Summary:  In this third story of Adam and Selina, a painful memory from Adam’s past becomes a problem in his life twenty-four years later threatening his family, his business, and his future.

Rating: T   Word Count:  14,052

Selina Series

Fighting his Demons
Revelations and Revolutions
Birthright
A Promise Kept

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Birthright

Prologue

A girl’s tears could change a life. Seventeen-year-old Adam Cartwright was fighting that battle, but he was as stubborn as tears were relentless. Margaret Louise was sixteen and pretty, but she held no special appeal for him. They had been friends for a long time mostly because their families had settled in the Washoe area at about the same time. Now she held his hand and poured out her heart to him as if he were the only friend she had.

“Adam, I’m with child.”

“But you’re too young and you’re not married.” Even as he said it, he knew how banal and silly it was. He had tried with a number of attractive females as young or younger than Margaret. Although unsuccessful in achieving his ultimate goal, he had been intimate with some though not in a way that would cause them to be in the state she was in.

Sighing in exasperation, she was pointed in her next remarks. “Of course I’m not too young, and the problem of course is that I’m not married. He said he loved me. But he left.”

“Margaret, you have to tell your parents.”

“I can’t. They’ll send me away. I know they will. I heard them talking when Rosemary Carter was with child. Oh, everyone said she went to live with her aunt to learn the social graces, but we knew. She doesn’t have an aunt, or one who’s still alive that is. My parents said it was the best thing. They said she would have a chance at finding a decent husband that way.”

“You’re old enough to marry if you’re willing. Is there a young man you find attractive enough to be your husband and who would like to marry you? If your parents are agreeable, you could marry now and no one would care. Lots of people get married when she’s already with child. You’re pretty, smart, and nice. A man would be proud to have you as his wife, and he would be a lucky man too.”

Those words weren’t sincere either. Oh, he thought she was pretty, and she was smart enough. However, he found her more clever than thoughtful, and although she was pretty, she used that attribute to get things from men. Her being nice had a double meaning he didn’t want to discuss with her ever. Based on stories he had heard, she was far too nice with too many males. When he was busy doing his best to seduce young ladies he found to be suitable candidates for his first successful conquest, his friends advised him to take the easy route and take Margaret for a carriage ride or two and be sure to bring her a few expensive gifts. Both Ross Marquette and Carl Regan had advised him to do it as had Todd McCarren, but Adam guessed that Todd got his information from gossip rather than life experience as the other two had. The question she asked him then surprised him even if he worried she might ask and that was why he had been nervously talking so much.

“What about you, Adam? We’ve been friends a long time, and you did say I was nice, and pretty, and smart. You said a man would be lucky and proud to have me as a wife.”

Confident in what he had to say even if unsure what to think that she would ask him to do that, Adam had an answer for her. “Margaret, maybe at some other time, it might have worked, but with Marie’s death, I’m needed on the ranch and by my family too much. Pa is still talking sometimes that maybe I could go to school next year too.” He could see her reaction in her physical response long before she said anything.

“You were my only hope.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Being sorry doesn’t help. Lots of people will be sorry. For now, I’ll be the most sorry of all though. Maybe I should leave before they can send me away in shame.”

“No, you shouldn’t do that. It’s not the way to handle this.”

“What do you know about handling ‘this’ anyway? I’m sure you’ll never find yourself in this kind of position. You’re too perfect, aren’t you? I wonder what you really think of me. What kinds of things are you thinking that you haven’t said to me?”

Although Adam wanted to profess innocence on that, he couldn’t. She knew and turned to leave without a word. She hoped he might show some sympathy and call her back. He didn’t. By the time she got to her home, a righteous anger had built up inside and she wanted revenge on Adam. She wanted to strike out and hurt someone. Adam was the most convenient target. So she did first what Adam had told her to do and informed her parents of her condition. Of course, their immediate question was one she had been anticipating. She answered it with a statement that would let them draw their own conclusion.

“I asked Adam Cartwright if he would marry me. He said no. He won’t marry me. He had all sorts of reasons why he couldn’t. So I suppose you’ll send me away like RoseMary Carter got sent away by her family.”

“What? He said he couldn’t? Why that’s just wrong. He’s got a responsibility here. You go to your room and stay there. I don’t want nobody to see you, and I don’t want you telling nobody else about what you said to us neither, you hear?”

As Margaret Louise went to her room, she heard her parents talking. Her father’s voice was loud enough to carry so the whole family could hear every word as he repeated in similar words his earlier statements. As she had expected, both of her parents assumed Adam was the father of her baby. She sat in her room and waited. It didn’t take long to hear the door slam and then a short time later, there was the sound of a horse riding out. She peeked out the window to see her father riding in the direction of the Ponderosa. Guessing Adam wasn’t going to have a pleasant time, she had to suppress the smile that threatened to emerge and fight to bring some tears to her eyes. Digging her nails into her palms helped so that by the time her mother came into her room, she looked miserable enough and accepted the hug and then the education her mother gave her about what it was like to have a baby growing inside of you. It all sounded terribly unpleasant especially the part about staying indoors and wearing dresses to hide her condition. Life was about to get boring. Margaret Louise didn’t like boring. Her mother saw her stricken look and tried to cheer her a little.

“Now, it won’t be so bad once you and Adam marry. I’m sure his father will want you on the Ponderosa. They have a cook, you know. You’ll be treated so special and live so well. This could turn out very good for all of us, don’t you see? You marry into the richest family hereabouts, and we could work together with them Cartwrights. We could all do so well. I know it wasn’t planned, but maybe it couldn’t have worked out better if it had been.”

The problem of course was that Margaret Louise knew that Adam wouldn’t marry her even if his father wanted him to do that. She knew how stubborn he was, and he had already said no. He wouldn’t change his mind, and she guessed her father was finding that out on the Ponderosa.

“I am not responsible for your daughter’s condition.”

“She named you. She said you wouldn’t marry her.”

“I wouldn’t. She asked me to marry her, and I said no, but that had nothing to do with me being the father of her baby.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why else would she want you to marry her?”

“Because she doesn’t want you to send her away like RoseMary Carter’s family sent her away.”

By then, Ben Cartwright was alerted to the angry voices in the yard and came out from his house to see Curtis Mayweather accosting his son. An equally angry Adam was standing toe-to-toe with the man not giving an inch, but Curtis outweighed him by at least a hundred pounds. It looked like Curtis was about ready to use that advantage to pummel Adam too. Ben knew how to stop that. He roared.

“What in tarnation is going on here?”

Startled at first, Curtis turned and stepped back but turned his fury on Ben then. “Your boy got my daughter with child and now won’t marry her!”

“I did not so there’s no reason for me to marry her.”

“What? What happened?”

“You’ve got three sons. I would think you know very well what happened. Now you need to get your son to do the right thing by my daughter.”

“Adam, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I already said it. I am not the father of her child.” Adam was a bit shocked that his father even asked that question, and as his father stood there quietly, he began to get angry too.

“He’s lying. She named him.”

“What did she say exactly? Did she say I was the father, or did she say I wouldn’t marry her?”

“It’s the same thing.”

“No, it isn’t the same thing. She told me the father of her baby left. She wanted someone to marry her so she wouldn’t get sent away. She asked me to be that someone. That’s when I said no. She was upset with me because she said I was her last hope. I can only assume she misled you because she was mad at me.”

“Misled us? You saying my daughter is a liar too?”

“I’m saying she didn’t tell the whole truth.”

“It’s the same thing. You are a lowdown dirty cur. I think maybe I don’t want you in the family no matter what you done to my daughter and even if she wants you after what you done.”

