Chapter Three

Joe felt the dull thump in the back of his head and he wondered again what had hit him. He couldn’t be sure, but his scalp felt as though dried blood was matted into his hair. There was definitely a lump under the curls as he could feel that when he leaned back against it. He longed to be able to reach up with his hands and inspect it for himself, but they were still firmly bound behind him. His shoulders ached with the unnatural position and he shifted his weight to try to ease the muscles. Scratching sounds off to his right were making him jumpy and he tried to stop fidgeting and listen. At first he thought it was Harrison returning, but it soon became apparent it was just some critter looking for its supper. He would have smiled under other circumstances, but another thought reared up in his mind. What if a bigger critter came looking for its supper and he was sitting there, all trussed up like a Christmas turkey? He knew he’d look mighty tasty to a hungry mountain lion. The fear behind that thought had him squirming again and once again, he tried rubbing at the rope that bound his wrists. It was thick and heavy and he knew he’d already rubbed the skin raw in several spots. Fresh blood dribbled down his fingers as he once again worked the rope against the bark of the tree. If the sharp edges that dug into his skin were anything to go by, he told himself that he should have the rope shredded in no time.

No time.

His mind wandered back to a conversation he’d heard his Pa having with Adam. He knew he shouldn’t be listening in, but he couldn’t help it. It was a night where something had erupted yet again between him and his hard-headed brother and he’d been so angry that he’d stormed off to his room to calm down. The room was hot and stuffy and he’d shoved the window open, just in time to see his brother stomp out to the yard below. His anger flowed hot and red and he’d wanted to shout one last insult at Adam, but just then, his father had walked out into the yard too. Uncertain about whether or not he was due a tanning for his earlier outburst, he wisely decided to stay quiet. He watched as his father walked over to where Adam was almost hanging over the corral rail. More emotion boiled up as he watched his father drape a hand over his brother’s shoulder. Why did Adam deserve his father’s attention? After all, he was the one who caused all the trouble! Their words drifted up to him on the stillness of a hot summer evening.

“He’s just adjusting, Son. Give him time.”

“He hates me, Pa! I lost him somewhere while I was away and he resents me for coming back.”

“No, Adam. He loves you. But he’s not the child you left and he doesn’t quite know what to make of the man who has come home. Give him time.”

Joe swallowed hard as he thought again about that night.

He hates me.

When Adam had voiced that doubt to their father, he’d vehemently agreed. Right at that moment, he hated his brother and he would have shouted it from the window if his father had not been in earshot. He most definitely hated his smug and overbearing brother who seemed to find fault with everything he did. Didn’t he?

No, Adam. He loves you.

His father’s voice echoed around the space surrounding him and he nodded slowly. As much as he may have said otherwise that night, it was true. He loved his brother with all that he had in him. So what had possessed him to tell Adam that he hated him? On more than one occasion. What was it about his older brother that provoked such anger and vitriol?

Give him time.

Joe had no idea why his father would say such a thing, because that night he was sure that no amount of time would make him like his brother again, let alone love him. His much-loved brother had gone away to college and somebody else had come back in his place. As he glared at his brother from his window, he felt the sour taste of bitterness eating away at his insides.

Time.

What time was it anyway? The blindfold that kept him bound in uncertainty did nothing to tell him what time it was. He had no idea how long he’d been out to it when Harrison had hit him over the head, but he knew it must be getting on to dark. Pa would be worried about him and they’d come looking for him. Wouldn’t they?

The heat of the day was beginning to diminish a little and Joe wondered again where that critter had gotten to. It was far too quiet and his ears strained to give him a clue of where he was. There were no sounds as there would be if he was anywhere near Virginia City. No carriages or horses or people. No smells of smoke. Nothing. Fear crawled up into his chest again as he wondered where Harrison would have hidden him and when he intended to come back. Part of him didn’t want to ever see the man again and yet another part feared being left alone wherever he was.

As he strained to listen there was no sound except for the distant screech of an eagle. He wondered if there was any way he could attract attention and before he stopped to think about it, he began shouting. The desperate pleas for help grew in volume as he heard his own voice echoing back at him. He was clearly somewhere rocky as he remembered Adam explaining to him once about how rocks bounced the sound around like marbles and made it come back again. The sudden memory choked his next scream in his throat and nothing but a raw sob came out.

“Adam… … where are you?”

Once again, fear clawed its way into his chest and he knew that Harrison would hurt his brother, given the chance. But Adam was riding to Virginia City. Harrison had said so. Tears dribbled down his cheeks as Joe tried to fight off the panic that rose up from his stomach. Harrison knew where Adam was going and he was going there too. Unless of course, Harrison had lied to him and he’d done something to his brother already. As Joe considered the dull throbbing that was increasing in the back of his head, he wondered if Harrison hadn’t done something worse to Adam. Was his brother’s body lying nearby and Harrison had simply abandoned them both to the wild animals? Fear began to hammer into his chest again and he found himself struggling to breathe.

“Adam, please come back. I’m sorry. I don’t hate you. I’m sorry!”

Fresh tears leaked out from under the dirty bandana and he wished he could reach his face to scrub them away. His brother would be ashamed of how weak he was if he could see his tears. At that moment, he’d give anything for his brother to be there, whether or not he was ashamed. He’d take an Adam tongue-lashing any day if it meant his brother was still alive.

