up more bickering and friction. About a half hour later, after saying good night, Ben limped up to bed.

Adam, eventually quit for the night. After working with the account books and checking some figures for Stoddard and Bruce for hours after dinner, he had dozed off stretched out on the settee. Kate had to wake him and tell him to get into to their bed around ten o’clock. Both of them went into their room off the dining room and climbed into the bed. Adam turned his face to the wall and she snuggled up to his broad back.

The ranch house had been dark and silent for about two hours. Suddenly, the peace was shattered by an unearthly, loud howling shriek upstairs. Kate sat bolt upright in their bed with a start. She was out of the room and up the stairs before she had even awakened fully. She raced into her son’s room and sat on the edge of the bed next to the screaming boy. She calmed him down and sat near him until he fell back asleep. Then she wearily moved to the arm chair in the corner of the room.

Later that night screams filled the ranch house once again. Bewildered, Sam looked around. “Mama!”  Flaming hands were reaching out of the blackness towards him. He shouted as he shrank away in fear. “Don’t let him hurt me! Mama . . .”

“Sam! It’s all right, sweetie.” The boy moved towards the comforting voice.
“Mama . . .” he murmured again, “Ma, don’t let Al take me away!

Protectively, she wrapped his arms around her son. “Shh, I’m here, son, I won’t let anyone hurt you .It was just another bad dream.” The boy’s uncontrollable shaking began to subside. Kate felt Sam’s body relax against her.  Kate started to softly cry. Hoss was gone and her son was so frightened by what he had happened that he hadn’t slept a full night for more than two nights in a row for months; neither had Kate Cartwright.

“Katie, I heard yelling, what’s going on?”  Adam rushed into the room from the hallway. He was tying the belt of his maroon robe and his black hair was rumpled.

”Everything is ok.  He was just having another nightmare. Try not to wake anyone else up. I think Joe might have gotten in not long ago. And your father will be in here in a minute if he hears Sam crying. Adam, go back downstairs to bed, you’ll be getting up for the day before you know it.”

“No that’s ok…Besides, I can’t sleep when you aren’t near. “ He put his hands on her shoulder and stood watching his son fall back into a restless sleep. “Let me carry him downstairs into our bed. You can’t sit up here all night watching him sleep in case he has a nightmare. “

Kate nodded her head. “I can’t sleep when you aren’t near either.”

Adam carried Sam downstairs and tucked him in their bed between them. Adam rolled over, on his back and fell asleep. As Kate watched, Sam slid over towards his father and wrapped himself around Adam and cuddled into his chest. Both of her men soon fell soundly asleep.

Kate was exhausted but still couldn’t relax enough to fall asleep. She heard footsteps in the next room and the sound of someone adding a log to the fire.  She quietly got out of bed, put on Adam’s robe. It was warmer than her flowered wrapper and it had the comforting fragrance of her husband’s bay rum cologne. She slipped out of the room and gently closed the door.

Ben was standing fully dressed, in front of the fireplace with his back to Kate. He was staring at the flames that danced before his eyes. Kate could see the tension in his back just by the way he was standing. It was a stance she had seen many times before in the last few months and one she hated to see again.

He glanced up when his daughter –in-law tiptoed into the room.

“Can’t you sleep, Katie either?”  He gently asked her. Ben prodded the fire with the heavy wrought iron poker even though it was burning perfectly.

”I am far too tired to sleep. Sam was up again.” She wearily sank into the settee opposite Ben. “And you?” she asked.

Ben sighed “I’m waiting to make sure Joseph gets home in one piece.”

“I thought I heard him come in a while ago. “

”No, you must have heard me checking his room.  I heard you tending to Sam. Is he ok?”
“Adam brought him down here. At least the two of them are asleep. Seems like there are more people walking around this dark house at night than in the daylight.”

”During the day we are all too busy to think about anything but the work we are doing. Then in the night, in the darkness, it all rushes back, “Ben answered. Over and over, as he lie in his bed, he pictured Hoss getting shot and bleeding to death. Tonight he tossed and turned, worrying where Joe was so late. A vision of Joseph lying injured, helpless and unattended brutally flashed through Ben’s mind, and he winced. Forcing his mind off the grisly picture had become impossible in the darkness so he gave up, got dressed and went downstairs.

Ben sat down in his favorite leather chair and Kate curled up on the settee pulling her bare feet up under Adam’s warm robe. They both stared quietly into the blazing fire, thankful for each other’s company.

”Ben, what are we going to do?”

The soft whinny of a horse and the faint sound of a hoof striking the dirt in the yard startled both Ben and Kate. The two jumped to their feet and rushed to the edge of doorway. They stood peering in to the darkness. A horse and rider emerged slowly out of the bright moonlight. A pinto walked toward them, its rider slumped slightly in the saddle.

“Joe!” cried his father in relief as his youngest guided his horse toward the house. “We were getting worried about you, son.”  He took a deep breath and walked over to his son.

“Pa, I told you I’d be back tonight,” slurred Joe in a drunken voice as he pulled his horse to a stop. Joe slid off the saddle crookedly and stood next to his horse. For a moment, his body sagged with fatigue and far too much beer. Joe pulled himself up almost instantly, and staggered towards the housed.

Ben knew he had two sons who were feeling pain, and Adam’s anguish was just as real as Joe’s. But Ben couldn’t deal with both of his sons’ distress at the same time and Ben’s immediate focus was on his youngest son. Joe needed him the most right now.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Ben said to Kate as she stood in the doorway. She remained silent.

He looked back to Joe. “Right now, the important thing is to get Joe inside and take care of him. “Tell Adam I need him to give me a hand with Joe. And tell your husband I don’t want any of his acid commentary this late at night either.”

For her husband’s sake as well as the sake of Ben and Little Joe, Kate knew she had to stay strong, to be the voice of reason. She couldn’t give in to the feelings of anger and pain inside her, not if she wanted to keep this family safe and intact and protect Sam.

“Ben, let me give you a hand. I think we can both manage him and leave Adam out of it. There is no need to get the two of them knock heads again tonight. It is too late. Besides, I think Adam just finally fell asleep and Sammy is in bed next to him.”

Ben sighed but nodded in agreement. “I suppose the two of us can handle this together.”  Together they managed to get Joe into his bed and then retired to their own rooms.

The next morning Joe straggled down after everyone else had finished breakfast and the other men had left for their work. The late nights and all the bruises and scrapes he was getting breaking horses had taken their toll and he dragged down into the dining room. The Hop Sing heard him and called out from the kitchen “Hot coffee, Little Joe?”

Walking in from the kitchen with two cups of coffee, his sister-in- law set one in front of him and sat down to drink hers.

“Sorry about last night. I know you and Pa had to get me into bed,” he muttered.

Kate looked at him sitting at the table. She nodded. “Your father needed a hand and Adam was already sleeping. There was no reason to have you two start in again in the middle of the night or upsetting Sam. Your father can’t stand you hammering at each other day in and day out. Neither can I, Little Joe.”

She took a sip of her coffee and took a good look at her brother-in-law. His face was haggard and dirty; he needed a haircut and was unshaven.  “You know, some day you have to stop looking back and look forward in life.”

“Did you come in here to lecture me Kate?” He leaned his elbow on the table and picked up the coffee cup in his left hand. Joe glared at her.
“Maybe it is about time someone did, Joseph Francis Cartwright,” She stared back at him until he looked down at the table and took a swallow of his hot black coffee.

He didn’t recall Kate ever calling him anything but Joe or Little Joe and certainly not Joseph Francis Cartwright. “I guess I owe you for last night.”

“I guess you owe everyone in this family an explanation for more than last night,” Kate challenged him.

”Kate, how can a man look toward the future until he’s taken care of the past? Once that’s done, I’ll move forward, but not until then. I couldn’t live with myself for letting those killers go free. Can’t you understand that?” Not waiting for her reply, Joe put down his coffee cup and stood up.

“I have work to do down at the corral.” Joe declared and then he stormed out the kitchen door.

Chapter 9

Joe’s primary method of dealing with this problem was to avoid his family. As much as possible he stayed away from the house and sidestepped working with Adam or his father. Some evenings he rode up to the lake and would wind up sitting by the three graves and waited in the dark until he was sure everyone had turned in before he went back to the house.

Once again he found fresh flowers on Hoss’ grave and just assumed Kate or Sam had placed them there. Had it been his father, there would have been flowers on his mother’s resting place as well.

Joe soon took to rising uncharacteristically early, before anyone else was even awake leaving the house before breakfast. He spent the days looking for strays or fixing fence or other chores on the farthest sections of the ranch. He made sure to work alone or with the newest hands. Joe preferred the companionship of the hands who hadn’t known either his brother Hoss or Dean Newkirk and would not mention either of them. He did everything he could to avoid being reminded of how desperately and deeply he missed Hoss.

If he wasn’t doing this, Joe was taking far too many risks doing any work he picked up. He was breaking horses at a dare devil rate. A few of the wranglers at the corral even went to foreman Hays Newkirk, the foreman, to discuss their concerns with Joe’s recklessness. Hays, in turn went to Ben Cartwright.

“Ben, you gotta talk to Little Joe about his dang fool craziness. Little Joe won’t listen to none of us, not me, not no one.”

“What’s going on?” Ben asked.

“The other day, the hands said he fell so hard into the fence post that he lay there in the dirt for at least fifteen minutes before he could even stand up. We told him to call it a day, go back to the house, but, no sir. Joe insisted on riding two more horses including that nasty chestnut before he quit for the day. You got to talk to him. He’s gonna break his dang fool neck.” Hays explained. “And I sure don’t want to see that. “

Late the next afternoon, Ben rode Buck up to the breaking corral to see for himself. Sam followed along on his pony Katarina.

As Ben stood by the fence watching, his son was tossed from a large black horse. Joe landed with a heart-stopping thud on the hard packed ground of the corral. He rubbed his shoulder cautiously as he struggled to his feet, glancing across at his father at the side of the corral, as he turned his back towards the wild black stallion that had just thrown him and scooped up his dusty hat from the ground.

“Hey, Joe, c’mon that’s enough for today, let’s head up home for supper now before that horse breaks you!” Ben called to his son hoping to prevent the movement he had seen Joe make back towards the horse. Pausing as he reached for the bridle of the restless stallion held steadied at the moment by the two ranch hands Joe shouted a refusal back to his father.

“No Pa, I’m not done yet. We still got a bit of daylight. You and Sam go on up without me. I’m not hungry.”

“Joseph, it is late. You’re going at it way too hard.”

Joe replied over his shoulder to his father “You go on Pa, I’ll be along as soon as I’ve got the better of this one.” He started climbing back on the snorting horse as the men held the horse still. For a minute Ben thought to order the hands to let the horse loose but knew that it wouldn’t matter. Joe would chase after it or start a brawl with the men who had let the horse free.

Sammy was seated on the top fence rail watching his uncle work the horses while his grandfather leaned on the fence post. He was trying to appear casual to Joe, but Ben was seething at the recklessness he was viewing. Hays Newkirk stood nearby surveying the work and waiting to hear what Ben would say.

“See what I mean. Your boy don’t listen to no one no more. He’s gonna break his dang neck. Boss, this is what I told you about. The men are even complaining that Joe is really trying to kill himself. We both lost boys this year… “He stopped talking. He took a breath and was unable to continue for a minute. “And I ain’t ready for Little Joe to do himself in.”

Ben put his hand on his friends shoulder. “What can I do? Tie him up? Lock him in the smoke house? You tell me, Hays. I’ve run out of ideas.”

Hays shook his head. “Don’t know. Maybe shoot him in the foot so he can’t get out here?”

Sam quickly turned around. His eyes were wide with fear. “Grandpa! Please don’t shoot Uncle Joe!”

“Don’t worry boy, we was just joshing. I love your uncle and don’t want nothin’ to harm him. Never.” Hays reassured.

“Sam, climb down and let’s head up to the house.” Ben couldn’t bear to stand and watch what he knew his youngest son was trying to do.
”What about Uncle Joe?” Sam asked his grandfather as scrambled down. Sam had been hoping Joe would be riding back to the house with them for dinner. Sam slipped his small hand into his grandfather’s large calloused one as they walked away from the corral.
”He’ll come home in his own good time.” Ben said mournfully as he limped back to Buck.

Chapter 10

Joe’s obvious pain was something none of them could ignore. After work, Joe would ride into Virginia City, to the Bucket of Blood or one of the other saloons. Joe refused invitations by friends to join in poker games and avoided the attentions of any of the bar maids who continually approached him and flirted.

He just sat alone in a shadowy corner with a bottle of whiskey or stood alone at the far end of the bar drinking beer. He got home late, often drunk, and long after everyone had gone to bed. Some nights he didn’t come home at all.

For the fifth night in a row, his seat was empty at the dinner table. That particular Saturday night the rest of the Cartwrights had waited for him to show up but they finally sat down and finished their supper.  Joe still hadn’t arrived by the time they finished dessert.

“Where’s Uncle Joe?” Sam asked looking at the empty chair on the other side of the table. To Sam’s right was another empty chair, the seat that Hoss had always occupied. He missed his uncles desperately and was pining for the fun they used to have.

“What should we do?” Kate asked Ben and Adam.

“I haven’t a clue, Kate,” Ben shook his head wearily as Adam silently poked at his dinner.

Kate picked up the cake stand and carried the mostly untouched dessert back into the kitchen. It was one more grim reminder of the absence of Hoss. There never was any leftover cake when he was alive.

“Uncle Joe needs to come home and be with the family and we need to be with him. Papa, you go and get him and tell him he better get home and be with us.” Sam gave his sincere opinion. The Cartwrights all knew the little boy was absolutely right. They all needed to be together in their shared grief. They were stronger leaning on each other than mourning alone.

“I’ll ride into town and try to find him, Pa. First, I’ll find him, then I’ll see if I can get him to come home.” Adam told them. He hated the idea of riding into town on a Saturday night to hunt for his brother in saloons filled with hard drinking ranch hands and miners on pay day but he knew his little boy’s suggestion was one hundred percent on target.

“Saddle Buck and I’ll ride with you.”

”Ben are you sure you are up to it?” Kate cautioned as she returned from the kitchen with the coffee pot. She poured more into her own cup. She sensed that once again it was going to be a late night.

Her father in law didn’t want to lie to Kate, so he just ignored her question. Ben threw his red and white checkered napkin on the table and strode over to the sideboard. ”Adam, saddle Buck.”

Both men strapped on their gun belts, put their hats on and walked out the door.

Chapter 11

Ben didn’t much like the look of rowdy Virginia City on a Saturday night as the drunken cowboys started to fill the streets. The late shift of miners had just let out and they joined the free spending, drunken crowd filling the streets. The sound of gunfire and raucous laughter seemed to be pouring out of every lit building. No decent families living in the town were on the street that night. Only drunks and troublemakers were out in noisy clusters. Ben put his horse to the trot, anxious to find Joe and bring him straight home before it was too late.

Ben muttered something under his breath about Saturday night drunks. He sat on his horse looking up and down Main Street, not quite sure of where to begin. Glancing at Adam on his horse, he knew his son was feeling the same way even though he was silent and tight jawed.

As he rode into town beside his father, Adam thought irritably that this was the last thing on earth he wanted to be doing right now but there was no way he would permit his father to take on this situation alone. Adam wondered where they would start looking for Joe. Virginia City was a hazardous place for his hot tempered brother wandering around with a chip on his shoulder and a belly full of beer.

“What did you say, Pa? Are you OK? You look beat.” Adam glanced sideways at his father.

”Let’s just find your brother. We should check the saloons first, and all the poker tables, or he could have wandered up Main Street and we’ll look there.

Miraculously, Adam and Ben found Joe at the first place they looked. Cochise was tied up at the hitching post right up front of the Golden Slipper Saloon. They tied Sport and Buck right next to Joe’s horse and walked into the noisy saloon.

Joe stood by the bar with a drink before him. Sheriff Clem Foster and his new deputy were standing next to him, talking seriously to him. Adam couldn’t hear the conversation but could see what was coming. Clem was clearly trying to get Joe to leave, to go home and Joe looked ready to punch the Sheriff in the nose.

The Sheriff put his hand on Joe’s arm and Joe Cartwright pulled away and started raising his fist angrily. The new deputy, the green fellow who took Dean’s job, nervously put his hand on his still holstered gun.

Realizing that he had to get his younger brother out of the saloon before someone got shot, Adam strode over to the bar and stood in the line of fire between Joe and the trigger happy deputy. He put his hand firmly on Joe’s shoulder. Ben immediately stood next to him hoping that they could get his youngest son to leave without a fight.

“Little early for this isn’t it?” Joe spat out angrily. He jerked his shoulder from Adam’s hand. “I thought I didn’t get dragged home until after midnight on a Saturday night. It can’t be later than nine o’clock. Did I miss my curfew, Big Brother? “

Adam quickly realized he was treading on dangerous ground and was sure to make things worse with whatever he said to his brother. He quickly stepped aside to let his father make an attempt at reasoning with Joe.

“Joseph let’s go home where we can talk about this ” Ben suggested gently putting his hand on his son. He shifted his weight off his injured leg and stared at his son. Joe shrugged his father’s hand off his shoulder, his hazel eyes sparkling green with fury. Ben could see that the anger was mixed with fear.

“No one can help me, Pa!”  Joe said, his words coming out with effort.  “I have to work through this out by myself. Alone.”

“Joseph.” Ben started. Then his own words came back to haunt him. “Only a fool argues with an angry drunk.” Ben knew he wasn’t a fool, even if the drunk was his own beloved youngest son. He wasn’t going to argue or reason, he just was going to take charge of his son.

“Pa, I can’t go home yet. You just don’t understand. Please, just leave me alone. I’ll be ok, I promise.” Joe didn’t move.