“That’s just it. I didn’t do anything to your daughter.”

“Adam, are you sure you aren’t the father?” As Ben said the words, he knew he shouldn’t have, but the thought of the next generation was so compelling that he couldn’t help himself. A new life coming into their lives after the tragic losses seemed a heaven-sent boon. Seeing the look from Adam, Ben knew it was not to be, but more importantly, he saw his son’s anger.

“Curtis, my son is not the father.”

“My daughter says he is.”

“Based on what Adam has said, perhaps you need to question her more carefully.”

“Now you calling my daughter a liar too?”

“No, but isn’t it possible that she told you that Adam wouldn’t marry her and that you then assumed that meant Adam was the father instead of the friend she needed because the father has left like Adam has said?”

“Oh, damn, you’re trying to confuse me.” Curtis paused. “No, your whelp has to marry my daughter. It’s the right Christian thing to do. Anything else shames her, shames him, and shames you and me. Everybody here will think so.”

“Everybody here? You’re not going to tell people her outrageous story, are you?”

Hearing Curtis say that, Adam could barely control himself.

“Of course I am. It sometimes takes a whole community to get a boy to do the right thing especially when his pa ain’t doing the right thing as he ought to.”

Ben tried to be the voice of reason. “Now listen here. I think I have done the right thing here. I’ve heard you out, and I simply do not know that I accept what your daughter has to say. Let her come here and say that to Adam’s face. If she can do that, it would mean a lot more than an insinuation she laid down in front of her parents.”

“A what?”

“She said something to push you draw your own conclusion. Did she ever come right out and say Adam was the father of her baby?”

“Well, no, she didn’t, but that’s a hard thing to talk about for a girl after a boy took advantage of her.”

“Will you bring her here then to clear this up?”

“It’s awful late now.”

“First thing tomorrow?”

“All right. First thing tomorrow, and then that boy of yours better do the right thing by my daughter.”

Whatever Margaret Louise expected, it was not the furious father who returned. Curtis was smart enough to think over all that he had heard. Enough doubt had crept in that he confronted his daughter when he got home.

“You better not have lied to us. If you did, I’ll paddle you until you can’t stand for a month. I’ll not only send you away, I’ll not accept you back here when that thing inside you is born. There’s plenty of places where I can hire you out to work until you’re of an age to marry or I’ll find some man willing to take you as his wife and remove the tarnish from our family name. Tomorrow morning, you’re going to the Ponderosa with me and name Adam Cartwright as the one who got you in the family way. If you do, he’ll hafta marry you. If you don’t, then you’ll hafta face me and do what I told you.”

That night, Margaret Louise didn’t sleep much and by morning knew what she had to do. She was quiet and withdrawn until she got to the Ponderosa. When asked by her father to say who the father of her unborn child was, she cried. When pressed, she pointed at Adam.

“He . . . he . . .”

When the girl broke down in hysterical crying, her father pointed at Adam.

“There now. She named you.”

“No, she didn’t. She hasn’t said it yet. She can’t because it would be a lie.”

“You gonna force her to say the very words and shame her too?”

“I want her to say the words because I want her to say the truth that I am not the one.”

Looking at Ben, Curtis had only one thing left. “Can’t you make him do the right thing by my daughter? It’s gonna ruin her life ifn he don’t.”

“He says he isn’t the father, Curtis.”

“Then I am bound to do what I said I would.”

As Curtis drove his wagon from the yard, Ben addressed his son and got only a cold response.

“No, I am not the father no matter how much you doubt my word, and I will not marry her especially now that I see the dishonesty in her.”

“Son, it’s not that I doubted your word. It’s that I was trying to get Curtis to back down.”

“You asked me if I was sure.”

“I didn’t know if you had been with her.”

“I said I wasn’t. You need to trust me.”

“I do.”

“But not completely. I have work to do.”

With that, Adam stalked away. Ben hoped they could talk later because he guessed it was going to be a difficult few weeks if not months if Curtis did as he had threatened. In the barn, Hoss had heard the whole exchange. The night before, he had picked up on some parts of the conversation and now thought he had the story.

“Adam, I know you can’t be the father of her baby.”

“You do? You believe me then?”

“Of course I do. You don’t lie.”

“I wish Pa would remember that.”

“Besides Pa told me that a baby comes when a man is married to a woman and then they do that thing that makes a baby. You ain’t married to her so you can’t have a baby with her.”

“Hoss, that part of what Pa told you isn’t true. You can make a baby even if you aren’t married. Margaret Louise isn’t married, and she is with child.”

“Oh, yeah.” Hoss scrunched up his face as he thought. “Then Pa lied to me?”

“Maybe lied is too strong a word. He told you the story of how he wants things to be not how they happen sometimes.”

“Oh, I guess that’s all right then. Telling a story to help me understand is one thing. I don’t like the idea of Pa lying to me.”

“I guess we never like the idea that someone we love could be lying to us.” And Adam had a better understanding then of his father’s position although he wasn’t ready to accept it yet or at least in its entirety.

Over the next few weeks, Adam did need his father’s support. Ben stood up for his son at every point. When women hurled jabs at him, Ben reminded them of their supposed Christian beliefs. When men blocked the wooden walkways in town forcing Adam to walk in the muddy street, Ben would accost them and ask how they would feel if their son was wrongly accused. Ben suggested he go to the saloon with Adam on their trip to town for supplies expecting his son to face some rigorous challenges there. What he heard shocked him.

“Hey, Adam, glad she said it was you instead of me. Could have one anyone of a dozen, but she decided she wanted the smart, rich, handsome one. Why do you suppose that is?”

Ross laughed then at his own humor, and others joined in including two hands from the Mayweather ranch. Carl was there and said about the same thing offering to buy a beer for his friend.

“I’ll buy you a beer, but I gotta say, you kept the whole thing a big secret. I never knew you was ever with any girl like that especially Margaret Louise. You always went for the more, shall we say, modest girls.”

“I was never with her either.”

“Really?”

“Then why did she say it was you?”

“I guess she was terrified to tell her father it could be you or Ross or one of these other yahoos.”

Slapping Adam on the back, Carl laughed and pointed at Ross agreeing with Adam. There was more laughter from the others as Ben remained quiet getting a pretty clear picture of what kind of girl Margaret Louise was, and realizing his son was quite different from his friends. When they finished their beers, father and son left the saloon and headed for home. Ben waited until they were out of town before engaging his son in conversation.

“You never said a word about Margaret Louise and her behavior. From what I heard, it would have been easy for you to defend yourself by simply informing her parents of her activities. Why didn’t you?”

Snapping the reins to keep the team going, Adam looked straight ahead. “There was no need to hurt her. I can take it. She’s got enough of a load to carry.”

“Even after all she did to you, you can be that merciful to her?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s the shameful way I’ve been taught to be.”

There was a hint of a smirk there. Ben saw it and wrapped an arm around his son’s shoulders. He had never been so proud of his son. A few weeks after that, Adam got the news that he was accepted at school if he still wished to attend. Ben said it was time for him to go because he deserved and needed that education. But that wasn’t the only reason Ben wanted him to go. It was because his absence would calm the situation in town. By the time Adam returned, Ben hoped it would all be a dim memory at best.

Mostly it seemed that it worked that way until the story reared up again twenty-four years later.

 

Chapter 1

The family didn’t heed it at the time, but when Joe Cartwright rode home from Virginia City and announced that he had met a self-proclaimed old friend of the family in town, they should have taken it as a warning instead of information.

