Chapter Two

The blood pounded in his head and Joe felt his stomach pitch sideways as he tried to sit upright. He sagged back against whatever he was tied to and tried to steady his wayward innards. The musty cloth tied over his eyes itched against his skin and he longed to be able to rub his face. His mind tried to find sense in what his senses could not and he felt his stomach clench again. The last thing he remembered was Adam calling him down a laneway. Fear washed over him as he knew that something must have happened to Adam! Whoever had attacked him must surely have overpowered his brother first, otherwise there was simply no way he would have been left trussed up as he was. He sucked in a sharp breath and found his eyes watering as he considered the idea. There was no indication that Adam was anywhere nearby. He refused to believe that his indestructible brother could have come to any real harm and he forced back the tears. Instead, he listened for a few moments and thought that wherever he was, he was alone. Suddenly a sound off to his left proved that theory wrong and he tensed, feeling both hopeful and alarmed in the same breath. Somebody was walking towards him and he could hear the crunch of boots on loose gravel. The footsteps stopped directly in front of him.

“Adam?” The whisper escaped before he could stop it and the harsh laugh that carried back to him squashed any glimmer of hope that Joe had felt. Whoever was there was definitely not his brother.

“Betcha was hopin’ for that, but Adam’s otherwise occupied.”

Joe pushed himself back towards the tree he was bound to as the voice registered in his mind. Harrison!

“Where’s my brother?” Joe forced the question out in spite of the fear that coursed through him. If Harrison was responsible for tying him to a tree, what had the man done to Adam first?

Harrison laughed again and Joe felt the man crouch down and lean in close to his face. The sour smell of whiskey wafted across and he had to force himself not to gag.

“I’d guess your brother is ridin’ hell for leather towards Virginia City right about now.” Joe tensed as fear grasped hold of his thoughts once again. Adam wasn’t nearby after all. And wasn’t he in Virginia City to start with?

“Guess I should be gettin’ on my way too. Your brother an’ me, we’ve got a little discussion needs to be had.”

Ben paced across the room and tried again to calm his racing thoughts. Joe had not returned from school that afternoon and that alone wasn’t yet cause for alarm. At first he had assumed his youngest had fallen prey to the enticements of a good fishing hole on a hot day and would soon saunter through the door, proudly bearing a batch of trout and wondering why anybody was concerned about him. As if somehow they should have known where he would be and be impressed by his fishing prowess. It wouldn’t be the first time his son had unwittingly given him reason to worry and he knew it wouldn’t be the last.

Instead, he now feared that something far more serious was going on. It seemed that two of his sons were not where they were expected to be. Roy moved closer to his friend as he paced while Hoss looked on helplessly.

“Pa?”

Both men turned towards the lad, having almost forgotten he was there. Hoss twisted his hand across the brim of his hat and tried to quash the nagging voice in his ear. He needed Pa to tell him that he was imagining things and he could tell the voice to pipe down.

“Yes, Hoss.” Ben stepped towards his son, reading the emotions that rode so easily over his face. His middle son had no guile in him and he had never been able to hide his heart from any of them, especially when he was troubled.

“Pa, maybe there was somethin’ in that note that came for Adam.”

Ben frowned at his son. “What note?”

Hoss scratched at the back of his head; his discomfort clearly showing. It was almost as if he had a hand in losing track of his two brothers.

“Son? What note?”

“Well, in the mail I got in town today … … there was this letter for Adam. I dunno what it said … … but I found the envelope it came in. When I … … when I went up to Adam’s room lookin’ for him, just now.” He reached into his pocket and slowly withdrew the offending item. He hadn’t been snooping. He was just looking for his brothers and found the paper on the floor of Adam’s room. It wasn’t like his meticulous brother to leave his room out of order in any way and the envelope caught his attention as soon as he walked into the room.

Roy was already standing by his father when Hoss looked up and he felt both sets of eyes on him. Once again, he couldn’t shake the feeling he had somehow contributed to whatever it was that was going on. After all, he’d delivered the mail.