“How about if’n take him back to my house tonight, Ben?  Don’t worry, “Clem offered softly. “I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble.”

”Thanks, Clem. I’m beholdin’ to you and Nancy for all you have done for us recently.” Ben said quietly. “But I am not leaving here without my boy. Not this time. Not tonight.”

Clem and the deputy stepped aside and moved toward the swinging bat wing doors. The Sheriff looked over his shoulder and watched Ben move towards his son. Clem let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

“Back off.” Joe’s posture stiffened. He clenched his hands into fists and turned around to face his father and brother. He raised both hands, ready to swing at anyone who tried to make him do what he didn’t want to do, even his own father.
Ben looked to Adam for help but Adam shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. Ben glared at his oldest son. “I’m taking him home, with or without your help, Adam. So you better decide what you are here for or get out of my way. And make your decision damn quick.”

Adam nodded and moved forward behind his father. Ben clearly meant business and refusing to accept any defiance from either of his sons.

”Joseph, I want you to walk out of here and get on your horse and ride out with me and Adam. Right now. And if you don’t do it on your own two feet, we’ll do it for you. Is that clear Joseph? Right now.” Ben put his hand on his youngest son’s arm in a firm vice like grip that Joe couldn’t or wouldn’t throw off. Following his father’s lead, Adam grabbed his brother’s other arm tightly. His fingers painfully dug into Joe’s upper arm.

Joe reluctantly nodded. He obediently walked out of the saloon with his father and brother without one word. He was too worn out to do more than go with his father back to the Ponderosa. In an odd way, Joe was comforted to have his father decide for him what he should do. Ben did not let go of his grip on his youngest son’s forearm until Joe was standing next to his horse. Then the three Cartwrights set off for the Ponderosa, for home.

Joe rode Cochise out of Virginia City at a full gallop. Ben and Adam followed behind at a more reasonable pace. A few miles outside of town, Ben could see Joe slow down to trot and pull up at a bend in the road. He and Adam caught up with him and watched what was unfolding.

Slowly, in the dark, Cochise came to a halt and Joe awkwardly climbed down. His face was pale and he was sweating. He took his hat off and put it on the saddle and glanced around him for a minute.

“Joseph!” Ben barked, pulling up his horse to a halt. Adam slowed to a stop beside him.

Ben and Adam watched as he staggered over to the side of the road and kneeled over a ditch on his hands and knees. Joe leaned over and vomited into the ditch emptying the belly of the rotgut and beer he had been drinking all day and the heartache he had been carrying for weeks. For a moment all they could hear the sound of Joe retching miserably.

His father cautiously climbed down from Buck and stood over him as until he finished and then handed him his canteen. Adam sat disgusted on his horse silent and frozen, one hand on his saddle horn.

“Take a sip mouthful of this” Ben handed him his canteen. Joe obeyed, swallowing once and rinsing out the sour taste from his mouth and spitting it out on the ground. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Then Joe waved his father away. “I’m all right,” he said in a shaky voice. He sat on his haunches pulling himself back together with difficulty, shivering in the chill night air.

“Are you hurt?” Ben asked. He kneeled down awkwardly next to his son and put his hand on Joe’s shoulder. For once Joe didn’t pull away from his father’s touch.

“No,” he whispered hoarsely and took a deep, shaking breath. He rubbed at his face and then looked up, seeing the concern on his father’s face. He hated that he was giving his father more aggravation. Joe pushed himself up, bracing himself against the ground and said again, more strongly, “I’m fine.” He staggered briefly and Ben reached out a hand to steady him, but Adam, still sitting on his horse, turned his head away from them.

“We’d better get out of here,” was all Adam said wearily.” It’s getting late, and we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

“Let’s go home, Joe.” Ben urged.

“Pa just leave me go.” Joe wrenched away from his father’s grasp.

“You’re coming home Joseph and that’s all there is to it. Get up on your horse. Now.”

“I can’t, Pa… not tonight.”

Ben looked back and forth at both of his sons with great concern. There was absolutely nothing on earth that he treasured more than his boys. Joe’s reluctance to go home filled his father’s mind with confusion. Home was always a place Joe wanted to be, not some place he avoided. Of all three of his sons, Joe was the only one who never expressed any desire in leaving the ranch. He always was itching for a little excitement and would be the first to take a risk or jump in on a fight but he always was glad to be home. He never asked about going east to college even though he was as smart as Adam when he put his mind to it or. Even Hoss spoke of someday traveling somewhere exotic but he was gone before he had the opportunity.

Ben’s ribs and injured leg started throbbing painfully. He had definitely done far too much riding and pushing and shoving younger men tonight and he was paying the price. “Enough of this” Ben bellowed.” Joseph, I am not leaving you passed out drunk on the side of the road halfway to Virginia City. Just get on Cochise and get home, Joseph before I tie you across your saddle.” His voice echoed off the hills.

“And you,” Ben angrily pointed at Adam, “Get down here and give me a hand with your brother, right now.”

Ben had not used that tone on either of his sons in many years. Ben had had reservations about forcing Joe to go back home but Ben Cartwright knew he’d needed to have his family together again under Just as Sammy, the youngest member of the family had so wisely suggested, Ben and Adam had to bring Joe home. He had no idea what he would do tomorrow, but tonight he had to have both of his sons under his roof.

Ben hooked the canteen back on his saddle knowing his sons well enough to realize there was more going on than either would admit. All he wanted was to get both his sons back home. Tomorrow he would figure out the rest.

Chapter 12

Ben and Kate had finally come up with a viable plan. They both knew Sam was looking forward to camping out for a few nights and the boy desperately missed spending time with Adam.  But dealing with Joe was another story completely.

Joe and Adam had a strong, though sometimes awkward relationship. There was almost a twelve-year difference in their ages. Years earlier, after Marie died, Adam took charge of this brothers. He always felt responsible for both his brother.

As Joe grew older, he resented when Adam still viewed him as his baby brother, not as a full-grown man. Hoss had been protective but eventually they related to each other as friends and equals, not just brothers. The problem was made even more difficult each time Adam left the Ponderosa for years at a stretch. First when Adam left for college and then for the years Adam was back east working for Stoddard and Bruce, each time Adam returned to the Ponderosa, he and Joe had to face off. It was almost like Adam assumed that time had stood still for everyone else until he returned to the Ponderosa. Joe frequently had to remind Adam that he was a competent, grown man and not some wet behind the ears kid.

At some point over the years, Hoss had often refereed between the Cartwright brothers. Hoss was born to the role of natural peacekeeper. Over the years, Hoss would calm family fights either by physically standing between any combatants or by cajoling his brothers when tempers flared. He would even broker treaties between his father and the boys when Ben was on the warpath.

The last few tragic months seemed to bring all the old conflicts back. With Hoss gone, Adam and Joe got frozen in a tragic head to head battle with no resolution to their conflicts in sight. They had transferred all the mournful sadness they had over losing Hoss into anger with each other.

Ben knew for some reason even when things were the worst between his oldest and youngest sons their relationship seemed to be easier and less strained when they were camping or on the trail.  Around a campfire with nothing to do but gaze at the stars and talk to each other, the words came with less animosity or tension. Perhaps it was sitting side-by-side in the darkness rather than face-to-face in the daylight made the wall between them dissolve.

Despite their obvious differences, the two brothers were more alike than either one wanted to admit. They both had inherited generous measures of Benjamin Cartwright’s stubbornness.  But the two brothers had lost track of their deep love for the other as they battled it out day after day in a never-ending war.

“Things between them couldn’t get worse than they are now. We have nothing to lose on this plan, Kate. Unless, of course, they wind up going after each other with axes,” Ben warned his daughter in law.

“Ben, at this point we have no other ideas so we will have to stick with this schemes. And anyway, they wouldn’t dare kill each other with Sam there,” she tried to coax a grin from Ben and succeeded.

“Good thinking, Kate,” Ben approved. She sighed with relief at his approval.

He steepled his fingers and pondered the situation for a few seconds.  He had been trying to pull his sons together and somehow they always seemed to be pulling further apart. He couldn’t let this plan slip away. “We have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. I’ll tell Adam that Joe invited Sam along and needs his help with the boy. And you tell Joe, that you are nervous about Adam taking the trip alone with your son.”

”Ben, I think this brilliant plan just might work out,” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “

“Katie, I don’t know how I would manage without you and that boy of yours. I’d be lost without you!”

“We would be lost without each other,” Ben said softly.

Chapter 13

Kate stood near Joe in the barn as watched him brush Cochise. “We waited dinner for you again.”
”Sorry, I was checking the string we are sending off to the army. If I can’t go with them I want to be sure Hays everything straight before they go tomorrow.”

“You could have still had dinner with the family, Joe. We missed you.” Joe nodded and continued to take care of his horse.

Kate shook her head sadly.  “All this didn’t just happen to you, Little Joe. We all lost Hoss. You’re his brother but his murder affected all of us.  When he got killed, it was as if all the life went out of this family. You are not the only one who misses him, you know.”

Joe shrugged meaninglessly and continued to tend to Cochise.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so damn self-centered and look around at the rest of us.”  She realized she was shouting at him.  Cochise stomped and moved deeper into the stall.

“Easy Cochise,” Joe soothed his horse. “Easy.”

”I didn’t mean to shout, I’m sorry. But you are so wrapped up in yourself sometimes, Joseph Cartwright. I can’t do it all for everyone here. Can’t you see that I’m tired too?”

Joe’s eye widened. “I never thought of that Kate. I really never did.” He sighed and reached out his hand to hold hers.” I guess I never bothered to look out of my own little dark cave. “

“You don’t have to handle it alone, Joe. We all went through a terrible ordeal and we need each other. Look how well your Pa and Sam are getting along. We need to stick together, to lean on each other and help carry the ones who are too weary to stand.”

“I’m sorry, Kate. I didn’t mean to shut you out.”  Joe’s face was a study in misery.  “I didn’t think about what you had gone through, or how you must have felt.  I was so wrapped in myself that I didn’t stop to think about anything or anyone else.”

“We all need you, Little Joe.” Only Kate or his father could call him by his boyhood nickname and not get his dander up. She reached her arms around his waist gave him a kiss on his cheek.

“I’m really sorry. Katie, Really I never… What can I do for you…. For Sam.” Joe stammered. “I guess I really have been a lot of trouble for you the last few months. I’m really sorry.”

Kate nodded and said, “Joe, um. I hate to ask you for a favor but…”

”What’s wrong?” Joe looked at his sister-in-law. He knew how independent she always was and how difficult it was for her to ask for favors, even from him.

“Adam is taking Sam up to mark those trees for that new timber contract. Could you sort of tag along with them? Adam promised Sam last spring that he could go this time and with everything that has happened, we don’t want to change that but… you know how Adam has been lately.”
Joe sighed. “Do I know? My grouchy brother hasn’t left me alone in weeks.” He was about to say more but thought the better of it. His brother was Kate’s husband and she really didn’t need to hear about how badly they were getting along. Joe recognized that he had caused her enough trouble.

“Joe, I hate to ask you for this,” Kate continued. “I am sort of apprehensive for Sam to be totally alone with Adam. I can’t have him yelling at Sam or forget he is just a very little boy who lived most of his life in a city and can’t keep up by the end of the day. It’s a pretty long trip into pretty rough territory and I’m not sure if Adam will think to break it up into two or three nights. I’d ask you father to do it but I think it is more riding than his leg can handle right now.”
Joe smiled. He could never resist one of Kate’s requests. “Sure Katie-Bird. When are they going?”
Chapter 14

The trip was set. Sam was excited about the adventure and both Cartwright brothers were duped into believing they were along to lend the boy a hand rather than being forced by Ben and Kate into spending some time together away from the house. Ben and Kate congratulated themselves in deceiving Adam and Joe with their conspiracy.

Sitting by the fireplace after dinner, the two men conferred over long lists of equipment and supplies. Together, they examined the lumber contract and compared the specifics to maps they made of the topography and woodlands. It was the first time in a long while they spent time together and discussed things calmly and cooperatively. They both even seemed to be in pleasant humor.

Sam squeezed in between the two men and tried to follow what was being planned for the next day. “I think we can get up and back in two or three days and start the crews up by end of the month,” Adam said. “The cold weather will be here before we know it.”

Joe could feel his brother’s impatience to get the work done but he gently pointed out that Sam had never made such a long trip on horseback and it might not be able to manage such a hard pace in difficult terrain. Secretly, Joe felt the longer he could stay away from the ranch house and all the reminders of Hoss, the happier he would be.

Joe truly despised coming in the front door and seeing his dead brother’s hat hanging on the rack and his gun belt coiled on the sideboard as it always had been. The Sheriff had handed Hoss’ gear to his father the night Hoss was murdered. Ben had stowed the hat and gun belt in their usual places by the door without giving it much thought. Hoss’ gear sat there ever since.

To some, it looked almost like Hoss had just stepped out to the barn for a minute and would be walking in the door for supper. To Joe it was tragic memorial to his dead brother, a reminder of their loss. Joseph had taken to walking in an out through the kitchen rather than see the battered white hat and gun belt each time he came home.

“Sounds good to me little brother. But let’s keep the horses fresh and plan on camping closer to North Ridge the first night. Sammy’s never been up that way. “Adam hid his smile and had no desire to rile Joe He still felt he had to walk on eggshells around him and volatile temper. Either way, it was not a situation he was unfamiliar with.  Since they returned from the posse, he and his brother has spent most of their time battling or avoiding each other. The rest of the time Adam was drowning in work and Joe was drowning himself in a bottle.

“Then we can spend the next night up in one of the line shacks. Or perhaps we will make it up to the lumber camp. How would you like that Sam?” Adam looked at his son who was listening intently. The boy had a pile of paper and was industriously attempting to copy a map of their route with a stubby pencil.

“Great Pa! Can I use an axe too?” Sammy asked.

”I think we have a small hatchet that you can manage better,” Joe suggested. “How does that sound to your father?”

Adam nodded in agreement.” Sounds like a good idea. That’s how Uncle Joe learned the first time he went up there to help out marking timber.”

”Adam can you picture all the wee little loggers we will have to put on the crew to read the blazes Sam is going to make for us? They’ll be about two feet off the ground “Joe teased good naturedly. He stood up from the desk and swung Sam up in the air and put him on his shoulders. “Sammy, I’ll have to carry you around like this to make it work for the regular crew.” He trotted around the dining room table with Sam on his back squealing with delight.

Sam started to giggle picturing the tiny loggers like elves from one of the stories his mom told him. Even Adam smiled for a second despite his misgivings. Joe carefully set his nephew on the floor with a gentle clunk, Joe saw the subtle change in his brother’s face, but didn’t say anything. He too was trying extremely hard not to start trouble with Adam.

“Sam, Go get ready for dinner. Change that shirt too. It’s pretty dirty and your mother likes you to look clean at the dinner table,” Adam ordered.

”I’m not too dirty Pa, I washed,” Sam quickly answered. He stole a glance at his grubby hands.

”Last month before you cleaned out the chicken house?” Joe asked. “Or the month before when you slopped the hogs?”

“Sam! If you have to look at your hands, that means they need washing,” Adam automatically repeated the same thing his father had said to his three sons for years.
Sam opened his mouth in amazement that someone had noticed his slyness.

“You crazy stubborn kid,” muttered Adam teasingly. “He never listens to anybody.”

“Yeah, crazy stubborn kid.” Joe agreed with a smile. “Sort of reminds me of you, Adam.”

“Gee, little brother I was kind of thinking that Sam reminded me of you at this age,” Adam tickled Sam under his arms sending his son into gales of laughter.

“No, not really Big Brother. Our boy here is far sassier and much more stubborn than you or I ever were. He rivals a true champion of stubbornness. Who would have put long johns up the school house flag pole?”

Both Adam and Joe started to laugh.

”Who Uncle Joe? Tell me!” the boy pleaded, “Pa who put long johns up the flag pole?”

”Gee Sammy, I don’t quite know to whom your uncle could be referring to with that audacious comment “Adam winked at his brother.

“Why don’t you run out on the porch and ask your Ma what she might know about that. She is sitting out there with Grandpa. Go see what she has to say.” Joe dared the boy.

“But first,” Adam grabbed his son by the back of his suspenders and spun him toward the stairs “Go get washed up!”

“Gee Adam, you’re starting to sound an awful lot like Benjamin Cartwright not Adam Cartwright, “Joe laughed. “’Go wash your hands, son!’ was always one of Pa’s favorite sayings… you just have to get your voice a little deeper and you could be the exact double of Pa.”

Sam ran out of the room and the two men fell into gales of laughter. For the first time in a long time the two Cartwright brothers were smiling at each other and sharing something beyond bitter words or growls and angry glares.

Sitting outside on the porch Ben and Kate could hear their conversation and smiled with relief at how well their plan was working. Perhaps the worst was truly over.

Chapter 15

Three tired Cartwrights crouched beside the blazing campfire. They had worked steadily all day marking timber and had finished much more than they had initially anticipated. The day had been sunny and comfortably warm and the two brothers had both made a concerted effort to avoid any disagreements between them.

Joe had been ambitiously working from sunup to sundown without stop. He and Adam were also teaching Sam how to mark the timber. He seemed almost determined to outdo Adam in how much he could accomplish in a single day. Joe was also tired from minding his tongue. Joe had promised his sister- in-law, not to be the first one to start a fight and he had never broken a vow he made to Kate in all the years he knew her.

Sam easily got the hang of using his little hatchet and Adam watched him proudly. He admired Joe’s patience in teaching the boy but didn’t say anything to either of them. He was not sure that any remark he made to Joe would spark a disagreement between them. Adam did not want to be the man to initiate a fight and unbalance the tentative harmony. Neither brother had a clue that Kate had coerced both of them into pledging a truce to her before they left.