“I don’t remember her, but she introduced herself and said to pass along to everyone here that she was back. It’s Margaret Louise Mayweather. I recall the Mayweather family and that ranch, but I don’t remember any Margaret Louise. I know the parents died of influenza or yellow fever. Anyway then all the children ended up going off to different relatives and the ranch was sold. Who’s this Margaret Louise anyway?”

There were no smiles from Adam or Ben even though they clearly recognized the name, and the one Hoss had disappeared. Joe guessed that there was bad news in the greeting he had brought, but clearly, his family wasn’t ready to talk about it.

“She left when you were about six, I guess. It was before Adam left for school. I never expected her to come back here.” Adam’s voice was flat, the tone he adopted when he didn’t want to give away how he was feeling.

Joe looked to his father and Hoss but got no more explanation. He waited until Adam and Ben walked to the house before starting to grill Hoss.

“Joe, I was only about eleven when there was all the trouble with her. I know she said Adam was the father of the baby she was gonna have. He said he wasn’t. Pa and her pa got into a real tussle about it. There was some trouble at first between Adam and Pa but I don’t know what exactly that was. Adam went off to school and that was that, I guess.”

“If he said he wasn’t then he wasn’t.”

“I know that and you know that, but now I think if I remember right, that mighta been the trouble between him and Pa. I don’t think Pa was a hundred percent sure at first. You know how that woulda rankled Adam.”

“Oh, yeah. So I guess it would be best if we didn’t talk about this at all. It’s likely to open up old wounds.”

“That’s how I see it.”

Nothing more was said at least on the ranch. That didn’t mean the story didn’t start to circulate again. There were additional warning signs for Adam but he didn’t realize what they were. Selina was about seven months along in her pregnancy so she was at the quickening stage and the family was all aware of her state. She and Hoss’ wife Linda had planned at one point to have a dress shop in town, but now Linda was with child too although the family didn’t know that. The two ladies began focusing their energies on preparing for the arrival of Selina’s baby and in activities related to church and social activities in town. It kept them very busy which Adam and Hoss thought was very good for them. At least it seemed that way to Adam until Selina started to become cool to him.

It was their pattern to spend the weekends on the ranch and the days of the week in town so that Adam could attend to business there. The exceptions were when there was something important to do on the ranch and Adam was needed. That didn’t happen often as Adam was committed to working on the railroad spur connecting Virginia City to the main railroad line. It was a two-year project and required most of his time. On a Monday morning as Adam packed, Selina surprised him.

“You’re so busy in town, and I have so much to do here that I thought that I would stay on the ranch this week. You can go ahead to town and I will see you on Friday.”

“Selina, we agreed that our lives would be split between the ranch and a life in town. Besides, you’re my partner in this. You know I need your help.”

“That was before this.” She put her hands over her belly playing her ace in the hole. “You could hire someone to be your clerk.”

Although Adam wanted to argue, he needed to get going and an argument with Selina who was as stubborn as he was would not be short.

“All right, but this issue is not settled. You are far more than a clerk to me. We will talk about it on Friday.”

Letting the issue dominate his thoughts on the way to town, Adam went directly to his office because there was no reason to go to his house if Selina was absent. Waiting at his house for over an hour longer than the time he was usually expected to arrive, Margaret Louise finally gave up and returned to her hotel room. She had wanted to surprise Adam in front of his wife to embarrass him and probably put him in an awkward position. That would have been her first round with him, but for some reason, he had managed to avoid it. Well, she had other surprises for him, and he wouldn’t avoid all of them. If only she had known, she would have been quite pleased to know her first ploy was working even better than expected.

On the Ponderosa, Ben was surprised when Selina stayed when Adam left. She and Linda spent the morning working together. After lunch, Selina was tired and went to take a nap. Ben decided it was time to find out why she was separated from her husband. Linda wasn’t very cooperative.

“She’s in the family way. I guess she feels that her place is here getting ready for the arrival of her baby.”

“It’s Adam’s baby too.”

“Yes, of course, their baby.”

“And she has many months to go. Does she plan to separate from Adam for that length of time?”

“I guess you would have to ask her.”

There was something more going on because Ben could detect that much from how Linda was responding to him. What he couldn’t determine was what it was. He surmised he would have to wait to see what Adam would say unless of course, Hoss had some idea of what had happened. Apparently he didn’t because after dinner that evening, both Hoss and Joe asked why Selina was still on the ranch if Adam had gone to town. They waited of course until both ladies were well away so they wouldn’t overhear the conversation. Ben had to admit he didn’t know what was going on but had a question for Hoss.

“Has Linda said anything about it?”

“No, nothing at all. Why?”

“I asked her earlier, and she said she didn’t know, but I had a feeling she might know more than she was saying.”

“Aw, she wouldn’t lie to you, Pa. If she said she didn’t know, she didn’t know.”
“Hoss, I think Pa meant she might have had an idea but nobody told her why so she didn’t know but maybe she had guessed why. You know, she had a gut feeling about it.”

“What? Oh, yeah, maybe she would. She and Selina are real close, and they do a lot together. They been to those sewing circles and to the social circles at church for them Bible studies.”

“Yes, they had one of each of those last week, and now she does this. I wonder if there is any connection especially with Margaret Louise back in town.”

“You thinking maybe there’s some gossip she heard?”

“Hoss, I think that may be it. We’ll have to see. We can’t interfere though. This is something that Adam and Selina need to work out.”

By Friday, Adam was anxious to return home to his wife. He had hardly had a moment’s peace that week with all the issues on the job, and then when he wasn’t at work, he worried about his wife. When he arrived on the Ponderosa, he was surprised Selina did not come out to greet him, but his father did.

“Pa, it’s not that I’m not glad to see you, but I would have preferred to be greeted by my wife. I don’t know what’s wrong, but she’s acting so cold toward me.”

“Well, she is with child and women in that state can be quite moody. I have enough experience with that to tell you this is minor in comparison.”

“It doesn’t seem so minor to me.”

When Adam got in the house, Selina accepted his kiss but her return kiss was far less than he expected. All of her responses were less than he expected. That night, she claimed to be too tired for anything and rolled over to sleep instead of cuddling, talking, or certainly any hope of lovemaking. Adam lay awake not realizing that she was doing the same. He replayed everything he could and nothing made sense to him for he could find nothing that he had done that should have made her this cold to him. She wouldn’t even talk to him. There had been one telling comment, but he still didn’t know what to make of it. She had asked him if he had a good time in town without her there. Another question had been if he had hired a ‘pretty young thing’ to replace her as clerk. He had told her that a young man had come looking for work and had been hired. Somehow that news had seemed to disappoint her. It was the wee hours of the morning before Adam fell into sleep.

In the morning, when Adam slid out of bed, he was still tired, and it appeared that Selina was still sleeping. He dressed, and leaning down next to her, he whispered ‘I love you’ before he left the room. It brought tears to her eyes, and she wondered how to reconcile what she had heard with what she experienced.

That day, Adam and Hoss were scheduled to work on the lumber mill which was being improved and expanded so that the Ponderosa could supply more of the material needed for the railroad spur that was being built. Having the mill so close would cut costs for the construction too so it was a win/win situation. While they worked, Adam asked Hoss if he had any idea why Selina was acting as she was. Hoss didn’t want to talk about it.

“What the hell is going on? Do I have the mark of Satan or something? Selina is as cold as she can be to me. Pa says everything will be fine. You don’t want to talk about it which tells me you know something but don’t want to tell me. I’m guessing it’s about the same with Pa.”

“Not the mark of Satan.”

“What?”

“More like one of them scarlet letters.”

“What do you know about scarlet letters?”

