Chapter Seven

Ben watched as Cochise trotted up and down against the corral and he wandered over towards the horse. He felt heartsick to see the animal caged up in such a way and yet he could not bring himself to turn his son’s horse loose. The horse could not be kept in the barn indefinitely and this was the best compromise he was willing to make so far. A voice whispered in his ear each night asking whether his son would ever return home to claim his horse and yet each new morning brought a measure of hope with it.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

He had quoted that verse to himself so many times it seemed to speak all by itself into the cool evening air. Which morning and could he endure that long were the real questions he didn’t want to ask. He had spent far too many nights pacing the floor of his room and he was not ashamed to admit he had shed more than enough tears. As he reached out to scratch the horse’s muzzle, he swallowed down the lump that arose in his chest.

“Come home, son,” he whispered. “I need you to come home.”

Cochise seemed to sense his melancholy mood and nuzzled closer.

“You miss him too, don’t you?” For a moment, Ben felt foolish talking to a horse and then he almost laughed as he considered the lengthy conversations his son seemed to carry on with his horse. Of course, Joe swore that Cochise agreed with everything he said to him. The laugh died as quickly as it had come and he forced himself to return to the house. It seemed that everywhere he went, something reminded him of his absent son and his heart ached all the more. He’d tried keeping busy and all he’d managed to achieve was to unintentionally push away his other two sons. When Adam had announced he was going looking for Joe, Ben had felt a profound sense of relief. If Joe was angry at his father and refused to speak with him, perhaps he might just listen to his brother. A father could only hope.

Hoss leaned against the doorpost and watched his father’s aimless path across the yard. Joe had broken something indefinable when he had penned those cruel words all those weeks ago and Hoss felt helpless to put it back together.

“Supper’s almost ready, Pa.” Neither of them were especially hungry, but Hoss forced on a smile as he headed back into the house and pulled out a chair. The two empty places just seemed to shout at him and he swallowed down a vague sense of unease. Nothing had felt right for weeks and he knew that nothing would until his whole family once again sat down to supper at the table.

Hank almost fell down onto his bunk and he felt his back give a sharp twinge as he did so. It had been a hard day in the saddle and he felt his age was finally starting to catch up on him. As he tugged the kerchief loose from his neck, he noted the amount of dirt that came away with it. Moving the herd into the northern pasture meant pushing them through a dustbowl at the lower end and he felt like he’d swallowed a good couple of quarts of dirt in the process. He ached enough that he was almost ready to bypass supper and just head straight to bed. He slid down onto the pillow and figured that a few minutes shuteye wouldn’t go astray. He barely had his eyes closed when he heard a horse gallop into the yard. It wasn’t officially part of his duties as foreman to check on visitors, but something had been off for weeks now and he was worried at how his boss was traveling. He’d never seen Ben look the way he had in recent days and he felt protective enough of the man to swing his feet back to the floor and head for the door of the bunkhouse. He ignored the other men who poked their noses out the door and watched as one of the young Perkins boys dismounted and quickly wound his reins around the hitching post.

He recognised the young lad from a nearby ranch and wondered why he seemed in such a hurry. “Somethin’ we can do for ya, Jim?”

“Is Mister Cartwright in? I got somethin’ important for him. Gotta deliver it tonight. Glen said it was real important.”

Hank stepped off the porch and suddenly realised he hadn’t seen his youngest hand all afternoon. “Glen? What’s he got to do with anything?”

“He was in a right hurry this afternoon. Said he needed to get to Silver Falls and that I needed to bring this here letter out to Mister Cartwright tonight.”

As Hank pointed towards the main house, he was oblivious to the men behind him. He had no idea that Nate had heard the comment and was casually making his way back to the bunkhouse. Instead, his mind was scrambling for reasons why Glen would have suddenly taken off for Silver Falls of all places without so much as a by-your-leave.

Hoss was trying to find something more interesting to talk about over supper than calves and pasture lands when he heard a loud knocking at the door. He pushed his chair back and strode across the room, almost relieved that the evening meal had been interrupted. As he opened the door, he was surprised to see Frank Perkins’ middle boy standing there with Hank hovering right behind him.