By sundown, they had made camp for the night and Adam started to prepare some food. Joe and Sam put their equipment in order and tended to the horses. As long as Adam and Joe were busy with work and they kept their minds occupied things went fairly smoothly.

As soon as the sun went down each of them realized their thoughts were on the brother who was permanently missing. So many times over the years, they had made similar trips with Hoss and his absence was acutely felt.

Adam recalled that the first time Joe had made the trip up to the lumber camp he was not any older than Sam. Joe had ridden up to the high country sitting on a horse in front of his father or Adam the entire trip. It was the three Cartwright brothers and their father on that trip.

Last year, all three Cartwright brothers had made this trip. Adam remembered how Hoss showed them that the cluster of trees that he and Joe had planted as boys were filling in and almost ready for cutting. This was the stand they were marking now. A stab of pain knifed through Adam at the realization of how quickly things had changed for his family since the last trip.

“That smells good Pa!” Sam called as he and Joe came into the camp. “I’m starving! I can eat a horse.”

“It’s almost ready. “ Adam smiled at his son. “No horses to eat. Hope you like beans with beans. Coffee is hot too.”

Joe gratefully accepted the cup of coffee that his brother pressed into his hands. “It’s getting cold with the sun going down.”

Kate had insisted that there would be no way Joe would bring any whiskey with him and he had reluctantly complied with her orders. Sitting back on his heels before the crackling fire, he sipped from the cup as he studiously avoided Adam’s gaze and longed for some whiskey to add to the coffee.

Sam couldn’t stand the gloomy cloud that had descended on the campsite as the night fell and decided he had to get a friendly conversation going. “Uncle Joe, what is the worst thing you ever did when you were my age?”

”Me? Oh I was absolutely the best behaved boy in Nevada Territory when I was your age.” Joe lied boldly. ”Perhaps the best behaved boy west of the Mississippi.”

“Sure, Sam. Uncle Joe won awards from Reverend Felcher, Sheriff Coffee and the Territorial governor for his perfect behavior,” Adam added.

“The president sent a proclamation from Washington and Queen Victoria and Chief Winnemucca too!” Joe bragged.

”That’s for sure.  How do you think Grandpa got all that white hair?” Adam laughed. For an instant, they had returned to their old friendly banter and Sam was proud of himself for improving the mood of the group around the camp fire.

“Sure, and your Mama even hoisted a special long wooly flag over the school house in my honor on the first day of school. Did you ever ask her about that prank the other night?”
Adam rolled his eyes and laughed so hard he started choking on his coffee. Even though he was still at college in Boston when that ridiculous escapade occurred, everyone from Hoss to Pa to Hank Wallace and Mim and Phil Bartlett had written him their version of the immortal story. He had five descriptions of sweet little Katie Wallace hoisting a set of red flannel long johns on the schoolhouse flagpole. It was months until she had confessed to the mysterious crime and her poor father was able to get his missing long johns back from the Virginia City school board.

In graphic detail with a bit of dramatic exaggeration, Joe proceeded to tell his nephew the tale along with a few added melodramatic embellishments.

“Mama really did that? “Sam giggled. “My Mama?”

His uncle nodded grinning his old smile and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Yeah, she’s gonna be mighty embarrassed when we tease her about this lurid youthful crime.”

“Don’t you dare tease my wife, “Adam threatened to his brother. He stood up and tossed the dregs of his coffee into the fire. For a second, Sam feared a fight would break out until his father turned around with a wide grin on his face. ”Don’t tease my wife! That’s my job!”

Joe and Sam laughed until their sides hurt and they couldn’t catch their breath, imagining the picture of Adam teasing Kate over the long john flag.

“Anyone want seconds?” Adam offered holding up the iron pot.

“This was really excellently delicious. I’ll have more” Sam held his tin plate out.

“Excellently delicious? What a lavish compliment to my cooking, son,” Adam served another portion of beans to the boy. “All that hard work must have made you hungry!”

“Ravenous!” Sam said. “I learned that word last week and couldn’t wait to use it.”

“Hey Adam, remember Mim used to say what doesn’t kill you makes you strong? So if your beans don’t kill us, we sure are going to be really strong.”   Joe declared. Adam laughed despite himself.

“Sam, let’s go down to the creek and get some water for washing up and get these canteens filled,” Adam said. “We want to get an early start in the morning.” Sam quickly swallowed the last bite of his food and stood up to help his father.

Joe yawned and said “Bring me back a piece of cherry pie if you see any hanging off a tree.”

Joe leaned back on a fallen log and looked at the stars. Hoss had always said when he looked into the night sky you should see the twinkle stars, not the blackness of the sky but without the darkness you wouldn’t see the starlight. Joe was tired of only seeing the blackness and longed to see the twinkle of the stars again.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Sam and Adam came back into camp with the water. “Let’s set up the coffee pot for the morning. This way we can move on first thing and not have to start fussing.”

“Look Pa,” Sam pointed toward the campfire.

Joe Cartwright was sound asleep propped against the log, his boots stretching toward the crackling fire. His hat was pulled low over unruly brown curls, his eyes closed under the down turned hat. The blue tin plate of cold unfinished beans abandoned next to him on the ground.  He hadn’t even taken the time to unroll his bedroll before exhaustion had claimed him.

Adam’s smile broadened a moment and he shook his head. His little brother could always fall asleep anywhere. ”Uncle Hoss used to say that Little Joe could fall asleep sitting on a picket fence or breaking a horse if the mood struck.”

Sam giggled at the thought of his uncle sleeping on a wild horse and was especially happy that his father was telling happy stories about Uncle Hoss. “Pa, Uncle Joe is snoring already. He didn’t even finish his dinner. “

“Looks like you wore him out. Let’s cover him up. Pull his boots off, Doc.”

Sam went over to Joe’s gear near his uncle’s sleeping form. Grabbing the bedroll from where Joe had left it, he handed it to his father. Adam shook it open and tucked the blankets around his brother’s compact body.

Sammy swiped a weary hand over his face and yawned. He rubbed his brown eyes.

Adam nodded his thanks to his son. “I think we both better follow Joe’s example.” Adam said quietly.  “Let’s get some shut eye.  We’ve got a lot of work to do in the morning.”

Adam helped Sam settle into his own bedroll.

“Good night Pa. Thanks for taking me along,” the little boy smiled. “I’m getting good with the hatchet, aren’t I?”
”You did a very good job working today. You are really getting a sense of how to do the job and you were a big help. I’m very proud of you, son! “Adam hugged the boy then Sam rolled over and went to sleep.

Soon all Adam could hear was the sound of his family snoring and the crackle of the campfire. He added a few logs to the fire and leaned against his saddle and some stacked up gear and looked up at the stars.  Adam sighed as he thought about this complex younger brother of his. He didn’t think he would ever figure out what made his baby brother tick.

Earlier in the day, while they were working, there had been a sparkle of the old Joe that Adam knew from long ago. He saw a bit of the carefree Joe from the days when Hoss was still alive. Adam was determined find him again, just like a prospector finding that first flash of gold vein and digging a bit deeper and harder. That was what Otis Massey did and he never gave up until he found his treasure because he believed he could no matter how hard it got. Adam couldn’t let himself believe otherwise.

Kate had told him when she asked him to go on this trip with their son, Adam had to make a truce with his brother for their father’s sake. They had to get together for Katie’s sake as well. And most important, peace between his brothers is what Hoss would have wanted for his legacy.

Adam studied his little brother soundly sleeping across the camp fire from him.  He wondered how long his younger brother was going to stay angry with him. Based on past fights, Adam knew it could be a long time. The Cartwrights were a stubborn bunch. He also knew from experience not to push his brother – that would only make it worse.  He was just going to have to ride this one out and hope the tension between them didn’t explode in front of his son. The poor boy had witnessed enough violence to last him a lifetime.

Adam walked over to where Sam and Joe were sound asleep and spread out his bedroll between them. He sat for a few minutes watching his son sleep in the fading light of the campfire. Adam looked at his boy’s sweet face that was so much like his Kate’s. It always amazed him how much he loved this child. Now Adam could finally understand all the things his father had said or done for his boys over the years and how he would say that nothing meant more to him in the entire world than his sons.

“Your Mama is one stubborn woman.” Adam thought out loud looking at the boy sleep. He realized how much he really missed his wife and wished that Katie there beside him.

Chapter 16

The next night, they stayed at the lumber camp. Three rough buildings, an open sided cookhouse, a tool shed and a bunk house and a modest corral clustered together made up the camp. The place was set up for a timber crew of a couple of dozen men but since no one was working up there, the empty camp was more than ample for the two men and a small boy. The neat, small bunkhouse was sparsely furnished with a couple of  rickety wooden chairs, a rough tables and a double row of bunks but certainly better in Sam’s opinion than sleeping outside another night, as it was getting cold.

They rose at day break, ate a quick breakfast and headed for the stand of fir and pine that they had planned to cut. On their way up the slope, Joe took a side path in the thicker brush and set a few snares, in hope of catching some small game for their supper. Together, Adam, Joe and Sam, did their job in an easy rhythm.

By midafternoon, they had completed marking the entire ridge. They had hiked a long way and done a good bit of the marking as the sun was getting low in the sky. Adam thought it was time that they started to head back to the camp as Sam was clearly beginning to tire. There would be no reason not to start home in the morning. The crew could start cutting as soon as they were sent up

Hopefully, they would find their supper in the snares Joe had set on their way back to the camp. Otherwise it would be beans again for dinner. When they reached the snares, they happily found that he had been successful. There were two decent sized rabbits. Joe prepared the rabbits for cooking when they got back to the cookhouse while Adam and Sam collected more wood for the fire. Joe soon had the rabbit roasting on the hearth.

“Here comes supper,” said Sam, happily as he set the table. “After three days of beans I can eat my socks.”

“I was just thinking about Hoss last night,” Adam started. “We sure had a fine time up here last year. “

Joe nodded. He turned away from them and turned the roasting rabbits on the fire. As he had most nights back home, just as the sun went down, Joe’s mood darkened and he became silent.

“Joe, we have got to talk.” Joe ignored his brother and stared at the meat sputtering over the glowing coals. “Look at me, I’m talking to you.” Adam turned Joe around to face him.

“What put a burr under your saddle?” Joe snapped at his brother. He tried to pull away from Adam’s grasp. “I want to make sure our food doesn’t burn.”

“Sam go outside and get a bucket of water. Then get some more fire wood. I need to talk to Uncle Joe alone.”

Mama had told him to listen to them while they were away but for some reason right now, the boy felt uncomfortable leaving them alone together. Sam nervously looked back and forth at the two men. He felt that he needed to make sure they didn’t fight. “You’re going to talk? Not fight?”

”Just talking, Sammy. Go get the firewood.” Adam leaned against the log that was holding up the roof of the cookhouse. He silently watched his brother trying to look busy poking at the roasting rabbits.

Sam looked hesitantly at the two men, his eyes going back and forth checking their expressions.

”Don’t worry Sammy. Go do what your father told you to do,” Joe nodded.

Adam sighed.  “About what’s eating you up inside.” he answered calmly. “I can see that your all torn up, Joe.  You can’t hide it from me.”

“I can take care of myself, Adam.” he said with a flash of his usual cock-sureness.  He started to pull the cooking utensils out of their gear that was stacked neatly on the table.

“Joe, answer me.” Adam’s tone was urgent.  “Are you okay? What is wrong?”
”I don’t know,” Joe said softly.

” You don’t know or you don’t want to tell me?” Adam needed to hear his brother tell him that he was angry with him. “I asked you if you were okay.”

Joe put the iron frying pan on the table and pulled some potatoes out of a sack of provisions. He handed Adam the coffee pot, silently assigning him to make their coffee.

Joe shook his head. “I’m not okay. Not for a real long time. Not since Hoss died. Our lives are divided into ‘Before’ and ‘After’. I just can’t shake it, Adam.”

“No you can’t. None of us can” Adam looked down at the chipped, blue coffee pot in his hand and put it down. He realized it was the very same coffee pot that Kate slammed into the stove the day he had told her about Striker gambling away all her money. It seemed so long ago. It was before.

“This was Katie’s coffee pot, from Mim’s house… “Adam turned the pot around in his hand, surprised that they had used this coffee pot morning and night for the entire trip but he had never recognized it.

Joe nodded and handed him a brown paper parcel containing the coffee. “Save some for the morning. That’s all we have left.”

“Joe, we are all we have left. Look at us. We are both falling apart and too stubborn to lay down and….” Adam’s voice dropped off. He shrugged not knowing how to continue. He picked up one of the potatoes and rolled it back and forth in his hand silently staring down at the vegetable.

Joe had never heard Adam at such a loss before, and he found it more frightening to see his despair than anything he could ever remember.

Joe had grown up letting Adam, his big brother, take the lead in most situations, but that was years ago. Joe was a grown man and had been running the Ponderosa with his father and Hoss for a many years. Joe had matured to an adult during the years Adam had been traveling around for Stoddard and Bruce. Hearing Adam admit that he couldn’t handle things shook him more than Joe could have ever imagined. As much as he always balked at their big brother – little brother relationship, Joe had always looked at Adam as an infallible tower of strength, a man who feared nothing and was never shaken by anything.

For some reason, just seeing Adam in this despondent, miserable state was the wakeup call for Joe. Suddenly, all the anger inside of him melted away. Everything was completely obvious to him now. Adam desperately needed him just as Kate had struggled to explain to him. His oldest brother needed him far more than Joe ever needed Adam. Joe had to do something to pull his older brother back to the land of the living.

Joe remembered that Kate had told him he was only looking at his own problems. All he had thought before was that Adam was riding him. Now he realized the depth of his brother’s despair, how broken he looked. Joe walked over to his brother and embraced him protectively. He looked right at his brother’s haggard face.

“Adam…” he began, wanting desperately to erase the pain in those dark eyes. “It’s done…it’s over…we need to move on. Together.”

Adam remained silent but didn’t push his brother away.

“You won’t be much good to Hoss if you are dead.”  Joe said gently. “Or to any of us. We’ll fight this together too, Adam. Cartwright brothers stick together. We are stronger together than separately. Pa told us that.”

Adam didn’t acknowledge what his brother had said and stared straight ahead. He sat so still that Joe wondered if he had even heard him. Or if what he had said even mattered or if it was so horrifying to Adam that he couldn’t respond.

Finally, Adam’s eyes shifted almost imperceptibly toward Joe, then away again. . Adam paused again, but the floodgates had opened and now the words tumbled over each other.

“I’ve never hated anyone before. Not like this Joe,” he murmured. “But I despise them, Joe. In my heart…in my mind… in every bone in my body, in all that I am, I really hate them more than I could ever have imagined. I hate them so much it terrifies me.”

“Adam, we all do. But your hate is eating you alive. You have Katie to think of… and Sam. That little boy needs you, Adam, especially you. That boy needs you. He already lost one father when that riverboat sank and now he is losing you too. It’s been months now and we all walk around like half- dead people. That isn’t what Hoss would have wanted. Do you think this is what he’d want?” he demanded curtly.

“No, Hoss wouldn’t want that,” Adam agreed.

“Be honest with me Adam. Is it love for our brother or revenge that is driving you?”

Adam was silent for a minute. “Neither, little brother.”

“Then what the heck is it, Adam?”

”Guilt.” Adam looked away from Joe. He had told only his wife this secret, but he was very sure his brother had known all along. “Aren’t you angry at me Joe?”

“Me? Angry at you? I love you Brother. I’m not angry with you. Why should I be angry with you? “Joe was completely taken aback by that question. Shocked by his brother’s confession put his hand on Adam’s shoulder.

“I thought you were angry… that you weren’t talking to me because you hated me.”

“I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. You are my brother. I love you Adam. We don’t always see eye-to-eye but. Adam you’re my brother. I wasn’t talking to anyone, not just you.”

“Joe, I was drinking a cold beer when Hoss got killed.”
”So you were drinking beer. I was up at the mill. And Pa was working on the ledgers. And Clem was sweeping the floor of his office and Dean was paying the blacksmith for new horseshoes for his horse. What do you think that means? Do you think you could have kept him from getting killed any different if you were not drinking a beer? What do you mean? “

Adam remained silent.

“You can’t always fix everything and protect all of us, Big Brother. Who do you think you are? One of those Greek god feller’s you used to tell me about… that Zeus with the lightning bolts. You can’t do everything all the time. You can’t protect the entire family from every single thing. You can’t control the entire world.”

“I just feel guilty about it.” Adam’s words caught in his throat. He swallowed hard and stared into the fire.

”You feel guilty? Well I don’t want to feel anything.” Joe confessed. “Why do you think I’ve been drinking myself into a stupor half the time and try to bash my head breaking horses or picking fights the rest of the time? I don’t want to feel what I’ve been feeling.”
Adam stared at him. Joe had tears streaming down his face.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t want to feel anything, “Joe admitted. “Why do you think I won’t walk in the front door and look at Hoss’s damn hat sitting there on the rack? I get so awful lonely for him that I just don’t want to feel that awful pain any more. Oh God, I miss him so! You lived years without him before he was born. Adam, you were away from him for years. You got used to not seeing Hoss every single day. Every day, Adam. I used to sleep in his bed when I was a little kid. Remember that? Hoss was always there my whole life. Don’t you realize it? Every day.”

“I’m so sorry Joe, I didn’t think about it. Is that why you don’t eat supper with us?”

Joe nodded. “I can’t stand to look at his empty chair, Adam. I finally told Pa to put Hoss’ gear away. That night you both brought me home… I told him that night when you went to sleep. Pa put Hoss’ gun in his desk for Sam when he gets older. Stow it all where I can’t look at it.”