“Linda told me about a story she read and somebody wearing a scarlet letter cause of their, you know, doing things with somebody they weren’t married up with. Then the woman had the baby so they couldn’t rightly say they hadn’t been.”

“What would that have to do with me?”

At that point, Hoss knew he had to spill everything. “Linda told me she and Selina started hearing some terrible stories about you last weekend. First at the sewing circle on Saturday and then at the social at church on Sunday. That old story about you and Margaret Louise was told in great detail, I guess, but then they went into all those other rumors that have been going round for years about you having children with married ladies or getting ladies with child who then married other men because you wouldn’t marry them.”

“But I never did any of that. Those are nasty rumors spread by women who I didn’t want to court. You know that. Every time I got chased by some shallow woman it seemed that there was another nasty rumor that chased me next.”

“Somebody said that Margaret Louise had a little boy with dark curly hair.”

“He wasn’t mine. He couldn’t have been because I was never with her like that. Hoss, I never even kissed her. We were friends or I thought we were. She told me she was with child and that the father had left her. She wanted me to marry her instead. I declined, and she got very upset with me. She told her parents I wouldn’t marry her and let them draw the natural conclusion which they did. I can’t blame her parents because they thought they were looking out for their daughter. The whole mess was on her. Given the chance, she refused to tell the truth and let the whole thing fall on me.” Sitting down on a stool in the office, Adam let his head drop. “Damn, this has been a hell of a week.”

“What else happened?”

“Almost every day on the job, things have gone wrong. It’s like someone is sabotaging the project. We need to get to a certain point so that we can work through the winter. You know what the weather is like. If we have any more delays, then the whole project could fall behind by six months. That would be my responsibility.”

“Would you get fired?”

“Not likely, but it would cost me commissions and cost the company lots of money.”

“Well, let’s get busy with the work we came to do today. At least that will get done on time.”

It got done, but Adam and Hoss were late for dinner. Selina had already gone up to their bedroom, and Adam expected the same cold shoulder he had received the previous night. Instead, Selina wrapped her arms around him and kissed him the way he liked to be kissed.

“I’m sorry. I need to shave.”

“I’m sorry too. I forgot something very important this last week. I’m going to blame my condition and beg your forgiveness. Tomorrow, I’m going to take care of a few things if you don’t mind. Please, tonight, can we just be together and not talk?” She paused. “Although if you would shave, that would be appreciated.”

Later as Selina lay in Adam’s arms in bed, and the two of them relaxed in the comfort of each other’s warmth, Adam stroked her arms and then her belly which was beginning to swell more noticeably almost daily.

“I know you said we wouldn’t talk tonight, but can I ask one question?”

“You already did.”

“That’s usually my line, but I wanted to ask if you could tell me what brought about this change even it you’re not ready to talk about all of it.”

“All right, but you’ll have to curb your curiosity about the rest until tomorrow afternoon. You and Hoss were late for dinner so we went ahead. After dinner, Joe and Linda were playing checkers as we waited and worried a little bit about the two of you. Linda asked Joe about a good spot to catch some fish for Sunday dinner. She thought she and Hoss could have a nice afternoon of it and then we could have a nice dinner too. Joe told her a spot you had mentioned. She asked if he thought that would be a good spot. He said yes, of course. She asked why, and he said it was because ‘Adam doesn’t lie’ and she agreed. They continued playing checkers as if nothing unusual had happened, but I felt like I had been slapped well and good. I had the truth served up like a six-course meal, and I had no recourse except to swallow it whole. Of course that’s true. Nothing else matters, and tomorrow you shall see why that is important.”

Kissing her then, Adam felt more love for her than he ever had. Because of what Hoss had told him, he had a fairly good idea of what she might be planning. He looked forward to it. What was best of all was that she had worked her way through all that had been dumped on her and chosen him and the truth above all the rest. Yes, she was moody and emotional because of her condition, but nothing had affected her intellect, and he guessed nothing had affected her temper either. The next day as his father and brothers were going to exit the church after services, he halted them at the door and told them to wait.

“There may be some fireworks in the church. The explosion may be worth waiting for.”

“In the church, Adam?”

At first, Ben was a little confused, but then he heard Selina’s voice.

“We are in the house of the Lord, and I hesitate to raise my voice in here, but there is a time for righteous anger, and this is one of those times. There are some in this group who have sinned and sinned repeatedly. Spreading vicious rumors trying to hurt my husband and in the process trying to hurt me is not Christian behavior. Attacking our marriage in the process goes against the very word of God which says that no man may put asunder the bonds of marriage. Yet there are some here who think they have that right. Whether it is jealousy or the quest for revenge or petty desires for some other gain doesn’t matter. Spreading vicious rumors and repeating stories for the purpose of harm is wrong. Doing so in a church is blasphemy. This is not a church social circle. This is Satan invading the holy sanctuary of the Lord.”

One of the most vocal of the gossip mongers tried to defend herself. “But Margaret Louise herself told me her sad story of how he left her.”

“She lied and you repeated her lie. Her son was another man’s son. She was well known by a number of men in town. If you doubt that, ask them. Adam was her friend and she thought to take advantage of that and see if he would marry her because she was in such a sorry state. After all, he was smart, wealthy, and handsome. She could not have done better. When he refused, she decided to hurt him. She never said back then that he was the father. She told everyone that he refused to marry her. She let them draw their own conclusion. She was a liar by omission and never told the truth to correct the lie. Now who should be shamed here?”

“Why should we believe that Adam is telling the truth about all these stories?”

“Have any of you ever known Adam to lie about anything?”

Linda answered with a ‘Never’ immediately. None of the other women had a response to that. They all knew the answer, but to say it meant they had to admit their less than honest approach. Selina had one last salvo.

“The next sewing circle is at my house on Friday afternoon. There will be a new rule. There will be no gossip. We will stay positive. If I am the only one there, I won’t mind, but I would like to see any or all of you there. That’s all I have to say.”

Turning on her heel, Selina walked out with Linda by her side. It was very quiet in the church. At the door, the two ladies were surprised to see the men still there. Selina tried to adopt a serious look.

“Eavesdropping is not a proper behavior, gentlemen.”

Ben leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Then perhaps we are not perfect gentlemen, but that was one heck of a performance. I’m glad I heard it.”

With a grin, Selina accepted his praise and then that of the others. Adam couldn’t stop grinning as he walked with her back to their carriage and helped her in. The ride back to the Ponderosa was jovial.

Not so jovial was the reception that Margaret Louise got each time she encountered one of the women she had groomed to carry out part of her plot. They coldly turned away from her and refused to speak to her. She didn’t know what had happened but assumed Adam was responsible. She had another more drastic plan and decided it was time to put that into action.

 

Chapter 2

On Monday, Selina once again traveled with Adam to town and then to his office. There she was introduced to the clerk he had hired. She and Adam had discussed it and decided he should stay. She wouldn’t be able to continue working full time after a couple more months so it would be good to have someone familiar with the routine of the office and the work that needed to be done. Neither of them were sure she would return to the office once the baby was born with both leaning toward the idea that she would not at least for a few years.

The young man, Ross, seemed surprised that Selina was there but recovered quickly. He did seem somewhat resentful that she was in charge, but he quickly learned that she knew more than he did and knew where things were too. At least for a while, that knowledge was going to alleviate his feelings of resentment at having a woman with higher job status than his own.

On Monday, reports were still coming in of breakdowns in various parts of the construction with delays in deliveries, damage to tools and work, and missing supplies. It was getting to be a major problem and Ross heard Adam and Selina discussing it as a possible inside job. He asked who could possibly be able to do all those kinds of things. Adam smirked.

