Synopsis: How much trouble can one puppy make? As he grows he certainly becomes “Man’s Best Friend” – Adam’s defender and companion.
Rating: G
Word Count: 23,005

Man’s Best Friend Series:

Man’s Best Friend
If Tomorrow Never Comes

 

Chloe

This story is for you…..

We all have ‘scary’ things in life that we have to face as Adam and Zeus face theirs, I hope that yours too are conquerable.

Love,

Aunty Starbuck

Sincere thanks to Debby and Brenda who helped so much with this story, for the quotes and fresh ideas.

And to my sister “Bolsy” for letting me annoy her with phone calls and e-mails and nagging me to death to get this story finished.

 

MAN’S BEST FRIEND

 

“The dog…in life the firmest friend, the first to welcome, foremost to defend.” – Lord Byron

 

“Is that all you need this time round, Adam?” Bert Danes the new owner of the mercantile asked. While Adam checked the items off the list, Bert tallied the account total.

When he marked off the last item, Adam looked at Bert. “Yup, should about do it this time. I swear if Little Joe starts eating as much as Hoss, I’m going to either have to find a bigger buckboard or make getting the supplies a weekly task.”

Bert laughed at Adam’s remark. “Oh, I dunno know, Adam, your youngest brother could do with a bit more meat on his bones. But if he ever does get as big as Hoss, then I suggest that you make him run from the Ponderosa into town a couple of times a week.” He then looked at the oldest Cartwright boy’s lithe frame. “You could do with a bit more meat on you bones too.”

“I’ll take it under advisement,” smiled Adam. He then paid Bert and said his good-byes. With the help of the store worker, the buckboard was soon loaded. “Thanks Kenny, I would have been here all morning getting this lot loaded,” said Adam. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the cloudless sky.

“Sure is gonna be a hot one today, Adam,” Kenny supplied. “Feel like grabbin’ a cold drink before you head back? We’ve got some new flavoured sodas in.”

“Wish I could, but truth is, I’ve got another stop to make before heading home. Maybe we can reschedule for another time,” Adam said in between yawns.

“Late night?”

“In a way,” Adam yawned and then rubbed his hand over his face. He pulled his shoulders back and felt his weary bones click. “The new mare of Joe’s gave birth last night to a filly. With Pa, Joe and Hoss away, I was the only one to look after her. Reminds me, I’d better stop and pick up some more feed.”

Kenny slapped Adam on the back in a congratulatory manner. “Tell that kid brother of yours congratulations. He’s put a lot of work in with that mare. Shame he wasn’t back to see in the event though. I know how much he was plannin’ on being there when the mare foaled.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that. See you later Kenny,” Adam said as he climbed up onto the seat. He flicked the reigns and got the horses moving. Duly Adam arrived at the livery and went in to find Sam Wiseman. He had not walked far when he felt something tug at his right leg. He looked down to see a sandy haired, blue eyed boy, no more than six years old looking up at him.

“Hey mister, do you wanna puppy?” the little boy asked. He pulled back the left side of his jacket to reveal a six week old German Shepherd.

“Sorry, kid, I’d like to but I can’t,” replied Adam. He was taken with the puppy and put out his hand to give him a friendly pat. “Cute dog,” he grinned.

The little boy looked up at Adam with sad eyes. “My Pa, said that we can’t keep him no more. He says that the puppy will get too big and that we ain’t gotta lot of food and .., well I gotta find him a new home. He’ll die on the way to California if I don’t.”

Adam looked down at the puppy again and then at the boy who held the puppy aloft. “And my Pa will have kittens if I take him home,” sighed Adam. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand and rubbed his tired eyes.

“Please, mister,” begged the boy. “We don’t got a lot of money and I can’t care for him proper. Please say that you’ll take him.”

“Sean, where are you?” called a man’s voice.

“Is your name Sean?” asked Adam when he saw the boy’s head jerk up.

“Yes it is,” he replied. “That’ll be my Pa lookin’ for me.” He then thrust the puppy into Adam’s hands and called out. “Over here, Pa.”

Within a few moments an older man arrived. He was dressed in ripped denims and a checked shirt that had seen better days. His boots had also outlived their usefulness and were now full of holes. “Sean, what have I told you about running off like that. You had your ma and me worried,” chastised Sean’s father.

“I’m sorry about that, sir. You see it is my fault,” Adam explained as he tried to quiet the squirming puppy.

“Oh, and how is that so?” gruffly asked the man who stood in front of Adam.

“Your son and I were just completing a business transaction,” Adam replied and winked at Sean. “Your son has just sold me this fine looking animal,” he continued and looked at the puppy.

“I see,” answered Sean’s father. His mood had lightened somewhat. “Well, I suppose that Sean told you that we can’t afford to keep the dog. To be honest we can barely afford to keep ourselves. The name’s Carter.”

“Adam Cartwright,” Adam replied and extended his right hand in greeting. He adjusted his left arm so that the puppy was nestled in the crook of his arm. “Your son is quite a businessman,” he smiled and then put his hand into his pocket and pulled out his billfold.

Taking a small wad of notes he handed it to Carter.

“You must have made a mistake,” Carter gasped as he counted the money. “There’s a hundred dollars here. The pup weren’t worth that much. This is too much money, Mr Cartwright.” He kept ten dollars and tried to give the balance back to Adam.

“Nope. That was what I offered Sean. Fair price for a good dog like this,” countered Adam. He gestured to Carter to pocket the money.

Upon Adam’s insistence, Carter put the money into his jeans pocket. “Mr Cartwright, I thank you for your generosity,” he said, overcome with emotion.

“Well, how about you thank me by buying some clothes and supplies and a book or something special for Sean. He’s a good kid and I know how hard it must have been for him to give up his pup,” sympathized Adam. When he was younger, he had traversed the land with his father. He had wanted a dog but knew that his father would say ‘no’. Their finances didn’t allow the luxury of having a dog and as his father would have argued – an extra mouth to feed.

“You sound like a man who knows what it is like,” Carter surmised. He then picked up Sean’s left hand and signaled to him that it was time to go. “Mr Cartwright, I can’t thank you enough and I will buy Sean something special. It’s time for us to get going, I hope that the pup grows into a fine dog.”

“I am sure it will,” replied Adam as he tried to stifle another yawn. He said goodbye to Sean and his father and continued on into the livery to collect the feed supplies.

“Sam, you here?” Adam called.

“Over here, Adam,” replied Sam. His voice carried from behind one of the stalls where he had been tending to a horse.

“Just come in to pick up some more feed and something to use as a supplement for a new foal,” informed Adam while he waited for Sam to finish what he was doing.

When Sam saw Adam he smiled. “I see that kid off loaded his pooch onto some poor unsuspecting person after all.”

Adam raised his left eyebrow and returned the smile. “Well if Joe can have a new foal, I can have a new dog.” The absurdity of the reasoning made Adam laugh heartily. “Just don’t know how I am going to explain to Pa though.”

Sam clasped his right hand on Adam’s left shoulder and shrugged. “What I’d give to see your Pa’ s face when you do.”

“That’s going to be nothing compared to when I tell him how much I paid for the pup,” grimaced Adam. The thought of confronting his father about the outlandish amount he’d paid was not appealing.

“So, exactly how much did you pay for him?” Sam asked while he stroked the puppy’s head.

Adam raised his right hand to his mouth and mumbled. “Hundred dollars.”

“I take it back. It wasn’t some poor unsuspecting person that got landed with the pooch, it was a foolish son of Ben Cartwright’s. Well, Adam, it was certainly nice knowing you,” consoled Sam. Although he shook his head in sympathy at the wrath Adam was sure to face, he could not help but grin like a Cheshire cat.

“Sam, you could at least have a little more confidence than that , couldn’t you?” Adam chuckled. He walked over to where the feed was kept and hauled out two large bags.

“Knowing your Pa, you’re going to need more than my confidence. Maybe we should alert Roy that there may be a murder on the Ponderosa tonight. It is tonight that your Pa and brothers are due home aren’t they?” Sam beamed, his smile stretched from one side of his face to the other.

“You are an evil man, Sam Wiseman,” grinned Adam. With Sam’s help he carried the feed to the buckboard and accepted from the livery owner the supplement feed required for the new foal. “Well, I best be going. Take it easy, Sam. And if you happened to see Pa, before I do..”

“I won’t breathe a word,” interjected Sam. He waved goodbye to Adam and continued to chuckle quietly to himself as he went about his work.

It was late afternoon when Adam had arrived back at the Ponderosa. After he had unloaded the buckboard he saw to the new foal and fed it some of the supplement feed. He left the foal in the care of one of the hands while he went inside. He took a small bowl of water and some left over meat up to his room with his puppy.

He had been so engrossed in playing with the pup that he hadn’t heard his father or younger brothers return.

“Well, I really thought Adam would have been here to welcome us home,” Ben sighed. As the patriarch of the Cartwright family, Ben was rather disappointed that his oldest son had not made the effort to greet them on their homecoming.

“The buckboard’s here and the supplies have been put away, maybe he went for a ride,” Joe offered. He had wanted to tell his oldest brother of their journey to San Francisco and how their father had been shanghaied. The youngest of the three boys, Joe’s passion for enjoyment knew no bounds. The more tales he could embellish the better. Especially if he was not the subject.

Hoss Cartwright, the middle son who was built as solid as a mountain lowered his massive frame onto the settee near the fire. “His horse is still in the barn, so wherever he is he ain’t gone far,” he said still deep in thought. “Charlie said that big brother single handedly delivered the new foal and stayed up with it last night. And goin’ in to get supplies ‘n all, well he could be just plumb tuckered out.”

Ben placed his hand on Hoss’ broad shoulder and nodded. “I guess you could be right. After all he has had the ranch to run by himself for a week, not to mention wash, cook and clean. You boys go on up and make sure that he’s in his room. I’ll be up just as soon as I can.”

Hop Sing, the Chinese cook and long time friend of Ben Cartwright and his sons had been pleased to find his kitchen still in good order and spotless. He looked in the cupboards and saw that they had been restocked with the supplies. He enjoyed his time with his family in San Francisco but was pleased to be back on the Ponderosa, with his extended family.

Hoss and Joe were about to knock on Adam’s door when they heard a strange noise come from the other side. The both gave each other a bewildered look when they heard their oldest brother laugh. “Would you mind getting your tongue out my ear.” They heard their brother say. Then they heard Adam giggle again. An impish laugh that brought a smile to their own faces. It had been so long since they had heard their oldest brother enjoy himself.

“Naw, he wouldn’t of,” Hoss said as he shook his head. But what he heard next tempted him to change his mind. “Quit it or I’ll have to spank you. I mean it you little imp.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Joe asked when he heard Adam’s last comment, followed by squeals of pleasure. “You don’t think …, you don’t think big brother would’ve…, while we were away?”

“Don’t think what?” Ben asked as he approached his sons. The he too heard Adam’s deep baritone voice waft to the hallway. “I’ve already told you once, don’t poke your tongue in my ear. Get back here you little…oofff…, hmm want to play rough do you?”

Ben recovered himself enough to ask his younger sons if they knew what was going on.

“Pa, maybe Adam’s got a woman in there,” Joe surmised.

“For his sake he had better not. What he does in town is his business, but in this house it is mine,” Ben replied and then knocked forcefully on Adam’s door. “ADAM!”

From the hallway side of the door scuffling was heard and a resounding thud, followed by a groan from Adam. “Hi Pa, Hoss, Joe,” Adam said as he finally made it to the door. He was rubbing a sore spot on his forehead when he held the door slightly ajar. He was bewildered by the look on his father’s face and looked at each of his brothers, who also wore the same expression. “I didn’t know you were home,” he swallowed when he heard soft whimper come from behind him.

“Would you mind explaining to me what is going on?” Ben asked. His face remained serious as if it had been set in stone in that expression.

Hoss and Joe tried to peer around Adam’s shoulder to catch a glimpse of the scarlet woman that they were certain their brother was hiding in his room. They pushed each other out of the way so that they could get a better look. Their jostling came to an end when their father reprimanded them. “Sorry, Pa,” they replied in unison.

“Adam, I know you are a grown man and what you do is your business, but under this roof…,” Ben began to say before he ran out of steam

It was then that Adam realized what his father must have been thinking. That he was hiding a woman in his room. ‘Serves them right for eavesdropping,’ he thought to himself.

“You .., think that I’ve got a woman,” Adam stuttered in feigned shock. He managed to contain himself and tried once again to explain. “You think I’ve got a woman in my room, don’t you?” He couldn’t help but show his trade mark smirk.

Ben thought hard about what Adam had said and was certain that he’d seen his oldest son wink at his younger siblings.

Both Hoss and Joe waited for their father to make the first move, unsure whether their father had seen Adam’s subtle wink. Finally they grinned at Adam and burst out laughing, while Adam remained straight faced.

“Have you all gone stark raving mad?” Ben fumed while he watched his two younger sons lose their inhibitions and carry on like young school children who had just pulled a prank and gotten away with it. He was annoyed to see his oldest son encourage his brothers while he tried to regain control over the situation.. “ADAM!” Ben barked. The timbre in his voice commanded that his oldest son acknowledge him.

“Sorry, Pa,” Adam apologized. “But you have to admit you did jump to the wrong conclusions.” He waited for his father to offer some form of an apology and was surprised when his father remained quiet in front of him with his arms crossed. “Well you did,” he mumbled.