“Show it to me, Hoss.” Ben reached out a hand towards his son. As he turned the envelope over in his hands, he noted the single word written on the front. It was a rough scrawl and he instinctively knew it was not a letter from a female. Adam received notes from time to time from young ladies in town and none of them looked like this. They came in delicately coloured stationery, sometimes with a hint of perfume and penned in gently flowing calligraphy. This one was clearly not any such note. It also had come from a local, as there was no address or return address. Ben handed it across to Roy and shook his head in annoyance.

“Any idea what was in it, son?” Roy watched as Hoss shook his head emphatically. He knew that Ben would have taught his boys to respect the privacy of others and unless Adam had revealed the contents to his brother, Hoss would not have looked for himself.

“Roy, I’m heading into town. We need to start looking somewhere and we should start where you found Joe’s horse.”

“I’ll saddle the horses, Pa!” Hoss rushed towards the door, eager to be doing something at last.

“Hoss, wait.” Ben strode towards his son and instantly recognised the defiance rising across the boy’s face. He was expecting to be told to stay behind. “I need you to do something for me. Ride out to Mitch’s and ask him when he saw Joe last. Find out if he left for home after school or planned to go somewhere else. If anyone will know, Mitch will. Then meet us in town at the Sheriff’s office.”

He clamped a hand on his son’s shoulder as he nodded and hastily retreated for the door.

“Yes, Pa!”

“Ben, we’ll find ’em. Both of ’em.” Roy pursed his lips as he considered the agitated father standing before him. Neither of them mentioned the small hat that lay on the nearby credenza. Roy had found it lying in the dust in an alley, after seeing Joe’s horse tethered to a railing where it shouldn’t have been. When enquiries gave him no indication of where its owner may be, he had headed for the Ponderosa, hoping to find the youngster in one piece and with some fantastic story to regale him with. Instead he’d found that nobody had any idea where either Joe or Adam were and his sense of unease had crept up several notches.

Adam paced the alleyway, knowing that he was early. He felt his senses amp up to high alert as he watched for any sign of the man he despised. There were several places where he was vulnerable and he had intentionally placed himself out of any direct line of sight. He felt completely exposed and totally alone and yet he couldn’t help worrying what Joe was feeling. Was he also alone and fearful? Did he know what was happening to him? Was he even … As Adam’s thoughts took on a life of their own, he had to force himself to relax and stop pacing. Instead, he dropped down onto one of the wooden crates stacked against the wall and waited. Darkness was closing in as the sun began to sink and he wondered if Harrison intended to show at all. Suddenly he heard the distinct click of a revolver and he pushed himself to his feet. On instinct, his hand was already over his holster when he heard Harrison’s chilling laugh.

“Just give me a reason to unload this into ya, boy!”

Adam shifted his hand a little and drew himself up to his full height. The man standing across from him could have been his mirror, right down to the detail on his black hat. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and it didn’t take long for him to get the answer to his unspoken questions.

Harrison looked down at himself and smirked. “Made it a whole lot easier to draw in that stupid brother of yours. ‘e thought I was you! Imagine ‘is surprise when ‘is lovin’ brother cracked ‘im over the ‘ead and tied ‘im up.”

The sickening laugh that spilled out of his mouth made Adam’s blood boil. He started forward at the man’s words, only to be pulled up short by a Colt pointed squarely at his chest.

“Now, now. I ain’t done talkin’ to ya yet. I told ya once that I’d come back and take somethin’ you valued.”

“All right, Harrison. You’ve made your point. Joe’s just a kid. Your gripe is with me so why not be a man and take on me instead?”

Harrison rubbed a hand across his face as he smirked again. “Well that kid’s got a big mouth! Whatever comes ‘is way, is ‘is own fault. Ya shoulda taught ‘im to keep ‘is nose outta other people’s business!”

“Where is my brother?” The words were calm and low and Adam surprised himself at how level his voice sounded. The blood was pounding in his ears and he almost found himself holding his breath, waiting for Harrison to answer.

