Chapter Five

Carl shifted closer to the young man in front of him and tried to grasp at his flailing arm. Before he could get a grip, Adam had clambered to his feet and was moving towards his horse. Carl was still trying to get his wits about him, having been awoken from a deep sleep and he slowly stumbled after him.

“Adam, whaddaya think you’re doing? You can’t ride in the dark down this mountain!”

The faintest glow of the fire’s embers gave them a little light and the moon added an eerie sheen, but it wasn’t nearly enough to see by to ride safely. Adam ignored the man behind him and lifted his horse’s blanket, about to throw it over the animal’s back. He felt a hand grab hold of his arm and he swung around, ready to throw a punch. Carl raised his other hand in defense, but did not release his grip.

“Now, Adam, you need to stop and think this through. You can’t ride in the dark! You ain’t helping Joe by breaking your neck.”

Adam knew the reason behind the words, but his heart was still pounding wildly in his chest. He feared what Harrison would have done and there was no time to lose.

“It’s some kinda crazy how many holes there are up in those canyons. Plenty of places to bury bodies ya don’t want nobody to find!”

Adam saw the glint of insanity in the man’s eyes as he laughed at his own words. It may have sounded to others as though he was joking, but Adam had seen the way Harrison looked in his direction and smirked as he mentioned bodies. It was just another moment where he’d seen through the facade the man raised for others and lowered just to torment him.

“Adam? You hear me?” Carl still held tightly to Adam’s sleeve, hoping to get him to see sense. Something had shifted in his demeanor and he wasn’t sure what it was.

“Yeah … I hear you.” As he moved to drop the blanket back where it was earlier, Adam stared up into the night sky, trying to gauge how far away the dawn was.

Carl pulled his hand back and nodded in relief that he wasn’t going to have to do anything more drastic. He followed Adam’s gaze and pointed towards the campfire. “We’ve still got a while before dawn. Hows about I make us some coffee and beans while we wait and you’ll be ready to ride by the time the sun is up? While I do that, you can fill me in on where we’re riding to.”

Adam wandered towards the fire as he watched Carl stir the embers into life with new wood. “You’ll be riding to the Ponderosa and rounding up Pa and the others.” He slid down onto a log and scrubbed a hand through his hair.

“And where will you be riding to?”

“Gawler’s Canyon.”

“What?”

Adam stared into the flames as he knew the memory that had finally surfaced in his dream was his answer. He just prayed they hadn’t wasted too much time looking elsewhere.

“Something Harrison said a while back. Said it was the ideal place to bury bodies.”

Carl shifted the coffee pot further into the flames and reached across for their mugs. Part of him hoped that Adam was right and they finally knew where to look. Another part of him hoped the lad was wrong because Gawler’s Canyon was a vast network of crevasses that made crossing it by horseback impossible. The only way to search it was on foot and covering it properly would take days.

By the time he found himself riding down the mountain trail in the early morning light and turning towards the ranch, he could only pray that it would not take days. Joe most certainly did not have days if the heat of the previous day was anything to go by.

The sun had climbed over the rocks many hours ago, but he was no longer aware of its path. The darkness of the blindfold meant he was no longer aware of much of anything. As Joe tried to focus, his mind kept wandering and trying to draw him back into darkness. He pushed against it with what little energy he had left and it threatened to overwhelm him. Within the darkness he saw fleeting images of his brother, laid out dead on the gravel. Bullet holes had seeped a river of blood, but now they were just dried to a dull brown and Adam’s blood had long since flowed into the ground beneath him. Time lost all meaning as he stared at his brother’s lifeless face. He would never get to tell Adam how sorry he was. A vicious laugh echoed in his thoughts and he flinched at the memory that came with it. Harrison was once again there to taunt him as he sobbed silently. There was no moisture left in him to form actual tears and nobody left to care. The darkness tugged at his mind and he found himself slipping further and further into it. Finally he gave up fighting it and stretched out on the ground beside Adam. His father had wanted to give them time to resolve things and now it seemed they had all the time in eternity. In the distance he heard the sound of screaming and he wondered who it was. Perhaps it was his father mourning Adam.

Adam pushed himself off yet another rock and scanned the immediate vicinity. He had long since abandoned his horse, knowing it could not continue to traverse the rocky terrain. Gawler’s Canyon was a death trap for horses and he would not risk it. Instead he scrambled from one rock formation to the next, praying that the next sinkhole would be the one that gave up his brother’s whereabouts. He was certain that he was searching in the right area, but he was equally certain that the crevasses and overhangs would not give up their secrets without a fight. Every so often he stopped on top of an outcrop and shouted for Joe. He didn’t really expect an answer, but hope is a hard thing to squelch and he still had just enough of it to force him onward. The heat of the day was drawing every drop of moisture from his skin and he found himself wishing he had another canteen. As it was, he’d have to ration the one he carried if he wanted to make it down again.

The stillness of the afternoon grated on his thoughts and he found himself staring around helplessly, looking for something that would tell him where to go next. At that moment he heard the harsh screech of a bird as it circled high overhead. Something in the sound made him pay attention and he watched as it drifted away to the south.

Ben pushed his horse along the narrow trail as fast as he dared. It was little more than a goat track and he prayed that his horse would hold its footing. Somewhere behind him he could hear the sound of horses following and he knew that soon enough they were going to have to dismount and leave the horses behind. He felt sweat trickling down the back of his shirt as he rode, but he dare not try and get a drink from the canteen on the trail. He would not stop for a drink until they had no option left, but to stop and start walking.