“Jim? Come on in.” He stepped back and held the door open as Hank followed the lad inside, uninvited.

“Sorry to barge in, Hoss, but young Jim here said he had a message from Glen and, well, I don’t know nothin’ about him leavin’ all of a sudden, so thought I should check with you.”

Hoss frowned at the comment and noted that his father had moved up beside him. “You know anything about Glen leavin’, Pa?”

“No. What’s this all about?”

Jim shuffled from one foot to the other and tried not to look nervous. “Don’t want to get him into any trouble or nothin’, but he came riding past our ranch around mid afternoon. He said he had some urgent business in Silver Falls and couldn’t take the time to come back and let you all know he was leavin’. He asked me to bring this to you, but it was kinda strange. Said he didn’t want me bringin’ it until after supper. When I asked why, he said you’d know why when you read it.”

Ben reached for the envelope with his name clearly written across the front and he pulled a single sheet of paper from within its folds. His face creased into a frown as he read the words hastily scrawled across the page.

“Pa, what’s it say?” Hoss watched his father’s face flick from anger to fear and back again in the space of seconds. He stepped closer and took hold of the paper as his father held it towards him.

Mr Cartwright, you need to speak to Sheriff Coffee and ask him what we talked about. Don’t trust Nate or Mac. I think they killed the two men in Virginia City. I think that Joe is in Silver Falls but I think they also tried to kill him. I’ll explain when I get back.

Glen

Hank watched as Hoss’s face turned to thunder and he looked back and forth between father and son. Before he could speak, Ben turned to the young lad standing nervously waiting.

“Jim, what exactly did Glen say to you? Exactly!”

The boy swallowed a gulp and chewed on his bottom lip. “Well, he said he was ridin’ to Silver Falls and he said that I shouldn’t say anything to anybody …” All three men stared at him as he suddenly thought of something. “I guess I forgot that bit. He told me not to tell anybody he was goin’ there, ‘cept you Mister Cartwright. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. Just tell me what else he said.”

“He said that he needed to get there right quick and it would take too long to come and find you first. I thought it was kinda strange since he was comin’ from the Ponderosa road, but he was real certain about it. He told me I had to bring this letter and only give it to you or Hoss. Nobody else. He made me promise that I’d wait until after supper, but I don’t know why.”

“Maybe to give him time to get going before anyone could follow him?” Hoss figured that was the only reason that made sense to him.

“Why would he be worried about being followed?” Hank looked at Hoss as he considered the comment.

“Read that and you tell me!” Hoss thrust the letter towards the foreman and scratched at the back of his neck as he wondered why Joe would be in Silver Falls and just what could have happened to send him there.

“You say nothing! I don’t want to spook them.” Ben raised a hand to Hank as he looked up. “I need to speak to Roy first and then we decide what to do.”

As if he’d almost forgotten about the young lad standing before him, Ben suddenly clapped him on the shoulder. “Jim, you’ll be coming with me and I’ll take you home on the way into town. Say nothing to anybody that you’ve even seen Glen. I’ll explain to your pa on the way through. It’s important, son.”

“Sure thing Mister Cartwright. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say nothin’ before.”

“It’s alright. Just remember, it’s really important to keep this quiet for now.”

“I’ll saddle a horse for you Mister Cartwright. And don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on those two until you get back.” Hank was already moving out the door as Ben was buckling on his gunbelt and reaching for his hat.

“Go and wait by you horse, son and I’ll be out shortly.” Ben nodded towards Jim. Hoss moved up beside him and frowned at his father.

“Somethin’s not right, Pa. I got a bad feelin’! If somebody tried to hurt Joe, why wouldn’t he let us know? Why not come on home?”

Ben frowned at the question. “I don’t know, Son. But I intend to find out. I just hope his stubbornness hasn’t bitten him too hard this time.” He clapped a hand across his son’s shoulder as he moved towards the door.

“Mister Cartwright!” Hank’s voice carried across on the still night air and both men rushed for the door. The foreman was running towards them and he looked furious.

