Chapter Six

Adam ran a finger up and down the side of the mug of coffee as if trying to keep himself focused. His mind swirled with questions. He could not suppress the fear that still churned in his gut as he recalled the sight of his brother dropping like a stone.

“Why on earth did Joe think I was dead?” The question came out harsher than he intended, but he couldn’t help it. The more he searched for answers, the more cloudy things became.

Stacey took a sip from her own mug and tried to decide where to start. Harry was watching her intently and she knew that Joe’s actions in pointing a loaded shotgun at him had done nothing to calm his concerns about the stranger she was sheltering.

“Perhaps it would help if I started from the beginning.” When Adam simply nodded at her, Stacey continued on. “I have no idea how he got here, but Joe wandered onto my front porch weeks ago. He’d been badly beaten and I’m assuming he’d been shot in the shoulder. There was no bullet in the wound and it was an awful mess, so I’m guessing he dug it out himself.”

She flinched as she recalled the sight of dried blood and then the fresh blood that had welled up from the wound as she had tended to it. Harry didn’t miss her reaction and was pretty sure he knew the cause of it. He reached a hand across to pat the back of hers and she smiled up at him, as if drawing strength from him.

“He was so sick and half out of his mind with fever. At first, I thought he was going to die and I didn’t dare leave him long enough to get a doctor. He’s a stubborn one though and he began to get better.”

Adam smiled at her description of his brother and nodded. “Mule-headed would be more like it!”

Stacey laughed as she heard a brother’s love in the insult. She suddenly turned serious again as she considered what came next.

“When Joe first started feeling better, he couldn’t tell me anything about himself. He didn’t know his own name, let alone where he had come from or what had happened to him. I’m guessing that whoever beat him, hit him in the head real hard. He gets awfully sick every time he gets worked up and tries to remember things.”

Adam gripped his mug tighter as he thought about who could have done such a thing and why. He’d seen the evidence for himself as Joe had emptied his stomach into the bowl before passing out on the bed.

“One morning, he was sitting right here at this table when he finally told me his name. At least he thought it was his name. He knew your name too, but neither of us could figure out who you were.” Stacey’s gaze slid to the floor and her cheeks coloured as she looked back at Joe’s brother. “At first, he kept calling your name, well, shouting your name in his sleep. I thought you might have been the one who shot him.”

Adam could see the effect that confession was having on her and he raised a gentle smile. “I have threatened it a time or two.”

Harry laughed softly as he watched another older brother across the table from him. He’d said the same thing a few times himself. Of course, when Luke had been gunned down, those jokes had come back to bite him in his nightmares.

“Well, one day Joe almost came undone right in front of me. He suddenly knew who you were and he got real worked up about a letter. He said that somebody shot you because he argued about writing a letter. Does that mean anything to you?”

Adam frowned as he swigged another mouthful of coffee. “Joe sent us a letter after he left. He’s got pretty distinctive handwriting and we couldn’t deny he wrote it. It didn’t make any sense at the time as it seemed like a complete over reaction. Joe was very angry and he said he was no longer part of our family. It hurt our pa more than I can describe.”

“And you too?”

Adam looked up to see the faces before him. Harry seemed to look straight inside him as he spoke.

“At the time, I was so angry at Joe, I just ….” He clenched his fist and chewed at a knuckle as he considered the things he’d said at the time. “After a while, I started to think something just didn’t add up. Joe may be hotheaded, but he isn’t cruel. That letter cut my father’s heart out and now I find that he probably wrote it under duress.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why your brother thinks you are dead.” The lawman’s logic had been working over the details and Adam was right. Something definitely did not add up.

“What exactly did Joe say that makes him think that?”

Stacey brushed a hand down the side of her head, smoothing a few wayward strands of hair. “He kept dreaming, well, more like nightmares really. Little bits of memories came back in jumbled up pieces and one day he said that they shot you because he argued over writing that letter. He said he kept screaming at you, but you couldn’t hear him.”

Adam felt his throat tensing up as he considered how Joe would have reacted to that if it was what he truly believed happened.

“I don’t understand! Nobody shot me, or even shot at me. When Joe left there was no sign of him. He just disappeared off the map and we thought that was what he wanted.” Adam fought down a sense of failure as he realised his brother had desperately needed him and he’d been so angry and hurt that he’d done nothing to help him. Instead, he’d been almost happy to see the back of him. As he mulled over that recriminating thought, he heard the soft sounds of movement behind him.

“Adam?” Joe’s uncertain voice carried through from beyond the flimsy curtain and Adam was across the room before he knew it. As he pulled the curtain back, he saw Joe struggling to pull himself upright. “Adam!”

“Easy there, just lie back down, Joe.” Adam laid a hand across his chest to push his brother back down, but Joe latched onto his arm. Adam suddenly found himself enveloped as Joe wrapped both arms around his neck. Warm tears dribbled down the inside of his collar and he fought to contain his own emotions as he felt Joe shaking violently against him.

“It’s alright, I’m not going anywhere.”

Joe could not force his mouth to speak the words he so desperately wanted to and he simply clung to his brother. When the shaking finally subsided, he felt exhausted and his grip began to slip. Strong arms gently lowered him back against the pillow and he brushed a hand across his face, as if fearing his eyes were deceiving him.

“How?” The question was barely audible and Adam leaned forward.

“Joe, I don’t know why you thought I was dead. Nobody ever took a shot at me.”

“Nate! He tried to make me write a letter to Pa.” Joe sucked in a sharp breath as he knew the pain his words would have caused. “Pa must hate me.”

“Joe, Pa could never hate you!” Adam watched his brother’s torment and he shook his head. “He was hurt, but he loves you. Always will, I’m afraid. He wanted me to come and find you and bring you home. You have to believe that.”