”I thought you were angry with me… for letting it happen.”
”No, never Adam. How could you think that? Really you thought I was mad at you?” Joe couldn’t imagine how Adam got this all so muddled up. “Adam, you are my brother and I love you, always, no matter what.”

“Thanks, Joe.” he said.  It was a simple statement, and yet it conveyed a world of gratitude. He grabbed his brother around the neck and hugged him.

“Instead of pulling apart maybe we should start pulling together, I think that was what Pa was trying to say.”  Adam said. Joe had kept his arm wrapped around his shoulder and Adam didn’t shrug it off.

“And Katie was trying to tell us but we were too stupid to listen. Or drunk. Maybe she has something there. You married a very wise woman Big Brother. She has a good point there. Pa didn’t build up the Ponderosa with all of us working at cross-purposes. This is the same thing.”

Sam kicked at the door with one booted foot. His arms were overloaded with a poorly balanced stack of firewood. “Pa help! Open the door.” He had rushed with the chore so he could get back inside before he missed anything or a fight broke out. He was out of breath from running. The wind was kicking up and the rain had started to fall.

“You think we should let him back in?” Adam asked in a soft voice.
”You done talking? “Joe asked. “I’m not, but it sure isn’t anything that Sam can’t hear.” as he walked over to the door and opened it for Sam. He took most of the wood from the boy’s arms

“Are you all right, Pa?” asked Sam nervously as he stacked the wood. “Uncle Joe? “

“Everything is just fine, son.” Adam said. “Probably the finest it’s been in a long time.”

“Pa, Uncle Joe. Do you know what Grandpa taught me? “
”What? Something about fire wood?”

“Not about firewood about Uncle Hoss. Grandpa told me it was a good thing to think about the good times I had with Uncle Hoss .He said as long as we remember someone in our hearts, they are still alive forever. Someone might die, but the love you had for them never dies. “

Joe smiled at his nephew. He could vaguely recall his father telling him and his brothers the same thing when his mother died. Maybe that was why he was always asking them to tell him stories about his mother and they were always so willing?

“You shouldn’t’ feel bad when you think about Uncle Hoss. You should try to feel good about how he was alive. This way a part of him stays alive. I sometimes ask Grandpa to tell me stories about Uncle Hoss so I won’t forget about him. I ask Mama too.  It’s sadder if you forget.” Sam added. The boy suddenly realized that no one else was talking and he got nervous. “That’s all I have to say.”

Sam turned his back to the men and started to restack the firewood in a neat pile by the door, just the way Uncle Hoss had taught him. He didn’t show them his red face.

“Joseph, looks like my boy listened more to Pa than we did.” Adam said, “The boy probably has more sense than the both of us put together.”

“Look who his mother is, Adam.” Joe grinned. “Why do you think I made sure you married her?”

Adam looked at his brother. He knew how true that remark was. Had it not been for Joe, he would never have married Kate.” Did I ever thank you for that?”
Joe smiled “No thanks necessary, Brother.”

The next morning, the rain had ended and the sky was bright and cloudless. They were all up early. Adam made fresh coffee while his son and his brother packed up the gear. He walked to the door of the shack and watched as Joe finished getting the horses saddled and came back inside.

“Coffee’s hot “

“Hey let’s get a move on it here. We can be home by lunch if we get moving.” Joe tossed a bedroll to Sam. “Put this one on your pony, Sam.”

He pulled his brother’s hat off and tossed it on the bunk. Then Adam ruffled his hair as if his brother was a small boy once again. “Hey, Little Brother, what’s your rush? Have some coffee and biscuits, first.”

“Hey, hey, quit it “Joe frowned at Adam as he finger combed his hair back in place. Then his expression cleared and he hastily began packing up his gear and stowing it.

For the first time in a long time, Joe really did want to get home. “Come on, Adam, let’s go home. Quit fooling around and let’s ride. We’re burning sunlight.  The sooner we get on our horses, the sooner we get home.” Joe finally was ready to go back home.

Part 14 Before and After

Chapter 1

October 22

A faint autumnal chill was in the air as the sun went down each evening. There was a cool breeze that smelled of the cut hay on the high meadow and burning firewood. Fall round up had started a few weeks earlier on the Ponderosa. By all of the reports Ben was getting from Joe and Hays Newkirk the crews were working hard and everything was going extremely well. The feedlots were full of fat cattle waiting for the drive to market. Timber crews were hard at work efficiently cutting trees high in the hills to meet deadlines on orders for lumber.

The weather was finally getting pleasantly cooler after the unrelenting searing heat. Summer had finally come to an end. For the rest of their lives, all of them would be using this summer as the watershed milestone for “Before” and “After”.

Hoss was dead

The Cartwrights were battered and scarred. Together, they had survived their ordeal. They struggled, faltered, and stumbled but eventually, as a family, continued on with daily life. The Cartwrights were still measuring time from “Before” Hoss was killed and “After” but they were doing it together, leaning on each other rather than grieving separately and alone.

The Cartwrights lives had finally settled in to tolerable routines since Adam and Joe got back from their trip with Sam. Ben’s two surviving sons had finally found their separate peace together.

Sam had regained his equilibrium and much of his lost self-confidence. The boy was back to studies in the very same school his mother and Uncle Joe had attended in Virginia City. Most days he rode his own pony, Katarina, into town accompanied by young Casey Newkirk. Sam thoroughly enjoyed being in the company of the other children and was an eager student.

He was a clever boy and much better behaved in class than either his mother or Joe had ever had been. When Kate and her son first moved back to Virginia City, Sam was one of the smallest and youngest students in the school. He was too shy initially to cause any disruptions or pull any stunts. As time went on, he really wanted to make Adam proud of him and please his stepfather with fine grades. He excelled in history and was especially skilled in geography.

Sam often sat with Adam examining the maps in Mim’s old atlas and asking him about all the places he had traveled before he and Kate had married. The boy filled long sheets of newsprint that Kate brought him from the Enterprise with his own hand drawn maps that he diligently copied from the atlas or made up from his colorful imagination. He drew detailed maps of the imaginary Monkey Kingdom and pirate treasure maps and made Adam show him how to draw castles and bridges in perspective. At Sam’s suggestion, Adam even added a round turret to the plans for their new house in Virginia City.

“That boy is just too serious Katie. My brother is an extremely bad influence on him.” Joe teased. He and Kate still secretly had hopes that once Sam got more comfortable and relaxed, the boy would not let them down. Together, they found an old set of Hoss’s oversized long johns and set them aside for the first day of school to be used as a flag for the next year. Joe knew Hoss would have been honored by the continued tradition. Kate wrapped the long johns in brown paper and had Joe hide the package high on the shelves in the Enterprise office.

“No need to have Adam stumble onto this plan.” Kate decided. Joe always kept her secrets while they were growing up and it was once again fun to share a frivolous prank with him.

Joseph was smiling and joking again much of the time. He stopped drinking to an extreme or trying to break his neck in the horse corral or arguing with anyone who came near. Dinnertime at the Ponderosa was once again cheerful and pleasant.

Dean Newkirk’s widow, Bonnie gave birth to a fine little blonde haired girl. She had the same lake blue eyes as her father. Joe managed to convince her to stay on with Hays and his wife in the foreman’s house and not go back to her family with the children. Hays and his wife, Rebecca were delighted and quite appreciative that Joe had been able to convince Bonnie to stay on. Rebecca Newkirk secretly suspected that Joseph may have some romantic motive of his own.

“I brought you some fresh coffee.” Kate said as she walked out on the porch of the Ponderosa in the fading light. Adam Cartwright was sitting at the large wooden table with a pile of papers spread out around him.  He cleared some documents from the edge of the table and gestured for her to put the steaming cup down.

“What are you working on, Adam?” she asked as she leaned over his shoulder. She could smell his bay rum cologne. She affectionately rubbed her soft cheek against his whiskery face. Before her husband could answer, Kate quickly recognized the plans for their house. He was re-examining the abandoned plans and had all of the notes she had made about suggested changes spread across the table. The plans had been drawn up the previous spring. They both had hoped to start the construction by the middle of summer but when Hoss was killed and every facet of normal life had ground to a halt.

“If we can get the walls framed out and the roof up before first snow, we can move in and have the carpenters finish the interior work while we are living there. Do you think you can bear living in a half built house for a while? And have workmen all over the place every day hammering and sawing and painting?”

Kate hadn’t even considered the option before.

“Move into our own house, Adam? Our very own house, not Mim’s house or the Ponderosa? This house?” she said pointing to the rolled out plans that they had drawn and redrawn together for the last two years.

“When do I pack?” Her eyes gleamed with excitement. She grabbed him from behind and hugged him warmly and kissed the back of his neck. Kate Cartwright desperately wanted her own kitchen back and to be closer to the Enterprise and the schoolhouse and friends in town. More importantly she wanted to be alone with her husband in the privacy of their own bedroom, not the downstairs bedroom next to the dining room in the Ponderosa.

“I could say we should move back into Mim’s house right now but you know that there is no way I can’t bear the low ceilings and that narrow stairwell. It’s hardly better than a ladder. “Adam griped.

Kate laughed and kissed him on the exact spot he always hit his poor head going through the low doorway of the upstairs rooms in Mim’s little yellow house. “I would think you could have learned to duck by now, Mr. Cartwright.”

He laughed and shrugged his broad shoulders “Guess, not.”

”Or else you just like it that I kiss you each time you smash your head.” Kate said coyly. She kissed him again and rubbed her hand on his back under his work shirt. He smiled appreciatively. He reached around and pulled her closer. “No need to stop, Darlin’.”

“And look at this,” Adam pointed to the plans with one his right hand and wound his other arm around her waist. “I think we can use the original parlor and dining room of Mim’s house for the foyer and stair way if I have the ceiling removed all the way to the rafters. We can take out the floor of the bedroom and put bracing beams over here and here. Then we can have a two story high entrance foyer.”
”Very elegant and extremely impressive. You really want to get rid of those skull banging ceilings, don’t you Adam?” she kissed him again. “And what is that over there. You made another change.” She pointed to the second floor diagram.
”Sam’s turret and more bedrooms.” Adam grinned. “Time we started filling up those bedrooms, wife.” He swung her around to his lap and held her close and kissed her warmly. She could taste the coffee on his lips as she kissed him back.

“I’m going to go into town tomorrow. I have an early meeting and then I’ll ride over talk to Bob and Norm.”

“The carpenters?” Kate couldn’t believe her ears.

“If they think they can get the framing in on schedule we can list out the lumber for the mill and get started.”
”Adam, the party for your father is tomorrow…”
” I can be up and out while it is still dark. Don’t worry I’ll be back by four,” Adam promised.
”Be sure you are, Adam Cartwright!” she reminded him.

“Or what? Are you threatening me, Katie-bird?”

“Oh no sir, Mr. Cartwright. I would never do that,” she laughed “But just be sure you are home well before the company gets here.” She hugged him tightly. She wondered if anyone was still sitting in the dining room or in front of the fireplace and would comment if she and Adam went to retire early.

“Not to worry, I’ll be here at least five minutes before the guests get here.” Adam teased her. “Maybe even six minutes. When am I ever late?”

“Never! You are the most prompt man that ever lived.”
“That’s right, no one ever called me the late Adam Cartwright,” Adam grinned

“Don’t even josh about that!” Kate looked aghast.

Chapter 2

The Next Day, October 23

Early morning, after the sun rose, the four outlaws watched from the hill overlooking the ranch house. They were hidden from view by the line of pines and thick brush. They saw a lone rider on a paint horse gallop past at a fast gait. He headed away from the house, towards the hills to the north.
“There he goes,” the red headed man commented with a hostile look. “That’s Joe Cartwright. Now we’ll be goin’ to meet up with those other Cartwrights, I reckon,” said another member of the group, the shortest.

“We gonna take ’em now?” His companion asked excitedly. He took off his dusty hat and ran his fingers nervously through his greasy hair. He was the largest of the four men and a man of few words.
“I reckon we wait. Little bit later on. They are gonna be tired, and when you are tired, you let your guard down. No one knows we are in these parts. Everyone stopped looking for us or even caring.”

”Take it easy. Let’s just bide our time, boys” The dark haired man told the others. He stroked his newly grown beard and thought how he would enjoy completing his unfinished business. He had to show the Cartwrights that he had the upper hand. “Just wait until we are sure the old man is alone. There is absolutely no need to hurry.”

“You sure this is gonna work?”  The slim man with the curly brown hair asked the older man. He was beginning to have serious doubts about this entire scheme but found it difficult to part company with the others.

“I have absolutely no doubt in my mind.  Have I ever steered you wrong before, Danny?” the dark haired man sneered.

“This here is entirely different.” Danny Lowell objected. Being on the Ponderosa had brought back a lot of his boyhood memories, both good times and bad. For the first time since he joined up with Striker he was having doubts about the man’s decisions.

”How is it different? They have something I want and we go in and take it. And if they resist … “He pulled the revolver from his holster and spun the chambers to check that there was a bullet in each chamber. “If they challenge us, they will learn that resistance is futile.”

He slid the gun back into his holster with a slap. He had a long-standing grudge against the Cartwrights and for many years it had festered and smoldered and twisted in his mind.

The red head grinned like a twisted Halloween Jack o lantern. “A lot of times you think you hate something until you don’t have it anymore. Especially a woman.”
Danny glared at him thinking of his sister and Cy.

“You like to intimidate people.” Cy looked admiringly at the bearded man.

”I may be intimidating but that is just part of my powerful charm,” he responded. “That is what draws men like you into my company.”

“Looks like most of the hands are movin’ out too. “ Danny announced. They could see Hays Newkirk and a group of riders leave the corral and head away from the house. A few other men loaded a buckboard and followed them up towards the north.

“Just bide your time boys, I want us to have the edge in this game. Just wait until Old man Cartwright is all alone. This is my game and we play by my rules. We are very far from finished.” He lit a cigar and blew a smoke ring that curled around his head.

Chapter 3

The twenty-third of October was Ben Cartwright’s birthday. Sam had campaigned for a gigantic, festive birthday celebration for his grandfather. The boy wanted it to be a big blow out with music and lots of guests and plenty of food and a huge decorated cake but Ben had wanted no part of such an elaborate affair. Being that it was the first birthday in the family occurring since Hoss was killed, none of the adults were truly up to it.

As a compromise, Kate suggested a quiet dinner party in Ben’s honor with a few guests. To placate his grandson, Ben accepted the idea of a huge decorated cake. “As long as it is chocolate, Katie.” Ben smiled knowing that was Sam’s favorite as well as his own. He could never resist indulging his beloved grandson.

Kate invited Ben’s oldest friends, Hays Newkirk, Roy Coffee and Doctor Paul Martin and their wives to join the family. She included Nancy and Clem Foster and their children to round out the table and make the evening a bit celebratory without being too grand or too elaborate. There would be no musicians playing, no dancing, no big crystal punch bowl filled with Ben’s special concoction, no colored paper lanterns strung across the yard like other Cartwright parties had been. This would be a joyous party all the same.

As the plans shaped up, Kate had discussed the menu with Nancy while the two friends were visiting together in the Foster home. “I want you and Clem and the children to come too. Would you mind telling your father for me, Nancy? I went over to his house twice this week and no one was home.”

”Daddy went up to visit someone at Elm Grove with Doctor Martin for a few days. He said it was some old friend’s daughter, someone who used to live here. She wrote them both and invited them for a visit.”

”Elm Grove? Someone who used to live here in Virginia City? Who is it?”

“I have no idea,” Nancy shrugged. ”I forgot to ask. They went up together last week and should be back tomorrow or the next day.”

Before they could discuss the topic further, Sam and Nancy’s son Clemmy stampeded through the door. “Mama, do you have bread and cheese for us. We want to go fishing up at Cherry Creek.”

“Oh no. You can’t go off just now. We are going to have lunch any minute. You boys go wash up and don’t make too much noise. The baby just went down for a nap.”

In the midst of all the party planning, Hop Sing had received a telegram summoning him to San Francisco to take care of one of his large extended family who was taken ill. Hop Sing and Kate worked out for him to do much of the cooking and setting up before he left on the noon stage on the twenty third. In the pantry, the six layer chocolate cake stood under a glass cake dome. Hop Sing had set the table in the dining room as soon as he cleared up from breakfast. He laid out the pink damask tablecloth and arranged the floral centerpiece. The dining room table shined with the Cartwright’s best china and silver. Hop Sing even set out the crystal wine glasses that Joe’s mother Marie had bought as a gift for Ben on their third anniversary.

Chapter 4

The afternoon of the twenty third of October

Adam sat in Paul Martin’s office and listened attentively to what the doctor and Roy Coffee were explaining. He had carefully examined the letters the two men had received. The wording was so unsettling and unexpected that he read them a second time. “No claim on any property or estate but a sincere desire to share this information with your family,” Adam read aloud.

Then he looked at the letter that Levi Victor had sent. “I have known all of you a long time and I sincerely feel this is a valid testimony and my client is sincere with her intentions. I have checked all the documents and depositions presented and have verified their truthfulness.”

“I thought we should show this to you before I told your Pa.” Roy explained. “He has had enough on his mind the last few months. And we figured if this was all a hoax, why disturb him after all he has been through?”

“We rode up there and saw her, Adam.” Doctor Martin said.

”It was a real long trip.” Roy added. “But we both wanted to eyeball everything personally, to be real thorough.”

“And what do you think?”

Paul Martin smiled. “Well, I agree with Levi. He’s the best attorney in the territory and a fine, honest man. He knows your family for years and has always had Cartwright’s best interests at heart even if she hired him. If she had any harm intended she wouldn’t have gone through Levi Victor. Or contacted us either, Adam.”

“There isn’t a malicious bone in that girl’s body, Adam. There never was. I think your Pa would be pleased to know all about this and see her again. He’ll be real surprised.” Paul Martin explained.