“If someone didn’t know any better, they might think it was me.”

“Why wouldn’t they think it was you?”

“Because I don’t work for a salary here. I work on a commission. I only get paid if the project is completed according to the contract. That’s not the biggest reason though.”

“What’s the biggest reason?”

“I’m one of the major investors. If this project fails, I lose all the money I invested. Based on that, it is unlikely that anyone would suspect me of doing any of this. I have no motive. No, this is someone or some group that stands to benefit in some way or get something they want. What I can’t figure out is what anyone would get by making this project fail.”

“Adam, why don’t you hire some security guards. They would likely catch this person without too much trouble.”

“Selina, it’s like you read my mind. I think I know exactly who to get too.”

“Roy Coffee?”

“Yes, now that he’s retired, it seems like it could be the perfect job for him. He knows the men he got to do surveillance when he was sheriff. He can have a crew working for him if he hires some of the men who worked for him part-time.”

“That sounds like a wonderful plan.”

Apparently it was because there was no more sabotage of any kind. On Friday morning though, Adam got some bad news. There was a report on his desk that morning that a flash flood had altered some of the terrain that the spur line had to traverse. It was set to be their next area for construction and was crucial to keeping the project on time.

“I need to get out there to see if a redesign is necessary. It’s a half-day’s ride each way. If I leave now, I can be back by tonight.”

“And if it needs a redesign?”

“Sweetheart, I’m afraid then that I’ll have to go back there with my surveying equipment to take measurements and do some drawing. It will take at least two days. I’ll get one of the men to drive you home. I have to leave now if I want to be back by tonight.”

“Take supplies in case something happens.”

“You know I always do, but I’ll be back. I know how much you’ll worry otherwise.”

After Adam left, Ross said he wasn’t feeling well and he left. Selina didn’t mind. There wasn’t much work in that office when Adam wasn’t there, and there was something creepy about Ross that she didn’t like. He didn’t seem to bother Adam though or at least he never said anything about him.

As Ross headed to the boardinghouse, he made sure to be seen and even stopped and talked to a few people asking where he could buy a headache powder. Establishing an alibi took careful work. When he was sure he had one, he went into the boardinghouse and lay on the bed for a time letting it squeak appropriately until he got up and sat on the wooden chair he had in his small room. When he heard the door slam downstairs, he assumed the landlady had gone to the market. Quickly he went down the backstairs to where he was supposed to meet his partner in crime. She was there, and the two began to ride hard.

As expected, Adam was already on the way back before they caught up to him. He was of course surprised to see them but never got a chance to say anything as they boxed him in and forced him over the side and down a steep hill. When he realized what they were doing, he leaped from the horse’s back but it wasn’t enough. He lay at the bottom among the rocks with serious injuries unable to help himself and without a ride as his horse died. His assailants rode away.

“Ross, go back to the boardinghouse and sit in the garden as if you had been there a while.”

When the riders approached Adam, he realized why Ross had seemed so familiar. Not only did he have a slight resemblance to his mother, but now Adam knew who the father must have been. Before he had a chance to say anything though, they charged him where he had no room to maneuver. His horse stumbled and went back over the side of the slope. Leaping free of the horse, he avoided being crushed by it, but he still tumbled down the slope smashing into boulders on the way until he came to rest up against a large boulder at the bottom. The horse rolled further and was out of sight though the sounds of it struggling and dying were all too clear. There was a brief time when Adam had clarity of thought about what happened. Then his nerves woke up from the shock of what had happened and the full brunt of the pain assaulted him. Blood was washing down the right side of his face so he closed that eye and opened only his left. From what little he could see or determine, he guessed he didn’t have fatal injuries except if they were not treated. Considering where he was, he knew the likelihood of that and didn’t like the only answer he had to give.

At first feeling triumphant that their plan had worked so well, Margaret Louise began to have doubts as they rode back. A key element of her plan was that Adam was to die in an accident with no hint that there had been any foul play. She realized they had made one error in not wiping out the extra tracks of horses where the collision took place. Ross was worried too.

“Mother, what if he isn’t dead?”

“Of course he is. You saw him hit those rocks on the way down and lay still at the bottom.”

Drawing on the education he had, Ross offered a possible explanation she didn’t like. “Yes, and every rock he hit slowed him down so that the next one did less damage. He didn’t roll to the bottom at full velocity like that damn horse and hit those large boulders at high speed. He could be badly injured but alive.”

“We can’t let anyone find him alive.”

“It’s too late now to do anything. Tomorrow afternoon after I finish work I have to do, I can go back and check to see if he’s alive or not. If he is, I can take care of that.”

“Now you can’t do anything that would show someone did something to him.”

“I know but he hit a lot of rocks. One more rock hitting him shouldn’t make much of a difference. Then I’ll brush out the tracks we left. I’ve been thinking about those too. We should have done that before we left.”

“Son, I’m so proud of you.”

They separated then and rode around Virginia City so they could come in from different directions and not the one that showed where they had actually been. Margaret Louise went back to her hotel, and Ross went to his boardinghouse. Both slept well.

On the Ponderosa, no one slept well. Although they assumed Adam must have decided to camp out because he couldn’t get back in time, it was still a worry. When he didn’t arrive home on Saturday morning, Hoss and Joe decided they needed to ride out to look for him. They needed to know the section of the route where he had been planning to check though so Selina sent them to see Ross to get directions.

“He didn’t tell me which section only that it was one he might have to redesign.”

“We’ll get Roy and some of the men he has working as security to come with us so we can make a thorough search and find that wayward husband of yours. Most likely his horse got lamed. That’s some rough country up that way where they’re doing that construction.”

“Yes, Hoss, it is. I’m sure he’s waiting for you somewhere. You know how he hates to walk anywhere.”

In town at the office, Hoss and Joe met with Ross who expressed the proper sympathy for their concerns. He pulled out a map and showed them the section on the map beyond where construction was already underway. It was about twenty miles from where Adam had actually gone.

“He could be anywhere in this section, but I think it was this six miles of the section that concerned him most.”

They thanked him for the information and headed out to find their brother. It was a fruitless task of course. They spent a frustrating day not finding any sign that Adam had ever made it to that area.

“Hoss, maybe he had a problem getting here.”

“That could be, Joe, but then we got about thirty-six square miles to search with no hint of where he might be in this rough country.”

“We can bring more men with us tomorrow.”

“We’ll hafta do that. It’s gonna take an army of men to find him in this wilderness.”

Meanwhile, Ross had found Adam not only alive but conscious. He was weak and his right eye was closed and crusted with dried blood. He stared at Ross with the other, and Ross found he couldn’t do what he wanted to do with Adam staring at him like that. Sitting down on a rock, he contemplated the man his mother had told him was his father.

“This didn’t have to happen if only you had acknowledged me and given me my rightful inheritance.”

Ross saw what looked almost like a small smile on Adam. It seemed odd to him, and he wanted to know why he would react that way.

“You should at least be ashamed of what you did.”

Expecting that he was going to die without ever seeing his child born, Adam decided to use what little strength he had to tell the truth to this young man. He knew it might enrage him and lead to his death happening even faster, but he accepted that risk. He could speak only softly because trying to project his voice caused too much pain to his ribs.

“I’m not your father, but I know who your father is.”

“What? You’re my father. My mother wouldn’t have lied to me all these years.”

“After everything your mother has done, you think she wouldn’t lie?” Adam let that hang in the air for a time. “At my house, I have some things that belonged to your father’s family including pictures. If you saw those, you would know the truth too.”

“Why would you have those?”