“Have you quite finished?” Ben asked still unimpressed with Adam’s behaviour. “As if putting up with the antics of your two brothers isn’t enough,” he said while he gestured to Hoss and Joe, “I come home to find you acting like a school boy. What reasonable explanation do you have to offer?”

Adam pursed his lips and drew his eyebrows in to meet in the middle and tapped his right index finger on his lips as though he were in deep thought. “None.”

Flabbergasted at his son’s answer, Ben nearly choked on a sudden intake of air. “NONE?” he questioned, his voice rose up another notch.

“Say, Pa, how’d you all manage to get a black eye?” Adam asked in effort to change the conversation. He thought he was able to get away with it when Joe began to reply.

“Well, you see, Pa got shanghaied and..,” Joe started to say.

“Joseph!” reprimanded Ben. He then looked again at his oldest son. “Adam, I would like to assume that I have not lost my authority in this house. Now, I will ask you once more who or what do you have in your room?”

Without saying a word Adam turned and reached under his bed, while his father and brothers watched form the doorway. Hoss and Joe tried to refrain from laughing out but the sight of seeing their brother with his body under the bed and his rear up in the air was too much of a comical site.

“Ow!” exclaimed Adam as the puppy sunk it’s teeth into his right thumb. He pulled the puppy out and stood up while he cradled the pup in his arms.

“What is it?” Ben asked incredulously when he saw the tiny pup.

“It’s a puppy,” Adam proudly replied. The smile on his face made his eyes sparkle. If his father was going to ask him obvious questions, Adam was content to give him obvious answers. Although he knew how much it irked his father.

“I can see it is a puppy, I’m not stupid. What I want to know is what is it doing here?” fumed Ben. His patience had just about worn thin and his oldest son’s aversion tactics were not what he needed.

“I bought him,” muttered Adam. He kept his voice low. He wanted to wait until his father was in a more receptive mood before he told him all the details behind the pup’s arrival.

Ben shook his head, while Hoss and Joe continued to grin at each other. “You bought a dog. Do I dare ask how much you paid for it?”

Adam put his hand to his mouth and coughed, “a hundred dollars.” His reply was muffled so that his father could not hear how much he’d paid for the puppy. “Say, Pa, you never did tell me how the three of you got black eyes,” he added in hope that he could distract his father’s attention from the puppy.

Ben passed a silencing glance at both Hoss and Joe and then raised his index finger at Adam. “Don’t you go changing the subject. How much did you pay for that, that flea bitten dog,” Ben stammered. After the time that he had just experience on the Barbary Coast and then returning home to find an animal in the house he was clearly not amused.

Adam held the pup protectively in his arms and sighed. “Pa, the pup will grow into a great working dog. I can train him to help with rounding up the cattle, that’s what their breed is for. They’re a shepherding dog.” He stopped talking and rubbed the pup’s ears. “Pa, this is ridiculous, here I am at 32 years of age and I am having to explain my actions as though I were still a ten year old. Do I really need to justify everything I do?”

“No, son, you don’t,” Ben apologized. “I guess we’re all pretty much tired. I’m sorry. Let me get cleaned up and we’ll talk about what else you’ve been up to while we’ve been gone.”

While Ben was getting a fresh change of clothes, Hoss and Joe patted the pup. “Sure is a cute little fella, ain’t he Joe?” Hoss smiled.

“What are you gonna call him, Adam?” Joe asked when his oldest brother handed him the pup.

“I’m not to sure,” replied Adam, his thoughts distracted. “Hey, Hoss, remember that time that little stray tuned up here, the one you had to give the sulphur bath to? Do you recall what you did with the book on training dogs?”

Before Hoss could reply, Adam had already left his room in search of his father. He had some apologizing to do and needed to get it cleared out of the way before the words that they had both said festered.

“What’s eating him?” Joe asked as he continued to play with the puppy.

“Pa, can we talk?” Adam asked.

Ben nodded and motioned for Adam to enter his room. “Have a seat.”

“I’d rather stand if you don’t mind. I’m sorry for the way I behaved. And I’m sorry I wasn’t around to welcome you back home. I missed you, Pa,” Adam spoke quietly. He bowed his head while he waited for his father’s reply.

“How about we start again,” Ben offered as he extended his hand out to his son. When he felt his son clasp his hand he pulled him into a warm embrace. “I’m sorry that I lost my temper earlier.”

As they discussed the events of the past week, Ben discovered that Adam had done more than his fair share around the ranch. Not only had he kept up with his own work but also that of his brothers and two ranch hands that had taken sick. “I guess after being up all night with Joe’s mare you’re feeling pretty tired. And I can be fairly certain that you haven’t been taking care of yourself properly while we’ve been away, have you?”

Adam gave his father one of his characteristic smiles. “Well, I didn’t put myself at the top of the priority list. Do you want to check the books over,” he said between stifled yawns.

Together father and son adjourned to the office and while Ben was looking over the books Adam started to doze off. “They look good to me,” Ben announced after he closed the leather bound ledger.

When he heard his father’s voice, Adam opened his eyes and tried to wake himself. “Sorry, Pa, what did you say?”

“I said that the books look good. Fine job, son. How about you tell me more about your new pup and then you head on up to bed. I know it’s still early in the afternoon, but you look like you’re about ready to drop,” Ben suggested. To him, his son looked exhausted and in need of a good night’s sleep. Though still early, he didn’t think Adam would object to the suggestion of getting to bed early.

Adam explained the circumstances leading to the pup’s arrival and he finally admitted how much he had paid for the puppy. This time Ben was able to hear how much Adam had paid for the pup. His intentions of paying so much money as Ben had learned were honorable. He was quietly proud of his son’s generosity and knew that it had been out of the kindness of his heart that he had paid such a handsome price.

A short while later Ben helped Adam up to his room and gestured to Hoss and Joe to leave. “I’ll get one of the boys to bring you up some dinner later on. Meantime you get into bed,” Ben said as he drew the curtains in effort to darken the room.

“Thanks, Pa. I’d appreciate that,” yawned Adam as his father pulled the blankets up around him. When he heard his puppy whimper he beckoned for Joe to bring it back into his room. He saw his father shake his head and grin. His father took the puppy from Joe and settled it on the bed beside him.

Before his father could say anything else, the puppy had snuggled into Adam’s left arm and both were asleep before he could get out the door.

“Is he okay, Pa?” Hoss asked in a concerned voice. He couldn’t recall the last time that he had seen his oldest brother go to bed early, unless he was sick or had been hurt.

“He’ll be fine, Hoss. He’ll be fine. He just needs to catch up on some long overdue sleep,” Ben assured his younger sons. “Come on, let’s go and see if we can rustle up ourselves some lunch and some coffee.”

“Sure sounds good to me, Pa,” Hoss grinned as he rubbed his hands together. “You know I was beginnin’ to wonder if I was gonna see some food today. Was gettin’ so I was near fadin’ away to a shadow. Gotta keep my strength up if we’re gonna get all our chores done today.”

Ben clapped his right hand on Hoss’ left shoulder. “Hoss, I can’t let that happen to you boy. You just remember that when you’ve done with keeping your strength up, you and Little Joe will also have Adam’s chores to tend to.”

“How come, Pa?” Joe asked when he felt himself being directed away from Adam’s room.

“Because,” smiled Ben, “your brother needs to some rest. Come down stairs and I’ll fill you in.”

After selecting items to make a filling lunch the three Cartwright seated themselves at the table. While Hoss and Joe made sandwiches Ben informed them of what had happened at the ranch while they were away.

“So you see, boys, your brother has not only done your work as well as mine, but also that of two of the hands and delivered the foal. And not forgetting Hop Sing’s work,” Ben said. When he saw Hoss and Joe’s faces drop in understanding, he smiled to himself. “Besides, the more work we get done, the less chances Adam has to ask us about these,” He added as he pointed to his still bruised eye.

“Yeah, I guess your right, Pa,” Joe laughed. “Sure was a good ole time in San Francisco though. We’ll get started after lunch won’t we, older brother?”

Hoss nodded his head in agreement as he took another bite of his lunch. Using the last of the bread on his plate he mopped up the stray pieces of stew that had earlier escaped his fork.

“That’s good to hear, Joe. After all didn’t you tell me how guilty you were feeling when we were having ourselves a break in San Francisco?” Ben said as he reminded his youngest son of an earlier comment.

When they had finished lunch, Ben excused himself from the table and left Hoss and Joe to clear it. He took his full cup with him and sat behind his desk and prepared himself to do the day’s bookwork. After a few hours he pushed himself away from the desk and soon found himself standing in Adam’s room.

While Adam slept, he took the puppy that was now awake and held him in his arms. “You sure are a cute little thing. Hope it’s not to long before Adam gives you a name,” he said as he rubbed the puppy on it’s chest.

“Zeus,” Adam replied from the bed in answer to his father’s comment.

“How do you feel, son?” Ben asked as he sat in the chair near his son’s bed. The puppy was content to nuzzle into Ben’s chest and nibble on his shirt button.

Adam pushed himself to a reclined position and stretched. “Tired, but a little hungry,” he yawned. “What time is it?”

“A little after five,” Ben answered and quietly studied his son’s face. He could see the dark circles around Adam’s eyes and the hollowness in hi cheeks. “Your brothers should be back soon as it’s nearly time for supper. Do you feel up to joining us downstairs or would you like some dinner brought up for you?”

“No, I’ll join you downstairs,” Adam replied between long drawn out yawns. He pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes and rubbed the remnants of sleep away. “Besides, I want to hear the tale of who got Shanghaied in San Francisco,” he chuckled.

“Ahem,” Ben muttered in effort to clear his throat. “So you’ve decided to name him Zeus,” he continued as he petted the pup. “Any particular reason?”

Adam shrugged his tired shoulders and winced at the movement. “No, not really. The guy I bought him off mentioned that he was a bigger than average breed of shepherd. Big dog has to have a big name. Besides, Hoss was already taken,” he joked.

“Hey, older brother. Did I hear my name mentioned in vain?” Hoss asked as he entered Adam’s room. Without waiting for Adam to reply Hoss started to pet the puppy. He quickly pulled his hand back when he felt several razor sharp teeth clamp down on his index finger. “Yeow!” he yelped and shook his hand.

“Hoss, if you’re going to hurt him when you hold him, give him back to me,” Adam grinned and held his arms outstretched while he waited for Zeus to be handed back to him.

“No, it’s all right. I can handle the little scamp,” stated Hoss proudly. Unconsciously he held up his right hand and counted the fingers on it. His action gained raucous laughter from both his father and brother. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll take Zeus outside for a walk. You know the poor little bugger must be bustin’ to go.”

“That’s a fine idea, son,” agreed Ben as he ushered Hoss out of Adam’s room. “I’ll let you get up and come downstairs for dinner…, on one condition,” continued Ben when he turned his attention back to his oldest son. “That you get yourself back up here and into bed as soon as you’ve finished. Understood?”

Adam solemnly nodded his head and threw his blankets back. He swung his long legs over the side of his bed and tried to push himself to a standing position. When he stood the room spun madly as if it were out of control. He reached out blindly and made contact with his father’s supporting arm. “Woah,” he muttered as he steadied himself.

“Son? Are you okay?” Ben asked, concerned at his son’s exhausted state.

“Yeah. I’m fine, Pa,” replied Adam. “Just a little light headed I guess. Lack of sleep and lack of food no doubt,” he added sheepishly.

“Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” gently chastised Ben. He pulled Adam’s robe from the wardrobe and handed it to Adam. “Get this on before you catch a cold. That’s all I’ll need you to get.”

When he was sure that Adam was wrapped warmly, Ben assisted him down the stairs to the dining room. Although Adam had protested about his father’s help, Ben never let go of his son’s arm until he was seated at the dining table.

“Where’s Zeus?” Adam asked when he saw Hoss enter the house without the puppy. He started to stand to go and look for Zeus when he caught the look that his father gave him. He sighed audibly and seated himself once more.

Hoss clasped his older brother on his right shoulder as he made his way to his own chair. “It’s okay Adam, Hop Sing took him to the kitchen to give him somethin’ to eat and drink.”

Satisfied with the news of his pup’s whereabouts, Adam nodded and waited for his father to say grace before he started his evening meal. Halfway through his meal, Adam placed his knife and fork on the plate and pushed it away from himself. “Can’t eat another bite,” he said in response to his father’s silent question.

“Are you sure, son?” Ben asked when he saw how much Adam had left of his dinner untouched on his plate.

“Pa, I’m sure,” grinned Adam. “To be honest this is the most I have had to eat since you’ve been away. Certainly was an enjoyable piece of steak though,” he smiled the looked at his brothers. “I guess it’ quite a change for you to be eating the steak instead of wearing it?”

“Don’t remind me,” mumbled Joe. All day he and Hoss had been getting asked questions as to how they got their black eyes along with Hop Sing and the two ranch hands. He knew that his brother would not give in until he was given the full story about what had take place in San Francisco. “Adam, if you’re still awake enough after dinner, I am sure that Pa and Hoss will gladly tell you what happened,” replied Joe with a mischievous smile.

After dinner the four Cartwright men adjourned to the main room and relaxed by the fire where they enjoyed after dinner drinks of brandy. Adam cradled Zeus on his lap while he listened to how his father and brothers had nearly become part of a sailing crew bound for China.

Ben enjoyed seeing his son smile and laugh heartily – something that Adam had not done for such a long time. Although at his expense it was a price that Ben was happy to pay. When he saw that his all his sons were becoming weary he ushered them up to bed and smiled to himself when he saw Adam take Zeus up with him. He recalled something that Hoss had said tom him during the course of the evening, ‘be thankful Little Joe doesn’t try to take his new pet to bed with him.’ This was something that Ben was truly grateful for – a pup he could cope with, but not a foal.