Hoss kept an eye on where his horse was stepping, but he trusted the animal to find its own way. He spent more time watching his father’s back as they climbed higher and he saw the tension in his father’s shoulders. Ever since Carl had found them and told them of Adam’s theory, his father had been stretched taut. He’d never seen Gawler’s Canyon for himself, but he’d heard tales of it. Most of them had been meant to cause fear in small children and he knew he was being irrational. It was said that many men had climbed into those rocks and never come out again. Almost as if the earth had swallowed them whole. Of course, he knew that couldn’t happen, but his whole body ached with fatigue and his mind had wandered as they rode to catch up to Adam. By the time they came upon Adam’s horse grazing on the meagre grass available amongst the rocks, he knew that the tales weren’t all made up. He could see for himself that Adam had indeed taken off into a catacomb of rock and dust. He just prayed that it hadn’t swallowed his brothers like Johnny Taylor had said happened to an old drifter that disappeared a couple of years back.

Ben was too busy sorting canteens and ropes to pay any mind to his son’s hesitant approach to the rock face. As he hoisted a length of rope across his shoulder they all heard the crack of three shots carry through the air. He leaned against his horse, knowing what the old signal told him. Adam had found Joe at last. What it didn’t tell him was whether or not his youngest son was still alive and he found his heart pounding wildly.

“That way! It came from over there.”

Carl pointed to the south of their position and Ben turned to see where he was looking. He lifted his hands to cup against his mouth and shouted for all he was worth.

“Adam!”

The group stood still and waited expectantly, but nothing came back to them but oppressive silence. Ben tried once more, knowing they were quite likely out of earshot. When it was apparent they weren’t going to get a response, he raised his pistol and fired an answering volley of three shots into the air. He nodded towards the rock face and began moving.

“Let’s go and bring them back.”

His words sounded far more confident than he felt.

Adam couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A crumpled heap of clothing seemed to have deflated into a pile on the ground. Underneath it all, he couldn’t tell if his little brother was even breathing. He paused, not wanting to confirm his worst fears by moving closer. Instead, he looked up to see the hawk still circling overhead. As it screeched, it reminded him of a buzzard and he stumbled forward, anxious to chase it away from its prey. His brother was not anybody’s prey!

As he leaned forward and tugged at Joe’s face, he almost choked on a sob when he felt a faint breath against his hand. He forced down the bile that rose up from his gut as he took in his brother’s state. He had to force himself to go slowly as he slid a knife against the rope that bound his wrists and he growled under his breath when he saw the bruised and swollen flesh, carrying dried streaks of blood. It was clear Joe had tried to work away at the rope, but it was far too strong and barely even chafed.

Joe didn’t respond to anything as Adam shifted him into his lap and cradled him up against his chest. His lips were cracked and burned from the sun and Adam found tears streaked down his face as he reached for his canteen. Joe’s cheeks were always browned from an outdoors life, but they were reddened and blistered with tiny spots. As Adam lifted the canteen to his lips and dribbled water into his mouth, it dribbled straight back out again and ran down the collar of his shirt.

“Come on, little buddy, just a sip. You need it.”

Joe made no sign that he had heard anything and Adam slipped the bandana off from around his neck and poured water onto it. As he dabbed at his brother’s face, he was hard-pressed to keep his anger from boiling over. What kind of animal left a child in this state? At that moment he knew that it was really his fault that Joe had been left exposed for so long. If he had stayed calmer and not provoked Harrison, the man wouldn’t be dead and he would have at least come back for Joe.

“I’m sorry.”

The whispered comment brought a fresh wave of anger towards Harrison and Adam found his hand moving involuntarily towards his gun. In that moment he suddenly thought of something else. It had been years since he had last had to fire off a signal and he hoped Carl had brought his father within range already. As he released the clip and slid his pistol free of the holster, his eyes never strayed from his brother’s face. Joe hadn’t so much as made a sound.

When he raised it and fired three consecutive shots into the air, Joe didn’t respond in the slightest. That frightened Adam more than anything else and he dropped the pistol to the ground. Once again he reached for the water and dribbled a few drops into Joe’s mouth. He pushed against his chin to close his mouth and force the water down. When that seemed to work, he repeated the process. He prayed he wasn’t doing any damage, but to his way of thinking, Joe desperately needed the water and there was no other way.

The screaming had faded into the blackness once again, but somebody sure had stoked the fire to a roaring blaze. He felt flames licking at the edges of the blackness and he wondered why he couldn’t pull away from it. Something held him tight and he tried to fight free from it. Maybe it was him that was screaming.

Adam eventually slung the canteen over his shoulder and slowly climbed to his feet. He had no way of knowing how far away any help was and he needed to get Joe home as soon as possible. As he hoisted his brother into his arms and turned for home, an old memory slid into place and almost caused him to stumble on the rocks. Joe had been almost four when he caught the measles. It made him tired and irritable and he would sleep in fits and bursts. With the need to keep him in a darkened room to protect his eyes, he had often awoken feeling disoriented and been distressed. In order to keep him calm and allow him to sleep a little better, Marie often sat and sang to him in the dark. Adam smiled as he recalled the songs she sang in both French and English. He had not been able to fully learn all the French ones before she passed, but he knew little bits and pieces. As he walked towards where he had left his horse, he found himself humming the parts where he could not recall the words and singing softly when the words fell into place.

The voice wrapped around him and carried him somewhere, although he had no idea where that was. The words sounded strange and yet familiar at the same time. The flames had not subsided, but somehow he felt less panicked about them. The voice would stop the flames. He just needed to hold onto the voice.