“Shocked is more like it… but I think once he gets over the shock of it all, he’ll be mighty pleased.” Roy added.

“Really shocked though.” Paul chuckled.” Your Pa sure could use a bit of good news. I don’t think any of this is what he would have planned out, but considering the circumstances it probably would have turned out different had Hoss still been alive.”

Adam looked down at the letters in his hand and read them again and shook his head in amazement. If this had been written about Little Joe he wouldn’t have been at all surprised. To tell the truth, none of them would have been surprised, but this was not about Joe, it was about Hoss. Joe was the romantic rascal and lady’s man who often thought with other parts of his body beside his brain or confused lust with love, but not Hoss.

“Let me talk to my brother and Katie and see what they have to say about all this. Maybe I can catch Kate at the Enterprise before she leaves town for home. I don’t want to go to Pa with all this on my own decision.”

“Adam, don’t forget that you have both of us to help you too. Don’t take this all on alone. Tell us tonight at the birthday dinner what you boys decide to do. If you want to tell your Pa or ride up there yourselves first or have both of us chew it over with all of you,” Roy put his hand on Adam’s hand. Roy sometimes knew Adam better than he knew himself. This time, instead of telling everyone what they should do, Adam planned to share this decision with other people and not carry all the responsibility on his shoulders. Perhaps this a sign of things getting better for his friends?

Adam stood up and shook hands with Doc Martin and then with Roy Coffee.

The other men could see that Adam was still obviously shocked at what he had just learned… “Thanks Roy.” “I’ll see you at dinner.”

He Adam walked down the street to the Enterprise. He greeted his friend, Phil Bartlett behind the front desk. “Hi Phil. Is my wife here?”

“She went to get some things for your party at the mercantile and then to meet Sammy up at the school and head back up to your Pa’s house for dinner,” Phil told him.

Adam quickly decided that he did not want to discuss this matter with Kate while Sam was around. He would have to catch his wife alone later. Adam checked the clock on the wall and shook his head. “Thanks, I’ll just have to talk to her at home.”

He still needed to talk to the carpenters and framers and bricklayers about the house construction and get that materials list started. No matter what, Adam wanted that roof up before snowfall. He was determined that Kate and he would have her own house by New Years.

”Tell Ben I wished him a happy birthday, Adam,” Phil added.

“Sure thing.”

Adam decided he had just better get going up to the building site and see what Bob and Norm suggested. Then he would ride home see what the evening would bring.

Chapter 5

The four men rode into the quiet yard at an easy clip. They were pleased to see that there was no one left around and about. Hidden in the thicket, they had warily watched to make sure that all the hands had left for the day. There would be no one having an excuse to come out to the barn until late in the day, or so Striker’s men hoped.

From his vantage point on the hill, Striker had watched as Kate and Sam rode off toward Virginia City in the surrey. Even the Chinese cook had left earlier. Only Ben Cartwright was left in the house.

After dismounting, the intruders silently led their horses into the barn. Instead of unsaddling them, they left each horse in a stall ready to ride. This way, no one wandering up to the house would notice four strange saddled horses tied at the rail.

Passing the tack room, Striker lifted the latch on the rear door of the barn and led the group back outside.

Danny Lowell looked around at the once familiar place. Casting a sour glance at the manure pile, he followed the other three members of the Carson City Gang as they made their way around it. They walked past the split-log corral, out of sight of the main house. Dan hadn’t visited the Ponderosa since he was a boy. He wiped his hand across the barrel of the fancy shotgun he carried and ran his index finger nervously across the engraved initials, BC that embellished the stock.

“Now, we begin.” Striker looked toward the house. ”Vengeance is mine.”

Chapter 6

Around two o’clock that afternoon, Ben Cartwright sat in his leather chair at the right of the hearth going over the work schedules for the next month. Ben set his pen down and pinched the bridge of his nose. The payroll was still sitting on the top of his desk only half done, but he needed a break. Tomorrow would be the monthly payday and he still had to split up the cash into the pay envelopes for each of the hands. For Sam, there would be a silver dollar in his own pay envelope.

As was his habit, Ben had placed a loaded pistol near the cash box, just in case he had some trouble. Ben had started that practice years ago when he first came west and often was forced to hire unruly, rough men, strangers with questionable back grounds or saddle tramps for his  timber crews or wranglers or ranch hands. Some of these men would commence to get drunk on payday before they even got their pay envelopes. Even though things in Virginia City were now far more civilized than they were in those days, Ben still persisted in following that old practice more from custom than necessity.

Ben heard a noise coming from the kitchen and the sound of footsteps. “Joseph?” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a young man with curly brown hair and a tan yoked shirt walk into the dining room. Kate had emphasized that Little Joe should be sure to make it back to the ranch in plenty of time for dinner but it was not even two o’clock.

“Joe, you are early. Did you get all those strays?”

There was no answer.

“Joe? Did you get the strays?” Ben repeated, this time louder.

Ben’s eyes snapped to look again in to the dining room. The man he assumed was Joseph stood lounging against the doorjamb, looking unconcerned and amused. Ben quickly realized that he was a total stranger, not his son. The stranger also held a weapon in his hands, a shotgun that was pointed directly across the room at Ben Cartwright. The man straightened up and walked slowly toward the middle of the room, his shotgun still aimed directly at Ben.

“Now, Mr. Cartwright, now don’t you make any sudden moves, and you won’t get hurt,” said Danny Lowell. He moved to stand near the bottom of the stairs, where he could have a clear view of his prisoner.

“What are you doing here?” bellowed Ben in a commanding voice.  Suddenly, Ben heard the sound of gun being cocked. He looked up and his jaw dropped. Four armed men had just invaded his home.

Cy was standing near dining room entry, holding a pistol. The gun was also pointed directly at Ben.

“Well, well, boys. Old know it all Ben Cartwright just sitting all alone in his big fancy house,” Cy grinned.

The front door opened wide and two more armed men walked in. The larger man walked over to the stairway and moved up to the landing where he would have a clear view of the room. The second man walked right over to Ben and stood looking down at the older man. With an arrogant tone, the dark haired man said, “You have something of mine and I want it back”

The man looked vaguely familiar. “What is that you think I have?” Ben asked calmly. He attempted to sound totally composed even though his heart was thundering in his chest. He started to stand up.

”Sit down, Cartwright!” The redhead sneered pointing his pistol at the silver haired rancher. “Sit down and you won’t get hurt. Sit down or I’ll make you sit down!”

“You have my family. I want my boy back.” The bearded man glared at Ben. His deep-set brown eyes glowed with anger. Ben realized why the intruder looked so familiar. The man looked just like Al Striker, Kate’s first husband. A lifetime ago, he and Joe had chased him away from Mim’s house when he was harassing Katie. The bearded man in front of him may have looked like Striker but that was totally impossible. His daughter-in-law had received word not long after that incident that Striker was dead. Ben had seen the letter that Katie had received explaining that Al Striker had been killed in the sinking of a riverboat.

“You look like you are seeing a ghost, Mr. Cartwright. But I assure you, Mr. Cartwright, I am quite very real. I am as real as this gun.” He held the pistol up and sighted down the barrel at Ben’s face. Then he grinned and lowered the gun to a less threatening angle. Striker loved to poke and prod at his victims and make them squirm before he killed them. Just like playing a trout until you pull it out of the stream and dashed its head on a rock.

”Striker?” Ben spit the name out. “Al Striker?” All the times little Sam had claimed to see his dead father, the boy had not been imagining things. The boy hadn’t seen an apparition or devil or nightmare.

Al Striker was still alive.

Striker nodded “You look like you saw a ghost. I assure you that I am not a ghost.”

“Kate got a letter saying you were dead. Killed when a riverboat sank. It was years ago.”
”From Pomeroy Labelle?” Striker laughed. He pointed to the large man on the stairs. “Say hello to Pomeroy Labelle. He can assure you that I’m not dead.”

Labelle nodded in agreement then leaned his bulk on the railing and laughed maliciously.

Ben started to get up from his chair. The red headed man walked closer to him and faced the rancher angrily. “Sit down and nothin’ will happen to you, Cartwright.”

Ben ignored the order and continued to stand, eyeing the four men angrily. Cy slammed his fist against Ben’s chest knocking him backwards into the leather chair. “Old Man, you are a damn stubborn fool,” he shouted, “and fresh out of common sense! Sit down and be still. I try to do you a good turn, and what do you do but throw it back in my face? I declare, Cartwright, you’re enough to drive any man insane!”

Ben winced with pain. “Your pity disgusts me. I’m telling you now, if anything happens to my family I will come after you and there won’t be a place on this earth far enough or dark enough to hide you.” Ben growled threateningly.

“That’s assuming there is anything left of you to come after me, Cartwright.” Striker took an expensive cigar out of his vest pocket and lit. He took a long puff and blew the acrid smoke into the air.

Chapter 7

Riding up to the ranch house, Joe Cartwright slid from his horse and made for the kitchen door. He would put Cochise up in a few minutes as soon as he was sure there was no reason to ride up to Newkirk’s or to the corral or into town for any last minute task for his father or Kate. He was glad that Sam had insisted on some kind of celebration for his father. It was going to be really nice to get together for a happy reason instead of the sad ones they had experienced the last few months. He had secretly hoped his father would have given in to a big party with music and dancing and lots of guests and music but understood how everyone felt.

Joe decided that Adam was making his boy too serious and obedient for Joe’s tastes. Joe determined that he would have to spend a little more time alone with Sam coaching him on the art of getting his father to ease up a bit and to give in to his shenanigans.

Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out a bedraggled piece of paper. He swiftly checked the list that Kate had left for him that morning. He was pleased to see that every chore was done for his father’s party except getting a case of wine from the cellar and getting himself dressed. He was way ahead of schedule and would even have time to put his feet up with his father and shoot the breeze over a cup of coffee. Maybe he could figure a way to sample the chocolate birthday cake in the pantry with nobody noticing his finger marks in the frosting.

Knowing that Hop Sing had waxed the floors in the front room rather than risk leaving any foot marks, he strolled in through the kitchen door. A gust of cold autumn wind slammed the door shut behind him. Joe lifted the lid of the cookie jar and rummaged around until he found one of Kate’s butter cookies. She had made a double batch from Mim’s recipe and happily, there were still a few left that his nephew had not devoured. Joe felt a tiny bit guilty beating out a little kid for cookies but Sam would just have to deal with it. Joe laughed to himself as he chewed on the cookie. When it came to these treats, it was every man for himself.

Walking across the kitchen, Joe checked the new graniteware coffee pot on the back of the stove. It was unexpectedly hot and it slipped from his hands and crashed loudly onto the stove. The coffee pot lid rolled across the floor and hit the table leg with a loud clatter. Fortunately for Joe, there was less than a cup of coffee left in the pot and it was a simple task to wipe up the mess with the dishrag on the soap stone kitchen sink.

He pictured his father quietly sitting at his desk working on the payroll or in his chair at the hearth sorting through the tally book for the cattle roundup.

Joe couldn’t have been more mistaken.

“Pa?”  Joe called into the dining room. “Do you want some coffee? I’ll make a fresh pot if you do.

Chapter 8

Ben sat frozen in his chair looking at the unmoving hands of the tall grandfather clock near the front door. His right elbow rested on the worn arm of the red leather hand and his chin rested on the fist of that hand. Four angry, immoveable men stood staring at Ben Cartwright watching the hands of the clock. Each held a weapon that he would be more than glad to use.

Ben heard hoof beats in the yard. Then he heard the kitchen door slam.

“God” he thought, “Joe is home and he is going to walk right into an ambush.” Ben’s stomach twirled and spun. How could he help his son? What could he do?

The largest man, La Belle, was standing on the landing of the stairs. The man that Ben had originally assumed was Joseph, the one with the brown curly hair who they called Danny and the red head were standing in the dining room. Danny stood closer to Ben, facing the kitchen. Cy was flattened against the dining room wall leading into the kitchen with his gun drawn. Striker stood near the front door, his gun aimed at Ben.

They heard someone rattle around in the kitchen. Ben recognized the sound of the cookie jar lid clinking. He heard the metallic crash of the coffee pot and Joe’s exclamation of a few choice curses as something clattered to the floor.

“Pa?”  Joe called into the dining room. “Do you want some fresh coffee? Ben cringed. His youngest son strode into the dining room.

“Watch out, Joe.” He stood up and bellowed. “Joe, watch out!” Ben flew at the back of Danny Lowell.

Joe Cartwright turned around and looked toward his father’s voice. There was a large man on the stairs aiming a colt revolver at them. Joe swiftly drew his gun and rapidly got off a shot before diving for cover. The man clutched his stomach and fell crashing through the railing to the floor below. He hit the living room floor below with a sickening thud.

Cyrus lurched forward, grabbed Joe from behind in a choke hold and knocked the gun out of Joe’s left hand. Joe’s pistol clattered to the dining room floor and skidded out of reach. Joe elbowed him and broke loose. He spun to face his assailant and drove his fist into the other, larger man’s face–once, twice–before being propelled off him. He tumbled backwards head over heels and crashed into the wall, his shoulder slamming painfully against the baseboard.  He could hear the sound of his father shouting behind him. Joe couldn’t see who these men were but he knew that there were several in the room.

“Joe watch out!” Ben hollered again as a Striker entered the fight.
As it erupted into a full-fledge melee with Joe trying to defend himself. A shot rang out. Joe could see his father collapse near the fireplace.

“Pa!”  Joe turned his head for an instant trying to see what happened to his father.

The angry man with a beard reached down to where Joe lay on the floor. He grabbed Joe by the front of his jacket and hauled him to his feet. He swung and punched Joe in the face, wrenching his head painfully to the side.  Joe stumbled backwards, colliding with a carved dining room chair and upending it. Someone pounced on him and they both careened into the table. The table was overturned and the dishes and glassware crashed explosively to the floor.

Someone else roughly grabbed Joseph’s collar, but this time Joe managed to get off the first punch. Joe ducked a thrown chair and heard it crash noisily into the wall behind him.  Drawing a breath, he tried to straighten up. He caught a glimpse of a man with red hair in front of him and then a rifle butt cracked across the back of his neck, driving him to his knees.

“Quit fighting Little Joe” Danny Lowell ordered as he clubbed him across the head again with the butt end of the fancy shotgun.

Joe crashed into the edge of the overturned table and his world erupted in chaos and pain.  He crumbled to the dining room floor with a loud groan.  His shoulder struck the wide wooden planks and he rolled limply onto his back, He lay staring up at the underside of the tipped dining room table as it spun and reeled drunkenly overhead. Distantly he heard the crisp strike of boot heels against the floor and felt someone kick him sharply in his stomach. Joe heard his father’s angry voice denouncing Cy. Everything went red and then black as Joe spiraled into unconsciousness under the tilted dining table.

 

 

Chapter 9

Clouds were everywhere. Pink fluffy fragrant clouds and he was surrounded by them … No, they weren’t cloud they were blossoms. Hundreds of swirling cherry pink blossoms. “Don’t worry Cartwright boys don’t break so easily…how did he get up so high in the sky? Joe was so high up and tall. Pa was lifting high up in the air to touch the pink cherry blossoms. Pink snow! Spinning and swirling and whirling and tilting around him until his stomach was dropping and twisting frighteningly. Pink blossoms floated all about in a whirling, swirling dizzying spiral. One petal landed on his nose and tickled.

Half awake, he tried to swat it away but he couldn’t move his hands. Joe slowly came into consciousness and he tried to remember what had happened. He opened his eyes and looked around. His vision was blurry and he blinked trying to clear his eyes.

All he could see over his head was the underside of the dining room table. His face was partly covered with the dangling pink tablecloth. He groaned and tried to roll over but couldn’t. Joe attempted to reach up and rub his face, but when he tried to move, he realized his arms were also tied tightly behind him. He was hog tied and lying on the floor on his injured right shoulder. He was crumpled on top of the smashed china and shattered glassware. He tried again to move and immediately felt a stabbing pain in the fleshy part of his right thigh. His hands were tied behind him and he was awkwardly balanced.

He shifted his weight a bit and squirmed a bit trying to find a more tolerable position. He was able to touch a broken wine glass that was jabbing him through his heavy work pants. Joe let his hand rest carefully on the large shard of glass. From the corner of his eye he saw black boots walking closer to him. The table was shoved aside by a dirty hand and Joe was able to look up past the crooked pink tablecloth.

The man with curly brown hair much like his own dug the business end of a shotgun into his scalp just behind Joe’s ear.

Danny’s red haired partner paced nervously near Ben. “Now isn’t this tender scene Danny Boy,” sneered Cy. “Old home week on the Ponderosa.”
“Well, hello there Little Joe Cartwright.”  Danny Lowell said in a soft voice. He poked the barrel of the shotgun into Joe’s shoulder.  “I told you to quit fighting. You should learn to listen up better when someone tells you to do something smart.”

Joe’s head hurt badly.  “Who are you?” Joe asked weakly. He tried again to focus his eyes and still couldn’t see straight. He was dizzy and a little confused from the blow on his head.

“You don’t need names, just know we mean business”, the intruder answered. While all this was being said, Joe was trying desperately to stay conscious. The pain was working on his brain and it was making the darkness of unconsciousness fade in and out.

“Who are you?” he stammered for a second time. He kept his hand on the shard of glass underneath him.

The third man with the dark hair and beard stood near the fireplace casually puffing on a cigar.

“Who am I? I am your worst nightmare, Cartwright!”  Striker answered. “I’m Al Striker, back from the dead!”

Joe struggled against the ropes around his wrists. They were tied too tightly for him to loosen. He moved very slowly so as not to attract the attention of the intruders as he lay on the floor trying to saw through the ropes with the piece of broken glass. He closed his eyes to keep the room from swirling around. He blinked and realized that it was blood running into his eyes and blurring his vision. No wonder everything looked so pink.