As the weeks progressed Zeus found himself in more and more trouble with Hop Sing. It had innocently begun with the odd hole here and there which eventually developed into sizeable tunnels being dug in Hop Sing’s vegetable garden.

The laundry hung on the line was another of Zeus’ favourite targets, until Adam had conceded and built a fence around the clothesline in order to keep Zeus out. When he could no longer attack the washing, Zeus would wait until Hop Sing was close to catching a chicken for dinner and then let loose with a deep bark that frightened not only Hop Sing but also the chickens. All that could be seen was a mass of feathers that the Chinese cook had ended up with in his hand after the main course had escaped.

“Maybe I should have called you Little Joe the second,” Adam said as he rubbed the top of Zeus’ head. “You and he certainly run a pretty close race for getting into trouble. Just what am I am going to tell Pa when he asks me about his boots,” sighed Adam when he looked at the remains of his father’s brown leather boots.

“ADAM!” a voice bellowed from the barn.

Adam closed his eyes, put his head in his hands and groaned, “Zeus, what have you done now?”

“Where is that mutt?” Joe growled as he approached his oldest brother. In his hands he held the chewed pieces of his belt that he had been searching for. The belt had been chewed in two and its owner wore a disgruntled look. “Come here you mutt,” cursed Joe when he saw Zeus slink his way behind Adam.

“How much was the belt, Joe? I’ll buy you a new one,” placated Adam. It wasn’t the first time that he’d had to reimburse his family or the ranch hands for their belongings that Zeus had used as a chew toy.

When Joe advanced on Zeus, Adam protectively held the pup against his chest. “That’s close enough, little brother,” warned Adam. At four months of age Zeus had become harder to hold and twisted in his owner’s arms. “I said I’d pay for the belt. Just leave it be at that.” The tone in Adam’s voice sent Joe a clear warning which he heeded and backed away from his brother.

Hoss had found the solution – a chew toy that he’d made from some rawhide. It kept Zeus entertained for hours and everyone’s belongings safe once more.

During the months the followed, Adam worked closely with Zeus and soon had him fully trained. There was hardly a place or a time that Adam never took Zeus with him. Together they would check for any broken fence line and round up any stray cattle. Whenever Adam took the opportunity to join his brothers in a little fishing Zeus would contentedly lie beside him until it was time to return home.

“Say, Adam, how’s about comin’ into town with Little Joe and me?” Hoss asked as he pulled his jacket on. He looked at his brother who was sitting in the red leather chair with a book in his hands and Zeus at his feet.

“I’d like to, Hoss,” Adam said as he lowered the book, “but, I can’t leave Zeus at home by himself.” Automatically he reached his right hand down and stroked the top of Zeus’ head.

“Why don’t you bring him with ya then?” Hoss asked, unable to take his eyes off the look that Zeus was giving Adam. “You’ve got him trained real well and I’m sure that he’ll behave,” added Hoss as he tried to convince his brother to go into town.

Adam looked down at Zeus and then back to Hoss. It had been a couple of months since he’d left the boundaries of the Ponderosa. He’d often argued that his dog needed him or that there was no-one else apart from his father who could look after him. Zeus had become a major part of Adam and Adam a part of Zeus. The two were practically inseparable.

The last time that Adam left the Ponderosa for a social engagement was only to please his father. Ben had insisted that Adam go into town with his brothers and attend the Spring dance. Ben’s reasoning had been twofold. The first for Adam to keep watch over his two younger brothers and the second to enjoy himself. He’d been unable to attend due to ill health and had told Adam that he’d be able to look after Zeus.

The whole time he was at the dance, Adam had only danced three dances. The rest of the time he watched and thought about what Zeus was doing. As soon as the dance had ended he couldn’t get home quick enough. Upon his arrival back home he found his father in bed with Zeus lying on the bedspread.

Adam smiled to himself as he recalled how his father had not objected to Zeus being on his bed. The he put his book down and looked at his brothers. “We shouldn’t really all go into Virginia City…, not with Pa away,” reasoned Adam.

“No can do, Adam. Pa told us to make sure that you didn’t spend all your time here at the ranch. He knew that you’d be taking on more than your share and wanted you to relax,” Joe grinned as he strode to where Adam was sitting and with Hoss’ help pulled him up.

“I guess when you’re surrounded by tyrants it doesn’t leave a lot of choice,” replied Adam. His eyes tracked to where his dog was now stood. Beside the front door and his tail wagging. “Traitor,” he called in jest after the dog.

He’d previously declined several invitations from his brothers to join them in Virginia City for a beer and other than the dance the only time he’d left the Ponderosa was when he was needed to attend the finalization of business transactions. To decline his brothers now would be ungracious. “Okay, who’s buying?” he asked while he put on his hat and gun-belt.

The ride into town went well. Zeus enjoyed his run and stayed to the left of Adam all the way in. As the three Cartwright brothers rode through town they received strange looks from the people that they passed. A number of the townsfolk were good friends to the Cartwrights and had heard tell of Adam’s dog. This was the first time that many of them had set eyes on it.

Sheriff Roy Coffee approached the boys as they tied their horses reigns to the hitching rail outside the saloon. “Good to see you in town boys,” he spoke and reached down to pet Zeus. “He’s gotten bigger than the last time I seen him, Adam. What ya been feeding him?”

“Trespassers mainly,” Adam answered, he tried to keep his tone serious.

Some of the Virginia City folk out for a walk that day, cleared a wide path for Zeus when they heard Adam’s answer. Hoss and Joe tried to remain straight faced while Roy also kept his own smile hidden and nodded his head at Adam.

“Well, it seems to be working. Don’t suppose you’ve been having much problem with trespassers then. You boys enjoy yourselves while you’re in town. I’ll catch up with you later,” replied Roy as he turned to walk towards his office.

“Zeus. Sit. Stay,” commanded Adam.

The simple one word commands were willingly obeyed by Zeus who obediently did what his master asked. He was rewarded with a piece of beef jerky and a friendly pat from Adam. Contented he lay on the other side of the hitching post from Sport. The only time he stood up was when Adam brought him out a dish of water and some left over meat scraps from patrons dinners.

“Adam, you fuss over that dog like he was a child,” Joe smiled when his brother took out some more water for Zeus.

Adam grinned at his brother as he headed out the door to refill Zeus’ bowl. While he tended to his dog, he was approached by three men he’d never seen before. “Can I help you?” he asked as he stood to his full height.

Zeus sensed the uneasiness in Adam’s voice and sat hard against his left leg. A deep throated growl could be heard coming from Zeus. He bared his teeth when one of the men stepped towards him.

“Hey, easy fella,” slurred the man. His breath wreaked of cheap whiskey.

“That’s close enough,” warned Adam. He gripped Zeus’ collar to pull him back. When the man ignored the warning Adam spoke again. “I said that was close enough. I suggest that you back off before he bites,” he said and indicated to Zeus with his dark eyes.

“My friend didn’t mean nothin’ by it. Jest wanted to have a look at your dog is all,” a second man uttered but kept a safe distance when Zeus snarled and bared more teeth. “You wanna sell your dog, Mister?”

“Wonder what’s keeping Adam?” Hoss asked and raised his glass to his lips. He was savoring the last swallow when he heard Zeus’ unmistakable growl.

Without saying a word to each other, both Hoss and Joe moved from their seats and towards the saloon doors. Just as they pushed the doors open they caught a glance of their oldest brother tumbling backwards and Zeus lunging for a heavyset man.

“ZEUS!” Hoss called before the dog had a chance to sink his teeth into the man’s unprotected arm.

“Adam!” cried Joe when he saw his brother fall backwards against the saloon wall. His brother was out before his back hit the wooden sidewalk. “Adam? Adam?” Joe continued to call as he gently slapped his brother’s face in effort to rouse him. His efforts were rewarded when he heard his brother moan softly.

“Zeus, quite boy. Good dog,” Hoss soothed while he firmly held onto the dog’s collar. It took Hoss most of his strength to hold back the German Shepherd as it continued to savagely growl at the three men that had accosted Adam.

The crowd of spectators that had spilled out from the saloon to witness the furore, had drawn the attention of Roy Coffee. “What’s going on?” he asked. When he saw Joe help Adam up from the sidewalk while Hoss held onto Zeus, he drew his own conclusions. “I was wonderin’ if it was a wise move on your behalf to bring your dog into town, Adam. How about you get him on back to the ranch.”

“Now just a dadburn minute there, Roy. Adam’s dog ain’t had nothin’ to do with what happened,” argued Hoss.

“Oh? And I take it you witnessed what happened?” Roy asked. He looked from one Cartwright to another and finally back to Hoss.

“Well, not exactly. Me and Little Joe we was in the bar when we heard Zeus growlin’,” admitted Hoss.

The three men who had started the altercation began to move off. “You three, hold it right there until I have got this matter sorted out,” Roy warned and put his hand on his gun. He saw the look that Adam was giving the larger of the three men and moved in between the two. “Adam, I want to hear your version of what happened, if you’re up to it.”

“Sure,” winced Adam. He put his hand to the back of his head where a sizeable lump had begun to form. When he pulled his hand away he noticed that it was covered with blood. “Just a business transaction that didn’t happen,” glared Adam at the man that had punched him. “When I told him,” Adam indicated at the large man, “that I didn’t want to sell Zeus he took a swing at me and the last thing I remember was Zeus lunging at him.”

“Is this true? Is this what happened?” Roy asked Adam’s attacker. He waited for the man to respond and motioned for Adam to sit down. “I’m still waiting,” prompted Roy.

Finally the large man nodded his head. “Yeah. That’s how it happened. Didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”

“I’m sorry, Adam. I naturally assumed that as it was Zeus’ first time in town…, well,” Roy apologized without finishing his sentence.

“Well maybe next time you’ll stop and get both sides of the story before you lay blame,” snapped Adam. He wished he hadn’t as not only did it sound disrespectful but also made his head ache.

“I guess I deserved that. Adam, why don’t you get yourself off to the doctors,” Roy said. He motioned for Joe and Hoss to make sure that Adam’s injury was attended to. “You three, come with me,” he continued as he directed his request to the three men who had caused the disruption.

Hoss and Joe marched their protesting brother off to the see Paul Martin, the town doctor. “Hey, doc,” Hoss called from the front door. “You in?”

“In the surgery, Hoss,” returned Paul upon recognition of Hoss’ voice.

“Who is my patient today…,” Paul started to say. When he saw Adam being supported by both of his bothers he shook his head. “What happened?”

Hoss and Joe informed the doctor of what happened as they made their brother sit down. Hoss grabbed a cloth and held it against the wound that bled freely.

“Adam, it’s going to need three or four stitches to close that gash. And I’d like you to stay here overnight. I’m concerned about a concussion,” Paul spoke while he prepared the necessary equipment. He’d already noticed that Adam’s pupils had become dilated.

“Doc, I can’t,” winced Adam when he felt the stinging bite of the alcohol swab.

“What do you mean, you can’t?! As your doctor I can order you to stay here,” rebuked Paul, annoyed that his patient thought he knew better.

“Paul, I know you can, but I need to get home. I can’t leave the ranch unattended while Pa is away,” Adam argued and cast the doctor a pleading look.

Paul threw his hands up in the air in a sign of defeat. “What say we make a deal?”

Adam looked at Paul skeptically. “What kind of a deal?” he asked, unsure if he waned to heard what the doctor had to say.

“I’ll let you go home on the proviso that you don’t ride your horse,” he spoke and raised his hands when he saw Adam about to protest. “I’m not busy for the rest of the afternoon, so I will drive you home, Hoss can take your horse. That way I know that you will get home in one piece and I’ll be able to keep an eye on you. Deal?”

Adam closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “I guess I don’t have a lot of choice. Deal,” he said to the delight of his two younger brothers. They knew that their oldest brother could be stubborn and where he got his stubbornness from – their father. So were pleased when he did not argue with Paul Martin not only their doctor but a long time friend.

When Paul had finished stitching and bandaging Adam’s head he made him wait on the bed while he readied his carriage. He’d given Adam a small amount of pain relief which had made the job to get his patient to relax an easier task.

The journey out to the Ponderosa proved uneventful and Adam slept most of the way. The only sound he made was a small moan when the carriage hit a deep rut in the road. Zeus had crammed himself into the carriage in front of Adam’s feet and stayed there until they reached the front yard of the family home.

Ben was already home and been for some time. Alerted by the sound of horses and a carriage, he waited by the front door to see who was calling. Upon recognition of who the carriage belonged to, he strode over to where it had stopped. “Paul, what brings you out this way?” he called as he approached. His attention then turned to Paul’s sleeping passenger. “What happened? Is he alright?”

“He’ll be fine, Ben. He’ll have a headache and a half when he wakes. To be honest it’s the reason why I am here,” Paul started to explain.

“Yeah, Pa, he’ll be okay,” agreed Hoss.

“Will someone tell me what’s going on? What happened?” he asked as he repeated his earlier question. He watched as Hoss and Joe helped their brother from the carriage.

Paul approached Ben and put a hand on his arm. “Once I get him settle in his bed, I will tell you as much as I know. I am sure that Hoss and Little Joe will be able to fill in the other details.” He didn’t wait for Ben to reply and instead directed him into the house.