“I didn’t want to write it Adam. I tried to argue with him. Honest!” Joe searched his brother’s face, looking for any trace of condemnation. All he saw was the steadfastness that Adam always brought to his life.

“The other one was with him. Can’t think what his name is, but he’s Nate’s brother.”

Adam frowned at Joe’s comment as Nate did not have a brother. Of course, he had arrived around the same time as Mac and Glen and a couple of the others so maybe Joe had simply confused that detail. Whatever the case, his fist clenched around the blanket and he waited for Joe to go on.

“He had a shotgun to my head. Told me he’d blow my head off if I didn’t write what he said. Adam, I couldn’t say those things to Pa! I couldn’t!”

Adam had his other hand resting against Joe’s chest and suddenly his brother’s hand snaked around his wrist.

“Adam … I saw you in the valley below. Nate …” The words choked in his throat and Joe turned his head away as more tears pooled in his eyes. Suddenly he turned back towards his brother. “I saw him shoot you, Adam! Right off your horse. I saw it!”

“Joe, I know you’ve been sick and your memories are a little murky, but …”

“I saw it! He told me he’d kill Hoss next and then he’d gun down Pa if I didn’t do what he wanted.”

Adam found himself floundering for something to say as he listened to the anguish in his brother’s voice.

“It’s alright Joe. I don’t know quite what’s going on, but I promise you that both Hoss and Pa are fine.”

“Is Nate still there?”

Adam nodded slowly as Joe tried once again to force himself upright.

“Then we need to get back there, Adam!” As he pushed up onto his elbows, Adam tried to fight him, but Joe was having none of it and he shoved Adam’s hands away. “He’ll hurt them! We have to get back home! He’s crazy, Adam.”

The two brothers had almost forgotten they still had an audience until Harry stepped forward. “I can always send a wire to the sheriff. Let them know what’s going on.”

Adam looked over his shoulder and nodded in agreement. “Thanks. I don’t know that Joe is up to riding anywhere yet, but they need to be warned. I’d appreciate it.”

“Just get me a horse and I’ll ride out of here today!” Joe’s ashen features belied the determined response and Adam smiled at him.

“Sure you will.”

“Did ya sleep well, boy?”

Glen opened his eyes to find Nate leaning up against his bunk. He forced himself not to react and tried to fake a yawn instead.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”

The pointed comment hit its mark and he sucked in a sharp breath as the man’s eyes seemed to bore right into him. The glint of a knife caught his attention and he found himself frozen under the blanket. He wanted to shout for help, but he wasn’t sure if it would come before Nate slid the knife in between his ribs. Several men milled around the bunkhouse, but they all seemed oblivious to the snake standing right in their midst.

Glen swallowed hard as he stared at the man he had known was trouble from the very first. He couldn’t explain it beyond what his mother had often described as his nose for such things. Even as a child he could pick up on folks who weren’t what they appeared to be. It had cost him some friendships as a youngster, but he’d learned to trust it. It was one of the reasons he’d gravitated to Hoss and enjoyed being around him. Something about the gentle giant made him feel safe and welcome.

“It’d be a right shame if the Cartwrights found out what kinda man you really are. I bet I could get them to throw you right out of here. If I could get them to turn against one of their own, imagine how easy it’d be to get them to turn on you. Maybe even get that dumb sheriff to toss you in his jail. Or maybe Mac and me could find some evidence of how you killed Little Joe. I know just where you buried his jacket to hide the evidence. It’d be a right shame if it turned up in your gear, now wouldn’t it?”

“Hey you lazy clod! Get on outta bed before I have to come over there and shake you loose!” Hank stomped closer, but his face crinkled into a grin as he threw a pillow in Glen’s direction. Nate picked it up off the floor and turned back with a laugh.

“That’s what I was just telling him! Told him you’d eat all the flapjacks if he didn’t get himself moving.”

A few laughs echoed around the room as the last of the men trailed in the door. Nate turned towards Glen with an icy stare before turning and silently heading for the table. It was all he could manage to haul himself out from the tangle of blankets and pull his shirt on, but Glen felt his stomach lurching from side to side. He forced himself to breathe and made his way towards the breakfast that others had carried inside. Food was the last thing he wanted and nobody seemed to notice as he avoided going anywhere near the table where Nate was seated.

The day seemed to drag as Glen trailed across the hills in search of strays. Several others were spread out across the area and he prayed that he’d have a chance to speak with Hoss before the day was out. He debated just riding off and heading for the sheriff, but he knew it would be his word against Nate’s. He had no real proof of anything and a gut feeling didn’t count as proof. If Nate was true to his threat and he worked together with Mac to frame him, there was nothing he could do to help himself. He couldn’t afford a lawyer and he was pretty sure none of the Cartwrights would want to help him if he was accused of murdering one of their own. He wished that the sheriff had come back to him with word from Silver Falls and suddenly he had his answer.

He’d ride to Silver Falls and find out for himself. If Joe really was there, he’d prove Nate was at best, a liar. If not, well he guessed he’d seen the last of his job on the Ponderosa because there was no way he could come back if Nate poisoned them against him.

He turned his horse for the ranch house and made his plans as he rode.

Roy read the wire again and shook his head as he walked. He had known the Kelly brothers would get caught out sooner or later and their string of bank robberies would come to an end. He just hadn’t counted on it happening in Carson City since they never seemed to hit the same place twice. They’d been dumb enough to go back for seconds and their luck had finally run out. He sighed as he headed for home and grabbed the supplies he’d need for the ride to Carson City. He knew the trial would proceed whether or not he got there in time, but his word could help seal the deal against them. He just hoped that things stayed quiet in Virginia City for his deputy’s sake.