“They’re gone! Nate and Mac! They’re both gone. Musta heard what young Jim said and knew someone was onto them.”

“Glen!” Hoss stared at his father as he took in the situation. “If they heard where he’s gone, then he’s in danger. We’ve gotta help him, Pa.”

Ben nodded as he pushed his way out the door. “They also know where Joe is!”

The next few moments became a flurry of activity as directions were issued for provisions and horses and somebody to escort Jim home. Men had spilled out of the bunkhouse after Hank’s search had come up empty. Nobody was quite sure what was going on, but it was clear that something was terribly wrong. As Ben climbed onto Buck and tugged at the reins, he was surprised to see Hank pulling alongside him.

“I’m comin’ with you, Boss. Those two are my responsibility.” The firm set of his jaw told Ben that arguing was simply going to waste time they did not have. “I’ve sent Smoky for the sheriff and filled him in. We gotta get goin’.”

Ben didn’t bother answering him, but kicked his horse’s flanks and rode off in a cloud of dust with Hoss and Hank right behind him.

Joe stared at the sheriff as if he was speaking a foreign language. “Are you telling me that Roy hasn’t got our wire?”

“I don’t know that for sure. I just know that he hasn’t responded. That could mean any of a dozen things.”

“It means Roy hasn’t got our wire.” Adam frowned as he considered the implications of that. “You have to understand, Harry. Roy’s not just the sheriff. He’s a longtime family friend. If he knew any of this, we’d have heard back by now.”

“So Pa and Hoss don’t know what’s going on. Adam, you have to believe me! Nate’s crazy. We have to get back there. Get me a horse!”

Adam stepped closer to try to keep his brother calm and knew he was wasting his breath. Before he could open his mouth, Joe was moving towards the door.

“Adam, I mean it! Get me a horse or I’ll take yours. We have to warn them. Nate said that …” The words choked off as Adam reached for his arm.

“Joe, I agree with you. I’m just worried that you aren’t ready to ride anywhere yet. You’re still weak from being sick and those dizzy spells haven’t stopped yet. Pa and Hoss can take care of themselves well enough.” It was meant to bring reassurance, but it just fueled Joe’s distress even more.

“Then I’ll walk!” Joe grasped at his brother’s shirt, his desperation clear to them all. “Adam, please! This is Pa and Hoss and they have no idea there’s a couple of rattlers in their midst planning to kill them!”

It was several hours later that a wagon pulled out of the ranch. Adam knew his stubborn youngest brother would follow through on his threat if he did not find a way to compromise with him. The idea of Joe slipping off in the night on Sport forced him to make a choice he did not want to. Joe was barely able to stand for any length of time, let alone ride a horse for the two days it would take them to return home.

He scanned the horizon as they traveled, acutely aware that the wagon kicked up far more dust and made them more visible than a couple of horses would. Stacey had insisted on accompanying them when she had offered the wagon as a compromise to Joe. Adam glanced across at the young woman who confidently held the reins and guided the wagon along familiar roads. He would never be able to repay her for saving his kid brother and yet he felt a measure of concern at her presence with them. He had managed to convince her that she would wait with Joe in Virginia City while he rode out to the Ponderosa and while Joe had not been informed of that plan, she had agreed.

Adam almost smiled as he looked to the other side of the wagon and saw Harry riding shotgun on the other side. The young sheriff was almost as stubborn as his brother and had refused to allow Stacey to go anywhere without him. He didn’t know if the lawman was operating on his instincts and sensed trouble or if he was simply being a protective older brother. Either way, Adam found himself drawn to the young man, having recognised much of himself in the other man.

“You doing alright?” Adam drew alongside Joe and watched as his brother plastered on a neutral face. He’d been a fraction too slow to hide the pain that had been there only moments before.

“Just fine. We gotta get home.”

Adam nodded and continued to keep pace alongside Joe. Only a short time before, he had been cursing his brother and how he had so deeply wounded their father. He felt a nagging twinge of guilt as he considered his brother would keep going until he dropped to save his family.