Zeus bounded ahead of Hoss and Joe and waited patiently beside Adam’s bed. When he saw his companion finally enter the room he wagged his tail excitedly. He knew that Adam was hurt and had remained beside him when he could.

Paul explained to Ben that he’d had to put four stitches in the back of Adam’s head and of the deal that he had made in order to get Adam home. Ben nodded in understanding and thanked Paul for taking care of his son. While Adam slept he sat in the chair beside the bed and listened to what had take place.

“Pa, Adam didn’t get into a fight intentional like. Some guy outside the saloon took a swing at him and knocked him out cold,” Hoss said. When he saw the questioning look his father gave him he continued. “Now, Pa, it ain’t as bad as it sounds. Like I said it weren’t Adam’s fault, he was only protectin’ his dog.”

Joe stepped into the conversation when he heard Hoss miss out a few important details. “Pa, it’s like Hoss said, but the guy that hit Adam was trying to take Zeus from him. He offered to buy the dog from him,” Joe said indicating to his oldest brother. “But when older brother refused he punched Adam and Zeus attacked the guy who hit Adam.”

“I see,” said Ben as he pieced the story together. He moved to one side while Paul checked his son for any change. “How is he?”

“I’ll stay with him for a while. Just want to make sure that the pain relief I gave him earlier has no adverse effect on him,” replied Paul. “But I wouldn’t say no to a cup of tea if there is one on offer,” he smiled as he ushered Hoss and Joe from Adam’s room.

“How is he, truthfully?” Ben asked. He never liked to see one of his sons injured. Although he’d sat with his sons through illness and assorted accidents it didn’t make it any easier.

“You worry far to much, Ben,” smiled Paul while he checked on his patient once more.

“It’s a father’s prerogative,” countered Ben.

Both Ben and Paul had been talking for some time before Adam finally rejoined the land of the conscious. Zeus had been first to notice his master start to wake and had alerted Ben.

“Adam?” Ben called when he saw his son’s eyelids open and close. “Adam?”

“Don’t shout please, Pa,” Adam winced and ran his right hand over his face. He felt terrible. His head ached and his stomach had threatened to return it’s entire contents including the previous night’s dinner.

Ben obliged his oldest son and spoke in hushed tones. “You certainly know of different ways to welcome your father back home. Next time do you want to try for something a little less dramatic?” he lightly chastised.

Adam smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “Now, Pa, what would be the fun in that?” He patted the left hand side of his bed to call Zeus to him. When Zeus clambered onto the bed Adam moved over to make room for him.

Paul looked from Ben to Zeus and back again before setting his gaze on his patient. “Adam, don’t you think that your dog is a little big to be up on the bed?”

Ben clasped his hand on Paul’s right shoulder. “If you can get Zeus off Adam’s bed you are a better man than I am. Since Zeus was a pup that has been where he has slept, right beside Adam. It annoyed me at first as Adam will attest to, but it was far easier to have the dog in here, rather than howl outside all night long and keep us awake.”

“Hey, Adam,” Hoss grinned as he entered his brother’s room with his hands full. “Hop Sing sent me up here with some of his special soup for ya. Says it’s got some of ’em ‘erbs an stuff in it.”

“Thanks. I think,” replied Adam as he sniffed the pungent odor of the soup. If the smell was anything to go by he was definitely not keen to taste it. To him it smelt awful.

“It can’t be that bad,” opinioned Ben when he saw the scrunched up look on Adam’s face. When he leaned forward to inhale the aroma he too found himself holding his breath.

“Be my guest, Pa,” Adam replied. While he normally enjoyed Hop Sing’s culinary delights, this was on that he had no intention of trying.

“He must a made if from them spices and stuff he got sent by his cousin,” surmised Hoss while he cleared the air in front of his nose with his hand.

“Why do I get to try it?” Adam asked of no one in particular before carrying on his deduction of what the soup reminded him of. “It smells like a mixture of old tea leaves and burnt grass which has been strained through an old miners sock.” Zeus clambered over Adam to where the bowl of soup was, took one whiff and whimpered, heading back to the other side of the bed. “See, if Zeus doesn’t want it and Hoss doesn’t want it, well it has to be bad.”

His non flattering descriptive remarks about the soup gained a round of raucous laughter from everyone in the room – that is everyone but Hop Sing.

“You no likey that is fine. But you no insult. Ancient Chinese medicine. I fix specially for you,” Hop Sing reprimanded. His intense gaze was enough to make Adam unconsciously move towards Zeus.

The room fell deathly silent until Adam gathered the nerve needed to respond to Hop Sing. “It was not meant as an insult, honestly it wasn’t,” he answered solemnly while he looked to his family and doctor for support. He could tell that they were keen for him to sort this problem out for himself. “Hop Sing, I apologize,” he offered.

“You eat soup, feel much better,” smiled Hop Sing. Deep down he knew that his oldest charge had not intended the comment to be an insult. If he’d had to tell the truth about the aroma of the soup he would have quickly agreed with Adam. In the mean time he was content to milk the situation for everything that it was worth. It wasn’t often that he got to have the chance to hold something over the oldest Cartwright son.

Reluctantly Adam took the proffered tray from Hop Sing and dipped the spoon into the bowl. He looked at the full spoon in hopes that the contents would evaporate before his eyes. No such luck. He closed his eyes and held his breath as he drank the contents.

While the rest of the family waited for Adam’s verdict on the taste, Hop Sing caught the fleeting look of satisfaction on his face. Adam continued with the charade that the soup tasted as bad as it had smelled while he consumed three more spoonfuls of the concoction. ‘Smells like Hell, tastes like Heaven’ he thought to himself, pleasantly surprised at the flavorsome taste of the soup. His palate had not been assaulted by the soup as he envisaged it would be.

“Well?” chorused Hoss and Joe.

“Hao. Hen gan xie, Hop Sing,” Adam smiled when he handed him the empty bowl.

“Bu yong xie,” smiled Hop Sing and discretely winked at Adam.

Shocked at the exchange between his brother and the Chinese cook, Joe scratched his head. “What did you just say to Hop Sing?” he asked.

“Yeah, Adam, when did you learn Chinese?” Hoss asked just as shocked as his youngest brother.

Adam then winked at Hop Sing and gestured at his brothers, “wo bu do-ng.”

Hop Sing smiled broadly and retrieved the now empty bowl from Adam before he exited the room.

Ben watched Hop Sing exit the room and then leaned in closer to his oldest son. “Okay, I’m impressed, when did you learn Chinese?”

“Hop Sing’s been teaching me for a while. I still haven’t learned enough to interpret everything he says when he gets in one of his moods,” laughed Adam. He abruptly stopped his laughter when his head felt as though it were going to explode.

“Adam?” Hoss asked when he saw his brother wince.

“I’m okay, Hoss, just a bit of a headache,” replied Adam.

“Well, young man,” Paul Martin spoke, “I think it would be a good idea if we all left and let you get some rest.”

Ben nodded his head in agreement and drew the drapes to darken the room and keep the sun’s glaring rays out. He knew from past experience that bright light seemed to intensify a headache. The darkness as he had learned had a claming effect.

“Hey, Adam,” Hoss called from his half in the room half out of the room position. “What did you say to Hop Sing?”

“I told him that the soup was good and I appreciated it and that you two did not understand Chinese,” grinned Adam and watched his younger brother open and shut his mouth as though he were going to offer a witty comeback.

“Pa, leave the door open a bit will you,” Adam called when his father start to shut the door. “Just in case Zeus needs to go out,” he added after he saw his father’s bewildered look.

“Sorry, son, wasn’t thinking,” apologized Ben tiredly. “Call out if you need something. I’ll be back up later on to check in on you.”