His head ached from a blow that had come out of nowhere and he was nauseous from being hit in the stomach, but worry overrode the discomfort. Joe’s thoughts drifted to the four men who had attacked him and his father in their own home.

They had to be the bank robbers, the Carson City Gang. These were the men who murdered his brother Hoss and almost killed Sammy. These were the men who shot Deputy Dean Newkirk, the men he and Adam had chased all summer. These were the men who almost destroyed the Cartwright family and now they were back in his home to finish the job.

Joe concentrated on their faces, burning the blurry features into his mind. He felt a hatred growing in him, and he nourished that hate. The anger would help keep him alive at least long enough to make sure he could warn Adam and Kate when they came in the door. There was no way he was going to let his brother and his family walk into Striker’s trap. He had to cut the ropes and get free to protect them. Joe would kill them with his own bare hands. For an instant, Joe grinned, the kind of smile that comes from the thought of total, complete and final revenge.

The broken wine glass was slicing his fingers as much as it was cutting through the ropes.” Please let this work,” he prayed silently. He felt his hands get wet and sticky from the bloody cuts made by the sharp edges of the broken glass as he sawed through the ropes.

He heard an angry voice near the stone fireplace. Striker was making demands. “I want my boy or else.”

“Or else what?” Ben asked, his voice deep and calm.

Joe was relieved to hear his father’s voice. If Ben was arguing he was still alive.

Ben Cartwright tried to keep Striker talking. He was hoping to discover what his adversary was planning. There was no way he was going to let this man know the fear he was feeling seeing his youngest son laying on the floor with a loaded gun pointed at him. And at the moment, no matter what Ben had preached to his sons in the past about the use of violence, Ben wanted to kill Striker himself. No need to wait for a hangman. Ben Cartwright would personally tear Striker to pieces. Let them hang what was left. There was no way he was going to let this man hurt anyone else. This was the man who had killed Hoss.

Cy sauntered over to Joe. He had noticed Joe quietly moving under the table.  “What the hell are you doing there, Boy?”  He poked at Joe with the toe of his heavy boot. “Trying to cut the ropes, Cartwright? I told you to lay still.”

Then he angrily stomped on Joe’s hand, driving the broken glass directly into his right palm. Joe’s crushed hand was streaming blood. “I told you to listen and you and your family might just avoid too much trouble but it don’t look like you don’t listen real well.”

“Let him be, Cy!” Danny pleaded softly. It was the same way Danny had pleaded with his uncle for the safety of his sisters years earlier. Daniel Lowell was not sure what he should be doing right now. Somehow, he remembered seeing Joe’s hand bloodied like that years earlier, when they were still boys, still friends. Danny quickly pushed the picture from his mind. He was suddenly uncomfortable being in the Cartwright’s house. He wanted to leave. Forget about the Cartwrights and escape this house. Long ago Joe Cartwright had been his best friend and this was not what Danny should be doing to his friend.

“Danny, go take care of him, Striker ordered. “Do what you need to do to shut him up.”

Ben glared at Striker, helpless to do anything for his son. He held his breath fearing what would happen to his boy.

Danny understood the undeniable end he was now facing. The die was cast. He was doomed no matter how he turned. Unless he did what Striker told him to do, he would be killed. He was sure he would die even if he refused Striker’s orders. ”I’m hanged if I stay and shot if I don’t.” Danny thought to himself.

“Be safe, Little Joe.” Danny Lowell whispered, echoing what his friend had told him the last time they had been together. He used the same words Joe had the very evening Danny had stolen the shot gun meant for Ben Cartwright’s birthday. It was the same shot gun Danny had carried with him for years as an outlaw and the very same weapon he had in his hands right now.

“Joe Cartwright is a damn spoiled, rich boy and a woman stealer. He’s only going to give us a hard time so shut him up right now, Danny! Shut him up or shoot him,” Al Striker demanded again. “Blow his head off!”

Striker’s irrational resentment to Joe had been seething for years. He had always incorrectly assumed that Kate and Joe Cartwright had been lovers. He had always jealously fantasized about Kate and Little Joe together. So twisted was his mind that he would never accept his wife’s protests to his hideously delusional accusations. His venomous hate was erupting like a volcano from hell. Now Striker had Joe Cartwright exactly where he wanted him lying helpless at his feet.

He was furious at his underling for refusing to obey his orders. “Blow his damn head off!” Striker repeated louder. “Now!”

“No!” Danny said more forcefully than he has spoken in years. Joe had never hurt him. Little Joe had saved his baby sister when she almost drowned in Cherry Creek. Ben Cartwright had been the Lowell family friend long before Danny’s father died. Andrea loved Hoss. How could he harm the Cartwrights now?

“How dare you say ‘no’? Since when do you not do what I order you to do?” Al Striker questioned.

Holding the shot gun in one hand, Danny Lowell made a futile attempt to help hog tied, battered Joe stand up. “I won’t shoot Little Joe. We came for Striker’s kid and we’ll get the kid and we’ll go. Why shoot more people?”

“We don’t leave no witnesses that’s why. Move Danny.” Cy snatched the shotgun from Danny’s hands then shoved him aside.

Danny stepped in between Joe and Cy.  Danny touched his holstered gun with his right. Joe blinked dizzily as he helplessly sagged back to the floor. His head throbbed and everything was swirling around him.

Danny looked at Joe and then back at Striker. “I was friends with him when we were kids. Leave him alone. All we came for was your son, Al.”

”Move over Danny or I’ll shoot right through you!” Cy yelled. Danny had never defied Cyrus or anyone in the gang before.

“If you are going for him, you have to go through me.” Danny said firmly. For the first time since he was a very frightened small boy, Daniel Lowell took a stand.

“If that’s what you want, then I will!” Cy grinned. He fired the shotgun he had snatched from Danny’s hand. Danny Lowell fell to the floor on top of Joe.

“Pa.”  Joe gasped. Joe closed his eyes and lay on the floor at Cy’s feet.

Cyrus Carnigan stood and looked down on two curly haired men lying at his feet. The two men who as boys were mistaken for brothers lay tangled and bloody on the floor. One was dead.

From where he lay near the hearth, Ben could see that Joe had been shot. The blast had entered low on his side and his shirt and jacket were already beginning to turn a dark red. Cy walked closer to Joe and kicked at him as he lay on the floor. The boot clipped him in his wounded side, and he grunted, bending double, as needles of pain skidded across his abdomen.

“Joseph!” Ben screamed. He was helpless to protect his son.

Chapter 10

Kate pulled the buckboard into the yard. She twirled the reins around the whip holder and set the brake. Seeing Cochise tied at the rail, Kate smiled and said to her son,”Good! Uncle Joe is already here. He can help you unload the packages, Doc.”

As late as it was, all her organizing seemed to be working perfectly. Kate would be able to put the chickens Hop Sing had readied in the oven to roast with plenty of time to spare. And she would have time change her dress and to do up her hair just the way Adam liked it.

Sam looked across the yard to the tack room and through the dusty window glass he could see the pale yellow hair of his friend Casey Newkirk. The older boy was hard at work. “Ma, Casey is already in the tack room. He is going to help me clean it up as a birthday gift for Grandpa.”
Kate smiled. “What a fine idea!”

“I know you and Papa bought Grandpa a new pen and ink well but Casey and I decided to do something more from the two of us.”

“Bring Casey some cookies when you go out. But don’t forget, Sam, I want you to get washed up and changed before the company gets here. Your new Sunday suit is all laid out on your bed so be sure you put them on for dinner.”

Sam nodded. They each took a few of the smaller parcels from the back of the buckboard and walked into the kitchen door. They set the packages on the kitchen table.

The house was strangely quiet. “Ben? Joe?” She called as she walked through the kitchen with Sammy trailing behind her. Something smelled nasty and strangely familiar in the house. It was cigar smoke. Who had smoked cigars in the house while she was gone? Maybe one of the hands, she thought. It was a vile odor.

Kate walked into the dining room from the kitchen. Instantly, she was horrified to see the overturned table and smashed dishes. All she could think for the moment was that somehow a horse or the milk cow had found their way inside the house from the barn and toppled her beautifully set table for Ben’s party. “Sam, what happened in here?”

“Mama what’s going on?” Sammy’s voice croaked as he looked around room. The frightened boy froze in his path and stepped backwards toward his mother. They both saw a tall bearded man standing in the midst of a chaotic mess of upended furniture, broken dishes and shattered glass.

Al Striker was in the dining room of the Ponderosa, still alive and as big as day. Sam’s worst nightmare had come to life. Sam clutched at his mother’s blue skirt. She pulled her most precious possession, her son Sam, protectively to her side

“Hello Katherine,” Al Striker smiled evilly. “I haven’t seen you in a very long time.”

Kate turned pale at the sight of the man she had been told was dead. Even with a beard, she immediately recognized Al Striker.  “It is you!” She whispered in amazement. “What do you want? Money?”

“What do I want, Katherine? I want my family. I want my boy and I want my wife but it looks like my wife has been having a fine old time here just kissing and hugging with the rich Cartwright boys.”

Kate glanced around the room. Near the center of the wrecked dining room, she could see two men lying on the floor, battered and bloody. One man Kate couldn’t quite recognize. The other one was Little Joe. Kate stared at her brother-in-law lying on the floor, hurt and helpless.

She gasped. “Joe! Oh my goodness! What happened?” Ignoring Striker, she walked over and knelt down beside him. She stroked the top of Joe’s head. “Joe!” she crooned softly. “Joe, can you hear me?”  Joe remained motionless, giving no indication he heard her voice or felt her touch.

Kate bent over and shook Joe’s shoulder a bit. “Joe,” she said in a louder voice. “Can you hear me? Open your eyes, Joe. Look at me.”  All he did was give out another pitiful groan. Joe writhed in pain.

Kate slowly turned around and tried to assess her situation. Trying to remain calm she looked at the scene around her. Al Striker was at the Ponderosa. There were two strange armed men looking at her. She could see Al and a man with red hair both holding pistols. Joe was bleeding on the floor. Where was Ben? She looked towards the fireplace and saw her father-in-law lying near the wood box, his bloody leg twisted at an odd angle. Kate started to shake. It was at that moment Kate realized she was on her own.

“How are you, wife?” Al called to her again from across the room as if it was the most normal question in the world. He spoke to her as if he had just come home from work for supper on an ordinary evening and they were still married.

Kate stood and stared fearfully at the familiar yet strange man standing belligerently in front of her. He held a pistol pointed at her son. “Let him go,” Katie said as calmly as she could.

“I said something to you wife. How are you?” He repeated himself in a more threatening tone. His unblinking eyes stared right through her.

“I’m not your wife, Al. You walked out on Sammy and me long, long ago. I’m married to Adam Cartwright now.”

”I’m here to take my boy with me. He is mine.”

Al is insane Kate thought fearfully. “No, Al. You can’t.” She would never let the boy out of her sight.

“Yes, I can Kate. I am his father. I can do just whatever I want with him. And you are my wife.”

Kate shivered. He was really crazy she thought. He is totally insane. Striker was going to try to steal Sam again and take him away. She took a deep breath and tried to take control of herself. Sam stepped closer and slid his hand into hers.

”I’ll die first,” she thought to herself “There is no way her child was going anywhere with Striker and his murderous devil brigade. She had to stop him or die trying. If necessary she would die to protect her child or she would kill Al.

“I want that boy, Kate and I want you. I changed my mind. I want you back.”
Kate shuddered at the thought of ever being near Al Striker again. Her stomach was in her throat. She did not know how she was going to proceed but she knew she needed to remain calm. If she fell apart, they were all lost.

“So where is that Adam Cartwright? I knew you would be carrying on with one of the Cartwrights but thought for sure it would be Joe.” Al said with an insane look in his eyes. He glared at Joe lying unmoving near the overturned dining room table. “Where is that Adam Cartwright, Kate?”

“He’s in Boston” she quickly lied. She glanced at the tall grandfather’s clock near the door and realized that her husband could be back any minute. It was almost four o’clock. She gripped Sammy’s hand tightly. She couldn’t let Adam walk into the house with Striker standing waiting for him.

“Sam, where is Adam Cartwright?” Striker demanded. “Tell me the truth!”

Sam shivered and gripped his mother’s hand forcefully.

“Sam, tell him how Adam is not here. How he went back east on business.” She urged. Kate held her breath hoping that Sam would follow her lead.

“Adam is in Boston, Massachusetts. It is 2896 miles away from here.” Sam piped up. She squeezed her son’s hand gratefully. Sam had remembered reading the atlas with Adam in Mim’s house. All the nights that he waited for Adam to tuck him in to bed, Sam sat and played games with that atlas checking the miles from one location to another just as Adam had taught him. Sam looked at his mother and she nodded her approval.

Kate she had to think quickly; the lives of all the Cartwrights depended on her.

”Come with me Kate. I am taking the boy and you can come with me or stay here with your old buddy Joe.” Al smirked at Joe lying unconscious and bleeding in the middle of the demolished dining room. Kate felt her heart thumping in her chest. Sam clung to her hand. She recognized that Al Striker would not hesitate to shoot her if she didn’t cooperate with him. He might just kill Sam too if he got upset or tried to fight with him.

She took a deep breath and squeezed Sam’s hand. “Ok, I think you are absolutely right, Al.  I missed you too. I missed you very much. I’ll go with you.” She swallowed hard praying he did not see the revulsion on her face.

“We are both going with Al,” she announced loudly.

Her son gasped. “Oh no Mama!”

“No arguing, Sam,” she said firmly.  She was disgusted at the thought Striker ever being near her but she wouldn’t let Al take her son alone.

Striker’s deep-set black eyes narrowed as he stared at her. He licked his lips and growled, “I knew you would make the right choice, Kate.”

Kate squeezed her son’s little hand so hard that he squirmed in pain. “Don’t argue with your Mama, Sam. I think Al is totally right. We both will go with him. First, let’s just go say good bye to Ben.” She bit her lip.

“Yes, Mama,” Sam said in a trembling voice.

Kate looked straight at Striker and said “I’m going to see that Ben is all right and say goodbye before I go with you.” She didn’t wait for Al to reply. Holding Sam’s hand tightly in hers, she walked across the room to her father in law lying by the fireplace. It was an insane thing to do but she was dealing with an insane man holding a gun on her family.

“Ben?”
He nodded grimly “Be careful, Katie,” Ben said softly. His dark eyes stared straight at her.

“Sam, go give Ben a kiss before we leave here.” She gave Sam a firm shove towards his grandfather.

Sam started to open his mouth to say something. In response Ben just reached out and pulled his grandson son to him, holding him tightly in his arms, trapped against his chest.

“I’m so scared, Grandpa!” Sam’s voice was no more than a whisper and Ben could feel him trembling against his chest. “Is Al gonna take me with him? I don’t want to go!” Sam whispered in Ben’s ear.

“No, son.” Ben assured him gently, his hand rubbing the boy’s back as Katie reached out to squeeze his father in laws shoulder. Ben whispered in Sam’s ear “You just listen to your mother and do exactly what she tell you, Doc. Do you understand me? Exactly what she says.” Ben threaded his hand through Sam’s suspenders and pinned the child against his shoulder. There was no way this boy was going to pull out of his grasp and do anything that might get him in trouble. Ben did not want the boy to attempt to be a hero nor see anything more than necessary. ”Doc, do you understand me,” he repeated.

“Yes sir,” The words were accompanied by the ghost of a trusting smile that quivered a little on Sammy’s lips. He trusted that his grandfather would keep him safe as he always had in the past. Ben would never, ever lie to him and Sam always believed whatever his grandfather told him.

Sam leaned in closer to Ben, he had rested some of his weight on Ben’s wounded leg. Ben winced and shifted the little boy over a bit. “Don’t say a word, Sam.” Ben ordered firmly. Sammy nodded. Ben embraced the child tighter trapping him against his chest. “Don’t move, Doc. No matter what happens don’t move. Not an inch.”

“Ok,” Sam agreed.
“Are you ok, Ben?” Kate whispered.

”It’s my leg. I think I stopped the bleeding for now.” He looked up over Sam’s head to face Kate. He embraced Sammy even tighter. Ben could feel the terrified little boy’s heart beating frantically like a frightened, captured bird.

Kate could see the rusty dark stain on her father-in-law’s trouser leg and the bloody linen diner napkins he had used to staunch the flow of blood from his wound.  She saw that Ben had tied his own neckerchief around the wound. “I’m okay for now. It’s Joe, I am concerned about.” Ben lifted his chin to point at his youngest son lying in a heap on the floor in the dining room. “He hasn’t moved for an awfully long time.”

Kate looked at Ben’s eyes and tried to stay calm from his strength.

The blood was already seeping through Joe’s jacket from the wound in his side and puddling on the floor. “I can’t tell how badly Joe’s hurt but with the way he’s bleeding, I know he needs to be tended to fast. And Adam is going to be here any time now. Kate you have to do something quickly. Don’t let Striker take you or Sam out of here, “Ben winced and closed his eyes from sharp pain he felt in his leg. Kate kneeled closer to him and hugged him as he held Sam.

“And Adam should be back very soon, Katie. We can’t let him walk in here and have Striker get the jump on him.” Ben whispered in her ear. Ben had already seen them shoot down Little Joe and he didn’t want his oldest son to walk into the same ambush.

Kate’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Right now she had convinced the intruders that Adam was in Boston but who knew how long that charade would last? She couldn’t let anything happen to Adam. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard.

Kate turned around and looked at the face on the grandfather’s clock. It was close to four o’clock. Her husband would arrive any time now.

“Mama, We can’t let Al hurt Adam.” Sammy whispered plaintively.

“Let’s go Katherine. Enough saying good bye!” Al ordered from across the room.