Knowing he had Ross’ intrigued, Adam wasn’t sure how the next bit of news would affect him. “When his father died, there was no one left in the family. Your father was killed in Mexico and did not have any children. I didn’t know what to do with the family items so storage was the only option until a family member somewhere might claim them.”

“Who do you say is my father?”

“A man by the name of Carl Regan. I don’t think your mother wanted him to be the father. She said the father had left, but that was only another lie. She wanted someone else to be the father. You’re named after another young man with whom she was acquainted, Ross Marquette.”

“You’re trying to tell me my mother was with all three of you?”

“I was never with her in that way. I never even kissed her. We were friends. She needed a friend and thought I would help. When I refused, she was angry. She told her parents I refused to marry her and let them assume that meant I was the father. She never actually said then that I was the father.”

“But she told me you were the father.”

“By then, it was the standard story, I guess.”

For perhaps ten minutes, Ross sat quietly. For that same time frame, Adam watched him afraid to close his eye for he didn’t know what Ross would do next. He suspected Ross had come to make sure he was dead. Adam guessed his only chance of surviving was to touch a sense of humanity in this young man if one existed.

“I went to school like you. I worked on a ranch. I can ride well and even break horses. I can shoot and I even have a fast draw when I practice. My mother prepared me to take your place. I’ll never have that chance, will I? Your family knows what you know so no matter what happens, her dream is just that. It’s a lotus eater’s dream and nothing more.”

There was no reason to respond to that, and Adam felt so much weaker, he wasn’t sure he should anyway. He didn’t know how much longer he could fight off the exhaustion. A voice hailed them then from up on the top of the slope.

“You two need help down there? You better come on up here. I see storm clouds on them mountains so a flash flood could come on through here pretty darn soon. You know that run-off moves darn fast.”

“He’s right. You better go.”

“I’ll help you.”

“How?”

“I’ll get the rope and the blanket from your horse. I’ll tie you in the blanket and then pull you up. That shouldn’t do too much to you because this slope is so steep.”

“I’m bleeding. That will get worse if I get moved.”

“You think about how we can take care of that while I go get the blanket and the rope.”

By the time Ross returned with the blanket and the rope, the prospector who had hailed them was by Adam’s side. Ross worried about what Adam might have said but the prospector was only concerned about the wound in his leg and on his head that might bleed more if he was moved. He said nothing to Ross and gave nothing away about what he had asked Adam. When he got there, the first thing he wanted to know was if Ross was the one who had sent Adam down that slope. Adam had told him it didn’t matter at that point. The prospector had a good idea what that meant and took the loop from his pistol making it accessible. Adam had smiled briefly and said only ‘Yes’ as affirmation that it was a good precaution.

“All right, I know who this man is. I’ve seen Adam Cartwright in town often enough. What’s your name?”

“Ross.”

“I’m Cornelius Vanlandingham. Folks call me Corny. Suits me, don’t it?”

Ross couldn’t help but smile. The smile vanished though with the groans from Adam as they rolled him into the blanket. Corny apologized to Adam again and again.

“Sorry. I know you might even have some broken bones need tending, but getting you up that slope is the most important thing right now. We get you up there, we’ll take care of the worst of your injuries. Then we’ll see what we hafta do next.”

By the time they got to the top, Adam was unconscious. Corny checked Adam over more carefully and told Ross to get some green sticks from the trees nearby. He splinted both of Adam’s arms and lower legs.

“I’m not sure they’re broken. Could be bad sprains or maybe nasty bruises, but at this point, splints are probably a good idea no matter what. He can’t injure ’em any worse. Now my place, such as it is, is less than a mile from here. I figure town is over twenty miles. He can’t go that far so we need to take him to my place. You’re bigger and stronger than me. So, I’m gonna let you mount up on your horse, and then I’m gonna hoist him up to you. We’ll go real slow. You hang onto him, and I’ll lead your horse. Think you can do that?”

“Of course I can.”

Ross realized he had agreed to it with that statement. He was getting in deeper and deeper but didn’t know what else to do. It was more difficult to do than what Corny had described, but they managed to get Adam to Corny’s cabin. He only had one bed and they put Adam into it. Corny had Ross go collect grass to make two more sleeping pallets.

“Be sure to get nice dry and clean grass.”

“What if I wasn’t planning on staying?”

“Course you were. You want to see if he lives or dies, don’t you?”

“Dies?”

“Could still happen. I don’t know what he’s got messed up inside. It might be nothing or it could be serious. We’ll have to wait and see.”

While collecting the grass, Ross had a lot of time to think. Although doubts about his mother had been there for years, this whole situation was making him look at her more objectively. He didn’t like what he saw nor did he like what he saw in the mirror. He didn’t know how to make things right now that there was so much that was wrong though. Although his mother had groomed him to be just like Adam Cartwright so that he could take his place, he knew he was nothing like the man nor did he have any right to take his place. He recalled hearing some of the men grousing about orders Adam gave to them. One statement in particular stood out.

“He might be a hard man and a son-of-a bitch to work for sometimes especially when work falls behind schedule, but he works as hard as we do, and if he tells you something, you know it’s true.”

The other men there had all agreed, and by Ross’ experience, there was no reason to disagree with them. So now he had to believe that everything Adam had told him was the truth. That could only mean that his mother had lied to him and manipulated him all these years to the point that now he had committed a crime and would likely go to prison. He had to wonder what kind of mother would do that to her son. By the time he got back to the small cabin, Corny was looking much more worried than when Ross had first been sent on his errand.

“I decided to get them dirty clothes off of him seeing as how he wasn’t awake anyhow. Underneath, I found some nasty bruising around his middle. I’m real worried that he’s got some kind of bleeding inside of him. We need the doctor here, boy. Ifn I send you for the doctor, you gonna get him or you gonna go on the run?”

“You know then what I did?”

“Didn’t take much to figure it out now, did it? I saw the tracks up above.”

“I’ll get the doctor. I’ve had a lot of time to think, and I know what I have to do.”

“Do you know the country well enough to ride now? It’s twenty miles to town. You get lost, could take a lot longer to get there. Maybe you ought to wait until morning and leave at first light. Better than wandering around in the dark. You probably couldn’t lead the doc back here in the dark neither.”

Ross agree that was the better plan. He got the sleeping pallets ready as Corny tended to Adam and prepared a meal of stew and biscuits for them. Adam did not wake.

Meanwhile, Hoss and Joe returned home with the news that they couldn’t find Adam.

“We searched as late as we could. The sun was going down though and we had to head back. We’ll go out again tomorrow with more men.”

Selina was surprised. “Wait, the sun was going down and you’re back already?”

“Sure, it isn’t that far.”

“But Adam was going to the section that they will be working on this winter. It’s at least twenty miles from here. That’s why he didn’t think he might make it back at night. Who told you to search in the mountain section?”

“Ross said that was where he was going.”

“Ross knows better. Why would he have sent you to the wrong location?”

Joe grabbed his hat and gunbelt once more. “I don’t know, but I think I want to go find out.”

Hoss did the same. “I’m going with you.”

“Boys, maybe have Clem go with you when you look for Ross. Don’t do anything foolish. You need Ross to find out what’s going on here.”

The brothers agreed, but by their looks, Ross had something to fear. Selina started to sway, and Ben guided her to a chair. He was worried about her too in her condition. Hop Sing was soon there with tea and biscuits. Then all they could do was wait.