True to his words Ben did check on Adam and was relieved to see his sleeping peacefully with his left arm cradling Zeus’ head. He’d lost track of the times that he’d seen his son and dog asleep in that very same position. From the time Zeus was a pup he’d slept on the bed and kept a watchful eye over his two legged companion.

~~~~

“Ya reckon this is where that Cartwright fella lives, Slade?” whispered a voice.

“Well this here’s the Ponderosa ain’t it. So I reckon we got us the right place and I really want me that dog,” Slade replied.

“Whatchya want fer us to do?”

“Ethan, you and Charlie go around back and check the barn. See if you cain’t find where they’ve got that dog housed. I’m gonna take me a look inside, might turn into a real profitable night,” Slade smiled while he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“That dog ain’t out here nowhere,” Charlie stated softly when he saw Slade. “Ya reckon that they keep the dog in the house?”

“Well seein’ as we’ve come all this way why waste a good opportunity to see what they’ve got inside. Big ranch like this should have a lot of money around. And I still want me that dog,” Slade answered as he crept towards the front door with both Ethan and Charlie following.

Zeus pricked his ears up when he heard the latch on the front door open and carefully moved himself from Adam’s bed so as not to wake him. He padded along the hallway and quietly moved down the staircase. Through the darkness he made out the shape of someone standing near the desk where he’d often sat while his human worked. His exceptional hearing picked up on another noise that had come from the direction of the kitchen.

Ethan and Charlie had managed to get inside and made it past Hop Sing’s room without disturbing him. They were quietly giving each other thumbs up signals, congratulating themselves on how easy it had been to break in. Neither had seen Zeus watching them as they made their way over to where Slade was.

“Find anything?” whispered Charlie just as he had stopped short of walking into the large desk.

“Nah, not yet,” Slade replied then turned his attention to the ornately carved cabinet behind the desk. “This must be where old man Cartwright keeps the money.”

While the three men worked hard at prizing the locked door open they were oblivious to the dog that had walked silently up behind them. The low guttural growl that broke the silence was unmistakable as were the white teeth that shone in the moonlit office.

“SHIT!” all three cursed in unison.

Zeus had silently crept up on the men as they been diligently working at breaking into the safe. He continued to growl and raised his top lip to show the ferocious looking fangs.

“S-s-s-slade, we found your d-d-d-dog,” Charlie nervously stuttered. He stepped back cautiously when he felt Zeus’ hot breath near his crotch. As Zeus moved in closer Charlie panicked and walk into Ethan.

“Oooofff! Watch it, ya clumsy fool,” Ethan moaned and pushed Charlie forward into Zeus’ path.

Charlie was unsure of what had happened between being shoved towards the menacing German Shepherd to ending up in his current position. He was on his knees and one hand while his right arm was clasped firmly between Zeus’ powerful jaws in a vice like grip. He cried out when he felt the dog apply pressure to his already painfully sore arm.

In effort to save his friend from being further bitten by the dog, Ethan grabbed a photo frame from the desk and struck at the dog. Zeus released Charlie’s arm and barked savagely at Ethan before he sunk his teeth into Ethan’s left leg.

The loud barking had woken the upstairs occupants of the prestigious family home. As they came from their rooms, Ben, Hoss and Joe collided with each other in their haste to find out what Zeus was barking at. The trio had all had the same thought – Adam.

Ben was closest to Adam’s room and looked inside to find his son still asleep and blissfully unaware of his dog having disrupted the household. “Adam’s okay,” he said in response to his two younger son’s silent question. “He’s still sleeping comfortably. More than likely as a result of the pain medicine that Paul gave him,” Ben said as he motioned for his sons to follow him.

Although it was dark that moonlight had illuminated the interior of the house enough for them to see where they were going. Zeus’ constant growling had also directed them to where he stood guard over the three would be burglars.

“Hey, mister, call your dog off,” cried Ethan to Ben in a pain filled voice. The strong jaws around his leg had been unrelenting in pressure.

“You just stay right where you are and he won’t bite you any more than he has to,” growled Hoss. Finally his eyes adjusted to the lamp that Joe had lit and he could see the source of the intruder’s discomfort. “Hey, your them fellas that attacked my brother in town,” he added in a menacing tone when he recognized the men.

“Is that right?” boomed Ben’s voice. “You are responsible for attacking my son.”

“It…, it… it wasn’t me. It was Slade. He was the one that ..” Ethan started to say.

“Stop your snivellin’!” hissed Slade. He looked at the older man before him and put his hands on his hips. “Yeah, it was me old man. So what are you going to do about it?” he challenged.

“THIS,” Ben replied. He clenched his right fist tightly and delivered a powerful punch to the side of Slade’s jaw and sent the man tumbling backwards. Slade was pout before he hit the floor while Ben shook his hand to try and stop it from hurting.

“I think you other two better stay where you are,” instructed Joe. His gun was leveled at Charlie’s midsection.

Charlie raised his hands in surrender and looked down at his friend when he continued to cry in pain. “Please, mister, call your dog off of my friend. He’s hurting him.”

“Zeus, drop,” ordered Hoss. He waited for the dog to release his hold on Ethan’s leg and repeated the command when Zeus continued to apply his grip. Again the command was ignored. “Pa?” Hoss asked.

Before Ben had a chance to order Zeus to release his hold, Adam called him from the top of the stairs. “Zeus. Release.” When he saw his dog release the intruder he reached out for the hand rail to steady himself.

Immediately Zeus responded to the command and joined his beloved companion at the top of the stairs.

“Good boy,” Adam congratulated him and patted him.

“Adam. Are you okay, boy?” Ben asked as he too joined his son at the top of the stairs.

“Yeah, Pa, just a little wobbly. What happened to your hand?”

“Never mind that, what are you doing out of bed?”

“Heard Zeus bark and raised voices. What happened?” Adam asked as he surveyed the scene below.

Hoss and Joe had secured two of the intruders and had pulled the third to an upright position near the desk. Hop Sing had joined in the activity and waved a meat cleaver in front of the two men who were now bound.

“Take it easy with that knife, Hop Sing. We wanna get these fellas to the Sheriff’s office in one piece,” grinned Hoss when he saw the two men flinch as the meat cleaver just missed their noses.

Slade had come to and had begun to moan about his jaw being broken. He was now trussed in much the same way as his cohorts. He was instantly quiet when he saw Ben’s dark eyes looking down at him.

“I’ve sent one of my men to get the Sheriff but before he gets here I want to know what possessed you to break into my home?” Ben asked.

“Money,” Slade replied quietly. He did not want to disclose the real reason. To him this was a minor setback and it would give him time to rethink on how to get the dog he desperately wanted.

Duly Roy Coffee arrived and shook his head when he saw the three prisoners before him. “When will you boys ever learn? Ain’t nobody messes with a Cartwright and comes out on top,” he sighed as he moved the sorrowful looking trio towards the waiting wagon.

“That’s what you think,” Slade muttered to himself.

“I’ll see you later, Ben, boys. Look after yourself, Adam,” Roy called from the wagon.

Ben and his sons watched as the wagon left the yard before returning indoors to work out the work roster for the day.

A few weeks later Ben was proudly watching his oldest son as he herded the cattle into the waiting pen. He had seen Adam call Zeus and give him commands to head the cattle in the direction he wanted them.

It had become a familiar sight for the ranch hands to see and now were more impressed than Barry Walters. “Sure is a fine dog that Adam has himself,” he said. “You better watch your job there, Joe,” he added when he saw the youngest Cartwright son approach. “Your Pa might want to trade you in for another dog,” he joked.

“You know, Barry, that isn’t such a bad idea,” Ben grinned as he slapped his youngest son on his back and nearly knocking him over. “Think of the possibilities. The only wage that I’ll have to pay is food and shelter.” He caught the look of disbelief in Joe’s eyes as he continued. “Of course I wouldn’t have to worry about him brawling with his brothers, or drinking and gambling more than he should. In all, it’s not such a bad idea. What do you think, son?”

Joe gulped and stood with his mouth wide open after listening to his father’s suggestion. “Pa, you wouldn’t. Would you?”

“How about you get on over there and help your brother pen the cattle and I’ll think about it,” laughed Ben. He was surprised when Joe wasted no time in getting back to work with his brother.

After several weeks of a hectic work schedule Adam approached his father about taking some time off for himself. He’d been prepared to argue that he had worked long hours making repairs to fences, branding stock and driving cattle. When his father readily agreed to his request to get in a last hunt before the Winter snows finally set he was taken aback.

“Pa, are you feeling okay?” Adam asked suspiciously of his father.

Ben chuckled to himself when he saw his oldest son’s confused expression. “Yes, son, I’m perfectly fit and well. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but every other time I have asked for time off you’ve managed to find extra chores for me to do or a contract that needs my input. It’s not like you to give in so easy, without a fight about my wanting time off,” Adam replied and watched his father paw over the documents on his desk. “Pa, are you sure you’re okay?” Adam asked again.

“I’m fine. Now would you quit worrying about me and enlighten me on where you intend to go hunting.”

“I thought I’d go up to the high country. When I was up there a few weeks back I saw signs of deer,” said Adam. He leaned over to have a look at what document his father was reading. “Must be some big stags up there too,” he quickly added when he saw his father glance up at him.

“Oh?” Ben questioned and folded the page in half that he had been working on.

“Last time I was up there, I saw some velvet quite high up on the trunks of the trees. Must be from the older stags, anyway would sure be nice to have some venison again.”

“Did I hear you mention venison, older brother?” Hoss asked as he made his way from the dining room munching on an apple as he approached his brother and father.

Ben smiled and leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. “Hoss, you certainly do have wonderful hearing when it’s anything to do with food.”

“Want some company on your huntin’ trip?” Hoss asked.

“To be honest I wasn’t planning on taking anyone hunting with me – just Zeus,” Adam replied. He saw the bitter disappointment in his younger brother’s face and sighed heavily. He put his hand on Hoss’ massive shoulder and squeezed it. “How about you and I go hunting together, next time?”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” mumbled Hoss. It had been some time since he and his oldest brother had gone hunting together. It seemed to Hoss that lately Adam spent more and more time with his dog and not enough time with his brothers. He admonished himself for getting jealous over Zeus and was lost in his own thoughts when his father’s voice finally penetrated them.

“….next time. Besides I need you here at the moment,” Ben said.

“Huh?” Hoss asked with a dumbfounded expression.

Ben wondered if Hoss had been paying attention to him so repeated what he’d said. “I said that you and Adam can go hunting together next time.”

Adam nodded in agreement. “Hoss, I promise I will be just you and me next time.”

“What about Zeus?” Hoss asked. His tone was as blunt as his question had been. As soon as the thought had been vocalized he mentally kicked himself. ‘Good going you stupid ox. Now your brother thinks you’re jealous of his dog.’

The look of anguish on Hoss’ face did not go unnoticed by Adam. “Zeus?” he asked.

Hoss looked down at his feet and scrunched up his face. He couldn’t think of anything to say to Adam that wouldn’t sound sarcastic. He hadn’t meant to verbally announce his jealousy over the dog and wished that he could take back his childish question.

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled loudly. “I guess I have been spending more time with Zeus than with you and Little Joe. I didn’t mean to make it seem as though he were more important to me. It’s just that…” his voice trailed off.

“He’s become as bigger part of your life as we have,” supplied Hoss. His statement was answered with a doleful nod from his brother.

“I guess he has. I just didn’t realize how much until you pointed it out,” replied Adam. He ran his hand over his face while he thought of a way he could rectify the situation. Finally he came up with a solution, it wasn’t the most desirable one, but one that would pay homage to the age old adage of killing two birds with one stone. “Pa, what work did you have that was so important for Hoss to get done right now?”

“Why do you ask?” Ben questioned, he had seen the look that Adam wore many times before and knew that he was up to something. He leaned forward on his desk with his chin resting in his left hand.

Adam cleared his throat and looked from Hoss to his father. “Pa, if I help Hoss with the work that you need him to do and we get it completed would you permit Hoss to come hunting with me?” At thirty two years of age he thought it ridiculous that he should have to ask his father’s permission for his requests. He had taken a lot of ribbing about it from his friends but hadn’t let it worry him greatly.

“I see,” Ben answered. He was just as shocked by Adam’s proposition as much as Hoss had been. “I thought that you needed time away for yourself.”

“Well, Sir, I guess I’ve been having quite a bit of time to myself of late. Although I’ve been here I haven’t exactly been working as closely with my brothers as I normally would have. I guess Hoss is right – I have been spending a lot of time with Zeus.”

“Aw, dadburnit, Adam I wasn’t gettin’ at that or nothin’,” Hoss tied to apologize.

“I meant it, Hoss. I would like to have you come along with me, if Pa can spare you,” Adam said and fixed his gaze on his father. He silently waited until his father replied.

“If and only IF the work is completed and thoroughly then you can both have some time off,” smiled Ben.

“Thanks, Pa,” chorused both Adam and Hoss.

While the two brothers walked from the room to start on the list that their father had given them they argued as to who was going to break the news to Little Joe. In the end they agreed that their father could tell their youngest brother that the bulk of the ranch chores would fall on him.

“You two boys have everything that you need?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, Pa, we’ve got all that we need. We’ll see you in four days,” Adam replied and looked at his youngest brother. “And you behave yourself while we’re away.”

“Well without you two big lugs around that should be pretty easy. You two just remember to bring home some venison,” chuckled Joe. He stood beside his father and waved to his brothers as they rode out of sight with Zeus running along beside them.

Adam and Hoss had been riding for the better part of the day when they finally reached the area that they wanted to hunt in. They had agreed to make camp in a small clearing that was sheltered by several pine trees and shrubs. Hoss had taken care of the horses while Adam had lit a small fire and started dinner. Hop Sing had given them the ingredients needed to make a stew and all that was required was to add water and cook. The aroma of the stew reached Hoss’ nostrils which in turn caused his stomach to rumble.

“Adam, when is that strew gonna be ready? I’m so hungry I could eat me a bear.”

“Another ten or fifteen minutes Hoss,” Adam grinned. “You seen Zeus?”

“Looks like he’s caught himself his own dinner tonight,” chuckled Hoss. He pointed to his left where Zeus was proudly holding a rabbit in his jaws. “Didn’t you tell him that we weren’t starting the huntin’ until the morning?”

“He’s ambitious,” returned Adam. “Come here Zeus.”

“Well iffen Zeus is gonna start early on the huntin’ I reckon that we need ta get us some dinner and some shut-eye. Wouldn’t be right to tell Pa that we got shown up by a dog. And ya know, there ain’t no way Lil’ Joe would let us forget it either.”

“That’s a point,” Adam nodded and prepared the rabbit for Zeus. “I hope he isn’t feeling to bad about having to stay home with Pa…” Adam started to say before he was distracted by a noise.

“What is it?” Hoss asked when his brother suddenly stopped mid-sentence to concentrate on a noise in the distance.

“Nothing. Must have been hearing things,” Replied Adam. He could have sworn that eh heard voices but put it down to the light wind playing tricks with his hearing.

After a supper Adam and Hoss lay back on their bedrolls and talked until sleep overtook them both.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Ya better be careful with those traps Slade,” cautioned Ethan. His repsonse from Slade was a flippant gesture of his hand as he continued with his work.

Since their release from the Virginia City jail, Slade, Ethan and Charlie had been involved in the trade of bear skins. They had begrudgingly take Roy’s advice about keeping away from Ponderosa land and from the Cartwright family, but as the bears moved on so did the need to encroach on the forbidden land.

“Don’t you worry about me, you just keep an eye open for any sign of those Ponderosa riders. No doubt they’ll be on the move around here soon to round up any strays,” said Slade.

Like their counterparts to the East of them, Slade and his crew ate supper and turned in for the night with hopes of a rewarding hunt in the morning.

~~~~~~

“Zeus, come here boy,” Adam whispered conspiratorially. He coaxed his dog to come to where Hoss still slept and pointed to his brother’s face. Hoss had pursed his lips as though in the act of kissing someone. Adam bit his bottom lip to keep himself from laughing out as he positioned Zeus near his brother. He had to turn his head away and laugh quietly to himself. Once he was composed again he carried through with his plan.

He gently placed a little bit of food on Hoss’ face and had to fight to remain silent as his plan came in to fruition. Tears had streamed down his own face and he was on his hands and knees, his body in silent convulsions as Zeus licked the food from Hoss’ face and Hoss still dreaming of a pretty girl. He laughed even harder when he saw his brother’s massive arm pull Zeus even closer to him in a loving embrace.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Adam dropped to his stomach and rolled onto his back with his arms wrapped tightly around his midsection. When he heard his brother speak in a delicate tone to Zeus he totally lost any form of self control that he had and laughed heartily.

The warm breath on his face was sensual. The soft nudges were passionate and alluring. “Oh darlin’,” mumbled Hoss as he reached his arm round to pull the body closer to him. “Mmmmm feels good …, don’t stop now…come closer,” he continued with his eyes still closed. When he felt resistance to his pull he opened his eyes in time to see Zeus’ big tongue lick him from chin to forehead. To his side he could hear laughter. With a turn of his head he found the source – his brother. “ADAM!” he hollered and pushed the dog off his chest.

Adam was still in the throws of raucous laughter when he felt the sun’s early warmth disappear behind a huge cloud. He shuddered slightly when he realised that it was not a cloud but his brother. “G-g-g-good morning,” he stuttered as he tried to back away from Hoss.

“Here, let me give you a hand,” Hoss offered and reached down and pulled his brother to an upright position before he could object. “Ya think ya purty funny don’tcha?”

Adam rubbed his jaw and chewed on the edge of his index finger while he thought of an answer. “Um… well,” he started to say before he rubbed his hand over his face again. “Well, it’s like this,” he said as he tapped his chin and looked at his brother. “Say how hungry are you? I thought I cook us up some of that bacon that Hop Sing packed for us,” he said as he masterfully changed the subject.

At the mention of food Hoss released his grip on his brother’s shirt collar and smacked his lips together. “Sounds mighty fine to me.” As his brother walked towards the campfire he realised that he’d let him get away without giving him a reasonable explanation. He shrugged his shoulders. “Iffen he didn’t dang well do that to me again,” Hoss muttered to himself before wiping away any trace of dog hair from his face.

As the morning passed the brothers had managed to track what they thought would be a sizeable stag. They’d heard it bellow deep within the wooded area and had seen velvet rubbed onto the trunks of trees. Adam had judged that by the amount of velvet left behind that the stage had a full rack of antlers and be quite sizeable.

“Over there,” Adam said. He pointed to his right where there was a small clearing. He waited for his younger brother to get the deer in sight. He watched as Hoss took careful aim and slowly squeezed the trigger of his rifle. At the last moment the stag turned and ran as the bullet impacted into the trunk of a nearby tree.

“Damn!” Hoss cursed and shook his head.

“Hoss, don’t worry about it. We’ll find him again,” Adam assured his brother.

“I hope you’re right,” mumbled Hoss as he kicked at the ground. Something rattled under his foot and out of curiosity he bent down to see what it was. “Hey, when did Pa give the order to start huntin’ bear again?”

“He didn’t,” replied Adam. He and his father had spoken of the bears that had been reportedly seen in the area but had both agreed that until the bears became a problem they wouldn’t hunt them. They had made an arrangement with the Paiute that any bear found near Paiute land would be hunted at Chief Winnemucca’s discretion.