Ben pulled Sammy close to him. “Sam no matter what, you don’t move from here and you don’t turn around either.”

The child trembled against his chest. “You are squeezing me too hard, Grandpa. I can’t breathe”

“Katherine, let’s go.” Striker demanded. “Now!”

Ben looked Kate right in the eyes “Don’t let him take you or Sam out of this house Kate, no matter what you have to do. You do whatever you need to do, Kate. Do you understand what I am telling you?” Ben feared that if both he and Joe were killed, no one would ever find out where Striker took Kate and Sam. They could be lost forever.
Kate was silent for a minute. She was looking at the front door and the clock. She could not let Adam walk into Striker’s gun. She bit her lip. The sound of the clock ticking filled the silent room.

“Kate,” Ben repeated his firm voice deep and low. “Do whatever you need to do. Do you understand me, Katie? Whatever you need to do to keep your husband and child safe.”

She looked at Ben. He had his big hand on the back of Sammy’s head and was pressing her baby’s frightened face to his broad shoulder. Her heart was pounding and she took a deep breathe, “Yes, I understand, Ben.”

She knew she had to remain calm. The lives of everyone she held dear rested in her hands. She swallowed hard.

“What are you two gabbing about?” Cy asked.

“I was just telling her to do whatever you said.” Ben lied.

“Well you just do that, Old man. We like our woman to do what we tell them to do.” Cy pointed his gun at the rancher. Ben’s eyes widened and he held Sam closer.

Cy raised his gun and aimed at the ceiling. He fired a shot. Kate jumped and Cy laughed. Carnigan was delighted that he could upset Kate at his whim.

“Just making sure you are paying attention Mrs. Adam Cartwright.” Kate Cartwright knew she needed a gun. There was no way she could get to the gun cabinet near the staircase. For the first time, she noticed the broken railing on the staircase and her eyes moved to the floor and she realized there was a dead man lying in a crumpled bloody heap in the middle of the parlor. She started to tremble again.

Ben took his left hand away from Sam and grabbed Kate’s hand. He pulled her attention back to his face. “Hoss’s gun… in the desk.” Ben whispered. She instantly remembered that he had stored the pistol in his desk for Sam to have in the future but had been using it this week as the payroll gun. Adam had explained to her that when there was a big payroll on the Ponderosa, his father’s habit was to keep a loaded pistol in his desk until the pay was issued. It was an old habit and he was intrigued that his father had started using Hoss’s pistol for that purpose.

Kate completely understood what Ben had just said and knew what she had to do, no matter how difficult. Kate had to take whatever means necessary to keep them safe, to protect her husband and her son.

Joe moaned from the middle of the floor. He opened his eyes a slit and looked right at Kate. Their eyes met for an instant. He was alive but certainly badly hurt. In another second, she saw his eyes flicker, then droop closed.

“I think we should take some money with us, Al. And we should leave very soon.” Kate announced with the same casual demeanor as if she had told the man to pick up the picnic basket and lemonade and join everyone for a festive lunch at Cherry Creek.

Striker looked at Kate. “Money? Good idea Kate. A big spread like this should have lots of money around.”

She looked down at Joe His eyes were open again but he was terribly pale. He nodded at her and closed his eyes weakly. He was still alive she thought. Maybe he would be ok.

She took a deep breath. Al was standing near the front door facing the fireplace. The red headed man had moved near the stairs. “There is a lot of money in the desk. Tomorrow is payday. I’ll go get it and then we all can leave.”

”How much money, Cartwright?” Al glared at Ben.

”Quite a bit.” Kate quickly interrupted. “The entire pay roll is there. Tomorrow is payday and there must be thousands of dollars here. Thousands. It can be all ours. Yours and mine, Al. Thousands of dollars.”

“Thousands of dollars. Right here? “Cy grinned” Looks like we hit the mother lode.”

“Where is the money Kate?” Striker asked.
”It is locked up in the desk but I have to get the key.” Kate said as calmly as she could muster.

Kate held her breath and tried to think out a plan. There was too much at stake for her to make any errors. Where was the desk key? She walked over to the console behind Ben’s desk. She opened the drawer and looked inside for the little brass desk key. It was not there. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard that she was sure Striker could hear it thundering. Think, she ordered herself. Take a breath. Stay calm and think. Where had Ben put the key? She went over to the bookshelves and rested her head on the side of the bookcase. She took a deep breath. Please, she prayed let the key be there.

“What is taking you so long?” Striker barked from the other side of the room.

“I need to get the key, I think it is in here.” She remembered Ben putting it away so that Sam couldn’t find it easily if he was poking around. He had put it in the wooden box with the Ponderosa brand burned into the lid which was kept on the top shelf near the window. She took the box off the shelf and slowly opened it. She lifted out some papers that were in the box and underneath was the small brass key for the desk. Kate glanced for an instant at the map of the Ponderosa hanging on the wall. She turned and walked back to the desk. The grandfather clock ticked loudly in the silence of the ranch house.

“Ok, here is what I have been looking for.”  Kate said trying to sound calm. “Here is the key to the desk.” She held her breath for an instant. Her hands were shaking as she picked up the tiny key.

Slowly and as calmly as she could, she went to the desk and unlocked the drawer. For just an instant, her hands trembled so that she could not quite fit the key into the lock. This drawer held the tan payroll envelopes with Hoss’s gun sitting on top of them.

Kate forced herself to stop and take a deep breath. She had to steady one hand with the other. Her hands could not shake or tremble. She had just one chance to do this and do it exactly right. Kate needed to collect herself quickly. Her life and the lives of her family depended on her being able to do one thing calmly and precisely. Kate pressed her hands against the edge of the desk and gripped the edge with both hands until they stopped shaking. Then she used the tiny key to open the drawer of Ben Cartwright’s desk.

Kate exhaled and wiped her damp hands on her skirt. Very slowly, she pulled open the drawer. There it was: Hoss’s pistol, ready and waiting. She slowly put her hand on the cold metal.

She glanced up at Ben on the other side of the room and their eyes met. He nodded.
Ben hugged Sam to him “Don’t move and don’t look no matter what.” He whispered in the boy’s ear.” No matter what.”

Chapter 11

Adam realized he had taken too much time at the building site. He was heading to the Ponderosa later than he had anticipated. Kate would be quite annoyed if he got home late for the party. He had sworn to be home promptly and he always tried to keep his promises to her. On the other hand, he knew she would be extremely pleased with the progress being made on their house.

Bob and Norm concurred with his plan to have the roof finished before the first snow.

“I think it can work out just fine, Adam if we get moving on it in the next week. If you can get that lumber started, we can get working around the first of the month. We have some carpenters just finishing up a big job for Jack Fischer and will have the men available for you and Katie.”

The Bob and Norm had sat for close to two hours with Adam and itemized the preliminary lumber list as well as reviewing the work schedule for the framing. Tomorrow, Adam would take the list up to the mill and have them get started. He would invite his father to join him Together they would pick the finest Ponderosa timbers for his house, for the house Adam would finally build for his beloved wife.

All this, in addition to meeting with Roy Coffee and Doc Martin earlier, had taken much more time than he had ever anticipated. Kate would be annoyed if he was late. He was sure her delight in the progress he was making on their new house would calm her temper, at least he hoped so. She had worked so hard to make this party a success and Adam certainly didn’t want to be the one to spoil the festivities.

Adam had also hoped to catch a moment alone with Joe and Kate before the guests arrived to discuss the information he had learned from Roy Coffee and Paul Martin but he was not sure he would have the time. Maybe he would be able to pull them aside after the company left.

Adam rode out of town on Sport at a faster pace than was his usual and headed towards the Ponderosa. When he hit the fork for the ranch road, he decided that he would make better time riding across the meadow and approaching from the foreman’s house than sticking to the road. Years ago, this was Joe’s favorite route when he was sneaking in late from town. Adam would also be able to briefly check with Hays about the herd on the way up to the house and hopefully get home faster.

He kicked Sport into a gallop. As he crested the hill he could see yellow dust clouds puffing up on the road from Virginia City. Squinting his eyes he could see that it looked like a couple of buggies and a few riders. “Probably the party guests heading to the Ponderosa.” he thought. Adam would make it home before the company but not by much.

As he approached the Newkirk’s, he could see Hays untying his gear from his horse. “Adam! I was just headed inside to get cleaned up for the party. Your Pa will be real pleased with the herd this fall. Let me show you the tally.” He strolled over to Adam with the ledger and started to hand it up to him.

Adam and Hays looked up at the sound of hoof beats.

“Pa, Mr. Adam! Come quick.” Casey Newkirk shrieked as he galloped over the ridge on Cochise. The boy’s eyes were wide with panic.

Why would young Casey Newkirk be riding Joe’s horse?

”Pa! Mr. Adam! You gotta help, something wrong is going on at the house!” the boy screamed again. His lake blue eyes were wide with fear. He pulled up Cochise in a cloud of dust. The pinto was blowing hard from the rough ride.

“Slow down, Casey. What do you mean, son?” Hays put his hand on his twelve year old’s leg. “Take a breath. What’s going on?”

Casey took a deep breath and started in. The words tumbled excitedly out of his lips. “Something is wrong up at the house. When I got there I saw some horses in the barn with their saddles still on. I figured it must be someone visiting Mr. Ben. And Cochise was tied up near the kitchen. I know Joe don’t leave his horse out too long so I thought he was going back out or else he would have called me to bring Cochise into the barn and put him up. So I started with those chores you asked me to do.” He looked at Adam who nodded.

“And… and…And I got up to doing the tack room like Sammy and me decided to do for Mr. Ben. A bit later, I saw Mrs. Cartwright and Sammy come in the surrey, but I was kind of tangled up with some harness and didn’t go right out. I figured that someone in the house would just help Mrs. Cartwright to unload. Joe or Mr. Ben. But I saw the wagon was still sittin’  with all the parcels when I finished cleaning up the tack room about an hour later. That was awful long. And Sammy never came out. We was gonna clean it up for Mr. Ben’s birthday. So I was heading into the house to see if Mrs. Cartwright needed a hand and to see where Sammy was at. Then I heard a shot and some yelling and knew something was mighty wrong. Pa and came up here quick for you.” The words spewed out of the frightened boy at a swift clip.

Hays looked at Adam. “Adam, that don’t sound right. Not one bit.”

Adam turned to the boy at his side. He said firmly and calmly “Casey, I want you to ride across the meadow toward Virginia City as fast as you can and you are going to find the sheriff and tell him exactly what you’ve seen. Clem should be riding out here for dinner and you are going to catch up with them just down the road.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Adam!” Casey cried. Adam slapped the flank of Cochise and Casey galloped down the ranch road his white blond hair shining in the setting sun.

Adam reached to the side of his saddle and pulled his rifle out of the scabbard. He tossed it to Hays. ”Let’s ride!”

Chapter 12

“Let’s go Katherine,” Striker aimed his pistol at her. He started walking across the room towards her. “Do you have the money or not?” He barked.

The clock started striking four as Kate put her hand on the handle of the gun. She heard the sound of horses galloping into the yard. It had to be Adam arriving home. She knew she had to act immediately or Adam would walk into a deadly ambush.

She slowly put her hand on the cold metal of her brother-in-law’s pistol. Kate quickly drew it from the drawer and before Striker realized what was going on she pointed at him.

She remembered, years earlier Joe taught her “never point a gun at a man if you don’t intend to shoot and don’t shoot, unless you intend to kill him.”

“I thought you were dead and now you are!” Kate pointed the gun at Striker as he belligerently walked towards her.

She pulled the trigger of Hoss’s gun and the sound of the shot exploded in her ears. The bullet struck Striker in the center of his chest. Al Striker fell backwards crashing into the grandfather’s clock just as the last chime rang.

Cy spun to face her. Before he could get off a shot, the front door swung open.

”Freeze!” Adam burst in, gun blazing. He shot Cy. The last member of the Carson City Gang crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Chapter 13

When Adam reached Kate, she still held Hoss’s smoking gun and was breathing heavily. His mind was racing; he couldn’t believe what he had just seen. He saw her hand shaking.

“Put down that gun, Katie,” ordered Adam softly. “It’s over. The guy is dead. They are all dead.”

Ben pulled Sam into his shoulder as the boy tried to squirm from his grandfather’s grasp. The child accidentally kicked Ben’s wounded leg and the man gasped with pain. For an instant Ben lost his grip on his grandson.

“Mama!” Sam screamed as he pulled loose and ran across the room to Kate and Adam.

Adam took the smoking gun from her hand and drew her to him. “Are you alright?” he asked.

She just nodded, still trembling. Al Striker laid on the floor, eyes open and blood seeping out of a big hole in the center of his chest. There was no question that he was finally dead.

From the kitchen, Hays Newkirk ran in with Adam’s rifle in his hands. He was shocked at the gruesome scene in front of him.

“Go help Joe and your father.” She her voice shook as she pushed Adam toward his brother.

Hays walked over to Cy’s body. “Looks like you got this one Adam. “Somehow, deep inside him, Hays Newkirk knew that this must be the man who had murdered his son, Dean.

Adam’s strong, supportive arms gripped Joe and aided him up. “Adam?” he looked up at his brother. Joe made it only so far before a blast of pain sent him slumping back against his older brother’s chest.  The wound on his head had reopened and was streaming blood over his collar.  He could feel the sticky flow as it tracked down the side of his neck. His side hurt painfully and he closed his eyes. Joe sagged into unconsciousness knowing that his brother Adam was safe.

Part 14

The Aftermath

Chapter 1

The entire Carson City Gang was finally dead.

As darkness fell and the lamps were lit, all the people gathered in the Ponderosa began to despair. The outlaws of Carson City Gang were all dead but there was no celebration by the Cartwrights. The final battle had taken a heavy toll on the family in physical and emotional wounds.

Alerted by the shouts of young Casey Newkirk, the sheriff and Doc Martin had arrived to help them. Joe and Ben had been carried upstairs and placed in their beds, their injuries attended to by Doctor Martin.

“Adam, Kate wait in the other room,” Doctor Martin instructed, opening his bag, “Give me room to take care of your brother. Then I will see to Ben.”

There was no way Kate could bear going down stairs to the remnants of their ordeal without getting physically sick. The only thing she wanted was to stay close to Adam with his arms protectively around her. They both could hear the noise of people downstairs moving things around and cleaning up as best they could.  They could hear the sound of broken glass and crockery being swept up and the jarring chimes clanging as the overturned grandfather clock was righted. Adam and Kate heard loud shouts of distressed voices as their friend and the ranch hands attempted to put the house in some semblance of order. Clem ordered the hands to take the bodies out to the barn.

“I never put the chickens in the oven for dinner,” Kate said to no one in particular as she sat next to Adam. It was crazy how the most mundane, ridiculous things came to someone’s mind after surviving a horrifically violent crisis.

There certainly was not going to be a birthday dinner honoring Ben tonight or any night soon. Adam looked at her quizzically “Chickens?” He wrapped his arms tightly around his wife and she rested her head on his chest and started to sob. “Don’t worry about the chickens. Just rest Katie.”

Kate tried with difficulty not to listen to the noise from down stairs and just clung on to her husband. Each time Adam got up to check on Joe or his father, Nancy Foster appeared from the shadows and sat with Kate. Despite everyone reminding her that she was finally safe, Kate was trembling like a willow leaf in a windstorm and couldn’t seem to get warm.

“Where is Sam?” Kate asked for the third or fourth time.

“I sent him with my boys over to Newkirk’s for a while with Casey. He’ll be back in a few hours, as soon as… as soon as the downstairs is better. We’ll bring him up here to you through the back stairs. Maybe by then Doc Martin will know more about Joe. “Nancy was totally at a loss for what to do for her friend.

”Katie, you have to eat something or perhaps you should go lay down. Let me make you some nice hot tea,” Nancy offered. Kate shook her head, refusing everything that was offered. Kate had just killed a man, a man who she had once been married to. She could not get the image out of her mind. Al Striker lying dead by her hand.

“Nancy, I shot him,” she whispered. “I killed Al.”

“Kate, you had no choice. Striker would have killed all of you and taken Sammy. You saved Adam. You saved Ben and Joe.  You had no choice but to do what you did.”

In his brother’s room, Adam watched anxiously as the doctor examined Joe, noting with concern the frown on the doctor’s face. “He’s not too good Adam,” Paul Martin said somberly as he finished his examination. “He’s lost a lot of blood. I’m going to have to get that buckshot out of him. I don’t think its hit anything vital but I’ll need help with him. You go tend to your father. Send my wife and Hays or Roy or someone in here to give me a hand. You just take care of your Pa and Kate. Once Joe is settled, I can see to Ben.”

Adam nodded mutely. They couldn’t let his brother die.

Chapter 2

Adam and Kate waited endlessly, fearfully; Doc had been with Joe for nearly two hours. Then the doctor addressed the bullet wound in Ben’s leg.

Nancy sat with her arm around Kate each time Adam left the room. “Ben is fine and Joe’s still with us.” the Doctor said, seeing the fear on their faces, “but he’s not too good I’m afraid. We got the buckshot out of him, but he’s sustained a massive blood loss and his body is still in shock. His hand is badly broken too. Shattered. I’m more worried about his head than anything else. They pounded him pretty bad. All we can do now is wait and hope that he’s strong enough to pull through.”

Kate had refused to lie down until she knew how Joe was doing. “Can we see him?” Kate asked, her voice cracking with emotion. She clung to Adam’s strong hand, too frightened to let go for even a minute.

“He’s unconscious and it doesn’t look like he will be coming around for a long time, hours if we are lucky. He won’t know that you are there.”

Kate had to see Little Joe, especially if the worst happened and he died. She had to know she saw him one last time. “I need to see him. Maybe he will know I’m there, I need to know I saw him.”