Adam stared into the black depths of the cup of coffee in his hand. He’d heard it said that some people tried to read the future in coffee dregs. His practical mind had scoffed at that idea, but in that moment he saw nothing but blackness in the bitter liquid. He knew that nothing about his future would ever be right again if he could not find his brother. It was his fault. Harrison had clearly threatened to do what he had done and he’d been too stupid or too proud to tell his father. He squeezed his eyes closed as he considered what might have been if he’d simply warned them. Joe would be safe and Harrison wouldn’t be laid out in the undertaker’s office across the road.

Ben looked across at his eldest son and saw the recrimination drawn clearly across his face. Dried blood spattered across his face and arms and despite his best efforts, Adam had so far declined to wash it off. When Roy pressed a cup of coffee into his hands, Adam hadn’t said a word. He simply stared at the blood on his hands, deep in thought. Before either of them could prod him any further, Hoss rushed through the doorway. He sought out his father immediately, but pulled up short as he saw his older brother covered in blood.

“Adam!”

The fear in his voice had Ben rushing to reassure his son and he grasped at Hoss’s shoulder.

“He’s fine. It’s not his blood.”

Adam looked up at his younger brother and tried to give him a similar assurance. The words stuck in his throat as he stood to his feet and Hoss pushed towards him anyway.

“Joe?”

Adam shook his head and momentarily closed his eyes, as if he could blot out the fear he read in his brother’s eyes. Hoss misread the response to mean the blood was his younger brother’s and his knees almost buckled beneath him. Adam’s ashen face told him all that he needed to know. Ben barely reached him in time to stop him stumbling into Adam and he quickly turned Hoss to face him. The look of horror on his son’s face took a moment to register and before he could speak, Roy had stepped in.

“We still haven’t found him, son. What did young Mitch have to say when you saw him?”

Hoss stared at his father’s face, daring to hope for confirmation of the sheriff’s words and suddenly Ben realised what his son had assumed. He grasped him by the shoulders and nodded.

“Did Mitch know anything? Has he seen Joe since school let out?”

Hoss swallowed a gulp of air and shook his head. The answer lodged somewhere in his throat as he tried to force down the panicked lump of fear that had threatened to choke him.

“No, he ain’t seen him since the school day ended. Said Joe was in a right hurry to get home though. He said he needed to speak to Adam and ask him somethin’ important.”

Adam flinched at the choice of words and Hoss looked across to see what was wrong.

“Did Joe see you, Adam?”

“No, Hoss. I haven’t … … I haven’t seen him since breakfast.” The look that crossed his older brother’s face brought a fresh wave of anxiety and Hoss turned to his father once again.

“Pa? Ain’t nobody seen Little Joe since the end of school?”

“It seems not. We do have an idea why though.”

Hoss wasn’t so sure he wanted to hear the idea, given the distraught look on Adam’s face.

“Have you seen Harrison around at all since he was fired from the Ponderosa?”

Hoss glanced across at Adam once again before returning his gaze to his father. He hadn’t heard any of Harrison’s threats, but his brothers’ word was good enough for him and he was happy when his father had gotten rid of the man.

“Nope. I thought he was gonna leave town. Not like any other rancher around here’d take him on after you told him to leave, Pa.”

Ben nodded slowly. “We thought so too. Apparently he came back, or never really left. He came back to get back at Adam and we think he took Joe.”

Hoss’s eyes widened at the revelation and he moved a step closer to the door. “Well, what kinda ransom money does he want? Let’s go get it and get Joe back!”

Adam stepped forward and reached for his brother’s arm. “It’s not that simple. I killed Harrison and we don’t … … we don’t know where he took Joe.”

Hoss stared at him as Adam scrubbed a hand over his eyes, as if trying to erase the guilt there. The remains of dried blood on his hands told Hoss more than he wanted to know and he frowned in anger.

“You mean he tried ta kill you first, don’tcha Adam?”

“Something like that. The more important thing is that we don’t know where Joe is and we need to figure it out fast. Harrison said he was all alone. That Joe would … … we just need to find him!”

Ben was beside him before he realised and Adam found himself unconsciously leaning into his father’s hand. He needed something to keep him upright as he fought down the panic that threatened to spill over. He would not burden Hoss with Harrison’s last words, but he keenly felt the urgency to find his little brother before it was too late. He was under no illusions that Harrison would have done Joe any favours.

Adam seemed to draw strength from his father’s presence beside him and he slowly pulled himself up to his full height as he began to pace across the floor. Ben recognised it as his son’s way of working through a problem, when his mind still didn’t have all the answers.

“Joe was still at school until after three o’clock. I met Harrison just after six. That gives him a maximum of maybe an hour’s travel either way.”

Ben nodded at him, as if he could silently encourage the train of thought.

“He must have been on foot or traveling with Joe on his horse, since Joe’s horse was still tied up.”

As he was speaking, Roy had pulled out a crude map of the immediate area. His hands began to trace over the lines as he mentally calculated the speed of a horse with two riders. Even if Harrison had used a second, unknown horse, there was still only a certain range he could have traveled. For the first time since finding Adam in the alleyway, Ben began to see determination surfacing in his son’s features. He leaned over the map and began pointing out possible areas to begin searching. It was far too much ground to cover with just the four of them and he glanced up at his father.

“We need help here. An organised search plan.”

“You just keep working on that plan and I’ll find the men to cover it.” Roy was already moving towards the door when Ben leaned over to Hoss.

“Son, I need you to ride to the Ponderosa and get the hands back here. We’ll also need … … ”

Adam heard his father’s voice fading out as he turned back to staring at the map. He knew he was missing something.

Something important!