“Whaddya reckon we oughta do about it?” Hoss asked.

“We split up and if we find any traps, destroy them. You go that way and I’ll go this way,” Adam replied as he directed Hoss to go right. “We’ll meet back here in two hours – be careful.”

“I will be, you too, ya hear?” warned Hoss.

Adam had begun to think that the only bear trap that he was going to find was the one that had been found earlier on. After thirty minutes of searching he had not located another trap and hoped that Hoss was having better luck than he was.

“Another thirty minutes, Zeus and then we head back to the camp,” Adam said to his four legged companion.

Just as Zeus barked in reply, Adam heard the ominous growl of a bear. He bent down and pulled Zeus by his collar to restrain him from going after the bear. “ZEUS!” he growled as he fought to pull him back. As he and Zeus had begun to slowly creep backwards he put his left foot in the middle of a bear trap.

He let out a blood curdling yell as he felt the strong metal jaws close around his ankle and heard the sickening crunch of bones break. As the forest floor raced up to meet him he had no idea if Zeus had done as he was told or had gone after the bear.

~~~~~~~~

“I sure hope Adam is havin’ better luck than me,” Hoss spoke to himself. He’d come across one trap and had destroyed it but since he’d founds that one he hadn’t located any others. He was about to give up his search and return to camp when he saw what looked like white canvas.

On closer investigation he realised that he’d stumbled across a campsite that comprised of two tents and a campfire. Cautiously he searched the camp for any signs of life before he ventured into the tents. The first tent was as he had expected – bedrolls, food and water. The second tent contained bear skins. Hoss sadly shook his head at the site and out the corner of his eye saw movement.

A small bear cub was crying pitifully at its dead mother as it tried to suckle. Hoss approached the cub with caution for although still a baby it could inflict serious harm. As he tried to coax the bear out of the tent he heard the sound of approaching horses. He peered from behind the tent flap to see it was Slade and his cohorts. “Great. Next time I go left,” he mumbled when he saw two men approach with a freshly killed bear.

From his position he watched as the men deposited onto the ground an adult bear. The young bear he had been tried to coax towards him had seen the older bear and ran blindly towards it. “Damn,” he cursed. In an attempt to grab at the bear cub he tripped on some supplies and crashed heavily to the floor.

“Hey! What was that?” Ethan asked.

“I ain’t sure but it sounded like it come from in the tent,” Charlie replied. He readied his rifle and cautiously entered the tent. “Well whadda we have here then?” he asked, his gun firmly trained on Hoss’ massive frame.

Hoss swallowed and opened his mouth to offer some form of explanation. Before he could get the words out Ethan pushed him towards the door and into the path of Slade.

“Your one of them pesky Cartwright boys ain’t ya,” Slade snarled. He was annoyed that his secret campsite and bear skinning operation had been found. While he questioned the Cartwright before him he looked around for another of the family members. “What are you doin’ up here and who is with you?

Hoss wished that he had his older brother’s ability for remaining expressionless when questioned – he knew his face read like an open book. He bit his bottom lip while he tried to think of a satisfactory answer.

“I asked you a question and I expect an answer,” Slade taunted.

“Me and my brother up are here doin’ some huntin and if I ain’t back at our campsite in another ten minutes Adam’s gonna come lookin” for me,” Hoss replied. He felt a little better when he mentioned that his brother would indeed be looking for him. He knew that he was already overdue at their camp by a good twenty minutes and it wouldn’t be long before Adam started to worry.

“I’ve been wantin’ to catch up with that brother of your’s. He’s got somethin’ that I’m mighty keen to get my hands on.”

Hoss knew straight away what Slade was talking about and cringed at the thought of some harm happening to both Adam and Zeus. “Mister, what’s got you so dadburn fired up about my brother’s dog?”

“Ain’t ya heard,” Slade started to say. A twisted smile played over his face. “I need that dog for catchin’ me some bear. A dog like your brother has is a good huntin’ dog and with the right trainin’ it can make me a lot of money. You are goin’ to help me get him Get movin’.”

Hoss moved off in the direction of the campsite and mentally chastised himself for letting his guard down and allowing himself to be caught so easily. On the way he listened to Slade’s plans of how he intended to train Zeus.

“That’s bear baiting and it’s illegal,” Hoss replied, disgusted at the thought of what Slade had planned.

“Yeah, so what if it is? Do I look as though I give a damn?”

Hoss shuddered at Slade’s tone and thought back to what he had read about bear baiting. He and Adam had both had several discussions on the topic especially when eager ranchers were keen to hunt any bear that were worrying their stock. He recalled Adam telling him that bear bating was a bloody spectacle in which a bear is chained to the post in the cetnre of an arena and then harassed by specially trained dogs. The dogs were encouraged to bite and torment the bear. Although a popular form of entertainment in Britain for several hundred years it had been outlawed for reasons of excessive cruelty.

Adam had been disgusted to find out that some of their friends and neighbours were keen to reintroduce the sport and had surmised that the reasons for Adam getting Zeus was just for that – to kill bears.

“How much farther to your camp?” Slade asked. His words brought Hoss back to the present.

“Not far,” sighed Hoss. “Maybe another twenty minutes.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adam slowly became aware of a low growling sound and opened his eyes, scanning for the source. He shook his head in effort to clear the fuzziness that had clouded his mind and numbed his senses. His eyes finally focused on the object in question. It was Zeus. His dog stood protectively over him and bared his ferocious fangs at the black bear who dared to inch closer towards Adam.

The snow that had been steadily falling had begun to chill Adam, making his reflexes slow and chilling his already exhausted body. He cursed softly when he saw his rifle where it lay just outside of arms reach. He had to turn his body in such a way that he could not only grab the gun but also aim and fire without causing to much distraction to the bear. Gingerly he shifted his body enough to be able to twist and grab the rifle in one flowing motion. The pain of moving his ankle was enough for him to want to pass out there and then. Not having the time to aim properly he pulled back the trigger and fired. He prayed that the bullets would find their intended target. For a brief moment he felt the nausea quell inside him before he let himself relax once more.

Zeus continued to bark as the huge bear fell heavily to the ground. It’s life blood splattered the pristine white snow. Once he was sure that the bear would offer no further threat to his master he lay down beside Adam and nudged him with his nose.

Adam felt the bear’s last breath escape from its body as the bear fell beside him. He let out the breath that he had unconsciously held and raised his hand to stroke Zeus’ head. “Zeus, you gotta find Hoss. I need him. Go, Zeus, go,” Adam said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Zeus stood over his master and quietly whimpered. It distressed him to see his master in pain. When he saw Adam’s eyes close, he bent his head down and gave him a reassuring nudge before he turned in the direction of the camp.

Adam awoke to snow falling on his face. He savored a small piece for the moisture it offered. The wetness on the back of his throat was welcomed and made him feel less nauseous. He closed his eyes again, inhaled deep breaths and then eased himself up onto his elbows. What he saw made him want to pass out again.

The jaws of the trap had torn through his leather boot and dried blood coated them. He gently pulled his leg up towards his chest and cried out in pain when his movement was met with resistance. The trap was fixed to the tree with a chain that had a swivel and large ring. “Damn!” he cursed loudly in frustration. “Come on, Adam, think,” he berated himself.

He collected his scattered thoughts and tried a new approach. This time he moved his body painstakingly slowly towards where the trap was secured. He felt the chain go limp and the pressure removed from his broken ankle. “Upstairs for thinkin’, sunshine,” he chuckled when he’d thought of what he had done. Common sense had finally prevailed and instead of pulling his leg against the restrictiveness of the trap he moved his body to meet it. He shuffled himself along the ground until his back was near the trunk of the tree.

With the snow cleared from the pan of the trap Adam could see how it was designed. His foot was caught in the centre of the pan. The pan was so large that it looked like a frying pan to Adam. He clenched his teeth together and took in long breaths between them as he tried to prise the jaws apart. Already weakened from his injury, his remaining strength was soon gone after several fruitless efforts at separating the crushing jaws.

He’d seen this sort of trap before and had on occasion used them himself when bears had been worrisome to the livestock. From what he knew the trap compressed at five hundred pounds at each spring. Even a healthy man had problems opening the trap if he weren’t strong enough. Each movement brought with it a new explosion of pain and the threat of losing the tenuous hold that he had on consciousness. Again he searched for a way to free himself. He was growing colder in the falling snow and desperately wanted to get back to the campsite before nightfall. As a last act of desperation and will power he tried to prise the jaws apart with a small branch that he had found.

~~~~~~~~~

“Gun shots,” Hoss said. He was certain that he’d heard gunfire and by the looks on the faces of the men with they had hard it too. He quickened his pace in the direction of the gunfire.

“Hold it a minute there, Cartwright,” Slade said. “How do we know this isn’t a trap? Maybe your brother’s firin’ at somethin’ to make us go where he is.”

“Mister, my brother don’t even know that you fellas are out here. Hell, I didn’t know it was you fellas until I seened ya,” countered Hoss. He’d heard three bullets fired in quick succession, the standard signal that he’d recognized as a call for help. He was eager to move on towards where the gunfire had erupted – more so when he saw Adam’s dog, Zeus, not more than six feet from where he stood.

Zeus stood rigid, his hackles raised. His lips turned upwards to show the white gleam of his teeth. He continued to snarl as Slade advanced towards him. He lowered his body towards the ground and assumed an attack position.

“Cartwright, call that dog off,” ordered Slade.

“You wanted him, you call him off. Ain’t no one can do that but Adam,” Hoss replied, quietly pleased that Zeus would not back down from Slade.

“Don’t try and be smart, Cartwright, if ya know what is good for ya,” Slade rebuked. He walked towards Zeus with his gun leveled at him.

“Hey now, there ain’t no need for that,” intervened Hoss. He slapped the side of his leg and beckoned Zeus towards him. When the dog was within reach, Hoss grabbed his collar. When he felt Zeus tug against his hand he went in the direction Zeus had started to pull him. “What’s the matter, boy? Where’s Adam? Go and find him,” he encouraged.

Slade reached over and grabbed Hoss by his shirt collar. “Just where do you think you’re goin’?”

“Mister, my brother’s hurt and I intend to find him. And if you want this dog as bad as you say you do then you better let me go and find my brother. Or so help me I’ll turn this dog lose and you’ll never have him,” Hoss said, angered that Slade was hindering his search for Adam.

Ethan and Charlie shrugged their shoulders when Slade looked to them for support. Finally Slade relented and allowed Hoss to follow Zeus. “Well two Cartwrights are better then one. Besides if that dog won’t obey me, I’m gonna have pleasure destroyin’ it in front of his owner,” Slade reasoned with his cohorts. “If I caint have it – no one is.” His tone malicious tone worried his partners who gingerly stepped back from him.

After a short run, Hoss found his brother – still caught in the bear trap. “Adam!” he called. He saw the piece of wood that his brother had used to try and free himself, still wedged between the jaws of the steel trap. He discarded the wood and firmly but gently pulled the restricting trap apart. “Hey, one of you fellers help me,” he ordered. “Lift his foot out of the trap and be careful.”

Charlie did as he was instructed and helped the big man before him remove the offending object. He paled visibly at the sight of the wound that had been inflicted and made an audible gulp. “It’s real bad, ain’t it?”

Hoss nodded as he proceeded to assess the damage for himself. Charlie had been right, it was bad. “Adam? Adam? C’mon wake up,” he said as he tried to rouse Adam from his sleep. He was rewarded with a low moan followed by pain filled eyes that looked back up at him.

“Zeus, he found you,” coughed Adam. His throat hurt, parched. “I think it’s broken,” he continued and gave his brother a small grin.

“No? Really? I caint leave you alone for a couple a hours without you gettin’ yerself in trouble,” gently chastised Hoss.

“Speakin’ of trouble,” Adam responded, he jerked his head in the direction of Slade and his men. “Those our bear trappers?”

“They sure are… now how about you shut up while I take a look at your ankle,” Hoss replied. He took his knife and sliced the leg of Adam’s jeans to gain better access to the boot which he cut through with a great deal of effort. He had reasoned that to cut the boot off would be a lot kinder and less pain involved than to remove it over the injured bone. “Sure did yourself a lot of damage here, brother.”

Adam clenched his teeth when he felt his brother slide the remains of the leather boot off his foot. “Take it easy, Hoss,” he berated. He could feel himself start to lose the tenuous hold he had on consciousness. If not for his brother’s voice which roused him back to awareness he would have left himself slip into the welcomed darkness.

“Adam…, Adam…don’t you go passin’ out on me just yet. You gotta help me here. I need you to tell me where it hurts the most,” encouraged Hoss, gently tapping his brothers face with his fingers.

“Leave me alone,” slurred Adam. “‘m cold ‘n tired.” He shivered violently, his wet clothes chilled his body.

“No can do, pal. Stay with me here…just a few minutes more okay?” Hoss worked as quick as he could tending to his brother’s injuries before he succumbed once again to unconsciousness. “Mister, I need some help to get my brother back to our camp,” Hoss said.

“We’ll take him and you both back to our campsite. We got shelter there, besides we can’t have our merchandise spoilin’ on us now can we?” Slade glowered.

Hoss stopped what he was doing and looked up at Slade. “Whaddya mean by that?”

“Well, as fer as I can see it, your Pa’d be mighty happy to get you two back – alive. And I need me a safe passage off of your land. So you boys would be like my free ticket outta here.”

Adam cracked his eyes open a little and pushed himself up to a reclined position. “The only ticket you’ll get Slade is one to the nearest penitentiary.”