Adam understood exactly what his wife was thinking. Hoss had died before any of them had arrived to see him, to be with him. “Let her be with Joe for a bit.”

Paul nodded in agreement “Only on one condition Katie, that as soon as you see to Joe, you go lay down yourself.”

She hesitated for a minute and finally acquiesced.

Joe’s bruised face was barely visible in the dim light of his room.  He had thrown his left arm over his eyes. His injured right hand was bandaged and propped up on a pillow.  His head was also bandaged and the covers pulled up high over his chest. Fear laid heavy in Adam’s heart, his brother was so pale, so still. Adam was reminded of a much younger Joe looking just as pitiful and helpless when Ramsey Lowell beaten him years and years before.

We got him through that and we’ll get Joe through this, he thought to himself. Joe is a fighter. He will be fine. Joe can’t die.

Dr. Martin took Adam by the arm and almost forcibly pulled him and Katie from the room. “Now you go sit with your wife. I’ll tend to Joe and make sure you take care of Kate too. Kate needs you. No one else needs you as much as she does at this point.”

Adam followed along, but he turned his head for a last look back at his brother.

Finally Adam forced Katie to drink some brandy and she fell asleep in his arms. He carried her like a child into another bedroom and tucked her into the bed. Nancy sat near her and shooed Adam out of the room. “You go see to Ben and the others.”

Ben had fallen asleep from the painkillers Paul had given him. Refusing to stay any more at the Newkirk’s, Sam had made such a fuss that Hays was forced to him back to Adam. Hays carried the distraught boy up the back stairs and handed him over to his father.

Sam’s eyes were all red and puffy and his face was tear streaked from crying, “I wanted to be here, Papa. I want to see you and Mama and everyone and they wouldn’t let me.” He sobbed and threw himself into Adam’s arms.

Adam sat in the corner of Ben’s room with Sam in his lap until the boy settled down and finally fell asleep.

Chapter 3

It was after midnight. Adam silently crept downstairs to see what was going on. Kate and Sam were sound asleep in Sammy’s room. The house was quiet and still. The only sound was the ticking of the up righted grandfather clock. Hays Newkirk and Roy Coffee sat exhausted on the settee. A flickering fire was burning in hearth.

Adam wearily sat down on the bottom step and stared at the chaos around him. The worst of the gory mess had been cleared away. The rugs were rolled up and the furniture had been moved back into place by the hands. All the broken glass and china had been swept up and the carnage mopped up as best they could but there were still blood stains on the wall and floor, bullet holes in the walls. He knew the bodies had been moved into the barn.

Hays walked across the room to Adam. “Where does this go? I ain’t never seen this shotgun before. It has your father’s initials on it but there is no open space in the gun cabinet,” Hays asked holding out the shotgun that Daniel Lowell had stolen years before.

Adam Cartwright’s eyes opened wide and he was shocked. It was the unforgettable, custom made shotgun that he and his brothers had bought for his father’s birthday many years earlier. “Hays, where did you find it?”
”It was downstairs on the floor. Over here.” He pointed to where Cy was killed.” It’s the gun they used on Joe and they killed one of their own fellers with.”

“Hays, you’ll never believe where this came from.” Adam said examining the shotgun that Hays handed him. “You will never believe it,” he whispered.

Chapter 4

The Evening of the Twenty-fourth

Adam stood in the doorway of his father’s darkened room and saw someone move in the shadows. He realized that it was his son, Sam. The child was sitting on a chair pulled up next to Ben’s bed. Sam was holding Ben’s hand as he lay under the covers “I’m watching Grandpa for the doctor. He went down stairs for a minute to get coffee.” Sam remembered the times his mother or Ben had made him feel better by staying near when he slept and now he was doing the same for his grandfather.

“You’re doing a good job Sam. I’m proud of how brave you have been.”

Sam smiled at his father. “Thanks Pa.”

It was 6 p.m. and around him the house was still and it was getting dark outside. Ben had slept almost twenty-four hours straight. When he finally awoke, Sam was sitting beside his bed holding his hand. “Grandpa, are you ok?”

Ben nodded. Sam handed him a glass of water. Ben took a sip and suddenly all that had happened in the last day rushed back into his consciousness”

The rancher saw his oldest son leaning against the doorway “Pa? How are you?” Adam softly asked.

“Never mind me. How is Kate? And Joe?” He sat up in his bed and slowly swung his bandaged leg to the floor. “How is Joe? Where is he?”

“Hey, Pa! The doctor said you need to stay off that leg.”

Ben managed to persuade Adam to help him into Joe’s room to see his son. Sam handed his father Ben’s robe and Adam helped him put it on.

Then with Sam trailing behind them, Adam helped Ben down the hall. He assisted his father into Joe’s room and lowered him carefully into the overstuffed chair near the bed.

In the soft glow of the lamplight Ben watched his youngest son, lying so still in the bed.

Gently touching Joe’s brow, Ben was concerned to find that his head was very warm. Fear lay heavy in Ben’s heart. His youngest son was so pale, so still. He heard footsteps at the door and looked over his shoulder at Paul Martin coming into the room. He was carrying two cups of coffee and handed one to Adam. He saw Ben sitting near Joseph and said, “Guess you won’t listen if I said you should still be in bed, Ben. So I won’t even bother.”

“How’s Joe, Paul?” Ben asked worriedly. He looked at the doctor with concern.

“He’s bad, Ben, bad as I’ve ever seen.” Doc Martin said looking at Joe lying in the bed.  It’s not the even the shotgun wound that worries me. The other fellow got the worst of it. I got that cleaned out. I’m not so concerned about that as much his head. He’s been beaten over the head pretty badly and being unconscious this long is not a good sign. It’s been more than a day. That and all the blood he lost. It’s really serious. I hope none of this is permanent.”

Chapter 5

The Morning of the Twenty-fifth

“Rebecca made it special for you,” Hays handed him the tray of food and sat down in the chair next to him.  Ben poked around at the eggs and took a small bite of the toast. “You better eat some more of that Ben or the Doc will holler. I see he made you get back into bed.”
Ben took a few more bites and put down the fork. Hays quietly took the tray away from Ben and put it on the nightstand. “How about the coffee?”

Ben shook his head and leaned back on the pillows.
“You would think that seeing these fellas dead would make me feel better.” Hays said to Ben. “Make both of us feel better for losing our boys. It really don’t though.”

“It won’t bring them back Hays. Hoss and Dean are still dead and nothing won’t ever bring them back,” Ben answered sadly. “Nothing.”

“Just more dead men.” Hays looked down at his boots. “We both have seen more than our share of dead men over the years, Ben. How’s Joe doing?”
”Holding his own.”

“He’ll be ok, Ben. He’s from strong stock and has your hard head. Well, I’m gonna let you rest now, Ben. We tried to fix up down stairs best we could.”
”Thanks, Hays. Tell everyone we appreciate what they have all done for us.”

“It’s the least we could do for you. Not much of a birthday Ben.”
Ben smiled and shook his head. “As long as Kate and the boys pull through that will be gift enough for me.”

 

 

Chapter 6

“Pa, “Joe moaned reaching over his head. Where was his father? School master Ramsey Lowell was chasing him across the schoolhouse and he was trying to get away. “Let me go.” Joe tried to pull away from the strong hands that were holding him down.

Clouds were everywhere. Pink fluffy fragrant clouds and he was surrounded by them …No, they weren’t cloud they were blossoms. Hundreds of swirling cherry pink blossoms. “Don’t worry Cartwright boys don’t break so easily…how did he get up so high in the sky? Joe was so high up and tall. Pa was lifting high up in the air to touch the pink cherry blossoms. Pink snow! Spinning and swirling and whirling and tilting around him until his stomach was dropping and twisting frighteningly.

“Ben, Be careful that he doesn’t knock you over.”  Kate warned.  “Be careful not to let him hurt your leg.”

“This is the most alert I have seen him all week.” Adam said.

“Don’t worry Katie, Cartwrights don’t break so easily.” Paul Martin added.

Pink blossoms floated all about in a dizzying spiral. One petal landed on his nose and tickled.

Joe tried to swat it away and he couldn’t move his hands.

“Lay still Joe’ Ben told him. “Adam hang tight onto his arm and let the doc change the bandages on that hand.”

Something poked him painfully in his side and Joe tried to touch it and push it away but couldn’t. It must have been the branch of the cherry tree.

“Little Joe you have to hold still and let the doctor change the dressings.” Kate told him firmly. Why was Kate up in the tree with him?

” Hang onto his hand Adam,” Doc Martin directed. “I’m almost done. It’s healing nicely.”

His brother Adam said from somewhere far below, far away. Joe squirmed in his father’s strong arms trying to see his father, trying to see his face and see Adam and Doc Martin.

What was Kate doing up the cherry tree with him? Something cold and wet wiped his face. He shivered. Joe tried to swat it away and it kept tickling him. “At least he is cleaned up a bit. I’m almost done. Looks like he is finally coming around,” Doctor Martin said from somewhere far away.

“Good.” Adam sighed with relief.

Joe slowly came into consciousness and he tried to remember what had happened. He opened his eyes and looked around. His vision was blurry and he blinked trying to clear his eyes. Ben suddenly appeared and hovered at his side. There were other people near him but he couldn’t really see their faces.

“Pa?”

Ben smiled at the wonderful sound of his son’s voice. He was thankful to see Joe watching him, his green eyes were bright and he appeared aware of his surroundings. “Joseph.”  Ben touched his face. Gently touching Joe’s brow, Ben was relieved to find that his fever had diminished.

”Pa, are you ok?”  Joe looked up at his father.

Ben nodded smiling. Joe knew who he was. That was a good sign, an extremely good sign. “I’m fine.” He smiled. Joe was finally awake.

“Happy Birthday Pa.” Joe realized there were other people in the room. Adam, Kate. Someone else. Doc Martin. He must have been hurt. Maybe he fell out of the cherry tree. Joe tried to sit up but his head hurt too much when he moved.

Ben grinned and put his arms around his son. “Joe you missed a bit of time.”

”What are you talking about Pa? What day is it?” Joe’s mouth was dry and he wished he had some water.

If he stared hard at his father’s face, the room seemed not to lurch around so much when he focus on his father’s face. There was no tree there. He was in his own bed in his own room. His father was standing looking down at him, smiling.

”Son, you’ve been in an out for almost a week now.”
”A week? “Joe started to choke and cough. Adam’s strong arms helped him sit up and Kate helped him take a sip of water. He could see a bit clearer, but his head hurt like a son of a bitch.

“A week. Last thing I remember was…” Joe struggled to recall. Then it rushed back.” Last thing I remember was Striker, Pa what happened? I remember Striker being in the house and shooting and someone carried me up here. Was it Adam?” His brother patted his uninjured left hand. Joe grabbed his brother’s hand and held tight to it. That helped keep things less wobbly. He stared at his father and held firmly to Adam’s hand. The room seemed to anchor some and hold still for a bit but the glare of the light hurt his eyes. Joe shut his eyes for a minute.

“Joe, try to stay awake” Adam pleaded.

Joe slowly opened his eyes again. “How long have I been out, Pa?” Joe asked again.
Ben smiled. “You have been in and out for almost a week, son. What else do you remember?

Joe shook his head and sunk back on the pillow. The room wasn’t spinning but his side hurt and his head pounded. He was terribly tired. He started to close his eyes.

“Joe, not yet. Try to stay awake another minute.” Adam couldn’t resist. He picked up the unloaded shotgun that Roy Coffee had stood in the corner of Joe’s room earlier in the week.

“No Adam. Not that” Kate argued protectively. “Let Little Joe rest.”

Adam ignored his wife. He desperately needed for Joe to talk to him some more. All week long he feared that he had lost his only remaining brother. Adam worried that even if Joseph did regain consciousness, his mind would not function properly. Now Adam needed Joe to stay conscious for just a few more minutes. Adam desperately wanted his brother to stay awake and demonstrate that he was going to be all right. Adam desperately needed to know for himself that his little brother was going to be all right, that his brain was working and that the Carson City Gang had not beaten him senseless.

“Joe, do you remember this shot gun?” He held it close to his brother’s face so that Joe could examine it. Joe’s right hand was bandaged and propped up on the stack of pillows next to him. With his strong left hand, Joe slowly ran his fingers over the stock. He continued to study the rifle, tracing his finger almost absently over the highly polished stock. Inset into the stock was a decoration of a buffalo herd and an engraved pattern on the barrel. The shotgun adorned with the initials BC in the design.

Joe’s eyelids fluttered. He squinted as he struggled to keep his green eyes focused. “This? It’s.. It’s the birthday shotgun we got for Pa. Adam I told you it would show up.”   He whispered hoarsely. A smile flickered for an instant across his battered face. Joe sank exhausted back to the pillow and closed his eyes.

It wasn’t long before the steady rise and fall of his bandaged chest signaled that Joe was finally asleep. Throughout those long minutes, Ben and Adam had sat silent, both lost in thought.

Kate tucked the blankets around Joseph and turned to Sam. “I think it is time for both of us to get to sleep. Uncle Joe has enough people here to keep him company.” She leaned over and kissed Adam and Ben and walked down the hall with her son.

Paul Martin followed her. He paused in the doorway of Joe’s room to say “I’ll just see myself out. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on him. But I think the worst is over now. Just let him rest. And Ben, you stay off your feet too.”

Adam and Ben sat quietly, relieved that Joe was improving at last.  Finally Adam broke the silence.

“We almost lost him, didn’t we?” Adam whispered, still not looking away from his brother’s battered form.

Ben nodded. “If Kate hadn’t…” his voice dropped off.
”Hadn’t shot Striker,” Adam finished for his father. Ben frowned at the memory of the shootout. He wearily leaned back into the chair. Adam pulled his chair closer to his father so that they were almost touching. They both faced the bed and watched Joe sleeping.

“If Kate hadn’t killed Striker, we all would have been dead. All of us, Adam. Even you.”

“It won’t bring Hoss back, Pa. I really thought that seeing all those men dead would have made me feel better, like it would put an end to it for me. If the Carson City Gang was dead then it would all be finished and everything would go back to normal, like it was before.”

”It doesn’t ever go back, son. It just is more death. Hoss is gone and he will never be back. Dean Newkirk will never see that new baby of his either. Did you honestly think that more men dying would make you happy, Adam? That killing someone would bring your brother back? Look what all this has done to your wife? And to Sammy.” Ben put his arm around Adam’s shoulder and pulled him closer. “Look what this forced Katie to do. She had to shoot a man down to save all of us. She had to kill Sam’s father.”

“All we can do is have faith that there is reason behind it all. But right now, I can’t see much of that,” Adam said grimly.

Letting his hand come to rest on his son’s shoulder, Ben considered his next words carefully. “Sometimes, son, whether we want to or not, there are things that happen. And we have no control over them. We have to play the hand we are dealt and sometimes it is not the cards we want.”

“I just wanted them all dead, Pa. I really thought it would make me feel different. Happy or relieved or something, but different. Somehow better. I don’t feel better.”

“Adam, it is not a balancing scale. One life for another, son”

Adam stood up and looked at Joe sleeping quietly and smoothed the blanket around him. He adjusted the pillow holding up his brother’s bandaged hand. “I really wanted all of them dead. Look what they did to Joe.”

“So did I, son. But not that it would change what happened to Hoss.  I just didn’t wanted them to hurt anyone else. Those men were crazed cold-blooded killers. But that doesn’t mean we had to become what they were.”

“Pa, Clem thinks the one who tried to save Joe was Daniel Lowell.”

“Daniel Lowell?” Ben was silent for a minute remembering the curly haired young man putting himself between Joseph and the business end of the shotgun. “Daniel Lowell? The Lowells who owned the hardware?”

Adam nodded. “I thought it would make a difference when I knew every one of them was dead. That I could control how I felt by all of them being in their graves.”

“No, Adam, we can’t control our feelings. And we can’t control our lives to the degree that you could promise me that Joseph, or you or Katie and Sam will be here tomorrow. But I pray you will always be well and that you and I can do our best to keep all of us safe. That is all we can do.”

”Long ago, when I asked Kate if she wanted to travel the world with me, she said that she just wanted to stay here in Virginia City and was just glad that nothing was going on. Katie said she would be glad that things just stayed the same for a while. Pa, now I know what she meant about just having things stay the same for a while. Just be quiet and calm for a little bit.”

“No one has a crystal ball, son. Now that the Carson City Gang is gone do you really think, things will remain the same for a while?”

“Not quite Pa. But I can promise you that I will try to keep any changes we face to be handled together, as a family. Not just by me making a choice for all of us.  And I pray that the changes will only be for the good.”

“That is all a person can ever ask. Maybe things will just stay the same for a while. And only good changes. Like finally building that new house for you and Kate and Sam. And maybe a few more grandchildren for me.”

“Really?” Adam looked at his father and smiled. His father wanted more grandchildren. Won’t he be surprised?

At that moment, Adam knew he had to tell his father what he had learned about Hoss. “Pa. I was going to talk with Joe about all this… before I told you. But I don’t think he has the strength to be thinking too hard on anything for a while, at least not until he is feeling a lot better. You need to know about this now though.”

Confused, Ben stared at his eldest. “What are you trying to say, Adam? What’s going on? Don’t speak in riddles.”

“I did discuss this with Paul and Roy so I’m not deciding on this alone. And I spoke to Kate.” Adam struggled with what he had to say.” Kate thinks you ought to know all about this right now and not wait any longer. We all thought I should tell you now.”

His father raised his eyebrows. “Tell me what?”

Adam smiled and continued on. “I truly think it is a change for the good, Pa. I really do.”  Reached into his pocket. “This will surely be a surprise, Pa. But I think it truly will be a change for the good.”

Adam took out the letter from Levi Victor and handed it to his father.

 

*****THE END*****

Revised September 2016

 

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