Instead the man began to back away from him, still holding the Colt aimed right where it would do the most damage. “Not so fast there, Cartwright. You lot are used to giving the orders, but not this time!”

“Then why summons me here?” Adam held his hands out as if flailing for an answer.

“To bait ya! To see ya squirm! To let ya know I’m in charge this time. You ain’t got ya daddy to back ya up this time. And that little wildcat brother of yours, ain’t feelin’ so wild no more.”

Adam felt his throat go dry at the implication in the man’s word. “If you hurt one hair on his head, so help me, I’ll … ”

Harrison laughed at the look on Adam’s face. “You’ll what? Run for ya daddy? Slap my wrist? Ya ain’t in charge this time, Cartwright. Look around ya. There’s nobody here to do ya biddin’. And just so ya know … … ya little brother’s hair ain’t so pretty no more.”

The man was almost at the end of the alley when several patrons of the Silver Dollar came wandering around the corner, looking for a place to relieve themselves. Adam would be hardpressed to explain later to Roy Coffee what had happened, given how quickly it transpired. All he knew was that he couldn’t let the man turn and leave until he told him where Joe was. Harrison turned at the sound and Adam lunged for him. In the scuffle, Harrison’s gun fired and before he knew it, Adam was pressing a wad of torn shirt into the man’s chest in a desperate attempt to stem the bloodloss.

As the life drained from his eyes, Harrison took his parting shot. “The kid’s all alone. ‘e’s gonna die all alone, knowin’ his brother deserted ‘im. You left ‘im to die. You caused this Cartwright. You killed your brother!”

Adam grasped helplessly at the man’s shirt as he found himself pleading. “Where is he? Please! Just tell me where he is!”

Hands pulled him back and Adam fought violently against them. He yanked at Harrison’s arm and shook him angrily. “Where is he?”

“He’s dead, Son.”

The words registered in his ear, but he shoved them aside. His brother was not dead. Joe was too full of beans to be dead. He couldn’t be dead!

“No! He’s not!”

“Adam, he’s gone. Let him be.” The calm voice of his father echoed in his ears and Adam finally turned to see him clasping his shoulder. It wasn’t Joe he was talking about, but the man whose blood was smeared all across his hands and shirt.

“But he knows where Little Joe is. He didn’t tell me yet. He can’t be dead, Pa. He needs to tell me where he took Joe!”

Ben grasped at his son’s shoulders and tried to force him to make eye contact. The sound of his voice was rising in pitch and he could hear the almost hysterical edge to it. He had missed Harrison’s earlier words and although he was concerned, he did not yet understand the full weight of Adam’s demand.

“He can’t tell us anything more. Now, think, Son, where could Harrison have taken Joe? How long has he had him? Joe didn’t have his horse, but Harrison could have taken him on his own horse.” Ben forced himself to think logically before the rising sense of panic could take over. His missing son could not afford for him to panic. “What timeframe are we looking at because that will determine how far they could have traveled and therefore, our search parameters.”

Adam heard the rumble of his father’s voice, but the questions sounded like buzzing bees in his ears. His mind would not latch onto them and give them any substance. Instead he stared at the blood soaked shirt of the man lying on the ground before him. Hatred rose up in his throat and he tasted the sour taste of bile in his mouth. If the man wasn’t already dead, he would have choked him with his bare hands, right there in the dirt. The man had dared to lay hands on his brother, but right now Joe needed him to pull himself together. He slowly turned to see his father’s expectant face and he began to try to draw together some answers with what little information he had.

Roy had been busy issuing orders to men who had come running at the sound of the gunshot and the three drunk patrons of the saloon slouched off to one side. They had sobered quickly when it became apparent they were lucky to be alive after walking into the wrong alley at the wrong time. He sought answers that didn’t really give him much more than what he’d already surmised, but he was relieved to know that Adam had not been holding the gun and his own gun was still holstered. It seemed that Harrison had gotten himself killed by his own gun. While that piece of news brought a measure of relief, what he could hear Adam saying did not. Joe was still missing and they were still none the wiser as to where he might be.