“Always gotta be the smart mouth, eh boy?” taunted Slade. He mentally chastised himself for being caught off guard by Adam Cartwright. He knew that the injured man had set out to rile him and he’d let him do just that. “Ethan, help him get his brother back to our camp,” he ordered, indicating to Hoss.

Between the two men Adam was supported enough that he could use them as human crutches and walk to where Slade and his men had their camp. After a few minutes, Adam conceded defeat and allowed his brother to support his full weight, unable to go on as he had been.

Hoss laid his unconscious brother on the cot in the tent and covered him with one of the bear skins. He was grateful to the small kindness that Slade had shown when he allowed Hoss to use one of the skins. He sat with his back against the side of the cot and beckoned Zeus to come to him. He let his own eyes close, the activity of the day had finally caught up with him.

“Zeus! Find Hoss…., go boy,” Adam called in his fevered filled sleep. His voice roused his brother from his own slumber.

“Adam. Adam, stop it.., you’re gonna hurt yourself,” soothed Hoss. He held his brother’s writhing form still, placed his hand on Adam’s forehead and groaned. “Damn!”

“Zeus,” Adam cried once more. His voice strained with the guttural cry, his breathing had become ragged and drawn.

“Adam, Shhhh. Take it easy. Zeus is right here – he’s safe Adam.” Hoss knew his words had gone unheard by his brother. He lifted his brother to a reclined position to ease the struggle for breath. He’d seen the onset of pneumonia before and knew that Adam was on his way to developing a full blown case. When he had found his brother he’d been covered in snow, his clothes saturated and his skin cold to touch.

“What’s the matter with him?” Ethan asked as he entered the tent. He saw the sweat that tickled down Adam’s face in small rivulets and how his body shook with fevered chills. “He’s real sick ain’t he?”

“Yeah, he’s real sick,” replied Hoss, his expression glum. “What’d you want?”

Ethan looked from Adam to Hoss and rubbed his hand over his chin. “Slade wants for you to write your Pa a note, tellin’ him that we want free passage off of his land. We don’t want no Sheriff or posse comin’ after us.”

“What makes you think that Roy will be lookin’ for ya?”

“Cause Slade said that he’d be after us and Slade ain’t wrong about much. Not for as long as I knowed him. He shot a fella near here, hew come up on us when we was skinnin’ a b’ar and when we went to make sure that the guy was dead, well he weren’t. Slade reckons that there fella would a made it to Virginia City and told the Sheriff.”

Hoss was amazed that Ethan had carelessly told him of the shooting and also thought of the usefulness it would serve. With Roy and his posse tracking the men high up on Ponderosa land, his father would want to come along. “Ethan, how come you told me all that information about Slade and what he done?”

” ‘Cause I want you to help me,” Ethan muttered.

Shocked at Ethan’s revelation Hoss shook his head. “You want for me to help you? But how? You got my gun.”

“I got yer gun here.. and if you help me, I’ll help you with your brother. Can you make that dog do what you want it to?” He answered as he gestured at Zeus.

“Why?”

“Well, iffen you can it’ll help me and you get outta here,” Ethan started to say. He laid out his plan to which Hoss readily agreed to go along with.

Hoss studied the now quiet man before him. “Just tell me one thing. Why are you doin’ this. Willin’ to risk your life to help me and Adam?”

“Just had me enough of runnin’, I guess,” replied Ethan. He shrugged his shoulders and continued. “All my life I’ve been searchin” for someone to accept me for who I am, not what I can do. Slade only wanted me for what I could do with a gun.”

“Well, Mister, bein’ fast with a gun ain’t everthin’. Sometimes it leads to a pretty short lived career. If you’re serious about a change of life maybe I can help you out some,” offered Hoss.

He stopped talking when he heard his brother moan. “Shhhh, take it easy, Adam.”

“What can I get you for him?” Ethan asked.

“ETHAN! You still in here!” bellowed Slade. He pulled back the tent flap and glowered at the man before him. “I thought I told you just to check on them to make sure that they hadn’t run off, not to socialize.”

Charlie sniggered when he heard Slade rip into Ethan. He’d always despised his counterpart and had on several occasions asked Slade to cut him lose from their partnership. He could see extra profits become plentiful without a third party. He was quick to wipe the smirk from his face when Slade cast a look in his direction.

“Charlie take Ethan and make sure the horses are secured for the night,” ordered Slade. He reached forward to grab Zeus and with lightening speed withdrew his hand before the dog could fastened his jaws around it. “Damn that mutt,” he cursed. He raised his rifle and took aim at the German shepherd.

“NO!” cried Adam. Through fevered eyes he saw the savage look on Slade’s face. Saw the look of hate he held for the dog that refused to obey him. “Don’t do it, Slade,” begged Adam.

Hoss was dismayed to see his brother so overwrought and knelt down beside him. “Adam, he won’t do nothin’ to Zeus, I’ll make sure of it. You mark my words.”

“Next time, Cartwright, next time,” muttered Slade. He turned and exited the tent, leaving the two brothers alone.

When Slade had gone, Hoss let go the pent up breath he had held. “He sure is one mean son of a ..”

“Hoss,” Adam coughed, his chest ached bitterly. “We’ve got to get out of here …., before…. the snow really sets in.” He fell back against the cot, exhausted.

b b b b b b b b b b b b b

“Think Adam and Hoss have had any luck with their hunting, Pa?” Joe asked. He’d reveled in his father’s undivided attention over the past few days, but the signs were clearly evident that he missed his older brothers.

Ben looked up from behind his leather bound ledger and smiled at his youngest son. “No doubt they are having quite an adventure and will come home with an story or two to embellish. You tired of your old man’s company already, Joseph?”

“Uh, no, no I’m not, Pa. It’s just that…” Joe began to say at a loss for words. His faltered sentence was met with raucous laughter from his father.

“Relax, son. I was only having you on,” laughed Ben. “Get out the chess board and I’ll give you a game or two.”

“How about best of five?” Joe asked, his mood brightened at the prospect of challenging wits with his father.

With the games drawn two each the third game was played with less haste than the prior games. Each player moved their opposing pieces with precision and strategies that saw a long and drawn out battle.

“Check and mate!” cried Joe, pleased that he had backed his father’s King into a well planned trap.

Ben looked around the board for a game piece that may be able to save his King from the impending peril and after several minutes, lay the King on its side and conceded defeat. “You have learned to play this game very well. You have become a worthy opponent,” he said as he congratulated his son on his victory.

“And I do believe that we agreed the loser would make coffee,” Joe beamed, still elated that he’d finally beaten his father.

The older Cartwright stood up from his chair and stretched. “And would there be anything that you’d require tonight,” he asked in a chrisp English accent. When he saw his son, rub his chin in a thoughtful manner, he reached out and lightly swatted his son’s leg. “If you want anything else you get it yourself.”

Joe laughed at his father’s actions and lounged back in the red leather chair. While he waited for his father to return he heard a constant pitter patter on the roof. ‘Doesn’t sound like rain,’ he thought to himself. Upon investigation he saw that it was the first snow of winter. “Hey, Pa, Pa, come quick.”

“Looks like Winter has arrived early this year. I expect your brothers will be home before the snow sets in,” Ben said as he looked up at the hills that surrounded the family home. “We’ll have to get the extra feed ready. I’d say we’re in for a busy day tomorrow,” he added, trying to alleviate the worry that Joe held for his brothers. He turned to walk back inside and stopped. “Joe, they’re big enough to look after themselves. They’ll be home soon. Come on your coffee’s getting cold.”

Joe sighed and followed his father inside. Deep inside he had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. A feeling that he couldn’t shake.

“Yeah, Pa. Guess you’re right,” agreed Joe, his voice low. Every so often he raised his eyes towards the door. The sound of the wind seemed to carry an ominous warning. He snorted at the idea that the breeze was the bearer of bad news and settled once again by the fire. The warmth it gave comforted him and banished his fears. Contented he sighed, closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the chair.

Ben smiled at his youngest son. It wasn’t often that he got to enjoy the quiet time with just one of his sons. He cherished the time deeply as it allowed for unrestricted conversation. Father and son were each others main focus, their own centre of attention. The past few days had brought them both together again – interests shared and renewed, problems shared and halved. Lost in his own thoughts as to how each of his sons had grown, he closed his eyes and let his mind drift.

“Pa, hey Pa, wake up,” yawned Joe. “It’s real late.”

“Huh?” Ben asked as he struggled to rouse himself. “What time is it?”

Joe craned his head to read the time on the grandfather clock that stood near the main door. “A little after two. C’mon we better get on up to bed,” he replied in between long yawns.

Both Ben and Joe had been so relaxed and warmed by the fire, sleep had come easily. It had claimed them both, enveloping each man into its comforting embrace.

“G’night, Pa. See you in the morning,” Joe continued to yawn, “at a more respectable hour. I must be getting old, can’t handle stayin’ up late anymore.”

“Old? And what does that make me?” chortled Ben as he watched his son disappear up the stairs.

“Ancient, Pa…, real ancient,” Joe called back over his shoulder and hastened his ascent up the stairs.

Ben placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. “Get on up to bed with ya. And for that passing remark you can get up at five and start on your chores. Old indeed.” Before he retired to his own bed he finished securing the house for the night and extinguished the lamps.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hoss woke to the sound of his brother moaning in agony. He wished that there was more he could do for him to ease his discomfort. He pulled back the rug and checked Adam’s injured ankle. It was inflamed and swollen to twice its normal size. Blood continued to seep through the torn shirt he’d used for bandages. He rested a hand on his brother’s forehead and confirmed what he already knew – Adam had developed a fever.

“Here, take this,” Ethan said. In his hands was a cloth that he had wrapped some snow in. “I heard him cry out and I thought this might help with his fever,” he explained, his voice hushed.

“Thank you,” replied Hoss. He graciously took the proffered cloth and laid it on Adam’s forehead. “You better get ya self outta here, ‘fore Slade notices that you’re missin'”. Concern for his new ally evident in his voice.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders and hunkered down beside Hoss. “Don’t worry about me. I was meant to be on guard duty anyway. How’s your brother doin’? He don’t look to good.” He looked down at the injured man when he heard him moan again.

Adam’s eyes opened to see two blurry images looking down at him. “Thirsty,” he mumbled.

Hoss held the canteen to his brother’s lips and lifted his head. “Not to fast …, just take it nice and slow.” He let Adam drink enough of the cool liquid and laid him back down on the cot. While his brother remained still, Hoss made his way down to the other end of the cot.

The makeshift bandages had been saturated with the blood that had oozed from a ragged, gaping wound. Adam clenched his teeth but was unable to stop himself groaning in agony as Hoss carefully re-examined the injury. Adam reached out blindly and gripped Ethan’s arm as another wave of pain washed over him.

“I don’t got a choice, Adam. I gotta set this ankle. It’s bleedin’ too much for me to do anything. Ethan, I’m gonna need your help,” ordered Hoss. He looked at his brother who had cringed at the idea of having his ankle touched. “It’s the only way, Adam,” he said gruffly, trying to convince himself. He flexed his hands a couple of times to stop them trembling and gently placed them on Adam’s injured leg. “I won’t lie to you Adam, this is gonna hurt.”

Adam turned his head away and inhaled deeply through his mouth. His lungs protested at the sudden intake of air. He gripped the sides of the cot, his knuckles whitened visibly as he did so. He felt his brother’s meaty hands as they wrapped around his calf muscle and his foot. He wanted to escape the pain, to make it stop. It felt like hell. His body twisted at Hoss’ slightest touch. He tried to sit himself up, to push his brother’s hands away from his leg.

A heavy weight across his chest stopped his movements. Adam opened his eyes to see Ethan holding him down by his shoulders. “What are you doing?” he gasped. Before Ethan could reply he moaned again, his eyes tightly shut as Hoss applied pressure to the broken bone.

“Adam, I’m sorry but it’s gotta be done. We ain’t got nothin I can give you for the pain,” Hoss said. He flinched at his own words. He wished there was something his could give him. A dose of laudanum. A doctor. Clean surroundings. His family. “This is gonna hurt like hell,” he apologized again.

Ethan squared his shoulders, looked at Hoss and back at Adam. He made a fist and brought it sharply downwards. It impacted with Adam’s chin with a resounding whack. Adam’s futile efforts to move himself away from Hoss immediately ceased. Unconsciousness claimed him as soon as Ethan’s fist had found its mark.

“I’m sorry,” Ethan apologized, “but I knew you couldn’t do it and … I had to do it.”

Hoss rested his left hand on Ethan’s arm. “I know you had to. I’m grateful,” Hoss answered and smiled at him reassuringly. “While he’s out we can get this ankle set.”

Pleased with his work, Hoss sat down on the opposite cot. He watched as Ethan replaced the now heated cloth on Adam’s forehead with another snow packed one. He saw Ethan grimace at the bruise that had formed on Adam’s chin. “It had to be done. That’s the least of ol’ Adam’s worries.” He patted his thigh and called Zeus to him.

Zeus had remained still during the whole time that Hoss had worked on his master. Only when Hoss had finished his administrations, did Zeus approach Adam. He nudged his head against Adam’s arm and whimpered when he didn’t get a response. Now he sat faithfully at Hoss’ feet and rested his head on Hoss’ thigh.

“He’ll be alright, boy. We’ll get him home soon and get you a nice big juicy steak,” comforted Hoss while he patted Zeus. “Ethan, about your plan to get outta here. When can we do it?”