 

Chapter 3

In town, Margaret Louise was concerned because Ross had not come back. Usually they had a clandestine meeting at one of several locations, but she had been to each one and he wasn’t there. She had walked by his boardinghouse a few times, and had not seen him there either. When she saw Hoss and Joe Cartwright ride into town and go to the Sheriff’s office, she was a little worried, but when they walked to the boardinghouse, she got very worried. The three men came out looking upset and began to go around town in a very purposeful fashion which suggested that they were searching for Ross. She couldn’t imagine they were searching for anyone else nor could she imagine what they had done wrong that they had any reason to suspect Ross of anything. None of her planning had prepared her for this. Then she got an idea. Hurrying down the street, she went to Adam’s house hoping to find some of his distinctive clothing. She thought perhaps she could plant a false trail that would keep the Cartwrights busy enough that they would give her time to find her son.

Despite their best efforts, Hoss and Joe found no trace of Ross even though Clem helped as much as he could too. They decided to stay at Adam’s house rather than try to ride home in the dark. When they went into Adam’s house, they found a broken window, and then they found Adam’s bedroom in disarray at least by Adam’s standards. As Joe said, Adam would never leave drawers open and clothing scattered on the floor and on the bed.

“Joe, what do you think is going on?”

“If I had to guess seeing as how they seem to have been looking at his shirts mostly, is that we’re going to find all of part of one of his shirts tomorrow but in the wrong place. I think someone is trying to lay a false trail. We need to head out to where Selina said to go and ignore anything else.”

“Let’s get some sleep then. We’ll head out at first light.”

As Hoss and Joe rode out the next day looking for any signs of Adam as they went, they got about five miles from town when they saw a rider coming toward them. Taking positions on either side of the road, they waited until he was closer and then prepared to stop him when they realized it was Ross. He never expected them so it was easy.

“Where’s Adam?”

“At Corny’s cabin.”

They didn’t expect an answer so easily either. Both were skeptical and Hoss had the main question.

“Why should we believe you?”

“Your brother needs a doctor. Corny sent me to get him.”

“We can get the doctor. You got an appointment with the sheriff.”

“Uh, Hoss, I don’t know where Corny’s cabin is. Do you?”

Hoss was angry and even angrier to admit that he didn’t know either. “All right, we’ll all get the doc, but we’ll get the sheriff too and tell him what’s going on.”

About an hour later, that was the vision that Margaret Louise saw as she looked out her hotel window. Her son was riding with the doctor in his carriage, the sheriff, and Hoss and Joe Cartwright as they headed out of town in the direction in which she knew Adam was. She had no idea what had happened. Her plan to plant the shirt next to the river wouldn’t work now, and she was out of ideas. She turned back to the room and did the only thing she knew how to do. She packed. One way or the other, she was going to be out of town before any of those men returned. She knew it was a half-day’s ride to where Adam was and a half-day back unless they rode hard. They had no reason to ride hard so she had one day to make good her escape. Ross was going to have to bear the burden by himself. It was over. She had given it her best shot and had been bested somehow. She had only one thing left to do. Once she had her luggage set and her ticket in hand, she strolled to Adam’s house and set a simple timer of a long cord that would burn slowly until it got to some paper surrounding an open bowl of coal oil she had found in the house. With no one in the house, she guessed it would burn quite nicely before anyone noticed. When she boarded the stage, she saw some people running in the direction of the house and saw smoke over the other buildings. With no regard for the danger she had put so many in, she smiled. No one else on the stage had any idea why she thought a fire was amusing.

It was about that time that the men arrived at Corny’s cabin. He greeted them somberly telling them that Adam had still not awakened. Doctor Paul Martin grabbed his bag and went inside with the two Cartwright brothers. Corny looked at Ross.

“I won’t run away. I’ll face what I have to face. Right now, I’ll take care of the horses. I’m guessing we’ll be here for a while.”

Inside Paul began a methodical examination of Adam starting with his chest and arms. He found no broken ribs but some bruising. He checked each arm.

“Good. They’re not broken, but you were right to splint them. A few days like that will help the swelling go down.”

Then Paul pulled the blanket lower and looked with dismay at the bruising on Adam’s left side. Looking up at Corny, he had a question.

“Can you tell how much worse this is since yesterday?”

“Actually, it’s about the same. I found it when I got the dirty clothes off of him and it had me real worried, but it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse.”

“All right, I need to see his back. Hoss and Joe, can you help ease him up.”

Very carefully, the three got Adam almost into a sitting position. Paul checked his back out and then had them lower Adam back into a reclining state.

“That’s good. I was worried that the bleeding might be showing in the back, but I see no evidence of that nor is there any indication of damage to his kidneys. I think the spleen might be damaged but it may be minor and heal on its own.”

Then Paul pulled the blanket from the lower extremities and covered up Adam’s upper body so he wouldn’t be chilled. By the amount of swelling and where it was located, he was sure the leg was broken. He left the splints in place and looked at the wound that was still seeping blood.

“I need to clean and irrigate that wound before I bandage it. Between this, the spleen, and the head wound, I would guess that’s why he’s still unresponsive. He’s too weak.” Taking Adam’s right hand gently in his, Paul asked a simple request. “Squeeze a little if you can.” It was enough that Hoss and Joe could see it. “He’s here with us. He’s too weak to do more. I’ll clean up his eye and his head wound next. We can get some water and broth into him then. I don’t think I’ll stitch this leg wound yet. I’ll clean it and bandage it tightly. I don’t want to tax his strength any more than necessary right now.”

Looking for their host and not seeing him, Paul asked Joe if he could find out if Corny had a pillow or two to put under the injured leg. He didn’t but they packed a sheet with sweet grass and that worked. With his head wound cleaned and bandaged as well as his right eye and face cleaned of blood, Adam looked much better. Hoss spooned warm broth into his brother’s mouth and he swallowed apparently quite thirsty. Paul told him that was a good sign.

“I’ll come back tomorrow to check on the leg. Until then, broth and water. Maybe some biscuit soaked in broth if he can tolerate it. Don’t move him from where he is.”

“When do you think we can move him, Doc?”

“Let’s talk outside.”

As Hoss cared for Adam, the others walked outside. Joe and Hoss knew that Paul didn’t want to say anything where Adam could hear so the news wasn’t going to be good.

“He is fine now, but he shouldn’t be moved for four weeks. That leg should be elevated and probably in traction that long. When I come back tomorrow, I plan to bring what I need to put that leg in traction. I didn’t say that because he’s too weak right now to hear that. With the injury to his spleen, you are simply too far from town and too far from the Ponderosa to consider moving him. Right now, you would risk his life. In two weeks, you would be risking the use of his leg. He needs the full month. And yes, I know what kind of patient he is, and I know his wife probably won’t be able to come see him because of her condition, but I’m laying it all out for you as honestly as I can.”

“Doc, I ain’t got but the one bed in there as you can see.”

Joe answered. “Corny, whatever you need, we’ll get. We can have another bed here by the end of the day. We’ll bring supplies. You make a list.”

“Some whisky maybe?”

“Oh, some whisky, yes. And there will always be one of us here to help. By the way, if it’s Hoss, make him sleep in your stable or no one will get any sleep. The man can snore louder than any train you ever heard roar by.”

“Will I still be able to go out and do my prospecting? It’s the only money I make, you know.”

“We could put you on the Ponderosa payroll for a month if you like.”

“How much is that?”

“We pay our regular hands thirty dollars a month and room and board.”

“What does room and board mean?”

“The cost of meals and a place to sleep, you know supplies and such.”

“Well, that sounds fair, even better than fair. I only usually make about ten or twenty dollars in a month prospecting around here. In a good month, I might make up to forty or fifty.”

“How about if we pay you fifty and supplies.”

“We got a deal.”