Ethan rubbed his hands across his weary eyes and stole a weary glance from behind the tent flap to where Slade and Charlie slept. “How soon before your brother can travel?”

“Well, I’ve set his ankle as best I can. There ain’t no way he can move by himself, I’ll have to carry him,” replied Hoss thoughtfully. He looked at his brother who slept fitfully on the cot. “We’ll leave as soon as we can – now if we can.”

“You get him ready,” Ethan ordered looking at Adam, “and I’ll get what we need. Meet me by the brook in five minutes and try and keep the dog quiet. Don’t want any noise to wake up Slade. My life’s on the line now – just as much as yours.”

Hoss nodded in silence as Ethan slipped quietly out of the tent. He then set about rousing Adam from his restless slumber. “C’mon, Adam, wake up. We’re gettin’ outta here.”

“Tired… hurt to much,” slurred Adam. His eyelids drooped as he started to drift off to sleep once more.

Hoss ignored his brother’s pleas and gently eased him to a sitting position. “Some help would be nice here,” he lightly chastised. “Adam, I’m gonna need you to help me.” He crouched down beside the cot and lifted Adam onto his shoulders. He winced when he heard his brother cry out in pain as his leg hit against Hoss’ side. “I’m sorry, Adam, I’m real sorry.” He adjusted his brother’s inert form and covered him with one of the bear skins.

“Thought you weren’t gonna make it,” Ethan said, his voice tight. He looked to make sure that Hoss had not been followed before helping him put Adam on the horse he’d readied.

“Didn’t have a great deal of cooperation form my older brother,” Hoss grinned. He laid the bear skin over his brother and secured them both to the horse.

“Sorry I couldn’t bring a saddle,” apologized Ethan. “Just gettin’ the horse was hard enough. They get a bit skittish at night. Cain’t say as I blame ’em none with all the bears round here.”

Hoss clapped his hand on Ethan’s shoulder and squeezed it. “When we get to our campsite you can take Adam’s saddle. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

As they neared the campsite, Zeus became more alert. He could hear the soft nickering of the horses and wagged his tail happily.

“What’s up with him?” Ethan asked, bemused at Zeus’ behaviour.

“Sport,” answered a soft voice.

Hoss stopped the horse that he led and checked on Adam. “Hey, brother. How are you feelin’?”

“Lousy,” Adam replied, too tired to offer more of a response.

“We’ll soon have you home,” encouraged Hoss. He then turned his focus to Ethan and answered his question. “Zeus grew up with Sport, Adam’s horse and well, its the damnedest thing but they just miss each other sommat terrible…” his voice trailed off as a lump caught in his throat.

“Hoss …, Hoss,” Adam called faintly. His leg ached relentlessly and he could feel himself starting to slip from the horse’s back.

Hoss turned to see his brother flail his arms about in a blind panic. “Adam!” his one word voiced his concern. With Ethan’s help he managed to right Adam on the horse and left Ethan to hold him there until he had saddled his own mount and clear the campsite.

Between Hoss and Ethan they maneuvered Adam onto Chub’s back. Hoss saw his brother’s pale skin, the perspiration that glistened in the moonlight and heard his ragged breathing. He felt his brother’s lithe body shake against his own. “Hold on, Adam. We’re on our way home.”

“How far away is your home from here?” Ethan asked as he clucked his mount into a faster gait.

“Normally it’s the best part of a days ride away. But with Adam the way he is it’s gonna take longer,” Hoss answered resignedly.

“And a good chance that Slade and Charlie could catch up with us before we get to the Ponderosa,” uttered Ethan, voicing Hoss’ unspoken thoughts.

“Yeah,” Hoss replied. He let out the word on a long sigh.

The night was favourable to the weary travelers as they made their way along the trail. The moon lit their way and a cool breeze blew off the river, small flakes of snow swirled in the breeze. They made good time and put a considerable distance between themselves and the men they knew would be following as soon as they realized that their captives were missing.

Hoss pulled Adam back against his chest and tucked the bear skin around his shoulders. His efforts were rewarded with a contented sigh from his brother.

As the dawn’s early rays crept across the sky, painting it with hues of a dusky red and warming orange, Hoss reined his horse to a stop. He nudged Adam awake and offered him some water to drink.

Adam lacked the strength or energy to protest his brother’s insistence and yielded to his requests. His parched lips welcomed the cool water to which he was thankful. He rested his exhausted body once more against Hoss’ massive chest and shivered.

“We’re gotta rest the horses for a spell. Ol’ Chub cain’t carry us no more,” Hoss said. “Ethan, can you help me get Adam down?”

Between the two men they managed to get Adam from Chub’s back without hurting him to much. Adam sat with his back against a fallen log while Hoss saddled Sport. He dropped his head onto his chest and drew in ragged breaths. His leg throbbed with an unmerciful ache which he wished would leave him alone.

“Adam… Adam,” he heard a voice filter through the fog that clouded his mind. His eyes opened and traveled upwards to see Hoss looking down at him. “Time to go?” he asked, his voice weak.

“Try to stand up and help me if you can,” encouraged Hoss. He placed a shoulder under Adam’s arm and attempted to lift him from the ground. Adam nodded weakly to show that he understood and made an effort to rise but his knees buckled beneath him and he would have fallen if Ethan had not been quick enough to grab him.

“Better get him up on his horse,” commented Ethan. “He doesn’t look to good.”

Before they got Adam up onto the horse he pitched forward and retched. His world had swayed and tipped, his lungs screamed, his head felt like it was going to fall off.

“Come on Adam, just a little bit more to go,” Hoss said as he led his brother to the waiting horse.

“Get lost,” retorted Adam, his words sounded thick and agitated. He was afraid he’d throw up again if he moved. He was at the end of his endurance, weary beyond belief. He never felt himself being lifted into the saddle and covered once more with the bear skin rug. He greeted the darkness with open arms and let himself succumb to its gentle embrace.

Hoss snorted and shook his head at Adam’s feeble attempt to fend his brother off and urged Sport into a canter. He wanted to get as much distance as he could between themselves and Slade.

“Better go wake up Ethan and get him to start cookin’ breakfast,” yawned Slade. He stretched his arms and legs and felt the bones click as he did so.

Charlie grumbled at Slade’s request and dragged himself from his warm bed. He was stiff, cold and hungry. The only thing appealing about getting up was the thought of breakfast to fill his empty stomach. He was definitely not a morning person. “I’ll do it, but then I’m goin’ back to bed.” He pulled himself from his bed with the intentions of returning soon, back to his warm bed and hopefully the resumption of the dream he’d been having.

“Just make sure Ethan’s got the coffee made and breakfast started before you come back in here,” grinned Slade from behind his blanket. He pulled it around him as he turned over to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

‘SLADE! SLADE WAKE UP!” hollered Charlie from outside the tent. “They’ve gone. Them Cartwrights and Ethan. They’ve gone.”

At the sound of Charlie’s shout of alarm, Slade bolted from his bed. “What do you mean they’ve gone?” he hissed, his eyes wide with fury. “Damn!” he cursed.

“They got away. Must a gone during the night,” Charlie reported trying to keep his gaze on Slade’s face and not at his present state of undress. “They can’t have gone far… only Ethan’s horse is missin’.”

“Well don’t just stand there…get the horses ready!” Slade ordered. He turned and went back to the tent to finish dressing.

Within a few minutes both horses were saddled and their riders ready to pursue their escaped prisoners.

“Any idea we’re they might a gone?” Charlie asked.

“You can betcha bottom dollar that they’ve headed back to the Ponderosa. You can rest assured of that,” snarled Slade. He was angry at himself for trusting that Ethan would watch over the Cartwrights. He silently vowed to end Ethan’s life for him when he caught up to him.

They pushed their horses hard through the snow that had steadily fallen over the morning. Frustrated Slade kicked viciously at his horses girth. The horse rebelled at the kick and reared on its hind legs sending its rider tumbling towards the ground. Free from his rider the roan made his break for freedom

“Slade, you alright?” asked Charlie.

“Just get my horse for me,” snapped Slade as he picked himself up off the snow covered ground and attempted to brush most of it away.

A short time later Charlie returned. No sign on the roan in sight. “Cain’t find yer horse anywhere,” he uttered. He extended his hand to Slade and pulled him up behind him on his own horse.

As the day wore on, Hoss continued to check on Adam. He hadn’t regained consciousness since Hoss and Ethan had put him up on Sport.

Ethan stole a concerned glance at the two men. Never before had he seen two brothers so close. Most of his friends had come from broken homes and had shared a common bond of wanting to fit in and belong somewhere. Regardless if it meant working outside the law and leading the life that they did. Now he wanted a change and reflected on what he had told Hoss about being tired of running.

Zeus ran quietly along side of Sport, with boundless energy. Occasionally he would bark at a rabbit that crossed their path. He chased a young rabbit over a rise and returned when Hoss called him. Obediently he resumed his place and continued on back towards the Ponderosa.

“Do you want to stop or keep going?” Ethan asked, when he saw Hoss check on Adam once again.

“I think it’d be best if with kept going. It’s only a short ride from here,” replied Hoss. He was anxious to get Adam back to the house as soon as possible. The sun that had trekked across the sky had begun to disappear behind the hills. Dusk had arrived.

True to his word it was only a short ride to the Ponderosa. He reined his horse to a halt at the hitching rail near the front door and called out to his family. “Pa! Little Joe!” he called.

Zeus scratched and barked at the front door to gain the attention of the occupants in the house while Hoss called out.

Ben opened the door and side stepped Zeus, making his way over to where Hoss sat atop his horse with his brother in his arms. “Hoss?” he asked, his voice quavered.

Hoss looked to his father for help, his eyes conveyed the anguish he felt. “Help me get him down, Pa. He’s hurt real bad and I cain’t wake him up.”

Joe Cartwright had followed his father outdoors when he heard his older brother call out. Ever vigilant of the threat of harm against his family, he had stopped to collect his gun from its holster. “Get down from your horse nice and slow,” he said as he looked at Ethan with contempt.

“Joe, take it easy. It ain’t what you think,” intervened Hoss. “Ethan’s been helpin’ us, so you just put that gun of yours down and give Pa a hand.”

Chastised by his older brother, Joe tucked his gun into his waist band, scowled at Ethan and did as he instructed. He was shocked when he touched Adam’s skin. It’s coldness sent a chill down his own back.

Once Adam was settled in bed, Ben set about instructing his sons what to do. “Joe, ride into town and get the doctor. Tell him it’s urgent,” he said, not taking his eyes off Adam.

“I’ll be back as fast as I can, Pa,” Joe replied and gave his father a reassuring pat on his arm.

Pain was his first sensation when the darkness began to subside. He heard his father call to him from afar. The voice penetrated the fog that surrounded his mind and made him struggle up towards consciousness, he managed to open his eyes to see the concerned face of his father staring down at him. He blinked and saw that Hoss and Joe were there, regarding him with concern.

“He’s awake,” Ben smiled at Adam’s confused expression.

“Been a long time comin’, but I’m mighty pleased to see you awake, Adam,” Hoss beamed.

“How long?” Adam asked in a dry cough, his voice husky from lack of use.

“Two weeks,” supplied Joe as he watched his brother intently.

Adam looked up at his father, realised how worried he’d been. How worried they’d all been. Was he imagining it or were there a few more gray hairs that hadn’t been there before on his father’s head. “Two weeks?” he asked incredulously and rubbed at his throat.

“Two weeks,” Ben, Hoss and Joe replied in unison. The relief that Adam was finally awake, evident in their voices.

Zeus crept up the bed and rested his head on Adam’s thigh. He like the human members of his master’s family was pleased to see Adam awake at long last.

After Ben had ushered his younger sons from the room he filled Adam in on what had transpired in the two weeks had passed. The fever that ravaged Adam’s body and how close they had come to losing him on more than one occasion.

Roy had taken a posse into the area where Hoss and Adam had been held captive but had found only the bodies of Slade and Charlie. The tents that had stored the bear skins had been torched and the bear skins gone. Roy had surmised that it was the results of a Bannock hunting party. They had killed the poachers and taken the skins for their own use. The bodies of Slade and Charlie had been brought back to town and buried.

Ben had decided not to file charges against Ethan for his part in the killing of the bears. He had listened to Hoss’ recount and learned that Ethan had risked his own life when he’d helped his sons escape. Out of gratitude and the ability to see that Ethan only needed to be shown acceptance, Ben offered him a job on the Ponderosa.

“Your brother has a lot of faith in this man,” Ben said as he pulled the coverlet around Adam’s shoulders.

“Remind me to thank Ethan,” Adam yawned, his voice trailed off as restful sleep claimed him once again.

“I will, son. I certainly will,” smiled Ben as he left the room. He offered a silent prayer of thanks that his son had been returned to him.

“See if you can manage some food now,” Paul Martin told him after he finished his examination. He helped Adam to sit up and handed him the tray of food.

In no time flat Adam had eaten the meal that had been supplied and had sent Joe downstairs to get some more food. “What? I’ve got two weeks to make up for,” he grinned when he saw his father’s mouth gape. “Just be thankful I don’t have Hoss’ appetite.”

Four days on and Adam was finally allowed out of bed. He sat at the table on the front porch with his casted leg propped up on one of the chairs and Zeus at his side. “Ethan, can I talk with you a minute?” he asked as he caught sight of the new ranch hand.

“I can’t thank you enough, for everything that you did for Hoss and I,” Adam said.

“You and your family already have,” Ethan replied. “You’ve given me a place to belong to. People I can truly call my friends and most of all a fresh start.”

 

 

The End