Then it was Clem’s turn. “What are we going to do about Ross. He’s told me the whole story. My guess is that when we get to town, his mother will be gone.”

Ross looked shocked that he would make such a suggestion. Then he realized she would be arrested when they returned and realized the sheriff was probably correct.

“Why don’t you put him in jail, and we’ll wait to see what Adam has to say about it. It’s really going to be up to him as to what charges are filed. He’s your witness.”

“Well, I’ve got a full confession, but I’ll do as you suggest. Ross, you’re under arrest and we’ll wait to see what Adam wants to do. It could be a month before we know.”

“I understand. I kinda figured I was going to be going to prison so it doesn’t really matter, does it?”

As it turned out, it was more like six weeks. Selina wasn’t able to visit Adam. Ben wouldn’t allow it.

“Selina, it’s twenty miles cross country which you can’t do in your condition. To go by road is almost forty miles and the last twenty is hardly more than a trail. That also is something you should not do in your condition. It’s the same reason we can’t bring Adam home. I know neither one of you is known for patience, but this time I am going to be the most stubborn. You are staying here, and he is staying there.”

For a month, Ben wished there was some other way to work things out, but there wasn’t. For about two weeks, Adam was an agreeable patient because he was too weak to be anything else. Then Hoss and Joe had to contend with an increasingly contentious man who wanted to go home despite what the doctor said. With weights and pulleys on his leg, Adam couldn’t do anything about it though so he complained loudly and often. Hoss and Joe took turns, but Corny was there every day.

“How do you put up with your brother?”

“Luckily he isn’t a patient very often.”

“Thank the Lord, and pass that whisky bottle, would ya?”

Clem had the easiest task because Ross was a compliant inmate. Six weeks into his incarceration, he was sitting in his cell playing solitaire when he heard a man enter. Expecting Clem, he was surprised to hear Adam’s voice. Clem brought a chair so Adam could sit outside Ross’ cell.

“I came to town to buy some cigars. It’s my first trip to town since my ‘accident’ and I’m enjoying the freedom. I have a son. He was born yesterday.”

“Congratulations. I hope he turns into a man just like you.”

“Thank you. Now I brought some things for you. Clem says you can have them in your cell.”

Adam handed a picture to Ross who saw a couple with a young man who had to be their son. The young man was like looking into a mirror for Ross.

“His name was Carl Regan. I think he’s your father. What do you think?”

“He sure looks like me, or rather I sure look like him.”

“Carl used to brag about being with your mother. It may not have been her idea.”

“You mean he may have forced her?”

“I suppose it’s possible, but what is more likely is that he was pushy and wouldn’t give up. He was the type to do that. Carl wasn’t known for being kind and considerate to women. Just the opposite.”

“That could be why she didn’t want to name him as the father.”

“Could be. It could be that Carl was the source of all those stories about your mother too. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I realize it was usually Carl telling those tales.”

“I feel sorry for her, but she still should have told the truth. She still can. When you catch her, maybe she will.”

“I have no interest in catching her.”

“You have to catch her, Adam. She’ll be back for revenge. She always gets revenge. I’ve seen her do it to men over and over. I’ve had a lot of time to think about her while I’ve been in here. She’s not well. I think she burned your house down. It’s not the first time she’s done something like that. One time she brought me with her when she did it and showed me how she set it up. She had a long cord like you use to set off an explosion. She laid it out and then had paper all around a bowl of coal oil. She started the cord and then left. We were a long way away before the paper started burning and got the coal oil burning. Then the fire expanded and the house was on fire. We watched the people running that way and asked them what had happened. They told us there was a house on fire. She acted so shocked. She had some things she took from the house because she always takes souvenirs. There are probably things that belong to you that she has now. Every time she did it to someone, she explained why it was necessary. You know, how they wronged her and she couldn’t get justice any other way. Now I know she’s sick. She commits crimes. She has to be stopped. Like I told the sheriff, she’ll be back here if she isn’t already.”

“I know. He told me.”

“Has he got a plan?”

“He does.”

“Good.”

“You’re part of it.”

“What?”

“You’re getting out for time served and two years on parole. You’ll have to check in with the sheriff and keep a job.”

“It won’t be easy getting a job after what I did.”

“You already have a job.”

“You’re going to keep me on?”

“Yes, but you will be closely supervised.”

“I understand.”

“And one more thing: you will have to testify to what happened which means testifying against your mother.”

“I think I already did when I confessed.”

“Yes, but this will be in a courtroom and facing her. Can you do that?”

“I guess it’s time I grow up. Yes. So when do I get out of here since I accepted your conditions.”

“We want your mother in custody or at least under surveillance. With you here, we have some idea where she might show up, so you have a few more days probably, but you have a lot of things here to look over.”

Opening the box he had brought with him, Adam began handing items to Ross. Adam knew Carl wasn’t much of a man, but his father had been so the family Bible and other items would likely be good things for Ross to have. He told him a few things about his grandfather and what a good man he was. Then he said he had to go for he was meeting the rest of his family and they would be wondering where he was. Ross thanked him and apologized once again for all the wrongs he had done. Outside, Adam saw his father and brothers across the street and began walking toward them. He paused when he saw the stage coming down the street. His leg was still weak and he didn’t want to have to trust it to get across the street before that six-horse team bore down on him. Suddenly he was tackled by Clem who knocked him to the side into dirt of the street. He heard a scream and lots of screams and exclamations of various types from others.

“What the hell was that for, Clem?”

“She was gonna push you in front of the stage. I saw her running at you. There wasn’t time to warn you.”

“Who?”

“Let’s see. I can guess but if it is, she’s in a disguise.”

The woman had been trampled. When Adam was no longer there to push, her momentum had instead propelled her into the path of the horses who ran her down. The driver stopped but much too late. Rolling her battered body over, Clem pulled the wig from her head. It was Margaret Louise as well as they could determine. Clem looked up at Adam.

“All right with you if we get her cleaned up some and then release Ross to identify her and bury her?”

“It’s all right. Sad way for this to end.”

“Probably easier this way. One of the men hurt in fighting that fire she started died this morning. I was going to have to charge her with the assault on you, arson, and murder. Ross would have had to testify against her and maybe see her hang. I’ll tell him the whole story so he understands. This was probably the most merciful way for this to end for her.”

The funeral was the following day. Adam and Ben were there as were Clem and Doctor Martin. Ross asked to speak with Adam when the service was concluded at the gravesite.

“After all this, I think it would be too hard to work with you every day. The project manager said he’d accept me in his office if it was all right with you. I wouldn’t mind working on the ledgers and keeping all the orders straight. I know more about that kind of thing than the construction end of it that you do. Sheriff Foster said it would be all right with him.”

“I think that would work out fine. If there is anyone in the other office that wants to work in my office, let them know I’m looking for a clerk.”

“I will.”

As they rode home, Ben asked Adam where he planned to live. His home in town was gone.

“I’ll stay in the quarters above the construction office during the week. Selina will stay on the Ponderosa with the baby. It’s not ideal to be separated, but it’s only until winter. The parts of the project I supervise will shut down then. By spring, we’ll probably get ourselves another place in town to rent if we can. That’s nearly six months away though. I hope you have enough room in the house for us until then.”

“It’s been a long time since I heard a baby’s cry in the middle of the night.”

“I’m sorry if that bothers you.”

“Oh, it doesn’t bother me at all. It makes me smile because it means I finally have a grandchild. Besides, I’m not the one who has to get up with him. That makes me smile too.”

 

 

Tags:  Adam Cartwright, Ben Cartwright, Family, Hoss Cartwright